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in the editor's introduction:
The text is that of the second edition.... Brackets, added to this
lithoprint, show Richardson's principal corrections: "4th" means
that the bracketed lines were deleted in the fourth and all
subsequent editions; "4th, change 6" means that in the fourth and
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* * * * *
* * * *
* * * * *
The Augustan Reprint Society
SAMUEL RICHARDSON'S
Introduction to _Pamela_
Edited, with an Introduction by
Sheridan W. Baker, Jr.
Publication Number 48
Los Angeles
William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
University of California
1954
GENERAL EDITORS
RICHARD C. BOYS, University of Michigan
RALPH COHEN, University of California, Los Angeles
VINTON A. DEARING, University of California, Los Angeles
LAWRENCE CLARK POWELL, Clark Memorial Library
ASSISTANT EDITOR
W. EARL BRITTON, University of Michigan
ADVISORY EDITORS
EMMETT L. AVERY, State College of Washington
BENJAMIN BOYCE, Duke University
LOUIS BREDVOLD, University of Michigan
JOHN BUTT, King's College, University of Durham
JAMES L. CLIFFORD, Columbia University
ARTHUR FRIEDMAN, University of Chicago
EDWARD NILES HOOKER, University of California, Los Angeles
LOUIS A. LANDA, Princeton University
SAMUEL H. MONK, University of Minnesota
ERNEST C. MOSSNER, University of Texas
JAMES SUTHERLAND, University College, London
H. T. SWEDENBERG, JR., University of California, Los Angeles
CORRESPONDING SECRETARY
EDNA C. DAVIS, Clark Memorial Library
INTRODUCTION
Since most publishers of _Pamela_ have preferred to print
Richardson's table of contents from the sixth edition, his complete
introduction (his preface, together with letters to the editor and
comments) is missing even from some of our best collections.
Occasionally one finds the preface and the first two letters, but only
four publishers since Richardson have attempted to reprint the full
introduction. Harrison (London, 1785) -- who omits the first letter --
and Cooke (London, 1802-3) both follow Richardson's eighth edition;
Ballantyne (Edinburgh, 1824) uses the fourth; the Shakespeare Head
(Oxford, 1929), the third. And even these printings leave one
dissatisfied. The Shakespeare Head gives the fullest text, but naturally
omits Richardson's revisions; Cooke gives the introduction in its final
form, but one misses the full text which accompanied the book in its
heyday; and rarely are both Cooke and Shakespeare Head to be found in
the same library.
Richardson's complete introduction gains importance when we note that he
retained and revised it through seven of his eight editions of _Pamela_.
To see the text and follow Richardson's changes is to get an unusually
intimate view of his attitude toward his book, of his concessions and
tenacities, of Richardson the anonymous "editor" who could not keep the
author's laurels completely under his hat.
This present reprint, therefore, intends to give the fullest text of
Richardson's introduction, and to indicate his changes. The text is that
of the second edition, reproduced with permission of the Huntington
Library. Brackets, added to this lithoprint, show Richardson's principal
corrections: "4th" means that the bracketed lines were deleted in the
fourth and all subsequent editions; "4th, change 6" means that in the
fourth and subsequent editions the bracketed lines were changed to the
reading listed here as number six. Several changes within deleted
passages are discussed but not marked on the text.
Richardson's own editions of _Pamela_ appeared as follows: (1) November
6, 1740, (2) February 14, 1741, (3) March 12, 1741, (4) May 5, 1741,
(5) September 22, 1741, (6) May 10, 1742, (7) 1754, (8) October 28,
1761[1] (three months after Richardson's death). The first edition
prints Richardson's preface and two complimentary letters. To these the
"Introduction to this Second Edition" adds twenty-four pages of letters
and comment and the third edition makes no changes in the introduction
whatsoever, even retaining "this Second Edition,"[2] The fourth makes
some changes, and the fifth, considerably more. The sixth, a handsome
quarto in a row of duodecimos, abandons the introductory letters; the
seventh follows the fifth, and the eight makes some major cuts.
Notwithstanding Richardson's freedom in editing these letters -- and
Fielding's insinuation in _Shamela_ that they were Richardson's own copy
-- he wrote none of them. Jean Baptiste de Freval, a Frenchman living in
London, for whom Richardson was printing a book,[3] wrote the first. The
second probably came from William Webster, clergyman and editor of _The
Weekly Miscellany_, wherein the letter had appeared as an advertisement,
the first public reference to _Pamela_, on October 11, 1740.[4] Webster
owed (an obligation eventually forgiven) "a debt of 140 _l._ to my most
worthy Friend, Mr. _Richardson_, the _Printer_,"[5] and Richardson
reprints the letter using Webster's phrase: "To my worthy Friend, the
Editor of _Pamela_." These first two letters, de Freval's and Webster's,
respond to an author's request for criticism. The rest, new with the
second edition, are unsolicited.
All of these are the work of Aaron Hill, excepting only the anonymous
letter which Richardson summarizes, beginning on page xxi[6] -- sent to
Richardson in care of Charles Rivington, co-publisher of _Pamela_, on
November 15, 1740, the first gratuitous response to Richardson's book.
To advertisements in _The Daily Gazeteer_ (November 20) and _The London
Evening-Post_ (December 11-13), Richardson added a note:
An anonymous Letter relating to this Piece is come to the Editor's
Hand, who takes this Opportunity (having no better) most heartily to
thank the Gentleman for his candid and judicious Observations; and
to beg Favour of a further Correspondence with him, under what
Restrictions he pleases. Instruction, and not Curiosity, being
sincerely the Motive for this request.[7]
If the gentleman had answered, the introduction to _Pamela_ would
perhaps have been shorter. Some of Hill's acerbity may have been
absorbed from Richardson, hurt by the writer's silence.
The double-entendres mentioned on page xxii are given in the gentleman's
unpublished letter in the Forster collection, in the Victoria and Albert
Museum:
Jokes are often more Severe, and do more Mischief, than more Solid
Objects -- to obviate some, why not omit P 175 -- _betwixt Fear and
Delight_ -- and P 181 -- _I made shift to eat a bit of_ etc. _but I
had no Appetite to any thing else_.[8]
In the light of this letter, the second edition of _Pamela_ attests a
curious fact: while Hill pontificates in the introduction about ignoring
such vulgarity of mind, Richardson has tiptoed back to Volume Two and
changed the questioned passages. From the second edition forward, Pamela
trembles during her wedding not "betwixt Fear and Delight" but "betwixt
Fear and Joy"; and although Richardson leaves Pamela her shift on page
181, he changes her remark about appetite: "I made shift to get down a
bit of Apple-pie, and a little Custard; but that was all." By omitting
the specific objections from his summary, Richardson managed at one
stroke to save his righteousness in the introduction and his face in the
text.
Hill's authorship of the introductory letters is easily established.
Anna Laetitia Barbauld includes Hill's signature with a reduced version
of the one which here begins on page xvi (December 17, 1740).[9]
Thereafter, Richardson's italicized remarks, two of them added in later
editions, provide the links: "_Abstract of a second Letter from the same
Gentleman_," etc.
With wonderful indirection, Richardson had sent a copy of _Pamela_ to
Hill's daughters, along with some other books, and, as Hill writes
Mallet, "without the smallest _hint_, that it was _his_, and with a
grave apology, as for a _trifle_, of too light a species."[10] Hill
thanked Richardson in the letter of December 17, 1740. Hill asks who on
earth the author might be, hinting, the while, by returning Richardson's
own phrase, that he understands that it is Richardson himself: "this
_Trifle_ (for such, I dare answer for the _Author_, His Modesty
misguides him to think it)." Though Hill tells Mallet that Richardson
was "very loth ... a long time, to confess it," Richardson did not dally
long. By December 29, 1740, he has confirmed Hill's guess. On that date
Hill writes:
Acquainted with the amiable goodness of your heart, I can foresee
the pleasure it will give you, to have given another pleasure: and
you heap it on me in the noblest manner, by the joy you make me
feel, at finding _Pamela's_ incomparable author is the person I not
only hop'd to hear was so, but whom I should have been quite
griev'd, disturb'd, and mortified, not to have really found so.
Yet, I confess, till I began to read, I had not the least notion of
it. But I presently took notice, that whatever _Pamela_ thought,
said, or did, was all transfusion of your own fine spirit. And as I
know not if there lives another writer, who could furnish her with
such a sapid sweetness as she fills the table with, I could not
therefor chuse but name _you_ to my hope, as moulder of this maiden
model.[11]
Mrs. Barbauld omits this letter but prints another from Hill to
Richardson, not to be found now in the Forster collection, bearing the
same date -- December 29, 1740 (I, 56ff.). This letter furnishes the
"_delightful Story, so admirably related_" beginning on page xxxi. From
the second paragraph on ("We have a lively little Boy in the Family"),
the _Pamela_ text is substantially the same as Barbauld's. But the first
paragraph Richardson has contrived to suit his editorial fiction.
The delightful story so gratified Mr. Richardson that he sent lively
little Harry Campbell ("the dear amiable boy") two books, an event
almost enough to finish him:
Out burst a hundred _O Lords!_ in a torrent of voice rendered hoarse
and half choaked by his passions. He clasped his trembling fingers
together; and his hands were strained hard, and held writhing. His
elbows were extended to the height of his shoulders, and his eyes,
all inflamed with delight, turned incessantly round from one side,
and one friend, to the other, scattering his triumphant ideas among
us. His fairy-face (ears and all) was flushed as red as his lips;
and his flying feet told his joy to the floor, in a wild and
stamping impatience of gratitude.[12]
The only other part of the introduction to _Pamela_ elsewhere in print
is the concluding poem. This, too, is Hill's, printed in _The Weekly
Miscellany_, February 28, 1741, along with his December 17 letter, and
collected with Hill's _Works_ (III, 348-350). This is the poem, it would
seem, of which Hill boasts that he has given "Pamela" a short "e" as
Richardson intended, asserting that "Mr. Pope has taught half the women
in England to pronounce it wrong."[13] Pope in his _Epistle to Miss
Blount_ (line 49), had made the "e" long:
The gods, to curse Pamela with her prayers,
Gave the gilt coach and dappled Flanders mares,
The shining robes, rich jewels, beds of state,
And, to complete her bliss, a fool for mate.
Hill's lines are somewhat less successful. He dedicated them to "the
Unknown Author of _Pamela_" two months after Richardson had confessed
his authorship.
Richardson changes one line in the poem. In Hill's _Works_ it reads:
"Whence _public wealth_ derives its vital course." Richardson, a more
modern man perhaps, reads "_public Health_." His emendation, however,
improves Hill's metaphor concerning a blaze which is a pilot pointing
out the source of public wealth, which is drunk to prevent gangrene from
blackening to the bone. Further reflection led Richardson a year later
to change "vital" to "moral."
Throughout the letters in his introduction, Richardson made changes, all
largely stylistic. That Richardson removed the letters from the front of
his book in response to criticism -- as Cross[14] and others have
asserted -- is not quite accurate. He removed them from the sixth
edition, but put them back in the seventh and eighth; and his
alterations show him giving in to criticism only by inches, if indeed
his changes to his introduction are not more simply those of any author
trimming (and with Richardson, ever so little) his early extravagances.
Richardson's stubbornness here suggests other reasons for his
substituting a table of contents for his introduction in the sixth
edition. To print both would have been too prolix, even for Richardson;
and it seems that the table of contents, detailing the entire action,
together with the change to big quarto volumes, are Richardson's efforts
to authenticate _Pamela_ in the face of Chandler's and Kelly's
unauthorized sequel, _Pamela's Conduct in High Life_, printed to
complete the two duodecimo volumes of Richardson's original story.
Richardson's sixth edition is the first in which his own additional two
volumes, written to forestall Chandler and Kelly, are included with the
first two as a complete four-volume unit. Twelve years later, in 1754,
his true _Pamela_ established, he reverted to his introductory letters.
Hill's death in 1750 may also have moved Richardson to restore the
introduction which was chiefly Hill's work, recalling both his friend
and _Pamela's_ greener days. In the eighth edition, at the end of his
life, Richardson still kept the introductory letters, though with some
final constrictions.
Richardson makes the first changes to his introduction in the fourth
edition. Excepting minor clarifications, all deal with Hill's answer to
the anonymous gentleman. The attitude toward this gentleman has
softened. The "rashest of All his Advices" becomes merely the "least
weigh'd" of his judgments, and his blindness becomes oversight. He is no
longer pedantic; he no longer makes vulgar allusions, but only fears
that they might be made.
In the fifth edition, Richardson seems chiefly concerned with
redundancy, but he also diminishes some of the praise. In deference to
the gentleman, it would seem, Richardson deletes his flattery of Hill on
pages xxix and xxxi, and "_some of the most beautiful Letters that have
been written in any Language_" become simply "_Letters_." Perhaps
Richardson's conscience was bothering him. Perhaps he had heard from his
anonymous correspondent after all: he now identifies the gentleman's
remarks as coming "_in a Letter from the Country_." Unless pure fancy,
this is new information, for the letter, now in the Forster collection,
in no way indicates its place of origin. Richardson's seeking of the
gentleman through advertisement in London newspapers suggests that he
thought of his correspondent as a city man.
In the fifth edition one detects a certain discomfort with the false
editorship and the praise Richardson permits himself with it. His direct
response to criticism is slight. He deletes "_from_ low _to_ high
_Life_," since _Pamela's Conduct in High Life_ had appeared four months
previous. From the passages which Fielding ridicules in _Shamela_, he
drops no more than "wonderful" from before "AUTHOR of _Pamela_." In the
passage introducing the new letters (page xv) Richardson now apologizes.
The Author, he implies, wanted the praises omitted, but much to his
sorrow the Editor could not disentangle them from the "critical
remarks." The author's modesty, however, remains in the realm of
possibility only.
Where self-praise is strong a vague uneasiness sets Richardson to work
on the style, unable to locate the center of his trouble. On page v
"_strongly interest them in the edifying Story_" becomes "_attach their
regard to the Story,_" but this is barely to nibble at his phrase "_so
probable, so natural, so lively_" just preceding, which perished in the
eighth edition.
Similarly, he attempts to cure the last paragraph of his preface through
minor incisions. He drops the parenthesis about the "_great Variety of
entertaining Incidents_", and he diminishes "_these engaging Scenes_" to
"_it_". But the paragraph is still too much for him. In the eighth
edition he cuts all but the outlines of his editor-author pretext.
The seventh edition does no more than sharpen punctuation. The eighth in
general continues to trim little excesses, though the loss is scarcely
noticeable. Richardson further reduces Hill's praise of the book and his
own praise of Hill, feeling his way toward a detached view of his book,
looking to posterity. Since _Pamela_ has fulfilled the prediction of
foreign renown made by his French friend, de Freval, Richardson now
omits de Freval's obliging treachery to the literature of France (page
ix). Since the "delightful story" is anecdotal and not critical, it too
disappears. Other changes simply testify an author's attention to his
style, uninhibited by the fact that the style is indeed not his. He
deletes a senseless remark about masculine flexibility. He removes
"Nature" from the foundation of the narrative (title page and page v,
though left on page viii) probably to avoid implying that Nature is in
the foundation only.
From the first, Richardson's disguise as editor is little more than
half-hearted. Its purpose was at first partly commercial, permitting
advertising in the preface. Four ladies urged him on, so, Richardson
confesses, he "struck a bold stroke in the preface... having the umbrage
of the editor's character to screen [him] self behind."[15] But the
author nevertheless threw rather distinct shadows on the screen. His
preface speaks of the book altogether as a work of fiction: the editor
has "set forth" social duties; he has "painted" vice and virtue, "drawn"
characters, "raised," "taught," "effected," and "embellished with a
great variety of entertaining incidents." Yet, suddenly, the editor also
seems to have done nothing more than to have "perused these engaging
scenes," written a preface, and gotten them into print.
Richardson cannot quite give the imaginary author substance. "These
sheets" have accomplished all the wonders claimed for them, not "the
author of these sheets." Richardson speaks not of _the_ author, but of
_an_ author, of authors in general. The implication hangs over the
preface, and is strengthened by de Freval's letter, that the editor
himself has worked up the story from the barest details of real life
(which is, of course, what Richardson did). De Freval continues to speak
of the work entirely as of creative writing. The epistolary style is
aptly devised; the book will become a pattern for this kind of fiction;
it is contrived for readers of all tastes. But, quite in contradiction,
de Freval also implies that the editor has shown him the author's
original work, together with certain editorial changes necessary to
protect the real Pamela and Mr. B.
The second letter, presumably Webster's, toys with the suggestion that a
young woman actually wrote the letters which Richardson edits: "let us
have _Pamela_ as _Pamela_ wrote it." But this is only in play. Although
the writer disparages "_Novels_," the note which heads his letter when
it first appeared in _The Weekly Miscellany_ speaks of the "Author of
Pamela" who has "written an _English Novel_,"[16] and his opening
remarks are clearly those of a critic speaking of fiction.
Hill's first letter goes solidly for the conclusion that an author,
a man of genius, wrote the book. The heading, "To the Editor of
_Pamela_", is Richardson's only attempt to bring Hill's letter into his
already wavering line. In the fifth edition, however, he introduces this
letter with his only straight statement that an author, distinct from
the editor, is involved, an author who begged the editor not to include
flattery.
To the end of his days Richardson continued to sit under the editorial
shade -- _Sir Charles Grandison_ was "published" by the "editor of
_Pamela_ and _Clarissa_" -- enjoying the sunshine of his authorship.
His introduction to _Pamela_ and the care he took with it suggest more
succinctly than anything else Richardson's flirtation with his adorers,
which is not at all unlike that of his so modest heroine.
Sheridan W. Baker, Jr.
University of Michigan
[Footnote 1: William M. Sale, _Samuel Richardson,
a Bibliographical Record_ (New Haven, 1936), p. 13.]
[Footnote 2: The fourth carries "the Second Edition" before the
new introductory letters; the fifth changes to "the Present
Edition."]
[Footnote 3: A translation of Abbe Noel Antoine Pluche: _The
History of the Heavens_, 2 vols. (1740). (William M. Sale, _Samuel
Richardson: Master Printer_ [Cornell, 1950], p. 193.)]
[Footnote 4: William M. Sale, _Samuel Richardson,
a Bibliographical Record_, p. 15; William M. and Alan D. McKillop,
_Samuel Richardson_ (Chapel Hill, 1936), p. 42.]
[Footnote 5: McKillop, pp. 301-2. Richardson had printed the
_Miscellany_ between 1733 and 1736.]
[Footnote 6: Richardson mentions other letters but does not print
them. Hill's reference to "The Gentleman's Advice" on page xxii is
to a letter from Benjamin Slocock, who commended _Pamela_ from his
pulpit in St. Saviour's, and thus helped provoke Henry Fielding.
(Sale, ibid., p. 17.)]
[Footnote 7: McKillop, p. 49.]
[Footnote 8: For this and other information concerning the Forster
collection of Richardson's correspondence, I am indebted to Mr.
Arthur Wheen, Keeper of the Library, Victoria and Albert Museum,
London.]
[Footnote 9: _The Correspondence of Samuel Richardson_ (London,
1804), I, 53-55.]
[Footnote 10: _The Works of the Late Aaron Hill, Esq._ (London,
1753), II, 221. Letter dated January 23, 1741.]
[Footnote 11: Hill, _Works_ II, 292.]
[Footnote 12: Barbauld, I, 63-64.]
[Footnote 13: Barbauld, I, lxxviii.]
[Footnote 14: _The History of Henry Fielding_, I, 313.]
[Footnote 15: Barbauld, I, lxxvi.]
[Footnote 16: McKillop, p. 42.]
CHANGES
1. ... _here; and writes with the more Assurance of Success, as an
_Editor_ may be allowed to judge with more Impartiality than is often to
be found in an _Author_._
2. _But Difficulties having arisen from different Opinions, some
applauding the very Things that others found Fault with, we have found
it necessary to insert the _Praises_ in the following Letters, with the
critical Remarks; because the Writer has so kindly mix'd them, that they
cannot be disjoin'd (however earnestly the Author of the Piece desire'd
it) without obscuring, and indeed defacing, all the Spirit of the
Reasoning._
3. _The following Objections to some Passages in Pamela were made by an
anonymous Gentleman, in a Letter from the Country._
4. _The ingenious Writer of the two preceding Letters, answers these
good natured Objections, as follows:_
5. Fourth: "least weigh'd"; fifth: "least considered."
6. ...it seems plain to me, that this Gentleman, however laudable his
Intention may be on the whole, discerns not an Elegance,...
7. In the Occasions this Gentleman, in his Postscript, is pleas'd to
discover for _Jokes_, I either find not, that he has any Signification
at all, or, causelessly, as I think, apprehends that such coarse-tasted
Allusions to loose low-life Idioms, may be made, that _not_ to
understand what is meant by them, is both the cleanliest, and prudentest
Way of confuting them.
8. ...in the Mind of the Reader, an Honesty so sincere and unguarded.
9. Deleted, fifth edition; replaced in eighth with: "_In a Third Letter
the same benevolent Gentleman writes, as follows:_".
* * * * *
* * * *
* * * * *
_PAMELA_:
OR,
VIRTUE Rewarded.
In a SERIES of
FAMILIAR LETTERS
FROM A
Beautiful Young DAMSEL,
To her PARENTS.
Now first Published
In order to cultivate the Principles of VIRTUE
and RELIGION in the Minds of the YOUTH of
BOTH SEXES.
A Narrative which has its Foundation in TRUTH
[_del._ 8th] {and NATURE}; and at the same time that it
agreeably entertains, by a Variety of _curious_ and
_affecting_ INCIDENTS, is intirely divested of all those
Images, which, in too many Pieces calculated for Amusement
only, tend to _inflame_ the Minds they should _instruct_.
In TWO VOLUMES.
The SECOND EDITION.
To which are prefixed, EXTRACTS from several curious
LETTERS written to the _Editor_ on the Subject.
VOL. I.
_LONDON:_
Printed for C. RIVINGTON, in _St. Paul's Church-Yard_;
and J. OSBORN, in _Pater-noster Row_.
M DCC XLI.
PREFACE
by the
EDITOR.
IF to _Divert_ and _Entertain_, and at the same time to _Instruct_, and
_Improve_ the Minds of the _YOUTH_ of _both Sexes_:
IF to inculcate _Religion_ and _Morality_ in so easy and agreeable a
manner, as shall render them equally _delightful_ and _profitable_
[_del._ 5th] {to the _younger Class_ of Readers, as well as worthy of
the Attention of Persons of _maturer_ Years and Understandings}:
IF to set forth in the most exemplary Lights, the _Parental_, the
_Filial_, and the _Social_ Duties, [_del._ 5th] {and that from _low_ to
_high_ Life}:
IF to paint _VICE_ in its proper Colours, to make it _deservedly
Odious_; and to set _VIRTUE_ in its own amiable Light, to make it truly
_Lovely_:
IF to draw Characters _justly_, and to support them _equally_:
IF to raise a Distress from _natural_ Causes, and to excite Compassion
from _proper_ Motives:
IF to teach the Man of _Fortune_ how to use it; the Man of _Passion_ how
to subdue it; and the Man of _Intrigue_, how, gracefully, and with
Honour to himself, to _reclaim_:
IF to give _practical_ Examples, worthy to be followed in the most
_critical_ and _affecting_ Cases, by the [_del._ 5th] {modest} _Virgin_,
the [_del._ 5th] {chaste} _Bride_, and the [_del._ 5th] {obliging}
_Wife_:
IF to effect all these good Ends, [_del._ 8th] {in so probable, so
natural, so _lively_ a manner, as shall engage the Passions of every
sensible Reader, and strongly interest them in the edifying Story:
AND all} without raising a single _Idea_ throughout the Whole, that
shall shock the exactest Purity, even in those tender Instances where
the exactest Purity would be most apprehensive:
IF these [_del._ 5th] {, (embellished with a great Variety of
entertaining Incidents)} be laudable or worthy Recommendations of any
Work, the Editor of the following Letters, which have their Foundation
in _Truth_ [_del._ 8th] {and _Nature_}, ventures to assert, that all
these desirable Ends are obtained [8th, change 1.] {in these Sheets: And
as he is therefore confident of the favourable Reception which he boldly
bespeaks for this little Work; he thinks any _further Preface_ or
_Apology_ for it, unnecessary: And the rather for two Reasons, 1st.
Because he can Appeal from _his own_ Passions, (which have been
uncommonly _moved_ in perusing these engaging Scenes) to the Passions of
_Every one_ who shall read them with the least Attention: And, in the
next place, because an _Editor_ may reasonably be supposed to judge with
an Impartiality which is rarely to be met with in an _Author_ towards
his own Works.}
The Editor.
To the Editor of the Piece intitled, PAMELA; or, _VIRTUE Rewarded_.
_Dear SIR,_
I have had inexpressible Pleasure in the Perusal of your PAMELA. It
intirely answers the Character you give of it in your Preface; nor have
you said one Word too much in Commendation of a Piece that has
Advantages and Excellencies peculiar to itself. For, besides the
beautiful Simplicity of the Style, and a happy Propriety and Clearness
of Expression (the Letters being written under the immediate Impression
of every Circumstance which occasioned them, and that to those who had a
Right to know the fair Writer's most secret Thoughts) the several
Passions of the Mind must, of course, be more affectingly described, and
Nature may be traced in her undisguised Inclinations with much more
Propriety and Exactness, than can possibly be found in a Detail of
Actions long past, which are never recollected with the same Affections,
Hopes, and Dreads, with which they were felt when they occurred.
This little Book will infallibly be looked upon as the hitherto
much-wanted Standard or Pattern for this Kind of Writing. For it abounds
with lively Images and Pictures; with Incidents natural, surprising, and
perfectly adapted to the Story; with Circumstances interesting to
Persons in common Life, as well as to those in exalted Stations. The
greatest Regard is every where paid in it to Decency, and to every Duty
of Life: There is a constant Fitness of the Style to the Persons and
Characters described; Pleasure and Instruction here always go hand in
hand: Vice and Virtue are set in constant Opposition, and Religion
every-where inculcated in its native Beauty and chearful Amiableness;
not dressed up in stiff, melancholy, or gloomy Forms, on one hand, nor
yet, on the other, debased below its due Dignity and noble Requisites,
in Compliment to a too fashionable but depraved Taste. And this I will
boldly say, that if its numerous Beauties are added to its excellent
Tendency, it will be found worthy a Place, not only in all Families
(especially such as have in them young Persons of either Sex) but in the
Collections of the most curious and polite Readers. For, as it borrows
none of its Excellencies from the romantic Flights of unnatural Fancy,
its being founded in Truth and Nature, and built upon Experience, will
be a lasting Recommendation to the Discerning and Judicious; while the
agreeable Variety of Occurrences and Characters, in which it abounds,
will not fail to engage the Attention of the gay and more sprightly
Readers.
The moral Reflections and Uses to be drawn from the several Parts of
this admirable History, are so happily deduced from a Croud of different
Events and Characters, in the Conclusion of the Work, that I shall say
the less on that Head. But I think, the Hints you have given me, should
also prefatorily be given to the Publick; _viz._ That it will appear
from several Things mentioned in the Letters, that the Story must have
happened within these Thirty Years past: That you have been obliged to
vary some of the Names of Persons, Places, _&c._ and to disguise a few
of the Circumstances, in order to avoid giving Offence to some Persons,
who would not chuse to be pointed out too plainly in it; tho' they would
be glad it may do the Good so laudably intended by the Publication. And
as you have in Confidence submitted to my Opinion some of those
Variations, I am much pleased that you have so managed the Matter, as to
make no Alteration in the Facts; and, at the same time, have avoided the
digressive Prolixity too frequently used on such Occasions.
Little Book, charming PAMELA! face the World, and never doubt of finding
Friends and Admirers, not only in thine own Country, but far from Home;
[_del._ 8th] {where thou mayst give an Example of Purity to the Writers
of a neighbouring Nation; which now shall have an Opportunity to receive
_English_ Bullion in Exchange for its own Dross, which has so long
passed current among us in Pieces abounding with all the Levities of its
volatile Inhabitants.} The reigning Depravity of the Times has yet left
Virtue many Votaries. Of their Protection you need not despair. May
every head-strong Libertine whose Hands you reach, be reclaimed; and
every tempted Virgin who reads you, imitate the Virtue, and meet the
Reward of the high-meriting, tho' low-descended, PAMELA. I am, Sir,
_Your most Obedient,
and Faithful Servant,_
J. B. D. F.
_To my worthy Friend, the Editor of PAMELA._
_SIR_,
I return the Manuscript of _Pamela_ by the Bearer, which I have read
with a great deal of Pleasure. It is written with that Spirit of Truth
and agreeable Simplicity, which, tho' much wanted, is seldom found in
those Pieces which are calculated for the Entertainment and Instruction
of the Publick. It carries Conviction in every Part of it; and the
Incidents are so natural and interesting, that I have gone hand-in-hand,
and sympathiz'd with the pretty Heroine in all her Sufferings, and been
extremely anxious for her Safety, under the Apprehensions of the bad
Consequences which I expected, every Page, would ensue from the laudable
Resistance she made. I have interested myself in all her Schemes of
Escape; been alternately pleas'd and angry with her in her Restraint;
_pleas'd_ with the little Machinations and Contrivances she set on foot
for her Release, and _angry_ for suffering her Fears to defeat them;
always lamenting, with a most sensible Concern, the Miscarriages of her
Hopes and Projects. In short, the whole is so affecting, that there is
no reading it without uncommon Concern and Emotion. Thus far only as to
the _Entertainment_ it gives.
As to _Instruction_ and _Morality_, the Piece is full of both. It shews
Virtue in the strongest Light, and renders the Practice of it amiable
and lovely. The beautiful Sufferer keeps it ever in her View, without
the least Ostentation, or Pride; she has it so strongly implanted in
her, that thro' the whole Course of her Sufferings, she does not so much
as hesitate once, whether she shall sacrifice it to Liberty and
Ambition, or not; but, as if there were no other way to free and save
herself, carries on a determin'd Purpose to persevere in her Innocence,
and wade with it throughout all Difficulties and Temptations, or perish
under them. [_del._ 8th] {It is an astonishing Matter, and well worth
our most serious Consideration, that a young beautiful Girl, in the low
Scene of Life and Circumstance in which Fortune placed her, without the
Advantage of a Friend capable to relieve and protect her, or any other
Education than what occurr'd to her from her own Observation and little
Reading, in the Course of her Attendance on her excellent Mistress and
Benefactress, could, after having a Taste of Ease and Plenty in a higher
Sphere of Life than what she was born and first brought up in, resolve
to return to her primitive Poverty, rather than give up her Innocence.}
I say, it is surprising, that a young Person, so circumstanced, could,
in Contempt of proffer'd Grandeur on the one side, and in Defiance of
Penury on the other, so happily and prudently conduct herself thro' such
a Series of Perplexities and Troubles, and withstand the alluring Baits,
and almost irresistible Offers of a fine Gentleman, so universally
admired and esteemed, for the Agreeableness of his Person and good
Qualities, among all his Acquaintance; defeat all his Measures with so
much Address, and oblige him, at last, to give over his vain Pursuit,
and sacrifice his Pride and Ambition to Virtue, and become the Protector
of that Innocence which he so long and so indefatigably labour'd to
supplant: And all this without ever having entertain'd the least
previous Design or Thought for that Purpose: No Art used to inflame him,
no Coquetry practised to tempt or intice him, and no Prudery or
Affectation to tamper with his Passions; but, on the contrary, artless
and unpractised in the Wiles of the World, all her Endeavours, and even
all her Wishes, tended only to render herself as un-amiable as she could
in his Eyes: Tho' at the same time she is so far from having any
Aversion to his Person, that she seems rather prepossess'd in his
Favour, and admires his Excellencies, whilst she condemns his Passion
for her. A glorious Instance of Self-denial! Thus her very Repulses
became Attractions: The more she resisted, the more she charm'd; and the
very Means she used to guard her Virtue, the more endanger'd it, by
inflaming his Passions: Till, at last, by Perseverance, and a brave and
resolute Defence, the Besieged not only obtain'd a glorious Victory over
the Besieger, but took him Prisoner too.
I am charmed with the beautiful Reflections she makes in the Course of
her Distresses; her Soliloquies and little Reasonings with herself, are
exceeding pretty and entertaining: She pours out all her Soul in them
before her Parents without Disguise; so that one may judge of, nay,
almost see, the inmost Recesses of her Mind. A pure clear Fountain of
Truth and Innocence; a Magazine of Virtue and unblemish'd Thoughts!
I can't conceive why you should hesitate a Moment as to the Publication
of this very natural and uncommon Piece. I could wish to see it out in
its own native Simplicity, which will affect and please the Reader
beyond all the Strokes of Oratory in the World; for those will but spoil
it: and, should you permit such a murdering Hand to be laid upon it, to
gloss and tinge it over with superfluous and needless Decorations,
which, like too much Drapery in Sculpture and Statuary, will but
encumber it; it may disguise the Facts, mar the Reflections, and
unnaturalize the Incidents, so as to be lost in a Multiplicity of fine
idle Words and Phrases, and reduce our Sterling Substance into an empty
Shadow, or rather _frenchify_ our _English_ Solidity into Froth and
Whip-syllabub. No; let us have _Pamela_ as _Pamela_ wrote it; in her own
Words, without Amputation, or Addition. Produce her to us in her neat
Country Apparel, such as she appear'd in, on her intended Departure to
her Parents; for such best becomes her Innocence, and beautiful
Simplicity. Such a Dress will best edify and entertain. The flowing
Robes of Oratory may indeed amuse and amaze, but will never strike the
Mind with solid Attention.
In short, Sir, a Piece of this Kind is much wanted in the World, which
is but too much, as well as too early, debauched by pernicious _Novels_.
I know nothing Entertaining of that Kind that one might venture to
recommend to the Perusal (much less the Imitation) of the Youth of
either Sex: All that I have hitherto read, tends only to corrupt their
Principles, mislead their Judgments, and initiate them into Gallantry,
and loose Pleasures.
Publish then, this good, this edifying and instructive little Piece for
their sakes. The Honour of _Pamela_'s Sex demands _Pamela_ at your
Hands, to shew the World an Heroine, almost beyond Example, in an
unusual Scene of Life, whom no Temptations, or Sufferings, could subdue.
It is a fine, and glorious Original, for the Fair to copy out and
imitate. Our own Sex, too, require it of you, to free us, in some
measure, from the Imputation of being incapable of the Impressions of
Virtue and Honour; [_del._ 8th] {and to shew the Ladies, that we are not
inflexible while they are so.}
In short, the Cause of Virtue calls for the Publication of such a Piece
as this. Oblige then, Sir, the concurrent Voices of both Sexes, and give
us _Pamela_ for the Benefit of Mankind: [_del._ 8th] {And as I believe
its Excellencies cannot be long unknown to the World, and that there
will not be a Family without it; so I make no Doubt but every Family
that has it, will be much improv'd and better'd by it.} 'Twill form the
tender Minds of _Youth_ for the Reception and Practice of Virtue and
Honour; confirm and establish those of _maturer Years_ on good and
steady Principles; reclaim the Vicious, and mend the Age in general;
insomuch that as I doubt not _Pamela_ will become the bright Example and
Imitation of all the fashionable young Ladies of _Great Britain_; so the
truly generous Benefactor and Rewarder of her exemplary Virtue, will be
no less admired and imitated among the _Beau Monde_ of our own Sex. I am
_Your affectionate Friend, &c._
INTRODUCTION
TO THIS
SECOND EDITION.
_The kind Reception which this Piece has met with from the Publick,
[_del._ 4th] {(a large Impression having been carried off in less than
Three Months)} deserves not only Acknowlegdment, but that some Notice
should be taken of the Objections that have hitherto come to hand
against a few Passages in it, [_del._ 5th] {that so the Work may be
rendered as unexceptionable as possible, and, of consequence, the fitter
to answer the general Design of it; which is to promote Virtue, and
cultivate the Minds of the Youth of both Sexes.}_
[5th, change 2.] {_But Difficulties having arisen from the different
Opinions of Gentlemen, some of whom applauded the very Things that
others found Fault with, it was thought proper to submit the Whole to
the Judgment of a Gentleman of the most distinguish'd Taste and
Abilities; the Result of which will be seen in the subsequent Pages._}
[_del._ 5th] {_We begin with the following Letter, at the Desire of
several Gentlemen, to whom, on a very particular Occasion, it was
communicated, and who wish'd to see it prefixed to the New Edition. It
was directed,_}
_To the Editor of PAMELA._
_Dear Sir,_
You have agreeably deceiv'd me into a Surprize, which it will be as hard
to express, as the Beauties of PAMELA. Though I open'd this powerful
little Piece with more Expectation than from common Designs, of like
Promise, because it came from _your_ Hands, for my _Daughters_, yet, who
could have dreamt, he should find, under the modest Disguise of a
_Novel_, all the _Soul_ of Religion, Good-breeding, Discretion,
Good-nature, Wit, Fancy, Fine Thought, and Morality?---I have done
nothing but read it to others, and hear others again read it, to me,
ever since it came into my Hands; and I find I am likely to do nothing
else, for I know not how long yet to come: because, if I lay the Book
down, it comes after me.----When it has dwelt all Day long upon the Ear,
It takes Possession, all Night, of the Fancy.----It has Witchcraft in
every Page of it: but it is the Witchcraft of Passion and Meaning. Who
is there that will not despise the false, empty _Pomp_ of the Poets,
when he observes in this little, unpretending, mild Triumph of _Nature_,
the whole Force of Invention and Genius, creating new Powers of Emotion,
and transplanting _Ideas_ of _Pleasure_ into that unweeded low Garden
the _Heart_, from the dry and sharp _Summit_ of _Reason_?
Yet, I confess, there is _One_, in the World, of whom I think with still
greater Respect, than of PAMELA: and That is, of the [_del._ 5th]
{wonderful} AUTHOR of PAMELA.----Pray, Who is he, Dear Sir? and where,
and how, has he been able to hide, hitherto, such an encircling and
all-mastering Spirit? He possesses every Quality that ART could have
charm'd by: yet, has lent it to, and conceal'd it in, NATURE.----The
Comprehensiveness of his Imagination must be truly prodigious!----It has
stretch'd out this diminutive mere _Grain_ of _Mustard-seed_, (a poor
Girl's little, innocent, Story) into a Resemblance of That _Heaven_,
which the Best of Good Books has compar'd it to.----All the Passions are
His, in their most close and abstracted Recesses: and by selecting the
most delicate, and yet, at the same time, most powerful, of their
Springs, thereby to act, wind, and manage, the Heart, He _moves_ us,
every where, with the Force of a TRAGEDY.
What is there, throughout the _Whole_, that I do not sincerely
admire!---I admire, in it, the strong distinguish'd Variety, and
picturesque glowing Likeness to _Life_, of the Characters. I know, hear,
see, and live among 'em All: and, if I cou'd paint, cou'd return you
their _Faces_. I admire, in it, the noble Simplicity, Force, Aptness,
and Truth, of so many modest, oeconomical, moral, prudential, religious,
satirical, and cautionary, _Lessons_; which are introduc'd with such
seasonable Dexterity, and with so polish'd and exquisite a Delicacy, of
Expression and Sentiment, that I am only apprehensive, for the
_Interests_ of _Virtue_, lest some of the _finest_, and _most touching_,
of those elegant Strokes of Good-breeding, Generosity, and Reflection,
shou'd be lost, under the too gross Discernment of an unfeeling Majority
of Readers; for whose Coarseness, however, they were kindly design'd, as
the most useful and charitable Correctives.
One of the best-judg'd Peculiars, of the Plan, is, that These
Instructions being convey'd, as in a Kind of Dramatical Representation,
by those beautiful _Scenes_, Her own Letters and Journals, who acts the
most moving and suffering _Part_, we feel the Force in a threefold
Effect,----from the Motive, the Act, and the Consequence.
But what, above All, I am charm'd with, is the amiable _Good-nature_ of
the AUTHOR; who, I am convinc'd, has one of the best, and most generous
Hearts, of Mankind: because, mis-measuring _other_ Minds, by _His Own_,
he can draw Every thing, to Perfection, but _Wickedness_.----I became
inextricably in _Love_ with this delightful Defect of his Malice;--for,
I found it owing to an _Excess_ in his _Honesty_. Only observe, Sir,
with what _virtuous Reluctance_ he complies with the Demands of his
Story, when he stands in need of some blameable Characters. Tho' his
Judgment compels him to mark 'em with disagreeable Colourings, so that
they make an odious Appearance at first, He can't forbear, by an
unexpected and gradual Decline from Themselves, to soften and transmute
all the Horror conceiv'd for their Baseness, till we are arriv'd,
through insensible Stages, at an Inclination to forgive it intirely.
I must venture to add, without mincing the matter, what I really
believe, of this Book.---It will live on, through Posterity, with such
unbounded Extent of Good Consequences, that Twenty Ages to come may be
the Better and Wiser, for its Influence. It will steal first,
imperceptibly, into the Hearts of the _Young_ and the _Tender_: where It
will afterwards guide and moderate their Reflections and Resolves, when
grown Older. And so, a gradual moral Sunshine, of un-austere and
compassionate _Virtue_, shall break out upon the _World_, from this
TRIFLE (for such, I dare answer for the _Author_, His Modesty misguides
him to think it).----No Applause therefore can be too _high_, for _such
Merit_. And, let me abominate the contemptible _Reserves of
mean-spirited Men_, who while they but _hesitate_ their Esteem, with
Restraint, can be fluent and uncheck'd in their _Envy_.----In an Age so
deficient in Goodness, Every such Virtue, as That of this Author, is a
salutary _Angel_, in _Sodom_. And _One_ who cou'd stoop to conceal,
a Delight he receives from the _Worthy_, wou'd be equally capable of
submitting to an Approbation of the _Praise_ of the _Wicked_.
I was thinking, just now, as I return'd from a _Walk_ in the _Snow_, on
that _Old Roman Policy_, of Exemptions in Favour of Men, who had given a
few, bodily, Children to the Republick.----What superior Distinction
ought _our_ Country, to find [_del._ 8th] {(but that Policy and We are
at Variance)} for Reward of this _Father, of Millions of_ MINDS, which
are to owe new Formation to the future Effect of his Influence!