Clarissa, Volume 6 - The History Of A Young Lady

Clarissa, Volume 6 − The History Of A Young Lady 125
In then suppose she slily pops, when none of her friends are near her: And if, after two or three ups and
downs, her pretty head turns giddy, and she throws herself out of the coach when at its elevation, and so
dashes out her pretty little brains, who can help it?−−And would you hang the poor fellow, whose professed
trade it was to set the pretty little creature a flying?
'Tis true, this pretty little miss, being a very pretty little miss, being a very much−admired little miss, being a
very good little miss, who always minded her book, and had passed through her sampler−doctrine with high
applause; had even stitched out, in gaudy propriety of colors, an Abraham offering up Isaac, a Sampson and
the Philistines; and flowers, and knots, and trees, and the sun and the moon, and the seven stars, all hung up in
frames with glasses before them, for the admiration of her future grand children: who likewise was entitled to
a very pretty little estate: who was descended from a pretty little family upwards of one hundred years
gentility; which lived in a very pretty little manner, respected a very little on their own accounts, a great deal
on her's:−−−−
For such a pretty little miss as this to come to so great a misfortune, must be a very sad thing: But, tell me,
would not the losing of any ordinary child, of any other less considerable family, or less shining or amiable
qualities, have been as great and heavy a loss to that family, as the losing this pretty little miss could be to
her's?
To descend to a very low instance, and that only as to personality; hast thou any doubt, that thy
strong−muscled bony−faced was as much admired by thy mother, as if it had been the face of a Lovelace, or
any other handsome fellow? And had thy picture been drawn, would she have forgiven the painter, had he not
expressed so exactly thy lineaments, as that every one should have discerned the likeness? The handsome
likeness is all that is wished for. Ugliness made familiar to us, with the partiality natural to fond parents, will
be beauty all the world over.−− Do thou apply.
But, alas! Jack, all this is but a copy of my countenance, drawn to evade thy malice!−−Though it answer thy
unfriendly purpose to own it, I cannot forbear to own it, that I am stung to the very soul with this unhappy−−
accident, must I call it!−−Have I nobody, whose throat, either for carelessness or treachery, I ought to cut, in
order to pacify my vengeance?
When I reflect upon my last iniquitous intention, the first outrage so nobly resented, as well as, so far as she
was able, so nobly resisted, I cannot but conclude, that I was under the power of fascination from these
accursed Circes; who, pretending to know their own sex, would have it, that there is in every woman a
yielding, or a weak−resisting moment to be met with: and that yet, and yet, and yet, I had not tried enough;
but that, if neither love nor terror should enable me to hit that lucky moment, when, by help of their cursed
arts, she was once overcome, she would be for ever overcome:−−appealing to all my experience, to all my
knowledge of the sex, for justification of their assertion.
My appeal to experience, I own, was but too favourable to their argument: For dost thou think I could have
held my purpose against such an angel as this, had I ever before met with a woman so much in earnest to
defend her honour against the unwearied artifices and perseverance of the man she loved? Why then were
there not more examples of a virtue so immovable? Or, why was this singular one to fall to my lot? except
indeed to double my guilt; and at the same time to convince all that should hear her story, that there are angels
as well as devils in the flesh?
So much for confession; and for the sake of humouring my conscience; with a view likewise to disarm thy
malice by acknowledgement: since no one shall say worse of me, than I will of myself on this occasion.
One thing I will nevertheless add, to show the sincerity of my contrition −−'Tis this, that if thou canst by any
means find her out within these three days, or any time before she has discovered the stories relating to
Captain Tomlinson and her uncle to be what they are; and if thou canst prevail upon her to consent, I will