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 L I B R.ARY 
 
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 UN IVER.5ITY 
 
 or ILLINOIS
 
 Digitized by tine Internet Archive 
 
 in 2010 witii funding from 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/memoirsofmodernp01hami
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 OF 
 
 MODERN PHILOSOPHERS. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 OF 
 
 MODERN PHILOSOPHERS, 
 
 LV THREE VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. I 
 
 " Ridiculum acri 
 Fortius et melius magnas plerumque fecat res." 
 
 HOR. 
 
 " Ridicule (hall frequently prevail, 
 And cut the knot, when graver reafons fail." 
 
 Francis. 
 
 BATU, PRINTED BY R. CRUTTWELL, 
 
 FOR 
 
 G. C. AND J. ROBINSON, PATER-NOSTER-RO W, tONDON. 
 
 1800.
 
 7/; 
 
 TO 
 
 MR. ROBINSON, 
 
 BOOKSELLER, PATER-NOSTER-ROW, 
 
 SIR, 
 
 T TAVING been lately dragged to Lon- 
 -*- ^ don on the bufinefs of my ward, 
 who is now (thank heaven!) nearly of 
 age, it was my firfl care to look out for a 
 pleafant fituation. For this purpofe I re- 
 paired to Pater-nofter-Row, that birth- 
 place of the Mufes, that fountain of learn- 
 ing from which the perennial flream of 
 literature for ever flows. The very name 
 of the place has, from my earlieft years, 
 infpired my veneration; and I do affure 
 you, the thoughts of vifiting it tended to 
 
 reconcile
 
 C vi ] 
 
 reconcile me to the journey more than any 
 other confideration. Well, fir, though 
 I muft confefs the firfl afpe^l: of the place 
 did not altogether anfwer my expectations, 
 (being in point of airinefs fomewhat more 
 confined than I could have wilhed) I was 
 fain to put up with the only lodgings that 
 were vacant, which, though not over and 
 above convenient, were rendered pleafant 
 to me from the view my chamber- windows 
 afforded me of the numerous flore-houfes 
 of learning, by which 1 was on all fides 
 furrounded. My heart glowed within me 
 as I contemplated the flupendous proofs 
 of human genius, piled up in the oppofite 
 (hops, or carried through the ftreets. For 
 the fpace of feveral hours I continued, 
 without interruption, to contemplate the 
 Interefting fcene. Some porters paffed 
 finking under the load of new-bound quar- 
 tos, which they were carrying to your 
 fiiop, Mr. Robinfon ; and it is not to be 
 expreffed how much I envied the feelings 
 
 of
 
 Z vil ] 
 
 of the author. " Oh, that I could write 
 a book!" cried I. " But, alas! of what 
 fubjecl am I mailer? All my old notions 
 are, I find, by the Reviews, quite exploded. 
 Of the new fangled ones that are now in 
 fafhion, I can make nothing ; and notwith- 
 flanding all I have heard to the contrary, 
 I do fuppofe it is necelTary to underdand 
 fomething of the fubject one writes about. 
 With regard to a work of imagination, 
 that is quite out of the queftion ; for I 
 never could invent a lie in my life, not 
 even to fave me from being whipt at 
 fchool, how then fhould I make one long 
 enousih to fill a volume?" 
 
 Jufl at this moment, and as I was about 
 giving up all hopes of ever feeing my 
 name in print, an incident occurred which 
 faved me from defpair. 
 
 A fudden and tremendous noife over 
 my head interrupted my reverie, and drcw 
 me to the place from whence it proceeded, 
 in order to learn the caufe. Fire and rob- 
 
 berv.
 
 [ V"i ] 
 
 bery, the two evils which I had been 
 taught to dread, were immediately prefent 
 to my imagination ; and greatly was I re- 
 lieved on finding that the noife, which had 
 fo much alarmed me, proceeded only from 
 the miftrefs of the houfe and her maid, 
 who were both at work in cleaning down 
 the garret-flairs. The former, whofe voice 
 was raifed to what a mufical friend of mine 
 calls the scolding pitchy was feverely chiding 
 the latter for the time fhe had taken to 
 fweep out the garret. The maid, indignant 
 of rebuke, anfwered not in words but in 
 deeds; making the dufl fly before her 
 broom in fuch a manner, as compelled me 
 to meditate a quick retreat. Juft as I 
 turned round for that purpofe, a manu- 
 fcript, which the girl in her fury had 
 twirled from the top of the flairs, fell at my 
 feet. I inflantly picked it up, and as foon 
 as I could make myfelf heard, enquired of 
 my landlady whether fhe knew any thing 
 of its contents. 
 
 *^ Contents,
 
 [ ix ] 
 
 ** Contents, fir," anfwered flie, " it is 
 the farthefl thing in the world from coiv 
 tents, I aflure you. I never had no con- 
 tents about it. It is fome of the fcribWes 
 of a fcrubby fellor of. an author, who, 
 after lodging in my atticks for feven weeks, 
 died all at once one morning when no one 
 ever thought of fuch a thin^ j for though 
 it is plain he knew all along of his being 
 in a dying way himfelf, yet he was fo 
 good-humoured, and fo cneerful, that no 
 one would ever have fufpe£led him." 
 
 * And pray had he no friend, no phyfi- 
 cian ? I am afraid he mufl have been in 
 great poverty.' 
 
 " In great poverty, fure enough!" re- 
 turned my landlady, " that I knows to my 
 coft; for the firft five weeks he paid mc 
 regularly to a day, as often as the weelf 
 was up ; but for the two laft weeks I never 
 feed the colour of his money. Howfom- 
 ever, as he was a very gentleman-hke man, 
 and fo civil-fpoken, I thought there was 
 
 no
 
 C - '3 
 
 no fears of his behaving ungenteelly at 
 the lad, and fo I gave myfelf no concern, 
 till one morning that he defired me to 
 fpeak with him, when, on going up to his 
 room, I faw him, lack-a-day, fo pale, and 
 fo altered! his voice, too, fo low and 
 changed, that I could hardly hear him. 
 On feeing how I was aftoniflied he fmiled, 
 and beckoning me to fit down, faid he was 
 forry that it was not then in his power to 
 pay me the fmall fum he was in my debt, 
 • but that in fuch a drawer I fliould find 
 what would be fufficient to pay for that, 
 as well as for the expences of his funeral; 
 and what was over he begged me to accept 
 of as a compenfation for the trouble he 
 had given me. He died in about half an 
 hour after, and, to be fure, I thought I 
 fhould have been quite made up with what 
 he had left me, when on rummaging the 
 drawers, I found all that load of writing ; 
 but on fhewing it to a very learned gen- 
 tleman, a friend of mine, one who helps to 
 
 make
 
 L ^^ ] 
 
 make the almanacks, he laughed at me, 
 and faid it was a fair take-in, for that ic 
 was all {luff and good for nothing ; and fo 
 it has been toiTmg about ever fince." 
 
 This account of the author increafed 
 my curiofity to fuch a pitch, that 1 did not 
 hefitate a moment upon making a pur- 
 chafe of the manufcript; and having fully 
 fatisfied my landlady, who willingly re- 
 figned to me her whole right and title to 
 it, I retired to ray apartment to examine 
 its contents. 
 
 The firft fifty pages having been torn 
 ofF to kindle the morning fires, made a 
 mighty chafm in the work ; but the re- 
 maining fragment appeared to me fo wor- 
 thy of being laid before the publick, that 
 I quickly conceived the defign of becoming 
 its editor. Not having the prefumption 
 to depend entirely on my own judgment 
 in an affair of fuch importance, I had re- 
 courfe to the advice of my friends, and ac- 
 cordingly fubmitted my manufcript to the 
 
 perufa!
 
 [ xii ] 
 
 perufal of feveral criticks of both fexes, to 
 whom, through the favour of a certain 
 learned acquaintance, I had the good for- 
 tune to be introduced. Alas! Sir, I now 
 found myfelf more at a lofs than ever. 
 The opinions I received were fo various, 
 fo contradiflory, fo oppofite to each other, 
 liiat I was quite bewildered, and (hould 
 have dropt all thoughts of proceeding in 
 the publication, had not my refolution been 
 re-animated by the following letter, which 
 I received from a gentleman of great 
 worth and knowledge, to whom I had 
 freely communicated all the obje£lions of 
 the criticks, and by whofe opinion I deter- 
 mined finally to abide. 
 
 " SIR, 
 
 " ON a careful perufal of the whole of 
 your manufcript, (for I pretend not to de- 
 cide on the merit of a work from glancing 
 over a few fcattered paffages) it appears to 
 
 mc
 
 [ xlii ] 
 
 me not only praife-worthy in the defign, 
 which is evidently that of fupporting the 
 caufe of religion and virtue, but unexcep- 
 tionable in the means of executing this 
 defign; or at leafl lefs exceptionable than 
 fome other recent publications, which, like 
 it, have avowedly been written in oppofi- 
 tion to the opinions generally known by 
 the name of the New Philosophy. 
 
 " To impute evil intention to the author 
 of every fpeculative opinion that has an 
 evil tendency, is equally illiberal and un- 
 juft; but to expofe that tendency to the 
 unfufpicious, and to point it out to the 
 unwary, is an oiEce of charity, not only 
 innocent, but meritorious. From the ufe 
 that is made by Vallaton of fome of the 
 opinions promulgated in Mr. Godwin's 
 Political Juftice, it appears to me to have 
 been the intention of your author not to 
 pafs an indifcriminate cenfure on that inge- 
 nious, and in many parts admirable, per- 
 formance, but to expofe the dangerous 
 
 tendency
 
 [ xiv ] 
 
 tendency of thofe parts of his theory which 
 might, by abaci man, be converted into an 
 engine of ;-nifchief, and be made the means 
 of enfnaring innocence and virtue. 
 
 •' Of the keen v^reapon of ridicule, it mud 
 be confeffed, your author has not been 
 {paring. Were there the lead appearance 
 of its having been pointed by perfonal pre- 
 judice towards any individual, I fliould 
 certainly advife you to confign the work 
 to everlafting oblivion ; but it is opinions, 
 not perfons, at which the (hafts of ridicule 
 are in the prefent work dire61:ed. 
 
 " Where'er the pow'r of ridicule difplays 
 
 " Hsr quaint-ey'd vifage, fome incongruous form, 
 
 " Sonie ftubborn diflbnance of things combin'dj 
 
 ** Strikes on the quick obferver,'* 
 
 , Akenfide's Pleasures of the Imagination. 
 
 *' As the objections, which you tell me 
 have been made to this part of the work 
 by your friends, cannot be more fully ob- 
 viated than by the author I have jull 
 quoted, I fliall beg leave to tranfcribe the 
 whole paflage. « Aflc
 
 [ XV 1 
 
 '* Afl<: we, for what fair end th' Almighty Sire 
 ** In mortal bofoms wakes this gay contempt, 
 " Thefe grateful ftings of laughter, from difgull 
 " Educing plealiire ? Wherefore, but to aid 
 " The tardy Jleps ofReafony and at once, 
 ** By this prompt impulfe, urge us to deprefs 
 " The giddy aims of folly ? Though the light 
 " Of Truth, flow-dawning on th' enquiring mind, 
 *' At lengdi unfolds, through many a fubtle tie, 
 ** How thefe uncouth diforders end at laft 
 " In publick evil! Yet benignant Heav'n, 
 ** Confcious how dim the dawn of Truth appears 
 ** To thoufands ; confcious what a fcanty fpace 
 *' From labours and from care the wider lot 
 *' Of humble life affords for fludious thought 
 ** To fcan the maze of Nature; therefore ftamp'd 
 *' The glaring fcenes with charaders of fcorn 
 *' As broad, as obvious to the paffing clown, 
 " As to the lettered fage's curious eye." 
 
 " The ridiculous point of view in which 
 feme of the opinions conveyed to the 
 young and unthinking through the me- 
 dium of philofophical novels, is exhibited 
 in the character of Bridgetina, appears to 
 me as an excellent antidote to the poifon ; 
 calculated to make an impreffion upon 
 
 thofe
 
 thofe to whom ferioos difquiCtions would 
 have been addreffed in vain. Upon the 
 whole, I do not hefitate to give it as my 
 opinion, that in publifliing this work, you 
 will deferve the thanks of fociety. 
 
 " I am. Sir, &c/* 
 
 Thus encouraged, I am refolved to 
 fubmit it to the world; and that it may 
 come forth with every advantage, I en- 
 truft it to your care ; at the fame time 
 fubmitting it to your judgment, whether 
 this letter (on which I have beftowed un- 
 common pains) may not appear as an 
 Introduction. 
 
 With much impatience for the firll 
 proof-flieet, I remain, 
 
 Efteemed Sir, 
 
 Your mofl obedient fervant, 
 
 GEOFFRY JAR VIS.
 
 " THHE pudding Is very good,'* re- 
 -*• plied Mr. Mapple, " and does 
 great honour to my coufin Biddy, who^ 
 I dare fay, is the maker." 
 
 * I have often told you,' cried the 
 young lady in a refentful accent, * that 
 my name is not Biddy. Will you never 
 learn to call me Bridgetina?' 
 
 " Well, well, Biddy, or Biddytiny, or 
 what you pleafe," rejoined the old gen- 
 tleman; " though, in my opinion, the world 
 went as well when people were contented 
 with the names that were given them by 
 
 VOL, I, B their
 
 [ 2 ] 
 
 their godfathers and godmothers In their 
 baptifm. Bridget is a good chriftian name, 
 and I pray the Lord make you as good a 
 woman as your aunt Bridget, from whom 
 you had it. She too was an excellent 
 hand at making a plum-pudding." 
 
 « A pudding 1' repeated Bridgetina, 
 reddening with anger, * I do afTure you, 
 fir, you are very much miftaken, if you 
 think that I employ my time in fuch a 
 manner.' 
 
 " And pfay, my little coufni, how da 
 you contrive to employ it better?" 
 
 To this queftion Mifs Bridgetina dif- 
 daining reply, caft fuch a look of contempt 
 upon her reverend relative, as but for the 
 circumdance of the fquint, which we have 
 already notice-d, muft infallibly have dif- 
 comfited him. But as her eyes, while 
 in the a£l of darting indignant fire in his 
 face,- had every appearance of being di- 
 te£led tov/ards the door, the poor gentle- 
 man efcaped unhurt, 
 
 Mrs.
 
 C 3 ] 
 
 Mrs. Botherim now thought it time 
 to aflonifli her old friend, by a difcovery 
 of the wonderful accomplifhments of her 
 daughter, 
 
 ** You do not know, fir," flie exuhingly 
 exclaimed, " that Biddy is a great fcho- 
 lar! You will find, if you converfe with 
 her a little, that fhe is far too learned to 
 trouble herfelf about doing any thing ufe- 
 fuL Do, Bridg«!tina, my dear, talk to 
 your coufm a little about the coufation^ 
 and perfebility^ and all them there things 
 as Mr. Glib and you are fo often upon. 
 You have no ideer what a fcholar (he is," 
 continued the fond mother, again addrefs- 
 ing herfelf to Mr. Mapple, " (lie has read 
 every book in the circulating library, and 
 Mr. Glib declares ihe knoWs them better 
 than he does himfelf.*' 
 
 ' Indeed, mamma, but I do no fuch 
 thing,' cried Bridgetinp., pettiftily; ' do 
 you think I would take the trouble of go- 
 ing through all the dry fluff in Mr. Glib's 
 B 2 colIe<^ion;
 
 C * 3 
 
 coSle^lion — hiftory and travels, fcrmons 
 and matters of fa£l? I hope I have a bet- 
 ter tafte ! You know very well I never read 
 any thing but novels and metaphyfics.'* 
 
 " Novels and metaphyfics !" repeated 
 her kinfman, caftlng up his eyes, " te??i' 
 poraf mores J" 
 
 ^ Mofes, fir,* rejoined the young lady, 
 * if indeed fuch a man as Mofes ever ex- 
 ifted, was a very ignorant perfon. His 
 energies were cramped by fuperftition, 
 and the belief of a God, which is well 
 known to be the grand obftacle to perfec- 
 tibility/ 
 
 " My poor child!" faid Mr. Mapple, in 
 a tone of compaffion mixed with aftonifti- 
 ment, " where hafl: thou got all this?" 
 
 * I told you fo !* cried the delighted 
 mother, * I knew you had no ideer of her 
 larning. She puts every one as vifits us 
 to a none-pluflb. The Do£lor himfelf had 
 as lief go a mile out of his road, as enter 
 into an argument with her.* 
 
 TruIjT, 
 
 cc
 
 [ 5 ] 
 
 ** Truly, I make no doubt of itj" re- 
 turned Mr. Mapple, drily, " I am quite of 
 his way of thinking j and as you have 
 probably fome preparations to make for 
 the company you expe£l this evening, 
 fhall take my leave. You know I ride but 
 flowly, and I fhould like to reach ******* 
 before it grows dark." 
 
 * Nay, do pray now, fir, have a little 
 more talk with Biddy before you go; for 
 as to preparing for the company, I does all 
 thefe there fort of things with my own 
 hands. For though Nancy is a tolerable 
 good cook in a plain way, flie has no no- 
 tion of nick-nacks. I am fure, if any one 
 knew what a trouble it is for me to give 
 fuppers ! Indeed, Mr. Mapple, you have no 
 ideer. There had I this morning to make 
 the tarts, and the cuftards, aye, and the 
 pudding too, which you ate at dinner, and 
 praifed fo much. And now I have only 
 to put on the befl covers on the drawing- 
 room chair$; and to unpapcr the fire- 
 
 fcreens,
 
 [ 6 ] 
 
 fcreens, and to fix the candles on ihe 
 fconces, and to prepare my • daughter's 
 things; (o that I fliall foon be ready; 
 meanwhile you may chat with Biddy — it 
 will do yoiif heart good to hear her talk." 
 Mr. Mapple feemed to be of a different 
 opinion J and declining to enter .into any 
 controverfy with an adverfary w^hofe prow- 
 efs was fo highly vaunted, he immediately 
 took hi3 leave. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 [ 7 ] 
 
 CHAP. VL 
 
 Diftruftful Senfe with modefl caution fpeaks, 
 It ftill looks home, and (hort excurfions makes. 
 But rattling Nonsense in full voUies breaks ; 
 And never (hock'd, and never turn'd afide, 
 Burlts out refjftlefs with a thund'ring tide. 
 
 AS the principal families in the parifli 
 continued the fame attentions to the 
 widow of their late reflor, which they had 
 paid her as his wife, it will be concluded, 
 to a certainty, by thofe who know any 
 thing of the world, that fhe was left in 
 pofTeffion of affluence. 
 
 It was not, however, to the extent of 
 her fortune, fo much as to the exertion 
 of her talents, that Mrs. Botherim flood 
 indebted for the civilities of her richer 
 neighbours. 
 
 Whatever
 
 [ 8 ] 
 
 Whatever idea the reader may have 
 formed of the negative ftrength of her in- 
 telle(fls, ftie had fuiEcient fagacity to dif- 
 cover, that v^^hen fhe could no longer give 
 dinner for dinner, and fupper for fupper, 
 a compleat termination would, in the minds 
 of many of her dear friends in the neigh- 
 bourhood, be given to her exiflence. Ef- 
 fectually to keep herfelf alive in their re- 
 membrance, was a point which fhe might 
 literally be faid to labour. It required the 
 incefTant exertion of all the economy, and 
 all the notability, of which flie was miflrefs: 
 nor would thefe alone have been fufficient, 
 if they had not been aflifted by the perfeft 
 knowledge of a fcience, which produced 
 ciFefts more delightful to many of her 
 guefls than all " Philofophy e'er taught.'* 
 
 Though the fcience of cookery was the 
 only one with which Mrs. Botherim was 
 acquainted, it may be doubted whether it 
 did not fometimes produce attractions as 
 powerful as the metaphyfical knowledge 
 of her daughter, j,^^^
 
 C 9 ] 
 
 Even Mr. Myope himfelf has been fuf- 
 pefted of this preference; and has been 
 a^ually known to leave his free-will oppo- 
 nent in pofleffion of the lafl word, from the 
 necessity he felt himfelf under of devouring 
 the good things fet before him on Mrs. 
 Botherim's tabl t. Never fliall I forget the 
 euiogium I once heard him make on one 
 of the good lady's currant tarts: a tart 
 which, as he judicioufly obferved, could 
 never have been fo nicely fweetened, if 
 Alexander the Great had not setjire to the 
 'palace ofPersepoUs,^ 
 
 To praife her cookery, or to praife her 
 daughter, was at all times the mod dire£l 
 road to Mrs. Botherim's heart. When 
 the tribute of flattery was on either of 
 thefe fubje£ls withheld, (he quickly dif. 
 cemed the motive, and confoled herfelf by 
 obferving, " that it was better to be en- 
 vied than pitied." 
 
 Sec Godwin^s Pol. Inf. vol. i. p. i6i. 
 
 That
 
 [ 10 ] 
 
 That flie and her daughter were the ob- 
 jefls of envy to many of her neighbours, 
 {he could not doubt. The rector's family, 
 in particular, had given her many ftrong 
 proofs of being poiTeffed of this hateful 
 paffion : even the reverend gentleman him- 
 felf had oftener than once dropt fome 
 hints about the needlefs expence of formal 
 entertainments among friends and neigh- 
 bours ; and it vi'as certain, that neither he, 
 nor his filler, nor his daughters, appeared 
 to enjoy half fo much fatisfaftion at one 
 of her feads, as at the fimple fare which 
 t^-as fet before them when on a chance vifit. 
 The fame envious difpofition it was, which, 
 in Mrs. Botherim's opinion, made them 
 not only avoid the fubje(51: of metaphyfics, 
 on which her daughter could fo far out- 
 fiiine them, but feem in pain when it was 
 mentioned. 
 
 Of the vifitors expe£led at the conclufion 
 of the lafl chapter, the ladies of the fa- 
 mily we have juft mentioned, accompanied 
 
 by
 
 [ 11 3 
 
 by the daughter of the diffcnting clergy- 
 man, were the firfl that arrived. They 
 were feated in the drawing-room before 
 either Mrs. or Mifs Botherim were ready 
 to make their appearance. 
 
 At length the mother came curtfeying 
 into the room, and while flie flroked 
 down the obllinate folds of her well- 
 ftarched apron, made a thoufand apologies 
 for not being fooner prepared for their re- 
 ception. She was followed by Bridgetina, 
 whofe ftiiF lurban and gaudy ribbons put 
 the homely plainnefs of her countenance 
 in the mod confpicuous point of view. 
 
 Neither her drefs nor perfon were, how- 
 ever, in any danger of criticifm from the 
 parry prcfent. They perceived not the 
 prodigious fund of merriment that might 
 have been derived from her wearing a blue 
 gown and yellow llippers ; a circumflance, 
 which would have afforded a week's gig- 
 ling to many mifle:^, was altogether lofl 
 upon them. Their (lupid iufenfibility to 
 
 the
 
 C 12 ] 
 
 the pleafure of perfonal ridicule, will, no 
 doubt, imprefs many readers with an un- 
 favourable idea of their underdanding. 
 To the misfortune of never having been 
 at a boarding-fchool, may perhaps be at- 
 tributed this fceming want of difcernment 
 to thofe deformities of perfon, and incon- 
 gruities of drefs, to which fo many ladies, 
 and fo many beaux, confine their whole 
 flock of obfervation. 
 
 The compliments of both mother and 
 daughter were received by thefe ladies 
 with that unafFe<Si:ed complacency, which 
 they had been taught to feel for the vir- 
 tues of the heart. They were not infen- 
 fible to the foibles or the peculiarities of 
 either; but if thofe of Mrs. Botherim 
 fometimes excited a fmile, it was a fmile 
 unaccompanied by malice, and void of the 
 ill-natured wifli of expofmg the obje6^ 
 that excited it to the ridicule of others. 
 What were their feelings with regard to 
 Bridgetina, may, perhaps, appear hereafter. 
 
 Perfonages
 
 C 13 J 
 
 Perfonages of greater confequence now 
 tall for our attention. A loud knocking 
 at the door announces the arrival of Sir 
 Anthony Aldgare, his lady, and daughter. 
 
 Of her relaticndiip to this great man 
 Mrs. Botherim was not a little proud. 
 She exulted in the honour of an annual 
 vifit from him, which he regularly paid on 
 his way to Buxton every fummer: and 
 though the trouble and expence it coft 
 him, to come fo many miles out of the dU 
 rt£t road, was always fet forth in fuch 
 terms, as might have difgufled a more faf- 
 lidious mind; it acled upon Mrs. Bo- 
 iherim's exaf^ly as it was intended, and only 
 ferved to enhance the value of the vifit. 
 Mrs. Botherim was herfelf the daughter 
 of a tradefman in the city, and had early ac- 
 quired fuch a profound refpc£l for wealth, 
 that the fight of that fort of intoxication, 
 produced by a full purfe on a narrow 
 heart and (hallow underftanding, was not 
 fo difguflins; to her feelings, as it proba-
 
 C I* 3 
 
 biy was to tliofe of fome of her prefcnt 
 guefts. 
 
 The two Mr. Gubbles', father and fon, 
 with their refpeflive ladies, next appeared, 
 and were formally introduced to Sir An- 
 thony and his lady. In Mifs Aldgate, the 
 younger Mrs. Gubbles foon difcovered a 
 fchool-mate, and although the daughter of 
 the city knight appeared not very willing 
 to recognize the wife of the apothecary as 
 an acquaintance, the claims of the latter 
 were brought forward in too forcible a 
 manner to be refided. 
 
 " Locka me!" cried the bride of young 
 Gubbles, " Mifs Jenny Aldgate, I de- 
 clare! Who would have thought of fee- 
 ing you here? And you are not married 
 yet! Well! I declare it is fo odd that I 
 fliould get married before you! Is n't it?" 
 
 Mifs Aldgate bit her lips, while ilie de- 
 clarcd, * how vaftly glad fhe was to fee 
 her old companion, and to wifli her joy.* 
 Without liftening to her compliment, Mrs. 
 
 Gubbles
 
 c 1^- ] 
 
 Gubbles continued, " All the ladies at 
 Mrs. Nab's fchool were fo furprifed when 
 I went to fee them, you have no ideer. 
 Locka me ! Do you remember our gover- 
 nefs? How we quizz'd her! I never think 
 of our dealing the nice chicken from the 
 fire, which {he was having roafled for her 
 own fupper, without being ready to die 
 with laughing. I told it all to Mr. Gub- 
 fcles, and it fo diverted him ! And then the 
 going over the garden-wall to get prog at 
 the paltry-cook's {hop: w^as n't it excel- 
 lent? And do you remember" — 
 
 Here followed a whifper, which called 
 up fomething very like a blu{h in the 
 cheeks of Mifs Aldgatc. Her friend pro- 
 ceeded — 
 
 *' Oh, I afliire you, upon my honour, I 
 never told that to any one;" carting a fig- 
 nificant glance at her huiband. " I would 
 not tell fuch a thing to any one for the 
 world. But, locka me! I wager you 
 won't guefs what is become of Mifs Ecll- 
 
 field
 
 C 16 ] 
 
 field, that was thought to be fuch a fortune : 
 do guefs, now, what is become of her: I 
 lay that you don't?" 
 
 * Perhaps (he is married,' faid Mifs 
 Aldo^ate. 
 
 '' She married, poor thing!" replied 
 Mrs. Gubbles, " Locka me! flie is only 
 one of Mrs. Nab's teachers: is n't it very 
 droll now, is n't it?" 
 
 * It is what I never fliould have thought 
 of to be fure,' returned Mifs Aldgate: 
 ' though, as I heard pa fay, her father was 
 ruined. I fuppofe, poor thing, (he was 
 glad to do it for bread.* 
 
 " Aye, poor thing! you can't think 
 how I feel for her! But," lowering her 
 tone, " did you ever fee fuch a fright as 
 that Mifs Botherim? I declare fhe is quite 
 a Guyr'' 
 
 * Alluding, as we fuppofe, to a grotefque effigy of 
 Guy Faux, whicli is ufually carried through the ftreets 
 of London, by the rabble, on the anniverfary of the 
 Cunpowder-plot, 
 
 « O dear/
 
 [ 17 ] 
 
 * O dear/ cried Mifs Aldgate, gig- 
 gling, ' how can you be fo droll? I pro- 
 teft you will make me die with laughing, 
 you are fo very comical." Here both 
 ladies, holding up their fans before their 
 faces, continued for fome time tittering a 
 duet, to the great edification of the Mifs 
 Orwells, who were placed befide them; 
 but who, not having been at Mrs. Nab's 
 fchool, were not, in boarding-fchool plirafe- 
 ology, to be taken into the baby-houfe. 
 
 The entrance of their father, accompa- 
 nied by his reverend friend Mr. Sydney, 
 would, they hoped, give a more general 
 turn to the converfation ; but in this they 
 were difappointed. 
 
 The difappointment of thefe young la- 
 dies arofe, like moft other difappointments, 
 from the fallacy of their expectations. 
 So ignorant were they of the world, as to 
 imagine that thofe who wxre bed qualified 
 to fpeak, (hould, by the fufFrage of the 
 company, be called upon to fpeak the moff. 
 
 VOL. I. c They
 
 C 18 ] 
 
 They did not know, that while thofe whofe 
 knowledge enables them to inftruft, or 
 whofe genius qualifies thcni to enlighten, 
 every circle in which they are placed, arc 
 reftrained by the modefty and diffidence 
 which are the ufual concomitants of real 
 merit, from taking the lead in converfa- 
 tion, it is without ceremony affumed by the 
 felf-alTured, the vain, and the ignorant. 
 
 The chara6ters of Do£l:or Orwell and 
 Mr. Sydney were in many refpefls fo flri- 
 kingly fimilar, that the outlines might juflly 
 be defer ibed in the fame terms. Both 
 were benevolent, pious, unaffected, and 
 fmcere. The minds of neither were nar- 
 rowed by party zeal, nor heated by pre- 
 judice. To this liberal mm of thinking 
 were they indebted for the bleffmg of mu- 
 tual friendfhip: a friendfliip, which re- 
 ceived no interruption from the difference 
 of their opinions in fome fpeculative points, 
 as each, confcious of the integrity that go- 
 verned his own bread, gave credit for an 
 
 equal
 
 L 19 ] 
 
 equal degree of integrity to the other. 
 Both delighted in literature and fcience; 
 but in thefe, as in other purfuits, each 
 took the walk moll: agreeable to his own 
 peculiar tafle, without contcfting for its 
 abfolute fuperiority over that which was 
 chofen by his friend. General literature, 
 and the belles lettres, had greater attrac- 
 tions for Doctor Orwell, than the abitru* 
 fer fludies which engaged the attention of 
 Mr. Sydney. The amufement of the one 
 was gardening; of the other, botany: but 
 the chief bufmefs of both was to promote 
 the happinefs of their fellow-creatures. 
 
 No fooner had thefe reverend gentle- 
 men taken their feats, than they were ad- 
 dreifed by Sir Anthony upon the late fall 
 of flocks, a fubjeft in which he well knew 
 himfelf to be the only perfon in company 
 at all interefted. The confejQTed ignorance 
 of his audience infpired him with an un- 
 ufual flow of eloquence. He confidered 
 the portentous event in every point of 
 c 2 view 
 
 ^
 
 [ 20 ] 
 
 view in which it could poflibly be placed. 
 He compared it with fimilar occurrences of 
 former years, and recited, w^ith great ex- 
 a<n:nefs, all the obfervations he had then 
 made; obfervations which never failed to 
 be verified by the event, fo as to redound 
 to the honour of his own fagacity. 
 
 Various were the effe£ls produced by 
 his difcourfe on the minds of his hearers. 
 
 When he fpake of his mighty bargains 
 of twenty thoufand fcrip, and thirty thou- 
 fand confols, purchafed in the courfe of 
 one morning, his importance feem^ed to 
 . rifefo high, in the eftimation of the Meffrs. 
 Gubbles, that they exulted in the honour 
 of being in company with fo great a man. 
 
 " Blefs me!'* thought Mrs. Botherim, 
 '' with fo many thoufands of them there 
 flocks, (if fo be as how, that they are all 
 like fo many bank-notes) one might keep 
 as good a table as my lord-mayor himfelf!'* 
 * Ahl' thought the lovely Harriet 
 Orwell, a fweet blufh rifing with the 
 
 thought, 
 
 ^
 
 [ 21 ] 
 
 thought, and playing for a moment on her 
 beauteous cheek, ' Ah! that fucb a for- 
 tune were in the pofTeflion of the noble- 
 hearted Henry Sydney ! To' what exalted 
 purpofes would he employ fuch a fund of 
 fuperfluous wealth ! How many would he 
 make happy! But would Harriet Orwell 
 be then the obje£i: of his. attention?' 
 
 The deep figh that followed was drowned 
 in thf fliarp tones of the elder Mrs. G ub- 
 bles, who, impatient of the knight's long 
 haran;^ue upon a fubje£l in which (he 
 could bear no ihare, had broken the pain- 
 ful reftraint of filence ; and in a hoarfe 
 whifper was giving to Lady Aldgate a 
 minute and circumftantial detail of an in- 
 trigue, long fufpe6led, but only that morn- 
 ing brought to lights betwixt the (hopman 
 and her favourite houfe-maid. 
 
 Long as was this hiftory, and many 
 as were the says 7'y, and says she*s^ 
 which added to its length, when it was 
 
 finidied.
 
 [ 22 ] 
 
 finifhed, Mrs. Gubbles found the knight 
 juft where (he had left him. 
 
 " I tell you, fir," faid he to Mr. Syd- 
 ney, whofe eye he at that moment caught, 
 " I tell you, fir, it is the very bed: (lock in 
 which you can poifibly purchafe, and I will 
 undertake to prove it to you in a moment. 
 Suppofing, I fay, fuppofing now you to 
 have only ten thoufand pounds." 
 
 * Indeed, fir,' faid Mr. Sydney, ' I never 
 was, nor ever expe£i: to be, worth the tenth 
 part of the fum in my life.' 
 
 *' Eh!" rejoined the knight, " not 
 worth a thoufand pounds ! Pray, what did 
 you begin with?" 
 
 ' I began the world,' replied Mr. Syd- 
 ney, * with an education, which taught me 
 than a man's riches confifleth not in the 
 abundance which he poffelfeth — that he 
 only is truly affluent, whofe treafures lie 
 where moths cannot corrupt, nor thieves 
 break through and (teal ; and that a man 
 worth fifty thoufand pounds, if wanting 
 thefe, is poor indeed!' "Very
 
 C 23 ] 
 
 " Very true, very true, indeed/' re- 
 joined Sir Anthony, " no man can be 
 called rich, till he is worth a plum." 
 
 ' There is one advantage,* refumed Mr, 
 Sydney, ' attendant upon riches, which a 
 good Providence has no doubt bellowed 
 as a compenfation for the degradation to 
 which the glorious powers of intelle<^ are 
 forced to {loop in its acquirement, as well 
 as for the cares, anxieties, and tempta- 
 tions, which inevitably accompany its pof- 
 feffion ; I need not name this advantage 
 to you, fir,' continued the reverend old 
 gentleman, ' but I think, if you had been 
 witnefs to the fcene which my friend Dr, 
 Orwell and I have jufl come from, you 
 would have declared you never had a m.ore 
 glorious opportunity of enjoying it.' 
 
 The eyes of Dr. Orwell gliflened with 
 pleafure, at the fuccefsful method taken by 
 his friend to introduce a fubjefl on which 
 his thoughts inceffantly dwelt, and which 
 Mrs. Botherim's frequent praifes of the 
 
 knight's
 
 [ 24 ] 
 
 knight's liberality made him anxious to 
 brinc^ forward. 
 
 " It was a fcene of extreme mifery, in- 
 deed!" cried he; "happy muft be the 
 perfon who could effeflually relieve fo 
 worthy a family from at lead one moiety 
 of their prefent diftrefs." 
 
 The knight took fnufF, which occafioned 
 a long fit of fneezing ; at the conclufion of 
 which. Dr. Orwell repeated the laft fen'- 
 tence he had uttered, in a flill more im- 
 preflive manner, adding, " the ftruggle 
 they have made has been noble, their rer 
 fignation has been exemplary, and un- 
 bounded, I am fure, would be their gra- 
 titude." 
 
 * Gratitude,. did you fay, fir?' cried Mifs 
 Bridgetinay who had been all this while 
 fitting fcrewed up for a metaphyfical argu- 
 ment, ' Give me leave to tell you, fir, 
 there is nothing fo immoral as gratitude. 
 It is, as Mr. Myope fays, a vice, or rather 
 a miftake, peculiar to minds who have im- 
 bibed
 
 [ 25 ] 
 
 bibed certain prejudices, but which none 
 who have energy to rife above them, are 
 ever known to practice; it is, in fliort, the 
 greateft obflacle to perfectibility. AVho- 
 ever knew Mr. Myope grateful for any fa- 
 vour that he ever received?' 
 
 Juft as Bridgetina had concluded this 
 fpeech, which, though new to great part 
 of the company, had been delivered in ex- 
 a^Iy the fame words at lead feventeen 
 times before, a fort of general alarm was 
 produced by the fudden entrance of Mr. 
 Glib ; but this is a fubje£l well deferving 
 a new chapter. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 [ 26 1 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 *' Spedlatum admilfi rifum teneatis." 
 
 HOR. AR3 PotT, 
 
 A yTR. Glib, who, like a true philofo- 
 -*-^-*- pher, defpifed all ceremony, took 
 Hot the lead notice either of Mrs. Bo- 
 therim or her guefts, but Ikipping at once 
 up to Bridgetina, " Good news !" cried 
 he, " citizen Mifs. Glorious news! We 
 fliall have rare talking now! There is Mr. 
 Myope, and the Goddefs of Reafon, and 
 Mr. Vallaton, all come down upon the 
 top of the heavy coach. There they are 
 at my houfe taking a fnack, all as hungry 
 as fo many cormorants. I was in fuch a 
 hurry to tell you, that I left the (hop to 
 take care of itfelf, and off I ran. Jufl: as 
 
 I was
 
 [ 27 ] 
 
 I was at the door, up comes a wench for the 
 patent ftyptic for Mr. Plane, the carpen- 
 ter, who, ihe faid, had met with a doleful 
 accident — but would not go back. Bid 
 him exert his energies, my dear, faid I : 
 that's it ! energies do all! And off I came, 
 as you fee, without gartering my (lock- 
 ings. But never mind, come along. The 
 Goddefs of Reafon longs to give you the 
 fraternal embrace; faith, and a comely- 
 wench (he is, that's certain. But let us be 
 off, I have not a moment to fpare, and I 
 can't go without you." 
 
 * Mr. Myope! and the Goddefs of Rea- 
 fon! and Mr. Vallaton! and all!' ex- 
 claimed Bridgetina, ' you make me too 
 happy! Lead me to the enlightened 
 groupe,' continued (he, rifmg from her 
 chair, or rather getting off it, (for as fhe 
 was rather taller fitting than (landing, (lie 
 could not well be faid to rise when (lie af- 
 fumed the latter pollure) ' Lead me to 
 the enlightened groupe; I would not lofe a 
 
 moment
 
 [ 28 ] 
 
 moment of their converfe foV the world; 
 tlie injury would be incalculable.' 
 
 Mrs. Bothcrim obfcrving her daugh- 
 ter's motion, laid down the tea-pot to ex- 
 poflulate. 
 
 " You would not go now, fure,my dezir?'' 
 cried flae; " you cannot poffibly think of 
 leaving this here company, who are all of 
 our own Inwlting: and who, though they 
 may not be quite fo larned in that there 
 philofophy, feeing that it is but a new fort 
 of a thing, as a body may fay; yet you 
 know, my dear, it' would be one of the 
 moft rudeft thijigs in the world to run 
 away from them." 
 
 To this expofiulation, which was made 
 m a low voice^ Bridgetina replied aloud — 
 
 * And do you think I am now at liberty 
 to remain here? 1 wonder, mamma, how 
 you can fpeak fo ridiculoufly ? Have I not 
 told you again and again, that I am under 
 ihe necessity of preferring the motive that is 
 moft preferable? The company, if they 
 
 are
 
 L 29 ] 
 
 are not very ignorant indeed, muft know 
 that my going inflandy to Mr. Glib's is 
 a link in rhe glorious chain of caufation, 
 g;enerated in eternity, and which binds me 
 now to aft exaftly as I do.' So faying, 
 j[he put her arm in Mr. Glib's, and hur- 
 ried oiF as fall: as the fliortnefs of her legs 
 would permit. 
 
 Her conduftor, foon tired of the flow 
 pace at which (lie appeared to him to 
 walk, though fhe had aftually hopp'd and 
 run her very bed to keep up with him, 
 propofed leaving her at the firfl turning, 
 while he ran up to Captain Delmond's for 
 Mifs Julia, whofe prefence he knew was 
 cxpefted with much impatience by fomc 
 of the party at his houfe. 
 
 He could not have left the haplefs mai- 
 den at a m.ore unlucky moment. She had 
 not advanced many fteps, till her pafTage 
 was oppofed by a mighty torrent, vulgarly 
 called a kennel, which was now fwelled 
 to an unufual fize by the wafliing out of 
 
 the
 
 [ 30 ] 
 
 the fiiambles, It being market-day. While 
 flie flood meditating on the brink of this 
 by no means pellucid ftream, a fudden 
 guflof wind whirled oiFthe high-raifed tur- 
 ban, and with it, O lucklefs deftiny ! went 
 the flowing honours of her head. The 
 ftiff ringlets fo well pomatumed, and fo 
 nicely powdered, which Mrs. Botherim had 
 with her own hands fo carefully pinned on, 
 together with the huge knots of many co- 
 loured ribbons ; all, all were hurried down 
 the black bofom of the remorfelefs ftream ! 
 " Smoke the lady's wig!"* called out 
 an unlucky boy to his companions, who 
 inftantly fet up fuch a fliout of laughter, 
 that the difcomfited Bridgetina, regardlefs 
 
 * At the time the above was written, the author had 
 probably no idea that wigs were fo foon to become a 
 reigning fafhion amongft his fair country-women. He, 
 poor man, would moft likely have deemed it a flander 
 upon the tafte and underftanding of the ladies of Eag- 
 land — to fuppofe it in the power o^ fashion to intro- 
 duce a cuftom fo odious and abfurd! 
 
 of
 
 [ 31 3 
 
 of the danger flie encountered, and forget- 
 ful of the irremediable ruin of her yellow 
 flippers, dafhed into the muddy torrent, 
 which, in fpite of many oppofmg obftacles, 
 fhe made fliift to waddle through. Ar- 
 rived at Mr. Glib's, Ihe flipt in through the 
 fhop and back-parlour to the kitchen; 
 but there fhe found only the three 
 children, bufily employed in picking the 
 bones that had been fent out upon the 
 Granger's plates. She begged the eldeft 
 boy to go into the parlour for his mother: 
 " No, but I wont though," returned the 
 little half-naked urchin, " I would as foon 
 go to church." She attempted to coax 
 him, but in vain. At length her voice was 
 heard by Mrs. Glib, who, coming into the 
 kitchen, was foon Informed of the difmal 
 plight of Bridgetlna, which fhe relieved as 
 far as poiTible, by a neceffary change of 
 apparel ; and having pinned up the pet- 
 ticoats to prevent their trailing on the 
 ground, for Mrs. Glib was rather above 
 
 the
 
 [ 32 ] 
 
 the middle fizc, flie conduced her into 
 the parlour. 
 
 Mifs Botherim was received by Mr. 
 Myope, and Mr. Vallaton, in a manner 
 fufEcicntly cordial: each of them taking a 
 hand condu^led her up to the Goddefs of 
 Reafon, who was lolling in the eafy chair, 
 careffing that favourite monkey who adled 
 fuch a confpicuous part at the Apotheofis 
 of her Goddefsfhip at Paris, as hath been 
 already related in the third chapter of 
 thefe memoirs. Placing her companion 
 upon the table, flie rofe to embrace the 
 pupil of her dear Myope ; but on obfer- 
 ving thegrotefque figure that was prefented 
 to her, fhe hefitated. 
 
 Mr. Pug was not quite fo fcrupulous, 
 he without ceremony fprang forward, and 
 clafping his paws round the neck of Brid-. 
 getina', gave her the fraternal embrace in 
 due form; and then putting out his chin, 
 chattered in her face in fuch a manner, 
 that poor Mifs Botherim, v;ho was- not 
 
 accuflomed
 
 i: 33 ] 
 
 accuftomed to this fort of jargon, uttered 
 a fcream of terror. 
 
 It was with fome difficulty that the God- 
 defs of Reafon prevailed upon Mr. Pug 
 to quit his hold. While fhe was coaxing 
 him for that purpofe, Mr. Myope, pro- 
 voked at the oblliinacy of the little ani- 
 mal, feized his paw on purpofe to force 
 him to relinquifh his grafp, which Mr. 
 Pug, being an avowed enemy to the fyflem 
 of coercion, refented upon the finger of 
 the philofopher by his teeth. 
 
 "D — ye!" cried the ferene inculca- 
 tor of non-refiflance, " you little devil! 
 If I don't break every bone in your body 
 for this!" 
 
 ' Ah! de poor little angel!' exclaimed 
 the Goddefs of Reafon, hugging her little 
 favourite clofe to her bofom, ' Has he 
 frightened oo, lovey, has he? butoofant 
 be hurt, ittle dear! oo fant.' 
 
 " You are infufFcrably provoking," 
 retorted Myope ; "but don't think that 
 
 VOL. I. D the
 
 [ 34 ] 
 
 the little devil ihall efcape a beating for 
 this. He has bit my finger to the very- 
 bond" 
 
 : VWell/ returned the Goddefs of Rea- 
 fon, ' and how could ptLuvre cher help 
 dat? Had he no de motive?' 
 
 i'i^.The citizen Goddefs is in the right/ 
 faid Bridgetina.' ^^ As juftly might you 
 pnniili the knife for . cutting your finger, 
 as the mbnkey for biting it; fince, accord- 
 ing -to your own fublime fyftem, they are 
 im^lruments equally palliye.'* 
 -..l^iJD-^— their paiTivbnefs/' cried Myope 
 ih'renfcre^fed agony,, while Mrs. Glib ap- 
 plied' fbme Fryer's: Balfam to the wound, 
 " d — their pafiivenefs: I tell you, I be- 
 lieve' I fhall lofe my" finger J. linever felt 
 fachipain in my life/ ^ ' 1'^ • ^ »[ ' ^^ * 
 'j:*' Ekert your energies, my dear citizen,'^ 
 criedrMr* Glib, who had juft entered, 
 " exert your energies, my dear..' That's 
 
 ' '• ** See Godwin's Pol. Juflice, vol. i. b. 3d.
 
 C 35 ] 
 
 it! energies do all! Cure your finger in 
 a twinkling. Energies would make a man 
 of the monkey himfelf in a fortnight." 
 
 The wound being now bound up, and 
 the pain a litde abated, Mr, Myope did 
 exert his energies fo far as to refumefome 
 degree of philofophical compofure. 
 
 . Not. {o Mr. Vallaton. Having twice 
 changed his feat to different corners of the 
 room/ through the reftlefsnefs of impa- 
 tience; he again, from the fame impulfe. 
 drew near Mr. Glib, to re-queflion him 
 concerning. Julia; and was receiving from 
 him, for the third time, a full and com- 
 pleat recital of all that fhe had faid to him, 
 when the door opened, and Julia herfelf, 
 the charmingjulia, appeared. 
 
 Never did fhe look more lovely. The 
 fmall draw hat which was carelefsly tied 
 under her^ chin with a bow of pink rib- 
 bons, had been fo far driven back by the 
 wind, as to difplay the auburn ringlets that 
 in profufion played upon her lovely cheeks; 
 D 2 thofe
 
 [ 36 ] 
 
 thofe cheeks, where the animated bloom 
 of nature fet all poetical comparifon at de- 
 fiance. Mr. Vallaton was the lafl perfon 
 to whom flie addrefled herfelf; but the 
 blufli that overfpread her countenance, 
 plainly denoted that he was not the mod 
 Indifferent to her heart. Mr. Vallaton 
 likewife reddened ; but who, fo little fkilled 
 in phyCognomy as not to have perceived, ia 
 the different fhades of the colour that 
 overfpread each countenance, the differ- 
 ence of the fenfation by which it was pro- 
 duced? Whilft the pleafure of beholding 
 the obje6l of an innocent affe(5lion height- 
 ened the glow in the cheek of modefly, 
 and fweetly fparkled in the eye; the 
 paffions that flufhed the countenance of 
 the deep defigner, were evidently of far 
 groffer birth. 
 
 The fraternal embrace (that laudable 
 inftitution, and moft excellent contrivance 
 for banifhing all referve betwixt the fexes) 
 being over, Mr. Vallaton began to com* 
 
 plazn^
 
 [ 37 ] 
 
 plain. In exaggerated terms, of the length 
 of time fhe had kept him in fufpenfe about 
 her coming. 
 
 ^ I could not get away fooner, Indeed/ 
 cried Julia, eager to juflify herfelf from 
 the charge of unkindnefs. ' You know,* 
 continued {he, ' the general bad ftate of 
 my father's health ; but he has been in- 
 difpofed even more than ufual for this laft 
 fortnight: and when he is ill, nothing 
 appears to foothe his pain fo much as my 
 reading to him; and knowing the plea- 
 fure it affords him, I cannot poffibly be 
 fo undutiful as to deprive him of it/ 
 
 "Duty!" repeated Mr. Vallaton, "How 
 can a mind fo enlightened as Julia's talk 
 of duty, that bugbear of the ignorant ? I 
 would almofl as foon hear you talk of 
 gratitude." 
 
 ' Indeed,' anfwered Julia, ' I cannot 
 help thinking that there is fome regard due 
 to duty. You know how kind my father 
 has ever been to me. My mother, too ; 
 
 whofe
 
 C 38 ] 
 
 whofe very foul feems wrapt up in me, 
 who knows no pleafure but in promoting 
 mine. Is it poffible that I do not owe 
 them fome duty? Gratitude you have 
 convinced me is out of the queftion; but 
 indeed I cannot help thinking that there is 
 in this cafe fomething due to duty.' 
 
 " And is this," retorted Mr. Vallaton, 
 in a chiding tone, " is this all the progrefs 
 you have made in the new philofophy ?* 
 Do you not know, that duty is an expref- 
 
 * The frequent plaglarifms of our author have been 
 particularly objeded to by fome of my learned friends; 
 who informed me, that bypenifing the works of Mr. 
 Godwin, and fome of his difciples, I fhould be enabled 
 to detedl the ftolen paffages, which it would be but 
 honeft to reilore to the right owner. Alas! they 
 knew not what a heavy taflc they impofed on me. If 
 I have failed in its execution, I humbly hope Mr. God- 
 win and his friends will accept of this apology; and 
 while they recognize, in tbefpeeches of Mr. Vallaton, 
 the expreffions they have themfelves made ufe of, that 
 they will have the goodnefs to forgive me, for not 
 having always corre6lly pointed out the page from 
 %'hcnce they have been taken, Editor. 
 
 Hon
 
 [ 39 1 
 
 iloii merely implying the mode in which 
 any being may .be bed employed for the 
 general good? And how, I pray you, does 
 your humouring thefe old people conduce 
 to that great purpofe? Ah, Julia! there 
 are other methods in which you might 
 employ your time far more beneficially.^' ; 
 "Truth," faid- Mr. Myope, who had 
 been attentively liftening to their converfa- 
 tion, '^truth, fair citizen, obliges mo to 
 declare, that Mr. Vallaton is in the right., 
 We are not, you mufi remember, con- 
 ne£ted merely with one or two percipient 
 beings, but with a fociety, a nation, and 
 in fome refpecls with the whole family of 
 mankind. To efteem any individual above 
 his deferts, bccaufe he is in fome manner 
 related to us, or has been in any wife fer- 
 viceable in promoting our happinefs, is the 
 molt flagrant injuflice. What magic is 
 there in the word ?ny, to overturn the dc- 
 cifion of everlailing truth? Did the obli- 
 gations, as you call them, conferred upon
 
 t 40 ] 
 
 you by your parents, originate in the con- 
 vi£^ion of your being a being of more 
 worth and importance than any other 
 young female of their acquaintance? If 
 they did not, they were founded in injuf- 
 tice, and therefore immoral; and whatever 
 is fo, your judgment fhould contemn." 
 
 *' Yes," refumed Vallaton, " and as to 
 your regard for them, philofophy fhould 
 teach you to confider only — how can thefe 
 old people benefit fociety? What can they 
 do for the general good ? And then pla- 
 cing befide them fome of thofe whofe ex- 
 tenfive faculties, whofe great powers ena- 
 ble them to perform the glorious tafk of 
 enlightening the world ; fay, whether juf- 
 lice, pure unadulterated juftice, will not 
 point out where the preference ought 
 to fall?" 
 
 ' Well!' rejoined Julia, ' I declare I 
 never thought of it in this light before. 
 Every new proof of affeftion which I re- 
 ceived from my father and mother, has 
 
 always
 
 [ 41 ] 
 
 always fo endeared them to my heart, that 
 I have thought, if I could lay down my 
 life for them, it would be too little for all 
 their goodnefs to me.' 
 
 " How unworthy of the enlightened mind 
 of Julia is fuch a fentiment!'* exclaimed 
 Vallaton. " But I hope you will foon get 
 the better of thefe remains of prejudice, 
 and In ardent dellre for the general good, 
 lofe this con^ned individuality of affection.'* 
 
 ' Indeed I fhall never lofe my affection 
 for my parents,' returned Julia; ' I ftiould 
 hate myfelf if I did.' 
 
 Mr. Vallaton, afraid of pufliing the mat- 
 ter too far, changed the difcourfe; but in 
 every fubje<n: that was introduced, artfully 
 contrived to bring in fuch allufions to the 
 purpofe of his argument, as he thought 
 bed calculated to work on the ardent ima- 
 gination of his fair andunfufpecling pupil. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 L 42 ] 
 
 CHAP. vni. 
 
 " But fome there are who deem themfelvcs moll free, 
 *' When they, within this grofs and vifib> fphere, 
 " Chain down the winged thought; fcoffing afcent, 
 *' Proud in their meannefs ; and themfelvcs they cheat 
 " With noify emptinefs of learned phrafe." 
 
 SOUTHEY. 
 
 TN the iketch we prefented to our rea- 
 -*■ ders, of the principal incidents which 
 marked the life of Mr. Myope, we en- 
 tered into a fort of promife to furniih a 
 fimilar degree of information concerning 
 his friend and affociate, Mr. Vallaton. 
 
 As we hold every engagement of this 
 nature facred, and as it is probable that a 
 more convenient opportunity than the pre- 
 fent may not occur for difcharging our 
 obligation, we fhall, without further lofs 
 
 - ' of
 
 : 43 ] 
 
 of time, proceed to gratify the curiofity 
 which we make no doubt we have excited. 
 
 Who were the parents of this illuflirious 
 hero, it is probable the moil accurate re- 
 fearch could not have afcertaineJ ; not 
 that we fhall take upon us to affirm that 
 fuch refearch was ever made; it is more 
 probable, that the difcovery was left to that 
 chance which is fo obliging to the found- 
 ling hero of every novel. Similar as were 
 the circumdances of Mr. Vallaton's birth, 
 in point of obfcurity, to that of the great 
 men, whofe lives and adventures have em- 
 ployed the pens of fo many eminent wri- 
 ters, philofophers and fempilrelTes, au- 
 thors by profeffion, ladies of quality, and 
 milliners at their leifure hours ; it was at- 
 tended by fome peculiarities, a relation of 
 which will fufficiently exculpate us from 
 the charge of plagiarifm. 
 
 A woman who lodged in one of the fub- 
 terraneous abodes, vulgarly denominated 
 cellars, in a little alley of St. Giles's, was 
 
 called
 
 r 44 2 
 
 called his mammy; and to her, upon pain 
 of whipping, he delivered all the halfpence 
 which his infant importunity had extorted 
 from the pafTengers in the ftreet; but this 
 woman, even at the foot of the gallows, 
 denied being- the mother of the funny va^ 
 gabondy as her little charge was commonly 
 called. To her infl:ru£l:ions, however, was 
 he indebted for the firfl: rudiments of his 
 education ; and it is but juftice to his early 
 genius to obferve, that there never was an 
 apter fcholar. 
 
 At fix years old he could, with wonder- 
 ful adroitnefs, adapt his tale fo as bed to 
 work upon the feelings of his auditors. 
 •Sometimes, in a pitiful and whining tone, 
 he would beg ' for God's fake, a fmgle 
 halfpenny to buy a bit of bread for fix of 
 them, who had not broke their faft to-day.' 
 
 One pafienger he would follow with 
 clamorous importunity for the length of a 
 ftreet. Another, from whofe afpe<^ he ex- 
 pe£led better things, he would attack with 
 
 a tale
 
 [ 4.5 ] 
 
 A. taie of iorrow; his father had theij a 
 broken leg, and his mother was juft that 
 morning brought to-bcd o^i twins; a flor)' 
 which he told fo wclj, and with fuch ap- 
 parent iimplicity, that it more than once 
 produced a fixpence. In this way were 
 rhe talents of our hero employed till his 
 ninth year, when the flual exit of lu5 
 mammy left him at his own difpofal. 
 
 During the lait weeks oi the life of his 
 benefaclrefs, he fo improved by the con- 
 verfation of her fellovv* prifoners, that there 
 were few of the choiceil: fccrets in the fci- 
 ence of pilfering, of which he did not ac- 
 quire fome idea ; of all the more common 
 modes of exercifmg the profeffion he be- 
 came perfccl mailer. Being thus initiated 
 in the theory, we make no doubt that he 
 would foon have become an adept in the 
 praflice, had not the laft moments of his 
 mammy produced a certain feeling of ter- 
 ror, which fo forcibly operated upon his 
 mind, as to deter him from accepting the 
 
 overtures
 
 [ 46 ] 
 
 overtures of a gang of thieves, who had 
 conceived a jufl opinion of his talents. 
 
 That mod great men have had their 
 weaknefles, is an obfervation, which, how- 
 ever trite it may appear, is neverth^lefs 
 founded in truth. Let nor, then, our hero 
 be derided for Jois ; fince it mufl be ac- 
 knowledged, that many have trembled at 
 phantom.s lefs formidable than the gallows. 
 
 Whether the native ftrens^th of his mind 
 might not have at length enabled him to 
 conquer the dread of an evil from which 
 he daily faw fo many adventurers efcape, 
 and which he knew to be mod defpifed by 
 thofe on whom it was mod likely to fall, 
 we cannot take it upon us to determine. 
 Before the power of exifting circumflances 
 had directed his eneroiies into this chan- 
 nel, an incident occurred, Vv^hich probably 
 changed the colour of his future deftiny. 
 
 While employed in fweeping the crofs- 
 ing, oppofite the door of a charitable lady, 
 in the neighbourhood of Bloomfbury- 
 
 fquare.
 
 [ 47 ] 
 
 iquare, he obferved a fquirrel make Its 
 efcape from the houfe ; and feeing uvo or 
 three fervants immediately run after it, 
 judged that fom.ething might be got by re- 
 covering the fugitive. He accordingly 
 engaged in the chace, and being either the 
 mod active, or the mod zealous, of thofe 
 who were employed in the purfuit, eafily 
 outftripped them all, and had the honour 
 of fecuring the little runaway, who re- 
 venged the lofs of liberty by biting the 
 hand of its enilaver. Notwithflandino: the 
 pain occafioned by the wound, the little 
 fellow bravely kept hold of his adverfary, 
 and returned with him in triumph to his 
 miftrefs. 
 
 The good lady, delighted at the reftora- 
 tion of her favourite, demanded the name 
 of his prefervcr. ' The boys calls me the 
 funny vagahond^ replied he, ' and Ise 
 never anfwers to no other name.' 
 
 " And where do your father and mo- 
 ther live?" enquired the lady. 
 
 Mse
 
 [ 48 ] 
 
 * Ise have got no fathers nor mothers/ 
 returned he, beginning to whimper. 
 
 " Poor thing !" faid the lady, " and 
 were you never at fchool ?" The negative 
 to this queftion, and the apparent wretch- 
 ednefs of the Httle objecl, fo wrought upon 
 the compaflionate heart of this good wo- 
 man, that fhe immediately conceived the 
 intention of taking him under her protec- 
 tion. He was accordingly cloathed, and 
 put to fchool by the name of Alphonso 
 Vallaton ; for fo the good lady, who was 
 a great reader of novels, chofe to con- 
 flrue the appellation o^ funny vagabond^ 
 which, though probably but a nick-name, 
 was all that he had any remembrance of 
 poflelTmg. 
 
 If our hero's progrefs in literature did 
 not keep pace with his adroitnefs in other 
 purfuits, yet even here he found apparent 
 fmartnefs an impofmg fubftitute for more 
 folid underflanding. So plaufibly could 
 he retail fcraps of the leflbns of others, 
 
 that
 
 L 49 ] 
 
 that with all, but the mader, he palled for 
 a promifmg fcholar; and the mafter had 
 fomething elfe to do than to attend to the 
 real progrefs of a boy who was indebted 
 to the fupport of charity. When, at the 
 defire of her lady, the houfekeeper would 
 fomerimes condefcend to liilen to the young 
 Alphonfo, while he read to her a leiTon in 
 his fchool-book, ftie acknowledged herfelf 
 afloniflied at the manner in which he ac- 
 quitted himfelf. He did not then (as a 
 boy of inferior genius in the fame circum- 
 flances certainly would have done) proceed 
 to fpelling and putting together, but went 
 boldly on without (lop or hefitation, fo 
 artfully managing the tones of his voice, as 
 to remove all fufpicion of deceit. When 
 memory failed, invention was always at 
 hand to fupply the deficiency. 
 
 Indeed the wonderful dexterity Vv^ith 
 which he brought thefe powers of the 
 mind to contribute to each other's alMt 
 ance, was, through life, one of the moll 
 
 VOL. I. E confpicuous
 
 [ 60 ] 
 
 confpicuous as well as mod: ufeful of our 
 hero's accomplifliments. 
 
 At twelve years old being, by the re- 
 port of the houfekeeper, which was corro- 
 borated by the teflimony of his fchool- 
 mafter, qualified to read, write, and cafl 
 accounts, he was taken from fchool, and 
 promoted to the employment of footman's 
 afTiftant. Here every talent that he had 
 received from nature, every habit that he 
 had acquired among the companions of his 
 early life, were placed in a foil fuited to 
 their expanfion and improvement. Here 
 that inventive faculty, which not only fur- 
 niflied him with a ready excufe for every 
 fault he himfelf committed, but which was 
 ever at the fervice of his friends, found 
 daily opportunities of exercife. Nor was 
 it in words alone that his fuperior genius 
 was difplayed. Each of his fellow-fer- 
 vants received, in their feparate depart- 
 ments, convincing proofs of his abilities. 
 To John, his immediate fuperintendant, he 
 
 quickly
 
 [ 51 ] 
 
 quickly endeared himfelf, by the dexterity 
 with which he afTifted him to carry off a 
 greater quantity of wine from the cellar and 
 the Cdeboard, than he had ever before ven- 
 tured to appropriate to his own ufe. By 
 the cook, his knowledge in the art of ma- 
 king up accounts was put in a continual 
 flate of requifition. So acutely did he 
 perceive where the additional charge could 
 beft be made, that while her bills had the 
 appearance of being lefs extravagant, they 
 were a(flually more produftive to her than 
 ever. The coachman likewife experienced 
 the benefit of his good offices, in a more 
 advantageous difpofal of the oats bought 
 for his horfss ; one half of which he now 
 contrived to fell for little lefs than half 
 of what they had coft his midrefs. In 
 fliort, during the two years of our hero's 
 abode in this family, the fyflem of pecula- 
 tion was fo compleatly organized, that it 
 is thought to have given the firll hint to 
 Mr. Myope of his notion of perfecflibility. 
 E 2 Here
 
 [ 52 ] 
 
 Here we think it is neceffary to (top, 
 and to enter a caveat againfl any invidious- 
 application of our account of the above 
 tranfa<S}:ions. For which purpofe we do 
 mod folemnly declare and aver, that w^e 
 did not mean to infinuate the niofl: diflant 
 allufions to the practices of any man, or 
 bodies of men, in any public office or de- 
 partment of the ftate, in this or any other 
 country; and particularly beg we may not 
 be underftood as intending any thing in 
 the lead difrefpe£lful to thofe gentlemen 
 who are called " servants of the puUic^^ 
 either in this or the fifler kingdom. With 
 which afTeveration of the purity of our 
 intentions, we fhall conclude the chapter. 
 
 CHAP,
 
 [ 53 ] 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 "Ha! foft! 'twas but a dream, 
 ** But then fo terrible it fhakes my foul : 
 " Cold drops of fweat hang on my trembling flefh ; 
 '• My blood grows chilly, and I freeze with horror." 
 
 SHAKF.SPEARn. 
 
 THAT " fortune favours the brave," 
 is a remark almoft proverbial ; but, 
 alas! the truth of the obfervation is not 
 ahvays juftified by experience. The mod 
 fhining abilities are not at all times crowned 
 with equal fuccefs: and in the warfare of 
 life, there are fome contingencies placed 
 beyond the reach of human forefight to 
 prevent, of human vigilance to elude. 
 
 While our hero was flourifliing the 
 pride and darling of the kitchen, an event 
 was ripening in the womb of fate, which 
 
 threatened
 
 [ 54 ] 
 
 threatened to deprive him of all the com- 
 forts he there fo liberally enjoyed. 
 
 The fufpicions of his miftrefs, with re- 
 gard to the depredations on her wine cel- 
 lar, were at length aroufed. They were 
 communicated to a friend, and this friend, 
 who poiTeiTed talents for circumventing 
 fraud, and detecting villainy, far beyond 
 what the good lady, herfelf could boaft, 
 laid fuch a train as, at the moment lead 
 fufpe<Sted, produced a full and compleat 
 difcovery. As the falfe keys were found 
 in the polTeffion of our hero, his fellow- 
 fervants thought to fcreen themfelves by 
 throwing all the blame on him, and with 
 one voice voted his impeachment. The 
 young gentleman did not hefitate to re- 
 criminate, and brought fuch convincing 
 proofs of the knavery of his accufers, as 
 the friend of the lady wifely obferved, left 
 her no choice bat to disjniss ihem all. 
 
 In the benignity of his patronefs, how- 
 ever, our hero flill found a powerful advo- 
 cate;
 
 [ 55 ] 
 
 cate; which, In fplte of the remonflrances 
 of her friend, prevented her from throw- 
 ing deftitute upon the world, a creature 
 flie had once taken under her proteflion. 
 Inftead, therefore, of difmilTmg him with 
 thofe to whofe bad example (he attributed 
 all his fliare of guilt, (he refolvcd to ex- 
 pofe him no more to fimilar temptations. 
 She defired him to choofe a trade for his 
 future fupport, and, in confequence of his 
 preference, had himbound to a hair-drefler; 
 taking upon herfelf to pay the cuftomary 
 premium, and to provide him with clothes 
 during the period of his apprenticefhip. 
 
 In the dexterous management of the 
 comb, and the curling irons, our hero foon 
 excelled; nor in the more fubtle and re- 
 condite arts of his new profeflion did he 
 lefs ably dillinguifli himfelf. In the latter 
 part of the above account, we are, doubt- 
 lefs, anticipated by the judgment of the 
 reader, which will at once conclude, that 
 a proficient in lying, would foon be an 
 
 adept
 
 [ 56 ] 
 
 adept in flattery. With fuch accomplifti- 
 ments he could not poffibly fail of becom- 
 ing a favourite with the ladies. In fa£i:, 
 his fervices were in fuch requefl:, that long 
 before the expiration of his apprentice- 
 (hip, the houfe of his mafter attained cele- 
 brity with the fair fex, from the name of 
 Vallaton. 
 
 During this period, the amours of our 
 hero v/ould, of themfelves, be fufficient to 
 fill a volume ; and much do we wilh it were 
 in our power to gratify the laudable cu- 
 riofity of our reader with a circumflantial 
 and minute detail of this part of his hif- 
 tory. Convinced as we are, from autho- 
 rity the mofl: refpeflable, that it is from 
 works like thefe the modern philofopher 
 feeks the materials with which he builds 
 his fyflem of the human mind, we feel 
 didreffed at withholding from him infor- 
 mation fo dcfirable as that which we cer- 
 tainly have it in our power to beflow. 
 But, alas! in fpite'of all our efforts, we 
 
 find
 
 [ 57 j 
 
 find ourfelves flill (o much the Haves of a 
 certain weaknefs, called delicacy, as to be 
 withheld from the defcriptlon. 
 
 However derogatory the above confef- 
 fion may be to our fame, we are happy to 
 learn, that the v7orld is not likely to lofe 
 any thing by our infirmity. A full and 
 compleat account of the life and atchieve- 
 ments of our hero being now preparing for 
 the prefs by one of our fe??iale philosophers, 
 who will, no doubt, amply fill up every 
 chafm, which the weaknefs above alluded 
 to has forced us to make. To return to 
 our narrative. 
 
 It was not in the favour of the ladies 
 alone, that the young Vallaton found means 
 to ingratiate himfelf ; nor was it to them 
 that his attentions were exclufively cr^n- 
 fined. In a certain three-penny fpouting 
 club, his oratorical talents had already 
 been fo confpicuouily difplayed, as to ob- 
 tain the unbounded applaufe of all tiie 
 apprentices, journeymen, and fliop-fwcep- 
 
 crs,
 
 [ 58 ] 
 
 crs, who were there aflembled. They did 
 more; they attracted the notice of a gen- 
 tleman who was particularly defirous of 
 being confidered the patron of genius : and 
 from him our hero received fuch infor- 
 mation, with regard to fome fpeculative 
 points, as in fome degree obviated the in- 
 convenience to which he was expofed by 
 his own confummate ignorance. 
 
 He foon had his ambition gratified by a 
 little circle of applauders, who received, 
 without comment or contradiction, what- 
 ever opinions he chofe to advance. In 
 fliort, he foon became the oracle of his 
 di(lri£l, and who has not obferved with 
 what defpotic fway thefe oracles prefidc 
 in the circle that acknowledges their fu- 
 premacy? The fubje£i:s, over whom Val- 
 laton began his reign, were difllngulflied 
 by one uniform fcntiment of enmity to- 
 wards rehgion and rellglonifls of all deno- 
 minations. His towering genius quickly 
 difcerned, that by advancing one flep be- 
 yond
 
 [ 59 ] 
 
 yond what any of his contemporary ora- 
 cles had ventured to foar, he (hould infalli- 
 bly procure for himfelf the mofl enviable 
 diflinflion. He, therefore, boldly pro- 
 fefled himfelf an Atheist. 
 
 To account for this v/onderful difplay 
 of mental energy, let it be remembered, 
 that our hero enjoyed advantages from his 
 early education, equal to any that the 
 mod enlightened philofopher has ventured 
 to prefcribe. 
 
 He reached his ninth year without ha- 
 ving even heard of a God, but through 
 the medium of blafphemy ; and the words 
 " God have mercy on your foul,^' pro- 
 nounced by the judge in giving fentence 
 on his mammy, was the firfl exprelTion 
 that conveyed to his mind any fort of idea 
 of a future (late. It is true that, by the 
 direiTtions of his patronefs, he had been 
 taught to repeat the creed, the catechifm, 
 and the Lord*s-prayer; but in the repeti- 
 tion, not a fingle idea obtruded itfelf upon 
 
 his
 
 [ ^^ ] 
 
 his mind, that could tend to injure it by 
 any religious prejudice or imprcfTion what- 
 ever. The vakie of thefe maniFeri: advan- 
 tages we leave it to our philofophical 
 readers to calculate j it is our bufinefs to 
 point out the efFe£ls. 
 
 The breail: of our hero now glowed 
 with an ambition, which not all the praifes 
 beflowed upon his pretty tafle as difriseur^ 
 had power to gratify. 
 
 The applaufe he had met with as an 
 orator, enllamed his defire to figure as an 
 author. To the uninitiated in the art of 
 book-making, fucha defign, in a perfon of 
 our hero's {lender (lock of information, 
 may, perhaps, appear temerarious and ab- 
 furd. To thofe who are better acquainted 
 with fuch matters, a fufficient number of 
 precedents will occur to exculpate Mr. 
 Vallaton from. the charge of fmgularity. 
 
 As it fell to the lot of the writer of 
 thefe memoirs to correal: the orthography 
 and grammar of the volume of metaphyfi- 
 
 cal
 
 L 61 ] 
 
 cal cffaj^s, which was the fird produ^lioa 
 of his pen, he may, perhaps, be fuppofed 
 to arrogate to himfelf fome of the merit of 
 its fuccefs ; and will, therefore, pafs it over 
 in filence. 
 
 Whatever reception this production met 
 with from the world, it appears to have 
 effected a compleat revolution in its au- 
 thor's views. For the pen, the comb, 
 and the curiing-irons, were from thence- 
 forth forfaken ; and the tafk of adorning 
 the heads of his fair country -vromen gave 
 place to the more dignified employment 
 of enlightening their underflandings. In 
 which of the occupations, whether as an 
 author or a frifeur, our hero was mod 
 conducive to the real benefit of fociety, it 
 may perhaps be difficult to determine. 
 
 To enlarge the fphere of hib utility, 
 Mr. Vallaton thought it neceflary to have 
 recourfe to politics, and took upon him- 
 felf (for we never heard that it was con- 
 ferred upon him by the public) the appella- 
 tion of Vallatofi, the pjttlot. Should
 
 [ 62 ] 
 
 Should the reader be inclined to fup- 
 pofe, that the patriotifm of Vallaton bore 
 any refemblance to that which has ap- 
 peared In fome diflinguifhed characters of 
 our own and former days, he will labour 
 under an egregious miftake. 
 
 To that generous and difintcrefted love 
 of hberty, which glowed in the breads of 
 a RuiTel and a Sydney j to that zeal for 
 the glory, and jealoufy for the honour, of 
 his country, which animated a Chatham ; 
 or to the effeci: of all thefe principles, as 
 they appear combined, invigorated, and 
 improved in the capacious minds of fome 
 diflinguiilied characters of our own day, 
 our hero was a perfeCl (tranger. The 
 only fhape in which patriotifm ever ap- 
 peared to the mind of Vallaton, was in 
 that of a ladder, by the afTiftance of which, 
 he might be enabled to climb a few fleps 
 higher on the hill of fame. But, alas! 
 his courage by no means kept pace with 
 bis ambition. At the very fecond (tep in 
 
 his
 
 C 63 ] 
 
 his career he flurabled. A threatened 
 profecution for fedition (truck fuch terror 
 to his heart, that he refolved to quit the 
 kingdom, and hafliened to communicate 
 his intentions to the only friend, on whom, 
 in fuch a jun^ure, he could depend for 
 fupport or ailiftance. 
 
 This gentleman, whom we liave ah-eady 
 mentioned as the patron of his rifing ge- 
 nius, and from whom he had already 
 received many pecuniary obligations, cor- 
 dially entered into his views; and told him 
 that he would mofl cheerfully bear his ex- 
 pences to Paris, provided he took charge 
 of a fum of money, which he greatly 
 wiihed to convey to a brother then re- 
 ading in that city. To this propofal 
 Vallaton gave a cheerful confcnt, and ha- 
 ving fo artfully concealed the feven hun- 
 dred guineas committed to his care, as to 
 avoid dete£tion, fet out upon his journey. 
 The route he was obliged to take, though 
 circuitous, was fafe; fo that without ma- 
 terial
 
 C 5^ ] 
 
 tcrial accident or interruption, he, in lefs 
 than a fortnight, reached the French 
 capital. 
 
 The fir ft public ceremony to which he 
 was a witnefs, was the Apotheofis of the 
 Goddefs of Reafon; where, as has been 
 already related in the fecond chapter of 
 thefe memoirs, he met with Mr. Myope. 
 The circumftances of their meeting, toge- 
 gether with all the events of that memora- 
 t)le day, have there been given at fuch 
 full length, that we fliall not weary the 
 reader by a repetition ; fuffice to fay, that 
 the friendly behaviour of Mr. Myope, 
 upon that occafion, feemed to excite in 
 the breaft of Vallaton feelings of the moft 
 lively gratitude. He was profufe in his 
 acknowledgments, and having formerly 
 known Myope in the chara6i:er of an ite- 
 nerant preacher, he took care to feafon 
 his fpeeches with fuch pious phrafes, con- 
 cerning his wonderful deliverance, as he 
 thought would be pleafmg to the ears of 
 his benefaflor, ,-•
 
 C 65 ] 
 
 Mn Myope quickly convinced him of 
 his miflake. He informed him of his ha- 
 ving become a convert to the nev/ philofo- 
 phy; and by the enthufiaftic warmth of 
 his eulogium, convinced him, that if he 
 wifhed to ingratiate himfelf in his affec- 
 tion, he could not take a more effeclual 
 method than by efpoufmg the doctrines he 
 had embraced. 
 
 Had Mr. Myope continued a religionlft, it 
 is difficult to fay whaher the complaifance 
 of Vallaton would have been able to carry 
 him fo far as to profefs himfelf a profelyte 
 to his opinions. For though the fpecula- 
 tive points that had fucceffively excited the 
 zealous fupport of that do£lrinal Proteus, 
 had little or no connection with that reli- 
 gion which " purifies the heart;" they 
 were all attended with the inconveniency 
 of being attached to certain notions of a 
 Supreme Being, and a future flate, which 
 it was by no means agreeable to our hero 
 to take into his account. 
 
 VOL. I. F The
 
 [ 66 ] 
 
 Ihe new opinions embraced by Mr, 
 Myope, were happily free from this en- 
 cumbrance. They were, moreover, pof- 
 felTed of an advantage which, to a perfon 
 of Mr. Vallaton's education, gave them a 
 manifeil fuperiority over fuch doctrines as 
 require the trouble of ftudy, or ftand in 
 need of the fupport of knowledge. 
 
 Vallaton quickly perceived how much 
 it would be for his advantage, to become 
 the ftrenuous advocate of -a fyftem which 
 nature had fo eminently qualified him to 
 fupport: a fyftem, which, foaring to a 
 higher region than experience has ever 
 reached, might be defpifed by the wife, 
 but could never be refuted by the learned. 
 Nor were thefe the only advantages atten- 
 dant upon the new theory. While a 
 fhallow plaufibility rendered it admirably 
 calculated for gaining profelytes among 
 the young, the unthinking, and the unin- 
 formed, the boldnefs of its affertions was 
 not likely to incur the cenfure of the le- 
 
 giilative
 
 C 67 ] 
 
 giflative authority; fmce, however they 
 might tend to warp the heart and miflead 
 the underflanding, they neither excited 
 to tumult, nor recommended immediate 
 reform. 
 
 After a due confideration of all thefe 
 weighty arguments, Mr. Vallaton acknow- 
 ledged himfelf not only to be convinced, 
 but enraptured, by the enlightened reafon- 
 ings of his new friend ; and from thence- 
 forth never opened his lips, but in the 
 language of the new philofophy. 
 
 Our hero had been feveral days in Paris, 
 before the obje£i: of his miflion once oc- 
 curred to his recolleflion. At length the 
 money which he had received from his 
 friend for travelling expences being ex- 
 haufted, the bag of gold, which was con- 
 cealed in his portmanteau, prefented itfelf 
 to his thoughts. Why (hould he not fup- 
 ply himfelf from thence? How (hould he 
 know whether the proprietor was dead or 
 alive? Perhaps the guillotine had ere 
 F 2 now
 
 C 68 ] 
 
 now put an end to his exiRencc. Were 
 that, indeed, happily the cafe, who could 
 call him to account? Not the original pro- 
 prietor, who had violated the laws of his 
 country by fending it thence. Mud not 
 the money, in that event, be certainly 
 his own ? This thought feemed to infpirc 
 our hero's bread with a new degree of 
 animation. He looked at the gold: its 
 value appeared enhanced, and his defire 
 of polTeffing it to increafe at every glance. 
 It was not without difEculty that he tore 
 himfelf from the contemplation of this 
 tempting obje<Sl; but at length having 
 taken out twenty guineas for his immedi- 
 ate ufe, he reftored the reft to their place 
 of concealment; refolving, that if their 
 owner did not feek them, they fhould never 
 feek their owner. 
 
 The more he confidered the fubje(51:, the 
 more fully was he convinced of the ex- 
 pediency of his filence. He was quickly 
 perfuaded, that any enquiry concerning 
 
 the
 
 [ 69 3 
 
 the brother of his friend might, at this 
 time, be attended ^vith real danger to him- 
 felf. " This perfon was known to be an 
 Enghlhman. He, through the good offi- 
 ces of one of the fervants of the American 
 AmbalTador, who had been his fellow- 
 apprentice, pafTed for an American. To 
 have any connection with a native of Eng- 
 land, would inevitably involve him in fuf- 
 picions." Such were the reafonings of 
 our hero ; and confidering that this was the 
 very height of the reign of terror, they 
 may, perhaps, be thought fufficiently co- 
 gent. It is, however, a little remark- 
 able, that the fame reafonings never oc- 
 curred to prevent him from forming an 
 acquaintance with any other perfon of his 
 own country, except this unfortunate gen- 
 tleman. Of this gentleman, however, he 
 was at length obliged unwillingly to hear. 
 One day, when he happened to call upon 
 his friend at the ambaifador's, he received 
 the unwelcome intelligence, that a perfon 
 
 had
 
 C 70 ] 
 
 had juft been there to enquire for him, 
 who was very urgent to receive his addrefs: 
 that his friend had at firfl fcrupled to com- 
 ply with the requefl of the ftranger, but 
 remarking the mildnefs of his deportment, 
 and the genteel air which not even a drefs 
 that befpake the extreme of indigence 
 could conceal, he had at length yielded his 
 belief to the ftory which he told of his 
 being brother to Mr. , and of his ex- 
 pecting, from that gentleman, the remit- 
 tance of a confiderable fum through the 
 hands of Mr. Vallaton. Our hero ufed 
 his bed endeavours to conceal from his 
 friend the chagrin which this information 
 occafioned, and quickly took his leave. 
 
 As he was on his return, ruminating on 
 the method he might bed employ to elude 
 the reftoration of the precious depofit, a 
 croud advanced towards him, in the midfl 
 of which he prefently difcovered the fatal 
 cart, which had, alas! become too familiar 
 to the eyes of the inhabitants of Paris, 
 
 and
 
 C 71 ] 
 
 and which was now loaded with viftims 
 for the guillotine: he flood afide to ob- 
 ferve them as they paiTed. Various were 
 the expreffions which might be read in the 
 different countenances of thefe unhappy 
 perfons. On fome was depicted the meek- 
 nefs of refignation; on others, the fullcn- 
 nefs of defpair. 
 
 A youth of about feventeen or eighteen 
 years of age, whofe air of manly fortitude 
 expreifed maturity of virtue, appeared to 
 exert his utmofl efforts to comfort and 
 fupport an aged mother, whofe enfeebled 
 mind was loft in the horrors that fur- 
 rounded her. A young woman, who was 
 placed in the moft confpicuous part of the 
 machine, ftill more forcibly attra6ted the 
 notice of the fpe6lators. A gleam of fa- 
 tisfa<flion illumined each fine feature of her 
 beautiful countenance; and as (he turned 
 her lovely eyes to heaven, they appeared 
 animated with the fweet enthufiafm of hope 
 and joy. 
 
 This
 
 C 72 ] 
 
 This young lady was the lad remains of 
 an honourable and happy family ; (he had, 
 in the beginning of the reign of terror, 
 feen her father, mother, and brother, pe- 
 rifli on the fcalFold ; and laft of all, a lover, 
 to whom from childhood her heart had 
 been united, was doomed to the fame fate. 
 After the death of this beloved youth, (he 
 feldom fpake, but to repeat the French 
 tranflation of the lines of ourEnglifli poet,* 
 
 " This is the defart, this the folitude j 
 
 '*■ How populous, how vital is the grave !" 
 
 Which words having been overheard by 
 the reporter of the commune, flie was 
 accufed of incivifm, denounced, and fent 
 to the guillotine. 
 
 The perfon who imparted thefe circum- 
 flances to our hero, feemed willing to fa- 
 vour him with an equal degree of infor- 
 mation concerning the reft of the unhappy 
 groupe; but he was too much occupied 
 by his own thoughts to liften to fuch un- 
 interefting details, and haftily ftepped on. 
 
 '■^ Young.
 
 [ 73 ] 
 
 " What a charming contrivance is this 
 guillotine!" faid he to himfelf, as he went 
 along. " How eiFe£lually does it flop the 
 mouths of troublefome people. Would 
 that this good-for-nothing old man had 
 made fuch a defirable exit! And why 
 fliould he not? Of what utility is his life 
 to fociety? Why fhould he deprive me of 
 thefe feven hundred guineas? Does not 
 the philofophy, I now profefs, teach that 
 there is no fuch thing as right? From 
 thence the inference is plain, that the gold 
 ought in juftice to be difpofed of in the 
 way that will be mod conducive to the 
 general interefts of fociety. If I give to 
 this foolifh old man the fix hundred and 
 fifty guineas which are now left, what will 
 be the confequence? Will he not claim 
 the remainder; and afperfe my character, 
 if I refufe to comply with his demand? 
 And would not this be to deprive me of 
 my utility? Thus it is evident, that one 
 of us mud inevitably be dcftroyed; and 
 
 furely,
 
 [ 74 ] 
 
 furely, of the two, it is fitting that the one 
 mofl: iifclcrs to ibciety lliouW fuffer. 
 
 " My promife has been pafTed to his bro- 
 ther. True; but in the interval, betwixt 
 the promife and my fulfilling it, a greater 
 and ^ nobler purpofe offers itfelf, and 
 calls, with an imperious voice, for my co- 
 operation.^' Which ought I to prefer? 
 That, furely, which bed deferves my pre- 
 ference. A promife, fays my friend My- 
 ope, can m.ake no alteration in the cafe. 
 Ought I not to be guided by the intrinfic 
 merit of the objefts, and not by any ex- 
 ternal and foreign confideration ? And 
 what merit has this old man to boaft? It 
 is faid, that he has paffed an innocent and 
 inoffenfive life; but innocence is not vir- 
 tue. It is great paflions that befpeak great 
 powers, and great powers are but another 
 exprefiion for great energies, and in great 
 energies the whole of virtue is comprifed; 
 
 * See Pol. Juf. vol. i. 
 
 I, then.
 
 C 75 ] 
 
 I, then, am a more virtuous, and confe- 
 quently a more ufeful, individual than this 
 perfon; therefore it is I whofe utility 
 ought not to be interrupted." 
 
 In this manner did Vallaton continue to 
 reafon with himfelf, till every doubt va- 
 niihed, and hope and confidence once more 
 took polTeiTion of his mind. 
 
 The greedinefs with which denuncia- 
 tions were at this time received by that tri- 
 bunal, whofe decrees were written in blood, 
 and the {lender evidence that was neceflary 
 for the convidion of the accufed, were 
 circumftances well calculated to facilitate 
 the fuccefs of that plan which had fug- 
 gefted itfelf to the mind of our hero. He 
 hurried home, and fliutting himfelf up in his 
 chamber, foon fcrawled over fuch a letter 
 as he thought bed: fuited to the important 
 fervice for which he intended it. This let- 
 ter, which was addrefled to the owner of 
 the feven hundred guineas, bore a fictiti- 
 ous fignature, but purported to be from 
 
 an
 
 [ 76 ] 
 
 an intimate correfpondent; and was writ- 
 ten as if in anfwer to one which had com- 
 municated the plan of an intended aflfaffi- 
 nation of fome of the members of the 
 Revolutionary Tribunal, and treated the 
 gentleman as head of the confpiracy. 
 
 No fooner had our hero finiflied this 
 epiflle, than he went in fearch of the per- 
 fon to whom it was addreffed. 
 
 Having, at length, with fome difficulty, 
 found out the obfcure and fhabby habita- 
 tion at which he lodged, he was told by 
 the owner, (whofe poverty would not per- 
 mit her to maintain a fervant) that the 
 good citizen he enquired for was not then 
 within, but that flie expelled him every 
 minute. 
 
 Vallaton's eye flaflied with the triumph 
 of fuccefs : he begged leave to wait the 
 return of his friend, to which the good 
 woman of the houfe readily confented, and 
 uftiered him into the dirty and half-fur- 
 nifhed chamber, which flie called tbe apart- 
 ment of Monsieur, " Y u
 
 [ 77 ] 
 
 •* You are an Engliflinian, I prciume," 
 laid the woman, while ilie reached him a 
 chair, " and, app ar eminent ^ you bring fome 
 good news for Monfieur. Alas ! he has 
 been lb often difappointcd ! And after the 
 ftraits to which he has been reduced, dif- 
 appointment fits fo hard! And what is the 
 hardell: matter of all is, his having a for- 
 tune of his own too, though he has been 
 fo manv months without haviner the value 
 of a fmgle fous. But, o^iC import e? Mon- 
 fieur is fo good, and fo amiable, that he 
 (hall fhare a bit of bread with me and my 
 children, as long as we have a morfel to 
 eat." Here a knock at the door gave no- 
 tice of Monfieur's return. The woman 
 flew to open it, and our hero, rejoicing in 
 her abfence, dexteroufly depofited the 
 feigned letter beneath the cover of an old 
 broken fopha, which flood in a corner of 
 the room. 
 
 The gentleman entered, and Vallaton 
 announced himfelf as the friend of his bro- 
 ther.
 
 [ 78 ] 
 
 then An emotion of pleafure feemed to re- 
 animate the old man's pallid countenance. 
 He fainted his vifitor with the mod cor- 
 dial fatisfacSlion, liftened to his apology 
 for not having waited on him fooner with 
 complacency, and heard' of the fafety of 
 the feven hundred guineas with delight. 
 Vallaton then prefented him with a letter 
 from his brother, the perufal of which 
 brought tears (though not fuch bitter ones 
 as he had of late been accuftomed to fhed) 
 down his furrowed cheek; and again, 
 and again, he repeated his fervent thanks 
 to God for the happy period that was thus 
 put to his diftreffes. 
 
 Having appointed the day after the fol- 
 lowing for returning with the money, 
 Vallaton took his leave, loaded with the 
 gentleman's tlianks for his goodnefs in 
 taking fo much trouble. 
 
 In the evening he again fallied forth, 
 and directing his fteps to the office of the 
 Revolutionary Tribunal, he threw into it 
 
 an
 
 C 79 J 
 
 an anonymous billet, notifying, tluit ^^ a 
 confpiracy, of which **** ****j a lodger 
 in the houfe of a female citizen in Le Rue 
 ****,was the contriver and the head, had 
 come to the knowledge of a bon patriot, 
 who defn-ed that a thorough fearch mi^^ht 
 
 o o 
 
 be made in the apartment of the confpi- 
 rator for further information." He re- 
 treated unobferved, and took the nearefl 
 road to his own lodgings. 
 
 Never, till this moment, did the legs of 
 Vallaton (hake under their mafter's weight. 
 He attempted to tread firm, but in vain, 
 his knees bent under him at every ftep; 
 and a certain flutter of fpirits, which he 
 had never before experienced in the fame 
 extent, feemed alternately to accelerate 
 and to arrefl the motion of his heart. 
 
 Afliamed of this weaknefs, he retired to 
 his chamber to avoid the obfervation of 
 his fellow-lodgers: he there recalled to his 
 recollection every dogma of the philofophy 
 that was m.oll eminently calculated to -re- 
 
 alTure
 
 [ 80 ] 
 
 affure his mind. What he had juft done 
 would, it was true, probably be the means 
 of making an old man lofe his head. 
 What then ? he was but the pafTive inftru- 
 ment: no more to blame than the guil- 
 lotine which fliould behead him. His 
 actions had, of necelTity, followed their 
 motives. And to whom was he account- 
 able? There was no God to whofe all- 
 feeing eye the fecrets of his heart were 
 open; no judge to condemn; no hell to 
 punifh ; no^flate beyond the grave, where 
 retribution could poffibly await him. 
 
 While the idea of death and judgment 
 glanced along his mind, a cold fweat broke 
 upon his forehead ; he found it was not by 
 mediation, that his agitated fpirits were 
 to be reftored to compofure; and haftily 
 leaving his apartment, he fought in wine 
 and revelry to forget the events of the day. 
 
 The morning came on which he was, 
 by appointment, to wait on Mr. **** with 
 his money ; but fome hours before it would 
 
 have
 
 I 81 3 
 
 have been neceffary to have attended him, 
 he read, in Le Journal de Paris, of his 
 having been arrefted as a confpiratorc 
 Not all the energies of our hero were fuf- 
 ficient to quell the anxiety which, for feme 
 days after this event, continued to haunt 
 his mind. It was not long, however, till 
 doubt was loft in certainty. As he was 
 one morning of the following week haf*. 
 tily walking along the Po?2t Neuf, without 
 knowing where he intended to proceed, his 
 ears were ftunned by the vociferous pro- 
 nunciation of that name, which he had of 
 late fo afliduoufly laboured to banifli from 
 his thoughts. Scarcely knowing what he 
 did, he fufFered the hawker, who was bel- 
 lowing it, to put a paper into his hands ; 
 it was the lift of thofe who had on that 
 morning expired by the guillotine; and 
 the firft upon this lift was the unfortunate 
 old gentleman, who was there termed the 
 organizer of a bloody and atrociom conspiracy 
 against the guardians of liberty! 
 
 VOL. I. G The
 
 [ 82 ] 
 
 The paper dropt from our hero's hand. 
 " This morning 1'' faid he to himfelf, 
 " this very morning! But v/hat have I to 
 fay to it? I am but a machine in the hand 
 of fate. Nothing but what has happened, 
 could have happened. Every thing that is, 
 mud inevitably be; and the caufes of this 
 old man's death were generated in the eter- 
 nity that preceded his birth. What then 
 have I to fay to it?" Abforbed in thefe 
 reflections our hero returned home. 
 
 He found Mr. Myope, and the Gpddefs 
 of Reafon, and two gentlemen, who were 
 their guefts, Utting dawn to dinner. * O 
 gemini!' exclaimed the Goddefs of Rea- 
 fon, ' how pale Mr. Vallaton is! he look 
 for all de world as if he had feen a ghoft.* 
 
 '' Do I?" faid Vallaton, with a forced 
 fmile ; " I have, indeed, been haunted with 
 a violent head-ache all the morning, and 
 have, befides, tired myfelf to death with 
 walking, but a bumper of burgundy will 
 fo faying, he filled a bumper 
 
 to
 
 r ss ] 
 
 to the lady's health, and fo frequently re* 
 peated the prefcription, that before the 
 end of dinner he was completely reftored 
 to his complexion. 
 
 The accidental mention of a ghofl: gave 
 to Mr. Myope an opportunity, of which 
 he was ever willing to avail himfelf, of 
 inveighing againft priefts and prieflcraft. 
 A momentary paufe in his harangue per- 
 mitted one of the ftrangers to get in a 
 word. ' I admit,' faid this gentleman, 
 ' that to fuperftition many of the terrors 
 which haunt the imagination and ener- 
 vate the mind, may certainly be traced ; 
 but feeble would have been the powers of 
 fuperftition, if they had not been armed 
 by the firing of guilt. What apparition 
 did fancy ever form, or credulity ever liften 
 to, that did not originate in a guilty con- 
 fcience ?' 
 
 ^' And what, pray, is this bugbear of 
 
 a guilty confcience?" retorted Myope*, 
 
 ^* What is it, I fay, but one of the crea- 
 
 o 2 tures
 
 [ 8-i ] 
 
 tures of prieflcraft? Have I not already 
 proved that there is no fach thing as crime? 
 How, then, can there be any guih? The 
 mod atrocious crime (as it is vulgarly term- 
 ed) that ever was perpetrated, amounts to 
 no more than mere millake ; and whofe 
 confcience ever fmote him for a miflake? 
 Our miftakes ought, on refle£lion, to excite 
 in our minds the emotion of pleafure rather 
 than of pain. Error once committed can- 
 not be recalled ; and regret, and forrow, 
 and repentance, are the extremes of folly. 
 It is this fruitlefs and childilh wafte of time, 
 which conduces to an habitual abufe of 
 our faculties; and it is this abufe of our 
 faculties which creates the bugbear of re- 
 morfe and confcience, and all that non- 
 fenfe, which priefts know fo well how to 
 manage for their advantage." 
 
 ' Whatever ufe may have been made of 
 it,' returned the flranger, ' I cannot be- 
 lieve that that awful monitor, which Hea- 
 ven has implanted in the breaft of man, 
 
 was
 
 [ 85 ] 
 
 was beftowed upon him in vain ; or that, 
 after the perpetration of any atrocious 
 crime, it is in the power of fophiftry to 
 filence its imperious voice. Pray, fir, 
 what is your opinion?' added the ftran- 
 ger, turning to Vallaton, who fat next him. 
 
 Vallaton drank off another glafs of wine, 
 got up haflily from the table, complained 
 of increafed indifpofition, and retired. 
 
 The indifpofition of Vallaton was not 
 altogether feigned. He felt a ficknefs at 
 his heart, which he perfuaded himfelf was 
 occafioned by the unuhial quantity of wine 
 which he had fwallowed, operating on an 
 empty ftomach. The open air would difli- 
 pate thefe fumes, and a walk would, by 
 fupper-time, reftore his appetite: he went 
 out. With hady fteps he hurried along 
 the ftreets without obfennng which way 
 he went, nor did any obje6l attra6l his at- 
 tention, till he found himfelf in the midf!: 
 of La Place dc CarousaL He there looked 
 up ; but never were the energies of a phi- 
 
 lofopher
 
 [ 86- ] 
 
 lofopher put to a feverer trial than thofe 
 Vallaton underwent, on beholding hlmfelf 
 at the foot of the inftrument of death — 
 the blood-ftained guillotine! He darted 
 with horror, yet had he not the power of 
 inftantly turning from it; he feemed ar- 
 refted to the fpot ; he gazed upon the fcaf- 
 fold ; he fancied he there beheld the placid 
 countenance of the meek old man fmlling 
 upon him, as when he prefTed his hand at 
 parting. Again he thought he faw his 
 filver hairs grafped by the hand of the exe- 
 cutioner, and the blood-ftreaming head 
 held up to his diftra^ed fight. His knees 
 fmote againfl: each other, a chilly cold- 
 nefs crept along his whole frame, and his 
 emotions became fo apparent, as to attradl 
 the notice of the paflengers. 
 
 An honell: fans-culotte came up to him. 
 " My good citizen," fald he, " I would 
 have you remember, that this Is no place 
 to Indulge your melancholy. You have, 
 probably, had fome friend fent to heaven 
 
 by
 
 [ 87 ] 
 
 by this fliort bridge; but who, in Paris, 
 has not ? If you ftay here till your grief 
 be taken notice of, it may create fome fuf- 
 picions of incivifm, which may get you 
 into a difagreeable predicament." 
 
 Vallaton thanked his monitor, and ufmg 
 his utmoft endeavours to recoiled himfclf, 
 returned to his home. 
 
 The inventions of prieftcraft had never 
 implanted a prejudice in the brealt of Val- 
 laton. He laughed at the terrors of (a^ 
 perdition, and derided the folly of thofe 
 who could believe in the exiflence of con- 
 fcience. Yet would he now have given, 
 not only the bag of gold which was con- 
 tained in his portmanteau, but all which the 
 wide world could furnifli, to have been 
 reftored to the fame tranquillity which, but 
 a fortnight ago, he had enjoyed. 
 
 Whether he fought the converfation of 
 his friends, or mixed in the fcenes of re- 
 velry and riot ; whether he baiked in the 
 mid-day fun, or "covered himfelf up in the 
 
 davknefs
 
 [ 88 ] 
 
 darknefs of night ; flill the trunklefs head 
 of the old man purfued him. To his 
 ^* mind's eye,'' in every place, in every fitua- 
 tion, the haggard vifion appeared. In this 
 frame of mind, it may be believed, that he 
 readily acquiefced in Myope's propofal of 
 leaving Paris. All that happened to him 
 from this period, is fo interwoven with 
 the hiftory of Mr. Myope, that it mud 
 flill be frefh in the reader's recolle6lion. 
 Here, therefore, wefliall clofe this tedious 
 chapter. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 89 ] 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 " Hard is the fortune that your fex attends! 
 " Women, like princes, find few real friends. 
 *' Henci, oft from reafon heedlefs beau y ftrays, 
 »* And the mod trufted guide the moft betrays; 
 " Hence by fond dreams of fancy oft amufod." 
 
 Lyttletov. 
 
 TT was a late hour before the philofo- 
 -*• phers, aflembled at Mr. Glib's, thought 
 of feparating; and long after Mrs. Bo- 
 therim's ufual time of breakfafl on the fol- 
 lowin^r morning, before Bridgetina iffued 
 from her apartment. 
 
 They liad jufl began the repaft, which 
 the fond mother had been at much pains 
 to prepare, and to keep warm for her dar- 
 ling child, when Julia Delmond entered the 
 parlour. The pallid countenance and 
 languid air of their fair vifitor plainly 
 
 fpokq
 
 [ 90. ] 
 
 fpoke her want of reft; and ihe vilible im- 
 patience with which flie waited for the 
 finifliing of the tedious meal, evidently de- 
 noted the perturbed (late of her fpirits. 
 
 No fooner had Mrs. Botherim left the 
 room, than Julia, feizing the hand of her 
 friend, faid fhe was extremely anxious for 
 her opinion concerning an affair of fome 
 moment, but could not have that fatisfac- 
 tion without betraying the fecrets of an- 
 other, and feared it was not juftinable 
 to do fo. 
 
 *' ^01 justifiable!^* returned Bridgetina, 
 '^ furely you cannot have forgotten, that the 
 fads with which you are acquainted are 
 a part of your pofleiTions, and that you are 
 as much obliged, with refpeft to them as 
 in any other cafe, to em.ploy them for the 
 public good. Have I no right to indulge 
 in myself the caprice of concealing any of my 
 affairs\ and can another -person have a 
 rights by his caprice^ to hedge up and re* 
 strain the path of my duty? You may take 
 
 dowa
 
 [ 91 ] 
 
 down the book, if you pleafe, but I know 
 I have quoted it word for word; you 
 know I am feldom wrong in a quotation.'* 
 
 ' Well, then,' faid Julia, ' I fliall tell 
 you all. You mud know, that lad night 
 Mr. Vallaton gave me his whole hifcory/ 
 
 " How!'' cried Bridgetina, ^' while he 
 efcorted you home?" 
 
 * No 1* returned Julia, while a crirafon 
 blufli overfpread her countenance, ' not 
 exadlly as we were walking home, but af- 
 terwards. For you mud: know,' continued 
 flie, blufhing ftill deeper than before, 
 * that having oiFended him by fomething I 
 faid at Mr. Glib's, he told me, as we were 
 going to my father's, he plainly faw that, 
 inftead of being enlightened by the prin- 
 ciples of the philofophers, I was dill the 
 slave of prejudice. I denied the charge, 
 and he retorted it. At length he faid he 
 would put me to the proof. If I had ener- 
 gy fufficient to dare to meet him in the ar- 
 bour at the bottom of the garden, after 
 
 the
 
 [ y'^ 3 
 
 the family were retired to reft, lie would 
 acknowledge his error, and adore me. 1 
 for fome time hefitated, but at length 1 
 could not bear the thought of appearing 
 defpicable in his eyes by my want of energy, 
 I went. Think, Bridgetina, what an in- 
 terview! how extraordinary! how inter- 
 cfting!' 
 
 " Ah ! how charming 1" exclaimed 
 Bridgetina, heaving a deep figh ; " ahl 
 what a dear man Mr. Vallaton isl" 
 
 ^ Dear, indeed!' rejoined Julia, ' he is 
 the mod amiable of men, and, alas! the 
 mod unfortunate. Had you but heard 
 how feelingly he deplored the myftery 
 that hung over his birth!' 
 
 " Good gracious!" cried Bridgetina, 
 interrupting her, " a myftery over his 
 birth! how delightful ! how did it happen?'* 
 drawing her chair ftill clofer to Julia's, 
 " Pray tell me ail." 
 
 ' Why you muft know,' proceeded 
 Julia, ^ that it was on a line fummer's 
 
 morning.
 
 C 93 ] 
 
 morning, in the month of July, that his 
 dear deceafed patronefs (a lady of great 
 family and fortune) being induced, by the 
 beauty of the morning, to take a walk in 
 the thick fhade of a fequeftered grove, 
 heard the cries of an infant, and turning 
 her eyes, beheld a white balket, lined 
 with quilted pink fatin, and a covering of 
 white peelong, richly embroidered, thrown 
 lightly over it. She approached; and 
 lifting up the covering, beheld a lovely 
 boy, who fweetly fmiled in her face. She 
 immediately refolved on taking the charm- 
 ing infant under her protection, and bring- 
 ing him up as her own fon. As he grew 
 up, her afFe£lion for him, as you may eafily 
 imagine, increafed; and her whole for- 
 tune would undoubtedly have been fettled 
 upon him, had {lie not fuddenly died one 
 morning without having made a will, fo 
 that poor Mr. Vallaton was left without 
 any other provifion than two or three 
 thoufand pounds, which ihe had put into 
 
 the
 
 [ 9* ] 
 
 the funds for his college expences. Thefe 
 circumflances, he faid, unfortunate as they 
 might appear in the eyes of vulgar minds, 
 were to him matter of great fatisfaflion, 
 till he faw me. His mind had fufficient 
 energy to rife above every exifling circum- 
 ftance, but that of hopelefs love. It v^as 
 now that he firft deplored thofe circum- 
 (lances of his birth and fortune, which he 
 knew the illiberal prejudices of my father 
 would confider as an obftacle — an invinci- 
 ble obftacle to our union. ' Accurfed pre- 
 judices!' exclaimed he, ' what mifery do ye 
 not create in fociety ! Why, my JuHa,' he 
 continued, in a voice so tender and so im- 
 preffive, ' why were we not born in a 
 more enlightened period? In that blcfl 
 time, fo happily approaching, when the 
 fentiments of nature fliall be omnipotent, 
 when no abfurd infliitution lliall (land in 
 the way of the happinefs of lovers, and 
 no cruel father's fan6tion be neceifary for 
 its completion!' O Bridgetina! had you 
 
 feen
 
 t 9^ J 
 
 Iccn how he was agitated, while he pro- 
 nounced thefe words, I am fure you would 
 have pitied him. For my ILare, (con- 
 tinued Julia, while a pearly drop flole 
 drown her cheek) I Vv'as quite melted 
 into compaffion ; but though I faid all I 
 could to comfort him, the dear youth was 
 fo overwhelmed with affliclion, that it 
 made me truly wretched.' 
 
 " Happy lulial" exclaimed Eridgetina, 
 *' how I envy you for being the objecl of 
 fuch a pafTion as that which infpires your 
 Vallaton! But, pray, was Vallaton the 
 name of his adopted mother, or was it only 
 given him by her?" 
 
 ' In feveral parts of his infant robes/ 
 replied Julia, ' as well as in the covering 
 of the bafket, the initial letters A. V. were 
 raoft beautifully embroidered, from which 
 his patronefs beftov/ed upon him the name 
 he at prefent bears. It is from this cir- 
 cumftance, Bridgetina, that a ray of hope 
 ha.s darted upon my mind; and an idea 
 
 occurred.
 
 [ 96 ] 
 
 occurred, which, though it may at firll 
 fight feem romantic, is far from improba- 
 ble, and the more I think of it, appears 
 the more hkcly to be true. What would 
 you think, if I fliould make a difcovery of 
 his real parents ?' 
 
 " Think!" returned Bridgetina, " I 
 fliould think it extremely wonderful, to 
 be fure." 
 
 ' Well, wonderful as it is,' faid Julia, 
 ' I think I have hit upon them. You 
 know my father's friend and patron, Gen. 
 Villers. He and his lady were for fome 
 years privately married, or at lead pro- 
 mifed to each other, before they durft ac- 
 knowledge it, for fear of his father the 
 old lord. What can be more likely than 
 that he fliould be their fon?' 
 
 " Nothing, certainly, can be more pro- 
 bable," returned Bridgetina. " Nay, 
 it is quite obvious ; for the General's 
 name is Andrew, which you know begins 
 with an A; I wonder it did not occur to 
 
 me
 
 C 57 ] 
 
 ftie from the firft. If you take my advice, 
 you will make your father write immedi- 
 ately to the General a full account of the 
 whole affair." 
 
 ' Alas !' faid Julia, fighing, * my father, 
 as Mr. Vallaton juflly obferves, has his 
 prejudices. It would, perhaps, be a diffi- 
 cult matter to make him view the affair in 
 the very light we do. Befides, I Ihould 
 rather have thepleafure of making thedif- 
 covery myfelf. Good heavens! what ex- 
 tatic delight I fhall feel in feeing the amia- 
 ble Vallaton lafped ja the fond arms of his 
 venerable parents! They weeping over 
 him tears of joy, and thanking me by their 
 looks, a thoufand times more expreffivc 
 than words, for reftoring to them their 
 long lo(lfon. Mv' poor father, too! how 
 happy he will be to fee me united to the 
 fon of his friend. It is too much,' con- 
 tinued fhe, covering her face with both 
 hands, ' I can never deferve fuch a tor- 
 rent of felicity.' 
 
 VOL. 1. H Here
 
 [ 98 ] 
 
 Here liic entrance of Mrs. Botherini 
 put an end to the tete-a-tete^ and Julia, 
 whok imagination was too much heated 
 to defcend to the common topics of the 
 good lady's difcourfe, took her leave. 
 She was no fooner gone, than Bridgetina 
 (who meafured her progrefs in philofophy 
 by the degree of contempt which {he fek 
 for the ignorance of her parent) left the 
 room,, and muttering an ejaculation upon 
 the misfortune of being fubje^led to the io- 
 ciety of a perfon whofe purfuits were fo 
 diffimilar, retired to her own apartment. 
 
 " Happy Julia!" cried flie, throwing 
 herfelf into a chair, " Happy Julia, to 
 have fuch a lover! Why do I not expe- 
 rience the fame delightful fenfations ? why 
 have I not likewife infpired the bread of 
 fome fond youth with a fimilar paffion? Is 
 it becaufe I am not quite fo handfome ? But 
 are not moral caufes fuperior to phyfical? 
 And in philofophy I have furely made a 
 greater progrefs than (he. I am, there- 
 fore.
 
 . C 99 ] 
 
 fore, a fitter obje£l for admiration. It is 
 true, I am not quite fo tall — but all men do 
 not admire may-poles 5 and though I have 
 a little cafl: in my eyes, and a little twifl in 
 my left fhoulder, thefe defeats are no mo- 
 ral obftacles to love. Nothing but the 
 unjuft prejudices of an unnatural ftate of 
 civilization, could make Julia loved in pre- 
 ference to me. But Henry Sydney loves 
 her not. Happy thought! Henry, the be- 
 loved obje<^ of my foul's tendernefs, may 
 not be infenfible to thofe foft effufions of a 
 tender fenfibility which he fhall find to flow 
 from my heart ; and inceflantly fhall I — '* 
 Here the foliloquy of the loving maiden 
 was interrupted by the maid-fervant, who 
 came to inform her that Mr. Sydney and 
 his fon were in the parlour. She inftantly 
 went to the glafs to adjuft her morning 
 cap ; and now firft felt the mortifying con- 
 fequences of the difafter of the preceding 
 evening. To appear before Henry Syd- 
 ney without the flowing braid and frizzled 
 H 2 curls.
 
 C 100 ] 
 
 was diflrcffing ; but to remain In her cham- 
 ber while (lie knew he was below, was 
 more fo ; (lie, therefore, only (laid to pin 
 an additional bow to the bright pink rib- 
 bon that bound her cap, and then, in the 
 flow ftep which flie thought befl fuited to 
 the expreflion of extreme fenfibility, fhe 
 moved towards the parlour. 
 
 She was met at the door by young 
 Sydney, who, with eafy and unafFe£led 
 good-nature, exprefled his pleafure at fee- 
 ing her, and his hopes that fhe had en- 
 joyed her health during his abfence. 
 
 " I thank you, fir," (lie replied, with a 
 figh; " the interefl: you are fo good as to 
 take in my health, fhould certainly make it 
 precious to me." 
 
 ' I hope, indeed,* faid Mr, Sydney, 
 ' that my fon will never be fo bafely inte- 
 refled, as not to rejoice in the health of his 
 friends, notwithftanding his profeffion.* 
 
 " His profeiTion, fir," faid Bridgetina, 
 " is a noble one; and I dare fay wiU, by 
 
 Dr.
 
 C loi 3 
 
 Dr. Sydney, be dire<fled to the nobleft 
 purpofes. When mankind are fufficiently 
 enlightened to cure all difeafes by the 
 exertion of their energies, I doubt not, 
 that defpifing what he may in point of for- 
 tune fuffer from it, he will have fufEcient 
 philanthrophy to rejoice in fuch a fub- 
 lime proof of the perfefiability of his 
 fpecies." 
 
 A queflion which had been put to the 
 old gentleman by Mrs. Botherim, rela- 
 tive to the culture of fome of her garden- 
 ftufF, prevented his hearing the latter part 
 of this obfervation; which, however, at- 
 tracted the notice of his fon, who was well 
 enough verfed in the language of the new 
 philofophy, to know at leafl: from whom 
 {he now quoted. 
 
 He would have anfwered her in her own 
 flile, but recollecting how unpleafant, as 
 well as unprofitable, it is to enter into an 
 argument with one poflefTed of a fhallow 
 vmderftanding, and a mind totally occupied 
 
 bv
 
 [ 102 ] 
 
 by two or three ideas, on which the 
 changes are eternally to be rung, he only 
 obferved, that he found Mifs Botherim 
 had not mifspent her time in his abfence, 
 
 " I hope, fir," faid fhe, in as foft a tone 
 as the natural fhrillnefs of her voice would 
 permit, " that that time which has ap- 
 peared fo infupportably tedious to your 
 friends, has been fpent agreeably by you.'* 
 
 Henry only bowed. 
 
 " I know not how it happens,'* refumed 
 Bridgetina, " feeing that moral caufes are 
 always fuperior to phyfical ones, I fay I 
 know not how it happens, that the pain 
 of feparation appears to be always more 
 feverely felt by our fex than by yours. 
 It is more than probable, that fmce you 
 left your native village, no painful fenfa- 
 tion, excited by the tender recolle£l:ion of 
 the friends you left behind you, has ever 
 difturbed your bofom's peace. Ah! how 
 dilFerent have been the feelings of thofe 
 friends!" 
 
 Henry,
 
 [ 103 ] 
 
 Henry, who inftantly fufpefted that the 
 fecret of his attachment to Harriet Orwell, 
 which he, till then, imagined confined to 
 his own bread, had been fome how or 
 other difcovered by Mifs Botherim, co- 
 loured, and with an impreflive accent, but 
 faultering voice, faid, ' he was much in- 
 debted to the friends who in his abfence 
 had {o kindly remembered him.' 
 
 Joy diffufed itfelf through the bofom of 
 Bridgetina. In the looks, in the words of 
 Henry, (he difcovered the tender fenfibility 
 of his foul; and exulting in the idea that 
 (he too had a lover, (he refolved to return 
 his paffion with tenfold tendernefs, and 
 cad upon him a glance which (lie hoped 
 would have been fufficiently expreiTive of 
 her fentiments. But, alas! the unfortu- 
 nate fquint rendered the charitable defign 
 abortive. Henry, following, as he thought, 
 the dire<5lion of her eyes, cafl his towards 
 the door, which was at that moment 
 opened by a little dirty-looking urchin, 
 
 kept
 
 [ 104 ] 
 
 kept by Mrs. Botherim to attend her cow 
 upon the common. 
 
 ^^ Here be mifs's wig," cried he, in a 
 loud voice, " the boy be come with it as 
 picked it out o' the kennel ; what a flufli o' 
 wet it is !" holding up the difhonoured 
 trefles of the enraged Bridgetina; who, 
 pufhing the little wretch from the door, 
 entered into a warm expoftulation with 
 her mother on keeping fo unenlightened 
 a domcftic. 
 
 Mr. Sydney and his fon, not wiftiing to 
 take any part in the altercation, took their 
 leave; and left the mother and daughter to 
 fettle the difpute by themfelves. 
 
 CHAP,
 
 C 105 ] 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 T TAD the inclination of Henry been 
 -^ -^ confulted, the firft vifit which had 
 been paid that morning, would have been 
 to the rectory; but as his father propofed 
 calling firft on Mrs. Botherim, whofe houfe 
 lay dire£lly in their way, he could not with 
 any propriety obje£l to it. 
 
 The words that had fallen from Bridge- 
 tina added fuel to his impatience. That 
 he had fome interefl in the heart of Har- 
 riet Orwell, he fondly flattered himfelf: 
 but that fhe fhould make a confidante of 
 Mifs Botherim, of one who poflefiTed a 
 mind fo uncongenial, in every way fo un- 
 like her own, was equally irreconcilable 
 
 with
 
 [ 106 ] 
 
 with her extreme delicacy and good fenfe. 
 Yet how otherwife could he interpret the 
 fpeech of Mifs Botherim? 
 
 While the mind of Sydney was occu- 
 pied with thefe refledtions, his father, who 
 had flood for fome moments contemplating 
 the beauty of a tree in full bloffom, was 
 expatiating on the charms of nature ; and 
 as the alTociation of his ideas led " from 
 Nature up to Nature's God," was making 
 obfervations on the ftriking proofs of the 
 divine benevolence with which we are 
 every where furrounded; a benevolence 
 which, he obferved, makes the beauteous 
 cradle of the embryo fruit a feaft no lefs 
 delightful to the eye, than the fruit itfelf 
 is to the palate. Happily this was a fub- 
 je£t which never failed to elevate the heart 
 of this good old gentleman in a degree 
 that totally engrolTed ever)' faculty, other- 
 wife he could not but have obferved, how 
 much the monofyllable anfwers of his fou 
 indicated the total abfence of his mind. 
 
 As
 
 C 107 ] 
 
 As they approached the door his agita- 
 tion increafed, and it is probable would no 
 longer have efcaped the notice of his fa- 
 ther, had not the old gentleman's attention 
 been attrafted to another objeft. A moth 
 butterfly, of rare and uncommon beauty, 
 happened to alight on a neighbouring 
 honey-fuckle; and to difcover whether it 
 was the **** **** of Linnasus, or the 
 **## *##* q£ Buffon, was a matter of 
 too great importance, in Mr. Sydney's efti- 
 mation, not to deferve the moft ferious at- 
 tention. While he went in purfuit of the 
 butterfly, his fon, attracted by beauty of a 
 different kind, haftily advanced to the fa- 
 loon where he knew the family of Dr, 
 Orwell ufually fpent the mornings. 
 
 It was now pafl twelve o'clock. Al- 
 ready had the a£live and judicious Harriet 
 performed every domeftic talk, and having 
 compleatly regulated the family economy 
 for the day, was quietly feated at her work 
 with her aunt and fifter, liftening to Hume's 
 
 Hiftory
 
 [ 108 J 
 
 Hidory of England, as it was read to them 
 by a little orphan girl fhe had herfelf in- 
 ftruaed. 
 
 Here fome notable houfewife, who may, 
 peradventure, chance to fit long enough 
 at a time to catch the lad paragraph as it 
 is read by fome of her family, will proba- 
 bly exclaim, " a few hours' attention re- 
 gulate a family, indeed! a pretty ftory, 
 truly! what nonfenfe thefe vien authors 
 fpeak ! but how, indeed, (hould they know 
 any thing of the matter? I wifli any of 
 them faw how I am employed from morn- 
 ing till night. I wonder how I ihould 
 get time to liften to books V ' Softly, good 
 lady, and for once take the trouble to cal- 
 culate. Be fo good as fairly to fet down, 
 at the end of every day, the time em- 
 ployed in repeating direftions imperfeflly 
 given, or in revoking thofe that were 
 given improperly ; the time wafted in again 
 looking at that which you have looked at 
 before; the time thrown away in peeping 
 
 intQ
 
 [ m ] 
 
 into corners, without objeci: or end in 
 view; the time mifspent in perpkxing 
 your domeftics with contradidlory orders; 
 and the time abufed in fcolding them ; — and 
 cafting up the fum total, pleafe to confider 
 the amount; and then candidly confefs, 
 whether Mifs Orwell, whofe enlightened 
 intelle£l, and calm and fteady judgment, 
 deprived her of all thofe admirable me- 
 thods of evincing her notability, might 
 not have time fufScient for the cultivation 
 of her underftanding, and the fulfilment 
 of every focial as well as every domeftic 
 duty. But to return — 
 
 The furprife occafioned by the unex- 
 pected appearance of Henry was an- 
 nounced by a general exclamation. Un- 
 afFe£led pleafure fparkled in every eye; 
 and if thofe of Harriet beamed with a fupe- 
 rior exprellion of delight, that delight was 
 fo regulated by the tranfcendant delicacy 
 of her mind, that it required a delicacy 
 iimilar to her own to read its full extent. 
 
 Dr.
 
 [ HO ] 
 
 Dr. Orwell, who had heard the name of 
 Henry from his ftudy, quickly joined the 
 friendly groupe, and with heart-felt plea- 
 fure welcomed the return of his young 
 favourite. He enquired for his father: 
 at that moment the old gentleman entered 
 with a joyful countenance, holding out his 
 pocket-handkerchief, in which the captive 
 butterfly was fafely lodged. Nor let this 
 circumftance excite the contempt of any 
 peevilh critic, till after a mature invefliga- 
 tion of the intrinfic value of his own favou- 
 rite purfuits, of every objeft which en- 
 gages his attention, and every care which 
 difturbs his reft, he can lay his hand upon 
 his heart and fay, that all are in the eye of 
 reafon more truly eftimable. 
 
 Happy in themfelves and in each other, 
 the time llipt fo imperceptibly away with 
 this little party, that though their con- 
 verfation was not relieved by one word 
 of fcandal, nor enlivened by any of the 
 news of the village, the clock announced 
 
 the
 
 t in ] 
 
 the hour of dinner before they thought ot 
 feparating: nor would they have done fo 
 then, but for the fake of Mifs Sydney, who 
 was at home alone. 
 
 The old gentleman, whofe temper made 
 every thing eafy to him, would foon have 
 been prevailed upon to accept of Dr. Or- 
 well's cordial invitation, but Henry, who 
 knew the difappointment it would give his 
 filler, and was too juft and too generous 
 to inflift a moment's pain on another for 
 the fake of his own gratification, was pe- 
 remptory in his refufal. On going through 
 the garden, which aiForded a nearer w^ay to 
 the houfe of Mr. Sydney, Dr. Orwell 
 pointed out to his friends fome improve- 
 ments he had lately planned. " And all 
 this," fays he, " fliould have been done 
 this fummer, but for the folly of my daugh- 
 ter Harriet, who has fuch a ftrange fancy 
 for that good-for-nothing bufh," (point- 
 ing to a mofs-rofe tree, which grew in the 
 Tuiddle of a fmall plat) " that I was filly 
 
 enough;,
 
 C ns 3 
 
 enough, at her entreaties, to put it off till 
 another feafon." 
 
 No chromatic air ever raifed fuch foft 
 emorion in the breaft of any Grecian 
 youth, as thofe words of Dr. Orwell's 
 excited in the heart of Henry. That rofe- 
 tree he had, feme time previous to his laft 
 departure for college, planted with his 
 own hands. The charge of rearing it he 
 had given to Harriet, and the pretence of 
 feeing how it throve had given occafion 
 for many a delightful tete-a-tete. His 
 eyes now met hers — need we tell the rea- 
 der they were both fufficiently expreflive ? 
 
 CHAP.
 
 [ "3 3 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 " When I fee fuch games 
 " Play'd by the creatures of a Power, who fweara 
 " That he will judge the earth, and call the fool 
 « To a (harp reck'ning, that has liv'd in vain ; 
 " And when I weigh this feemitig wifdom well, 
 " And prove it in th' infallible refult, 
 « So hollow and fo falfe— I feel my heart 
 « Diffolve in pity." 
 
 CowpER. 
 
 T X THILE the daughter of Dr. Orwell 
 ^ ^ was enjoying the happinefs with 
 which the return of Henry Sydney had in- 
 fpired her breaft, a happinefs rendered 
 doubly dear by the approving fmiles of 
 her refpefled parent ; emotions of a lefs 
 placid nature agitated the fair bofom of 
 her filler beauty. In the breaft of Julia 
 VOL. I. I Delmond
 
 [ 114 ] 
 
 Delmond all was turbulence and perturba- 
 tion. While following the courfe of an 
 unreined imagination, fhe experienced that 
 deluding fpecies of delight, which rathei* 
 intoxicates than exhilarates, and which, 
 by its inebriating quality, gives to the 
 fanguine votary of fancy a difreliih for 
 the common enjoyments of life ; the ea- 
 gernefs with which her mind grafped at 
 the idea of an extraordinary extatic felicity, 
 agitated her whole frame, and deprived 
 her of peace and reft. Still ihe purfued the 
 flattering dream of fancy, and kept her 
 mind's eye fo fixt upon its airy viHons, that 
 flie at length believed in their reality, and 
 w^hat appeared at firft the mere fuggeftion 
 of imagination, feemed in the fequel the 
 certain dictates of truth. 
 
 That in General Villers Mr. Vallaton 
 fhould find a father, at firft feemed barely 
 pofTible; then probable; then more than 
 probable; it was next to certainty, or ra- 
 ther certainty itself. 
 
 All
 
 I il5 ] 
 
 All that now remained was to find 
 means for efFe£i:ing the difcovery in a man- 
 ner the mofl flriking and pathetic. For 
 this purpofe (he called to her remembrance 
 all the fimilar events in her mod: favourite 
 novels ; in thefe infi:ru6live books the dif- 
 covery of the hero's parents had always 
 appeared to her a cataftrophe particularly 
 interefting, and the idea that flie fliould 
 now have it in her power, not only to wit- 
 nefs, but to be a principal aclor in fo ten- 
 der a fcene, filled her heart with extacy. 
 After much deliberation, fhe at length 
 fixed upon a moft delightful plan for in- 
 troducing Vallaton to the houfe of his long- 
 loft parents ; but as part of it depended on 
 the indulgence of her father, flie found it 
 neceffary immediately to procure his con- 
 fent to its execution. 
 
 In order to conceal the agitated ftate of 
 
 her mind, (he had, on pretence of indifpo- 
 
 fition, abfented herfelf from breakfaft, and 
 
 begged to be excufed from her ufual at- 
 
 I 2 tendance
 
 [ 116 ] 
 
 tendance in her father's chamber; nor 
 did fhe now approach it with that cheerful 
 alacrity which had hitherto led her fleps 
 to his door. 
 
 Inftead of lightly tripping, in her ufual 
 manner, to make the fond enquiry after 
 his health, ihe nowftole through thepaf- 
 fage as if afraid of being feen ; and on 
 opening his door was feized with fuch a 
 palpitation and embarrafsment, that he had 
 twice demanded who was there, before 
 ihe muftered fufficient courage to advance 
 towards the couch on which he lay. For 
 the firfl time in her life fhe now feared to 
 meet the fcrutinizing eyes of her father, 
 for, for the firit time of her life, (he had 
 fomething to conceal. The fliame of be- 
 ing fufpedted to be the dupe of prejudice 
 had prompted her affcnt to the clandefline 
 meeting with Vallaton ; to that iliame fhe 
 had facrificed her feelings of propriety, and 
 now felt a confcioufnefs of deferved blame, 
 which not all the applaufes beftowed upon 
 
 her
 
 [ iir J I 
 
 her conduft by her enlightened preceptor 
 could palliate or remove. 
 
 While Vallaton fpoke, his arguments 
 appeared irrefutable, and the light in which 
 he placed the prejudices of her father, 
 made them ^ufaciently contemptible in her 
 eyes ; but the inflant ihe found herfelf in 
 her father's prefence, a mingled fentiment 
 of afFe<^ion and refpe£i: took poffeflion of 
 her mind; the high fentiments of honour 
 he had fo carefully inculcated, recovered 
 their influence in her breaft; and the fhame 
 of having fvverved from them, by encou- 
 raging the clandeftine addreffes of the phi» 
 lofopher, over\vhelmed her with mortifica- 
 lion and difquiet. 
 
 It is now time to introduce the father of 
 Julia to the reader's acquaintance, for 
 which purpofe we hope the following 
 iketch of his life will not be deemed an 
 impertinent digreflion. 
 
 H16T0RV
 
 [ HS ] 
 HISTORY OF 
 
 CAPTAIN DELMOND. 
 
 Captain Delmond was the fon of 
 an officer of diftinguiftied merit, who loft 
 his life in the field of battle, leaving to his 
 only child the inheritance of his fword, his 
 honour, and his valour. The young man 
 was then in his feventeenth year, an enfign 
 in his father's regiment. The fame ball 
 which tore in pieces the body of the gal- 
 lant father, ftruck the ftandard from the 
 iiands of the no lefs gallant fonj who, 
 ftarting from the ground, bravely reco- 
 vered the colours as they were about to be 
 taken poiTeffion of by a party of the enemy. 
 
 The fpirited behaviour of young Del- 
 mond upon this occafion happened, for- 
 tunately for him, to be mentioned at the 
 table of a certain General, in the very mo- 
 ment when the fuccefsful efforts of his 
 cook, in dreffing a turbot of uncommon 
 
 excellence.
 
 [ 119 ] 
 
 excellence, had extorted his warmcil ap- 
 probation. The praife of the turbot and 
 of the enfign were repeated ahemately ; 
 and it was, perhaps, owing to the happy 
 affociation of ideas thus produced, that the 
 memory of the noble General, whicli, 
 upon fuch occafions, was very apt to be 
 imperfe£i:, now ferved him fo well, that he 
 remembered young Delmond in the next 
 promotion. He was by this circumftance 
 raifed to the rank of lieutenant. 
 
 The two nations then at war, having at 
 length facrificed fuch a quantity of human 
 blood, and expended fuch a portion of 
 treafure, as was deemed fufEcient for the 
 amufement of the governing powers on ei- 
 ther fide, thought proper to make a peace ; 
 and after a few preliminaries, in which the 
 original caufe of difpute was not once men- 
 tioned, and things were put as nearly as 
 poffible into the fame Hate in which they 
 were at the commencement of hoftilities, 
 its ratification was formally announced. 
 
 The
 
 [ 120 ] 
 
 The wretched remains of thofe numerous 
 armies which in the beginning of the con* 
 ted had marched forth, elate with heahh 
 and vigour, were now returned to their 
 refpe£live countries ; fome to langulfh out 
 their lives in hofpitals, in the agony of 
 wounds that were pronounced incurable; 
 fome to a wretched dependance on the 
 bounty of their families, or the alms of 
 flrangers ; and the few whofe good for- 
 tune it was to efcape unhurt, according to 
 the feniority of their regiments, either 
 difbanded to fpread habits of idlenefs and 
 profligacy among their fellow-citizens, or 
 fent into country quarters to be fattened 
 for fields of future glory. 
 
 The regiment to which young Delmond 
 belonged, was difpofed of in the laft-men- 
 tioned way. It was ordered into the north 
 of England; and the divifion of it to which 
 he was attached, quartered at a fmall vil- 
 lage in a very j-emote fituation, and above 
 ten miles diftant from the reft of his mili- 
 tary aflbciates. ,
 
 C 121 ] 
 
 As it was a fine fporting country, the 
 diverfions of hunting and fhooting afForded 
 for fome time fufficient employment to his 
 a£live mind ; but the winter fetting in ear- 
 lier than ufual, and with uncommon fevc- 
 rity, he was not only deprived of thefe 
 fources of amufement, but by the badnefs 
 of the roads cut off from all communica- 
 tion with his brother officers, whofe fo- 
 ciety he had hitherto occafionally enjoyed. 
 
 In this dilemma he had recourfe to read- 
 ing, and foon difcovered that books were 
 really capable of affording fome degree of 
 entertainment. The pleafure which re- 
 fulted from this difcovery daily increafed, 
 and he foon found it little inferior to that 
 which is derived from any of the methods 
 ufually employed by the modern fons of 
 Mars to murder that word of enemies. 
 Time. If it loft in comparifon with the 
 lounge at the milliner's-fliop, it was, at 
 lead, fully as amufmg as looking over the 
 pridge^ that never-failing refource for every 
 
 vacant
 
 [ 523 ] 
 
 Vacant hour; and though lels exhilarating 
 than drinking, gambling, or intriguing, it 
 was, perhaps, as good for the fortune, and 
 fafe for the conflitution, as any of thefe 
 Tipproved methods of killing time. The 
 important difcovery made by this young 
 foldier, we fhould here flrenuoufly recom- 
 mend to the ferious attention of thofc 
 whom it particularly concerns; did wc 
 Hot apprehend, that to recommend books, 
 throuoh the medium of a book, to thofc 
 who never look into one, would not pro- 
 bably be attended with any great effedl. 
 From the example of many great divines 
 and moralifts, v;e might, indeed, infer that 
 this ought to be no obftacle; but as the 
 advancement of our own character for fu- 
 perior wifdom, in the eyes of our own ad- 
 herents, is not the obje<n: at which we aim, 
 we fhall referve our initruflions for thofc 
 whom they may have a chance of reaching. 
 The place of youngDelmond's refidence, 
 in the village to which we condu£led him, 
 
 was
 
 L 123 ] 
 
 was at an old manor-houfe, now occupied 
 by the farmer who rented the adjoining 
 lands. The family to whom the eftate de- 
 volved, had on the death of the late pof- 
 fefTor removed from the houfe all the 
 valuable pieces of furniture, leaving to the 
 prefent tenant fuch articles of lumber a«; 
 they did not deem worthy of removal : of 
 this defcription was an old book-cafe with 
 its contents. 
 
 Doomed to dufl and obfcurity, here lay 
 mouldering many ponderous volumes of 
 romances, which had, in the days of their 
 glory, afforded ample amufement to the 
 fair readers of former times; and the 
 works of many free-thinking philofophers, 
 whofe labours alarmed the pious zeal of 
 our fathers, but whofe names are now 
 forgotten, or only known to thofe who 
 make it their laudable employment to pre- 
 fent to the world under new titles, what 
 they have pilfered from their contents. Of 
 thefe it may be conjedlured that the ro- 
 mances
 
 C 1^+ ] 
 
 Biances finl engaged the attentiou of the 
 young fold ier. Happily his rafichadnot 
 as yet been fufEciently formed to the more 
 perfpicacious (lilc of modern writers to 
 render him faflidious. The (lories were 
 of a nature calculated to excite an intereft 
 in his bread. The fentiments of honour 
 v/ere congenial to thofe he had been early 
 taught to entertain; and the wonderful 
 inftances of fortitude, conitancy, and va- 
 lour, difplayed in the lives of thofe illuf- 
 irious heroes, excited his mofl: ardent ad- 
 miration. With unwearied patience he 
 laboured through every huge folio in this 
 colle£lion, and was not a little mortified at 
 the conclufion of the Grand Cyrus, to find 
 that not one new adventure remained to 
 excite or to gratify his curiofity. 
 
 The ground was flill covered with fnow, 
 and the inclement ikies continued to pour 
 forth their vengeance on the world. What 
 could he do? To read over again the 
 books, which had afforded him fo much 
 
 pleafure.
 
 [ 12-J ] 
 
 pleafure, was, indeed, an obvious refource; 
 but like other young people, he had too 
 great a third for novelty to rehfli any 
 llory as well a fecond time as a firil. From 
 the works of the philofophers he had been 
 deterred by the profellions of regard to 
 religion, with which, in compliance to the 
 prejudice of the times, fome of thefe old 
 authors had thought proper to commence 
 their effays, and which produced in his 
 mind a very proper degree of contempt. 
 Religion he had heard his father talk of 
 as a very proper thing for the common 
 people, who, not having the advantages of 
 military difcipline, required a parfon with 
 fome notion of hell, inflead of a cat-of-nine- 
 tails, to keep them in awe, but was quite 
 beneath the notice of a gentleman. From 
 this confideration Mr. Delmond v/ould 
 probably have for ever remained in igno- 
 rance of the treafurc in his poiTeffion, had 
 it not been for an accident which prefentcd 
 to his view, in the middle of a volume, a 
 
 delicious
 
 [ U6 ] 
 
 delicious piece of ridicule on the bible. 
 The wit and pleafantry of this paflage, 
 which has indeed raifed the reputation of 
 every fucceeding author by whom it has 
 either been flolen or borrowed, highly de- 
 lighted the young foldier, and fo eiFe<5lualIy 
 excited his curiofity with regard to the reft 
 of the books, that in lefs than a fortnight 
 he was in complete poffeffion of all that 
 ever has, and probably all that ever will 
 be, faid againft the Chriftian faith. 
 
 Great and manifold were the advantages 
 refulting to Mr. Delmond from this cir- 
 cumilance. Befides ftrengthening his con- 
 tempt for the weak votaries of religion, it 
 furniflied him with weapons for attacking 
 their belief. Early taught to clafs all pro- 
 feflbrs of piety into two divifions, viz. 
 fools, and hypocrites, he exulted in the 
 fuperior information which made him look 
 down with pity on the one, and regard 
 the other with a becoming degree of de- 
 teftation. 
 
 We
 
 [ 127 ] 
 
 We do not think it neceffary to follow 
 the young gentleman through all the towns 
 and villages in which, for the four enfuing 
 years, he was fucceilively quartered. 
 
 At the end of that period, being then 
 on garrifon duty in the wed of England, 
 he happened to accompany a brother offi- 
 cer to his father's feat, where he received 
 a preffing invitation to fpend a few weeks 
 of the furamer. 
 
 Among other villtors at S — hall, was 
 the fifter of the lady of the houfe, and with 
 her a niece, the heirefs of her fortune, 
 and the intended bride of Captain S — , 
 who, on the very firil interview, appeared 
 charmed with the dazzling prize his pa- 
 rents had fo kindly provided for him. 
 
 The young lady was indeed, what (he 
 was univerfally efteemed, a compleat beaa* 
 ty; her features formed a model of the 
 mod perfect fymmetry ; a fymmetr}% which 
 feemed never to have been difcompofed by 
 any impullive emotions of joy or grief, paia 
 
 or
 
 [ 128 ] 
 
 or pleafure. She even appeared (for we 
 will not take upon us to pronounce that k 
 was really fo) to be totally unconfcious of 
 her own fuperior charms, and was quite 
 free from that affectation and conceit, 
 which is the portion of fo many beauties. 
 
 That fuch a charming creature fliould 
 attraft the notice of the gentlemen, will 
 not appear at all furprifing; but that fhe 
 fliould efcape the envy of the ladies may, 
 perhaps, be deemed fomewhat more ex- 
 traordinary. Yet fo it was. She was 
 univerfally cried up by them as a sweet 
 girl — the siveetest girl in the world ! and 
 as to beauty, fhe was declared to be quite 
 a pidiire. 
 
 Captain S — foon found the latter part 
 of the encomium to be more literally true 
 than he could have wifhed. 
 
 The young lady received him without 
 fcruple as the hufband chofen for her bj 
 her aunt ; but how far her own heart ac- 
 quiefced in her guardian's choice, it was 
 
 utterly
 
 [ up ] 
 
 utterly impoflible for him to conjecture. 
 She was at all times equally fweet, and 
 equally iilenr. She received every mark 
 of his attention with the mofl enchanting 
 fmile; but fmiled juft as enchantingly when 
 he forbore to take any notice of her. Fa- 
 tigued with her infipidity, he was not ill 
 pleafed at the opportunity of emancipating 
 himfelf from an attendance which he found 
 infupportably irkfome, and willingly agreed 
 to make one of a groufe-fliooting party, 
 who were to be abfent for two or three 
 weeks. Delmond, who was prevented by 
 a fprained ancle from accompanying his 
 friend, at his defire remained to take care 
 of the ladies in his abfence. 
 
 Whether the young lady was piqued at 
 the negle^l her lover manifefled in thus 
 leaving her, or whether the fuperior per- 
 fonal attractions of his friend had really 
 made an impreflion on her heart, we can- 
 not abfolutely determine. She, indeed, 
 found means to convince Delmond of the 
 
 VOL. I. K latter
 
 C 130 ] 
 
 latter part of the pofition ; but as a cold 
 and fallen pride is generally found to be 
 the fole animating principle in the race of 
 infenfibles, we are rather inclined to be- 
 lieve the former. However it was, her 
 preference for Delmond, whether real or 
 feigned, made fuch an imprelhon on his 
 heart, that he eaiily perfuaded himfelf his 
 honour was concerned in protedling fo much 
 worth and beauty from the cruelty of 
 a forced marriage. The fair nymph 
 fweetly accepted his proffered fervices, and 
 the very night before the expe£led return 
 of her lover, fet out under the condudl of 
 her new champion on an hymeneal excur- 
 fion to Gretna-Green. 
 
 Though the heart of Capt. S. received 
 no very deep wound from the lofs of his 
 miilrefs, the imperious voice of honour de- 
 manded that it fliould be revenged. The 
 honour of Delmond was no lefs forward 
 to give fatisfa£lion to his friend for the 
 fuppofed injury J three day^ after his re- 
 turn
 
 [ 131 ] 
 
 mrn to head-quarters, they met by ap- 
 pointment, and after mutual falutations, 
 and declarations of perfect good-will, took 
 aim at each other's heart, and fired their 
 piftols. The firfl ihot miffed, but the fe- 
 cond was more fuccefsful ; it took effect 
 on each; and each, after receiving his ad- 
 verfary's ball, declared that he was satisfied. 
 The feconds interpofed, and pronounced 
 that nothing could be more gentleman-Yiko. 
 than their whole behaviour. 
 
 Neither of the wounds proved mortal, 
 though both were painful in the extreme, 
 and very tedious in their cure. The long 
 confinement was attended with very un- 
 pleafant confequences to Delmond, whofe 
 finances were fo much exhaufted by his 
 Gretna-Green expedition, that he was un- 
 der the necefTity of borrowing a confider- 
 able fum of money from a brother officer. 
 The friends of his bride remained inexora- 
 ble; nor would her aunt ever be prevailed 
 on to fee her, or to grant the leaft pecuniary 
 alTiftance. ^, ^ rn,^
 
 C 132 ] 
 
 The regiment was now ordered to Gi- 
 braltar ; and during the ten years that it 
 remained there, Mr. Delmond on the 
 fcanty income of a lieutenant contrived, 
 by the exertion of a rigid economy, to fup- 
 port his wife and family. His fortune re- 
 mained Rationary, but his family received 
 the yearly addition of a fine thriving child. 
 Happily, the poor things, by dint of bad 
 management, bad nurling, improper food, 
 the meafles, and the fmall-pox, were one 
 by one fent to heaven, fo that Mr. Del- 
 mond and his wife returned to England 
 without encumbrance. 
 
 Here they had not long remained, when 
 Mr, Delmond had the offer of a company 
 in a corps then about to embark for the 
 coaft of Africa. The climate was un- 
 healthy, the feafon was unpropitious ; but 
 as he had no friend that could command 
 a vote at a borough election, it was the 
 only offer of promotion he was ever likely 
 to experience; it could not, therefore, be 
 rcjeaed. ^j^^
 
 [ 153 ] 
 
 The knowing reader, when he calls to 
 mind the beauty of Mrs. Delmond, will 
 think, from many refpeflable examples, 
 that a fubakern poffelTed of fo handfome a 
 wife need not to have been at a lofs for 
 the road to preferment. It would feem, 
 however, that fuch a pach never prefented 
 itfelf to -the mind of Delmond ; whofe fole 
 care was to place his wife in fuch a fitua- 
 tion during his abfence, as might be at 
 once fafe, private, and refpe<rtable. His 
 folicitude upon this head was foon termi- 
 nated by the friendihip of a very worthy 
 man, who had formerly been quarter-mafter 
 in the regiment, and had, at the time it 
 was ordered for Gibraltar, retired to the 
 cultivation of the farm which his father-in- 
 law had formerly occupied. 
 
 The wife of this refpeclable farmer, who 
 in foundnefs of judgment and goodnefs 
 of heart greatly refembled her hufband, 
 joyfully received Mrs. Delmond into her 
 houfe, and took unwearied pains to ren- 
 der
 
 [ 134 ] 
 
 der her fituatlon there agreeable. How 
 far her endeavours to pleafe were fuccefs- 
 ful, flie never had from Mrs. Delmond the 
 fatisfadlion to learn. That fweet woman 
 went to the place appointed by her huf- 
 band without gain-faying, but without one 
 word expreffive of approbation or content. 
 When the hour of his departure arrived, 
 Ihe behaved with a philofophy that would 
 have done honour to any fage of the floic 
 fchool; and asfoon as he rode from the 
 door, quietly betook herfelf to the em- 
 broidery of a work-bag. Mrs. Hurford, 
 who knew from experience what it was 
 to endure the fharp pang of feparation, 
 thought it prudent to fuffer the firfl uncon- 
 querable emotion to get vent in folitude, 
 A confiderable time elapfed before flie 
 could bring herfelf to intrude upon the 
 for rows of her guefl. At length, her 
 heart overflowing with compafllonate ten- 
 dernefs, fhe ventured into her apartment, 
 Mrs. Delmond looked up from her work, 
 
 and
 
 C 135 ] 
 
 and feeing the tears ready to Hart from the 
 eyes of her hoftefs, enquired if any thing 
 was the matter ? 
 
 " Nothing, madam/' replied Mrs. Hur- 
 ford, ftruck with fuch an uncommon in- 
 ftance of fortitude, '' I only came to fee 
 whether it would be agreeable to you to 
 walk in the garden, but I perceive you 
 are engaged." 
 
 * Yes,' replied Mrs. Delmond, ' you 
 know how I have been hindered all the 
 morning, and I \vas fet upon having this 
 tulip done to-night; does it not look very 
 natural ?' 
 
 Mrs. Hurford faid flie was no judge of 
 fuch work, and left the room, with feelings 
 of compalTion not altogether fo tender as 
 thofe which had filled her bread on en- 
 tering it. 
 
 Under this peaceful roof the fair eyes 
 of Julia firfl opened on the world ; and to . 
 the judicious management of its miftrefs 
 was Ihe indebted for the health and hap- 
 
 pinefs
 
 C 130- ] 
 
 pinefs of her infancy. The good couple 
 under whofe aufpices fhe was reared, ex- 
 perienced for her all the tendernefs of the 
 fondeft parents. As they were confeffedly 
 Grangers to all fyltems of education, the 
 learned reader will undoubtedly fuppofe 
 that the child mud infallibly be loft; but- 
 tjiough they knew nothing of any fyfleni, 
 they had a fufficiency of that, which, fel- 
 dom as it enters into the compofition of 
 any of them, can amply fupply the place 
 of all — found common-fenfe. This prin- 
 ciple fupplied the ufe of volumes : it fa- 
 fliioned the clothes, regulated the diet, 
 and even di(fl:ated the amufements of the 
 little Julia. The fportivenefs of inf^mcy 
 was unchecked by the harfh reftraints 
 which render a town-nurfery a houfe of 
 bondage. The love of novelty, that fource 
 of happinefs and inftru^lion to the infant 
 bread, was here gratified, not by the de- 
 ftruclion of coftly toys, but by the fublime 
 ^uid ever-changing fcenes of nature. In- 
 
 flead
 
 C 137 ] 
 
 ftead of tedious and unlmpreflive lefTons 
 upon the beauty of truth and virtue, 
 while, as it often happens, every action oi 
 thefpeaker is a Hbel on the fpeech, {he faw 
 truth and virtue exemplified in the a»flions 
 of thofe around her. She was never 
 cheated into obedience, nor had flie the 
 feeds of deceit and cunning fown in her 
 mind by proraifes or threatenings never 
 meant to be performed. 
 
 The natural indolence of Mrs. Delmond 
 led her very readily to relign the trouble 
 attending the management of her little 
 charge; (he was neverthelefs mortified 
 at finding herfelf the only obje£l of the 
 child's indifference. Mrs. Hurford, per- 
 ceiving her refentment, wifely obviated its 
 confequences, by contriving to make her 
 the medium through which every gift was 
 to be difpenfed, and every little treat he- 
 flowed ; thus was all jealoufy on the part 
 of the mother effectually prevented, and 
 the little heart of the daughter infpired 
 
 with
 
 [ 158 ] 
 
 with a proper degree of gratitude and 
 affed^ioiio 
 
 The interefl which Mrs. Hurford took 
 in the happinefs of her little favourite, -in- 
 fpired her with an idea, which, as it turned 
 out, was eflentially conducive to her future 
 fortune. She no fooner mentioned the 
 fcheme to her hufband, which was indeed 
 the moment it was thought .on, than it had 
 his warm approbation. Without hinting 
 at the objeft they had in view, they allied 
 Mrs. Delmond's confent to carry the httle 
 JuHa with them on a vifit to a relation, 
 who refided at a certain village at the dif- 
 tance of twenty miles; the name of the 
 place they did not mention to Mrs. Del- 
 mond; it was the relidence of her aunt; 
 and to this lady it was the deilgn of Mrs, 
 Hurford to introduce her lovely charge. 
 
 The defign fucceeded to her wifli. The 
 old lady, who lived on terms of great in- 
 timacy with Mrs. Hurford's friend, was at- 
 Ira6led by the beauty, aud charmed with 
 
 the
 
 [ 139 3 
 
 the fprightllnefs and good-temper of her 
 little vifitor. The name of JuHa, which 
 belonged to herfelf, flill more endeared her. 
 She queftioned her concerning her age. 
 
 " She was as old as the little Brindle, 
 and pa Hurford fays, that Brindle will be 
 fix years old next grafs.'* 
 
 ' Had ihe any other papa befides pa 
 Hurford?' 
 
 *^ O yes J but poor papa was far, far 
 away!" 
 
 ^ And mamma?' 
 
 " Own mamma lived with t'other mam- 
 ma, at Rufli-mead." 
 
 ' And what was mamma's name?' 
 
 " Own mamma was mamma Delmond.'* 
 
 The old lady was equally fhocked and 
 affected by this difcovery. The vow fhe 
 had made never to fee her niece, was not 
 to be broken : but it extended not to her 
 offspring; and from this time to the day 
 of her deceafe, flie at her own defire re- 
 ceived an annual vifit from her grand-niece. 
 
 Juli^
 
 [ 140 ] 
 
 Julia had nearly reached her tenth year, 
 before flie had the happinefs of beholding 
 her father; he then returned. But how 
 returned? No longer that blooming and 
 handfome figure, whofe manly beauty at- 
 tracted univerfal .admiration. Bent down 
 by difeafe, pale, infirm, and emaciated; 
 the vigour of health, the life of life was 
 gone. The only furviving vi£l:im of the 
 ungenial climate, where, 
 
 " 'Mid each dank fteam the recking marfh exhales, 
 ** Contagious vapours and volcanic gales," 
 
 His gallant companions were doomed to 
 meet the poifoned fliafts of death. He, 
 it is true, returned to his country — but re- 
 turned to linger out a life of pain, and to 
 experience the protrafled fufferings of pre- 
 mature old as^e. 
 
 The reader, we hope, is well convinced, 
 that under a wife and uncorrupt govern- 
 ment the advantages to be thus purchafed 
 at the expence of fo many ufeful and va- 
 luable lives, mud be far from problemati- 
 cal
 
 C 141 ] 
 
 cal or uncertain. If the faid reader enjoys, 
 or is likely to enjoy, a fnug finecure from 
 the government of a fortrefs in thefe re- 
 gions of peflilence, or has a profpe6l of 
 pocketing any of the various emoluments 
 arifmg from contrafting for the fame, we 
 need fay nothing to convince him of its 
 utility, and iliall therefore proceed in our 
 narrative. 
 
 With an agitation of joy, almofl too 
 powerful for his enfeebled frame to fup- 
 port, Capt. Delmond embraced his wife 
 and daughter. With the latter he was 
 truly charmed ; flie was more than his mod 
 fanguine hopes had painted, or his fond 
 heart had dared to v/ifli. To her he re- 
 folved to dedicate the remainder of his 
 life, and to fpare no pains on her inftruc- 
 tion and improvement. 
 
 In the once beautiful face of Mrs. Del- 
 mond time had produced an alteration no 
 lefs confpicuous than that which climate 
 and difeafe had wrought upon the perfon 
 
 of
 
 [ 142 ] 
 
 of her hufband. To beauties of Mrs. 
 Delmond's defcription Time is, indeed, a 
 mofl formidable foe. Where no fpark of 
 animation fuppHes the place of youth's be- 
 witching, but alas ! tranfient glow; where, 
 when the rofes die and the lilies fade, no 
 trait of 7nind^ no vivid expreflion of fenfi- 
 bility flioots along the defolated wade, 
 every wrinkle is triumphant, and the con- 
 quell: over beauty is compleat. The alte- 
 ration thus effe^led in the countenance of 
 Mrs. Delmond, though apparent to the 
 eye, reached not the heart of her faithful 
 hufband. His attachment to her was not, 
 k is true, either fentimental or fublime; it 
 was, neverthelefs, cordial and fmcere. As 
 an helplefs objecl depending on his pro- 
 teclion, he had been accuftomed to cherilli 
 her. As his own^ he had confidered her 
 with that regard which felf-love attaches 
 to property; and even the very fufferings 
 flie had occafioned to him, were, perhaps, 
 an additional motive of his afFe(5lion. Ha- 
 bit
 
 C 143 ] 
 
 bit made him experience uneafinefs from 
 the want of her prefence, {society we can 
 fcarcely term it) and that delight with 
 -which the human mind returns to thofe 
 deep-worn channels, where it has long 
 been accuftomed to flow, made him expe- 
 rience in this re-union emotions of the 
 mofl: lively joy. 
 
 As for Mrs. Delmond, the meeting and 
 the parting kifs were given by her with 
 the fame frigid compofure. Without any 
 alteration in the tone of her voice, or in 
 one mufcle of her countenance, fhe faid 
 * {he was glad to fee him.' And as we 
 never heard of her being addicled to falfe- 
 hood, we are bound to believe her. 
 
 Capt. Delmond having, through the in- 
 tereft of General Villers, obtained leave to 
 retire upon half-pay, took a fmall houfe in 
 a village near that gentleman's feat, and 
 with the prudence of which he was always 
 mafter, regulated his economy in exa£l 
 conformity to his circumftances. 
 
 The
 
 [ 144 ] 
 
 The mind of Julia, which had been fuf- 
 fered to expand in the freedom of the 
 country, was now eager for inftru£lion. 
 It was perhaps, no lefs adapted to receive 
 it, than if it had gone through the regular 
 courfe of emulation, jealoufy, envy, and 
 hatred, which fo regularly fucceed each 
 other in the bread: of a boarding-fchool 
 mifs. She received the leiTons of her fa- 
 ther with delight, and foon became miftrefs 
 of all he thought neceffary for her to learn. 
 Her temper, which had never been fpoiled 
 by the alternate application of indifcreet 
 indulgence and unnecelTary fe verity, was 
 open, ardent, and affectionate. To every 
 fpecies of cunning and deceit flie was quite 
 a ftranger. The happinefs which glowed 
 in her own bofom, fhe wiflicd to commu- 
 nicate to every thing around her. 
 
 The cheering influence of her light and 
 buoyant fpirits penetrated the breaft of her 
 father. It foothed his pains, re-animated 
 his fpirits, and gave a charm to his other- 
 wife
 
 [ 145 ] 
 
 wife miferable exiflence. He regarded 
 his Julia as a being of a fuperior order. 
 Her capacity he thought almoil fupernatu- 
 ral. The inferiority of the female under- 
 derftanding he had hitherto confidered 
 incontrbvertiblc, and had treated every at- 
 tempt at the, cultivation of the mental 
 powers of thatfex with themoflfovereign 
 contempt. But his Julia was an excep- 
 tion to the general rule: an underftand- 
 ing so capacious as hers ought to have 
 every advantage. He, therefore, encou- 
 raged her infatiable appetite for know- 
 ledge with a free command of all the 
 books which either the private collections 
 of his friends or the circulating library 
 could furnilh. He laid no reftraint upon 
 her choice, for from the pains he took to 
 form her tafte, and from the opinion he en- 
 tertained of the amazing maturity of her 
 judgment, he was convinced (he would of 
 her own accord choofe only what was 
 proper. 
 
 VQL. I. L Had
 
 [ 146 ] 
 
 Had a due allowance for the power of 
 imagination in young minds entered into 
 Capt. Delmond's calculation, he would 
 perhaps have been kfs fanguine. Infant, 
 though Julia read with pleafurc books of 
 philofophy, hiftory, and travels to her fa- 
 ther, fhe found a pleafure ftill more poig- 
 nant in devouring the pages of a novel or 
 romance in her own apartment. .Her feel- 
 ings were alive to all the joys and all the 
 forrows of the heroes and heroines, whofe 
 adventures fhe had the ddlgbt of perufmg. 
 The. agitation they excited was fo ani- 
 mated, fo intoxicating, that fhe felt a void 
 in her breaft when not under the influence 
 of ftrong emotions. In vain did her reafon 
 revolt at the abfur llties which abounded 
 in thefe motley talcs; in the kindling paf- 
 fions of her youthful bofom they found a 
 never-failing incentive to their perufal. 
 Mhiagination, wild and ungoverned ima- 
 gination rei.';ned paramount in her bread. 
 The invcfligation of truth had no longer 
 
 any
 
 [ 147 ] 
 
 any charm. Sentiment ufurped the place 
 of judgment, and the mind, inflead of de- 
 ducing inferences from facls, was now 
 folely occupied in the invention of extrava- 
 gant and chimerical fituations. In thefe, 
 to do her juflice, the mod noble and heroic 
 virtues were uniformly difplayed. Of the 
 immenfe fortunes of which flie was the 
 ideal miflrefs, (he referved to herfelf but a 
 very {lender fliare. All the poor of the 
 country were in one moment enriched by 
 her bounty, all were made happy by her 
 power. Tender and faithful lovers were 
 releafed from unheard-of miferies, and put 
 in poflelTion of the moft exquifite felicity. 
 Her father, quite cured of his gout, was 
 the lord of an immenfe domain, whofc va- 
 rious beauties fancy painted in more- lively 
 colours than the pencil of Raphael was 
 ever dipt in. In fliort, Julia was an adept 
 in the art of caftle-building. 
 
 With the education of her daughter 
 
 Mrs. Delmond never prefumed to inter- 
 
 L 2 fere.
 
 [ us J 
 
 fere. She had before her father's return, 
 indeed, taken the trouble to teach her her 
 fampler, and had befides endeavoured to 
 initiate her into the myflerie's of crofs- 
 flitch, chainrflirch, and gobble-ftitch, the 
 lad of which only feemed to fuit the genius 
 of the little ronip, who did not much reliih 
 the : confinement. .necelTary for thefe em- 
 ployments. As to mental improvement 
 Mrs. Delmond wifely judged it to be alto- 
 gether out of her fphere : nor was it with 
 any view to produce fuch an eifefV, that 
 fhe taught her to get: by heart the fame 
 portion of the ^church catechifm, and the 
 fame number of pfalms from Sternhold 
 and Hopkins, as fhe herfelf had learned; 
 all of which flie took care that Julia fhould, 
 regularly repeat . every Sunday evening at 
 the fame hour .arid in the fame manner 
 which file herlelf had done when at the 
 fame age. To poor Julia the fabbath was 
 indeed a day of bondage and difmay. 
 Happy was fhe when it was over, and no- 
 
 thing
 
 [ 149 ] 
 
 thing more was to be got by heart for a 
 week to come. 
 
 Indeed all the religious duties of Mrs. 
 Delmond . were very properly confined to 
 that day which is appointed by the church 
 for their efpecial "performance ; every Sun* 
 day (he very regularly went tO; church, a$ 
 her aunt had done before her. And 
 there fhe was fo far from milling any part 
 of the fervice, that (he very audibly re- 
 peated the whole of it, abfolution and all, 
 after the clergyman, to the great edifica- 
 tion of thofe who had the happinefs of 
 fitting in che fame pew. By this means 
 flie obtained the appellation of a mighty 
 devout good-fort-of lady from all the 
 neighbours; nor did (lie at all difpleafe 
 her hufband by the pra6lice of this de- 
 votion. But though Captain Delmond 
 thought it proper to encourage this weak- 
 nefs in his wife, he wiilied the mind of 
 his daughter to foar above the vulgar 
 prejudice. 
 
 Virtue,
 
 [ 150 ] 
 
 Virtue, he told her, required no incen- 
 tive to its performance, but its own innate 
 lovelinefs. The doftrine of rewards and 
 punifhments was only adapted to weak 
 and flavifti minds. Honour, he faid, was 
 the infpiring motive of the great and no- 
 ble. As to the notion of revelation, it 
 was involved in abfurdities which all truly- 
 enlightened men treated with a proper de- 
 gree of contempt; it was only the tool 
 of knaves and priefls, which they made 
 ufe of to excite the reverence of fools, the 
 more eafily to impofe upon them. 
 
 The beauty and the peace of virtue 
 Julia found enlhrined in her own bread; 
 but had that breafl ever been taught to 
 glow with devotional fentiment, to expand 
 in grateful adoration of Divine beneficence, 
 and to wrap itfelf in the delightful con- 
 templation of a future ftate of felicity, 
 fairer colours would probably have marked 
 Its future deftiny! 
 
 As
 
 L 1^1 ] 
 
 As the heart of Julia was not altoge- 
 ther infenfible to vanity, flie was exceed- 
 ingly pleafed to find herfelf fo much wifer 
 than the red of the world. Thus pre- 
 pared, it is not furprifmg that flie was 
 charmed with the tenets of the new philo- 
 fophers, which taught her that denying 
 revelation is but one ftep towards that 
 ftate of perfeftion to which the human 
 mind is fo fpeedily advancing. Her intro- 
 duction to the philofophers, and all that 
 happened fubfequent to that event, the 
 reader has already been made acquainted 
 with. It is high time the fair petitioner 
 whom we left at the door of her father's 
 chamber, ihould now fpeak for herfelf, 
 which flie fhall have an opportunity of do- 
 ing in the next chapter. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 [ 152 1 
 In *of; cr.T/ -::.;: 
 
 ...... rCHAP. XIII. 
 
 ** Hence to the realms of night, dire demon, hence ! 
 [;'.,*' Thy chain of adamant can bind 
 
 " That little world, the human mind, 
 "And fink its'noblefl powers to impotehce." ' 
 
 : ^■JA j: i yj.. Rogers, 
 
 CAPT. Delnfond's fpirits, funk by a 
 "^eftleft and 'painful night, revived at 
 the fight of his lovdy daughter; hekifled 
 her with ^ven more than ufual tendemefs, 
 and anxibufly enquired concerning the in- 
 difpofition -which had fo long detained her 
 from him. She faid, her head had ached 
 violently, v^hich fhe attributed to the want 
 of exercife, and had no doubt that a little 
 air would entirely remove it. 
 
 " And why, my darling, do you confine 
 
 yourfelf fo much ; I fliall infill hereafter 
 
 '"• ^ upon
 
 C 153 ] 
 
 upon your going out regularly every da)"". 
 The air of this apartment is injurious to 
 you, and my dear girl mufl: not be allowed 
 to fufFer from her too great kindnefs to 
 her old father." 
 
 The open and fufceptible heart of Julia, 
 hitherto a ftranger to every fpecies of ar- 
 tifice and concealment, felt this tendernefs 
 as a reproach too poignant to be borne. 
 Her eyes filled with tears. She dared not 
 truft her voice, but with an air of the mod 
 emphatic gratitude and affection ihe kiffed 
 the hand which had fondly taken hold 
 of hers. 
 
 At length the importance of the pro- 
 jelled enterprize ruflied upon her recol- 
 lection; when ftifling her emotion, and 
 afifuming an air of cheerfulnefs, fhe faid 
 file had been thinking that a ride into the 
 country would be of fcrvice to her. She 
 had long promifed a vifit to Caftle-Villers, 
 and with her father's permifilon thought 
 flie might now accomplifh it. 
 
 " Certainly,
 
 [ 1^4- j 
 
 *' Certainly, my love, as foon as ever 
 you pleafe : you Ihall yourfelf write a note 
 to Mrs. Villers to inform her of your in- 
 tention, and llie will, I make no doubt, 
 fend the carriage to fetch you." 
 ^. * I was thinking,' replied Julia hefita- 
 tingly, ' I was thinking w^hether 1 could 
 not go without giving her that trouble. 
 You remember Dr. Orwell's gig. I am 
 fure he would be fo good as let me have 
 it for a day, and 1 would not wilh to (lay 
 longer.' 
 
 " But you cannot go alone in the gig, 
 ray dear?'' 
 
 ' O no, I — I would get fome one to 
 drive me.' 
 
 " If Dr. Orwell goes himfelf, and I 
 know he fom'etimes vifits there, I fliall have 
 no objection. He is a very refpeftablc 
 man, and I believe the worthiefl: man of 
 his profeiTion. He, I make no doubt, will 
 take proper care of you. Go then, my 
 dear, and make the requeft yourfelf, a 
 
 walk
 
 C 155 ] 
 
 ^^alk will do you good ; and I ITiall not 
 fuffer you to read to me this morning, it 
 would not be proper for you after being 
 fo much indifpofed, fo God blefs you, my 
 child — good-bye. ' ' 
 
 Half defeated in her purpofe, though 
 not quite difcomfited, Julia left her father's 
 room without having fuffered the name of 
 Vallaton to pafs her lips. She could not 
 prevail upon herfelf to encounter the pre- 
 judices of her father, and this timidity led 
 her to practice a deceit, which, though 
 contrary to her feelings and repugnant to 
 her judgment, (he hoped the plea of necef- 
 fity would fufficiently excufe. 
 
 The admirers of amiable weaknefs, who 
 confider the virtues of fortitude and cou- 
 rage as inimical to every charm of the 
 female character, refle£l not how impolUblc 
 it is for the mind that is deprived of their 
 fupport, firmly to tread the " onward path" 
 of fmcerity; nor how often the timid and 
 zrrefolute will be prompted by their fears
 
 [ 156 ] 
 
 '* to take dijfimulation^ s ivinding wayC^^ 
 Fortitude and courage are, however, only 
 the companions of undeviating rectitude. 
 They had hitherto been conftant inhabi- 
 tants in the gentle breafl of Julia; whofc 
 foft and winning manners clearly evinced 
 that thofe virtues, masculine as they are 
 generally deemed, are far from being in- 
 compatible with modefty and gentlenefs. 
 In once having permitted herfelf to tread 
 the path of error, fliort as v;ere the fteps 
 {he had as yet taken, {he found {he had 
 already loft the firm fupporters of her 
 mind ; and to extricate herfelf die had re- 
 courfe to their unworthy fubftitutes, art 
 and concealment. 
 
 In her father's name {lie wrote a note 
 to Dr. Orwell to requeft the gig for the 
 following day; and defiring the anfwer to 
 be delivered into her own hands, and 
 ftri(^ly charging the melTenger to fay no- 
 thing of where he had been to either of 
 her parents, {lie took the road to Mr. 
 Glib's. M^^
 
 C 157 ] 
 
 Mr. Vallaton, who did not expert to fee 
 her till the evening, was charmed at a cir- 
 cumftance/which he did not fail to interpret 
 to his own advantage. And (till more was 
 he delighted, when (he informed him that 
 fhe had come on purpofe to requefl a fa- 
 vour of him. 
 
 " A. favour of me, Julia! impollible. 
 You know not how exquifitely it would- 
 delight me to oblige you. I hope it is ' 
 fomething that inay require the exertion 
 of all my energies, that you may fee what 
 power you have over me." 
 
 * It is only to drive me a few miles in a 
 gig. I willi to call at Caflle-Villers to-- 
 morrow ; and thought perhaps you would 
 have no objection to accompany me. 
 The General is very hofpitable, and will 
 be happy to receive any friend of my fa- 
 ther's; for as fuch I mean to introduce 
 you. You do not know,* continued flic 
 with an enchanting fmile, ' what good 
 may arife from this introdu6lion.' 
 
 Vallaton
 
 [ 158 ] 
 
 Vallaton was profufe in his acknowledge 
 ments, which Julia interrupted by faying 
 (he had dill another requefl to make, which 
 fhe hoped he would have as little hefitation 
 in complying with. 
 
 " Can my lovely Julia fear that any 
 requefl of hers fliould meet with a refufal ? 
 Impoffible. Let her but name her wifli; 
 and were it to pluck her kerchief from the 
 horned moon, it fliould be done." 
 
 * I greatly wi(h, then,' replied Julia, 
 * nay, I would give the world to fee the 
 embroidered covering of the balket which 
 formed your infant cradle. Have you it 
 not with you.' 
 
 " No, I beheve not; it is not with mc 
 
 at prefent." 
 
 ' Nor any of your infant robes.' 
 
 " No, I — I unfortunately left them in 
 
 the careof a very particular friend in town." 
 
 * How unlucky! indeed, indeed you 
 cught never to go any where without 
 them. Are they not the blefled inftru- 
 
 ments
 
 [ ^^9 ] 
 
 ments by which the (Irangc myflery of 
 your birth will moll undoubtedly be dc» 
 veloped. I mud: chide you for trufting fo 
 precious a depofit in any hands but your 
 own. You can, however, write for them, 
 and your friend may fend them to you by 
 the mail-coach.' 
 
 Vaiiaton, who could hardly fupprefs a 
 fmlU at the earn eftnefs with which Julia 
 made this unforefeen requeft, took from 
 k a hint, which effe£lually relieved his 
 prefent embarraflment. He promjfed to 
 write to his friend by that night's, poil:; 
 and doubted not, but that in a few days 
 he fliculd receive the credentials of his 
 noble birth in fafety. It is probable that 
 his mind's eye at that moment cail: a retro- 
 fpective ghnce to the cellar of St. Giles's, 
 w^here his firft blanket, whofe embroidery 
 was certainly of no Tyrian dye, after hav- 
 ing done its duty as a mop, and gone 
 through the procefs of decompofition on 
 A dung-hill., had probably long fmce 
 
 lent
 
 [ 16-0 ] 
 
 lent its aid to enrich its native foil. How 
 much foever Mr. Vallaton's patriotifm 
 might lead him to glory in the certainty of 
 his iirfl rags having been thus tifeful to his 
 country, his modefty prevented his aflu- 
 ming any merit upon this head; and Julia, 
 whofe memory furniflied her with a thou- 
 fand fimilar examples, was quite fatisfied 
 that the little embroidered veftments^ he 
 had fo particularly defer i bed, would lead 
 to the happy difcovery her ardent imagi- 
 nation had fo fully planned. 
 
 Mr. Vallaton, willing to change a fubje6t 
 which was rather becoming too interefling, 
 enquired whether the excurfion to Caftle- 
 Villers was with her father's knowledge. 
 
 ' O yes,' replied Julia, ' my dear papa is 
 always fo indulgent that he never objects to 
 any thing that will give me pleafure, unlefs 
 fears for my fafety, or doubts concerning 
 propriety, fliould fugged the objeclion.* 
 
 " Propriety ! in what vocabulary of pre- 
 judice did you pick up that oifenfive word ? 
 
 what
 
 C 161 ] 
 
 What can be improper that does not rebel 
 againfl: the great commands of nature? It 
 is thefe worldings ' gorged with mifan- 
 thropy/ who have by this term propriety 
 forged the mod galling fetters for the ami- 
 able period of youth. Would that my Julia 
 were fuperior to the ignoble bondage!" 
 
 ' Indeed, indeed now, Mr. Vallaton, you 
 do my father wrong. He never wiflies to 
 fubje£l my mind but to the bondage of rea- 
 fon. If you knew his afFeclion for mc, and 
 how good to me he has always been, you 
 would not wonder that I fliould love him.* 
 
 " And pray tell me from whence does 
 his affection for you proceed? If it ap- 
 pears, that the circumitance of being his 
 daughter has any influence upon your fa- 
 ther's mind, fuch a weak and foolifh pre- 
 judice is more deferving of your contempt 
 than veneration." 
 
 ^ Your argument is, indeed, very forci- 
 ble; I know not how to anfwer it; but 
 ftill I cannot fo far conquer that prejudice 
 
 VOL. I. M which
 
 C 162 3 
 
 which I have hitherto confidered as vir- 
 tuous, and which makes me feel it impro- 
 per too ftri£lly to fcan the imperfections 
 of a parent. If I were dependent on his 
 bounty, I fhould perhaps be lefs fcrupu- 
 lous ; but fmce, through my aunt's partial 
 aifeClion, I have come to the command of 
 an independent fortune, I feel as if it were 
 not only ungrateful but ungenerous to 
 examine the motives of an affeClion, for 
 which I confefs (and do not hate me for 
 the confeffion) it is my mod anxious wifh 
 to make a fuitable return.' 
 
 " And pray what has this old gentleman 
 done for you?" 
 
 * Done! how can you afkthequeftion? 
 Did he not, during the period of my in- 
 fancy, and even before he had ever feen 
 me, part with more than half his income 
 for mine and my mother's fupport? Was 
 it not for our fakes that he endured the 
 horrors of that detefted climate ; facrificed 
 his cafe, his health, his comfort? And 
 
 then
 
 i: 16S 3 
 
 then on his return: what tender afFe(^ion! 
 what unremitting care! To procure for 
 me the accompiiiliments which he himfelf 
 could not teach, and to enable me to make 
 an appearance equal to my companions of 
 larger fortune; how often has he and my 
 mother denied themfelves every little com- 
 fort to which they had been habituated? 
 Oh! how happy am I now in having it in 
 my power to reftore to them thefe innocent 
 enjoyments, to make their old age as eafy 
 and as comfortable as that period of life 
 will admit ! Till your arguments convinced 
 me that there could not poflibly be a God, 
 I could hardly refrain from the fuperfti- 
 tious perfuafion, that a fort of Providence 
 had interpofed to fend me this legacy at 
 the very time when, by the lofs of the 
 fmall penfion which my father, in addition 
 to his half-pay, had hitherto enjoyed, it 
 became almoft impoflible to fupport his 
 family, and keep up the rank in life he 
 had been accuftomed to maintain. In giv- 
 M 2 ing
 
 [ 164 ] 
 
 ing up this fortune to his difpofal, I ex- 
 perienced the fweetefl: pleafure of my lifel* 
 
 '' And have you a£lually given it up to 
 his difpofal?'' cried Vallaton with great 
 carneftnefs, and in a tone fully expreffive 
 of the virtuous horror he felt at fuch a 
 flagitious proof of the deflru£tive vice of 
 gratitude. 
 
 * No/ rejoined the fair philofopher, 
 * my fatlier would not accept the gift. He 
 faid he would do no more than z6k as my 
 fteward. It was evidently the intention 
 of my aunt, that I fhould be independent 
 before the period affixed by law, and he 
 would not fruftrate her intentions. He 
 faid, he furely had no caufe to be lefs con- 
 fident in my prudence than flie had! And 
 by faying fo he doubly bound me to give 
 myfelf up to his dire6^ion in every article 
 of my conduft.* 
 
 *' Dear enchanting enthufiaft!*' cried 
 Vallaton, fomewhat recovered from his 
 alarm. " The falfe views in which things 
 
 appear
 
 C 16J ] 
 
 appear to your iinderftanding is truly to be 
 regretted. And fo you are indebted to 
 this gentleman, becaufe, forfooth, i7i the 
 hateful spirit of monopoly ^ he chose by despO' 
 tic and artificial means to engross a pretty 
 woman to himself; and even in abfence un- 
 juftly to prevent his neighbour from en- 
 joying a good which he could not himfelf 
 continue to poffefs ; for was not this the 
 true motive of his care of your mother? 
 As for you, whatever he bellowed previous 
 to his knowledge of your real worth, was 
 a glaring proof of the mod" odious felfifti- 
 nefs. Was it not becaufe he believed him- 
 felf your father, that he thus provided for 
 you? In what a contemptible light does 
 philofophy teach us to view this prejudice? 
 / ought to prefer no human being to another^ 
 because that bei?ig is my fat her y my ivife, or 
 my son, but because, for reasons which equally 
 appeal to all understandings, that being is 
 entitled to preference* In a state of equality, 
 it 'will be a question of no import a?ice to know 
 
 icho
 
 [ 166 ] 
 
 who is the parent of each individual child* 
 It is aristocracy^ self-love, and family pride ^ 
 that teach us to set a value upon it at pre- 
 sent*^ And for this offspring of arifto- 
 cratic prejudice, this felfifh affe^ion which 
 your father had for you becaufe you were 
 his^ and not the offspring of fome other 
 man, haply more worthy than himfelf, he 
 is entitled to your duty and your grati- 
 tude! Miflaken Julia! I wifh you would 
 exert the energies of your mind, to con- 
 quer prejudices fo unworthy of your un- 
 derflanding." 
 
 Poor Julia had not now one word to 
 fay in her own defence. Abaflied at the 
 convi£lion of her filial weaknefs, {he caft 
 iier lovely eyes upon the ground. The 
 enlightened philofopher tenderly feized 
 her hand, and changing his voice to the 
 loft tone of fupplication, entreated fhe 
 v/ould pardon him for his zeal in the caufe 
 of trmh. He wiflied to remove every 
 
 -SeePoM«f.vo!.U. ^^^^^^^
 
 [ 167 ] 
 
 obflacle to perfedibility in one fo near per- 
 fection: fhe had but to conquer a few 
 of thofe remaining prejudices to reach the 
 goal. " By tliis fair hand I fwear," faid 
 he, preffing it to his lips, " that all I fay 
 proceeds from the ftrength and difmtereft^ 
 ednefs of my aiFe£lion." The entrance of 
 the Goddefs of Reafon, Mr. Myope, and 
 Mr. Glib, prevented her reply. She foon 
 t6*ok her leave, and her heart palpitating 
 with various contending emotions, returned 
 to her father's houfe. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 C 168 3 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 ** Mortals, in vain ye hope to find, 
 
 "If guilt, if fraud have ftain'd your mind, 
 
 " Or faint to hear, or angel to defend.'' 
 
 So Truth proclaims. I hear the facred found 
 
 Burfl from the centre of her burning throne, 
 
 Where aye (he fits, with ftar-wreath'd luftrc crownMt 
 
 A bright fun clafps her adamantine zone. 
 
 So Truth proclaims, her awful voice I hear. 
 
 With many a folemn paufe it flowly meets my car. 
 
 TN the perfonification of the virtues, Sin- 
 -■^ cerity ought certainly to be delineated 
 as the moil vindidlive of the whole groupe. 
 Inflexible in her decrees, and jealous of 
 her authority, flie hedges round her white 
 domain with (o many thorns, that it is 
 ImpofTible to depart from it for a fingle 
 moment with impunity. In endeavouring 
 '"■'^^-' to
 
 C 1G9 3 
 
 to effeft his efcape, the poor fugitive gets 
 fo entangled, that fliould he even fucceed 
 in avoiding the difgrace of detection, he 
 cannot avoid the flings of fhame and dif- 
 honour, which, if he have any feeling, will 
 pierce him to the quick. 
 
 Alarmed left the anfwer of Dr. Orweli 
 
 fliould by miftake have been delivered to 
 
 her father, Julia's firft care was to feek 
 
 the meiTenger it was fent by. He was nbl 
 
 yet returned. Indeed the boy thought he 
 
 never could have a' better opportunity of 
 
 taking his own time. The injunctions laid 
 
 upon him by his young miftrefs to conceal 
 
 his errand from her father, made him 
 
 quickly fenfible that flie was in his power. 
 
 Why ftiould he not indulge himfelf in a 
 
 game at marbles? If he ftaid ever fo long 
 
 flie durft not inform on him for her own 
 
 fake. And if Mifs told a lie, by faying fhc 
 
 fent him any where elfe, why (hould he 
 
 not tell her another? Could he pretend 
 
 to be better than Mifs. 
 
 Vexed
 
 [ 170 ] 
 
 Vexed at his delay, and trembling left it 
 fiiould occafion a difcovery, Julia began to 
 feel the thorns which flrewed the path on 
 which fhe had fo lately entered. The boy 
 at length arrived, and brought with him a 
 polite anfwer from Dr. Orwell, who wil- 
 lingly granted her requeft. She haftily 
 put the note in her pocket, and then went 
 to the parlour, where (lie found Mrs. 
 Gubbles, fenior, fitting with her father 
 and mother. 
 
 v, " Well, my love,'' faid Capt. Delmond, 
 •* what fays Dr. Orwell to your requeft r 
 Did you find all the family at home?" 
 
 *• Dr. Orwell is kind enough to let mc 
 have the gig whenever I pleafe, and dcfires 
 his compliments to you and my mamma.' 
 .>: * And pray,' faid Mrs. Delmond, ' did 
 you fee Mrs. Goodwin? I wonder llie did 
 iiot give you the receipt for the elder wine 
 which I fent to beg of her this morning. 
 .Shetold Nanny Ihe would write it out for 
 me before dinner. Did not ihe mention 
 k to you?' . ,^^.
 
 [ 171 ] 
 
 * No,* replied Julia, ' I — I did not fee? 
 Mrs. Goodwin.' 
 
 " Aye, but I warrant,'* cried Mrs. Cub- 
 bies with an arch fmile, " I warrant Mifs 
 faw fomebody better worth looking at. 
 There was young Mr. Sydney juft come 
 home from the colleges ; I faw him with 
 his father a going to the parfonage juft 
 before Mifs went outj one would be afto- 
 niflied to fee what a great, tall, proper man 
 he is grown. Good lack! it was but yef- 
 terday, as I think, fmce he was quite a 
 little baby; and now to be fure he is one 
 of the moft handfomeft and mod genteeleft 
 young men I ever feed in my life. Don't 
 you think fo, Mifs?" ..j 
 
 * I don't know, I did not fee him.' --.- 
 *' Not fee him! well that is the mofl: 
 
 extraordinary thing as ever I knew. He 
 could not poffibly come back without my 
 feeing him. You know I am quite in the 
 way, and notices every body as goes by: 
 not a foot on the ftreet, I warrant you, but 
 
 I knows
 
 [ 17i2 ] 
 
 I knows of. Ther^ is that heathenHh fet 
 as come to Mr. G lib's, who are all (hea- 
 ven preferve us!) faid to be no better than 
 fo many atheifts ; I fee'd them go by this 
 morning; there they are, all living at rack 
 and manger. A good hot fupper laft 
 night, and a fine dinner to-day. I wonder 
 what will come on it at laft? A pretty 
 thing, truly, for folks in their way to en- 
 tertain at fuch a- rate! If it was only their 
 own neighbours and' rowns-folks, it would 
 be a different thing; but to be throwing 
 a%ay their fubftance upon authors and 
 fuch fcum, it is a (hame to hear of it!'* 
 
 ' I fhould fuppofe, ma'm,' faid Julia with 
 fome warmth, * that Mr. Glib knows his 
 own affairs beft: I believe the party you 
 allude to are very refpe^table people, and 
 "do Mr. Glib great honour by their vifit.' 
 
 ^' It may be fo, Mifs. They may be very 
 >efpe£lable people, to be fure, for aught 
 I know; though I don't think it's the moft 
 refpe£lableft thing in the world, for peo- 
 
 pi.
 
 [ 173 ] 
 
 pie to be fneaking about the ftreets aB 
 night, that have no honed calling to take 
 them out of their warm beds.'* 
 . ' Do the people at Mr. Glib's keep fuch 
 iate hours?' enquired Capt. Delmond. 
 
 " I don't know for all of 'em," replied 
 the loquacious Mrs. Gabbles, " but be- 
 twixt four and iive this morning, as my 
 hufband was a going to Mrs. Dunftan's, 
 (who, as I \ras telling you as Mifs there 
 came in, has got a fine thumping boy) he 
 paffed that there tall one jufl at your gar- 
 den-gate, I don't know his name, but there 
 he was a perambulating through the ftreet, 
 and I leave you to judge, whether at that 
 late hour it was likely he had been build- 
 ing churches ?" 
 
 In the loud iaugh to which Mrs. Cub- 
 bies was excited by her own ivit^ Julia 
 felt no inclination to join. The confe- 
 quences of Vallatcn's having been feen in 
 his retreat from the arbour, filled her witb 
 terror and difmay. To conceal the in- 
 quietude
 
 [ 174 3 
 
 quietude of her mind, fhe made a pretence 
 for quitting the room, and did not return 
 till the vifitor was gone and dinner pu: 
 upon the table. 
 
 In places far removed from the great 
 and crouded theatre of the metropolis, the 
 fcenes of life (if we may be permitted to 
 carry on the hacknied allufion) come fo 
 near the eye, that every little wheel and 
 pulley becomes vifible to the audience. 
 The aflors are there indeed fo few, and fo 
 feldora do any incidents occur in the rural 
 drama of fufficient importance to excite a 
 general intereft, that if the good people in 
 a country town were not to find a fubfli- 
 tute for more important articles of intelli- 
 gence in the minutiae of family tranfa^lions, 
 they muft either be condemned to filence, 
 or laid under the dreadful neceffity of cul- 
 tivating internal refources. No fuch mi- 
 ferable alternative awaits the happier in- 
 habitant of the metropolis. There day 
 unto day furnilhes an everlafling fund for 
 
 talk.
 
 C 175 3 
 
 talk, and the infatiable third for news i9 
 gratified by fuch a fucceflion of great 
 events, that though petty fcandal may ferine 
 as a relifh, it is by no means an abfolutc 
 necelTary of life. In the country, where 
 the appetite for news is not a whit lefs 
 voracious, it is obliged to put up with a 
 more limited bill of fare: the minuted 
 aftion of every neighbour is there, indeed, 
 very liberally ferved up, while conje£lure2 
 on its caufe and its confequences ferve a? 
 fauce to the entertainment. 
 
 The valetudinary date of Captain Del- 
 raond's health, which deprived him of 
 thofe refources for killing time to which 
 he had formerly been accudomed, made 
 him glad to fill the vacuum by any piece 
 of intelligence that offered: even a vifit 
 from Mrs. Gubbles was on this account 
 acceptable, as no one poffeffed more infor- 
 mation concerning the date of affairs in 
 the village and its neighbourhood than that 
 good lady. Wherever Ihe went, fhe gene- 
 rally
 
 [ ^76 ] 
 
 rally left heads of difcourfe to occupy the 
 remainder of the day ; fo it appeared likely 
 to be at prefent. The birth of Mafter 
 Dunflan, the fortune he was likely to in- 
 herit, the age of his mother, and the quef- 
 tion of who was mofl likely to be afked to 
 ftand god-father upon the important occa- 
 fion, having been all fucceffively difcufTed; 
 the return of Henry Sydney came next 
 under confideration. 
 
 Had Julia heard nothing of him at the 
 parfonage? 
 
 It was very extraordinary. Who did 
 flie lee there? Julia, at a lofs for a reply, 
 hefitated, and then faid flie had only feen 
 Dr. Orwell. 
 
 " Were you in the faloon?" 
 
 * No.' 
 
 " Oh! then the matter is plain enough; 
 the ladies wiftied to have the gentleman 
 all to themfelves, and fo the Doflor did 
 not invite you to go in? Ay, ay, let the 
 parfon alone. He did not choofe to trou- 
 ble;
 
 [ 177 J 
 
 ble his daughters with a female vifitor, 
 when he knew they were more agreeably 
 engaged." 
 
 * Indeed, fir, Dr. Orwell was to-day as 
 he always is, very kind and polite. I am 
 fure he and his daughters are equally above 
 every little jealoufy.' 
 
 " Well, well, it may be fo; but who 
 are thofe people at Glib's ? You fpoke to 
 Mrs. Gubbles as if you had known fome- 
 thing of them." 
 
 * I believe it is Mr. Myope, the great 
 author, and his lady; I have met them at 
 Mrs. Botherim's: they are very genteel, 
 well-informed people.' 
 
 '' And the tall young man who was feen 
 lurking about the (treets at that unfeafon- 
 able hour; what is he?" 
 
 ^ I don't know indeed,' replied Julia, 
 looking at the fame time out of the window, 
 f I can't tell who Mrs. Gubbles meant.' 
 
 " Some idle fellow of an author too, I 
 fuppofe," rejoined her father; " one who I 
 
 voL« I. N dare
 
 C 178 ] 
 
 dare fay would be very properly employed 
 in carrying a muilcer. Really, my dear, 
 I am fomewhat afraid that Mrs. Botherim 
 is not quite difficult enough in regard to 
 the choice of her guefts. Authors and 
 thefe fort of people may be very good in 
 their way, but they are by no means pro- 
 per acquaintances for my Julia." 
 
 * Bur, my dear fir, ought we not to pay 
 fome refpefl to talents and genius, even 
 though deftitute of fortune?* 
 
 " Fortune! — ^I defpife fortune as much 
 as any man; but will talents and genius 
 make a gentleman? And are not all the 
 authors who have talents or genius known 
 to be democrats in their hearts. Talk not 
 to me of fuch people, my dear, they ought 
 to be the dread and deteflation of every 
 loyal /ubjea." 
 
 This was a theme on which Julia was 
 ever fearful of entering. She knew her 
 father's prejudices to be unconquerable. 
 It was this circurailance which had hither- 
 
 td
 
 [ m I 
 
 to prevented her from bringing him ac* 
 quainted with Vallaton, whofe patriotifm 
 (o pure, (o difmterefled, fo enlightened, 
 mufi: be (hocked at fentiments fo oppofite 
 to his own! Even fliould his refpecl for 
 her impofe upon him a filence repugnant 
 to his generous principles of hazarding all 
 for truth, he could not fail to be wounded 
 at the expreffions which, if the fubjeci: of 
 politicks was darted, would infallibly drop 
 from her father's tongue. She had, there- 
 fore, moil carefully concealed her know- 
 ledge of him from Capt. Delmond, who 
 file w^ell knew would on his part be equally 
 fliocked at the enlightened fyftem of her 
 new preceptor. 
 
 This concealment flie at firfl imagined 
 would have been a very eafy matter; but 
 ftie foon experienced the torment which, 
 in a generous mind, attends the leafl at- 
 tempt at difingenuity. The entrance of 
 Henry Sydney and his filler relieved her 
 prefent embarraflraent. The latter came 
 
 N 2 to
 
 10 requefl the favour of Mifs Delmond^a 
 company to a rural feaft in the hay-field, 
 to which the Captain, who confidered the 
 fymptoms of indifpofition he had lately 
 remarked in his daughter to originate in 
 too much confinement, readily acquiefced ; 
 and Julia, who now for the firft time of her 
 life was happy in any cxcufe that could re- 
 lieve her from the burthen of her father's 
 prefence, haftily prepared herfelf to attend 
 her amiable friend. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 181 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 « Where the fenfe of the fpeech is but ill undenlood, 
 " We are bound to fuppofe it uncommonly good." 
 
 Simkin's Letters. 
 
 TT is now time to return to Mifs Bothe- 
 -■- rim, whom we left very properly re- 
 buking her mother for the fault committed 
 by her domeftick. In reply to a very long 
 and very learned exhortation, which had, 
 however, nearly exhaufted the good lady's 
 patience, " I tell you, Biddy," faid Mrs. 
 Botherim, " that though coming into the 
 parlour and fpeaking of your wig before 
 the gentlemen was not his bufinefs, to be 
 fure, yet he is a very good boy for all that. 
 He takes fuch care of the cow, and is fo 
 kind to all the dumb creatures, that he mud 
 Ve good," 
 
 ' Goot^.!'
 
 L 182 ] 
 
 ' Good!* repeated Bridgetlna with great 
 indignation, * It appears, madam, that you 
 know very little of the nature of goodnefs. 
 What is goodnefs but virtue? Considered 
 as a personal quality ^it consists in the disposi- 
 tion of the ?nindy and?Jiay be defined a desire 
 to promote the benefit of intelligent beings in 
 general^ the quantity of virtue being as the 
 quantity of desire. Now desire is another 
 name for preference^ or a perception of the 
 excellences real or supposed^ of any object ; 
 and iL'hat perception of excellence can a being 
 so unenlightened possibly possess?* 
 
 " You know very well, daughter,'* re- 
 joined Mrs. Botherim, " that I cannot an- 
 fwer you in all them there argumentations; 
 but I can tell you that it will be long enough 
 before v/e get a better boy than Bill, and 
 that there is not a cow upon the common 
 half fo w^ell fed as ours." 
 
 ' It is aftrange thing, mother,' rejoined 
 BrJdgctina, ' that you never will learn to 
 generalize your ideas. The boy may take 
 
 very
 
 [ 183 ] 
 
 very good care of your cow, and by lead- 
 ing her to the bed pafture, promote both 
 her benefit and yours; but if kc derives 
 this benefit^ 7iot from a clear and disti?id 
 perception of what it is in which it coJisists^ 
 but from the unexamined lessons of education^ 
 from the physical effeci of sympathy^ or from 
 any species of %eal unallied to and incom- 
 mensurate with knowledge^ can this desire 
 be admitted for njirtiwus? If your preju- 
 dices were not invulnerable, you would not 
 hefitate to acknowledge that it ought not; 
 and if his adtions cannot be admitted for 
 virtuous, how can he be called good?' 
 
 To this Mrs. Botherim was incapable of 
 making any reply. A filence of fome mi- 
 nutes enfued, which the mother at length 
 broke ; " I was thinking," faid (lie, " my 
 dear, whether we might not drink tea with 
 Mifs Sydney this evening; now that her 
 brother is comx home, the compliment will 
 be expecfled ; and you know next week is 
 the week of our great wafb, when I never 
 
 goes
 
 [ 184 ] 
 
 goes from home, and to-morrow I muS 
 look over your things to prepare for it ; fo 
 as it will be a long time before I have an 
 other day, I think we had as well go this/ 
 The propofal was too agreeable to Mifs 
 Botherim to be rejected. A meffenger 
 was difpatched to notify their intention; 
 and while Mrs. Botherim betook herfelf 
 to the talk of combino: out the unfortunate 
 trelTes, whofe lucklefs fate hath already ex- 
 cited the reader's commiferation. Bridge- 
 tina retired to her library to ftudy for the 
 difcourfe of the evening. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 I 185 3 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 « Thefe gentle hours that plenty bade to bloom; 
 «* Thofe calm deOres that afk'd but little room; 
 " Thofe healthful fports that graced the peaceful fcene, 
 « lAv'd in each look, and brighten'd all the green." 
 
 (Goldsmith, 
 
 OUR heroine beflowed fo much time 
 on the tedious labours of the toilet, 
 that the little party at Mr. Sydney's had 
 enjoyed nearly an hour of each other's fo- 
 ciety before ilie and her mother appeared. 
 They found the houfe deferted of its inha- 
 bitants, but were conducted by a little girl 
 through the garden into a meadow which 
 beautifully Hoped towards the river. On 
 the lower part a groupe of hay-makers 
 were at work ; Mr, Sydney, and his friend 
 the rector, were cheerfully converfmg with 
 
 the
 
 [ 186 ] 
 
 the ruftick band, and encouraging the in- 
 nocent merriment which lightened all their 
 toil. At the upper part of the field was 
 Mrs. Martha Goodwin and her nieces, to- 
 gether with Julia, Maria Sydney, and her 
 brother, all at work ; fome fettling the camp 
 ftools which they had carried in their own 
 hands, fome depofiting their (hare of the 
 tea equipage upon the table which Henry 
 had jail fixed beneath the fhade of a fpread- 
 ing elm, and in a fpot from which the mod 
 delightful profpeft of the country opened 
 to the view. All was hilarity and eafe, 
 cheerfuinefs and good-humour. 
 
 Ceremony, that tirefome and ineffective 
 fubflitute for true politenefs, found no ad- 
 mittance here. NeceiTary as her prefence 
 is deemed, and neceffary as it in reality 
 may be, to prefer ve the decorum of a city 
 rout, it could be difpenfed with by the 
 prefent party without any apprehenfion of 
 inconvenience. Where confidence of mu- 
 tual good-will and congenial harmony of 
 
 fentiment
 
 [ 187 ] 
 
 fentiment influence every breafl:, and the 
 polifb of the manners proceeds from the 
 poliili of the mind, the forms of ceremony 
 are as ufelefs as impertinent. 
 
 If the art of making every one around 
 feel eafy and comfortable be accounted a 
 mark of true politenefs, Mifs S)^dney muft 
 be confelTed to do the honours of her ta- 
 ble as an adept. She had feen little of 
 what is called the world, but the few ac- 
 quaintances with whom ihe was accuftomed 
 to affociate, were all well-bred and fenfible. 
 
 Ever attentive to the wants, and obfer- 
 vant to the manners of others, ihe would 
 have conduced herfelf with propriety m 
 any fcene or upon any occafion that could 
 polTibly have occurred. Her good breed- 
 ing was indeed of that flerling fort that 
 might pafs current in any country of the 
 civilized world ; and mufl be confelTed ia 
 this refpefl to pofTefs fome advantage over 
 that of the frivolous votaries of failiion, 
 whofe knowled2:e of the artificial forms of 
 
 ceremony,
 
 [ 18S ] 
 
 ceremony, like the paper money of a 
 country bank, has only a circumfcribed 
 and local value. 
 
 The natural vivacity of Maria's temper 
 had been long fupprelTed by an unremitting 
 and painful attendance on the death-bed 
 of her mother. Time had worn olf the 
 fliarp edge of forrow, but had not quite 
 reftored her ufual cheer fulnefs, when the 
 return of her darling brother gave new ani- 
 mation to her fpirits, and once more turned 
 ber heart to joy. 
 
 She had the pleafure of feeing her hap- 
 pinefs diffufive. Every eye feemed to 
 fparkle with a delight refponfive to that 
 which glowed in her own bread. Even 
 Julia, whofe once gay and lively fplrits 
 had of late been chilled and frozen in the 
 cold region of metaphyfics, feemed re^r 
 animated by the participation of pleafures 
 congenial to youth and nature. She en- 
 tered into the amufements of her friends, 
 joined in the light-hearted laugh, retorted 
 
 thQ
 
 [ m J 
 
 the inoSenfive raillery, and was one of die 
 mod bufy in preparing for the rural feail. 
 She and Harriet Orwell had jufl: finilhed 
 decorating a bafket of ftrawberries with ;t 
 wreath of flowers which Henry had ga- 
 thered, and were with light and graceful 
 ileps bearing it betwixt them to the tabic, 
 while Henry, keeping his feat upon the 
 grafs, was with eyes of rapture following 
 every motion of the lovely pair, when the 
 fmall ihrill voice of Mifs Botherim accoiled 
 his ears, and drew his attention from thefe 
 engaging obje^s. 
 
 * So Doctor,' cried ilie, ' I perceive 
 that you have retired to tafte the pleafures 
 of abftraft fpeculation. How I admire a 
 taile fo fimilar to my own! Divine conge- 
 niality of ■cntiment! it is thou alone can'il 
 give a tafte of true felicity to enlightened 
 minds!' 
 
 Henry, whofc contemplations of what- 
 ever nature they were, feemed little dil- 
 pofed to relilh this interruption, made no 
 
 othss:
 
 [ 190 1 
 
 Other reply than the common form of fa* 
 lutation; but fuddenly rifmg and placing 
 himfelf by the fide of Mrs. Botherim, he 
 begged to attend the ladies to his fifter. 
 
 Bridgetina, who humanely refolved to 
 treat her chofen lover with all imaginable 
 tendernefs, immediately went round to his 
 fide, and inftantly began her well-conned 
 converfation. 
 
 ' I have jufl been renovating my ener- 
 gies, ' faid {he, * by the imprelFive elo- 
 quence of RoufTeau. I need not alk whe- 
 ther the fublime virtues of his Eloifa do 
 not enrapture your foul ? Was any charac- 
 ter ever drawn fo natural, fo fublime, fo 
 truly virtuous ?' 
 
 " I am forry that I cannot perfe^lly 
 agree with you," replied Henry; " but 
 here are the ladies, they had almoft de- 
 fpaired of feeing you." 
 
 Maria then came forward, and politely 
 led her guells to the feats (he had prepared 
 for them ; while Henry flipt round to the 
 
 oppofite
 
 L 191 1 
 
 ©ppofitefide of the table, and took pofreiTion 
 of a little turfy knoll, which feparated the 
 feats of Harriet and Julia. 
 
 Though the converfation that com- 
 menced between thefe young people was, 
 if we may judge from the fmile of fatisfac- 
 tion that played upon their countenances, 
 fufficiently entertaining to themfeives, it 
 might probably be with juftice confidered 
 beneath the dignity of hiftory. Happily 
 for the edification of the learned reader, it 
 received an interruption from Bridgetina, 
 who, as (he never truiled to the fponta- 
 neous effufion of the moment, might al- 
 ways be fdid to fpeak for the prefs. 
 
 The buflie of the tea-table, and the play- 
 ful contention which attended the diftribu- 
 bution of fx'uit, cakes, &c. for fome time 
 flopt the torrent of her eloquence ; but it 
 was only ftopt to pour forth at the firft op- 
 portunity with redoubled force. 
 
 ' Dr. Henry Sydney,' cried ihc, in a 
 voice fulBcicntly audible, * I muft call upon 
 
 you
 
 [ 192 1 
 
 you for an explanation of the words you 
 uttered before tea, which feemed to my 
 apprehenfion to caft a doubt upon the fu- 
 blime virtue of Eloifa. If it be to that 
 part of her conduct which feems to have 
 been dictated by her prejudices as a reh- 
 gionifl that you objeft, I have nothing to 
 plead in her defence. But as to her affair 
 with St. Preux, it wa^ furely the mofl: fu- 
 blime inftance of abftra^l virtue! A virtue 
 fuperior to the fantaftic prejudices of a dif- 
 tempered civilization; and which, in the 
 wild career of energetic feeling, nobly 
 purfued the fentiments of nature. Is it 
 poifible that you can perceive no charms in 
 fuch a conduct ?' 
 
 " Situated as St. Preux," replied Henry, 
 (while an ingenuous modefty heightened 
 the colour of his expreflive countenance) 
 " I will not pretend to anfwer for myfelf. 
 No fuch fituation, however, can poffibly oc- 
 cur; for never will there be an Eloifa fuch as 
 Rouifeau's vivid imagination has dcfcribed. 
 
 The
 
 [ 193 ] 
 
 The different parts of her charafler are 
 indeed incompatible with each other." 
 
 ' In what refpecl?' aiked Bridgetina. 
 
 " In minds of a certain cad:," returned 
 Henry, " the licentious paiTions may revel 
 in the heart, while the imagination is form- 
 ing the moil fublime conceptions of exalted 
 virtue. But the virtues of Heloife are not 
 the tranfient effufions of this fpecies of en- 
 thufiafm, they are reprefented as the fteady 
 and dignified offspring of reafon. With 
 fuch principles a part of her conduft is 
 utterly inconfiftent, and therefore, in my 
 opinion, unnatural and abfurd." 
 
 ' Indeed, Doctor," replied Bridgetina, 
 ' I ftiould not have expelled to have found 
 you infe£led by the prejudices which are 
 engendered by the unneceffary inftltutions 
 of a depraved fociety. But when fublimer 
 notions of things have been fufficiently 
 generated by philofophy, depend upon it 
 the example of Eloifa will prove a model 
 to her fex.' 
 
 VOL. I. o *' The
 
 [ m ] 
 
 " The example of Eloifa!^' repeated 
 old Mr. Sydney ; " was ihe not a wanton 
 baggage, who was got with child by her 
 tutor ? I remember reading an extract from 
 the -book in an old review; and I muft 
 fay the world was very little obliged to 
 Mr. RouiTeau for publifhing fuch a ftory. 
 He might intend it, and if he was a good 
 man he doubtlefs did intend it, as a warn- 
 ing to young women to beware of falling 
 into the fnares of men ; but, alas ! I am 
 afraid it has done little good.*' 
 
 * I never read the book in queflion,* 
 faid Dr* Orwell, ' but of RoulTeau's fyf- 
 tem of female education, I think the cir- 
 cumftance you allude to might very natu- 
 rally be the refult. A creature inflru6led 
 in no duty but the art of pleafmg, and 
 taught that the fole end of her creation 
 was to attraft the attention of the men, 
 could not be expelled to tread very firmly 
 In the paths of virtue.* 
 
 " I woo-
 
 [ 195 ] 
 
 " I wonder," faid Mrs. Martha Good- 
 win, " what RoufTeau would have done 
 with all the ordinary girls, for it is plain 
 his fyflem is adapted only for beauties ^^ 
 and (hould any of thefe poor beauties fail 
 in getting hufbands, God help them, poor 
 things! they would make very miferable 
 old maids." 
 
 * Beauty, madam,* cried Bridgetina, ' is 
 a confideration beneath the notice of a 
 philofopher, as the want of it is no moral 
 obftacle to love: will not the mind that is 
 fufEciently enlightened always behold the 
 preferablenefs of certain objects?' conti- 
 nued fhe, drawing up her long craggy 
 neck fo as to put the (hrivelled parchment- 
 like Ikin which covered it upon the full 
 ftretch. ' In a reafonable (late of fociety 
 women will not reftrain their powers, they 
 will then difplay their energies; and the 
 vigour of their minds exerted in the win- 
 ning eloquence of courtftiip, will not be 
 exerted in vain. There will then be no 
 
 O 2 old
 
 C 19G ] 
 
 old maids, or none but fools will be fo. 
 As to RouiTeau, it is plain that he was a 
 flranger to the rights of women.' 
 
 " The inconfiftency and folly of his fyf- 
 tem," faid Henry, " was, perhaps, never 
 better expofed than in the very ingenious 
 publication which takes the Rights of Wo- 
 men for its tide. Pity that the very fenfi- 
 ble authorefs has foraetimes permitted her 
 zeal to hurry her into expreiTions which 
 have raifed a prejudice againfl: the whole. 
 To fuperficial readers it appears to be her 
 intention to unfex women entirely. But — " 
 
 ' And why fhould there be any diftinc- 
 tion of fex?' cried Bridgetina, interrupt- 
 ing him ; ' Are not moral caufes fuperior 
 to phyfical? And are not women formed 
 with powers and energies capable of per- 
 fe<ftibility? Ah! miferable and deplorable 
 {late of things in which thefe powers are 
 debafed by the meannefs of houfhold cares! 
 Ah! wretched woman, reftrained by the 
 cruel fetters of decorum ! Vile and ignoble 
 
 bondage I
 
 [ -'97 ] 
 
 bondage! the ofFspring of an unjufl: and 
 odious tyranny, a tyranny wliofe remorfe- 
 lefs cruelty alligns to woman the care of 
 her family ! But the time fliall come when 
 the mind of woman will be too enlightened 
 to fubmit to the ilavifli taik!' 
 
 " Indeed, Mifs Botherim,'' (iiid Harrier, 
 *' I do not think that there is any thing 
 either flavifh or diU.^reeablc in the taik: 
 nor do I think a woman's energies, as you 
 call them, can poffibly be better employed. 
 Surely the performance of the duties that 
 are annexed to our fituation, can never be 
 deemed mean or ignoble? For my fhare, 
 fo far from feeling any derogation of dig- 
 nity in domcflic employment; I always 
 feel exalted from the confcioufnefs of be- 
 ing ufcful." 
 
 * I hope you will never ceafe to do fo, my 
 dear,' faid her father, ' and you will enfure 
 to yourfelf a never-fiiiling fource of hap- 
 pinefs and contentment. It appears to me 
 that each fex, in every fituation in life, has 
 
 its
 
 [ 193 ] 
 
 its peculiar duties afligned to it by that good 
 Providence which governs all things, and 
 which feems to delight in order. For the 
 prefervation of this order, the inferior 
 creation are endowed with an inflin£l which 
 impels them to the peculiar mode of life 
 bed fuited to their fpecies. To man a 
 higher behefl: is granted ; to him reafon is 
 given as the fovereign director of his con- 
 duct. Alas ! that pride and palTion fliould 
 lb often render the precious gift of no 
 avail! It is thefe which, under various 
 difguifes, have generally influenced all the 
 fyftem-makers who have taken upon them 
 to prefcribe the duties of the fex. Thefe 
 have, according to their feveral prejudices, 
 laid down the law which was to govern 
 the whole. The befl of thefe have only 
 given rules of conduft where they ought 
 to have infufed principles of a6lion: the 
 few who have not treated women as mere 
 machines, incapable of reafon, have made 
 it their bufmefs to pervert that reafon by 
 
 turning
 
 C 199 ] 
 
 turning it into a principle of revolt againft 
 the order of Providence, exciting to a fpi- 
 rit of murmuring and difcontent, as diftant 
 from true wifdom as it is inimical to real 
 happinefs. One philofopher, and one 
 only, has appeared, who, fuperior to all 
 prejudices, invariably treated the female fex 
 as beings who were to be taught the per- 
 formance of duty, not by arbitrary regu- 
 lations confined to particular parts of con- 
 duel, but by the knowledge of principles 
 which enlighten the underftanding and im- 
 prove the heart." 
 
 * And pray what was the name of this 
 philofopher, fir ?' faid Bridgetina, ' I won- 
 der whether he is an acquaintance of Mr. 
 Myope's, I never heard him fpeak of him.' 
 
 <c Very probably not,'' rejoined Dr, 
 Orwell; " his name was Jesus Christ. 
 He was the firft philofopher who placed 
 the female character in a refpe£lable point 
 of view. Women, we learn from the go{- 
 pels, frequently compofed a great part of 
 
 his
 
 [ 200 ] 
 
 his audience: but to them no particular 
 precepts were addrefled, no fexual virtues 
 recommended. He knew that by whom- 
 foever his do6lrines were fmcerely received, 
 the duties annexed to their fituation would 
 be fully and confcientioufly fulfilled. His 
 morality was addreffed to the judgment 
 without diftinflion of fex. His laws went 
 not to fix the boundaries of prerogative, 
 and to prefcribe the minutiae of behaviour, 
 but to fix purity and humility in the heart. 
 And believe me, my children, the heart 
 that is thus prepared, will not be apt to 
 murmur at its lot in life. It will be ready 
 to perceive, that true dignity confifts not in 
 the nature of the duty that is required of 
 us, but in its juO: performance. The fm- 
 gle woman Whofe mind is cmbued with 
 thefe virtues, while (he employs her leifure 
 in cultivating her own underdanding, and 
 jn[lru£ling that of others, in feeking for 
 objefls on which to exert her charity and 
 benevolence, and in offices of kindnefs and 
 
 good-
 
 [ 201 ] 
 
 good-will to her fellow-creatures, will never 
 confider her fituation as abje61: or forlorn. 
 Nor will fhe who is the mother of a ta- 
 mily, confider its humblefl duties as mean, 
 or void of dignity and importance. The 
 light of the mind is necelTary for the per- 
 formance of every duty ; and great is the 
 miftake of thofe who think ignorance the 
 guard of innocence and virtue." 
 
 ' What you have faid, my good friend/ 
 faid old Mr. Sydney, * well explains the 
 caufe, why minds deflitute of the folid 
 principles of religion no fooner get a 
 fmattering of knowledge than they re- 
 nounce the refpe£lable duties of their fex; 
 flying from the pod affigned them by na- 
 ture and Providence, they vainly attempt 
 to feize the command of that which it is 
 impoflTible they can ever reach. It is, in- 
 deed, as you juilly obferve, in the IciTons 
 of our great Mafter alone that a preferva- 
 tive is to be found againft this folly. They 
 offer a fovereign antidote againil thefwell-
 
 [ 202 ] 
 
 ings of pride and the efFufions of vanity; 
 they efFedually prepare the mind, not 
 merely for moving in one particuLir fphere, 
 but for a£ling with fenfe and propriety in 
 every fituation. Whether married or 
 unmarried, the woman who is thus in- 
 ftru£led, will fuflain her part with dignity; 
 and the man who is influenced by the 
 fame principles, will behave to her with 
 the refpedt that is due to a joint heir of 
 immortality.' 
 
 " Yes,'' rejoined Dr. Orwell, " if the 
 fublime truths of the gofpel had their pro- 
 per influence upon our fex, women would 
 have little reafon to complain. It is impof- 
 fible that a real Chriftian fliould ever be a 
 tyrant. To gratify the paflion for domi- 
 nion, or to exercife the pride of power, 
 can never be an obje6l with him who has 
 imbibed the fpirit which pervades the phi- 
 lofophy of Jesus. He can never form 
 the wifli of degrading the partner of his 
 bofom to the condition of a flave." 
 
 *AIas!'
 
 [ 203 ] 
 
 * Alas !' faid Mrs. Martha, ^ I am afraid, 
 brother, that fuch fort of Chriftians arc 
 very rare. When I have heard you, and 
 our good friend Mr. Sydney here, cxpa- 
 tiatin upon the exercife of Chriftian vir- 
 tues, I have often thought it a great pity 
 that the heads of our church had not, in- 
 ftead of prefcribing confeffions of faith 
 with regard to abftrufe and fpeculative 
 points of doclrine, confined themfelves to 
 thofe which are chi- fly infifted upon in the 
 difcourfes of our Saviour. The creed uni- 
 verfally enjoined iliould then have begun 
 with " I beheve it is my duty to love my 
 neighbour as myfelf, and to do to others 
 as I would have others do to me on the 
 like occafion;*' and fo gone on through 
 the virtues of humility, meeknefs, and cha- 
 rity; brotherly love, forgivenefs of inju- 
 ries, &c. &c. which articles might have 
 been figned by the mod tender confcicnce, 
 and might probably have been repeated 
 with as much advantage to the foul as the 
 moft incomprehenfible myflery.' ^^ .
 
 [ eo4^ ] 
 
 '•*' It is a very ingenious thought. Ma- 
 dam/' faid Mr. Sydney, '' and would have 
 done more towards coalefcing the different 
 fe£ls into which the Chriitian world is fo 
 unhappily divided, than any mode that has 
 yet been adopted. I fear, however, that 
 the meafure w^ould meet with fome oppo- 
 fition from the. zealots of every party. 
 The confeffion of charity and brotherly 
 love would be juftly deemed an innovation 
 big with alarm, and quite inimical to the 
 fpirit of party zeal. But come, Maria, 
 here we are talking avvay about loving 
 our neighbours as ourfelves, and never 
 thinking of our thirdy friends in the hay- 
 field. Go, my dear, and order them fome 
 refrefliment ; let them have the befl cheefe 
 of the dairy, and the beft ale that our cel- 
 lar affords, and fee that it be given them 
 by yourfelf. Never depute another to do 
 an office of kindnefs which you may your- 
 felf perform. Be affured that the iT>anner 
 of doing it is more than half its value.'* 
 
 With
 
 C 205 ] 
 
 With cheerful al'dcrity Maria rofe to 
 obey her father's commands: Harriet ia- 
 fifted on accompanying her ; Julia would 
 not be left behind ; and Henry probably 
 thought his prefence would be neceilary 
 to affill: his filler, for he too chofe to be 
 of the party. Bridgetina feeing the mo- 
 tion of Henry would have likewife fol- 
 lowed, but before fbe could contrive to 
 fidle down from her feat, which was ra- 
 ther the highefi:, the active groupe were 
 more than half-way to the houfe. Mr. 
 Sydney, apprehenfive from her moving 
 that fhe was tired of her feat, propofed 
 their taking a walk down the field, which 
 was aiTented to rlie more readily by Bridge- 
 tina as (he there hoped for an opportunity 
 of introducing fome philofophical obferva- 
 tions with which flie had indeed come 
 ready prepared, but which the untoward 
 turn the difcourfe had taken, had prevented 
 her from introducing. 
 
 The
 
 [ ^06 ] 
 
 The approach of Mr. Sydney and his 
 party was obferved with pleafure by the 
 hay-makers, who knew that he was no 
 hard talk-mafter, that where reproof was 
 necelTary he reproved with gentlenefs, but 
 that he never withheld from the deferving 
 the jufl: tribute of applaufe. In truth, 
 their labour being divided among many 
 more hands than was necelTary was by no 
 means hard ; many found employment here 
 who would have been rejected by more 
 fcientific farmers. 
 
 " E'en ftooping age is here; and infant hands 
 " Trail the long rake, or with the fragrant load 
 *' Overcharged amid the kind oppreffion roll." 
 
 The glee of the rufliics was foon flill 
 further animated, on beholding Maria and 
 her friends advancing in gay proceiTion 
 with a profufe fupply of refrefliments. 
 Maria carried the goblet which, like an- 
 other Hebe, flie prefented to all around, 
 and which was plentifully repleniflied from 
 
 the
 
 [ ^07 ] 
 
 the pitcher borne by Henry. Harriet and 
 Julia took upon themfelves the diftribution- 
 of the bread and cheefe, giving, at the 
 defire of Mr. Sydney, a double portion to 
 fuch as had left any part of their family 
 at home. Every face wore the appear- 
 ance of cheerfulnefs and contentment. 
 
 ' Miferable wretches 1' exclaimed Bridge- 
 tina; ' how doth theinjuftice under which 
 you groan, generate the fpirit of virtuous 
 indignation in the breads of the enlight- 
 ened.' 
 
 " What d'ye fay, Mifs ?" faid an old man 
 who imagined her eyes were direfted to- 
 ward him, though in reality flie was fted- 
 faftly looking in Henry's face. " What 
 d'ye fay, Mifs," repeated he, " about any 
 one's being miferable?" 
 
 ' I fay,' returned Bridgetina, ' that you 
 ought to be truly wretched.' 
 
 " And why fo, Mifs? what has I done 
 to deferve to be wretched? I works as 
 hardly, and I gets as good wages, as any 
 
 man
 
 [ 208 ] 
 
 man In the parilli; my wife has good 
 health, and we never lofl a child. What 
 fliould make me wretched?" 
 
 ' Miferablc depravity!' cried Bridgetina, 
 * how abje^l that mind which can bead: of 
 its degradation! Rejoice in receiving 
 wages! No wonder that gratitude, that 
 bafe and immoral principle, fhould be har- 
 boured in fuch a bread!' 
 
 " Why, Mifs," returned the man, con- 
 fiderably irritated by her harangue, " I 
 would have you to know as how that I 
 don't underiland being made game of; and 
 if you mean for to fay that 1 have no gra- 
 titude, I defy your malice. I am as grate- 
 ful for a good turn as any man hving. I 
 would go ten miles at midnight upon my 
 bare feet to ferve young Mr. Sydney there, 
 who faved my poor Tommy's life in the 
 fmall-pox: poor fellow, he's remembers it 
 flill — don't ye Tommy? Aye that a does; 
 and if thou ever forgets it thou art no true 
 fon of thy faither's." 
 
 Here
 
 [ 209 ] 
 
 Here Mrs. Martha interpofed, and by a 
 few kind words allayed the refentment 
 which the declamation of Bridgetina had 
 enkindled. She then invited our heroine 
 to walk with her, and as foon as they were 
 out of the hearing of the labourers, aiked 
 her what was her motive for thinking that 
 poor man fo miferable. 
 
 ' And are not all miferable ?' faid Bridge- 
 tina. ' Are not all who live in this deplo* 
 rable ftate of diflempered civilization mi- 
 ferable, and wretched, and unhappy?' 
 
 " Indeed, my dear Mifs Botherim," re- 
 joined Mrs. Martha, " I have the comfort 
 of aiTuring you that you are very much 
 miflaken. In the dwellings of the poor I 
 am no ftranger. As fortune has not put 
 it in my power to do much towards re- 
 moving their w?.nts, I confider myfelf dou- 
 bly bound to do all I can towards relieving 
 their affliftions. For this purpofe I make 
 it my bufinefs to enquire into them ; and 
 in the courfe of thefe enquiries I have 
 
 VOL. I. p found
 
 [ 210 ] 
 
 found frequent caufe to admire the cJi'dcr 
 of Providence, in diftributing the portion 
 of happinefs with a much more equal hand 
 than on a flight view we could poflibly 
 imagine. I queflion, whether any lord in 
 the land enjoys half the fliare of content 
 and fatisfa(5i:ion that falls to the lot of that 
 induflrious labourer to whom you fpoke. 
 You ihall, if you pieafe, accompany me 
 fome evening to his cottage, which is one 
 of the neateft and pleafantefl little habita- 
 tions you ever vifited in your life. . You 
 may there, towards fun-fet, fee the poor 
 man fitting in his nicely-dreffed little gar- 
 den, and perhaps fmging fome old ballad 
 for the amufement of his children, while 
 their mother is preparing their fupper." 
 
 * Preparing their fupper !' repeated 
 Bridgetina. ' In that one expreffion you 
 have given an ample defcription of the mi- 
 fery of their flate. Preparing fupper! 
 Yes, ye wretched mortals, the whole of tlje 
 powers you possess is engaged in pursuit of 
 
 miserable
 
 [ 211 1 
 
 ftiiserable expedients to -protraB your exist* 
 ence, Te poor^ predestined vidims of igno- 
 rance and prejudice ! Te go forward mth 
 your heads boived down to the earth in a 
 mournful state of inanity and torpor, Tet 
 like the vidims of Circe, you have the under' 
 standing left to give you ever and anon a 
 ^li?npse of what ye might have been.^ 
 Wherever thefe poor wretches caft their 
 eyes, they behold nought but cruel aggra- 
 vations of their affli£lion, 
 
 * Suppofe them at their homely meal, 
 and that the fumptuous carriage of the 
 peer, whofe (lately maniion rifes on yonder 
 hill, fhould pafs their cottage. When 
 they behold my lord and lady lolling in 
 the gilded coach which is conveying 
 them home to the luxuriant rcpad pre- 
 pared by twenty cooks^ what effefl: will 
 the grating fight produce in their tortured 
 bofom.s ? Will not a fenfe of the inequa- 
 lity of their conditions wring their wretched 
 
 * Godwin's Enquireri , . 
 
 hearts f
 
 [ 213 ] 
 
 hearts? With what horror and difguft 
 will they then view the fmoking difli of 
 beans and bacon ? Will not their mouths 
 refufe to fwallow the loathed food, which 
 the thoughts of the tarts and cheefe-cakes 
 that cover the great man's table has con- 
 verted into bitternefs? Will they not leave 
 the untafted meal, and retiring to their bed 
 of chaff, or at bed of hen's-feathers, fpend 
 the gloomy night in drawing melancholy 
 comparifons betwixt the happy flate of the 
 peer and their own miferable condition ?' 
 
 *' And do you really believe all this, 
 my dear?'* faid Mrs. Martha, laughing. 
 " How in the name of wonder did fuch 
 Itrange notions come into your head ? Be 
 affured," continued fhe, " that thefe poor 
 people fee the equipage of my lord and 
 lady with the fame indifference that they 
 behold the flight of a bird ; and would as 
 foon think of grieving at the want of wings 
 as at the want of a carriage. Were you 
 to follow that lord and lady to their ban- 
 quet.
 
 r 213 ] 
 
 quet, you would foon be fenfible that it was 
 at their luxuriant feafl:, and not at the cot* 
 tager's fupper the fpirit of repining and 
 difcontent was to be found. At night, 
 when toiling on their feparate beds of 
 down, they might very probably be heard 
 to envy the found deep of the peafant^ 
 while the contented cottager in the arms 
 of his faithful wife, and furrounded by his 
 little babes, enjoyed the fweets of found 
 and uninterrupted repofe.'* 
 
 ' And fo,' faid Bridgetina, * your re- 
 ligion, I fuppofe, teaches ycu to be callous 
 to the miferies of the poor ?' 
 
 « God forbid 1" returned Mrs. Martha, 
 '' but my underdanding teaches me to dif- 
 criminate betwixt the natural evils that 
 are incident to poverty, and the fantaftic 
 and imaginary ones which have no exig- 
 ence but in the drenms of vifionaries. It 
 is one of the bielTings belonging to a life 
 of labour, to be exempted from the dif- 
 quietude of fancied ills. You miftakt me, 
 
 however,
 
 [ 214 ] 
 
 however, if you think I am infenfible to 
 the abundance of real ones that falls, alas! 
 too frequently to their lot. But in vifiting 
 their affli£l:ions, in advifing and confoling 
 them in their diftreffes, I conceive that I 
 conduce more efFe^lually to the alleviations 
 of their misfortuues, than if I were to in- 
 dulge myfelf in the moft gloomy reveries, 
 or by exaggerated defcriptions of their cala- 
 mities excite in the wretched obje<^l:s of my 
 compalTion the fpirit of difcontcnt. Let us 
 not forget, my dear Mifs Bother im, that the 
 efTence of charity is very apt to evaporate 
 in the bitternefs of declamation. The re- 
 iult of our a£i:ive benevolence is, on the 
 contrary, attended w^th the happiefl efFedls, 
 not only to the obje£ls of our bounty but 
 to ourfelves : — it returns to our own 
 breads, extinguiflies the fparks of difcon- 
 tcnt, quenches the flame of pride, and 
 keeps alive that fpirit of kindncfs and good- 
 will, which is the very bond of peace and 
 fource of focial happinefs/' 
 
 ' You
 
 C 215 ] 
 
 *= You are right, my filter,' faid Dr. 
 Orwell, who had heard the latter part of 
 the converfation ; ^ even the benevolence 
 of a Howard midit have deg^enerated into 
 mifanthrophy, if it had only been employed 
 in ab{lra<fl fpecula:ion upon human mifery. 
 Far be it from me, however, to fpeak of 
 the fufFerings of the poor with levity or 
 indifference. I too well know the daily 
 increafmg mii^ry of their fiiuation, and 
 too fmcerely deprecate the caufes which 
 have produced it. Thefe we may, with- 
 out difficulty, trace to the accelerated pro- 
 grcfs of luxury and its concomitant vices. 
 But can the feeble voice of declamation 
 ftem the mighty torrent? As well might 
 it arrefl the career of the winds, or flop 
 the fury of the raging elements. He alone 
 who governs the elemental ftrife, and from 
 *' feeming evil flill educes good," can, by 
 fome great national calamity, chaftife the 
 haughty pride of luxury, and open the 
 eyes of the ignorant and mifguided croud, 
 
 who
 
 [ 216 ] 
 
 who eftimate national profperity by the 
 fuperfluous riches heaped upon thousands 
 at the expence of the accumulated wretch- 
 cdnefs of millions of their fellow-creatures. 
 All we have to do as individuals, is to exert 
 our utmoft efforts to ameliorate the con- 
 dition of all within our reach.' 
 
 " What you obferved, fir," faid Henry, 
 addreffing himfelf to Dr. Orwell, " con- 
 cerning the exa£l proportion betwixt the 
 increafe of luxury and of poverty, I had 
 frequent occafion of remarking in my late 
 tour through Scotland." 
 
 * And may we not be favoured with ^n 
 account of this tour?' faid Harriet. * Let 
 us feat ourfelves down upon this bank, 
 where we (hall have a charming view of 
 the fetting fun, and while we feaft our 
 eyes upon its beauties, you fhall entertain 
 us with an account of Scodand.' 
 
 The motion was inftantly agreed to; 
 but Henry, far from availing himfelf of 
 the advantages which the fpot afforded for 
 
 beholding
 
 [ 217 ] 
 
 beholding the moft fplendid fpe6]:acle with 
 which nature has vouchfafed to favour the 
 inhabitants of this terreftrial fphere, turned 
 his back upon the kindling glories of the 
 fky, and contented himfelf with a full view 
 of Harriet's lovely face. Having placed 
 himfelf to his liking, he began as may be 
 read in the following chapter. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 [ 318 1 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 Nor ye who live 
 
 " In luxury and eafe,in pomp and pride, 
 « Think thefe loft themes unworthy of your ear : 
 " Such themes as thefe the rural Maro fung 
 ** To wide imperial Rome, in the full height 
 ** Of elegance and tafte, by Greece refined." 
 
 Thomson. 
 
 ** TF you confider the journal of my tour 
 -■- worthy your perufal," faid Henry, 
 '^^ it is very much at your fervice; you 
 will there find the defcription of a variety 
 of obje£ts which have efcaped the notice 
 of travel-writers, who have feldom gone 
 out of the beaten path. I, on the con- 
 trary, was feldom to be found in one. 
 
 *' As I traverfed the country on foot, I 
 had a more ample opportunity for obferving 
 
 its
 
 [ 219 1 
 
 its romantic fcenery. How many fublimc 
 profpc<fls did I enjoy from hills that had 
 never echoed the rattling of a carriage? 
 How often did I find the mod extraordi- 
 nary inflances of piflurefque beauty in 
 deep and woody glens, which would have 
 been equally dangerous to the horfe and 
 his rider? Sometimes I botanized along 
 the margin of a pellucid dream ; fometimes 
 I purfued my mineralogical refearches, 
 and gratified myfelf with fpecimens from 
 the grand Mufeum of Nature; but it was 
 the manners, the chara6ler of the inhabi- 
 tants that chiefly attracted my attention. 
 
 " I made no ufe of the many introduc- 
 tions I received from my friends in Edin- 
 burgh to the country gentlemen near 
 whofe feats I was to pafs, I truflcd to the 
 hofpitality of their tenants, and I was not 
 difappointed." 
 
 ' Well,' cried Mrs. Botherim, ' I vow I 
 am quite aftoniflied hov/ you could think of 
 trufting yourfelf among them there Scotch 
 
 favages,
 
 [ 250 ] 
 
 lavages, I would not have wondered if they 
 had murdered you. Why I heard my 
 late dear Mr. Botherim declare, that them 
 Scotch prclbyterians were the moil hor^ 
 rideil, wickedeil people in the world. And 
 then the wretches are fo very poor! not 
 one of them with rags to cover their nakedn 
 nefs ; faugh ! I wonder how you could en- 
 ter into their {linking houfes?* 
 
 ^* Believe me, Madam, that in the courfc 
 of one morning, in vifiting the out-patients 
 of the London Difpenfary, I have met 
 with more numerous and llriking inflances 
 of the extremes of poverty and wretched- 
 nefs, than were to be feen from the Banks 
 of the Tweed to Johnny Groat's houfe." 
 
 * That is juft what I fliould have ex- 
 pected,' faid Dr. Orwell, ' as every en- 
 joyment of luxury is purchafed by the 
 extraordinary labour of the poor, the 
 cfFe6ls mufl be chiefly feen in the fpot where 
 (he has fixed her empire. There too the 
 poor man comes within the vortex of her 
 
 vices
 
 [ 221 ] 
 
 vices. He learns to fcorn frugality, and 
 the hard earnings of his extraordinary la- 
 hour is diffipatcd in intemperance. But I 
 interrupt you, fir; pray proceed.' 
 
 " Every ftep I travelled, whether in 
 England or in Scotland," refumed Henry, 
 " tended to elucidate your alTertion. As 
 I receded from the capital, I found fimpli- 
 city gradually fupplying the place of low 
 and loathfome vice, till a decent cleanii- 
 nefs in poverty took place of fqualid wretch- 
 ednefs. The reverfe of this gave me no- 
 tice of my approach to fome great manufac- 
 turing town. There the manners again be- 
 came corrupted, and brutal ignorance and 
 impudent depravity again became the in- 
 mates of the poor man's hovel. 
 
 " Soon as I was furrounded by a ragged 
 and clamorous gang of young beggars, I 
 looked out for the llupendous cotton-mill, 
 or other great work where the parents of 
 the little wretches wxre earning, it may 
 be, three times the wages of the laborious 
 
 cottager.
 
 cottager, whofe honcfl: pride would rather 
 that himfelf fliould fuffcr ftarvation, than 
 that his children fhould fubmit to the mean 
 trade of beggary. But fentiraent is lofl: 
 in the fociety of the vicious, and of every 
 fpecies of vice untutored minds quickly 
 catch the contagion. 
 
 " Untutored, very untutored, indeed! 
 did I every where find the minds of our 
 Englifli peafantry. 
 
 " In fituations remote from the influence 
 of luxury, I f mnd the poor cleanly and 
 induftrious; but dill I found them in- 
 volved in almoft brutal ignorance. 
 
 " How fuperior in this refpeft did I find 
 the peafantry of Scotland! Their read- 
 ing (for there all can read) was, it is true, 
 often confined to the Bible ; fiut it ^vould 
 fecm, that the knowledge of the Bible 
 alone can have a wonderful efFedl in en- 
 lightening the underftanding and invigo- 
 rating the intelle£t. The explanation 
 given them by their teachers of the ob- 
 
 fcure
 
 [ S23 ] 
 
 kare and difficult paffages that occur t© 
 them in their perufal of the facred volume, 
 fets their faculties to work. The invefti- 
 gation roufes thofe powers of the mind, 
 which, when fuifered to lie dormant, de- 
 generate into impenetrable ilupidity. In 
 this point of view, every dogma they 
 are taught to difcufs, whether, when in 
 itfelf abftra^tedly confidered, it be true 
 or falfe, is to them of real and impor- 
 tant ufe. 
 
 " When on coming out of one of their 
 country churches, I have obferved a groupe 
 of grey-headed ruftics in fuch earned con- 
 verfation as excited my curiofity to know 
 the fubjecl of their difcourfe, I have con- 
 (lantly found It to be engaged on fome of 
 the do£lrinal topics that had been difcufTed 
 in the preceding fermon. But would the 
 intelledl thus fet at work, expand itfelf 
 into no other channels ? Would the per- 
 ceptions thus quickened be entirely con- 
 fined to fubje£ls of fpeculationr 
 
 "It
 
 [ 224. ] 
 
 *' It is not improbable that zeal for the 
 favourite dogmas they have embraced, may 
 fometimes lead them too far; and that it 
 would be (till better for the people, if, in- 
 ftead of being taught a profound venera- 
 tion for fpeculative opinions, they were 
 more fully inftrufted in the unchangeable 
 principles of morality; but, alas! where is 
 not the gratification of the teacher's pride 
 more attended to than the real advantage 
 of the pupil ? 
 
 *' Whofe child are you, my pretty maid ? 
 faid I one day to a little girl, who was fit- 
 ting on ^. tomb-done in the church-yard 
 betwixt the hours of divine fervice.*' 
 
 * I am the child of God, fir;' returned 
 (he, with great fimplicity. 
 
 ** And how did you become the child 
 of God ;" enquired I. 
 
 * I became the child of God by adop- 
 tion and regeneration,' rejoined {he with 
 great folcmnity, crofiing her little hands 
 upon her bread, and dropping me one of 
 her bed curtfeys. ^^ ^^^
 
 [ 225 ] 
 
 " But have you no other father befides 
 God?'' faid I. 
 
 * O yes; I am Jamie Thomfon's ^^/Vw.* 
 
 ** I now difcovered my error, and while 
 I fmiled at the fimplicity of the child, could 
 not help wondering at the folly of her in- 
 ftru^ors ; who, by a vain attempt to in- 
 culcate do6lrines fo far beyond her capa- 
 city, had taught her to repeat words to 
 which it was impoflible fhe could affix a 
 fmgle idea." 
 
 ' That there is feme foundation for your 
 remark,' faid Mr. Sydney, ' I will readily 
 allow, but that the fear of exceeding the 
 capacity of children in their religious in- 
 ftru£lions has produced confequences of a 
 ftill more fatal tendency, I am well con- 
 vinced. And though I am far from being 
 an advocate for enthufiafm, yet I think 
 it mud be confefled, that the general fo- 
 briety of manners and orderly conduft of 
 the lower clafles in North-Britain is a 
 ftrong teftimony in favour of their inftruc- 
 
 voL. I. Q_ tors:
 
 [ 226 J 
 
 tors ; but, indeed, where have not Chriftian 
 principles been found efficacious under 
 whatever form adminiflered ?' 
 
 '' Did the care of their teachers extend 
 no farther than to their inflru^lion in or- 
 thodoxy," repHed Henry, " I am afraid 
 they would have lefs caufe to boafi: of its 
 efficacy upon the moral chara£ler of their 
 difciples; but to the honour of thefc good 
 men be it fpoken, they are, as far as I could 
 judge, no lefs affiduous in watching over 
 the morals of their flocks, than in inculca- 
 ting a regard to the peculiar tenets of 
 their faith. Dr. Orwell will, I am furc, 
 pardon me for obferving, that in this re- 
 fpe£l the lower orders in Scotland enjoy 
 many peculiar advantages. 
 
 " There the clergyman refides in the 
 bofom of his flock. He is intimately ac- 
 quainted with the fituation and character 
 of every individual that compofes it. He 
 "vifits, he in{lru£ls, he advifes, and com- 
 forts them. Every breach of morals 
 
 comes
 
 [ 227 ] 
 
 comes under his infpe^lion, and is punifhed 
 by his cenfure. The individual that has 
 gone aftray is exhorted, reafoned with, 
 and more than probably reclaimed. The 
 ftipend of the clergyman being there fixed 
 and permanent, no fquabbles concerning 
 tithes fow the feeds of difcord, or render 
 him odious to his parifhioners. His fitua- 
 tion is fufficiently elevated to command re- 
 fpe£l, without exalting him too much above 
 the level of his congregation. He is not, 
 like too many of our poor curates, feen 
 pining in degrading indigence; nor like 
 our proud and full-fed dignatories, is he 
 rolling in that affluence which elevates him 
 above the performance of his duty. Per- 
 haps no fituarion is more favourable to 
 virtue; and perhaps in no fituation is more 
 real virtue to be found. In the coiirfe of 
 all my tour, and on the moft minlite and 
 particular enquiry, I did not meet with 
 one clergyman whofe chara£ler was fullied 
 with the imputation of any vice." 
 
 0^2 * Unhappy
 
 [ i228 ] 
 
 * Unhappy men!' cried Bridgeiina, ' ob- 
 liged by their profession to the constant ap- 
 pearance of san^ityl how miserable must be 
 their course of self denial! how formal and 
 uncouth their manners! What a constrained 
 and artificial seeming 7Jiust this attention to 
 a pious exterior necessarily give to their 
 carriage!^* 
 
 *' Indeed, Madam/' faid Henry, " you 
 are very much miilaken. I never faw 
 more unafFe£led cheerfulnefs, more natural 
 gaiety and innocent mirth, than at the 
 meeting of the divines of a certain diftri^l 
 called a prefbytery. They favoured me 
 with an invitation to dinner, and I never 
 fpent a day more pleafantly." 
 
 * Pray, fir,' cried Mrs. Botherim, ' may 
 I afk what was the bill of fare ? It mufl 
 doubtlefs have been very good to give you 
 fo much fatisfa^lion ; one would think, to 
 hear you fpeak, it had been quite a turtle 
 
 See Enquirer. 
 
 feaft.
 
 r 229 ] 
 
 feaft. Well, I vow and declare, I had 
 never no ideer that them there Scotch peo- 
 ple knew fo well how to live.* 
 
 " I am extremely Ibrry, madam, that my 
 memory fcrves me fo very ill with regard 
 to fuch matters, that I am quite unable to 
 give you the particulars. All I know is, 
 that the falmon of the river, which waflies 
 the walls of the town in which this preihy- 
 tery was held, is excellent ; and that the 
 mutton whxh comes from the neighbour- 
 m^ hills, is the bcft I ever ate in my life. 
 But the enjoyment of this feaft was not 
 confined to the good things fet upon the 
 table. It v.'as the harmony of fentiment, 
 the good-huTTiour and intelligence which 
 prevailed throuehout the company, that 
 gave the peculiar zcft to the entertain- 
 ment.*' 
 
 ' I am panicularly forry to be obliged 
 to contnidi«fl you, fir,' faid Bridgetina, with 
 great folemniry; ' but truth obliges me 
 to declare, that the thing is utterly impof- 
 
 fible.
 
 C 230 ] 
 
 fible. * How can a prieft, (I beg pardon of 
 Dr. Orwell and Mr. Sydney, but no re- 
 fpe£l for perfons ought to ftop the pro^ 
 mulgation of truth) — How then, I fay, can 
 a pried in any part of the world, or under 
 any form of what is called religion, be a 
 man of liberal mind or amiable manners? 
 Do we not know^ that all his schemes and 
 prospe6ls depend upon the perennial siationa- 
 riness of his imderstanding ; and that the 
 circu?nstances of every day tend to confirm 
 him in a dogmatical^ imperious^ illiberal^ 
 and intolerant chara^er? Is not the most 
 reputable clergyman timid in enquiry, pre- 
 judiced in opinion^ cold, formal, the slave of 
 what other men may think of him, rude^ 
 didatorial, impatient of contradiction, harsh 
 in his censures^ and illiberal in his judg- 
 ments?'* 
 
 " Good heavens!" exclaimed Mrs. Mar- 
 tha, *' was ever judgment fo illiberal? 
 
 Sec Enquirer, by Godwin. 
 
 Was
 
 C 231 ] 
 
 Was ever cenfure fo harfh as that you have 
 at this moment pronounced? Is this the 
 boafled liberality of your philofophy? 
 Where is the prieft, however narrow his 
 heart, however llrong his prejudices, that 
 could, in fuch an arrogant and dogmatical 
 manner, pafs fcntence on a whole body of 
 men without exception or refervation?'' 
 
 ' Wherever he be,' faid Dr. Orwell mild- 
 ly, ' if, indeed, the man who has imbibed fo 
 little of the fpirit of his Mafter is to be 
 found within the pale of any church, he 
 is the object of pity and contempt. The 
 language of invedlive and abufe is bed an- 
 fwered by filence. Let us not, therefore, 
 interrupt Dr. Sydney any further. It 
 grows late, and I wifhed to be informed 
 concerning the mode of maintaining the 
 poor in a country where there are neither 
 work-houfes nor poor's-rates.' 
 
 " In the country pariflies," refumed 
 Henry, '^ the few paupers that are to be 
 found, are fupported from the colle(^tions 
 
 made
 
 [ 232 ] 
 
 made at the church-door every Sunday, 
 aided, where tlcccffary, by the voluntary 
 contributions of the inhabitants. The 
 fum you may imagine is not very large, 
 but there no part of it is fwallowed up by 
 parifh-feafts, no part embezzled by ava- 
 ricious and hard-hearted overfeers, but all 
 carefully and confcientioufly diftributed ac- 
 cording to the neceflities of every indi- 
 vidual — diRributed by the hands of thofe 
 to whom thefe neceflities are perfectly well 
 known; who do not think that when they 
 have contributed their quota of the gene- 
 ral colledlion, they have done their duty 
 to their poor brethren, but who veryju- 
 dicioully confider a portion of their time, 
 as well as of their money, to be the right 
 and property of the indigent. 
 
 " tn my perambulatory excurfions 
 through the country, I often villi ed the 
 labourer's cottage. The furniture was in 
 general much more plentiful, and of abet- 
 ter quality, than is to be found among the 
 
 fame
 
 [ 0,53 ] 
 
 fame clafs of inhabitants in this opulent 
 country; but there, in proportion to the 
 price of provifions, the labourer is better 
 paid. He is confidered as a more refpeft- 
 able member of the community. His fa- 
 mily I commonly found tolerably well 
 provided with, what are there deemed, the 
 neceffaries of life. The nerves of the wo- 
 men are not there, as with us, unftrungby 
 the deftru^live and debilitating habit of tea- 
 drinking. A hearty breakfaft of whole- 
 fome oatmeal pudding and good milk 
 enables the wife to perform her ftiare of 
 the domeftic duties. To provide the fa- 
 mily in food is the exclufive care of the 
 hufband : to furnifli them with clothes, is 
 the bufinefs of the wife; and fo well does 
 flie perform her part, that the general de- 
 cency of their apparel is very (triking to 
 a ftranger. Shoes and (lockings, indeed, 
 do not come within their lift of neceiTaries 
 for children; and this circumflancc has 
 generally conveyed to our countrymen the 
 
 idcR
 
 [ 234 ] 
 
 idea of compleat wretchednefs. An an- 
 cient Roman, however, would have found 
 nothing Ihocking in the cnilom. -- 
 
 " It was once my fate to be overtaken, in 
 a thunder-ftonm, when I was happy in find- 
 ing a timely flielter from the temped, in 
 inch a cottage as I have been defcribing, 
 I was received very hofpitably by the good 
 woman of the houfe, and invited to a feat 
 in her kitchen, which I found extremely 
 well occupied. In one corner fat two tay- 
 lors crofs-legged upon their board, ditch- 
 ing away at a great rate, while two fine 
 little boys feemed intent upon watching 
 the progrefs of their work. Two girls, of 
 about twelve and fourteen years of age, 
 were induftrioufly employed at their fpin- 
 nmg-wheels, which, foon as they found 
 they had attracted my notice, they turned 
 with redoubled fpeed. 
 
 " A man with an expreflive and pallid 
 countenance, and whom I obferved to be 
 fomewhat lame, fat at tlie fmall and only 
 
 windp'\Y
 
 [ ^35 ] 
 
 Tvindow with a boik in his hand, which 
 at my entrance he was reading aloud. I 
 entreated him to refume it, which after 
 fome entreaty and much formal prepara- 
 tion he proceeded to do, and though it mufi: 
 be confelTed he held forth with rather 
 " more of emphafis than good difcretion," 
 gave much pleafure to his attentive audi- 
 ence, by reading a long chapter of the 
 Pilgrim's Progrefs. While he was thus 
 employed, the good woman of the houfe 
 was bufied in preparing oat cakes, which 
 flie baked on an iron plate called a girdle; 
 and which, as I found to my cofl, required 
 no fmall (liare of dexterity in the manage- 
 ment. Afliamed of being idle where all 
 were employed, I begged permifTion to 
 aflin: her in what I thought a very fimple 
 operation, and taking up the wooden 
 trowel with which (lie turned the cakes, I 
 fell to work ; but, lucklefs me I at the very 
 firH: attempt I broke the cake, dropt the 
 trowel in the fire, and burned my fingers !" 
 
 ' How
 
 I 25(> ] 
 
 "^ How charmed I am,' exclaimed Har- 
 riet Orwell, " to find that the beautiful 
 defcription given by Burns in his " Cot- 
 ter's Saturday Night," was not the mere 
 child of fancy, but an original pidure 
 taken from truth and nature.' 
 
 " It is, indeed," replied Henry, " fo 
 true a pi£lure, and fo juft^y drawn, that it 
 has been repeatedly called to my remem- 
 brance by fimilar fcenes." 
 
 * Pray who was the reader in your cot- 
 tage?' faid Julia. ' From his pallid but ex- 
 preffive countenance, I (hould fuppofe him 
 to be the lover of one of the peafant's 
 daughters.' 
 
 *' 1 believe the poor man made no fuch 
 pretenfions," rejoined Henry; " he was 
 the fchoolmafter, who, according to the 
 Cmple manners of the people, refides al- 
 ternately with the peafants whofe children 
 he inflrucls. In the time of harveft, which 
 is the univerfal vacation, he changes his 
 ferule for a fickle, and reaps more pecu- 
 niary
 
 [ 237 ] 
 
 aiary advantage from the one employ- 
 ment in the courfe of a few weeks, than 
 he derives from the other during the re- 
 mainder of the year. It was now his 
 month of refidence with thefe good peo- 
 ple; which as night advanced without any 
 abatement of the ftorm, was mentioned by 
 both the hufband and wife with great re- 
 gret, as it prevented the poiTibility of my 
 accommodation. 
 
 " This obflacle was at length removed 
 by the fchoolmafler himfelf, who obferved, 
 ' that peradventure the flranger^s journey- 
 ing in a mirkfome night, where the path 
 was dubious, and moreover encompafTed 
 with many floods, might be perilous; he 
 therefore begged humbly to propofe to 
 relinquifh (that is, give up) his bed to him, 
 \vhile he himfelf fhould go to flecp in the 
 barn with the taylors 1' The propofal was 
 agreed to, and at that moment the little 
 boys announced the finifhing of their new 
 coats, whi^ they inflantly got on, and 
 
 (trutted
 
 [233] 
 
 strutted about with as much felf-Importartce 
 and complacency, as ever was experienced 
 by a courtly beau when he firfl viewed 
 himfelf in full drefs for a birth-day draw- 
 ing-room. Nor did the looks of the mo- 
 ther difplay a lefs degree of fatisfa£lion. 
 She took care to inform me that all the 
 cloth was of her own fpinning and dyeing; 
 and that flie had got it made up in haftc 
 that the children might make a decent ap- 
 pearance at the exami?i, which was to take 
 place next day at the Elder's houfe. We 
 then fat down to fupper, which long fading 
 and exceflive fatigue made appear to me 
 the mod luxurious I ever tafted. 
 
 " Soon as our repaft was over, the 
 bibles were handed round. The fchool- 
 mafter again held forth, and to fhew his 
 dexterity, chofe to read the account that is 
 given of numbering the tribes of Ifrael by 
 Nehemiah. He ran no rifle of conjuring 
 up the dead by the pronunciation of their 
 names ; for I dare fwear not an Ifraelitc 
 
 among
 
 [ ^39 ] 
 
 among ihem would have known his owii. 
 But he went on, to the great admiration 
 of his audience, without ftop, paufe, or 
 fpcliing, to the end of the chapter. Burns 
 has given an exa£l defcription of the cere- 
 mony that followed : 
 
 ** Then kneeling down to heav'n's eternal King, 
 
 " The faint, the father, and the huiband prays. 
 ** Hope fprings exulting on triumphant "wing, 
 
 " That thus they all may meet in future days; 
 
 " There ever hai\<. in uncreated rays, 
 ** No more to figh, or fhed the bitter tear; 
 
 " Together hymning their Creator's praife, 
 ^* In fuch fociety, yet ftill more dear ; 
 ** WhUe circling time moves round in an eternal fphere, 
 
 •* Compared with this, how poor religion's pride! 
 
 " In all the pomp of method and of art; 
 •* When men difplay to congregations wide 
 
 *' Devotion's every grace — except the heart. 
 ** The pow'r incens'd the pageant will defert, 
 
 " The pompous ftrain, the facerdotal ftole; 
 " But haply in fome cottage far apart, 
 
 " May hear well pleas'd the language of the foul, 
 ** And in hie book of life the inmates poor inroU." 
 
 " Curiofity led me next day to the exa- 
 mination. I accompanied my hoft and his 
 
 family
 
 [ 240 ] 
 
 family to the Elder's barn, which was al- 
 ready occupied by a very numerous affem- 
 blage of country people of each fex and 
 all ages, decently dreffed, and devoutly 
 attentive. 
 
 '' Every one rofe at the entrance of the 
 minider, who after going the round, like 
 the king at a levee, and like him finding 
 fomething kind and agreeable to fay to 
 every individual, began the bufinefs of the 
 day by a fliort prayer. All the children 
 were then called up by name, and quef- 
 tions put to each, fuited to their refpec- 
 tive ages and capacities. Where any in- 
 ftance of ignorance or negleft appeared, 
 not only the children, but the parents were 
 rebuked and admonifhed. The feniors 
 next formed a circle round their paftor, 
 and underwent a very long and ftri61 exa- 
 mination concerning their knowledge in 
 the articles of faith and principles of con- 
 duft. Another (hort but well-adapted 
 prayer concluded the ceremony.'' 
 
 ' Well,*^
 
 [ 241 ] 
 
 « Well,' cried Mrs. Botherim, ' I de- 
 clare I never heard the like of all this; 
 why it is no better than downright me* 
 thodifm! My dear late Mr. Botherim 
 would ha' given no encouragement to fuch 
 practices, I aiTure ye. He would no more 
 have prayed in the middle of the day in 
 that there manner than he would have ate 
 a pig without pruen fauce, and every one 
 knows how nice he was in that particular.' 
 
 " With what emotions the Rev. Mr. 
 Botherim might have viewed the fcene I 
 have been defcribing,'* faid Henry, '' I 
 know not, but I confefs it afforded me much 
 pleafure. Happy people ! faid I, as I pur- 
 fued my walk, ye are only ignorant of 
 your own happinefs from having never 
 feen its contrafl in the mifcries of the vi- 
 cious. Farewell! ye refpe<5lable, though 
 lowly children of virtue! Never may the 
 fiends of avarice and luxury find their 
 way to your humble dwelling! Never 
 may the voice of philofophy Ihake your 
 
 VOL. I. R confidence
 
 [ 242 ] 
 
 confidence In Heaven, or annihilate m your 
 hearts the cheering hope of immortal 
 felicity.'* 
 
 ' And arc all the people in Scotland {o 
 good and fo happy ?' cried the youngeft 
 daughter of Dr. Orwell. * Oh! how I 
 fliould like to go there!' 
 
 " My dear child," replied her fether, 
 " you mufl: recolleft that a good defcrip- 
 tion is like a fine painting, where what- 
 ever would difgufi: the eye is thrown into 
 fliade. To be able to admire a virtuous 
 fmiplicity of manners through all the dif- 
 advantages of a coarfe and homely drefs, 
 and to difcriminate betwixt that fimpUcity 
 and vulgar brutal ignorance, requires a 
 judgment ripened by experience, and a 
 mind enlarged by contemplating the effeft 
 of circumftances in the formation of hu- 
 man charafter. Let us know from Dr. 
 Sydney, whether the virtucus fimplicity fo 
 juAly the objeft of your admiration was 
 univerfal, or confined to rural life." 
 
 ^ Alas!'
 
 [ 243 ] 
 
 * Alas!' replied Henry, 'It muft in- 
 deed be confefled, that wherever com* 
 merce and manufaflures have fpread their 
 golden wings, innocence and fimplicity of 
 manners have fled before them. In their 
 neighbourhood, according to Mifs Mar- 
 tha's favourite poet, 
 
 ** The town has ting'd the country, and the flain 
 ** Appears a fpot upon a veftal's robe.'* 
 
 COWPER. 
 
 When after the contemplation of fuch 
 fcenes as I have been defcribing, I have 
 in the clofe of evening come to a manu- 
 fa6luring town, and obferved the crouds 
 of pallid wretches who iflfued from the 
 huge piles of buildings that were its pride 
 and boafl — the men, riotous, profane, and 
 brutal ; the women, bold, fqualid, and 
 fliamelefs — all flying with eagernefs to re- 
 cruit their worn-out fpirits by drafts of 
 liquid fire ; how often have I been tempted 
 to deplore the introdu(n:ion of thefe boafled 
 bleflings, which, while they beftowed 
 R 2 wealth
 
 C 244 ] 
 
 wealth on a few fortunate individuals, 
 were to thoufands the dcfl:ru(ftion of health 
 and innocence. How much better, have 
 I faid to myfelf, how much more ufefully 
 would thefe poor wretches have been em- 
 ployed, had the men been engaged to cul- 
 tivate fome of the many thoufand acres of 
 wafte land which prefents its defart hue 
 on every fide ! And the women — how had 
 they been preferved from vice and mifery 
 in the bofom of domcftic induftry!" 
 
 ' I am afraid,' faid Dr. Orwell, « that 
 few converts will be made to your opi- 
 nion. There is fomething fo fafcinating 
 in the idea of wealth, that it can never be 
 deemed too dear a purchafe. The often- 
 tatious difplay of the riches acquired in 
 any branch of commerce or manufa£lure 
 prefles on the fenfes, and inflames the ima- 
 gination, while the mifery it has been the 
 means of introducing into the families of 
 the poor, in the lofs of health, of vigour, 
 and of virtue, is fcreened from obferva- 
 
 tion ;
 
 [ 24i ] 
 
 tion; or if obferved, is thought unworthy 
 of being taken into the account.' 
 
 " And yet," rejoined Henry, '' this 
 fudden influx of weahh into a poor coun- 
 try, may be aptly compared to the torrent 
 which aftonifhes by its magnificence, and 
 gives an appearance of grandeur to the 
 very fcene it defolates ; wliile the improve- 
 ments of agriculture, like the perennial 
 ftream which holds on its filent courfe, is 
 the unobferved difpenfer of fertility and 
 verdure. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 [ 246 ] 
 
 CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 Well-drefs'd, well-bred. 
 
 " Well-equipag'd, is ticket good enough 
 " To pafs us readily through ev'ry door. 
 
 « -_ She that alks 
 
 " Her dear five hundred friends, contemns them, all, 
 " And liates their coming. They (what can they lefs) 
 " Make juft reprifals ; and with cringe, and fhrug, 
 *' And bow obfequious, hide their hate of her." 
 
 COWPER. 
 
 BRIDGETINA was by no means fa- 
 tisfied with the fmall degree of atten- 
 tion that was paid her by Henry. Of 
 Harriet Orwell, however, (he was by no 
 means jealous. In fuch contempt did ihe 
 hold her prejudices, and fo meanly did fhe 
 think of her underftanding, that to confi. 
 fider her as a rival ihe would have deemed 
 
 injuftice
 
 [ 247 ] 
 
 injufticc to her own fuperior powers. Be- 
 fides, on entering the field, did flie not 
 find Henry retired from the reft of the 
 company, evidently to indulge his medita- 
 tions on fome abfent object? Who fo 
 likely to be that object asherfclf? ' Does 
 he then love me ?' cried ftie, foliloquifmg 
 in the manner of all heroines. '• Have 
 my mental attractions power to charm his 
 foul? Oh! the foft, the tender, the ex^ 
 tatic thought! But why did he not figh? 
 Why did he not prefs my hand? Perhaps 
 I was too diftant. Perhaps I awed the 
 youth to filence. Perhaps — " 
 
 " I with to goodnefs, Biddy," faid Mrs. 
 Botherim, " that you would talk in a way 
 that a body could underftand. When 
 you get into one of them there tanterums, 
 there is no getting any good of you. I had 
 as lieve be in a room all by myfelf. Come 
 now, let us have a bit of focial chat: you 
 knows I never bids you do any thing for 
 me the whole day long, nor any thing for 
 
 yourfelf
 
 [ 5^48 ] 
 
 yourfelf neither. I loves to fee you take 
 fo to your book, as to be fure it makes 
 you wifer than any body ; but I do think 
 you might chat a little with your poor 
 mother now and then 5 yes, that I do 
 think." 
 
 ' How can you break the chain of my 
 refledlions in this manner?' replied Bridge- 
 tina. ' Betwixt you and I it is impoffible 
 there fhould be any converfation that de- 
 ferves the name. No ; I pant for the fo- 
 ciety of the enlightened, and your tafte, 
 you know, is very diffimilar. So fmce you 
 have thought fit to difturb the courfe of 
 my mental reverie, I mufl: have recourfe to 
 my book till bed-time, and 1 beg that I 
 may not be again interrupted.' 
 
 Leaving Bridgetina to her ftudies, let us 
 return to her fifler pupil in philofophy — 
 the fair, the lovely Julia; whofe fpirits 
 had, during the latter part of the evening, 
 loft that tranfient glow of fprightlinefs, 
 which had for a (liort time flied its enli- 
 vening influence over her breaft. -
 
 [ 249 J 
 
 As flie drew towards home, the uneafi- 
 nefs and agitation of her mind increafed. 
 She dreaded left Dr. Orwell fhould pro- 
 pofe ftepping in with her to enquire for 
 her father; and anxioufly obviated the 
 propofaj, by declaring him too much in- 
 difpofed to receive any vifit. 
 
 She did not forget to thank the Doftor 
 for his promife of the carriage, in which 
 fhe faid a friend of her father's was to 
 drive her, who would, if the Do6lor 
 pleafed, call for it at one o'clock. Dr. 
 Orwell faid it fhould be ready, and he and 
 his daughter, after having conducted her to 
 her father's door, wifhed her good-night. 
 
 The knock which announced the re- 
 turn of Julia, was mufic to her father's 
 cars. So much did he doat on this dar- 
 ling daughter, fo necelTary was her prefence 
 to his happinefs, that the effort he made 
 in parting with her, if but for a few hours, 
 was extremely painful. His fpirits, which 
 Silways funk at her departure, feemed to 
 
 receive
 
 [ 250 ] 
 
 receive new animation on her approach. 
 But no longer did Ihe fly to his apartment 
 on the fwift wings of undivided alFetSlioij. 
 With painful anxiety he watched her flow 
 and languid fteps. With regret he per- 
 ceived the diftraclion of her thoughts, the 
 frequent fits of abfence which fupplied the 
 place of that lively prr.ttle with which flic 
 had been wont to amufe him after every 
 Ikcle abfence. Fears for her health took 
 poiTellion of his mind; but unwilling that 
 ^e fliould perceive his apprehenfions, un- 
 der pretence of wiiliing to retire to reft at 
 an earlv hour, he difmiffed her. As he 
 wiihed her good-night, tears of paternal 
 tendemefe mixed with his parting embrace, 
 and with more than ufual emphafis he pro- 
 nounced his heart-wiflied bleiling. 
 
 Julia went to bed, but the undiflurbed 
 and peaceful flumbers that had heretofore 
 been the companions of her pillow, were 
 not to be found. In vain flie fought for 
 ihe foothing balm of fleep. Sleep, which 
 
 kindlv
 
 [ 251 1 
 
 kindly comes to the relief of forrow, 
 Iternly refufes its wifhed-for aid to the agi- 
 tations of anxiety. 
 
 Imagination was now at liberty to run 
 its wild career. In vivid colours it painted 
 the extacy of Vallaton in difcovering his 
 parents, the raptures of the parents in 
 beholding their accompli flied fon. Now 
 fhe beheld the General prefent him to her 
 father, and faw the gleam of joy which 
 beamed in her father's face, while he 
 united her hand with the fon of his mod 
 honoured friend. As Fancy painted the 
 happinefs of her lover, the warmth of his 
 gratitude, the excefs of his tendernefs, her 
 breath became quick, and burning bluflies 
 fluftied her modeft cheek. But if the rc- 
 verfe of all this fliould happen, faid Judg- 
 ment; if your father fhould difcover thac 
 you have been carrying on a clandeflinr 
 correfpondence with a man he confiders as 
 your inferior ? Imagination took the alarm, 
 and inftantly delineated the confequences 
 
 cf
 
 [ to^ ] 
 
 of her father's difpleafure in fuch dreadfuf 
 iines, as to make her lliudder with horror. 
 Her blood then ran cold, and terror and 
 difmay drew the deep figh from her agi- 
 tated bofom. 
 
 In this manner did Julia' pafs the night* 
 Her'firfl: care, when flie arofe, was tdftep 
 down to Mr. Glib's with the neceflary in- 
 ftruf^ions for Mr. Vallaton. The fliop was 
 dill (hut, though every other in the town 
 had long been opened. After knocking a 
 confiderable time, Mr. Glib himfelf came 
 to the door. " Ah! glad to fee you, citizen 
 Mifs," cried he; " find me' too much of a 
 philofopher to be tied to hours. Nothing 
 fo bad for energies as order: eat when I 
 pleafe, fleep when I have a mind. That's 
 it! my dear, that's the way to have ener- 
 
 gies."= 
 
 * It's not the way to have cudomers, 
 though, let me tell you, mailer,' faid a gen- 
 
 * See Pol. Juf. vol. ii. 
 
 tleman's
 
 [ 253 J 
 
 tleman's fervant, who juft then came into 
 the {hop. ' Here have I been waiting 
 this hour paft/ continued the man, ' for 
 a parcel of flationary for my mafter, and 
 a change of novels for the young ladies. 
 If I were them, I know I fliould rather fend 
 to the next town than trouble you again.* 
 
 While the man was fpeaking, Julia 
 flipped a note for Vallaton into Mr. Glib's 
 hand, and haflily returned home, where 
 flie arrived before any one had taken notice 
 of her abfence. 
 
 Anxioufly did (he wait for the appointed 
 hour. The hour at length arrived; and 
 from the window of her father's apartment 
 fhe faw her Vallaton nimbly driving the 
 parfon's gig up towards the door. She 
 inftantly announced its arrival; and faying 
 fhe would not let the Do£lor wait for her, 
 took a hafty leave of her father, (her mo- 
 ther flie then knew to be employed in a 
 room above) and without calling on any 
 fervant to attend, flie herfelf opened the 
 
 flreet-
 
 [ 254 ] 
 
 ftreet-door, lightly fprang into the car- 
 riage, which inftantly drove oiF, and was 
 out of fight in a moment. 
 
 Fondly did her heart now exult in the 
 aufpicious commencement of her important 
 enterprize; and hardly could fhe refrain 
 from giving her happy lover a hint of the 
 hopes which fluttered in her bofom ; but 
 the idea of making the difcovery more inte- 
 refting, from its being totally unexpected, 
 fealedher lips, and charmed her into filence. 
 
 The morning was very fine, and the 
 country through which they pafi^ed was 
 beautiful ; but neither to the finenefs of the 
 morning, nor to the beauty of the country, 
 was Julia or her lover at all indebted for 
 any part of the pleafure they experienced 
 in the courfe of their delightful ride. 
 
 On arriving at Caflle-Villers, Julia heard 
 with pleafure that both the General and 
 his lady were at home, though her pleafure 
 received fome abatement on being told 
 that they had company with them. She 
 
 however
 
 L 255 ] 
 
 however fent up her name, and was in- 
 llantly admitted. 
 
 On entering the drawing-room, fhc 
 found Mrs. Villers furrounded by a partj 
 of ladies, fome of whom (he recollected to 
 have feen on a former vifit at the caftle, 
 the others were ftrangers to her. They 
 were all talking at once, and all directing 
 their difcourfe to one little effeminate- 
 looking gentleman; nor did the entrance 
 of Julia give even a momentary interrup- 
 tion to their converfation. 
 
 Mrs. Villers herfeif appeared fo much 
 engaged, as not to have heard the fervant 
 who pronounced Mifs Delmond's name, 
 as he threw open the folding-doors of the. 
 drawing-room, though he uttered it in a 
 voice fo loud, as not a little difcompofed 
 the bluihing Julia. She advanced with 
 timid fteps and fhrinking diffidence to the 
 upper end of the room, where Mrs. Villers 
 at length noticed her approach, • and re* 
 ceived her with a very. gracious, curtfey. 
 
 Julia,,
 
 [ C56 ] 
 
 Julia, fomewhat reaffured by this re- 
 ception, with faultering voice begged leave 
 to introduce the gentleman who accompa- 
 nied her, who was, (he faid, a particular 
 friend of her father's. Mrs. Villers caft 
 a look on Vallaton, made him a flight curt- 
 fey, and then, with a (lately and cold for- 
 mality, defired him to be feated. 
 
 * You have been a great ftranger, Mifs 
 Delmond,' faid fhe; ' I ftiould indeed have 
 fent the carriage for you, or taken you up 
 myfelf fome morning, but that I have been 
 fo much engaged with company of late, 
 that I have not had one moment to fpare. 
 I hope Capt. Delmond has got the better 
 of that lamenefs — a broken leg I think 
 it was.' 
 
 " It is the gout. Madam, to which my 
 father has been many years a martyr." 
 
 ^ Aye, fo it is the gout, now I re- 
 member ; and your mother, I hope fhe is 
 very well. Does flie go to any watering, 
 place this fummer ?' Then, without waiting 
 
 for
 
 [ 2o7 ] 
 
 for the anfwer which Julia was preparing 
 to give, flie turned to the lady who fat by 
 her on the fopha, and obferved, * that Sir 
 Jeremy and the General had taken a very 
 long ride.' 
 
 " And why were not you of the riding 
 party, Colonel?*' lifpedayoung lady, whom 
 Julia recognized as the daughter of a Mr. 
 Mufhroom, an army agent, and fole heirefs 
 to the immenfe wealth which in the feveral 
 occupations of clerk, deputy commiifary, 
 member of parliament, and contra£lor, her 
 father had contrived to amafs. The gen- 
 tleman to whom Mifs Mulhroom addrefTed 
 herfelf, regarding her with an air of great 
 aftonifhment, replied in a tone fo full of 
 afFec1:ation, as to excite an involuntary fmile 
 in the countenance of Julia. ' Me ride 
 Ma'am? How could you petrify me by 
 the mention of any thing fo horrid? Get- 
 ting on horfeback is the greatefl bore in 
 nature. I wifli the favages who fird in- 
 vented it had been all put to the guillotine.' 
 
 VOL. I. s "I wonder
 
 " I wonder. Colonel/* replied MIfs 
 Mufliroora, * as you diflike riding {o 
 much, that you do not exchange into a 
 regiment of foot." 
 
 Before the Colonel could reply, he was 
 called upon by two voices from the other 
 fide of the room. 
 
 " I know it was a blue domino," faid 
 one. 
 
 ' Colonel Goldfinch will tell you it was 
 a Turkifli habit,' faid the other; ' was it 
 not. Colonel, a Turkifli habit which Ladj 
 Lovelife wore when flie eloped from the 
 mafquerade with Major Swindle.' 
 
 " It petrifies metocontradi<5i: MifsPage," 
 faid the Colonel with great gravity, " but 
 lam obliged tofayflie is for once miftaken.'* 
 
 * There now,' cried the other young 
 lady, ' I told you that I had a full account 
 of the whole from the very bed autho- 
 Titj. Lady Lovelife flipt on the blue do- 
 mino, as I was faying, over her muflin pil- 
 igrim. And' — 
 
 « Pardon
 
 C ^59 ] 
 
 " Pardon me, Madam," faid the Colo- 
 nel, " I fee you have been egregioufly 
 mifmformed. I myfelf faw Major Swindle 
 condu£l: her to the carriage in a Spanifli 
 drefs." 
 
 ' You faw theml' faid both ladies at 
 once. ' O then we flaall now have the 
 certain account of the whole affair.' 
 
 *' And a very fhameful affair it was,'' 
 faid Mrs. Villers. " It is aftonifning how 
 a woman of Lady Lovelife's family and 
 connexions, could demean herfelf by an 
 intrigue with fo low a fellow. He was 
 once a drummer in General Villers' own 
 regimient." 
 
 ' A drummer was he,' faid Lady Page, 
 who was fet by Mrs. Villers on the fopha, 
 * I always underftood he had been a hair- 
 dresser J' 
 
 As her ladyfhip concluded this fentencc, 
 
 (lie cad a look (whether by accident or de- 
 
 fign cannot now be afcertained) full in the 
 
 face of Mr. Vallaton. Something very 
 
 ,s 2 like
 
 [ ^60 ] 
 
 like a blufli difFufed itfelf over the coun- 
 tenance of that gentleman, as his eyes met 
 hers ; but calling his energies into a£lion, 
 he drew out his pocket-handkerchief, and 
 applying it to his nofe, made the room re- 
 found with the noife occafioned by the ap- 
 plication, which was fomewhat longer and 
 louder than perfe£i: politenefs could well 
 warrant in fuch company. Mrs. Villers 
 appeared difconcerted, but turning to Lady 
 Page (he haftily renewed the converfation, 
 which the vociferous aflion of Vallaton 
 had of neceffity fufpended. 
 
 " Did your Ladylliip ever fee Lady 
 Lovelife?" 
 
 ' I never did,* returned her ladyfliip, 
 * but I am told ihe is amazingly handfome.' 
 
 " She handfome !" faid Mifs Mufliroom ; 
 ^' well, I wonder how any one can think 
 fo, (he is the very pifture of Mifs Mor- 
 daunt; but ihe too may be thought 
 handfome by fome people, for ought I 
 know." 
 
 ^Thc
 
 [ 261 ] 
 
 ' The man who thinks her handfome/ 
 faid Col. Goldfinch, ' mud have a flrange 
 predile(n:ion for thread-papers. She has 
 no more fliape than a walking-flick.' 
 
 " And no more eafe than the poker," 
 faid Mifs Page. 
 
 * And then that eternal riding-habit,' 
 faid the Colonel. ' It quite petrifies me to 
 fee her in that drefs. It is as tirefome as 
 Lady Wellwyn's yellow turban, which fick- 
 ened half the town lad winter.' 
 
 " Or as Mifs Wingrove's falmon-co- 
 loured flippers," faid Mifs Page. 
 
 ' If Mifs Mordaunt's waifl had what 
 Mifs Wingrove's ankle could fpare,' faid 
 the Colonel, * what an advantage would 
 it be to both!' 
 
 " I hope flie at lead is fufficiently en bon 
 point to pleafe you, Colonel," faid Mifs 
 Mufhroom. 
 
 ' Mifs Wingrove!' exclaimed the Co- 
 lonel. ' It is enough to fuffocate any Chrif- 
 tian to look at her. I don't know any 
 
 thing
 
 [ 263 ] 
 
 thing fo petrifying as to fee her go down 
 a country-dance, fhaking all the way like 
 a bundle of dirty linen.' 
 
 " Or like Lady Mary MetcalPs plume 
 of white feathers," faid Mifs Page. 
 
 * Her lady{liip*s plumage, I think, has 
 been pretty well plucked by the hand of 
 Pharo lad: winter,' faid Lady Page; an 
 obfervation which changed the giggle that 
 had before prevailed into a general laugh, 
 in which all but Julia joined with great 
 appearance of fatisfa(5lion; her ignorance 
 of high life rendered her ladyfhip's allu- 
 fion altogether unintelligible: nor was this 
 the only difadvantage under which flie la- 
 boured. Having never been initiated into 
 the amufements of the beau monde, (lie 
 had no relifh for that elegant and exalted 
 fpecies of wit, which confjfts in throwing 
 into a ridiculous point of view feme little 
 peculiarity in the drefs, the perfon, or the 
 manners of abfent friends. In one word, 
 (he had no idea of polite converfation. 
 
 The
 
 C CG3 3 
 
 The vivid imagination of Julia painted 
 the fi^^ures that had been defc/ibcd as more 
 divercing caricatures than her confined ac- 
 quainta;ice with the world h.id ever pre- 
 fented to her obfervation. When, there- 
 fore, the footman announced the name of 
 Mifs Mordaunt, Ihe prepared herfelf for 
 beholding an object that would powerfully 
 excite her rifibility. 
 
 " A thread-paper in a riding-habit," 
 faid the Colonel, imitating the voice of 
 of the fervant. 
 
 ' A may-pole, with a long (lory of its 
 mamma's cough,' faid Mifs Page; ' but I 
 vow 1 flian't (lay to hear it. I ihall make 
 my efcape, that's certain.' Then running 
 up to Mifs Mordaunt, who that moment 
 entered, ' My dear Mifs Mordaunt,' 
 cried (lie, ' how rejoiced I am to fee you! 
 What an age it is fmce I had the plea- 
 fure of meeting you ! I proteft I was fpeak- 
 ing of you this very moment to Mrs. 
 Villers.' 
 
 "So
 
 [ 264 ] 
 
 " So we were, indeed, my dear," fald 
 Mrs. Villers; " I rejoice in your good 
 fortune in finding me furrounded by fo 
 many of your friends." 
 
 ' And I have brought two gentlemen to 
 add to the number,' faid Mifs Mordaunt, 
 ' Sir Charles Wingrove and Major Min- 
 den,' prefenting them to Mrs. Villers. 
 
 " Mifs Mordaunt makes her vifit doubly 
 acceptable by coming fo accompanied," 
 faid Mrs. Villers. " We fliould have been 
 quite a female party this morning, if Col. 
 Goldfinch had not taken compaflion onus." 
 
 ' My very beft of good flars has pre- 
 dominated this morning,' faid the Colonel, 
 bowing firfl to Mrs. Villers, and then to 
 Mifs Mordaunt; ' but my dear MifsMor- 
 daunt, you pofitively mud have fome com- 
 pafTion upon our fex, and not go on im- 
 proving in beauty at this rate. You were 
 killinor enouQ^h in all confcience before 
 thefe morning rides had given fuch an ad- 
 ditionsdi luftre to your complexion.' 
 
 J Surely,
 
 [ ^65 ] 
 
 Surely, thought Julia, this cannot be the 
 Mifs Mordaunt of whom the Colonel fo 
 lately fpoke fo flightingly! This is no 
 thread-paper, no poker, no walking-flick; 
 but a very pretty fweet-looking girl, with 
 more gracefulnefs in her manner, and more 
 affability and good-humour in her look, 
 than is vifible in any of the company. The 
 Colonel too feems quite of my opinion. 
 No, no, it mufl certainly be fome other 
 lady of the fame name of whom they fpoke. 
 
 Alas ! poor Julia, how deplorably igno- 
 rant was fhe of the nature of thofe exag- 
 gerated defcriptions, which conftitute the 
 Attic wit of modern converfation! 
 
 The arrival of Mifs Mordaunt relieved 
 the mind of Julia from fome uneafy doubts 
 which fhe had harboured concerning the 
 propriety of introducing Vallaton. That 
 young lady had brought with her two gen- 
 tlemen, of whom one at leafl: was evidently 
 a flranger to Mrs. Villers, who neverthelefs 
 feemed to receive their vifit as a favour. 
 
 Capt.
 
 [ ^66 J 
 
 Capt. Delmondhad, flie believed, a greater 
 claim upon the fri-ndlhip of rhe General, 
 than the father of Mifs Mcrdaunr; and 
 his friend rriuft of courfe be at leafi: equally 
 acceptable. The difference, then, -^Arhich 
 file remarked in the reception given by 
 Mrs. Villers to the friends of Mifs Mor- 
 daunt, could only be the eiTe£l of accident. 
 It could be noihing elfe; for furcly the 
 appearance of Vallaton was infinitely more 
 prepolTeffing than that of either of the 
 other gentlemen. 
 
 In this manner did Julia make up her 
 mind upon the fubjec^; nor did it once 
 occur to her, that the very thing which 
 may be eileemed a favour from a perfon of 
 a certain rank, is deemed a very unwarrant- 
 able and improper liberty from one who 
 has not the happinefs of being numbered 
 in that privileged order. 
 
 Mifs Mordaunt, who was niece and 
 grand-child to an earl, and who had al- 
 ways moved in the firft circles of fafliion, 
 
 could
 
 C 267 3 
 
 could have no attendants in her train, who 
 were not of that defcription of the human 
 fpecies, to which only, in the opinion of 
 Mrs. Villers, the urbanity of people of fa- 
 fliion ought to extend. 
 
 Mifs Delmond, on the contrary, though 
 fprung from a good family, (a point on 
 which Mrs. Villers was remarkably tena- 
 cious) and confequently one whom it was 
 no difgrace to be civil to in the country^ 
 was of an order of beings, who, though 
 they are frequently admitted upon fuffer- 
 ance to the tables of perfons of rank, are 
 there confidered rather as appendages to 
 the company than as any part of the com- 
 pany itfelf. To exprefs ourfelves at once 
 to the comprehenfion of our genteel rea- 
 ders, llie was one whom nobody knew. For 
 Mifs Delmond, therefore, to prefume to 
 bring another perfon of the fame defcrip- 
 tion to the houfe of the Hon. Mrs. Villers — 
 a perfon perhaps of mean birth and low 
 €xtra<Stion, of no (lile, no fafliion — was 
 
 a breach
 
 [ 26*8 ] 
 
 a breach of all decorum, and deferved to 
 be punifhed accordingly. 
 
 With regard to all points of etiquette, 
 Mrs. Villers was indeed a woman of the 
 Dicell fenfibility. The fmallefl breach of 
 the rules by authority of fafhion efta- 
 blilhed, was in her opinion an offence far 
 more heinous than the breach of every 
 commandment in the decalogue. Indeed 
 a ftri£i: attention to the prohibitions of the 
 latter was by no means a neceflary recom- 
 mendation to her efleem. For inflance: 
 though Colonel Goldfinch had, juft before 
 liis arrival at the caftle, been caft in da- 
 mages for crim, con, with the wife of his 
 benefactor and friend ; though Sir Charles 
 Wingrovehad killed a man in a duel; and 
 though Mr. Mufhroom had been threat- 
 ened with a black charge of peculation, 
 which was well known to have been only 
 averted by a timely application of its fruits ; 
 yet thefe were all received by Mrs. Villers 
 with the mod diftinguiflied complacency. 
 
 The
 
 [ 269 ] 
 
 The two firft had the paffport of birth as 
 well as fortune to recommend them to her 
 favour ; and the latter had, by his long- 
 eftablillied reception into the mod fafiiion- 
 able circles, obtained a fort of prefcriptivc 
 right to the fame diilinction. His defi- 
 ciency of birth was moreover on the eve 
 of being expiated by a peerage. The title 
 of Right Honourable being in the efleem 
 of Mrs. Villers an infallible panacea, which, 
 like the advertized drugs of the empirics, 
 clears the blood from all impurities. But 
 though a title could operate thus power- 
 fully,^it was quite otherwife with the qua- 
 lities of great virtue, extraordinary talents, 
 or any fpecies of excellence: for thefe, 
 when of plebean birth, (lie felt fo little re- 
 fpe£l, that it never once entered her ima- 
 gination to calculate their value. 
 
 To account for the uncommon faftidi- 
 oufnefs of Mrs. Villers with regard to 
 birth and rank, it is perhaps only neceflary 
 to obferve, that fhe was herfelf of very 
 
 meau
 
 [ 270 ] 
 
 mean extraftlon ; pride, like a good ge- 
 neral, never neglefting to put a double 
 guard upon the weakefl part. The fame 
 happy inftinft to which is to be afcribed 
 the outrageous njirtiie of prudes, the in- 
 fulting courage of coxcombs, and the tena- 
 cious honour of certain fine gentlemen, 
 excited in the bread of the General's 
 lady an infuperable averfion to people of 
 ignoble birth. 
 
 Mrs. Villers was the illegitimate off- 
 spring of a fubaltern, by the maid-fcrvant 
 of the inn at which he was quartered. At 
 nine years of age fhe was apprenticed by 
 the charity-fchool to a refpedlable milliner, 
 to whofe inftruflions flie was indebted for 
 a better education than would otherwife 
 have fallen to her lot. 
 
 From this good woman fhe paffed to the 
 fcrvice of the Countefs of Villers, in which 
 fituation her beauty attrafted the attention 
 of the General, who privately married her, 
 and at the death of his father publicly ac- 
 knowledged her as his wife, j
 
 C 271 3 
 
 It was tliefe circumftances, ever prefent 
 to the recolleclion of Mrs. Villers, which 
 produced that extraordinary degree of 
 pride by which fhe expected to co?nmand 
 the world into forgetfulnefs of what ilie 
 wiihed to obhterate even from her own- 
 Temembrance. 
 
 To the advantages of illuftrious birth. 
 General Villers was not lefs fenfible than 
 his lady, though he did not find it necef- 
 fary to affert its prerogative with the fame 
 jealous ardour. Having from infancy been 
 taught to value himfelf on his high defcent, 
 he confidered it as a thing of courfc ; and 
 as the antiquity of a family which could 
 be traced beyond the Conqueft was not to 
 be difputed, he deemed family-pride a part 
 of his inheritance. 
 
 It is true, that in the long line of ancef- 
 tors boafted by this noble family, no one 
 pcrfon eminent for talents or for virtue 
 was to be found. UndiflinguiQied by anj 
 deed of valour, ungraced by any act of 
 
 virtue.
 
 [ 'in J 
 
 virtue, their names alone remained; but 
 thefe, though configned to oblivion by the 
 world, which had never been benefited by 
 their exiftence, were fufficiently numerous 
 to juftify the pride of their defcendants. 
 
 The General partook of the mediocrity 
 which characterized his family. He was 
 an eafy good-natured man, more difpofed 
 to kindnefs than to generofity, and lefs in- 
 clined to inveftigate prejudices than to en- 
 tertain a bad opinion of all who oppofed 
 their authority. To the gallantry of 
 Capt. Delmond he was indebted for his 
 life in his firfl: campaign ; and as Captain 
 Delmond proved to be a man of family, he 
 did not think it beneath him to acknow- 
 ledge the obligation. His feelings were, 
 however, too obtufe to lead him to make 
 any great exertion in favour of his bene- 
 fa6lor. A fmall penfion, indeed, he did 
 procure for him, on his return from the 
 coafl: of Africa; and not long after he had 
 done fo, actually harboured an idea of 
 
 conferring
 
 [ 2/3 ] 
 
 conferring on him a dill greater benefit, 
 by nominating him to a lucrative finecure, 
 which by fome parliamentary manoeuvring 
 had come into the gift of his family. This 
 idea, however, was foon relinquilhed, and 
 the place in queflion more properly dif- 
 pofed of to a gentleman of fome celebrity 
 in the faihionable world, who had loft a 
 large fortune at the gaming-table^ and not 
 being pofFeiTed, after this lofs, of one qua- 
 lity which could give him a claim to the 
 notice of fociety, muft have funk into in- 
 evitable obfcurity, but for this well-timed 
 appointment. 
 
 As this gentleman was one whom ever^ 
 body knew^ the generofity of Gen. Villers 
 became the fubje^l of converfation in all 
 the parties he frequented; and fo great 
 were the applaufes he received upon the 
 occafion, that he could not help congratu* 
 lating himfclf on the preference he had 
 given to one in whom fo many people of 
 quality were deeply interefted. Still, how- 
 TOL, I, T ever.
 
 [ sr4 ] 
 
 ever, he preferved for Capt, Delmond all 
 the appearance of the fincerefl: friendihip : 
 frequently called at his houfe, and fincc 
 Julia had been put in poffefTion of an in- 
 dependent fortune, made a point of ho- 
 nouring her with his particular attention. 
 By no mark of his regard could he fo 
 warmly have excited the gratitude of Capt. 
 Delmond. 
 
 In about half an hour from the arrival 
 of Mifs Mordaunt, General Villers and 
 Sir Jeremy Page returned from their ride, 
 and brought v*nth them the intelligence of 
 an approaching thunder-florm, which foon 
 came on with great violence. 
 
 The entrance of the General was a great 
 relief to poor Julia, whofe feelings were 
 ^o acute to be infenfible to the mortify- 
 ing circumftances of her prefent fituation^ 
 
 Mrs. Villers fpoke but little at any 
 time, and the little ibe had now to fay was 
 jiot dire^led to Julia. To the reft of the 
 party fhe was unknown, and but for a 
 
 broad
 
 broad flare which flie now and then re* 
 ceived from the gentlemen, and which by 
 no means tended to alleviate her confufion, 
 fhe was totally unnoticed. 
 
 There are many who would have fub- 
 mitted to all this, and much more than all 
 this, with pleafure, for the opportunity it 
 would have afforded them of obtaining a 
 paltry gratification to vanity, by the boaft 
 of having been in fuch a party. But the 
 mind of Julia had too much real dignity to 
 be folicitous for this fpecies of importance. 
 She had acquired a turn of thinking, which 
 is extremely hoftile to the adventitious ad- 
 vantages of rank and fortune. In liften- 
 ing to a converfation, (lie never confidered 
 the dignity of the perfon who fpoke, but 
 the truth or falfity, the wifdom or folly, of 
 the fentiment that was uttered. By thefe, 
 and thefe alone, fhe meafured the quantity 
 of her contempt or admiration. 
 
 Now it fo happened, that fmce her en- 
 
 trance into this brilliant party, not one 
 
 T 1 fyllabk
 
 [ 276 ] 
 
 lyllable had ftruck her ears, which in ihc 
 utmofl: extent of charity, flie could polhbly 
 attribute either to good-fenfe or good- 
 nature. So that while Mrs. Villers and 
 her honourable guefts confidered the poor 
 unnoticed Julia as filled with filent awe, 
 and envious admiration of their wit and 
 gaiety, fhe was contemplating with pity 
 the emptinefs of their minds and the per- 
 verfion of their underflandings. 
 
 From the entrance of the General, Julia 
 no longer experienced the mortification of 
 neglc£l. He not only made it a point to 
 treat her with particular attention, but ex- 
 tended his politenefs to the gentleman who 
 accompanied her. Soon as the rain, which 
 came in torrents, began to defcenfl, he 
 begged leave to order up their carriage, 
 which he had feen at the door as he came 
 in; and politely obferved, that Mrs. Villers 
 and he were much obliged to the (torm, 
 which procured them the honour of fuch 
 an addition to their dinner-party. Mrs. 
 
 Villers
 
 Villers could not avoid bowing affent to 
 the G eneral's propofal 5 which Julia returned 
 in the fame manner, and felt internally fa- 
 tisf ed at the circumdance, which might 
 cv^firually furnifh her with an opportunity 
 of fulfilling the great obje6l of her vifit. 
 
 She now began attentively to compare 
 the phyfiognomy of the General with ihat 
 of his fuppofed fon. Their eye s then v/ere 
 of the fame colour. Their nofes too both 
 approached the Roman ; though the Ge- 
 neral's was fomewhat mere prominent, the 
 fimilarity was dill fufficient for a family 
 likenefs. She had before obferved a fimilar 
 degree of refemblance in the mouth of Mrs. 
 Villers; and that making a proper allow- 
 ance for the alterations produced by time, 
 their foreheads had exa6i:!y the fame charac- 
 teridics. Thefe cafual refemblances were 
 to her prepofTefled imagination, ' confirm- 
 ation (Irong as proofs of holy writ/ 
 
 To hit upon a proper method of ma- 
 king the difcovery, was a point of equal 
 
 delicacy
 
 [ 278 ] 
 
 delicacy and importance. After revolving 
 in her mind a variety of plans for this pur- 
 pofe, (he was at length obliged to trull to 
 chance for an opportunity of difclofmg the 
 important fecret. It was, indeed, no time 
 for indulging in reflexion. The mod ab- 
 ftra^led philofopher muft now have been 
 roufed from his reverie by the pretty fquals 
 of Mifs Mufliroom, reiterated every time 
 the low murmurs of the diftant thunder 
 reached her ears with increafmg vocifera- 
 tion. That young lady, perhaps confcious 
 of the inherent infignificance of ha- cha- 
 racter, wifely took the only practicable 
 method of bringing herfelf into notice, 
 whenever an opportunity prefented itfelf 
 for an oftentatious difplay of her filly fears. 
 •Her plan was generally fucc'efsful ; and fo 
 confcious was fhe of its fuccefs, that (he 
 with triumph watched the flow approach 
 of the fpider or the earwig, which, when 
 it came within fcreaming diflance, was 
 to make her the objeCl of foothing atten- 
 tion
 
 [ ^79 ] 
 
 tion to a whole company. The nolfe of 
 thunder (for of the danger of the light- 
 ning (he entertained not the flighted ap- 
 prehenfion) was a circumftance productive 
 of ftill greater effcifl:. By frequent repe- 
 tition, Ihe at length a6lually caught the 
 terrors ilie at firft afFe6ted; and by indul- 
 ging thefe terrors, brought her mind into 
 a ftate little fhort of frantic delirium^ 
 ufually relieved by a regular hyfteric fit. 
 Happily the thunder kept at too great a 
 diftance for producing any thing fo inte- 
 refting in the prefence of Julia, who had 
 not the lead idea that any creature, rank- 
 ing in the lift of rationals, could form a 
 wifh of being diftinguiflied for pre-emi- 
 nence in weaknefs. 
 
 By the time dinner was announced, the 
 fky retained not the appearance of a fingle 
 cloud which could prefent an apology for 
 further alarm ; fo that poor Mifs Mufli- 
 room was obliged to make the moft of 
 what was paffed, and live il over again in 
 defcription. g
 
 [ 280 ] 
 
 By the help of her papa's arm, for ftie 
 flill trembled too much to fupport herfelf, 
 ftie contrived to accompany the party to 
 the dining-room, where, as Julia happened 
 to be placed betwixt the terrified fair one 
 and her father, (he had the pleafure of 
 receiving a minute and accurate account 
 of all the filly things which the former 
 had either faid or done during every thun- 
 der-florm within the period of her re- 
 membrance. 
 
 Julia had never witnefTed an entertain- 
 ment fo fplendid and profufe as that which 
 now covered the General's table. It con- 
 fided of every delicacy of the feafon, made 
 inviting to the appetite by all the ftudied 
 refinements of Epicurean luxury. 
 
 Mrs. Villers defired the fervants to hand 
 the brown barley-bread along with the 
 white, obferving that ilie always made a 
 point of ufing a little of it every day at 
 her own table, by way of fetting a good 
 example. '^ And yet, would you believe
 
 [ 281 ] 
 
 it," addrefling herfelf to Lady Pa^e, " the 
 poor people are fo fancy as not to like ii.'* 
 
 * I am fure, then, they dcferve to ftarve/ 
 returned her Ladyfliip, fending her plate 
 for fome more jelly-fauce to the nice flice 
 of venifon ; ' I never ate any thing better 
 in my life; but the poor are really now 
 become fo infolent they are quite in- 
 fufFerable/ 
 
 . ** Yes, indeed " rejoined Mrs. Villers, 
 trhile fhe helped herfelf to another plate 
 of turtle-foup, " I think thofe who mur- 
 mur at fuch bread as that, do not defervc 
 any compaiTion." 
 
 ' I thought fo, too,' fiid Mifs Mor- 
 daunt, ' till I heard from Dr. Orwell, who 
 dined the other day at our houfe, that the 
 poor wretches had really nothing but 
 bread to eat. Only think how (liocking, 
 CO have nothing but a dry morfel of bread 
 for one's whole dinner! One can fcarcely 
 wonder that they (hould wifli that to be 
 good.' 
 
 " I dare
 
 [ 282 ] 
 
 " I dare fay that Dr. Orwell Is a demo-" 
 ctat," faid Mrs. Villers. " It is thefe peo- 
 ple who encourage the poor in all their 
 infolence; to hear them fpeak, one would 
 think there was nothing but mifery in 
 the world." 
 
 * For my fliare/ faid Lady Page, ' I 
 believe all the rout that is made about 
 fcarcity is mere talk. I am fure I never 
 faw lefs appearance of it.' 
 ::*' I do not remember a better venifoij- 
 feafon in all my life," faid Mr. Muftiroom. 
 " Nor do I believe a better haunch ever 
 came to any table. I muft, however, have 
 a cut at the (tewed carp, which appears 
 delicious," fending his plate to Mr. Valla- 
 ton, who happened to be placed near this 
 favourite difh; and who fortunately made 
 fo judicious a choice of the niceft part, 
 as impreffed Mr. Mufliroom with a very 
 favourable opinion of his underftanding. 
 
 Soon as he had finiihed, he afked the 
 gentleman's name of Mifs Delmond, and 
 
 when
 
 [ 283 J 
 
 when he had obtained it, " Mr. Valla^ 
 ton," faid he in an audible voice, " I 
 mu(t beg the honour of drinking a glafs 
 of wine with you. Vallaton !" repeated 
 he, as the fervant was filling the wine, " I 
 certainly have had the pleafure of meeting 
 with fome of that family abroad: your 
 family is of French extra£lion, I pre- 
 fume, fir?'* 
 
 Vallaton bowed aiTent. 
 
 " O yes; a great many Vallaton's ia 
 France formerly — all emigrated now— 
 every thing turned upfide down in that mi- 
 ferable country." 
 
 As Vallaton put down his glafs, his eyes 
 again encountered thofe of Lady Page. 
 The remark which, from the encouraging 
 overtures of Mr. Mufhroom, he was about 
 to make, died upon his lips, and while the 
 ladies remained in the room, he continued 
 to obferve a ftrifl filence. 
 
 Mifs Mufhroom, who had now com- 
 pletely faftened upon Julia as a liftener, 
 
 continueil
 
 [ 284 ] 
 
 continued her perfecutlon to the drawing- 
 room, and had orot about half throueh the 
 tedious hiftory of the horrors fhr. had once 
 experienced from the direful prodigy of a 
 frog hopping along one of the gravel- 
 walks in the garden, when Mrs. Villers, 
 who had been for fome time in earned con- 
 verfation with Lady Page at a didant bow- 
 window, advanced towards Julia, and in a 
 voice almoft fufFocated with agitation, 
 begged to fpeak with her in the adjoin- 
 ing room. 
 
 When Julia beheld the flufhed counte- 
 nance of Mrs. Villers, when ihe perceived 
 the emotion that quivered on her lip, the 
 idea of her having made fome difcovery 
 concerning Vallaton ruilied upon her 
 mind. Her heart bounded with expecta- 
 tion, and as fhe lightly tripped into the 
 withdrawing-room, elate with hope and joy, 
 Ihe knew not that flie touched the ground. 
 
 Mrs. Villers followed, apparently (trug- 
 gling to fubdue an extreme degree of agi- 
 tation:
 
 [ 285 J 
 
 lation. Having carcfally fhut tlie door of 
 the apartment flie turned to Julia : " Mifs 
 Delmond," faid flie, in a folemn but tre- 
 mulous voice, " I cannot imagine that 
 your father would permit any perfon 
 to accompany you to Cadle-Villers, with 
 whofe previous hiilory he v/as not tho- 
 roughly acquainted. Tell me then," con- 
 tinued (he, with increafed agitation, " tell 
 me what you know of the young man 
 who came with you to-day ?*' 
 
 * Good Heavens!' exclaimed the de- 
 lighted Julia, ' and is it indeed polTible 
 that I fliould have guefled the truth ? And 
 have you really difcovered any thing con- 
 cerning Mr. Vallaton?' 
 
 " Difcovered ! Mifs Delmond ; yes-, I 
 have made a difcovery, indeed ! I wonder 
 you are not afliamcd of yourfelf, for hav- 
 ing concealed a circumftance fo — fo — but 
 I will, if poflible, command myfelf ; do not 
 cxpefi:, however, that either the General 
 -jr myfelf can ever pofTibly forgive you." 
 
 'Ah:
 
 [ 286 ] 
 
 * Ah ! Madam, can you believe, that if 
 I had really been certain of the circura- 
 ftance you have fo unaccountably difco- 
 vered, that I fhould for a moment have 
 concealed it? Did you but know the 
 intereft I take, the joy, the fatisfaftion I 
 at this moment feel, you would not thus 
 accufe me/ 
 
 " What do you mean?" faid Mrs. Villers, 
 in an angry tone. " Satisfaction, indeed! 
 Is this your gratitude for the notice I have 
 condefcended to take of you? Is this your 
 return for the friendfliip General Villers 
 has ihewn to your father, to tell me to my 
 face, that you have a fatisfa£lion in a cir- 
 cumftance which will be confidered by all 
 my friends as an irremediable difgrace ? I 
 mud fay, Mifs Delmond, your behaviour 
 h intolerable." 
 
 * Dear Madam!' returned Julia, in the 
 mildeft: accent, ' furely no one can attach 
 the idea of difgrace to you on account of 
 this affair. In his birth there is nothing 
 
 diflionourable,
 
 C «87 ] 
 
 liiflionourable, he was not the produce oi 
 an illicit amour, but the dear pledge of 
 hallowed love. His parents need not bluQi 
 to own him to the world for their child.* 
 
 The fcarlet hue which had hitherto 
 overfpread the countenance of Mrs. Vil- 
 lers, now gave place to the livid palenefs 
 ©f rage ; while all the circumftances of her 
 own birth, to which fne thought Julia al- 
 luded, rufhed upon her recollection. 
 
 " Do you dare to infult me?" cried (he, 
 in a voice almoft: choaked with paffion, 
 " And do you imagine you (hall infult mc 
 with impunity? But I will not bear it: 
 no, Mifs, I will not tamely fubmit to be 
 infulted by your infolence. I will — I will — 
 but you are beneath my refentment. If 
 your father has dared to affront General 
 Villers, he fhall fuffer for it as he ought!" 
 
 Julia, overwhelmed with aftonifhment 
 and horror, fat trembling and raotionlefs j 
 totally unable to account for a cataftrophc 
 fo unexpected, her faculties were for fomc 
 
 time
 
 [ 288 ] 
 
 time entirely fufpcnded. At length (he was 
 awakeneJ, as if from a confufed dream, 
 by Mrs. Vlllers' violeiuly ringing the bell, 
 and ordering Mif's Delmond's carriage to 
 the door. She then made an effort to 
 fpeak, but her voice refused its afliftance. 
 Seeing Mrs. Villers move towards the 
 door, {lie caught hold of her gown, and 
 throwing herfelf on hrr knees before her, 
 burfl into a violent flood of tears. 
 
 The diftrefs of Julia, the mildnefs of 
 her looks, and the humility of her fuppli- 
 eating pofture, fomewhat airaaged the 
 wrath of the enraged lady, wao never- 
 thelefs continued to maintain the dignity 
 of filence. 
 
 * However I have unknowingly incurred 
 your difpleafure,' fald Julia, as foon'as 
 tears and fobs would permit her uttr-rance, 
 ^ I on my knees aflure you that mv offence 
 extends not to my father. He is an utter 
 ftranger to Mr. Vallaton. He knows no- 
 thing of the myflery of his birth j he never 
 
 heard
 
 [ 289 ] 
 
 heard of the embroidered covering of the 
 bafket; and if any circumftances unfortu- 
 nately exift, which would induce you to 
 wifh that the affair ihould be ftill con- 
 cealed, you may confide in my fecrecy and 
 difcretion. Believe me, I would fooner 
 fuiFer death than betray you.' 
 
 " Heavens 1' cried Mrs. Villers, regard- 
 ing Juha with a mixture of horror and 
 apprehenfion, " the girl has certainly lofi: 
 her fenfes!" Then gently difengaging her 
 gown from Julia's grafp. " Compofe 
 yourfelf, Mifs Delmond," faid (he, in a 
 foothing tone, " fit down upon the fopha, 
 and compofe yourfelf." 
 
 * I cannot be at eafe,' faid Julia, * till 
 I know how I have been fo unfortunate as 
 to offend you. Alas! in the diftant con- 
 templation of this event, I have fondly 
 flattered myfelf, that fliould my conjec- 
 tures prove true, fliould he indeed prove 
 to be what you have now difcovered him, 
 ydu would have confidered the difcovery 
 
 VOL. I, u as
 
 as the happiefl moment of your exiftence* 
 I thought I fhould have feen him clafped 
 to your bread in the fond agony of mater- 
 nal tendernefs. Oh ! did you but know 
 how worthy he is of your afFe£lion ! were 
 you but acquainted with the grcatnefs of 
 his mind, the ftrengch of his powers, the 
 fublimity of his virtue! you would blefs 
 the day that gave him to your arms!' 
 
 " Hufh! hufli!" faid Mrs. Villers, ma. 
 king her a motion to be filent, " you had 
 better fit quiet, and recover yourfelf.'* 
 Then foftly flipping towards the door that 
 opened into the drawing-room, ihe gently 
 puflied it fo far open, as fiiould fecure her 
 a fpeedy retreat, in cafe Julia, whom fhe 
 now faw to be quite light-headed, fhould 
 fijddenly become outrageous. 
 
 Julia on her part confidered the beha- 
 viour of Mrs. Villers as no lefs unnatural 
 and extraordinary. Many and various 
 were the defcriptions ftie had read of the; 
 behaviour of parents on difcovering a long- 
 
 loft
 
 [ 291 ] 
 
 loll child, but nothing to equal the conduct 
 of Mrs. Villers occurred to her recollec- 
 tion. She could by no means account 
 for it. 
 
 ' I hope. Madam,' faid ilie, after a flicrt 
 paufe, ' you will not deem my curiofity 
 impertinent, if I confcfs I am anxious to 
 know by what m.eans this interefling dif- 
 covery has been eifected.' 
 
 " By means of Lady Page," replied 
 Mrs. Villers, happy to fee her beginning 
 to talk rationally; " and I hope, Mifs Del- 
 mond, it will ferve as a vraming for you 
 in future, to be extremely careful of ma- 
 king acquaintance with people while igno- 
 rant of their family and connexions; for 
 I am now well convinced that you would 
 not willingly have brought this man to 
 Caftle-Villers, if you had really known 
 him to have been a hair-dreifer." 
 
 * A hair-drelTer I' repeated Julia, who 
 
 in her turn began to fufpe6l the brain of 
 
 Mrs. Villers to be a little affe£led, ' I know* 
 
 u 2 nothing
 
 C 292 ] 
 
 nothing of any halr-dreffer, I never was 
 in company with a perfon of that defcrip- 
 tion in my hfe.' 
 
 " Do you not know, then," returned 
 Mrs. Villers, in aftonifhmcnt, " that Mr. 
 Vallaton is a London hair-dreffer, a com- 
 mon frifeur, a fellow who — good hea- 
 vens! that fuch a fellow ftiould ever have 
 the impudence to fit at my table! He richly 
 deferves that my fervants ihould kick him 
 down flairs.'* 
 
 * Mr. Vallaton a hair-dreiTeri' exclaimed 
 Juha, Mt is a grofs deception, a mod 
 egregious miilake! His whole life has 
 been devoted to the fublime purfuits of 
 philofophy. His writings have enlightened 
 the world; and his virtues are the mofl 
 illuftrious comment on the glorious doctrine 
 of perfectibility. Is this, then, the difcovery 
 you have made? And are you yet ignorant 
 of the interefting myftery of his birth ?' 
 
 " Indeed, I neither know, nor defire to 
 know, any thing of the birth of fuch a per- 
 fon,'*
 
 [ ^93 ] 
 
 fon," faid Mrs. Villers, drily; "it is 
 enough for me to be convinced that Lady 
 Page cannot poffibly be miftaken, as he 
 dreffed her ladyfhip every day for a whole 
 feafon." 
 
 * Her ladyfliip does, however, moft af- 
 furedly labour under a very great miftake/ 
 returned Julia. ' Mr. Vallaton is the 
 adopted fon of a lady of great rank and 
 fortune, who beflowed upon him an edu- 
 cation fuited to the fuppofed dignity of his 
 birth, which, from the circumftances of his 
 infant drefs, the cafl<:et of jewels which 
 was depofited in the fatin-lined bafket in 
 which he was laid; above all, from the 
 elegant covering of pelong, with the let- 
 ters A. V. richly embroidered in every 
 corner, which ferved as a canopy to the 
 whole, was evidently of no vulgar origin. 
 Their can be no doubt that he is the off- 
 spring of forae noble but unhappy pair, 
 who may yet live to glory in their accom- 
 plifhed fon,' 
 
 Julia,
 
 [ 294 ] 
 
 Julia, all thd time .Tlie fpoke, kept her 
 eyes ftedfaftly fixed on the coantenance of 
 Mrs. Villers, which, to her great furprife, 
 betrayed not the leafl emotion at her lively 
 and animated detail; to which fhe coolly 
 rephed, " All this, Mifs Delmond, might 
 make a very pretty (lory in a romance, but 
 I believe fuch things very feldom happen 
 in real life; but as you alTure me Mr. 
 What's-his-name has had the education 
 of a gentleman, I muft fuppofe Lady Page 
 has made fome miftake, and fhall be glad 
 to convince her of it. But pray who in- 
 troduced this gentleman to your father?'* 
 
 No queflion could poffibly have been 
 more malapropos to poor Julia. She was 
 totally a at lofs for an anfwer, and looked 
 to the fervant, who moft feafonably en- 
 tered to announce her carriage, as to a 
 deliverer from the word of punifliments. 
 She inftantly arofe to take leave, and 
 though Mrs. Villers now condefcendinglj 
 omreated her to (lay to tea; (he refolutely 
 
 refufed
 
 I ^95 ] 
 
 refufed the invitation, and with a firm but 
 modefl dignity perfifled in her immediate 
 departure. 
 
 She found Mr. Vallaton, who had been 
 informed by the fervant of her intention, 
 at the bottom of the flairs. He handed 
 her into the carriage, placed himfelf befide 
 her, and from the rate at which he drove, 
 feemed no lefs eager than herfelf to lofe 
 fight of Caftle-Villers. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 [ 296 ] ' 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 " Affert it for a facrcd truth— 
 ** That f©rrows fuch purf'jits attend, 
 " Or fuch purfuits in forrows end; 
 " That all the wild advent'rer gain?, 
 " Are perils, penitence, and paint." 
 
 Cotton. 
 
 /^APT. Delmond had been for fome 
 ^-^ time watching the progrefs of the 
 declining fun, whofe fetting ray he expe£led 
 to light home his darling daughter. When 
 the fplendid orb had compleatly funk be- 
 neath the horizon, and the effulgent glories 
 which its laft beam had kindled in the wef- 
 tern clouds, began gradually to lofe their 
 vivid hues, and at length to exchange the 
 living purple and the bumifhed gold for 
 rhe fober livery of night, unealinefs and 
 anxiety crept upon his mind.
 
 C 297 ] 
 
 " Is it not ftrange that Julia does not 
 return?" faid he to his wife. *' I wonder 
 how Dr. Orwell can be fo imprudent as to 
 flay thus late." 
 
 * Yes, it is very late, to be fure,* re- 
 turned Mrs. Delmond; * I cannot even fee 
 to knit my flocking.' 
 
 *' Ihate thefe open carriages," faid the 
 Captain, *' and wonder how I confented 
 to Julia's going in one. 1 proteft it h 
 quite dark." 
 
 ' It is, indeed,' replied Mrs. Delmond; 
 •* but here is Nancy with the candles, I iliall 
 now fee to take up my ditch.' 
 
 The apprehenfions of Capt, Delmond 
 were fuddenly fufpended by the entrance 
 of Dr. Orwell. 
 
 « Dr. Orwell," faid he, « I am truly 
 happy to fee you. I was beginning to 
 think that you were flaying out rather later 
 than was perfectly advifeable in an open 
 carriage. But it is a fign that your time 
 has paffed agreeably.- How did you find 
 
 the
 
 C 298 ] 
 
 the General and his Lady ? I hope they 
 are both well." 
 
 * It is a confiderable time fince I have 
 been at Caftle-Villers,' replied Dr. Orwell. 
 
 *' Oh, I fuppofe you drove direftly 
 home, then?'' faid the Captain. " You 
 were quite right; but where is Julia, did 
 (he not return with you ?" 
 
 ' I have not yet feen Mifs Delmond,' 
 replied the Do6lor; ' but I can tell you 
 ihe is fafe." 
 
 " Safe!" repeated the Captain, " did 
 (he not return with you from Caftle- 
 Villers?" 
 
 * I did not go to Caflle-Villers,' faid Dr. 
 Orwell ; ' I never thought of it." 
 
 " Did not go !" repeated Capt. Delmond, 
 in great furprife. " Who then went with 
 my daughter? Did not you promife to 
 efcort her? Dr. Orwell, this is not what 
 I fliould have expefbed from you." 
 
 ' Indeed, my dear fir, you very much 
 furprife me/ returned the Do6lor. ' I had 
 
 yefterday
 
 [ 299 1 
 
 yeilerday a note from you, requefling the 
 ufe of my gig, in which, as Mifs Delmond 
 informed me in the evening, a friend of 
 yours was to drive her. The gentleman 
 called, as {he faid he would, about one 
 o'clock, and had it accordingly.' 
 
 " Great God!" exclaimed the Captain, 
 " how you adonifli me ! Julia, my Julia, 
 go off with a gentleman of Vvhora I know 
 nothing! Who is he? How cam.e he ac- 
 quainted with my daughter?" 
 
 ' I really know nothing further of the 
 gentleman, than that I believe him to be a 
 vifitor of Mr. Glib's,' replied Dr. Orwell, 
 ' and took it for granted that he was your 
 acquaintance. I am forry, heartily forry 
 to find it otherwife.' 
 
 " Where are they now? Where is my 
 daughter? Why is fhe not returned? Oh! 
 I read it in your face — I have loll my child, 
 and am for ever miferablc!" 
 
 Here the poor father funk back in his 
 chair in fpeecblefs agony. 
 
 ' Dear
 
 [ 300 ] 
 
 * Dearmei' faid Mrs. Delmond, laying 
 down her knitting. 
 
 " My dear friend," faid Dr. Orwell, 
 taking the father's hand, " things are not 
 fo bad as you apprehend. Your daughter 
 is within two miles of us, but mud necef- 
 fariiy be detained there for fome little 
 time by an unlucky accident, from which 
 flie has, however, efcaped better than 
 could be expelled." 
 
 ' What is it?' faid the Captain eagerly. 
 * Tell me all? Let me know the worfl? 
 I will bear it like a man, you ihall fee 
 I will.' 
 
 " Then you fhall know the very worft," 
 faid Dr. Orwell. " In coming down the 
 hill jufl above the turnpike, which you 
 know to be very deep and ftony, the gig 
 was unfortunately overturned. Mifs Del- 
 mond and the gentleman were both thrown 
 out by the Ihock, and both confiderably 
 hurt; but neither of them, I hope, dan- 
 gerouily. They were carried to the farm- 
 
 houfe
 
 C 301 ] 
 
 houfe which is juft by the turnpike, and 
 there both Dr. Sydney and Mr. Gabbles 
 are now attending them. Finding I could 
 be of no fervice to them, I hadenedhere; 
 as, however unwilling to be the meflenger 
 of bad news, I thought it better to obviate 
 the poflibility of your receiving it through 
 the medium of fudden and exaggerated 
 report. After going home to give fomc 
 neceiTary directions, I fhall return to the 
 farm, and bring you back a full account 
 how I find matters there." 
 
 * God blefs you!' faid Capt. Delmond, 
 burfting into tears. ' Forgive this weak- 
 nefs; but, alas! I am now every w^ay a 
 child! I never felt the lofs of my limbs till 
 now. My poor Julia! my fweet, my 
 darling child, I fliall, perhaps, never fee 
 thee more!' 
 
 At fight of her hulband's tears, Mrs. 
 Delmond took out her pocket-hankerchief, 
 " If you take on fo, my dear,'' faid llie, 
 ^' what is to become of me ? Julia may 
 
 not
 
 f 302 ] 
 
 not be fo bad as you think ; but I wonder 
 who (he has got with her ? I never heard 
 of this man, no, not I; and I wonder how 
 file could have a fweetheart, and I not 
 know." 
 
 The idea was torture to the father's 
 heart. Julia ! whom he had ever treated 
 as a friend, a companion. Julia! in whofe 
 foul he had fo carefully implanted fenti- 
 ments of the nicefl honour; on whofe 
 integrity he had ever relied with the moft 
 implicit confidence ; that fhe fhould be ca- 
 pable of a train of falfliood and deceit ! It 
 was a death- wound to a father's foul ; and 
 the foul of Capt. Delmond fully felt its 
 force. 
 
 Dr. Orwell was too much afFe£led by 
 the fcene, to be able for fome time to fpeak ; 
 as foon as his feelings would permit, he 
 faid what he could to footh and comfort 
 the unhappy father, and with a promife of 
 returning as fpeedily as poiTible, he took 
 leave. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 [ 503 3 
 
 CHAP. XX, 
 
 WE cannot but fuppofe the lovefy 
 Julia to have created fuch an in- 
 terefl: in the bread of the reader, as mud 
 excite fome anxiety for her prefent fitua- 
 tion, and fome defire to be acquainted with 
 the circumftances that led to it. Out of 
 pure good-nature we (hall therefore fatisfy 
 him in thcfe particulars, before we return 
 to Bridgetina, the true and proper heroine 
 of this our hiflory. 
 
 As (he departed from Caflle-Villers the 
 bread of Julia fwelled with the emotion of 
 wounded pride, overwhelming fliame, and 
 cruel difappointment. Mortified as (lie was 
 
 at
 
 [ 304. ] 
 
 at the total failure of her well-planned pro- 
 je£i:, flie was yet fufficiently fenfible of the 
 ridicule to which an acknowledgment of 
 her romantic views mufl inevitably cxpofe 
 her, to dare to confefs her mortification. 
 Her confufion did not efcape the penetra- 
 ing eyes of Vallaton. He had been too 
 fenfible of the fcrutinizing glances of Lady 
 Page, to be at any lofs to guefs thecaufe; 
 but trembled for the effect of an explana- 
 tion, which not all his confidence in the 
 philofophy of his pupil could affure him 
 would be favourable to his wiflies. Af- 
 ter proceeding about half a mile in filence, 
 *' How rejoiced I am," faid Vallaton, 
 *' that you contrived to make your efcape 
 £o foon from thefe filly people; I was ab- 
 folutely tired to death with their imper- 
 tinence." 
 
 ' Did you ever fee any of the party be- 
 fore?' faid Julia. 
 
 '' Why do you afk?" returned Vallaton, 
 alarmed at the queflion, '* did any of 
 
 theia
 
 [ 305 ] 
 
 ihem talk of knowing me?" — ' Yes/ re- 
 plied Julia, ' that Lady Page, it feems, 
 does 3'ou the honour of claiming you for an 
 acquaintance.' 
 
 " Does file, indeed? I cannot fay that I 
 have any recollection of her : but in London 
 one fees fo many faces, and meets fo many 
 people of the fame general defcription, 
 that it is impoflible to remember them all.'' 
 ' But you do not know half the honour 
 Lady Page did you,' faid Julia: ' ihe was 
 fo kind — but I am abfolutely aflbamed to 
 repeat it.' 
 
 " Do not be afraid to tell me any thing fhc 
 could fay," returned Vallaton, firmly. " I 
 am neither afraid nor afhamed to hear it." 
 * Well, then,' replied Julia, (while her 
 countenance fluflied at the recolleftion of 
 the indignity) ' (lie told Mrs. Villers, that 
 you were once a hair-drefler.' 
 
 " Very likely," returned Vallaton, care- 
 lefsly ; " I may have amufed myfelf in that 
 way fometimes." 
 VOL. I. X * You
 
 [ 306 ] 
 
 * You furely cannot be ferlous?' faid 
 Julia, in a faultering accent. 
 
 " Yes, indeed, but I am," returned 
 Vallaton. " My dear adopted mother hap- 
 pening to read the Emilias of Roufleau, 
 while I was in my fourteenth year, became 
 fo enamoured of his fyftem, that flie imme- 
 diately determined to have me initiated 
 into fome handicraft employment, that ia 
 cafe of any revolution in fortune, I might 
 be enabled to earn my bread. I dare fay 
 you will laugh at my choice, as flie did 
 very heartily, though fhe was at length 
 kind enough to indulge me in the whim. 
 As I grew up I ufed fometimcs to bribe 
 the perfon who indru^led me, to permit 
 me to go in his ftead to fome ladies of fa- 
 fliion j and in one of thefe frolics I may 
 have dreffed the head of this Lady Page, 
 for aught I know, though I have no re- 
 colle6lion of her face." 
 
 * Well,' cried Julia, ^ I wonder how 
 your dear adopted mother could permit 
 
 you
 
 [ S07 ] 
 
 you to exercife fo mean an employ- 
 ment.' 
 
 " I cannot fay it was altogether with 
 her inclination," replied Vallaton; " the 
 good lady had not ftrength of mind to rife 
 above the filly prejudices of fociety." 
 
 « Indeed,' replied Julia, ' her preju- 
 dices in this inflance were very allowable ; 
 and I only wonder how (he could ever 
 indulge you in a fancy fo (trange and unac- 
 countable.' 
 
 " A mere juvenile extravagance," faii 
 Vallaton, carelefsly, " not worth a ferious 
 thought ; though perhaps after all it may 
 be found, that as an occafional relaxation 
 from fevere ftudy, it anfwered the end 
 every bit as well as the work of either a 
 turner or joiner. As to real dignity all 
 manual labour is upon a par." 
 
 « Well, I proteft I cannot think fo,' 
 faid Julia. * You may call it prejudice, and 
 perhaps it is fo, but there are fome em- 
 ployments one cannot help confidering as 
 x 2 derogatory
 
 [ 308 ] 
 
 derogatory to the dignity of a gentle- 
 
 man.* 
 
 " If you faid to the dignity of man^* 
 returned her companion, " I (liould will- 
 ingly agree with you. In a fociety that 
 has made any advances towards perfe£i:ibi- 
 Uty, no man will do work for another of 
 any kind, every man will then labour 
 for himfelf ; and when things are come to 
 this delirable (late, it will no doubt be dif- 
 graceful to employ the energies of one 
 percipient being in adjufling the hair of 
 another; but no more difgraceful than to 
 join together pieces of wood to form his 
 cabinet, or to turn buttons for his coat; 
 all are in the eye of reafon equally deroga- 
 tory to the real dignity of maiu As to 
 the dignity of a gentleman^ I thought my 
 dear Mifs Delmond had been more of a 
 philofopher than to hint at fuch an abfurd 
 and unnatural diflin61:ion." 
 
 * You always get fo much the better of 
 me in argument,' replied Julia, * that I 
 
 am
 
 [ 309 J, 
 
 am forced to yield to your fupcrror jadg* 
 raent. But ftill in this inftance — ' 
 
 " Ah! that my lovely, my fenfible Julia 
 would exert thofe fuperior powers of which 
 flie is pofTeffed, to conquer thofe hateful 
 prejudices, which may be excufable in a 
 weak and uninformed mind, but which 
 are difgraceful to a foul like hers. Would 
 you but confider — " At this moment the 
 horfe, which was going full fpeed down 
 the hill, Humbled over a loofe flone; he 
 made an effort to recover himfelf, but in 
 vain; he only fell with greater violence, 
 and in his fall overturned the carriage, 
 from which both Julia and Vallaton were 
 thrown out upon the road. The horfe 
 was the firft to rife : the fhafts of the chaife 
 having been broken in the fall, he found 
 means, by a few kicks, to extricate him- 
 felf from the harnefs, and gallopped off fo 
 quickly as to elude the vigilance of the 
 keeper of the turnpike, who faw him out; 
 of reach before he got to the gate. 
 
 The
 
 [ 310 ] 
 
 The frightened animal continued his ca- 
 reer, till perceived by Dr. Orwell and 
 Henry Sydney, who were returning from 
 a charitable vifit to a poor family in the 
 neighbourhood, where the elded fon was 
 ill of a fever, for which the good Dr. 
 Orwell had prevailed upon his young 
 friend to prefcribe. Great was the con- 
 fternation of the two gentlemen, when they 
 perceived the horfe; whofe appearance 
 left no room to doubt of the cataftrophe 
 by which it was occafioned. 
 
 While Dr. Orwell employed himfelf in 
 catching the horfe, left his arrival in town 
 fhould occafion a premature alarm to the 
 friends of Mifs Delmond, Henry ran fwiftly 
 forward to give affiftance to the fufFerers; 
 and arrived at the fcene of their misfor- 
 tune before Julia could be removed from 
 the fpot. Vallaton, notwithftanding his 
 bruifes, had been raifed by the afliftance of 
 the people who kept the gate, and was 
 ftanding lamenting over Julia, whofe fltu- 
 
 ation
 
 [ 311 1 
 
 ation appeared far more deplorable. From 
 the exceiTive pain of which (he complained 
 on every anempt to move, Henrv^ judged 
 the affiflance of a furgeon muil: be necef- 
 fary, and inftantly difpatclied a meflenger 
 for Mr. Gubbles; while he, having with 
 equal prefence of mind and dexterity, 
 formed a litter of an old door which he 
 forced from its hinges, contrived to have 
 her conveyed as eafily as poilible to the 
 farm-houfe, where the people, by his di- 
 rections, prepared a bed for her reception. 
 On the arrival ct Mr. Gubbles, Henry's 
 appreheii lions were found to be but too 
 well veriiicd. The knee-pan was difco- 
 vered to be broken. The pain of fetting 
 it was exceflive, but not fo dreadful to 
 Julia as the idea, conveyed by the hints and 
 flirugs of Mr. Gubbles, that fhe would 
 probably be lame for life. Henry did all 
 in hi:, power to quiet her apprehenfions, 
 and to re-animate her finking fpirits. He 
 fupported her by the affurauce, that if flie 
 
 had
 
 [ 312 ] 
 
 had refolution patiently to endure the tor- 
 ture of the tight bandage for four-and- 
 twenty hours, (he had nothing to fear; 
 and at length, by the confidence he ex- 
 preffed, and by the numerous inilances he 
 adduced of compleat recovery from the 
 confequences of a fimilar misfortune, he 
 effectually fucceeded in tranquillizing her 
 dejeded mind. 
 
 So entirely did the fituation of Julia en- 
 grofs the attention of the fpe6tators, that 
 till (he was compofed to refl, no one fo 
 much as thought of Vallaton. He was at 
 length obferved by the farmer's wife, 
 where he had funk down upon a low chair 
 in the kitchen, and was apparently very 
 near fainting. The good-natured woman 
 inflantly ran into the room where Do6lor 
 Sydney and Mr. Gubbles were flill with 
 Julia. 
 
 " La me 1" cried flie as (he entered, 
 *' if here ben't more broken bones yet! I 
 lay my hfe the gentleman be worfer than 
 
 Mifs,
 
 [ 313 ] 
 Mifs, thof we none of us never thought 
 
 o'n/' 
 
 ' Good God!' exclaimed Julia, ' Mr. 
 Vallaton is then hurt, though he denied to 
 me that he was. What mifery has my 
 folly occafioned!' She now burfl into 
 a flood of tears, which in all the pain flie 
 had fuffered, her refolution had hitherto 
 reftrained. 
 
 While Henry ufed his endeavours to 
 compofe her, Mr. Gubbles proceeded to 
 examine into the condition of Vallaton. 
 In anfwer to his interrogatories, Vallaton 
 replied, " that he was indeed very much 
 hurt, that the pain of his arm and ilioulder 
 was intolerable." 
 
 ' From the manner in which the arm 
 hangs,' replied Mr. Gubbles, ' I (liould 
 indeed apprehend a complicated fracture; 
 but perhaps it may not be quite fo bad.' 
 
 The ileeve of the coat being ripped of, 
 the man of fcience congratulated his pa- 
 tient on his very extraordinary good for- 
 tune.
 
 r 314 ] 
 
 tune. 'It is a mere trifle, my dear fir, 
 nothing but a dillocation of the humerno, 
 and a fimple fra£iure of the lower extre- 
 mity of the ulna/ 
 
 While he dexteroufly replaced the arm 
 in its focket, poor Vallaton could not fup- 
 prefs a groan. ' It is impofiible I can hurt 
 you/ faid the learned operator ; ' nothing 
 was ever done v/ith gre?,i:er eafe; and as 
 for this other little bufiiiefs, it is a mere 
 nothing*. I never met with a more ele- 
 gant fra6lure in my life — furs I don't 
 hurt you ?' 
 
 '* Indeed but you do/ cried Vallaton, 
 " you put me to very exquifite pain." 
 
 ' It is impolTible, my dear fir, quite im- 
 poffible; the fweliing of the adjacent muf- 
 cles may indeed create fome trifling uneafi- 
 Defs; but it is nothing to what I have met 
 with in the courfe of pra6lice.^ 
 
 *' La me!'' exclaimed the landlady, who 
 attended to fupply the necefl^ary bandages, 
 *' if you Do<Slors have more heart than a 
 
 {tone!
 
 [ 315 ] 
 
 flone! I am fure the poor gentleman had 
 need o' patience to hear you." 
 
 The good woman having offered her 
 fon's bed for the accommodation of Valla- 
 ton, he was immediately conveyed to it, 
 and there we fhall leave him to his medita- 
 tions, while we return to the afflicted Julia. 
 
 Henry Sydney beheld with anxiety the 
 agitated (late of his fair patient's mind, and 
 fenfible how neceiTary repofs was to her 
 recovery, he prevailed upon her to fwal- 
 low fome quantity of an opiate which Mr. 
 Gubbles had the precaution to bring. 
 
 Julia felt with gratitude the humane at- 
 tention of her young phyfician, but was fliil 
 deploring the want of a friend of her own 
 fex, whofe prefence would, flie thought, 
 afford a fupport dill more grateful, when 
 a foft flep approached her bed, and the 
 figure of Harriet Orwell glided before 
 her eyes. 
 
 " Is it poffible!'* faid Julia, in a faint 
 toice. " Is Mifs Orwell indeed fo good as 
 
 to
 
 [ 516 ] 
 
 to come to fee me here, at this! time of 
 night?" 
 
 * Hufh! hufli!' faid Harriet, putting 
 her finger to her lips, ' we ihall talk of 
 every thing to-morrow ; I only beg you 
 would give me leave to do things in my 
 own way to-night, without taking any no- 
 tice of me, except merely to afk for what 
 you want/ 
 
 *' But you do not intend to flay with 
 me all night?" faid Julia; "that would 
 be too much/' 
 
 * Indeed I fhall not leave you while you 
 remain in this houfe,' replied Harriet; 
 * and as to fitting up all night, it is what 
 I like of all things : but no more fpeak- 
 ing; and I fuppofe we may now difmifs 
 this gentleman here, who will attend my 
 father home.* 
 
 Julia could only exprefs her thanks by 
 tears. Nor did Henry behold unmoved 
 this fre(h proof of Harriet's goodnefs. 
 While flie lightly glided round the bed of 
 
 her
 
 [ 317 1 
 
 her friend, procuring for her a thoiifand 
 little comforts which her a£live mind fug- 
 gefted, and her gentle hand fupplied, he 
 thought he beheld a guardian-angel on 
 its work of mercy. When he was about 
 to leave the room, (lie fofcly opened the 
 door for his departure : he did not fpeak, 
 but feizing the hand which hung down, 
 he prefled it to his lips wich an emphatic 
 exprellion of admiration and refpec^. 
 
 On walking into the farmer's apart- 
 ment, Henry there found Dr. Orwell, 
 who was receiving from Mr. Gubbies a 
 fcientiiic defcription of the fraflures, of 
 which indeed the good Doctor did not 
 comprehend one fyllable. The explana- 
 tion of Henry, however, foon made the 
 matter perfectly intelligible, to the no fmall 
 indignation of Mr, Gubbies; who, from 
 the plain and fimple language made ufe 
 of by the young phyfician, conceived a 
 fovercign contempt for his knowledge and 
 capacity. 
 
 Henry
 
 [ 318 ] 
 
 Henry perfifled in his refolution of ta^ 
 king up his abode by the flirrner*s fire-fide 
 all night, whicn after a little oppofition 
 was agreed to by Dr. Orwell, who pro- 
 ceeded to acquaint the parents of Julia 
 with the particulars of her misfortune. 
 
 CHAP*
 
 [ 319 3 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 <• No argument like niatrer of faci is. 
 
 ** And we are Left of all led to 
 
 " Men's principles, by what they do." 
 
 Butler. 
 
 'T^HE day which proved (o unfortunate 
 -*- to poor Julia, was by Bridgetina 
 confidered as one of the mod aufpicious 
 asras that marked the period of her exifl- 
 ence. It was indeed a day of much im- 
 portance; a day which opened upon her 
 mind the grandefl view, the mod extatic 
 profpedl, that was ever prefented to an en- 
 lightened imagination. 
 
 It happened, that among feveral fets of 
 nev/ books which Mr. Glib about this 
 time received from his correfpondent in 
 
 London,
 
 [ sw ] 
 
 London, was a copy of the tranflation of 
 Monf. Vaillant's Travels into the interior 
 parts of Africa. The firil volume of this 
 book Mr. Glib ran haflily over, without 
 experiencing any degree of pleafure from 
 the perufal. Neither the fprightlinefs of 
 the author's manner, his zeal in the pur- 
 fuit of natural hiftory, his unbounded 
 philanthopy, nor the novelty of his ani- 
 mated defcriptions, had the power of cap- 
 tivating the fancy of Mr. Glib; but the 
 fecond volume made very ample amends 
 for the time thrown away upon the firft. 
 When he came to the account of the 
 Gonoquais Hottentots, his delight and ad- 
 miration iricreafed at every line, till at 
 length, no longer able to contain his rap- 
 ture, he ran haflily with the book in his 
 hand to the back parlour, where Bridge- 
 tina, who had jufl then happened to call, 
 was fitting with Mr. Myope and the God- 
 dcfs of Reafon. " See here!" faid he, 
 " See here, Citizen Myope, all our wifhes 
 
 fulfilled 1
 
 [ 321 ] 
 
 fulfilled! All our theory realized ! Here 
 is a whole nation of philofophers, all as 
 wife as ourfclves ! All on the high road to 
 perfe6libility ! All enjoying the proper dig- 
 nity of man! Things juft as they ought 1 
 No man working for another ! All alike ! 
 All equal! No laws! No government! No 
 coercion! Every one exerting his energies 
 as he pleafes! Take a wife to-day : leave her 
 again to-morrow! It is the very elTence of 
 virtue, and the quinteffence of enjoyment!'* 
 
 * Alas!' replied Mr. Myope, ' I fear 
 this defirable (late of things is referved 
 for futurity. Ages muft elapfe before 
 mankind will be fufficiendy enlightened to 
 be fenfible of the great advantage of living 
 as you defcribe.' 
 
 " N05 no," cried Glib, " ages need 
 not elapfe. It is all known to the Hot- 
 tentots. All praftifed by the Gonaquais 
 hoard. Only jufl: liften." 
 
 ^^ In a country where there is no, differ- 
 ence in birth or rank^ (as is the case in 
 
 VOL. I. Y ConcquaisJ
 
 [ 3£3 ] 
 
 GGHoquaisJ every inhabitant is necessarifj 
 on an equality.^^ 
 
 * The very ground-work of perfeclibi- 
 iity!' cried Bridgetina, 'that is certain-, 
 but go on.' 
 
 *' Luxuvf and vanity^ which in more 
 polished countries consume the largest for- 
 tunes, create a thousand unhappy distinctions 
 entirely unknown to these savages; their 
 desires are hounded by real wants ^ nor are 
 ihey excluded from the means of gratifying 
 ihem; and these means may be, and are ' ef- 
 f equally pursued by all: thus the various 
 co7nbinatio7is of pride for the aggrandizement 
 ^f families, all the schemes of he aping for- 
 tune on fortune in the same coffer, being ut- 
 terly unknoion ; no intrigues are created, 7io 
 oppressions praBised, in fine no crimes in- 
 ttigaied.''^ 
 
 ' O learned and amiable Hottentots!* 
 exclaimed Bridgetina, ' by what means — * 
 
 * See Vaillant^s Travels, vol. ii, 
 
 ^' Stay
 
 [ S2S ] 
 
 ^^ Stay a little, Mifs, and only lifleii to 
 this paflage about their marriages," faid 
 Glib, refuming his book. 
 
 " The formalities of these marriages con- 
 sist in the promises made by each party to 
 live together as long as they find it con- 
 venicnt ; the engagement made^ the young 
 couple from that moment become man and 
 wife,—'' 
 
 ' O enviable {late of fociety!' exclaimed 
 Bridgetina, * O — ' 
 
 " Do not interrupt me, Mifs, till I have 
 
 finiflied the paflage. As 1 have hinted 
 
 before^ they live together as long as harmony 
 subsists between them; for should any dif" 
 ference arise, they make no scruple of sepa- 
 ration, but part with as little ceremony as 
 they meet; and each one, free to form other 
 connections, seeks elsewhere a more agreeable 
 partner • These marriages , founded on recl^ 
 procal inclinations, have ever a happy issue; 
 and as love is their only cement, they require 
 no other inotivefor partingthan indifference. "^^ 
 Y 2 < Mark
 
 [ S24 ] 
 
 *' Mark that, citizens! No other moirce 
 for parting than indifference. Who would 
 not wilh to live in that bleffed country? 
 But here is a flill further proof of their 
 progrefs in philofophy. Tou never meet 
 a?nong the Go7ioquais ivith men who apply 
 themselves to any particular kind of ivork, 
 in order to satisfy the caprice of others. 
 The ico?nan who desires to lie soft, will 
 fabricate her own inat. She who has a 
 wish to be clothed^ will instruci a man to 
 wake a habit. The huntsman who woidd 
 have good weapons^ can depend on those of 
 his own making; and the lover is the only 
 architect of the cabin that is to contain \his 
 future mistress J"'* 
 
 * Why this is the very ftate of perfec- 
 tion to which we all afpirel' cried Mr, 
 
 * The curious reader may, if he plcale, compare 
 the palTage quoted from Vaillant widi the eighth chap- 
 ter of the eighth book of Polincal Juflice, vol. ii. 
 o£lavo edidon ; and he will not be furprifed thatCitizea 
 Glib fhouldbe ftruckwidi the coincidence. 
 
 Myope,
 
 [ 525 J 
 
 Myope, la extacy. ' It is the fum and 
 fubdancc of our philofophy. What illuf- 
 trious proofs of human genius may we ex- 
 pecl to find in a fociety thus wifely con- 
 llituted, a fociety in which leifure is the 
 inheritance of every one of its members?* 
 
 " It is evident," cried Bridgetina, " that 
 the author of our illuftrious fyftcm is en- 
 tirely indebted to the Hottentots for his 
 fubllme idea of the Age of Reafon. Here 
 is the Age of Reafon exemphfied; here is 
 proof fufficient of the perfedtibility of 
 man!" 
 
 « Yes,' faid Mr. Myope, ^ and as wc 
 well know mechanical and daily labour to 
 be the deadliefl: foe to all that is ereat and 
 
 o 
 
 admirable in the human mind, to what a 
 glorious height of metaphyfical knowledge 
 may we expefl: a people to foar, where all 
 are equally poor and equally idle! What 
 attainments mud they have doubtlefs made 
 in fcience? What difcoveries in philo- 
 fophy ?' 
 
 "As
 
 [ 326 ] 
 
 *' As to fclence," faid Glib, " it docs 
 not at lead appear that they know much 
 of arithmetic, for Mr. Vailhht here tells 
 us, that they cannot reckon above the num- 
 her of their fingers. They count the time of 
 the day by the course of the sun^ sayifig, it 
 laas there when I departed^ yonder when 
 I returned.'^ 
 
 ^ Aftonifliing proof of the progrefs of 
 mind!* cried Bridgetina. 
 
 " Yes," faid Glib, " and fee further: 
 With calm tranquillity they behold the rising 
 and the setting sun^ unknowing and regard' 
 less of the pointed hour upon the time-piece. 
 Do you mark that, citizens ? No getting 
 up at feven in the morning to open fhop ; 
 TiQ making up Recounts; no care about 
 bufmefs. Well, if before another year 
 goes round I dp not become a Hottentot, 
 may I never more behold the face of ^ 
 philofopher!" 
 
 ' And if,' faid Myope, ^ every other 
 particular in the character of this illuflri- 
 
 9^%
 
 C 327 ] 
 
 ous people, be found to correfpond with 
 what we have already learned, every phi- 
 lofopher mafl:, like you, long to be re- 
 ceived into the bofom of a fociety arrived 
 at a (late of civilization, which but to 
 imagine has been juftly ccnfidered as the 
 mod glorious effort of the fublimeft genius 1* 
 
 '' You do not yet know the half of their 
 perfections," returned Glib; " but here is 
 the key-flone of the grand arch of perfe£li- 
 bility: only liften to this, and confefs whe* 
 ther you ever heard of fo wife a people. 
 Modes of divination are the usual appen^ 
 dages of superstitious worship^ but how can 
 this exist ivhere they have no religion^ no 
 idea of a superior Being? In these hordes, 
 (do you take notice) in these hordes they 
 have neither physician^ nor priest^ nor su* 
 periority of degree^ nor any word in the Hot- 
 tentot la7iguage that signifies in any manner 
 these distindions,'^ 
 
 ' Admirable!' exclaimed Myope. 
 " The very perfe(flion of modern philo- 
 lofophy!" cried Bridgetina, ^ ,^
 
 [ 328 J 
 
 *^Verc do defe wife people live?' en- 
 quired the Goddefs of Reafon. * Have 
 dey no fete, no grand fpeflacle, no ball, 
 no concerta?' 
 
 " Yes, yes, they have balls, Madam,'* 
 returned Glib, " and concerts too. But 
 ybii ire not to imagine, that in the reafon- 
 able ttate of fociety to which they are ad- 
 vanced, that any man will condefcend to 
 perform the corapofitions of another. All 
 compofe for themfelves; all play their own 
 tune; no two in the same key!" 
 
 * Vat be dere ball drefs?' faid the God- 
 ^efs. ^ De fafhions of fo enlightened a 
 people be ver elegant, to be fure. Do 
 dey rouge, like de French lady ; or be dey 
 pale-faced, like de lady of England?' 
 
 " Their tafte in drefs is equal to their 
 other refinements," replied Glib. "Every 
 one painted; not a paleface to be feen. 
 All covered with greafe, and foot, and 
 ochre, from head to heel ; bears' guts for 
 bracelets, and cloaks of affes' ikins. Their 
 
 heads
 
 [ 329 ] 
 
 heads arc ornamented with blown blad- 
 ders, and a flieep's bone hangs about their 
 necks inftead of a locket." 
 
 « What flrange fafliions dis foreign na- 
 tion of philofophers do follow!' faid the 
 Goddefs. 
 
 " What elegant fimplicity of tafle!'* 
 cried Myope. " But I mufl beg leave to 
 perufe the whole of this extraordinary 
 account. It has already generated an idea 
 in my mind, which may be produ£live of 
 the moft extraordinary confequences to the 
 interefls of fociety.'' 
 
 Mr. Myope then took the book, and 
 proceeded to read the whole account of 
 the Gonoquais in an audible voice, though 
 not without receiving many interruptions 
 from the exclamations of delight that fre- 
 quently burft from his admiring audience. 
 When he had fmiflied, " Here," faid he, 
 ^' here, my friends, is the place — the only 
 place to which, in this diftempered ftate of 
 oivilizationj a philofopher can rcfort with 
 
 any
 
 if .330 ] 
 
 any hopes of. comfort. . Let us jfcek an 
 
 alylum among thcfe kindred fouls. Let 
 
 US form a horde in the neighbourhood of 
 
 Haabas, and from the dcferts of Africa 
 
 .fend forth thofe rays of philofophy which 
 
 fliall enlighten all the habitable globe." 
 
 fM *j Go with, -all JPy heart,' cried Glib; 
 
 ^* leave fliop, .and wife, and children, and 
 
 all. Get a wif^ among the Qonoquais; 
 
 meet when we pleafe,. feparate when we 
 
 have a mind. That's it! that's- the ^vay 
 
 ^oiiaye energies!' 
 
 The propofal of Mr. Myope appeared 
 equally charming to Bridgetina, who had 
 no doubt, that among the numerous phi- 
 lofophers of England a party would be 
 iprmed every way agreeable to her v/iflies. 
 Mx» Myope alTured her, that the idea of 
 emigration had for aconfiderable time pre- 
 vailed; and that the difficulty of finding a 
 place agreeable to their views prefented 
 the only obftacle to its execution. That 
 ^cbflacle \vas now happily removed; as no 
 
 one
 
 [ 331 ] 
 
 one could read the account of the Gono- 
 quais Hottentots, and not be fenfible that 
 in the bofom of a people who had fo fully- 
 adopted all their plans for the improve- 
 ment of fociety; who had no trade, no 
 commerce, no didinclions of rank, no laws, 
 tio coercion, no government; who had. 
 among them no phyficians, no lawyers, no 
 priefts, and who, to crown all, believed 
 in NO God! they mufl find that congeni- 
 ality of fentiments and difpofitions which 
 they would in vain expeft among the cor- 
 rupt focieties of Europe. 
 
 The more Mr. Myope confidered the 
 fubje£l:, the more was he impreiTjd with 
 an idea of its importance. His mind, ever 
 under the influence of fomc one darling 
 idea, which, during the period of its reign, 
 excluded every other thought, w^as foon 
 kindled into enthufiafm. It mufl be con- 
 feffed, however, that the enthufiafm of Mr. 
 Myope differed very materially from that 
 ^hich diflinguiilics certain great minds in 
 
 the
 
 [ 532 ] 
 
 the purfuit of fome favourite obje(f^; it 
 was of a nature very dillin^l from that 
 fublimc energy of the foul which, on the 
 moft extenfive and comprehenfive views, 
 concentrates all its powers towards the 
 accomplifhment of fome grand defign. 
 Indeed, no two principles of a£lion are 
 more oppofite to each other in their na- 
 ture, origin, progrefs, and confequences, 
 than the two different fpecies of enthufi- 
 afni here defcribed. The firfl', born of 
 reafon and dire£led by judgment, is noble, 
 difcriminating, and effective. The other, 
 the produce of an inflammable imagina- 
 tion, is blinded by the glare of its own be- 
 \yildering light, expends itfeif upon any 
 obje<^ that chance puts in its reach, and is 
 ufually unfteady as it is abortive. 
 
 Such was the enthufrafm of Mr. Myope. 
 
 While he was a religionift, it inflamed 
 bis zeal for the minutiie of every dogma 
 of the k6t to which he then happened to 
 belong. As a<^iaker, it made him tena- 
 cious
 
 [ 333 3 
 
 cious of the broad-brimmed bar, and all 
 the peculiarities of drefs and manner which 
 diftinguifh that apparently plain and fimple 
 people. He then groaned at the fight of 
 a coloured ribbon, and was moved by the 
 fpirit to denounce the mod: dreadful judg- 
 ments againft the crj'i ng fin of long train* 
 and hair-powder. 
 
 As an Anabaptlfl, in his eagernefs for 
 dipping all that came in his way, he very 
 naiTowly efcaped being drowned along 
 with a poor woman, of whom he had un- 
 fortunately made a convert in the time of 
 a great flood. And when his energies were 
 direfled to Calvinifm, the flats of the re- 
 probate engroffed every faculty of his 
 mind, and his whole foul was poured out 
 ia defcribing the nature of the dreadful 
 tortures, w^hich ailuredly awaited all who 
 did not embrace every article of his then 
 faith, all whofe intelleclual optics happened 
 to view things in a different li^hr. 
 
 Nor
 
 [ 334 ] 
 
 Nor when Mr. Myope changed his opi- 
 nions, did his mind become more enlarged 
 by the change. He wandered from maze 
 to maze, in the intricate labyrinth of pole- 
 mical divinity, without having once caught 
 a glance of the fublime views, the fimplc 
 but elevating principles of that religion, 
 from which each of the different fedlaries 
 he embraced profeiTed to be derived. 
 
 As a convert to the new philofophy, his 
 zeal was no lefs confpicuous. We have 
 already given fome flriking proofs of its 
 effe£ls; and perhaps may yet have occa- 
 lion to relate fome farther inftances of it, 
 no lefs memorable and extraordinary. 
 
 The account of the Gonoquais Hotten- 
 tots had now infpired this philofopher 
 with a flow of eloquence which produced 
 the greatefl effecls upon his audience. 
 Both Bridgetina and Mr. Glib, ftruck with 
 the force of his irrefiftible arguments, pro- 
 mifed to turn their ferious thoughts to his 
 propofal. They agreed to renew their 
 
 confultations
 
 [ 335 ] 
 
 confultations upon the fubje^^ as frequently 
 as pofTible; but till their plan was more 
 fully digefled, thought it befl not to drop 
 a hint of it to the unenlightened; as fuch 
 perfons, being totally incapable of eflima- 
 ting its advantages, might malicioufly en- 
 deavour to obftruft its fuccefs. 
 
 END OF THE FIRST VOLUME, 
 
 [Cruuwell, Printer, Bath,
 
 it 'V
 
 ■%• m v^'"^