Chapter I

‘This poor young creature, Madam,’ said Mrs. Mosely, ‘is a godchild of mine, as I told you. Her mother was a servant to Mrs. Marchmont, and a great favourite of every body’s – She married very well, the son of one of the richest farmers hereabouts, and they lived with the old people, where this poor girl was born. She was well brought up; but unfortunately her father and mother both died, and the grandfather met with heavy losses, and was grown very old, so that he could not carry on his business; and therefore was forced to give it up to another of his sons, who was a hard, selfish kind of man, and did not much care to be burdened with Phœbe, though, while his father lived, he let her stay to take care of him. – He died at a great age about four years ago, and then Phœbe was desired by her uncle to look out for a service. – She was taken to serve two single ladies who lived at Exeter, who, seeing her a sensible girl, used to make her read to them, and to work in the room with them; so that she learned a little more than common servants generally do. These ladies had a brother, who was captain of an India ship; and returning home from a voyage, he came down to see them. He had a servant, a young man who had been three voyages abroad, and saved a little money. – He fell in love with Phœbe;² and as it was a very good match for her, the ladies did not oppose their being married, though they were very sorry to part with her. – She went with her husband, Mr. Prior, to London, being then a young creature not eighteen. – I don’t understand how such things happen, having known 192nothing about them when I was young, so that now I cannot make much out of what people tell me; but it somehow or other came to pass that Mr. Prior, who had laid out the best part of his money in some goods from Indie, lost them all by the wicked deceitfulness of a friend he had trusted – I heard that, by reason of their being smuggled, they were all seized by the Custom-house officers – and that so poor Prior lost above four hundred pounds. – Well! – to make the best of it, and to begin the world, as it were, again, (his master, the captain, being gone back to sea) he accepted of an offer that was made him to go out to the West Indies to settle there as a sort of steward, or overseer of a gentleman’s estate, and he had the liberty of taking his wife with him. So away they went to Jamaica³ about two years ago. – Poor Phœbe wrote to me just before they went away, and seemed in high spirits, saying that nobody ever was happier in a good husband than she was, and she hoped to come back and see me one day or other, and all friends in England; but that she did not mind leaving it with such a kind and tender friend as her dear Prior was to her. – When they got there, poor young things! they found, to be sure, all matters as good as they had been promised, as to profit and such like; but Phœbe did not know how to use herself to live among the black people. She had no need, however, poor girl! to argue the matter long with herself; for before they had been at their new place six months, her husband got the bad fever⁴ that they say so many hundreds have died of in those parts. Poor Prior did not die, though. His wife, though she was very near her time, nursed him night and day, and he was young and strong, so he did just get through it; but he was so weak and bad, that the doctors said he never would be well if he staid in that country – and his wife brought a dead child, and was very ill afterwards, so that they thought it best to come back to England.