The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom — CompleteSmollett, T. (Tobias)
General
The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom — Complete
Smollett, T. (Tobias)
Adventure stories; Gothic fiction
restore her to that place in your heart which she hath so meanly
forfeited, because you could not at the same time reinstate her in the
possession of that delicate esteem without which there is no harmony,
no rapture, no true enjoyment in love.
“No, my dear Renaldo, expel the unworthy tenant from your bosom; allow
her to fill up the measure of her ingratitude, by deserting her lover,
friend, and benefactor. Your glory demands her dismission; the world
will applaud your generosity, and your own heart approve of your
conduct. So disencumbered, let us exert ourselves once more in
promoting your departure from this island, that you may revisit your
father’s house, do justice to yourself and amiable sister, and take
vengeance on the author of your wrongs; then dedicate yourself to
glory, in imitation of your renowned ancestors, and flourish in the
favour of your imperial patron.”
These remonstrances had such an effect upon the Hungarian, that his
face was lighted up with a transient gleam of satisfaction. He embraced
Ferdinand with great ardour, calling him his pride, his Mentor, his
good genius, and entreated him to gratify the inclination of that
fickle creature so far as to convey her to another lodging, without
loss of time, while he would, by absenting himself, favour their
retreat.
Our hero having obtained this permission, went immediately to the
skirts of the town, where he had previously bespoke a small, though
neat apartment, at the house of an old woman, widow of a French
refugee. He had already reconnoitred the ground, by sounding his
landlady, from whose poverty and complaisance he found reason to expect
all sorts of freedom and opportunity for the accomplishment of his aim
upon Monimia’s person. The room being prepared for her reception, he
returned to that disconsolate beauty, to whom he presented ten guineas,
which he pretended to have raised by pledging the picture, though he
himself acted as the pawnbroker on this occasion, for a very plain and
obvious reason.
The fair orphan was overjoyed to find her wish so speedily
accomplished. She forthwith packed up her necessaries in a trunk; and a
hackney-coach was called in the dusk of the evening, in which she
embarked with her baggage and conductor.
Yet she did not leave the habitation of Renaldo without regret. In the
instant of parting, the idea of that unfortunate youth was associated
with every well-known object that presented itself to her eyes; not as
an inconstant, ungenerous, and perjured swain, but as the accomplished,
the virtuous, the melting lover, who had captivated her virgin heart.
As Fathom led her to the door, she was met by Renaldo’s dog, which had
long been her favourite; and the poor animal fawning upon her as she
passed, her heart was overwhelmed with such a gush of tenderness, that
a flood of tears streamed down her cheeks, and she had well-nigh sunk
upon the floor.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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