'Fear nothing, child. I will give him no hint; and, that I may be certain of not doing it, I will stay away. You do not think, I hope, that I will join in a chearful conversation with such a man; that I will so far betray my character as to give any countenance to such flagitious proceedings. Besides, my promise was only conditional; and I do not know whether I could otherwise have kept it; for I expect an old friend every day who comes to town twenty miles on foot to see me, whom I shall not part with on any account; for, as he is very poor, he may imagine I treat him with disrespect.'
'Well, sir,' cries Amelia, 'I must admire you and love you for your goodness.'
'Must you love me?' cries the doctor. 'I could cure you now in a minute if I pleased.'
'Indeed, I defy you, sir,' said Amelia.
'If I could but persuade you,' answered he, 'that I thought you not handsome, away would vanish all ideas of goodness in an instant. Confess honestly, would they not?'
'Perhaps I might blame the goodness of your eyes,' replied Amelia; 'and that is perhaps an honester confession than you expected. But do, pray, sir, be serious, and give me your advice what to do. Consider the difficult game I have to play; for I am sure, after what I have told you, you would not even suffer me to remain under the roof of this colonel.'
'No, indeed, would I not,' said the doctor, 'whilst I have a house of my own to entertain you.'
'But how to dissuade my husband,' continued she, 'without giving him any suspicion of the real cause, the consequences of his guessing at which I tremble to think upon.'
'I will consult my pillow upon it,' said the doctor; 'and in the morning you shall see me again. In the mean time be comforted, and compose the perturbations of your mind.'
'Well, sir,' said she, 'I put my whole trust in you.'
'I am sorry to hear it,' cries the doctor. 'Your innocence may give you a very confident trust in a much more powerful assistance. However, I will do all I can to serve you: and now, if you please, we will call back your husband; for, upon my word, he hath shewn a good catholic patience. And where is the honest serjeant and his wife? I am pleased with the behaviour of you both to that worthy fellow, in opposition to the custom of the world; which, instead of being formed on the precepts of our religion to consider each other as brethren, teaches us to regard those who are a degree below us, either in rank or fortune, as a species of beings of an inferior order in the creation.'
The captain now returned into the room, as did the serjeant and Mrs. Atkinson; and the two couple, with the doctor, spent the evening together in great mirth and festivity; for the doctor was one of the best companions in the world, and a vein of chearfulness, good humour, and pleasantry, ran through his conversation, with which it was impossible to resist being pleased.
Chapter 6
Containing As Surprizing An Accident As Is Perhaps Recorded In History
Booth had acquainted the serjeant with the great goodness of Colonel James, and with the chearful prospects which he entertained from it. This Atkinson, behind the curtain, communicated to his wife. The conclusion which she drew from it need scarce be hinted to the reader. She made, indeed, no scruple of plainly and bluntly telling her husband that the colonel had a most manifest intention to attack the chastity of Amelia.
This thought gave the poor serjeant great uneasiness, and, after having kept him long awake, tormented him in his sleep with a most horrid dream, in which he imagined that he saw the colonel standing by the bedside of Amelia, with a naked sword in his hand, and threatening to stab her instantly unless she complied with his desires. Upon this the serjeant started up in his bed, and, catching his wife by the
