ſo; but the little Abatement which Fruition had occaſioned to this, was highly over-ballanced by the Conſiderations of the Affection which ſhe viſibly bore him, and of the Situation into which he had brought her. The former of theſe created Gratitude, the latter Compaſſion; and both together with his Deſire for her Perſon, raiſed in him a Paſſion, which might, without any great Violence to the Word, be called Love; though, perhaps, it was at firſt not very judiciouſly placed.
This then was the true Reaſon of that Inſenſibility which he had ſhewn of the Charms of Sophia, and of that Behaviour in her, which might have been reaſonably enough interpreted as an Encouragement to his Addreſſes: For as he could not think of abandoning his Molly, poor and deſtitute as ſhe was, ſo no more could he entertain a Notion of betraying ſuch a Creature as Sophia. And ſurely, had he given the leaſt Encouragement to any Paſſion for that young Lady, he muſt have been abſolutely guilty of one or other of thoſe Crimes; either of which would, in my Opinion, have very juſtly ſubjected him to that Fate, which at his firſt Introduction into this History, I mentioned to have been generally predicted as his certain Deſtiny.
CHAP.
