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] 📗

On Mrs. Heartfree Home,  And,  After Many Protestations Of

Friendship And Service To Her Husband,  Took His Leave,  And

Promised To Visit Her Early In The Morning,  And To Conduct Her

Back To Mr. Snap's.

 

Wild Now Retired To A Night-Cellar,  Where He Found Several Of His

Acquaintance,  With Whom He Spent The Remaining Part Of The Night

In Revelling; Nor Did The Least Compassion For Heartfree's

Book 2 Chapter 9 Pg 74

Misfortunes Disturb The Pleasure Of His Cups. So Truly Great Was

His Soul That It Was Absolutely Composed,  Save That An

Apprehension Of Miss Tishy's Making Some Discovery (As She Was

Then In No Good Temper Towards Him) A Little Ruffled And

Disquieted The Perfect Serenity He Would Otherwise Have Enjoyed.

As He Had,  Therefore,  No Opportunity Of Seeing Her That Evening,

He Wrote Her A Letter Full Of Ten Thousand Protestations Of

Honourable Love,  And (Which He More Depended On) Containing As

Many Promises,  In Order To Bring The Young Lady Into Good Humour,

Without Acquainting Her In The Least With His Suspicion,  Or Giving

Her Any Caution; For It Was His Constant Maxim Never To Put It

Into Any One's Head To Do You A Mischief By Acquainting Him That

It Is In His Power.

 

We Must Now Return To Mrs. Heartfree,  Who Past A Sleepless Night

In As Great Agonies And Horror For The Absence Of Her Husband As A

Fine Well-Bred Woman Would Feel At The Return Of Hers From A Long

Voyage Or Journey. In The Morning The Children Being Brought To

Her,  The Eldest Asked Where Dear Papa Was? At Which She Could Not

Refrain From Bursting Into Tears. The Child,  Perceiving It,  Said,

 

"Don't Cry,  Mamma; I Am Sure Papa Would Not Stay Abroad If He

Could Help It." At These Words She Caught The Child In Her Arms,

And,  Throwing Herself Into The Chair In An Agony Of Passion,  Cried

Out,

 

"No,  My Child; Nor Shall All The Malice Of Hell Keep Us Long

Asunder."

 

These Are Circumstances Which We Should Not,  For The Amusement Of

Six Or Seven Readers Only,  Have Inserted,  Had They Not Served To

Shew That There Are Weaknesses In Vulgar Life To Which Great Minds

Are So Entirely Strangers That They Have Not Even An Idea Of Them;

And,  Secondly,  By Exposing The Folly Of This Low Creature,  To Set

Off And Elevate That Greatness Of Which We Endeavour To Draw A

True Portrait In This History.

 

Wild,  Entering The Room,  Found The Mother With One Child In Her

Arms,  And The Other At Her Knee. After Paying Her His Compliments,

He Desired Her To Dismiss The Children And Servant,  For That He

Had Something Of The Greatest Moment To Impart To Her.

 

She Immediately Complied With His Request,  And,  The Door Being

Shut,  Asked Him With Great Eagerness If He Had Succeeded In His

Intentions Of Procuring The Bail. He Answered He Had Not

Endeavoured At It Yet,  For A Scheme Had Entered Into His Head By

Which She Might Certainly Preserve Her Husband,  Herself,  And Her

Family. In Order To Which He Advised Her Instantly To Remove With

The Most Valuable Jewels She Had To Holland,  Before Any Statute Of

Bankruptcy Issued To Prevent Her; That He Would Himself Attend Her

Thither And Place Her In Safety,  And Then Return To Deliver Her

Husband,  Who Would Be Thus Easily Able To Satisfy His Creditors.

He Added That He Was That Instant Come From Snap's,  Where He Had

Communicated The Scheme To Heartfree,  Who Had Greatly Approved Of

Book 2 Chapter 9 Pg 75

It,  And Desired Her To Put It In Execution Without Delay,

Concluding That A Moment Was Not To Be Lost.

 

The Mention Of Her Husband's Approbation Left No Doubt In This

Poor Woman's Breast; She Only Desired A Moment's Time To Pay Him A

Visit In Order To Take Her Leave. But Wild Peremptorily Refused;

He Said By Every Moment's Delay She Risqued The Ruin Of Her

Family; That She Would Be Absent Only A Few Days From Him,  For

That The Moment He Had Lodged Her Safe In Holland,  He Would

Return,  Procure Her Husband His Liberty,  And Bring Him To Her. I

Have Been The Unfortunate,  The Innocent Cause Of All My Dear Tom's

Calamity,  Madam,  Said He,  And I Will Perish With Him Or See Him

Out Of It. Mrs. Heartfree Overflowed With Acknowledgments Of His

Goodness,  But Still Begged For The Shortest Interview With Her

Husband. Wild Declared That A Minute's Delay Might Be Fatal; And

Added,  Though With The Voice Of Sorrow Rather Than Of Anger,  That

If She Had Not Resolution Enough To Execute The Commands He

Brought Her From Her Husband,  His Ruin Would Lie At Her Door; And,

For His Own Part,  He Must Give Up Any Farther Meddling In His

Affairs.

 

She Then Proposed To Take Her Children With Her; But Wild Would

Not Permit It,  Saying They Would Only Retard Their Flight,  And

That It Would Be Properer For Her Husband To Bring Them. He At

Length Absolutely Prevailed On This Poor Woman,  Who Immediately

Packed Up The Most Valuable Effects She Could Find,  And,  After

Taking A Tender Leave Of Her Infants,  Earnestly Recommended Them

To The Care Of A Very Faithful Servant. Then They Called A

Hackney-Coach,  Which Conveyed Them To An Inn,  Where They Were

Furnished With A Chariot And Six,  In Which They Set Forward For

Harwich.

 

Wild Rode With An Exulting Heart,  Secure,  As He Now Thought

Himself,  Of The Possession Of That Lovely Woman,  Together With A

Rich Cargo. In Short,  Be Enjoyed In His Mind All The Happiness

Which Unbridled Lust And Rapacious Avarice,  Could Promise Him. As

To The Poor Creature Who Was To Satisfy These Passions,  Her Whole

Soul Was Employed In Reflecting On The Condition Of Her Husband

And Children. A Single Word Scarce Escaped Her Lips,  Though Many A

Tear Gushed From Her Brilliant Eyes,  Which,  If I May Use A Coarse

Expression,  Served Only As Delicious Sauce To Heighten The

Appetite Of Wild.

Book 2 Chapter 10 Pg 76

Sea-Adventures Very New And Surprising.

 

 

 

 

 

When They Arrived At Harwich They Found A Vessel,  Which Had Put In

There,  Just Ready To Depart For Rotterdam. So They Went

Immediately On Board,  And Sailed With A Fair Wind; But They Had

Hardly Proceeded Out Of Sight Of Land When A Sudden And Violent

Storm Arose And Drove Them To The Southwest; Insomuch That The

Captain Apprehended It Impossible To Avoid The Goodwin Sands,  And

He And All His Crew Gave Themselves Up For Lost. Mrs. Heartfree,

Who Had No Other Apprehensions From Death But Those Of Leaving Her

Dear Husband And Children,  Fell On Her Knees To Beseech The

Almighty's Favour,  When Wild,  With A Contempt Of Danger Truly

Great,  Took A Resolution As Worthy To Be Admired Perhaps As Any

Recorded Of The Bravest Hero,  Ancient Or Modern; A Resolution

Which Plainly Proved Him To Have These Two Qualifications So

Necessary To A Hero,  To Be Superior To All The Energies Of Fear Or

Pity. He Saw The Tyrant Death Ready To Rescue From Him His

Intended Prey,  Which He Had Yet Devoured Only In Imagination. He

Therefore Swore He Would Prevent Him,  And Immediately Attacked The

Poor Wretch,  Who Was In The Utmost Agonies Of Despair,  First With

Solicitation,  And Afterwards With Force.

 

Mrs. Heartfree,  The Moment She Understood His Meaning,  Which,  In

Her Present Temper Of Mind,  And In The Opinion She Held Of Him,

She Did Not Immediately,  Rejected Him With All The Repulses Which

Indignation And Horror Could Animate: But When He Attempted

Violence She Filled The Cabin With Her Shrieks,  Which Were So

Vehement That They Reached The Ears Of The Captain,  The Storm At

This Time Luckily Abating. This Man,  Who Was A Brute Rather From

His Education And The Element He Inhabited Than From Nature,  Ran

Hastily Down To Her Assistance,  And,  Finding Her Struggling On The

Ground With Our Hero,  He Presently Rescued Her From Her Intended

Ravisher,  Who Was Soon Obliged To Quit The Woman,  In Order To

Engage With Her Lusty Champion,  Who Spared Neither Pains Nor Blows

In The Assistance Of His Fair Passenger.

 

When The Short Battle Was Over,  In Which Our Hero,  Had He Not Been

Overpowered With Numbers,  Who Came Down On Their Captain's Side,

Would Have Been Victorious,  The Captain Rapped Out A Hearty Oath,

And Asked Wild,  If He Had No More Christianity In Him Than To

Ravish A Woman In A Storm? To Which The Other Greatly And Sullenly

Answered,  "It Was Very Well; But D--N Him If He Had Not

Satisfaction The Moment They Came On Shore." The Captain With

Great Scorn Replied,  "Kiss,---" &C.,  And Then,  Forcing Wild Out

Of The Cabbin,  He,  At Mrs. Heartfree's Request,  Locked Her Into

It,  And Returned To The Care Of His Ship.

 

The Storm Was Now Entirely Ceased,  And Nothing Remained But The

Usual Ruffling Of The Sea After It,  When One Of The Sailors Spied

Book 2 Chapter 10 Pg 77

A Sail At A Distance,  Which The Captain Wisely Apprehended Might

Be A Privateer (For We Were Then Engaged In A War With France),

And Immediately Ordered All The Sail Possible To Be Crowded; But

His Caution Was In Vain,  For The Little Wind Which Then Blew Was

Directly Adverse,  So That The Ship Bore Down Upon Them,  And Soon

Appeared To Be What The Captain Had Feared,  A French Privateer. He

Was In No Condition Of Resistance,  And Immediately Struck On Her

Firing The First Gun. The Captain Of The Frenchman,  With Several

Of His Hands,  Came On Board The English Vessel,  Which They Rifled

Of Everything Valuable,  And,  Amongst The Rest,  Of Poor Mrs.

Heartfree's Whole Cargo; And Then Taking The Crew,  Together With

The Two Passengers,  Aboard His Own Ship,  He