SOMEBODY rapp’d at our Chamber-door this Morning soon after it was light: Mrs. Jewkes ask’d who it was; my Master said, Open the Door, Mrs. Jewkes!—O, said I, for God’s sake, Mrs. Jewkes, don’t. Indeed, said she, but I must; I clung about her. Then, said I, let me slip on my Cloaths first. But he rapp’d again, and she broke from me; and I was frighted out of my Wits, and folded myself in the Bed-cloaths. He enter’d, and said, What, Pamela, so fearful, after what pass’d yesterday between us! O Sir, Sir, said I, I fear my Prayers have wanted their wish’d Effect. Pray, good Sir, consider—He sat down on the Bed-side, and interrupted me, No need of your foolish Fears; I shall say but a Word or two, and go away.

After you went to Bed, said he, I had an Invitation to a Ball, which is to be this Night at Stamford, on Occasion of a Wedding; and I am going to call on Sir Simon and his Lady, and Daughters; for it is a Relation of theirs: So I shall not be at home till Saturday. I come therefore to caution you, Mrs. Jewkes, before Pamela, (that she may not wonder at being closer confin’d, than for these three or four Days past) that no body sees her, nor delivers any Letter to her in this Space; for a Person has been seen lurking about, and inquiring after her; and I have been well inform’d, that either Mrs. Jervis, or Mr. Longman, has wrote a Letter, with a Design of having it convey’d to her: And, said he, you must know, Pamela, that I have order’d Mr. Longman to give up his Accounts, and have dismiss’d Jonathan, and Mrs. Jervis, since I have been here; for their Behaviour has been intolerable: and they have made such a Breach between my Sister Davers and me, that we shall never, perhaps, make up. Now, Pamela, I shall take it kindly in you, if you will confine yourself to your Chamber pretty much for the Time I am absent, and not give Mrs. Jewkes Cause of Trouble or Uneasiness; and the rather, as you know she acts by my Orders.

Alas! Sir, said I, I fear all these good Bodies have suffer’d for my sake!—Why, said he, I believe so too; and there never was a Girl of your Innocence, that set a large Family in such Uproar, surely.—But let that pass. You know both of you my Mind, and in part, the Reason of it. I shall only say, that I have had such a Letter from my Sister, that I could not have expected; and, Pamela, said he, neither you nor I have Reason to thank her, as you shall know, perhaps, at my Return.—I go in my Coach, Mrs. Jewkes, because I take Lady Darnford, and Mr. Peters’s Niece, and one of Lady Darnford’s Daughters; and Sir Simon and his other Daughter go in his Chariot; so let all the Gates be fasten’d, and don’t take any Airing in either of the two Chariots, nor let any body go to the Gate, without you, Mrs. Jewkes. I’ll be sure, said she, to obey your Honour.

I will give Mrs. Jewkes no Trouble, Sir, said I, and will keep pretty much in my Chamber, and not stir so much as into the Garden, without her; to shew you I will obey in every thing I can. But I begin to fear—Ay, said he, more Plots and Contrivances, don’t you?—But I’ll assure you, you never had less Reason; and I tell you the Truth; for I am really going to Stamford, this Time; and upon the Occasion I tell you. And so, Pamela, give me your Hand, and one Kiss, and I am gone.

I durst not refuse, and said, God bless you, Sir, where-ever you go!—But I am sorry for what you tell me about your Servants!

He and Mrs. Jewkes had a little Talk without the Door; and I heard her say, You may depend, Sir, upon my Care and Vigilance.

He went in his Coach, as he said he should, and very richly dress’d; which looks like what he said: But, really, I have had so many Tricks, and Plots, and Surprizes, that I know not what to think. But I mourn for poor Mrs. Jervis.—So here is Parson Williams; here is poor naughty John; here is good Mrs. Jervis, and Mr. Jonathan, turn’d away for me!—Mr. Longman is rich indeed, and so need the less matter it; but I know it will grieve him: And for poor Mr. Jonathan, I am sure it will cut that good old Servant to the Heart. Alas for me! What Mischiefs am I the Occasion of?—Or, rather, my Master, whose Actions by me, have made so many of my good kind Friends forfeit his Favour, for my sake!

I am very sad about these things: If he really loved me, methinks he should not be so angry that his Servants loved me too.—I know not what to think!

I Have removed my Papers from under the Rose-bush; for I saw the Gardener begin to dig near that Spot; and I was afraid he would find them. Mrs. Jewkes and I were looking yesterday through the Iron Gate that fronted the Elms, and a Gypsey-like Body made up to us, and said; If, Madam, you will give me some broken victuals, I will tell you both your Fortunes. I said, Let us hear our Fortunes, Mrs. Jewkes; but she said, I don’t like these sort of People; but we will hear what she’ll say to us. I shan’t fetch you any Victuals; but I will give you some Pence, said she. But Nan coming out, she said, Fetch some Bread, and some of the cold Meat, and you shall have your Fortune told, Nan.

This, you’ll think, like some of my other Matters, a very trifling thing to write about. But mark the Discovery of a dreadful Plot, which I have made by it. O bless me! what can I think of this naughty, this very naughty Gentleman!—Now will I hate him most heartily. Thus it was:

The Woman came to me, and took my Hand, O! said she, I cannot tell your Fortune; your Hand is so white and fine, that I cannot see the Lines: But, said she, and stoop’d, and pulled up a little Tuft of Grass, I have a Way for that; and so rubb’d my Hand with the Mould-part of the Tuft: Now, said she, I can see the Lines.

Mrs. Jewkes was very watchful of all her Ways, and took the Tuft, and look’d upon it, lest any thing should be in that. And then the Woman said, Here is the Line of Jupiter crossing the Line of Life; and Mars—Odd, my pretty Mistress, said she, you had best take care of yourself: For you are hard beset, I’ll assure you. You will never be marry’d, I can see; and will die of your first Child. Out upon thee, Woman! said I, better thou hadst never come here.

Said Mrs. Jewkes, whispering, I don’t like this. It looks like a Cheat: Pray, Mrs. Pamela, go in this Moment. So I will, said I; for I have enough of Fortune-telling. And in I went.

The Woman wanted sadly to tell me more; which made Mrs. Jewkes threaten her, suspecting still the more: And away the Woman went, having told Nan her Fortune, that she would be drown’d.

This thing ran strongly in my Head; and we went an Hour after, to see if she was lurking about, and Mr. Colbrand for our Guard; and looking thro’ the Iron Gate, he spy’d a Man sauntring about the middle of the Walk; which filled Mrs. Jewkes with still more Suspicions. But she said, Mr. Colbrand, you and I will walk towards this Fellow, and see what he saunters there for: And, Nan, do you and Madam stay at the Gate.

So they open’d the Iron Gate, and walked down towards the Man; and, guessing the Woman, if employ’d, must mean something by the Tuft of Grass, I cast my Eye that way, whence she pull’d it, and saw more Grass seemingly pull’d up: then I doubted not something was there for me; so I walked to it, and standing over it, said to Nan, That’s a pretty Sort of a wild Flower that grows yonder, near that Elm, the fifth from us on the Left; pray pull it for me. Said she, It is a common Weed. Well, said I, but pull it for me; there are sometimes beautiful Colours in a Weed.

While she went on, I stoop’d, and pull’d up a good Handful of the Grass, and in it a Bit of Paper, which I put instantly in my Bosom, and dropt the Grass; and my Heart went pit-a-pat at the odd Adventure. Said I, Let us go in, Mrs. Ann. No, said she, we must stay till Mrs. Jewkes comes.

I was all Impatience to read this Paper. And when Colbrand and she return’d, I went in. Said she, Certainly there is some Reason for my Master’s Caution; I can make nothing of this sauntring Fellow; but, to be sure, there was some Roguery in the Gypsey. Well, said I, if there was, she lost her Aim, you see! Ay, very true, said she; but that was owing to my Watchfulness; and you was very good to go away when I spoke to you.

I went up Stairs, and, hasting to my Closet, found the Billet to contain, in a Hand that seem’d disguised, and bad Spelling, the following Words:

Now, my dear Father and Mother, what shall we say of this truly diabolical Master! O how shall I find Words to paint my Griefs, and his Deceit! I have as good as confessed I love him; but indeed it was on supposing him good.—This, however, has given him too much Advantage. But now I will break this wicked forward Heart of mine, if it will not be taught to hate him! O what a black, dismal Heart must he have! So here is a Plot to ruin me, and by my own Consent too!—No wonder he did not improve his wicked Opportunities, (which I thought owing to Remorse for his Sin, and Compassion for me) when he had such a Project as this in Reserve!—Here should I have been deluded with the Hopes of a Happiness that my highest Ambition could not have aspired to!—But how dreadful must have been my Lot, when I had found myself an undone Creature, and a guilty Harlot, instead of a lawful Wife? Oh! this is indeed too much, too much for your poor Pamela to support! This is the worse, as I hop’d all the Worst was over; and that I had the Pleasure of beholding a reclaimed Gentleman, and not an abandon’d Libertine. What now must your poor Daughter do! Now all her Hopes are dash’d! And if this fails him, then comes, to be sure, my forcible Disgrace! for this shews he will never leave till he has ruin’d me!—O the wretched, wretched Pamela!

MY Master is come home, and, to be sure, has been where he said. So once he has told Truth; and this Matter seems to be gone off without a Plot: No doubt he depends upon his sham, wicked Marriage! He has brought a Gentleman with him to Dinner; and so I have not seen him yet.

I Am very sorrowful; and still have greater Reason; for just now, as I was in my Closet, opening the Parcel I had hid under the Rosebush, to see if it was damag’d by lying so long, Mrs. Jewkes came upon me by Surprize, and laid her Hands upon it; for she had been looking thro’ the Key-hole, it seems.

I know not what I shall do! For now he will see all my private Thoughts of him, and all my Secrets, as I may say. What a careless Creature I am!—To be sure I deserve to be punish’d.