Bildungsromans; England -- Fiction; Foundlings -- Fiction; Humorous stories; Identity (Psychology) -- Fiction; Young men -- Fiction
here before, nor do I remember ever to have seen you.”--“Nor is it
possible you should,” answered she; “for you was a little thing when I
had you in my lap at the squire's.”--“How, the squire's?” says Jones:
“what, do you know that great and good Mr Allworthy then?”--“Yes,
marry, do I,” says she: “who in the country doth not?”--“The fame of
his goodness indeed,” answered Jones, “must have extended farther than
this; but heaven only can know him--can know that benevolence which it
copied from itself, and sent upon earth as its own pattern. Mankind
are as ignorant of such divine goodness, as they are unworthy of it;
but none so unworthy of it as myself. I, who was raised by him to such
a height; taken in, as you must well know, a poor base-born child,
adopted by him, and treated as his own son, to dare by my follies to
disoblige him, to draw his vengeance upon me. Yes, I deserve it all;
for I will never be so ungrateful as ever to think he hath done an act
of injustice by me. No, I deserve to be turned out of doors, as I am.
And now, madam,” says he, “I believe you will not blame me for turning
soldier, especially with such a fortune as this in my pocket.” At
which words he shook a purse, which had but very little in it, and
which still appeared to the landlady to have less.
My good landlady was (according to vulgar phrase) struck all of a heap
by this relation. She answered coldly, “That to be sure people were
the best judges what was most proper for their circumstances. But
hark,” says she, “I think I hear somebody call. Coming! coming! the
devil's in all our volk; nobody hath any ears. I must go down-stairs;
if you want any more breakfast the maid will come up. Coming!” At
which words, without taking any leave, she flung out of the room; for
the lower sort of people are very tenacious of respect; and though
they are contented to give this gratis to persons of quality, yet they
never confer it on those of their own order without taking care to be
well paid for their pains.
Chapter iii.
In which the surgeon makes his second appearance.
Before we proceed any farther, that the reader may not be mistaken in
imagining the landlady knew more than she did, nor surprized that she
knew so much, it may be necessary to inform him that the lieutenant
had acquainted her that the name of Sophia had been the occasion of
the quarrel; and as for the rest of her knowledge, the sagacious
reader will observe how she came by it in the preceding scene. Great
curiosity was indeed mixed with her virtues; and she never willingly
suffered any one to depart from her house, without enquiring as much
as possible into their names, families, and fortunes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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