In which, after some very fine writing, the history goes on, and relates the interview between the lady and Joseph; where the latter hath set an example which we despair of seeing followed by his sex in this vicious age.
Now the rake Hesperus had called for his breeches, and, having well rubbed his drowsy1 eyes, prepared to dress himself for all night; by whose example his brother rakes on earth likewise leave those beds in which they had slept away the day. Now Thetis, the good housewife, began to put on the pot, in order to regale2 the good man Phoebus after his daily labours were over. In vulgar language, it was in the evening when Joseph attended his lady’s orders.
But as it becomes us to preserve the character of this lady, who is the heroine of our tale; and as we have naturally a wonderful tenderness for that beautiful part of the human species called the fair sex; before we discover too much of her frailty3 to our reader, it will be proper to give him a lively idea of the vast temptation, which overcame all the efforts of a modest and virtuous4 mind; and then we humbly5 hope his good nature will rather pity than condemn6 the imperfection of human virtue7.
[Illustration]
Nay8, the ladies themselves will, we hope, be induced, by considering the uncommon9 variety of charms which united in this young man’s person, to bridle10 their rampant11 passion for chastity, and be at least as mild as their violent modesty12 and virtue will permit them, in censuring13 the conduct of a woman who, perhaps, was in her own disposition14 as chaste15 as those pure and sanctified virgins16 who, after a life innocently spent in the gaieties of the town, begin about fifty to attend twice per diem at the polite churches and chapels17, to return thanks for the grace which preserved them formerly18 amongst beaus from temptations perhaps less powerful than what now attacked the Lady Booby.
Mr Joseph Andrews was now in the one-and-twentieth year of his age. He was of the highest degree of middle stature19; his limbs were put together with great elegance20, and no less strength; his legs and thighs21 were formed in the exactest proportion; his shoulders were broad and brawny22, but yet his arm hung so easily, that he had all the symptoms of strength without the least clumsiness. His hair was of a nut-brown colour, and was displayed in wanton ringlets down his back; his forehead was high, his eyes dark, and as full of sweetness as of fire; his nose a little inclined to the Roman; his teeth white and even; his lips full, red, and soft; his beard was only rough on his chin and upper lip; but his cheeks, in which his blood glowed, were overspread with a thick down; his countenance23 had a tenderness joined with a sensibility inexpressible. Add to this the most perfect neatness in his dress, and an air which, to those who have not seen many noblemen, would give an idea of nobility.
Such was the person who now appeared before the lady. She viewed him some time in silence, and twice or thrice before she spake changed her mind as to the manner in which she should begin. At length she said to him, “Joseph, I am sorry to hear such complaints against you: I am told you behave so rudely to the maids, that they cannot do their business in quiet; I mean those who are not wicked enough to hearken to your solicitations. As to others, they may, perhaps, not call you rude; for there are wicked sluts who make one ashamed of one’s own sex, and are as ready to admit any nauseous familiarity as fellows to offer it: nay, there are such in my family, but they shall not stay in it; that impudent24 trollop who is with child by you is discharged by this time.”
As a person who is struck through the heart with a thunderbolt looks extremely surprised, nay, and perhaps is so too — thus the poor Joseph received the false accusation25 of his mistress; he blushed and looked confounded, which she misinterpreted to be symptoms of his guilt26, and thus went on:—
“Come hither, Joseph: another mistress might discard you for these offences; but I have a compassion27 for your youth, and if I could be certain you would be no more guilty — Consider, child,” laying her hand carelessly upon his, “you are a handsome young fellow, and might do better; you might make your fortune.” “Madam,” said Joseph, “I do assure your ladyship I don’t know whether any maid in the house is man or woman.” “Oh fie! Joseph,” answered the lady, “don’t commit another crime in denying the truth. I could pardon the first; but I hate a lyar.” “Madam,” cries Joseph, “I hope your ladyship will not be offended at my asserting my innocence28; for, by all that is sacred, I have never offered more than kissing.” “Kissing!” said the lady, with great discomposure of countenance, and more redness in her cheeks than anger in her eyes; “do you call that no crime? Kissing, Joseph, is as a prologue29 to a play. Can I believe a young fellow of your age and complexion30 will be content with kissing? No, Joseph, there is no woman who grants that but will grant more; and I am deceived greatly in you if you would not put her closely to it. What would you think, Joseph, if I admitted you to kiss me?” Joseph replied he would sooner die than have any such thought. “And yet, Joseph,” returned she, “ladies have admitted their footmen to such familiarities; and footmen, I confess to you, much less deserving them; fellows without half your charms — for such might almost excuse the crime. Tell me therefore, Joseph, if I should admit you to such freedom, what would you think of me? — tell me freely.” “Madam,” said Joseph, “I should think your ladyship condescended31 a great deal below yourself.” “Pugh!” said she; “that I am to answer to myself: but would not you insist on more? Would you be contented32 with a kiss? Would not your inclinations34 be all on fire rather by such a favour?” “Madam,” said Joseph, “if they were, I hope I should be able to controul them, without suffering them to get the better of my virtue.” You have heard, reader, poets talk of the statue of Surprize; you have heard likewise, or else you have heard very little, how Surprize made one of the sons of Croesus speak, though he was dumb. You have seen the faces, in the eighteen-penny gallery, when, through the trap-door, to soft or no music, Mr. Bridgewater, Mr. William Mills, or some other of ghostly appearance, hath ascended35, with a face all pale with powder, and a shirt all bloody36 with ribbons; — but from none of these, nor from Phidias or Praxiteles, if they should return to life — no, not from the inimitable pencil of my friend Hogarth, could you receive such an idea of surprize as would have entered in at your eyes had they beheld37 the Lady Booby when those last words issued out from the lips of Joseph. “Your virtue!” said the lady, recovering after a silence of two minutes; “I shall never survive it. Your virtue! — intolerable confidence! Have you the assurance to pretend, that when a lady demeans herself to throw aside the rules of decency38, in order to honour you with the highest favour in her power, your virtue should resist her inclination33? that, when she had conquered her own virtue, she should find an obstruction39 in yours?” “Madam,” said Joseph, “I can’t see why her having no virtue should be a reason against my having any; or why, because I am a man, or because I am poor, my virtue must be subservient40 to her pleasures.” “I am out of patience,” cries the lady: “did ever mortal hear of a man’s virtue? Did ever the greatest or the gravest men pretend to any of this kind? Will magistrates41 who punish lewdness42, or parsons who preach against it, make any scruple43 of committing it? And can a boy, a stripling, have the confidence to talk of his virtue?” “Madam,” says Joseph, “that boy is the brother of Pamela, and would be ashamed that the chastity of his family, which is preserved in her, should be stained in him. If there are such men as your ladyship mentions, I am sorry for it; and I wish they had an opportunity of reading over those letters which my father hath sent me of my sister Pamela’s; nor do I doubt but such an example would amend44 them.” “You impudent villain45!” cries the lady in a rage; “do you insult me with the follies46 of my relation, who hath exposed himself all over the country upon your sister’s account? a little vixen, whom I have always wondered my late Lady Booby ever kept in her house. Sirrah! get out of my sight, and prepare to set out this night; for I will order you your wages immediately, and you shall be stripped and turned away.” “Madam,” says Joseph, “I am sorry I have offended your ladyship, I am sure I never intended it.” “Yes, sirrah,” cries she, “you have had the vanity to misconstrue the little innocent freedom I took, in order to try whether what I had heard was true. O’ my conscience, you have had the assurance to imagine I was fond of you myself.” Joseph answered, he had only spoke47 out of tenderness for his virtue; at which words she flew into a violent passion, and refusing to hear more, ordered him instantly to leave the room.
He was no sooner gone than she burst forth48 into the following exclamation:— “Whither doth this violent passion hurry us? What meannesses do we submit to from its impulse! Wisely we resist its first and least approaches; for it is then only we can assure ourselves the victory. No woman could ever safely say, so far only will I go. Have I not exposed myself to the refusal of my footman? I cannot bear the reflection.” Upon which she applied49 herself to the bell, and rung it with infinite more violence than was necessary — the faithful Slipslop attending near at hand: to say the truth, she had conceived a suspicion at her last interview with her mistress, and had waited ever since in the antechamber, having carefully applied her ears to the keyhole during the whole time that the preceding conversation passed between Joseph and the lady.
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1
drowsy
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| adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的 | |
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regale
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| v.取悦，款待 | |
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frailty
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| n.脆弱；意志薄弱 | |
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virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
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condemn
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| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
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virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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rampant
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| adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的 | |
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modesty
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| n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素 | |
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censuring
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| v.指责，非难，谴责( censure的现在分词 ) | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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chaste
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| adj.贞洁的；有道德的；善良的；简朴的 | |
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virgins
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| 处女，童男( virgin的名词复数 )； 童贞玛利亚（耶稣之母） | |
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chapels
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| n.小教堂， （医院、监狱等的）附属礼拜堂( chapel的名词复数 )；（在小教堂和附属礼拜堂举行的）礼拜仪式 | |
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formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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elegance
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| n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙 | |
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thighs
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| n.股，大腿( thigh的名词复数 )；食用的鸡（等的）腿 | |
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brawny
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| adj.强壮的 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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impudent
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| adj.鲁莽的，卑鄙的，厚颜无耻的 | |
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accusation
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| n.控告，指责，谴责 | |
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guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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prologue
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| n.开场白，序言；开端，序幕 | |
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complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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condescended
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| 屈尊，俯就( condescend的过去式和过去分词 )； 故意表示和蔼可亲 | |
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contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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inclinations
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| 倾向( inclination的名词复数 )； 倾斜； 爱好； 斜坡 | |
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ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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decency
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| n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重 | |
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obstruction
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| n.阻塞，堵塞；障碍物 | |
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40
subservient
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| adj.卑屈的，阿谀的 | |
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41
magistrates
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| 地方法官，治安官( magistrate的名词复数 ) | |
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42
lewdness
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| n. 淫荡, 邪恶 | |
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43
scruple
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| n./v.顾忌，迟疑 | |
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amend
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| vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿 | |
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45
villain
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| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
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46
follies
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| 罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 ) | |
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47
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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48
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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49
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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