BOOK VI. defert me: for the whole happiness of my life depends on my being connected with your family by the nearest and tendereft ties in the world. STERL. Why, did not you tell me, not a moment ago, it was abfolutely impoffible for you to marry my daughter? SIR JOHN. True: but you have another daughter, SirSTERL. Well! SIR JOHN. Who has obtained the most absolute dominion over my heart. I have already declared my paffion to her; nay, Mifs Sterling herself is also apprifed of it, and if you will but give a fanction to my present addreffes, the uncommon merit of Mifs Sterling will, no doubt, recommend her to a perfon of equal, if not fuperior rank to my felf, and our families may ftill be allied by my union with Mifs Fanny... STERL. Mighty fine, truly! Why, what the plague do you make of us, Sir John? Do you come to market for my daughters, like fervants at a ftatute-fair? Do уси think that I will fuffer you, or any man in the world, to come into my houfe like the Grand Signior, and throw the handke chief first to one, and then to the other, juft as he pleases? Do you think I drive a kind of African flave-trade with them? and SIR JOHN. A moment's patience, Sir! Nothing but the excess of my paffion for Mifs Fanny fhould have induced me to take any step that had the leaft appearance of difrefpect to any part of your family; and even now I am defirous to atone for my tranfgreffion, by making the most adequate compenfation that lies in my power. STERL Compenfation! what compenfation can you poffibly make in fuch a cafe as this, Sir John? SIR JOHN. Come, come, Mr. Sterling; I know you to be a man of fense, and a man of business, a man of the world. I will deal frankly with you; and you shall fee that I do not defire a change of meafures for my own gratification, without endeavouring to make it advantageous to you. STERL. STERL. What advantage can your inconftancy be to me, Sir John? SIR JOHN. I will tell you, Sir. You know that by the articles at present fubfitting between us, on the day of my marriage with Mifs Sterling, you agree to pay down the grofs fum of eighty thousand pounds. STERL. Well! SIR JOHN. Now if you will but confent to my waving that marriage STERL. I agree to your waving that marriage! Impoffible, Sir John! SIR JOHN. I hope not, Sir; as, on my part, I will agree to wave my right to thirty thousand pounds of the fortune I was to receive with her. STERL. Thirty thoufand, do you fay? SIR JOHN. Yes, Sir; and accept of Mifs Fanny, with fifty thousand instead of fourscore. STERL. Fifty thousand SIR JOHN. Instead of fourfcore. STERI. Why, why, there may be fomething in that. Let me fee; Fanny with fifty thousand inftead of Betfey with fourfcore. But how can this be, Sir John? For you know I am to pay this money into the hands of my Lord Ogleby; who, I believe, betwixt you and me, Sir John, is not overstocked with 'ready money at prefent; and three.fcore thousand of it, you know, is to go to pay off the present incumbrances on the eftate, Sir John. SIR JOHN. That objection is eafily obviated. Ten of the twenty thousand, which would remain as a furplus of the fourscore, after paying off the mortgage, was intended by his lordship for my use, that we might fet off with fome little eat on our marriage; and the other ten for his own. Ten thousand pounds therefore I fhall be able to pay you immediately; and for the remaining twenty thoufand you fhall have a mortgage on that part of the eftate which is to be made over to me, with whatever fecurity you shall require for the regular payment of the interest, till the priacipal is duly difcharged. STERL. Why, to do you juftice, Sir John, there is fomething fair and open in your propofal; and fince I find you do not mean to put an affront upon the family SIR JOHN. Nothing was ever farther from my thoughts, Mr. Sterling. And after all, the whole affair is nothing extraordinary; fuch things happen every day; and as the world had only heard generally of a treaty between the families, when this marriage takes place, nobody will be the wifer, if we have but difcretion enough to keep our own counfel. STERL. True, true; and fince you only transfer from one girl to the other, it is no more than transferring fo much stock, you know. SIR JOHN The very thing. STERL. Odfo! I had quite forgot. We are reckoning without our hoft here. There is another difficulty SIR JOHN. You alarm me. What can that be? STERL. I cannot ftir a step in this business without confulting my fifter Heidelberg. The family has vary great expectations from her, and we must not give her any offence. SIR JOHN. But if you come into this measure, furely fhe will be fo kind as to confent STERL. I do not know that. Betfey is her darling and I cannot tell how far fhe may refent any flight that feems to be offered to her favourite niece. However, I will do the best I can for you. You fhall go and break the matter to her first, and by the time that I may suppose that your rhetoric has prevailed on her to listen to reafon, I will ftep in to reinforce your arguments. SIR JOHN. I will fly to her immediately: you promife me your affiftance? STERL. I do. SIR JOHN. Ten thousand thanks for it! and now fuccefs attend me! STELL STERL. Harkee, Sir John!--Not a word of the thirty thousand to my fifter, Sir John. SIR JOHN. O, I am dumb, I am dumb, Sir. STERL. But, Sir John, one thing more. My lord mus know nothing of this ftroke of friendship between us. SIR JOHN. Not for the world. Let me alone! let me alone! STERL. And when every thing is agreed, we must give each other a bond to be held faft to the bargain. SIR JOHN. To be fure, a bond by all means!" a bond, or whatever you please. STERI.. I fhould have thought of more conditions; he is in a humour to give me every thing. Why, what mere chil dren are your fellows of quality; that cry for a plaything one minute, and throw it by the next! as changeable as the weather, and as uncertain as the ftocks. Special fellows to drive a bargain! and yet they are to take care of the intereft of the nation truly! Here does this whirligig man of fashion offer to give up thirty thoufand pounds in hard money, with as much indifference as if it was a china orange. By this mortgage, I fhall have a hold on his Terra Firma: and if he wants more money, as he certainly will, let him have children by my daughter or no, I fhall have his whole eftate in a net for the benefit of my family. Well; thus it is, that the children of citizens, who have acquired fortunes, prove perfons of fashion; and thus it is, that perfons of fashion, who have ruined their fortunes, reduce the next generation to cits. CLANDESTINE MARRIAGE. STOCK. CHAP. VI. BELCOUR AND STOCKWELL. MR. Belcour, I am rejoiced to fee you; you: are welcome to England. K 4 BELL BEL. I thank you heartily, good Mr. Stockwell; you and I have long converfed at a distance; now we are met, and the plea are this meeting gives me, amply compenfates for the perils I have run through in accomplishing it. STOCK. What perils, Mr. Belcour? I could not have thought you would have met a bad paffage at this time o'year. BEL. Nor did we courier-like, we came pofting to your fhores upon the pinions of the fwifteft gales that ever blew; it is upon English ground all my difficulties have arifen; it is the paffage from the river fide I complain of. STOCK. Ay, indeed! What obstructions can you have met between this and the river fide? BEL. Innumerable! Your town's as full of de files as the island of Corfica; and, I believe, they are as obftinately defended; fo much hurry, buftle, and confufion, on your quays; fo many fugar-casks, porter-butts, and com mon-council men in your streets; that unless a maŋ marched with artillery in his front, it is more than the labour of a Hercules can effect, to make any tolerable way through your town. STOCK. I am forry you have been fo incommoded. BEL. Why, faith, it was all my own fault; accuftomed to a land of flaves, and out of patience with the whole tribe of cuftom houfe extortioners, boat-men, tide-waiters, and water-bailiffs, that befet me on all fides, worse than a fwarm of mufquetoes, I proceeded a little too roughly to brush them away with my rattan; the sturdy rogues took this in dudgeon, and beginning to rebel, the mob chofe different fides, and a furious fcuffle enfued; in the courfe of which, my perfon and apparel fuffered fo much, that I was obliged to ftep into the first tavern to refit, before I could make my approaches in any decent trim. STOCK. Well, Mr. Belcour, it is a rough fample you have had of my countrymen's fpirit; but, I truft, you will not think the worfe of them for it. BEL |