to dine with him, and balls in the house, and was as gay and gallant,
and as much himself as before he was married; and at dinner he always
drank my Lady Rackrent's good health, and so did the company, and he
sent out always a servant, with his compliments to my Lady Rackrent, and
the company was drinking her ladyship's health, and begged to know if
there was any thing at table he might send her; and the man came back,
after the sham errand, with my Lady Rackrent's compliments, and she was
very much obliged to Sir Kit--she did not wish for any thing, but drank
the company's health. The country, to be sure, talked and wondered at my
lady's being shut up, but nobody chose to interfere or ask any
impertinent questions, for they knew my master was a man very apt to
give a short answer himself, and likely to call a man out for it
afterwards; he was a famous shot; had killed his man before he came of
age, and nobody scarce dared look at him whilst at Bath. Sir Kit's
character was so well known in the country, that he lived in peace and
quietness ever after, and was a great favourite with the ladies,
especially when in process of time, in the fifth year of her
confinement, my Lady Rackrent fell ill, and took entirely to her bed,
and he gave out that she was now skin and bone, and could not last
through the winter. In this he had two physicians' opinions to back him
(for now he called in two physicians for her), and tried all his arts to
get the diamond cross from her on her death-bed, and to get her to make
a will in his favour of her separate possessions; but there she was too
tough for him. He used to swear at her behind her back, after kneeling
to her to her face, and call her in the presence of his gentleman his
stiff-necked Israelite, though before he married her, that same
gentleman told me he used to call her (how he could bring it out, I
don't know) "my pretty Jessica!" To be sure it must have been hard for
her to guess what sort of a husband he reckoned to make her. When she
was lying, to all expectation, on her death-bed of a broken heart, I