Pamela, Or Virtue Rewarded

The company were so kindly pleased with our concern, and my dear

master's goodness, that he, observing their indulgence, and being

himself curious to know the further particulars of what had passed

between my lady and me, repeated his question, What she had called me

besides wench and creature? And I said, My lady, supposing I was wicked,

lamented over me, very kindly, my depravity and fall, and said, What a

thousand pities it was, so much virtue, as she was pleased to say, was

so destroyed; and that I had yielded, after so noble a stand! as she

said. Excuse me, gentlemen and ladies, said I! you know my story, it seems;

and I am commanded, by one who has a title to all my obedience, to

proceed. They gave all of them bows of approbation, that they might not interrupt

me; and I continued my story--the men-servants withdrawing, at a motion

of Mr. B----, on my looking towards them: and then, at Lady Darnford's

coming in, I proceeded. I told her ladyship, that I was still innocent, and would be so, and

it was injurious to suppose me otherwise. Why, tell me, wench, said

she--But I think I must not tell you what she said. Yes, do, said my

master, to clear my sister; we shall think it very bad else.

I held my hand before my face--Why, she said, Tell me, wench, hast thou

not been--hesitating--a very free creature with thy master? That she

said, or to that effect--And when I said, She asked strange questions,

and in strange words, she ridiculed my delicacy, as she called it; and

said, My niceness would not last long. She said, I must know I was not

really married, that my ring was only a sham, and all was my cunning to

cloak my yielding, and get better terms. She said, She knew the world as

much at thirty-two, as I did at sixteen; and bid me remember that.

I took the liberty to say, (but I got a good way off,) that I scorned

her ladyship's words, and was as much married as her ladyship. And then

I had certainly been cuffed, if her woman had not interposed, and told

her I was not worthy her anger; and that I was as much to be pitied for

my credulity, as despised for my vanity.

My poor Pamela, said my master, this was too, too hard upon you! O sir,

said I, how much easier it was to me than if it had been so!--That would

have broken my heart quite!--For then I should have deserved it all, and

worse; and these reproaches, added to my own guilt, would have made me

truly wretched! Lady Darnford, at whose right-hand I sat, kissed me with a kind of

rapture, and called me a sweet exemplar for all my sex. Mr. Peters said

very handsome things; so did Mr. Perry and Sir Simon, with tears in his

eyes, said to my master, Why, neighbour, neighbour, this is excellent,

by my troth. I believe there is something in virtue, that we had not

well considered. On my soul, there has been but one angel come down for

these thousand years, and you have got her.