LETTER XXXVII.
Landbergen to Charles.
Permit me, dear Sir, to beg your advice respecting a plan which gratitude and duty have suggested to me. I earnestly long to make some amends for my past behaviour, and convince my father that I have now a just sense of his goodness. I contracted many debts, the discharge of which involved him in difficulties; I have now determined to save a part of my income, and have reason to think I shall soon be advanced on account of my diligence. You know that for some years he has been obliged, as the only means to support himself, to attend some young gentlemen as a private tutor. Indeed he made himself a slave to it in order to support me in my extravagance, and, instead of banishing me from his house and heart, as I deserved, he received me with open arms, when I returned, and said, Blessed be heaven, I have again found my son! As his health begins to break, I wish to persuade him to give up his long troublesome walks; and I am sure that in a short time I shall be able to maintain both him and myself very genteely.
I have now to mention another circumstance to you since you led me to see the charms of virtue, and experience its heart-felt pleasures. I have been attached to a very amiable young woman, who has a small fortune, and I should not hesitate a moment about marrying her, only I am afraid to entangle myself with a family before I have provided for my father. Added to this, one of my relations has proposed to me to marry an old widow who is very rich, and he assures me I should not be rejected, if I offered her my hand. After what I have told you, you may suppose I feel no great affection for her. Yet, I sometimes think, I ought this way to provide for a parent I have so grossly injured. I know not what to determine on; pray write to me soon, and give me your opinion without any reserve, by so doing you will add to the obligation already conferred on your sincere friend
G. LANDBERGEN.
LETTER XXXVIII.
Charles to Landbergen.
With what pleasure did I read over your letter! how happy am I to find that you have such a just sense of your duty! I agree with you that an old man, whose health has been injured by cares and sorrows, ought not to work for his bread, when he has young and healthy children. Allow him as much of your salary as you can spare; it is the first debt you ought to pay. You may, by this means, be obliged to deny yourself some superfluities, and even what the world calls necessaries, but how richly will you be repaid for this self-denial! However since you have confided in me, let me take the liberty to suggest to you, that you must never recede from an engagement deliberately entered into with a father. Weigh this matter well in your mind, and consider that no marriage contract will release you from this prior one; and if, after mature deliberation, you find that you have sufficient resolution to fulfil what you intend to promise, give way to that laudable ardour, which your love and gratitude for your father inspires. If not, permit him, as long as heaven grants him strength, to follow his present employment, and allow him as much as you can spare to lighten his cares, without making any formal promise.
As to your marrying one woman while you love another, it appears to me the most shocking breach of duty; and we are not to fulfil one duty by sacrificing another. I must own I do not think you can have any great chance for happiness (supposing your affections were not engaged) with a woman old enough to be your mother. No, do not marry the widow! Have a little patience, and in a year or two you may be able to offer your hand to the girl your heart has chosen, and your father may be happy in the bosom of your family. Do you think that he could be happy if your peace was sacrificed to procure him a few of the conveniences of life? You know little of him, if you think so; he would be doubly distressed if he saw you unhappy. Believe me, a father like yours can only find his happiness in the happiness of his child; open your heart to him, and never think of marrying without his approbation. For my part, I hope never to enter into the marriage state without having my choice confirmed by the consent of my parents, who, I am sure, will never persuade me to marry merely from pecuniary motives. I have heard my father say, that a child should always choose the person he is to be united to; but a parent who has acted like a friend by giving his children a good education, ought always to have a negative voice. I shall make no apology for having complied with your request: try what has flowed from the sincerity of my heart by the test of a wiser judgment, and believe me to be sincerely your friend,
CHARLES.
LETTER XXXIX.
William to Landbergen.
Next week we are to leave this house, and the very thought of it makes me sad; but our future residence is so near that I can have a daily intercourse with my valuable friends. Charles and I shall exercise ourselves together in the arts and sciences, and I shall receive the benefit of all his masters: it will then be my own fault if I do not acquire knowledge. I shall write to you often, my dear Landbergen, and you, I hope, will answer my letters. But let me now tell you, that Sir Charles is so pleased with your filial piety, that he is determined to use all his interest to obtain your father a sinecure place in Holland, that you may be enabled to marry sooner than you expected. I am certain he will do something for you; you will then have various other duties to fulfil. What a pleasure it will be to us to see you happy and respectable, when we again visit my dear native country! But I have something to tell you of the amiable Emilia. A young gentlewoman in distress was lately in her service, whose mother has been long afflicted with a lingering disorder. Emilia, the noble Emilia, has prevailed on her mother to let her wait on herself, and give the poor widow, by way of an annuity, the wages she must have given her daughter, had she remained with her as a servant.