d a curse to me and mine!"

The rest of the prisoners, perceiving the knight extremely shocked at her
misery and horrid imprecation, removed her by force from his presence,
and conveyed her to another room; while our adventurer underwent a
violent agitation, and could not for some minutes compose himself so well
as to inquire into the nature of this wretched creature's calamity.

The shopkeeper, of whom he demanded this satisfaction, gave him to
understand that she was born a gentlewoman, and had been well educated;
that she married a curate, who did not long survive his nuptials, and
afterwards became the wife of one Oakley, a farmer in opulent
circumstances. That after twenty years' cohabitation with her husband,
he sustained such losses by the distemper among the cattle, as he could
not repair; and that this reverse of fortune was supposed to have
hastened his death. That the widow, being a woman of spirit, determined
to keep up and manage the farm, with the assistance of an only son, a
very promising youth, who was already contracted in marriage with the
daughter of another wealthy farmer. Thus the mother had a prospect of
retrieving the affairs of her family, when all her hopes were dashed and
destroyed by a ridiculous pique which Mrs. Gobble conceived against the
young farmer's sweetheart, Mrs. Susan Sedgemoor.

This young woman chancing to be at a country assembly, where the
gravedigger of the parish acted as master of the ceremonies, was called
out to dance before Miss Gobble, who happened to be there present also
with her mother. The circumstance was construed into an unpardonable
affront by the justice's lady, who abused the director in the most
opprobrious terms for his insolence and ill manners; and retiring in a
storm of passion, vowed revenge against the saucy minx who had presumed
to vie in gentility with Miss Gobble. The justice entered into her
resentment. The gravedigger lost his place; and Suky's lover, young
Oakley, was pressed for a soldier. Before his mother could take any
steps for his discharge, he was hurried away to the East Indies, by the
industry and contrivance of the justice. Poor Suky wept and pined until
she fell into a consumption. The forlorn widow, being thus deprived of
her son, was overwhelmed with grief to such a degree, that she could no
longer manage her concerns. Everything went backwards; she ran in
arrears with her landlord; and the prospect of bankruptcy aggravated