much hurt as to be obliged to be put immediately
to bed; nor did she recover enough to go abroad for many months. Now,
though every one was sorry for her sufferings, who could possibly help
blaming her for her ridiculous behaviour, as it was entirely owing to
her own folly that she was so hurt? When she was talked to upon the
subject, she pleaded for her excuse, that she was so frightened she did
not know what she did, nor whither she was going; but as she thought
that the dog was coming to her she could not help jumping up, to get out
of his way. Now what ridiculous arguing was this! Why could not she help
it? And if the dog had really been going to her, what harm would it have
done? Could she suppose that the lady whose house she was at, would have
suffered a beast to walk about the house loose, and go into company,
if he was apt to bite and hurt people? Or why should she think he would
more injure her, than those he had before passed by? But the real case
was, she did not think at all; if she had given herself time for that,
she could not have acted so ridiculously. Another time, when she was
walking, from the same want of reflection, she very nearly drowned
herself. She was passing over a bridge, the outside rails of which were
in some places broken down: while she was there, some cows, which a man
was driving, met her: immediately, without minding whither she went,
she shrieked out, and at the same time jumped on one side just where the
rail happened to be broken, and down she fell into the river; nor was
it without the greatest difficulty that she was taken out time enough
to save her life. However, she caught a violent cold and fever, and was
again, by her own foolish fears, confined to her bed for some weeks.
Another accident she once met with, which though not quite so bad as the
two former, yet might have been attended with fatal consequences. She
was sitting in a window, when a wasp happened to fly toward her; she
hastily drew back her head, and broke the pane of glass behind her, some
of which stuck in her neck. It bled prodigiously; but a surgeon happily
being present, made some application to it, which prevented its being
followed by any other ill effects than only a few days weakness,
occasioned by the loss of blood. Many other misfortunes of the like kind
she frequently experienced; but these which I have now related may serve
to convince you how extremely absurd it is for people to give way to
and indulge