Miss Howe, to miss Clarissa
Harlowe
Wednesday, April 19.
I have a piece of intelligence to give you, which
concerns you much to know.
Your brother having been assured that you are not
married, has taken a resolution to find you out, waylay
you, and carry you off. A friend of his, a captain
of a ship, undertakes to get you on ship-board, and
to sail away with you, either to Hull or Leith, in
the way to one of your brother’s houses.
They are very wicked: for in spite of your virtue
they conclude you to be ruined. But if they
can be assured when they have you that you are not,
they will secure you till they can bring you out Mrs.
Solmes. Mean time, in order to give Mr. Lovelace
full employment, they talk of a prosecution which
will be set up against him, for some crime they have
got a notion of, which they think, if it do not cost
him his life, will make him fly his country.
This is very early news. Miss Bell told it in
confidence, and with mighty triumph over Lovelace,
to Miss Lloyd, who is at present her favourite, though
as much you admirer as ever. Miss Lloyd, being
very apprehensive of the mischief which might follow
such an attempt, told it to me, with leave to apprize
you privately of it—and yet neither she
nor I would be sorry, perhaps, if Lovelace were to
be fairly hanged—that is to say, if you,
my dear, had no objection to it. But we cannot
bear that such an admirable creature should be made
the tennis-ball of two violent spirits—much
less that you should be seized, and exposed to the
brutal treatment of wretches who have no bowels.
If you can engage Mr. Lovelace to keep his temper
upon it, I think you should acquaint him with it,
but not to mention Miss Lloyd. Perhaps his wicked
agent may come at the intelligence, and reveal it to
him. But leave it to your own discretions to
do as you think fit in it. All my concern is,
that this daring and foolish project, if carried on,
will be a mean of throwing you more into his power
than ever. But as it will convince you that
there can be no hope of a reconciliation, I wish you
were actually married, let the cause for prosecution
hinted at be what it will, short of murder or a rape.
Your Hannah was very thankful for your kind present.
She heaped a thousand blessings upon you for it.
She has Mr. Lovelace’s too by this time.
I am pleased with Mr. Hickman, I can tell you:—for
he has sent her two guineas by the person who carries
Mr. Lovelace’s five, as from an unknown hand:
nor am I, or you, to know it. But he does a great
many things of this sort, and is as silent as the
night in his charities; for nobody knows of them till
the gratitude of the benefited will not let them be
concealed. He is now and then my almoner, and,
I believe, always adds to my little benefactions.
