circumstances! his justification but increased my misery—I had never imagined there was so much vileness in human nature, as the base Matilda appeared now to be capable of, and was shocked to think that I was of the same species with such a monster in wickedness—I wept—We both of us wept, while he thus went on with his story.

"When I quitted Europe, continued he, the poison of Matilda's correspondence ceased its operations, my passion and reflection had liberty to exert themselves, and I began to doubt the authenticity of the extraordinary accounts I had received about you—Your bloom

and beauty presented themselves to my fond imagination, in the warmest colours—Your candour, innocence, and ingenuousness of manners, occurred then strongly to my mind—Could such a character become so quickly abandoned, said I to my heart—It must be unnatural; and what is contrary to nature, must be improbable at least, if not impossible."


"Thus did I often plead your cause, my ever loved Maria, against the foul charges of your enemy, whom I unhappily, however, did not look upon then in that light, but merely as an unfortunate woman, who having been guilty of vice herself, was, as too generally is the case, apt to construe every action of others into the worst

sense, that the appearances or circumstances of it can bear."


"Upon this fair discussion of the point, I wrote once more to Matilda, expressing my doubts, not of her sincerity, but about her misapprehensions only, of your conduct—Said that general charges, suspicions and hearsays, were but insufficient evidences where so choice a jewel as character was at stake; and called upon her for some facts of more public notoriety, to support her slanders."


"As all correspondence had been broken off between you and me, said he, she ventured now to speak out more boldly, and without the least equivocation in her terms, assured me

that you lived publicly with Mr. W—, and privately intrigued with Sir James D—; that the extravagance of your dress, pleasures, and other expences, was supported between them; that you had kept them both attached to you, by raising a spirit of rivalship between them; and used also to render each of the galants jealous, in their turns, by alarming them with me."


"With the letter she wrote, as she said by your desire, from Bristol, she sent me another, in which she told me that you had at length brought Mr. W—, to consent to marry you, on account of your being with child, and that the letter