LETTER LIII
MISS HOWE, TO MISS CLARISSA HARLOWETHURSDAY, AUGUST 31.
The Colonel thought fit once, in praise of Lovelace's generosity, to say,that (as a man of honour ought) he took to himself all the blame, andacquitted you of the consequences of the precipitate step you had taken;since he said, as you loved him, and was in his power, he must have hadadvantages which he would not have had, if you had continued at yourfather's, or at any friend's.
Mighty generous, I said, (were it as he supposed,) in such insolentreflectors, the best of them; who pretend to clear reputations whichnever had been sullied but by falling into their dirty acquaintance! butin this case, I averred, that there was no need of any thing but thestrictest truth, to demonstrate Lovelace to be the blackest of villains,you the brightest of innocents.
This he catched at; and swore, that if any thing uncommon or barbarous inthe seduction were to come out, as indeed one of the letters you hadwritten to your friends, and which had been shown him, very stronglyimplied; that is to say, my dear, if any thing worse than perjury, breachof faith, and abuse of a generous confidence, were to appear! [sorryfellows!] he would avenge his cousin to the utmost.
I urged your apprehensions on this head from your last letter to me: buthe seemed capable of taking what I know to be real greatness of soul, inan unworthy sense: for he mentioned directly upon it the expectationsyour friends had, that you should (previous to any reconciliation withthem) appear in a court of justice against the villain--IF you could doit with the advantage to yourself that I hinted might be done.
And truly, if I would have heard him, he had indelicacy enough to havegone into the nature of the proof of the crime upon which they wanted tohave Lovelace arraigned. Yet this is a man improved by travel andlearning!--Upon my word, my dear, I, who have been accustomed to the mostdelicate conversation ever since I had the honour to know you, despisethis sex from the gentleman down to the peasant.
Upon the whole, I find that Mr. Morden has a very slender notion ofwomen's virtue in particular cases: for which reason I put him down,though your favourite, as one who is not entitled to cast the firststone.
I never knew a man who deserved to be well thought of himself for hismorals, who had a slight opinion of the virtue of our sex in general.For if, from the difference of temperament and education, modesty,chastity, and piety too, are not to be found in our sex preferably tothe other, I should think it a sign of much worse nature in ours.
He even hinted (as from your relations indeed) that it is impossiblebut there most be some will where there is much love.
These sort of reflections are enough to make a woman, who has at hearther own honour and the honour of her sex, to look about her, and considerwhat she is doing when she enters into an intimacy with these wretches;since it is plain, that whenever she throws herself into the power of aman, and leaves for him her parents or guardians, every body will believeit to be owing more to her good luck than to her discretion if there benot an end of her virtue: and let the man be ever such a villain to her,she must take into her own bosom a share of his guilty baseness.
I am writing to general cases. You, my dear, are out of the question.Your story, as I have heretofore said, will afford a warning as well asan example:* For who is it that will not infer, that if a person of yourfortune, character, and merit, could not escape ruin, after she had putherself into the power of her hyaena, what can a thoughtless, fond, giddycreature expect?
* See Vol. IV. Letter XXIII.
Every man, they will say, is not a LOVELACE--True: but then, neither isevery woman a CLARISSA. And allow for the one and for the other theexample must be of general use.
I prepared Mr. Morden to expect your appointment of Mr. Belford for anoffice that we both hope he will have no occasion to act in (nor any bodyelse) for many, very many years to come. He was at first startled at it:but, upon hearing such of your reasons as had satisfied me, he only saidthat such an appointment, were it to take place, would exceedingly affecthis other cousins.
He told me, he had a copy of Lovelace's letter to you, imploring yourpardon, and offering to undergo any penance to procure it;* and also ofyour answer to it.**
* See Vol. VII. Letter LXXIX.** Ibid. Letter LXXXIII.
I find he is willing to hope that a marriage between you may still takeplace; which, he says, will heal up all breaches.
I would have written much more--on the following particulars especially;to wit, of the wretched man's hunting you out of your lodgings: of yourrelations' strange implacableness, [I am in haste, and cannot think of aword you would like better just now:] of your last letter to Lovelace, todivert him from pursuing you: of your aunt Hervey's penitentialconversation with Mrs. Norton: of Mr. Wyerley's renewed address: of yourlessons to me in Hickman's behalf, so approvable, were the man more sothan he is; but indeed I am offended with him at this instant, and havebeen for these two days: of your sister's transportation-project: and oftwenty and twenty other things: but am obliged to leave off, to attend mytwo cousins Spilsworth, and my cousin Herbert, who are come to visit uson account of my mother's illness--I will therefore dispatch these byRogers; and if my mother gets well soon (as I hope she will) I amresolved to see you in town, and tell you every thing that now is upon mymind; and particularly, mingling my soul with your's, how much I am, andwill ever be, my dearest, dear friend,
Your affectionateANNA HOWE.
Let Rogers bring one line, I pray you. I thought to have sent him this afternoon; but he cannot set out till to-morrow morning early.
I cannot express how much your staggering lines and your conclusion affect me!