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] 📗
- Author: Henry Fielding
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Over With Clay Can Carry It, Falling Very Little Short Of
Diabolism Itself.
This Method Was Immediately Put In Execution, And The Count The
First Day Took Only A Single Brilliant, Worth About Three Hundred
Pounds, And Ordered A Necklace, Earrings, And Solitaire, Of The Of
Three Thousand More, To Be Prepared By That Day Sevennight.
The Interval Was Employed By Wild In Prosecuting His Scheme Of
Raising A Gang, In Which He Met With Such Success, That Within A
Few Days He Had Levied Several Bold And Resolute Fellows, Fit For
Any Enterprize, How Dangerous Or Great Soever.
We Have Before Remarked That The Truest Mark Of Greatness Is
Insatiability. Wild Had Covenanted With The Count To Receive
Three-Fourths Of The Booty, And Had, At The Same Time, Covenanted
With Himself To Secure The Other Fourth Part Likewise, For Which
He Had Formed A Very Great And Noble Design; But He Now Saw With
Concern That Sum Which Was To Be Received In Hand By Heartfree In
Danger Of Being Absolutely Lost. In Order Therefore To Possess
Himself Of That Likewise, He Contrived That The Jewels Should Be
Brought In The Afternoon, And That Heartfree Should Be Detained
Before The Count Could See Him; So That The Night Should Overtake
Him In His Return, When Two Of His Gang Were Ordered To Attack And
Plunder Him.
Book 2 Chapter 3 Pg 55
Containing Scenes Of Softness, Love, And Honour All In The Great
Stile.
The Count Had Disposed Of His Jewel For Its Full Value, And This
He Had By Dexterity Raised To A Thousand Pounds; This Sum
Therefore He Paid Down To Heartfree, Promising Him The Rest Within
A Month. His House, His Equipage, His Appearance, But, Above All,
A Certain Plausibility In His Voice And Behaviour Would Have
Deceived Any, But One Whose Great And Wise Heart Had Dictated To
Him Something Within, Which Would Have Secured Him From Any Danger
Of Imposition From Without. Heartfree Therefore Did Not In The
Least Scruple Giving Him Credit; But, As He Had In Reality
Procured Those Jewels Of Another, His Own Little Stock Not Being
Able To Furnish Anything So Valuable, He Begged The Count Would Be
So Kind To Give His Note For The Money, Payable At The Time He
Mentioned; Which That Gentleman Did Not In The Least Scruple; So
He Paid Him The Thousand Pound In Specie, And Gave His Note For
Two Thousand Eight Hundred Pounds More To Heartfree, Who Burnt
With Gratitude To Wild For The Noble Customer He Had Recommended
To Him.
As Soon As Heartfree Was Departed, Wild, Who Waited In Another
Room, Came In And Received The Casket From The Count, It Having
Been Agreed Between Them That This Should Be Deposited In His
Hands, As He Was The Original Contriver Of The Scheme, And Was To
Have The Largest Share. Wild, Having Received The Casket, Offered
To Meet The Count Late That Evening To Come To A Division, But
Such Was The Latter's Confidence In The Honour Of Our Hero, That
He Said, If It Was Any Inconvenience To Him, The Next Morning
Would Do Altogether As Well. This Was More Agreeable To Wild, And
Accordingly, An Appointment Being Made For That Purpose, He Set
Out In Haste To Pursue Heartfree To The Place Where The Two
Gentlemen Were Ordered To Meet And Attack Him. Those Gentlemen
With Noble Resolution Executed Their Purpose; They Attacked And
Spoiled The Enemy Of The Whole Sum He Had Received From The Count.
As Soon As The Engagement Was Over, And Heartfree Left Sprawling
On The Ground, Our Hero, Who Wisely Declined Trusting The Booty In
His Friends' Hands, Though He Had Good Experience Of Their Honour,
Made Off After The Conquerors: At Length, They Being All At A
Place Of Safety, Wild, According To A Previous Agreement, Received
Nine-Tenths Of The Booty: The Subordinate Heroes Did Indeed
Profess Some Little Unwillingness (Perhaps More Than Was Strictly
Book 2 Chapter 3 Pg 56Consistent With Honour) To Perform Their Contract; But Wild,
Partly By Argument, But More By Oaths And Threatenings, Prevailed
With Them To Fulfil Their Promise.
Our Hero Having Thus, With Wonderful Address, Brought This Great
And Glorious Action To A Happy Conclusion, Resolved To Relax His
Mind After His Fatigue, In The Conversation Of The Fair. He
Therefore Set Forwards To His Lovely Laetitia; But In His Way
Accidentally Met With A Young Lady Of His Acquaintance, Miss Molly
Straddle, Who Was Taking The Air In Bridges-Street. Miss Molly,
Seeing Mr. Wild, Stopped Him, And With A Familiarity Peculiar To A
Genteel Town Education, Tapped, Or Rather Slapped Him On The Back,
And Asked Him To Treat Her With A Pint Of Wine At A Neighbouring
Tavern. The Hero, Though He Loved The Chaste Laetitia With
Excessive Tenderness, Was Not Of That Low Sniveling Breed Of
Mortals Who, As It Is Generally Expressed, Tye Themselves To A
Womans Apron-Strings; In A Word, Who Are Tainted With That Mean,
Base, Low Vice, Or Virtue As It Is Called, Of Constancy; Therefore
He Immediately Consented, And Attended Her To A Tavern Famous For
Excellent Wine, Known By The Name Of The Rummer And Horseshoe,
Where They Retired To A Room By Themselves. Wild Was Very Vehement
In His Addresses, But To No Purpose; The Young Lady Declared She
Would Grant No Favour Till He Had Made Her A Present; This Was
Immediately Complied With, And The Lover Made As Happy As He Could
Desire.
The Immoderate Fondness Which Wild Entertained For His Dear
Laetitia Would Not Suffer Him To Waste Any Considerable Time With
Miss Straddle. Notwithstanding, Therefore, All The Endearments And
Caresses Of That Young Lady, He Soon Made An Excuse To Go Down
Stairs, And Thence Immediately Set Forward To Laetitia Without
Taking Any Formal Leave Of Miss Straddle, Or Indeed Of The Drawer,
With Whom The Lady Was Afterwards Obliged To Come To An Account
For The Reckoning.
Mr. Wild, On His Arrival At Mr. Snap's, Found Only Miss Doshy At
Home, That Young Lady Being Employed Alone, In Imitation Of
Penelope, With Her Thread Or Worsted, Only With This Difference,
That Whereas Penelope Unravelled By Night What She Had Knit Or
Wove Or Spun By Day, So What Our Young Heroine Unravelled By Day
She Knit Again By Night. In Short, She Was Mending A Pair Of Blue
Stockings With Red Clocks; A Circumstance Which Perhaps We Might
Have Omitted, Had It Not Served To Show That There Are Still Some
Ladies Of This Age Who Imitate The Simplicity Of The Ancients.
Wild Immediately Asked For His Beloved, And Was Informed That She
Was Not At Home. He Then Enquired Where She Was To Be Found, And
Declared He Would Not Depart Till He Had Seen Her, Nay Not Till He
Had Married Her; For, Indeed, His Passion For Her Was Truly
Honourable; In Other Words, He Had So Ungovernable A Desire For
Her Person, That He Would Go Any Length To Satisfy It. He Then
Pulled Out The Casket, Which He Swore Was Full Of The Finest
Jewels, And That He Would Give Them All To Her, With Other
Promises, Which So Prevailed On Miss Doshy, Who Had Not The Common
Book 2 Chapter 3 Pg 57Failure Of Sisters In Envying, And Often Endeavouring To
Disappoint, Each Other's Happiness, That She Desired Mr. Wild To
Sit Down A Few Minutes, Whilst She Endeavoured To Find Her Sister
And To Bring Her To Him. The Lover Thanked Her, And Promised To
Stay Till Her Return; And Miss Doshy, Leaving Mr. Wild To His
Meditations, Fastened Him In The Kitchen By Barring The Door (For
Most Of The Doors In This Mansion Were Made To Be Bolted On The
Outside), And Then, Slapping To The Door Of The House With Great
Violence, Without Going Out At It, She Stole Softly Up Stairs
Where Miss Laetitia Was Engaged In Close Conference With Mr.
Bagshot. Miss Letty, Being Informed By Her Sister In A Whisper Of
What Mr. Wild Had Said, And What He Had Produced, Told Mr. Bagshot
That A Young Lady Was Below To Visit Her Whom She Would Despatch
With All Imaginable Haste And Return To Him. She Desired Him
Therefore To Stay With Patience For Her In The Mean Time, And That
She Would Leave The Door Unlocked, Though Her Papa Would Never
Forgive Her If He Should Discover It. Bagshot Promised On His
Honour Not To Step Without His Chamber; And The Two Young Ladies
Went Softly Down Stairs, When, Pretending First To Make Their
Entry Into The House, They Repaired To The Kitchen, Where Not Even
The Presence Of The Chaste Laetitia Could Restore That Harmony To
The Countenance Of Her Lover Which Miss Theodosia Had Left Him
Possessed Of; For, During Her Absence, He Had Discovered The
Absence Of A Purse Containing Bank-Notes For 900 Pounds, Which Had
Been Taken From Mr. Heartfree, And Which, Indeed, Miss Straddle
Had, In The Warmth Of His Amorous Caresses, Unperceived Drawn From
Him. However, As He Had That Perfect Mastery Of His Temper, Or
Rather Of His Muscles, Which Is As Necessary To The Forming A
Great Character As To The Personating It On The Stage, He Soon
Conveyed A Smile Into His Countenance, And, Sealing As Well His
Misfortune As His Chagrin At It, Began To Pay Honourable Addresses
To Miss Letty. This Young Lady, Among Many Other Good Ingredients
Had Three Very Predominant Passions; To Wit, Vanity, Wantonness,
And Avarice. To Satisfy The First Of These She Employed Mr. Smirk
And Company; To The Second, Mr. Bagshot And Company; And Our Hero
Had The Honour And Happiness Of Solely Engrossing The Third. Now,
These Three Sorts Of Lovers She Had Very Different Ways Of
Entertaining. With The First She Was All Gay And Coquette; With
The Second All Fond And Rampant; And With The Last All Cold And
Reserved. She Therefore Told Mr. Wild, With A Most Composed
Aspect, That She Was Glad He Had Repented Of His Manner Of
Treating Her At Their Last Interview, Where His Behaviour Was So
Monstrous That She Had Resolved Never To See Him Any More; That
She Was Afraid Her Own Sex Would Hardly Pardon Her The Weakness
She Was Guilty Of In Receding From That Resolution, Which She Was
Persuaded She Never Should Have Brought Herself To, Had Not Her
Sister, Who Was There To Confirm What She Said (As She Did With
Many Oaths), Betrayed Her Into His Company, By Pretending It Was
Another Person To Visit Her: But, However, As He Now Thought
Proper To Give Her More Convincing Proofs Of
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