Short Story #111: Amelia: Or the Faithless Briton by Anonymous

Title:  Amelia: Or the Faithless Briton

Author:  Anonymous

Summary

Amelia and her father, Horation lives with her  have moved away from the fray of the Revolution showing no interest in the affairs.  However, she encounters a wounded soldier and helps him recover.  The solider, Doliscus is a young nobleman from England who was injured in a recent battle.  As he recovers, he sets to seducing Amelia and even tricks her into marrying him under false pretences so he can enjoy her carnally.  He succeeds but is then soon called to return to fighting and leaves, promising her he would take care of her.  However, he is called back to England upon the death of his father.  Realizing she is pregnant and that he may not return, Amelia decides to travel to London to confront him. When she does show up at his hom, he dismisses her and pretends he has nothing to do with the event.  She returnst o her room and the stress of it all causes he to have the child prematurely.  The baby dies shortly after giving birth and sends her into further depression.  She decides to take poison to end her life but just as she is about to drink it, her father arrives.  We learn that the father had pursued her across the world and that her brother, Honorius was to fight a duel with Dolicus.  He wins the duel and slays Dolicus. When Honorius returns to take Horatio and Amelia home, Amelia learns of her lover's death and she too dies.  When Horatio and Honorius return to the colonies, Honorius enters the war and promptly dies, leaving Horatio old and childless.

Reflection

Quite the tragic and dramatic story to be certain but an interesting one, nonetheless.  It's curious to see who dies (and wonder why they had to die).  Is Amelia, "the faithless Briton" or is it Doliscus?  I find her death (nevermind her baby's death) intriguing in the sense that in order to maintain purity that she is supposedly imbued with, her death must occur.  Honorius' death may not be as shocking except in so much as it is an after the main story.  Of course, all the death herein could be the fault of Horatio and he could be "the faithless Briton."  His failure to invest in and support Britain could make him be seen as "faithless" and now he is childless.  That is an unlikely interpretation and yet, it still fits.

Short Story #111 out of 365
Rating: 3 (out of 5 stars)
Date Read:  1/9/2014
Source:  This story can be found at this site (PDF).

For a full listing of all the short stories in this series, check out the category 365 Short Stories a year.

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