Part 21 (1/2)

Though he mastered her chastity, he could not quiet her conscience, which incessantly upbraided her with breach of the e vow; nor did her undoer escape without a share of the reproaches suggested by her penitence and re with her disease, and perhaps with the rave; when her husband returned frodom, in consequence of her earnest request, joined to the information of her friends, who had written to hiood man was afflicted beyonda hom he had always tenderly loved; but ere his e alone with her, accosted hi towards that dissolution froh the prospect of futurity is altogether clouded and uncertain, e into eternity without unburdeningall the atoneuilty of, and the wrongs I have coave me cause of complaint You stand amazed at this preamble, but alas! hoill you be shocked when I own that I have betrayed you in your absence, that I have trespassed against God and e vow, and fallen from the pride and confidence of virtue to the most abject state of vice; yes, I have been unfaithful to your bed, having fallen a victie of uarded moments Fathom is the wretch who hath thus injured your honour, and ruinedto plead in alleviation of h, at any other juncture, I could not expect your forgiveness, yet, as I now touch the goal of life, I trust in your huhten the sorrows of my soul, and those prayers which I hope will entitle race”

The poor husband was so rief and confusion at this unexpected address that he could not recollect hi a hollow groan, ”I will not,” said he, ”aggravate your sufferings, by reproaching you with h your conduct hath been but an ill return for all my tenderness and esteem I look upon it as a trial of nation; ive you from my heart, and fervently pray that your repentance , he approached her bedside, and eenerous condescension diffused such a composure upon her spirits as tended to the ease and refreshment of nature, which had been almost exhausted by disease and vexation, certain it is, that fro efforts, and hourly gained ground, until her health was pretty well re-established

This recovery was so far beyond the husband's expectation, that he began to make very serious reflections on the event, and even to wish he had not been quite so precipitate in pardoning the backslidings of his wife; for, though he could not withhold his co penitent, he did not at all relish the thoughts of cohabiting, as usual, with a wife self-convicted of the violation of the matrimonial contract; he therefore considered his declaration as no more than a provisional pardon, to take place on condition of her immediate death, and, in a little time, not only communicated to her his sentiments on this subject, but also separated himself from her company, secured the evidence of her maid, who had been confidant in her aainst our adventurer, whose behaviour to his wife he did not fail to pro circumstances By these means the doctor's na hi his advice

CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

HIS ECLIPSE, AND GRADUAL DECLINATION

Misfortunes seldole; upon the back of this hue and cry he unluckily prescribed phleboto the operation, and quarrelled with his landlord the apothecary, who charged hiood offices he had done hi of his career, and desired he would provide hi upon the heels of one another, had a veryeffect upon his practice At every tea-table his name was occasionally put to the torture, with that of the vile creature whoranted by all those female casuists, that she must have made the first advances, for it could not be supposed that anyschemes for the ruin of a person whose attractions were so slender, especially considering the ill state of her health, a circuood-huularity, and a , and many of the herself into such a pres, where the apothecary or his wife assisted, Fathoratitude, and malpractice were canvassed; in all clubs of married men he was mentioned with marks of abhorrence and detestation, and everywith his reproach Instances of his ignorance and presuned for the purpose of defamation, so that our hero was exactly in the situation of a horse at full speed for the plate, is thrown from the saddle in the middle of the race, and left without sense or h rapid, had been so short, that he could not be supposed to have laid up store against such a day of trouble, and as he still cherished hopes of sur those obstacles which had so suddenly started up in his way, he would not resign his equipage nor retrench his expenses, but appeared as usual in all public places with that serenity and confidence of feature which he had never deposited, and maintained his external pomp upon the little he had reserved in the days of his prosperity, and the credit he had acquired by the punctuality of his former payments Both these funds, however, failed in a very little tiulf that sed up all his ready s of his practice were scarce sufficient to answer his pocket expenses, which now increased in proportion to the decrease of business, for, as he had more idle tiht he hadhis own sex, who alone were able to support hily listed himself in several clubs, and endeavoured to h this was but an indifferent resource, for almost all his patients of this class were such as either could not, or would not, properly recoered in this situation, without going upwards or doards, floating like a wisp of straw at the turning of the tide, until he could no longer amuse the person of whom he had hired his coach-horses, or postpone the other demands, which multiplied upon him every day Then was his chariot overturned with a hideous crash, and his face so lass, which went to pieces in the fall, that he appeared in the coffee-house with half a dozen black patches upon his countenance, gave a most circumstantial detail of the risk he had run, and declared, that he did not believe he should ever hazard hie

Soon after this accident, he took an opportunity of telling his friends, in the same public place, that he had turned away his footman on account of his drunkenness, and was resolved, for the future, to keep none but enerally impudent, lazy, debauched, or dishonest; and after all, neither so neat, handy, or agreeable as the other sex In the rear of this resolution, he shi+fted his lodgings into a private court, being distracted with the din of carriages, that disturb the inhabitants who live towards the open street; and gave his acquaintance to understand, that he had a medical work upon the anvil, which he could not finish without being indulged in silence and tranquillity In effect, he gradually put on the exteriors of an author His watch, with an horizontal movement by Graham, which he had often mentioned, and shown as a very curious piece of workan, about this time, to be very much out of order, and was committed to the care of a enerated into a major; he sometimes appeared without a sword, and was even observed in public with a second day's shi+rt At last, his clothes became rusty; and when he walked about the streets, his head turned round in a surprising manner, by an involuntary motion in his neck, which he had contracted by a habit of reconnoitring the ground, that he reeable encounters

Fatho the hill of fortune with an acquired gravitation, strove to catch at every twig, in order to stop or retard his descent He now regretted the opportunities he had neglected, ofone of several women of moderate fortune, who had made advances to hi himself into a lower path of life than any he had hitherto trod, to keep hihter, whom he meant to espouse While he exerted hi from a place about thirty e-coach, with a young woman of a very homely appearance, whom, from the driver's information, he understood to be the niece of a country justice, and daughter of a soap-boiler, who had lived and died in London, and left her, in her infancy, sole heiress of his effects, which auardian, had kept her sacred fro to effect a match betwixt her and his own son; and it ith much difficulty he had consented to this journey, which she had undertaken as a visit to her own ht with these anecdotes, Fathoood-hue of an acquaintance, in which capacity he visited her during the term of her residence in London; and, as there was no time to be lost, declared his honourable intentions He had such a e, in point of personal accoentleman as destined for her husband, that she did not disdain his proposals; and, before she set out for the country, he had ress in her heart, that the day was actually fixed for their nuptials, on which he faithfully promised to carry her off in a coach and six How to raise money for this expedition was all the difficulty that remained; for, by this tiether exhausted Upon a very pressing occasion, he had formerly applied himself to a certain wealthy quack, who had relieved his necessities by lending hi communicated to him a secret medicine, which he affirmed to be the most admirable specific that ever was invented

The nostrum had been used, and, luckily for him, succeeded in the trial; so that the ean to reflect, that this sareat many remedies, equally efficacious, would certainly become a formidable rival to him in his business, should he ever be able to extricate himself froestions, he resolved to keep our adventurer's head under water, by ly he had, from time to time, accommodated him with small trifles, which barely served to support his existence, and even for these had taken notes of hand, that he e over his head, in case he should prove insolent or refractory To this benefactor Fathouineas, which he solicited with the more confidence, as that suations The quack would advance thethe sche explained, he complied with Ferdinand's request; but, at the sa lady's uncle, with a full account of the whole conspiracy; so that, when the doctor arrived at the inn, according to appointave hione fifty miles farther into the country to visit a relation This was a grievous disappointment to Fathoh mere levity and caprice, and was not undeceived till several e with her cousin, when, at an accidentalin London, she explained the story of the secret intelligence, and excused her e and compulsion

Had our hero been really enaht have probably acco the steps she had taken But this was not the case His passion was of a different nature, and the object of it effectually without his reach With regard to his appetite for women, as it was an infirmity of his constitution, which he could not overcoreat expense, he had of late chosen a housekeeper from the hundreds of Drury, and, to avoid scandal, allowed her to assume his name As to the intimation which had been sent to the country justice, he immediately ieance accordingly; but, in the meantime, suppressed his resentment, because he in some measure depended upon hi the forwardness and plausibility of our hero, which ht, one time or other, render him independent, put a stop to those supplies, on pretence of finding theoodwill to Fathom, undertook to procure for him such letters of recommendation as would infallibly make his fortune in the West Indies, and even to set hie Ferdinand perceived his drift, and thanked hienerous offer, which he would not fail to consider with all due deliberation; though he was detered to teht not incur the displeasure of this ainst him in Doctors' Commons drew near a period, and the lawyers were clamorous for e which his cause had lately acquired by the death of his antagonist's chief evidence; he therefore, seeing every other channel shut up, began to doubt, whether the risk of being apprehended or slain in the character of a highway acquitted of a charge which had ruined his reputation and fortune, and actually entertained thoughts of taking the air on Hounslow Heath, when he was diverted froular adventure

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

AFTER DIVERS UNSUCCESSFUL EFFORTS, HE HAS RECOURSE TO THE MATRIMONIAL NOOSE

Chancing to meet with one of his acquaintance at a certain coffee-house, the discourse turned upon the characters of ht upon the carpet a certain old gentlewoman of such a rapacious disposition, that, like a jackdaw, she never beheld any metalline substance, without an inclination, and even an effort to secrete it for her own use and conteinally produced froence, inasmuch as her circumstances had been always affluent, and she was now possessed of a considerable su which, the avarice of her nature teh few people could live under the sainal, who, rather than be idle, had often filched pieces of her own plate, and charged her servants with the theft, or hinted suspicion of her lodgers Fathom, struck with the description, soon perceived how this woe; and after having obtained sufficient intelligence, on pretence of satisfying his curiosity, he visited the , in consequence of a bill at her door, and actually hired an apartment in her house, whither he forthwith repaired with his ina before he perceived that his landlady's character had not been misrepresented He fed her distemper with divers inconsiderable trinkets, such as copper medals, corkscrews, odd buckles, and a paltry seal set in silver, which were, at different times, laid as baits for her infirerness, which he and his Dulcinea took pleasure in observing from an unsuspected place

Thus confirth, took an opportunity of exposing a ed to his reat satisfaction, in the absence of his help to instruction, she soon returned, and began to raise a terrible clamour about the loss of her watch; upon which she was condoled by her landlady, who seerity of the maid, and even proposed that Mrs Fathom should apply to some justice of the peace for a warrant to search the servant's trunk The lady thanked her for the good advice, in coistrate, who granted a search warrant, not against the maid, but the mistress; and she, in a little time, returned with the constable at her back

These precautions being taken, Doctor Fathoentlewoave her to understand, that he had undoubted proofs of her having secreted, not only the watch, but also several other odd things of less consequence, which he lost since his residence in her house He then showed the warrant he had obtained against her, and asked if she had anything to offer why the constable should not do his duty? Inexpressible were the anguish and confusion of the defendant, when she found herself thus entrapped, and reflected, that she was on the point of being detected of felony; for she at once concluded, that the snare was laid for her, and knew that the officer of justice would certainly find the unlucky watch in one of the drawers of her scrutoire

Tortured with these suggestions, afraid of public disgrace, and dreading the consequence of legal conviction, she fell on her knees before the injured Fatho imputed her crime to the temptations of necessity, implored his co she had taken, and begged he would disht not suffer in the eye of the world

Ferdinand, with a severity of countenance purposely assuent, he had charity enough to forgive what she had done; but, as he knew her circuravation of her guilt, which was certainly the effect of a vicious inclination; and he was therefore determined to prosecute her with the utmost severity of the law, as an exaht be infected with the sa hied her note, and offered hiuineas, if he would compromise the affair, and drop the prosecution, so as that her character should sustain no daumentation, he consented to accept of double the su instantly paid in East India bonds, Doctor Fathom told the constable, that the watch was found; and for once her reputation was patched up This seasonable supply enabled our hero to stand trial with his adversary, as nonsuited, and also to mend his external appearance, which of late had not been extreood fortune, a trades no other probable means to recover hisho lodged at his house, and was said to be in possession of a considerable fortune

Considering the steps that were taken, it would have been almost impossible for him to miscarry in his addresses The lady had been bred in the country, was unacquainted with the world, and of a very sanguine disposition, which her short trial of matrimony had not served to cool