I think I had been brought to bed about twenty-two days when I received
another letter from my friend at the bank, with the surprising news
that he had obtained a final sentence of divorce against his wife, and
had served her with it on such a day, and that he had such an answer to
give to all my scruples about his marrying again, as I could not
expect, and as he had no desire of; for that his wife, who had been
under some remorse before for her usage of him, as soon as she had the
account that he had gained his point, had very unhappily destroyed
herself that same evening.
He expressed himself very handsomely as to his being concerned at her
disaster, but cleared himself of having any hand in it, and that he had
only done himself justice in a case in which he was notoriously injured
and abused. However, he said that he was extremely afflicted at it,
and had no view of any satisfaction left in his world, but only in the
hope that I would come and relieve him by my company; and then he
pressed me violently indeed to give him some hopes that I would at
least come up to town and let him see me, when he would further enter
into discourse about it.
I was exceedingly surprised at the news, and began now seriously to
reflect on my present circumstances, and the inexpressible misfortune
it was to me to have a child upon my hands, and what to do in it I knew
not. At last I opened my case at a distance to my governess. I
appeared melancholy and uneasy for several days, and she lay at me
continually to know what trouble me. I could not for my life tell her
that I had an offer of marriage, after I had so often told her that I
had a husband, so that I really knew not what to say to her. I owned I
had something which very much troubled me, but at the same time told
her I could not speak of it to any one alive.
She continued importuning me several days, but it was impossible, I
told her, for me to commit the secret to anybody. This, instead of
being an answer to her, increased her importunities; she urged her
having been trusted with the greatest secrets of this nature, that it
was her business to conceal everything, and that to discover things of
that nature would be her ruin. She asked me if ever I had found her
tattling to me of other people's affairs, and how could I suspect her?
She told me, to unfold myself to her was telling it to nobody; that she
was silent as death; that it must be a very strange case indeed that
she could not help me out of; but to conceal it was to deprive myself
of all possible help, or means of help, and to deprive her of the
opportunity of serving me. In short, she had such a bewitching
eloquence, and so great a power of persuasion that there was no
concealing anything from her.