said she, "to tell the names of my parents, who are dead many
years ago; let it suffice to assure you, they were wealthy, and
had no other child than me; so that I was looked upon as heiress to
a considerable estate, and teased with addresses on that account.
Among the number of my admirers, there was a young gentleman of no
fortune, whose sole dependence was on his promotion in the army, in
which, at that time, he bore a lieutenant's commission. I conceived
an affection for this amiable officer, which, in a short time,
increased to a violent passion. and without entering into minute
circumstances, married him privately. We had not enjoyed one another
long in stolen interviews, when he was ordered with his regiment
to Flanders; but, before he set out, it was agreed between us, that
we should declare our marriage to my father by letter, and implore
his pardon for the step we had taken without his approbation. This
discovery was made while I was abroad visiting, and just as I was
about to return home, I received a letter from my father, importing
that, since I had acted so undutifully and meanly as to marry
a beggar, without his privity or consent, to the disgrace of his
family as well as the disappointment of his hopes, he renounced me
to the miserable fate I had entailed upon myself, and charged me
never to set foot within his doors again. This rigid sentence was
confirmed by my mother, who, in a postscript, gave me to understand
that her sentiments were exactly conformable to those of my father,
and that I might save myself the trouble of making any applications,
for her resolutions were unalterable. Thunderstruck with my evil
fortune I called a coach, and drove to my husband's lodgings, where
I found him waiting the event of his letter. Though he could easily
divine by my looks the issue of his declaration, he read with great
steadiness the epistle I had received; and with a smile full of
tenderness, which I shall never forget, embraced me, saying, "I