2 Quotes & Sayings By Charles Sedley
Charles Sedley was the author of The Imperfect Witness, which I have not read. He wrote about his life in "The Life of Charles Sedley." His book contains the following passages. "It was at this time that my father died, and I found myself in possession of a very considerable estate. I remember that this occasioned me much amusement, for I was at that time twenty years old, and it presented to me the aspect of a boy's inheritance. "I also remember that two years after my father's death I had occasion to go to the south of France to visit an aunt, who had married a French nobleman. When I arrived at Marseilles, where she lived, I found myself very much embarrassed by the possibility of paying my fares to Paris ; for, though I did not know it at the time, my money was nearly gone. "As I was leaving Marseilles in much distress, one of my servants who had just returned from Paris came up to me with a little bag in his hand
He said that he had just received five hundred dollars in gold from his master; that he had seen me when he left Paris; that I might trust him with it if I wished to borrow it; and that he would be very glad if I would write him a letter telling him where to send it. "This great kindness moved me so much that it quite affected my power of thinking; and in order to thank him for his kindness in coming so far upon such an errand (for which he knew no motive), without inquiring too closely into what business he might have in Paris, I took out my purse and gave him five hundred dollars in gold. "I then went on board the steamer with nothing more than my clothes on my back; for all my other property was left behind me in Marseilles. On the way home I again fell into trouble with regard to money matters; but here again fortune seemed determined to befriend me; for soon after reaching home an English gentleman told me that he had borrowed fifty pounds from one of his friends in London; and as he could not pay it back immediately, he sent him this money on condition that if any friend were going from London to Paris on business or pleasure, and happened to meet himself or any member of his family on board the steamer, they should mention the circumstance when they came up from dinner. "This man was so pleased with himself that he told me