en gave Mr. Cranstoun the keys of his trunk,
and bade him be more careful for the future, and not leave his letters
so much exposed. At these words he almost fainted away. He got up, and
retired to his room immediately. I was going to my own room, when he
called to me, and begged me, for God's sake, to come to him: which I
instantly did. He then fell down on his knees before me, and begged
me, for God's sake, to forgive him; if I was resolved to see him no
more. On this I told him I forgave him, but intreated him to make some
excuse to leave Henley the next day: "For I will not," said I, "expose
you, if I can help it; and our affair may scorn to go off by degrees."
The last words, seemingly so confounded him, that he made me no
answer, but threw himself on the bed, crying out, "I am ruined, I am
ruined. Oh Molly, you never loved me!" I then was upon the point of
going out of the room, without giving him any answer. Upon which he
got hold of my gown, and swore, "He would not live till night, if I
did not forgive him." He bad me, "Remember my mother's last dying
commands, and reflect upon the pain it would give his mother." He
protested "that he could never forgive himself, if I did; and that he
never would repeat the same provocations." He kept me then two hours,
before he could prevail upon me to declare, that I would not break off
my acquaintance with him. Mr. Cranstoun pretended to be sick two or
three days upon this unlucky event; but I cannot help thinking this
now to have been only a delusion. Some time after this Mr. Cranstoun
had a letter from his brother, the Lord Cranstoun, to desire him to
come immediately to Scotland, in order to settle some of his own
affairs there, and to see his mother, the Lady Cranstoun, who was then
extremely ill. Upon the arrival of this letter Mr. Cranstoun said to
me, "Good God, what shall I do! I have no money to carry me thither
and all my fortune is seized on, but my half-pay!" This made me very
uneasy. He then said, "He would part with his watch, in order to
enable him to raise a sum sufficient to defray the expence of his
journey to Scotland." I told him, "I had no money to give him, but
would freely make him a present of my own watch; as I could not bear
to see him without one." Then I took a picture of himself, which he
had some time before given me, off my watch, and freely made him a
present of it. Two days after this he departed for Scotland, and I
never afterwards saw him.