I am thinking, sir, said I, of another mortifying thing too; that were
you to marry a lady of birth and fortune answerable to your own, all the
eve to the day would be taken up in reading, signing, and sealing of
settlements, and portion, and such like: But now the poor Pamela brings
you nothing at all: And the very clothes she wears, so very low is she,
are entirely the effects of your bounty, and that of your good mother:
This makes me a little sad: For, alas! sir, I am so much oppressed by
your favours, and the sense of the obligations I lie under, that I cannot
look up with the confidence that I otherwise should, on this awful
occasion.
There is, my dear Pamela, said he, where the power is wanting, as much
generosity in the will as in the action. To all that know your story,
and your merit, it will appear that I cannot recompense you for what I
have made you suffer. You have had too many hard struggles and
exercises; and have nobly overcome: and who shall grudge you the reward
of the hard-bought victory?--This affair is so much the act of my own
will, that I glory in being capable of distinguishing so much excellence;
and my fortune is the more pleasurable to me, as it gives me hope, that I
may make you some part of satisfaction for what you have undergone.
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