ht banquet his vicious appetite with the spoils of
her beauty. Perhaps such a brutal design might not have entered his
imagination, if he had not observed, in the disposition of this hapless
maiden, certain peculiarities from which he derived the most confident
presages of success. Besides a total want of experience, that left her
open and unguarded against the attacks of the other sex, she discovered a
remarkable spirit of credulity and superstitious fear, which had been
cherished by the conversation of her school-fellows. She was
particularly fond of music, in which she had made some progress; but so
delicate was the texture of her nerves, that one day, while Fathom
entertained the company with a favourite air, she actually swooned with
pleasure.

Such sensibility, our projector well knew, must be diffused through all
the passions of her heart; he congratulated himself upon the sure
ascendency he had gained over her in this particular; and forthwith began
to execute the plan he had erected for her destruction. That he might
the more effectually deceive the vigilance of her father's wife, he threw
such a dash of affectation in his complaisance towards Celinda, as could
not escape the notice of that prying matron, though it was not palpable
enough to disoblige the young lady herself, who could not so well
distinguish between overstrained courtesy and real good breeding. This
behaviour screened him from the suspicion of the family, who considered
it as an effort of politeness, to cover his indifference and disgust for
the daughter of his friend, who had by this time given some reason to
believe she looked upon him with the eyes of affection; so that the
opportunities he enjoyed of conversing with her in private, were less
liable to intrusion or inquiry. Indeed, from what I have already
observed, touching the sentiments of her stepdame, that lady, far from
taking measures for thwarting our hero's design, would have rejoiced at
the execution of it, and, had she been informed of his intent, might have
fallen upon some method to facilitate the enterprise; but, as he solely
depended upon his own talents, he never dreamed of soliciting such an
auxiliary.

Under cover of instructing and accomplishing her in the exercise of
music, he could not want occasions for promoting his aim; when, after
having soothed her sense of hearing, even to a degree of ravishment, so
as to extort from her an exclamation, importing, that he wa