Richard Steele (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. LOVER AXD LETTER-WHITER. At the close of 1706, for we are now able to fix the date approximately, there came to the funeral of Steele's first wife a mourner who was destined to play a considerable part in his subsequent career. From her presence upon this occasion, it may be inferred that the deceased lady was her friend, and Steele may therefore have made her acquaintance previous to this period. On the other hand, he may have seen her for the first time at the close of-1706. In either case, the relation so established appears to have improved with opportunity, and to have ultimately ripened into an attachment. Whether there was more of expediency than passion about his first marriage is difficult to say, and it is never without certain disadvantages to purity of motive that a gentleman in difficulties woos and wins an heiress and a widow. But it is clear from the promptitude and vigour of his suit to his second wife that Steele had not upon the preceding occasion exhausted his supply of those methods and arguments which serve to abridge the formalities of courtship. In August, 1707, he is definitely in the field with a proposal, and thenceforth matters progress so rapidly that he is married in the following September. Miss Mary Scurlock?for such was the maiden name of the second Mrs. Steele?was at this time about eight or nine and twenty. She was the daughter of Jonathan Scurlock, deceased, of Llangunnor in Carmarthen; and is said to have been possessed of considerable personal charms. She had also valid expectations, for her mother's estate produced an income of about 400?. per annum. Nothing very definite can be affirmed respecting her character, as but few specimens of her correspondence have been preserved, and it would be unjust to take those as st...