every blooming Charm is called forth to wound, not in affected Finery,
but in an artful Simplicity; nor is your Conduct less, Sir, in
introducing her to the Squire: Beauties that might grow familiar to the
Eye and pall upon the Passion by being often seen in one Habit, thus
varied take a surer Aim to strike.----The Instruction here then is to
the _Ladies_, that by altering their Appearance they are more likely to
catch their Lover's Affections than by being always the same; and that a
neat cherry cheek'd Country Lass tripping along with a Straw Hat in her
Hand may _allure_, when perhaps a pale faced Court Lady might be
_despised_; and I dare say, that no young Gentleman who reads this, but
wishes himself in Mrs. _Jervis_'s Place to _turn_ Pamela _about and
about and examine all her Dress to her under Petticoat_.
The next Thing is how to introduce her to the Squire, and in that Mrs.
_Jervis_ is as decently drawn in for a Procuress as can be; he sees her
talking with Mrs. _Jervis_, and thinking her to be a _fresh Lady_, sends
for Mrs. _Jervis_ to him, who notwithstanding she would do all she can
to preserve the Maiden's Virtue, yet insists upon her going to him in
her new Garb, tho' she must certainly know it could only tend to
_inflame_ his Desire the more, and urge him to still greater Liberties:
_p._ 65, 66: "She stept to me, and told me, I must go in with her to my
Master; but, said she, for Goodness sake, let him not find you out; for
he don't know you. O fie, Mrs. _Jervis_, said I, how could you serve me
so? Besides, it looks too free both _in me_, and _to him_. I tell you,
said she, you _shall_ come in; and pray don't reveal yourself till he
finds you out. So I went in, foolish as I was; tho' I must have been
seen by him another Time, if I had not then. And she would make me take
my Straw-hat in my Hand. I dropt a low Curt'sy, but said never a Word. I
dare say, he knew me as soon as he saw my Face; but was as cunning as
_Lucifer_. He came up to me, and took me by the Hand, and said, whose
pretty Maiden are you?--I dare say you are _Pamela_'s Sister, you are so
like her. So neat, so clean, so pretty! Why, Child, you far surpass your
Sister _Pamela_! I was all Confusion, and would have spoken, but he took
me about the Neck; Why, said he, you are very pretty, Child; I would not
be so free with your Sister, you may believe; but I must kiss you. O
Sir, said I, I am _Pamela_, indeed I am _Pamela_, _her ownself_! He
kissed me for all I could do; and said, Impossible! You are a lovelier
Girl by half than _Pamela_; and sure I may be innocently free with you,
tho' I would not do her so much Favour. This was a sad Bite upon me
indeed, and what I could not expect; and Mrs. _Jervis_ look'd like a
Fool as much as I, for her Officiousness. At last I got away, and ran
out of the Parlour, _most sadly vex'd, as you may well think_."
This occasioned an Emotion in him, which is admirably described, but in
a Piece designed only to encourage Virtue, no ways necessary to be
introduced: _p._ 67. "He then took me in his Arms, and presently push'd
me from him. Mrs. _Jervis_, said he, take the little Witch from me; I
can neither bear, nor forbear her! (Strange Words these!)--But stay, you
shan't go! Yet begone!--No, come back again. I thout he was mad, for my
Share; for he _knew not what he would have_. But I was going however,
and he stept after me, and took hold of my Arm, and brought me in again:
I am sure he made my Arm black and blue; for the Marks are upon it
still. Sir, Sir, said I, pray have Mercy; I will, I will come in! He sat
down, and _look'd at me_, and, as I thought afterwards, as sillily as
such a poor Girl as I."
Nat. _Lee's fiery Kisses_, _melting Raptures_, and the most luxuriant
Flowers of amorous Rhetoric cannot more fully express the Onset of a
declining stifled Passion kindled anew; the warm Struggle, the sudden
Grasp, and the languishing Eye can hardly be painted in stronger Terms:
And tho' I think it beautiful Colouring, yet I should be sorry my Son or
Daughter should be delighted with it. What follows this, is what any one
might expect, the Squire, fired with this View of his _Pamela_, grows
more eager to accomplish his Designs; but least the Reader should
mistake the Purport of the Author, he takes Care to inform them of it by
the Mouth of Mrs. _Jervis_: p. 73, 74. "Upon my Word, says she,
_Pamela_, I don't wonder he loves you; for, without Flattery, you are a
charming Girl! and I never saw you look more lovely in my Life, than in
that same new Dress of yours. And then it was such a Surprize upon us
all!----I believe truly, you owe some of your Danger to the lovely
_Appearance_ you made."
Squire _B._ supposed to be quite impatient, as I observed before, had
now resolved to have a last Trial; and for that Purpose concealed
himself in the Room where _Pamela_ lay; _p._ 71. "I went to Mrs.
_Jervis_'s Chamber; and, O my dear Father and Mother, my wicked Master
had hid himself, base Gentleman as he is! In her Closet, where she has a
few Books, and Chest of Drawers, and such-like. I little suspected it;
tho' I used, till this sad Night, always to look into that Closet,
another in the Room, and under the Bed, ever since the Summer House
Trick, but never found any Thing; and so I did not do it then, being
fully resolved to be angry with Mrs. _Jervis_ for what had happened in
the Day, and so thought of nothing else. I sat myself down on one Side
of the Bed, and she on the other, and we began to undress ourselves." A
very fine Instruction this Passage must give us truly! Here he again is
to feast his Eyes with her naked Charms, and wait but a little longer
before he rushes out to seize them as his own: _p._ 74. "Hush! said I,
Mrs. _Jervis_, did you not hear something stir in the Closet? No, silly
Girl! said she; your Fears are always awake.----But indeed, said I, I
think I heard something rustle.----May-be, says she, the Cat may be got
there: But I hear nothing. I was hush, but she said, Pr'ythee, my good
Girl, make haste to-bed. See if the Door be fast. So I did, and was
thinking to look in the Closet; but hearing no more Noise, thought it
needless, and so went again and sat myself down on the Bed-side, and
went on undressing myself. And Mrs. _Jervis_, being by this Time
undress'd, stepp'd into Bed, and bid me hasten, for she was sleepy. I
don't know what was the Matter; but my Heart sadly misgave me; but Mr.
_Jonathan_'s Note was enough to make it do so, with what Mrs. _Jervis_
had said. _I pulled off my Stays and my Stockens; and all my Cloaths to
an Under Petticoat_; and then hearing a rustling in the Closet; I said,
Heaven protect us! but before I say my Prayers, I must look into the
Closet. And so was going to it slip-shod, when, O dreadful! out rush'd
my Master, in a rich silk and silver Morning Gown. I scream'd, and ran
to the Bed; and Mrs. _Jervis_ scream'd too; and he said, I'll do you no
Harm, if you forbear this Noise; but otherwise take what follows:
Instantly he came to the Bed, (for I had crept into it, to Mrs.
_Jervis_, with my Coat on, and my Shoes) and, taking me in his Arms,
said, Mrs. _Jervis_, rise, and just step up Stairs, to keep the Maids
from coming down at this Noise; I'll do no Harm to this Rebel."
Here the lovely Nymph is undress'd in her Bed Chamber, without Reserve,
and doing a Hundred little Actions, which every one's Fancy must help
him to form who reads this Passage, and in the Midst of all this, the
Squire is introduced: And however she and Mrs. _Jervis_ may endeavour to
keep down the _Under Petticoat_, yet few Youths but would secretly wish
to be in the Squire's Place, and naturally conclude they would not let
the Nymph escape so easily.--Now the Scene rises, the Colours begin to
glow and rise to the Life: _p._ 75. "_I found his Hand in my Bosom_, and
when my Fright let me know it, _I was ready to die; and I sigh'd, and
screamed, and fainted away_. And still he had his Arms about my Neck;
and Mrs. _Jervis_ was about my Feet, and upon my Coat. And all in a cold
clammy Sweat was I. _Pamela! Pamela!_ said Mrs. _Jervis_, as she tells
me since, O--h, and gave another Shriek, my poor _Pamela_ is dead for
certain!--And so, to be sure I was for a Time; _for I knew nothing more
of the Matter_, one Fit following another, till about three Hours after,
as it prov'd to be, I found myself in Bed, and Mrs. _Jervis_ sitting up
on one Side, with her Wrapper about her, and _Rachel_ on the other."
_Feeling of the Breasts, fainting, and dying away_, may, in your
Opinion, Sir, be Excitements to _Virtue_, but they are too VIRTUOUS a
Description in my Mind for any young untainted Mind to peruse.
Miss after this is ill, and when she had _blubber'd_, and cried three or
four Days, the Squire to bring her to herself, and allure her Fancy,
takes care to shew himself to her in all the Advantages of Dress and
Finery; _p._ 81. 'Yesterday he had a rich Suit of Cloaths brought home,
which they call a Birth-day Suit.' Here is the Contraste to _Pamela_'s
plain Neatness, he had found that her amiable Figure had caused fresh
Emotions in him, and consequently he imagined his must have the same
Effect on her. _p._ 81. 'He had these Cloaths come home, and he try'd
them on. And before he pull'd them off, he sent for me, when nobody else
was in the Parlor with him: _Pamela_, said he, you are so neat and so
nice in your own Dress, (Alack-a-day, I did'n't know I was!) that you
must be a Judge of ours. How are these Cloaths made? Do they fit me? I
am no Judge, said I, and please your Honour; but I think they look very
fine. His Waistcoat stood an End with Gold Lace, and he look'd very
grand.'
And at the same Time that he endeavours to charm her with his own
Person, he as artfully allures her with the most fulsome Flattery: _p._
83. 'Well, said he, you are an ungrateful Baggage; but I am thinking it
would be Pity, with _these soft Hands_, and that _lovely Skin_, (as he
called it, and took hold of my Hand) that you should again return to
hard Work, as you must, if you go to your Father's; and so _I would
advise her to take a House in_ London, _and let Lodgings to us Members
of Parliament_, when we come to Town; and such a _pretty Daughter_ as
you may pass for, will always _fill her House_, and she'll get a great
deal of Money.'
This Compliment was a little of the grossest for a fine Gentleman! But
the Heightening is still behind: After some little tart Repartees and
Sallies aiming at Wit, the Author seems to indulge his Genius with all
the Rapture of lascivious Ingenuity: _p._ 84, 85. 'I wish, said he,
(I'am almost ashamed to write it, _impudent Gentleman_) I wish, I had
thee as QUICK ANOTHER WAY, as thou art in thy Repartees.----And he
laugh'd, and I snatch'd my Hands from him, and I tripp'd away as fast I
could. _Ah! thought I marry'd?_ I'm sure _'tis Time you were married_,
or at this Rate no honest Maiden ought to live with you!' Here's Virtue
encouraged with a Vengeance and the most obscene Idea express'd by a
double Entendre, which falls little short of the coarsest Ribaldry; yet
_Pamela_ is designed to _mend_ the _Taste_ and _Manners_ of the Times,
and _instruct_ and _encourage Youth in Virtue_; if that were the Case
there was no absolute Necessity in my Opinion for the inserting of this
Passage. How artfully is the Turn of the Entendre wrought up for the
INSTRUCTION of both _Sexes_. The young Gentleman will find the Squir's
Wish to be, that his beloved _Pamela_ would quite the _cold Air_ of a
reserved Modesty, immediately yield to his Wishes, and meet him in an
_amorous Conflict_, with all the _Vivacity_ that simple Nature
unrestrain'd by Art could inspire. And little Miss, who just begins to
sigh and wish for she knows not what, will be encouraged to wish for a
Husband, and think a _double Entendre_ strictly virtuous, even tho' it
turns upon the _Closet Commerce_ between the Sexes: And should any one
intrusted with her Education inform her that she is in the Wrong, or
strive to check the rising Passion; may she not pertly answer. _Why
sure! There's no Harm in it, for_ Pamela _does so; there are several
such Things in that_ good Book, _and my_ Mother _recommended me to the
reading of it, nay, and the_ Parson _says it is the_ best Book in the
World _except the_ Bible.
Miss _Pamela_ tho' very angry with her Master, yet in some Measure seems
to be very fond of excusing him: 'He's very wicked indeed, says she, but
then there are others as bad, 'tis Time he was married truely; for he
grows so rampant he'll overrun the Parish else, but if he does there are
others that will keep him in Countenance; there's Squire _Martin_ he
keeps a Seraglio of his own, and has had _three Lyings in_, it seems, in
his House, within these three Months; and several more of my Master's
Companions who are as bad as he. Alack a day! What a World we live in!
It is grown more Wonder that Men are _resisted_ than that Women
_comply_.' Indeed Mr. _Pamela_ is very discerning of her Age!
Mrs. _Jervis_ notwithstanding her motherly Goodness, seems still to be
Procuress in Ordinary, though indeed she doth not prove so pac'd an One
as Mrs. _Jewkes_ doth afterwards; but wou'd any sober Matron after what
Attempts have been made before, ever so far comply with the loose
Inclinations of her Master as to introduce him into a Closet to overhear
a private Conversation and her Charge? But the _five Guineas_ the Squire
gave her upon closing her yearly Accounts seem to have soften'd her a
little more to his Interest, for in _p._ 95. she conveys him into the
Green Room, where was a Sash Door and a Curtain conveniently that he
might both hear and see, tho' _Pamela_ confesses _she had reason to
remember the last Closet Work_.
Her harmless Tattle o'er her Things whilst she was seperating them from
those she intended to leave behind her, but added fresh Fuel to the
Squire's Flame; and here he first takes Heart to make an Open
Declaration of his Love. _p._ 102, 103. 'He took me up, in a kinder
manner, than ever I had known; and he said, Shut the Door, _Pamela_, and
come to me in my Closet: I want to have a little serious Talk with you.
How can I, Sir, said I, how can I? and wrung my Hands! O pray, Sir, let
me go out of your Presence, I beseech you. By the God that made me, said
he, I'll do you no harm, Shut the Parlour-door, and come to me in my
Library. He then went into his Closet, which is his Library, and full of
rich Pictures besides; a noble Apartment, tho' called a Closet, and next
the private Garden, into which it has a Door that opens. I shut the
Parlour-door, as he bid me; but stood at it irresolute. Place some
Confidence in me surely, said he, you may, when I have spoken thus
solemnly. So I crept towards him with trembling Feet, and my Heart
throbing through my Handkerchief. Come in, said he, when I bid you. I
did so. Pray, Sir, said I, pity and spare me. I will said he, as I hope
to be sav'd. He sat down upon a rich Settee; and took hold of my Hand,
and said, Don't doubt me, _Pamela_. From this Moment I will no more
consider you as my Servant; and I desire you'll not use me with
Ingratitude for the Kindness I am going to express towards you. This a
little embolden'd me; and he said, holding both my Hands in his, You
have too much Wit and good Sense not to discover, that I, inspite of my
Heart, and all the Pride of it, cannot _but love you_. Yes, look up to
me, my sweet-fac'd Girl! I must say I love you; and have put on a
Behaviour to you, that was much against my Heart, in hopes to frighten
you to my Purposes. You see I own it ingenously.'
By this Means he perswades the Maid to stay a Fortnight longer, and then
Parson _Williams_ is first introduced: Thinks he if I can debauch this
Girl 'tis but marrying her to my Chaplain afterwards, giving him a good
Living and all's right; and this he brings in with an Offer of Fifty
Guineas. However all will not do and she is to go away when she pleases;
upon which melancholy occasion Miss must grow poetical and entertain us
with a Ditty.
The Squire's Intrigues, the Author has laid the Scene of himself; which
take in his own Words: _p._ 114, 115. 'Here it is necessary to observe,
that the fair _Pamela_'s Trials were not yet over; but the worst of all
were yet to come, at a Time when she thought them at an End, and that
she was returning to her Father: For when her Master found that her
Virtue was not to be subdu'd, and he had in vain tried to conquer his
Passion for her, _being a Gentleman of Intrigue_, he had order'd his
_Lincolnshire_ Coachman to bring his travelling Chariot from thence, not
caring to trust his Body Coachman, who, with the rest of the Servants,
so greatly lov'd and honour'd the fair Damsel; and having given him
Instructions accordingly, and prohibited his other Servants, on Pretence
of resenting _Pamela_'s Behaviour, from accompanying her any Part of the
Way, he drove her Five Miles on the Way to her Father's; and then
turning off, cross'd the Country, and carried her onward towards his
_Lincolnshire_ Estate. It is also to be observ'd, that the Messenger of
her Letters to her Father, who so often pretended Business that Way, was
an Implement in his Master's Hands, and employ'd by him for that
Purpose; and who always gave her Letters first to him, and his Master
used to open and read them, and then send them on.'
Not to mention the little Occurrences upon the Road, the _Chaste_
Discourse at the Inn, her Interview with Mrs. _Jewkes_, &c. we now
transpose the Scene from _Bedfordshire_ to the Mansion House in
_Lincolnshire_, where the poor Turtle is now coop'd up; and certainly it
must be allowed, that the Author has contrived to heighten his _Amorous
Tale_ by just Degrees, so as at once to court the Expectation, and raise
the glowing Passions 'till it is almost impossible but they must burst
forth in a Blaze.
Mrs. _Jewkes_ enters into the Business with all the Assurance of an
experienc'd Bawd. It was contrived that Miss should bait at an Inn upon
the Road, kept by her Sister, and there Mrs. _Jewkes_ receives her fair
Charge: p. 136. 'The naughty Woman came up to me with an Air of
Confidence, and _kiss'd me_: See, Sister, said she, here's a _charming
Creature_! Would she not tempt the best Lord in the Land to run away
with her? O frightful! thought I; here's an Avowal of the Matter at
once: I am now gone, that's certain. And so was quite silent and
confounded; and seeing no Help for it, (for she would not part with me
out of her Sight) I was forc'd to set out with her in the Chariot.'
Her behaviour there was a Piece with the first Onset; _p._ 137. 'Every
now and then she would be _staring in my Face_, in the Chariot, and
_squeezing my Hand_, and saying, Why you are very pretty, my silent
Dear! And once she offer'd to kiss me. But I said, I don't like this
Sort of Carriage, Mrs. _Jewkes_; _it is not like two Persons of one
Sex_. She fell a laughing very confidently, and said, That's prettily
said, _I vow! Then thou hadst rather be kiss'd by the other Sex?
"Isackins, I commend thee for that"!_' There are at present, I am sorry
to say it, too many who assume the Characters of Women of Mrs.
_Jewkes_'s Cast, I mean _Lovers of their own Sex_, _Pamela_ seems to be
acquainted with this, and indeed shews so much Virtue, that she has no
Objection to the Male Sex as too many of her own have.
_Pamela_ begins now to shew her Skill in Intrigue. It is a trite
Observation, that Confinement and Restraint will drive a Woman to the
most desperate Applications for a Remedy. She is lock'd up, and no
_Spanish Lady_ whatever could be closer confined by the most watchful
_Duenna_; but Miss comforts herself that she shall be too hard for them
all: _p._ 157. 'Well, thought I, I hope still, _Argus_, to be too hard
for thee. Now _Argus_, the Poets say, had an Hundred Eyes, and was made
to watch with them all, as she does.' The Parson here is brought upon
the Tapis, and instead of the _harmless Dove_ hatching Piety and
Affection, he enters into his Patron's Affairs with so much affected
Business, as makes him rather a _Medlar_ than a _Friend_. A fine
Complement to the Clergy by the Way!
Mrs. _Jewkes_ takes all Opportunities of insinuating her Master's _good
Qualities_, but especially his Manhood, and _Pamela_ seems as desirous
of hearing of them: _p._ 163. 'Well, well, Lambkin, (which the Foolish
often calls me) if I was in his Place, he should not have his Property
in you long questionable. Why, what would you do, said I, if you were
he?----_Not stand shill-I, shall-I, as he does; but put you and himself
both out of your Pain._'
After a long Series of Intrigue carried on between her and the Parson,
to no Purpose, but to swell _the Grain of Mustard Seed_ to _Two
Volumes_, a Swiss is introduced as an Assistant Guard, and Miss then
begins to dream: _p._ 221. 'I dream'd they were both coming to my
Bed-side, with the worst Designs; and I jump'd out of Bed in my Sleep,
and frighted Mrs. _Jewkes_; 'till, waking with the Terror, I told her my
Dream: And the wicked Creature only laughed, and said, _All I fear'd_
was but a _Dream_, as well as that; and when it was _over_, and I was
well awake, I should laugh at it as such!' These Words tho' spoke by
Mrs. _Jewkes_ in the Character of an abandon'd Profligate, yet can be of
no Service to Youth, who may take the latter Part only, and be apt to
conclude, that all _Virtue_ is but a _Dream_; and certainly they were
much better omitted than put in.
Well at Length the Squire arrives in his Fine Chariot, and now the
_Trenches_ are open'd again, and the amorous War is pursued with more
Vigour than ever; _p._ 247, 248. 'When he had supp'd, he stood up, and
said, O how happy for you it is, that you can at Will, thus make your
speaking Eyes overflow in this manner, without losing any of their
Brilliancy! You have been told, I suppose, that you are _most_ beautiful
in your Tears!--Did you ever, said he to _her_, (who all this while was
standing in one Corner of the Parlour) see a _more charming Creature
than this_? Is it to be wonder'd at, that I demean myself thus to take
Notice of her!--See, said he, and took the Glass with one Hand, and
turn'd me round with the other, _What a Shape! what a Neck! what a Hand!
and what a Bloom in that lovely Face!_----But who can describe the
Tricks and Artifices, that lie lurking in her little, plotting, guileful
Heart! 'Tis no Wonder the poor Parson was infatuated with her----I blame
him less than I do her; for who could expect such Artifice in so young a
Sorceress! Come hither, Hussy, said he; you and I have a dreadful
Reckoning to make. Why don't you come, when I bid you?--Fie upon it!
Mrs. _Pamela_, said she, what! Not stir, when his Honour commands you to
come to him!----Who knows but his Goodness will forgive you? He came to
me, (for I had no Power to stir) and put his Arms about my Neck, and
would kiss me; and said, Well, Mrs. _Jewkes_, if it were not for the
Thought of this cursed Parson, I believe in my Heart, so great is my
Weakness, that I could _yet_ forgive this intriguing little Slut, and
take her to my Bosom. O, said the Sycophant, you are very good, Sir,
very forgiving, indeed!--But come, added the profligate Wretch, I hope
you will be so good, as to take her to your Bosom; and that, by
to-morrow Morning, you'll bring her to a better Sense of her Duty!
Then follows a Proposal at large to induce her to commence a kept
Mistress: The Particulars of which, the Author hath fully set forth, in
order to _instruct_ the young Gentlemen of Fortune how to proceed in
such a Case, and that young Girls of small Fortunes may see what
tempting Things they have to trust to. 'Tis true he makes her refuse it,
but with an Insinuation that the Offers are very advantageous.