It is tempting, because of the obvious similarities between these two works, to suggest that Richardson knew and was influenced by _The Fortunate Country Maid_. On the other hand we perhaps should not doubt Richardson's basic honesty when he says "I am not acquainted in the least with the French Language or Writers: And that it was Chance and not Skill or Learning, that made me fall into this way of Scribbling."[10] In any event, these parallels must raise provocative questions concerning Richardson's possible indebtedness to this work. In spite of these overwhelming similarities, the plots of _Pamela_ and _The Fortunate Country Maid_ fundamentally differ in one important respect. In _Pamela_, Mr. B tries to rape the heroine; he offers to make her his whore: he attempts to arrange for her a dishonorable marriage with Parson Williams; and he ultimately weds her himself. In contrast, the Marquis of L---- V---- stands virtually outside the action during most of _The Fortunate Country Maid_. Jenny fends off a rape, but it is attempted by Chevalier d'Elbieux; she rejects the position of a whore, but it is offered by M. de G---- and his housekeeper (who incidentally is much like Mrs. Jervis); she avoids an arranged marriage, but it is proposed by M. de G---- and M. Gripart. Jenny does eventually, however, marry the Marquis. Once the Chevalier d'Elbieux--villain of the first part of the story--reforms and becomes a monk, the role of villain devolves on the Marquis of L---- V----'s father, who tries to block at all turns the impending marriage between his son and this peasant girl. It is the elder Marquis who causes St. Fal to imprison Jenny, and it is Jenny's plot to avoid the elder Marquis which causes her to be threatened by the Colbrand-like Swiss. Throughout all this, the young Marquis remains unblemished, his proposal of a clandestine marriage and his excessive jealousy simply indicating his passionate love, not his moral turpitude.