Pamela, Or Virtue Rewarded

'GOOD MRS. PAMELA, 'I am grieved to tell you how much you have been deceived and betrayed,

and that by such a vile dog as I. Little did I think it would come to

this. But I must say, if ever there was a rogue in the world, it is me.

I have all along shewed your letters to my master: He employed me for

that purpose; and he saw every one, before I carried them to your father

and mother; and then scaled them up, and sent me with them. I had some

business that way, but not half so often as I pretended: and as soon

as I heard how it was, I was ready to hang myself. You may well think I

could not stand in your presence. O vile, vile wretch, to bring you to

this! If you are ruined, I am the rogue that caused it. All the justice

I can do you, is to tell you, you are in vile hands; and I am afraid

will be undone in spite of all your sweet innocence; and I believe

I shall never live, after I know it. If you can forgive me, you are

exceeding good; but I shall never forgive myself, that's certain.

Howsomever, it will do you no good to make this known; and may-hap I

may live to do you service. If I can, I will: I am sure I ought.--Master

kept your last two or three letters, and did not send them at all. I am

the most abandoned wretch of wretches. 'J. ARNOLD.'

'You see your undoing has been long hatching. Pray take care of your

sweet self. Mrs. Jewkes is a devil: but in my master's t'other house you

have not one false heart, but myself. Out upon me for a villain!'

My dear father and mother, when you come to this place, I make no doubt

your hair will stand on end as mine does!--O the deceitfulness of the

heart of man!--This John, that I took to be the honestest of men; that

you took for the same; that was always praising you to me, and me to

you, and for nothing so much as for our honest hearts; this very fellow

was all the while a vile hypocrite, and a perfidious wretch, and helping

to carry on my ruin. But he says so much of himself, that I will only sit down with this

sad reflection, That power and riches never want tools to promote their

vilest ends, and there is nothing so hard to be known as the heart

of man:--I can but pity the poor wretch, since he seems to have great

remorse, and I believe it best to keep his wickedness secret. If it lies

in my way, I will encourage his penitence; for I may possibly make some

discoveries by it. One thing I should mention in this place; he brought down, in a

portmanteau, all the clothes and things my lady and master had given me,

and moreover two velvet hoods, and a velvet scarf, that used to be worn

by my lady; but I have no comfort in them, or any thing else. Mrs. Jewkes had the portmanteau brought into my closet, and she shewed

me what was in it; but then locked it up, and said, she would let me

have what I would out of it, when I asked; but if I had the key, it

might make me want to go abroad, may be; and so the confident woman put

it in her pocket. I gave myself over to sad reflections upon this strange and surprising

discovery of John's, and wept much for him, and for myself too; for now

I see, as he says, my ruin has been long hatching, that I can make no

doubt what my master's honourable professions will end in. What a heap

of hard names does the poor fellow call himself! But what must they

deserve, then, who set him to work? O what has this wicked master to

answer for, to be so corrupt himself, and to corrupt others, who would

have been all innocent; and to carry on a poor plot, I am sure for a

gentleman, to ruin a poor creature, who never did him harm, nor wished

him any; and who can still pray for his happiness, and his repentance? I can't but wonder what these gentlemen, as they are called, can think

of themselves for these vile doings! John had some inducement; for he

hoped to please his master, who rewarded him and was bountiful to him;

and the same may be said, bad as she is, for this same odious Mrs.

Jewkes. But what inducement has my master for taking so much pains to do

the devil's work for him?--If he loves me, as 'tis falsely called, must

he therefore lay traps for me, to ruin me and make me as bad as himself?

I cannot imagine what good the undoing of such a poor creature as I can

procure him.--To be sure, I am a very worthless body. People, indeed,

say I am handsome; but if I was so, should not a gentleman prefer an

honest servant to a guilty harlot? And must he be more earnest to seduce

me, because I dread of all things to be seduced, and would rather lose

my life than my honesty? Well, these are strange things to me! I cannot account for them, for

my share; but sure nobody will say, that these fine gentlemen have any

tempter but their own wicked wills!--his naughty master could run

away from me, when he apprehended his servants might discover his vile

attempts upon me in that sad closet affair; but is it not strange that

he should not be afraid of the all-seeing eye, from which even that

base plotting heart of his, in its most secret motions, could not be

hid?--But what avail me these sorrowful reflections? He is and will be

wicked, and designs me a victim to his lawless attempts, if the God in

whom I trust, and to whom I hourly pray, prevent it not. Tuesday and Wednesday. I have been hindered by this wicked woman's watching me so close, from

writing on Tuesday; and so I will put both these days together. I have

been a little turn with her for an airing, in the chariot, and walked

several times in the garden; but have always her at my heels. Mr. Williams came to see us, and took a walk with us once; and while her

back was just turned, (encouraged by the hint he had before given me,)

I said, Sir, I see two tiles upon that parsley-bed; might not one cover

them with mould, with a note between them, on occasion?--A good hint,

said he; let that sunflower by the back-door of the garden be the place;

I have a key to the door; for it is my nearest way to the town. So I was forced to begin. O what inventions will necessity push us upon!

I hugged myself at the thought; and she coming to us, he said, as if he

was continuing a discourse we were in: No, not extraordinary pleasant.

What's that? what's that? said Mrs. Jewkes.--Only, said he, the town,

I'm saying, is not very pleasant. No, indeed, said she, it is not; it is

a poor town, to my thinking. Are there any gentry in it? said I. And so

we chatted on about the town, to deceive her. But my deceit intended no

hurt to any body. We then talked of the garden, how large and pleasant, and the like; and

sat down on the tufted slope of the fine fish-pond, to see the fishes

play upon the surface of the water; and she said, I should angle if I

would. I wish, said I, you'd be so kind to fetch me a rod and baits. Pretty

mistress! said she--I know better than that, I'll assure you, at this

time.--I mean no harm, said I, indeed. Let me tell you, said she. I know

none who have their thoughts more about them than you. A body ought

to look to it where you are. But we'll angle a little to-morrow. Mr.

Williams, who is much afraid of her, turned the discourse to a general

subject. I sauntered in, and left them to talk by themselves; but he

went away to town, and she was soon after me. I had got to my pen and ink; and I said, I want some paper, Mrs. Jewkes,

(putting what I was about in my bosom:) You know I have written two

letters, and sent them by John. (O how his name, poor guilty fellow,

grieves me!) Well, said she, you have some left; one sheet did for those

two letters. Yes, said I; but I used half another for a cover, you

know; and see how I have scribbled the other half; and so I shewed her

a parcel of broken scraps of verses, which I had tried to recollect, and

had written purposely that she might see, and think me usually employed

to such idle purposes. Ay, said she, so you have; well, I'll give you

two sheets more; but let me see how you dispose of them, either written

or blank. Well, thought I, I hope still, Argus, to be too hard for thee.

Now Argus, the poets say, had a hundred eyes, and was set to watch with

them all, as she does. She brought me the paper, and said, Now, madam, let me see you write

something. I will, said I; and took the pen and wrote, 'I wish Mrs.

Jewkes would be so good to me, as I would be to her, if I had it in my

power.'--That's pretty now, said she; well, I hope I am; but what then?

'Why then (wrote I) she would do me the favour to let me know, what I

have done to be made her prisoner; and what she thinks is to become

of me.' Well, and what then? said she. 'Why then, of consequence,

(scribbled I,) she would let me see her instructions, that I may know

how far to blame, or to acquit her.' Thus I fooled on, to shew her my fondness for scribbling; for I had no

expectation of any good from her; that so she might suppose I employed

myself, as I said, to no better purpose at other times: for she will

have it, that I am upon some plot, I am so silent, and love so much to

be by myself.--She would have made me write on a little further. No,

said I; you have not answered me. Why, said she, what can you doubt,

when my master himself assures you of his honour? Ay, said I; but lay

your hand to your heart, Mrs. Jewkes, and tell me, if you yourself

believe him. Yes, said she, to be sure I do. But, said I, what do you

call honour? Why, said she, what does he call honour, think you?--Ruin!

shame! disgrace! said I, I fear.--Pho! pho! said she; if you have any

doubt about it, he can best explain his own meaning:--I'll send him word

to come and satisfy you, if you will.--Horrid creature! said I, all in a

fright--Can'st thou not stab me to the heart? I'd rather thou would'st,

than say such another word!--But I hope there is no such thought of his

coming. She had the wickedness to say, No, no; he don't intend to come, as

I know of--But if I was he, I would not be long away. What means the

woman? said I.--Mean! said she, (turning it off;) why I mean, I would

come, if I was he, and put an end to all your fears--by making you as

happy as you wish. It is out of his power, said I, to make me happy,

great and rich as he is! but by leaving me innocent, and giving me

liberty to go to my dear father and mother. She went away soon after, and I ended my letter, in hopes to have an

opportunity to lay it in the appointed place. So I went to her, and

said; I suppose, as it is not dark, I may take another turn in the

garden. It is too late, said she; but if you will go, don't stay; and,

Nan, see and attend madam, as she called me. So I went towards the pond, the maid following me, and dropt purposely

my hussy: and when I came near the tiles, I said, Mrs. Anne, I have

dropt my hussy; be so kind as to look for it; I had it by the pond

side. She went back to look, and I slipt the note between the tiles,

and covered them as quick as I could with the light mould, quite

unperceived; and the maid finding the hussy, I took it, and sauntered

in again, and met Mrs. Jewkes coming to see after me. What I wrote was

this: