The History Of The Life Of The Late Mr. Jonathan Wild The Great(Fiscle Part 3), Henry Fielding [most read books in the world of all time .txt] 📗
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Than The Husband.
When Breakfast Was Ended, And The Wife Retired To Her Household
Affairs, Wild, Who Had A Quick Discernment Into The Weaknesses Of
Men, And Who, Besides The Knowledge Of His Good (Or Foolish)
Disposition When A Boy, Had Now Discovered Several Sparks Of
Goodness, Friendship, And Generosity In His Friend, Began To
Discourse Over The Accidents Which Had Happened In Their
Childhood, And Took Frequent Occasions Of Reminding Him Of Those
Favours Which We Have Before Mentioned His Having Conferred On
Him; He Then Proceeded To The Most Vehement Professions Of
Friendship, And To The Most Ardent Expressions Of Joy In This
Renewal Of Their Acquaintance. He At Last Told Him, With Great
Seeming Pleasure, That He Believed He Had An Opportunity Of
Serving Him By The Recommendation Of A Gentleman To His Custom,
Who Was Then On The Brink Of Marriage. "And, If He Be Not Already
Engaged, I Will," Says He, "Endeavour To Prevail On Him To Furnish
His Lady With Jewels At Your Shop."
Heartfree Was Not Backward In Thanks To Our Hero, And, After Many
Earnest Solicitations To Dinner, Which Were Refused, They Parted
For The First Time.
But Here, As It Occurs To Our Memory That Our Readers May Be
Surprised (An Accident Which Sometimes Happens In Histories Of
This Kind) How Mr. Wild, The Elder, In His Present Capacity,
Should Have Been Able To Maintain His Son At A Reputable School,
As This Appears To Have Been, It May Be Necessary To Inform Him
That Mr. Wild Himself Was Then A Tradesman In Good Business, But,
By Misfortunes In The World, To Wit, Extravagance And Gaming, He
Had Reduced Himself To That Honourable Occupation Which We Have
Formerly Mentioned.
Having Cleared Up This Doubt, We Will Now Pursue Our Hero, Who
Forthwith Repaired To The Count, And, Having First Settled
Preliminary Articles Concerning Distributions, He Acquainted Him
With The Scheme Which He Had Formed Against Heartfree; And After
Consulting Proper Methods To Put It In Execution, They Began To
Concert Measures For The Enlargement Of The Count; On Which The
First, And Indeed Only Point To Be Considered, Was To Raise Money,
Not To Pay His Debts, For That Would Have Required An Immense Sum,
And Was Contrary To His Inclination Or Intention, But To Procure
Him Bail; For As To His Escape, Mr. Snap Had Taken Such
Precautions That It Appeared Absolutely Impossible.
Book 2 Chapter 2 Pg 52
Great Examples Of Greatness In Wild, Shewn As Well By His
Behaviour To Bagshot As In A Scheme Laid, First, To Impose On
Heartfree By Means Of The Count, And Then To Cheat The Count Of
The Booty.
Wild Undertook Therefore To Extract Some Money From Bagshot, Who,
Notwithstanding The Depredations Made On Him, Had Carried Off A
Pretty Considerable Booty From Their Engagement At Dice The
Preceding Day. He Found Mr. Bagshot In Expectation Of His Bail,
And, With A Countenance Full Of Concern, Which He Could At Any
Time, With Wonderful Art, Put On, Told Him That All Was
Discovered; That The Count Knew Him, And Intended To Prosecute Him
For The Robbery, "Had Not I Exerted (Said He) My Utmost Interest,
And With Great Difficulty Prevailed On Him In Case You Refund The
Money--" "Refund The Money!" Cryed Bagshot, "That Is In Your
Power: For You Know What An Inconsiderable Part Of It Fell To My
Share." "How!" Replied Wild, "Is This Your Gratitude To Me For
Saving Your Life? For Your Own Conscience Must Convince You Of
Your Guilt, And With How Much Certainty The Gentleman Can Give
Evidence Against You." "Marry Come Up!" Quoth Bagshot; "I Believe
My Life Alone Will Not Be In Danger. I Know Those Who Are As
Guilty As Myself. Do You Tell Me Of Conscience?" "Yes, Sirrah!"
Answered Our Hero, Taking Him By The Collar; "And Since You Dare
Threaten Me I Will Shew You The Difference Between Committing A
Robbery And Conniving At It, Which Is All I Can Charge Myself
With. I Own Indeed I Suspected, When You Shewed Me A Sum Of Money,
That You Had Not Come Honestly By It." "How!" Says Bagshot,
Frightened Out Of One Half Of His Wits, And Amazed Out Of The
Other, "Can You Deny?" "Yes, You Rascal," Answered Wild, "I Do
Deny Everything; And Do You Find A Witness To Prove It: And, To
Shew You How Little Apprehension I Have Of Your Power To Hurt Me,
I Will Have You Apprehended This Moment."--At Which Words He
Offered To Break From Him; But Bagshot Laid Hold Of His Skirts,
And, With An Altered Tone And Manner, Begged Him Not To Be So
Impatient. "Refund Then, Sirrah," Cries Wild, "And Perhaps I May
Take Pity On You." "What Must I Refund?" Answered Bagshot. "Every
Farthing In Your Pocket," Replied Wild; "Then I May Have Some
Compassion On You, And Not Only Save Your Life, But, Out Of An
Excess Of Generosity, May Return You Something." At Which Words
Bagshot Seeming To Hesitate, Wild Pretended To Make To The Door,
And Rapt Out An Oath Of Vengeance With So Violent An Emphasis,
That His Friend No Longer Presumed To Balance, But Suffered Wild
To Search His Pockets And Draw Forth All He Found, To The Amount
Of Twenty-One Guineas And A Half, Which Last Piece Our Generous
Book 2 Chapter 2 Pg 53Hero Returned Him Again, Telling Him He Might Now Sleep Secure.
But Advised Him For The Future Never To Threaten His Friends.
Thus Did Our Hero Execute The Greatest Exploits With The Utmost
Ease Imaginable, By Means Of Those Transcendent Qualities Which
Nature Had Indulged Him With, Viz., A Bold Heart, A Thundering
Voice, And A Steady Countenance.
Wild Now Returned To The Count, And Informed Him That He Had Got
Ten Guineas Of Bagshot; For, With Great And Commendable Prudence,
He Sunk The Other Eleven Into His Own Pocket, And Told Him With
That Money He Would Procure Him Bail, Which He After Prevailed On
His Father, And Another Gentleman Of The Same Occupation, To
Become, For Two Guineas Each, So That He Made Lawful Prize Of Six
More, Making Bagshot Debtor For The Whole Ten; For Such Were His
Great Abilities, And So Vast The Compass Of His Understanding,
That He Never Made Any Bargain Without Overreaching (Or, In The
Vulgar Phrase, Cheating) The Person With Whom He Dealt.
The Count Being, By These Means, Enlarged, The First Thing They
Did, In Order To Procure Credit From Tradesmen, Was The Taking A
Handsome House Ready Furnished In One Of The New Streets; In Which
As Soon As The Count Was Settled, They Proceeded To Furnish Him
With Servants And Equipage, And All The Insignia Of A Large Estate
Proper To Impose On Poor Heartfree. These Being All Obtained, Wild
Made A Second Visit To His Friend, And With Much Joy In His
Countenance Acquainted Him That He Had Succeeded In His
Endeavours, And That The Gentleman Had Promised To Deal With Him
For The Jewels Which He Intended To Present His Bride, And Which
Were Designed To Be Very Splendid And Costly; He Therefore
Appointed Him To Go To The Count The Next Morning, And Carry With
Him A Set Of The Richest And Most Beautiful Jewels He Had, Giving
Him At The Same Time Some Hints Of The Count's Ignorance Of That
Commodity, And That He Might Extort What Price Of Him He Pleased;
But Heartfree Told Him, Not Without Some Disdain, That He Scorned
To Take Any Such Advantage; And, After Expressing Much Gratitude
To His Friend For His Recommendation, He Promised To Carry The
Jewels At The Hour And To The Place Appointed.
I Am Sensible That The Reader, If He Hath But The Least Notion Of
Greatness, Must Have Such A Contempt For The Extreme Folly Of This
Fellow, That He Will Be Very Little Concerned At Any Misfortunes
Which May Befal Him In The Sequel; For To Have No Suspicion That
An Old Schoolfellow, With Whom He Had, In His Tenderest Years,
Contracted A Friendship, And Who, On The Accidental Renewing Of
Their Acquaintance, Had Professed The Most Passionate Regard For
Him, Should Be Very Ready To Impose On Him; In Short, To Conceive
That A Friend Should, Of His Own Accord, Without Any View To His
Own Interest, Endeavour To Do Him A Service, Must Argue Such
Weakness Of Mind, Such Ignorance Of The World, And Such An
Artless, Simple, Undesigning Heart, As Must Render The Person
Possessed Of It The Lowest Creature And The Properest Object Of
Contempt Imaginable, In The Eyes Of Every Man Of Understanding And
Discernment.
Book 2 Chapter 2 Pg 54
Wild Remembered That His Friend Heartfree's Faults Were Rather In
His Heart Than In His Head; That, Though He Was So Mean A Fellow
That He Was Never Capable Of Laying A Design To Injure Any Human
Creature, Yet Was He By No Means A Fool, Nor Liable To Any Gross
Imposition, Unless Where His Heart Betrayed Him. He Therefore
Instructed The Count To Take Only One Of His Jewels At The First
Interview, And Reject The Rest As Not Fine Enough, And Order Him
To Provide Some Richer. He Said This Management Would Prevent
Heartfree From Expecting Ready Money For The Jewel He Brought With
Him, Which The Count Was Presently To Dispose Of, And By Means Of
That Money, And His Great Abilities At Cards And Dice, To Get
Together As Large A Sum As Possible, Which He Was To Pay Down To
Heartfree At The Delivery Of The Set Of Jewels, Who Would Be Thus
Void Of All Manner Of Suspicion And Would Not Fail To Give Him
Credit For The Residue.
By This Contrivance, It Will Appear In The Sequel That Wild Did
Not Only Propose To Make The Imposition On Heartfree, Who Was
(Hitherto) Void Of All Suspicion, More Certain; But To Rob The
Count Himself Of This Sum. This Double Method Of Cheating The Very
Tools Who Are Our Instruments To Cheat Others Is The Superlative
Degree Of Greatness, And Is Probably, As Far
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