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amfelf was guilty.-Did the lady, from a principle of fhame (he was then afked), commit the aft of fuicide, and infufe the poifon without his knowledge?-He started into horror at the question, and took God to witnefs that he was innocent of the deed.

"The judges feemed now confounded, and for a time abftained from any farther interrogatories, debating the matter amongst themfelves by whifpers; when one of them obferved to the prisoner, that, according to his confeffion, he had faid fhe did die by poifon, and yet, by the anfwers he had now given, it fhould feem as if he meant to acquit every perfon on whom fufpicion could poffibly reft; there was, however, one interrogatory left, which, unnatural as it was, he would put to him for form's fake only, before they proceeded to greater extremities, and that queftion involved the father or mother of the lady. Did he mean to impute the horrid intention of murdering their child to the parents? No, replied the prifoner, in a firm tone of voice, I am certain no fuch intention ever entered the hearts of the unhappy parents, and I fhould be the worst of finners if I imputed it to them. The judges upon this declared with one voice that he was trifling with the court, and gave orders for the rack: they would, however, for the last time, demand of him, if he knew who it was that did poifon Jofepha, to which he answered, without hefitation, that he did know, but that no tor tures fhould force him to declare it. As to life, he was weary of it, and they might difpofe of it as they faw fit: he could not die in greater tortures than he had lived.

"They now took this perempto ry recufant, and, tripping him of

his upper garments, laid him on the rack: a furgeon was called in, who kept his fingers on his pulfe and the executioners were directed to begin their tortures. They had given him one fevere ftretch by ligatures fixed to his extremities, and paffed over an axle, which was turned by a windlafs: the ftrain upon his mufcles and joints, by the action of this infernal engine, was dreadful, and nature spoke her sufferings by a horrid crash in every limb: the fweat started in large drops upon his face and bofom, yet the man was firm amidst the agonies of the machine: not a groan efcaped, and the fiend who was fuperintendant of the hellish work, declared they might increase his torments upon the next tug, for that his pulfe had not varied a stroke, nor abated of its strength in the fmallest degree.

"The tormentors had now begun a fecond operation with more violence than the former, which their devilish ingenuity had contrived to vary, fo as to extort acuter pains from the application of the engine to parts that had not yet had their full fhare of the firft agony; when fuddenly a monk rushed into the chamber, and called out to the judges to defift from torturing that innocent man, and take the confeffion of the murderer from his own lips. Upon a fignal from the judges, the executioners let go the engine at once, and the joints fnapped audibly into their fockets with the elasticity of a bow. Nature funk under the revulfion, and Don Juan fainted on the rack. monk immediately with a loud voice exclaimed, Inhuman wretches, delegates of hell, and agents of the devil, make ready your engine for the guilty, and take off your bloody hands from the innocent; bloody

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authorised fuch an idea in the ufual politeness of a well-bred man of thirty feven; the pitied the misfortune, the admired the elegant and engaging, though serious manners, and the revered the virtues, of Mr. Nelfon; but, fuppofing his mind to be entirely engroiled, as it really was, by his fingular charitable purfuits, fhe entertained not a thought of engaging his affection. Mrs. Worm wood was determined to play off her favourite engine of malignity, a counterfeited letter. She had acquired, in her youth, the very dangerous talent of forging any hand that the pleafed; and her paffion for mifchief had afforded her much practice in this treacherous art. Having previoufly, and fecretly, engaged Mr. Nelion to drink tea with her, fhe wrote a billet to Amelia, in the name of that gentleman, and with the most perfect imitation of his hand. The billet faid, that he defigned himself the pleasure of paffing that afternoon at the houfe of Mrs. Wormwood, and requested the favour of a private conference with Mifs Nevil in the course of the evening, intimating, in the most delicate and doubtful terms, an ardent defire of becoming her husband. Mrs. Wormwood contrived that Amelia fhould not receive this billet till just before dinner time, that he might not fhew it to her friend aud confidant, Mrs. Melford, and, by her means, detect its fallacy before the hour of her intended humiliation arrived.

"Amelia blushed in reading the note, and, in the firft furprife of unfufpecting innocence, gave it to the vigilant Mrs. Wormwood, who burst into vehement expreffions of delight, congratulated her blufhing gueft on the full fuccefs of her charms, and triumphed in her own prophetic difcernment. They fat

down to dinner, but poor Amelia could hardly fwallow a morfel; her mind was in a tumultuous agitation of pleasure and amazement. The malicious impoftor, enjoying her confufion, allowed her no time to compofe her hurried fpirits in the folitude of her chamber. Some female vifitors arrived to tea; and, at length, Mr. Nelfon entered the room. Amelia trembled and blufhed as he approached her; but the was a little relieved from her embarraffment by the business of the tea-table, over which the prefided. Amelia was naturally graceful in every thing fhe did, but the prefent agitation of her mind gave a temporary aukwardness to all her motions: fhe committed many little blunders in the management of the tea-table; a cup fell from her trembling hand, and was broken; but the politenefs of Mr. Nelfon led him to fay fo many kind and graceful things to her on thefe petty incidents, that, instead of increafing her diftrefs, they produced an opposite effect, and the tumult of her bofom gradually fubfided into a calm and compofed delight. She ventured to meet the eyes of Mr. Nelfon, and thought them expreffive of that tendernefs which promifed a happy end to all her misfortunes. At the idea of exchanging mifery and dependence for com. fort and honour, as the wife of so amiable a man, her heart expanded with the most innocent and grateful joy. This appeared in her countenance, and gave fuch an exquifite radiance to all her features, that he looked a thousand times more beautiful than ever. Mrs. Wormwood faw this improvement of her charms, and, fickening the fight, determined to reduce the fplendor of fuch infufferable beauty, and hastily terminate the tri

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own credulity, which he condemned with that excess of severity fo natural to a delicate mind in ar raigning itself. She would have flown for immediate confolation to her friend, Mis. Melford, but the had reafon to believe that lady engaged on a vifit, and the therefore refolved to take a folitary walk for the purpose of compofing her fpirits: but neither folitude nor exercife could reftore her tranquillity; and, as it grew late in the evening, fhe haftened to Mrs. Melford's, in hopes of now finding her returned. Her worthy old confidant was indeed in her little parlour alone, when Amelia entered the room. The eyes of this lovely girl immediately betrayed her diftrefs; and the old lady, with her usual tenderness, exclaimed, "Good heaven! my dear child, for what have you been crying?" "Because, replied Amelia, in a broken voice, and bursting into a fresh fhower of tears, because I am a fool." Mrs. Melford began to be most seriously alarmed, and, expreffing her maternal folicitude in the kindest manner, Amelia produced the fatal paper- There, fays fhe, is a letter in the name of your excellent friend, Mr. Nelfon; it is a forgery of Mrs. Wormwood's, and I have been fuch an ideot as to believe it real." The affectionate Mrs. Melford, who, in her first alarm, had apprehended a much heavier calamity, was herself greatly comforted in difcovering the truth, and faid many kind things to confole her young friend. "Do not fancy. replied Amelia, that I am foolifhly in love with Mr. Nelfon, though I think him the most pleafing as well as the mot éxcellent of men; and though I confefs to you, that I fhould certainly think it a bleffed lot to find a refuge from the

umph of her deluded gueft. She began with a few malicious and farcaftic remarks on the vanity of beautiful young women, and the hopes which they frequently entertain of an imaginary lover; but, finding these remarks produced not the effect the intended, the took an opportunity of whispering in the ear of Amelia, and begged her not to harbour any vain ex pectations, for the billet fhe had received was a counterfeit, and a mere piece of pleafantry. Amelia fhuddered, and tarned pale: furprife, difappointment, and indignation, confpired to overwhelm her. She exerted her utmost power to conceal her emotions; but the conflict in her bofom was too violent to be difguifed. The tears, which he vainly endeavoured to fupprefs, burit forth, and fhe was obliged to quit the room in very vifible di order. Mr. Nelfon expreffed his concern; but he was checked in his benevolent enquiries by the caution of Mrs. Wormwood, who faid, on the occafion, that Mifs Nevil was a very amiable girl, but the had fome peculiarities of temper, and was apt to put a wrong con. struction on the innocent pleasantry of her friends. Mr. Nelfon obferving that Amelia did not return, and hoping that his departure might contribute to restore the interrupted harmony of the houfe, took an early leave of Mrs. Wormwood, who immediately flew to the chamber of Amelia, to exult, like a fiend, over that lovely victim of her fuccessful malignity. She found not the perfon whom he was fo eager to infult. Amelia had indeed retired to her chamber, and paffed there a very miferable half hour, much hurt by the treacherous cruelty of Mrs. Wormwood, and fill inore wounded by reflections on her

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mifery of my prefent dependence, in the arms of fo benevolent and fo generous a protector." "Thofe arms are now open to receive you, faid a voice that was heard before the speaker appeared. Amelia started at the found, and her furprife was not a little increased in feeing Mr. Nelfon himself, who, entering the room from an adjoining apartinent, embraced the lovely orphan in a transport of tenderness and delight. Amelia, alive to all the feelings of genuine modefty, was for fome minutes more painfully diftreffed by this furprise, than fhe had been by her past mortification: fhe was ready to fink into the earth at the idea of having betrayed her fecret to the man from whom he would have laboured most to conceal it. In the first tumult of this delicate confufion, the links into a chair, and hides her face in her handkerchief. Nelfon, with a mixture of refpect and love, being afraid of increafing her diftrefs, feizes one of her hands, and continues to kiss it without uttering a word. The good Mrs. Melford, almost as much aftonished, but lefs painfully confufed than Amelia, beholds this unexpected fcene with that kind of joy which is much more difpofed to weep than to fpeak:-and, while this little party is thus abforbed in filence, let me haften to relate the incidents which produced their fituation.

"Mr. Nelfon had obferved the farcaftic manner of Mrs. Wormwood towards Amelia, and, as foon as he had ended his uncomfortable `vifit, he haftened to the worthy Mrs: Melford, to give her fome little account of what had paffed, and to concert with her fome happier plan for the fupport of this amiable infulted orphan. "I am acquainted, faid he, with fome

brave and wealthy officers, who have ferved with the father of Mifs Nevil, and often fpeak of him with refpect; I am fure I can raife among them a fubfcription for the maintenance of this tender unfortunate girl: we will procure for her an annuity, that fhall enable her to escape from fuch malignant patronage, to have a little home of her own, and to fupport a fervant.” Mrs. Melford was transported at this idea; and, recollecting all her own obligations to this benevolent man, wept, and extolled his generofity; and, fuddenly feeing Ame lia at fome distance, through a bow window, which commanded the street in which the lived, "Thank Heaven, fhe cried, here comes my poor child, to hear and bless you for the extent of your goodness." Nelfon, who delighted most in doing good by ftealth, immediately extorted from the good old lady a promife of fecrefy: it was the best part of his plan, that Amelia should never know the perfons to whom she was to owe her independence. "I am till afraid of you, my worthy old friend, faid Nelfon; your countenance or manner will, I know, betray me, if Mifs Nevil fees me here to-night."—" Well, faid the delighted old lady, I will humour your delicacy; Amelia will probably not stay with me ten minutes; you may amufe yourself, for that time, in my fpacious garden: I will not fay you are here; and, as foon as the good girl returns home, I will come and impart to you the particulars of her recent vexation."" Admirably fettled," cried Nelfon; and he im mediately retreated into a little back room, which led through a glass door into a long flip of ground, embellifhed with the sweetest and leaft expentive flowers, which af

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forded a favourite occupation and amufement to Mrs. Melford, Nelfon, after taking a few turns in this diminutive garden, finding himself rather chilled by the air of the evening, retreated again into the little room he had paffed, intending to wait there till Amelia departed; but the partition between the parlours being extremely flight, he overheard the tender confeffion of Amelia, and was hurried towards her by an irrefiftible impulfe, in the manner already defcribed.

"Mrs. Melford was the first who recovered from the kind of trance, into which our little party had been thrown by their general furprife; and the enabled the tender pair, in the profpect of whofe union her warm heart exulted, to regain that eafy and joyous poffeffion of their faculties, which they loft for fome little time in their mutual embarraffiment. The applaufe of her friend, and the adoration of her lover, foon taught the diffident Amelia to think lefs feverely of herself. The warm heated Mrs. Melford declared, that thefe occur rences were the work of heaven. "That, replied the affectionate Nelfon, I am most willing to allow; but you must grant, that heaven has produced our prefent happiness by the blind agency of a fiend; and, as our dear Amelia has too gentle a spirit to rejoice in beholding the malignity of a devil converted into the torment of its poffeffor, I must beg that the may not return, even for a fingle night, to the houfe of Mrs. Wormwood."

Amelia pleaded her fenfe of past obligations, and wifhed to take a peaceful leave of her patronefs; but the fubmitted to the urgent entreaties of Nelfon, and remained for a few weeks under the roof of Mrs. Melford, when he was united at the altar to the man of her heart. Nelfon had the double de light of rewarding the affection of an angel, and of punishing the malevolence of a fiend: he an nounced in perfon to Mrs. Worm. wood his intended marriage with Amelia, on the very night when that treacherous old maid had amus ed herself with the hope of deriding her gueft; whofe return fhe was eagerly expecting, in the mo ment Nelfon arrived to fay, that Amelia would return no more.

"The furprife and mortification of Mrs. Wormwood arofe almost to frenzy: fhe racked her malicious and inventive brain for expedients to defeat the match, and circulated a report for that purpofe, which decency will not allow me to ex plain. Her artifice was detected and defpifed. Amelia was not only married, but the most admired, the moft beloved, and the happiest of human beings; an event which preyed fo inceffantly on the fpirit of Mrs. Wormwood, that the fell into a rapid decline, and ended, in a few months, her mischievous and unhappy life, a memorable example, that the most artful ma lignity may fometimes procure for the object of its envy that very happiness which it labours to pre vent!"

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