“Ungenerous, contemptible wretch!” thought I—­“But such of our sex as can thus give up their virtue, ought to expect no better:  for he that sticks not at one bad action, will not scruple at another to vindicate himself:  and so, devil-like, become the attempter and the accuser too!”

“But if you will be so good,” said he, with hands uplifted, “as to take no notice of this to my uncle, and especially to my aunt and Mr. B., I swear to you, I never will think of her as long as I live.”

“And you’ll bind this promise, will you, Sir, by your honour, and as you hope to live?”

“Dear, good Madam, forgive me, I beseech you; don’t be so severe upon me.  By all that’s—­”

“Don’t swear, Mr. H. But as an earnest that I may believe you, give me back the girl’s foolish note, that, though ’tis of no significance, she may not have that to witness her folly.”—­He took out his pocket-book:  “There it is, Madam!  And I beg you’ll forgive this attempt:  I see I ought not to have made it.  I doubt it was a breach of the laws of hospitality, as you say.  But to make it known, will only expose me, and it can do no good; and Mr. B. will perhaps resent it; and my aunt will never let me hear the last of it, nor my uncle neither—­And I shall be sent to travel again—­And” (added the poor creature) “I was once in a storm, and the crossing the sea again would be death to me.”

“What a wretch art thou!” thought I.  “What could such an one as thou find to say, to a poor creature that, if put in the scale against considerations of virtue, should make the latter kick the [Transcriber’s note:  illegible] “Poor, poor Tony Barrow! thou art sunk indeed!  Too low for excuse, and almost beneath pity!”

I told him, if I could observe that nothing passed between them, that should lay me under a necessity of revealing the matter, I should not be forward to expose him, nor the maiden either:  but that he must, in his own judgment, excuse me, if I made every body acquainted with it, if I were to see the correspondence between them likely to be renewed or carried on:  “For,” added I, “in that case I should owe it to myself, to Mr. B., to Lord and Lady Davers, and to you, and the unhappy body too, to do so.”

He would needs drop down on one knee, to promise this; and with a thousand acknowledgments, left me to find Mr. Colbrand, in order to ride to meet the coach on its return.  I went in, and gave the foolish note to the silly girl, which she received eagerly, and immediately burnt; and I told her, I would not suffer her to come near me but as little as possible, when I was in company while Mr. H. staid; but consigned her entirely to the care of Mrs. Jervis, to whom only, I said, I would hint the matter as tenderly as I could:  and for this, I added, I had more reasons than one; first, to give her the benefit of a good gentlewoman’s advice, to which I had myself formerly been beholden,