86 Candid, to the Author of the Cenfor. beauty, and fhe alone feemed ignorant of her charms. I often put her difcretion to the proof, and being convinced of her fidelity and prudence, I at laft placed my entire confidence in her, and confulted her on my nearest and dearest concerns. Her good difpofition inspired her with fuch gratitude in return, that I was quite charmed with her conduct. "My fon having finished his ftudies, but being ftill a minor, lived at home with me, till he fhould be of age to take poffeffion of his eftate. I was not at all furprised to obferve that he looked upon my woman as a perfon whofe condition made her beneath his notice. I even remarked that he could not hear the commendations of this charming girl, without appearing to be difgulted; and he often oppofed the opinions of thofe who did juftice to her merit, taking care, however, not to deviate from the respect due to me. "Without penetrating further into the cause of these emotions, I attributed them folely to jealoufy, on feeing the girl fo highly careffed and beloved by me. Every mark of esteem I beftowed on her, in my eyes, feemed to alarm the fufpicions of my fon. I own it gave me fome concern; but I flattered myfelf that this envious difpofi. tion would wear off as he grew older, and that the little portion I proposed to give her at my death, would clear up his doubts. I therefore refolved to ask his opinion concerning the difpofition I had made her in my will; but while I entertained this idea, I was fuddenly alarmed by the melancholy, mufing temper to which Leonora abandoned herfelf: All her vivacity, her affiduity, and her unwearied attention to please me, gave way to indolence and dejection. This alteration gave me great pain, and the continued in this fituation all last year, when at length I determined to discover the cause of it. The folitude in which the lived, appeared to me conformable to her tafte; I was not at all furprised at her avoiding company; but it puzzled me exceffively to find, that the now shunned me as much as poffible, and always retired to her chamber, the moment fhe had performed the ufual functions of her place. It was told me, that the always carefully took the key out of the door, and fhut herself in. I rallied her upon this in a friendly manner, and the answered me with her ufual mildness, that the only did it to read, without interruption, the books I had lent her. I ftill did not fufpect any mystery in this behaviour; but without being able to account for the motive of my curiofity, I determined to watch her every time the retired to her chamber. A favourable opportunity at laft prefented itfelf, about eight days finçe: She not only left the key in the door, but it stood a little open. Upon this I concealed myfelf, where I could unobferved difcover what he was going to do: She had not left me two minutes, and I faw her run with great precipitation to a cloaths-prefs, from which he took out one of the prettiest children I ever beheld, and gave it the breast, without its making the leaft attempt to cry-the neatness of the dress of this little innocent-the fingularity of a circumftance of this nature, and the ideas which crowded into my mind, threw me into fuch a confternation, that I am amazed to think I had the ftrength to enter the chamber. Nothing but the ftrong attachment I had to the girl could have conquered the indignation that poffeffed me. "The inftant the faw me, the fainted at my feet, and difarmed my rage. I fparel no pains to recover her fenfes ; at length fhe opened her fine eyes, only to fhed torrents of tears, while fheembraced my feet, and her confufion ftifled her words. Her fituation was truly affecting, diftrefs heightened her beauty, and I am not afhamed to fay, her attitude foftened the bitterness of the reproaches I propofed to make her, "Yet still in the notion I entertained that he had dishonoured herself by fome low intrigue, I did not spare her, but concluded with affuring her, that I would do every thing in my power to repair her reputation, if fhe would confets which of my people it was to whom he had abandoned herself: On this her tears redoubled. A fudden emotion took poffeffion of my foul, and I embraced the child, without knowing why, when the mother, tak Candid, to the Author of the Cenfor:“ ing courage by this inftance of my tenderness, cried out: It is all over, Madam, I will now confefs the whole. -The blood that flows in the veins of my dear fon is too noble to be difowned. It is not the fruit of a base connection, 'tis your own blood, Madam, and the Count, your fon, is its father. But alas! in what manner!-For more than fix months he made use of every art to feduce me, but neither oaths, prefents, nor even promifes of marriage could prevail, when having fur. prized me one day in a profound fleep, he accomplished by violence, what I had denied to his folicitations. I cannot defcribe to you my despair; but it was fuch, that I made the Count fwear to me, on the honour of a gentleman, that he would never make any further attempts on my virtue. He has kept his word, I must do him that juftice; but he has never ceafed his importunities, against which I could find no refource, but threatening to inform you of his behaviour. "Would you believe it, Madam, this conduct changed the exceffive love he had sworn to me, into extreme hatred; and I only difcovered the alteration of his fentiments when I perceived, too fate, that my difhonour would be completed by a living evidence. What could I do! refolved at all events to conceal my fituation-I prepared every thing for my lying-in, and you know with what care I always avoided you, when you feemed to look at me attentively; in fine, I determined to hazard my life rather than expofe my fituation. Happily every thing fucceeded to my wishes, my fon was born in the middle of the night; I dreffed it, and accustomed it to this cloaths-prefs, and heaven has favoured me fo far, that it never has cried loud enough to be heard fince its birth; as to the Count, he is ignorant of the confequence of his rafhnefs. I had not the strength to hear more (continues the Countess); but having drawn from her a confeffion that he had an inclination for my fon, which the only flified, from the confideration of the difference of their stations, I enjoined her to keep her own fecret, and I refolved on the step to which I have just put the finish 87 ing hand. One day, as I was meditating on the proper measures to be taken, my fon entered the room with an air of, uncommon fatisfaction, and after fa-, luting me with his ufual refpect, he told me, that he had just made an acquaintance with a most agreeable lady, and that he did not doubt but her relations would readily confent to his marrying her, if it was agreeable to ine. I received this propofal with a forced fmile, and deferring my answer to another opportunity, I left the apartment, and went to vifit Leonora; to whom I gave orders to conceal herself in the closet of my dreffing-room, with her child: As foon as dinner was over, I defired the Count to retire with me to this apartment, and I gave strict orders that no one fhould interrupt us. Thefe precautions thunder-ftruck our new lover, who obeyed without hesitation. I opened the conversation by aking him feveral queftions concerning the rank and fortune of the lady he propofed to marry, and the date of his paffion. Having answered me on thefe points, I told him I was very well fatisfied, but defired to know if this was the firft inclination he had entertained for the fair fex. At this queftion he appeared greatly confused, and on my urging it home, he confeffed he had entertained an idle paffion for a young perfon about a year fince, which he was happy I had not difcovered, for I fhould have highly condemned it. To this I replied, by enquiring if the young perfon was bafe born, without fortune, and deftitute of merit. No, Madam, faid my fon, her merit is far above her birth, and her virtue quite confounded me; nothing but that could have changed the moft violent love, into utter averfion. "How, my fon, refumed I, does the virtue of a young girl induce you to hate her? Are thefe the fruits of the education I have given you! Where are the fentiments of integrity and honour I have taken fo much pains to inculcate! Am I to confider you as the reprefentative of your honoured father, while you entertain these sentiments! But let us proceed a little farther: I infift on a relation of all the circumstances attending your first amour 88 Candid, to the Author of the Cenfor. amour-finding me peremptory, he with much reluctance corroborated Leonora's account of this fecret tranfaction, adding fome circumftances which her delicacy had concealed, and in particular, that he had gained admittance to her chamber by means of a falfe key. After having made me this ample confeffion of his crime, he added, that his unhappy paffion had not been attended with any bad confequences to the object of it, and therefore he thought himself at full liberty to purfue his new inclinations, requiring only my confent to complete his happiness. "I continued the converfation, by affuring him, that his happiness was the fame as my own; but that, in order to make it permanent, it was neceffary to lay the foundation in virtue and honour. Do you owe nothing, faid I, to the injured beauty on whom you committed a violence, which the most abandoned of men must reflect on with horror! Are you fure that no confequences have attended your indifcreet rafhnefs? Have you ever informed yourself how this matter ftands? If, after your marriage with the lady you propofe to me, you should discover your error, will you not become a prey to the most cruel remorfe? I had scarce uttered thefe words, when I made a private fignal for Leonora to enter with the child; and prefenting it to him-behold, Sir, faid I, the prefent I fhall make to your new mistress. Surprifed and confounded, my fort could not fupport this unexpected ftroke, but fell fenfeless to the ground, while the poor Leonora, whofe tendernefs could no longer be restrained, flew to his affiftance, and conjured me to fpare my fon all further reproaches; at the fame time defiring my permiffion to leave my houfe, and to retire to fome diftant province, where the would fupport her child by her own industry. But as fhe was on the point of leaving the room, the Count came to himself, and was a convert to the convictions of love and virtue. I was hardly under the neceffity of explaining to him my fentiments, fo readily did he concur with my defign; and by confenting to marry Leonora, he took the only effectual way to repair an affront, which, as I told him, if any other had committed, by violating the honour of a girl fo dear to me, I should have called on him to have avenged." I know you will confider many parts of this history as wearing the air of a romance; but this will not take from it the authenticity of a well known fact. Your Cadwalladers, and fome of the high-bred Scotch nobility, may ridicule it, as a filly tale; but I with the accounts you may hereafter give me of our British ladies may entile them to the commendations univerfally bestowed on this French Coun tefs, even by perfons of the first quality in France. Adieu CANDID. To the EDITOR of the OXFORD MAGAZINE. (With a Copper-Plate of Farmer G***** obferving the Weather.) SIR, A Certain great Farmer of my ac- employing his time. That man highly quaintance is remarkable for rifing early, to obferve which way the wind is. This is certainly a matter of confequence to fome people, especially thofe who have valuable treasures on the bofom of the uncertain ocean; but to a farmer, it can be only a mere matter of amusement, and he might certainly find out a better method of deferves out pity and contempt, who fhall neglect to cultivate his farm, suffer his fheep to be led aftray by interested and deceitful shepherds, and his cattle to be starved, for want of wholesomé pafture, while he is obferving the fickleness of the wind, or making a cu rious button, and a twopenny fnuffbox. Yours, T. S. |