ring his liberty to a woman who had so little to recommend her to
the addresses of the other sex; a reflection which provoked this mild
creature to such a degree of animosity, that, forgetting her duty and
allegiance, she lent him a box on the ear with such energy as made his
eyes water; and he, for the honour of manhood and sovereignty, having
washed her face with a dish of tea, withdrew abruptly to a coffee-house
in the neighbourhood, where he had not long remained, when his passion
subsided, and he then saw the expediency of an immediate reconciliation,
which he resolved to purchase, even at the expense of a submission.

It was pity that such a salutary resolution had not been sooner taken.
For, when he returned to his own house, he understood, that Mrs. Fathom
had gone abroad in a hackney-coach; and, upon examining her apartment, in
lieu of her clothes and trinkets, which she had removed with admirable
dexterity and despatch, he found this billet in one of the drawers of her
bureau:--"Sir, being convinced that you are a cheat and an impostor, I
have withdrawn myself from your cruelty and machinations, with a view to
solicit the protection of the law; and I doubt not but I shall soon be
able to prove, that you have no just title to, or demand upon, the person
or effects of the unfortunate Sarah Muddy."

The time had been when Mr. Fathom would have allowed Mrs. Muddy to refine
at her leisure, and blessed God for his happy deliverance; but at present
the case was quite altered. Smarting as he was from the expense of
lawsuits, he dreaded a prosecution for bigamy, which, though he had
justice on his side, he knew he could not of himself support. Besides,
all his other schemes of life were frustrated by this unlucky elopement.
He therefore speedily determined to anticipate, as much as in him lay,
the malice of his enemies, and to obtain, without delay, authentic
documents of his marriage. With this view, he hastened to the house of
the tradesman, who, with his wife, had been witness to the ceremony and
consummation; and, in order to interest them the more warmly in his
cause, made a pathetic recital of this unhappy breach, in which he had
suffered such injury and insult. But all his rhetoric would not avail.
Mrs. Muddy had been beforehand with him, and had proved the better orator
of the two; for she had assailed this honest couple with such tropes and
figures of eloquence, as were altogether irresistible.

Neverthel