CHAPTER TWELVE
HE EFFECTS A LODGMENT IN THE HOUSE OF A RICH JEWELLER.
In consequence of this determination, he to the uttermost exerted hisgood-humour among the few friends of consequence his fortune had left,and even carried his complaisance so far as to become the humble servantof their pleasures, while he attempted to extend his acquaintance in aninferior path of life, where he thought his talents would shine moreconspicuous than at the assemblies of the great, and conduce moreeffectually to the interest of all his designs. Nor did he find himselfdisappointed in that expectation, sanguine as it was. He soon foundmeans to be introduced to the house of a wealthy bourgeois, where everyindividual was charmed with his easy air and extraordinaryqualifications. He accommodated himself surprisingly to the humours ofthe whole family; smoked tobacco, swallowed wine, and discoursed ofstones with the husband, who was a rich jeweller; sacrificed himself tothe pride and loquacity of the wife; and played upon the violin, and sungalternately, for the amusement of his only daughter, a buxom lass, nearlyof his own age, the fruit of a former marriage.
It was not long before Ferdinand had reason to congratulate himself onthe footing he had gained in this society. He had expected to find, andin a little time actually discovered, that mutual jealousy and rancourwhich almost always subsist between a daughter and her step-dame,inflamed with all the virulence of female emulation; for the disparity intheir ages served only to render them the more inveterate rivals in thedesire of captivating the other sex. Our adventurer having deliberatedupon the means of converting this animosity to his own advantage, saw nomethod for this purpose so feasible as that of making his approaches tothe hearts of both, by ministering to each in private, food for theirreciprocal envy and malevolence; because he well knew that no road liesso direct and open to a woman's heart as that of gratifying her passionsof vanity and resentment.
When he had an opportunity of being particular with the mother, heexpressed his concern for having unwittingly incurred the displeasure ofMademoiselle, which, he observed, was obvious in every circumstance ofher behaviour towards him; protesting he was utterly innocent of allintention of offending her; and that he could not account for hisdisgrace any other way, than by supposing she took umbrage at thedirection of his chief regards towards her mother-in-law, which, heowned, was altogether involuntary, being wholly influenced by that lady'ssuperior charms and politeness.
Such a declaration was perfectly well calculated for the meridian of adame like her, who with all the intoxications of unenlightened pride, andan increased appetite for pleasure, had begun to find herself neglected,and even to believe that her attractions were actually on the wane. Shevery graciously consoled our gallant for the mishap of which hecomplained, representing Wilhelmina (that was the daughter's name) as apert, illiterate, envious baggage, of whose disgust he ought to make noconsideration; then she recounted many instances of her own generosity tothat young lady, with the returns of malice and ingratitude she had made;and, lastly, enumerated all the imperfections of her person, education,and behaviour; that he might see with what justice the gypsy pretended tovie with those who had been distinguished by the approbation and evengallantry of the best people in Vienna.
Having thus established himself her confidant and gossip, he knew hisnext step of promotion would necessarily be to the degree of her lover;and in that belief resolved to play the same game with MademoiselleWilhelmina, whose complexion was very much akin to that of herstepmother; indeed they resembled each other too much to live upon anyterms of friendship or even decorum. Fathom, in order to enjoy a privateconversation with the young lady, never failed to repeat his visit everyafternoon, till at length he had the pleasure of finding her disengaged,the jeweller being occupied among his workmen, and his wife gone toassist at a lying-in.
Our adventurer and the daughter had already exchanged their vows, by theexpressive language of the eyes; he had even declared himself in sometender ejaculations which had been softly whispered in her ear, when hecould snatch an opportunity of venting them unperceived; nay, he had upondivers occasions gently squeezed her fair hand, on pretence of tuning herharpsichord, and been favoured with returns of the same cordial pressure;so that, instead of accosting her with the fearful hesitation and reserveof a timid swain, he told her, after the exercise of the doux-yeux, thathe was come to confer with her upon a subject that nearly concerned herpeace; and asked if she had not observed of late an evident abatement offriendship in her mother's behaviour to him, whom she had formerlytreated with such marks of favour and respect. Mademoiselle would notpay so ill a compliment to her own discernment as to say she had notperceived the alteration; which, on the contrary, she owned was extremelypalpable; nor was it difficult to divine the cause of such estrangedlooks. This remark was accompanied with an irresistible glance; shesmiled enchanting, the colour deepened on her cheeks, her breast began toheave, and her whole frame underwent a most agreeable confusion.
Ferdinand was not a man to let such a favourable conjuncture passunregarded. "Yes, charming Wilhelmina!" exclaimed the politician in anaffected rapture, "the cause is as conspicuous as your attractions. Shehath, in spite of all my circumspection, perceived that passion which itis not in my power to conceal, and in consequence of which I now declaremyself your devoted adorer; or, conscious of your superior excellence,her jealousy hath taken the alarm, and, though stung with conjectureonly, repines at the triumph of your perfections. How far this spirit ofmalignity may be inflamed to my prejudice, I know not. Perhaps, as thisis the first, it may be also the last opportunity I shall have of avowingthe dearest sentiments of my heart to the fair object that inspired them;in a word, I may be for ever excluded from your presence. Excuse me,then, divine creature! from the practice of those unnecessary forms,which I should take pride in observing, were I indulged with the ordinaryprivileges of an honourable lover; and, once for all, accept the homageof an heart overflowing with love and admiration. Yes, adorableWilhelmina! I am dazzled with your supernatural beauty; your otheraccomplishments strike me with wonder and awe. I am enchanted by thegraces of your deportment, ravished with the charms of your conversation;and there is a certain tenderness of benevolence in that endearingaspect, which, I trust, will not fail to melt with sympathy at theemotions of a faithful slave like me."
So saying, he threw himself upon his knees, and, seizing her plump hand,pressed it to his lips with all the violence of real transport. Thenymph, whose passions nature had filled to the brim, could not hear sucha rhapsody unmoved. Being an utter stranger to addresses of this kind,she understood every word of it in the literal acceptation; she believedimplicitly in the truth of the encomiums he had bestowed, and thought itreasonable he should be rewarded for the justice he had done to herqualifications, which had hitherto been almost altogether overlooked. Inshort, her heart began to thaw, and her face to hang out the flag ofcapitulation; which was no sooner perceived by our hero, than he renewedhis attack with redoubled fervour, pronouncing in a most vehement tone,"Light of my eyes, and empress of my soul! behold me prostrate at yourfeet, waiting with the most pious resignation, for that sentence fromyour lips, on which my future happiness or misery must altogether depend.Not with more reverence does the unhappy bashaw kiss the sultan's letterthat contains his doom, than I will submit to your fatal determination.Speak then, angelic sweetness! for never, ah! never will I rise from thissuppliant posture, until I am encouraged to live and hope. No! if yourefuse to smile upon my passion, here shall I breathe the last sighs of adespairing lover; here shall this faithful sword do the last office toits unfortunate master, and shed the blood of the truest heart that everfelt the cruel pangs of disappointed love."
The young lady, well-nigh overcome by this effusion, which brought thetears into her eyes, "Enough, enough," cried she, interrupting him, "sureyou men were created for the ruin of our sex."--"Ruin!" re-echoed Fathom,"talk not of ruin and Wilhelmina! let these terms be for ever parted, faras the east and west asunder! let ever smiling
peace attend her steps,and love and joy still wanton in her train! Ruin, indeed, shall waitupon her enemies, if such there be, and those love-lorn wretches who pinewith anguish under her disdain. Grant me, kind Heaven, a more propitiousboon; direct her genial regards to one whose love is without example, andwhose constancy is unparalleled. Bear witness to my constancy and faith,ye verdant hills, ye fertile plains, ye shady groves, ye purling streams;and if I prove untrue, ah! let me never find a solitary willow or abubbling brook, by help of which I may be enabled to put a period to mywretched life."
Here this excellent actor began to sob most piteously, and thetender-hearted Wilhelmina, unable longer to withstand his moving tale,with a repetition of the interjection, ah! gently dropped into hisarms. This was the beginning of a correspondence that soon rose to avery interesting pitch; and they forthwith concerted measures forcarrying it on without the knowledge or suspicion of her mother-in-law.Nevertheless, the young lady, vanquished as she was, and unskilled in theways of men, would not all at once yield at discretion; but insisted uponthose terms, without which no woman's reputation can be secured. Ourlover, far from seeking to evade the proposal, assented to it in terms ofuncommon satisfaction, and promised to use his whole industry in findinga priest upon whose discretion they could rely; nay, he certainlyresolved to comply with her request in good earnest, rather than forfeitthe advantages which he foresaw in their union. His good fortune,however, exempted him from the necessity of taking such a step, which atbest must have been disagreeable; for so many difficulties occurred inthe inquiry which was set on foot, and so artfully did Fathom in themeantime manage the influence he had already gained over her heart, that,before her passion could obtain a legal gratification, she surrendered tohis wish, without any other assurance, than his solemn profession ofsincerity and truth, on which she reposed herself with the most implicitconfidence and faith.