Didactic fiction; Domestic fiction; England -- Fiction; Married women -- Fiction
To say the truth, we are much more concerned for the behaviour of the
gentleman than of the lady, not only for his sake, but for the sake of
the best woman in the world, whom we should be sorry to consider as
yoked to a man of no worth nor honour. We desire, therefore, the good-
natured and candid reader will be pleased to weigh attentively the
several unlucky circumstances which concurred so critically, that
Fortune seemed to have used her utmost endeavours to ensnare poor
Booth's constancy. Let the reader set before his eyes a fine young
woman, in a manner, a first love, conferring obligations and using
every art to soften, to allure, to win, and to enflame; let him
consider the time and place; let him remember that Mr. Booth was a
young fellow in the highest vigour of life; and, lastly, let him add
one single circumstance, that the parties were alone together; and
then, if he will not acquit the defendant, he must be convicted, for I
have nothing more to say in his defence.
Chapter ii.
_The latter part of which we expect will please our reader better
than the former._
A whole week did our lady and gentleman live in this criminal
conversation, in which the happiness of the former was much more
perfect than that of the latter; for, though the charms of Miss
Matthews, and her excessive endearments, sometimes lulled every
thought in the sweet lethargy of pleasure, yet in the intervals of his
fits his virtue alarmed and roused him, and brought the image of poor
injured Amelia to haunt and torment him. In fact, if we regard this
world only, it is the interest of every man to be either perfectly
good or completely bad. He had better destroy his conscience than
gently wound it. The many bitter reflections which every bad action
costs a mind in which there are any remains of goodness are not to be
compensated by the highest pleasures which such an action can produce.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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