The satisfaction which the captain received from the
kind behaviour of Miss Bridget, was not a little abated
by his apprehensions of Mr Allworthy; for, notwithstanding
his disinterested professions, the captain imagined
he would, when he came to act, follow the example of
the rest of the world, and refuse his consent to a
match so disadvantageous, in point of interest, to
his sister. From what oracle he received this
opinion, I shall leave the reader to determine:
but however he came by it, it strangely perplexed
him how to regulate his conduct so as at once to convey
his affection to the lady, and to conceal it from
her brother. He at length resolved to take all
private opportunities of making his addresses; but
in the presence of Mr Allworthy to be as reserved
and as much upon his guard as was possible; and this
conduct was highly approved by the brother.
He soon found means to make his addresses, in express
terms, to his mistress, from whom he received an answer
in the proper form, viz.: the answer which
was first made some thousands of years ago, and which
hath been handed down by tradition from mother to daughter
ever since. If I was to translate this into Latin,
I should render it by these two words, Nolo Episcopari:
a phrase likewise of immemorial use on another occasion.
The captain, however he came by his knowledge, perfectly
well understood the lady, and very soon after repeated
his application with more warmth and earnestness than
before, and was again, according to due form, rejected;
but as he had increased in the eagerness of his desires,
so the lady, with the same propriety, decreased in
the violence of her refusal.
Not to tire the reader, by leading him through every
scene of this courtship (which, though in the opinion
of a certain great author, it is the pleasantest scene
of life to the actor, is, perhaps, as dull and tiresome
as any whatever to the audience), the captain made
his advances in form, the citadel was defended in
form, and at length, in proper form, surrendered at
discretion.
During this whole time, which filled the space of
near a month, the captain preserved great distance
of behaviour to his lady in the presence of the brother;
and the more he succeeded with her in private, the
more reserved was he in public. And as for the
lady, she had no sooner secured her lover than she
behaved to him before company with the highest degree
of indifference; so that Mr Allworthy must have had
the insight of the devil (or perhaps some of his worse
qualities) to have entertained the least suspicion
of what was going forward.
Chapter xii.
Containing what the reader may, perhaps, expect to
find in it.
In all bargains, whether to fight or to marry, or
concerning any other such business, little previous
ceremony is required to bring the matter to an issue
when both parties are really in earnest. This
was the case at present, and in less than a month
the captain and his lady were man and wife.
