MR. VILLARS TO EVELINA. Berry Hill, Oct. 3rd.
YOUR last communication, my dearest child, is indeed astonishing;
that an acknowledged daughter and heiress of Sir John Belmont should
be at Bristol, and still my Evelina bear the name of Anville, is to me
inexplicable; yet the mystery of the letter to Lady Howard prepared
me to expect something extraordinary upon Sir John Belmont's return
to England.
Whoever this young lady may be, it is certain she now takes a place
to which you have a right indisputable. An after-marriage I never
heard of; yet, supposing such a one to have happened, Miss Evelyn was
certainly the first wife, and therefore her daughter must, at least,
be entitled to the name of Belmont.
Either there are circumstances in this affair at present utterly
incomprehensible, or else some strange and most atrocious fraud has
been practiced; which of these two is the case it now behoves us
to enquire.
My reluctance to this step gives way to my conviction of its propriety,
since the reputation of your dear and much-injured mother must
now either be fully cleared from blemish, or receive its final and
indelible wound.
The public appearance of a daughter of Sir John Belmont will revive
the remembrance of Miss Evelyn's story in all who have heard it,-who
the mother was, will be universally demanded,-and if any other Lady
Belmont should be named, the birth of my Evelina will receive a stigma,
against which, honour, truth, and innocence may appeal in vain!-a
stigma, which will eternally blast the fair fame of her virtuous
mother, and cast upon her blameless self the odium of a title, which
not all her purity can rescue from established shame and dishonour!
No, my dear child, no; I will not quietly suffer the ashes of your
mother to be treated with ignominy! her spotless character shall be
justified to the world-her marriage shall be acknowledged, and her
child shall bear the name to which she is lawfully entitled.
It is true, that Mrs. Mirvan would conduct this affair with more
delicacy than Mrs. Selwyn; yet, perhaps, to save time, is of all
considerations the most important, since the longer this mystery
is suffered to continue, the more difficult may be rendered its
explanation. The sooner, therefore, you can set out for town, the
less formidable will be your task.
Let not your timidity, my dear love, depress your spirits: I shall,
indeed, tremble for you at a meeting so singular and so affecting,
yet there can be no doubt of the success of your application: I
enclose a letter from your unhappy mother, written, and reserved
purposely for this occasion: Mrs. Clinton too, who attended her in
her last illness, must accompany you to town.-But, without any other
certificate of your birth, that which you carry in your countenance,
as it could not be affected by artifice, so it cannot admit of a doubt.
And now, my Evelina, committed at length to the care of your real
parent, receive the fervent prayers, wishes, and blessings, of him
who so fondly adopted you!
May'st thou, O child of my bosom! may'st thou, in this change of
situation, experience no change of disposition! but receive with
humility, and support with meekness the elevation to which thou
art rising! May thy manners, language, and deportment, all evince
that modest equanimity, and cheerful gratitude, which not merely
deserve, but dignify prosperity! May'st thou, to the last moments of
an unblemished life, retain thy genuine simplicity, thy singleness
of heart, thy guileless sincerity! And may'st thou, stranger to
ostentation, and superior to insolence, with true greatness of soul
shine forth conspicuous only in beneficence! ARTHUR VILLARS.