Pamela, Or Virtue Rewarded - Page 139/191

So my lady sat down with me half an hour, and told me, that her brother

had carried her a fine airing, and had quite charmed her with his kind

treatment of her; and had much confirmed her in the good opinion she had

begun to entertain of my discreet and obliging behaviour: But, continued

she, when he would make me visit, without intending to stay, my old

neighbours, (for, said she, Lady Jones being nearest, we visited her

first; and she scraped all the rest of the company together,) they were

all so full of your praises, that I was quite borne down; and, truly, it

was Saul among the prophets!

You may believe how much I was delighted with this; and I spared not my

due acknowledgments. When her ladyship took leave, to go to bed, she said, Goodnight to you,

heartily, and to your good man. I kissed you when I came in, out of

form; but I now kiss you out of more than form, I'll assure you.

Join with me, my dear parents, in my joy for this happy turn; the

contrary of which I so much dreaded, and was the only difficulty I had

to labour with. This poor Miss Sally Godfrey, I wonder what's become

of her, poor soul! I wish he would, of his own head, mention her

again.--Not that I am very uneasy, neither.--You'll say, I must be a

little saucy, if I was.

My dear master gave me an account, when we went up, of the pains he had

taken with his beloved sister, as he himself styled her; and of all

the kind things the good families had said in my behalf; and that he

observed she was not so much displeased with hearing them, as she was

at first; when she would not permit any body to speak of me as his wife:

And that my health, as his spouse, being put; when it came to her, she

drank it; but said, Come, brother, here's your Pamela to you: But I

shall not know how to stand this affair, when the Countess----, and the

young ladies, come to visit me. One of these young ladies was the person

she was so fond of promoting a match for, with her brother.--Lady Betty,

I know, she said, will rally me smartly upon it; and you know, brother,

she wants neither wit nor satire. He said, I hope, Lady Betty, whenever

she marries, will meet with a better husband than I should have

made her; for, in my conscience, I think I should hardly have made a

tolerable one to any but Pamela.