by Daniel Defoe
accommodation, he would nothinder me, and that he would rather persuade me to peace than to war;for which they told him he should be no loser; all which he told mevery honestly, and told me that if they offered him any bribe, I shouldcertainly know it; but upon the whole he told me very honestly that ifI would take his opinion, he would advise me to make it up with them,for that as they were in a great fright, and were desirous above allthings to make it up, and knew that, let it be what it would, theywould be allotted to bear all the costs of the suit; he believed theywould give me freely more than any jury or court of justice would giveupon a trial. I asked him what he thought they would be brought to.He told me he could not tell as to that, but he would tell me more whenI saw him again.
Some time after this, they came again to know if he had talked with me.He told them he had; that he found me not so averse to an accommodationas some of my friends were, who resented the disgrace offered me, andset me on; that they blowed the coals in secret, prompting me torevenge, or do myself justice, as they called it; so that he could nottell what to say to it; he told them he would do his endeavour topersuade me, but he ought to be able to tell me what proposal theymade. They pretended they could not make any proposal, because itmight be made use of against them; and he told them, that by the samerule he could not make any offers, for that might be pleaded inabatement of what damages a jury might be inclined to give. However,after some discourse and mutual promises that no advantage should betaken on either side, by what was transacted then or at any other ofthose meetings, they came to a kind of a treaty; but so remote, and sowide from one another, that nothing could be expected from it; for myattorney demanded #500 and charges, and they offered #50 withoutcharges; so they broke off, and the mercer proposed to have a meetingwith me myself; and my attorney agreed to that very readily.
My attorney gave me notice to come to this meeting in good clothes, andwith some state, that the mercer might see I was something more than Iseemed to be that time they had me. Accordingly I came in a new suitof second mourning, according to what I had said at the justice's. Iset myself out, too, as well as a widow's dress in second mourningwould admit; my governess also furnished me with a good pearl necklace,that shut in behind with a locket of diamonds, which she had in pawn;and I had a very good figure; and as I stayed till I was sure they werecome, I came in a coach to the door, with my maid with me.
When I came into the room the mercer was surprised. He stood up andmade his bow, which I took a little notice of, and but a little, andwent and sat down where my own attorney had pointed to me to sit, forit was his house. After a little while the mercer said, he did notknow me again, and began to make some compliments his way. I told him,I believed he did not know me at first, and that if he had, I believedhe would not have treated me as he did.
He told me he was very sorry for what had happened, and that it was totestify the willingness he had to make all possible reparation that hehad appointed this meeting; that he hoped I would not carry things toextremity, which might be not only too great a loss to him, but mightbe the ruin of his business and shop, in which case I might have thesatisfaction of repaying an injury with an injury ten times greater;but that I would then get nothing, whereas he was willing to do me anyjustice that was in his power, without putting himself or me to thetrouble or charge of a suit at law.
I told him I was glad to hear him talk so much more like a man of sensethan he did before; that it was true, acknowledgment in most cases ofaffronts was counted reparation sufficient; but this had gone too farto be made up so; that I was not revengeful, nor did I seek his ruin,or any man's else, but that all my friends were unanimous not to let meso far neglect my character as to adjust a thing of this kind without asufficient reparation of honour; that to be taken up for a thief wassuch an indignity as could not be put up; that my character was abovebeing treated so by any that knew me, but because in my condition of awidow I had been for some time careless of myself, and negligent ofmyself, I might be taken for such a creature, but that for theparticular usage I had from him afterwards,--and then I repeated all asbefore; it was so provoking I had scarce patience to repeat it.
Well, he acknowledged all, and was might humble indeed; he madeproposals very handsome; he came up to #100 and to pay all the lawcharges, and added that he would make me a present of a very good suitof clothes. I came down to #300, and I demanded that I should publishan advertisement of the particulars in the common newspapers.
This was a clause he never could comply with. However, at last he cameup, by good management of my attorney, to #150 and a suit of black silkclothes; and there I agree, and as it were, at my attorney's request,complied with it, he paying my attorney's bill and charges, and gave usa good supper into the bargain.
When I came to receive the money, I brought my governess with me,dressed like an old duchess, and a gentleman very well dressed, who wepretended courted me, but I called him cousin, and the lawyer was onlyto hint privately to him that his gentleman courted the widow.
He treated us handsomely indeed, and paid the money cheerfully enough;so that it cost him #200 in all, or rather more. At our last meeting,when all was agreed, the case of the journeyman came up, and the mercerbegged very hard for him; told me he was a man that had kept a shop ofhis own, and been in good business, had a wife, and several children,and was very poor; that he had nothing to make satisfaction with, buthe should come to beg my pardon on his knees, if I desired it, asopenly as I pleased. I had no spleen at the saucy rogue, nor were hissubmissions anything to me, since there was nothing to be got by him,so I thought it was as good to throw that in generously as not; so Itold him I did not desire the ruin of any man, and therefore at hisrequest I would forgive the wretch; it was below me to seek any revenge.
When we were at supper he brought the poor fellow in to makeacknowledgment, which he would have done with as much mean humility ashis offence was with insulting haughtiness and pride, in which he wasan instance of a complete baseness of spirit, impious, cruel, andrelentless when uppermost and in prosperity, abject and low-spiritedwhen down in affliction. However, I abated his cringes, told him Iforgave him, and desired he might withdraw, as if I did not care forthe sight of him, though I had forgiven him.
I was now in good circumstances indeed, if I could have known my timefor leaving off, and my governess often said I was the richest of thetrade in England; and so I believe I was, for I had #700 by me inmoney, besides clothes, rings, some plate, and two gold watches, andall of them stolen, for I had innumerable jobs besides these I havementioned. Oh! had I even now had the grace of repentance, I hadstill leisure to have looked back upon my follies, and have made somereparation; but the satisfaction I was to make for the public mischiefsI had done was yet left behind; and I could not forbear going abroadagain, as I called it now, than any more I could when my extremityreally drove me out for bread.
It was not long after the affair with the mercer was made up, that Iwent out in an equipage quite different from any I had ever appeared inbefore. I dressed myself like a beggar woman, in the coarsest and mostdespicable rags I could get, and I walked about peering and peepinginto every door and window I came near; and indeed I was in such aplight now that I knew as ill how to behave in as ever I did in any. Inaturally abhorred dirt and rags; I had been bred up tight and cleanly,and could be no other, whatever condition I was in; so that this wasthe most uneasy disguise to me that ever I put on. I said presently tomyself that this would not do, for this was a dress that everybody wasshy and afraid of; and I thought everybody looked at me, as if theywere afraid I should come near them, lest I should take something fromthem, or afraid to come near me, lest they should get something fromme. I wandered about all the evening the first time I went out, andmade nothing of it, but came home again wet, draggled, and tired.However, I went out again the next night, and then I met with a littleadventure, which had like to have cost me dear. As I was standing neara tavern door, there comes a gentleman on horseback, and lights at thedo
or, and wanting to go into the tavern, he calls one of the drawers tohold his horse. He stayed pretty long in the tavern, and the drawerheard his master call, and thought he would be angry with him. Seeingme stand by him, he called to me, 'Here, woman,' says he, 'hold thishorse a while, till I go in; if the gentleman comes, he'll give yousomething.' 'Yes,' says I, and takes the horse, and walks off with himvery soberly, and carried him to my governess.
This had been a booty to those that had understood it; but never waspoor thief more at a loss to know what to do with anything that wasstolen; for when I came home, my governess was quite confounded, andwhat to do with the creature, we neither of us knew. To send him to astable was doing nothing, for it was certain that public notice wouldbe given in the Gazette, and the horse described, so that we durst notgo to fetch it again.
All the remedy we had for this unlucky adventure was to go and set upthe horse at an inn,
