ulness.

I begged leave to send a guinea to a poor body in the town, that I
heard, by Mrs. Jewkes, lay very ill, and was very destitute. He said,
Send two, my dear, if you please. Said I, Sir, I will never do any thing
of this kind without letting you know what I do. He most generously
answered, I shall then, perhaps, have you do less good than you would
otherwise do, from a doubt of me; though, I hope, your discretion, and
my own temper, which is not avaricious, will make such doubt causeless.

Now, my dear, continued he, I'll tell you how we will order this point,
to avoid even the shadow of uneasiness on one side, or doubt on the
other.

As to your father and mother, in the first place, they shall be quite
out of the question; for I have already determined in my mind about
them; and it is thus: They shall go down, if they and you think well of
it, to my little Kentish estate; which I once mentioned to you in such
a manner, as made you reject it with a nobleness of mind, that gave me
pain then, but pleasure since. There is a pretty little farm, and house,
untenanted, upon that estate, and tolerably well stocked, and I will
further stock it for them; for such industrious folks won't know how
to live without some employment; And it shall be theirs for both their
lives, without paying any rent; and I will allow them 50l. per annum
besides, that they may keep up the stock, and be kind to any other of
their relations, without being beholden to you or me for small matters;
and for greater, where needful, you shall always have it in your power
to accommodate them; for I shall never question your prudence. And we
will, so long as God spares our lives, go down, once a year, to see
them; and they shall come up, as often as they please, it cannot be
too often, to see us: for I mean not this, my dear, to send them from
us.--Before I proceed, does my Pamela like this?

O, sir, said I, the English tongue affords not words, or, at least, I
have them not, to express sufficiently my gratitude! Teach me, dear sir,
continued I, and pressed his dear hand to my lips, teach me some other
language, if there be any, that abounds with more grateful terms; that I
may not thus be choked with meanings, for which I can find no utterance.

My charmer! says he, your language is all wonderful, as your sentiments;
and you most abound, when you seem most to want!--All that I wish, is to
find my proposals agreeable to you; and if my first are not,