ll the women in it having declared
open war with her, and the men endeavouring at treaties of a different
sort: my own woman puts herself at the head of the first party, and her
spleen is increased by having no reason for it, the young creature never
stirring from my apartment, always at needle, and never complaining of
anything."

[Footnote 13: _The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling_.]

Later Lady Mary has more to say about Fielding's books:

"H. Fielding has given a true picture of himself and his first wife, in
the characters of Mr. and Mrs. Booth, some compliments to his own figure
excepted; and, I am persuaded, several of the incidents he mentions are
real matters of fact. I wonder he does not perceive Tom Jones and Mr.
Booth are sorry scoundrels. All these sort of books have the same fault,
which I cannot easily pardon, being very mischievous. They place a merit
in extravagant passions, and encourage young people to hope for
impossible events, to draw them out of the misery they chose to plunge
themselves into, expecting legacies from unknown relations, and generous
benefactors to distressed virtue, as much out of nature as fairy
treasures. Fielding has really a fund of true humour, and was to be
pitied at his first entrance into the world, having no choice, as he
said himself, but to be a hackney writer, or a hackney coachman. His
genius deserved a better fate; but I cannot help blaming that continued
indiscretion, to give it the softest name, that has run through his
life, and I am afraid still remains. I guessed _Random_ to be his though
without his name. I cannot think _Ferdinand Count Fathom_ wrote by the
same hand, it is every way so much below it."

Adventures of Roderick Random_ (1748) and _The Adventures of Ferdinand
Count Fathom_ (1753) were published anonymously. Lady Mary was not the
only one to attribute _Roderick Random_ to Fielding, and it was actually
translated into French in his name.

When Lady Mary heard of Fielding's death, she expressed deep regret:

"I am sorry for H. Fielding's death, not only as I shall read no more of
his writings, but I believe he lost more than others, as no man enjoyed
life more than he did, though few had less reason to do so, the highest
of his preferment being raking in the lowest sinks of vice and misery. I
should think it a nobler and less nauseous employment to be one of the
staff-officers that conduct the nocturnal weddings. His happy
constitution