Hartley reached the coast in safety with his precious
charge, rescued from a dreadful fate when she was
almost beyond hope. But the nerves and constitution
of Menie Gray had received a shock from which she long
suffered severely, and never entirely recovered.
The principal ladies of the settlement, moved by the
singular tale of her distress, received her with the
utmost kindness, and exercised towards her the most
attentive and affectionate hospitality. The Nawaub,
faithful to his promise, remitted to her a sum of
no less than ten thousand gold Mohurs, extorted, as
was surmised, almost entirely from the hoards of the
Begum Mootee Mahul, or Montreville. Of the fate
of that adventuress nothing was known for certainty;
but her forts and government were taken into Hyder’s
custody, and report said, that, her power being abolished
and her consequence lost, she died by poison, either
taken by herself, or administered by some other person.
It might be thought a natural conclusion of the history
of Menie Gray, that she should have married Hartley,
to whom she stood much indebted for his heroic interference
in her behalf. But her feelings were too much
and too painfully agitated, her health too much shattered,
to permit her to entertain thoughts of a matrimonial
connexion, even with the acquaintance of her youth,
and the champion of her freedom. Time might have
removed these obstacles, but not two years, after their
adventures in Mysore, the gallant and disinterested
Hartley fell a victim to his professional courage,
in withstanding the progress of a contagious distemper,
which he at length caught, and under which he sunk.
He left a considerable part of the moderate fortune
which he had acquired to Menie Gray, who, of course,
did not want for many advantageous offers of a matrimonial
character. But she respected the memory of Hartley
too much, to subdue in behalf of another the reasons
which induced her to refuse the hand which he had so
well deserved—nay, it may be thought, had
so fairly won.
She returned to Britain—what seldom occurs—unmarried
though wealthy; and, settling in her native village,
appeared to find her only pleasure in acts of benevolence
which seemed to exceed the extent of her fortune,
had not her very retired life been taken into consideration.
Two or three persons with whom she was intimate, could
trace in her character that generous and disinterested
simplicity and affection, which were the ground-work
of her character. To the world at large her habits
seemed those of the ancient Roman matron, which is
recorded on her tomb in these four words,
DOMUM MANSIT—LANAM FECIT.
MR. CROFTANGRY’S CONCLUSION
If you tell a good jest,
And please all the rest,
Comes Dingley, and asks you, “What was it?”
And before she can know,
Away she will go
To seek an old rag in the closet.
Dean Swift.
