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] 📗

To Abate,  He Returned To Visit His Friend

Heartfree,  Who Was Now In The Liberties Of The Fleet,  And Appeared

To The Commission Of Bankruptcy Against Him. Here He Met With A

More Cold Reception Than He Himself Had Apprehended. Heartfree Had

Long Entertained Suspicions Of Wild,  But These Suspicions Had From

Time To Time Been Confounded With Circumstances,  And Principally

Smothered With That Amazing Confidence Which Was Indeed The Most

Striking Virtue In Our Hero. Heartfree Was Unwilling To Condemn

His Friend Without Certain Evidence,  And Laid Hold On Every

Probable Semblance To Acquit Him; But The Proposal Made At His

Last Visit Had So Totally Blackened His Character In This Poor

Man's Opinion,  That It Entirely Fixed The Wavering Scale,  And He

No Longer Doubted But That Our Hero Was One Of The Greatest

Villains In The World.

 

Circumstances Of Great Improbability Often Escape Men Who Devour A

Book 3 Chapter 8 Pg 113

Story With Greedy Ears; The Reader,  Therefore,  Cannot Wonder That

Heartfree,  Whose Passions Were So Variously Concerned,  First For

The Fidelity,  And Secondly For The Safety Of His Wife; And,

Lastly,  Who Was So Distracted With Doubt Concerning The Conduct Of

His Friend,  Should At This Relation Pass Unobserved The Incident

Of His Being Committed To The Boat By The Captain Of The

Privateer,  Which He Had At The Time Of His Telling So Lamely

Accounted For; But Now,  When Heartfree Came To Reflect On The

Whole,  And With A High Prepossession Against Wild,  The Absurdity

Of This Fact Glared In His Eyes And Struck Him In The Most

Sensible Manner. At Length A Thought Of Great Horror Suggested

Itself To His Imagination,  And This Was,  Whether The Whole Was Not

A Fiction,  And Wild,  Who Was,  As He Had Learned From His Own

Mouth,  Equal To Any Undertaking How Black Soever,  Had Not Spirited

Away,  Robbed,  And Murdered His Wife.

 

Intolerable As This Apprehension Was,  He Not Only Turned It Round

And Examined It Carefully In His Own Mind,  But Acquainted Young

Friendly With It At Their Next Interview. Friendly,  Who Detested

Wild (From That Envy Probably With Which These Great Characters

Naturally Inspire Low Fellows),  Encouraged These Suspicions So

Much,  That Heartfree Resolved To Attach Our Hero And Carry Him

Before A Magistrate.

 

This Resolution Had Been Some Time Taken,  And Friendly,  With A

Warrant And A Constable,  Had With The Utmost Diligence Searched

Several Days For Our Hero; But,  Whether It Was That In Compliance

With Modern Custom He Had Retired To Spend The Honey-Moon With His

Bride,  The Only Moon Indeed In Which It Is Fashionable Or

Customary For The Married Parties To Have Any Correspondence With

Each Other; Or Perhaps His Habitation Might For Particular Reasons

Be Usually Kept A Secret,  Like Those Of Some Few Great Men Whom

Unfortunately The Law Hath Left Out Of That Reasonable As Well As

Honourable Provision Which It Hath Made For The Security Of The

Persons Of Other Great Men.

 

But Wild Resolved To Perform Works Of Supererogation In The Way Of

Honour,  And,  Though No Hero Is Obliged To Answer The Challenge Of

My Lord Chief Justice,  Or Indeed Of Any Other Magistrate,  But May

With Unblemished Reputation Slide Away From It,  Yet Such Was The

Bravery,  Such The Greatness,  The Magnanimity Of Wild,  That He

Appeared In Person To It.

 

Indeed Envy May Say One Thing,  Which May Lessen The Glory Of This

Action,  Namely,  That The Said Mr. Wild Knew Nothing Of The Said

Warrant Or Challenge; And As Thou Mayest Be Assured,  Reader,  That

The Malicious Fury Will Omit Nothing Which Can Anyways Sully So

Great A Character,  So She Hath Endeavoured To Account For This

Second Visit Of Our Hero To His Friend Heartfree From A Very

Different Motive Than That Of Asserting His Own Innocence.

 

Book 3 Chapter 9 Pg 114

Mr. Wild With Unprecedented Generosity Visits His Friend

Heartfree,  And The Ungrateful Reception He Met With.

 

 

 

 

 

It Hath Been Said Then That Mr. Wild,  Not Being Able On The

Strictest Examination To Find In A Certain Spot Of Human Nature

Called His Own Heart The Least Grain Of That Pitiful Low Quality

Called Honesty,  Had Resolved,  Perhaps A Little Too Generally,  That

There Was No Such Thing. He Therefore Imputed The Resolution With

Which Mr. Heartfree Had So Positively Refused To Concern Himself

In Murder,  Either To A Fear Of Bloodying His Hands Or The

Apprehension Of A Ghost,  Or Lest He Should Make An Additional

Example In That Excellent Book Called God's Revenge Against

Murder; And Doubted Not But He Would (At Least In His Present

Necessity) Agree Without Scruple To A Simple Robbery,  Especially

Where Any Considerable Booty Should Be Proposed,  And The Safety Of

The Attack Plausibly Made Appear; Which If He Could Prevail On Him

To Undertake,  He Would Immediately Afterwards Get Him Impeached,

Convicted,  And Hanged. He No Sooner Therefore Had Discharged His

Duties To Hymen,  And Heard That Heartfree Had Procured Himself The

Liberties Of The Fleet,  Than He Resolved To Visit Him,  And To

Propose A Robbery With All The Allurements Of Profit,  Ease,  And

Safety.

 

This Proposal Was No Sooner Made Than It Was Answered By Heartfree

In The Following Manner:--

 

"I Might Have Hoped The Answer Which I Gave To Your Former Advice

Would Have Prevented Me From The Danger Of Receiving A Second

Affront Of This Kind. An Affront I Call It,  And Surely,  If It Be

So To Call A Man A Villain,  It Can Be No Less To Shew Him You

Suppose Him One. Indeed,  It May Be Wondered How Any Man Can Arrive

At The Boldness,  I May Say Impudence,  Of First Making Such An

Overture To Another; Surely It Is Seldom Done,  Unless To Those Who

Have Previously Betrayed Some Symptoms Of Their Own Baseness. If I

Have Therefore Shewn You Any Such,  These Insults Are More

Pardonable; But I Assure You,  If Such Appear,  They Discharge All

Their Malignance Outwardly,  And Reflect Not Even A Shadow Within;

For To Me Baseness Seems Inconsistent With This Rule,  Of Doing No

Other Person An Injury From Any Motive Or On Any Consideration

Whatever. This,  Sir,  Is The Rule By Which I Am Determined To Walk,

Nor Can That Man Justify Disbelieving Me Who Will Not Own He Walks

Book 3 Chapter 9 Pg 115

Not By It Himself. But,  Whether It Be Allowed To Me Or No,  Or

Whether I Feel The Good Effects Of Its Being Practised By Others,

I Am Resolved To Maintain It; For Surely No Man Can Reap A Benefit

From My Pursuing It Equal To The Comfort I Myself Enjoy: For What

A Ravishing Thought,  How Replete With Extasy,  Must The

Consideration Be,  That Almighty Goodness Is By Its Own Nature

Engaged To Reward Me! How Indifferent Must Such A Persuasion Make

A Man To All The Occurrences Of This Life! What Trifles Must He

Represent To Himself Both The Enjoyments And The Afflictions Of

This World! How Easily Must He Acquiesce Under Missing The Former,

And How Patiently Will He Submit To The Latter,  Who Is Convinced

That His Failing Of A Transitory Imperfect Reward Here Is A Most

Certain Argument Of His Obtaining One Permanent And Complete

Hereafter! Dost Thou Think Then,  Thou Little,  Paltry,  Mean Animal

(With Such Language Did He Treat Our Truly Great Man),  That I Will

Forego Such Comfortable Expectations For Any Pitiful Reward Which

Thou Canst Suggest Or Promise To Me; For That Sordid Lucre For

Which All Pains And Labour Are Undertaken By The Industrious,  And

All Barbarities And Iniquities Committed By The Vile; For A

Worthless Acquisition,  Which Such As Thou Art Can Possess,  Can

Give,  Or Can Take Away?" The Former Part Of This Speech Occasioned

Much Yawning In Our Hero,  But The Latter Roused His Anger; And He

Was Collecting His Rage To Answer,  When Friendly And The

Constable,  Who Had Been Summoned By Heartfree On Wild's First

Appearance,  Entered The Room,  And Seized The Great Man Just As His

Wrath Was Bursting From His Lips.

 

The Dialogue Which Now Ensued Is Not Worth Relating: Wild Was Soon

Acquainted With The Reason Of This Rough Treatment,  And Presently

Conveyed Before A Magistrate.

 

Notwithstanding The Doubts Raised By Mr. Wild's Lawyer On His

Examination,  He Insisting That The Proceeding Was Improper,  For

That A Writ De Homine Replegiando Should Issue,  And On The Return

Of That A Capias In Withernam,  The Justice Inclined To Commitment,

So That Wild Was Driven To Other Methods For His Defence. He

Therefore Acquainted The Justice That There Was A Young Man

Likewise With Him In The Boat,  And Begged That He Might Be Sent

For,  Which Request Was Accordingly Granted,  And The Faithful

Achates (Mr. Fireblood) Was Soon Produced To Bear Testimony For

His Friend,  Which He Did With So Much Becoming Zeal,  And Went

Through His Examination With Such Coherence (Though He Was Forced

To Collect His Evidence From The Hints Given Him By Wild In The

Presence Of The Justice And The Accusers),  That,  As Here Was

Direct Evidence Against Mere Presumption,  Our Hero Was Most

Honourably Acquitted,  And Poor Heartfree Was Charged By The

Justice,  The Audience,  And All Others Who Afterwards Heard The

Story,  With The Blackest Ingratitude,  In Attempting To Take Away

The Life Of A Man To Whom He Had Such Eminent Obligations.

 

Lest So Vast An Effort Of Friendship As This Of Fireblood's Should

Too Violently Surprize The Reader In This Degenerate Age,  It May

Be Proper To Inform Him That,  Beside The Ties Of Engagement In The

Same Employ,  Another Nearer And Stronger Alliance Subsisted

Book 3 Chapter 9 Pg 116

Between Our Hero And This Youth,  Which Latter Was Just Departed

From The Arms Of The Lovely Laetitia When He Received Her

Husband's Message; An Instance Which May Also Serve To Justify

Those Strict Intercourses Of Love And Acquaintance