She would regard me as her benefactor and protector. By supplying all
her wants and watching over her safety without apprizing her of the
means by which I shall be enabled to do this, I shall lay irresistible
claims to her love and her gratitude.

"Such were the sophistries by which reason was seduced and my integrity
annihilated. I hastened away from my present abode. I easily traced the
baggage of the deceased to an inn, and gained possession of it. It
contained nothing but clothes and books. I then instituted the most
diligent search after the young lady. For a time, my exertions were
fruitless.

"Meanwhile, the possessor of this house thought proper to embark with
his family for Europe. The sum which he demanded for his furniture,
though enormous, was precipitately paid by me. His servants were
continued in their former stations, and in the day at which he
relinquished the mansion, I entered on possession.

"There was no difficulty in persuading the world that Welbeck was a
personage of opulence and rank. My birth and previous adventures it was
proper to conceal. The facility with which mankind are misled in their
estimate of characters, their proneness to multiply inferences and
conjectures, will not be readily conceived by one destitute of my
experience. My sudden appearance on the stage, my stately reserve, my
splendid habitation, and my circumspect deportment, were sufficient to
entitle me to homage. The artifices that were used to unveil the truth,
and the guesses that were current respecting me, were adapted to gratify
my ruling passion.

"I did not remit my diligence to discover the retreat of Mademoiselle