Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded
know not what God has done for me! You know not what a happy creature I
am now! I have a thousand thousand things to tell you; and a whole week
will be too little, every moment of it spent in relating to you what
has befallen me, to make you acquainted with it all. We shall be
sweetly happy together, I make no doubt. But I charge you, my dear Mrs.
Jervis, whatever you call me before strangers, that when we are by
ourselves you call me nothing but your Pamela. For what an ungrateful
creature should I be, who have received so many mercies, if I
attributed them not to the divine goodness, but assumed to myself
insolent airs upon them! No, I hope I shall be, more and more thankful,
as I am more and more blest! and more humble, as God, the author of all
my happiness, shall more distinguish me.
We went down again to the parlour, to my dear master. Said he, Call
Longman in again; he longs to see you, my dear. He came in: God bless
you, my sweet lady, said he; as now, Heaven be praised, I may call you!
Did I not tell you, madam, that Providence would find you out? O, Mr.
Longman, said I, God be praised for all his mercies! I am rejoiced to
see you; and I laid my hand on his, and said, Good Mr. Longman, how do
you do?—I must always value you; and you don’t know how much of my
present happiness I owe to the sheets of paper, and pens and ink, you
furnished me with. I hope my dear sir and you are quite reconciled.—O,
madam, said he, how good you are! Why, I cannot contain myself for joy!
and then he wiped his eyes; good man!
Said my master, Yes, I have been telling Longman that I am obliged to
him for his ready return to me; and that I will entirely forget his
appeal to Lady Davers; and I hope he’ll find himself quite as easy and
happy as he wishes. My dear partner here, Mr. Longman, I dare promise
you, will do all she can to make you so.—Heaven bless you both
together! said he. ’Tis the pride of my heart to see this! I returned
with double delight, when I heard the blessed news; and I am sure, sir,
said he, (mark old Longman’s words,) God will bless you for this every
year more and more! You don’t know how many hearts you have made happy
by this generous deed!—I am glad of it, said my dear master; I am sure
I have made my own happy: and, Longman, though I must think you
SOMEBODY, yet, as you are not a young man, and so won’t make me
jealous, I can allow you to wish my dear wife joy in the tenderest
manner. Adad! sir, said he, I am sure you rejoice me with your favour:
’Tis what I longed for, but durst not presume. My dear, said my master,
receive the compliment of one of the honestest hearts in England, that
always revered your virtues!—and the good man saluted me with great
respect, and said, God in Heaven bless you both! and kneeled on one
knee. I must quit your presence! Indeed I must!—And away he went.
Your goodness, sir, said I, knows no bounds: O may my gratitude never
find any!—I saw, said my master, when the good man approached you, that
he did it with so much awe and love mingled together, that I fancied he
longed to salute my angel; and I could not but indulge his honest
heart. How blessed am I! said I, and kissed his hand.—And indeed I make
nothing now of kissing his dear hand, as if it was my own!
When honest old Mr. Jonathan come in to attend at dinner, so clean, so
sleek, and so neat, as he always is, with his silver hair, I said,
Well, Mr. Jonathan, how do you do? I am glad to see you.—You look as
well as ever, thank God! O, dear madam! said he, better than ever, to
have such a blessed sight! God bless you and my good master!—and I
hope, sir, said he, you’ll excuse all my past failings. Ay, that I
will, Jonathan, said he; because you never had any, but what your
regard for my dear wife here was the occasion of. And now I can tell
you, you can never err, because you cannot respect her too much. O sir,
said he, your honour is exceeding good! I’m sure I shall always pray
for you both.
After dinner, Mr. Longman coming in, and talking of some affairs under
his care, he said afterwards, All your honour’s servants are now happy;
for Robert, who left you, had a pretty little fortune fallen to him, or
he never would have quitted your service. He was here but yesterday, to
inquire when you and my lady returned hither; and hoped he might have
leave to pay his duty to you both. Ay, said my master, I shall be glad
to see honest Robert; for that’s another of your favourites, Pamela. It
was high time, I think, I should marry you, were it but to engage the
respects of all my family to myself.—There are, sir, said I, ten
thousand reasons why I should rejoice in your goodness.
But I was going to say, said Mr. Longman, That all your honour’s old
servants are now happy, but one. You mean John Arnold? said my master.
I do, indeed, said he, if you’ll excuse me, sir. O, said I, I have had
my prayer for poor John answered, as favourably as I could wish.—Why,
said Mr. Longman, to be sure poor John has acted no very good part,
take it altogether; but he so much honoured you, sir, and so much
respected you, madam, that he would have been glad to have been
obedient to both; and so was faithful to neither. But, indeed, the poor
fellow’s heart is almost broke, and he won’t look out for any other
place; and says, he must live in your honour’s service, or he must die
wretched very shortly. Mrs. Jervis was there when this was said:
Indeed, said she, the poor man has been here every day since he heard
the tidings, that have rejoiced us all; and he says, he hopes he shall
yet be forgiven. Is he in the house now? said my master. He is, sir;
and was here when your honour came in, and played at hide and seek to
have one look at you both when you alighted; and was ready to go out of
his wits for joy, when we saw your honour hand my lady in. Pamela, said
my dear master, you’re to do with John as you please. You have full
power. Then pray, sir, said I, let poor John come in.
The poor fellow came in, with so much confusion, that I have never seen
a countenance that expressed so lively a consciousness of his faults,
and mingled joy and shame. How do you do, John? said I; I hope you are
very well!—The poor fellow could hardly speak, and looked with awe upon
my master, and pleasure upon me. Said my master, Well, John, there is
no room to say any thing to a man that has so much concern already: I
am told you will serve me whether I will or not; but I turn you over
altogether to my spouse here: and she is to do by you as she pleases.
You see, John, said I, your good master’s indulgence. Well may I
forgive, that have so generous an example. I was always persuaded of
your honest intentions, if you had known how to distinguish between
your duty to your master, and your good-will to me: You will now have
no more puzzles on that account, from the goodness of your dear master.
I shall be but too happy I said the poor man. God bless your honour!
God bless you, madam!—I now have the joy of my soul, in serving you
both; and I will make the best of servants, to my power. Well, then,
John, said I, your wages will go on, as if you had not left your
master: May I not say so, sir? said I. Yes, surely, my dear, replied
he; and augment them too, if you find his duty to you deserves it. A
thousand millions of thanks, said the poor man: I am very well
satisfied, and desire no augmentation. And so he withdrew, overjoyed;
and Mrs. Jervis and Mr. Longman were highly pleased; for though they
were incensed against him for his fault to me, when matters looked
badly for me, yet they, and all his fellow-servants, always loved John.
When Mr. Longman and Mrs. Jervis had dined, they came in again, to know
if he had any commands; and my dear master, filling a glass of wine,
said, Longman, I am going to toast the happiest and honestest couple in
England, my dear Pamela’s father and mother.—Thank you, dear sir, said
I.
I think, continued he, that little Kentish purchase wants a manager;
and as it is a little out of your way, Longman, I have been purposing,
if I thought Mr. Andrews would accept it, that he should enter upon
Hodge’s farm that was, and so manage for me that whole little affair;
and we will well stock the farm for him, and make it comfortable; and I
think, if he will take that trouble upon him, it will be an ease to
you, and a favour to me.
Your honour, said he, cannot do a better thing; and I have had some
inkling given me, that you may, if you please, augment that estate, by
a purchase, of equal amount, contiguous to it; and as you have so much
money to spare, I can’t see your honour can do better. Well, said he,
let me have the particulars another time, and we will consider about
it. But, my dear, added he, you’ll mention this to your father, if you
please.
I have too much money, Longman, continued he, lies useless; though,
upon this occasion, I shall not grudge laying out as much in liveries
and other things, as if I had married a lady of a fortune equal, if
possible, to my Pamela’s merit; and I reckon you have a good deal in
hand. Yes, sir, said he, more than I wish I had. But I have a mortgage
in view, if you don’t buy that Kentish thing, that I believe will
answer very well; and when matters are riper, will mention it to your
honour.
I took with me, to Lincolnshire, said my master, upwards of six hundred
guineas, and thought to have laid most of them out there: (Thank God,
thought I, you did not! for he offered me five hundred of them, you
know:) but I have not laid out above two hundred and fifty of them; so
two hundred I left there in my escritoire; because I shall go again for
a fortnight or so, before winter; and two hundred I have brought with
me: and I have money, I know not what, in three places here, the
account of which is in my pocket-book, in my library.
You have made some little presents, Pamela, to my servants there, on
our nuptials; and these two hundred that I have brought up, I will put
into your disposal, that, with some of them, you shall do here as you
did there.
I am ashamed, good sir, said I, to be so costly, and so worthless!
Pray, my dear, replied he, say not a word of that. Said Mr. Longman,
Why, madam, with money in stocks, and one thing or another, his honour
could buy half the gentlemen around him. He wants not money, and lays
up every year. And it would have been pity but his honour should have
wedded just as he has. Very true, Longman, said my master; and, pulling
out his purse, said, Tell out, my dear, two hundred guineas, and give
me the rest.—I did so. Now, said he, take them yourself, for the
purposes I mentioned. But, Mr. Longman, do you, before sunset, bring my
dear girl fifty pounds, which is due to her this day, by my promise;
and every three months, from this day, pay her fifty pounds; which will
be two hundred pounds per annum; and this is for her to lay out at her
own discretion, and without account, in such a way as shall derive a
blessing upon us all: for she was my mother’s almoner, and shall be
mine, and her own too.—I’ll go for it this instant, said Mr. Longman.
When he was done, I looked upon my dear generous master, and on Mrs.
Jervis, and he gave me a nod of assent; and I took twenty guineas, and
said, Dear Mrs. Jervis, accept of this, which is no more than my
generous master ordered me to present to Mrs. Jewkes, for a pair of
gloves, on my happy nuptials; and so you, who are much better entitled
to them by the love I bear you, must not refuse them.
Said she, Mrs. Jewkes was on the spot, madam, at the happy time. Yes,
said my master; but Pamela would have rejoiced to have had you there
instead of her. That I should, sir, replied I, or instead of any body,
except my own mother. She gratefully accepted them, and thanked us