Letters of love and gallantry, and several other subjects. Vol. II written by ladies ; with a dialogue between love and reason, shewing, the reasonableness and unreasonableness of love, the nun's letter to the monk, characters and pictures of several ladies and gentlemen, with other passionate letters that passed betwixt both sexes, in town and country.

LETTER XXVII.

WITH Horror I remember th•…•… accursed Moment when I fir•…•… gave you the occasion to believe that〈…〉〈…〉 lov'd you, since you have improv'd i•…•… according to the Greatness of your ow•…•… incomparable ill Nature: A return,〈…〉〈…〉 confess, I cou'd not but expect from〈…〉〈…〉 Gratitude inspir'd by your Wit, tha•…•… prides it self in exposing the weakne•…•… of those, whom it has deluded. Thi•• indeed is so natural to you, that yo•…•… ought not to be blam'd for it: For, yo•…•… can no more avoid it, than you ca•• your impious Desires of the ruin of ou•…•… Sex; to which you are as directly and impulsively led, as other poisons are to their destructive ends. So that to cal•…•… you false, were to be injurious to you since you were ever true to your ow••

ruinous purposes▪ Thou barbarous Mur∣••erer of my Peace and Fame! What Cu••se can reach the Merit of thy Crime! But my satisfaction is, that I need not Curse you: For you are a certain Curse to your self; and your daily Acti∣ons, are so many industrious Attempts •…•…owards your own eternal Misery: when, ••t the same time, I am in hopes, and not ••ithout reason, that my Crime was ••xpiated in the very Commission of it; •…•…nce it carry'd along with it its own pu∣••ishment, in the sacrificing me imme∣diately to the insults of your Scorn and •…•…ngratitude; which (doubtless) is a ••ate of Damnation on this side Hell, proportionable to any impiety whatever, except yours.

How have I lost a real Heaven for a counterfeit one, that you promis'd me! my continual Peace of Mind for a mo∣ments flattery! O! Had I retain'd any ••ity for my self; I had shewn no com∣passion to you. Wou'd to God, you had perish'd in an actual despair, e'er I had ••uffer'd such exquisite Torment! Fool that I am! What despair do I think on? Thine? Pretence, Painted Anguish; not to be felt, but by the wretched

commiserating Spectators. Hereafter, may'st thou be truly, as thou wou'dst seem, passionately in love with some fair unbelieving Creature; that shall damn thee to a Real Despair; and so, of course, descend to those everlasting Torments that wait the Ungrateful and Faithless. And may'st thou at thy very last moment, continue remorseless, and impenitent of thy Injuries to me; That thy Soul may appear all spotted over with thy Ingratitude and Perjuries, no desire nor room left for Mercy; that I may be reasonably assur'd (for I hop•• and wish to out-live thee) that thou art like to be as Eternally wretched, as I am now; nay, more if possible! O Ven∣geance! Grateful and Sweet as success∣ful Ambition to our Sex, Pursue, pur∣sue the Monster! And inspire him at last, in utter and inexecrable Perdition, with a just Sense of all my wrongs; that his then unfeigned sorrow for 'em, may prove one of his greatest Tortures▪ Then may the loss of me, whom thou hast most offended, aggravate thy less Plagues of Fire, Confusion, and other Scenes of Horror, in the vast instant o•• Eternity! I know you Will, and I would

have you Laugh at this; lest you should unhappily prevail against the just and hearty Prayers of—