when after repeated engagements even her
fond caresses failed to revive our enervated champions that, taking an
affectionate farewell, she retired to her own apartment. The exercise
so far from injuring seemed to have a beneficial effect on her charms,
and never had she looked more lovely than she appeared the next morning
when she was transferred to the arms of the enraptured Sir Charles.

Most fortunately everything turned out eventually even more agreeably
than we had ventured to hope. A few days afterwards I had the
gratification of hearing from Laura that she had satisfactorily put in
operation the device I had suggested, which, combined with the
difficulty Sir Charles experienced from his great size in obtaining an
entrance and the pain she pretended to experienced when he forced his
way within her supposed virgin sanctuary, completely prevented any
suspicion on his part. And loving her as I did, I was pleased with her
frank avowal that not only his general conduct and kindness left her
nothing to wish for, but that in her nuptial intercourse with him she
derived if possible even greater pleasure than she enjoyed with us. The
symptoms which had alarmed us passed off without producing the dreaded
consequence, and it was not till some weeks after the usual time had
elapsed that she presented the delighted Sir Charles with a son who was
soon followed by numerous successors.

Frank before long joined the army, and in the arms of others soon found
consolation, though he never forgot the charms of his first
instructress. When Laura and I met again, we could not refrain from
renewing our old delights and comparing the changes which had taken
place in each other's charms, but with the exception of one single
occasion, I believe I am the only one she ever allowed to participate
with her husband in the pleasures she was so well calculated to confer.

After the marriage I got alarmed about Betsy, and regretted that I had
allowed her to know so much as she did. The only remedy I could devise
was to persuade her to go to a distant country where she would have no
temptation to speak on the subject. On sounding her, I found that,
trusting to the influence she thought she had obtained over Frank and
me, she was not disposed to be removed from us. I therefore had
recourse to John and found him not only much more intelligent but also
more sensible than his mistress. I had not much difficulty in
convincing him that if he had the m