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] 📗

Which So

Commonly Subsist In Modern History Between The Husband And

Gallant,  Displaying The Vast Force Of Friendship Contracted By

This More Honourable Than Legal Alliance,  Which Is Thought To Be

At Present One Of The Strongest Bonds Of Amity Between Great Men,

And The Most Reputable As Well As Easy Way To Their Favour.

 

Four Months Had Now Passed Since Heartfree's First Confinement,

And His Affairs Had Begun To Wear A More Benign Aspect; But They

Were A Good Deal Injured By This Attempt On Wild (So Dangerous Is

Any Attack On A Great Man),  Several Of His Neighbours,  And

Particularly One Or Two Of His Own Trade,  Industriously

Endeavouring,  From Their Bitter Animosity Against Such Kind Of

Iniquity,  To Spread And Exaggerate His Ingratitude As Much As

Possible; Not In The Least Scrupling,  In The Violent Ardour Of

Their Indignation,  To Add Some Small Circumstances Of Their Own

Knowledge Of The Many Obligations Conferred On Heartfree By Wild.

To All These Scandals He Quietly Submitted,  Comforting Himself In

The Consciousness Of His Own Innocence,  And Confiding In Time,  The

Sure Friend Of Justice,  To Acquit Him.

 

Book 3 Chapter 10 Pg 117

A Scheme So Deeply Laid,  That It Shames All The Politics Of This

Our Age; With Digression And Subdigression.

 

 

 

 

 

Wild Having Now,  To The Hatred He Bore Heartfree On Account Of

Those Injuries He Had Done Him,  An Additional Spur From This

Injury Received (For So It Appeared To Him,  Who,  No More Than The

Most Ignorant,  Considered How Truly He Deserved It),  Applied His

Utmost Industry To Accomplish The Ruin Of One Whose Very Name

Sounded Odious In His Ears; When Luckily A Scheme Arose In His

Imagination Which Not Only Promised To Effect It Securely,  But

(Which Pleased Him Most) By Means Of The Mischief He Had Already

Done Him; And Which Would At Once Load Him With The Imputation Of

Having Committed What He Himself Had Done To Him,  And Would Bring

On Him The Severest Punishment For A Fact Of Which He Was Not Only

Book 3 Chapter 10 Pg 118

Innocent,  But Had Already So Greatly Suffered By. And This Was No

Other Than To Charge Him With Having Conveyed Away His Wife,  With

His Most Valuable Effects,  In Order To Defraud His Creditors.

 

He No Sooner Started This Thought Than He Immediately Resolved On

Putting It In Execution. What Remained To Consider Was Only The

Quomodo,  And The Person Or Tool To Be Employed; For The Stage Of

The World Differs From That In Drury-Lane Principally In This--

That Whereas,  On The Latter,  The Hero Or Chief Figure Is Almost

Continually Before Your Eyes,  Whilst The Under-Actors Are Not Seen

Above Once In An Evening; Now,  On The Former,  The Hero Or Great

Man Is Always Behind The Curtain,  And Seldom Or Never Appears Or

Doth Anything In His Own Person. He Doth Indeed,  In This Grand

Drama,  Rather Perform The Part Of The Prompter,  And Doth Instruct

The Well-Drest Figures,  Who Are Strutting In Public On The Stage,

What To Say And Do. To Say The Truth,  A Puppet-Show Will

Illustrate Our Meaning Better,  Where It Is The Master Of The Show

(The Great Man) Who Dances And Moves Everything,  Whether It Be The

King Of Muscovy Or Whatever Other Potentate Alias Puppet Which We

Behold On The Stage; But He Himself Keeps Wisely Out Of Sight:

For,  Should He Once Appear,  The Whole Motion Would Be At An End.

Not That Any One Is Ignorant Of His Being There,  Or Supposes That

The Puppets Are Not Mere Sticks Of Wood,  And He Himself The Sole

Mover; But As This (Though Every One Knows It) Doth Not Appear

Visibly,  I.E.,  To Their Eyes,  No One Is Ashamed Of Consenting To

Be Imposed Upon; Of Helping On The Drama,  By Calling The Several

Sticks Or Puppets By The Names Which The Master Hath Allotted To

Them,  And By Assigning To Each The Character Which The Great Man

Is Pleased They Shall Move In,  Or Rather In Which He Himself Is

Pleased To Move Them.

 

It Would Be To Suppose Thee,  Gentle Reader,  One Of Very Little

Knowledge In This World,  To Imagine Them Hast Never Seen Some Of

These Puppet-Shows Which Are So Frequently Acted On The Great

Stage; But Though Thou Shouldst Have Resided All Thy Days In Those

Remote Parts Of This Island Which Great Men Seldom Visit,  Yet,  If

Thou Hast Any Penetration,  Thou Must Have Had Some Occasions To

Admire Both The Solemnity Of Countenance In The Actor And The

Gravity In The Spectator,  While Some Of Those Farces Are Carried

On Which Are Acted Almost Daily In Every Village In The Kingdom.

He Must Have A Very Despicable Opinion Of Mankind Indeed Who Can

Conceive Them To Be Imposed On As Often As They Appear To Be So.

The Truth Is,  They Are In The Same Situation With The Readers Of

Romances; Who,  Though They Know The Whole To Be One Entire

Fiction,  Nevertheless Agree To Be Deceived; And,  As These Find

Amusement,  So Do The Others Find Ease And Convenience In This

Concurrence. But,  This Being A Subdigression,  I Return To My

Digression.

 

A Great Man Ought To Do His Business By Others; To Employ Hands,

As We Have Before Said,  To His Purposes,  And Keep Himself As Much

Behind The Curtain As Possible; And Though It Must Be Acknowledged

That Two Very Great Men,  Whose Names Will Be Both Recorded In

History,  Did In These Latter Times Come Forth Themselves On The

Book 3 Chapter 10 Pg 119

Stage,  And Did Hack And Hew And Lay Each Other Most Cruelly Open

To The Diversion Of The Spectators,  Yet This Must Be Mentioned

Rather As An Example Of Avoidance Than Imitation,  And Is To Be

Ascribed To The Number Of Those Instances Which Serve To Evince

The Truth Of These Maxims: Nemo Mortalium Omnibus Horis Sapit. Ira

Furor Brevis Est,  &C.

 

 

Book 3 Chapter 11 Pg 120

New Instances Of Friendly's Folly,  Etc.

 

 

 

 

 

To Return To My History,  Which,  Having Rested Itself A Little,  Is

Now Ready To Proceed On Its Journey: Fireblood Was The Person

Chosen By Wild For This Service. He Had,  On A Late Occasion,

Experienced The Talents Of This Youth For A Good Round Perjury. He

Immediately,  Therefore,  Found Him Out,  And Proposed It To Him;

When,  Receiving His Instant Assent,  They Consulted Together,  And

Soon Framed An Evidence,  Which,  Being Communicated To One Of The

Most Bitter And Severe Creditors Of Heartfree,  By Him Laid Before

A Magistrate,  And Attested By The Oath Of Fireblood,  The Justice

Granted His Warrant: And Heartfree Was Accordingly Apprehended And

Brought Before Him.

 

When The Officers Came For This Poor Wretch They Found Him Meanly

Diverting Himself With His Little Children,  The Younger Of Whom

Sat On His Knees,  And The Elder Was Playing At A Little Distance

From Him With Friendly. One Of The Officers,  Who Was A Very Good

Sort Of A Man,  But One Very Laudably Severe In His Office,  After

Acquainting Heartfree With His Errand,  Bad Him Come Along And Be

D--D,  And Leave Those Little Bastards,  For So,  He Said,  He

Supposed They Were,  For A Legacy To The Parish. Heartfree Was Much

Surprized At Hearing There Was A Warrant For Felony Against Him;

But He Shewed Less Concern Than Friendly Did In His Countenance.

The Elder Daughter,  When She Saw The Officer Lay Hold On Her

Father,  Immediately Quitted Her Play,  And,  Running To Him And

Bursting Into Tears,  Cried Out,  "You Shall Not Hurt Poor Papa."

One Of The Other Ruffians Offered To Take The Little One Rudely

From His Knees; But Heartfree Started Up,  And,  Catching The Fellow

By The Collar,  Dashed His Head So Violently Against The Wall,

That,  Had He Had Any Brains,  He Might Possibly Have Lost Them By

Book 3 Chapter 11 Pg 121

The Blow.

 

The Officer,  Like Most Of Those Heroic Spirits Who Insult Men In

Adversity,  Had Some Prudence Mixt With His Zeal For Justice.

Seeing,  Therefore,  This Rough Treatment Of His Companion,  He Began

To Pursue More Gentle Methods,  And Very Civilly Desired Mr.

Heartfree To Go With Him,  Seeing He Was An Officer,  And Obliged To

Execute His Warrant; That He Was Sorry For His Misfortune,  And

Hoped He Would Be Acquitted. The Other Answered,  "He Should

Patiently Submit To The Laws Of His Country,  And Would Attend Him

Whither He Was Ordered To Conduct Him;" Then,  Taking Leave Of His

Children With A Tender Kiss,  He Recommended Them To The Care Of

Friendly,  Who Promised To See Them Safe Home,  And Then To Attend

Him At The Justice's,  Whose Name And Abode He Had Learned Of The

Constable.

 

Friendly Arrived At The Magistrate's House Just As That Gentleman

Had Signed The Mittimus Against His Friend; For The Evidence Of

Fireblood Was So Clear And Strong,  And The Justice Was So Incensed

Against Heartfree,  And So Convinced Of His Guilt,  That He Would

Hardly Hear Him Speak In His Own Defence,  Which