Joseph Wilmot, or, The Memoirs of a Man-Servant — page 165: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

152 had several children, but all grown up, provided | the father of her yet unborn babe, she came to for, and settled in various ways. The sojourn at Exeter lasted exactly a week; and every day visits were paid to this Mr. Dobbins : but at the end of that period, Mr. Lanover abruptly bade Annabel prepare for departure; and they returned to Lon- don,—the young lady being no wiser as to the object of the journey than she was when she first set off upon it. The narrative now passes on to the close of that Same year, and pauses for a moment at the Christ- mas season. Violet had during the interval re- ceived fresh proofs of Sir Malcolm Wavenham’s infidelity towards her; and she obtained the private intelligence that he had a house situated in a lonely spot—at no great distance from Exeter—which he frequently rendered available for his profligate amours. .Her high and proud spirit was more than ever chafed at these addi- tional evidences of his heartless depravity; and she was resolved to avenge herself by doing her best to defeat whatsoever profligate designs he might have in other quarters. On one occasion Sir Malcolm had business to transact at Exeter and he proposed that they should pass a week there. Thither they ‘ococanie repaired, taking their saddle-horses with them, in addition to the travelling equipage; and they put up at the prin- cipal hotel in the city. The very day after their arrival, Sir Malcolm sent a hastily written note in . the evening to Violet, to the effect that he had fallen in with a friend residing a few miles distant —that this friend had insisted upon taking him home to dinner—and that it was very probable he should not return to the hotel until the next morning. Violet did not believe a single syllable JOSEPH WILMOT; OR, THE contained in this note; and her resolve was speedily taken. Apparelling herself in her riding- habit, she ordered her horse to be gotten in readi- ness; and having made certain inquiries of the hotel-servants as to the exact situation of a par- ticular house, she rode off alone in that direction. She reached the place ; and, as the reader has seen, arrived just in time to rescue Charlotte Murray from the power of Sir Malcolm Wavenham. The result of this exposure of her lover’s perfidy, was an inflexible determination on her part to leave him ; and despite his entreaties to the contrary— despite his solemn vows and protestations that his conduct should amend for the future—she carried her resolve into execution. On thus breaking off her connexion with Sir Malcolm, she would not take away with her any of the costly jewels which he had so profusely lavished upon her :—nothing but a requisite supply of apparel, and the ready money which she had in her possession, would she consent to keep; and this proceeding was perfectly consistent with the proud spirit of Violet Lanover. She retired into the seclusion of a little village, a few miles distant from Exeter ; and there dwelt in a humble and virtuous manner. She had some forty or fifty pounds in her possession at the time that she separated from Sir Malcolm; and by dis- pensing her resources sparingly, she made them suffice for several months. But the unfortunate girl was in a way to become a mother; and as the time drew near, she found her funds close upon exhaustion. She knew not what to do: her spirit revolted at the thought of applying to Sir Malcolm Wavenham: but when she reflected that he was MEMOIRS OF A MAN- Pin serra eR PrN Non sh hs RR eee the father of her yet unborn babe, she came to the conclusion that it was her duty to ensure the expected offspring, and herself also for the child’s sake, against the pangs of want. During this in- terval of more than five months, she had kept the place of her seclusion a secret from the Baronet: indeed, she had not once corresponded with him since they parted. But now she wrote to him at Wavenham Park. A few days elapsed, during which she received no answer; and the agonizing thought that he had altogether abandoned her, was strengthening in her mind, when a letter came. It was dated from Salisbury, and informed her that Sir Malcolm had been staying there for the last month—that her communication had been for- warded to him from Wavenham Park—-and hence the delay in sending the response. It was couched in terms more affectionate than Violet had even expected—stated that all requisite arrangements should be at once made to ensure her comfort in the approaching crisis—and that he would be with her on the day following that on which she would receive his letter. He kept his word: but when he sought to address her in a loving strain, she assured him that thenceforth they could only be friends—nothing more ; that she bitterly repented of her errors, and was firmly resolved to atone for the past as much as possible by her future conduct. He informed her that he had made certain arrange- ments with Dr. Pomfret at Salisbury; and that though the distance thither from her present place of abode was so great, he hoped she would be en- abled to accomplish it, as his travelling-carriage should take her by easy stages. She accepted the proposal; and two or three days afterwards entered the doctor’s establishment in the night-time. This was in the early part of June, and within about a fortnight of the anniversary of that Mid- summer’s Eve when I had seen her in the church. It appears that Sir Malcolm Wavenham promised to behave most honourably to her, and to settle upon her an adequate income for the maintenance of herself and the expected babe; and as a proof of his good intentions he left a liberal sum in the hands of Dr. Pomfret, with strict injunctions that no expense was to be spared in rendering Violet as comfortable as possible. But when he proposed to call upon her occasionally, she was resolute in insisting that their connexion should remain se- vered—an alternative to which the Baronet was forced to assent. Days passed on; and Mrs. Pomfret gave Violet as much of her society as she thought the young lady needed for the sake of companionship. It never transpired in the course of conversation that a youth named Joseph Wilmot was a page in the doctor’s service: and therefore Violet remained in total ignorance that I was beneath the same roof. Moreover, we never once caught a glimpse of each other, inasmuch as she kept constantly to her own apartments, as I have already stated. But as the time drew near when she was to pass through the most painful ordeal which belongs to the lot of woman, the images of her mother and sister were more frequently present to her mind: she longed to communicate with them—she dreaded lest death might snatch her away from this world without her ever again beholding those beloved ones—and in a mood of the deepest contrition for the past, she sat down and penned a long letter to her (C@) OOO) SS AA