- His Servant, However, Told Him Privately, That The Mystery Was
This:
- That being passionately in love with a young English lady, whom
he had placed in a monastery at Bolognia,
And expected to find there at
his return, she had in his absence departed, without having acquainted
him with her design; and that supposing she was gone for England, and
unable to live without her, his intention was to take shipping for that
country, and make use of his utmost efforts to find her out.
I must confess, pursued the beautiful countess, this piece of quixotism
very much veved me: - I thought his friends in France deserved more from
him than to be neglected for one who fled from him, and who, as the man
said, he knew not whether he should be able ever to see again. I
resolved, however, to comply with his desires, and came immediately to
Paris; but heaven has shewed him how little it approves his giving me
this unnecessary trouble, for this morning I received a letter from him,
that meeting with robbers in his way, they had taken from him all his
money and bills of exchange, besides wounding him in several places, so
that he cannot proceed on his journey till his hurts, which it seems are
not dangerous, are cured, and he has fresh remittances from hence.
With what emotions the heart of Louisa was agitated during the latter
part of this little narrative, a sensible reader may easily conceive:
from the first mention of Bolognia, where there was no other English
pensioner than herself, she knew it must be no other than her dear du
Plessis who was in search for her abroad, while she was vainly hoping to
find him at home: - every circumstance rendered this belief more certain;
and surprize and joy worked so strongly in her, that fearing the effects
would be visible, she rose up and withdrew to a window. Mademoiselle
Charlotta, who knew she could not be capable of such an act of
unpoliteness, without being compelled to it, asked if she were not
well: - on which Louisa entreated pardon, but owned a sudden faintness
had come over her spirits, so that she was obliged to be rude in order
to prevent being troublesome.
As mademoiselle Charlotta knew nothing of her story, she had no farther
thought about it than of some little qualm, which frequently happens
when young ladies are too closely laced, and she seeming perfectly
recovered from, the conversation was renewed on the same subject it had
turned upon before this interruption; and the name of monsieur du
Plessis being often mentioned, confirmed Louisa, if before she could
have had the least remains of doubt, that it was her lover who,
neglectful of his own affairs, and the remonstrances of his expecting
friends, was about to range in search of one who, he imagined, was
ungrateful both to his love and friendship.
After having listened, with the utmost attention, to all the countess
said of him, and other matters becoming the topic of discourse, she took
her leave, in order to reflect alone what she ought to do in
this affair.
She debated not long within herself before she resolved to write to him,
and prevent the unprofitable journey he was about to take; and having
heard, by madam d' Espargnes, the name of the village where he was
obliged to wait, both for the recovery of his wounds and for remittances
for his expences, she wrote to him in the following terms:
To monsieur DU PLESSIS.
"I should ill return the proofs I have received
of your generous disinterested friendship,
to delay one moment that I had it in my power,
in endeavouring to convince you that it was a
quite contrary motive than ingratitude to you,
that carried me from Bolognia: - but the story
is too long for the compass of a letter; when
you know it, you will, perhaps, own this action,
whatever you may now think of it, merits
more, than any thing I could have done, your
approbation: - this seeming riddle will be easily
expounded, if, on the recovery of your
wounds, you repair immediately to Paris, where
you will find
Your much obliged,
LOUISA."
Having finished this little billet, a scruple rose in her head, that
being now under the care of a father, she ought not to do any thing of
this nature without his permission: - she had already told him how
greatly she had been indebted to du Plessis for his honourable passion,
but had not mentioned the least tittle of the tender impressions it had
made on her; and she so lately knew him to be her father, that she was
ashamed to make him the confidant of an affair of this nature, but then,
when she considered the quality of du Plessis, which she was now
confirmed of, and the sense Dorilaus testified he had of his behaviour
to her while he believed her so infinitely his inferior, made her
resolve to drain her modesty so far as to inform him all.
She began by relating her accidental meeting with madam, the countess
d'Espargnes and the conversation that passed at mademoiselle de
Palfoy's, and then, tho' not without immoderate blushes, shewed him what
she had wrote, and beseeched him to let her know whether it would be
consistent with a virgin's modesty, and also agreeable to his pleasure,
that she gave this demonstration of her gratitude for the favours she
had received from this young gentleman.
Dorilaus was charmed with this proof of her duty and respect, and told
her, that he was so far from disapproving what she had wrote, that had
she omitted it, or said less than she did, he should have looked upon
her as unworthy of so perfect a passion as that which monsieur du
Plessis on all occasions, testified for her: - that, in his opinion, she
owed him more than she could ever pay; and that it should be his
endeavour to shew he had not placed his affections on the daughter of
one who knew not how to set a just value on merit such as his:
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