s, Jack, as thou desirest, have I written.--Written upon something;
upon nothing; upon REVENGE, which I love; upon LOVE, which I hate,
heartily hate, because 'tis my master: and upon the devil knows what
besides: for looking back, I am amazed at the length of it. Thou mayest
read it: I would not for a king's ransom. But so as I do but write, thou
sayest thou wilt be pleased.

Be pleased then. I command thee to be pleased: if not for the writer's
or written sake, for thy word's sake. And so in the royal style (for am
I not likely to be thy king and thy emperor in the great affair before
us?) I bid thee very heartily

Farewell.

LETTER XXXII

MISS CLARISSA HARLOWE, TO MISS HOWE TUESDAY, MARCH 14.

I now send you copies of my letters to my uncles: with their answers. Be
pleased to return the latter by the first deposit. I leave them for you
to make remarks upon. I shall make none.

TO JOHN HARLOWE, ESQ. SAT. MARCH 11.

Allow me, my honoured second Papa, as in my happy days you taught me
to call you, to implore your interest with my Papa, to engage him to
dispense with a command, which, if insisted upon, will deprive me of my
free-will, and make me miserable for my whole life.

For my whole life! let me repeat: Is that a small point, my dear Uncle,
to give up? Am not I to live with the man? Is any body else? Shall I not
therefore be allowed to judge for myself, whether I can, or cannot, live
happily with him?

Should it be ever so unhappily, will it be prudence to complain or
appeal? If it were, to whom could I appeal with effect against a
husband? And would not the invincible and avowed dislike I have for him
at setting out, seem to justify any ill usage from him, in that state,
were I to be ever so observant of him? And if I were to be at all
observant of him, it must be from fear, not love.

Once more, let me repeat, That this is not a small point to give up:
and that it is for life. Why, I pray you, good Sir, should I be made
miserable for life? Why should I be deprived of all comfort, but that
which the hope that it would be a very short one, would afford me?

Marriage is a very solemn engagement, enough to make a young creature's
heart ache, with the best prospects, when she thinks seriously of
it!--To be given up to a strange man; to be engrafted into a strange
family; to give up her very name, as a mark of her becoming his absolute
and dependent property; to be obliged to prefer this strange m