319 [=321]

[319]

[Lett. lxxxiii Letters Historical and Galant.]

"for their Misfortune, curs'd him that was the Cause of it, and proposed several Ways of Revenge. The poor Women, took him
"to be a friend that heaven had raised up for them in their adversity, and put an entire Confidence in him. This was what he
"Wanted, and as soon as he had it, he thought of Executing the Detestable Project his good friend had given him the manage-
"ment of, which was to introduce to the Ladies, a pretended German Lord, who gave himself a very illustrious Title, and Airs
"Extremely rich. He made his appearance before them, in all the figure proper to his pretended Character, and the Villanous
"Conductor of this Affair, made them think so advantageously of him, that for fear of losing him, the Match was Conclu-
"ded between him and the young Lady with a great deal of precipitation, and upon the faith of this wicked wretch
"who said he was the German Count's Governor, and perfectly knew his Quality and Estate. They had however the
"Precaution to inform themselves of the Envoy to the Prince whom this Impostor said was his Sovreign, but as
"soon as they mentioned the name of W**, they found he was one of the most illustrious Men in that Country,
"and all that they heard about him, redoubled their Eagerness to Conclude the Affair. The pretended Count
"was young, and of a very passable figure, and tho' the Lady's heart was prejudiced in favour of another, &
"Consequently Love had no great Share in this marriage, she determined upon it, out of a view of the great Advan-
"tages she was likely to get by it, thinking to be revenged of her Ingrate, by a fortune more considerable than
"that she had given him. Revenge has great Power over the Minds of the fair Sex, so she did not fail to let
"hers be seen on this Occasion. The Marriage was performed; the mother quite Stripp'd herself in the Contract
"where the COunt boldly assumed the Name and quality of the person he represented; The Matchmaker was
"a Subscribing Witness, and when they were to be espoused, went to certify the same thing to the Magistrates
"Saying he had been upon that Gentleman's Estate, and gave him a name, a Country, and a Religion that he
"had no right to; for when the thing was Consummated, 'twas discovered that this pretended German was a
"little Merchant of Brussells, a Roman Catholick, instead of a Lutheran, a beggar that had not a penny
"in the World, and a true Knight of Industry, who had no subsistance but by continual pieces of Roguery.
"So the poor Women had the sorrow of seeing themselves cheated in the most cruel manner, and seeing them selves bla-
"med too in the World for their too great Credulity. Such is the fate of the unhappy, by a propensity that leads us
"rather to blame than pity. In the meean timee the persidious Lover took care not to lose the fruits of his Impostures.
"He got acquittances from this unworthy husband, for the Sums he had received from the Mother, and pretends to
"make them good by vertue of this fraudulent Marriage which he projected, sacrificing a fine Young Woman to
"the desire he had of keeping the Money. Tis to be hoped however that the Judges will be too equitable to let him
"triumph in his Crime, and tis averred that the true Lord, whose Name the Impostor had the Impudence to
"assume, is now at the hague, where he demands that the Cheat may be punished. I wish he may with all my
"heart; for though these Women drew their Misfortunes upon themselves, by a little imprudence, methinks
"they were too Cruelly punished for it. What astonishes me is, that the Mother, they say, has sense, I doubt
"it, for, the Workman, they say, is known by his Work, and her sense had been of great Service to her upon
"this Occasion. The Genius of people ought to appear in Marriages and Wills especially; and therefore I have
"no very advantageous Idea of this Lady's; and her Vanity, and the Desire she had of making her Daughter's
"Fortune, must have been what blinded her; There are Women that examine nothing, when they are upon
"gratifying this Vanity, and would say with Nero's Mother, how dear soever they sold the Elevation of their
"Children: I am satisfied to dye, let them but reign.

"But now I talk of Holland, they say our Monarch ahs a Mind to break off Commerce with the Dutch,
"and hinder them from drinking our Wines; but I don't know, whether, with the help of their Beer, they'll not be
"better able to dispense with Our Wine than we with their Money. The Levying the tenth penny, will not bring as
"much as was imagined, because, besides that every body cries out against it, and that may cause some troublesome
"Revolution, besides this, I say, Every Peasant whose Beef or Cow is seized to pay this Imposition, not being able to
"buy another, will let his land lye Waste, and our fields so fertile formerly, for want of being Cultivated, will
"produce nothing for the time to come but thorns and thistles. Where will they be able to get the tenths, the Taxes
"and dues after this? The King will reign only over Men, as the King of Spain does, over Shadows, and the
"whole kingdom will be nothing but a vast Church Yard; This is the Condition His Majesties ill advisers would re-
"duce us to? The People Cry out so strongly against it, that within this little time ten or a dozen Booksellers, Printers
"and Hawkers have been imprisoned for Publishing and selling Libels against the Government & prohibited books.