by Daniel Defoe
more under an Arbitary Discipline, more dreadful than thatof _William the Conqueror_, from whom _England_ has been struggling toretrieve her self ever since. I had formerly made a Resolution with myself not to hearken to a Love-Intrigue, but upon a Prospect of puttingan end to such Amusements. The long time I had been out of the Army,gave me several Opportunities to make Enquiry after a Person who wascapable of making me happy in that Respect. I took a singular Care whenany Thing was offer'd that way, to consult my Reason more than myPassions, and had fix'd before my Eyes, the per-plex'd State I liv'd inthose Weeks I held a Correspondence with the _Spanish_ Lady. 'Tis adangerous practice when a Person shuts his Eyes among Precipices, andneglects Consultation where the Choice is hazardous. There liv'd in_Paris_ a Collonel's Widow, neither very young, nor very handsome. Theintimacy I had with her Husband, who was kill'd in _Italy_, brought mefirst acquainted with her. Her discreet Carriage in a great variety ofintricate Circumstances had often Charm'd me. There was no Difficulty ina marriage State, but she had struggled with it; a morose Husband, theDeath of an only Child, the Gripes of Poverty when her Consort was inthe Army and lavish'd away his Income, were great Tryals in which shealways Triumph'd, and wore a stoical Constancy without any Reservedness.She had a large Pension allow'd her for Life, upon account of herHusband's Merits, who had done great Service during the Wars. Underthese Circumstances I attack'd, rather like a Judicious than aPassionate Lover. The Method I took with her, was quite different towhat I observ'd in pursuing my _Spanish_ Mistress. There was no Balls,Treats, nor Serenading, we both knew the World too well, either She toexpect, or I to offer her such Entertainments. In a Word, our wholeDiscourse when I visited ran upon Oeconemy and Morals. It was not longbefore she understood my Meaning, and that my repeated Visits tendedtowards Marriage. She alledg'd several Things to divert me from it; thatshe was tired with being an Officer's Wife, which oblig'd either to arambling Method of Living, or to labour under great Inconveniences, andthat I, perhaps, might not make the best of Husbands, that State being aLottery full of Blanks. I had nothing more pertinent to alledge uponthis Occasion, than to assure her, that during my Absence in the Armyshe should never be unprovided with what would make her easie, and forbeing a good Husband, I gave her all the Assurances that such a Matterwas capable of, and at the same time made her the Compliment, that incase any misunderstanding should ever happen between us, her approv'dConduct and Discretion would certainly declare me Guilty. In conclusion,I put on the Trummels, and never question'd but I had made the mostprudential Choice that any Person could do; but there is something inWoman-kind which can never be found out by Study or Reflection. 'Tisonly Experience that can School a Husband, and can give him a true Ideaof that mysterious Creature; for in less than Twelve Months my ThousandPounds which I had so carefully kept unbroke at _Amsterdam_ was alldispos'd of, my Soldiers Pay being my only Subsistance for myself andFamily, my Wife reserving her own Income for Pin-mony; my Credit verylow, my Days very irksome upon many accounts, and I who had hithertoappear'd with Assurance in Company, because of my Money-merit, was nowNeglected; for every Tradesman began to smell out my Poverty. I am ofOpinion it would do Posterity no kindness, if I shou'd discover how Icame to be ruin'd by a Prudent Wife, for no Body wou'd Credit me. If Ishould advise 'em to trust no Woman living, so as to give her full Scopeupon an Opinion of her Conduct. I took my self to be as wise, upon thisHead, as any Man living. It had been my Study above twenty Years. Thereis a secret Devil in every Woman, which is often Conjur'd down by aHusband's Temper; and though many Men may pass for bad Husbands by theirMorose Carriage, 'tis less prejudicial, than that Indulgence which fewWomen have Discretion to make use of. My Wife's first Husband wasrepresented as not very kind to her, whereas his less obliging Temperwas the Effect of his Judgment, and a touch of Skill he had in managinga Woman, whom Caresses wou'd have exalted into Impertinence, _&c._
I would not be understood so upon this Subject, as if we lived unhappilyas to our Affections; no, we regarded each other as two inseparableCompanions, not only whose Interest it was not to be at variance, but wereally did affectionately love each other. I cou'd not so much blame heras my self for if Children, Servants, _&c._ make a loose from theirDuty, who are chiefly to be blam'd, but such gentle and restrainingMethods did not curb 'em, but let 'em feel they had Reins in theirHands. Thus hamper'd in Wedlock, I had nothing to give me ease but thatthree parts of Mankind were in the same, if not in a much worseCondition. However, to make our Circumstances tollerable for the future,I perswaded my Consort to abridge her self of some superfluous Chargewhich we cou'd not well bear any longer. First we disposed of our Coach,and then our Acquaintance was reform'd of Course; by Degrees a multitudeof modish Visitors dwindled away into two or three formal Matrons, whichat last ended in a Decent Apartment in a Monastery, where she spent herTime agreeably enough when I was in the Camp. Hitherto the main matterwhich pall'd all my Joys, was the impossibility of a Restoration, whichnow was much lessen'd by the concurrence of Domestick Evils, and theCares which attend a married State. Yet when I seriously reflected uponthe Conduct of _France_ in regard of King _James_ and the Pretender, Ihave often observ'd my self to sweat and fret my self into a violentFever with the very Thoughts of it; but I never was so sensibly touch'dupon this Head as after the Battle of _Malplacket_. which was follow'dwith the Surrender of several Towns, so that there was nothing but thepoor Barrier of _Landrecy_ left to save the Capital, and by Consequence,the Kingdom of _France_. The _French_ King having now play'd away allhis Leading Cards, was now put to his Trumps. He attempts theTreacherous and Needy Ministers with long Bags of _Louisdo'rs,_ whichwere all ineffectual when his Arms cou'd do no more.
'Tis fresh in every true _Britains_ Memory, what strange Methods weretaken to bring about the Peace, which quickly after ensued. I shall onlymention as much of that Affair as is requisite to make it manifest, That_France_ had no consideration for the Pretender's Interest during thatTreaty. The War was begun upon account of the _Spanish_ Monarchy;_France_ was reduc'd to the last extremity, and could hold out nolonger, now the Consequence shou'd have been for _France_ to havesurrender'd up King _Philip_'s Title; but on the contrary it was secur'dto him, and by what any one can conjecture on the Equivalent, that thePretender should be banish'd _France_, and herafter neither directly norindirectly be assisted by Force: Nay, so eagerly was _France_ bent uponthis Project of securing _Spain_, _France_, and neglecting thePretender, that 'tis well known he refus'd to be concern'd with those in_England_ who were willing to restore the Pretender. I shall not pretendto dive into the late Queen's Secrets, and how she was dispos'd thatway. 'Tis well known she was not over real for the _Hanoverian_Succession, and that the Pretender's Interest was the only one incompetition with it. But where was the _French_ Zeal for the Pretender,when he had the Generalissimo and his Arms, the Secretary, theTreasurer, _&c._ all at his Devotion, and if the Pretender was notactually restor'd at that Juncture, the Remora cou'd be no where but onthe _French_ Side, who had a longer reach in their Politicks than theRestoration of the Pretender. They saw clearly bringing that about wou'dcreate a Civil War in _England_, and be an occasion of renewing in_Germany_; now their Business was a sudden Peace, and a quiet Possessionof _Spain_. And this is the real Spirit of Politics that govern'd the_French_ at the Peace of _Utrecht_.
This kind of Management so disconcerted all the Pretenders Party whothen govern'd the Queen, that they flew all in Pieces, astonish'd not tofind the _French_ insist upon the Pretender's Right, as they had laidthe Design. They inform against one another, and by their unseasonableand discontinued Animosities threw the Queen into an Agony of Fear,which afterwards usher'd in the Agony of Death. In the mean Time_France_ smil'd at the disorder, and hugg'd themselves in the nobleProject of having lost every Battle in that Bloody War, and yet obtain'dwhat they fought for, as they had always been Victorious, whilst thepoor Pretender was so little consider'd by _France_, that tho' theMinistry was ready to assert his Title, yet _France_ wav'd it andsubscrib'd to his Banishment, le
ast that Affair should ruin the MainProject.
But what I am in the next place going to observe, will make clear that_France_ was not only unwilling to be active in assisting the Pretender,but that they were scrupulous upon the Point, and made it their Businessto disswade him from any such Attempt. I remember I was my self in_Lorain_, when the News of the Queen's Decease was brought the Pretenderby a Servant of _L.P._ He was no Stranger to the Interest he had justbefore with the Ministry, who still were most of 'em in Power. A Shiplay ready for him to waft him over, but he was arrested in his Journeyby
