have the honour of dear Miss Howe's commands to acquaint you, without
knowing the occasion, 'That she is excessively concerned for the concern
she has given you in her last letter: and that, if you will but write to
her, under cover as before, she will have no thoughts of what you are so
very apprehensive about.'--Yet she bid me write, 'That if she had bit the
least imagination that she can serve you, and save you,' those are her
words, 'all the censures of the world will be but of second consideration
with her.' I have great temptations, on this occasion, to express my own
resentments upon your present state; but not being fully apprized of what
that is--only conjecturing from the disturbance upon the mind of the
dearest lady in the world to me, and the most sincere of friends to you,
that that is not altogether so happy as were to be wished; and being,
moreover, forbid to enter into the cruel subject; I can only offer, as I
do, my best and faithfullest services! and wish you a happy deliverance
from all your troubles. For I am,

Most excellent young lady,
Your faithful and most obedient servant,
CH. HICKMAN.

LETTER XIII

MR. LOVELACE, TO JOHN BELFORD, ESQ.
TUESDAY, MAY 2.

Mercury, as the fabulist tells us, having the curiosity to know the
estimation he stood in among mortals, descended in disguise, and in a
statuary's shop cheapened a Jupiter, then a Juno, then one, then another,
of the dii majores; and, at last, asked, What price that same statue of
Mercury bore? O Sir, says the artist, buy one of the others, and I'll
throw you in that for nothing.

How sheepish must the god of thieves look upon this rebuff to his vanity!

So thou! a thousand pounds wouldst thou give for the good opinion of this
single lady--to be only thought tolerably of, and not quite unworthy of
her conversation, would make thee happy. And at parting last night, or
rather this morning, thou madest me promise a few lines to Edgware, to
let thee know what she thinks of thee, and of thy brethren.

Thy thousand pounds, Jack, is all thy own: for most heartily does she
dislike ye all--thee as much as any of the rest.

I am sorry for it too, as to thy part; for two reasons--one, that I think
thy motive for thy curiosity was fear of consciousness: whereas that of
the arch-thief was vanity, intolerable vanity: and he was therefore
justly sent away with a blush upon his cheeks to heaven, and could not
brag--the other, that I am afrai