by Daniel Defoe
bysome of my relations who died here, that I was worth L40,000 all in myown hands, and the like.
This was all wrong in Amy, and in me too, though we did not see it atfirst, for this recommended me indeed to those sort of gentlemen theycall fortune-hunters, and who always besieged ladies, as they calledit--on purpose to take them prisoners, as I called it--that is to say,to marry the women and have the spending of their money. But if I waswrong in refusing the honourable proposals of the Dutch merchant, whooffered me the disposal of my whole estate, and had as much of his ownto maintain me with, I was right now in refusing those offers which camegenerally from gentlemen of good families and good estates, but who,living to the extent of them, were always needy and necessitous, andwanted a sum of money to make themselves easy, as they call it--that isto say, to pay off encumbrances, sisters' portions, and the like; andthen the woman is prisoner for life, and may live as they give herleave. This life I had seen into clearly enough, and therefore I was notto be catched that way. However, as I said, the reputation of my moneybrought several of those sort of gentry about me, and they found means,by one stratagem or other, to get access to my ladyship; but, in short,I answered them well enough, that I lived single and was happy; that asI had no occasion to change my condition for an estate, so I did not seethat by the best offer that any of them could make me I could mend myfortune; that I might be honoured with titles indeed, and in time rankon public occasions with the peeresses (I mention that because one thatoffered at me was the eldest son of a peer), but that I was as wellwithout the title as long as I had the estate, and while I had L2000 ayear of my own I was happier than I could be in being prisoner of stateto a nobleman, for I took the ladies of that rank to be little better.
As I have mentioned Sir Robert Clayton, with whom I had the good fortuneto become acquainted, on account of the mortgage which he helped me to,it is necessary to take notice that I had much advantage in my ordinaryaffairs by his advice, and therefore I called it my good fortune; for ashe paid me so considerable an annual income as L700 a year, so I am toacknowledge myself much a debtor, not only to the justice of hisdealings with me, but to the prudence and conduct which he guided me to,by his advice, for the management of my estate. And as he found I wasnot inclined to marry, he frequently took occasion to hint how soon Imight raise my fortune to a prodigious height if I would but order myfamily economy so far within my revenue as to lay up every yearsomething to add to the capital.
I was convinced of the truth of what he said, and agreed to theadvantages of it. You are to take it as you go that Sir Robert supposedby my own discourse, and especially by my woman Amy, that I had L2000 ayear income. He judged, as he said, by my way of living that I could notspend above one thousand, and so, he added, I might prudently lay byL1000 every year to add to the capital; and by adding every year theadditional interest or income of the money to the capital, he proved tome that in ten years I should double the L1000 per annum that I laid by.And he drew me out a table, as he called it, of the increase, for me tojudge by; and by which, he said, if the gentlemen of England would butact so, every family of them would increase their fortunes to a greatdegree, just as merchants do by trade; whereas now, says Sir Robert, bythe humour of living up to the extent of their fortunes, and ratherbeyond, the gentlemen, says he, ay, and the nobility too, are almost allof them borrowers, and all in necessitous circumstances.
As Sir Robert frequently visited me, and was (if I may say so from hisown mouth) very well pleased with my way of conversing with him, for heknew nothing, not so much as guessed at what I had been; I say, as hecame often to see me, so he always entertained me with this scheme offrugality; and one time he brought another paper, wherein he showed me,much to the same purpose as the former, to what degree I should increasemy estate if I would come into his method of contracting my expenses;and by this scheme of his, it appeared that, laying up a thousand poundsa year, and every year adding the interest to it, I should in twelveyears' time have in bank one-and-twenty thousand and fifty-eightpounds, after which I might lay up two thousand pounds a year.
I objected that I was a young woman, that I had been used to liveplentifully, and with a good appearance, and that I knew not how to be amiser.
He told me that if I thought I had enough it was well, but that if Idesired to have more, this was the way; that in another twelve years Ishould be too rich, so that I should not know what to do with it.
"Ay, sir," says I, "you are contriving how to make me a rich old woman,but that won't answer my end; I had rather have L20,000 now than L60,000when I am fifty years old."
"Then, madam," says he, "I suppose your honour has no children?"
"None, Sir Robert," said I, "but what are provided for." So I left himin the dark as much as I found him. However, I considered his schemevery well, though I said no more to him at that time, and I resolved,though I would make a very good figure, I say I resolved to abate alittle of my expense, and draw in, live closer, and save something, ifnot so much as he proposed to me. It was near the end of the year thatSir Robert made this proposal to me, and when the year was up I went tohis house in the City, and there I told him I came to thank him for hisscheme of frugality; that I had been studying much upon it, and though Ihad not been able to mortify myself so much as to lay up a thousandpounds a year, yet, as I had not come to him for my interesthalf-yearly, as was usual, I was now come to let him know that I hadresolved to lay up that seven hundred pounds a year, and never use apenny of it, desiring him to help me to put it out to advantage.
Sir Robert, a man thoroughly versed in arts of improving money, butthoroughly honest, said to me, "Madam, I am glad you approve of themethod that I proposed to you; but you have begun wrong; you should havecome for your interest at the half-year, and then you had had the moneyto put out. Now you have lost half a year's interest of L350, which isL9; for I had but 5 per cent, on the mortgage."
"Well, well, sir," says I, "can you put this out for me now?"
"Let it lie, madam," says he, "till the next year, and then I'll put outyour L1400 together, and in the meantime I'll pay you interest for theL700." So he gave me his bill for the money, which he told me should beno less than L6 per cent. Sir Robert Clayton's bill was what nobodywould refuse, so I thanked him and let it lie; and next year I did thesame, and the third year Sir Robert got me a good mortgage for L2200 atL6 per cent interest. So I had L132 a year added to my income, which wasa very satisfying article.
But I return to my history. As I have said, I found that my measureswere all wrong; the posture I set up in exposed me to innumerablevisitors of the kind I have mentioned above. I was cried up for a vastfortune, and one that Sir Robert Clayton managed for; and Sir RobertClayton was courted for me as much as I was for myself. But I had givenSir Robert his cue. I had told him my opinion of matrimony, in just thesame terms as I had done my merchant, and he came into it presently. Heowned that my observation was just, and that if I valued my liberty, asI knew my fortune, and that it was in my own hands, I was to blame if Igave it away to any one.
But Sir Robert knew nothing of my design, that I aimed at being a keptmistress, and to have a handsome maintenance; and that I was still forgetting money, and laying it up too, as much as he could desire me, onlyby a worse way.
However, Sir Robert came seriously to me one day, and told me he had anoffer of matrimony to make to me that was beyond all that he had heardhad offered themselves, and this was a merchant. Sir Robert and I agreedexactly in our notions of a merchant. Sir Robert said, and I found it tobe true, that a true-bred merchant is the best gentleman in the nation;that in knowledge, in manners, in judgment of things, the merchantoutdid many of the nobility; that having once mastered the world, andbeing above the demand of business, though no real estate, they werethen superior to most gentlemen, even in estate; that a merchant inflush business and a capital stock is able to spend more money than agentleman of L5000 a year estate; that while a merchant spent, he onlyspent what he got, and not that, and that he laid up grea
t sums everyyear; that an estate is a pond, but that a trade was a spring; that ifthe first is once mortgaged, it seldom gets clear, but embarrassed theperson for ever; but the merchant had his estate continually flowing;and upon this he named me merchants who lived in more real splendour andspent more money than most of the noblemen in England could singlyexpend, and that they still grew immensely rich.
He went on to tell me that even the tradesmen in London, speaking of thebetter sort of trades, could spend more money in their families, and yetgive better fortunes to their children, than, generally speaking, thegentry of England from L1000 a year downward could do, and yet grow richtoo.
The upshot of all this was to recommend to me rather the bestowing myfortune upon some eminent merchant, who lived already in the firstfigure of a merchant, and who, not being in want or scarcity of money,but having a