HE PERFORMS ANOTHER EXPLOIT, THAT CONVEYS A TRUE IDEA OF HIS GRATITUDE
AND HONOUR.
It was not long after this celebrated victory, that he was invited to
spend part of the summer at the house of a country gentleman, who lived
about one hundred miles from London, possessed of a very opulent fortune,
the greatest part of which was expended in acts of old English
hospitality. He had met with our hero by accident at the table of a
certain great man, and was so struck with his manner and conversation, as
to desire his acquaintance, and cultivate his friendship; and he thought
himself extremely happy in having prevailed upon him to pass a few weeks
in his family.
Fathom, among his other observations, perceived that there was a domestic
uneasiness, occasioned by a very beautiful young creature about the age
of fifteen, who resided in the house under the title of the gentleman's
niece, though she was in reality his natural daughter, born before his
marriage. This circumstance was not unknown to his lady, by whose
express approbation he had bestowed particular attention upon the
education of the child, whom we shall distinguish by the name of Celinda.
Their liberality in this particular had not been misapplied; for she not
only gave marks of uncommon capacity, but, as she grew up, became more
and more amiable in her person, and was now returned from the boarding
school, possessed of every accomplishment that could be acquired by one
of her age and opportunities. These qualifications, which endeared her
to every other person, excited the jealousy and displeasure of her
supposed aunt, who could not bear to see her own children eclipsed by
this illegitimate daughter, whom she therefore discountenanced upon all
occasions, and exposed to such mortifications as would in all appearance
drive her from her father's house. This persecuting spirit was very
disagreeable to the husband, who loved Celinda with a truly paternal
affection, and produced abundance of family disquiet; but being a man of
a peaceable and yielding disposition, he could not long maintain the
resolution he had taken in her favour, and therefore he ceased opposing
the malevolence of his wife.
In this unfortunate predicament stood the fair bastard, at the arrival of
our adventurer, who, being allured by her charms, apprised of her
situation at the same time, took the generous resolution to undermine her
innocence, that he might banquet his vicious appetite with the spoils of
her beauty. Perhaps such a brutal design might not have entered his
imagination, if he had not observed, in the disposition of this hapless
maiden, certain peculiarities from which he derived the most confident
presages of success. Besides a total want of experience, that left her
open and unguarded against the attacks of the other sex, she discovered a
remarkable spirit of credulity and superstitious fear, which had been
cherished by the conversation of her school-fellows. She was
particularly fond of music, in which she had made some progress; but so
delicate was the texture of her nerves, that one day, while Fathom
entertained the company with a favourite air, she actually swooned with
pleasure.
Such sensibility, our projector well knew, must be diffused through all
the passions of her heart; he congratulated himself upon the sure
ascendency he had gained over her in this particular; and forthwith began
to execute the plan he had erected for her destruction. That he might
the more effectually deceive the vigilance of her father's wife, he threw
such a dash of affectation in his complaisance towards Celinda, as could
not escape the notice of that prying matron, though it was not palpable
enough to disoblige the young lady herself, who could not so well
distinguish between overstrained courtesy and real good breeding. This
behaviour screened him from the suspicion of the family, who considered
it as an effort of politeness, to cover his indifference and disgust for
the daughter of his friend, who had by this time given some reason to
believe she looked upon him with the eyes of affection; so that the
opportunities he enjoyed of conversing with her in private, were less
liable to intrusion or inquiry. Indeed, from what I have already
observed, touching the sentiments of her stepdame, that lady, far from
taking measures for thwarting our hero's design, would have rejoiced at
the execution of it, and, had she been informed of his intent, might have
fallen upon some method to facilitate the enterprise; but, as he solely
depended upon his own talents, he never dreamed of soliciting such an
auxiliary.
Under cover of instructing and accomplishing her in the exercise of
music, he could not want occasions for promoting his aim; when, after
having soothed her sense of hearing, even to a degree of ravishment, so
as to extort from her an exclamation, importing, that he was surely
something supernatural! he never failed to whisper some insidious
compliment or tale of love, exquisitely suited to the emotions of her
soul. Thus was her heart insensibly subdued; though more than half his
work was still undone; for, at all times, she disclosed such purity of
sentiment, such inviolable attachment to religion and virtue, and seemed
so averse to all sorts of inflammatory discourse, that he durst not
presume upon the footing he had gained in her affection, to explain the
baseness of his desire; he therefore applied to another of her passions,
that proved the bane of her virtue. This was her timidity, which at
first being constitutional, was afterwards increased by the circumstances
of her education, and now aggravated by the artful conversation of
Fathom, which he chequered with dismal stories of omens, portents,
prophecies, and apparitions, delivered upon such unquestionable
testimony, and with such marks of conviction, as captivated the belief of
the devoted Celinda, and filled her imagination with unceasing terrors.
In vain she strove to dispel those frightful ideas, and avoid such topics
of discourse for the future. The more she endeavoured to banish them,
the more troublesome they became; and such was her infatuation, that as
her terrors increased, her thirst after that sort of knowledge was
augmented. Many sleepless nights did she pass amidst those horrors of
fancy, starting at every noise, and sweating with dreary apprehension,
yet ashamed to own her fears, or solicit the comfort of a bedfellow, lest
she should incur the ridicule and censure of her father's wife; and what
rendered this disposition the more irksome, was the solitary situation of
her chamber, that stood at the end of a long gallery scarce within
hearing of any other inhabited part of the house.
All these circumstances had been duly weighed by our projector, who,
having prepared Celinda for his purpose, stole at midnight from his
apartment, which was in another storey, and approaching her door, there
uttered a piteous groan; then softly retired to his bed, in full
confidence of seeing next day the effect of this operation. Nor did his
arrow miss the mark. Poor Celinda's countenance gave such indications of
melancholy and dismay, that he could not omit asking the cause of her
disquiet, and she, at his earnest request, was prevailed upon to
communicate the dreadful salutation of the preceding night, which she
considered as an omen of death to some person of the family, in all
probability to herself, as the groan seemed to issue from one corner of
her own apartment. Our adventurer argued against this supposition, as
contradictory to the common observation of those supernatural warnings
which are not usually imparted to the person who is doomed to die, but to
some faithful friend, or trusty servant, particularly interested in the
event. He therefore supposed, that the groans foreboded the death of my
lady, who seemed to be in a drooping state of health, and were, by her
genius, conveyed to the organs of Celinda, who was the chief sufferer by
her jealous and barbarous disposition; he likewise expressed an earnest
desire to be an ear-witness of such solemn communication, and, alleging
that it was highly improper for a young lady of her delicate feelings to
expose herself alone to such another dismal visitation, begged he might
be allowed to watch all night in her chamber, in order to defend her from
the shocking impressions of fear.
Though no person ever stood more in need of a companion or guard, and her
heart throbbed with transports of dismay at the prospect of night, she
rejected his proposal with due acknowledgment, and resolved to trust
solely to the protection of Heaven. Not that she thought her innocence
or reputation could suffer by her compliance with his request; for,
hitherto, her heart was a stranger to those young desires which haunt the
fancy, and warm the breast of youth; so that, being ignorant of her
danger, she saw not the necessity of avoiding temptation; but she refused
to admit a man into her bedchamber, merely because it was a step
altogether opposite to the forms and decorum of life. Nevertheless, far
from being discouraged by this repulse, he knew her fears would multiply
and reduce that reluctance, which, in order to weaken, he had recourse to
another piece of machinery, that operated powerfully in behalf of his
design.
Some years ago, a twelve-stringed instrument was contrived by a very
ingenious musician, by whom it was aptly entitled the "Harp of Aeolus,"
because, being properly applied to a stream of air, it produces a wild
irregular variety of harmonious sounds, that seem to be the effect of
enchantment, and wonderfully dispose the mind for the most romantic
situations. Fathom, who was really a virtuoso in music, had brought one
of those new-fashioned guitars into the country, and as the effect of it
was still unknown in the family, he that night converted it to the
purposes of his amour, by fixing it in the casement of a window belonging
to the gallery, exposed to the west wind, which then blew in a gentle
breeze. The strings no sooner felt the impression of the balmy zephyr,
than they began to pour forth a stream of melody more ravishingly
delightful than the song of Philomel, the warbling brook, and all the
concert of the wood. The soft and tender notes of peace and love were
swelled up with the most delicate and insensible transition into a loud
hymn of triumph and exultation, joined by the deep-toned organ, and a
full choir of voices, which gradually decayed upon the ear, until it died
away in distant sound, as if a flight of angels had raised the song in
their ascent to heaven. Yet the chords hardly ceased to vibrate after
the expiration of this overture, which ushered in a composition in the
same pathetic style; and this again was succeeded by a third, almost
without pause or intermission, as if the artist's hand had been
indefatigable, and the theme never to be exhausted.
His heart must be quite callous, and his ear lost to all distinction, who
could hear such harmony without emotion; how deeply, then, must it have
affected the delicate Celinda, whose sensations, naturally acute, were
whetted to a most painful keenness by her apprehension; who could have no
previous idea of such entertainment, and was credulous enough to believe
the most improbable tale of superstition! She was overwhelmed with awful
terror, and, never doubting that the sounds were more than mortal,
recommended herself to the care of Providence in a succession of pious
ejaculations.
Our adventurer, having allowed some time for the effect of this
contrivance, repaired to her chamber door, and, in a whisper, conveyed
through the keyhole, asked if she was awake, begged pardon for such an
unseasonable visit, and desired to know her opinion of the strange music
which he then heard. In spite of her notions of decency, she was glad of
his intrusion, and, being in no condition to observe punctilios, slipped
on a wrapper, opened the door, and, with a faltering voice, owned herself
frightened almost to distraction. He pretended to console her with
reflections, importing, that she was in the hands of a benevolent Being,
who would not impose upon his creatures any task which they could not
bear; he insisted upon her returning to bed, and assured her he would not
stir from her chamber till day. Thus comforted, she betook herself again
to rest, while he sat down in an elbow-chair at some distance from the
bedside, and, in a soft voice, began the conversation with her on the
subject of those visitations from above, which, though undertaken on
pretence of dissipating her fear and anxiety, was, in reality, calculated
for the purpose of augmenting both.
"That sweet air," said he, "seems designed for soothing the bodily
anguish of some saint in his last moments. Hark! how it rises into a
more sprightly and elevated strain, as if it were an inspiriting
invitation to the realms of bliss! Sure, he is now absolved from all the
misery of this life! That full and glorious concert of voices and
celestial harps betoken his reception among the heavenly choir, who now
waft his soul to paradisian joys! This is altogether great, solemn, and
amazing! The clock strikes one, the symphony hath ceased!"
This was actually the case; for he had ordered Maurice to remove the
instrument at that hour, lest the sound of it should become too familiar,
and excite the curiosity of some undaunted domestic, who might frustrate
his scheme by discovering the apparatus. As for poor Celinda, her fancy
was, by his music and discourse, worked up to the highest pitch of
enthusiastic terrors; the whole bed shook with her trepidation, the awful
silence that succeeded the supernatural music threw an additional damp
upon her spirits, and the artful Fathom affecting to snore at the same
time, she could no longer contain her horror, but called upon his name
with a fearful accent, and, having owned her present situation
insupportable, entreated him to draw near her bedside, that he might be
within touch on any emergency.
This was a welcome request to our adventurer, who, asking pardon for his
drowsiness, and taking his station on the side of her bed, exhorted her
to compose herself; then locking her hand fast in his own, was again
seized with such an inclination to sleep, that he gradually sunk down by
her side, and seemed to enjoy his repose in that attitude. Meanwhile,
his tender-hearted mistress, that he might not suffer in his health by
his humanity and complaisance, covered him with the counterpane as he
slept, and suffered him to take his rest without interruption, till he
thought proper to start up suddenly with an exclamation of, "Heaven watch
over us!" and then asked, with symptoms of astonishment, if she had heard
nothing. Such an abrupt address upon such an occasion, did not fail to
amaze and affright the gentle Celinda, who, unable to speak, sprung
towards her treacherous protector; and he, catching her in his arms, bade
her fear nothing, for he would, at the expense of his life, defend her
from all danger.
Having thus, by tampering with her weakness, conquered the first and
chief obstacles to his design, he, with great art and perseverance,
improved the intercourse to such a degree of intimacy, as could not but
be productive of all the consequences which he had foreseen. The groans
and music were occasionally repeated, so as to alarm the whole family,
and inspire a thousand various conjectures. He failed not to continue
his nocturnal visits and ghastly discourse, until his attendance became
so necessary to this unhappy maiden, that she durst not stay in her own
chamber without his company, nor even sleep, except in contact with her
betrayer.
Such a commerce between two such persons of a different sex could not
possibly be long carried on, without degenerating from the Platonic
system of sentimental love. In her paroxysms of dismay, he did not
forget to breathe the soft inspirations of his passion, to which she
listened with more pleasure, as they diverted the gloomy ideas of her
fear; and by this time his extraordinary accomplishments had made a
conquest of her heart. What therefore could be a more interesting
transition than that from the most uneasy to the most agreeable sensation
of the human breast?
This being the case, the reader will not wonder that a consummate
traitor, like Fathom, should triumph over the virtue of an artless,
innocent young creature, whose passions he had entirely under his
command. The gradations towards vice are almost imperceptible, and an
experienced seducer can strew them with such enticing and agreeable
flowers, as will lead the young sinner on insensibly, even to the most
profligate stages of guilt. All therefore that can be done by virtue,
unassisted with experience, is to avoid every trial with such a
formidable foe, by declining and discouraging the first advances towards
a particular correspondence with perfidious man, howsoever agreeable it
may seem to be. For here is no security but in conscious weakness.
Fathom, though possessed of the spoils of poor Celinda's honour, did not
enjoy his success with tranquillity. Reflection and remorse often
invaded her in the midst of their guilty pleasures, and embittered all
those moments they had dedicated to mutual bliss. For the seeds of
virtue are seldom destroyed at once. Even amidst the rank productions of
vice, they regerminate to a sort of imperfect vegetation, like some
scattered hyacinths shooting up among the weeds of a ruined garden, that
testify the former culture and amenity of the soil. She sighed at the
sad remembrance of that virgin dignity which she had lost; she wept at
the prospect of that disgrace, mortification, and misery she should
undergo, when abandoned by this transient lover, and severely reproached
him for the arts he had used to shipwreck her innocence and peace.
Such expostulations are extremely unseasonable, when addressed to a man
well-nigh sated with the effects of his conquest. They act like strong
blasts of wind applied to embers almost extinguished, which, instead of
reviving the flame, scatter and destroy every remaining particle of fire.
Our adventurer, in the midst of his peculiarities, had inconstancy in
common with the rest of his sex. More than half cloyed with the
possession of Celinda, he could not fail to be disgusted with her
upbraidings; and had she not been the daughter of a gentleman whose
friendship he did not think it his interest to forfeit, he would have
dropped this correspondence, without reluctance or hesitation. But, as
he had measures to keep with a family of such consequence, he constrained
his inclinations, so far as to counterfeit those raptures he no longer
felt, and found means to appease those intervening tumults of her grief.
Foreseeing, however, that it would not be always in his power to console
her on these terms, he resolved, if possible, to divide her affection,
which now glowed upon him too intensely; and, with that view, whenever
she complained of the vapours or dejection, he prescribed, and even
insisted upon her swallowing certain cordials of the most palatable
composition, without which he never travelled; and these produced such
agreeable reveries and flow of spirits, that she gradually became
enamoured of intoxication; while he encouraged the pernicious passion, by
expressing the most extravagant applause and admiration at the wild
irregular sallies it produced. Without having first made this diversion,
he would have found it impracticable to leave the house with
tranquillity; but, when this bewitching philtre grew into an habit, her
attachment to Ferdinand was insensibly dissolved; she began to bear his
neglect with indifference, and, sequestering herself from the rest of the
family, used to solicit this new ally for consolation.
Having thus put the finishing stroke to the daughter's ruin, he took
leave of the father, with many acknowledgments and expressions of
gratitude for his hospitality and friendship, and, riding across the
country to Bristol, took up his habitation near the hot well, where he
stayed during the remaining part of the season. As for the miserable
Celinda, she became more and more addicted to the vices in which she had
been initiated by his superlative perfidy and craft, until she was quite
abandoned by decency and caution. Her father's heart was torn with
anguish, while his wife rejoiced in her fall; at length her ideas were
quite debased by her infirmity; she grew every day more and more sensual
and degenerate, and contracted an intimacy with one of the footmen, who
was kind enough to take her to wife, in hope of obtaining a good
settlement from his master; but, being disappointed in his aim, he
conducted her to London, where he made shift to insinuate himself into
another service, leaving her to the use, and partly the advantage, of her
own person, which was still uncommonly attractive.