Summary
Evelina writes to Mr. Villars, including in her correspondence a letter from Mr. Macartney in which he relates to her his sad story. He writes that he had grown up with his mother in Scotland, and never knew his father, whom he was told had died. He had one particularly close friend, who used his fortune to leave Scotland and travel through Europe. Before he left, the friend asked Macartney to meet him in Paris. When Macartney finally complied, he met a young woman there whom he fell in love with. However, when her absent father returned to discover them together, the two men dueled and Macartney felled her father. Believing the man had died, he fled in terror. He later learned that the father had not died, but the news was even worse: that man was in fact Macartney's real father, which means his beloved is his sister. Macartney's life disintegrated from that point onwards, and so he purchased pistols to pursue a life of robbery. Evelina had in fact deterred him from that purpose (and not from suicide), for which he is immensely grateful to her.
Evelina continues her letters to Mr. Villars from London. She writes about how everyone went to Marybone-gardens. She enjoyed the fireworks and the orchestra there, but one firework was so terrifying that she ran away from it and got lost from her companions. As she wandered around, she encountered a group of men, one of whom accosted her. She was saved only by two young women who pulled her away; she soon realized they were prostitutes, and she tried to get away. Mr. Brown stumbled along while looking for her, and the prostitutes grabbed him as well. When they finally found the rest of their party, Evelina was concerned to see Lord Orville there with them. He seemed to be concerned to find her walking arm-in-arm with these women.
Before he left, Lord Orville asked Evelina if he might pay his respects to her before he left town. She agreed. The prostitutes were eventually run off, and the group departed. Evelina reflected on how differently Lord Orville and Sir Clement reacted around her group – the former showed grace and politeness, and acted "benevolently, not with insolence."
The next morning, Lord Orville visited Evelina early in the morning. They spoke pleasantly for some time until he embarrassingly brought up the subject of the prostitutes, asking Evelina if she had kept company with them before. When she denied it, both awkwardly apologized to one other. He admitted he had not doubted her, but was made so curious to see her in such company, but was curious. He kissed her hand before he left; she was pleased to once again have his esteem.
That same day, however, Evelina was annoyed by two new revelations: a) Madame Duval and Mr. Branghton were conspiring for her to marry Young Branghton; and b) Monsieur Du Bois was also attracted to her, as he confessed to her via note.
The family went on a trip to Kensington-gardens, but Evelina was little impressed. She tried not to speak to Young Branghton at all, but felt sorry for avoiding Monsieur Du Bois, as he had always been kind to her. The Branghton girls continually pestered her about Lord Orville. When their father and brother heard that Evelina had once danced with the Lord, they thought this entitled them to make use of his carriage, which was sitting dormant with its driver at the gardens, to head home early. Evelina was mortified by this plan, but they would not desist . Even the footmen mocked their resolve, until one actually went to ask Lord Orville, and returned with word that "his carriage will always be at Miss Anville's service."
That night, Evelina felt uneasy; she had just returned to Lord Orville's good opinion, but was now surely sunk by her family's behavior. She was doubly mortified to learn that Young Branghton had attended Lord Orville to apologize about some glass that had been broken in the carriage on their trip home. Young Branghton visited her with this news, and brought Lord Orville's compliments. When she realized he had used her name to gain access to Lord Orville, she angrily fled the room. She was so mortified that she actually wrote Lord Orville a note to apologize.
After an excursion with the group the next day, Evelina returned anxious to know whether anyone had called in her absence; both Lord Orville and Sir Clement had. When she and Monsieur du Bois were alone later, however, he dropped to his knees and professed his love to her. Madame Duval entered during this display, and she flew into a passion, since she had considered herself as the object of his affections. She raged that she would not take Evelina to Paris and that she must marry Branghton. Evelina refused to grant her consent, and left the room. She soon thereafter left London.
Mr. Villars writes to Evelina that she must come by Berry Hill before she returns to Howard Grove.
While at Berry Hill, Evelina writes Miss Mirvan to explain she has stopped a while to visit Mr. Villars before returning to Howard Grove. Her next letter to Maria is full of indignation. In it, she reveals how Lord Orville had indeed written her a response to her note, but his letter was gross and distasteful. It was filled with flowery language and bold sentiments, and sounded very unlike him. She felt deceived and betrayed, and wondered how it was possible he could be so inappropriately forward. She was not flattered that he clearly seemed to love her, since his behavior was loathsome. She decided not to tell Mr. Villars because he held the man in such esteem.
Continuing her letters to Miss Mirvan, she writes that Mr. Villars's neighbor and friend Mrs. Selwyn wishes to take Evelina to Bristol. However, she does not want to be separated from her guardian, and has little desire to see any more of the world. Overall, she is quite depressed.
Evelina continued to be depressed, and Mr. Villars watched her carefully. He finally confronted her about her sadness, mourning that he had lost his child. He persisted in questioning her, believing that she was bored with the serenity of Berry Hill after having lived such an exciting life in London. Not wanting him to believe she had lost affection for her childhood home, Evelina showed him Lord Orville's letter. He concluded that the man must have been intoxicated when he wrote it; that was the only plausible explanation. Evelina was somewhat relieved, but wondered, "Why should I allow myself to be humbled by a man who can suffer his reason to be thus abjectly debased..."
Evelina writes to Miss Mirvan again after some time has passed, explaining that she had grown ill and finally agreed to accompany Mrs. Selwyn to Bristol, where she might recover. That woman was clever and had a "masculine" understanding; she lost all softness and gentleness. This did not offend Evelina, though she adds that Mr. Villars is annoyed by her "unmerciful propensity to satire."
Analysis
As Evelina continues to narrate her travels through London, she provides not only an insightful look at this 18th century metropolis for modern readers, but also further example of the limitations a woman faced at that time. Her group undertakes an excursion to Marybone-gardens, which was in west London, and had been opened to the public as a pleasure-garden in 1738. Vivien Jones writes in the annotations that there were "gravel walks, elegant buildings such as the Great Room and the Orchestra, and regular concerts; and like the Vauxhall the usual fee was a shilling." It was famous for its concerts and fireworks displays, but was in decline by 1775, and closed in 1776. That it attracts such a wide swath of people helps explain how both the sophisticated Lord Orville and the boorish Branghtons might be there at the same time.
Thus, it makes sense that questions of class and respectability arise in this place. In these gardens, Evelina comes into contact with the two prostitutes. While she and the Branghton girls realize who these women are, Madame Duval remains in ignorance. Jones uses this incident to confront the then-common assumption that places where social classes mixed encouraged an overall lapse of respectability. Whether this assumption is accurate or not, it certainly seems to be so for the upper class. The incident showcases how difficult it was for a young woman to protect her reputation. Evelina may be virtuous, but that's not enough; she has to work assiduously to maintain the impression of virtue. Lord Orville has no reason to suspect she fraternizes with prostitutes, but the appearance is enough to force him to bring up the question.
The issue with his letter is significant for this same reason. Evelina writes a simple letter to Lord Orville, apologizing for her family's behavior, but she is utterly shocked by the excess sentiment contained in his response. However, she is in no position to simply write him off as a cad; the mere fact that he wrote that could potentially suggest to others that she had initiated such a flirtatious exchange. Certainly, her reputation had much more to lose than his. Further, the fact that he feels comfortable taking such advantage of her suggests he sees her in an unacceptable light. The sad truth is that it was considered inappropriate for young women even to correspond with men they were not engaged to; this makes up part of trouble faced by Clarissa in Samuel Richardson's novel of the same name. They had too much to lose by it.
Two other places of interest are mentioned in this set of letters: Kensington Gardens and the Hotwells. The former had a dynamic landscape design, much of which had been altered at the request of Queen Caroline, wife of George II. Evelina expressed her preference for the modern and open garden style of Kensington as opposed to the formal alleys of Vauxhall; it was also frequented for most of the 1770's by a more genteel class of people. Hyde Park was part of Kensington Gardens, and was a fashionable place to see and be seen. The Hotwells became popular at the end of the 1600's when a pump room and lodging house were built. These springs, renowned for their medicinal properties, attracted a fashionable crowd during their open season from May to September.
Finally, Evelina learns the sad story of the Scottish poet in this set of letters. This story does not quite cohere with the rest of the narrative at this point, but will become more significant as Evelina continues. The story is full of both melodramatic and real-world elements. The melodrama consists in the story of unrequited love, and the outrageous coincidence of Macartney's connection with his sister. The real world is reflected by the 'Grand Tour' that the poet's friend takes. The Grand Tour was quite common for wealthy young men, and was meant to enhance their education. Poor men like Macartney, however, hoped to be ordained by the Church of England or Scotland, and to obtain a living by a wealthy patron or a good parish. There is some consideration of class in this story, though it is overshadowed by the dramatic overtones of his sad story.
