by T. Smollett
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
OUR ADVENTURER BECOMES ABSOLUTE IN HIS POWER OVER THE PASSIONS OF HISFRIEND, AND EFFECTS ONE HALF OF HIS AIM.
Influenced by this dire mistake, the breast of those unhappy loversbegan to be invaded with the horrors of jealousy. The tender-heartedMonimia endeavoured to devour her griefs in silence; she in secretbemoaned her forlorn fate without ceasing; her tears flowed withoutintermission from night to morn, and from morn to night. She sought notto know the object for which she was forsaken; she meant not to upbraidher undoer; her aim was to find a sequestered corner, in which she couldindulge her sorrow; where she could brood over the melancholy remembranceof her former felicity; where she could recollect those happy scenes shehad enjoyed under the wings of her indulgent parents, when her whole lifewas a revolution of pleasures, and she was surrounded with affluence,pomp, and admiration; where she could, unmolested, dwell upon thewretched comparison between her past and present condition, and paintevery circumstance of her misery in the most aggravating colours, thatthey might make the deeper impression upon her mind, and the morespeedily contribute to that dissolution for which she ardently wished, asa total release from woe.
Amidst these pinings, she began to loathe all sustenance; her cheeks grewwan, her bright eyes lost their splendour, the roses vanished from herlips, and her delicate limbs could hardly support their burden; in aword, her sole consolation was limited to the prospect of depositing hersorrows in the grave; and her only wish was to procure a retreat in whichshe might wait with resignation for that happy period. Yet thismelancholy comfort she could not obtain without the advice and mediationof Fathom, whom she therefore still continued to see and consult. Whilethese consultations were held, Renaldo's bosom was ravaged with tempestsof rage and distraction. He believed himself superseded in the affectionof his mistress, by some favoured rival, whose success rankled at hissoul; and though he scarce durst communicate the suspicion to his ownheart, his observation continually whispered to him that he wassupplanted by his friend Fathom; for Monimia was totally detached fromthe conversation of every other man, and he had of late noted theirintercourse with distempered eyes.
These considerations sometimes transported him to such a degree offrenzy, that he was tempted to sacrifice them both as traitors togratitude, friendship, and love; but such deliriums soon vanished beforehis honour and humanity. He would not allow himself to think amiss ofFerdinand, until some undoubted mark of his guilt should appear; and thiswas so far from being the case, that hitherto there was scarce apresumption. "On the contrary," said he to himself, "I am hourlyreceiving proofs of his sympathy and attachment. Not but that he may bethe innocent cause of my mishap. His superior qualifications may haveattracted the eye, and engaged the heart of that inconstant fair, withouthis being sensible of the victory he has won; or, perhaps, shocked at theconquest he hath unwillingly made, he discourages her advances, tries toreason down her unjustifiable passion, and in the meantime conceals fromme the particulars, out of regard to my happiness and quiet."
Under cover of these favourable conjectures, our adventurer securelyprosecuted his scheme upon the unfortunate Monimia. He dedicated himselfwholly to her service and conversation, except at those times when hiscompany was requested by Renaldo, who now very seldom exacted hisattendance. In his ministry about the person of the beauteous orphan,this cunning incendiary mingled such awful regard, such meltingcompassion, as effectually screened him from the suspicion of treachery,while he widened the fatal breach between her and her lover by the mostdiabolical insinuations. He represented his friend as a voluptuary, whogratified his own appetite without the least regard to honour orconscience; and, with a show of infinite reluctance, imparted someanecdotes of his sensuality, which he had feigned for the purpose; thenhe would exclaim in an affected transport, "Gracious Heaven! is itpossible for any man who has the least title to perception or humanity toinjure such innocence and perfection! for my own part, had I been soundeservedly happy--Heaven and earth! forgive my transports, madam, Icannot help seeing and admiring such divine attractions. I cannot helpresenting your wrongs; it is the cause of virtue I espouse; it ought tobe the cause of every honest man."
He had often repeated such apostrophes as these, which she ascribed tonothing else than sheer benevolence and virtuous indignation, andactually began to think he had made some impression upon her heart, notthat he now entertained the hope of an immediate triumph over herchastity. The more he contemplated her character, the more difficult theconquest seemed to be: he therefore altered his plan, and resolved tocarry on his operations under the shelter of honourable proposals,foreseeing that a wife of her qualifications, if properly managed, wouldturn greatly to the account of the husband, or, if her virtue shouldprove refractory, that he could at any time rid himself of theencumbrance, by decamping without beat of drum, after he should be cloyedwith possession.
Elevated by these expectations, he one day, in the midst of apreconcerted rhapsody, importing that he could no longer conceal the firethat preyed upon his heart, threw himself on his knees before the lovelymourner, and imprinted a kiss on her fair hand. Though he did notpresume to take this liberty till after such preparation as he thoughthad altogether extinguished her regard for Melvil, and paved the way forhis own reception in room of that discarded lover, he had so far overshothis mark, that Monimia, instead of favouring his declaration, started up,and retired in silence, her cheeks glowing with shame, and her eyesgleaming with indignation.
Ferdinand no sooner recovered from the confusion produced by thisunexpected repulse, than he saw the necessity of coming to a speedydetermination, lest the offended fair one should appeal to Renaldo, inwhich case they might be mutually undeceived, to his utter shame andconfusion; he therefore resolved to deprecate her anger by humblesupplications, and by protesting, that, whatever tortures he might sufferby suppressing his sentiments, she should never again be offended with adeclaration of his passion.
Having thus appeased the gentle Monimia, and discovered that, in spite ofher resentment, his friend still kept possession of her heart, hedetermined to work an effectual separation, so as that the young lady,being utterly deserted by Melvil, should be left altogether in his power.With this Christian intention, he began to sadden his visage with adouble shade of pensive melancholy, in the presence of Renaldo, to stiflea succession of involuntary sighs, to answer from the purpose, to beincoherent in his discourse, and, in a word, to act the part of a personwrapt up in sorrowful cogitation.
Count Melvil, soon as he perceived these symptoms, very kindly inquiredinto the cause of them, and was not a little alarmed to hear the artfuland evasive answers of Ferdinand, who, without disclosing the source ofhis disquiet, earnestly begged leave to retire into some other corner ofthe world. Roused by this entreaty, the Hungarian's jealousy awoke, andwith violent agitation, he exclaimed, "Then are my fears too true, mydear Fathom: I comprehend the meaning of your request. I have for sometime perceived an host of horrors approaching from that quarter. I knowyour worth and honour. I depend upon your friendship, and conjure you,by all the ties of it, to free me at once from the most miserablesuspense, by owning you have involuntarily captivated the heart of thatunhappy maiden."
To this solemn interrogation he made no reply, but shedding a flood oftears, of which he had always a magazine at command, he repeated hisdesire of withdrawing, and took God to witness, that what he proposed wassolely for the quiet of his honoured patron and beloved friend."Enough," cried the unfortunate Renaldo, "the measure of my woes is nowfilled up." So saying, he fell backwards in a swoon, from which he waswith difficulty recovered to the sensation of the most exquisitetorments. During this paroxysm, our adventurer nursed him with infinitecare and tenderness, he exhorted him to summon all his fortitude to hisassistance, to remember his forefathers, and exert himself in theimitation of their virtues, to fly from those bewitching charms which hadenslaved his better part, to retrieve his peace of mind by reflecting onthe inconstancy and i
ngratitude of woman, and amuse his imagination inthe pursuit of honour and glory.
After these admonitions he abused his ears with a forged detail of thegradual advances made to him by Monimia, and the steps he had taken todiscourage her addresses, and re-establish her virtue, poisoning the mindof that credulous youth to such a degree, that, in all probability, hewould have put a fatal period to his own existence, had not Fathom foundmeans to allay the rage of his ecstasy, by the cunning arrangement ofopposite considerations. He set his pride against his love, he opposedhis resentment to his sorrow, and his ambition to his despair.Notwithstanding the balance of power so settled among these antagonists,so violent were the shocks of their successive conflicts, that his bosomfared like a wretched province, harassed, depopulated, and laid waste, bytwo fierce contending armies. From this moment his life was nothing butan alternation of starts and reveries; he wept and raved by turns,according to the prevailing gust of passion; food became a stranger tohis lips, and sleep to his eyelids; he could not support the presence ofMonimia, her absence increased the torture of his pangs; and, when he mether by accident, he started back with horror, like a traveller whochances to tread upon a snake.
The poor afflicted orphan, worn to a shadow with self-consuming anguish,eager to find some lowly retreat, where she could breath out her soul inpeace, and terrified at the frantic behaviour of Renaldo, communicated toFathom her desire of removing, and begged that he would take a smallpicture of her father, decorated with diamonds, and convert them intomoney, for the expense of her subsistence. This was the last pledge ofher family, which she had received from her mother, who had preserved itin the midst of numberless distresses, and no other species of misery butthat which she groaned under could have prevailed upon the daughter topart with it; but, exclusive of other motives, the very image itself, byrecalling to her mind the honours of her name, upbraided her with livingin dependence upon a man who had treated her with such indignity andingratitude; besides, she flattered herself with the hope that she shouldnot long survive the loss of this testimonial.
Our adventurer, with many professions of sorrow and mortification at hisown want of capacity to prevent such an alienation, undertook to disposeof it to the best advantage, and to provide her with a cheap and retiredapartment, to which he would conduct her in safety, though at the hazardof his life. In the meantime, however, he repaired to his friendRenaldo, and, after having admonished him to arm his soul with patienceand philosophy, declared that Monimia's guilty passion for himself couldno longer be kept within bounds, that she had conjured him, in the mostpressing manner, to assist her in escaping from an house which sheconsidered as the worst of dungeons, because she was in it daily exposedto the sight and company of a man whom she detested, and that she hadbribed him to compliance with her request, not only with repeatedpromises of eternal love and submission, but also with the picture of herfather set with diamonds, which she had hitherto reserved as the last andgreatest testimony of her affection and esteem.
With these words he presented the fatal pledge to the eyes of theastonished youth, upon whom it operated like the poisonous sight of thebasilisk, for in an instant, the whole passions of his soul were in themost violent agitation. "What!" cried he, in an ecstasy of rage, "is sheso abandoned to perfidy, so lost to shame, so damned to constancy, togratitude, and virtuous love, as to meditate the means of leaving mewithout decency, without remorse! to forsake me in my adversity, when myhapless fortune can no longer flatter the pride and vanity of herexpectation! O woman! woman! woman! what simile shall I find toillustrate the character of the sex? But I will not have recourse tovain complaints and feeble exclamations. By Heaven! she shall not'scape, she shall not triumph in her levity, she shall not exult in mydistress; no! I will rather sacrifice her to my just resentment, to theinjured powers of love and friendship. I will act the avenging ministerof Heaven! I will mangle that fair bosom, which contains so false aheart! I will tear her to pieces, and scatter those beauteous limbs as aprey to the beasts of the field, and the fowls of the air!"
Fathom, who expected this storm, far from attempting to oppose itsprogress, waited with patience until its first violence was overblown;then, assuming an air of condolence, animated with that resolution whicha friend ought to maintain on such occasions, "My dear Count," said he,"I am not at all surprised at your emotion, because I know what an heart,susceptible as yours, must feel from the apostasy of one who has reignedso long the object of your love, admiration, and esteem. Your endeavoursto drive her from your thoughts must create an agony much more severethan that which divorces the soul from the body. Nevertheless, I am soconfident of your virtue and your manhood, as to foresee, that you willallow the fair Monimia to execute that resolution which she hath sounwisely taken, to withdraw herself from your love and protection.Believe me, my best friend and benefactor, this is a step, in consequenceof which you will infallibly retrieve your peace of mind. It may costyou many bitter pangs, it may probe your wounds to the quick; but thosepangs will be soothed by the gentle and salutary wing of time, and thatprobing will rouse you to a due sense of your own dignity and importance,which will enable you to convert your attention to objects far moreworthy of your contemplation. All the hopes of happiness you hadcherished in the possession of Monimia are now irrecoverably blasted; herheart is now debased beneath your consideration; her love is, without alldoubt, extinguished, and her honour irretrievably lost; insomuch, that,were she to profess sorrow for her indiscretion, and implore yourforgiveness, with the most solemn promises of regarding you for thefuture with unalterable fidelity and affection, you ought not to restoreher 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 ofthat delicate esteem without which there is no harmony, no rapture, notrue enjoyment in love.
"No, my dear Renaldo, expel the unworthy tenant from your bosom; allowher to fill up the measure of her ingratitude, by deserting her lover,friend, and benefactor. Your glory demands her dismission; the worldwill applaud your generosity, and your own heart approve of your conduct.So disencumbered, let us exert ourselves once more in promoting yourdeparture from this island, that you may revisit your father's house, dojustice to yourself and amiable sister, and take vengeance on the authorof your wrongs; then dedicate yourself to glory, in imitation of yourrenowned ancestors, and flourish in the favour of your imperial patron."
These remonstrances had such an effect upon the Hungarian, that his facewas lighted up with a transient gleam of satisfaction. He embracedFerdinand with great ardour, calling him his pride, his Mentor, his goodgenius, and entreated him to gratify the inclination of that ficklecreature so far as to convey her to another lodging, without loss oftime, while he would, by absenting himself, favour their retreat.
Our hero having obtained this permission, went immediately to the skirtsof the town, where he had previously bespoke a small, though neatapartment, at the house of an old woman, widow of a French refugee. Hehad already reconnoitred the ground, by sounding his landlady, from whosepoverty and complaisance he found reason to expect all sorts of freedomand opportunity for the accomplishment of his aim upon Monimia's person.The room being prepared for her reception, he returned to thatdisconsolate beauty, to whom he presented ten guineas, which he pretendedto have raised by pledging the picture, though he himself acted as thepawnbroker 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-coachwas called in the dusk of the evening, in which she embarked with herbaggage and conductor.
Yet she did not leave the habitation of Renaldo without regret. In theinstant of parting, the idea of that unfortunate youth was associatedwith every well-known object that presented itself to her eyes; not as aninconstant, ungenerous, and perjured swain, but as the accomplished, thevirtuous, the melting lover, who had captivated her virgin heart. AsFathom led he
r to the door, she was met by Renaldo's dog, which had longbeen 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 oftears streamed down her cheeks, and she had well-nigh sunk upon thefloor.
Ferdinand, considering this emotion as the last tribute she would pay toRenaldo, hurried her into the coach, where she soon recovered hercomposure; and in a little time he ushered her into the house of Madam laMer, by whom she was received with great cordiality, and conducted to herapartment, with which she found no other fault than that of its being toogood for one in her forlorn situation. Here, while the tear of gratitudestarted in either eye, she thanked our adventurer for his benevolence andkind concern, assuring him, that she would not fail duly to beseech theMost High to shower down blessings upon him, as the orphan's friend andprotector.
Fathom was not deficient in those expressions that were best adapted toher present turn of mind. He observed, that what he had done was inobedience to the dictates of common humanity, which would have promptedhim to assist any fellow-creature in distress; but that her peculiarvirtue and qualifications were such as challenged the utmost exertion ofhis faculties in her service. He said, that surely Heaven had notcreated such perfection in vain; that she was destined to receive as wellas to communicate happiness; and that the Providence, which she sopiously adored, would not fail, in due season, to raise her from distressand affliction, to that honour and felicity for which she was certainlyordained. In the meantime, he entreated her to depend upon his serviceand fidelity, and the article of her board being settled, he left her tothe company and consolation of her discreet hostess, who soon insinuatedherself into the good opinion of her beauteous lodger.
While our hero was employed in this transaction, Renaldo sallied forth ina sort of intoxication, which Fathom's admonitions had inspired; and,repairing to a certain noted coffee-house, engaged at chess with an oldFrench refugee, that his attention, by being otherwise employed, mightnot stray towards that fatal object which he ardently wished to forget.But, unluckily for him, he had scarce performed three moves of the game,when his ears were exposed to a dialogue between two young gentlemen, oneof whom asked the other if he would go and see the "Orphan" acted at oneof the theatres; observing, as a farther inducement, that the part ofMonimia would be performed by a young gentlewoman who had never appearedon the stage. At mention of that name, Renaldo started; for though itdid not properly belong to his orphan, it was the appellation by whichshe had been distinguished ever since her separation from her father'shouse, and therefore it recalled her to his imagination in the mostinteresting point of view. Though he endeavoured to expel the image, bya closer application to his play, every now and then it intruded upon hisfancy, and at each return made a stronger impression; so that he foundhimself in the situation of an unfortunate bark stranded upon some hiddenrock, which, when the wind begins to blow, feels every succeeding wavemore boisterous than the former, until, with irresistible fury, theysurmount her deck, sweep everything before them, and dash her all topieces.
The refugee had observed his first emotion, which he attributed to anunforeseen advantage he himself had gained over the Hungarian; but seeinghim, in the sequel, bite his lip, roll his eyes, groan, writhe his body,ejaculate incoherent curses, and neglect his game, the Huguenot concludedthat he was mad, and being seized with terror and dismay, got up andscampered off, without ceremony or hesitation.
Melvil, thus left to the horrors of his own thought, which tortured himwith the apprehension of losing Monimia for ever, could no longer combatthat suggestion, but ran homewards with all the speed he could exert, inorder to prevent her retreat. When he crossed the threshold, he wasstruck with such a damp of presaging fear, that he durst not in personapproach her apartment, nor even, by questioning the servant, informhimself of the particulars he wanted to know. Yet his suspense becomingmore insupportable than his fear, he rushed from room to room in quest ofthat which was not to be found; and, seeing Monimia's chamber door open,entered the deserted temple in a state of distraction, calling aloud uponher name. All was silent, solitary, and woful. "She is gone," he cried,shedding a flood of tears, "she is for ever lost; and all my hopes ofhappiness are fled!"
So saying, he sunk upon that couch on which Monimia had oft reposed, andabandoned himself to all the excess of grief and despondence. In thisdeplorable condition he was found by our adventurer, who gently chid himfor his want of resolution, and again repelled his sorrow, by arousinghis resentment against the innocent cause of his disquiet, havingbeforehand forged the particulars of provocation.
"Is it possible," said he, "that Renaldo can still retain the leastsentiment of regard for a fickle woman, by whom he has been soungratefully forsaken and so unjustly scorned? Is it possible he can beso disturbed by the loss of a creature who is herself lost to all virtueand decorum?--Time and reflection, my worthy friend, will cure you ofthat inglorious malady. And the future misconduct of that imprudentdamsel will, doubtless, contribute to the recovery of your peace. Herbehaviour, at leaving the house where she had received so many marks ofthe most delicate affection, was in all respects so opposite to honourand decency, that I could scarce refrain from telling her I was shockedat her deportment, even while she loaded me with protestations of love.When a woman's heart is once depraved, she bids adieu to allrestraint;--she preserves no measures. It was not simply contempt whichshe expressed for Renaldo; she seems to resent his being able to liveunder her disdain; and that resentment stoops to objects unworthy ofindignation. Even your dog was not exempted from the effects of herdispleasure. For, in her passage to the door, she kicked the poor animalas one of your dependents; and, in our way to the apartment I hadprovided for her, she entertained me with a ludicrous comment upon themanner in which you first made her acquainted with your passion. Allthat modesty of carriage, all that chastity of conversation, all thatdignity of grief, which she knew so well how to affect, is now entirelylaid aside, and, when I quitted her, she seemed the most gay, giddy, andimpertinent of her sex."
"Gracious powers!" exclaimed Renaldo, starting from the couch, "am Iunder the delusion of a dream; or are these things really so, as myfriend has represented them? Such a total and sudden degeneracy isamazing! is monstrous and unnatural!"
"Such, my dear Count," replied our hero, "is the caprice of a femaleheart, fickle as the wind, uncertain as a calm at sea, fixed to noprinciple, but swayed by every fantastic gust of passion, or of whim.Congratulate yourself, therefore, my friend, upon your happy deliverancefrom such a domestic plague--upon the voluntary exile of a traitor fromyour bosom.--Recollect the dictates of your duty, your discretion, andyour glory, and think upon the honours and elevated enjoyment for whichyou are certainly ordained. To-night let us over a cheerful bottleanticipate your success; and to-morrow I will accompany you to the houseof an usurer, who, I am informed, fears no risk, provided twenty per centbe given, and the borrower's life insured."