See Mr. Lovelace’s letter, Letter 31, in which he briefly accounts for his conduct in this affair. ↩
The reason of this their more openly shown animosity is given in Letter 13. ↩
See Letter 31, for Mr. Lovelace’s account of his behaviour and intentions in his appearance at church. ↩
These gentlemen affected what they called the Roman style (to wit, the thee and the thou) in their letters: and it was an agreed rule with them, to take in good part whatever freedoms they treated each other with, if the passages were written in that style. ↩
Lovelace. ↩
Alluding to his words in the preamble to the clauses in his will. See Letter 4. ↩
See Letter 37, for the occasion; and Letters 38 and 40, for the freedom Clarissa apologizes for. ↩
Henry VII. ↩
Spectator, Vol. VIII, No. 599. ↩
Perhaps it will be unnecessary to remind the reader, that although Mr. Lovelace proposes (as above) to Miss Howe, that her fair friend should have recourse to the protection of Mrs. Howe, if farther driven; yet he had artfully taken care, by means of his agent in the Harlowe family, not only to inflame the family against her, but to deprive her of Mrs. Howe’s, and of every other protection, being from the first resolved to reduce her to an absolute dependence upon himself. See Letter 31. ↩
These violent measures, and the obstinate perseverance of the whole family in them, will be the less wondered at, when it is considered, that all the time they were but as so many puppets danced upon Mr. Lovelace’s wires, as he boasts, Letter 31. ↩
This poem, unattributed by Richardson, is by Elizabeth Carter. —Editor ↩
See the next letter. ↩
It will be seen in Letter 34 that Mr. Lovelace’s motive for sparing his Rosebud was twofold. First, Because his pride was gratified by the grandmother’s desiring him to spare her granddaughter. Many a pretty rogue
, says he, had I spared, whom I did not spare, had my power been acknowledged, and my mercy in time implored. But the
debellare superbos should be my motto, were I to have a new one
. His other motive will be explained in the following passage, in the same. I never was so honest, for so long together
, says he, since my matriculation. It behoves me so to be. Some way or other my recess (at this little inn) may be found out, and it then will be thought that my Rosebud has attracted me. A report in my favour, from simplicities so amiable, may establish me
, etc.
Accordingly, as the reader will hereafter see, Mr. Lovelace finds by the effects, his expectations from the contrivance he set on foot by means of his agent Joseph Leman (who plays, as above, upon Betty Barnes) fully answered, though he could not know what passed on the occasion between the two ladies. This explanation is the more necessary to be given, as several of our readers (through want of due attention) have attributed to Mr. Lovelace, on his behaviour to his Rosebud, a greater merit than was due to him; and moreover imagined, that it was improbable, that a man, who was capable of acting so generously (as they supposed) in this instance, should be guilty of any atrocious vileness. Not considering, that love, pride, and revenge as he owns in Letter 31 were ingredients of equal force in his composition; and that resistance was a stimulus to him. ↩
She accordingly encloses Mr. Lovelace’s letter. But as the most material contents of it are given in her abstract, it is omitted. ↩
She was mistaken in this. Mr. Lovelace did foresee this consequence. All his contrivances led to it, and the whole family, as he boasts, unknown to themselves, were but so many puppets danced by his wires. See Letter 31. ↩
It may not
