 time; it began without passion, and of course terminated in indifference, at least on his side. He quitted Bath without any design of ever returning, though Matilda and her husband had taken a house, and determined to fix their residence there.
Some months after, he was attacked with a violent bilious complaint, and ordered to Bath by his physicians; and

was just recovering from this disorder, when my mother and I happened to bend our course thither—What passed between us, on our first acquaintance, I have already told you, except Matilda's machinations to break off our intercourse, and recall him to his former attachment.
When she found her arts were unsuccessful, she changed her battery, and pretended to conceive a particular friendship for me, and became our mutual confidant; but at the same time, from her superior regard for Captain L—, used often to remonstrate to him, how much his family would be offended at his marrying a girl without rank or fortune.
But all these arts and insinuations he vowed had not the least manner of effect

upon his mind, or heart; his passion was too firmly founded, on admiration and esteem, to be so easily shaken, and he declared that at the sad moment of our parting, his whole affections and sole purpose in life, were pointed towards our mutual happiness and honour together.
He confessed, however, that during the unlucky interval of absence, the hints and representations of Matilda had wrought by degrees, the malicious effect intended by them; for she had framed a novel → against me, with so much address and ingenuity, so guarded at all points, that each part of it seemed to vouch the truth of the rest.
Even the indiscretion of my having been led into play, by her own artifice,

she most wickedly represented to him as a vice of mine, and reported the circumstances of my debt to Mr. W—, which she also exaggerated, with such reflections as placed me in the shocking light of a girl who was resolved to make the most of her youth and beauty, without any further regard to morals or character.
In fine, he acknowledged that the plausible manner in which she gave him these advices, from time to time, with the tender and compassionate expressions she affected now and then to let drop, upon the unhappiness of my conduct, had at length so intirely injured me in his esteem, that it occasioned his writing me the letter, before mentioned, when he was going to set sail for America.

What a recital was this for me to listen to, in my then unfortunate
