The History Of The Life Of The Late Mr. Jonathan Wild The Great(Fiscle Part 3) - Henry Fielding (best young adult book series txt) 📗

Wise As We Are,  Are

Forced To Reason Ab Effectu; And If We Had Been Asked What Nature

Had Intended Such Men For,  Before She Herself Had By The Event

Demonstrated Her Purpose,  It Is Possible We Might Sometimes Have

Been Puzzled To Declare; For It Must Be Confessed That At First

Sight,  And To A Mind Uninspired,  A Man Of Vast Natural Capacity

And Much Acquired Knowledge May Seem By Nature Designed For Power

And Honour,  Rather Than One Remarkable Only For The Want Of These,

And Indeed All Other Qualifications; Whereas Daily Experience

Convinces Us Of The Contrary,  And Drives Us As It Were Into The

Opinion I Have Here Disclosed.

 

Now,  Nature Having Originally Intended Our Great Man For That

Final Exaltation Which,  As It Is The Most Proper And Becoming End

Of All Great Men,  It Were Heartily To Be Wished They Might All

Arrive At,  Would By No Means Be Diverted From Her Purpose. She

Therefore No Sooner Spied Him In The Water Than She Softly

Book 2 Chapter 12 Pg 82

Whispered In His Ear To Attempt The Recovery Of His Boat,  Which

Call He Immediately Obeyed,  And,  Being A Good Swimmer,  And It

Being A Perfect Calm,  With Great Facility Accomplished It.

 

Thus We Think This Passage In Our History,  At First So Greatly

Surprising,  Is Very Naturally Accounted For,  And Our Relation

Rescued From The Prodigious,  Which,  Though It Often Occurs In

Biography,  Is Not To Be Encouraged Nor Much Commended On Any

Occasion,  Unless When Absolutely Necessary To Prevent The

History's Being At An End. Secondly,  We Hope Our Hero Is Justified

From That Imputation Of Want Of Resolution Which Must Have Been

Fatal To The Greatness Of His Character.

 

Book 2 Chapter 13 Pg 83

 

The Conclusion Of The Boat Adventure,  And The End Of The Second

Book.

 

 

 

 

 

Our Hero Passed The Remainder Of The Evening,  The Night,  And The

Next Day,  In A Condition Not Much To Be Envied By Any Passion Of

The Human Mind,  Unless By Ambition; Which,  Provided It Can Only

Entertain Itself With The Most Distant Music Of Fame's Trumpet,

Can Disdain All The Pleasures Of The Sensualist,  And Those More

Solemn,  Though Quieter Comforts,  Which A Good Conscience Suggests

To A Christian Philosopher.

 

He Spent His Time In Contemplation,  That Is To Say,  In

Blaspheming,  Cursing,  And Sometimes Singing And Whistling. At

Last,  When Cold And Hunger Had Almost Subdued His Native

Fierceness,  It Being A Good Deal Past Midnight And Extremely Dark,

He Thought He Beheld A Light At A Distance,  Which The Cloudiness

Of The Sky Prevented His Mistaking For A Star: This Light,

However,  Did Not Seem To Approach Him,  At Least It Approached By

Such Imperceptible Degrees That It Gave Him Very Little Comfort,

And At Length Totally Forsook Him. He Then Renewed His

Contemplation As Before,  In Which He Continued Till The Day Began

To Break,  When,  To His Inexpressible Delight,  He Beheld A Sail At

A Very Little Distance,  And Which Luckily Seemed To Be Making

Towards Him. He Was Likewise Soon Espied By Those In The Vessel,

Who Wanted No Signals To Inform Them Of His Distress,  And,  As It

Book 2 Chapter 13 Pg 84

Was Almost A Calm,  And Their Course Lay Within Five Hundred Yards

Of Him,  They Hoisted Out Their Boat And Fetched Him Aboard.

 

The Captain Of This Ship Was A Frenchman; She Was Laden With Deal

From Norway,  And Had Been Extremely Shattered In The Late Storm.

This Captain Was Of That Kind Of Men Who Are Actuated By General

Humanity,  And Whose Compassion Can Be Raised By The Distress Of A

Fellow-Creature,  Though Of A Nation Whose King Hath Quarrelled

With The Monarch Of Their Own. He Therefore,  Commiserating The

Circumstances Of Wild,  Who Had Dressed Up A Story Proper To Impose

Upon Such A Silly Fellow,  Told Him That,  As Himself Well Knew,  He

Must Be A Prisoner On His Arrival In France,  But That He Would

Endeavour To Procure His Redemption; For Which Our Hero Greatly

Thanked Him. But,  As They Were Making Very Slow Sail (For They Had

Lost Their Main-Mast In The Storm),  Wild Saw A Little Vessel At A

Distance,  They Being Within A Few Leagues Of The English Shore,

Which,  On Enquiry,  He Was Informed Was Probably An English

Fishing-Boat. And,  It Being Then Perfectly Calm,  He Proposed That,

If They Would Accommodate Him With A Pair Of Scullers,  He Could

Get Within Reach Of The Boat,  At Least Near Enough To Make Signals

To Her; And He Preferred Any Risque To The Certain Fate Of Being A

Prisoner. As His Courage Was Somewhat Restored By The Provisions

(Especially Brandy) With Which The Frenchmen Had Supplied Him,  He

Was So Earnest In His Entreaties,  That The Captain,  After Many

Persuasions,  At Length Complied,  And He Was Furnished With

Scullers,  And With Some Bread,  Pork,  And A Bottle Of Brandy. Then,

Taking Leave Of His Preservers,  He Again Betook Himself To His

Boat,  And Rowed So Heartily That He Soon Came Within The Sight Of

The Fisherman,  Who Immediately Made Towards Him And Took Him

Aboard.

 

No Sooner Was Wild Got Safe On Board The Fisherman Than He Begged

Him To Make The Utmost Speed Into Deal,  For That The Vessel Which

Was Still In Sight Was A Distressed Frenchman,  Bound For Havre De

Grace,  And Might Easily Be Made A Prize If There Was Any Ship

Ready To Go In Pursuit Of Her. So Nobly And Greatly Did Our Hero

Neglect All Obligations Conferred On Him By The Enemies Of His

Country,  That He Would Have Contributed All He Could To The Taking

His Benefactor,  To Whom He Owed Both His Life And His Liberty.

 

The Fisherman Took His Advice,  And Soon Arrived At Deal,  Where The

Reader Will,  I Doubt Not,  Be As Much Concerned As Wild Was,  That

There Was Not A Single Ship Prepared To Go On The Expedition.

 

Our Hero Now Saw Himself Once More Safe On Terra Firma,  But

Unluckily At Some Distance From That City Where Men Of Ingenuity

Can Most Easily Supply Their Wants Without The Assistance Of

Money,  Or Rather Can Most Easily Procure Money For The Supply Of

Their Wants. However,  As His Talents Were Superior To Every

Difficulty,  He Framed So Dextrous An Account Of His Being A

Merchant,  Having Been Taken And Plundered By The Enemy,  And Of His

Great Effects In London,  That He Was Not Only Heartily Regaled By

The Fisherman At His House,  But Made So Handsome A Booty By Way Of

Borrowing,  A Method Of Taking Which We Have Before Mentioned To

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Have His Approbation,  That He Was Enabled To Provide Himself With

A Place In The Stage-Coach; Which (As God Permitted It To Perform

The Journey) Brought Him At The Appointed Time To An Inn In The

Metropolis.

 

And Now,  Reader,  As Thou Canst Be In No Suspense Far The Fate Of

Our Great Man,  Since We Have Returned Him Safe To The Principal

Scene Of His Glory,  We Will A Little Look Back On The Fortunes Of

Mr. Heartfree,  Whom We Left In No Very Pleasant Situation; But Of

This We Shall Treat In The Next Book.

 

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The Low And Pitiful Behaviour Of Heartfree; And The Foolish

Conduct Of His Apprentice.

 

 

 

 

 

His Misfortunes Did Not Entirely Prevent Heartfree From Closing

His Eyes. On The Contrary,  He Slept Several Hours The First Night

Of His Confinement. However,  He Perhaps Paid Too Severely Dear

Both For His Repose And For A Sweet Dream Which Accompanied It,

And Represented His Little Family In One Of Those Tender Scenes

Which Had Frequently Passed In The Days Of His Happiness And

Prosperity,  When The Provision They Were Making For The Future

Fortunes Of Their Children Used To Be One Of The Most Agreeable

Topics Of Discourse With Which He And His Wife Entertained

Themselves. The Pleasantness Of This Vision,  Therefore,  Served

Only,  On His Awaking,  To Set Forth His Present Misery With

Additional Horror,  And To Heighten The Dreadful Ideas Which Now

Crowded On His Mind.

 

He Had Spent A Considerable Time After His First Rising From The

Bed On Which He Had,  Without Undressing,  Thrown Himself,  And Now

Began To Wonder At Mrs. Heartfree's Long Absence; But As The Mind

Is Desirous (And Perhaps Wisely Too) To Comfort Itself With

Drawing The Most Flattering Conclusions From All Events,  So He

Hoped The Longer Her Stay Was The More Certain Was His

Deliverance. At Length His Impatience Prevailed,  And He Was Just

Going To Despatch A Messenger To His Own House When His Apprentice

Came To Pay Him A Visit,  And On His Enquiry Informed Him That His

Wife Had Departed In Company With Mr. Wild Many Hours Before,  And

Had Carried All His Most Valuable Effects With Her; Adding At The

Same Time That She Had Herself Positively Acquainted Him She Had

Her Husband's Express Orders For So Doing,  And That She Was Gone

To Holland.

 

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