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+Project Gutenberg's Tales And Novels, Volume 1 (of 10), by Maria Edgeworth
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Tales And Novels, Volume 1 (of 10)
+       Moral Tales
+
+Author: Maria Edgeworth
+
+
+Release Date: September, 2005  [EBook #8826]
+This file was first posted on August 13, 2003
+Last Updated: June 8, 2013
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TALES AND NOVELS, VOLUME 1 (OF 10) ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Anne Folland, Jonathan Ingram, Mary Meehan,
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+TALES AND NOVELS, VOLUME I (of X)
+
+MORAL TALES
+
+By Maria Edgeworth
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+It has been somewhere said by Johnson, that merely to invent a story is
+no small effort of the human understanding. How much more difficult is
+it to construct stories suited to the early years of youth, and, at
+the same time, conformable to the complicate relations of modern
+society--fictions, that shall display examples of virtue, without
+initiating the young reader into the ways of vice--narratives, written
+in a style level to his capacity, without tedious detail, or vulgar
+idiom! The author, sensible of these difficulties, solicits indulgence
+for such errors as have escaped her vigilance.
+
+In a former work the author has endeavoured to add something to the
+increasing stock of innocent amusement and early instruction, which
+the laudable exertions of some excellent modern writers provide for the
+rising generation; and, in the present, an attempt is made to provide
+for young people, of a more advanced age, a few Tales, that shall
+neither dissipate the attention, nor inflame the imagination.
+
+In a work upon education, which the public has been pleased to notice,
+we have endeavoured to show that, under proper management, amusement and
+instruction may accompany each other through many paths of literature;
+whilst, at the same time, we have disclaimed and reprehended all
+attempts to teach in play. Steady, untired attention is what alone
+produces excellence. Sir Isaac Newton, with as much truth as modesty,
+attributed to this faculty those discoveries in science, which brought
+the heavens within the grasp of man, and weighed the earth in a balance.
+To inure the mind to athletic vigour is one of the chief objects of
+good education; and we have found, as far as our limited experience has
+extended, that short and active exertions, interspersed with frequent
+agreeable relaxation, form the mind to strength and endurance, better
+than long-continued feeble study.
+
+Hippocrates, in describing the robust temperament, tells us that the
+_athletae_ prepare themselves for the _gymnasium_ by strong exertion,
+which they continued till they felt fatigue; they then reposed till they
+felt returning strength and aptitude for labour: and thus, by alternate
+exercise and indulgence, their limbs acquire the firmest tone of health
+and vigour. We have found, that those who have tasted with the keenest
+relish the beauties of Berquin, Day, or Barbauld, pursue a demonstration
+of Euclid, or a logical deduction, with as much eagerness, and with more
+rational curiosity, than is usually shown by students who are nourished
+with the hardest fare, and chained to unceasing labour.
+
+"Forester" is the picture of an eccentric character--a young man who
+scorns the common forms and dependencies of civilized society; and
+who, full of visionary schemes of benevolence and happiness, might, by
+improper management, or unlucky circumstances, have become a fanatic and
+a criminal.
+
+The scene of "The Knapsack" is laid in Sweden, to produce variety; and
+to show that the rich and poor, the young and old, in all countries, are
+mutually serviceable to each other; and to portray some of those virtues
+which are peculiarly amiable in the character of a soldier.
+
+"Angelina" is a female Forester. The nonsense of _sentimentality_ is
+here aimed at with the shafts of ridicule, instead of being combated
+by serious argument. With the romantic eccentricities of Angelina are
+contrasted faults of a more common and despicable sort. Miss Burrage is
+the picture of a young lady who meanly natters persons of rank; and
+who, after she has smuggled herself into good company, is ashamed to
+acknowledge her former friends, to whom she was bound by the strongest
+ties of gratitude.
+
+"Mademoiselle Panache" is a sketch of the necessary consequences of
+imprudently trusting the happiness of a daughter to the care of those
+who can teach nothing but accomplishments.
+
+"The Prussian Vase" is a lesson against imprudence, and on exercise of
+judgment, and an eulogium upon our inestimable trial by jury. This tale
+is designed principally for young gentlemen who are intended for the
+bar.
+
+"The Good Governess" is a lesson to teach the art of giving lessons.
+
+In "The Good Aunt," the advantages which a judicious early education
+confers upon those who are intended for public seminaries are pointed
+out. It is a common error to suppose that, let a boy be what he may,
+when sent to Eton, Westminster, Harrow, or any great school, he will
+be moulded into proper form by the fortuitous pressure of numbers; that
+emulation will necessarily excite, example lead, and opposition polish
+him. But these are vain hopes: the solid advantages which may be
+attained in these large nurseries of youth must be, in a great measure,
+secured by previous domestic instruction.
+
+These Tales have been written to illustrate the opinions delivered in
+"Practical Education." As their truth has appeared to me to be confirmed
+by increasing experience, I sat down with pleasure to write this preface
+for my daughter. It is hoped that the following stories will afford
+agreeable relaxation from severer studies, and that they will be
+thought--what they profess to be--_Moral_ Tales.
+
+R.L. EDGEWORTH
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+FORESTER
+
+THE PRUSSIAN VASE
+
+THE GOOD AUNT
+
+ANGELINA; OR, L'AMIE INCONNUE
+
+THE GOOD FRENCH GOVERNESS
+
+MADEMOISELLE PANACHE
+
+THE KNAPSACK
+
+
+
+
+
+
+FORESTER
+
+
+Forester was the son of an English gentleman, who had paid some
+attention to his education, but who had some singularities of opinion,
+which probably influenced him in his conduct toward his children.
+
+Young Forester was frank, brave, and generous, but he had been taught to
+dislike politeness so much, that the common forms of society appeared to
+him either odious or ridiculous; his sincerity was seldom restrained by
+any attention to the feelings of others. His love of independence was
+carried to such an extreme, that he was inclined to prefer the life
+of Robinson Crusoe in his desert island, to that of any individual in
+cultivated society. His attention had been early fixed upon the follies
+and vices of the higher classes of people; and his contempt for selfish
+indolence was so strongly associated with the name of gentleman, that
+he was disposed to choose his friends and companions from amongst his
+inferiors: the inequality between the rich and the poor shocked him; his
+temper was enthusiastic as well as benevolent; and he ardently wished to
+be a man, and to be at liberty to act for himself, that he might reform
+society, or at least his own neighbourhood. When he was about nineteen
+years old, his father died, and young Forester was sent to Edinburgh, to
+Dr. Campbell, the gentleman whom his father had appointed his guardian.
+In the choice of his mode of travelling his disposition appeared. The
+stage-coach and a carrier set out nearly at the same time from Penrith.
+Forester, proud of bringing his principles immediately into action, put
+himself under the protection of the carrier, and congratulated himself
+upon his freedom from prejudice. He arrived at Edinburgh in all the
+glory of independence, and he desired the carrier to set him down at Dr.
+Campbell's door.
+
+"The doctor is not at home," said the footman, who opened the door.
+
+"He _is_ at home," exclaimed Forester with indignation; "I see him at
+the window."
+
+"My master is just going to dinner, and can't see any body now," said
+the footman; "but if you will call again at six o'clock, maybe he may
+see you, my good lad."
+
+"My name is Forester--let me in," said Forester, pushing-forwards.
+
+"Forester!--Mr. Forester!" said the footman; "the young gentleman that
+was expected in the coach to-day?" Without deigning to give the footman
+any explanation, Forester took his own portmanteau from the carrier;
+and Dr. Campbell came down-stairs just when the footman was officiously
+struggling with the young gentleman for his burden. Dr. Campbell
+received his pupil very kindly; but Forester would not be prevailed upon
+to rub his shoes sufficiently upon the mat at the bottom of the stairs,
+or to change his disordered dress before he made his appearance in the
+drawing-room. He entered with dirty shoes, a threadbare coat, and hair
+that looked as if it never had been combed; and he was much surprised
+by the effect which his singular appearance produced upon the risible
+muscles of some of the company.
+
+"I have done nothing to be ashamed of," said he to himself; but,
+notwithstanding all his efforts to be and to appear at ease, he was
+constrained and abashed. A young laird, Mr. Archibald Mackenzie, seemed
+to enjoy his confusion with malignant, half-suppressed merriment, in
+which Dr. Campbell's son was too good-natured, and too well-bred, to
+participate. Henry Campbell was three or four years older than Forester,
+and _though_ he looked like a gentleman, Forester could not help being
+pleased with the manner in which he drew him into conversation. The
+secret magic of politeness relieved him insensibly from the torment of
+false shame.
+
+"It is a pity this lad was bred up a gentleman," said Forester to
+himself, "for he seems to have some sense and goodness."
+
+Dinner was announced, and Forester was provoked at being interrupted in
+an argument concerning carts and coaches, which he had begun with Henry
+Campbell. Not that Forester was averse to eating, for he was at this
+instant ravenously hungry: but eating in company he always found equally
+repugnant to his habits and his principles. A table covered with a clean
+table-cloth; dishes in nice order; plates, knives, and forks, laid at
+regular distances, appeared to our young Diogenes absurd superfluities,
+and he was ready to exclaim, "How many things I do not want!" Sitting
+down to dinner, eating, drinking, and behaving like other people,
+appeared to him difficult and disagreeable ceremonies. He did not
+perceive that custom had rendered all these things perfectly easy to
+every one else in company; and as soon as he had devoured his food his
+own way, he moralized in silence upon the good sense of Sancho Panza,
+who preferred eating an egg behind the door to feasting in public; and
+he recollected his favourite traveller Le Vaillant's[1] enthusiastic
+account of his charming Hottentot dinners, and of the disgust that he
+afterwards felt, on the comparison of European etiquette and African
+_simplicity_.
+
+[Footnote 1: Le Vaillant's Travels in Africa, vol. i. p. 114.]
+
+"Thank God, the ceremony of dinner is over," said Forester to Henry
+Campbell, as soon as they rose from table.
+
+All these things, which seemed mere matter of course in society,
+appeared to Forester strange ceremonies. In the evening there were cards
+for those who liked cards, and there was conversation for those who
+liked conversation. Forester liked neither; he preferred playing with a
+cat; and he sat all night apart from the company in a corner of a sofa.
+He took it for granted that the conversation could not be worth his
+attention, because he heard Lady Catherine Mackenzie's voice amongst
+others; he had conceived a dislike, or rather a contempt for this lady,
+because she showed much of the pride of birth and rank in her manners.
+Henry Campbell did not think it necessary to punish himself for her
+ladyship's faults, by withdrawing from entertaining conversation; he
+knew that his father had the art of managing the frivolous subjects
+started in general company, so as to make them lead to amusement and
+instruction; and this Forester would probably have discovered this
+evening, had he not followed his own thoughts, instead of listening to
+the observations of others. Lady Catherine, it is true, began with a
+silly history of her hereditary antipathy for pickled cucumbers; and she
+was rather tiresome in tracing the genealogy of this antipathy through
+several generations of her ancestry; but Dr. Campbell said "that he had
+heard, from an ingenious gentleman of her ladyship's family, that her
+ladyship's grandfather, and several of his friends, nearly lost their
+lives by pickled cucumbers;" and thence the doctor took occasion to
+relate several curious circumstances concerning the effects of different
+poisons.
+
+Dr. Campbell, who plainly saw both the defects and the excellent
+qualities of his young ward, hoped that, by playful raillery, and by
+well-timed reasoning, he might mix a sufficient portion of good sense
+with Forester's enthusiasm, might induce him gradually to sympathize in
+the pleasures of cultivated society, and might convince him that virtue
+is not confined to any particular class of men; that education, in the
+enlarged sense of the word, creates the difference between individuals
+more than riches or poverty. He foresaw that Forester would form a
+friendship with his son, and that this attachment would cure him of his
+prejudices against _gentlemen_, and would prevent him from indulging his
+taste for vulgar company. Henry Campbell had more useful energy,
+though less apparent enthusiasm, than his new companion: he was always
+employed; he was really independent, because he had learned how to
+support himself either by the labours of his head or of his hands; but
+his independence did not render him unsociable; he was always ready
+to sympathize with the pleasures of his friends, and therefore he was
+beloved: following his father's example, he did all the good in his
+power to those who were in distress; but he did not imagine that
+he could reform every abuse in society, or that he could instantly
+new-model the universe. Forester became, in a few days, fond of
+conversing, or rather of holding long arguments, with Henry; but his
+dislike to the young laird, Archibald Mackenzie, hourly increased.
+Archibald and his mother, Lady Catherine Mackenzie, were relations
+to Mrs. Campbell, and they were now upon a visit at her house. Lady
+Catherine, a shrewd woman, fond of precedence, and fully sensible of the
+importance that wealth can bestow, had sedulously inculcated into the
+mind of her son all the maxims of worldly wisdom which she had collected
+in her intercourse with society; she had inspired him with family pride,
+but at the same time had taught him to pay obsequious court to his
+superiors in rank or fortune: the art of rising in the world, she knew,
+did not entirely depend upon virtue or ability; she was consequently
+more solicitous about her son's manners than his morals, and was more
+anxious that he should form high connexions, than that he should apply
+to the severe studies of a profession. Archibald was nearly what might
+be expected from his education, alternately supple to his superiors, and
+insolent to his inferiors: to insinuate himself into the favour of young
+men of rank and fortune, he affected to admire extravagance; but his
+secret maxims of parsimony operated even in the midst of dissipation.
+Meanness and pride usually go together. It is not to be supposed that
+young Forester had such quick penetration, that he could discover the
+whole of the artful Archibald's character in the course of a few days'
+acquaintance; but he disliked him for good reasons, because he was a
+laird, because he had laughed at his first entree, and because he was
+learning to dance.
+
+
+
+THE SKELETON.
+
+
+About a week after our hero's arrival at Dr. Campbell's, the doctor was
+exhibiting some chemical experiments, with which Henry hoped that his
+young friend would be entertained; but Forester had scarcely been five
+minutes in the laboratory, before Mackenzie, who was lounging about the
+room, sneeringly took notice of a large hole in his shoe. "It is
+easily mended," said the independent youth; and he immediately left the
+laboratory, and went to a cobbler's, who lived in a narrow lane, at the
+back of Dr. Campbell's house. Forester had, from his bed-chamber window,
+seen this cobbler at work early every morning; he admired his industry,
+and longed to be acquainted with him. The good-humoured familiarity of
+Forester's manner pleased the cobbler, who was likewise diverted by the
+eagerness of _the young gentleman_ to mend his own shoe. After spending
+some hours at the cobbler's stall, the shoe was actually mended, and
+Forester thought that his morning's work was worthy of admiration. In
+a court (or, as such places are called in Edinburgh, a close) near the
+cobbler's, he saw some boys playing at ball: he joined them; and, whilst
+they were playing, a dancing-master with his hair powdered, and who
+seemed afraid of spattering his clean stockings, passed through the
+court, and interrupted the ball players for a few seconds. The boys,
+as soon as the man was out of hearing, declared that he passed through
+_their_ court regularly twice a day, and that he always kicked their
+marbles out of the ring. Without staying to weigh this evidence
+scrupulously, Forester received it with avidity, and believed all that
+had been asserted was true, because the accused was a dancing-master;
+from his education he had conceived an antipathy to dancing-masters,
+especially to such as wore silk stockings, and had their heads well
+powdered. Easily fired at the idea of any injustice, and eager to
+redress the grievances of _the poor,_ Forester immediately concerted
+with these boys a scheme to deliver them from what he called the
+insolence of the dancing-master, and promised that he would compel him
+to go round by another street.
+
+In his zeal for the liberty of his new companions, our hero did not
+consider that he was infringing upon the liberties of a man who had
+never done him any injury, and over whom he had no right to exercise any
+control.
+
+Upon his return to Dr. Campbell's, Forester heard the sound of a violin;
+and he found that his enemy, M. Pasgrave, the dancing-master, was
+attending Archibald Mackenzie: he learnt, that he was engaged to give
+another lesson the next evening; and the plans of the confederates
+in the ball-alley were arranged accordingly. In Dr. Campbell's room
+Forester remembered to have seen a skeleton in a glass case; he seized
+upon it, carried it down to his companions, and placed it in a niche in
+the wall, on the landing-place of a flight of stone stairs down which
+the dancing-master was obliged to go. A butcher's son (one of Forester's
+new companions) he instructed to stand at a certain hour behind the
+skeleton, with two rushlights, which he was to hold up to the eye-holes
+in the skull.
+
+The dancing-master's steps were heard approaching at the expected hour;
+and the boys stood in ambush to enjoy the diversion of the sight. It was
+a dark night; the fiery eyes of the skeleton glared suddenly upon the
+dancing-master, who was so terrified at the spectacle, and in such haste
+to escape, that his foot slipped, and he fell down the stone steps: his
+ankle was sprained by the fall, and he was brought to Dr. Campbell's.
+Forester was shocked at this tragical end of his intended comedy. The
+poor man was laid upon a bed, and he writhed with pain. Forester, with
+vehement expressions of concern, explained to Dr. Campbell the cause
+of this accident, and he was much touched by the dancing-master's good
+nature, who, between every twinge of pain, assured him that he should
+soon be well, and endeavoured to avert Dr. Campbell's displeasure.
+Forester sat beside the bed, reproaching himself bitterly; and he was
+yet more sensible of his folly, when he heard, that the boys, whose
+part he had hastily taken, had frequently amused themselves with playing
+mischievous tricks upon this inoffensive man, who declared, that he had
+never purposely kicked their marbles out of the ring, but had always
+implored them to make way for him with all the civility in his power.
+
+Forester resolved, that before he ever again attempted to do justice, he
+would, at least, hear both sides of the question.
+
+
+
+THE ALARM.
+
+
+Forester would willingly have sat up all night with M. Pasgrave, to
+foment his ankle from time to time, and, if possible, to assuage the
+pain: but the man would not suffer him to sit up, and about twelve
+o'clock he retired to rest. He had scarcely fallen asleep, when his
+door opened, and Archibald Mackenzie roused him, by demanding, in
+a peremptory tone, how he could sleep when the whole family were
+frightened out of their wits by his pranks?
+
+"Is the dancing-master worse? What's the matter?" exclaimed Forester in
+great terror.
+
+Archihald replied, that he was not talking or thinking about the
+dancing-master, and desired Forester to make haste and dress himself,
+and that he would then soon hear what was the matter.
+
+Forester dressed himself as fast as he could, and followed Archibald
+through a long passage, which led to a back staircase. "Do you hear the
+noise?" said Archibald.
+
+"Not I," said Forester.
+
+"Well, you'll hear it plain enough presently," said Archibald: "follow
+me down-stairs."
+
+He followed, and was surprised, when he got into the hall, to find all
+the family assembled. Lady Catherine had been awakened by a noise, which
+she at first imagined to be the screaming of an infant. Her bedchamber
+was on the ground floor, and adjoining to Dr. Campbell's laboratory,
+from which the noise seemed to proceed. She awakened her son Archibald
+and Mrs. Campbell; and, when she recovered her senses a little, she
+listened to Dr. Campbell, who assured her, that what her ladyship
+thought was the screaming of an infant was the noise of a cat: the
+screams of this cat were terrible; and, when the light approached the
+door of the laboratory, the animal flew at the door with so much fury,
+that nobody could venture to open it. Every body looked at Forester, as
+if they suspected that he had confined the cat, or that he was in some
+way or other the cause of the disturbance. The cat, which, from his
+having constantly fed and played with it, had grown extremely fond of
+him, used to follow him often from room to room; and he now recollected,
+that it followed him the preceding evening into the laboratory, when he
+went to replace the skeleton. He had not observed whether it came out
+of the room again, nor could he now conceive the cause of its yelling
+in this horrible manner. The animal seemed to be mad with pain. Dr.
+Campbell asked his son whether all the presses were locked. Henry said
+he was sure they were all locked. It was his business to lock them every
+evening; and he was so exact, that nobody doubted his accuracy.
+
+Archibald Mackenzie, who all this time knew, or at least suspected the
+truth, held himself in cunning silence. The preceding evening he, for
+want of something to do, had strolled into the laboratory, and, with
+the pure curiosity of idleness, peeped into the presses, and took the
+stoppers out of several of the bottles. Dr. Campbell happened to come
+in, and carelessly asked him if he had been looking in the presses; to
+which question Archibald, though with scarcely any motive for telling a
+falsehood, immediately replied in the negative. As the doctor turned his
+head, Archibald put aside a bottle, which he had just before taken out
+of the press; and, fearing that the noise of replacing the glass stopper
+would betray him, he slipped it into his waistcoat pocket. How
+much useless cunning! All this transaction was now fully present to
+Archibald's memory: and he was well convinced that Henry had not seen
+the bottle when he afterwards went to lock the presses; that the cat
+had thrown it down; and that this was the cause of all the yelling that
+disturbed the house. Archibald, however, kept his lips fast closed; he
+had told one falsehood; he dreaded to have it discovered; and he hoped
+the blame of the whole affair would rest upon Forester. At length the
+animal flew with diminished fury at the door; its screams became feebler
+and feebler, till, at last, they totally ceased. There was silence: Dr.
+Campbell opened the door: the cat was seen stretched upon the ground,
+apparently lifeless. As Forester looked nearer at the poor animal, he
+saw a twitching motion in one of its hind legs; Dr. Campbell said, that
+it was the convulsion of death. Forester was just going to lift up his
+cat, when his friend Henry stopped his hand, telling him, that he would
+burn himself, if he touched it. The hair and flesh of the cat on one
+side were burnt away, quite to the bone. Henry pointed to the broken
+bottle, which, he said, had contained vitriolic acid.
+
+Henry in vain attempted to discover by whom the bottle of vitriolic acid
+had been taken out of its place. Suspicion naturally fell upon Forester,
+who, by his own account, was the last person in the room before
+the presses had been locked for the night. Forester, in warm terms,
+asserted, that he knew nothing of the matter. Dr. Campbell coolly
+observed, that Forester ought not to be surprised at being suspected
+upon this occasion; because every body had the greatest reason to
+suspect the person, whom they had detected in one _practical joke,_ of
+planning another.
+
+"Joke!" said Forester, looking down upon his lifeless favourite; "do
+you think me capable of such cruelty? Do you doubt my truth?" exclaimed
+Forester, haughtily. "You are unjust. Turn me out of your house this
+instant. I do not desire your protection, if I have forfeited your
+esteem."
+
+"Go to bed for to-night in my house," said Dr. Campbell; "moderate your
+enthusiasm, and reflect coolly upon what has passed."
+
+Dr. Campbell, as Forester indignantly withdrew, said, with a benevolent
+smile, as he looked after him, "He wants nothing but a little common
+sense. Henry, you must give him a little of yours."
+
+In the morning, Forester first went to inquire how the dancing-master
+had slept, and then knocked impatiently at Dr. Campbell's door.
+
+"My father is not awake," said Henry; but Forester marched directly up
+to the side of the bed, and, drawing back the curtain with no gentle
+hand, cried, with a loud voice, "Dr. Campbell, I am come to beg your
+pardon. I was angry when I said you were unjust."
+
+"And I was asleep when you begged my pardon," said Dr. Campbell, rubbing
+his eyes.
+
+"The dancing-master's ankle is a great deal better; and I have buried
+the poor cat," pursued Forester: "and I hope now, doctor, you'll at
+least tell me, that you do not really suspect me of any hand in her
+death."
+
+"Pray let me go to sleep," said Dr. Campbell, "and _time_ your
+explanations a little better."
+
+
+
+THE GERANIUM.
+
+
+The dancing-master gradually recovered from his sprain; and Forester
+spent all his pocket-money in buying a new violin for him, as his had
+been broken in his fall; his watch had likewise been broken against the
+stone steps. Though Forester looked upon a watch as a useless bauble,
+yet he determined to get this mended; and his friend Henry went with him
+for this purpose to a watchmaker's.
+
+Whilst Henry Campbell and Forester were consulting with the watchmaker
+upon the internal state of the bruised watch, Archibald Mackenzie, who
+followed them _for a lounge_, was looking over some new watches, and
+ardently wished for the finest that he saw. As he was playing with this
+fine watch, the watchmaker begged that he would take care not to break
+it.
+
+Archibald, in the insolent tone in which he was used to speak to a
+_tradesman_, replied, that if he did break it, he hoped he was able to
+pay for it. The watchmaker civilly answered, "he had no doubt of that,
+but that the watch was not his property; it was Sir Philip Gosling's,
+who would call for it, he expected, in a quarter of an hour."
+
+At the name of Sir Philip Gosling, Archibald quickly changed his tone:
+he had a great ambition to be of Sir Philip's acquaintance, for Sir
+Philip was a young man who was to have a large fortune when he should
+come of age, and who, in the meantime, spent as much of it as possible,
+with great _spirit_ and little judgment. He had been sent to Edinburgh
+for his education; and he spent his time in training horses, laying
+bets, parading in the public walks, and ridiculing, or, in his own
+phrase, _quizzing_ every sensible young man, who applied to literature
+or science. Sir Philip, whenever he frequented any of the professor's
+classes, took care to make it evident to every body present, that he did
+not come there to learn, and that he looked down with contempt upon
+all who were _obliged_ to study; he was the first always to make any
+disturbance in the classes, or, in his elegant language, _to make a
+row_.
+
+This was the youth of whose acquaintance Archibald Mackenzie was
+ambitious. He stayed in the shop, in hopes that Sir Philip would arrive:
+he was not disappointed; Sir Philip came, and, with address which
+lady Catherine would perhaps have admired, Archibald entered into
+conversation with the young baronet, if conversation that might be
+called, which consisted of a species of fashionable dialect, devoid of
+sense, and destitute of any pretence to wit. To Forester this dialect
+was absolutely unintelligible: after he had listened to it with sober
+contempt for a few minutes, he pulled Henry away, saying, "Come, don't
+let us waste our time here; let us go to the brewery that you promised
+to show me."
+
+Henry did not immediately yield to the rough pull of his indignant
+friend, for at this instant the door of a little back parlour behind
+the watchmaker's shop opened slowly, and a girl of about seven years old
+appeared, carrying, with difficulty, a flower-pot, in which there was
+a fine large geranium in full flower. Henry, who saw that the child
+was scarcely able to carry it, took it out of her hands, and asked her,
+"Where she would like to have it put?"
+
+"Here, for to-day!" said the little girl, sorrowfully; "but to-morrow it
+goes away for ever."
+
+The little girl was sorry to part with this geranium, because "she had
+watched it all the winter," and said, "that she was very fond of it;
+but that she was willing to part with it, though it was just come into
+flower, because the apothecary had told her, that it was the cause of
+her grandmother's having been taken ill. Her grandmother lodged," she
+said, "in _that_ little room, and the room was very close, and she was
+taken ill in the night--so ill, that she could hardly speak or stir; and
+when the apothecary came, he said," continued the little girl, "it was
+no wonder any body was ill, who slept in such a little close room, with
+such a great geranium in it, _to poison the air_. So my geranium must
+go!" concluded she with a sigh: "but, as it is for grandmother, I shall
+never think of it again."
+
+Henry Campbell and Forester were both struck with the modest simplicity
+of this child's countenance and manner, and they were pleased with the
+unaffected generosity with which she gave up her favourite geranium.
+Forester noted this down in his mind as a fresh instance in favour of
+his _exclusive_ good opinion of the poor. This little girl looked
+poor, though she was decently dressed; she was so thin, that her little
+cheek-bones could plainly be seen; her face had not the round, rosy
+beauty of cheerful health: she was pale and sallow, and she looked in
+patient misery. Moved with compassion, Forester regretted that he had no
+money to give where it might have been so well bestowed. He was always
+_extravagant_ in his generosity; he would often give five guineas where
+five shillings would have been enough, and by these means he reduced
+himself to the necessity sometimes of refusing assistance to deserving
+objects. On his journey from his father's house to Edinburgh, he
+lavished, in undistinguishing charity, a considerable sum of money; and
+all that he had remaining of this money he spent in purchasing the new
+violin for M. Pasgrave. Dr. Campbell absolutely refused to advance his
+ward any money till his next quarterly allowance should become due.
+Henry, who always perceived quickly what passed in the minds of others,
+guessed at Forester's thoughts by his countenance, and forebore to
+produce his own money, though he had it just ready in his hand: he knew
+that he could call again at the watchmaker's, and give what he pleased,
+without ostentation.
+
+Upon questioning the little girl further, concerning her grandmother's
+illness, Henry discovered, that the old woman had sat up late at night
+knitting, and that, feeling herself extremely cold, she got a pan of
+charcoal into her room; that, soon afterwards, she felt uncommonly
+drowsy; and when her little grand-daughter spoke to her, and asked her
+why she did not come to bed, she made no answer: a few minutes after
+this, she dropped from her chair. The child was extremely frightened,
+and though she felt it very difficult to rouse herself, she said,
+she got up as fast as she could, opened the door, and called to the
+watchmaker's wife, who luckily had been at work late, and was now raking
+the kitchen fire. With her assistance the old woman was brought into the
+air, and presently returned to her senses: the pan of charcoal had been
+taken away before the apothecary came in the morning; as he was in a
+great hurry when he called, he made but few inquiries, and consequently
+condemned the geranium without sufficient evidence. As he left the
+house, he carelessly said, "My wife would like that geranium, I think."
+And the poor old woman, who had but a very small fee to offer, was eager
+to give any thing that seemed to please the _doctor_.
+
+Forester, when he heard this story, burst into a contemptuous
+exclamation against the meanness of this and of all other apothecaries.
+Henry informed the little girl, that the charcoal had been the cause of
+her grandmother's illness, and advised them never, upon any account, to
+keep a pan of charcoal again in her bedchamber; he told her, that many
+people had been killed by this practice. "Then," cried the little girl,
+joyfully, "if it was the charcoal, and not the geranium, that made
+grandmother ill, I may keep my beautiful geranium:" and she ran
+immediately to gather some of the flowers, which she offered to Henry
+and to Forester. Forester, who was still absorbed in the contemplation
+of the apothecary's meanness, took the flowers, without perceiving that
+he took them, and pulled them to pieces as he went on thinking. Henry,
+when the little girl held the geraniums up to him, observed, that the
+back of her hand was bruised and black; he asked her how she had hurt
+herself, and she replied innocently, "that she had not hurt _herself_,
+but that her schoolmistress was a very _strict_ woman." Forester,
+roused from his reverie, desired to hear what the little girl meant by a
+_strict_ woman, and she explained herself more fully: she said, that,
+as a favour, her grandmother had obtained leave from some great lady to
+send her to a charity school: that she went there every day to learn
+to read and work, but that the mistress of the charity school used her
+scholars very severely, and often kept them for hours, after they had
+done their own _tasks_, to spin for her; and that she beat them if they
+did not spin as much as she expected. The little girl's grandmother then
+said, that she knew all this, but that she did not dare to complain,
+because the schoolmistress was under the patronage of some of "the
+grandest ladies in Edinburgh," and that, as she could not afford to pay
+for her little lass's schooling, she was forced to have her taught as
+well as she could _for nothing_.
+
+Forester, fired with indignation at this history of injustice, resolved,
+at all events, to stand forth immediately in the child's defence; but,
+without staying to consider how the wrong could be redressed, he thought
+only of the quickest, or, as he said, the most manly means of doing the
+business: he declared, that if the little girl would show him the way to
+the school, he would go that instant and speak to the woman in the midst
+of all her scholars. Henry in vain represented that this would not be a
+prudent mode of proceeding.
+
+Forester disdained prudence, and, trusting securely to the power of his
+own eloquence, he set out with the child, who seemed rather afraid to
+come to open war with her tyrant. Henry was obliged to return home to
+his father, who had usually business for him to do about this time. The
+little girl had stayed at home on account of her grandmother's illness,
+but all the other scholars were hard at work, spinning in a close room,
+when Forester arrived.
+
+He marched directly into the schoolroom. The wheels stopped at once on
+his appearance, and the schoolmistress, a raw-boned, intrepid-looking
+woman eyed him with amazement: he broke silence in the following
+words:--
+
+"Vile woman, your injustice is come to light! How can you dare to
+tyrannize over these poor children? Is it because they are poor? Take my
+advice, children, resist this tyrant, put by your wheels, and spin for
+her no more."
+
+The children did not move, and the schoolmistress poured out a torrent
+of abuse in broad Scotch, which, to the English ear of Forester,
+was unintelligible. At length she made him comprehend her principal
+questions--Who he was? and by whose authority he interfered between her
+and her scholars? "By nobody's authority," was Forester's answer; "I
+want no authority to speak in the cause of injured innocence." No sooner
+had the woman heard these words, than she called to her husband, who was
+writing in an adjoining room: without further ceremony, they both seized
+upon our hero, and turned him out of the house.
+
+The woman revenged herself without mercy upon the little girl whom
+Forester had attempted to defend, and dismissed her, with advice never
+more to complain of being obliged to spin for her mistress.
+
+Mortified by the ill success of his enterprise, Forester returned home,
+attributing the failure of his eloquence chiefly to his ignorance of the
+Scotch dialect.
+
+
+
+THE CANARY BIRD
+
+
+At his return, Forester heard, that all Dr. Campbell's family were
+going that evening to visit a gentleman who had an excellent cabinet of
+minerals. He had some desire to see the fossils; but when he came to
+the gentleman's house, he soon found himself disturbed at the praises
+bestowed by some ladies in company upon a little canary bird, which
+belonged to the mistress of the house. He began to kick his feet
+together, to hang first one arm and then the other over the back of his
+chair, with the obvious expression of impatience and contempt in
+his countenance. Henry Campbell, in the meantime, said, without any
+embarrassment, just what he thought about the bird. Archibald Mackenzie,
+with artificial admiration, said a vast deal more than he thought, in
+hopes of effectually recommending himself to the lady of the house.
+The lady told him the history of three birds, which had successively
+inhabited the cage before the present occupier. "They all died,"
+continued she, "in a most _extraordinary_ manner, one after another, in
+a short space of time, in convulsions."
+
+"Don't listen," whispered Forester, pulling Henry away from the crowd
+who surrounded the bird-cage; "how can you listen, like that polite
+hypocrite, to this foolish woman's history of her _extraordinary_
+favourites? Come down-stairs with me, I want to tell you my adventure
+with the schoolmistress; we can take a turn in the hall, and come back
+before the cabinet of minerals is opened, and before these women have
+finished the ceremony of tea. Come."
+
+"I'll come presently," said Henry; "I really want to hear this."
+
+Henry Campbell was not listening to the history of the lady's favourite
+birds like a polite hypocrite, but like a good-natured sensible person;
+the circumstances recalled to his memory the conversation that we
+formerly mentioned, which began about pickled cucumbers, and ended with
+Dr. Campbell's giving an account of the effects of some poisons. In
+consequence of this conversation, Henry's attention had been turned to
+the subject, and he had read several essays, which had informed him of
+many curious facts. He recollected, in particular, to have met with
+the account[2] of a bird that had been poisoned, and whose case bore a
+strong resemblance to the present. He begged leave to examine the cage,
+in order to discover whether there were any lead about it, with which
+the birds could have poisoned themselves. No lead was to be found: he
+next examined whether there were any white or green paint about it;
+he inquired whence the water came which the birds had drunk; and he
+examined the trough which held their seeds. The lady, whilst he was
+pursuing these inquiries, said she was sure that the birds could not
+have died either for want of air or exercise, for that she often left
+the cage open on purpose, that they might fly about the room. Henry
+immediately looked round the room, and at length he observed in an
+inkstand, which stood upon a writing table, a number of wafers, which
+were many of them chipped round the edges; upon sweeping out the
+bird-cage, he found a few very small bits of wafer mixed with the seeds
+and dust; he was now persuaded that the birds had eaten the wafers, and
+that they had been poisoned by the red lead which they contained; he
+was confirmed in this opinion, by being told, that the wafers had lately
+been missed very frequently, and it had been imagined that they had been
+used by the servants. Henry begged the lady would try an experiment,
+which might probably save the life of her new favourite; the lady,
+though she had never before tried an experiment, was easily prevailed
+upon. She promised Henry that she would lock up the wafers; and he
+prophesied that her bird would not, like his predecessors, come to an
+untimely end. Archibald Mackenzie was vexed to observe, that knowledge
+had in this instance _succeeded_ better, even with a lady, than
+flattery. As for Forester, he would certainly have admired his friend
+Henry's ingenuity, if he had been attending to what had passed; but he
+had taken a book, and had seated himself in an arm-chair, which had been
+placed on purpose for an old gentleman in company, and was deep in the
+history of a man who had been cast away, some hundred years ago, upon a
+desert island.
+
+[Footnote 2: Falconer, on the Poison of Lead and Copper.]
+
+He condescended, however, to put down his book when the fossils were
+produced: and, as if he had just awakened from a dream, rubbed his eyes,
+stretched himself, and joined the rest of the company. The malicious
+Archibald, who observed that Forester had seated himself, through
+absence of mind, in a place which prevented some of the ladies from
+seeing the fossils, instantly made a parade of his own politeness,
+to contrast himself advantageously with the rude negligence of his
+companion; but Archibald's politeness was always particularly directed
+to the persons in company whom he thought of the most importance. "You
+can't see there," said Forester, suddenly rousing himself, and observing
+that Dr. Campbell's daughter, Miss Flora Campbell, was standing behind
+him; "had you not better sit down in this chair? I don't want it,
+because I can see over your head; sit down." Archibald smiled at
+Forester's simplicity, in paying his awkward compliment to the
+young lady, who had, according to his mode of estimating, the least
+pretensions to notice of any one present. Flora Campbell was neither
+rich nor beautiful, but she had a happy mixture in her manners of
+Scottish sprightliness and English reserve. She had an eager desire to
+improve herself, whilst a nice sense of propriety taught her never to
+intrude upon general notice, or to recede from conversation with airs
+of counterfeit humility. Forester admired her abilities, because he
+imagined that he was the only person who had ever discovered them; as
+to her manners, he never observed these, but even whilst he ridiculed
+politeness he was anxious to find out what she thought polite. After
+he had told her all that he knew concerning the fossils, as they were
+produced from the cabinet--and he was far from ignorant--he at length
+perceived that she knew full as much of natural history as he did, and
+he was surprised that a young lady should know so much, and should not
+be conceited. Flora, however, soon sunk many degrees in his opinion;
+for, after the cabinet of mineralogy was shut, some of the company
+talked of a ball, which was to be given in a few days, and Flora, with
+innocent gaiety, said to Forester, "Have you learnt to dance a Scotch
+reel since you came to Scotland?" "_I!_" cried Forester with contempt;
+"do you think it the height of human perfection to dance a Scotch
+reel?--then that fine young laird, Mr. Archibald Mackenzie, will suit
+you much better than I shall." And Forester returned to his arm-chair
+and his desert island.
+
+
+
+THE KEY.
+
+
+It was unfortunate that Forester retired from company in such abrupt
+displeasure at Flora Campbell's question, for had he borne the idea of
+a Scotch reel more like a philosopher, he would have heard of something
+interesting relative to the intended ball, if any thing relative to a
+ball could be interesting to him. It was a charity-ball, for the benefit
+of the mistress of the very charity-school[3] to which the little girl
+with the bruised hand belonged. "Do you know," said Henry to Forester,
+when they returned home, "that I have great hopes we shall be able
+to get justice done to the poor children? I hope the tyrannical
+schoolmistress may yet be punished. The lady, with whom we drank tea
+yesterday is one of the patronesses of the charity-school."
+
+[Footnote 3: There is no charity-school of this description in
+Edinburgh; this cannot, therefore, be mistaken for private satire.]
+
+"Lady patronesses!" cried Forester; "we need not expect justice from a
+lady patroness, depend upon it, especially at a ball; her head will be
+full of feathers, or some such things. I prophesy you will not succeed
+better than I have."
+
+The desponding prophecies of Forester did not deter Henry from pursuing
+a scheme which he had formed. The lady, who was the mistress of the
+canary bird, came in a few days to visit his mother, and she told him
+that his experiment had succeeded, that she had regularly locked up the
+wafers, and that her favourite bird was in perfect health. "And what
+fee, doctor," said she, smiling, "shall I give you for saving his life?"
+
+"I will tell you in a few minutes," replied Henry; and in a few minutes
+the little girl and her geranium were sent for, and appeared. Henry told
+the lady all the circumstances of her story with so much feeling, and at
+the same time with so much propriety, that she became interested in
+the cause: she declared that she would do every thing in her power
+to prevail upon the other ladies to examine into, the conduct of the
+schoolmistress, and to have her dismissed immediately, if it should
+appear that she had behaved improperly.
+
+Forester, who was present at this declaration, was much astonished, that
+a lady, whom he had seen caressing a canary-bird, could speak with
+so much decision and good sense. Henry obtained his fee: he asked
+and received permission to place the geranium in the middle of the
+supper-table at the ball; and he begged that the lady would take an
+opportunity, at supper, to mention the circumstances which he had
+related to her; but this she declined, and politely said, that she was
+sure Henry would tell the story much better than she could.
+
+"Come out and walk with me," said Forester to Henry, as soon as the lady
+was gone. Henry frequently left his occupations with great good-nature,
+to accompany our hero in his rambles, and he usually followed the
+subjects of conversation which Forester started. He saw, by the gravity
+of his countenance, that he had something of importance revolving in his
+mind. After he had proceeded in silence for some time along the walk,
+under the high rock called Arthur's Seat, he suddenly stopped, and,
+turning to Henry, exclaimed, "I esteem you; do not make me despise you!"
+
+"I hope I never shall," said Henry, a little surprised by his friend's
+manner; "what is the matter?"
+
+"Leave balls, and lady patronesses, and petty artifices, and supple
+address, to such people as Archibald Mackenzie," pursued Forester, with
+enthusiasm:
+
+     "Who noble ends by noble means pursues--"
+     "Will scorn canary birds, and _cobble shoes_,"
+
+Replied Henry, laughing; "I see no meanness in my conduct: I do not know
+what it is you disapprove."
+
+"I do not approve," said Forester, "of your having recourse to _mean
+address_ to obtain justice."
+
+Henry requested to know what his severe friend meant by _address_; but
+this was not easily explained. Forester, in his definition of _mean
+address_, included all that attention to the feelings of others, all
+those honest arts of pleasing, which make society agreeable. Henry
+endeavoured to convince him, that it was possible for a person to wish
+to please, nay, even to succeed in that wish, without being insincere.
+Their argument and their walk continued, till Henry, who, though very
+active, was not quite so robust as his friend, was completely tired,
+especially as he perceived that Forester's opinions remained unshaken.
+
+"How effeminate you _gentlemen_ are!" cried Forester: "see what it is to
+be brought up in the lap of luxury. Why, I am not at all tired; I could
+walk a dozen miles further, without being in the least fatigued!"
+
+Henry thought it a very good thing to be able to walk a number of
+miles without being fatigued, but he did not consider it as the highest
+perfection of human nature. In his friend's present mood, nothing less
+could content him, and Forester went on to demonstrate to the weary
+Henry, that all fortitude, all courage, and all the manly virtues, were
+inseparably connected with _pedestrian indefatigability_. Henry, with
+good-natured presence of mind, which perhaps his friend would have
+called _mean address_, diverted our hero's rising indignation by
+proposing that they should both go and look at the large brewery which
+was in their way home, and with which Forester would, he thought, be
+entertained.
+
+The brewery fortunately turned the course of Forester's thoughts, and,
+instead of quarrelling with his friend for being tired, he condescended
+to postpone all further debate. Forester had, from his childhood, a
+habit of twirling a key, whenever he was thinking intently: the key had
+been produced, and had been twirling upon its accustomed thumb during
+the argument upon address; and it was still in Forester's hand when they
+went into the brewery. As he looked and listened, the key was essential
+to his power of attending; at length, as he stopped to view a large
+brewing vat, the key unluckily slipped from his thumb, and fell to the
+bottom of the vat: it was so deep, that the tinkling sound of the key,
+as it touched the bottom, was scarcely heard. A young man who belonged
+to the brewery immediately descended by a ladder into the vat, to get
+the key, but scarcely had he reached the bottom, when he fell down
+senseless. Henry Campbell was speaking to one of the clerks of the
+brewery when this accident happened: a man came running to them with the
+news, "The vat has not been cleaned; it's full of bad air." "Draw him
+up, let down a hook and cords for him instantly, or he's a dead man,"
+cried Henry, and he instantly ran to the place. What was his terror,
+when he beheld Forester descending the ladder! He called to him to stop;
+he assured him that the man could be saved without his hazarding his
+life: but Forester persisted; he had one end of a cord in his hand,
+which he said he could fasten in an instant round the man's body. There
+was a skylight nearly over the vat, so that the light fell directly upon
+the bottom.
+
+Henry saw his friend reach the last step of the ladder. As Forester
+stooped to put the rope round the shoulders of the man, who lay
+insensible at the bottom of the vat, a sudden air of idiocy came over
+his animated countenance; his limbs seemed no longer to obey his will;
+his arms dropped, and he fell insensible.
+
+The spectators, who were looking down from above, were so much
+terrified, that they could not decide to do any thing; some cried,
+"It's all over with him! Why would he go down?" Others ran to procure
+a hook--others called to him to take up the rope again, if he possibly
+could: but Forester could not hear or understand them, Henry Campbell
+was the only person who, in this scene of danger and confusion, had
+sufficient presence of mind to be of service.
+
+Near the large vat, into which Forester had descended, there was a
+cistern of cold water. Henry seized a bucket, which was floating in
+the cistern, filled it with water, and emptied the water into the vat,
+dashing it against the sides, to disperse the water, and to displace
+the mephitic air[4], He called to the people, who surrounded him,
+for assistance; the water expelled the air; and, when it was safe to
+descend, Henry instantly went down the ladder himself, and fastened the
+cord round Forester, who was quite helpless.
+
+[Footnote 4: Carbonic acid gas.]
+
+"Draw him up!" said Henry, They drew him up. Henry fastened another cord
+round the body of the other man, who lay at the bottom of the vessel,
+and he was taken up in the same manner. Forester soon returned to his
+senses, when he was carried into the air; it was with more difficulty
+that the other man, whose animation had been longer suspended, was
+recovered; at length, however, by proper application, his lungs played
+freely, he stretched himself, looked round upon the people who were
+about him with an air of astonishment, and was some time before he
+could recollect what had happened to him. Forester, as soon as he had
+recovered the use of his understanding, was in extreme anxiety to know
+whether the poor man, who went down for his key, had been saved. His
+gratitude to Henry, when he heard all that had passed, was expressed in
+the most enthusiastic manner.
+
+"I acted like a madman, and you like a man of sense," said Forester.
+"You always know how to do good: I do mischief, whenever I attempt to
+do good. But now, don't expect, Henry, that I should give up any of my
+opinions to you, because you have saved my life. I shall always argue
+with you just as I did before. Remember, I despise _address_, I don't
+yield a single point to you. Gratitude shall never make me a sycophant."
+
+
+
+THE FLOWERPOT.
+
+
+Eager to prove that he was not a sycophant, Forester, when he returned
+home with his friend Henry, took every possible occasion to contradict
+him, with even more than his customary rigidity; nay, he went further
+still, to vindicate his sincerity.
+
+Flora Campbell had never entirely recovered our hero's esteem, since she
+had unwittingly expressed her love for Scotch reels; but she was happily
+unconscious of the crime she had committed, and was wholly intent upon
+pleasing her father and mother, her brother Henry, and herself. She had
+a constant flow of good spirits, and the charming domestic talent of
+making every trifle a source of amusement to herself and others: she
+was sprightly, without being frivolous; and the uniform sweetness of
+her temper showed, that she was not in the least in want of flattery, or
+dissipation, to support her gaiety. But Forester, as the friend of her
+brother, thought it incumbent upon him to discover faults in her which
+no one else could discover, and to assist in her education, though she
+was only one year younger than himself. She had amused herself, the
+morning that Forester and her brother were at the brewery, with painting
+a pasteboard covering for the flower-pot which held the poor little
+girl's geranium. Flora had heard from her brother of his intention
+to place it in the middle of the supper-table, at the ball; and she
+flattered herself, that he would like to see it ornamented by her hands
+at his return. She produced it after dinner. Henry thanked her, and
+her father and mother were pleased to see her eagerness to oblige her
+brother. The cynical Forester alone refused his sympathy. He looked at
+the flower-pot with marked disdain. Archibald, who delighted to contrast
+himself with the unpolished Forester, and who remarked that Flora and
+her brother were both somewhat surprised at his unsociable silence,
+slyly said, "There's something in this flower-pot Miss Campbell, which
+does not suit Mr. Forester's correct taste; I wish he would allow us to
+profit by his criticisms."
+
+Forester vouchsafed not a reply.
+
+"Don't you like it, Forester?" said Henry.
+
+"No, he does not like it," said Flora, smiling; "don't force him to say
+that he does."
+
+"Force me to say I like what I don't like!" repeated Forester; "no, I
+defy any body to do that."
+
+"But why," said Dr. Campbell, laughing, "why such a waste of energy
+and magnanimity about a trifle? If you were upon your trial for life or
+death, Mr. Forester, you could not look more resolutely guarded--more as
+if you had 'worked up each corporal agent' to the terrible feat!"
+
+"Sir," said Forester, who bore the laugh that was raised against him
+with the air of a martyr, "I can bear even your ridicule in the cause
+of truth." The laugh continued at the solemnity with which he pronounced
+these words. "I think," pursued Forester, "that those who do not respect
+truth in trifles, will never respect it in matters of consequence."
+
+Archibald Mackenzie laughed more loudly, and with affectation, at this
+speech: Henry and Dr. Campbell's laughter instantly ceased.
+
+"Do not mistake us," said Dr. Campbell; "we did not laugh at your
+principles, we only laughed at your manner."
+
+"And are not principles of rather more consequence than manners?"
+
+"Of infinitely more consequence," said Dr. Campbell: "but why, to
+excellent principles, may we not add agreeable manners? Why should not
+truth be amiable, as well as respectable? You, who have such enlarged
+views for the good of the whole human race, are, I make no doubt,
+desirous that your fellow-creatures should love truth, as well as you
+love it yourself."
+
+"Certainly, I wish they did," said Forester.
+
+"And have your observations upon the feelings of others, and upon your
+own, led you to conclude, that we are most apt to like those things
+which always give us pain? And do you, upon this principle, wish to make
+truth as painful as possible, in order to increase our love for it?"
+
+"I don't wish to make truth painful," said Forester; "but, at the same
+time, it is not my fault if people can't bear pain. I think people who
+can't bear pain, both of body and mind, cannot be good for any thing;
+for, in the first place, they will always," said Forester, glancing his
+eye at Flora and her flower-pot,--"they will always prefer flattery to
+truth, as all weak people do."
+
+At this sarcastic reflection, which seemed to be aimed at the sex, Lady
+Catherine, Mrs. Campbell, and all the ladies present, except Flora,
+began to speak at once in their own vindication.
+
+As soon as there was any prospect of peace, Dr. Campbell resumed his
+argument in the calmest voice imaginable.
+
+"But, Mr. Forester, without troubling ourselves for the present with
+the affairs of the ladies, or of weak people, may I ask what degree
+of unnecessary pain you think it the duty of a strong person, a moral
+Samson, to bear?"
+
+"Unnecessary pain! I do not think it is any body's duty to bear
+_unnecessary_ pain."
+
+"Nor to make others bear it?"
+
+"Nor to make others bear it."
+
+"Then we need argue no further. I congratulate you, Mr. Forester, upon
+your becoming so soon a proselyte to politeness."
+
+"To politeness!" said Forester, starting back.
+
+"Yes, my good sir; real politeness only teaches us to save others
+from _unnecessary pain_; and _this_ you have just allowed to be your
+wish.--And now for the grand affair of Flora's flower-pot. You are not
+bound by politeness to tell any falsehoods; weak as she is, and a woman,
+I hope she can bear to hear the painful truth upon such an important
+occasion."
+
+"Why," said Forester, who at last suffered his features to relax into a
+smile, "the truth then is, that I don't know whether the flower-pot be
+pretty or ugly, but I was determined not to say it was pretty."
+
+"But why," said Henry, "did you look so heroically severe about the
+matter?"
+
+"The reason I looked grave," said Forester, "was, because I was afraid
+your sister Flora would be spoiled by all the foolish compliments that
+were paid to her and her flower-pot."
+
+"You are very considerate; and Flora, I am sure, is much obliged to
+you," said Dr. Campbell, smiling, "for being so clear-sighted to the
+dangers of female vanity. You would not then, with a safe conscience,
+trust the completion of her education to her mother, or to myself?"
+
+"I am sure, sir," said Forester, who now, for the first time, seemed
+sensible that he had not spoken with perfect propriety, "I would not
+interfere impertinently for the world. You are the best judges; only I
+thought parents were apt to be partial. Henry has saved my life, and I
+am interested for every thing that belongs to him. So I hope, if I
+said any thing rude, you will attribute it to a good motive. I wish the
+flower-pot had never made its appearance, for it has made me appear very
+impertinent."
+
+Flora laughed with so much good humour at this odd method of expressing
+his contrition, that even Forester acknowledged the influence of
+engaging manners and sweetness of temper. He lifted up the flower-pot,
+so as completely to screen his face, and, whilst he appeared to be
+examining it, he said, in a low voice, to Henry, "She is above the
+foibles of her sex."
+
+"Oh, Mr. Forester, take care!" cried Flora.
+
+"Of what?" said Forester, starting.
+
+"It is too late now," said Flora.
+
+And it was too late. Forester, in his awkward manner of lifting the
+flower-pot and its painted case, had put his thumbs into the mould, with
+which the flower-pot had been newly filled. It was quite soft and wet.
+Flora, when she called to him, saw the two black thumbs just ready to
+stamp themselves upon her work, and her warning only accelerated its
+fate; for, the instant she spoke, the thumbs closed upon the painted
+covering, and Forester was the last to perceive the mischief that he had
+done.
+
+There was no possibility of effacing the stains, nor was there time
+to repair the damage, for the ball was to commence in a few hours, and
+Flora was obliged to send her disfigured work, without having had the
+satisfaction of hearing the ejaculation which Forester pronounced in her
+praise behind the flower-pot.
+
+
+
+THE BALL.
+
+
+Henry seized the moment when Forester was softened by the mixed effect
+of Dr. Campbell's raillery and Flora's good humour, to persuade him,
+that it would be perfectly consistent with sound philosophy to dress
+himself for a ball, nay, even to dance a country-dance. The word _reel_,
+to which Forester had taken a dislike, Henry prudently forbore to
+mention; and Flora, observing, and artfully imitating her brother's
+prudence, substituted the word _hays_ instead of _reels_ in her
+conversation. When all the party were ready to go to the ball, and the
+carriages at the door, Forester was in Dr. Campbell's study, reading the
+natural history of the elephant.
+
+"Come," said Henry, who had been searching for him all over the house,
+"we are waiting for you; I'm glad to see you dressed--come!"
+
+"I wish you would leave me behind," said Forester, who seemed to have
+relapsed into his former unsociable humour, from having been left
+half an hour in his beloved solitude; nor would Henry probably have
+prevailed, if he had not pointed to the print of the elephant[5]. "That
+mighty animal, you see, is so docile, that he lets himself be guided by
+a young boy," said Henry; "and so must you."
+
+[Footnote 5: Cabinet of Quadrupeds.]
+
+As he spoke he pulled Forester gently, who thought he could not
+show less docility than his favourite animal. When they entered the
+ball-room, Archibald Mackenzie asked Flora to dance, whilst Forester was
+considering where he should put his hat. "Are you going to dance without
+me? I thought I had asked you to dance with me. I intended it all the
+time we were coming in the coach."
+
+Flora thanked him for his kind intentions; whilst Archibald, with a look
+of triumph, hurried his partner away, and the dance began. Forester saw
+this transaction in the most serious light, and it afforded him subject
+for meditation till at least half a dozen country-dances had been
+finished. In vain the Berwick Jockey, the Highland Laddie, and the
+Flowers of Edinburgh, were played; "they suited not the gloomy habit" of
+his soul. He fixed himself behind a pillar, proof against music, mirth,
+and sympathy: he looked upon the dancers with a cynical eye. At length
+he found an amusement that gratified his present splenetic humour; he
+applied both his hands to his ears, effectually to stop out the sound of
+the music, that he might enjoy the ridiculous spectacle of a number of
+people capering about, without any apparent motive. Forester's attitude
+caught the attention of some of the company; indeed, it was strikingly
+awkward. His elbows stuck out from his ears, and his head was sunk
+beneath his shoulders. Archibald Mackenzie was delighted beyond measure
+at his figure, and pointed him out to his acquaintance with all possible
+expedition. The laugh and the whisper circulated with rapidity. Henry,
+who was dancing, did not perceive what was going on till his partner
+said to him, "Pray, who is that strange mortal?"
+
+"My friend," cried Henry: "will you excuse me for one instant?" And he
+ran up to Forester, and roused him from his singular attitude. "He is,"
+continued Henry, as he returned to his partner, "an excellent young
+man, and he has superior abilities; we must not quarrel with him for
+trifles."
+
+With what different eyes different people behold the same objects!
+Whilst Forester had been stopping his ears, Dr. Campbell, who had more
+of the nature of the laughing than of the weeping philosopher, had found
+much benevolent pleasure in contemplating the festive scene. Not that
+any folly or ridicule escaped his keen penetration; but he saw every
+thing with an indulgent eye, and, if he laughed, laughed in such a
+manner, that even those who were the objects of his pleasantry could
+scarcely have forborne to sympathize in his mirth. Folly, he thought,
+could be as effectually corrected by the tickling of a feather, as by
+the lash of the satirist. When Lady Margaret M'Gregor, and Lady Mary
+Macintosh, for instance, had almost forced their unhappy partners into a
+quarrel to support their respective claims to precedency, Dr. Campbell,
+who was appealed to as the relation of both the furious fair ones,
+decided the difference expeditiously, and much to the amusement of the
+company, by observing, that, as the pretensions of each of the ladies
+were incontrovertible, and precisely balanced, there was but one
+possible method of adjusting their precedency--by their age. He was
+convinced, he said, that the youngest lady would with pleasure yield
+precedency to the elder. The contest was now, which should stand the
+lowest, instead of which should stand the highest, in the dance: and
+when the proofs of seniority could not be settled, the fair ones drew
+lots for their places, and submitted that to chance which could not be
+determined by prudence.
+
+Forester stood beside Dr. Campbell whilst all this passed, and wasted
+a considerable portion of virtuous indignation upon the occasion. "And
+look at that absurd creature!" exclaimed Forester, pointing out to Dr.
+Campbell a girl who was footing and pounding for fame at a prodigious
+rate. Dr. Campbell turned from the pounding lady to observe his own
+daughter Flora, and a smile of delight came over his countenance:
+for "_parents are apt to be partial_"--especially those who have such
+daughters as Flora. Her light figure and graceful agility attracted the
+attention even of many impartial spectators; but she was not intent upon
+admiration: she seemed to be dancing in the gaiety of her heart; and
+that was a species of gaiety in which every one sympathized, because it
+was natural, and of which every one approved, because it was innocent.
+There was a certain delicacy mixed with her sportive humour, which
+seemed to govern, without restraining, the tide of her spirits. Her
+father's eye was following her as she danced to a lively Scotch tune,
+when Forester pulled Dr. Campbell's cane, on which he was leaning,
+and exclaimed, "Doctor, I've just thought of an excellent plan for a
+tragedy!"
+
+"A tragedy!" repeated Dr. Campbell, with unfeigned surprise; "are you
+sure you don't mean a comedy?"
+
+Forester persisted that he meant a tragedy, and was proceeding to open
+the plot. "Don't force me to your tragedy now," said Dr. Campbell, "or
+it will infallibly be condemned. I cannot say that I have my _buskin_
+on! and I advise you to take yours off. Look, is that the tragic muse?"
+
+Forester was astonished to find, that so great a man as Dr. Campbell
+had so little the power of abstraction; and he retired to muse upon the
+opening of his tragedy in a recess under the music gallery. But here he
+was not suffered long to remain undisturbed; for, near this spot, Sir
+Philip Gosling presently stationed himself; Archibald Mackenzie, who
+left off dancing as soon as Sir Philip entered the room, came to the
+half-intoxicated baronet; and they, with some other young men, worthy
+of their acquaintance, began so loud a contest concerning the number
+of bottles of claret which a man might, could, or should drink at a
+sitting, that even Forester's powers of abstraction failed, and his
+tragic muse took her flight.
+
+"Supper! Supper! thank God!" exclaimed Sir Philip, as supper was now
+announced. "I'd never set my foot in a ballroom," added he, with several
+suitable oaths, "if it were not for the supper."
+
+"Is that a rational being?" cried Forester to Dr. Campbell, after Sir
+Philip had passed them.
+
+"Speak a little lower," said Dr. Campbell, "or he will infallibly prove
+his title to rationality by shooting you, or by making you shoot him,
+through the head."
+
+"But, sir," said Forester, holding Dr. Campbell fast, whilst all the
+rest of the company were going down to supper, "how can you bear such a
+number of foolish, disagreeable people with patience?"
+
+"What would you have me do?" said Dr. Campbell. "Would you have me get
+up and preach in the middle of a ball-room? Is it not as well, since we
+are here, to amuse ourselves with whatever can afford us any amusement,
+and to keep in good humour with all the world, especially with
+ourselves?--and had we not better follow the crowd to supper?"
+
+Forester went down-stairs; but, as he crossed an antechamber, which
+led to the supper-room, he exclaimed, "If I were a legislator, I would
+prohibit balls."
+
+"And if you were a legislator," said Dr. Campbell, pointing to a
+tea-kettle, which was on the fire in the antechamber, and from the spout
+of which a grey cloud of vapour issued--"if you were a legislator, would
+not you have stoppers wedged tight into the spouts of all tea-kettles in
+your dominions?"
+
+"No, sir," said Forester; "they would burst."
+
+"And do you think that folly would not burst, and do more mischief than
+a tea-kettle in the explosion, if you confined it so tight?"
+
+Forester would willingly have stayed in the antechamber, to begin a
+critical dissection of this allusion; but Dr. Campbell carried him
+forwards into the supper-room. Flora had kept a seat for her father; and
+Henry met them at the door.
+
+"I was just coming to see for you, sir," said he to his father. "Flora
+began to think you were lost."
+
+"No," said Dr. Campbell, "I was only detained by a would-be Cato, who
+wanted me to quarrel with the whole world, instead of eating my supper.
+What would you advise me to eat, Flora?" said he, seating himself beside
+her.
+
+"Some of this trifle, papa;" and as she lightly removed the flowers with
+which it was ornamented, her father said, "Yes, give me some trifle,
+Flora. Some characters are like that trifle--flowers and light froth at
+the top, and solid, good sweetmeat, beneath."
+
+Forester immediately stretched out his plate for some trifle. "But I
+don't see any use in the flowers, sir," said he.
+
+"Nor any beauty," said Dr. Campbell.
+
+Forester picked the _troublesome_ flowers out of his trifle, and ate a
+quantity of it sufficient for a Stoic. Towards the end of the supper, he
+took some notice of Henry, who had made several ineffectual efforts to
+amuse him by such slight strokes of wit as seemed to suit the time and
+place. Time and place were never taken into Forester's consideration: he
+was secretly displeased with his friend Henry for having danced all the
+evening instead of sitting still; and he looked at Henry's partner with
+a scrutinizing eye. "So," said he, at last, "I observe I have not been
+thought worthy of your conversation to-night: this is what _gentlemen,
+polite gentlemen_, who dance _reels_, call friendship!"
+
+"If I had thought that you would have taken it ill I should dance
+reels," said Henry, laughing, "I would have made the sacrifice of a
+reel at the altar of friendship; but we don't come to a ball to make
+sacrifices to friendship, but to divert ourselves."
+
+"If we can," said Forester, sarcastically: here he was prevented from
+reproaching his friend any longer, for a party of gentlemen began to
+sing catches, at the desire of the rest of the company.
+
+Forester was now intent upon criticising the nonsensical words that were
+sung; and he was composing an essay upon the power of the ancient bards,
+and the effect of national music, when Flora's voice interrupted him:
+"Brother," said she, "I have won my wager." The wager was, that Forester
+would not during supper observe the geranium that was placed in the
+middle of the table.
+
+As soon as the company were satisfied, both with their supper and their
+songs, Henry, whose mind was always _present_, seized the moment when
+there was silence to turn the attention of the company towards the
+object upon which his own thoughts were intent. The lady-patroness, the
+mistress of the canary-bird, had performed her promise: she had spoken
+to several of her acquaintance concerning the tyrannical schoolmistress;
+and now, fixing the attention of the company upon the geranium, she
+appealed to Henry Campbell, and begged him to explain its history. A
+number of eager eyes turned upon him instantly; and Forester felt, that
+if he had been called upon in such a manner he could not have uttered
+a syllable. He now felt the great advantage of being able to speak,
+without hesitation or embarrassment, before numbers. When Henry related
+the poor little girl's story, his language and manner were so unaffected
+and agreeable, that he interested every one who heard him in his
+cause. A subscription was immediately raised; every body was eager to
+contribute something to the child, who had been so ready, for her old
+grandmother's sake, to part with her favourite geranium. The lady who
+superintended the charity-school agreed to breakfast the next morning at
+Dr. Campbell's, and to go from his house to the school precisely at the
+hour when the schoolmistress usually set her unfortunate scholars to
+their extra task of spinning.
+
+Forester was astonished at all this; he did not consider that negligence
+and inhumanity are widely different. The lady-patronesses had,
+perhaps, been rather negligent in contenting themselves with seeing the
+charity-children _show well_ in procession to Church, and they had not
+sufficiently inquired into the conduct of the schoolmistress; but, as
+soon as the facts were properly stated, the ladies were eager to exert
+themselves, and candidly acknowledged that they had been to blame in
+trusting so much to the reports of the superficial visitors, who had
+always declared that the school was going on perfectly well.
+
+"More people who are in the wrong," said Dr. Campbell to Forester,
+"would be corrected, if some people who are in the right had a little
+candour and patience joined to their other virtues."
+
+As the company rose from the supper-table, several young ladies gathered
+round the geranium to admire Flora's pretty flower-pot. The black
+stains, however, struck every eye. Forester was standing by rather
+embarrassed. Flora, with her usual good-nature, refrained from all
+explanation, though the exclamations of "How was that done?"--"Who could
+have done that?" were frequently repeated.
+
+"It was an accident," said Flora; and, to change the conversation, she
+praised the beauty of the geranium; she gathered one of the fragrant
+leaves, but, as she was going to put it amongst the flowers in her
+bosom, she observed she had dropped her moss-rose. It was a rarity at
+this time of year: it was a rose which Henry Camphell had raised in a
+conservatory of his own construction.
+
+"Oh, my brother's beautiful rose!" exclaimed Flora.
+
+Forester, who had been much pleased by her good-nature about the stains
+on the flower-pot, now, contrary to his habits, sympathized with her
+concern for the loss of her brother's moss-rose. He even exerted himself
+so far as to search under the benches and under the supper-table. He
+was fortunate enough to find it; and eager to restore the prize, he
+with more than his usual gallantry, but not with less than his customary
+awkwardness, crept from under the table, and, stretching half his body
+over a bench, pushed his arm between two young ladies into the midst
+of the group which surrounded Flora. As his arm extended his wrist
+appeared, and at the sight of that wrist all the young ladies shrank
+back, with unequivocal tokens of disgust. They whispered--they tittered;
+and many expressive looks were lost upon our hero, who still resolutely
+held out the hand upon which every eye was fixed. "Here's your rose! Is
+not this the rose?" said he, still advancing the dreaded hand to Flora,
+whose hesitation and blushes surprised him. Mackenzie burst into a loud
+laugh; and in a whisper, which all the ladies could hear, told Forester,
+that "Miss Campbell was afraid to take the rose out of his hands, lest
+she should catch from him what he had caught from the carter who
+had brought him to Edinburgh, or from some of his companions at the
+cobbler's."
+
+Forester flung the rose he knew not where, sprung over the bench, rushed
+between Flora and another lady, made towards the door in a straight
+line, pushing every thing before him, till a passage was made for him by
+the astonished crowd, who stood out of his way as if he had been a mad
+dog.
+
+"Forester!" cried Henry and Dr. Campbell, who were standing upon the
+steps before the door, speaking about the carriages, "what's the matter?
+where are you going? The carriage is coming to the door."
+
+"I had rather walk--don't speak to me," said Forester; "I've been
+insulted: I am in a passion, but I can command myself. I did not knock
+him down. Pray let me pass!"
+
+Our hero broke from Dr. Campbell and Henry with the strength of an
+enraged animal from his keepers; and he must have found his way home by
+instinct, for he ran on without considering how he went. He snatched the
+light from the servant who opened the door at Dr. Campbell's--hurried
+to his own apartment--locked, double-locked, and bolted the door--flung
+himself into a chair, and, taking breath, exclaimed, "Thank God! I've
+done no mischief. Thank God! I didn't knock him down. Thank God! he
+is out of my sight, and I am cool now--quite cool: let me recollect it
+all."
+
+Upon the coolest recollection, Forester could not reconcile his pride to
+his present circumstances. "Archibald spoke the truth--why am I angry?
+why _was_ I angry, I mean!" He reasoned much with himself upon the
+nature of true and false shame: he represented to himself that the
+disorder which disfigured his hands was thought shameful only because it
+was _vulgar_; that what was vulgar was not therefore immoral; that the
+young tittering ladies who shrunk back from him were not supreme judges
+of right and wrong; that he ought to despise their opinions, and he
+despised them with all his might for two or three hours, as he walked
+up and down his room with unremitting energy. At length our peripatetic
+philosopher threw himself upon his bed, determined that his repose
+should not be disturbed by such trifles: he had by this time worked
+himself up to such a pitch of magnanimity, that he thought he could
+with composure meet the disapproving eyes of millions of his
+fellow-creatures; but he was alone when he formed this erroneous
+estimate of the strength of the human mind. Wearied with passion and
+reason, he fell asleep, dreamed that he was continually presenting
+flowers, which nobody would accept; awakened at the imaginary repetition
+of Archibald's laugh, composed himself again to sleep, and dreamed that
+he was in a glover's shop, trying on gloves, and that, amongst a hundred
+pair which he pulled on, he could not find one that would fit him.
+Just as he tore the last pair in his hurry, he awakened, shook off his
+foolish dream, saw the sun rising between two chimneys many feet below
+his windows, recollected that in a short time he should be summoned to
+breakfast, that all the lady-patronesses were to be at this breakfast,
+that he could not breakfast in gloves, that Archibald would perhaps
+again laugh, and Flora perhaps again shrink back. He reproached himself
+for his weakness in foreseeing and dreading this scene: his aversion to
+lady-patronesses and to balls was never at a more formidable height; he
+sighed for liberty and independence, which he persuaded himself were
+not to be had in his present situation. In one of his long walks he
+remembered to have seen, at some miles' distance from the town of
+Edinburgh, a gardener and his boy, who were singing at their work.
+These men appeared to Forester to be yet happier than the cobbler, who
+formerly was the object of his admiration; and he was persuaded that he
+should be much happier at the gardener's cottage than he could ever be
+at Dr. Campbell's house.
+
+"I am not fit," said he to himself, "to live amongst _idle gentlemen_
+and _ladies_; I should be happy if I were a useful member of society;
+a gardener is a useful member of society, and I will be a gardener, and
+live with gardeners."
+
+Forester threw off the clothes which he had worn the preceding night at
+the fatal ball, dressed himself in his old coat, tied up a small bundle
+of linen, and took the road to the gardener's.
+
+
+
+BREAKFAST.
+
+
+When Henry found that Forester was not in his room in the morning, he
+concluded that he had rambled out towards Salisbury Craigs, whither he
+talked the preceding day of going to botanize.
+
+"I am surprised," said Dr. Campbell, "that the young gentleman is out
+so early, for I have a notion that he has not had much sleep since we
+parted, unless he walks in his sleep, for he has been walking over my
+poor head half the night."
+
+Breakfast went on--no Forester appeared. Lady Catherine began to fear
+that he had broken his neck upon Salisbury Craigs, and related all the
+falls she had ever had, or had ever been near having, in carriages,
+on horseback, or otherwise. She then entered into the geography of
+Salisbury Craigs, and began to dispute upon the probability of his
+having fallen to the east or to the west.
+
+"My dear Lady Catherine," said Dr. Campbell, "we are not sure that he
+has been upon Salisbury Craigs; whether he has fallen to the east or to
+the west, we cannot, therefore, conveniently settle."
+
+But Lady Catherine, whose prudential imagination travelled fast, went on
+to inquire of Dr. Campbell, to whom the great Forester estate would
+go in case of any accident having happened or happening to the young
+gentleman before he should come of age.
+
+Dr. Campbell was preparing to give her ladyship satisfaction upon this
+point, when a servant put a letter into his hands. Henry looked in great
+anxiety. Dr. Campbell glanced his eye over the letter, put it into
+his pocket, and desired the servant to show the person who brought the
+letter into his study.
+
+"It's only a little boy," said Archibald; "I saw him as I passed through
+the hall."
+
+"Cannot a little boy go into my study?" said Dr. Campbell, coolly.
+
+Archibald's curiosity was strongly excited, and he slipped out of the
+room a few minutes afterward, resolved to speak to the boy, and to
+discover the purpose of his embassy. But Dr. Campbell was behind him
+before he was aware of his approach, and just as Archibald began to
+cross-examine the boy in these words, "So you came from a young man who
+is about my size?" Dr. Campbell put both his hands upon his shoulders,
+saying, "He came from a young man who does not in the least resemble
+you, believe me, Mr. Archibald Mackenzie."
+
+Archibald started, turned round, and was so abashed by the civilly
+contemptuous look with which Dr. Campbell pronounced these words, that
+he retired from the study without even attempting any of his usual
+equivocating apologies for his intrusion. Dr. Campbell now read
+Forester's letter. It was as follows:--
+
+"Dear Sir,
+
+"Though I have quitted your house thus abruptly, I am not insensible of
+your kindness. For the step I have taken, I can offer no apology merely
+to my guardian; but you have treated me, Dr. Campbell, as your friend,
+and I shall lay my whole soul open to you.
+
+"Notwithstanding your kindness,--notwithstanding the friendship of
+your son Henry, whose excellent qualities I know how to value,--I most
+ingenuously own to you that I have been far from happy in your house. I
+feel that I cannot be at ease in the vortex of dissipation; and the more
+I see of the higher ranks of society, the more I regret that I was _born
+a gentleman_. Neither my birth nor my fortune shall, however, restrain
+me from pursuing that line of life which, I am persuaded, leads to
+virtue and tranquillity. Let those who have no virtuous indignation obey
+the voice of fashion, and at her commands let her slaves eat the bread
+of idleness till it palls upon the sense! I reproach myself with having
+yielded, as I have done of late, my opinions to the persuasions of
+friendship; my mind has become enervated, and I must fly from the
+fatal contagion. Thank Heaven, I have yet the power to fly: I have yet
+sufficient force to break my chains. I am not yet reduced to the mental
+degeneracy of the base monarch, who hugged his fetters because they were
+of gold.
+
+"I am conscious of powers that fit me for something better than to waste
+my existence in a ball-room; and I will not sacrifice my liberty to
+the absurd ceremonies of daily dissipation. I, that have been the
+laughing-stock of the mean and frivolous, have yet sufficient manly
+pride, unextinguished in my breast, to assert my claim to your esteem:
+to assert, that I never have committed, or shall designedly commit, any
+action unworthy of the friend of your son.
+
+"I do not write to Henry, lest I should any way involve him in my
+misfortunes: he is formed to shine in the _polite_ world, and his
+connexion with me might tarnish the lustre of his character in the eyes
+of the '_nice-judging fair_.' I hope, however, that he will not utterly
+discard me from his heart, though I cannot dance a reel. I beg that he
+will break open the lock of the trunk that is in my room, and take out
+of it my Goldsmith's Animated Nature, which he seemed to like.
+
+"In my table-drawer there are my Martyn's Letters on Botany, in which
+you will find a number of plants that I have dried for Flora--_Miss_
+Flora Campbell, I should say. After what passed last night, I can
+scarcely _hope_ they will be accepted. I would rather have them burned
+than refused; therefore please to burn them, and say nothing more upon
+the subject. Dear sir, do not judge harshly of me; I have had a severe
+conflict with myself before I could resolve to leave you. But I would
+rather that you should judge of me with severity than that you should
+extend to me the same species of indulgence with which you last night
+viewed the half-intoxicated baronet.
+
+"I can bear any thing but contempt.
+
+"Yours, &c.
+
+"P.S. I trust that you will not question the bearer; he knows where I
+am; I therefore put you on your guard. I mean to earn my own bread as
+a gardener; I have always preferred the agricultural to the commercial
+system."
+
+To this letter, in which the mixture of sense and extravagance did not
+much surprise Dr. Campbell, he returned the following answer:--
+
+"My dear cobbler, gardener, orator, or by whatever other name you choose
+to be addressed, I am too old to be surprised at any thing, otherwise I
+might have been rather surprised at some things in your eloquent letter.
+You tell me that you have the power to fly, and that you do not hug your
+chains, though they are of gold! Are you an alderman, or Daedalus? or
+are these only figures of speech? You inform me, that you cannot live
+in the vortex of dissipation, or eat the bread of idleness, and that you
+are determined to be a gardener. These things seem to have no necessary
+connexion with each other. Why you should reproach yourself so bitterly
+for having spent one evening of your life in a ball-room, which I
+suppose is what you allude to when you speak of a vortex of dissipation,
+I am at a loss to discover. And why you cannot, with so much honest
+pride yet unextinguished in your breast, find any occupation more worthy
+of your talents, and as useful to society, as that of a gardener, I own,
+puzzles me a little. Consider these things coolly; return to dinner, and
+we will compare at our leisure the advantages of the mercantile and
+the agricultural system. I forbear to question your messenger, as you
+desire; and I shall not show your letter to Henry till after we have
+dined. I hope by that time you will insist upon my burning it; which,
+at your request, I shall do with pleasure, although it contains several
+good sentences. As I am not yet sure you have _departed this life_, I
+shall not enter upon my office of executor; I shall not break open the
+lock of your trunk (of which I hope you will some time, when your mind
+is less exalted, find the key), nor shall I stir in the difficult case
+of Flora's legacy. When next you write your will, let me, for the sake
+of your executor, advise you to be more precise in your directions; for
+what can be done if you order him to give and burn the same thing in
+the same sentence? As you have, amongst your other misfortunes, the
+misfortune to be born heir to five or six thousand a year, you should
+learn a little how to manage your own affairs, lest you should, amongst
+your _poor_ or _rich_ companions, meet with some who are not quite so
+honest as yourself.
+
+"If, instead of returning to dine with us, you should persist in your
+gardening scheme, I shall have less esteem for your good sense, but I
+shall forbear to reproach you. I shall leave you to learn by your own
+experience, if it be not in my power to give you the advantages of mine
+gratis. But, at the same time, I shall discover where you are, and shall
+inform myself exactly of all your proceedings. This, as your guardian,
+is my duty. I should further warn you, that I shall not, whilst you
+choose to live in a rank below your own, supply you with your customary
+yearly allowance. Two hundred guineas a year would be an extravagant
+allowance in your present circumstances. I do not mention money with any
+idea of influencing your generous mind by mercenary motives; but it
+is necessary that you should not deceive yourself by inadequate
+experiments: you cannot be rich and poor at the same time. I gave you
+the day before yesterday five ten-pound notes for your last quarterly
+allowance; I suppose you have taken these with you, therefore you cannot
+be in any immediate distress for money. I am sorry, I own, that you are
+so well provided, because a man who has fifty guineas in his pocket-book
+cannot distinctly feel what it is to be compelled to earn his own bread.
+
+"Do not, my dear ward, think me harsh; my friendship for you gives me
+courage to inflict present pain, with a view to your future advantage.
+You must not expect to see any thing of your friend Henry until you
+return to us. I shall, as his father and your guardian, request that he
+will trust implicitly to my prudence upon this occasion; that he will
+make no inquiries concerning you; and that he will abstain from all
+connexion with you whilst you absent yourself from your friends. You
+cannot live amongst the vulgar (by the vulgar I mean the ill-educated,
+the ignorant, those who have neither noble sentiments nor agreeable
+manners), and at the same time enjoy the pleasures of cultivated
+society. I shall wait, not without anxiety, till your choice be decided.
+
+"Believe me to be
+
+"Your sincere friend and guardian,
+
+"H. CAMPBELL."
+
+As soon as Dr. Campbell had despatched this letter, he returned to the
+company. The ladies, after breakfast, proceeded to the charity-school;
+but Henry was so anxious to learn what was become of his friend
+Forester, that he could scarcely enjoy the effects of his own benevolent
+exertions. It was with difficulty, such as he had never before
+experienced, that Dr. Campbell obtained from him the promise to suspend
+all intercourse with Forester. Henry's first impulse, when he read the
+letter, which his father now found it prudent to show him, was to search
+for his friend instantly. "I am sure," said he, "I shall be able to
+find him out; and if I can but see him, and speak to him, I know I could
+prevail upon him to return to us."
+
+"Yes," said Dr. Campbell, "perhaps you might persuade him to return;
+but that is not the object: unless his understanding be convinced, what
+should we gain?"
+
+"It should be convinced. I _could_ convince him," cried Henry.
+
+"I have, my dear son," said Dr. Campbell, smiling, "the highest opinion
+of your logic and eloquence; but are your reasoning powers stronger
+to-day than they were yesterday? Have you any new arguments to produce?
+I thought you had exhausted your whole store without effect."
+
+Henry paused.
+
+"Believe me," continued his father, lowering his voice, "I am not
+insensible to your friend's good, and, I will say, _great_ qualities; I
+do not leave him to suffer evils, without feeling as much perhaps as you
+can do; but I am convinced, that the solidity of his character, and the
+happiness of his whole life, will depend upon the impression that is now
+made upon his mind by _realities_. He will see society as it is. He
+has abilities and generosity of mind which will make him a first-rate
+character, if his friends do not spoil him out of false kindness."
+
+Henry, at these words, held out his hand to his father, and gave him the
+promise which he desired.
+
+"But," added he, "I still have hopes from your letter--I should not be
+surprised to see Forester at dinner to-day."
+
+"I should," said Dr. Campbell.
+
+Dr. Campbell, alas! was right. Henry looked eagerly towards the door
+every time it opened, when they were at dinner: but he was continually
+disappointed. Flora, whose gaiety usually enlivened the evenings, and
+agreeably relieved her father and brother after their morning studies,
+was now silent.
+
+Whilst Lady Catherine's volubility overpowered even the philosophy
+of Dr. Campbell, she wondered--she never ceased wondering--that Mr.
+Forester did not appear, and that the doctor and Mrs. Campbell, and
+Henry and Flora, were not more alarmed. She proposed sending twenty
+different messengers after him. She was now convinced, that he had not
+fallen from Salisbury Craigs, because Dr. Campbell assured her ladyship,
+that he had a letter from him in his pocket, and that he was safe; but
+she thought that there was imminent danger of his enlisting in a frolic,
+or, perhaps, marrying some cobbler's daughter in a pet. She turned to
+Archibald Mackenzie, and exclaimed, "He was at a cobbler's; it could
+not be merely to mend his shoes. What sort of a lassy is the cobbler's
+daughter? or has the cobbler a daughter?"
+
+"She is hump-backed, luckily," said Dr. Campbell, coolly.
+
+"That does not signify," said Lady Catherine; "I'm convinced she is at
+the bottom of the whole mystery; for I once heard Mr. Forester say--and
+I'm sure you must recollect it, Flora, my dear, for he looked at you at
+the time--I once heard him say, that personal beauty was no merit, and
+that ugly people ought to be liked--or some such thing--out of humanity.
+Now, out of humanity, with his odd notions, it's ten to one, Dr.
+Campbell, he marries this cobbler's hump-backed daughter. I'm sure, if I
+were his guardian, I could not rest an instant with such a thought in my
+head."
+
+"Nor I," said Dr. Campbell, quietly; and in spite of her ladyship's
+astonishment, remonstrances, and conjectures, he maintained his resolute
+composure.
+
+
+
+THE GARDENER.
+
+
+The gardener who had struck Forester's fancy, was a square, thick,
+obstinate-eyed, hard-working, ignorant, elderly man, whose soul was
+intent upon his petty daily gains, and whose honesty was of that
+"coarse-spun, vulgar sort[6]," which alone can be expected from men of
+uncultivated minds. Mr. M'Evoy, for that was the gardener's name, was
+both good-natured and selfish; his views and ideas all centered in
+his own family; and his affection was accumulated and reserved for two
+individuals, his son and his daughter. The son was not so industrious
+as the father; he was ambitious of seeing something of the world, and
+he consorted with all the young 'prentices in Edinburgh, who would
+condescend to forget that he was a country boy, and to remember that
+he expected, when his father should die, _to be rich_. Mr. M'Evoy's
+daughter was an ugly, cross-looking girl, who spent all the money that
+she could either earn or save upon ribands and fine gowns, with which
+she fancied she could supply all the defects of her person.
+
+[Footnote 6: Mrs. Barbauld'a Essay on the Inconsistency of Human
+Expectations.]
+
+This powerful motive for her economy operated incessantly upon her mind,
+and she squeezed all that could possibly be squeezed for her private use
+from the frugal household. The boy, whose place Forester thought himself
+so fortunate to supply, had left the gardener, because he could not bear
+to work and be scolded without eating or drinking.
+
+The gardener willingly complied with our hero's first request; he gave
+him a spade, and he set him to work. Forester dug with all the energy
+of an enthusiast, and dined like a philosopher upon long kail; but long
+kail did not charm him so much the second day as it had done the first;
+and the third day it was yet less to his taste; besides, he began to
+notice the difference between oaten and wheaten bread. He, however,
+recollected that Cyrus lived, when he was a lad, upon water-cresses--the
+black broth of the Spartans he likewise remembered, and he would not
+complain. He thought, that he should soon accustom himself to his
+scanty, homely fare. A number of the disagreeable circumstances of
+poverty he had not estimated when he entered upon his new way of life;
+and though at Dr. Campbell's table he had often said to himself, "I
+could do very well without all these things," yet, till he had actually
+tried the experiment, he had not _clear_ ideas upon the subject. He
+missed a number of little pleasures and conveniences, which he had
+scarcely noticed, whilst they had every day presented themselves as
+matters of course. The occupation of digging was laborious, but it
+afforded no exercise to his mind, and he felt most severely the want of
+Henry's agreeable conversation; he had no one to whom he could now talk
+of the water-cresses of Cyrus, or the black broth of the Spartans;
+he had no one with whom he could dispute concerning the Stoic or the
+Epicurean doctrines, the mercantile or the agricultural system. Many
+objections to the agricultural system, which had escaped him, occurred
+now to his mind; and his compassion for the worms, whom he was obliged
+to cut in pieces continually with his spade, acted every hour more
+forcibly upon his benevolent heart. He once attempted to explain his
+feelings for the worms to the gardener, who stared at him with all
+the insolence of ignorance, and bade him mind his work, with a tone of
+authority which ill suited Forester's feelings and love of independence.
+
+"Is ignorance thus to command knowledge? Is reason thus to be silenced
+by boorish stupidity?" said Forester to himself, as he recollected the
+patience and candour with which Dr. Campbell and Henry used to converse
+with him. He began to think, that in cultivated society he had enjoyed
+more liberty of mind, more freedom of opinion, than he could taste in
+the company of an illiterate gardener. The gardener's son, though his
+name was Colin, had no Arcadian simplicity, nothing which could please
+the classic taste of Forester, or which could recall to his mind the
+Eclogues of Virgil, or the golden age; the Gentle Shepherd, or the
+Ayrshire Ploughman. Colin's favourite holiday's diversion was playing at
+_goff_; this game, which is played with a bat loaded with lead, and with
+a ball, which is harder than a cricket-ball, requires much strength and
+dexterity. Forester used, sometimes, to accompany the gardener's son to
+the _Links_,[7] where numbers of people, of different descriptions are
+frequently seen practising this diversion. Our hero was ambitious of
+excelling at the game of _goff_; and, as he was not particularly adroit,
+he exposed himself, in his first attempts, to the derision of the
+spectators, and he likewise received several severe blows. Colin laughed
+at him without mercy; and Forester could not help comparing the rude
+expressions of his new companion's untutored vanity with the unassuming
+manners and unaffected modesty of Henry Campbell. Forester soon took an
+aversion to the game of _goff_, and recollected Scotch reels with less
+contempt.
+
+[Footnote 7: A lea or common near Edinburgh.]
+
+One evening, after having finished his task of digging (for digging was
+now become a task), he was going to take a walk to Duddingstone lake,
+when Colin, who was at the same instant setting out for the Links,
+roughly insisted upon Forester's accompanying him. Our hero, who was
+never much disposed to yield to the taste of others, positively refused
+the gardener's son, with some imprudent expressions of contempt.
+From this moment Colin became his enemy, and, by a thousand malicious
+devices, contrived to show his vulgar hatred.
+
+Forester now, to his great surprise, discovered that hatred could exist
+in a cottage. Female vanity, he likewise presently perceived, was not
+confined to the precincts of a ball-room; he found that Miss M'Evoy
+spent every leisure moment in the contemplation of her own coarse image
+in a fractured looking-glass. He once ventured to express his dislike
+of a many-coloured plaid in which Miss M'Evoy had arrayed herself _for
+a dance_; and the fury of her looks, and the loud-toned vulgarity of
+her conceit, were strongly contrasted with the recollection of
+Flora Campbell's gentle manners and sweetness of temper. The painted
+flower-pot was present to his imagination, and he turned from the lady
+who stood before him with an air of disgust, which he had neither
+the wish nor the power to conceal. The consequences of offending this
+high-spirited damsel our hero had not sufficiently considered: the
+brother and sister, who seldom agreed in any thing else, now agreed,
+though from different motives, in an eager desire to torment Forester.
+Whenever he entered the cottage, either to rest himself, or to partake
+of those "savoury messes, which the _neat-handed_ Phillis dresses," he
+was received with sullen silence, or with taunting reproach. The old
+gardener, stupid as he was, Forester thought an agreeable companion,
+compared with his insolent son and his vixen daughter. The happiest
+hours of the day, to our hero, were those which he spent at his work;
+his affections, repressed and disappointed, became a source of misery to
+him.
+
+"Is there nothing in this world to which I can attach myself?" said
+Forester, as he one day leaned upon his spade in a melancholy mood.
+"Must I spend my life in the midst of absurd altercations? Is it for
+this that I have a heart and an understanding? No one here comprehends
+one word I say--I am an object of contempt and hatred, whilst my soul
+is formed for the most benevolent feelings, and capable of the most
+extensive views. And of what service am I to my fellow-creatures? Even
+this stupid gardener, even a common labourer, is as useful to society as
+I am. Compared with Henry Campbell, what am I? Oh, Henry!--Flora!--could
+you see me at this instant, you would pity me."
+
+But the fear of being an object of pity wakened Forester's pride; and
+though he felt that he was unhappy, he could not bear to acknowledge
+that he had mistaken the road to happiness. His imaginary picture of
+rural felicity was not, to be sure, realized; but he resolved to bear
+his disappointment with fortitude, to fulfil his engagements with
+his master, the gardener, and then to seek some other more eligible
+situation. In the meantime, his benevolence tried to expand itself upon
+the only individual in this family who treated him tolerably well: he
+grew fond of the old gardener, because there was nothing else near him
+to which he could attach himself, not even a dog or a cat. The old man,
+whose temper was not quite so enthusiastical as Forester's, looked
+upon him as an industrious simple young man, above the usual class of
+servants, and rather wished to keep him in his service, because he gave
+him less than the current wages. Forester, after his late reflections
+upon digging, began to think, that, by applying his understanding to
+the business of gardening, he might perhaps make some discoveries, which
+should excite his master's everlasting gratitude, and immortalize
+his own name. He pledged a shirt and a pair of stockings at a poor
+bookseller's stall, for some volumes upon gardening; and these, in spite
+of the ridicule of Colin and Miss M'Evoy, he studied usually at his
+meals. He at length met with an account of some experiments upon
+fruit-trees, which he thought would infallibly make the gardener's
+fortune.
+
+"Did you not tell me," said Forester to the gardener, "that cherries
+were sometimes sold very high in Edinburgh?"
+
+"Five a penny," said the gardener; and he wished, from the bottom of his
+heart, that he had a thousand cherry-trees, but he possessed only one.
+
+He was considerably alarmed, when Forester proposed to him, as the
+certain means of making his fortune, to strip the bark off this
+cherry-tree, assuring him, that a similar experiment had been tried and
+had succeeded; that his cherry-tree would bear twice as many cherries,
+if he would only strip the bark from it. "Let me try one branch for an
+experiment--I _will try_ one branch!"
+
+But the gardener peremptorily forbade all experiments, and, shutting
+Forester's book, bade him leave such nonsense, and mind his business.
+
+Provoked by this instance of tyrannical ignorance, Forester forgot
+his character of a _servant boy_, and at length called his master an
+obstinate fool.
+
+No sooner were these words uttered, than the gardener emptied the
+remains of his watering-pot coolly in Forester's face, and, first paying
+him his wages, dismissed him from his service.
+
+Miss M'Evoy, who was at work, seated at the door, made room most
+joyfully for Forester to pass, and observed, that she had long since
+prophesied he would not _do_ for them.
+
+Forester was now convinced, that it was impossible to reform a positive
+old gardener, to make him try new experiments upon cherry-trees, or to
+interest him for the progress of science. He deplored the perversity
+of human nature, and he began, when he reflected upon the characters of
+Miss M'Evoy and her brother, to believe, that they were beings distinct
+from the rest of their species; he was, at all events, glad to have
+parted with such odious companions. On his road to Edinburgh he had time
+for various reflections.
+
+"Thirty shillings, then, with hard bodily labour, I have earned for one
+month's service!" said Forester to himself. "Well, I will keep to my
+resolution. I will live upon the money I earn, and upon that alone; I
+will not have recourse to my bank notes till the last extremity." He
+took out his pocket-book, however, and looked at them, to see that
+they were safe. "How wretched," thought he, "must be that being, who
+is obliged to purchase, in his utmost need, the assistance of his
+fellow-creatures with such vile trash as this! I have been unfortunate
+in my first experiment; but all men are not like this selfish gardener
+and his brutal son, incapable of disinterested friendship."
+
+Here Forester was interrupted in his meditations by a young man, who
+accosted him with--"Sir, if I don't mistake, I believe I have a key of
+yours."
+
+Forester looked up at the young man's face, and recollected him to be
+the person who had nearly lost his life in descending for his key into
+the brewing-vat.
+
+"I knew you again, sir," continued the brewer's clerk, "by your twirling
+those scissors upon your finger, just as you were doing that day at the
+brewery."
+
+Forester was not conscious, till this moment, that he had a pair of
+scissors in his hand: whilst the gardener was paying him his wages, to
+relieve his _mauvaise honte_, our hero took up Miss M'Evoy's scissors,
+which lay upon the table, and twirled them upon his fingers, as he used
+to do with a key. He was rather ashamed to perceive, that he had not yet
+cured himself of such a silly habit. "I thought the lesson I got at the
+brewery," said he, "would have cured me for ever of this foolish trick;
+but the diminutive chains of habit[8], as somebody says, are scarcely
+ever heavy enough to be felt, till they are too strong to be broken."
+
+[Footnote 8: Dr. Johnson's Vision of Theodore.]
+
+"_Sir!_" said the astonished clerk.
+
+"Oh, I beg your pardon," said our hero, who now perceived by his
+countenance that his observation on the peculiar nature of the chains
+of habit was utterly unintelligible to him; "pray, sir, can you tell me
+what o'clock it is?"
+
+"Half after four--I am--sir," said the clerk, producing his watch, with
+the air of a man who thought a watch a matter of some importance. "Hum!
+He can't be a gentleman; he has no watch!" argued he with himself; and
+he looked at Forester's rough apparel with astonishment. Forester had
+turned back, that he might return Miss M'Evoy her scissors. The brewer's
+clerk was going in the same direction to collect some money for his
+master. As they walked on, the young man talked to our hero with
+good-nature, but with a species of familiarity, which was strikingly
+different from the respectful manner in which he formerly addressed
+Forester, when he had seen him in a better coat, and in the company of a
+young gentleman.
+
+"You have left Dr. Campbell's, then?" said he, looking with curiosity.
+Forester replied, that he had left Dr. Campbell's, because he preferred
+earning his own bread to living an idle life among gentlemen and ladies.
+
+The clerk, at this speech, looked earnestly in Forester's face, and
+began to suspect that he was deranged in his mind.
+
+As the gravity of our hero's looks, and the sobriety of his demeanour,
+did not give any strong indications of insanity, the clerk, after a few
+minutes' consideration, inclined to believe, that Forester concealed the
+truth from him; that probably he was some dependant of Dr. Campbell's
+family; that he had displeased his friends, and had been discarded in
+disgrace. He was confirmed in these suppositions by Forester's telling
+him, that he had just left the service of a gardener; that he did not
+know where to find a lodging for the night; and that he was in want of
+some employment, by which he might support himself independently.
+
+The clerk, who remembered with gratitude the intrepidity with which
+Forester had hazarded his life to save him the morning that he was at
+the brewery, and who had also some compassion for a young gentleman
+reduced to poverty, told him that if he could write a good hand, knew
+any thing of accounts, and could get a character for _punctuality_
+(meaning to include honesty in this word) from any creditable people,
+he did not doubt that his master, who had large concerns, might find
+employment for him as an under-clerk. Forester's pride was not agreeably
+soothed by the manner of this proposal, but he was glad to hear of a
+_situation_, to use the clerk's genteel expression; and he moreover
+thought, that he should now have an opportunity of comparing the
+commercial and agricultural systems.
+
+The clerk hinted, that he supposed Forester would choose to "make
+himself smart," before he called to offer himself at the brewery, and
+advised him to call about six, as by that time in the evening his master
+was generally at leisure.
+
+A dinner at a public-house (for our hero did not know where else to
+dine), and the further expense of a new pair of shoes, and some other
+articles of dress, almost exhausted his month's wages: he was very
+unwilling to make any of these purchases, but the clerk assured him,
+that they were indispensable; and, indeed, at last, his appearance was
+scarcely upon a par with that of his friendly adviser.
+
+
+
+THE BET.
+
+
+Before we follow Forester to the brewery, we must request the attention
+of our readers to the history of a bet of Mr. Archibald Mackenzie's.
+
+We have already noticed the rise and progress of this young gentleman's
+acquaintance with Sir Philip Gosling. Archibald,
+
+     "Whose ev'ry frolic had some end in view,
+     Ne'er played the fool, but played the rascal too,"
+     --Anonymous
+
+cultivated assiduously the friendship of this weak, dissipated, vain
+young baronet, in hopes that he might, in process of time, make some
+advantage of his folly. Sir Philip had an unfortunately high opinion of
+his own judgment; an opinion which he sometimes found it difficult to
+inculcate upon the minds of others, till he hit upon the compendious
+method of laying high wagers in support of all his assertions. Few
+people chose to venture a hundred guineas upon the turn of a straw. Sir
+Philip, in all such contests, came off victorious; and he plumed himself
+much upon the success of his purse. Archibald affected the greatest
+deference for Sir Philip's judgment; and, as he observed that the
+baronet piqued himself upon his skill as a jockey, he flattered him
+indefatigably upon this subject. He accompanied Sir Philip continually
+in his long visits to the livery-stables; and he made himself familiarly
+acquainted with the keeper of the livery-stables, and even with the
+hostlers. So low can interested pride descend! All this pains Archibald
+took, and more, for a very small object. He had set his fancy upon
+Sawney, one of his friend's horses; and he had no doubt, but that he
+should either induce Sir Philip to make him a present of this horse, or
+that he should jockey him out of it, by some well-timed bet.
+
+In counting upon the baronet's generosity, Archibald was mistaken. Sir
+Philip had that species of _good-nature_ which can lend, but not
+that which can give. He offered to lend the horse to Archibald
+most willingly; but the idea of giving it was far distant from his
+imagination. Archibald, who at length despaired of his friend's
+generosity, had recourse to his other scheme of the wager. After having
+judiciously lost a few guineas to Sir Philip in wagers, to confirm him
+in his extravagant opinion of his own judgment, Archibald, one evening,
+when the fumes of wine and vanity, operating together, had somewhat
+exalted the man of judgment's imagination, urged him, by artful,
+hesitating contradiction, to assert the most incredible things of one of
+his horses, to whom he had given the name of Favourite. Archibald knew,
+from the _best authority_--from the master of the livery-stables, who
+was an experienced jockey--that Favourite was by no means a match for
+Sawney; he therefore waited quietly till Sir Philip Gosling laid a
+very considerable wager upon the head of his "Favourite." Archibald
+immediately declared, he could not, in conscience--that he could not,
+for the honour of Scotland, give up his friend Sawney.
+
+"Sawney!" cried Sir Philip; "I'll bet fifty guineas, that Favourite
+beats him hollow at a walk, trot, or gallop, whichever you please."
+
+Archibald artfully affected to be startled at this defiance, and,
+seemingly desirous to draw back, pleaded his inability to measure purses
+with such a rich man as Sir Philip.
+
+"Nay, my boy," replied Sir Philip, "that excuse shan't stand you in
+stead. You have a pretty little pony there, that Lady Catherine has just
+given you; if you won't lay me fifty guineas, will you risk your pony
+against my judgment?"
+
+Archibald had now brought his friend exactly to the point at which
+he had been long aiming. Sir Philip staked his handsome horse Sawney
+against Archibald's sorry pony, upon this wager, that Favourite should,
+at the first trials, beat Sawney at a walk, a trot, and a gallop.
+
+Warmed with wine, and confident in his own judgment, the weak baronet
+insisted upon having the bet immediately decided. The gentlemen ordered
+out their horses, and the wager was to be determined upon the sands of
+Leith.
+
+Sir Philip Gosling, to his utter astonishment, found himself for once
+mistaken in his judgment. The treacherous Archibald coolly suffered him
+to exhale his passion in unavailing oaths, and at length rejoiced to
+hear him consoling himself with the boast, that this was the first wager
+upon horse-flesh that he had ever lost in his life. The master of the
+livery-stables stared with well-affected incredulity, when Sir Philip,
+upon his return from the sands of Leith, informed him, that Favourite
+had been beat hollow by Sawney; and Archibald, by his additional
+testimony, could scarcely convince him of the fact, till he put two
+guineas into his hand, when he recommended _his_ new horse Sawney to his
+particular care. Sir Philip, who was not gifted with quick observation,
+did not take notice of this last convincing argument. Whilst this
+passed, he was talking eagerly to the hostler, who confirmed him in his
+opinion, which he still repeated as loud as ever, "that Favourite ought
+to have won." This point Archibald prudently avoided to contest; and he
+thus succeeded in duping and flattering his friend at once.
+
+"Sawney for ever!" cried Archibald, as soon as Sir Philip had left
+the stables. "Sawney for ever!" repeated the hostler, and reminded
+Mackenzie, that he had promised him half a guinea. Archibald had no
+money in his pocket; but he assured the hostler, that he would remember
+him the next day. The next day, however, Archibald, who was expert in
+parsimonious expedients, considered that he had better delay giving the
+hostler his half-guinea, till it had been earned by his care of Sawney.
+
+It is the usual error of cunning people to take it for granted, that
+others are fools. This hostler happened to be a match for our young
+laird in cunning, and, as soon as he perceived that it was Archibald's
+intention to cheat him of the interest of his half-guinea, he determined
+to revenge himself in his _care_ of Sawney. We shall hereafter see the
+success of his devices.
+
+
+
+THE SADDLE AND BRIDLE.
+
+
+Scarcely had Archibald Mackenzie been two days in possession of the
+long-wished-for object of his mean soul, when he became dissatisfied
+with his own saddle and bridle, which certainly did not, as Sir Philip
+observed, suit his new horse. The struggles in Archibald's mind, betwixt
+his taste for expense and his habits of saving, were often rather
+painful to him. He had received from Lady Catherine a ten-guinea
+note, when he first came to Dr. Campbell's; and he had withstood many
+temptations to change it. One morning (the day that he had accompanied
+Henry and Forester to the watchmaker's) he was so strongly charmed
+by the sight of a watch-chain and seals, that he actually took his
+bank-note out of his scrutoire at his return home, put it into his
+pocket, when he dressed for dinner, and resolved to call that evening
+at the watchmaker's to indulge his fancy, by purchasing the watch-chain,
+and to gratify his family pride, by getting his coat of arms splendidly
+engraven upon the seal. He called at the watchmaker's, in company with
+Sir Philip Gosling, but he could not agree with him respecting the
+price of the chain and seals; and Archibald consoled himself with the
+reflection, that his bank-note would still remain. He held the note in
+his hand, whilst he higgled about the price of the watch-chain.
+
+"Oh, d--n the expense!" cried Sir Philip.
+
+"Oh, I mind ten guineas as little as any man," said Archibald, thrusting
+the bank-note, in imitation of the baronet, with affected carelessness,
+into his waistcoat-pocket. He was engaged that night to go to the
+play with Sir Philip, and he was much hurried in dressing. His servant
+observed that his waistcoat was stained, and looked out another for him.
+
+Now this man sometimes took the liberty of wearing his master's clothes;
+and, when Archibald went to the play, the servant dressed himself in the
+stained waistcoat, to appear at a ball, which was given that night in
+the neighbourhood, by some "gentleman's gentleman." The waistcoat was
+rather too tight for the servant: he tore it, and instead of sending it
+to the washerwoman's, to have the stain washed out, as his master
+had desired, he was now obliged to send it to the tailor's to have it
+mended.
+
+Archibald's sudden wish for a new saddle and bridle for Sawney could not
+be gratified without changing the bank-note; and, forgetting that he
+had left it in the pocket of his waistcoat the night that he went to the
+play, he searched for it in the scrutoire, in which he was accustomed to
+keep his treasures. He was greatly disturbed, when the note was not
+to be found in the scrutoire; he searched over and over again; not
+a pigeon-hole, not a drawer, remained to be examined. He tried to
+recollect when he had last seen it, and at length remembered, that he
+put it into his waistcoat-pocket, when he went to the watchmaker's; that
+he had taken it out to look at, whilst he was in the shop; but whether
+he had brought it home safely or not he could not precisely ascertain.
+His doubts upon this subject, however, he cautiously concealed,
+resolved, if possible, to make somebody or other answerable for his
+loss. He summoned his servant, told him that he had left a ten-guinea
+bank-note in his waistcoat-pocket the night that he went to the play,
+and that, as the waistcoat was given into his charge, he must be
+answerable for the note. The servant boldly protested, that he neither
+could nor would be at the loss of a note which he had never seen.
+
+Archibald now softened his tone; for he saw, that he had no chance of
+bullying the servant. "I desired you to send it to the washerwoman's,"
+said he.
+
+"And so I did, sir," said the man.
+
+This was true, but not the whole truth. He had previously sent the
+waistcoat to the tailor's to have the rent repaired, which it received
+the night he wore it at the ball. These circumstances the servant
+thought proper to suppress; and he was very ready to agree with his
+master in accusing the poor washerwoman of having stolen the note. The
+washerwoman was extremely industrious, and perfectly honest; she had a
+large family, that depended upon her labour, and upon her character, for
+support. She was astonished and shocked at the charge that was brought
+against her, and declared, that if she were able, she would rather pay
+the whole money at once, than suffer any suspicion to go abroad against
+her. Archibald rejoiced to find her in this disposition; and he assured
+her, that the only method to avoid disgrace, a lawsuit, and ruin, was
+instantly to pay, or to promise to pay, the money. It was out of her
+power to pay it; and she would not promise what she knew she could not
+perform.
+
+Archibald redoubled his threats; the servant stood by his master. The
+poor woman burst into tears; but she steadily declared that she was
+innocent; and no promise could be extorted from her, even in the
+midst of her terror. Though she had horrible, perhaps not absolutely
+visionary, ideas of the dangers of a lawsuit, yet she had some
+confidence in the certainty that justice was on her side. Archibald
+said, that she might _talk_ about justice as much as she pleased, but
+that she must prepare to submit to _the law_. The woman trembled at the
+sound of these words; but, though ignorant, she was no fool, and she had
+a friend in Dr. Campbell's family, to whom she resolved to apply in her
+distress. Henry Campbell had visited her little boy when he was ill,
+and had made him some small present; and, though she did not mean to
+encroach upon Henry's good-nature, she thought, that he had so much
+_learning_, that he certainly could, without its costing her any thing,
+put her in the right way to avoid the _law_, with which she had been
+threatened by Archibald Mackenzie and his servant.
+
+Henry heard the story with indignation, such as Forester would have
+felt in similar circumstances; but prudence tempered his enthusiastic
+feelings; and prudence renders us able to assist others, whilst
+enthusiasm frequently defeats its own purposes, and injures those whom
+it wildly attempts to serve. Henry, knowing the character of Archibald,
+governed himself accordingly; he made no appeal to his feelings; for
+he saw that the person must be deficient in humanity, who could have
+threatened a defenceless woman with such severity; he did not speak of
+justice to the tyrannical laird, but spoke of _law_. He told Archibald,
+that being thoroughly convinced of the woman's innocence, he had drawn
+up a statement of her case, which she, in compliance with his advice,
+was ready to lay before an advocate, naming the first counsel in
+Edinburgh.
+
+The young laird repeated, with a mixture of apprehension and suspicion,
+"Drawn up a case! No; you can't know how to draw up cases; you are not a
+lawyer--you only say this to bully me."
+
+Henry replied, that he was no lawyer; that he could, notwithstanding,
+state plain facts in such a manner, he hoped, as to make a case
+intelligible to any sensible lawyer; that he meant to show what he had
+written to his father.
+
+"You'll show it to me, first, won't you?" said Archibald, who wished to
+gain time for consideration.
+
+Henry put the paper, which he had drawn up, into his hands, and waited
+with a determined countenance beside him, whilst he perused the case.
+Archibald saw that Henry had abilities and steadiness to go through with
+the business; the facts were so plainly and forcibly stated, that
+his hopes even from law began to falter. He therefore talked about
+humanity--said, he pitied the poor woman; could not bear to think of
+distressing her; but that, at the same time, he had urgent occasion for
+money; that, if he could even recover five guineas of it, it would be
+something. He added, that he had debts, which he could not, in honour,
+delay to discharge.
+
+Now Henry had five guineas, which he had reserved for the purchase of
+some additions to his cabinet of mineralogy, and he offered to lend
+this money to Archibald, to pay _the debts that he could not, in honour,
+delay to discharge_, upon express condition, that he should say nothing
+more to the poor woman concerning the bank-note.
+
+To this condition Archibald most willingly acceded; and as Henry, with
+generous alacrity, counted the five guineas into his hand, this mean,
+incorrigible being said to himself, "What fools these bookish young men
+are, after all! Though he can draw up cases so finely, I've taken him in
+at last; and I wish it were ten guineas instead of five!"
+
+Fatigued with the recital of the various petty artifices of this
+avaricious and dissipated young laird, we shall now relieve ourselves,
+by turning from the history of meanness to that of enthusiasm. The
+faults of Forester we hope and wish to see corrected; but who can be
+interested for the selfish Archibald Mackenzie?
+
+
+
+FORESTER, A CLERK.
+
+
+We left Forester when he was just going to offer himself as clerk to
+a brewer. The brewer was a prudent man; and he sent one of his porters
+with a letter to Dr. Campbell, to inform him that a young lad, whom
+he had formerly seen in company with Mr. Henry Campbell, and who, he
+understood, was the doctor's ward, had applied to him, and that he
+should be very happy to take him into his service, if his friends
+approved of it, and could properly recommend him. In consequence of Dr.
+Campbell's answer to the brewer's letter, Forester, who knew nothing of
+the application to his friends, obtained the vacant clerkship. He did
+not, however, long continue in his new _situation_. At first he felt
+happy, when he found himself relieved from, the vulgar petulance of Miss
+M'Evoy and her brother Colin: in comparison with their rude ill-humours,
+the clerks who were his companions appeared patterns of civility. By
+hard experience, Forester was taught to know, that obliging manners in
+our companions add something to the happiness of our lives. "My mind
+to me a kingdom is," was once his common answer to all that his friend
+Henry could urge in favour of the pleasures of society; but he began now
+to suspect, that separated from social intercourse, his mind, however
+enlarged, would afford him but a dreary kingdom.
+
+He flattered himself, that he could make a friend of the clerk who
+had found his key: this young man's name was Richardson; he was
+good-natured, but ignorant; and neither his education nor his abilities
+distinguished him from any other clerk in similar circumstances.
+Forester invited him to walk to Arthur's Seat, after the _monotonous_
+business of the day was over, but the clerk preferred walking on
+holidays in Prince's-street; and, after several ineffectual attempts to
+engage him in moral and metaphysical arguments, our hero discovered
+the depth of his companion's ignorance with astonishment. Once, when he
+found that two of the clerks, to whom he had been talking of Cicero and
+Pliny, did not know any thing of these celebrated personages, he said,
+with a sigh,
+
+     "But knowledge to their eyes her ample page,
+        Rich with the spoils of time, did ne'er unroll;
+      Chill penury repressed their noble rage,
+        And froze the genial current of their soul."
+
+The word _penury_, in this stanza, the clerks at least understood, and
+it excited their "noble rage;" they hinted, that it ill became a person,
+who did not dress nearly as well as themselves, to give himself such
+airs, and to taunt his betters with poverty; they said that they
+supposed, because he was an Englishman, as they perceived by his accent,
+he thought he might insult Scotchmen as he pleased. It was vain for him
+to attempt any explanation; their pride and their prejudices combined
+against him: and, though their dislike to him was not so outrageous as
+that of the gardener, gentle Colin, yet it was quite sufficient to
+make him uneasy in his situation. Richardson was as steady as could
+reasonably be expected; but he showed so little desire to have "_the
+ample page, rich with the spoils of time_," unrolled to him, that he
+excited our young scholar's contempt. No friendships can be more unequal
+than those between ignorance and knowledge. We pass over the journal of
+our hero's hours, which were spent in casting up and verifying accounts;
+this occupation, at length he decided, must be extremely injurious to
+the human understanding: "All the higher faculties of my soul," said he
+to himself, "are absolutely useless at this work, and I am reduced to
+a mere machine." But there were many other circumstances in the
+_mercantile system_, which Forester had not foreseen, and which shocked
+him extremely. The continual attention to petty gain, the little
+artifices which a tradesman thinks himself justifiable in practising
+upon his customers, could not be endured by his ingenuous mind. One
+morning the brewery was in an uncommon bustle; the clerks were all in
+motion. Richardson told Forester that they expected a visit in a few
+hours from the gauger and the supervisor, and that they were preparing
+for their reception. When the nature of these preparations was explained
+to Forester; when he was made to understand that the business and duty
+of a brewer's clerk was to assist his master in evading certain clauses
+in certain acts of parliament; when he found, that to trick a gauger
+was thought an excellent joke, he stood in silent moral astonishment. He
+knew about as much of the revenue laws as the clerks did of Cicero and
+Pliny; but his sturdy principles of integrity could not bend to any
+of the arguments, founded on expediency, which were brought by his
+companions in their own and their master's justification. He declared
+that he must speak to his master upon the subject immediately. His
+master was as busy as he could possibly be; and, when Forester insisted
+upon seeing him, he desired that he would speak as quickly as he could,
+for that he expected the supervisor every instant. Our hero declared,
+that he could not, consistently with his principles, assist in evading
+the laws of his country. The brewer stared, and then laughed; assured
+him that he had as great a respect for the laws as other people; that he
+did nothing but what every person in his situation was obliged to do in
+their own defence. Forester resolutely persisted in his determination
+against all clandestine practices. The brewer cut the matter short, by
+saying, he had not time to argue; but that he did not choose to keep
+a clerk who was not in his interests; that he supposed the next thing
+would be, to betray him to his supervisor.
+
+"I am no traitor!" exclaimed Forester; "I will not stay another instant
+with a master who suspects me."
+
+The brewer suffered him to depart without reluctance; but what
+exasperated Forester the most was the composure of his friend Richardson
+during this scene, who did not even offer to shake hands with him, when
+he saw him going out of the house: for Richardson had a good place,
+and did not choose to quarrel with his master, for a person whom he now
+verily believed to be, as he had originally suspected, insane.
+
+"This is the world!--this is friendship!" said Forester to himself.
+
+His generous and enthusiastic imagination supplied him with eloquent
+invectives against human nature, even while he ardently desired to serve
+his fellow-creatures. He wandered through the streets of Edinburgh,
+indulging himself alternately in misanthropic reflections and benevolent
+projects. One instant, he resolved to study the laws, that he might
+reform the revenue laws; the next moment, he recollected his own passion
+for a desert island, and he regretted that he could not be shipwrecked
+in Edinburgh.
+
+The sound of a squeaking fiddle roused Forester from his reverie; he
+looked up, and saw a thin, pale man fiddling to a set of dancing dogs,
+that he was exhibiting upon the flags, for the amusement of a crowd
+of men, women, and children. It was a deplorable spectacle; the dogs
+appeared so wretched, in the midst of the merriment of the spectators,
+that Forester's compassion was moved, and he exclaimed--
+
+"Enough, enough!--They are quite tired; here are some halfpence!"
+
+The showman took the halfpence; but several fresh spectators were yet to
+see the sight; and though the exhausted animals were but little inclined
+to perform their antic feats, their master twitched the rope, that was
+fastened round their necks, so violently, that they were compelled to
+renew their melancholy dance.
+
+Forester darted forward, stopped the fiddler's hand, and began an
+expostulation, not one word of which was understood by the person to
+whom it was addressed. A stout lad, who was very impatient at this
+interruption of his diversion, began to abuse Forester, and presently
+from words he proceeded to blows.
+
+Forester, though a better orator, was by no means so able a boxer as
+his opponent. The battle was obstinately fought on both sides; but, at
+length, our young Quixote received what has no name in heroic language,
+but in the vulgar tongue is called a black eye; and, covered with blood
+and bruises, he was carried by some humane passenger into a neighbouring
+house. It was a printer and bookseller's shop. The bookseller treated
+him with humanity; and, after advising him not to be so hastily engaged
+to be the champion of dancing dogs, inquired who he was, and whether he
+had any friends in Edinburgh, to whom he could send.
+
+This printer, from having been accustomed to converse with a variety of
+people, was a good judge of the language of gentlemen; and, though there
+was nothing else in Forester's manners which could have betrayed him, he
+spoke in such good language, that the bookseller was certain that he had
+received a liberal education.
+
+Our hero declined telling his history; but the printer was so well
+pleased with his conversation, that he readily agreed to give him
+employment; and, as soon as he recovered from his bruises, Forester was
+eager to learn the art of printing.
+
+"The art of printing," said he, "has emancipated mankind, and printers
+ought to be considered as the most respectable benefactors of the human
+race."
+
+Always warm in his admiration of every new phantom that struck his
+imagination, he was now persuaded that printers' devils were angels, and
+that he should be supremely blessed in a printer's office.
+
+"What employment so noble!" said he, as he first took the
+composing-stick in his hand; "what employment so noble, as that of
+disseminating knowledge over the universe!"
+
+
+
+FORESTER, A PRINTER.
+
+
+It was some time before our hero acquired dexterity in his new trade:
+his companions formed, with amazing celerity, whole sentences, while he
+was searching for letters, which perpetually dropped from his awkward
+hands: but he was ashamed of his former versatility, and he resolved to
+be steady to his present way of life. His situation, at this printer's,
+was far better suited to him than that which he had quitted, with so
+much disgust, at the brewer's. He rose early, and, by great industry,
+overcame all the difficulties which at first so much alarmed him. He
+soon became the most useful journeyman in the office. His diligence and
+good behaviour recommended him to his master's employers. Whenever any
+work was brought, Forester was sent for. This occasioned him to be much
+in the shop, where he heard the conversation of many ingenious men who
+frequented it; and he spent his evenings in reading. His understanding
+had been of late uncultivated; but the fresh seeds that were now
+profusely scattered upon the vigorous soil took root, and flourished.
+
+Forester was just at that time of life when opinions are valued for
+being _new_: he heard varieties of the most contradictory assertions in
+morals, in science, in politics. It is a great advantage to a young
+man to hear opposite arguments, to hear all that can be said upon every
+subject.
+
+Forester no longer obstinately adhered to the set of notions which he
+had acquired from his education; he heard many, whom he could not
+think his inferiors in abilities, debating questions which he formerly
+imagined scarcely admitted of philosophic doubt. His mind became more
+humble; but his confidence in his own powers, after having compared
+himself with numbers, if less arrogant, was more secure and rational: he
+no longer considered a man as a fool the moment he differed with him in
+opinion; but he was still a little inclined to estimate the abilities of
+authors by the party to which they belonged. This failing was increased,
+rather than diminished, by the company which he now kept.
+
+Amongst the young students who frequented Mr.----'s, the bookseller, was
+Mr. Thomas ----, who, from his habit of _blurting_ out strange opinions
+in conversation, acquired the name of Tom Random. His head was confused
+between politics and poetry; his arguments were paradoxical, his diction
+florid, and his gesture something between the spouting action of a
+player, and the threatening action of a pugilist.
+
+Forester was caught by the oratory of this genius from the first day he
+heard him speak.
+
+Tom Random asserted, that "this great globe, and all that it inhabits,"
+must inevitably be doomed to destruction, unless certain ideas of
+his own, in the government of the world, were immediately adopted by
+universal acclamation.
+
+It was not approbation, it was not esteem, which Forester felt for
+his new friend it was for the first week blind, enthusiastic
+admiration--every thing that he had seen or heard before appeared to
+him trite and obsolete; every person who spoke temperate common sense
+he heard with indifference or contempt; and all who were not zealots
+in literature, or in politics, he considered as persons whose
+understandings were so narrow, or whose hearts were so depraved, as to
+render them "unfit to hear themselves convinced."
+
+Those who read and converse have a double chance of correcting their
+errors.
+
+Forester most fortunately, about this time, happened to meet with a book
+which in some degree counteracted the inflammatory effects of Random's
+conversation, and which had a happy tendency to sober his enthusiasm,
+without lessening his propensity to useful exertions: this book was the
+Life of Dr. Franklin.
+
+The idea that this great man began by being a _printer_ interested our
+hero in his history; and whilst he followed him, step by step, through
+his instructive narrative, Forester sympathized in his feelings, and
+observed how necessary the smaller virtues of order, economy, industry,
+and patience were to Franklin's great character and splendid success.
+He began to hope that it would be possible to do good to his
+fellow-creatures, without overturning all existing institutions.
+
+About this time another fortunate coincidence happened in Forester's
+education. One evening his friend, Tom Random, who was printing a
+pamphlet, came, with a party of his companions, into Mr.----, the
+bookseller's shop, enraged at the decision of a prize in a literary
+society to which they belonged.
+
+All the young partisans who surrounded Mr. Random loudly declared that
+he had been treated with the most flagrant injustice; and the author
+himself was too angry to affect any modesty upon the occasion.
+
+"Would you believe it?" said he to Forester--"my essay has not been
+thought worthy of the prize! The medal has been given to the most
+wretched, tame, commonplace performance you ever saw. Every thing in
+this world is done by corruption, by party, by secret influence!"
+
+At every pause the irritated author wiped his forehead, and Forester
+sympathized in his feelings.
+
+In the midst of the author's exclamations, a messenger came with the
+manuscript of the prize essay, and with the orders of the society
+to have a certain number of copies printed off with all possible
+expedition.
+
+Random snatched up the manuscript, and, with all the fury of criticism,
+began to read aloud some of the passages which he disliked.
+
+Though it was marred in the reading, Forester could not agree with his
+angry friend in condemning the performance. It appeared to him excellent
+writing and excellent sense.
+
+"Print it--print it then, as fast as you can--that is your
+business--that's what you are paid for. Every one for himself," cried
+Random, insolently throwing the manuscript at Forester; and, as he
+flung out of the shop with his companions, he added, with a contemptuous
+laugh, "A printer's devil setting up for a critic! He may be a capital
+judge of pica and brevier, perhaps--but let not the compositor go beyond
+his stick."
+
+"Is this the man," said Forester, "whom I have heard so eloquent in the
+praise of candour and liberality? Is this the man who talks of universal
+toleration and freedom of opinion, and who yet cannot bear that any one
+should differ from him in criticising a sentence? Is this the man who
+would have equality amongst all his fellow-creatures, and who calls
+a compositor a printer's devil? Is this the man who cants about the
+_pre-eminence of mind_ and the _perfections of intellect_, and yet now
+takes advantage of his rank, of his _supporters_, of the cry of his
+partisans, to bear down the voice of reason?--'Let not the compositor go
+beyond his composing-stick!'--And why not? Why should not he be a
+judge of writing?" At this reflection, Forester eagerly took up the
+manuscript, which had been flung at his feet. All his indignant feelings
+instantly changed into delightful exultation--he saw the hand--he read
+the name of Henry Campbell. The title of the manuscript was, "_An Essay
+on the best Method of reforming Abuses_." This was the subject proposed
+by the society; and Henry had written upon the question with so much
+moderation, and yet with such unequivocal decision had shown himself the
+friend of rational liberty, that all the members of the society who were
+not borne away by their prejudices were unanimous in their preference of
+this performance.
+
+Random's declamation only inflamed the minds of his own partisans. Good
+judges of writing exclaimed, as they read it, "This is all very fine;
+but what would this man be at? His violence hurts the cause he wishes to
+support."
+
+Forester read Henry Campbell's essay with all the avidity of friendship;
+he read it again and again--his generous soul was incapable of envy; and
+whilst he admired, he was convinced by the force of reason.
+
+His master desired that he would set about the essay early in the
+morning; but his eagerness for his friend Henry's fame was such, that he
+sat up above half the night hard at work at it. He was indefatigable the
+next day at the business; and as all hands were employed on the essay,
+it was finished that evening.
+
+Forester rubbed his hands with delight, when he had set the name of
+Henry Campbell in the title-page--but an instant afterwards he sighed
+bitterly.
+
+"I am only a printer," said he to himself. "These just arguments, these
+noble ideas, will instruct and charm hundreds of my fellow-creatures: no
+one will ever ask, 'Who set the types?'"
+
+His reflections were interrupted by the entrance of Tom Random and two
+of his partisans: he was extremely displeased to find that the printers
+had not been going on with his pamphlet; his personal disappointments
+seemed to increase the acrimony of his zeal for the public good:
+he declaimed upon politics--upon the necessity for the immediate
+publication of his sentiments, for the salvation of the state. His
+action was suited to his words: violent and blind to consequences,
+with one sudden kick, designed to express his contempt for the opposite
+party, this political Alnaschar unfortunately overturned the form which
+contained the types for the newspaper of the next day, which was
+just going to the press--a newspaper in which he had written splendid
+paragraphs.
+
+Forester, happily for his philosophy, recollected the account which
+Franklin, in his history of his own life, gives of the patience with
+which he once bore a similar accident. The printers, with secret
+imprecations against oratory, or at least against those orators who
+think that action is every thing, set to work again to repair the
+mischief.
+
+Forester, much fatigued, at length congratulated himself upon having
+finished his hard day's work, when a man from the shop came to inquire
+whether three hundred cards, which had been ordered the week before to
+be printed off, were finished. The man to whom the order was given had
+forgotten it, and he was going home: he decidedly answered, "No; the
+cards can't be done till to-morrow: we have left work for this night,
+thank God."
+
+"The gentleman says he must have them," expostulated the messenger.
+
+"He _must_ not, he cannot have them. I would not print a card for his
+majesty at this time of night," replied the sullen workman, throwing his
+hat upon his head, in token of departure.
+
+"What are these cards?" said Forester.
+
+"Only a dancing-master's cards for his ball," said the printer's
+journeyman. "I'll not work beyond my time for any dancing-master that
+wears a head."
+
+The messenger then said, that he was desired to ask for the manuscript
+card.
+
+This card was hunted for all over the room; and, at last, Forester found
+it under a heap of refuse papers: his eye was caught with the name
+of his old friend, Monsieur Pasgrave, the dancing-master, whom he had
+formerly frightened by the skeleton with the fiery eyes.
+
+"I will print the cards for him myself; I am not at all tired," cried
+Forester, who was determined to make some little amends for the injury
+which he had formerly done to the poor dancing-master. He resolved to
+print the cards for nothing, and he stayed up very late to finish them.
+His companions all left him, for they were in a great hurry to see, what
+in Edinburgh is a rare sight, the town illuminated.
+
+These illuminations were upon account of some great naval victory.
+
+Forester, steady to Monsieur Pasgrave's cards, did what no other workman
+would have done; he finished for him, on this night of public joy, his
+three hundred cards. Every now and then, as he was quietly at work,
+he heard the loud huzzas in the street: his waning candle sunk in the
+socket, as he had just packed up his work.
+
+By the direction at the bottom of the cards, he learned where M.
+Pasgrave lodged, and, as he was going out to look at the illuminations,
+he resolved to leave them himself at the dancing-master's house.
+
+
+
+THE ILLUMINATIONS.
+
+
+The illuminations were really beautiful. He went up to the Castle,
+whence he saw a great part of the Old Town, and all Prince's-street,
+lighted up in the most splendid manner. He crossed the Earth-mound into
+Prince's-street. Walking down Prince's-street, he saw a crowd of people
+gathered before the large illuminated window of a confectioner's shop.
+As he approached nearer, he distinctly heard the voice of Tom Random,
+who was haranguing the mob. The device and motto which the confectioner
+displayed in his window displeased this gentleman, who, beside his
+public-spirited abhorrence of all men of a party opposite to his own,
+had likewise private cause of dislike to this confectioner, who had
+refused him his daughter in marriage.
+
+It was part of Random's new system of political justice to revenge his
+own quarrels.
+
+The mob, who are continually, without knowing it, made the instruments
+of private malice, when they think they are acting in a public cause,
+readily joined in Tom Random's cry of "Down with the motto! Down with
+the motto!"
+
+Forester, who, by his lesson from the dancing dogs, had learned a little
+prudence, and who had just printed Henry Campbell's Essay on the best
+Means of reforming Abuses, did not mix with the rabble, but joined in
+the entreaties of some peaceable passengers, who prayed that the poor
+man's windows might be spared. The windows were, notwithstanding,
+demolished with a terrible crash, and the crowd, then alarmed at the
+mischief they had done, began to disperse. The constables, who had been
+sent for, appeared. Tom Random was taken into custody. Forester was
+pursuing his way to the dancing-master's, when one of the officers of
+justice exclaimed, "Stop!--stop him!--he's one of 'em: he's a great
+friend of Mr. Random: I've seen him often parading arm in arm in
+High-street with him."
+
+This, alas! was too true: the constables seized Forester, and put
+him, with Tom Random, and the ringleader of the riot, into a place of
+confinement for the night.
+
+Poor Forester, who was punished for the faults of his former friend and
+present enemy, had, during this long night, leisure for much wholesome
+reflection upon the danger of forming imprudent intimacies. He resolved
+never to walk again in High-street arm in arm with such a man as Tom
+Random.
+
+The constables were rather hasty in the conclusion they drew from this
+presumptive evidence.
+
+Our hero, who felt the disgrace of his situation, was not a little
+astonished at Tom Random's consoling himself with drinking instead
+of philosophy. The sight of this enthusiast, when he had completely
+intoxicated himself, was a disgusting but useful spectacle to our
+indignant hero. Forester was shocked at the union of gross vice and
+rigid pretensions to virtue: he could scarcely believe that the reeling,
+stammering idiot whom he now beheld was the same being from whose lips
+he had heard declamations upon the _omnipotence of intellect_--from
+whose pen he had seen projects for the government of empires.
+
+The dancing-master, who, in the midst of the illuminations, had
+regretted that his cards could not be printed, went early in the morning
+to inquire about them at the printer's.
+
+The printer had learnt that one of his boys was taken up amongst the
+rioters: he was sorry to find that Forester had gotten himself into such
+a scrape: but he was a very cautious snug man, and he did not choose to
+interfere: he left him quietly to be dealt with according to law.
+
+The dancing-master, however, was interested in finding him out, because
+he was informed that Forester had sat up almost all night to print his
+cards, and that he had them now in his pocket.
+
+M. Pasgrave at length gained admittance to him in his confinement:
+the officers of justice were taking him and Random before Mr. W----, a
+magistrate, with whom informations had been lodged by the confectioner,
+who had suffered in his windows.
+
+Pasgrave, when he beheld Forester, was surprised to such a degree, that
+he could scarcely finish his bow, or express his astonishment, either in
+French or English. "Eh, monsieur! mon Dieu! bon Dieu! I beg ten million
+pardons--I am come to search for a printer who has my cards in his
+pocket."
+
+"Here are your cards," said Forester: "let me speak a few words to
+you." He took M. Pasgrave aside. "I perceive," said he, "that you have
+discovered who I am. Though in the service of a printer, I have still as
+much the feelings and principles of a gentleman as I had when you saw me
+in Dr. Campbell's house. I have particular reasons for being anxious
+to remain undiscovered by Dr. Campbell, or any of his family: you may
+depend upon it that my reasons are not dishonourable. I request that you
+will not, upon any account, betray me to that family. I am going before
+a magistrate, and am accused of being concerned in a riot, which I did
+every thing in my power to prevent."
+
+"Ah! monsieur," interrupted the dancing-master, "but you see de grand
+inconvenience of concealing your _rank_ and name. You, who are comme il
+faut, are confounded with the mob: permit me at least to follow you to
+Mr. W----, the magistrate: I have de honneur to teach les demoiselles
+his daughters to dance; dey are to be at my ball--dey take one half
+dozen tickets. I must call dere wid my cards; and I shall, if you will
+give me leave, accompany you now, and mention dat I know you to be
+un homme comme il faut, above being guilty of an unbecoming action. I
+flatter myself I have some interest wid de ladies of de family, and dat
+dey will do me de favour to speak to monsieur leur cher pere sur votre
+compte."
+
+Forester thanked the good-natured dancing-master, but he proudly said,
+that he should trust to his own innocence for his defence.
+
+M. Pasgrave, who had seen something more of the world than our hero, and
+who was interested for him, because he had once made him a present of an
+excellent violin, and because he had sat up half the night to print the
+ball cards, resolved not to leave him entirely to his innocence for a
+defence: he followed Forester to Mr. W----'s. The magistrate was a slow,
+pompous man, by no means a good physiognomist, much less a good judge of
+character. He was proud of his authority, and glad to display the
+small portion of legal knowledge which he possessed. As soon as he
+was informed that some young men were brought before him, who had been
+engaged the preceding night in a _riot_, he put on all his magisterial
+terrors, and assured the confectioner, who had a private audience
+of him, that he should have justice, and that the person or persons
+concerned in breaking his window or windows should be punished with the
+utmost severity that the law would allow. Contrary to the humane spirit
+of the British law, which supposes every man to be innocent till it is
+proved that he is guilty, this harsh magistrate presumed that every man
+who was brought before him was guilty till he was proved to be innocent.
+Forester's appearance was not in his favour: he had been up all night;
+his hair was dishevelled; his linen was neither fine nor white; his
+shoes were thick-soled and dirty; his coat was that in which he had been
+at work at the printer's the preceding day; it was in several places
+daubed with printers' ink; and his unwashed hands bespoke his trade. Of
+all these circumstances the slow circumspect eye of the magistrate took
+cognizance one by one. Forester observed the effect which this survey
+produced upon his judge; and he felt that appearances were against
+him, and that appearances are sometimes of consequence. After having
+estimated his poverty by these external symptoms, the magistrate looked,
+for the first time, in his face, and pronounced that he had one of the
+worst countenances he ever beheld. This judgment once pronounced, he
+proceeded to justify, by wresting to the prisoner's disadvantage every
+circumstance that appeared. Forester's having been frequently seen
+in Tom Random's company was certainly against him: the confectioner
+perpetually repeated that they were constant companions; that they were
+intimate friends; that they were continually walking together every
+Sunday; and that they often had come arm in arm into his shop, talking
+politics; that he believed Forester to be of the same way of thinking
+with Mr. Random; and that he saw him close behind him, at the moment the
+stones were thrown that broke the windows. It appeared that Mr. Random
+was at that time active in encouraging the mob. To oppose the angry
+confectioner's conjectural evidence, the lad who threw the stone, and
+who was now produced, declared that Forester held back his arm, and
+said, "My good lad, don't break this man's windows: go home quietly;
+here's a shilling for you." The person who gave this honest testimony,
+in whom there was a strange mixture of the love of mischief and the
+spirit of generosity, was the very lad who fought with Forester, and
+beat him, about the dancing dogs. He whispered to Forester, "Do you
+remember me? I hope you don't bear malice." The magistrate, who heard
+this whisper, immediately construed it to the prisoner's disadvantage.
+"Then, sir," said he, addressing himself to our hero, "this gentleman,
+I understand, claims acquaintance with you; his acquaintance really
+does you honour, and speaks, strongly in favour of your character. If
+I mistake not, this is the lad whom I sent to the Tolbooth, some little
+time ago, for a misdemeanour; and he is not, I apprehend, a stranger to
+the stocks."
+
+Forester commanded his temper as well as he was able, and observed, that
+whatever might be the character of the young man who had spoken in his
+favour, his evidence would, perhaps, be thought to deserve some credit,
+when the circumstances of his acquaintance with the witness were known.
+He then related the adventure of the dancing dogs, and remarked, that
+the testimony of an enemy came with double force in his favour. The
+language and manner in which Forester spoke surprised all who were
+present; but the history of the dancing dogs appeared so ludicrous and
+so improbable, that the magistrate decidedly pronounced it to be "a
+fabrication, a story invented to conceal the palpable collusion of the
+witnesses." Yet, though he one moment declared that he did not believe
+the story, he the next inferred from it, that Forester was disposed to
+riot and sedition, since he was ready to fight with a vagabond in the
+streets for the sake of a parcel of dancing dogs.
+
+M. Pasgrave, in the meantime, had, with great good-nature, been
+representing Forester in the best light he possibly could to the young
+ladies, the magistrate's daughters. One of them sent to beg to speak
+to their father. M. Pasgrave judiciously dwelt upon his assurances of
+Forester's being a gentleman: he told Mr. W---- that he had met him in
+one of the best families in Edinburgh; that he knew he had some private
+reasons for concealing that he was a gentleman: "perhaps the young
+gentleman was reduced to temporary distress," he said; but whatever
+might be these reasons, M. Pasgrave vouched for his having very
+respectable friends and connexions. The magistrate wished to know the
+family in which M. Pasgrave had met Forester; but he was, according
+to his promise, impenetrable on this subject. His representations had,
+however, the desired effect upon Mr. W----: when he returned to the
+examination of our hero, his opinion of his countenance somewhat varied;
+he despatched his other business; bailed Tom Random on high sureties;
+and, when Forester was the only person that remained, he turned to him
+with great solemnity; bade him sit down; informed him that he knew him
+to be a gentleman; that he was greatly concerned that a person like him,
+who had respectable friends and connexions, should involve himself in
+such a disagreeable affair; that it was a matter of grief and surprise
+to him, to see a young gentleman in such apparel; that he earnestly
+recommended to him to accommodate matters with his friends; and, above
+all things, to avoid the company of seditious persons. Much good advice,
+but in a dictatorial tone, and in cold, pompous language, he bestowed
+upon the prisoner, and at length dismissed him. "How different," said
+Forester to himself, "is this man's method of giving advice from Dr.
+Campbell's!"
+
+This lesson strongly impressed, however, upon our hero's mind the
+belief, that external appearance, dress, manners, and the company we
+keep, are the usual circumstances by which the world judge of character
+and conduct. When he was dismissed from Mr. W----'s august presence,
+the first thing he did was to inquire for Pasgrave: he was giving the
+magistrate's daughters a lesson, and could not be interrupted; but
+Forester left a note for him, requesting to see him at ten o'clock the
+next day, at Mr. ----, the bookseller's. New mortifications awaited our
+hero: on his return to his master's, he was very coldly received; Mr.
+---- let him know, in unqualified terms, that he did not like to
+employ any one in his work who got into quarrels at night in the public
+streets. Forester's former favour with his master, his industry and
+talents, were not considered without envy by the rest of the journeymen
+printers; and they took advantage of his absence to misrepresent him to
+the bookseller: however, when Forester came to relate his own story,
+his master was convinced that he was not to blame; that he had worked
+extremely hard the preceding day; and that, far from having been
+concerned in a riot, he had done every thing in his power to prevent
+mischief. He desired to see the essay, which was printed with so much
+expedition: it was in the hands of the corrector of the press. The
+sheets were sent for, and the bookseller was in admiration at the
+extraordinary correctness with which it was printed; the corrector of
+the press scarcely had occasion to alter a word, a letter, or a stop.
+There was a quotation in the manuscript from Juvenal. Henry Campbell
+had, by mistake, omitted to name the satire and line, and the author
+from which it was taken, though he had left a blank in which they were
+to be inserted. The corrector of the press, though a literary gentleman,
+was at a stand. Forester immediately knew where to look for the passage
+in the original author: he found it, and inserted the book and line in
+their proper place. His master did not suffer this to pass unobserved;
+he hinted to him, that it was a pity a young man of his abilities
+and knowledge should waste his time in the mere technical drudgery of
+printing. "I should be glad now," continued the bookseller, "to employ
+you as a corrector of the press, and to advance you, according to your
+merits, in the world; _but_," glancing his eye at Forester's dress, "you
+must give me leave to say, that some attention to outward appearance
+is necessary in our business. Gentlemen call here, as you well know,
+continually, and I like to have the people about me make a creditable
+appearance. You have earned money since you have been with me--surely
+you can afford yourself a decent suit of clothes and a cleaner shirt. I
+beg your pardon for speaking so freely; but I really have a regard for
+you, and wish to see you get forward in life."
+
+
+
+FORESTER, A CORRECTOR OF THE PRESS.
+
+
+Forester had not, since he left Dr. Campbell's, been often spoken to
+in a tone of friendship. The bookseller's well-meant frank remonstrance
+made its just impression; and he resolved to make the necessary
+additions to his wardrobe; nay, he even went to a hair-dresser, to
+have his hair cut and brought into decent order. His companions, the
+printers, had not been sparing in their remarks upon the meanness of
+his former apparel, and Forester pleased himself with anticipating
+the respect they would feel for him, when he should appear in better
+clothes. "Can such trifles," said he to himself, "make such a change
+in the opinion of my fellow-creatures? And why should I fight with the
+world for trifles? My real merit is neither increased nor diminished by
+the dress I may happen to wear; but I see, that unless I waste all my
+life in combating the prejudices of superficial observers, I should
+avoid all those pecuiliarities in my external appearance which prevent
+whatever good qualities I have from obtaining their just respect." He
+was surprised at the blindness of his companions, who could not discover
+his merit through the roughness of his manners and the disadvantages
+of his dress; but he determined to shine out upon them in the superior
+dress and character of a corrector of the press. He went to a tailor's,
+and bespoke a suit of clothes. He bought new linen; and our readers
+will perhaps hear with surprise, that he actually began to consider very
+seriously whether he should not take a few lessons in dancing. He had
+learned to dance formerly, and was not naturally either inactive or
+awkward: but his contempt for the art prevented him, for some years,
+from practising it; and he had nearly forgotten his wonted agility.
+Henry Campbell once, when Forester was declaiming against dancing,
+told him, that if he had learned to dance, and excelled in the art, his
+contempt for the trifling accomplishment would have more effect upon the
+minds of others, because it could not be mistaken for envy. This remark
+made a deep impression upon our hero, especially as he observed that his
+friend Henry was not in the least vain of his personal graces, and
+had cultivated his understanding, though he could dance a Scotch reel.
+Scotch reels were associated in Forester's imagination with Flora
+Campbell; and in balancing the arguments for and against learning to
+dance, the recollection of Archibald Mackenzie's triumphant look, when
+he led her away as his partner at the famous ball, had more influence
+perhaps upon Forester's mind than his pride and philosophy apprehended.
+He began to have some confused design of returning, at some distant
+period, to his friends; and he had hopes that he should appear in a
+more amiable light to Flora, after he had perfected himself in an
+accomplishment which he fancied she admired prodigiously. His esteem for
+that lady was rather diminished by this belief; but still a sufficient
+quantity remained to excite in him a strong ambition to please. The
+agony he felt the night he left the ball-room was such, that he could
+not even now recollect the circumstances without confusion and anguish
+of mind. His hands were now such as could appear without gloves; and he
+resolved to commence the education of his feet.
+
+M. Pasgrave called upon him, in consequence of the message which he
+left at the magistrate's: his original design in sending for the
+dancing-master was to offer him some acknowledgment for his obliging
+conduct. "M. Pasgrave," said he, "you have behaved towards me like a
+man of honour; you have kept my secret; I am convinced that you will
+continue to keep it inviolate." As he spoke, he produced a ten-guinea
+bank-note, for at length he had prevailed upon himself to have recourse
+to his pocket-book, which, till this day, had remained unopened.
+Pasgrave stared at the sight of the note, and withdrew his hand at
+first, when it was offered; but he yielded at length, when Forester
+assured him that he was not in any distress, and that he could perfectly
+well afford to indulge his feelings of gratitude. "Nay," continued
+Forester, who, if he had not always practised the maxims of politeness,
+notwithstanding possessed that generosity of mind and good sense
+on which real politeness must depend--"you shall not be under any
+obligation to me, M. Pasgrave: I am just going to ask a favour from you.
+You must teach me to dance." "Wid de utmost pleasure," exclaimed the
+delighted dancing-master; and the hours of his attendance were soon
+settled. Whatever Forester attempted, he pursued with energy. M.
+Pasgrave, after giving him a few lessons, prophesied that he would do
+him infinite credit; and Forester felt a secret pride in the idea
+that he should surprise his friends, some time or other, with his new
+accomplishment.
+
+He continued in the bookseller's service, correcting the press for him,
+much to his satisfaction; and the change in his personal appearance
+pleased his master, as it showed attention to his advice. Our hero, from
+time to time, exercised his talents in writing; and, as he inserted his
+compositions under a fictitious signature, in his master's newspaper,
+he had an opportunity of hearing the most unprejudiced opinions of a
+variety of critics, who often came to read the papers at their house.
+He stated, in short essays, some of those arguments concerning the
+advantages and disadvantages of politeness, luxury, the love of society,
+misanthropy, &c., which had formerly passed between him and Henry
+Campbell; and he listened to the remarks that were made upon each side
+of the question. How it happened, we know not; but after he had taken
+lessons for about six weeks from M. Pasgrave, he became extremely
+solicitous to have a solution of all his Stoical doubts, and to furnish
+himself with the best possible arguments in favour of civilized society.
+He could not bear the idea that he yielded his opinions to any thing
+less than strict demonstration: he drew up a list of queries,
+which concluded with the following question:--"What should be the
+distinguishing characteristics of the higher classes of people in
+society?" This query was answered in one of the public papers, a few
+days after it appeared in Mr. ----'s paper, and the answer was signed
+_H.C., a Friend to Society_. Even without these initials, Forester would
+easily have discovered it to be Henry Campbell's writing; and several
+strokes seemed to be so particularly addressed to him, that he could not
+avoid thinking Henry had discovered the querist. The impression which
+arguments make upon the mind varies with time and change of situation.
+Those arguments in favour of subordination in society, in favour of
+agreeable manners, and attention to the feelings of others in the small
+as well as in the great concerns of life, which our hero had heard with
+indifference from Dr. Campbell and Henry in conversation, struck him,
+when he saw them in a printed essay, with all the force of conviction;
+and he wondered how it had happened that he never before perceived them
+to be conclusive.
+
+He put the newspaper, which contained this essay, in his pocket; and,
+after he had finished his day's work, and had taken his evening lesson
+from M. Pasgrave, he went out with an intention of going to a favourite
+spot upon Arthur's Seat, to read the essay again at his leisure.
+
+But he was stopped at the turn from the North Bridge, into High-street,
+by a scavenger's cart. The scavenger, with his broom which had just
+swept the High-street, was clearing away a heap of mud. Two gentlemen
+on horseback, who were riding like postilions, came up during this
+operation--Sir Philip Gosling and Archibald Mackenzie. Forester had his
+back towards them, and he never looked round, because he was too intent
+upon his own thoughts. Archibald was mounted upon Sawney, the horse
+which he had so _fairly_ won from his friend Sir Philip. The half-guinea
+which had been promised to the hostler had not yet been paid; and the
+hostler, determined to revenge himself upon Archibald, invented an
+ingenious method of gratifying his resentment. He taught Sawney to rear
+and plunge whenever his legs were touched by the broom with which the
+stables were swept. When Sawney was perfectly well trained to this
+trick, the cunning hostler communicated his design, and related his
+cause of complaint against Archibald, to a scavenger, who was well
+known at the livery stables. The scavenger entered into his friend the
+hostler's feeling, and promised to use his broom in his cause,
+whenever a convenient and public opportunity should offer. The hour of
+retribution was now arrived: the scavenger saw his young gentleman in
+full glory, mounted upon Sawney; he kept his eye upon him, whilst, in
+company with the baronet, he came over the North Bridge: there was a
+stop, from the meeting of carts and carriages. The instant Archibald
+came within reach of the broom, the scavenger slightly touched Sawney's
+legs; Sawney plunged and reared, and reared and plunged. The scavenger
+stood grinning at the sight. Forester attempted to seize the horse's
+bridle; but Sawney, who seemed determined upon the point, succeeded.
+When Forester snatched at his bridle, he reared, then plunged; and
+Archibald Mackenzie was fairly lodged in the scavenger's cart. Whilst
+the well-dressed laird floundered in the mud, Forester gave the horse
+to the servant, who had now ridden up; and, satisfied that Mackenzie had
+received no material injury, inquired no further. He turned to assist a
+poor washerwoman, who was lifting a large basket of clean linen into her
+house, to get it out of the way of the cart. As soon as he had helped
+her to lift the basket into her passage, he was retiring, when he heard
+a voice at the back-door, which was at the other end of the passage. It
+was the voice of a child; and he listened, for he thought he had heard
+it before. "The door is locked," said the washerwoman. "I know who it is
+that is knocking; it is only a little girl who is coming for a cap which
+I have there in the basket." The door was unlocked, and Forester saw the
+little girl to whom the fine geranium belonged. What a number of ideas
+she recalled to his mind! She looked at him, and hesitated, courtesied,
+then turned away, as if she was afraid she was mistaken, and asked the
+washerwoman if she had plaited her grandmother's cap. The woman searched
+in her basket, and produced the cap nicely plaited. The little girl, in
+the meantime, considered Forester with anxious attention. "I believe,"
+said she, timidly, "you are, or you are very like, the gentleman who was
+so good as to--" "Yes," interrupted Forester, "I know what you mean.
+I am the man who went with you to try to obtain justice from your
+tyrannical schoolmistress: I did not do you any good. Have you
+seen--have you heard any thing of--?" Such a variety of recollections
+pressed upon Forester's heart, that he could not pronounce the name of
+Henry Campbell; and he changed his question. "Is your old grandmother
+recovered?"
+
+"She is quite well, thank you, sir; and she is grown young again, since
+you saw her: perhaps you don't know how good Mr. Henry and the young
+lady have been to us. We don't live now in that little, close, dark room
+at the watchmaker's. We are as happy, sir, as the day is long." "But
+what of Henry? what of--?" "Oh, sir! but if you are not very busy, or in
+a great hurry--it is but a little way off--if you _could_ come and look
+at our new house--I don't mean _our_ house, for it is not ours; but
+we take care of it, and we have two little rooms to ourselves; and Mr.
+Henry and Miss Flora very often come to see us. I wish you could come to
+see how nice our rooms are! The house is not far off, only at the back
+of the Meadows." "Go, show me the way--I'll follow you," said Forester,
+after he had satisfied himself that there was no danger of his meeting
+any of Dr. Campbell's family.
+
+
+
+THE MEADOWS.
+
+
+Our hero accompanied the little girl with eager, benevolent curiosity.
+"There," said she, when they came to the Meadows, "do you see that white
+house, with the paling before it?" "But that cannot be your house!" "No,
+no, sir: Dr. Campbell and several gentlemen have the large room,
+and they come there twice a-week to teach something to a great many
+children. Grandmother can explain all that better to you, sir, than I
+can; but all I know is, that it is our business to keep the room aired
+and swept, and to take care of the glass things which you'll see; and
+you shall see how clean it is: it was _I_ swept it this morning."
+
+They had now reached the gate which was in the paling before the
+house. The old woman came to the door, clean, neat, and cheerful; she
+recollected to have seen Forester in company with Henry Campbell at the
+watchmaker's; and this was sufficient to make him a welcome guest. "God
+bless the family, and all that belongs to them, for ever and ever!" said
+the woman. "This way, sir." "Oh, don't look into our little rooms yet:
+look at the great room first, if you please, sir," said the child.
+
+There was a large table in the middle of this long room, and several
+glass retorts, and other chemical vessels, were ranged upon shelves;
+wooden benches were placed on each side of the table. The grandmother,
+to whom the little girl had referred for a clear explanation, could
+not, however, tell Forester very exactly the use of the retorts; but she
+informed him that many of the manufacturers in Edinburgh sent their sons
+hither twice a-week; and Dr. Campbell, and Mr. Henry Campbell, and some
+other gentlemen, came by turns to instruct them. Forester recollected
+now that he once heard Henry talking to his father about a scheme for
+teaching the children of the manufacturers of Edinburgh some knowledge
+of chemistry, such as they might afterwards apply advantageously to the
+arts and every-day business of life.
+
+"I have formed projects, but what good have I ever actually done to my
+fellow-creatures?" said Forester to himself. With melancholy steps he
+walked to examine every thing in the room. "Dr. Campbell sits in this
+arm-chair, does not he? And where does Henry sit?" The old woman placed
+the chairs for him as they usually were placed. Upon one of the shelves
+there was a slate, which, as it had been written upon, the little girl
+had put by very carefully; there were some calculations upon the weight
+of different gases, and the figures Forester knew to be Henry's: he
+looked at every thing that was Henry's with pleasure. "Because I used to
+be so rough in my manner to him," said Forester to himself, "I dare say
+that he thinks I have no feeling, and I suppose he has forgotten me by
+this time: I deserve, indeed, to be forgotten by every body! How could
+I leave such friends!" On the other side of the slate poor Forester saw
+his own name written several times over, in his friend's hand-writing,
+and he read two lines of his own poetry, which he remembered to have
+repeated to Henry the day that they walked to Arthur's Seat. Forester
+felt much pleasure from this little proof of his friend's affection.
+"Now won't you look at our nice rooms?" said the child, who had waited
+with some patience till he had done pondering upon the slate.
+
+The little rooms were well arranged, and their neatness was not now as
+much lost upon our hero as it would have been some time before. The old
+woman and her grand-daughter, with all the pride of gratitude, exhibited
+to him several little presents of furniture which they had received
+from Dr. Campbell's family. "Mr. Henry gave me this! Miss Flora gave me
+that!" was frequently repeated. The little girl opened the door of her
+own room. On a clean white deal bracket, which "_Mr. Henry lad put
+up with his own hands_," stood the well-known geranium in its painted
+flower-pot. Forester saw nothing else in the room, and it was in vain
+that both the old woman and her grand-daughter talked to him at once;
+he heard not a word that was said to him. The flowers were all gone, and
+the brown calyces of the geranium flowers reminded him of the length of
+time which had elapsed since he had first seen them. "I am sorry there
+are no flowers to offer you," said the little girl, observing Forester's
+melancholy look; "but I thought you did not like geraniums; for I
+remember when I gave you a fine flower in the watchmaker's shop you
+pulled it to pieces, and threw it on the ground." "I should not do so
+now," said Forester. The black marks on the painted flower-pot had been
+entirely effaced: be turned away, endeavoured to conceal his emotion,
+and took leave of the place as soon as the grateful inhabitants would
+suffer him to depart. The reflection that he had wasted his time,
+that he had never done any good to any human being, that he had lost
+opportunities of making both himself and others happy, pressed upon his
+mind; but his Stoical pride still resisted the thought of returning
+to Dr. Campbell's. "It will be imagined that I yield my opinions from
+meanness of spirit," said he to himself. "Dr. Campbell certainly has
+no further regard or esteem for me; neither he nor Henry have troubled
+themselves about my fate: they are doing good to more deserving objects;
+they are intent upon literary pursuits, and have not time to bestow a
+thought upon me. And Flora, I suppose, is as gay as she is good. I alone
+am unhappy,--a wanderer,--an outcast,--a useless being."
+
+Forester, whilst he was looking at the geranium, or soon afterwards,
+missed his handkerchief; the old woman and her grand-daughter searched
+for it all over the house, but in vain: he then thought he must have
+left it at the washerwoman's, where he met the little girl; he called to
+inquire for it, upon his return to Edinburgh. When he returned to this
+woman's house for his handkerchief, he found her sitting upon a low
+stool, in her laundry, weeping bitterly; her children stood round her.
+Forester inquired into the cause of her distress, and she told him that
+a few minutes after he left her, the young gentleman who had been thrown
+from his horse into the scavenger's cart was brought into her house,
+whilst his servant went home for another suit of clothes for him. "I
+did not at first guess that I had ever seen the young gentleman before,"
+continued she; "but when the mud was cleared from his face I knew him to
+be Mr. Archibald Mackenzie. I am sure I wish I had never seen his face
+then or at any time. He was in a very bad humour after his tumble, and
+he began again to threaten me about a ten-guinea bank-note, which he and
+his servant declare they sent in his waistcoat pocket to be washed: I'm
+sure I never saw it. Mr. Henry Campbell quieted him about it for awhile;
+but just now he began again with me, and he says he has spoken to a
+lawyer, and that he will make me pay the whole note; and he swore at me
+as if I had been the worst creature in the world; and, God knows, I work
+hard for my children, and never wronged any one in my days!"
+
+Forester, who forgot all his own melancholy reflections as soon as he
+could assist any one who was in distress, bade the poor woman dry
+her tears, and assured her that she had nothing to fear; for he would
+instantly go to Dr. Campbell, and get him to speak to Mackenzie. "If
+it is necessary," said he, "I'll pay the money myself." She clasped
+her hands joyfully as he spoke, and all her children joined in an
+exclamation of delight. "I'll go to Dr. Campbell's this instant," said
+our hero, whose pride now yielded to the desire of doing justice to this
+injured woman; he totally forgot himself, and thought only of her: "I'll
+go to Dr. Campbell's, and I will speak to Mr. Mackenzie immediately."
+
+
+
+A SUMMONS
+
+
+Whilst Forester was walking through the streets, with that energy which
+the hope of serving his fellow-creatures always excited in his generous
+mind, he even forgot a scheme which he had, in spite of his Stoical
+pride and his dread of being thought to give up his opinions from
+meanness, resolved in his imagination. He had formed the design of
+returning to his friends an altered being in his external appearance: he
+had ordered a fashionable suit of clothes, which were now ready. He had
+laid aside the dress and manners of a gentleman from the opinion that
+they were degrading to the character of a man: as soon as this prejudice
+had been conquered, he began to think he might resume them. Many were
+the pleasing anticipations in which he indulged himself: the looks of
+each of his friends, the generous approving eye of Henry, the benevolent
+countenance of Dr. Campbell, the arch smile of Flora, were all painted
+by his fancy; and lie invented every circumstance that was likely to
+happen--every word that would probably be said by each individual. We
+are sure that our readers will give our enthusiastic hero credit for
+his forgetting these pleasing reveries--for his forgetting himself,
+nay, even Flora Campbell--when humanity and justice called upon him for
+exertion.
+
+When he found himself in George's-square, within sight of Dr. Campbell's
+house, his heart beat violently, and he suddenly stopped to
+recollect himself. He had scarcely stood a few instants, when a hard,
+stout-looking man came up to him, and asked him if his name were
+Forester: he started, and answered, "Yes, sir, what is your business
+with me?" The stranger replied by producing a paper, and desiring him
+to read it. The paper, which was half printed, half written, began with
+these words:--"You are hereby required to appear before me--"
+
+"What is all this?" exclaimed our hero. "It is a summons," replied the
+stranger: "I am a constable, and you will please to come with me before
+Mr. W----. This is not the first time you have been before him, I am
+told." To this last insolent taunt Forester made no reply, but in a firm
+tone said that he was conscious of no crime, but that he was ready
+to follow the constable, and to appear before Mr. W----, or any other
+magistrate, who wished to inquire into his conduct. Though he summoned
+all his fortitude, and spoke with composure, he was much astonished by
+this proceeding; he could not help reflecting, that an individual in
+society who has friends, an established character, and a _home_, is in
+a more desirable situation than an unconnected being, who has no one
+to answer for his conduct,--no one to rejoice in his success, or to
+sympathize in his misfortunes. "Ah, Dr. Campbell! happy father! in the
+midst of your own family, you have forgotten your imprudent ward!" said
+Forester to himself, while his mind revolted from seeking his friend's
+assistance in this discreditable situation. "You do not know how near he
+is to you! you do not know that he was just returning to you! you do not
+see that he is, at this moment, perhaps, on the brink of disgrace!"
+
+
+
+THE BANK-NOTES.
+
+
+Forester was mistaken in his idea that Dr. Campbell had forgotten him;
+but we shall not yet explain further upon this subject; we only throw
+out this hint, that our readers may not totally change their good
+opinion of the doctor. We must now beg their attention to the
+continuation of the history of Archibald Mackenzie's bank-note.
+
+Lady Catherine Mackenzie one day observed that the colours were changed
+in one spot on the right-hand pocket of her son's waistcoat. "My dear
+Archibald," said she, "what has happened to your smart waistcoat? What
+is that terrible spot?" "Really, ma'am, I don't know," said Archibald,
+with his usual soft voice and deceitful smile. Henry Campbell observed
+that it seemed as if the colours had been discharged by some acid. "Did
+you wear that waistcoat, Mr. Mackenzie," said he, "the night the large
+bottle of vitriolic acid was broken--the night that poor Forester's cat
+was killed: don't you remember?" "Oh, I did not at first recollect; I
+cannot possibly remember, indeed,--it is so long ago,--what waistcoat I
+wore on that particular night." The extreme embarrassment in Archibald's
+manner surprised Henry. "I really don't perceive your _drift_,"
+continued Mackenzie: "what made you ask the question so earnestly?" He
+was relieved when Henry answered, that he only wished to know whether
+it was probable that it was stained with vitriolic acid; "because,"
+said he, "I think _that_ is the pocket in which you said you left
+your ten-guinea note; then, perhaps, the note may have been stained."
+"Perhaps so," replied Mackenzie dryly. "And if it were, you could
+identify the note: you have forgotten the number; but if the note has
+been stained with vitriolic acid, we should certainly be able to know
+it again: the acid would have changed the colour of the ink." Mackenzie
+eagerly seized this idea; and immediately, in pursuance of Henry's
+advice, went to several of the principal bankers in Edinburgh, and
+requested that if a note, stained in such a manner, should be presented
+to them, they would stop payment of it till Mackenzie should examine it.
+Some time elapsed, and nothing was heard of the note. Mackenzie gave up
+all hopes of recovering it; and in proportion as these hopes diminished,
+his old desire of making the poor washerwoman answerable for his loss
+increased. We have just heard this woman's account of his behaviour to
+her, when he came into her house to be refitted, after his tumble from
+Sawney into the scavenger's cart. All his promises to Henry he
+thought proper to disregard: promises appeared to him mere matters of
+convenience; and the idea of "_taking in_" such a young man as Henry
+Campbell was to him an excellent joke. He resolved to keep the five
+guineas quietly which Henry lent him; and, at the same time, to frighten
+this innocent industrious woman into paying him the value of his
+bank-note.
+
+Upon Mackenzie's return to Dr. Campbell's, after his fall from Sawney,
+the first thing he heard was that his note was found; that it had been
+stopped at the bank of Scotland; and that one of the clerks of the bank,
+who brought it for his examination, had been some time waiting for his
+return from riding. When the note was produced, Henry saw that two or
+three of the words which had been written in ink, the name of the person
+to whom it was payable, and the date of the month and year, were so pale
+as to be scarcely visible; and that there was a round hole through one
+corner of the paper. This round hole puzzled Henry, but he had no doubt
+that the ink had been thus nearly obliterated by vitriolic acid. He
+poured a few drops, diluted with water, upon some printing, and the ink
+was quickly turned to nearly the same pale colour as that in Mackenzie's
+note. The note was easily traced, as it had not passed through many
+hands--our readers will be sorry to hear it--to M. Pasgrave, the
+dancing-master. Mackenzie and the clerk went directly to his house,
+found him at home, and without much preface, informed him of their
+business. The dancing-master trembled from head to foot, and, though
+innocent, exhibited all the signs of guilt; he had not the slightest
+knowledge of business, and the manner and language of the banker's clerk
+who accompanied Mackenzie terrified him beyond measure, because he did
+not comprehend one word in ten that he said about checks, entries,
+and day-books; and he was nearly a quarter of an hour before he could
+recover sufficient presence of mind to consider from whom he received
+the note. At length, after going over, in an unintelligible manner, all
+the puzzled accounts of monies received and paid which he kept in his
+head, he declared that he clearly recollected to have received the
+ten-guinea note at Mr. Macpherson's, the tailor; that he went a few
+weeks ago to settle his year's account with him; and that in change
+for a twenty-pound note, he received that which the banker's clerk
+now produced. To Mackenzie it was perfectly indifferent who was found
+guilty, so that he could recover his money. "Settle it as you will
+amongst you," said he, "the money must be refunded, or I must have you
+all before a magistrate directly." Pasgrave, in great perturbation, set
+out for Mr. Macpherson's, showed him the note, and reminded him of the
+day when he paid his account. "If you received the note from us, sir,"
+said the master-tailor, very calmly, "it must be entered in our books,
+for we keep regular accounts." The tailor's foreman, who knew much more
+of the affair than his master, appealed, with assumed security, to the
+entry in the books. By this entry it appeared that M. Pasgrave
+settled his account the 17th of October; that he paid the balance by a
+twenty-pound note, and that he received in change a ten-guinea note on
+Sir William Forbes's bank. "You see, sir," said the tailor, "this cannot
+possibly be Mr. Mackenzie's; for his note is on the bank of Scotland.
+Our entry is as full as possible; and I am ready to produce my books,
+and to abide by them, in any court of justice in the world." M. Pasgrave
+was totally at a loss; he could only repeat, that he remembered to have
+received Mackenzie's note from one of the tailor's men, who brought it
+to him from an inner room. The foreman boldly asserted, that he brought
+the change exactly as his master gave it to him, and that he knew
+nothing more of the matter. But, in fact, he knew a great deal more:
+he had found the note in the pocket of Mackenzie's waistcoat, which his
+servant had left to be mended, after he had torn it furtively, as has
+been already related. When his master called him into the inner room,
+to give him the change for Pasgrave, he observed that there was a
+ten-guinea note wrapped up with some halfpence; and he thought that it
+would be a prudent thing to substitute Mackenzie's note, which he had
+by him, in the place of this. He accordingly gave Pasgrave Mackenzie's
+note, and thrust the note which he had received from his master into a
+corner of his trunk, where he usually kept little windfalls, that came
+to him by the negligence of customers--toothpick-cases, loose silver,
+odd gloves, &c., all which he knew how to dispose of. But this bank-note
+was a higher prize than usual, and he was afraid to pass it till all
+inquiry had blown over. He knew his master's regularity; and he thought
+that if the note was stopped afterwards at any of the banks, it could
+never be traced further than to M. Pasgrave. He was rejoiced to see that
+this poor man was in such trepidation of mind that he could not, in the
+least, use his understanding; and he saw, with much satisfaction, that
+his master, who was a positive man, and proud of the accuracy of his
+books, was growing red in the face in their defence. Mackenzie, in the
+meantime, who had switched his boots with great impatience during their
+debate, interfered at last with, "Come, gentlemen, we can't stand here
+all day to hear you give one another the lie. One of you, it's plain,
+must shell out your corianders; but, as you can't settle which, we must
+put you to your oath, I see." "Mr. W----'s is not far off, and I am
+ready to go before him with my books this instant," said the fiery
+master-tailor. "My books were never called in question since I was in
+trade till this instant; and nobody but a French dancing-master, who
+understands no more of debtor and creditor than my goose, would stand
+out against such an entry as this." To Mr. W----'s the tailor, his
+foreman, the dancing-master, the banker's clerk, and Mackenzie,
+repaired. Pasgrave turned paler than ever dancer turned before; and gave
+himself, his character, and his wife and children, all up for lost,
+when he heard that he was to be put upon his oath. He drew back when Mr.
+W---- held the book to him, and demanded whether he would swear to the
+person from whom he received the note. He said he could not swear; but
+to the best of his belief--en conscience--en honneur--foi d'honnete
+homme--he was convinced he received it from Mr. Macpherson's foreman.
+The foreman, who, from one step in villany, found himself hurried on to
+another and another, now scrupled not to declare that he was ready to
+take his oath that he delivered the note and change, just as his master
+gave it to him, to M. Pasgrave. The magistrate turned to the paler,
+conscientious, incapacitated dancing-master, and in a severe tone
+said--"Appearances are strangely against you, M. Pasgrave. Here's a
+young gentleman has lost a bank-note--it is stopped at the bank
+of Scotland--it is traced home to you--you say you got it from Mr.
+Macpherson or his foreman--his books are produced--the entry in them is
+clearly against you; for it states that the note given to you in change
+was one of Sir William Forbes's bank; and this which I hold now in my
+hand is of the Bank of Scotland. Please now to tell how this note of
+the Bank of Scotland, which has been proved to be the property of Mr.
+Mackenzie, came into your possession? From whom did you receive it? or
+how did you come by it? I am not surprised that you decline taking an
+oath upon this occasion." "Ah, monsieur, ayez pitie de moi!" cried
+the innocent, but terrified man, throwing himself upon one knee, in
+an attitude, which, on the stage, would have produced a sublime
+effect--"Ah, monsieur, ayez pitie de moi! I have no more dan de child
+no sense in affairs." Mackenzie interrupted him with a brutal laugh. The
+more humane banker's clerk was moved by the simplicity of this avowed
+ignorance of business. He went up to the distracted dancer, and said,
+"It is not to be expected that every body should understand business as
+_we_ do, sir: if you are innocent, only give yourself time to recollect;
+and though it's unfortunate that you never keep any regular accounts,
+maybe we shall be able to make out this affair of the entry. If Mr.
+W---- will give me leave to take this pen and ink, and if you will try
+to recollect all the persons from whom you have received money lately--"
+"Ah, mon Dieu! dat is impossible." Then he began to name the quarterly
+and half-yearly payments that he had received from his various pupils.
+"Did any of them lately give you a ten-guinea note?" "Ah, oui, je
+me rappelle--un jeune monsieur--un certain monsieur, qui ne veut pas
+que--qui est la incognito--who I would not betray for the world; for he
+has behave wid de most parfaite generosite to me." "But did he give
+you a ten-guinea bank-note? that is all we want to know," said the
+magistrate. "Mais--oui--yes." "About what time?" said the clerk. It was
+about the beginning of October: and this was so near the time when he
+settled accounts with Mr. Macpherson, the tailor, that he even himself
+began to believe it possible that he had mistaken one note for the
+other. "When the young gentleman gave you the note," said the banker's
+clerk, "surely you must have looked at it--you must have observed
+these remarkable stains?" Pasgrave replied, that he did look at it, he
+supposed; that he saw it was a ten-guinea note; it might be stained, it
+might not be stained; he could not pretend to be certain about it. He
+repeated his assurances that he was ignorant of business, and of every
+thing in this world but dancing. "Pour la danse, je m'y connois--pour
+les affaires, je n'en sais rien, moi." He, with his usual simplicity,
+added, that if Mr. W---- would give him leave, he would go to the young
+gentleman, his friend, and learn from him exactly the number of the note
+which he had given him; that he was sure he could recollect his own note
+immediately. Mackenzie, who thought that this was merely pretence, in
+order to escape, told him that he could not be suffered to go out upon
+his parole. "But," said Mr. W----, "tell us the name of this young
+gentleman who has so much generosity, and who lives incognito. I don't
+like gentlemen who live incognito. I think I had a young man here before
+me, about two months ago, charged with breaking a confectioner's windows
+in a riot, the night of the great illuminations--Hey? don't I remember
+some such thing? And you, M. Pasgrave, if I mistake not, interested
+yourself mightily about this young man, and told me and my daughters,
+sir, that he was a young gentleman incognito. I begin to see through
+this affair. Perhaps I this is the same young gentleman from whom you
+received the I note. And pray what value did you give for it?" Pasgrave,
+whose fear of betraying Forester now increased his confusion, stammered,
+and first said the note was a present, but afterwards added, "I have
+been giving de young person lessons in dancing for des six week."
+
+"Well, then, we must summon this young person," said Mr. W----. "Tell us
+his name, if you please," said Mackenzie; "I have some suspicion that
+I know your gentleman incognito." "You need not trouble him," said the
+magistrate; "I know the name already, and I know where the bird is to
+be found: his name, if he has not changed it since he was last in this
+room, is Forester." "Forester!" exclaimed Mackenzie; "I thought so! I
+always thought how he would turn out. I wonder what his friends, the
+Campbells, will have to say for him now!"
+
+Mr. W----'s pen stopped. "His friends, the Campbells--humph! So the
+Campbells are his friends, are they?" repeated he. "They _were_ his
+friends," answered Mackenzie; "but Mr. Forester thought proper, nobody
+knows why, to run away from them, some months ago; the only reason I
+could ever learn was that he did not like to live amongst gentlemen: and
+he has been living ever since incognito, amongst blackguards, and we see
+the fruits of it." Mackenzie eagerly handed the summons, as soon as it
+was signed, to a constable; and Mr. W---- directed the constable to Mr.
+----'s, the bookseller, adding, "Book-sellers and printers are dangerous
+persons." The constable, who had seen Forester the night that he was
+confined with Tom Random, knew his face and person; and we have told
+our readers that he met Forester in George's-square, going to Dr.
+Campbell's, to vindicate the innocence of the poor washerwoman.
+
+The tailor's foreman was not a little alarmed when the summons was sent
+for our hero; he dreaded that the voice of truth should be heard, and he
+skulked behind the rest of the company. What astonishment did Forester
+feel when he entered the room, and saw the group that surrounded the
+justice's table!--Archibald Mackenzie, with an insulting sneer on his
+lips--Pasgrave, with eyes fixed upon him in despair--Mr. Macpherson,
+the tailor, pointing to an entry in his book--his foreman shrinking
+from notice--the banker's clerk, with benevolent scepticism in his
+countenance--and the justice, with a portentous scowl upon his brow.
+
+"Come forward, Mr. Forester," said the magistrate, as our hero made a
+sudden pause of astonishment; "come forward, sir!" Forester advanced
+with calm intrepidity. "You are better dressed than when I had the
+honour of seeing you here some time ago, sir. Are you a printer
+still, or a gentleman? Your dress certainly bespeaks a change in your
+condition." "I am sure I should hardly know Mr. Forester again, he has
+grown such a beau--comparatively speaking, I mean," said Mackenzie. "But
+certainly, M. Pasgrave, you must have made some mistake; I don't know
+how to believe my senses! Is this the young gentleman to whom you
+alluded? do you know him--?" "Give me leave, Mr. Mackenzie," interrupted
+the justice: "I shall examine this young incognito myself. I think I
+know how to come at the truth. Will you do me the favour, sir, to inform
+me whether you recollect any thing of a ten-guinea bank-note which you
+gave or paid, some time in last October, to this gentleman?" pointing
+to M. Pasgrave. "I do," replied Forester, in a distinct, unembarrassed
+voice, "perfectly well remember giving M. Pasgrave a ten-guinea
+bank-note." "Ah, monsieur, je ne suis pas un ingrat. Ne pensez pas
+que--" "Oh, M. Pasgrave," interrupted Mackenzie, "this is no time for
+compliments and fine speeches: for God's sake, let us get to the bottom
+of this affair without further ceremony!" "Sir," said the banker's
+clerk, "all we want to know is the number of your note, and the firm of
+the house. Was your note one of Sir William Forbes's, or of the Bank
+of Scotland?" Forester was silent. "I do not recollect," said he, after
+some pause. "You don't recollect, sir," said the justice, "is something
+like an evasive answer. You must have a vast number of bank-notes then,
+we must presume, if you cannot recollect to what bank your ten-guinea
+note belonged." Forester did not understand this logic; but he simply
+repeated his assertion. "Pray, sir," said the tailor, who could no
+longer restrain his impatience--"Pray, sir," said the magistrate, in a
+solemn manner, "be silent. I shall find out the truth. So, Mr. Forester,
+you cannot possibly recollect the house of your note? You will tell us
+next, I dare say, that you cannot possibly recollect how you came by
+it." "Sir," said Forester, "if it is necessary, I can readily tell you
+how I came by it." "It is very necessary, sir, for your own credit." "I
+received it from Dr. Campbell." "Dr. Campbell!" repeated the magistrate,
+changing his tone. "And I have some idea that the doctor gave me a list
+of the numbers of that and four other notes, with which I fortunately
+have not parted." "Some idea means nothing in a court of justice, sir;
+if you have any such paper, you can do us the favour to produce it." Now
+this list was locked up in the trunk, of which the key was dropped into
+the brewing-vat. Richardson, the clerk, had returned the key to him;
+but, such is the force of habit, he had not cured himself of the foolish
+trick of twirling it upon his thumb; and about two months ago he dropped
+it in one of his walks to Arthur's Seat. He long searched for it amongst
+the rocky fragments, but at last gave it up--he little imagined of how
+much consequence it might be to him. Dr. Campbell had once refused to
+break open the lock, and he felt very unwilling to apply to him in his
+present circumstances. However, he wrote a few lines to Henry Campbell;
+but, as soon as he had written them, his pride again revolted from
+the thoughts of supplicating the assistance of his friend in such
+a disgraceful situation. "If you don't choose to write," said the
+officious malevolence of Archibald, "I can, however, speak; I'll desire
+Dr. Campbell to open your trunk, and search for the paper." He left the
+room before Forester could make any further opposition.
+
+"I have answered, I hope, both distinctly and respectfully, all the
+questions that you have asked me," said Forester, turning to Mr. W----.
+"I hope you will no longer keep me in the dark. Of what am I suspected?"
+"I will tell you, sir," replied the deliberate, unfeeling magistrate;
+"you are suspected of having, I will not say _stolen_, but you are
+more than suspected of having come unfairly by a certain ten-guinea
+bank-note, which the young gentleman who has just left the room lost
+a few months ago." Forester, as this speech was slowly pronounced,
+sat down, folded his arms, and appeared totally insensible--quite
+unconscious that he was in the presence of a magistrate, or that any
+human being was observing him. "Ah, mon cher monsieur, pardonnez!" cried
+Pasgrave, bursting into tears. "N'en parlons plus," added he, turning
+to the magistrate. "Je payerai tout ce qu'il faut. I will pay de ten
+guineas. I will satisfy every body. I cannot never forgive myself if I
+bring him into any disgrace." "Disgrace!" exclaimed Forester, starting
+up, and repeating the word in a tone which made every person in the
+room, not excepting the phlegmatic magistrate, start and look up to him,
+with a sudden feeling of inferiority. His ardent eye spoke the language
+of his soul. No words could express his emotion. The master-tailor
+dropped his day-book. "Constable--call a constable!" cried the justice.
+"Sir, you forget in whose presence you are--you think, I suppose, that
+your friends, the Campbells, will bear you out. Sir, I would have you
+to know that all the Campbells in Scotland can't bail you for a felony.
+Sir, philosophers should know these things. If you cannot clear yourself
+to my entire satisfaction, Mr. Forester, I shall commit you--in one
+word--to gaol: yes--look as you please, sir--to gaol. And if the doctor
+and his son, and all his family, come up to bail you, I shall, _meo
+periculo_, refuse their bail. The law, sir, is no respecter of persons.
+So none of your rhodomontades, young gentleman, in my presence; but step
+into this closet, if you please; and, I advise you, bring your mind into
+a becoming temperament, whilst I go to dinner. Gentlemen," continued
+he to Macpherson and Pasgrave, "you'll be so good to wait here in this
+apartment. Constable, look to your prisoner," pointing to the door of
+the closet. "John, let me know when Dr. Campbell arrives; and tell them
+to send up dinner directly," said the justice to his butler.
+
+Whilst he dines, we must leave the tailor complaining that he was
+wasting precious time; the foreman in the panic of guilt; and the
+good-natured dancing-master half distracted betwixt his fears and his
+ignorance. He looked from time to time through the key-hole of the
+closet in which Forester was confined, and exclaimed, "Grand Dieu! comme
+il a l'air noble a cet instant! Ah! lui coupable! he go to gaol! it is
+impossible!"
+
+"We shall see how that will be presently," said the foreman, who had
+hitherto preserved absolute silence. "I abide by my books," said the
+master-tailor; "and I wish Dr. Campbell would make haste. _I have lost a
+day!_"
+
+In spite of the tailor's imperial exclamation, he was obliged to wait
+some time longer. When Mackenzie arrived at Dr. Campbell's, Henry was
+not at home: he was gone to the house at the back of the meadows, to
+prepare some chemical experiments for the next day's lecture. Mackenzie,
+however, found Dr. Campbell at home in his study; and, in a soft
+hypocritical voice, lamented that he was obliged to communicate some
+disagreeable circumstances relating to young Mr. Forester. "You do
+not, I presume, know where that unfortunate, misguided youth is at
+present--at this moment, I mean." "I do not know where he is at this
+moment," said Dr. Campbell, calmly; "but I know where he has been for
+some time--at Mr. ----'s, the bookseller. I have had my eye upon him
+ever since he left this house. I have traced him from place to place.
+Though I have said little about him, Mr. Mackenzie, I have a great
+regard for my unfortunate ward." "I am sorry for it, sir," said
+Mackenzie: "I fear I must wound your feelings the more deeply." "What is
+the matter? pray speak at once," cried Dr. Campbell, who now forgot all
+his usual calmness. "Where is Forester?" "He is at this moment before
+Mr. W----, the magistrate, sir, charged with--but, I own, I cannot
+believe him guilty--" "Charged with what? For God's sake, speak plainly,
+Mr. Mackenzie!" "Then, in one word, sir, my lost bank-note is traced
+home to Mr. Forester. M. Pasgrave says he received it from him."
+"Surely, sir," said Dr. Campbell, with indignation, "you would not
+insinuate that Forester has stolen your bank-note?" "I insinuate
+nothing, doctor," said Archibald; "but, I fear, the thing is too
+plainly proved. My bank-note has certain stains, by which it has been
+identified. All that I know is, that Mr. W---- says he can take no
+bail; and that he must commit Mr. Forester to gaol, unless he can clear
+himself. He says, that a few days before he left your house, you
+paid him his quarterly allowance of fifty guineas, in five ten-guinea
+bank-notes." "He says true--I did so," said Dr. Campbell eagerly. "And
+he says that you gave them to him wrapped in a piece of paper, on which
+the numbers of the notes were written." "I remember it distinctly: I
+desired him to take care of that paper." "He is not famous for taking
+care, you know, sir, of any thing. He says, he believes he threw it
+into his trunk; but he has lost the key of the trunk, I understand." "No
+matter; we can break it open this instant, and search for the paper,"
+cried Dr. Campbell, who was now extremely alarmed for his ward.
+Mackenzie stood by without offering any assistance, whilst Dr. Campbell
+broke open the trunk, and searched it with the greatest anxiety. It was
+in terrible disorder. The coat and waistcoat which Forester wore at the
+ball were crammed in at the top; and underneath appeared unfolded linen,
+books, boots, maps, shoes, cravats, fossils, and heaps of little
+rumpled bits of paper, in which the fossils had once been contained. Dr.
+Campbell opened every one of these. The paper he wanted was not amongst
+them. He took every thing out of the box, shook and searched all the
+pockets of the coat, in which Forester used, before his reformation,
+to keep hoards of strange papers. No list of bank-notes appeared. At
+length, Dr. Campbell espied the white corner of a paper-mark in a volume
+of Goldsmith's Animated Nature, He pulled out this mark, and to his
+great joy, he found it to be the very paper he wanted. "So it's found,
+is it?" said Mackenzie, disappointed; whilst Dr. Campbell seized his
+hat, left every thing upon the floor, and was very near locking the door
+of the room upon Mackenzie. "Don't lock me in here, doctor--I am going
+back with you to Mr. W----'s" said Arcibald. "Won't you stay? dinner's
+going up--Mr. W---- was going this dinner when I came away." Without
+listening to him, Dr. Campbell just let him out, locked the door, and
+hurried away to his poor ward.
+
+"I have let things go to far," said he to himself. "As long as
+Forester's credit was not in danger, as long as he was unknown, it was
+very well; but now his character is at stake; he may pay too dear for
+his experience."
+
+"Dr. Campbell," said the pompous magistrate, who hated philosophers,
+rising from table as Dr. Campbell entered, "do not speak to me of
+bailing this ward of yours--it is impossible, sir; I know my duty." "I
+am not come to offer bail for my ward," said Dr. Campbell, "but to prove
+his innocence." "We must hope the best," said Mr. W----; and, having
+forced the doctor to pledge him in a bumper of port, "Now I am ready to
+proceed again to the examination of all parties concerned."
+
+Dr. Campbell was now shown into the room where Mr. Macpherson, his
+foreman and Pasgrave, were waiting. "Ah, monsieur, Dieu merci, vous
+voila!" exclaimed Pasgrave. "You may go," said Mr. W---- to the
+constable: "but wait below stairs." He unlocked the closet-door.
+Forester, at the sight of Dr. Campbell, covered his face with his hands;
+but, an instant afterwards, advanced with intrepidity. "You cannot, I am
+sure, believe me to be guilty of any meanness, Dr. Campbell," said he.
+"Imprudent I have been, and I suffer for my folly." "Guilty!" cried
+Dr. Campbell; "no: I could almost as soon suspect my own son of such an
+action. But my belief is nothing to the purpose. We must _prove_ your
+innocence." "Ah, oui, monsieur--and mine too; for I am innocent, I can
+assure you," cried M. Pasgrave.
+
+"The whole business, sir," said the banker's clerk, who had, by this
+time, returned to hear the termination of the affair--"the whole thing
+can be settled in two minutes, by a gentleman like you, who understands
+business. Mr. Forester cannot recollect the number or the firm of a
+ten-guinea bank-note which he gave to M. Pasgrave. M. Pasgrave cannot
+recollect either; and he is in doubt whether he received this
+stained note, which Mr. Mackenzie lost, from Mr. Forester or from
+Mr. Macpherson, the tailor." "There can be no doubt about me," said
+Macpherson. "Dr. Campbell, will you be so good to look at the entry? I
+acknowledge, I gave M. Pasgrave a ten-guinea note; but here's the number
+of it, 177, of Forbes's bank. Mr. Mackenzie's note, you see, is of the
+bank of Scotland; and the stains upon it are so remarkable, that, if I
+had ever seen it before, I should certainly remember it. I'll take
+my oath I never saw it before." "Sir," said Forester eagerly to Dr.
+Campbell, "you gave me five ten-guinea notes: here are four of them in
+this pocket-book; the fifth I gave to M. Pasgrave. Can you tell me the
+number of that note?" "I can," said Dr. Campbell, producing the paper
+which he found in Goldsmith's Animated Nature. "I had the precaution
+to write down the numbers of all your notes myself: here they are."
+Forester opened his pocket-book: his four remaining notes were compared,
+and perfectly agreed with the numbers in the list. The fifth, the number
+of the note which he gave to Pasgrave, was 1260, of the New Bank. "One
+of your ten-guinea notes," said Dr. Campbell to Pasgrave, "you paid
+into the bank of Scotland; and this gentleman," pointing to the banker's
+clerk, "stopped it this morning. Now you have had another ten-guinea
+note; what became of that?" Pasgrave, who understood Dr. Campbell's
+plain method of questioning him, answered immediately, "I did give the
+other to my hair-dresser, not long ago, who lives in ---- street." Dr.
+Campbell instantly went himself to the hair-dresser, found that he had
+the note still in his possession, brought him to Mr. W----'s, and, when
+the note was examined, it was found to be 1260 of the New Bank, which
+exactly corresponded with the entry in the list of notes which Dr.
+Campbell had produced.
+
+"Then all is right," said Dr. Campbell. "Ah, oui!--Ah, non!" exclaimed
+Pasgrave. "What will become of me?" "Compose yourself, my good sir,"
+said Dr. Campbell. "You had but two ten-guinea notes, you are sure of
+that?" "But two--but two: I will swear but two." "You are now certain
+which of these two notes you had from my ward. The other, you say, you
+received from ----" "From dis gentleman, I will swear," cried Pasgrave,
+pulling the tailor's foreman forwards. "I can swear now I am in no
+embarras: I am sure I did get de oder note from dis gentleman." The
+master-tailor was astonished to see all the pallid marks of guilt in his
+foreman's countenance. "Did you change the note that I gave you in
+the inner room?" said Mr. Macpherson. The foreman, as soon as he could
+command his voice, denied the charge; and persisted in it that he gave
+the note and change, which his master wrapped up, exactly as it was, to
+the dancing-master. Dr. Campbell proposed that the tailor's shop, and
+the foreman's room, should be searched. Mr. W---- sent proper people
+to Mr. Macpherson's; and whilst they are searching his house, we may
+inquire what has become of Henry Campbell.
+
+
+
+THE CATASTROPHE.
+
+
+Henry Campbell, the last time we heard of him, was at the house at the
+back of the meadows. When he went into the large room to his chemical
+experiments, the little girl, who was proud of having arranged it
+neatly, ran on before him, and showed him the places where all his
+things were put. "The writing and the figures are not rubbed off your
+slate--there it is, sir," said she, pointing to a high shelf. "But whose
+handkerchief is this?" said Henry, taking up a handkerchief which
+was under the slate. "Gracious! that must be the good gentleman's
+handkerchief; he missed it just as he was going out of the house. He
+thought he had left it at the washerwoman's, where I met him; and
+he's gone back to look for it there. I'll run with it to the
+washerwoman's,--maybe she knows where to find him." "But you have not
+told me who he is. Whom do you mean by the good gentleman?" "The good
+gentleman, sir, that I saw with you at the watchmaker's, the day that
+you helped me to carry the great geranium out of my grandmother's room."
+"Do you mean that Forester has been here?" exclaimed Henry. "I never
+heard his name, sir; but I mean that the gentleman has been here, whom I
+call the good gentleman, because it was he who went with me to my cross
+schoolmistress, to try to persuade her to use me well. She beat me, to
+be sure, after he was gone, for what he had said; but I'm not the less
+obliged to him, because he did every thing as he thought for the best.
+And so I'll run with his handkerchief to the woman's, who will give it
+safe to him."
+
+Henry recollected his promise to his father. It required all his power
+over himself to forbear questioning the child, and endeavouring to
+find out something more of his friend. He determined to mention the
+circumstance to his father, and to Flora, as soon as he returned home.
+He was always impatient to tell any thing to his sister that interested
+himself or his friends; for Flora's gaiety was not of that unfeeling
+sort which seeks merely for amusement, and which, unmixed with sympathy
+for others, may divert in a companion, but disgusts in a friend.
+
+Whilst Henry was reflecting upon the manner in which he might most
+expeditiously arrange his chemical experiments and return home, the
+little girl came running back, with a face of great distress. As soon
+as she had breath to speak, she told Henry that when she went to the
+washerwoman's with the handkerchief, she was told a sad piece of news;
+that Mr. Forester had been taken up, and carried before Mr. W----, the
+magistrate. "We don't know what he has done: I'm sure I don't think he
+can have done any thing wrong." Henry no sooner heard these words than
+he left all his retorts, rushed out of the house, hurried home to his
+father, and learned from Flora, with great surprise, that his father had
+already been sent for, and was gone to Mr. W----'s. She did not know the
+circumstances that Mackenzie related to Dr. Campbell, but she told him
+that her father seemed much alarmed; that she met him crossing the hall,
+and that he could not stop to speak to her. Henry proceeded directly to
+Mr. W----'s, and he arrived there just as the people returned from the
+search of the tailor's house. His opinion of Forester's innocence was
+so strong, that when he entered the room, he instantly walked up to
+him, and embraced him, with a species of frank confidence in his manner
+which, to Forester, was more expressive than any thing that he could
+have said. The whole affair was quickly explained to him; and the people
+who had been sent to Mr. Macpherson's now came up-stairs to Mr. W----,
+and produced a ten-guinea bank-note, which was found in the foreman's
+box. Upon examination, this note was discovered to be the very note
+which Mr. Macpherson sent with the change to Pasgrave. It was No. 177,
+of Sir William Forbes's bank, as mentioned in the circumstantial entry
+in the day-book. The joy of the poor dancing-master at this complete
+proof of his innocence was rapturous and voluble. Secure of the sympathy
+of Forester, Henry, and Dr. Campbell, he looked at them by turns, whilst
+he congratulated himself upon this "_eclaircissement_," and assured the
+banker's clerk that he would in future keep accounts. We are impatient
+to get rid of the guilty foreman: he stood a horrible image of despair.
+He was committed to gaol; and was carried away by the constables,
+without being pitied by any person present. Every body, however, was
+shocked. Mackenzie broke silence first, by exclaiming, "Well, now, I
+presume, Mr. W----, I may take possession of my bank-note again." He
+took up all the notes which lay upon the table to search amongst them
+for his own. "Mine, you know, is stained," said Archibald. "But it is
+very singular," said Henry Campbell, who was looking over his shoulder,
+"that here are two stained notes. That which was found in the foreman's
+box is stained in one corner, exactly as yours was stained, Mr.
+Mackenzie." Macpherson, the tailor, now stooped to examine it. "Is this
+No. 177, the note that I sent in change, by my foreman, to M. Pasgrave?
+I'll take my oath it was not stained in that manner when I took it out
+of my desk. It was a new and quite clean note: it must have been stained
+since." "And it must have been stained with vitriolic acid," continued
+Henry. "Ay, there's cunning for you," cried Archibald. "The foreman, I
+suppose, stained it, that it might not be known again." "Have you any
+vitriolic acid in your house?" pursued Henry, addressing himself to
+the master-tailor. "Not I, indeed, sir; we have nothing to do with such
+things. They'd be very dangerous to us." "Pray," said Henry, "will you
+give me leave, Mr. W----, to ask the person who searched the foreman's
+box a few questions?" "Certainly sir," said Mr. W----; "though, I
+protest, I cannot see what you are driving at." Henry inquired what was
+found in the box with the bank-note. The man who searched it enumerated
+a variety of things. "None of these," said Henry, "could have stained
+the note: are you sure that there was nothing else?" "Nothing in the
+world; nothing but an old glass stopper, I believe." "I wish I could
+see that stopper," said Henry. "This note was rolled round it," said the
+man: "but I threw it into the box again. I'll go and fetch it, sir, if
+you have any curiosity to see it." "Curiosity to see an old stopper?
+No!" cried Archibald Mackenzie, with a forced laugh; "what good would
+that do us? We have been kept here long enough. I move that we go
+home to our dinners." But Dr. Campbell, who saw that Henry had some
+particular reason for wishing to see this glass stopper, seconded his
+son. The man went for it; and when he brought it into the room, Henry
+Campbell looked at it very carefully, and then decidedly said, fixing
+his eyes upon Archibald Mackenzie, who in vain struggled to keep his
+countenance from changing. "This glass stopper, Mr. Mackenzie, is the
+stopper of my father's vitriolic acid bottle, that was broken the night
+the cat was killed. This stopper has stained both the bank-notes. And
+it must have been in the pocket of your waistcoat." "My pocket!"
+interrupted Archibald: "how should it come into my pocket? It never was
+in _my_ pocket, sir." Henry pointed to the stain on his waistcoat. He
+wore the very waistcoat in question. "Sir," said Archibald, "I don't
+know what you mean by pointing at my waistcoat. It is stained, it is
+true, and very likely by vitriolic acid; but, as I have been so often in
+the doctor's laboratory, when your chemical experiments have been going
+on, is it not very natural to suppose that a drop of one of the acids
+might have fallen on my clothes? I have seen your waistcoats stained,
+I am sure. Really, Mr. Campbell, you are unfriendly, uncharitable; your
+partiality for Mr. Forester should not blind you, surely. I know you
+want to exculpate him from having any hand in the death of that cat: but
+that should not, my dear sir, make you forget what is due to justice.
+You should not, permit me to say, endeavour to criminate an innocent
+person." "This is all very fine," said Henry; "and you may prove your
+innocence to me at once, Mr. Mackenzie, if you think proper, by showing
+that the waistcoat was really, as you assert, stained by a drop of
+vitriolic acid falling upon the outside of it. Will you show us the
+inside of the pocket?" Mackenzie, who was now in too much confusion to
+know distinctly what Henry meant to prove, turned the pocket inside out,
+and repeated, "That stopper was never in my pocket, I'll swear." "Don't
+swear to that, for God's sake," said Henry. "Consider what you are
+saying. You see that there is a hole burnt in this pocket. Now if a drop
+of acid had fallen, as you said, upon the outside of the waistcoat, it
+must have been more burnt on the outside than on the inside." "I
+don't know--I can't pretend to be positive," said Archibald; "but what
+signifies all this rout about the stopper?" "It signifies a great deal
+to me," said Dr. Campbell, turning away from Mackenzie with contempt,
+and addressing himself to his ward, who met his approving eye with proud
+delight--"it signifies a great deal to me. Forgive me, Mr. Forester,
+for having doubted your word for a moment." Forester held his guardian's
+hand, without being able for some instants to reply. "You are coming
+home with us, Forester?" said Henry. "No," said Dr. Campbell, smiling;
+"you must not ask him to come home with us to-night. We have a little
+dance at our house to-night. Lady Catherine Mackenzie wished to take
+leave of her Edinburgh friends. She goes from us to-morrow. We must not
+expect to see Forester at a ball; but to-morrow morning--" "I see," said
+Forester, smiling, "you have no faith in my reformation. Well, I have
+affairs to settle with my master, the printer. I must go home, and take
+leave of him. He has been a good master to me; and I must go and finish
+my task of correcting. Adieu." He abruptly left Dr. Campbell and Henry,
+and went to the bookseller's, to inform him of all that had passed, and
+to thank him for his kindness. "You will be at a loss to-morrow for a
+corrector of the press," said he. "I am determined you shall not suffer
+for my vagaries. Send home the proof-sheets of the work in hand to me,
+at Dr. Campbell's, and I will return them to you punctually corrected.
+Employ me till you have provided yourself with another, I will not say a
+better hand. I do not imagine," continued Forester, "that I can pay
+you for your kindness to me by presents; indeed, I know you are in such
+circumstances that you disdain money. But I hope you will accept of a
+small mark of my regard--a complete font of new types."
+
+Whilst Forester's generous heart expanded with joy at the thoughts of
+returning once more to his friends, we are sorry to leave him, to finish
+the history of Archibald Mackenzie. He sneaked home after Dr. Campbell
+and Henry, whose silent contempt he well understood. Dr. Campbell
+related all that had passed to Lady Catherine. Her ladyship showed
+herself more apprehensive that her son's meanness should be made known
+to the world, than indignation or sorrow for his conduct. Archibald,
+whilst he was dressing for the ball, began to revolve in his mind
+certain words which his mother had said to him _about his having
+received the lie direct from Henry Campbell--his not having the spirit
+of a gentleman._ "She certainly meant," said he to himself, "that I
+ought to fight him. It's the only way I can come off, as he spoke so
+plainly before Mr. W----, and all those people: the banker's clerk
+too was by; and, as my mother says, it will be talked of. I'll get Sir
+Philip Gosling to go with my message. I think I've heard Dr. Campbell
+say, he disapproved of duels. Perhaps Henry won't fight. Has Sir Philip
+Gosling sent to say, whether he would be with us at the ball to-night?"
+said Archibald to the servant who was dressing his hair. "No, sir,"
+replied the servant: "Sir Philip's man has not been here: but Major
+O'Shannon has been here twice since you were away, to see you. He said
+he had some message to deliver from Sir Philip to you." "To me!
+message to me!" repeated Archibald, turning pale. Archibald knew Major
+O'Shannon, who had of late insinuated himself into Sir Philip Gosling's
+favour, had a particular dislike to him, and had successfully bullied
+him upon one or two occasions. Archibald had that civil cowardice,
+which made him excessively afraid of the opinion of the world; and Major
+O'Shannon, a gamester, who was jealous of his influence over the rich
+dupe, Sir Philip, determined to entangle him in a quarrel. The major
+knocked at the door a third time before Archibald was dressed; and when
+he was told that he was dressing, and could not see any one, he sent up
+the following note:--
+
+"SIR,
+
+"The last time I met you at the livery-stables, in company with my
+friend, Sir Philip Gosling, I had the honour of telling you my mind, in
+terms sufficiently explicit, concerning a transaction, which cannot have
+escaped your memory. My friend, Sir Philip, declares you never hinted
+that the pony was spavined. I don't pretend to be so good a jockey as
+you, but you'll excuse my again saying, I can't consider your conduct
+as that of a gentleman. Sir Philip is of my mind; and if you resent my
+interference, I am ready to give you the satisfaction of a gentleman.
+If not, you will do well to leave Edinburgh along with your mother
+to-morrow morning; for Edinburgh is no place for cowards, as long as one
+has the honour of living in it, who calls himself (by courtesy)
+
+"Your humble servant,
+
+"CORNELIUS O'SHANNON.
+
+"P.S. Sir Philip is at your service, after your settling with me."
+
+Archibald, oppressed with the sense of his own meanness, and somewhat
+alarmed at the idea of fighting three duels, to retrieve his credit,
+thought it best to submit, without struggle, in the first instance, to
+that public disgrace which he had merited. He wrote a shabby apology to
+Major O'Shannon and Sir Philip, concluding with saying, that rather than
+lose a friend he so much valued as Sir Philip Gosling, he was willing
+to forget all that had passed, and even to take back the pony, and to
+return Sawney, if the matter could, by this means, be adjusted to his
+satisfaction. He then went to his mother, and talked to her, in a high
+style, of his desperate intentions with respect to Henry Campbell.
+"Either he or I must fall, before we quit the ground," said the artful
+Archibald--well knowing that Lady Catherine's maternal tenderness
+would be awakened by these ideas. Other ideas were also awakened in
+the prudent mother's mind. Dr. Campbell was nearly related to a general
+officer, from whom she looked for promotion for her son. She repented,
+upon reflection, of what she had hastily said concerning _the lie
+direct, and the spirit of a gentleman_; and she softened down her pride,
+and talked of her dislike to breaking up old family friendships. Thence
+she digressed into hints of the advantages that might accrue from
+cultivating Dr. Campbell's good opinion; admitted that Henry was
+strangely prejudiced in favour of his rough friend Forester; but
+observed that Mr. Forester, after all, though singular, was a young man
+of merit, and at the head of a very considerable estate. "Archibald,"
+said she, "we must make allowances, and conciliate matters--unless you
+make this young gentleman your friend, you can never hope to be on an
+eligible footing with his guardian. His guardian, you see, is glad to
+get him back again, and, I dare say, has his reasons. I never saw him,
+and I know him well, in such spirits in my life as he was when he came
+back to us to announce the probability of his ward's return to-morrow
+morning. The doctor, I dare say, has good reasons for what he does; and
+I understand his ward is reconciled to the idea of living in the world,
+and enjoying his fine fortune like other people. So I hope you and he,
+and of course you and the doctor, and Henry Campbell, will be very good
+friends. I shall leave you at Edinburgh for a few months, till we get
+our commission; and I shall beg the doctor to introduce you to his
+friend and relation, General D----. If he can do nothing for you, you
+may look towards the Church. I trust to your prudence, not to think of
+Flora Campbell, though I leave you in the house with her; for you can't
+afford, Archibald, to marry a girl with so small a fortune; and, you may
+be sure, her friends have other views for her. Pray let me hear no more
+of duels and quarrels. And let us go down into the ball-room; for Miss
+Campbell has been dressed and down-stairs this half hour; and I would
+not have you inattentive--that might displease as much as the other
+extreme. In short, I may safely leave you to your own discretion." Lady
+Catherine, after this prudent exhortation, entered the ball-room,
+where all the company soon after assembled. Seated in gay ranges,
+the well-dressed belles were eager for the dancing to commence. Lady
+Catherine stood by Dr. Campbell; and as soon as the ball began, when the
+music played, and she saw every one absorbed in themselves, or in their
+partners, she addressed herself to the doctor on the subject which was
+next her heart, or rather next her imagination. "The general is to be
+with you shortly, I understand," said she. Dr. Campbell coldly answered
+in the affirmative. "To be candid with you, doctor, if you'll sit down,
+I want to have a little chat with you about my Archibald. He is not
+every thing I could wish, and I see you are displeased with him about
+this foolish business that has just happened. For my own part, I think
+him to blame; but we must pardon, we must make allowances for the errors
+of youth; and I need not, to a man of your humanity, observe what a
+cruel thing it is to prejudice the world against a young man, by telling
+little anecdotes to his disadvantage. Relations must surely uphold one
+another; and I am convinced you will speak of Archibald with candour
+and friendship." "With candour and with truth," replied Dr. Campbell. "I
+cannot pretend to feel friendship merely on the score of relationship."
+
+The proud blood mounted into Lady Catherine's face, and she replied,
+"Some consideration of one's own relations, I think, is not unbecoming.
+Archibald, I should have thought, had as strong a claim upon Dr.
+Campbell's friendship as the son of an utter stranger to the family. Old
+Mr. Forester had a monstrous fortune, 'tis true; but his wife, who was
+no grand affair, I believe--a merchant's daughter, I'm told--brought him
+the greatest part of it; and yet, without any natural connexion between
+the families, or any thing very desirable, setting fortune out of the
+question, you accept the guardianship of this young man, and prefer him,
+I plainly see, to my Archibald. I candidly ask you the question, and
+answer me candidly."
+
+"As you have explicitly asked the question, I will answer your ladyship
+candidly. I do prefer my ward to your son. I have avoided drawing
+comparisons between your son and Forester; and I now wish to avoid
+speaking of Mr. Archibald Mackenzie, because I have little hope of being
+of service to him."
+
+"Nay," said Lady Catherine, softening her tone, "you know you have it in
+your power to be of the greatest service to him."
+
+"I have done all I could," said Dr. Campbell, with a sigh; "but habits
+of--"
+
+"Oh, but I'm not talking of habits," interrupted Lady Catherine. "I'll
+make him alter his habits. We shall soon turn him into what you like:
+he's very quick; and you must not expect every young man to be just cut
+out upon the pattern of our dear Henry. I don't want to trouble you to
+alter his habits, or to teach him chemistry, or any of those things. But
+you can, you know, without all that, do him an essential service."
+
+"How?" said Dr. Campbell.
+
+"Why how? I don't know you this evening, you are so dry. Ken you not
+what I mean? Speak three words for him to your friend, the general."
+
+"Your ladyship must excuse me," said Dr. Campbell.
+
+Lady Catherine was stunned by this distinct refusal. She urged Dr.
+Campbell to explain the cause of his dislike to her son.
+
+"There is a poor washerwoman now below stairs," replied Dr. Campbell,
+"who can explain to you more than I wish to explain; and a story about a
+horse of Sir Philip Gosling was told to me the other day, by one of the
+baronet's friends, which I should be glad Mr. Archibald Mackenzie could
+contradict effectually."
+
+"Archibald, come here," said Lady Catherine: "before the next dance
+begins, I must speak to you. What is this about a horse of Sir Philip
+Gosling?"
+
+"Ma'am!" said Archibald, with great astonishment. At this instant one
+of Dr. Campbell's servants came into the room, and gave two notes to
+Archibald, which, he said, two gentlemen had just left, and desired him
+to deliver to Mr. Mackenzie whilst he was in the ball-room, if possible.
+
+"What is it?--What are they, child?" cried Lady Catherine. "I will see
+them." Her ladyship snatched the notes, read, and when she saw that
+her son, in the grossest terms, was called a coward, for refusing the
+challenges of two such fashionable men as Sir Philip Gosling and Major
+O'Shannon, all her hopes of him were at an end. "Our family is disgraced
+for ever!" she exclaimed; and then, perceiving that she had uttered this
+unguarded sentence loud enough for several of the company to hear, she
+endeavoured to laugh, and fell into violent hysterics. She was carried
+out of the ball-room. A whisper now ran round the room of--"What's the
+matter with Lady Catherine Mackenzie?" It was at an unfortunate
+moment that she was carried out, for all the dancers had just seated
+themselves, after a brisk country dance; and the eyes of all the young
+and old were upon her ladyship as she made her exit. A young man, a
+friend of Major O'Shannon, who was present, whispered the secret to his
+partner; she, of course, to her next neighbour. Archibald saw that the
+contents of the notes were made public; and he quitted the apartment,
+"to inquire how his mother did."
+
+The buzz of scandal was general for some moments; but a new object soon
+engrossed the attention of the company. "Pray," said a young lady, who
+was looping up Flora Campbell's gown, "who is this gentleman, who is
+just coming into the room?" Flora looked up, and saw a well-dressed
+stranger entering the room, who had much the appearance of a gentleman.
+He certainly resembled a person she had seen before; but she could
+scarcely believe that her eyes did not deceive her. Therefore she
+hesitatingly replied to the young lady's question, "I don't know--I am
+not sure." But she, an instant afterwards, saw her brother Henry and
+her father advance so eagerly to meet the stranger, that her doubts
+vanished; and, as he now directed his steps towards the spot where
+she was standing, she corrected her first answer to her companion's
+question, and said, "Yes, I fancy--it certainly is--Mr. Forester."
+Forester, with an open countenance, slightly tinged with the blush
+of ingenuous shame, approached her, as if he was afraid she had not
+forgotten some things which he wished to be forgotten; and yet as if he
+was conscious that he was not wholly unworthy of her esteem. "Amongst
+other prejudices of which I have cured myself," said he to Dr. Campbell,
+"since we parted, I have cured myself of my foolish antipathy to Scotch
+reels."
+
+"That I can scarcely believe," said Dr. Campbell, with an incredulous
+smile.
+
+"I will convince you of it," said Forester, "if you will promise to
+forget all my other follies."
+
+"_All!_" said Dr. Campbell. "Convince me first; and then it will be time
+enough to make such a desperate promise."
+
+Flora was rather surprised when our once cynical hero begged the favour
+of her hand, and led her to dance a reel. M. Pasgrave would have been in
+ecstasy if he had seen his pupil's performance.
+
+"And now, my dear Forester," said Dr. Campbell, as his ward returned
+to claim his promise of a general amnesty, "if you do not turn out a
+coxcomb, if you do not 'mistake reverse of wrong for right,' you will
+infallibly be a very great man. Give me a pupil who can cure himself of
+any one foible, and I have hope of him. What hope must I not have of him
+who has cured himself of so many!"
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE PRUSSIAN VASE
+
+
+Frederick the Second, king of Prussia, after his conquest of Saxony,
+transported, it is said[1], by force, several manufacturers from Dresden
+to Berlin, where he was very desirous of establishing the manufacture
+of china. These unfortunate people, separated from their friends, their
+home, and their native country, were compelled to continue their labours
+for the profit and for the glory of their conqueror. Amongst the number
+of those sufferers was Sophia Mansfeld. She was young, handsome, and
+possessed considerable talents. Several pieces of porcelain of her
+design and modelling were shown to Frederick, when he visited the
+manufactory at Meissen, in Saxony; and their taste and workmanship
+appeared to him so exquisite, that he determined to transport the artist
+to his capital. But from the time of her arrival at Berlin, Sophia
+Mansfeld's genius seemed to forsake her. It was her business to sketch
+designs, and to paint them on the porcelain; but either she could not
+or would not execute these with her former elegance: the figures were
+awkward and spiritless, and it was in vain that the overseer of the
+works attempted to rouse her to exertion; she would sit for hours, with
+her pencil in her hand, in a sort of reverie. It was melancholy to see
+her. The overseer had compassion upon her; but his compassion was not so
+great as his dread of the king's displeasure; and he at length declared,
+that the next time Frederick visited the works, he must complain of her
+obstinate idleness.
+
+[Footnote 1: Vide Wraxall'g Memoirs of the Court of Berlin.]
+
+The monarch was expected in a few days; for, in the midst, of his
+various occupations, Frederick, who was at this time extremely intent
+upon the establishment of the porcelain manufactory at Berlin, found
+leisure frequently to inspect it in person. The king, however, was
+prevented from coming at the appointed hour by a review at Potzdam. His
+majesty had formed the singular project of embodying, and training to
+the science of arms, the Jews in his dominions[2]. They were rather
+awkward in learning the manual exercise; and the Jewish review, though
+it afforded infinite amusement to the spectators, put Frederick so much
+out of humour, that, as soon as it was over, he rode to his palace of
+Sans Souci, and shut himself up for the remainder of the morning. The
+preceding evening an English traveller, who had passed some time at
+Paris with the Count de Lauragais, in trying experiments upon porcelain
+clays, and who had received much instruction on this subject from Mr.
+Wedgewood, of Etruria, had been presented to the king, and his majesty
+had invited him to be present at a trial of some new process of
+importance, which was to be made this morning at his manufactory.
+The English traveller, who was more intent upon his countryman
+Mr. Wedgewood's fame than upon the martial manoeuvres of the Jews,
+proceeded, as soon as the review was finished, to exhibit his English
+specimens to a party of gentlemen, who had appointed to meet him at the
+china-works at Berlin.
+
+[Footnote 2: Wraxall's Memoirs of the Court of Berlin, &c.]
+
+Of this party, was a youth of the name of Augustus Laniska, who was
+at this time scarcely seventeen years old. He was a Pole by birth--a
+Prussian by education. He had been bred up at the military school at
+Potzdam, and being distinguished by Frederick as a boy of high spirit
+and capacity, he was early inspired with enthusiastic admiration of this
+monarch. His admiration, however, was neither blind nor servile. He
+saw Frederick's faults as well as his great qualities; and he often
+expressed himself with more openness and warmth upon this subject than
+prudence could justify. He had conversed with unusual freedom about
+Frederick's character with our English traveller; and whilst he was
+zealous to display every proof of the king's greatness of mind, he was
+sometimes forced to acknowledge that "there are disadvantages in living
+under the power of a despotic sovereign."
+
+"A despotic sovereign! You will not then call your Frederick a despot?"
+whispered the English traveller to the young Pole, as they entered the
+china-works at Berlin. "This is a promising manufactory, no doubt,"
+continued he; "and Dresden china will probably soon be called Berlin
+china, by which the world in general will certainly be much benefited.
+But in the meantime look around you, and read your monarch's history
+in the eyes of those prisoners of war--for such I must call these
+expatriated manufacturers."
+
+There were, indeed, many countenances in which great dejection was
+visible. "Look at that picture of melancholy," resumed the Englishman,
+pointing to the figure of Sophia Mansfeld--"observe even now, whilst the
+overseer is standing near her, how reluctantly she works! 'Tis the way
+with all slaves. Our English manufacturers (I wish you could see them)
+work in quite another manner--for they are free--"
+
+"And are free men, or free women, never ill?" said Laniska; "or do you
+Englishmen blame your king, whenever any of his subjects turn pale?--The
+woman at whom you are now looking is evidently ill. I will inquire from
+the overseer what is the matter with her."
+
+Laniska then turned to the overseer, and asked him in German several
+questions, to which he received answers that he did not translate to the
+English traveller; he was unwilling that any thing unfavourable to the
+cause of his sovereign should appear; and, returning to his companion,
+he changed the conversation. When all the company were occupied round
+the furnaces, attending to the Englishman's experiments, Laniska went
+back to the apartment where Sophia Mansfeld was at work. "My good girl,"
+said he to her, "what is the matter with you? The overseer tells me,
+that since you came here you have done nothing that is worth looking at;
+yet this charming piece (pointing to a bowl of her painting, which had
+been brought from Saxony) is of your design, is it not?"
+
+"Yes, sir," replied Sophia, "I painted it--to my sorrow. If the king had
+never seen or liked it, I should now be--" The recollection of her home,
+which at this instant rushed full upon her mind, overpowered her, and
+she paused.
+
+"You would now be in Saxony," resumed Laniska; "but forget Saxony, and
+you will be happy at Berlin."
+
+"I cannot forget Saxony, sir," answered the young woman, with modest
+firmness; "I cannot forget a father and mother whom I love, who are old
+and infirm, and who depended on me for their support. I cannot forget
+every thing--every body that I have ever loved: I wish I could."
+
+"Sir," whispered a Prussian workman, who stood by--"sir, she has a
+lover in Saxony, to whom she was just going to be married, when she was
+carried off from her cottage, and brought hither."
+
+"Cannot her lover follow her?" said Laniska.
+
+"He is in Berlin, in concealment," replied the workman, in a whisper;
+"you won't betray him, I am sure."
+
+"Not I," said Laniska; "I never betrayed any one, and I never
+shall--much less the unfortunate. But why is her lover in concealment?"
+
+"Because it is the king's pleasure," replied the Prussian, "that she
+should no longer consider him as her lover. You know, sir, several of
+these Saxon women have been compelled, since their arrival at Berlin,
+to marry Prussians. Sophia Mansfeld has fallen to the lot of a Prussian
+soldier, who swears that if she delays another month to marry him, he
+will complain to the king of her obstinacy. Our overseer, too, threatens
+to complain of her idleness. She is ruined if she go on in this way: we
+tell her so, but she seems to have lost all sense; for she sits as she
+does now, like one stupified, half the day, let us say what we will to
+her. We pity her; but the king knows best: the king must be obeyed."
+
+"Slave!" exclaimed Laniska, bursting into a sudden transport of
+indignation, "slave! you are fit to live only under a tyrant. The
+king knows best! the king must be obeyed! What! when his commands are
+contrary to reason, to justice, to humanity?" Laniska stopped short, but
+not before the high tone of his voice, and the boldness of the words
+he uttered, had astonished and dismayed all present,--all except Sophia
+Mansfeld: her whole countenance became suddenly illuminated; she
+started up, rushed forwards, threw herself at the feet of Laniska, and
+exclaimed, "Save me! you can save me! you have courage; and you are a
+powerful lord, and you can speak to the king. Save me from this detested
+marriage!"
+
+The party of gentlemen who had been in the next chamber now entered the
+room, curious to know what had drawn thither such a crowd of workmen. On
+seeing them enter, Sophia, recollecting herself, rose, and returned
+to her work quietly; whilst Laniska, much agitated, seized hold of the
+Englishman's arm, and hurried out of the manufactory.
+
+"You are right, you are right," cried he, "Frederick is a tyrant! But
+how can I save his victim?"
+
+"Not by violence, my Augustus; not by violence!" replied a young man
+of the name of Albert, who followed Laniska, anxious to restrain the
+impetuosity of his friend's temper, with which he was well acquainted.
+"By imprudence," said he, "you will but expose yourself to danger; you
+will save, you will serve no one."
+
+"Tame prudence will neither save nor serve any one, however it may
+prevent its possessor from exposing _himself_ to danger," retorted
+Laniska, casting upon Albert a look of contemptuous reproach. "Prudence
+be your virtue,--courage mine."
+
+"Are they incompatible?" said Albert, calmly.
+
+"I know not," replied Laniska; "but this I know, that I am in no humour
+to reason that point, or any other, according to all those cursed forms
+of logic, which, I believe, you love better than any thing else."
+
+"Not better than I love you, as I prove by allowing you to curse them
+as much and as often as you think proper," replied Albert, with a smile,
+which could not, however, force one from his angry friend.
+
+"You are right to practise logic and rhetoric," resumed Laniska, "as
+much and as often as you can, since in your profession you are to make
+your bread by your tongue and your pen. I am a soldier, or soon to be a
+soldier, and have other arms and other feelings."
+
+"I will not dispute the superiority of your arms," replied Albert; "I
+will only beg of you to remember, that mine will be at your service
+whenever you want or wish for them."
+
+This temperate and friendly reply entirely calmed Laniska. "What would
+become of Augustus Laniska," said he, giving Albert his hand, "if he had
+not such a friend as you are? My mother may well say this, as she does
+ten times a-day; but now take it in your sober manner, what can we do
+for this poor woman? for something must be done."
+
+After some consideration, Albert and Laniska determined to draw up a
+petition for Sophia, and to present it to the king, who was known to pay
+ready and minute attention to every application made to him in writing,
+even by the meanest of his subjects. The petition was presented, and an
+answer anxiously expected. Frederick, when at Potzdam, often honoured
+the Countess Laniska with a visit. She was a woman of considerable
+information and literature, acquirements not common amongst the Polish
+or Prussian ladies; and the king distinguished the countess by his
+approbation, in order to excite some emulation amongst his female
+subjects. She held a sort of _conversazione_ at her house, which was
+frequented by all foreigners of distinction, and especially by some of
+the French literati, who were at this time at Frederick's court.
+
+One evening--it was a few days after Sophia Mansfeld's petition had been
+presented--the king was at the Countess Laniska's, and the company were
+conversing upon some literary subject, when Frederick, who had been
+unusually silent, suddenly turned to the English traveller, who was one
+of the company, and asked him whether his countryman, Mr. Wedgewood, had
+not made a beautiful imitation of the Barberini, or Portland Vase?
+
+The Englishman replied, that the imitation was so exquisite, as scarcely
+to be known by the best judges from the original: and he went on,
+with much eagerness, to give a description of the vase, that he might
+afterward, for the honour of his country, repeat some lines written upon
+the subject by an English poet[3]. Frederick was himself a poet, and a
+judge of poetry; he listened to the lines with attention; and, as soon
+as the Englishman had finished speaking, he exclaimed, "I will write a
+description of the Prussian vase myself."
+
+[Footnote 3: Darwin.--See his description of the Barberini vase in the
+Botanic Garden. We hope our readers will pardon this anachronism.]
+
+"The Prussian Vase!" said the English traveller: "I hope I may have the
+honour of seeing it before I leave Berlin."
+
+"If you prolong your stay another month, your curiosity will probably be
+gratified," replied Frederick. "The Prussian Vase is not yet in being;
+but I have this day determined to offer a reward, that I know will
+produce a vase worthy of Prussia. Those who have the command of motives,
+and know their power, have also the command of all that the arts, or
+what is called a _genius_ for the arts, can produce. The human mind, and
+human fingers, are much the same in Italy, in England, and in Prussia.
+Then, why should not we have a Prussian as as well as a Wedgewood's or
+a Barberini Vase? We shall see. I do not understand _mon metier de roi_,
+if I cannot call forth talents where I know them to exist. There is,"
+continued the king, fixing his eyes full upon Laniska, "there is, in my
+porcelain manufactory at Berlin, a woman of considerable talents, who is
+extremely anxious to return, along with some lovers of hers, to Saxony.
+Like all other _prisoners of war_, she must purchase her liberty from
+the conqueror; and if she cannot pay her ransom in gold, let her pay it
+by her talents. I do not give premiums to idleness or obstinacy. _The
+king must be obeyed, whether he knows how to command or not: let all
+the world, who are able to judge, decide._" Frederick, as soon as he had
+finished this speech, which he pronounced in a peremptory tone, left the
+room; and Laniska's friend, who perceived that the imprudent words he
+had uttered in Berlin had reached the king's ear, gave the young man up
+for lost. To their surprise, however, the king took no further notice of
+what had happened, but received Laniska the next day at Sans Souci with
+all his usual kindness. Laniska, who was of an open, generous temper,
+was touched by this conduct; and, throwing himself at Frederick's feet,
+he exclaimed:--
+
+"My king! forgive me, if in a moment of indignation I called you a
+_tyrant_."
+
+"My friend, you are yet a child, and I let children and fools speak of
+me as they please," replied Frederick. "When you are an older man,
+you will judge more wisely, or, at least, you will speak with more
+discretion within twenty miles of a _tyrant's_ palace. Here is my answer
+to your Sophia Mansfeld's petition," added he, giving Laniska the paper,
+which Albert had drawn up; at the bottom of which was written, in the
+king's own hand, these words:--
+
+"I will permit the artist who shall produce, before this day month,
+the most beautiful vase of Berlin china, to marry or not to marry,
+whomsoever he or she shall think proper, and to return to Saxony with
+all imaginable expedition. If the successful artist choose to remain at
+Berlin, I will add a reward of 500 crowns. The artist's name shall be
+inscribed on the vase, which shall be called the Prussian Vase." No
+sooner had Sophia Mansfeld read these words, than she seemed animated
+with new life and energy. She was likely to have many competitors; for,
+the moment the king's intentions were made known in the manufactory, all
+hands and heads were at work. Some were excited by the hope of regaining
+their liberty; others stimulated by the mention of 500 crowns; and some
+were fired with ambition to have their name inscribed on the Prussian
+Vase. But none had so strong a motive for exertion as Sophia. She was
+indefatigable. The competitors consulted the persons whom they believed
+to have the best taste in Berlin and Potzdam. Sophia's designs were
+shown, as soon as they were sketched, to the Countess Laniska, whose
+advice was of material use to her.
+
+At length, the day which was to decide her fate arrived. The vases were
+all ranged, by the king's order, in his gallery of paintings at Sans
+Souci; and in the evening, when Frederick had finished the business of
+the day, he went thither to examine them. Laniska and some others were
+permitted to accompany him: no one spoke, whilst Frederick was comparing
+the works of the different competitors.
+
+"Let this be the Prussian Vase," said the king. It was Sophia
+Mansfeld's. Laniska just stayed to show her name, which was written
+underneath the foot of the vase, and then he hurried away to communicate
+the happy news to Sophia, who was waiting, with her lover, at the house
+of the Countess Laniska, in Potzdam, impatient to hear her fate.
+She heard it with inexpressible joy; and Laniska's generous heart
+sympathized in her happiness. It was settled that she should the next
+morning be married to her lover, and return with him to her father and
+mother in Saxony. The happy couple were just taking leave of the young
+count and his mother, when they were alarmed by the sound of many voices
+on the great staircase. Some persons seemed to be disputing with the
+countess's servants for admittance. Laniska went out to inquire into the
+cause of the disturbance. The hall was filled with soldiers.
+
+"Are you the young Count Laniska?" said an officer to him, the moment he
+appeared.
+
+"I _am_ the young Count Laniska," replied he, in a firm tone. "What do
+you want with me? and why this disturbance in my mother's house at this
+unseasonable hour?"
+
+"We come here by the king's orders," replied the soldier. "Is not there
+in this house a woman of the name of Sophia Mansfeld?"
+
+"Yes," replied Laniska: "what do you want with her?"
+
+"She must come with us; and you are our prisoner, count," replied the
+soldier.
+
+It was in vain to ask for further explanation. The soldiers could give
+none; they knew nothing, but that their orders were to convey Sophia
+Mansfeld immediately to Meissen in Saxony, and to lodge Count Laniska in
+the castle of Spandau, a state prison.
+
+"I must know my crime before I submit to punishment," cried Laniska,
+in a passionate voice; but he restrained the natural violence of his
+temper, on seeing his mother appear, and, at her request, yielded
+himself up a prisoner without resistance, and without a murmur. "I
+depend on your innocence, my son, and on the justice of the king," said
+the countess; and she took leave of him without shedding a tear. The
+next day, even before the king arrived at Potzdam, she went to the
+palace, determined to wait there till she could see him, that she might
+hear from his own lips the cause of her son's imprisonment. She waited
+a considerable time--for, without alighting from horseback, Frederick
+proceeded to the parade, where he was occupied for some hours; at length
+he alighted, and the first person he saw, on entering his palace, was
+the Countess Laniska.
+
+"I am willing to believe, madam," said he, "that you have no share in
+your son's folly and ingratitude."
+
+"My son is, I hope, incapable of ingratitude, sir," answered the
+countess, with an air of placid dignity. "I am well aware that he may
+have been guilty of great imprudence."
+
+"At six o'clock this evening let me see you, madam," replied the king,
+"at Sans Souci, in the gallery of paintings, and you shall know of what
+your son is accused."
+
+At the appointed hour she was in the gallery of paintings at Sans Souci.
+No one was there. She waited quietly for some time, then walked up and
+down the gallery with extreme impatience and agitation; at last, she
+heard the king's voice and his step; the door opened, and Frederick
+appeared. It was an awful moment to the mother of Laniska. She stood in
+silent expectation.
+
+"I see, madam," said the king, after fixing his penetrating eye for some
+moments on her countenance, "I see that you are, as I believe you to
+be, wholly ignorant of your son's folly." As he spoke, Frederick put his
+hand upon the vase made by Sophia Mansfeld, which was placed on a small
+stand in the middle of the gallery. The countess, absorbed by her own
+reflections, had not noticed it.
+
+"You have seen this vase before," said the king; "and you have probably
+seen the lines which are inscribed on the foot of it."
+
+"Yes," said the countess, "they are my son's writing."
+
+"And they are written by his own hand," said the king.
+
+"They are. The poor Saxon woman who draws so admirably cannot write; and
+my son wrote the inscription for her."
+
+"The lines are in a high strain of _panegyric_," said the king; and he
+laid a severe emphasis on the word _panegyric_.
+
+"Whatever may be my son's faults," said the countess, "your majesty
+cannot suspect him of being a base flatterer. Scarcely a month has
+elapsed since his unguarded openness exposed him to your displeasure.
+Your majesty's magnanimity, in pardoning his imprudent expressions,
+convinced him at once of his error in having used them; and, in the fit
+of enthusiasm with which your kindness upon that occasion inspired him,
+he, who is by no means a poet by profession, composed the two lines of
+_panegyric_ which seem to have given your majesty offence, but which I
+should never have conceived could be the cause of his imprisonment."
+
+"You plead like a mother, madam," said the king; "but you reason like a
+woman. Have I ever said that your son was imprisoned for having written
+two lines of flattery? No, madam: I know how to smile both at flattery
+and satire, when they are undisguised; but there is a degree of baseness
+which I cannot so easily pardon. Be patient, madam; I will listen to all
+you can say in your son's defence, when you have read this inscription.
+But, before you read it, understand that I was upon the point of sending
+this vase to Paris. I had actually given orders to the man who was
+packing up that case (pointing to a half-packed case of porcelain) to
+put up the Prussian Vase as a present for a Prussian _bel esprit_ of
+your acquaintance. The man showed me the inscription at the bottom
+of the vase. I read the flattering lines with pleasure, and
+thought them--as people usually think flattering lines made on
+themselves--excellent. I was even fool enough immediately to consider
+how I could reward the author, when my friend, the packer, interrupted
+the course of my thoughts, by observing, with some exclamation of
+astonishment, that the blue colour of the vase came off in one spot,
+where he had been rubbing it. I looked, and saw that part of the
+inscription at the bottom of the vase had been covered over with blue
+paint. At first sight, I read the words, 'On the character of Frederick
+the Great;' the blue paint had concealed the next word, which is
+now, madam, sufficiently legible." The word to which the king pointed
+was--_tyrant_. "Those flattering lines, madam, you comprehend, were
+written--'On the character of Frederick, the great _tyrant_.'
+
+"I shall spare you, madam, all the reflections I have made on this
+occasion. _Tyrant_ as I am, I shall not punish the innocent mother for
+the follies of her son. I shall be at your house, along with the rest of
+your friends, on Tuesday evening."
+
+The unhappy mother of Laniska withdrew from the presence of the king,
+without attempting any reply. Her son's conduct admitted, she thought,
+of no apology, if it were really true that he had written the words to
+which his name was signed. Of this she doubted; but her consternation
+was at first so great, that she had not the power to think. A general
+belief remained in her mind of her son's innocence; but then a number of
+his imprudent words and actions came across her memory; the inscription
+was, apparently, in his own hand-writing. The conversation which had
+passed in the porcelain manufactory at Berlin corroborated the idea
+expressed in this inscription. The countess, on her return home, related
+the circumstances, with as much composure as she could, to Albert, who
+was waiting to hear the result of her interview with the king. Albert
+heard her relation with astonishment; he could not believe in his
+friend's guilt, though he saw no means of proving his innocence. He
+did not, however, waste his time in idle conjectures, or more idle
+lamentations: he went immediately to the man who was employed to pack up
+the vase; and, after questioning him with great care, he went to Berlin
+to the porcelain manufactory, and inquired whether any persons were
+present when Laniska wrote the inscription for Sophia Mansfeld. After
+Albert had collected all the information that could be obtained, his
+persuasion of Laniska's innocence was confirmed.
+
+On Tuesday Frederick had promised to come to the countess's
+_conversazione_. The company, previous to his majesty's arrival, were
+all assembled round the sofa, on which she was seated, and they were
+eagerly talking over Laniska's affair. "What a blessing it is," cried
+the English traveller, "to live in a country where no man can be
+imprisoned without knowing of what he is accused! What a blessing it is
+to live under a government where no man can be condemned without trial,
+and where his trial must be carried on in open day, in the face of his
+country, his peers, his equals!"--The Englishman was in the midst of
+a warm eulogium upon the British mode of trial by jury, when Frederick
+entered the room, as it was his custom, without being announced: and
+the company were so intently listening to our traveller, they did not
+perceive that the king was one of his auditors. "Would to Heaven," cried
+the Countess Laniska, when the Englishman paused--"would to Heaven my
+son could have the advantage of such a trial!"
+
+"And would to Heaven," exclaimed Albert, "that I might plead his cause!"
+
+"On one condition," said Frederick; and, at the sound of his voice,
+every one started--"on one condition, young man, your prayer shall be
+granted. You shall plead your friend's cause, upon condition that, if
+you do not convince his judges of his innocence, you shall share his
+punishment. His punishment will be a twelvemonth's imprisonment in the
+castle of Spandau; and yours the same, if you fail to establish your
+cause and his. Next to the folly of being imprudent ourselves, that of
+choosing imprudent friends is the most dangerous. Laniska shall be
+tried by his equals; and, since _twelve_ is the golden, harmonic, divine
+number, for which justice has a blind predilection, let him have
+twelve judges, and call them, if you please, a jury. But I will name my
+counsel, and you counsel for Laniska. You know the conditions--do you
+accept of them?"
+
+"Willingly, sire!" cried Albert, joyfully. "You will permit me to have
+access to the prisoner in the castle of Spandau?"
+
+"That is a new condition; but I grant it. The governor shall have orders
+to admit you to see and converse with his prisoner for two hours; but
+if, after that conversation, your opinion of your friend should change,
+you will not blame me if I hold you to your word."
+
+Albert declared that he desired no more: and the Countess Laniska,
+and all who were present, joined in praising Frederick's clemency and
+Albert's generosity. The imprisonment of Laniska had been much talked
+of, not only in public companies at Potzdam and at Berlin, but, what
+affected Frederick much more nearly, it had become the subject of
+conversation amongst the literati in his own palace at Sans Souci. An
+English traveller, of some reputation in the literary world, also knew
+the circumstances, and was interested in the fate of the young count.
+Frederick seems to have had a strong desire to be represented in an
+amiable point of view by writers who, he believed, could transmit his
+fame to posterity. Careless of what might be _said_ of him, he was
+anxious that nothing should be _printed_ derogatory to his reputation.
+Whether the desire to give to foreigners a striking proof of his
+magnanimity, or whether his regard for the young count, and his
+friendship for his mother, were his motives in granting to Laniska this
+_trial by jury_, cannot and need not be determined. Unmixed virtue is
+not to be expected from kings more than from common men.
+
+After his visit to the prisoner in the castle of Spandau, Albert felt no
+inclination to recede from the agreement into which he had entered; but
+Laniska was much alarmed when he was told of what had passed. "Oh, my
+generous friend!" exclaimed the young count, "why did you accept of
+the conditions offered to you by the king? You may--I am sure you
+do--believe in my innocence; but you will never be able to prove it. You
+will soon be involved in my disgrace."
+
+"I shall think it no disgrace," replied Albert, "to be the
+fellow-prisoner of an innocent friend."
+
+"Do not you remember," said Laniska, "that, as we were returning
+from Berlin, after my unlucky visit to the porcelain manufactory, you
+promised me, that whenever I should be in want of your weapons, they
+should be at my service? I little thought that I should so soon be in
+such need of them. Farewell--I pray for their success."
+
+On the day appointed for the trial of Laniska, crowds of people of all
+ranks flocked to hear the proceedings. A spacious building in Potzdam,
+intended for a barrack, was, upon this occasion, converted into a hall
+of justice; a temporary gallery was erected for the accommodation of the
+audience; and a platform was raised in the centre of the hall, where
+the judge's chair was placed: on the right hand of his chair a space was
+railed in for the reception of the twelve young gentlemen, who were to
+act as jurors; on the left another space was railed in for spectators.
+In the front there was a large table, on each side of which were benches
+for the counsel and witnesses: those for the crown on the right hand;
+those for the prisoner on the left. Every thing had, by the king's
+orders, been prepared in this manner, according to the English custom.
+
+The Countess Laniska now entered the court, with a few friends, who
+had not yet forsaken her. They took their seats at the lower end of the
+gallery; and as every eye turned upon the mother, who waited to hear the
+trial of her son, an awful silence prevailed. This lasted but for a few
+moments; it was succeeded by a general whispering amongst the crowds,
+both in the hall and in the gallery. Each individual gave his opinion
+concerning the event of the trial: some declared that the circumstances
+which must appear against Laniska were so strong, that it was madness
+in Albert to undertake his defence; others expressed great admiration of
+Albert's intrepid confidence in himself and his friend. Many studied
+the countenance of the king, to discover what his wishes might be; and
+a thousand idle conjectures were formed from his most insignificant
+movements.
+
+At length, the temporary judge having taken his seat, twelve young
+gentlemen were chosen, from the most respectable families in Potzdam,
+to act as jurors. The prisoner was summoned to answer to the charges
+brought against him, in the name of Frederick the Second, king of
+Prussia. Laniska appeared, guarded by two officers: he walked up to the
+steps of the platform with an air of dignity, which seemed expressive of
+conscious innocence; but his countenance betrayed involuntary marks of
+emotion, too strong for him to command, when, on raising his eyes, he
+beheld his friend Albert, who stood full in his view. Albert maintained
+an immovable composure of countenance. The prisoner was now asked
+whether he had any objections to make to any of the twelve persons who
+had been selected to judge his cause. He made none. They proceeded to
+take an oath, "that, in their decision, they would suffer no motives to
+influence them but a sense of truth and justice." The judge then rose,
+and addressing himself to the jury, said:--
+
+"Gentlemen,
+
+"You are here, by the king's order, to form your opinions concerning the
+guilt or innocence of the prisoner, commonly known by the name of Count
+Augustus Laniska. You will learn the nature and circumstances of the
+accusation against him from Mr. Warendorff, the gentleman on my right
+hand, who in this cause has the honour of being counsel for his majesty.
+You will hear from the gentleman on my left, Albert Altenburg, all that
+can be said in defence of the prisoner, for whom he voluntarily offers
+himself as counsel. After having listened to the arguments that may be
+adduced, and to the witnesses that shall be examined on each side, you
+are, gentlemen, according to the tenour of the oath which has just been
+administered to you, to decide, without regard to any consideration but
+truth and justice. Your opinion is to be delivered to me by the
+eldest amongst you, and it is to be expressed in one or other of these
+phrases--_guilty_ or _not guilty_.
+
+"When I shall have heard your decision, I am, in his majesty's name, to
+pronounce sentence accordingly. If the prisoner be judged by you _not
+guilty_, I am to announce to him that he is thenceforward at liberty,
+and that no stain affixes to his honour from the accusation that has
+been preferred against him, or from his late imprisonment, or from this
+public trial. If, on the contrary, your judgment shall be, that the
+prisoner is _guilty_, I am to remand him to the castle of Spandau, where
+he is to remain confined for twelve months from this day. To the
+same punishment I am also to condemn Albert Altenburg, if he fail to
+establish in your minds the innocence of the Count Laniska. It is upon
+this condition that he is permitted to plead the cause of his friend.
+
+"Gentlemen, you are called upon to give impartial attention in this
+cause, by your duty to your king and to your country."
+
+As soon as the judge, after making this short address to the jury, had
+seated himself, Mr. Warendorff, counsel for the crown, rose, and spoke
+in the following manner:--
+
+"My lord, and gentlemen of the jury,
+
+"It is with inexpressible concern that I find myself called upon to
+plead in this cause. To be the accuser of any man is an invidious task:
+to be the accuser of such a man as I once thought--as you perhaps still
+think--the young Count Laniska must, to a person of generous feelings,
+be in a high degree difficult and distressing. I do not pretend to more
+generosity or delicacy of sentiment than others; but I beg any of
+you, gentlemen, to imagine yourselves for a moment in my place, and to
+conceive what must be my sensations as a man, and as an advocate. I am
+not ignorant how popular the name of Augustus Laniska is, both in Berlin
+and Potzdam. I am not ignorant that the young count has been in the
+habit of living amongst you, gentlemen, on terms of familiarity,
+friendship, and confidence; nor can I doubt that the graceful, manly
+manner, and open deportment, for which he is so eminently distinguished,
+must have strongly prepossessed you in his favour. I am not ignorant
+that I have to plead against him before his friends, in the presence of
+his mother--a mother respected even in a higher degree than her son is
+beloved; respected for her feminine virtues--for her more than feminine
+endowments; who, had she no other claim upon your hearts, must, by the
+unfortunate situation in which she now appears, command your sympathy.
+
+"You must all of you feel, likewise, strongly prepossessed in favour
+of that noble-minded youth, who has undertaken to defend the prisoner's
+cause, at the hazard of sharing his punishment. I respect the general
+character of Albert Altenburg; I admire his abilities; I applaud him,
+for standing forward in defence of his friend; I pity him, because
+he has a friend, for whom, I fear, even he will find it impossible
+to establish any plausible defence. But the idea that he is acting
+handsomely, and that he has the sympathy of numbers in his favour, will
+doubtless support the young advocate in his arduous task. He appears in
+this court in the striking character of counsel, disinterested counsel,
+for his friend.
+
+"Gentlemen, I also appear in this court as counsel, disinterested
+counsel for a friend. Yes, gentlemen, I am permitted to call Frederick
+the Great _my friend_. He is not, as other great monarchs have been,
+ambitious to raise himself above the sphere of humanity; he does not
+desire to be addressed in the fulsome strains either of courtly or of
+poetical adulation: he wishes not to be worshipped as a god, but to be
+respected as a man[4]. It is his desire to have friends that shall
+be faithful, or subjects that shall be obedient. Happy his obedient
+subjects--they are secure of his protection: happy, thrice happy, his
+faithful friends--they are honoured with his favour and his confidence.
+It was in the power of the prisoner now before you to have been in
+this enviable class. You all of you know that the Countess Laniska, his
+mother, has for years been honoured by the friendship of her sovereign;
+even the conduct of her son has not been able to shake his confidence in
+her. A Pole by birth, Augustus Laniska was educated amongst the first of
+the Prussian nobility, at the military academy at Potzdam, that
+nursery of heroes. From such an education--from the son of such
+a mother--honourable sentiments and honourable conduct were to
+be expected. Most confidently were they expected by his king, who
+distinguished the young count, as you all know, even in his boyish days.
+The count is said to be of a temper naturally impetuous: the errors
+into which such a temper too publicly betrayed him were pardoned by the
+indulgence of his king. I am compelled to recall one recent instance of
+the truth of these assertions, as it is immediately connected with the
+present cause."
+
+[Footnote 4: AEschylus.]
+
+Here Mr. Warendorff related all that had passed at the porcelain
+manufactory at Berlin, and the king's subsequent conduct towards
+Count Laniska. On the magnanimity of his majesty, the eloquent counsel
+expatiated for a considerable time; but the applauses with which this
+part of his oration was received by a party in the gallery, who were
+seated near the king, were so loud, as almost to drown the voice of the
+orator, and effectually to distract the attention of those employed to
+take down his words. When he could again be heard distinctly, he resumed
+as follows:
+
+"I am not surprised at these testimonies of admiration which burst from
+the warm hearts of his majesty's subjects; I am only surprised that a
+heart could be found in his dominions on whom such magnanimity could
+make no impression. I am shocked, I am grieved, when I find such a heart
+in the person of Count Laniska. Can it be believed that, in the course
+of one short month after this generous pardon, that young nobleman
+proved himself the basest of traitors--a traitor to the king, who
+was his friend and benefactor? Daring no longer openly to attack, he
+attempted secretly to wound the fame of his sovereign. You all of you
+know what a degree of liberty, even licence, Frederick the Great permits
+to that species of satirical wit with which the populace delight to
+ridicule their rulers. At this instant there are various anonymous
+pasquinades on the garden-gates at Sans Souci, which would have provoked
+the resentment--the fatal resentment--of any other monarch upon earth.
+It cannot be doubted that the authors of these things could easily be
+discovered, if the king condescended to make any inquiries concerning
+them: it cannot be doubted that the king has power to punish the
+offenders: yet they remain untouched, perhaps unknown. Our sovereign
+is not capable of feeling the petty emotions of vulgar spleen
+or resentment; but he could not be insensible to the treacherous
+ingratitude of one, whom he imagined to have been attached to him by
+every tie of kindness and of duty. That the Count Laniska should choose
+the instant when the king was showing him unusual favour, to make that
+favour an instrument of his base malice, is scarcely credible. Yet,
+Prussians, incredible as it sounds to us, it is true. Here are my
+proofs: here are my witnesses."
+
+Mr. Warendorff, at this instant, uncovered the Prussian Vase, and then
+pointed to a Jew, and to the master of the porcelain manufactory, who
+stood beside him, ready to give their evidence. We omit that part of
+Mr. Warendorff's speech which contained the facts that have been already
+related. The Prussian Vase was handed to the jury: the verses in praise
+of Frederick the Great were read, and the word _tyrant_ was seen,
+afterward, with the utmost surprise. In the midst of the general
+indignation, Mr. Warendorff called upon the Jew to come forward and
+give his evidence. This Jew was an old man, and there was something
+remarkable in his looks. His head was still; his neck was stiff; but
+his eyes moved with incessant celerity from side to side, and he seemed
+uneasy at not being able to see what was passing behind him: there was
+a certain firmness in his attitude, but his voice trembled when he
+attempted to speak. All these circumstances prepossessed Laniska's
+friends against the Jew the moment he appeared; and it was justly
+observed, that his having the misfortune to be a Jew was sufficient
+to prejudice many of the populace against him, even before a word he
+uttered reached their ears. But impartial spectators judged that the
+poor man was only terrified at being called upon to speak in so large an
+assembly. Solomon (for that was the name of the Jew), after having taken
+an oath upon the Talmud that he would speak nothing but the truth, made
+the following answers to the questions put to him by Mr. Warendorff:--
+
+_Mr. Warendorff_.--"Did you ever see this vase before?"
+
+_Solomon_.--"Yes."
+
+_Mr. Warendorff_.--"Where? when? Tell all you know about it to the
+gentlemen of the jury."
+
+_Solomon_.--"The first time I saw that vase was in the gallery of
+paintings, at the king's palace of Sans Souci; to the best of my
+recollection, it was on the night of the first day of the month, about
+ten o'clock, or, perhaps, it might be eleven: I wish to be exact; but I
+cannot be certain as to the hour precisely."
+
+_Mr. Warendorff_.--"The exact hour is not of any consequence: proceed.
+Tell us how you came to see this vase. Take your time to speak. We are
+in no hurry: the truth will appear sooner or later."
+
+_Solomon_.--"His majesty himself put the vase into my hands, and
+commanded me to pack it up, with some other china, which he was going to
+send as a present to a gentleman at Paris. I am something of a judge of
+china myself, being used to selling small pieces of it up and down the
+town and country. So I was struck with the first sight of this
+beautiful vase; I looked at it very carefully, and wiped away, with my
+handkerchief, the dust which had settled on the white figures: here is
+the very handkerchief. I wiped the vase all over; but, when I came
+to rub the bottom, I stopped to read the verses _on the character of
+Frederick the Great_; and having read these, I rubbed the white letters
+quite clean: the ground on which they were written was blue. I found
+that some of the blue colour came off upon my handkerchief, which
+surprised me a good deal. Upon examining further, I perceived that the
+colour came off only in one spot, of about an inch long, and half an
+inch broad. The king was at this time standing with his back to me,
+looking at a new picture which had just been hung up in the gallery;
+but hearing me make an exclamation ('_Father Abraham!_' I believe it was
+that I said), his majesty turned round. 'What is the matter with you,
+Solomon? You look wondrous wise,' his majesty was pleased to say. 'Why
+do you call on Father Abraham at this time of day? Do you expect that he
+will help you to pack up that china--hey, Solomon, my friend?' I had
+no power to answer this question, for by this time, to my utter
+astonishment, I had discovered that, on the spot where I had rubbed off
+the blue paint, there was a word written--the word was _tyrant_. '_On
+the character of Frederick, the great tyrant!_' Said I to myself--'what
+can this mean?' The king snatched the vase from my hands, read what I
+had read, saw the paint which had been rubbed off upon my handkerchief,
+and without saying one word left the gallery. This is all I know about
+the matter."
+
+The Jew bowed to the court, and Mr. Warendorff told him that, having
+closed his evidence, he might depart. But Albert rose to desire that the
+judge would order him to remain in court, as he purposed to examine,
+or, according to the English term, to _cross-examine_ him further, at
+a proper time. The judge ordered the Jew to remain in court. The
+next witness called, on the part of the crown, was the master of
+the porcelain manufactory of Berlin; to whom Mr. Warendorff put the
+following questions:--
+
+_Q_.--"Have you seen the verses which are inscribed on the foot of this
+vase?"
+
+_Answer_.--"Yes, I have."
+
+_Q_.--"Do you recollect what words are written over the verses?"
+
+_Answer_.--"I do: the words are--'On the character of Frederick, the
+great tyrant.'"
+
+_Q_.--"Do you know by whom those words and these verses were written?"
+
+_Answer_.--"I believe that they were written by Count Augustus Laniska."
+
+_Q_.--"How do you know? or why do you believe it?"
+
+_Answer_.--"I was present when Sophia Mansfeld, the woman by whom the
+vase was designed, told the count that she did not know how to write,
+and that she would be obliged to him if he would write the inscription
+himself on it. The vase at this time had not been put into the furnace.
+It was in what we call biscuit. The Count Laniska took a proper tool,
+and said that he would write the inscription as she desired. I saw
+him writing on the bottom of the vase for some minutes. I heard him
+afterward call to one of the workmen, and desire that he would put the
+vase into the furnace: the workman accordingly carried it into the next
+room to the furnace, as I believe."
+
+_Q_.--"Did you see the inscription on the vase after it was taken out of
+the furnace? and was the word 'tyrant' then on it?"
+
+_Answer_.--"I did not see the vase immediately upon its being taken out
+of the furnace; but I saw it about an hour afterward. At that time I
+read the inscription: the word 'tyrant' was not then visible on the
+vase; the place where it now appears was blue. I carried it myself,
+along with some others, to the king's palace at Sans Souci. The night of
+the first day of this month his majesty sent for me, and showed me the
+word _tyrant_ on the vase: I had never seen it there till then. It
+could not have been written after the china was baked: it must have been
+written whilst the biscuit was soft; and it must have been covered
+over with the blue paint after the vase was taken out of the furnace. I
+believe the word was written by Count Laniska, because I saw nobody
+else write upon the vase hut him; because the word exactly resembles the
+handwriting of the rest of the inscription; and because I, upon a former
+occasion, heard the count make use of that very word in speaking of
+Frederick the Great."
+
+Here the master of the porcelain manufactory finished speaking, and was
+going, with Mr. Warendorff's permission, to retire; but Albert signified
+his intention to cross-examine him also, and the judge commanded that
+he should remain in court. The two next witnesses who were produced and
+examined were the workman who carried the vase to the furnace, and the
+man whose business it was to put the biscuit into the furnace. Neither
+of these witnesses could write or read. The workman deposed, that he
+carried the Prussian Vase, as he was desired, to the furnace; that no
+one touched it on the way thither. The man whose business it was to put
+the biscuit into the furnace swore that he put it along with several
+other vases into the furnace; that he attended the fire, and that no one
+touched any of them till they were baked and taken out by him. Here the
+evidence for the prosecution closed. Mr. Warendorff observed, that he
+should forbear to expatiate further upon the conduct of the prisoner;
+that he had been ordered by his sovereign to speak of him with all
+possible moderation; that he earnestly hoped the defence that should be
+made for Count Laniska might be satisfactory; and that the mode of trial
+which had been granted to him by the king was a sufficient proof of the
+clemency of his majesty, and of his earnest desire to allow the prisoner
+every possible means of re-establishing his character in the eyes of
+the public. Albert now rose. The Count Laniska, who had appeared unmoved
+during Mr. Warendorff's oration, changed countenance the moment Albert
+rose in his defence; the Countess Laniska leaned forward over the rails
+of the gallery in breathless anxiety: there was no sound heard in the
+whole gallery, except the jingling of the chain of the king's sword,
+with which he was playing.
+
+"I shall not attempt, gentlemen," said Albert, "to move your sympathy
+by a pathetic description of my own feelings _as a man, and as an
+advocate_. Whatever mine may be, it is my wish and my duty to repress
+them. I have need of that calm possession of my understanding, which
+will be necessary to convince yours of the innocence of my friend.
+To convince is my object. If it were in my power, I should, upon
+the present occasion, disdain to persuade. I should think it equally
+incompatible with my own honour and that of the Count Laniska. With
+these sentiments, I refrain, Prussians, from all eulogium upon the
+magnanimity of your king. Praises from a traitor, or from the advocate
+of a traitor, must be unworthy of a great monarch, or of a generous
+people. If the prisoner before you shall be proved to be no traitor, he
+will doubtless have opportunities of expressing by actions, better than
+I can by words, his gratitude to his sovereign, for having allowed him
+this public trial by his equals--men who are able to discern and to
+assert the truth. It cannot have escaped their observation, that no
+positive evidence whatever has yet been produced against the prisoner.
+No one has yet been heard to swear that he _saw_ Count Laniska write the
+word _tyrant_ upon this vase. The first witness, Solomon the Jew, has
+informed us of what our senses could not leave us room to doubt, that
+the word is actually engraved upon the porcelain: further, he has told
+us that it was covered over with blue paint, which he rubbed off with
+his handkerchief. All this may be true; but the wisdom of Solomon,
+united to that of Baron Warendorff, has failed to point out to us any
+certain connexion between this blue paint, this handkerchief, and
+the supposed guilt of the Count Laniska. The master of the porcelain
+manufactory came next, and I apprehended that, as being a more
+respectable witness than the Jew, it was reserved for him to supply
+this link in the chain of evidence. But this respectable witness simply
+swore, that he heard a woman say she could not write or read; that she
+asked Count Laniska to write an inscription upon a vase for her; that,
+in consequence of this request, the count wrote something upon the vase,
+he does not pretend to know what; but he believes that the word _tyrant_
+must have been one of the words then written by the count, because he
+saw no one else write on the vase; because the hand-writing of that word
+resembles the rest of the inscription; and because the count, in his
+hearing, had, upon a former occasion, made use of the same expression in
+speaking of the king. I recapitulate this evidence, to show that it is
+in no part _positive_: that it all rests upon circumstances. In order to
+demonstrate to you that the word in question could not have been written
+by any person but Laniska, two witnesses are produced--the workman who
+carried the vase to the furnace, and he who put it into the fire. The
+one has positively sworn that no person touched the vase on the way to
+the furnace. The other as positively swears that no one meddled with the
+vase after it was put into the furnace.
+
+"It is granted that the word could not have been engraved after the
+biscuit was baked. The witness, however, has not sworn, or asserted,
+that there was no interval of time between his receiving the vase and
+his putting it into the fire. What became of it during this interval?
+How long did it last? Will the witness swear that no one touched it
+during this interval?
+
+"These are questions which I shall put to him presently. I hope I have
+established my first assertion, that you have no _positive_ evidence of
+the prisoner's guilt.
+
+"You well know, gentlemen, that where positive evidence of any supposed
+fact cannot be produced, our judgments must be decided by the balance
+of _probabilities_; and it is for this reason that the study of
+probabilities, and the power of comparing them, has, in a late
+celebrated essay, been called _the Science of Judges_.[5] To you, judges
+of my friend, all the probabilities of his supposed guilt have been
+stated. Weigh and compare them with those which I shall produce
+in favour of his innocence. His education, his character, his
+understanding, are all in his favour. The Count Laniska must be much
+below the common standard of human virtue and capacity, if, without any
+assignable motive, he could have committed an action at once so base
+and so absurd as this of which he is accused. His temper is naturally or
+habitually open and impetuous, even to extreme imprudence. An instance
+of this imprudence, and of the manner in which it was pardoned by the
+king, has been stated to you. Is it probable that the same man should be
+both ingenuous and mean? Is it probable that the generosity with which
+he was treated made no impression upon his heart? His heart must, upon
+this supposition, be selfish and unfeeling. Look up, gentlemen, towards
+that gallery--look at that anxious mother! those eager friends! Could
+Laniska's fate excite such anxiety, if he were selfish and unfeeling?
+Impossible! But, suppose him destitute of every generous sentiment, you
+cannot imagine Count Laniska to be a fool. You have been lately reminded
+that he was early distinguished for his abilities by a monarch, whose
+penetration we cannot doubt. He was high in the favour of his sovereign:
+just entering upon life--a military life; his hopes of distinction
+resting entirely upon the good opinion of his general and his king: all
+these fair expectations he sacrifices--for what? for the pleasure--but
+it could be no pleasure--for the folly of writing a single word. Unless
+the Count Laniska be supposed to have been possessed with an insane
+desire of writing the word _tyrant_, how can we account for his writing
+it upon this vase? Did he wish to convey to France the idea, that
+Frederick the Great is a tyrant? A man of common sense could surely have
+found, at least, safer methods of doing so than by engraving it as his
+opinion upon a vase which he knew was to pass through the hands of the
+sovereign whom he purposed thus treacherously to insult. The extreme
+improbability that any man in the situation, with the character, habits,
+and capacity of Count Laniska, should have acted in this manner amounts,
+in my judgment, almost to a _moral impossibility_. I knew nothing more,
+gentlemen, of this cause, when I first offered to defend Laniska at
+the hazard of my liberty: it was not merely from the enthusiasm of
+friendship that I made this offer; it was from the sober conviction
+of my understanding, founded upon the accurate calculation of moral
+probabilities.
+
+[Footnote 5: Voltaire--Essai sur les Probabilites en fait de Justice.]
+
+"It has been my good fortune, gentlemen, in the course of the inquiries
+which I have since made, to obtain further confirmation of my opinion.
+Without attempting any of that species of oratory which may be necessary
+to cover falsehood, but which would encumber instead of adorning truth,
+I shall now, in the simplest manner in my power, lay the evidence before
+the court."
+
+The first witness Albert called was the workman who carried the vase to
+the man at the furnace. Upon his cross-examination, he said that he did
+not deliver the vase into the hands of the man at the furnace, but that
+he put it, along with several other pieces, upon a tray, on a table,
+which stood near the furnace.
+
+_Albert_.--"You are certain that you put it upon a tray?"
+
+_Witness_.--"Quite certain."
+
+_Albert_.--"What reason have you for remembering that circumstance
+particularly?"
+
+_Witness_.--"I remember it, because I at first set this vase upon the
+ledge of the tray, and it was nearly falling. I was frightened at that
+accident, which makes me particularly remember the thing. I made room
+upon the tray for the vase, and left it quite safe upon the tray: I am
+positive of it."
+
+_Albert_.--"That is all I want with you, my good friend."
+
+The next witness called was the man whose business it was to put the
+vases into the furnace.
+
+_Albert_.--"Did you see the witness who was last examined put this vase
+upon a tray when he left it under your care?"
+
+_Witness_.--"I did."
+
+_Albert_.--"You are certain that he put it _upon the tray?_ What reason
+have you to remember that circumstance particularly?"
+
+_Witness_.--"I remember it, because I heard the witness cry out, 'There,
+William, I had like to have thrown down this cursed vase; but, look you
+here, I've left it quite safe upon the tray.' Upon this, I turned
+and looked, and saw that vase standing upon the tray, safe, with some
+others."
+
+_Albert_.--"Do you recollect any thing else that passed?"
+
+_Witness_.--"Only that the witness told me I must put it--the vase, I
+mean--into the furnace directly; and I answered to that, 'All in good
+time; the furnace is not ready yet; it will go in along with the rest.'"
+
+_Albert_.--"Then you did not put it into the furnace immediately after
+it was left with you?"
+
+_Witness_.--"No, I did not--but that was not my fault--I could not; the
+furnace was not hot enough."
+
+_Albert_.--"How long do you think it was, from the time it was left upon
+the tray, till you put it into the furnace?"
+
+_Witness_.--"I don't know--I can't be positive: it might be a quarter
+of an hour, or twenty minutes; or it might be half an hour. I cannot be
+positive, sir; I cannot be positive."
+
+_Albert_.--"You need not be positive. Nobody wants you to be positive.
+Nobody wants to entrap you, my good friend. During this quarter of an
+hour, or twenty minutes, or half an hour, that you speak of, did you
+ever lose sight of this vase?"
+
+_Witness_.--"To be sure I did. I did not stand watching it all the
+while. Why should I? It was safe enough."
+
+_Albert_.--"Do you recollect where you found the vase when you took it
+to put it into the furnace?"
+
+_Witness_.--"Yes: it was standing as it might be here, in the middle of
+the table."
+
+_Albert_.--"Do you recollect whether it was standing _upon_ the tray or
+not?"
+
+_Witness_.--"It was not _upon_ the tray, as I recollect: no, I'm sure it
+was not, for I carried to the furnace first the tray and all that was on
+it, and then I remember, I came back for this, which was standing, as I
+said before, as it might be here, in the middle of the table."
+
+_Albert_.--"Was any body, except yourself, at the furnace, or in the
+room, from the time that this vase was brought to you, till you put it
+into the furnace?"
+
+_Witness_.--"Not as I remember. It was our dinner-time. All the men,
+except myself, were gone to dinner: I stayed to mind the furnace."
+
+_Albert_.--"It was you, then, that took this vase off the tray, was it?"
+
+_Witness_.--"No, it was not. I never took it off the tray. I told you it
+was not upon the tray with the others; I told you it was upon the table,
+as it might be here."
+
+_Albert_.--"Yes, when you were going to put it into the furnace, you
+said that you saw it standing in the middle of the table; but you
+recollect that you saw the workman who brought it put it upon the tray.
+You told us you remembered that circumstance perfectly."
+
+_Witness_.--"Yes, so I do."
+
+_Albert_.--"The vase could not have got off the tray of itself. You did
+not take it off. How came it off, do you think?"
+
+_Witness_.--"I don't know. I can't tell. Somebody, to be sure, must
+have taken it off. I was minding the furnace. My back was to the door. I
+don't recollect seeing any body come in; but many might have come in and
+out, without my heeding them."
+
+_Albert_.--"Take your own time, my good friend. Recollect yourself;
+perhaps you may remember."
+
+_Witness_.--"Oh, yes, now you put me upon recollecting, I do remember
+that Solomon the Jew came in, and asked me where Sophia Mansfeld was;
+and it certainly must have been he who took the vase off the tray; for
+now I recollect, as I looked round once from the furnace, I saw him with
+it in his hand; he was looking at the bottom of it, as I remember: he
+said, here are some fine verses, or some such thing; but I was minding
+the furnace. That's all I know about the matter."
+
+_Albert_.--"That is enough."
+
+The next witness who came forward was the husband of Sophia
+Mansfeld.--He deposed, that on the 29th of April, the day on which the
+Prussian Vase was finished, as stated by the former evidence, and sent
+to be put into the furnace, he met Sophia Mansfeld in the street: she
+was going home to dinner. He asked to see the vase: she said that it
+was, she believed, put into the furnace, and that he could not then see
+it; that she was sorry he had not come sooner, for that he could have
+written the inscription on it for her, and that would have spared her
+the shame of telling Count Laniska that she could not read or write.
+She added, that the count had written all that was wanting for her. The
+witness, being impatient to see the vase, went as fast as he could to
+the manufactory, in hopes of getting a sight of it before it was put
+into the furnace. He met Solomon the Jew at the door of the manufactory,
+who told him that he was too late, that all the vases were in the
+furnace; he had just seen them put in. The Jew, as the witness now
+recollects, though it did not strike him at the time, was eager to
+prevent him from going into the furnace-room. Solomon took him by the
+arm, and walked with him up the street, talking to him of some money
+which he was to remit to Meissen, to Sophia Mansfeld's father and
+mother.
+
+_Albert_ asked the witness on whose account this money was to be
+remitted by the Jew to Meissen.
+
+_Witness_.--"The money was to be remitted on Sophia Mansfeld's account."
+
+_Albert_.--"Did she borrow it from the Jew?"
+
+_Witness_.--"No; the Jew owed it to her for work done by her. She had
+the art of painting on glass. She had painted some glasses for a large
+magic lantern, and several small pictures on glass. She did these things
+at the hours when she was not obliged to be at the manufactory. She rose
+very early in the morning and worked hard. She sold her work to the Jew
+upon condition that he would remit the price agreed upon to her father
+and mother, who were old, and depended on her for support."
+
+_Albert_.--"Was the money punctually remitted to her father and mother
+by the Jew?"
+
+_Witness_.--"Not a farthing of it was remitted by him, as Sophia
+discovered since her return to Meissen."
+
+_Albert_.--"Did you ever hear this Jew say any thing about Sophia
+Mansfeld's returning to Saxony?"
+
+_Witness_.--"Yes; I once heard the Jew say that he hoped she never would
+leave Berlin, because she was of great use to him. He advised me to
+settle in Berlin. This passed about six weeks ago. About a week before
+the prize was decided by the king, I met the Jew, and told him Sophia
+had good hopes of getting back to Saxony. He looked very much vexed, and
+said, 'She is not sure of that.'"
+
+_Albert_.--"Did you ever hear this Jew speak of Count Laniska?"
+
+_Witness_.--"Yes, about two months ago I saw him in the street when I
+was speaking to Solomon, and I asked the Jew who he was. He answered,
+'He is the Count Laniska--a man that I hate, and on whom I will be
+revenged some time or other.' I asked why he hated the count. The Jew
+replied, 'Because the Christian dog has made the corps of Jews his
+laughing-stock. This day, when my son was going through his manual
+exercise before the king, Count Laniska was holding his sides with
+laughter. I'll be revenged upon him some time or other.'"
+
+_Albert_.--"I have no occasion, sir, to trouble you with any farther
+questions."
+
+The next witness who appeared was a druggist of Berlin. He deposed,
+that, on the 30th of April, Solomon the Jew came to his shop and asked
+for blue paints; that, after trying the colours very carefully upon the
+back of a letter, which he took out of his pocket, he bought a small
+quantity of a shade of blue, which the witness produced in court.
+
+Albert ordered that the paint should be handed to the gentlemen of the
+jury, that they might compare it with the blue ground of the Prussian
+Vase. With this it was found, upon comparison, to match exactly.
+
+_Albert to the druggist_.--"Do you know what became of the paper upon
+which you say the Jew tried your colours?"
+
+_Witness_.--"Yes; here it is. I found it under the counter, after the
+Jew went away, and I kept it to return to him, as I saw there was an
+account on the other side of the paper, which I imagined he might want.
+He never happened to call at my shop afterwards, and I forgot that I had
+such a paper, till you, sir, called upon me about a week ago, to make
+inquiry on this subject. You desired me to keep the paper carefully, and
+not to let any one know that it was in my possession, till the day on
+which the trial of Count Laniska was to come on. I have complied with
+your request, and here is the paper."
+
+The paper was handed to the jury; and one of the shades of blue exactly
+matched that of the ground of the Prussian Vase. Albert now called upon
+the Jew to produce, once more, the handkerchief with which he had rubbed
+off the paint. The chain of evidence was now complete, for the blue on
+the handkerchief was precisely the same as the colours on the paper
+and on the vase. After the jury had satisfied themselves of this
+resemblance, Albert begged that they would read what was written upon
+the paper. The first thing that struck their eyes was the word _tyrant_
+frequently repeated, as if by some one who had been practising to write
+different hands. One of these words was an exact resemblance of the word
+_tyrant_ on the Prussian Vase; and Albert pointed out a circumstance,
+which had till now escaped attention, that the letter _r_, in this word,
+was made differently from all the _ars_ in the rest of the inscription.
+The writing of the Count Laniska had, in every other respect, been
+successfully imitated.
+
+After Albert had shown these things to the jury, he here closed the
+evidence in favour of the prisoner, observing, that the length of time
+which the trial had lasted seemed to have somewhat fatigued both the
+judge and jury; and, knowing that it was now their usual hour of dinner,
+he prudently forbore to make a long speech upon the evidence which had
+been laid before them in favour of his friend: he left it to their own
+understandings to determine the balance of probabilities between the
+honour of Count Laniska and the honesty of Solomon the Jew.
+
+The judge, in a manner which would have done honour even to the English
+bench, summed up the evidence on both sides, and gave a distinct and
+impressive charge to the jury, who, without leaving the court, gave a
+verdict in favour of the prisoner. Loud acclamations filled the hall. In
+the midst of these acclamations, the word--"Silence!" was pronounced
+by that voice which never failed to command instantaneous obedience in
+Prussia. All eyes turned upon the monarch.
+
+"This court is now dissolved," said his majesty. "My judgment confirms
+the verdict of the jury. Count Laniska, I took your sword from you too
+hastily. Accept of mine in its stead." And as he pronounced these words,
+Frederick ungirded his sword, and presented it to the young count. "As
+for you, sir," continued the king, addressing himself to Albert, "you
+want no _sword_ for the defence of your friends. Your arms are superior
+to ours. Let me engage them in my service; and, trust me, I shall not
+leave them long unemployed, or unrewarded."
+
+There was but one person present to whom this speech seemed to give no
+satisfaction. This person was Solomon the Jew, who stood apart, waiting
+in black silence to learn his own fate. He was sentenced, not to a
+year's imprisonment in the castle of Spandau, but to sweep the streets
+of Potzdam (including the court in front of Count Laniska's palace) for
+a twelvemonth.
+
+After having heard this sentence, which was universally approved of, the
+spectators began to retire.
+
+The king dined--it is always important to know where great men
+dine--Frederick the Great dined this day at the Countess Laniska's,
+in company with her son, his friend Albert, and the English traveller.
+After dinner, the king withdrew to attend parade; and it was observed
+that he wore the Count Laniska's sword.
+
+"You will allow," said the countess to the English traveller, "that our
+king is a great man; for none but great men can bear to acknowledge that
+they have been mistaken."
+
+"You will allow, madam," replied the Englishman, "that it was our
+English trial by jury which convinced the king of his mistake."
+
+"And you applaud him for granting that trial," said Albert.
+
+"To a certain degree I do," said the Englishman, from whom it was
+difficult to extort praise of a despotic king--"to a certain degree, I
+do; but you will observe, that this trial by jury, which is a matter of
+favour to you Prussians, is a matter of right to us Englishmen. Much as
+I admire your king of Prussia, I admire our English constitution more."
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE GOOD AUNT
+
+
+Charles Howard was left an orphan when he was very young. His father
+had dissipated a large fortune, and lost his life in a duel, about some
+_debt of honour_, which had been contracted at the gaming-table. Without
+fortune and without friends, this poor boy would probably have lived
+and died in wretchedness, but for the humanity of his good aunt, Mrs.
+Frances Howard. This lady possessed a considerable fortune, which, in
+the opinion of some of her acquaintance, was her highest merit: others
+respected her as the branch of an ancient family: some courted her
+acquaintance because she was visited by the best company in town: and
+many were ambitious of being introduced to her, because they were
+sure of meeting at her house several of those distinguished literary
+characters who throw a radiance upon all who can contrive to get within
+the circle of their glories. Some few, some very few of Mrs. Howard's
+acquaintance, admired her for her real worth, and merited the name of
+friends.
+
+She was a young and cheerful woman when she first undertook the
+education of her little nephew. She had the courage to resist the
+allurements of dissipation, or all that by her sex are usually thought
+allurements. She had the courage to apply herself seriously to the
+cultivation of her understanding: she educated herself, that she might
+be able to fulfil the important duty of educating a child. Hers was not
+the foolish fondness of a foolish aunt; she loved her nephew, and she
+wished to educate him, so that her affection might increase, instead of
+diminishing, as he grew up. By associating early pleasure with reading,
+little Charles soon became fond of it: he was never forced to read books
+which he did not understand; his aunt used, when he was very young, to
+read aloud to him any thing entertaining that she met with; and whenever
+she perceived by his eye that his attention was not fixed, she stopped.
+When he was able to read fluently to himself, she selected for him
+passages from books, which she thought would excite his curiosity to
+know _more_; and she was not in a hurry to cram him with knowledge, but
+rather anxious to prevent his growing appetite for literature from being
+early satiated. She always encouraged him to talk to her freely about
+what he read, and to tell her when he did not like any of the books
+which she gave him. She conversed with him with so much kindness and
+cheerfulness; she was so quick at perceiving his latent meaning; and she
+was so gentle and patient when she reasoned with him, that he loved to
+talk to her better than to any body else; nor could little Charles ever
+thoroughly enjoy any pleasure without her sympathy.
+
+The conversation of the sensible, well-informed people who visited Mrs.
+Howard contributed to form her nephew's taste. A child may learn as much
+from conversation as from books--not so many historic facts, but as much
+instruction. Greek and Latin were the grand difficulties. Mrs. Howard
+did not understand Greek and Latin; nor did she, though a woman, set too
+high or too low a value upon the learned languages. She was convinced
+that a man might be a great scholar without being a man of sense; she
+was also persuaded that a man of sense might be a good scholar. She knew
+that, whatever abilities her nephew might possess, he could not be upon
+a footing with other men in the world, without possessing that species
+of knowledge which is universally expected from gentlemen, as an
+essential proof of their having received a liberal education; nor did
+she attempt to undervalue the pleasures of classic taste merely because
+she was not qualified to enjoy them: she was convinced, by the testimony
+of men of candour and judgment, that a classical taste is a source of
+real enjoyment, and she wished her nephew's literary pleasures to have
+as extensive a range as possible.
+
+To instruct her nephew in the learned languages, she engaged a good
+scholar and a man of sense: his name--for a man is nothing without a
+name--was Russell[1]. Little Charles did not at first relish Latin;
+he used sometimes to come from his Latin lessons with a very dull,
+stupified face, which gradually brightened into intelligence, after he
+had talked for a few minutes with his aunt. Mrs. Howard, though pleased
+to perceive that he was fond of her, had not the weakness to sacrifice
+his permanent advantage to her transient gratification. One evening
+Charles came running up-stairs to his aunt, who was at tea; several
+people happened to be present. "I have done with Mr. Russell, and my
+Latin, ma'am, thank goodness--now may I have the elephant and the camel,
+or the bear and her cubs, that you marked for me last night?"
+
+[Footnote 1: RUSSELL.--This name is chosen for that of a good tutor,
+because it was the name of Mr. Edgeworth's tutor, at Oxford: Mr. Russell
+was also tutor to the late Mr. Day. Both by Mr. Day and Mr. Edgeworth he
+was respected, esteemed, and beloved, in no common degree.]
+
+The company laughed at this speech of Charles: and a silly lady--for
+even Mrs. Howard could not make all her acquaintance wise--a silly lady
+whispered to Charles, "I've a notion, if you'd tell the truth, now, that
+you like the bear and her cubs a great deal better than you do Latin and
+Mr. Russell."
+
+"I like the bear a great deal better than I do Latin, to be sure," said
+the boy; "but as for Mr. Russell--why, I think," added he, encouraged by
+the lady's smiles, "I think I like the bear better than Mr. Russell."
+
+The lady laughed affectedly at this sally.
+
+"I am sure," continued Charles, fancying that every person present was
+delighted with his wit, "I am sure, at any rate, I like the learned pig
+fifty times better than Mr. Russell!"
+
+The judicious lady burst into a second fit of laughter. Mrs. Howard
+looked very grave. Charles broke from the lady's caresses, and going up
+to his aunt, timidly looking up in her face, said, "Am I a fool?"
+
+"You are but a child," said Mrs. Howard; and, turning away from him, she
+desired the servant, who waited at tea, to let Mr. Russell know that
+she desired the _honour_ of his company. Mrs. Holloway--for that was the
+silly lady's name--at the words, "honour of his company," resumed her
+gravity, but looked round to see what the rest of the company thought.
+
+"Give me leave, Mr. Russell," said Mrs. Howard, as soon as he came into
+the room, "to introduce you to a gentleman, for whose works I know you
+have a great esteem." The gentleman was a celebrated traveller, just
+returned from abroad, whose conversation was as much admired as his
+writings.
+
+The conversation now took a literary turn. The traveller being polite,
+as well as entertaining, drew out Mr. Russell's knowledge and abilities.
+Charles now looked up to his tutor with respect. Children have
+sufficient penetration to discover the opinions of others by their
+countenance and manner, and their sympathy is quickly influenced by the
+example of those around them. Mrs. Howard led the traveller to speak
+of what he had seen in different countries--of natural history--of
+the beaver, and the moose-deer, and the humming-bird, that is scarcely
+larger than a bumble bee; and the mocking-bird, that can imitate the
+notes of all other birds. Charles _niched_ himself into a corner of the
+sofa upon which the gentlemen were sitting, and grew very attentive. He
+was rather surprised to perceive that his tutor was as much entertained
+with the conversation as he was himself.
+
+"Pray, sir," said Mrs. Howard to the traveller, "is it true that the
+humming-bird is a passionate little animal? Is the story told by the
+author of the Farmer's Letters true?"
+
+"What story?" said Charles, eagerly.
+
+"Of a humming-bird that flew into a fury with a flower, and tore it to
+pieces, because it could not get the honey out of it all at once."
+
+"Oh, ma'am," said little Charles, peeping over his tutor's shoulders,
+"will you show me that? Have you got the book, _dear_ aunt?"
+
+"It is Mr. Russell's book," said his aunt.
+
+"Your book!" cried Charles: "what, and do you know all about animals,
+and those sorts of entertaining things, as well as Latin? And can
+you tell me, then, what I want very much to know, how they catch the
+humming-bird?"
+
+"They shoot it."
+
+"Shoot it! but what a large hole they must make in its body and
+beautiful feathers! I thought you said its whole body was no bigger than
+a bee--a humble bee."
+
+"They make no hole in its body--they shoot it without ruffling even its
+feathers."
+
+"How, how?" cried Charles, fastening upon his tutor, whom he now
+regarded no longer as a mere man of Latin.
+
+"They charge the gun with water," said Mr. Russell, "and the poor little
+humming-bird is stunned by the discharge."
+
+The conversation next turned upon the entertaining chapter on instinct,
+in Dr. Darwin's Zoonomia. Charles did not understand all that was said,
+for the gentlemen did not address themselves to him. He never listened
+to what he did not understand: but he was very quick at hearing whatever
+was within the limits of his comprehension. He heard of the tailor-bird,
+that uses its long bill as a needle, to sew the dead and the living
+leaf together, of which it makes its light nest, lined with feathers and
+gossamer: of the fish called the 'old soldier,' that looks out for the
+empty shell of some dead animal, and fits this armour upon himself: of
+the Jamaica spider, that makes himself a house under ground, with a door
+and hinges, which door the spider and all the members of his family take
+care to shut after them, whenever they go in and out.
+
+Little Charles, as he sat eagerly attentive in his corner of the sofa,
+heard of the trumpet of the common gnat[2], and of its proboscis, which
+serves at once for an awl, a saw, and a pump.
+
+[Footnote 2: St. Pierre, Etudes de la Nature.]
+
+"Are there any more such things," exclaimed Charles, "in these books?"
+
+"A great many," said Mr. Russell.
+
+"I'll read them all," cried Charles, starting up--"may I? may not I,
+aunt?"
+
+"Ask Mr. Russell," replied his aunt: "he who is obliged to give you the
+pain of learning what is tiresome, should have the pleasure of rewarding
+you with entertaining books. Whenever he asks me for Dr. Darwin and
+St. Pierre, you shall have them. We are both of one mind. We know that
+learning Latin is not the most amusing occupation in the world, but
+still it must be learned."
+
+"Why," said Charles modestly, "you don't understand Latin, aunt, do
+you?"
+
+"No," said Mrs. Howard, "but I am a woman, and it is not thought
+necessary that a woman should understand Latin; nor can I explain to
+you, at your age, why it is expected that a gentleman should; but here
+are several gentlemen present--ask them whether it be not necessary that
+a gentleman should."
+
+Charles gathered all the opinions, and especially that of the
+entertaining traveller.
+
+Mrs. Holloway, the silly lady, during that part of the conversation from
+which she might have acquired some knowledge, had retired to the further
+end of the room to a game at trictrac with an obsequious chaplain. Her
+game being finished, she came up to hear what the crowd round the sofa
+could be talking about; and hearing Charles ask the opinions of the
+gentlemen about the necessity of learning Latin, she nodded sagaciously
+at Mrs. Howard, and, by way of making up for former errors, said to
+Charles, in the most authoritative tone,--
+
+"Yes, I can assure you, Mr. Charles, I am quite of the gentlemen's
+opinion, and so is every body--and this is a point upon which I have
+some right to speak; for my Augustus, who is only a year and seven
+months older than you are, sir, is one of the best scholars of his age,
+I am told, in England. But then, to be sure, it was flogged into him
+well at first, at a public school, which, I understand, is the best way
+of making good scholars."
+
+"And the best way of making boys love literature?" said Mrs. Howard.
+
+"Certainly, certainly," said Mrs. Holloway, who mistook Mrs. Howard's
+tone of inquiry for a tone of assertion, a tone more familiar to
+her--"certainly, ma'am, I knew you would come round to my notions at
+last. I'm sure my Augustus must be fond of his Latin, for never in the
+vacations did I ever catch him with any English book in his hand!"
+
+"Poor boy!" said Charles, with unfeigned compassion, "And when, my
+dear Mrs. Howard," continued Mrs. Holloway, laying her hand upon Mrs.
+Howard's arm, with a yet untasted pinch of snuff between her fingers,
+"when will you send Mr. Charles to school?"
+
+"Oh, aunt, don't send me away from you--Oh, sir! Mr. Russell, try me--I
+will do my very, _very_ best, without having it flogged into me, to
+learn Latin--only try me."
+
+"Dear sir, I really beg your pardon," said Mrs. Holloway to Mr. Russell;
+"I absolutely only meant to support Mrs. Howard's opinion for the sweet
+boy's good; and I thought I saw you go out of the room, or somebody else
+went out, whilst I was at trictrac. But I'm convinced a private tutor
+may do wonders at the same time; and if my Augustus prejudiced me
+in favour of public education, you'll excuse a mother's partiality.
+Besides, I make it a rule never to interfere in the education of my
+boys. Mr. Holloway is answerable for them; and if he prefer public
+schools to a private tutor, you must be sensible, sir, it would be very
+wrong in me to set my poor judgment in opposition to Mr. Holloway's
+opinion."
+
+Mr. Russell bowed; for, when a lady claims a gentleman's assent to a
+series of inconsistent propositions, what answer can he make but--a bow?
+Mrs. Holloway's carriage was now at the door, and, without troubling
+herself any further about the comparative merits of public and private
+education, she departed.
+
+When Mrs. Howard was left alone with her nephew, she seized the moment,
+while his mind was yet warm, to make a lasting impression. Charles,
+instead of going to Buffon's account of the elephant, which he was very
+impatient to read, sat down resolutely to his Latin lesson. Mrs. Howard
+looked over his shoulder, and when he saw her smile of approbation, he
+said, "Then you won't send me away from you?"
+
+"Not unless you oblige me to do so," said his aunt: "I love to have you
+with me, and I will try for one year whether you have energy enough to
+learn what is disagreeable to you, without--"
+
+"Without its being flogged into me," said Charles: "you shall see."
+
+This boy had a great deal of energy and application. The Latin lessons
+were learned very perfectly; and as he did not spend above an hour a day
+at them, he was not disgusted with application. His general taste for
+literature, and his fund of knowledge, increased rapidly from year to
+year, and the activity of his mind promised continual improvement. His
+attachment to Mrs. Howard increased as he grew up, for she never claimed
+any gratitude from her pupil, or exacted from him any of those little
+observances, which women sometimes consider as essential proofs of
+affection. She knew that these minute attentions are particularly
+irksome to boys, and that they are by no means the natural expressions
+of their feelings. She had sufficient strength of mind to be secure in
+the possession of those qualities which merit esteem and love, and
+to believe that the child whom she had educated had a heart and
+understanding that must feel and appreciate her value.
+
+When Charles Howard was about thirteen, an event happened which changed
+his prospects in life. Mrs. Howard's large fortune was principally
+derived from an estate in the West Indies, which had been left to her by
+her grandfather. She did not particularly wish to be the proprietor of
+slaves; and from the time that she came to the management of her own
+affairs, she had been desirous to sell her West India property.
+Her agent represented to her that this could not be done without
+considerable loss. From year to year the business was delayed, till at
+length a gentleman, who had a plantation adjoining to hers, offered to
+purchase her estate. She was neither one of those ladies who, jealous
+of their free will, would rather _act for themselves_, that is to say,
+follow their own whims in matters of business, than consult men who
+possess the requisite information; nor was she so ignorant of business,
+or so indolent, as to be at the mercy of any designing agent or
+attorney. After consulting proper persons, and after exerting a just
+proportion of her own judgment, she concluded her bargain with the West
+Indian. Her plantation was sold to him, and all her property was shipped
+for her on board _The Lively Peggy_. Mr. Alderman Holloway, husband
+to the silly Mrs. Holloway, was one of the trustees appointed by her
+grandfather's will. The alderman, who was supposed to be very knowing
+in all worldly concerns, sanctioned the affair with his approbation. The
+lady was at this time rich; and Alderman Holloway applauded her humanity
+in having stipulated for the liberty and _provision grounds_ of some old
+negroes upon her plantation; he even suggested to his son Augustus, that
+this would make a very pretty, proper subject for a copy of verses, to
+be addressed to Mrs. Howard. The verses were written in elegant Latin;
+and the young gentleman was proceeding with some difficulty in his
+English translation of them, when they were suppressed by parental
+authority. The alderman changed his opinion as to the propriety of the
+argument of this poem: the reasons which worked upon his mind were never
+distinctly expressed; they may, however, be deduced from the perusal of
+the following letter:--
+
+"TO MRS. FRANCES HOWARD.
+
+"DEAR MADAM,
+
+"Sorry am I to be under the disagreeable necessity of communicating
+to you thus abruptly, the melancholy news of the loss of 'The Lively
+Peggy,' with your valuable consignment on board, viz. sundry puncheons
+of rum, and hogsheads of sugar, in which commodities (as usual) your
+agent received the purchase-money of your late fine West India estate.
+I must not, however reluctantly, omit to mention the casket of your
+grandmother's jewels, which I now regret was sent by this opportunity.
+'Tis an additional loss--some thousands, I apprehend.
+
+"The captain of the vessel I have just seen, who was set on shore,
+on the 15th ultimo, on the coast of Wales: his mate mutinied, and, in
+conspiracy with the crew, have run away with the vessel.
+
+"I have only to add, that Mrs. Holloway and my daughter Angelina
+sincerely unite with me in compliments and condolence; and I shall be
+happy if I can be of any service in the settlement of your affairs.
+
+"Mrs Holloway desires me to say, she would do herself the honour of
+waiting upon you to-morrow, but is setting out for Margate.
+
+"I am, dear madam,
+
+"Your most obedient and humble servant,
+
+"A. T. Holloway.
+
+"P.S. Your agent is much to blame for neglecting to insure."
+
+Mrs. Howard, as soon as she had perused this epistle, gave it to her
+nephew, who was reading in the room with her when she received it. He
+showed more emotion on reading it than she had done. The coldness of
+the alderman's letter seemed to strike the boy more than the loss of a
+fortune--"And this is a friend!" he exclaimed with indignation.
+
+"No, my love," said Mrs. Howard, with a calm smile, "I never thought Mr.
+Holloway any thing more than a common acquaintance: I hope--I am sure I
+have chosen _my friends_ better."
+
+Charles fixed an eager, inquiring eye upon his aunt, which seemed to
+say, "Did you mean to call me one of your friends?" and then he grew
+very thoughtful.
+
+"My dear Charles," said the aunt, after nearly a quarter of an hour's
+silence, "may I know what you have been thinking of all this time?"
+
+"Thinking of, ma'am!" said Charles, starting from his reverie--"of a
+great many things--of all you have done for me--of--of what I could
+do--I don't mean now; for I know I am a child, and can do nothing--I
+don't mean _nothing_.--I shall soon be a man, and then I can be a
+physician, or a lawyer, or something.--Mr. Russell told me the other
+day, that if I applied myself, I might be whatever I pleased. What would
+_you_ wish me to be, ma'am?--because that's what I will be--if I can."
+
+"Then I wish you to be what you are."
+
+"O madam," said Charles, with a look of great mortification, "but that's
+nothing. Won't you make me of some use to you?--But I beg your pardon,
+I know you can't think about me just now. Good night," said he, and
+hurried out of the room.
+
+The news of the loss of the Lively Peggy, with all the particulars
+mentioned in Alderman Holloway's letter, appeared in the next day's
+newspapers, and in the succeeding paper appeared an advertisement of
+Mrs. Howard's house in Portman-square, of her plate, china, furniture,
+books, &c.--She had never in affluence disdained economy. She had no
+debts; not a single tradesman was a sufferer by her loss. She had always
+lived within her annual income; and though her generous disposition had
+prevented her from hoarding money, she had a small sum in the funds,
+which she had prudently reserved for any unforeseen exigence. She had
+also a few diamonds, which had been her mother's, which Mr. Carat, the
+jeweller, who had new set them, was very willing to purchase. He waited
+upon Mrs. Howard, in Portman-square, to complete the bargain.
+
+The want of sensibility which Charles showed when his aunt was parting
+with her jewels to Mr. Carat, would have infallibly ruined him in the
+opinion of most ladies. He took the trinkets up, one by one, without
+ceremony, and examined them, asking his aunt and the jeweller questions
+about the use and value of diamonds--about the working of the mines of
+Golconda--about the shining of diamonds in the dark, observed by the
+children of Cogi Hassan, the rope-maker, in the Arabian Tales--about the
+experiment of Francis the First upon _melting_ of diamonds and rubies.
+Mr. Carat was a Jew, and, though extremely cunning, profoundly ignorant.
+
+"Dat king wash very grand fool, beg his majesty's pardon," said the Jew,
+with a shrewd smile; "but kings know better nowadays. Heaven bless dere
+majesties."
+
+Charles had a great mind to vindicate the philosophic fame of Francis
+the First, but a new idea suddenly started into his head.
+
+"My dearest aunt," cried he, stopping her hand as she was giving her
+diamond ear-rings to Mr. Carat--"stay, my dearest aunt, one instant,
+till I have seen whether this is a good day for selling diamonds."
+
+"O my dear young gentleman, no day in de Jewish calendar more proper for
+de purchase," said the Jew.
+
+"For the purchase! yes," said Charles; "but for the sale?"
+
+"My love," said his aunt, "surely you are not so foolish as to think
+there are lucky and unlucky days."
+
+"No, I don't mean any thing about lucky and unlucky days," said Charles,
+running up to consult the barometer; "but what I mean is not foolish
+indeed: in some book I've read that the dealers in diamonds buy them
+when the air is light, and sell them when it is heavy, if they can;
+because their scales are so nice that they vary with the change in the
+atmosphere. Perhaps I may not remember exactly the words, but that's the
+sense, I know. I'll look for the words; I know whereabout to find them."
+He jumped upon a chair, to get down the book.
+
+"But, Master Charles," said the Jew, with a show of deference, "I will
+not pretend to make a bargain with you--I see you know a great deal more
+than I of these traffics."
+
+To this flattery Charles made no answer, but continued looking for the
+passage he wanted in his book. Whilst he was turning over the leaves,
+a gentleman, a friend of Mrs. Howard, who had promised her to meet Mr.
+Carat, came in. He was the gentleman formerly mentioned by the name of
+_the traveller_: he was a good judge of diamonds, and, what is better,
+he was a good judge of the human heart and understanding. He was much
+pleased with Charles's ready recollection of the little knowledge he
+possessed, with his eagerness to make that knowledge of use to his aunt,
+and more with his perfect simplicity and integrity; for Charles, after a
+moment's thought, turned to the Jew and said,--
+
+"But the day that is good for my aunt must be bad for you. The buyers
+and sellers should each have fair play. Mr. Carat, your weights should
+be diamonds, and then the changes in the weight of the air would not
+signify one way or the other.[3]"
+
+[Footnote 3: This observation was literally made by a boy of ten years
+of age.]
+
+Mr. Carat smiled at this speech, but, suppressing his contempt for the
+young gentleman, only observed, that he should most certainly follow Mr.
+Charles's advice, whenever he _wash_ rich enough to have diamonds for
+weights.
+
+The traveller drew from his pocket a small book, took a pen, and wrote
+in the title-page of it, _For one who will make a good use of it_; and,
+with Mrs. Howard's permission, he gave the book to her nephew.
+
+"I do not believe," said the gentleman, "that there is at present
+another copy in England: I have just got this from France by a private
+hand."
+
+The sale of his aunt's books appeared to Charles a much more serious
+affair than the parting with her diamonds. He understood something of
+the value of books, and he took a sorrowful leave of many which he
+had read, and of many more which he had intended to read. Mrs. Howard
+selected a few for her own use, and she allowed her nephew to select as
+many for himself as she had done. He observed that there was a beautiful
+edition of Shakspeare, which he knew his aunt liked particularly,
+but which she did not keep, reserving instead of it Smith's Wealth of
+Nations, which would in a few years, she said, be very useful to him.
+He immediately offered his favourite Etudes de la Nature to redeem the
+Shakspeare; but Mrs. Howard would not accept of it, because she justly
+observed, that she could read Shakspeare _almost_ as well without its
+being in such a beautiful binding. Her readiness to part with all
+the luxuries to which she had been for many years accustomed, and the
+freedom and openness with which she spoke of all her affairs to her
+nephew, made a great impression upon his mind.
+
+Those are mistaken who think that young people cannot be interested in
+such things: if no mystery be made of the technical parts of business,
+young people easily learn them, and they early take an interest in the
+affairs of their parents, instead of learning to separate their own
+views from those of their friends. Charles, young as he was, at this
+time, was employed by his aunt frequently to copy, and sometimes to
+write, letters of business for her. He drew out a careful inventory of
+all the furniture before it was disposed of; he took lists of all
+the books and papers: and at this work, however tiresome, he was
+indefatigable, because he was encouraged by the hope of being useful.
+This ambition had been early excited in his mind.
+
+When Mrs. Howard had settled her affairs, she took a small neat house
+near Westminster school[4], for the purpose of a boarding-house for some
+of the Westminster boys. This plan she preferred, because it secured an
+independent means of support, and at the same time enabled her, in some
+measure, to assist in her nephew's education, and to enjoy his company.
+She was no longer able to afford a sufficient salary to a well-informed
+private tutor; therefore she determined to send Charles to Westminster
+school; and, as he would board with her, she hoped to unite by this
+scheme, as much as possible, the advantages of a private and of a public
+education. Mr. Russell desired still to have the care of Mrs. Howard's
+nephew; he determined to offer himself as a tutor at Westminster school;
+and, as his acquirements were well known to the literary world, he was
+received with eagerness.
+
+[Footnote 4: See the account of Mrs. C. Ponten, in Gibbon's Life.]
+
+"My dear boy," said Mrs. Howard to her nephew, when he first went to
+Westminster, "I shall not trouble you with a long chapter of advice: do
+you remember that answer of the oracle, which seemed to strike you so
+much the other day, when you were reading the life of Cicero?"
+
+"Yes," said Charles, "I recollect it--I shall never forget it. When
+Cicero asked how he should arrive at the height of glory, the oracle
+answered, 'By making his own genius, and not the opinion of the people,
+the guide of his life.'"
+
+"Well," said Mrs. Howard, smiling, "if I were your oracle, and you were
+to put the same question to me, I think I should make you nearly the
+same answer; except that I should change the word genius into good
+sense; and, instead of _the people_, I should say _the world_, which,
+in general, I think, means all the _silly people_ of one's acquaintance.
+Farewell: now go to the Westminster world."
+
+Westminster was quite a new world to young Howard. The bustle and noise
+at first astonished his senses, and almost confounded his understanding;
+but he soon grew accustomed to the din, and familiarized to the sight
+of numbers. At first, he thought himself much inferior to all his
+companions, because practice had given them the power of doing many
+things with ease, which to him appeared difficult, merely because he had
+not been used to them. In all their games and plays, either of address
+or force, he found himself foiled. In a readiness of repartee, and
+a certain ease and volubility of conversation, he perceived his
+deficiency; and though he frequently was conscious that his ideas were
+more just, and his arguments better, than those of his companions, yet
+he could not at first bring out his ideas to advantage, or manage his
+arguments so as to stand his ground against the mixed raillery and
+sophistry of his school fellows. He had not yet the tone of his new
+society, and he was as much at a loss as a traveller in a foreign
+country, before he understands the language of a people who are
+vociferating round about him. As fast, however, as he learned to
+translate the language of his companions into his own, he discovered
+that there was not so much meaning in their expressions as he had been
+inclined to imagine whilst they had remained unintelligible: but he was
+good-humoured and good-natured, so that, upon the whole, he was much
+liked; and even his inferiority, in many little trials of skill, was,
+perhaps, in his favour. He laughed with those that laughed at him, let
+them triumph in his awkwardness, but still persisted in new trials, till
+at last, to the great surprise of the spectators, he succeeded.
+
+The art of boxing cost him more than all the rest; but as he was neither
+deficient in courage of mind nor activity of body, he did not despair
+of acquiring the _necessary_ skill in this noble science--necessary, we
+say, for Charles had not been a week at Westminster before he was made
+sensible of the necessity of practising this art in his own defence. He
+had yet a stronger motive; he found it necessary for the defence of one
+who looked up to him for protection.
+
+There was at this time at Westminster, a little boy of the name of
+Oliver, a Creole, lively, intelligent, open-hearted, and affectionate
+in the extreme, but rather passionate in his temper, and adverse to
+application. His _literary_ education had been strangely neglected
+before he came to school, so that his ignorance of the common
+rudiments of spelling, reading, grammar, and arithmetic, made him the
+laughing-stock of the school. The poor boy felt inexpressible shame and
+anguish; his cheek burned with blushes, when every day, in the public
+class, he was ridiculed and disgraced; but his dark complexion, perhaps,
+prevented those blushes from being noticed by his companions, otherwise
+they certainly would have suppressed, or would have endeavoured to
+repress, some of their insulting peals of laughter. He suffered no
+complaint or tear to escape him in public; but his book was sometimes
+blistered with the tears that fell when nobody saw them: what was worse
+than all the rest he found insurmountable difficulties, at every step,
+in his grammar. He was unwilling to apply to any of his more learned
+companions for explanations or assistance. He began to sink into despair
+of his own abilities, and to imagine that he must for ever remain, what
+indeed he was every day called, a dunce. He was usually flogged three
+times a week. Day after day brought no relief, either to his bodily or
+mental sufferings: at length his honest pride yielded, and he applied
+to one of the elder scholars for help. The boy to whom he applied was
+Augustus Holloway, Alderman Holloway's son, who was acknowledged to be
+one of the best Latin scholars at Westminster. He readily helped Oliver
+in his exercises, but he made him pay most severely for this assistance,
+by the most tyrannical usage; and, in all his tyranny, he thought
+himself fully justifiable, because little Oliver, beside his other
+misfortunes, had the misfortune to be a fag.
+
+There may be--though many schoolboys will, perhaps, think it scarcely
+possible--there may be, in the compass of the civilised world, some
+persons so barbarously ignorant as not to know what is meant by the
+term fag. To these it may be necessary to explain, that at some English
+schools it is the custom, that all little boys, when they first go to
+school, should be under the dominion of the elder boys. These little
+boys are called fags, and are forced to wait upon and obey their
+master-companions. Their duties vary in different schools. I have heard
+of its being customary in some places, to make use of a fag regularly in
+the depth of winter instead of a warming-pan, and to send the shivering
+urchin through ten or twenty beds successively to take off the chill of
+cold for their luxurious masters. They are expected, in most schools, to
+run of all the elder boys' errands, to be ready at their call, and to
+do all their high behests. They must never complain of being tired,
+or their complaints will, at least, never be regarded, because, as the
+etymology of the word implies, it is their business to be tired. The
+substantive _fag_ is not to be found in Dr. Johnson's Dictionary; but
+the verb to fag is there a verb neuter, from fatigo, Latin, and is there
+explained to mean, "to grow weary, to faint with weariness." This is all
+the satisfaction we can, after the most diligent research, afford the
+curious and learned reader upon the subject of _fags_ in general.
+
+In particular, Mr. Augustus Holloway took great delight in teasing his
+fag, little Oliver. One day it happened that young Howard and Holloway
+were playing at nine-pins together, and little Oliver was within a
+few yards of them, sitting under a tree, with a book upon his knees,
+anxiously trying to make out his lesson. Holloway, whenever the
+nine-pins were thrown down, called to Oliver, and made him come from his
+book and set them up again: this he repeatedly did, in spite of Howard's
+remonstrances, who always offered to set up the nine-pins, and who said
+it teased the poor little fellow to call him every minute from what he
+was about.
+
+"Yes," said Holloway, "I know it teases him--that I see plain enough,
+by his running so fast back to his _form_, like a hare--there he is,
+_squatting_ again: halloo! halloo! come, start again here," cried
+Holloway; "you have not done yet: bring me the bowl, halloo!"
+
+Howard did not at all enjoy the diversion of hunting the poor boy about
+in this manner, and he said, with some indignation,
+
+"How is it possible, Holloway, that the boy can get his lesson, if you
+interrupt him every instant?"
+
+"Pooh! what signifies his foolish lesson?"
+
+"It signifies a great deal to him," replied Howard: "you know what he
+suffered this morning because he had not learned it."
+
+"Suffered! why, what did he suffer?" said Holloway, upon whose memory
+the sufferings of others made no very deep impression. "Oh, ay,
+true--you mean he was flogged: more shame for him!--why did not he mind
+and get his lesson better?"
+
+"I had not time to understand it rightly," said Oliver, with a deep
+sigh; "and I don't think I shall have time to-day either."
+
+"More shame for you," repeated Holloway: "I'll lay any bet on earth, I
+get all you have to get in three minutes."
+
+"Ah, you, to be sure," said Oliver, in a tone of great humiliation; "but
+then you know what a difference there is between you and me."
+
+Holloway misunderstood him; and, thinking he meant to allude to the
+difference in their age, instead of the difference of their abilities,
+answered sharply,
+
+"When I was your age, do you think I was such a dunce as you are, pray?"
+
+"No, that I am sure you never were," said Oliver; "but perhaps you had
+some good father or mother, or somebody, who taught you a little before
+you came to school."
+
+"I don't remember any thing about that," replied Holloway; "I don't know
+who was so good as to teach me, but I know I was so good as to learn
+fast enough, which is a goodness, I've a notion, some folks will never
+have to boast of--so trot, and fetch the bowl for me, do you hear, and
+set up the nine-pins. You've sense enough to do that, have not you? and
+as for your lesson, I'll drive that into your head by and by, if I can,"
+added he, rapping with his knuckles upon the little boy's head.
+
+"As to my lesson," said the boy, putting aside his head from the
+insulting knuckles, "I had rather try and make it out by myself, if I
+can."
+
+"If you can!" repeated Holloway, sneering; "but we all know you can't."
+
+"Why can't he, Holloway?" exclaimed Howard, with a raised voice, for he
+was no longer master of his indignation.
+
+"Why can't he?" repeated Holloway, looking round upon Howard, with
+a mixture of surprise and insolence. "You must answer that question
+yourself, Howard: I say he can't."
+
+"And I say he can, and he shall," replied Howard; "and he _shall_ have
+time to learn: he's willing, and, I'll answer for it, able to learn;
+and he shall not be called a dunce; and he shall have time; and he shall
+have justice."
+
+"Shall! shall! shall!" retorted Holloway, vociferating with a passion of
+a different sort from Howard's. "Pray, sir, who allowed you to say
+shall to me? and how dare you to talk in this _here_ style to me about
+justice?--and what business have you, I should be glad to know, to
+interfere between me and my fag? What right have you to him, or his
+time either? And if I choose to call him a dunce forty times a day, what
+then? he is a dunce, and he will be a dunce to the end of his days, I
+say, and who is there thinks proper to contradict me?"
+
+"I," said Howard, firmly; "and I'll do more than contradict you--I'll
+prove that you are mistaken. Oliver, bring your book to me."
+
+"Oliver, stir at your peril!" cried Holloway, clinching his fist with
+a menacing gesture: "nobody shall give any help to my fag but myself,
+sir," added he to Howard.
+
+"I am not going to help him, I am only going to prove to him that he may
+do it without your help," said Howard.
+
+The little boy sprang forward, at these words, for his book; but his
+tormentor caught hold of him, and pulling him back, said, "He's my fag!
+do you recollect, sir, he's my fag?"
+
+"Fag or no fag," cried Howard, "you shall not make a slave of him."
+
+"I will! I shall! I will!" cried Holloway, worked up to the height
+of tyrannical fury: "I will make a slave of him, if I choose it-a
+negro-slave, if I please!"
+
+At the sound of negro-slave, the little Creole burst into tears. Howard
+sprang forward to free him from his tyrant's grasp: Holloway struck
+Howard a furious blow, which made him stagger backwards.
+
+"Ay," said Holloway, "learn to stand your ground, and fight, before you
+meddle with me, I advise you."
+
+Holloway was an experienced pugilist, and he knew that Howard was not;
+but before his defiance had escaped his lips, he felt his blow returned,
+and a battle ensued. Howard fought with all his _soul_; but the _body_
+has something to do, as well as the soul, in the art of boxing, and his
+body was not yet a match for his adversary's. After receiving more blows
+than Holloway, perhaps, could have borne, Howard was brought to the
+ground.
+
+"Beg my pardon, and promise never to interfere between me and my fag any
+more," said Holloway, standing over him triumphant: "ask my pardon."
+
+"Never," said the fallen hero: "I'll fight you again, in the same cause,
+whenever you please; I can't have a better;" and he struggled to rise.
+
+Several boys had, by this time, gathered round the combatants, and
+many admired the fortitude and spirit of the vanquished, though it
+is extremely difficult to boys, if not to men, to sympathize with the
+beaten. Every body called out that Howard had had enough for that night;
+and though he was willing to have renewed the battle, his adversary was
+withheld by the omnipotence of public opinion. As to the cause of the
+combat, some few inquired into its merits, but many more were content
+with seeing the fray, and with hearing, vaguely, that it began about
+Howard's having interfered with Holloway's fag in an impertinent manner.
+
+Howard's face was so much disfigured, and his clothes were so much
+stained with blood, that he did not wish to present himself such a
+deplorable spectacle before his aunt; besides, no man likes to be seen,
+especially by a woman, immediately after he has been beaten; therefore,
+he went directly to bed as soon as he got home, but desired that one
+of his companions, who boarded at Mrs. Howard's, would, if his aunt
+inquired for him at supper, tell her "that he had been beaten in a
+boxing match, but hoped to be more expert after another lesson or two."
+This lady did not show her tenderness to her nephew by wailing over his
+disaster: on the contrary, she was pleased to hear that he had fought in
+so good a cause.
+
+The next morning, as soon as Howard went to school, he saw little Oliver
+watching eagerly for him.
+
+"Mr. Howard--Charles," said he, catching hold of him, "I've one word to
+say: let him call me dunce, or slave, or negro, or what he will,
+don't you mind any more about me--I can't bear to see it," said the
+affectionate child: "I'd rather have the blows myself, only I know I
+could not bear them as you did."
+
+Oliver turned aside his head, and Howard, in a playful voice, said,
+"Why, my little Oliver, I did not think you were such a coward: you must
+not make a coward of me."
+
+No sooner did the boys go out to play in the evening, than Howard called
+to Oliver, in Holloway's hearing, and said, "If you want any assistance
+from me, remember, I'm ready."
+
+"You may be ready, but you are not able," cried Holloway, "to give him
+any assistance--therefore, you'd better be quiet: remember last night."
+
+"I do remember it perfectly," said Howard, calmly.
+
+"And do you want any more?--Come, then, I'll tell you what, I'll box
+with you every day, if you please, and when you have conquered me, you
+shall have my fag all to yourself, if you please; but, till then, you
+shall have nothing to do with him."
+
+"I take you at your word," said Howard, and a second battle began. As
+we do not delight in fields of battle, or hope to excel, like Homer, in
+describing variety of wounds, we shall content ourselves with relating,
+that after five pitched battles, in which Oliver's champion received
+bruises of all shapes and sizes, and of every shade of black, blue,
+green, and yellow, his unconquered spirit still maintained the justice
+of his cause, and with as firm a voice as at first he challenged his
+constantly victorious antagonist to a sixth combat.
+
+"I thought you had learned by this time," said the successful pugilist,
+"that Augustus Holloway is not to be conquered by one of _woman breed_."
+To this taunt Howard made no reply; but whether it urged him to superior
+exertion, or whether the dear-bought experience of the five preceding
+days had taught him all the caution that experience only can teach, we
+cannot determine; but, to the surprise of all the spectators, and to
+the lively joy of Oliver, the redoubted Holloway was brought, after an
+obstinate struggle, fairly to the ground. Every body sympathized with
+the generous victor, who immediately assisted his fallen adversary
+to rise, and offered his hand in token of reconciliation. Augustus
+Holloway, stunned by his fall, and more by his defeat, returned from
+the field of battle as fast as the crowd would let him, who stopped
+him continually with their impertinent astonishment and curiosity; for
+though the boasted unconquerable hero had pretty evidently received a
+black eye, not one person would believe it without looking close in his
+face; and many would not trust the information of their own senses,
+but pressed to hear the news confirmed by the reluctant lips of the
+unfortunate Augustus. In the meantime, little Oliver, a fag no longer,
+exulting in his liberty, clapped his joyful hands, sang, and capered
+round his deliverer.--"And now," said he, fixing his grateful,
+affectionate eyes upon Howard, "you will suffer no more for me; and if
+you'll let me, I'll be your fag. Do, will you? pray let me! I'll run of
+your errands before you can say one, two, three, and away: only whistle
+for me," said he, whistling, "and I'll hear you, wherever I am. If you
+only hold up your finger when you want me, I'm sure I shall see it;
+and I'll always set up your nine-pins, and fly for your ball, let me be
+doing what I will. May I be your fag?"
+
+"Be my _friend_!" said Howard, taking Oliver in his arms, with emotion
+which prevented him from articulating any other words. The word friend
+went to the little Creole's heart, and he clung to Howard in silence.
+To complete his happiness, little Oliver this day obtained permission
+to board at Mrs. Howard's, so that he was now constantly to be with his
+protector. Howard's friendship was not merely the sudden enthusiasm of
+a moment; it was the steady persevering choice of a manly mind, not the
+caprice of a school-boy. Regularly, every evening, Oliver brought his
+books to his friend, who never was too busy to attend to him. Oliver was
+delighted to find that he understood Howard's manner of explaining: his
+own opinion of himself rose with the opinion which he saw his instructor
+had of his abilities. He was convinced that he was not doomed to be a
+dunce for life; his ambition was rekindled; his industry was encouraged
+by hope, and rewarded by success. He no longer expected daily
+punishment, and that worst of all punishments, disgrace. His heart was
+light, his spirits rose, his countenance brightened with intelligence,
+and resumed its natural vivacity: to his masters and his companions
+he appeared a new creature. "What has inspired you?" said one of his
+masters to him one day, surprised at the rapid development of his
+understanding--"what has inspired you?"
+
+"My good genius," said the little boy, pointing to Howard. Howard had
+some merit in giving up a good deal of his time to Oliver, because he
+knew the value of time, and he had not quite so much as he wished
+for himself. The day was always too short for him; every moment was
+employed; his active mind went from one thing to another as if it did
+not know the possibility of idleness, and as if he had no idea of any
+recreation but in a change of employment. Not that he was always poring
+over books, but his mind was active, let him be about what he would;
+and, as his exertions were always voluntary, there was not that
+opposition in his opinion between the ideas of play and work, which
+exists so strongly in the imaginations of those school-boys who
+are driven to their tasks by fear, and who escape from them to that
+delicious exercise of their free-will which they call play.
+
+     "Constraint, that sweetens liberty,"
+
+often gives a false value to its charms, or rather a false idea to its
+nature. Idleness, ennui, noise, mischief, riot, and a nameless train of
+mistaken notions of pleasure, are often classed, in a young man's mind,
+under the general head of _liberty_.
+
+Mr. Augustus Holloway, who is necessarily recalled to our notice, when
+we want to personify an ill-educated young man, was, in the strictest
+sense of the word, a school-boy--a clever school-boy--a good scholar--a
+good historian: he wrote a good hand--read with fluency--declaimed at a
+public exhibition of Westminster orators with no bad grace and emphasis,
+and had always extempore words, if not extempore sense, at command. But
+still he was but a school-boy. His father thought him a man, and more
+than a man. Alderman Holloway prophesied to his friends that his son
+Augustus would be one of the first orators in England. He was in a hurry
+to have him ready to enter college, and had a borough secure for him at
+the proper age. The proper age, he regretted, that parliament had fixed
+to twenty-one; for the alderman was impatient to introduce his young
+statesman to the house, especially as he saw honours, perhaps a title,
+in the distant perspective of his son's advancement.
+
+Whilst this vision occupied the father's imagination, a vision of
+another sort played upon the juvenile fancy of his son--a vision of
+a gig; for, though Augustus was but a school-boy, he had very manly
+ideas--if those ideas be manly which most young men have. Lord Rawson,
+the son of the Earl of Marryborough, had lately appeared to Augustus in
+a gig. The young Lord Rawson had lately been a school-boy at Westminster
+like Augustus: he was now master of himself and three horses at College.
+Alderman Holloway had lent the Earl of Marryborough certain monies, the
+interest of which the earl scrupulously paid in civility. The alderman
+valued himself upon being a shrewd man; he looked to one of the earl's
+boroughs as a security for his principal, and, from long-sighted
+political motives, encouraged an intimacy between the young nobleman and
+his son. It was one of those useful friendships, one of those fortunate
+connexions, which some parents consider as the peculiar advantage of a
+public school. Lord Rawson's example already powerfully operated upon
+his young friend's mind, and this intimacy was most likely to have a
+decisive influence upon the future destiny of Augustus. Augustus was the
+son of an alderman. Lord Rawson was two years older than Holloway--had
+left school--had been at college--had driven both a curricle and a
+barouche, and had gone through all the gradations of coachmanship--was a
+man, and had _seen the world_. How many things to excite the ambition
+of a schoolboy! Augustus was impatient for the moment when he might
+"be what he admired." The drudgery of Westminster, the confinement,
+the ignominious appellation of _a boy_, were all insupportable to this
+_young man_. He had obtained from his father a promise, that he should
+leave school in a few months; but these months appeared to him an age.
+It was rather a misfortune to Holloway that he was so far advanced in
+his Latin and Greek studies, for he had the less to do at school; his
+school business quickly despatched, his time hung upon his hands. He
+never thought of literature as an amusement for his leisure hours;
+he had no idea of improving himself further in general science and
+knowledge. He was told that his education was _nearly_ at an end; he
+believed it was _quite_ finished, and he was glad of it, and glad it
+was so well over. In the idle time that hung upon his hands, during this
+intermediate state at Westminster, he heartily regretted that he
+could not commence his manly career by learning to _drive_--to drive
+a curricle. Lord Rawson had carried him down to the country, the last
+summer vacation, in his _dog-cart_, driven _randem-tandem_. The reins
+had touched his fingers. The whip had been committed to his hand, and
+he longed for a repetition of these pleasures. From the windows of the
+house in Westminster, where he boarded, Holloway at every idle moment
+lolled, to enjoy a view of every carriage, and of every coachman that
+passed.
+
+Mr. Supine, Mr. Holloway's tutor, used, at these leisure moments, to
+employ himself with practising upon the German flute, and was not sorry
+to be relieved from his pupil's conversation. Sometimes it was provoking
+to the amateur in music to be interrupted by the exclamations of his
+pupil; but he kept his eyes steadily upon his music-book, and contented
+himself with recommending a difficult passage, when Mr. Holloway's
+raptures about horses, and coachmanship, and driving well in hand,
+offended his musical ear. Mr. Supine was, both from nature and fashion,
+indolent; the trouble of reproving or of guiding his pupil was too
+much for him; besides, he was sensible that the task of watching,
+contradicting, and thwarting a young gentleman, at Mr. Holloway's time
+of life, would have been productive of the most disagreeable scenes
+of altercation, and could possibly have no effect upon the gentleman's
+character, which he presumed was perfectly well formed at this time. Mr.
+and Mrs. Holloway were well satisfied with his improvements. Mr. Supine
+was on the best terms imaginable with the whole family, and thought it
+his business to keep himself _well_ with his pupil; especially as he had
+some secret hope that, through Mr. Holloway's interest with Lord Rawson,
+and through Lord Rawson's influence with a young nobleman, who was just
+going abroad, he might be invited as a travelling companion in a tour
+upon the continent. His taste for music and painting had almost raised
+him to the rank of a connoisseur: an amateur he modestly professed
+himself, and he was frequently stretched, in elegant ease, upon a sofa,
+already in reverie in Italy, whilst his pupil was conversing out of the
+window, in no very elegant dialect, with the driver of a stagecoach
+in the neighbourhood. Young Holloway was almost as familiar with this
+coachman as with his father's groom, who, during his visits at home,
+supplied the place of Mr. Supine, in advancing his education. The
+stage-coachman so effectually wrought upon the ambition of Augustus,
+that his desire to learn _to drive_ became uncontrollable. The coachman,
+partly by entreaties, and partly by the mute eloquence of a crown, was
+prevailed upon to promise, that, if Holloway could manage it without his
+tutor's knowledge, he should ascend to the honours of the box, and at
+least have the satisfaction of _seeing some good driving_.
+
+Mr. Supine was soon invited to a private concert, at which Mrs. Holloway
+was expected, and at which her daughter, Miss Angelina Holloway, was
+engaged to perform. Mr. Supine's judicious applause of this young lady's
+execution was one of his greatest recommendations to the whole family,
+at least to the female part of it; he could not, therefore, decline an
+invitation to this concert. Holloway complained of a sore throat, and
+desired to be excused from accompanying his tutor, adding, with his
+usual politeness, that "music was the greatest bore in nature, and
+especially Angelina's music." For the night of the concert Holloway had
+arranged his plan with the stage-coachman. Mr. Supine dressed, and
+then practised upon the German flute, till towards nine o'clock in the
+evening. Holloway heard the stage-coach rattling through the street,
+whilst his tutor was yet in the middle of a long concerto: the coachman
+was to stop at the public-house, about ten doors off, to take up parcels
+and passengers, and there he was to wait for Holloway; but he had given
+him notice that he could not wait many minutes.
+
+"You may practise the rest without book, in the chair, as you are going
+to ---- street, _quite at your ease_, Mr. Supine," said Holloway to his
+tutor.
+
+"Faith, so I can, and I'll adopt your idea, for it's quite a novel
+thing, and may take, if the fellows will only carry one steady. Good
+night: I'll mention your sore throat _properly_ to Mrs. Holloway."
+
+No sooner were the tutor and his German flute safely raised upon the
+chairmen's shoulders, than his pupil recovered from his sore throat,
+ran down to the place where the stage was waiting, seized the
+stage-coachman's down-stretched hand, sprang up, and seated himself
+triumphantly upon the coach-box.
+
+"Never saw a cleverer fellow," said the coachman: "now we are off."
+
+"Give me the reins, then," said Holloway.
+
+"Not till we are out o'town," said the coachman: "when we get off the
+stones, we'll see a little of your driving."
+
+When they got on the turnpike road, Holloway impatiently seized the
+reins, and was as much gratified by this coachman's praises of his
+driving as ever he had been by the applauses he had received for his
+Latin verses. A taste for vulgar praise is the most dangerous taste a
+young man can have; it not only leads him into vulgar company, but
+it puts him entirely in the power of his companions, whoever they may
+happen to be. Augustus Holloway, seated beside a coachman, became, to
+all intents and purposes, a coachman himself; he caught, and gloried in
+catching, all his companion's slang, and with his language caught all
+his ideas. The coachman talked with rapture of some young gentleman's
+horses which he had lately seen; and said that, if he was a gentleman,
+there was nothing he should pride himself so much upon as his horses.
+Holloway, as he was a gentleman, determined to have the finest horses
+that could be had for money, as soon as he should become his own master.
+
+"And then," continued the coachman, "if I was a gentleman born, I'd
+never be shabby in the matters of wages and perquisites to them that
+be to look after my horses, seeing that horses can't be properly looked
+after for nothing."
+
+"Certainly not," agreed the young gentleman:--"my friend, lord Rawson, I
+know, has a prodigious smart groom, and so will I, all in good time."
+
+"To be sure," said the coachman; "but it was not in regard to grooms I
+was meaning, so much as in regard to a coachman, which, I take it, is
+one of the first persons to be considered in a really grand family,
+seeing how great a trust is placed in him--(mind, sir, if you please,
+the turn at the corner, it's rather sharp)--seeing how great a trust is
+placed in him, as I was observing, a good coachman is worth his weight
+in gold."
+
+Holloway had not leisure to weigh the solidity of this observation, for
+the conversation was now interrupted by the sound of a postchaise, which
+drove rapidly by.
+
+"The job and four!" exclaimed the coachman, with as many oaths "as the
+occasion required."
+
+"Why did you let it pass us?" And with enthusiasm which forgot all
+ceremony, he snatched the whip from his young companion, and, seizing
+the reins, drove at a furious rate. One of the chaise postilions luckily
+dropped his whip. They passed the job and four; and the coachman, having
+redeemed his honour, resigned once more the reins to Holloway, upon his
+promising not to let the job and four get a head of them. The postilions
+were not without ambition: the men called to each other, and to their
+horses; the horses caught some portion of their masters' spirit, and
+began to gain upon the coach. The passengers in the coach put out their
+heads, and female voices screamed in vain. All these terrors increased
+the sport; till at length, at a narrow part of the road, the rival
+coachman and postilions hazarded every thing for precedency. Holloway
+was desperate in proportion to his ignorance. The coachman attempted
+to snatch the reins, but, missing his grasp, he shortened those of the
+off-hand horse, and drew them the wrong way: the coach ran upon a bank,
+and was overturned. Holloway was dismayed and silent; the coachman
+poured forth a torrent of abuse, sparing neither friend nor foe; the
+complaints of the female passengers were so incoherent, and their fears
+operated so much upon their imagination, that in the first moments of
+confusion, each asserted that she had broken either an arm or a leg, or
+fractured her skull.
+
+The moon, which had shone bright in the beginning of the evening, was
+now under a cloud, and the darkness increased the impatience of
+the various complainers; at length a lantern was brought from the
+turnpike-house, which was near the spot where the accident happened. As
+soon as the light came, the ladies looked at each other, and after they
+had satisfied themselves that no material injury had been done to their
+clothes, and that their faces were in no way disfigured, they began to
+recover from their terrors, and were brought to allow that all their
+limbs were in good preservation, and that they had been too hasty in
+declaring that their skulls were fractured. Holloway laughed loudly at
+all this, and joined in all the wit of the coachman upon the occasion.
+The coach was lifted up; the passengers got in; the coachman and
+Holloway mounted the box, when, just as they were setting off, the
+coachman heard a voice crying to him to stop. He listened, and the
+voice, which seemed to be that of a person in great pain, again called
+for assistance.
+
+"It's the mulatto woman," said the coachman: "we forgot her in the
+bustle. Lend me hold of the lantern, and stand at the horses' heads,
+whilst I see after her," added the coachman, addressing himself to the
+man who had come from the turnpike-house.
+
+"I shan't stir for a _mulatto_, I promise you," said Holloway, brutally:
+"she was on the top of the coach, wasn't she? She must have had a fine
+hoist!"
+
+The poor woman was found to be much hurt: she had been thrown from the
+top of the coach into a ditch, which had stones at the bottom of it. She
+had not been able to make herself heard by any body, whilst the ladies'
+loud complaints continued; nor had she been able long to call for any
+assistance, for she had been stunned by her fall, and had not recovered
+her senses for many minutes. She was not able to stand; but when the
+coachman held her up, she put her hand to her head, and, in broken
+English, said she felt too ill to travel farther that night.
+
+"You shall have an inside place, if you'll pluck up your heart; and
+you'll find yourself better with the motion of the coach."
+
+"What, is she hurt--the mulatto woman?--I say, coachy, make haste,"
+cried Holloway; "I want to be off."
+
+"So do I," said the coachman; "but we are not likely to be off yet:
+here's this here poor woman can't stand, and is all over bruises, and
+won't get into the inside of the coach, though I offered her a place."
+
+Holloway, who imagined that the sufferings of all who were not so rich
+as himself could be _bought off_ for money, pulled out a handful of
+silver, and leaning from the coach-box, held it towards the fainting
+woman:--"Here's a shilling for every bruise at least, my good
+woman:"--but the woman did not hear him, for she was very faint. The
+coachman was forced to carry her to the turnpike-house, where he left
+her, telling the people of the house that a return chaise would call for
+her in an hour's time, and would carry her either to the next stage, or
+back to town, whichever she pleased. Holloway's diversion for the rest
+of the night was spoiled, not because he had too much sympathy with the
+poor woman that was hurt, but because he had been delayed so long by the
+accident, that he lost the pleasure of driving into the town of ----. He
+had intended to have gone the whole stage, and to have returned in the
+job and four. This scheme had been arranged before he set out by his
+friend the coachman; but the postilions in the job and four having won
+the race, and made the best of their way, had now returned, and met the
+coach about two miles from the turnpike-house. "So," said Holloway,
+"I must descend, and get home before Mr. Supine wakens from his first
+sleep."
+
+Holloway called at the turnpike-house, to inquire after the mulatto;
+or, rather, one of the postilions stopped as he had been desired by the
+coachman, to take her up to town, if she was able to go that night.
+
+The postilion, after he had spoken to the woman, came to the
+chaise-door, and told Holloway "that he could hardly understand what she
+said, she talked such outlandish English; and that he could not make out
+where she wanted to be carried to."
+
+"Ask the name of some of her friends in town," cried Holloway, "and
+don't let her keep us here all night."
+
+"She has no friends, as I can find," replied the postilion, "nor
+acquaintance neither."
+
+"Well, whom does she belong to, then?"
+
+"She belongs to nobody--she's quite a stranger in these parts, and
+doesn't know no more than a child where to go in all London; she only
+knows the Christian name of an old gardener, where she lodged, she
+says."
+
+"What would she have us to do with her, then?" said Holloway. "Drive on,
+for I shall be late."
+
+The postilion, more humane than Holloway, exclaimed, "No, master,
+no!--it's a sin to leave her upon the road this ways, though she's no
+Christian, as we are, poor copper-coloured soul! I was once a stranger
+myself in _Lon'on_, without a six-pence to bless myself; so I know what
+it is, master."
+
+The good-natured postilion returned to the mulatto woman. "Mistress,"
+said he, "I'd fain see ye safe home, if you could but think of the
+t'other name of that gardener that you mentioned lodging with; because
+there be so many Pauls in London town, that I should never find your
+Paul, as you don't know neither the name of his street--But I'll tell ye
+now all the streets I'm acquainted with, and that's a many: do you stop
+me, mistress, when I come to the right; for you're sadly bruised, and I
+won't see ye left this ways on the road."
+
+He then named several streets: the mulatto woman stopped him at one
+name, which she recollected to be the name of the street in which the
+gardener lived. The woman at the turnpike-house, as soon as she heard
+the street in which he lived named, said she knew this gardener; that he
+had a large garden about a mile off, and that he came from London early
+almost every morning with his cart, for garden-stuff for the market: she
+advised the mulatto woman to stay where she was that night, and to send
+to ask the gardener to come on to the turnpike-house for her in the
+morning. The postilion promised to go to the gardener's "by the first
+break of day." The woman raised her head to bless him; and the impatient
+Holloway loudly called to him to return to his horses, swearing that he
+would not give him one farthing for himself if he did not.
+
+The anxiety which Holloway felt to escape detection kept him in pain;
+but Holloway never measured or estimated his pleasures and his
+pains; therefore he never discovered that, even upon the most selfish
+calculation, he had paid too dear for the pleasure of sitting upon a
+coach-box for one hour.
+
+It was two o'clock in the morning before the chaise arrived in town,
+when he was set down at the house at which the stage-coach put up,
+walked home, got in at his bedchamber window--his bedchamber was upon
+the ground-floor. Mr. Supine was fast asleep, and his pupil triumphed
+in his successful _frolic_. Whilst Holloway, in his dreams, was driving
+again, and again overturning stage-coaches, young Howard, in his
+less manly dreams, saw Dr. B., the head master of Westminster school,
+advancing towards him, at a public examination, with a prize medal in
+his hand, which turned, Howard thought, as he looked upon it, first into
+the face of his aunt, smiling upon him; then into a striking likeness of
+his tutor, Mr. Russell, who also smiled upon him; and then changed into
+the head of little Oliver, whose eyes seemed to sparkle with joy. Just
+at the instant, Howard awoke, and, opening his eyes, saw Oliver's face
+close to him, laughing heartily.
+
+"Why," exclaimed Oliver, "you seized my head with both your hands when I
+came to waken you: what could you be dreaming of, Charles?"
+
+"I dreamed I took you for a medal, and I was right glad to have hold of
+you," said Howard, laughing; "but I shall not get my medal by dreaming
+about it. What o'clock is it? I shall be ready in half a second."
+
+"Ay," said Oliver, "I wont tell you what o'clock it is till you're
+dressed: make haste; I have been up this half hour, and I've got every
+thing ready, and I've carried the little table, and all your books, and
+the pen and ink, and all the things, out to our seat; and the sun shines
+upon it, and every thing looks cheerful, and you'll have a full hour to
+work, for it's only half after five."
+
+At the back of Mrs. Howard's house there was a little garden; at the end
+of the garden was a sort of root-house, which Oliver had cleaned out,
+and which he dignified by the title of _the seat_. There were some pots
+of geraniums and myrtles kept in it, with Mrs. Howard's permission, by a
+gardener, who lived next door to her, and who frequently came to work
+in her garden. Oliver watered the geraniums, and picked off the dead
+leaves, whilst Howard was writing at the little table which had been
+prepared for him. Howard had at this time two grand works in hand, on
+which he was enthusiastically intent: he was translating the little
+French book which the traveller had given to him; and he was writing _an
+essay for a prize_. The young gentlemen at Westminster were engaged in
+writing essays for a periodical paper; and Dr. B. had promised to give
+a prize medal as the reward for that essay, which he, and a jury of
+critics, to be chosen from among the boys themselves, should pronounce
+to be the best composition.
+
+"I won't talk to you, I won't interrupt you," said Oliver to Howard;
+"but only answer me one question: what is your essay about?"
+
+Howard put his finger upon his lips, and shook his head.
+
+"I assure you I did not look, though I longed to peep at it this morning
+before you were up. Pray, Charles, do you think _I_ shall ever be able
+to write essays?"
+
+"To be sure," said Howard; "why not?"
+
+"Ah," said Oliver, with a sigh, "because I've no genius, you know."
+
+"But," said Howard, "have not you found out that you could do a great
+many things that you thought you could not do?"
+
+"Ay, thank you for that: but then you know, those are the sort of things
+which can be done without genius."
+
+"And what _are_ the things," replied Howard, "which cannot be done
+without genius?"
+
+"Oh, a great, _great_ many, I believe," said Oliver: "you know Holloway
+said so."
+
+"But we are not forced to believe it, because Holloway said so, are we?
+Besides, a _great many things_ may mean any thing, buckling your shoes,
+or putting on your hat, for instance."
+
+Oliver laughed at this, and said, "These, to be sure, are not the sort
+of things that can't be done without genius."
+
+"What are the sort of things?" repeated Howard. "Let us, now I've the
+pen in my hand, make a list of them."
+
+"Take a longer bit of paper."
+
+"No, no, the list will not be so very long as you think it will. What
+shall I put first?--make haste, for I'm in a hurry."
+
+"Well--writing, then--writing, I am sure, requires genius."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Because I never could write, and I've often tried and tried to write
+something, but I never could; because I've no genius for it."
+
+"What did you try to write?" said Howard.
+
+"Why, letters," said Oliver: "my uncle, and my aunt, and my two cousins,
+desired I would write to them regularly once a fortnight; but I never
+can make out a letter, and I'm always sorry when letter-writing day
+comes; and if I sit thinking and thinking for ever so long I can find
+nothing to say. I used always to beg _a beginning_ from somebody; but
+then, when I've got over the beginning, that's only three or four lines;
+and if I stretch it out ever so much, it won't make a whole letter; and
+what can I put in the middle? There's nothing but that _I am well, and
+hope they are all well_; or else, _that I am learning Latin, as you
+desired, dear uncle, and am forward in my English_. The end I can manage
+well enough, because there's duty and love to send to every body; and
+about _the post is just going out, and believe me to be, in haste, your
+dutiful and affectionate nephew_. But then," continued little Oliver,
+"this is all nonsense, I know, and I'm ashamed to write such bad
+letters. Now your pen goes on, scratch, scratch, scratch, the moment
+you sit down to it; and you can write three pages of a nice, long, good
+letter, whilst I am writing '_My dear uncle John_,' and that's what I
+call having a genius for writing. I wonder how you came by it: could you
+write good letters when you were of my age?"
+
+"I never wrote any letters at your age," said Howard.
+
+"Oh, how happy you must have been! But then, if you never learned, how
+comes it that you can write them now? How can you always find something
+to say?"
+
+"I never write but when I have something to say; and you know, when you
+had something to say last post about Easter holidays, your pen, Oliver,
+went scratch, scratch, scratch, as fast as any body's."
+
+"So it did," cried Oliver; "but then the thing is, I'm forced to write
+when I've nothing about the holidays to say."
+
+"Forced?"
+
+"Yes, because I'm afraid my uncle and cousins should be angry if I
+didn't write."
+
+"I'm sure I'm much obliged," said Howard, "to my dear aunt, who never
+forced me to write: she always said, 'Never write, Charles, but when
+you like it;' and I never did. When I had any thing to say, that is,
+any thing to describe, or any reasons to give upon any subject, or any
+questions to ask, which I very much wished to have answered, then, you
+know, I could easily write, because I had nothing to do but to write
+down just the words which I should have said, if I had been speaking."
+
+"But I thought writing was quite a different thing from speaking,
+because, in writing, there must be sentences, and long sentences, and
+fine sentences, such as there are in books."
+
+"In _some_ books," said Howard; "but not in all."
+
+"Besides," continued Oliver, "one person's speaking is quite different
+from another person's speaking. Now I believe I make use of a great
+number of odd words, and vulgar expressions, and bad English, which I
+learned from being with the servants, I believe, at home. You have never
+talked to servants, Charles, I dare say, for you have not one of their
+words."
+
+"No," said Charles, "never; and my aunt took a great deal of pains to
+prevent me from hearing any of their conversation; therefore it was
+impossible that I should catch--"
+
+Here the conversation was interrupted by the appearance of old Paul, the
+gardener.
+
+"So, Paul," cried little Oliver, "I've been doing your work for you this
+morning; I've watered all the geraniums, and put the Indian corn in the
+sun; what kept you so late in your bed this fine morning, Paul?--fie,
+Paul!"
+
+"You would not say fie, master," replied Paul, "if you knew how early I
+had been out of my bed, this morning: I was abroad afore sunrise, so I
+was, master."
+
+"And why didn't you come to work then, Paul? You shall not have the
+watering-pot till you tell me: don't look so grave about it; you know
+you must smile when I please, Paul."
+
+"I can't smile, just now, master," said old Paul; but he smiled, and
+then told Oliver, that "the reason he could not smile was, that he was a
+little sick at heart, with just coming from the sight of a poor soul who
+had been sadly bruised by a fall from the top of the stage, which was
+overturned last night. She was left all night at the _pike_, and as she
+had no other friends, she sent for me by a return chay-boy, and I went
+for her, and brought her home in my covered cart, to my good woman,
+which she liked, with good reason, better ten to one than the stage.
+And she's terribly black and blue, and does not seem quite right in her
+head, to my fancy."
+
+"I wish we could do something for her," said Howard. "As soon as Mr.
+Russell is up, I'll ask him to go with us to see her. We will call as we
+go by to school this morning."
+
+"But, master," said the gardener, "I should warn ye beforehand, that
+mayhap you mayn't pity her so much, for she's rather past her best days;
+and bad must have been her best, for she's swarthy, and not like one of
+this country: she comes from over the seas, and they call her a--a--not
+quite a negro."
+
+"A mulatto!--I like her the better," cried Oliver; "for my nurse was a
+mulatto. I'll go and waken Mr. Russell this instant, for I'm sure he'll
+not be angry." He ran away to Mr. Russell, who was not angry at being
+awakened, but dressed himself _almost_ as expeditiously as Oliver
+wished, and set out immediately with his pupils, delighted to be the
+companion of their benevolent schemes, instead of being the object of
+their fear and hatred. Tutors may inspire affection, even though they
+have the misfortune to be obliged to teach Greek and Latin.[5]
+
+[Footnote 5: Vide Dr. Johnson's assertions to the contrary, in Mrs.
+Piozzi's Anecdotes.]
+
+When the boys arrived at the gardener's, they found the poor mulatto
+woman lying upon a bed, in a small close room, which was so full of
+smoke, when they came in, that they could hardly breathe: the little
+window, that let in but a glimmering light, could not, without
+difficulty, be opened. The poor woman made but few complaints; she
+appeared to be most concerned at the thoughts of being a burden to the
+good old gardener and his wife. She said that she had not been long in
+England; that she came to London in hopes of finding a family who had
+been very kind to her in her youth; but that, after inquiry at the house
+where they formerly lived, she could hear nothing of them. After a great
+deal of trouble, she discovered that a West India gentleman, who had
+known her abroad, was now at Bath; but she had spent the last farthing
+of her money, and she was, therefore, unable to undertake the journey.
+She had brought over with her, she said, some foreign seeds of flowers,
+which her young mistress used to be fond of when she was a child, which
+she had kept till hunger obliged her to offer them to a gardener for a
+loaf of bread. The gardener to whom she offered them was old Paul, who
+took compassion upon her distress, lodged her for a week, and at last
+paid for an outside place for her upon the Bath coach. There was such
+an air of truth and simplicity in this woman, that Mr. Russell, more
+experienced than his pupils, believed her story, at once, as implicitly
+as they did. "Oh," exclaimed little Oliver, "I have but this half-crown
+for her: I wish Holloway had but paid me my half-guinea; I'll ask him
+for it again to-day; and will you come with us here again, this evening,
+Mr. Russell, that I may bring it then?"
+
+Mr. Russell and Howard hired the room for a fortnight in which the
+mulatto woman was now lying, and paid old Paul, the gardener, for it,
+promising, at the same time, to supply her with food. The gardener's
+wife, at the poor woman's earnest request, promised that, as soon as she
+was able to sit up, she would get her some coarse plain work to do.
+
+"But," said Oliver, "how can she see to work in this smoke? I'm sure it
+makes my eyes water so that I can hardly bear it, though I have been in
+it scarcely ten minutes."
+
+"I wish," exclaimed Howard, turning to Mr. Russell, "that this chimney
+could be cured of smoking."
+
+"Oh, well-a-day," said the gardener, "we must put up with it as it is,
+for I've had doctors to it, at one time or another, that have cost me
+a power of money; but, after all, it's as bad as ever, and my good dame
+never lights a fire in it this fine spring weather; howsomever, she
+(pointing to the mulatto woman) is so chilly, coming from a country
+that, by all accounts, is a hot-house, compared with ours, that she
+can't sleep o' nights, or live o' days without a small matter of fire,
+which she's welcome to, though, you see, it almost fills the house with
+smoke."
+
+Howard, during the gardener's speech, had been trying to recollect where
+it was that he had lately seen some essay upon smoky chimneys; and he
+suddenly exclaimed, "It was in Dr. Franklin's works--was it not, Mr.
+Russell?"
+
+"What?" said Mr. Russell, smiling.
+
+"That essay upon smoky chimneys which I said I would skip over, the
+other day, because I had nothing to do with it, and I thought I should
+not understand. Don't you remember telling me, sir, that I had better
+not skip it, because it might, some time or other, be useful to me?
+I wish I could get the book now; I would take pains to understand it,
+because, perhaps, I might find out how this poor man's chimney might
+be cured of smoking. As for his window, I know how that can be easily
+mended, because I once watched a man who was hanging some windows for my
+aunt--I'll get some sash line."
+
+"Do you recollect what o'clock it is, my good friend?" said Mr. Russell,
+holding out his watch to Howard. "We cannot wait till you are perfect
+master of the theory of smoky chimneys, and the practice of hanging
+windows; it is time that we should be gone." Mr. Russell spoke this with
+an air of raillery, as he usually did, when he was particularly pleased.
+
+As they were going away, Oliver earnestly repeated his request, that
+Mr. Russell would come again in the evening, that he might have an
+opportunity of giving the poor woman his half-guinea. Mr. Russell
+promised him that he would; but he at the same time added, "All charity,
+my dear Oliver, does not consist in giving money: it is easy for a man
+to put his hand in his pocket, and take out a few shillings, to give any
+person in distress."
+
+"I wish," said Oliver, "I was able to do more! what can I do? I'll think
+of something. Howard, will you think of something that I can do? But I
+must see about my Latin lesson first, for I had not time to look it over
+this morning, before I came out."
+
+When they got back, the business of the day, for some hours, suspended
+all thoughts of the mulatto woman; but, in the first interval of
+leisure, Oliver went in search of Mr. Holloway, to ask for his
+half-guinea. Holloway had a crowd of his companions round him, whom he
+seemed to be entertaining with some very diverting story, for they were
+laughing violently when little Oliver first came up to them; but they no
+sooner perceived him than all their merriment suddenly ceased. Holloway
+first lowered his voice into a whisper, and then observing that Oliver
+still stood his ground, he asked him, in his usual peremptory tone, what
+might be his business? Oliver drew him aside, and asked him to pay him
+_the_ half-guinea. "_The_ half-guinea?" repeated Holloway: "man, you
+talk of _the_ half-guinea as if there was but one half-guinea in the
+world: you shall have _the_ half-guinea, for I hate to be dunned--Stay,
+I believe I have no _half_-a-guinea about me: you can't give me two
+half-guineas for a guinea, can ye?"
+
+"Me!"
+
+"Well, then, you must wait till I can get change."
+
+"Must I wait? but I really want it for a particular reason, this
+evening: I wish you could give it me now--you know you promised; but I
+don't like putting people in mind of their promises, and I would not ask
+you about the money, only that I really want it."
+
+"Want it!--nonsense: what can you want money for, such a little chap as
+you? I'll lay you any wager, your _particular_ reason, if the truth was
+told, is, that you can't resist the tart-woman."
+
+"I _can_ resist the tart-woman," cried Oliver proudly; "I have a much
+better use for my money: but I don't want to boast, neither; only,
+Holloway, do give me the half-guinea: shall I run and ask somebody to
+give you two half-guineas for a guinea?"
+
+"No, no, I'll not be dunned into paying you. If you had not asked me for
+it, I should have given it you to-night: but since you could not trust
+to my honour, you'll please to wait till to-morrow morning."
+
+"But I did trust to your honour for a whole month."
+
+"A month!--a great while, indeed; then trust to it a day longer; and
+if you ask me for the money to-morrow, you shan't have it till the next
+day. I'll teach you not to be such a little dun: nobody, that has any
+spirit, can bear to be dunned, particularly for such small sums. I
+thought you had been above such meanness, or, I promise you, I should
+never have borrowed your half-guinea," added Holloway; and he left his
+unfortunate creditor to reflect upon the new ideas of _meanness_ and
+_spirit_, which had been thus artfully thrown out.
+
+Oliver was roused from his reflections by his friend Howard. "Mr.
+Russell is ready to go with us to the gardener's again," said Howard:
+"have you a mind to come?"
+
+"A great mind; but I am ashamed, for I've not got my half-guinea which
+I lent." Here his newly acquired fear of meanness checked Oliver, and
+without complaining of his creditor's want of punctuality, he added,
+"but I should like to see the poor woman though, for all that."
+
+They set out, but stopped in their way at a bookseller's, where Howard
+inquired for that essay of Dr. Franklin on smoky chimneys, which he was
+impatient to see. This bookseller was well acquainted with Mr. Russell.
+Howard had promised to give the bookseller the translation of the little
+French book which we formerly mentioned; and the bookseller, on his
+part, was very obliging in furnishing Howard with any books he wanted.
+
+Howard was deep in the essay on smoky chimneys, and examining the
+references in the print belonging to it, whilst Mr. Russell was looking
+over the prints in the Encyclopedia, with little Oliver. They were all
+so intent upon what they were about, that they did not perceive the
+entrance of Holloway and Mr. Supine. Mr. Supine called in merely to
+see what Mr. Russell could be looking at, with so much appearance of
+interest. The indolent are always curious, though they will not always
+exert themselves, even to gratify their curiosity.
+
+"Only the Encyclopaedia prints," said Supine, looking over Mr. Russell's
+shoulder: "I thought you had got something new."
+
+"Only smoky chimneys," exclaimed Holloway, looking over Howard's
+shoulder: "what upon earth, Howard, can you find so entertaining in
+smoky chimneys? Are you turned chimney-doctor, or chimney-sweeper? This
+will be an excellent thing for Lord Rawson, won't it, Mr. Supine? We'll
+tell it to him on Thursday; it will be a good joke for us, for half
+the day. Pray, doctor Charles Howard," continued the wit, with mock
+solemnity, "do you go up the chimneys yourself?"
+
+Howard took this raillery with so much good-humour, that Holloway looked
+quite disappointed; and Mr. Supine, in a careless tone, cried, "I take
+it, reading such things as these will scarcely improve your style,
+sir--will they, think ye, Mr. Russell?"
+
+"I am not sure," replied Mr. Russell, "that Mr. Howard's _first_ object
+in reading is to improve his style; but," added he, turning to the
+title-page, and pointing to Franklin's name, "you, perhaps, did not
+know--"
+
+"Oh, Dr. Franklin's works," interrupted Supine: "I did not see the name
+before--to be sure I must bow down to _that_."
+
+Having thus easily satisfied Mr. Supine's critical scruples by the
+authority of a name, Mr. Russell rose to depart, as he perceived that
+there was no chance of getting rid of the idlers.
+
+"What are you going to do with yourself, Russell?" said Mr. Supine;
+"we'll walk with you, if you are for walking, this fine evening; only
+don't let's walk like penny postmen."
+
+"But he's in a hurry," said Oliver; "he's going to see a poor woman."
+
+"A _poor_ woman!" said Supine; "down this close lane too!"
+
+"Oh, let's see all that's to be seen," whispered Holloway; "ten to one
+we shall get some diversion out of it: Russell's a quiz worth studying,
+and Howard's his ditto."
+
+They came to the gardener's house. Holloway's high spirits suddenly
+subsided when he beheld the figure of the mulatto woman.
+
+"What's the matter?" said Oliver, observing that he started; "why did
+you start so?"
+
+"Tell Howard I want to speak one word with him, this instant, in the
+street; bid him come out to me," whispered Holloway; and he hastily
+retreated before the poor woman saw his face.
+
+"Howard," cried Holloway, "I sent for you to tell you a great secret."
+
+"I'm sorry for it," said Charles; "for I hate secrets."
+
+"But you can keep a secret, man, can't you?"
+
+"If it were necessary, I hope I could; but I'd rather not hear--"
+
+"Pooh, nonsense," interrupted Holloway, "you must hear it; I'll trust to
+your honour; and, besides, I have not a moment to stand shilly shally:
+I've got a promise from my father to let me go down, this Easter, with
+Lord Rawson, to Marryborough, in his dog-cart, _randem-tandem_, you
+know."
+
+"I did not know it, indeed," said Charles; "but what then?"
+
+"Why, then, you see, I must be upon my good behaviour; and you would not
+do such an ill-natured trick as to betray me?"
+
+"Betray you! I don't know what you mean," said Howard, astonished.
+
+Holloway now briefly told him his stage-coach adventure, and concluded
+by saying, he was afraid that the mulatto woman should recollect either
+his face or voice, and should _blow him_.
+
+"And what," said Howard, shocked at the selfishness which Holloway
+showed--"and what do you want me to do? why do you tell me all this?"
+
+"Because," said Holloway, "I thought if you heard what the woman said,
+when she saw me, you would have got it all out of her to be sure;
+therefore I thought it best to trust you with my secret, and so put
+you upon honour with me. All I ask of you is, to hold your tongue about
+my--my--my--frolic, and just make some excuse for my not going into the
+room again where the mulatto woman is: you may tell Supine, if he asks
+what's become of me, that I'm gone to the music-shop, to get some new
+music for him: that will keep him quiet. Good by."
+
+When Howard returned to the room where the mulatto woman lay, he
+expected to be questioned by Mr. Supine about Holloway's sudden
+departure; but this gentleman was not in the habit of paying great
+attention to his pupil's motions. He took it for granted that Holloway
+had escaped, because he did not wish to be called upon for a charitable
+subscription. From the same fear, Mr. Supine affected unusual absence
+of mind whilst Mr. Russell talked to the mulatto woman, and at length,
+professing himself unable to endure any longer the smell of smoke, he
+pushed his way into the street. "Mr. Holloway, I suppose," said he, "has
+taken himself home, very wisely, and I shall follow him: we make it
+a rule, I think, to miss one another; but to keep a young man in
+leading-strings would be a great bore. We're upon the best footing in
+the world together: as to the rest--"
+
+New difficulties awaited Holloway. He got home some time before Mr.
+Supine, and found his friend, the stage-coachman, waiting for him with a
+rueful face.
+
+"Master," said he, "here's a sad job: there was a parcel lost last
+night, in the confusion of the overturn of the coach; and I must make it
+good; for it's booked, and it's booked to the value of five guineas, for
+it was a gold muslin gown that a lady was very particular about; and,
+master, I won't peach if you'll pay: but as for losing my place, or
+making up five guineas afore Saturday, it's what I can't take upon me to
+do."
+
+Holloway was much dismayed at this news; he now began to think he should
+pay too dear for his frolic. The coachman persisted in his demand. Mr.
+Supine appeared at the corner of the street; and his pupil was forced to
+get rid immediately of the coachman, by a promise, that the money should
+be ready on Saturday. When Holloway made this promise, he was not master
+of two guineas in the world; how to procure the whole sum was now the
+question. Alderman Holloway, with the hope of exciting in his son's mind
+a love for literature, made it a practice to reward him with solid gold,
+whenever he brought home any certificate of his scholarship. Holloway
+had lately received five guineas from his father, for an approved copy
+of Latin verses; and the alderman had promised to give him five guineas
+more if he brought home the medal which was to be the reward for the
+best essay in the periodical paper, which the Westminster boys were now
+writing. Holloway, though he could write elegant Latin verses, had not
+any great facility in English composition; he, consequently, according
+to the usual practice of little minds, undervalued a talent which he did
+not possess. He had ridiculed the scheme of writing an English essay,
+and had loudly declared, that he did not think it worth his while
+to write English. His opinion was, however, somewhat changed by his
+father's promised reward; and the stage-coachman's impatience for his
+money now impelled Holloway to exertion. He began to write his
+essay late on Friday evening--the medal was to be given on Saturday
+morning--so that there could not be much time for revisal and
+corrections. Corrections he affected to disdain, and piqued himself upon
+the rapidity with which he wrote. "Howard," said he, when they met to
+deliver in their compositions, "you have been three weeks writing your
+essay; I ran mine off in three hours and a quarter."
+
+Mr. Holloway had not considered, that what is written with ease is
+not always read with ease. His essay was written with such a careless
+superfluity of words, and such a lack of ideas appeared in the
+performance, that the judges unanimously threw it aside, as unworthy
+of their notice. "Gentlemen," cried Dr. B., coming forward among the
+anxious crowd of expectants, "which of you owns this motto?--
+
+     "'Hear it, ye Senates, hear this truth sublime,
+     He who allows oppression shares the crime[6].'"
+
+[Footnote 6: Botanic Garden, vol. ii.]
+
+"It's his!--it's his!--it's his!" exclaimed little Oliver, clapping his
+hands--"it's Howard's, sir."
+
+Dr. B., pleased with this grateful little boy's honest joy, put the
+medal into his hands, without speaking, and Oliver ran with it to his
+friend. "Only," said he, "only let me be by, when you show it to your
+aunt."
+
+How much the pleasure of success is increased by the sympathy of our
+friends! The triumph of a school-boy over his competitors is sometimes
+despicable; but Howard's joy was not of this selfish and puerile
+sort. All the good passions had stimulated him to exertion, and he was
+rewarded by his own generous feelings. He would not have exchanged the
+delight which he saw in his little friend Oliver's face, the approving
+smile of his aunt, and the proud satisfaction Mr. Russell expressed at
+the sight of his medal, for all the solid gold which Alderman Holloway
+deemed the highest reward of literature.
+
+Alderman Holloway was filled with indignation when he heard from Mr.
+Supine that his son's essay had been rejected with contempt. The young
+gentleman was also much surprised at the decision of the judges; and his
+tutor, by way of pleasing his pupil's friends, hesitated not to
+hint, that there "certainly was great injustice done to Mr. Augustus
+Holloway's talents." The subject was canvassed at a turtle dinner at the
+alderman's. "There shall not be injustice done to my Augustus," said
+the irritated father, wisely encouraging his Augustus in all his mean
+feelings. "Never mind 'em all, my boy; you have a father, you may thank
+Heaven, who _can_ judge for himself, and _will_: you shall not be the
+loser by Dr. B.'s or doctor any body's injustice; I'll make it up to
+you, my boy; in the meantime, join us in a bumper of port. Here's to
+Dr. B.'s better judgment; wishing him health and happiness these Easter
+holidays, and _a new pair of spectacles_,--hey, Mr. Supine?"
+
+This well-chosen toast was drunk with much applause and laughter by the
+company. The alderman insisted upon having his Augustus's essay produced
+in the evening. Holloway had now ample satisfaction, for the whole
+company were unanimous in their plaudits, after Mr. Supine had read two
+or three sentences: the alderman, to confirm his own critical judgment,
+drew out his purse, and counting out ten bright guineas, presented them,
+with a look of high self-satisfaction, to his son. "Here, Augustus, my
+boy," said he; "I promised you five guineas if you brought me home the
+prize medal; but I now present you with ten, to make you the amends you
+so richly deserve, for not having got their medal. Thank God, I am
+able to afford it; and I hope," added the alderman, looking round, and
+laughing, "I hope I'm as good a patron of the _belles lettres_ as the
+head doctor of Westminster himself."
+
+Holloway's eyes sparkled with joy at the sight of the glittering bribe.
+He began some speech in reply, in which he compared his father to
+Maecenas; but being entangled in a sentence, in which the nominative
+case had been too long separated from the verb, he was compelled
+to pause abruptly. Nevertheless, the alderman rubbed his hands with
+exultation; and "Hear him! hear him!--hear your member!" was vociferated
+by all the friends of the young orator. "Well, really," concluded
+his mother to the ladies, who were complimenting her upon her son's
+performance, "it was not a bad speech, considering he had nothing to
+say!"
+
+Lord Rawson, who was one of the company, now congratulated his friend
+in a whisper--"You've made a good job of it to-day, Augustus," said he:
+"solid pudding's better than empty praise. We're going," continued his
+lordship to the alderman, "to try my new horses this evening;" and he
+pulled Augustus with him out of the room.
+
+"There they go," said the prudent father, delighted with his own son's
+being the chosen friend of a nobleman--"there they go, arm in arm, a
+couple of rare ones: we shall have fine work with them, I foresee, when
+Augustus gets to college--but young men of spirit must not be
+curbed like common boys--we must make allowances--I have been young
+myself,--hey, Mr. Supine?"
+
+"Certainly, sir," said the obsequious tutor; "and you still have all the
+sprightliness of youth; and my ideas of education square completely with
+yours."
+
+According to Alderman Holloway's ideas of education, the holy days were
+always to be made a season of complete idleness and dissipation, to
+relieve his son from his school studies. It was his great delight to
+contrast the pleasures of home with the hardships of school, and to
+make his son compare the indulgence of a father with the severity of
+a schoolmaster. How he could expect an education to succeed which
+he sedulously endeavoured to counteract, it may be difficult for any
+rational person to conceive.
+
+After Lord Rawson and Holloway had enjoyed the pleasures of driving the
+new horses, _tandem_, in a dog-cart, and had conversed about dogs and
+horses till they had nothing left to say to each other, his lordship
+proposed stepping in to Mr. Carat, the jeweller's shop, to look at some
+new watches: his lordship said he was tired of his own, for he had had
+it six months. Mr. Carat was not in the way when they first went in.
+One of the young men who attended in the shop said, "that his master was
+extremely busy, in settling some accounts with a captain of a ship, who
+was to leave England in a few days."
+
+"Don't tell me of settling accounts," cried Lord Ramon--"I hate the
+sound of settling accounts: run and tell Mr. Carat that Lord Rawson is
+here, and must speak to him this instant, for I'm in a desperate hurry."
+
+A quarter of an hour elapsed before the impatient lord could be obeyed;
+during this time, his lordship and Holloway rummaged over every thing
+in the shop. A pretty bauble to hang to his watch caught his lordship's
+fancy. His lordship happened to have no money in his pocket. "Holloway,"
+said he, "my good fellow, you've ten guineas in your pocket, I know; do
+lend me them here." Holloway, rather proud of his riches, lent his ten
+guineas to his noble friend with alacrity; but a few minutes afterward
+recollected that he should want five of them that very night, to pay
+the poor stage-coachman. His recollection came too late, for after
+Lord Rawson had paid three or four guineas for his trinket, he let the
+remainder of the money down with an absent nonchalance, into his pocket.
+"We'll settle--I'll pay you, Holloway, to-morrow morning, you know."
+
+Holloway, from false shame, replied, "Oh, very well." And at this
+instant Mr. Carat entered the shop, bowing and apologizing to his
+lordship for having been busy.
+
+"I'm always, to be sure, in a very great hurry," cried Lord Rawson; "I
+never have a minute that I can call my own. All I wanted though,
+just now, was to tell you, that I could not settle any thing--you
+understand--till we come back from Marryborough. I go down there
+to-morrow."
+
+The Jew bowed with unlimited acquiescence, assuring his lordship that
+he should ever wait his perfect convenience. As he spoke, he glanced an
+inquiring eye upon Holloway.
+
+"Mr. Holloway, the eldest, the only son of Alderman Holloway--rich as
+a Jew! and he'll soon leave Westminster," whispered Lord Rawson to the
+Jew. "Holloway," continued he, turning to his friend, "give me leave to
+introduce Mr. Carat to you. You may," added his lordship, lowering his
+voice, "find this Jew a useful friend some time or other, my lad. He's
+my man in all money jobs."
+
+The Jew and the school-boy seemed equally flattered and pleased by this
+introduction; they were quickly upon familiar terms with one another;
+and Mr. Carat, who was willing that such an acquaintance should begin in
+the most advantageous and agreeable manner on his part, took the young
+gentleman, with an air of mystery and confidence, into a little
+room behind the shop; there he produced a box full of old-fashioned
+secondhand trinkets, and, without giving Holloway time to examine them,
+said that he was going to make a lottery of these things. "If I had any
+young favourite friends," continued the wily Jew, "I should give them
+a little whisper in the ear, and bid them try their fortune; they never
+will have a finer opportunity." He then presented a hand-bill, drawn up
+in a style which even Messrs. Goodluck and Co. need not have disdained
+to admire. The youth was charmed with the composition. The Jew made him
+a present of a couple of tickets for himself, and gave him a dozen more,
+to distribute amongst his companions at Westminster. Holloway readily
+undertook to distribute the tickets upon condition that he might have
+a list of the prizes in the lottery. "If they don't see a list of the
+prizes," said he, "not a soul will put in."
+
+The Jew took a pen immediately, and drew up a captivating list of
+prizes.
+
+Holloway promised to copy it, because Mr. Carat said his hand must not
+appear in the business, and it must be conducted with the strictest
+secrecy; because "the law," added the Jew, "has a little jealousy of
+these sort of things--government likes none but licensed lotteries,
+young gentleman."
+
+"The law! I don't care what the law likes," replied the school-boy; "if
+I break the law, I hope I'm rich enough to pay the forfeit, or my father
+will pay for me, which is better still."
+
+To this doctrine the Jew readily assented, and they parted, mutually
+satisfied with each other.
+
+It was agreed that Lord Rawson should drive his friend to Marryborough
+the next Tuesday, and that he should return on Wednesday, with Holloway,
+to Westminster, on purpose that he might meet Mr. Carat there, who was
+then to deliver the prizes.
+
+"I'll lay you a bet," cried Lord Rawson, as he left the Jew's, "that
+you'll have a prize yourself. Now are you not obliged to me for
+introducing you to Carat?"
+
+"Yes, that I am," replied Holloway; "it's easier to put into the lottery
+than to write Latin verses and English essays. I'll puzzle and bore
+myself no more with those things, I promise my father."
+
+"Who does, after they've once left school, I want to know?" said his
+noble friend. "I'm sure I've forgot all I ever learned from Latin and
+Greek fellows; you know they tell just for nothing when one gets into
+the world. I make it a principle never to talk of books, for nobody
+does, you know, that has any thing else to talk of. None but quizzes and
+quozzes ever came out with any thing of that sort. Now, how they'd stare
+at Marryborough, Holloway, if you were to begin sporting some of your
+Horace and Virgil!"
+
+The dashing, yet bashful school-boy, with much emotion, swore that he
+cared as little for Horace and Virgil as his lordship did. Holloway was
+really an excellent scholar, but he began to be heartily ashamed of
+it in his lordship's company, and prudently resolved to adopt the
+principles he had just heard; to forget as fast as possible all he had
+learned: never to talk of books; and to conceal both his knowledge and
+his abilities, lest _they should stare at him at Maryborough_.
+
+The lottery tickets were easily disposed of amongst the young gentlemen
+at Westminster. As young men can seldom calculate, they are always ready
+to trust to their individual good fortune, and they are, consequently,
+ever ready to put into any species of lottery.
+
+"Look here!" cried little Oliver, showing a lottery ticket to
+Howard; "look what Holloway has just offered to give me, instead of
+half-a-guinea, which he owes me. I told him I would just run and ask
+your advice. Shall I accept of it?"
+
+"I would advise you not," answered Howard; "you are sure of your
+half-guinea, and you have only a chance of getting any thing in the
+lottery."
+
+"Oh, but then I've a chance of such a number of fine things! You have
+not seen the list of prizes. Do you know there's a watch amongst them?
+Now, suppose my ticket should come up a prize, and that I should get
+a watch for my half-guinea!--a real watch!--a watch that would go!--a
+watch that I should wind up myself every night! O Charles! would not
+that be a good bargain for my half-guinea? I'm sure you have not read
+the list of prizes, have you?"
+
+"No, I have not," said Howard: "have you seen the list of blanks?"
+
+"Of blanks! No," said Oliver, with a changed countenance; "I never
+thought of the blanks."
+
+"And yet in most lotteries there are many more blanks than prizes, you
+know."
+
+"Are there? Well, but I hope I shall not have a blank," said Oliver.
+
+"So every body hopes, but some people must be disappointed."
+
+"Yes," said the little boy, pausing--"but then some people must win, and
+I have as good a chance as another, have not I?"
+
+"And do you know what the chance against your winning is? Once I had a
+great mind, as you have now, Oliver, to put into a lottery. It was just
+after my aunt lost all her fortune, and I thought that if I were to get
+the twenty thousand pound prize, I could give it to her."
+
+"I'll give my watch (if I get it, I mean) to somebody. I'll give it to
+the mulatto woman, because she is poor. No; I'll give it to you, because
+you are the best, and I love you the best, and I am more obliged to you
+than to any body in the world, for you have taught me more; and you
+have taught me as I was never taught before, without laughing at, or
+scolding, or frightening, or calling me blockhead or dunce; and you have
+made me think a great deal better of myself; and I am always happy when
+I'm with you; and I'm quite another creature since you came to school. I
+hope you'll never leave school whilst I am here," cried Oliver.
+
+"But you have quite forgot the lottery," said Howard, smiling, and much
+touched by his little friend's simplicity and enthusiasm.
+
+"Oh, the lottery! ay," said Oliver, "you were telling me something about
+yourself; do go on."
+
+"I once thought, as you do now, that it would be a charming thing to put
+into a lottery."
+
+"Well, and did you win?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Did you lose?"
+
+"No."
+
+"How then?"
+
+"I did not put into the lottery, for I was convinced that it was a
+foolish way of spending money."
+
+"If you think it's foolish or wrong," said Oliver, "I'll have nothing to
+do with this lottery."
+
+"I don't want to govern you by my opinion," said Howard; "but if you
+have patience to attend to all the reasons that convinced me, you will
+be able to judge, and form an opinion for yourself. You know I must
+leave school some time or other, and then--"
+
+"Well, don't talk of that, but tell me all the reasons, quick."
+
+"I can't tell them so very quickly," said Howard, laughing: "when we go
+home this evening I'll ask my aunt to look for the passage in Smith's
+Wealth of Nations, which she showed me."
+
+"Oh!" interrupted Oliver, with a sigh, "_Smith's Wealth_ of what? That's
+a book, I'm sure, I shall never be able to understand; is it not that
+great large book that Mr. Russell reads?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"But I shall never understand it."
+
+"Because it's a large book?"
+
+"No," said Oliver, smiling, "but because I suppose it's very difficult
+to understand."
+
+"Not what I've read of it: but I have only read passages here and there.
+That passage about lotteries, I think, you would understand, because it
+is so plainly written."
+
+"I'll read it, then," said Oliver, "and try; and in the meantime I'll
+go and tell Holloway that I had rather not put into the lottery, till I
+know whether it's right or not."
+
+Holloway flew into a violent passion with little Oliver when he went
+to return his lottery ticket. He abused and ridiculed Howard for his
+interference, and succeeded so well in raising a popular cry, that the
+moment Howard appeared on the playground, a general hiss, succeeded by
+a deep groan, was heard.--Howard recollected the oracle's answer to
+Cicero, and was not dismayed by the voice of the multitude. Holloway
+threw down half-a-guinea, to pay Oliver, and muttered to himself, "I'll
+make you remember this, Mr. Oliver."
+
+"I'll give this half-guinea to the mulatto woman, and that's much better
+than putting it into a lottery, Charles," said the little boy; and,
+as soon as the business of the day was done, Oliver, Howard, and Mr.
+Russell, took their usual evening's walk towards the gardener's house.
+
+"Ay, come in," cried old Paul, "come in! God bless you all! I don't know
+which is the best of you. I've been looking out of my door this quarter
+of an hour for ye," said he, as soon as he saw them; "and I don't know
+when I've been idle a quarter of an hour afore. But I've put on my best
+coat, though it's not Sunday, and wife has treated her to a dish of tea,
+and she's up and dressed--the mulatto woman, I mean--and quite hearty
+again. Walk in, walk in; it will do your hearts good to see her; she's
+so grateful too, though she can't speak good English, which is her only
+fault, poor soul; but we can't be born what we like, or she would have
+been as good an Englishman as the best of us. Walk in, walk in.--And the
+chimney does not smoke, master, no more than I do; and the window opens
+too; and the paper's up, and looks beautiful. God bless ye, God bless
+ye--walk in." Old Paul, whilst he spoke, had stopped the way into the
+room; but at length he recollected that they could not walk in whilst he
+stood in the door-way, and he let them pass.
+
+The little room was no longer the smoky, dismal, miserable place which
+it was formerly. It was neatly papered; it was swept clean; there was a
+cheerful fire, which burnt quite clearly: the mulatto woman was cleanly
+dressed, and, rising from her work, she clasped her hands together with
+an emotion of joyful gratitude, which said more than any words could
+have expressed.
+
+This room was not papered, nor was the chimney cured of smoking, nor
+was the woman clad in new clothes, by magic. It was all done by human
+means--by the industry and abilities of a benevolent boy.
+
+The translation of the little French book, which Howard had completed,
+procured him the means of doing good. The book-seller to whom he offered
+it was both an honest man, and a good judge of literary productions. Mr.
+Russell's name also operated in his pupil's favour, and Howard received
+ten guineas for his translation.
+
+Oliver was impatient for an opportunity to give his half-guinea, which
+he had held in his hand, till it was quite warm. "Let me look at that
+pretty thimble of yours," said he, going up to the mulatto woman, who
+had now taken up her work again; and, as he playfully pulled off the
+thimble, he slipped his half-guinea into her hand; then he stopped her
+thanks, by running on to a hundred questions about her thimble. "What
+a strange thimble! How came you by such a thimble? Was it given to you?
+Did you buy it? What's the use of this screw round the inside of the rim
+of it? Do look at it, Charles!"
+
+The thimble was, indeed, remarkable; and it seemed extraordinary that
+such a one should belong to a poor woman, who had lately been in great
+distress.
+
+"It is gold," said Mr. Russell, examining it, "and very old gold."
+
+The mulatto woman sighed; and as she put the thimble upon her finger
+again, said, that she did not know whether it was gold or not; but she
+had a great value for it; that she had had it a great many years; that
+it had been given to her by the best friend she had ever had.
+
+"Tell me about that best friend," said Oliver; "I like to hear about
+best friends."
+
+"She was a very good friend indeed; though she was but young, scarcely
+bigger than yourself, at the time she gave me this thimble: she was my
+young mistress; I came all the way from Jamaica on purpose to find her
+out, and in hopes to live with her in my elder days."
+
+"Jamaica!" cried Howard; "Jamaica!" cried Oliver, in the same breath;
+"what was her name?"
+
+"Frances Howard."
+
+"My aunt," exclaimed Howard.
+
+"I'll run and tell her; I'll run and bring her here, this instant!" said
+Oliver. But Mr. Russell caught hold of him, and detained him, whilst
+they further questioned the woman. Her answers were perfectly consistent
+and satisfactory. She said, that her mistress's estate in Jamaica had
+been sold just before she left the island; that some of the old slaves
+had been set at liberty, by orders, which came, she understood, in her
+mistress's last letter; and that, amongst the rest, she had been freed:
+that she had heard say that her good mistress had desired the agent to
+give her also some little _provision ground_, upon the plantation, but
+that this had never been done; and that she had sold all the clothes and
+little things she possessed, to raise money to pay for her passage to
+England, hoping to find her mistress in London. She added, that the
+agent had given her a direction to her mistress; but that she had, in
+vain, applied at at the house, and at every house in the same street.
+"Show us the direction, if you have it," said Mr. Russell. The woman
+said she had kept it very carefully; but now it was almost worn out. The
+direction was, however, still legible upon the ragged bit of paper which
+she produced--_To Mrs. Frances Howard, Portman Square, London_. The
+instant Mr. Russell was satisfied, he was as expeditious as Oliver
+himself; they all three went home immediately to Mrs. Howard: she had,
+some time before, been confined to her room by a severe toothache.
+
+"You promised me, aunt," said her nephew, "that as soon as you were well
+enough, you would go to old Paul's with us, to see our poor woman; can
+you go this evening?"
+
+"Oh do! do, pray; I'm sure you won't catch cold," said Oliver; "for we
+have a very particular reason for wishing you to go."
+
+"There is a sedan chair at the door," said Mr. Russell, "if you are
+afraid, madam, of catching cold."
+
+"I am not rich enough to go out in sedan chairs," interrupted Mrs.
+Howard, "nor prudent enough, I am afraid, to stay at home."
+
+"Oh! thank you," said Oliver, who had her clogs ready in his hands; "now
+you'll see something that will surprise you."
+
+"Then take care you don't tell me what it is, before I see it," said
+Mrs. Howard.
+
+Oliver, with some difficulty, held his tongue during the walk, and
+contented himself with working off his superfluous animation, by jumping
+over every obstacle in his way.
+
+The meeting between the poor mulatto woman and her mistress was as full
+of joy and surprise as little Oliver had expected; and this is saying
+a great deal, for where much is expected, there is usually much
+disappointment; and very sympathetic people are often angry with others,
+for not being as much astonished, or as much delighted, as they think
+the occasion requires.
+
+The day which Mr. Augustus Holloway imagined would bring him such
+complete felicity--the day on which Lord Rawson had promised to call
+for him in his dog-cart, and to drive him down _randem-tandem_, to
+Marryborough--was now arrived. His lordship, in his dog-cart, was at
+the door; and Holloway, in high spirits, was just going to get into the
+carriage, when some one pulled his coat, and begged to speak a few words
+with him. It was the stage-coachman, who was absolutely in distress for
+the value of the lost parcel, which Holloway had promised him should be
+punctually paid: but Holloway, now that his excursion to Marryborough
+was perfectly secure, thought but very little of the poor coachman's
+difficulties; and though he had the money, which he had raised by the
+lottery tickets, in his pocket, he determined to keep that for his
+amusements during the Easter holidays. "You must wait till I come back
+from Marryborough; I can't possibly speak to you now; I can't possibly,
+you see, keep Lord Rawson waiting. Why didn't you call sooner? I am not
+at all convinced that any parcel was lost."
+
+"I'll show you the books--it's book'd, sir," said the man, eagerly.
+
+"Well, well, this is not a time to talk of booking. I'll be with you
+in an instant, my lord," cried Holloway to Lord Rawson, who was all
+impatience to _be off_. But the coachman would not quit his hold. "I'm
+sorry to come to that, master," said he: "as long as we were both upon
+honour together, it was very well; but, if you break squares with me,
+being a gentleman, and rich, you can't take it ill, I being a poor man
+and my place and all at stake, if I take the shortest way to get my
+own: I must go to Dr. B. for justice, if you won't give it me without my
+peaching," said the coachman.
+
+"I'll see you again to-morrow morning," said Holloway, alarmed: "we come
+up to town again to-morrow."
+
+"To-morrow won't do," said the coachman; "I shall lose my place and my
+bread to-day. I know how to trust to young gentlemen's to-morrows."
+
+A volley of oaths from Lord Rawson again summoned his companion. At
+this instant, Mr. Russell, young Howard, and little Oliver, came up
+the street, and were passing on to Mrs. Howard's, when Holloway stopped
+Howard, who was the last of the party. "For Heaven's sake," said he, in
+a whisper, "do settle for me with this confounded coachman! I know you
+are rich; your bookseller told me so; pay five guineas for me to him,
+and you shall have them again to-morrow, there's a good fellow. Lord
+Rawson's waiting; good by."
+
+"Stay, stay," said Howard, who was not so easily to be drawn into
+difficulties by a moment's weakness, or by the want of a moment's
+presence of mind: "I know nothing of this business; I have other uses
+for my money; I cannot pay five guineas for you, Holloway."
+
+"Then let it alone," cried Holloway, with a brutal execration; and
+he forcibly broke from the coachman, shook hands with his tutor, Mr.
+Supine, who was talking to Lord Rawson about the varnish of his gig,
+jumped into the carriage, and was whirled away from all reflection in a
+moment, by his noble companion.
+
+The poor coachman entreated Howard to stay one instant, to hear him. He
+explained the business to him, and reproached himself bitterly for
+his folly. "I'm sure I thought," said he, "I was sure of a gentleman's
+honour; and young gentlemen ought to be above not paying handsome for
+their frolics, if they must have frolics; and a frolic's one thing, and
+cheating a poor man like me is another; and he had liked to have killed
+a poor mulatto woman, too, by the overturn of the coach, which was all
+his doings."
+
+"The woman is got very well, and is very well off now," interrupted
+Howard; "you need say nothing about that."
+
+"Well, but my money, I must say about _that_," said the coachman. Here
+Howard observed, that Mr. Supine had remained at the door in a lounging
+attitude, and was quite near enough to overhear their conversation.
+Howard, therefore, to avoid exciting his attention by any mysterious
+whispers, walked away from the coachman; but in vain; he followed: "I'll
+peach," said he; "I must in my own defence."
+
+"Stay till to-morrow morning," said Howard: "perhaps you'll be paid
+then."
+
+The coachman, who was a good-natured fellow, said, "Well, I don't like
+making mischief among young gentlemen; I will wait till to-morrow, but
+not a day more, master, if you'd go down on your knees to me."
+
+Mr. Supine, whose curiosity was fully awake, called to the coachman the
+moment Howard was out of hearing, and tried, by various questions, to
+draw the secret from him. The words, "_overturn of the coach--mulatto
+woman_," and the sentence, which the irritated coachman had pronounced
+in a raised voice, that "_young gentlemen should be above not paying
+handsome for their frolics_," had reached Mr. Supine's attentive ear,
+before Howard had been aware that the tutor was a listener. Nothing more
+could Mr. Supine draw, however, from the coachman, who now felt himself
+_upon honour_, having promised Howard not to _peach_ till the next
+morning. Difficulties stimulated Mr. Supine's curiosity; but he remained
+for the present satisfied in the persuasion that he had discovered _a
+fine frolic_ of the immaculate Mr. Charles Howard; his own pupil he did
+not suspect upon this occasion. Holloway's whisperings with the coachman
+had ended the moment Mr. Supine appeared at the door, and the tutor had
+in the same moment been so struck with the beautiful varnish of Lord
+Rawson's dog-cart, that his pupil might have whispered longer, without
+rousing his attention. Mr. Supine was further confirmed in his mistake
+about Howard, from the recollection of the mulatto woman, whom he had
+seen at the gardener's: he knew that she had been hurt by a fall from a
+stage-coach. He saw Howard much interested about her. All this he joined
+with what he had just overheard about _a frolic_, and he was rejoiced at
+the idea of implicating in this business Mr. Russell, whom he disliked.
+
+Mr. Supine, having got rid of his pupil, went immediately to Alderman
+Holloway's, where he had a general invitation to dinner. Mrs. Holloway
+approved of her son's tutor, full as much for his love of gossiping, as
+for his musical talents: Mr. Supine constantly supplied her with news
+and anecdotes; upon the present occasion, he thought that his story,
+however imperfect, would be eagerly received, because it concerned
+Howard.
+
+Since the affair of the prize essay, and the medal, Mrs. Holloway had
+taken a dislike to young Howard, whom she considered as the enemy of
+her dear Augustus. No sooner had she heard Mr. Supine's blundering
+information, than, without any farther examination, she took the whole
+for granted: eager to repeat the anecdote to Mrs. Howard, she instantly
+wrote a note to her, saying that she would drink tea with her that
+evening.
+
+When Mrs. Holloway, attended by Mr. Supine, went, in the evening, to
+Mrs. Howard's, they found with her Mrs. B., the lady of Dr. B., the
+master of Westminster School.
+
+"Is not this an odd rencontre?" whispered Mrs. Holloway to Mr. Supine,
+as she drew him to a recessed window, commodious for gossiping: "I shall
+be called a tell-tale, I know, at Westminster; but I shall tell our
+story, notwithstanding. I would keep any other boy's secret; but Howard
+is such a saint: and I hate saints."
+
+A knock at the door interrupted Mrs. Holloway; she looked out of the
+window. "Oh, here he comes, up the steps," continued she, "after his
+sober evening promenade, and _his_ Mr. Russell with--and, I declare, the
+mulatto woman with him. Now for it!"
+
+Howard entered the room, went up to his aunt, and said, in a low
+voice,--
+
+"Ma'am, poor Cuba is come; she is rather tired with walking, and she is
+gone to rest herself in the front parlour."
+
+"Her lameness, though," pursued little Oliver, who followed Howard into
+the room, "is almost well. I just asked her how high she thought the
+coach was from which she was--"
+
+A look from Howard made Oliver stop short; for though he did not
+understand the full meaning of it, he saw it was designed to silence
+him. Howard was afraid of betraying Holloway's secret to Mr. Supine or
+to Mrs. Holloway: his aunt sent him out of the room with some message to
+Cuba, which gave Mrs. Holloway an opportunity of opening her business.
+
+"Pray," said she, "might I presume to ask--for I perceive the young
+gentleman has some secret to keep from me, which he may have good
+reasons for--may I, just to satisfy my own mind, presume to ask whether,
+as her name leads one to guess, your Cuba, Mrs. Howard, is a mulatto
+woman?"
+
+Surprised by the manner of the question, Mrs. Howard coldly replied,
+"Yes, madam--a mulatto woman."
+
+"And she is lame, I think, sir, you mentioned?" persisted the curious
+lady, turning to little Oliver.
+
+"Yes, she's a little lame still; but she will soon be quite well."
+
+"Oh! then, her lameness came, I presume, from an accident, sir, and not
+from her birth?"
+
+"From an accident, ma'am."
+
+"Oh! an accident--a fall--a fall from a coach--from a stage-coach,
+perhaps," continued Mrs. Holloway, smiling significantly at Mr.
+Supine: "you take me for a conjuror, young gentleman, I see by your
+astonishment," continued she to Oliver; "but a little bird told me the
+whole story; and I see Mrs. Howard knows how to keep a secret as well as
+myself."
+
+Mrs. Howard looked for an explanation.
+
+"Nay," said Mrs. Holloway, "you know best, Mrs. Howard; but as we're
+all _out of school_ now, I shall not be afraid to mention such a little
+affair, even before the doctor's lady; for, to be sure, she would never
+let it reach the doctor's ears."
+
+"Really, ma'am," said Mrs. Howard, "you puzzle me a little; I wish you
+would explain yourself: I don't know what it is that you would not have
+reach the doctor's ears."
+
+"You don't?--well, then, your nephew must have been very clever, to have
+kept you in the dark; mustn't he, Mr. Supine?"
+
+"I always, you know, thought the young gentleman very _clever_, ma'am,"
+said Mr. Supine, with a malicious emphasis.
+
+Mrs. Howard's colour now rose, and with a mixture of indignation and
+anxiety she pressed both Mr. Supine and Mrs. Holloway to be explicit. "I
+hate mysteries!" said she. Mrs. Holloway still hung back, saying it
+was a tender point; and hinting, that it would lessen her esteem and
+confidence in one most dear to her, to hear the whole truth.
+
+"Do you mean Howard, ma'am?" exclaimed little Oliver: "oh, speak! speak!
+it's impossible Charles Howard can have done any thing wrong."
+
+"Go for him, my dear," said Mrs. Howard, resuming her composure; "let
+him be present. I hate mysteries."
+
+"But, my dear Mrs. Howard," whispered Mrs. Holloway, "you don't
+consider; you'll get your nephew into a shocking scrape; the story will
+infallibly go from Mrs. B. to Dr. B. You are warm, and don't consider
+consequences."
+
+"Charles," said Mrs. Howard to her nephew, the moment he appeared, "from
+the time you were five years old, till this instant, I have never known
+you tell a falsehood; I should, therefore, be very absurd, as well as
+very unjust, if I were to doubt your integrity. Tell me--have you got
+into any difficulties? I would rather hear of them from yourself,
+than from any body else. Is there any mystery about overturning a
+stage-coach, that you know of, and that you have concealed from me?"
+
+"There is a mystery, ma'am, about overturning a stage-coach," replied
+Howard, in a firm tone of voice; "but when I assure you that it is no
+mystery of mine--nothing in which I have myself any concern--I am sure
+that you will believe me, my dear aunt, and that you will press me no
+further."
+
+"Not a word further, not a frown further," said his aunt, with a smile
+of entire confidence; in which Mr. Russell joined, but which appeared
+incomprehensible to Mr. Supine.
+
+"Very satisfactory indeed!" said that gentleman, leaning back in the
+chair; "I never heard any thing more satisfactory to my mind!"
+
+"Perfectly satisfactory, upon my word!" echoed Mrs. Holloway; but
+no looks, no inuendoes, could now disturb Mrs. Howard's security,
+or disconcert the resolute simplicity which appeared in her nephew's
+countenance. Mrs. Holloway, internally devoured by curiosity, was
+compelled to submit in silence. This restraint soon became so irksome to
+her, that she shortened her visit as much as she decently could.
+
+In crossing the passage, to go to her carriage, she caught a glimpse
+of the mulatto woman, who was going into a parlour. Resolute, at all
+hazards, to satisfy herself, Mrs. Holloway called to the retreating
+Cuba--began by asking some civil questions about her health; then spoke
+of the accident she had lately met with; and, in short, by a skilful
+cross-examination, drew her whole story from her. The gratitude with
+which the poor woman spoke of Howard's humanity was by no means pleasing
+to Mr. Supine.
+
+"Then it was not he who overturned the coach?" said Mrs. Holloway.
+
+The woman eagerly replied, "Oh no, madam!" and proceeded to draw, as
+well as she could, a description of the youth who had been mounted
+upon the coach-box: she had seen him only by the light of the moon, and
+afterwards by the light of a lantern; but she recollected his figure so
+well, and described him so accurately, that Mr. Supine knew the picture
+instantly, and Mrs. Holloway whispered to him, "Can it be Augustus?"
+
+"Mr. Holloway!--Impossible!--I suppose--"
+
+But the woman interrupted him by saying that she recollected to have
+heard the young gentleman called by that name by the coachman.
+
+The mother and the tutor were nearly alike confounded by this discovery.
+Mrs. Holloway got into her carriage, and, in their way home, Mr. Supine
+represented, that he should be ruined for ever with the alderman, if
+this transaction came to his knowledge; that, in fact, it was a mere
+boyish frolic; but that the alderman might not consider it in
+that light, and would, perhaps, make Mr. Augustus feel his serious
+displeasure. The foolish mother, out of mistaken good-nature, at length
+promised to be silent upon the subject. But, before he slept, Alderman
+Holloway heard the whole story. The footman, who had attended the
+carriage, was at the door when Mrs. Holloway was speaking to the mulatto
+woman, and had listened to every word that was said. This footman was in
+the habit of telling his master, when he attended him at night, all the
+news which he had been able to collect in the day. Mr. Supine was no
+favourite of his; because, whenever the tutor came to the house, he gave
+a great deal of trouble, being too indolent to do any thing for himself,
+and yet not sufficiently rich, or sufficiently generous, to pay the
+usual premiums for the active civility of servants. This footman was not
+sorry to have an opportunity of repeating any story that might injure
+Mr. Supine with his master. Alderman Holloway heard it under the promise
+of concealing the name of the person who had given him the information,
+and resolved to discover the truth of the affair the next day, when he
+was to visit his son at Westminster.
+
+But we must now return to Mrs. Howard's. We mentioned that Mrs. B. spent
+the evening with her. Dr. B., soon after Mrs. Holloway went away, called
+to take his lady home: he had been engaged to spend the evening at a
+card assembly; but, as he was a man who liked agreeable conversation
+better than cards, he had made his escape from a rout, to spend half an
+hour with Mrs. Howard and Mr. Russell. The doctor was a man of various
+literature; able to appreciate others, he was not insensible to the
+pleasure of seeing himself appreciated. Half an hour passes quickly in
+agreeable conversation: the doctor got into an argument, concerning the
+propriety of the distinction made by some late metaphysical writers,
+between imagination and fancy. Thence he was led to some critical
+remarks upon Warton's beautiful Ode to Fancy; then to the never-ending
+debate upon original genius; including also the doctrine of hereditary
+temper and dispositions, which the doctor warmly supported, and which
+Mrs. Howard coolly questioned.
+
+In the midst of their conversation, they were suddenly interrupted by a
+groan. They all looked round to see whence it came. It came from little
+Oliver: he was sitting at a little table at the farther end of the room,
+reading so intently in a large book that he saw nothing else: a long
+unsnuffed candle, with a perilous fiery summit to its black wick, stood
+before him, and his left arm embraced a thick china jar, against which
+he leaned his head. There was, by common consent, a general silence
+in the room, whilst every one looked at Oliver, as at a picture. Mrs.
+Howard moved gently round behind his chair, to see what he was reading:
+the doctor followed her. It was the account of the execution of two
+rebel Koromantyn negroes, related in Edwards's History of the West
+Indies[7]. To try whether it would interrupt Oliver's deep attention,
+Mrs. Howard leaned over him, and snuffed his dim candle; but the light
+was lost upon him--he did not feel the obligation. Dr. B. then put his
+hand upon the jar, which he pulled from Oliver's embrace. "Be quiet! I
+must finish this!" cried Oliver, still holding fast the jar, and keeping
+his eyes upon the book. The doctor gave a second pull at the jar, and
+the little boy made an impatient push with his elbow; then casting his
+eye upon the large hand which pulled the jar, he looked up, surprised,
+in the doctor's face.
+
+[Footnote 7: Vol. ii. p. 57, second edition.]
+
+The nice china jar, which Oliver had held so sturdily, was very
+precious to him. His uncle had just sent him two jars of fine West India
+sweetmeats. One of these he had shared with his companions: the other
+he had kept, to give to Mrs. Howard, who had once said, in his hearing,
+that she was fond of West India sweetmeats. She accepted Oliver's
+little present. Children sometimes feel as much pleasure in giving away
+sweetmeats as in eating them; and Mrs. Howard too well understood the
+art of education, even in trifles, to deny to grateful and generous
+feelings their natural and necessary exercise. A child can show
+gratitude and generosity only in trifles.
+
+"Are these all the sweetmeats that you have left, Oliver?" said Mrs.
+Howard.
+
+"Yes--all."
+
+"Was not Rousseau wrong, Dr. B.," said Mrs. Howard, "when he asserted,
+that no child ever gives away _his last mouthful_ of any thing good?"
+
+"Of any thing _good_!" said the doctor, laughing; "when I have tasted
+these sweetmeats, I shall be a better judge."
+
+"You shall taste them this minute, then," said Mrs. Howard; and she
+rang for a plate, whilst the doctor, to little Oliver's great amusement,
+exhibited various pretended signs of impatience, as Mrs. Howard
+deliberately untied the cover of the jar. One cover after another she
+slowly took off; at length the last transparent cover was lifted up: the
+doctor peeped in; but lo! instead of sweetmeats there appeared nothing
+but paper. One crumpled roll of paper after another Mrs. Howard pulled
+out; still no sweetmeats. The jar was entirely stuffed with paper, to
+the very bottom. Oliver was silent with amazement.
+
+"The sides of the jar are quite clean," said Howard.
+
+"But the inside of the paper that covered it is stained with
+sweetmeats," said Dr. B.
+
+"There must have been sweetmeats in it lately," said Mrs. Howard,
+"because the jar smells so strongly of them."
+
+Amongst the pieces of crumpled paper which had been pulled out of the
+jar, Dr. B. espied one, on which there appeared some writing: he looked
+it over.
+
+"Humph! What have we here? What's this? What can this he about a
+lottery?--tickets, price half a guinea--prizes-gold watch!--silver
+ditto--chased tooth-pick case--buckles--knee-buckles. What is all
+this?--April 10th, 1797--the drawing to begin--prizes to be delivered
+at Westminster school, by Aaron Carat, jeweller? Hey, young gentlemen,"
+cried Dr. B., looking at Oliver and Charles, "do you know any thing of
+this lottery?"
+
+"I have no concern in it, sir, I assure you," said Howard.
+
+"Nor I, thank goodness--I mean, thank you, Charles," exclaimed Oliver;
+"for you hindered me from putting into the lottery: how very lucky I was
+to take your advice!"
+
+"How very wise, you should say, Oliver," said Dr. B. "I must inquire
+into this business; I must find out who ordered these things from Mr.
+Aaron Carat. There shall be no lotteries, no gaming at Westminster
+school, whilst I have power to prevent it. To-morrow morning I'll
+inquire into this affair; and to-morrow morning we shall also know, my
+little fellow, what became of your sweetmeats."
+
+"Oh, never mind _that_," cried the good-natured Oliver; "don't say any
+thing, pray, sir, about my sweetmeats: I don't mind about them; I know
+already--I guess now, who took them; therefore you need not ask; I dare
+say it was only meant for a joke."
+
+Dr. B. made no reply; but folded up the paper which he had been reading,
+put it into his pocket, and soon after took his leave.
+
+Lord Rawson was one of those young men who measure their own merit and
+felicity by the number of miles which their horses can go in a day; he
+undertook to drive his friend up from Marryborough to Westminster, a
+distance of forty miles, in five hours. The arrival of his lordship's
+gig was a signal, for which several people were in waiting at
+Westminster school. The stage-coachman was impatiently waiting to demand
+his money from Holloway. Mr. Carat, the jeweller, was arrived, and eager
+to settle with Mr. Holloway about the lottery: he had brought the prizes
+in a small case, to be delivered, upon receiving from Holloway the money
+for all the tickets of which he had disposed. Dr. B. was waiting for the
+arrival of Mr. Holloway, as he had determined to collect all his pupils
+together, and to examine into the lottery business. Little Oliver was
+also watching for Holloway, to prevent mischief, and to assure him of
+forgiveness about the sweetmeats.
+
+Lord Rawson's dog-cart arrived. Holloway saw the stage-coachman as
+he alighted, and, abruptly turning from him, shook hands with little
+Oliver, saying, "You look as if you had been waiting for me."
+
+"Yes," said Oliver: "but I can't say what I want to say before every
+body."
+
+"I'll wait upon you presently," said Holloway, escaping from the
+coachman. As he crossed the hall, he descried Mr. Carat, and a crowd
+of boys surrounding him, crying, "Mr. Carat's come--he has brought
+the prizes!--he has brought the prizes! he'll show them all as soon as
+you've settled with him." Holloway called to the Jew; but little Oliver
+insisted upon being heard first.
+
+"You must hear me: I have something to say to you about the
+prizes--about the lottery."
+
+The words arrested Holloway's attention: he followed Oliver; heard with
+surprise and consternation the history of the paper which had been found
+in the jar, by Dr. B. "I've done for myself, now, faith!" he exclaimed;
+"I suppose the doctor knows all about the hand _I_ have in the lottery."
+
+"No," replied Oliver, "he does not."
+
+"Why, _you_ must have known it; and did not he question you and Howard?"
+
+"Yes; but when we told him that we had nothing to do with it, he did not
+press us farther."
+
+"You are really a noble little fellow," exclaimed Holloway, "to bear me
+no malice for the many ill turns I have done you: this last has
+fallen upon myself, as ill-luck would have it: but before we go any
+farther--your sweetmeats are safe in the press, in my room; I didn't
+mean to steal them; only to plague you, child:--but you have your
+revenge now."
+
+"I don't want any revenge, indeed," said Oliver, "for I'm never happy
+when I've quarrelled with any body: and even when people quarrel with
+me, I don't feel quite sure that I'm in the right, which makes me
+uncomfortable; and, besides, I don't want to find out that they are
+quite in the wrong; and that makes me uncomfortable the other way.
+After all, quarrelling and bearing malice are very disagreeable things,
+somehow or other. Don't you, when you have made it up with people, and
+shaken hands, Holloway--don't you feel quite light, and ready to jump
+again? So shake hands, if you are not above shaking hands with such a
+little boy as I am; and I shall never think again about the sweetmeats,
+or old _fag_ times."
+
+Holloway could not help feeling touched. "Here's my hand," cried he,
+"I'm sorry I've tormented you so often; I'll never plague you any more.
+But now--I don't know what upon earth to do. Where's Charles Howard? If
+he can't help me, I'm undone. I have got into more scrapes than I can
+get out of, I know. I wish I could see Howard."
+
+"I'll run and bring him to you; he's the best person at knowing what
+should be done--at least for me, I know--that ever I saw."
+
+Holloway abruptly began, as soon as Howard came up to him: "Howard,"
+said he, "you know this plaguy lottery business--but you don't know
+half yet: here's Carat come to be paid for his tickets; and here's that
+dunning stage-coachman sticks close to me for his five guineas; and not
+one farthing have I upon earth."
+
+"Not a farthing! but you don't mean that you have not the money for Mr.
+Carat?"
+
+"But I _do_ though."
+
+"Why, you cannot have spent it since yesterday morning?"
+
+"No; but I have lost half and lent half; and the half that I have lent
+is gone for ever, I am afraid, as much as that which I lost."
+
+"Whom did you lend the money to? How did you lose it?"
+
+"I lost part to Sir John O'Shannon, last night, at billiards--more fool
+I to play, only because I wanted to cut a figure amongst those fine
+people at Marryborough. I wonder my father lets me go there; I know
+I sha'n't go back there this Easter, unless Lord Rawson makes me an
+apology, I can tell him. I've as good a right to be upon my high horse
+as he has; for though his father's an earl, my father's a great deal
+richer, I know; and has lent him a great deal of money, too, and that's
+the only reason he's civil to us; but I can tell him--"
+
+Here Howard brought the angry Holloway from his high horse, by asking
+what all this had to do with Mr. Carat, who was waiting to be paid?
+
+"Why, don't I explain to you," said Holloway, "that I lent _him_--Lord
+Rawson, I mean--all the money I had left yesterday, and I couldn't
+get it out of him again, though I told him my distress about the
+stage-coachman? Did you ever know any thing so selfish? Did you ever
+know any thing so shabby, so shameful? And then to make me his butt,
+as he did last night at supper, because there were two or three dashing
+young men by; I think more of _that_ than all the rest. Do you know, he
+asked me to eat custard with my apple-pie, just to point me out for
+an alderman's son; and when I only differed from him about Captain
+Shouldham's puppy's ears, Lord Rawson said, to be sure, I must know
+about dog's ears, just to put me in mind that I was a school-boy; but
+I'll never go to Marryborough any more, unless he begs my pardon. I've
+no notion of being a humble friend; but it does not signify being in a
+passion about it now," continued Holloway. "What I want you, Howard, to
+do for me is, just to think; for I can't think at present, I'm in such a
+hurry, with all these things coming across me at once. What can I do to
+find money for the stage-coachman and for Mr. Carat? Why both together
+come to fifteen guineas. And what can I do about Dr. B.? And, do you
+know, my father is coming here this very morning. How shall I manage?
+He'd never forgive me: at least he'd not give me any money for I don't
+know how long, if these things were to come out. What would you advise
+me to do?"
+
+Howard, with his usual honest policy, advised Holloway at once to tell
+all the circumstances to his father. Holloway was at first much alarmed
+at this proposal, and insisted upon it that this method would not _do at
+all_ with the alderman, though it might do very well with such a woman
+as Mrs. Howard. At length, however, overcome, partly by the arguments,
+and partly by the persuasion of his new adviser, Holloway determined
+upon his confession.
+
+Alderman Holloway arrived, and was beginning to talk to Dr. B. of his
+son's proficiency in his studies, when the young gentleman made his
+appearance, with a countenance extremely embarrassed and agitated. The
+sight of Dr. B. deprived Holloway of courage to speak. The doctor fixed
+his penetrating eye upon the pale culprit, who immediately stopped short
+in the middle of the room, stammering out, "I came to speak, sir--I had
+something to say to my father, sir--I came, if you please, to speak to
+my father, sir." To Holloway's utter astonishment, Dr. B.'s countenance
+and manner suddenly changed at these words; all his severity vanished;
+and, with a look and voice the most encouraging, he led the abashed
+youth towards his father.
+
+"You came to speak to your father, sir? Speak to him then without fear,
+without reserve: you will certainly find in a father your most indulgent
+friend. I'll leave you together."
+
+This opening of the case by Dr. B. was of equal advantage both to the
+father and to the son. Alderman Holloway, though without literature, was
+not without understanding: his affection for his son made him quickly
+comprehend the good sense of the doctor's hint. The alderman was not
+_surprised_ by the story of the overturn of the stage-coach, because he
+had heard it before from his footman. But the lottery transaction with
+the Jew--and, above all, with the loss and loan of so much money to his
+friend, Lord Rawson--struck him with some astonishment; yet he commanded
+his temper, which was naturally violent; and, after a constrained
+silence, he begged his son to summon Mr. Supine. "At least," cried the
+alderman, "I've a right to be in a passion with that careless, indolent,
+dilettanti puppy, whom I've been paying all this while for taking such
+care of you. I wish I had hold of his German flute at this instant.
+You are very right, Augustus, to come like a man, and tell me all
+these things; and now I must tell you, that some of them I had heard of
+before. I wish I had that Jew, that Mr. Carat of yours, here! and that
+stage-coachman, who had the impertinence to take you out with him at
+night. But it's all Mr. Supine's fault--and mine, for not choosing a
+better tutor for you. As to Lord Rawson, I can't blame you either much
+for that, for I encouraged the connexion, I must own. I'm glad you have
+quarrelled with him, however; and pray look out for a better friend as
+fast as possible. You were very right to tell me all these things; on
+that consideration, and that only, I'll lend my hand to getting you out
+of these scrapes."
+
+"For that," cried Holloway, "I may thank Howard, then; for he advised
+and urged me to tell you all this at once."
+
+"Call him; let me thank him," said the alderman; "he's an excellent
+young man then--call him."
+
+Dr. B. now entered the room with little Oliver.
+
+When Holloway returned with Howard, he beheld the stage-coachman
+standing silent on one side of his father; Mr. Carat, the Jew, on the
+other side, jabbering an unintelligible vindication of himself; whilst
+Dr. B. was contemplating the box of lottery prizes, which lay open upon
+the table. Mr. Supine, leaning against the chimney-piece, appeared in
+the attitude of an Antinous in despair.
+
+"Come, my little friend," said Dr. B. to Oliver, "you did not put into
+the lottery, I understand. Choose from amongst these things whatever
+you please. It is better to trust to prudence than fortune, you see. Mr.
+Howard, I know that I am rewarding you, at this instant, in the manner
+you best like, and best deserve."
+
+There was a large old-fashioned chased gold toothpick-case, on which
+Oliver immediately fixed his eye. After examining it very carefully,
+he drew the doctor aside, and, after some consultation, Oliver left the
+room hastily; whilst the alderman, with all the eloquence of which he
+was master, expressed his gratitude to Howard for the advice which he
+had given his son. "Cultivate this young gentleman's friendship," added
+he, turning to Holloway: "he has not a title; but even _I_, Augustus,
+am now ready to acknowledge he is worth twenty Lord Rawsons. Had he a
+title, he would grace it; and that's as much as I can say for any man."
+
+The Jew, all this time, stood in the greatest trepidation; he trembled
+lest the alderman should have him taken up and committed to gaol for his
+illegal, unlicensed lottery. He poured forth as many protestations as
+his knowledge of the English language could afford of the purity of his
+intentions; and, to demonstrate his disinterestedness, began to display
+the trinkets in his prize-box, with a panegyric upon each. Dr. B.
+interrupted him, by paying for the toothpick-case, which he had bought
+for Oliver.
+
+"Now, Mr. Carat," said the doctor, "you will please to return, in the
+first place, the money you have received for your _illegal_ lottery
+tickets."
+
+The word _illegal_, pronounced in a tremendous tone, operated
+instantaneously upon the Jew; his hand, which had closed upon Holloway's
+guineas, opened; he laid the money down upon the table, but mechanically
+seized his box of trinkets, which he seemed to fear would be the next
+seized, as forfeits. No persons are so apprehensive of injustice
+and fraud as those who are themselves dishonest. Mr. Carat, bowing
+repeatedly to Alderman Holloway, shuffled toward the door, asking if he
+might now depart; when the door opened with such a force, as almost to
+push the retreating Jew upon his face.
+
+Little Oliver, out of breath, burst into the room, whispered a few words
+to Dr. B. and Alderman Holloway, who answered, "He may come in;" and
+a tall, stout man, an officer from Bow-street, immediately entered.
+"There's your man, sir," said the alderman, pointing to the Jew; "there
+is Mr. Carat." The man instantly seized Mr. Carat, producing a warrant
+from Justice--for apprehending the Jew upon suspicion of his having in
+his possession certain valuable jewels, the property of Mrs. Frances
+Howard.
+
+Oliver was eager to explain. "Do you know, Howard," said he, "how all
+this came about? Do you know your aunt's gone to Bow-street, and has
+taken the mulatto woman with her, and Mr. Russell is gone with her?
+and she thinks--and _I_ think--she'll certainly have her jewels, her
+grandmother's jewels, that were left in Jamaica."
+
+"How? but how?" exclaimed Howard.
+
+"Why," said Oliver, "by the toothpick-case. The reason I chose that
+toothpick-case out of the Jew's box was, because it came into my head,
+the minute I saw it, that the mulatto woman's curious thimble--you
+remember her thimble, Howard--would just fit one end of it. I ran home
+and tried it, and the thimble screwed on as nicely as possible; and
+the chasing, as Mr. Russell said, and the colour of the gold, matched
+exactly. Oh! Mrs. Howard was so surprised when we showed it to her--so
+astonished to see this toothpick-case in England; for it had been left,
+she said, with all her grandmother's diamonds and _things_, in Jamaica."
+
+"Yes," interrupted Howard; "I remember my aunt told us, when you asked
+her about Cuba's thimble, that she gave it to Cuba when she was a child,
+and that it belonged to some old trinket.--Go on."
+
+"Well, where was I?--Oh, then, as soon as she saw the toothpick-case,
+she asked how it had been found; and I told her all about the lottery
+and Mr. Carat; then she and Mr. Russell consulted, and away they went,
+with Cuba, in a coach; and all the rest you know; and I wish I could
+hear the end of it!"
+
+"And so you shall, my good little fellow; we'll all go together to hear
+the Jew's examination: you shall go with me in my coach to Bow-street,"
+said Alderman Holloway.
+
+In the midst of their bustle, the poor stage-coachman, who had waited
+with uncommon patience in the hope that Alderman Holloway would at
+last recollect him, pressed forward, and petitioned to be paid his five
+guineas for the lost parcel.--"I have lost my place already," said he,
+"and the little goods I have will be seized this day, for the value of
+that unlucky parcel, master."
+
+The alderman put his hand slowly into his purse; but just when he had
+pulled out five guineas, a servant came into the room, to inform Dr. B.
+that a sailor was waiting in the hall, who desired to speak, directly,
+about something of consequence, to the stage-coachman.
+
+Dr. B., who imagined that the sailor might have something to do with the
+business in question, ordered that he might be shown into the room.
+
+"I wants one Gregory Giles, a stage-coachman, if such a one be here
+amongst ye, gentlefolks, and nobody else," cried the sailor, producing a
+parcel, wrapped up in brown paper.
+
+"It's my very parcel!" exclaimed the stage-coachman. "I am Gregory
+Giles! God bless your honest heart!--Where did ye find it?--Give it me!"
+
+The sailor said he had found it in a dry ditch on the Bath road,
+a little beyond the first turnpike, going out of town; that he had
+inquired at the turnpike-house; had heard that the stage had been
+overturned a few days before, and that a parcel had been lost, about
+which the coachman had been in great trouble; that he had gone directly
+to the inn where the coach put up; had traced the coachman from place to
+place; and was heartily glad he had found him at last.
+
+"Thank'ee, with all my heart," said the coachman, "for all the trouble
+you've been at; and here's the crown reward that I offered for it, and
+my thanks into the bargain."
+
+"No, no," said the honest sailor, pushing back the money; "I won't take
+any thing from a poor fellow like myself: put your silver into your
+pocket: I hear you lost your place already by that parcel. There was
+a great talk at the turnpike-house about your losing your place, for
+giving some young gentleman a lift.--Put up your money."
+
+All present were eager in rewarding the honest sailor.
+
+A hackney-coach was now come to the door for Mr. Carat, and every body
+hurried off as fast as possible.
+
+"Where are they all steering to?" said the sailor. The stage-coachman
+told him all that he had heard of the matter. "I'll be in their
+wake, then," cried the sailor; "I shall like to see the Jew upon his
+court-martial; I was choused once by a Jew myself." He got to Bow-street
+as soon as they did.
+
+The first thing Howard learned was, that the jewels, which had been all
+found at Mr. Carat's, precisely answered the description which his aunt
+had given of them. The Jew was in the utmost consternation: finding that
+the jewels were positively sworn to, he declared, upon his examination,
+that he had bought them from a captain of a ship; that he had paid the
+full value for them; and that, at the time he purchased them, he had
+no suspicion of their having been fraudulently obtained. This defence
+appearing evidently evasive, the magistrates who examined Mr. Carat
+informed him, that, unless he could produce the person from whom he had
+bought the jewels, he must be committed to Newgate for receiving stolen
+goods. Terrified at this sentence, the Jew, though he had at first
+asserted that he knew nothing of the captain from whom he had received
+the diamonds, now acknowledged that he actually lodged at his house.
+
+"Hah!" exclaimed Holloway: "I remember, the day that I and Lord Rawson
+called at your house, you were settling accounts, your foreman told us,
+with a captain of a ship, who was to leave England in a few days: it's
+well he's not off."
+
+An officer was immediately sent to Mr. Carat's in quest of this captain;
+but there were great apprehensions that he might have escaped at the
+first alarm of the search for the jewels. Fortunately, however, he had
+not been able to get off, as two constables had been stationed at
+Mr. Carat's house. The officer from Bow-street found him in his own
+bed-chamber, rummaging a portmanteau for some papers, which he wanted
+to burn. His papers were seized, and carried along with him before the
+magistrate.
+
+Alderman Holloway knew the captain the moment he was brought into the
+room, though his dress and whole appearance were very different from
+what they had been when he had waited upon the alderman some months
+before this time, with a dismal, plausible story of his own poverty
+and misfortunes. He had then told him that his mate and he had had
+a quarrel, upon the voyage from Jamaica; that the mate knew what a
+valuable cargo he had on board; that just when they got in sight of
+land, the crew rose upon him; the mate seized him, and by force put him
+into a boat, and set him ashore.
+
+The discovery of the jewels at Mr. Carat's at once overturned the
+captain's whole story: cunning people often insert something in their
+narration to make it better, which ultimately tends to convict them
+of falsehood. The captain having now no other resource, and having the
+horrors of imprisonment, and the certainty of condemnation upon a public
+trial, full before him, threw himself, as the only chance that remained
+for him, upon Mrs. Howard's mercy; confessed that all that he had told
+her before was false; that his mate and he had acted in concert; that
+the rising of the crew against him had been contrived between them; that
+he had received the jewels, when he was set ashore, for his immediate
+share of the booty; and that the mate had run the ship off to
+Charlestown, to sell her cargo. According to agreement, the captain
+added, he was to have had a share in the cargo; but the mate had
+_cheated him_ of that; he had never heard from him, or of him, he would
+take his oath, from the day he was set ashore, and knew nothing of him
+or the cargo.
+
+"Avast, friend, by your leave," cried the honest sailor who had found
+the stage-coachman's parcel--"avast, friend, by your leave," said he,
+elbowing his way between Alderman Holloway and his next neighbour,
+and getting clear into the middle of the circle--"I know more of this
+matter, _my lord_, or please your worship, which is much the same thing,
+than any body here; and I'm glad on't, mistress," continued the tar,
+pulling a quid of tobacco out of his mouth, and addressing himself to
+Mrs. Howard: then turning to the captain, "Wasn't _she_ the _Lively
+Peggy_, pray?--it's no use tacking. Wasn't your mate one John Matthews,
+pray? Captain, your face tells truth, in spite of your teeth."
+
+The captain instantly grew pale, and trembled: on which the sailor
+turned abruptly from him, and went on with his story. "Mistress," said
+he, "though I'm a loser by it, no matter. The Lively Peggy and her cargo
+are safe and sound in Plymouth, at this very time being, and we have her
+mate in limbo, curse him. We made a prize of him, coming from America,
+for he was under French colours, and a fine prize we thought we'd made.
+But her cargo belongs to a British subject; and there's an end to our
+prize money: no matter for that. There was an ugly look with Matthews
+from the first; and I found, the day we took her, something odd in the
+look of her stern. The rascals had done their best to paint over her
+name; but _I_, though no great scholar, made a shift to spell the Lively
+Peggy through it all. We have the mate in limbo at Plymouth: but it's
+all come out, without any more to do; and, mistress, I'll get you her
+bill of lading in a trice, and I give ye joy with all my heart."
+
+Alderman Holloway, a man used to business, would not indulge himself in
+a single compliment upon this occasion, till he had cautiously searched
+the captain's papers. The bill of lading which had been sent with the
+Lively Peggy from Jamaica, was found amongst them; it was an exact list,
+corresponding precisely with that which Mrs. Howard's agent had sent her
+by post, of the consignment shipped after the sale of her plantation.
+The alderman, satisfied, after counting the puncheons of rum and
+hogsheads of sugar, turned to Mrs. Howard, and shook hands with her,
+with a face of mercantile congratulation, declaring that "she was now as
+good a woman as ever she had been, and need never desire to be better."
+
+"My dear Oliver," cried Howard, "this is all owing to you: _you_
+discovered--"
+
+"No, no, no!" interrupted Oliver, precipitately: "all that I did was
+accident; all that you did was not accident. You first made me love you,
+by teaching me that I was not a blockhead, and by freeing me from--"
+
+"_A tyrant_, you were going to say," cried Holloway, colouring deeply;
+"and, if you had, you'd have said the truth. I thought; Howard,
+_afterwards_, that you were a brave fellow for taking his part, I
+confess. But, Oliver, I thought you had forgiven me for all these
+things."
+
+"Forgiven! Oh yes, to be sure," cried little Oliver; "I wasn't thinking
+of myself, or you either; I was only thinking of Howard's good nature;
+and then," continued he, "Howard was just as good to the mulatto woman
+as he was to me--wasn't he, Cuba?"
+
+"That he was!" replied the poor woman; and, looking at Mrs. Howard,
+added, "Massa's _heart_ as good as hers."
+
+"And his _head's_ as good as his heart, which makes it all better
+still," continued Oliver, with enthusiasm. "Mr. Russell, you know how
+hard he worked at that translation, to earn money to support poor
+Cuba, and to paper the room, and to pay the bricklayer _for_ the smoky
+chimney: these things were not done by accident, were they? though it
+was by accident that I happened to observe Cuba's curious thimble."
+
+"There are some people," interrupted Mr. Russell, "who, by accident,
+never observe any thing. We will not allow you, Oliver, to call your
+quick habit of observation accident; your excellent capacity will--"
+
+"_My_ excellent capacity," repeated Oliver, with unfeigned surprise:
+"why, you know, I get by rote slower than any body in the world."
+
+"You may," said Dr. B., "notwithstanding, have an excellent capacity:
+much may be learned without books; much more with books, Oliver; but,
+for your comfort, you need not learn them by rote."
+
+"I'm glad of it, heartily," cried Oliver; "but this put something out
+of my head that I was in a great hurry to say--O, one other thing
+about _accident_. It was not _accident_, but it was Howard's sense, in
+persuading me not to put into the lottery, that was the very cause of
+Dr. B.'s giving me the choice of all the things in the Jew's box--was it
+not?"
+
+"Well, Oliver, we are ready to allow all you want us to perceive, in one
+word, that your friend Howard _has not been educated by accident_," said
+Dr. B., looking at Mrs. Howard.
+
+The Jew and the captain of the Lively Peggy were now left in the hands
+of the law. The sailor was properly rewarded. Mr. Russell was engaged to
+superintend the education of Holloway. He succeeded, and was presented
+by the alderman with a living in Surrey. Mr. Supine never visited Italy,
+and did not meet with any consolation but in his German flute. Howard
+continued eager to improve himself; nor did he imagine that, the moment
+he left school, and parted from his tutor, his education was finished,
+and that his books were, "like past misfortunes," good for nothing
+but to be forgotten. His love for literature he found one of the first
+pleasures of his life; nor did he, after he came into the possession of
+a large fortune, find that his habits of constant occupation lessened
+his enjoyments, for he was never known to yawn at a window upon a rainy
+morning!
+
+Little Oliver's understanding rapidly improved; his affection for his
+friend Howard increased as he grew up, for he always remembered that
+Howard was the first person who discovered that he was not a dunce. Mrs.
+Howard had the calm satisfaction of seeing an education well finished,
+which she had well begun; and she enjoyed, in her nephew's friendship,
+esteem, and unconstrained gratitude, all the rewards which her good
+sense, firmness, and benevolence had so well deserved.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ANGELINA; OR, L'AMIE INCONNUE.
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+"But, my dear Lady Di., indeed you should not let this affair prey so
+continually upon your spirits," said Miss Burrage, in the condoling tone
+of a humble companion--"you really have almost fretted yourself into a
+nervous fever. I was in hopes that change of air, and change of scene,
+would have done every thing for you, or I never would have consented
+to your leaving London; for you know your ladyship's always better in
+London than any where else. And I'm sure your ladyship has thought and
+talked of nothing but this sad affair since you came to Clifton."
+
+"I confess," said Lady Diana Chillingworth, "I deserve the reproaches
+of my friends for giving way to my sensibility, as I do, upon this
+occasion: but I own I cannot help it.--Oh, what will the world say! What
+will the world say!--The world will lay all the blame upon _me_; yet I'm
+sure I'm the last, the very last person that ought to be blamed."
+
+"Assuredly," replied Miss Burrage, "nobody can blame your ladyship;
+and nobody will, I am persuaded. The blame will all be thrown, where it
+ought to be, upon the young lady herself."
+
+"If I could but be convinced of that," said her ladyship, in a tone of
+great feeling; "such a young creature, scarcely sixteen, to take such
+a step!--I am sure I wish to Heaven her father had never made me her
+guardian. I confess, I was most exceedingly imprudent, out of regard
+to her family, to take under my protection such a self-willed,
+unaccountable, romantic girl. Indeed, my dear," continued Lady Diana
+Chillingworth, turning to her sister, Lady Frances Somerset, "it was you
+that misled me. You remember you used to tell me, that Anne Warwick had
+such great abilities!"--
+
+"That I thought it a pity they had not been well directed," said Lady
+Frances.
+
+"And such generosity of temper, and such warm affections!" said Lady
+Di.--
+
+"That I regretted their not having been properly cultivated."
+
+"I confess, Miss Warwick was never a great favourite of mine," said Miss
+Barrage; "but now that she has lost her best friend--"
+
+"She is likely to find a great number of enemies," said Lady Frances.
+
+"She has been her own enemy, poor girl! I am sure I pity her," replied
+Miss Burrage; "but, at the same time, I must say, that ever since she
+came to my Lady Di. Chillingworth's, she has had good advice enough."
+
+"Too much, perhaps; which is worse than too little," thought Lady
+Frances.
+
+"Advice!" repeated Lady Di. Chillingworth: "why, as to that, my
+conscience, I own, acquits me there; for, to be sure, no young person,
+of her age, or of any age, had ever more advice, or more good advice,
+than Miss Warwick had from me; I thought it my duty to advise her, and
+advise her I did from morning till night, as Miss Burrage very well
+knows, and will do me the justice, I hope, to say in all companies."
+
+"_That_ I shall certainly make it a principle to do," said Miss Burrage.
+"I am sure it would surprise and grieve you, Lady Frances, to hear
+the sort of foolish, imprudent things that Miss. Warwick, with all her
+abilities, used to say. I recollect--"
+
+"Very possibly," replied Lady Frances; "but why should we trouble
+ourselves to recollect all the foolish, imprudent things which this poor
+girl may have said?--This unfortunate elopement is a sufficient proof of
+her folly and imprudence. With whom did she go off?"
+
+"With nobody," cried Lady Diana--"there's the wonder."
+
+"With nobody!--Incredible.--She had certainly some admirer, some lover,
+and she was afraid, I suppose, to mention the business to you."
+
+"No such thing, my dear: there is no love at all in the case: indeed,
+for my part, I cannot in the least comprehend Miss Warwick, nor ever
+could. She used, every now and then, to begin and talk to me some
+nonsense about her hatred of the forms of the world, and her love
+of liberty, and I know not what; and then she had some female
+correspondent, to whom she used to write folio sheets, twice a week, I
+believe; but I could never see any of these letters. Indeed, in town,
+you know, I could not possibly have leisure for such things; but Miss
+Burrage, I fancy, has one of the letters, if you have any curiosity
+to see it. Miss Burrage can tell you a great deal more of the whole
+business than I can; for you know, in London, engaged as I always was,
+with scarcely a moment ever to myself, how could I attend to all Anne
+Warwick's oddities? I protest I know nothing of the matter, but that,
+one morning, Miss Warwick was nowhere to be found, and my maid brought
+me a letter, of one word of which I could not make sense: the letter was
+found on the young lady's dressing-table, according to the usual custom
+of eloping heroines. Miss Burrage, do show Lady Frances the letters--you
+have them somewhere; and tell my sister all you know of the matter,
+for I declare, I'm quite tired of it; besides, I shall be wanted at the
+card-table."
+
+Lady Diana Chillingworth went to calm her sensibility at the card-table;
+and Lady Frances turned to Miss Burrage, for further information.
+
+"All I know," said Miss Burrage, "is, that one night I saw Miss Warwick
+putting a lock of frightful hair into a locket, and I asked her whose it
+was.--'My amiable Araminta's,' said Miss Warwick, 'Is she pretty?' said
+I. 'I have never seen her,' said Miss Warwick; 'but I will show you a
+charming picture of her mind!'--and she put this long letter into my
+hand. I'll leave it with your ladyship, if you please; it is a good, or
+rather a bad hour's work to read it."
+
+"_Araminta!_" exclaimed Lady Frances, looking at the signature of the
+letter--"this is only a nom de guerre, I suppose."
+
+"Heaven knows!" answered Miss Burrage; "but Miss Warwick always signed
+her epistles Angelina, and her _unknown friend's_ were always signed
+Araminta. I do suspect that Araminta, whoever she is, was the instigator
+of this elopement."
+
+"I wish," said Lady Frances, examining the post-mark of the letter,
+"I wish that we could find out where Araminta lives; we might then,
+perhaps, recover this poor Miss Warwick, before the affair is talked of
+in the world--before her reputation is injured."
+
+"It would certainly be a most desirable thing," said Miss Burrage; "but
+Miss Warwick has such odd notions, that I question whether she will ever
+behave like other people; and, for my part, I cannot blame Lady Diana
+Chillingworth for giving her up. She is one of those young ladies whom
+it is scarcely possible to manage by common sense."
+
+"It is certainly true," said Lady Frances, "that young women of Miss
+Warwick's superior abilities require something more than _common_ sense
+to direct them properly. Young ladies who think of nothing but dress,
+public amusements, and forming what they call high connexions, are
+undoubtedly most easily managed, by the fear of what the world will
+say of them; but Miss Warwick appeared to me to have higher ideas of
+excellence; and I therefore regret that she should be totally given up
+by her friends."
+
+"It is Miss Warwick who has given up her friends," said Miss Burrage,
+with a mixture of embarrassment and sarcasm in her manner; "it is Miss
+Warwick who has given up her friends; not Miss Warwick's friends who
+have given up Miss Warwick."
+
+The letter from the "amiable Araminta," which Miss Burrage left for
+the pervsal of Lady Frances Somerset, contained three folio sheets, of
+which, it is hoped, the following abridgment will be sufficiently ample
+to satisfy the curiosity even of those who are lovers of long letters:--
+
+"Yes, my Angelina! our hearts are formed for that higher species of
+friendship, of which common souls are inadequate to form an idea,
+however their fashionable puerile lips may, in the intellectual inanity
+of their conversation, profane the term. Yes, my Angelina, you are
+right--every fibre of my frame, every energy of my intellect, tells
+me so. I read your letter by moonlight! The air balmy and pure as my
+Angelina's thoughts! The river silently meandering!--The rocks!--The
+woods!--Nature in all her majesty. Sublime confidante! Sympathizing with
+my supreme felicity. And shall I confess to you, friend of my soul! that
+I could not refuse myself the pleasure of reading to my Orlando some of
+those passages in your last, which evince so powerfully the superiority
+of that understanding, which, if I mistake not strangely, is formed to
+combat, in all its Proteus forms, the system of social slavery? With
+what soul-rending eloquence does my Angelina describe the solitariness,
+the _isolation_ of the heart she experiences in a crowded metropolis!
+With what emphatic energy of inborn independence does she
+exclaim against the family phalanx of her aristocratic
+persecutors!-Surely--surely she will not be intimidated from
+'the settled purpose of her soul' by the phantom-fear of worldly
+censure!--The garnish-tinselled wand of fashion has waved in vain in
+the illuminated halls of folly-painted pleasure; my Angelina's eyes have
+withstood, yes, without a blink, the dazzling enchantment.--And will
+she--no, I cannot, I will not think so for an instant--will she now
+submit her understanding, spell-bound, to the soporific charm of
+nonsensical words, uttered in an awful tone by that potent enchantress,
+_Prejudice_?--The declamation, the remonstrances of self-elected judges
+of right and wrong, should be treated with deserved contempt by superior
+minds, who claim the privilege of thinking and acting for themselves.
+The words _ward_ and _guardian_ appal my Angelina! but what are legal
+technical formalities, what are human institutions, to the view of
+shackle-scorning Reason! Oppressed, degraded, enslaved, must our
+unfortunate sex for ever submit to sacrifice their rights, their
+pleasures, their _will_, at the altar of public opinion; whilst the
+shouts of interested priests, and idle spectators, raise the senseless
+enthusiasm of the self-devoted victim, or drown her cries in the
+truth-extorting moment of agonizing nature!--You will not perfectly
+understand, perhaps, to what these last exclamations of your Araminta
+allude:--But, chosen friend of my heart!--when we meet--and oh, let
+that be quickly!--my cottage longs for the arrival of my unsophisticated
+Angelina!--when we meet you shall know all--your Araminta, too, has had
+her sorrows--Enough of this!--But her Orlando has a heart, pure as the
+infantine god of love could, in his most perfect mood, delight at once
+to wound, and own--joined to an understanding--shall I say it?--worthy
+to judge of your Araminta's--And will not my sober-minded Angelina
+prefer, to all that palaces can afford, such society in a cottage?--I
+shall reserve for my next the description of a cottage, which I have in
+my eye, within view of--; but I will not anticipate.--Adieu, my
+amiable Angelina.--I enclose, as you desire, a lock of my hair.--Ever,
+unalterably, your affectionate, though almost heart-broken,
+
+"ARAMINTA.
+
+"April, 1800.--_Angelina Bower!_
+
+"So let me christen my cottage!"
+
+What effect this letter may have on _sober-minded_ readers in general
+can easily be guessed; but Miss Warwick, who was little deserving of
+this epithet, was so charmed with the sound of it, that it made her
+totally to forget to judge of her amiable Araminta's mode of reasoning.
+"Garnish-tinselled wands"--"shackle-scorning Reason"--"isolation of
+the heart"--"soul-rending eloquence"--with "rocks and woods, and a
+meandering river--balmy air--moonlight--Orlando--energy of intellect--a
+cottage--and a heart-broken friend," made, when all mixed together,
+strange confusion in Angelina's imagination. She neglected to
+observe, that her Araminta was in the course of two pages--"almost
+heart-broken"--and in the possession of--"supreme felicity."--Yet Miss
+Warwick, though she judged so like a simpleton, was a young woman of
+considerable abilities: her want of what the world calls common sense
+arose from certain mistakes in her education.--She had passed her
+childhood with a father and mother, who cultivated her literary taste,
+but who neglected to cultivate her judgment: her reading was confined
+to works of imagination; and the conversation which she heard was not
+calculated to give her any knowledge of realities. Her parents died
+when she was about fourteen, and she then went to reside with Lady Diana
+Chillingworth, a lady who placed her whole happiness in living in a
+certain circle of high company in London. Miss Warwick saw the follies
+of the society with which she now mixed; she felt insupportable ennui
+from the want of books and conversation suited to her taste; she heard
+with impatience Lady Diana's dogmatical advice; observed, with disgust,
+the meanness of her companion, Miss Burrage, and felt with triumph the
+superiority of her own abilities. It was in this situation of her mind
+that Miss Warwick happened, at a circulating library, to meet with a
+new novel, called "The Woman of Genius."--The character of Araminta, the
+heroine, charmed her beyond measure; and having been informed, by
+the preface, that the story was founded on facts in the life of the
+authoress herself, she longed to become acquainted with her; and
+addressed a letter to "The Woman of Genius," at her publisher's. The
+letter was answered in a highly flattering, and consequently, very
+agreeable style, and the correspondence continued for nearly two years;
+till, at length, Miss W. formed a strong desire to see her _unknown
+friend_. The ridicule with which Miss Burrage treated every thing, and
+every idea, that was not sanctioned by fashion, and her total want of
+any taste for literature, were continually contrasted in Miss Warwick's
+mind, with the picture she had formed of her Araminta.--Miss Burrage,
+who dreaded, though certainly without reason, that she might be
+supplanted in the good graces of Lady Diana, endeavoured by every petty
+means in her power, to disgust her young rival with the situation in
+which she was placed. She succeeded beyond her hopes. Miss Warwick
+determined to accept of her _unknown friend's_ invitation to Angelina
+Bower--a charming romantic cottage in South Wales, where, according to
+Araminta's description, she might pass her halcyon days in tranquil,
+elegant retirement. It was not difficult for our heroine, though unused
+to deception, to conceal her project from Lady Diana Chillingworth, who
+was much more observant of the appearance of her protegee in public,
+than interested about what passed in her mind in private. Miss Warwick
+quitted her ladyship's house without the least difficulty, and the
+following is the letter which our heroine left upon her dressing-table.
+Under all the emphatic words, according to the custom of some
+letter-writers, were drawn emphatic lines.
+
+"Averse as I am to every thing that may have the appearance of a
+clandestine transaction, I have, however, found myself under the
+necessity of leaving your ladyship's house, without imparting to you my
+intentions. Confidence and sympathy go hand in hand, nor can either
+be _commanded_ by the voice of authority. Your ladyship's opinions and
+mine, upon _all_ subjects, differ so _essentially_, that I could never
+hope for your approbation, either of my _sentiments_ or my conduct.
+It is my _unalterable determination_ to _act_ and _think_ upon every
+occasion for myself; though I am well aware, that they who start out of
+the common track, either in words or action, are exposed to the ridicule
+and persecution of vulgar or illiberal minds. They who venture to carry
+the _first_ torch into _unexplored_ or _unfrequented_ passages in the
+mine of truth are exposed to the most imminent danger. Rich, however,
+are the treasures of the place, and cowardly the soul that hesitates!
+But I forget myself.
+
+"It may be necessary to inform your ladyship, that, disgusted with the
+frivolity of what is called fashionable life, and _unable_ to _live_
+without the higher pleasures of friendship, I have chosen for my asylum
+the humble, tranquil cottage of a female friend, whose tastes, whose
+principles have long been known to me: whose _genius_ I admire! whose
+_virtues_ I revere! Whose example I _emulate!_
+
+"Though I do not condescend to use the fulsome language of _a mean
+dependant_, I am not forgetful of the kindness I have received from
+your ladyship. It has not been without a _painful_ struggle that I have
+broken my bonds asunder--the bonds of what is _falsely_ called _duty:
+spontaneous_ gratitude ever will have full, _indisputable, undisputed_
+power over the _heart_ and _understanding_ of
+
+"ANNE-ANGELINA WARWICK.
+
+"P.S. It will be in vain to attempt to discover the place of my retreat.
+All I ask is to be left in peace, to enjoy, in my retirement, _perfect
+felicity_."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+
+Full of her hopes of finding "perfect felicity" in her retreat at
+Angelina Bower, exulting in the idea of the courage and magnanimity with
+which she had escaped from her "aristocratic persecutors," our heroine
+pursued her journey to South Wales.
+
+She had the misfortune--and it is a great misfortune to a young lady of
+her way of thinking--to meet with no difficulties or adventures, nothing
+interesting upon her journey. She arrived, with inglorious safety, at
+Cardiffe. The inn at Cardiffe was kept by a landlady of the name of
+Hoel. "Not high-born Hoel. Alas!" said Angelina to herself, when the
+name was screamed in her hearing by a waiter, as she walked into the
+inn. "Vocal no more to high-born Hoel's harp, or soft Llewellynn's lay!"
+A harper was sitting in the passage, and he tuned his harp to catch her
+attention as she passed. "A harp!--O play for me some plaintive air!"
+The harper followed her into a small parlour.
+
+"How delightful!" said Miss Warwick, who, in common with other heroines,
+had the habit of talking to herself; or, to use more dignified terms,
+who had the habit of indulging in soliloquy:--"how delightful to taste
+at last the air of Wales. But 'tis a pity 'tis not North instead of
+South Wales, and Conway instead of Cardiffe Castle."
+
+The harper, after he had finished playing a melancholy air, exclaimed,
+"That was but a melancholy ditty, miss--we'll try a merrier." And he
+began--
+
+"Of a noble race was Shenkin."
+
+"No more," cried Angelina, stopping her ears; "no more, barbarous
+man!--you break the illusion."
+
+"Break the what?" said the harper to himself; "I thought, miss, that
+tune would surely please you; for it is a favourite one in these parts."
+
+"A favourite with Welsh squires, perhaps," said our heroine; "but,
+unfortunately, _I_ am not a Welsh squire, and have no taste for your
+'Bumper Squire Jones.'"
+
+The man tuned his harp sullenly. "I'm sorry for it, miss," said he:
+"more's the pity, I can't please you better!"
+
+Angelina cast upon him a look of contempt. "He no way fills my idea of a
+bard!--an ancient and immortal bard!--He has no soul--fingers without a
+soul!--No 'master's hand, 'or 'prophet's fire!'--No 'deep sorrows!'--No
+'sable garb of woe!'--No loose beard, or hoary hair, 'streaming like a
+meteor to the troubled air!'--'No haggard eyes!'--Heigho!"--"It is time
+for me to be going," said the harper, who began to think, by the young
+lady's looks and manners, that she was not in her right understanding.
+"It is time for me to be going; the gentlemen above in the Dolphin will
+be ready for me."
+
+"A mere modern harper! He is not even blind," Angelina said to herself,
+as he examined the shilling which she gave him. "Begone, for Heaven's
+sake!" added she, aloud, as he left the room;--and "leave me, leave
+me to repose." She threw up the sash, to taste the evening air; but
+scarcely had she begun to repeat a sonnet to her Araminta--scarcely had
+she repeated the first two lines--
+
+     "Hail, far-famed, fairest, unknown friend,
+     Our sacred silent sympathy of soul,"
+
+when a little ragged Welsh boy, who was playing with his companions, in
+a field at the back of Cardifie Inn, espied her, gave the signal to his
+playfellows, and immediately they all came running up to the window at
+which Angelina was standing, and with one loud shrill chorus of "Gi'
+me ha'penny!--Gi' me ha'penny!--Gi' me one ha'penny!" interrupted
+the sonnet, Angelina threw out some money to the boys, though she was
+provoked by their interruption: her donation was, in the true spirit of
+a heroine, much greater than the occasion required and the consequence
+was, that these urchins, by spreading the fame of her generosity through
+the town of Cardiffe, collected a Lilliputian mob of petitioners, who
+assailed Angelina with fresh vehemence. Not a moment's peace, not a
+moment for poetry or reverie would they allow her: so that she was
+impatient for her chaise to come to the door. Her Araminta's cottage
+was but six miles distant from Cardiffe; and to speak in due sentimental
+language, every moment that delayed her long-expected interview with her
+beloved unknown friend, appeared to her an age.
+
+"And what would you be pleased to have for supper, ma'am?" said the
+landlady. "We have fine Tenby oysters, ma'am; and, if you'd like a Welsh
+rabbit--"
+
+"Tenby oysters!--Welsh rabbits!" repeated Angelina, in a disdainful
+tone. "Oh, detain me not in this cruel manner!--I want no Tenby oysters,
+I want no Welsh rabbits; only let me be gone--I am all impatience to
+see a dear friend. Oh, if you have any feeling, any humanity, detain me
+not!" cried she, clasping her hands.
+
+Miss Warwick had an ungovernable propensity to make a display of
+sensibility; a fine theatrical scene upon every occasion; a propensity
+which she had acquired from novel-reading. It was never more unluckily
+displayed than in the present instance; for her audience and spectators,
+consisting of the landlady, a waiter, and a Welsh boy, who just entered
+the room with a knife-tray in his hand, were all more inclined to burst
+into rude laughter than to join in gentle sympathy. The chaise did not
+come to the door one moment sooner than it would have done without this
+pathetic wringing of the hands. As soon as Angelina drove from the door,
+the landlady's curiosity broke forth--
+
+"Pray tell me, Hugh Humphries," said Mrs. Hoel, turning to the
+postilion, who drove Angelina from Newport, "pray, now, does not this
+seem strange, that such a young lady as this should be travelling about
+in such wonderful haste? I believe, by her flighty airs, she is upon no
+good errand--and I would have her to know, at any rate, that she might
+have done better than to sneer, in that way, at Mrs. Hoel of Cardiffe,
+and her Tenby oysters, and her Welsh rabbit. Oh, I'll make her repent
+her _pe_haviour to Mrs. Hoel, of Cardiffe. 'Not high-born Hoel,'
+forsooth! How does she know that, I should be glad to hear? The Hoels
+are as high born, I'll venture to say, as my young miss herself, I've a
+notion! and would scorn, moreover, to have a runaway lady for a relation
+of theirs. Oh, she shall learn to repent her disrespects to Mrs. Hoel,
+of Cardiffe. I _pe_lieve she shall soon meet herself in the public
+newspapers--her eyes, and her nose, and her hair, and her inches, and
+her description at full length she shall see--and her friends shall
+see it too--and maybe they shall thank, and maybe they shall reward
+handsomely Mrs. Hoel, of Cardiffe."
+
+Whilst the angry Welsh landlady was thus forming projects of revenge for
+the contempt with which she imagined that her high birth and her Tenby
+oysters had been treated, Angelina pursued her journey towards the
+cottage of her unknown friend, forming charming pictures, in her
+imagination, of the manner in which her amiable Araminta would start,
+and weep, and faint, perhaps with joy and surprise, at the sight of her
+Angelina. It was a fine moonlight night--an unlucky circumstance; for
+the by-road which led to Angelina Bower was so narrow and bad, that
+if the night had been dark, our heroine must infallibly have been
+overturned, and this overturn would have been a delightful incident in
+the history of her journey; but Fate ordered it otherwise. Miss Warwick
+had nothing to lament, but that her delicious reveries were interrupted,
+for several miles, by the Welsh postilion's expostulations with his
+horses.
+
+"Good Heavens!" exclaimed she, "cannot the man hold his tongue? His
+uncouth vociferations distract me! So fine a scene, so placid the
+moonlight--but there is always something that is not in perfect unison
+with one's feelings."
+
+"Miss, if you please, you must light here, and walk for a matter of a
+quarter of a mile, for I can't drive up to the house door, because there
+is no carriage-road down the lane; but if you be pleased, I'll go on
+before you--my horses will stand quite quiet here--and I'll knock the
+folks up for you, miss."
+
+"Folks!--Oh, don't talk to me of knocking folks up," cried Angelina,
+springing out of the carriage "stay with your horses, man, I beseech
+you. You shall be summoned when you are wanted--I choose to walk up to
+the cottage alone."
+
+"As you please, miss," said the postilion; "only _hur_ had better take
+care of the dogs."
+
+This last piece of sage counsel was lost upon our heroine; she heard it
+not--she was "rapt into future times."
+
+"By moonlight will be our first interview--just as I had pictured to
+myself--but can this be the cottage?--It does not look quite so romantic
+as I expected--but 'tis the dwelling of my Araminta--Happy, thrice
+happy moment!--Now for our secret signal--I am to sing the first, and my
+unknown friend the second part of the same air."
+
+Angelina then began to sing the following stanza--
+
+     "O waly waly up the bank,
+     And waly waly down the brae,
+     And waly waly yon burn side,
+     Where I and my love were wont to gae."
+
+She sung and paused, in expectation of hearing the second part from her
+amiable Araminta--but no voice was heard.
+
+"All is hushed," said Angelina--"ever tranquil be her slumbers! Yet
+I must waken her--her surprise and joy at seeing me thus will be so
+great!--by moonlight too!"
+
+She knocked at the cottage window--still no answer.
+
+"All silent as night!" said she--
+
+"'When not a breath disturbs the deep serene, And not a cloud o'ercasts
+the solemn scene.'"
+
+Angelina, as she repeated these lines, stood with her back to the
+cottage window: the window opened, and a Welsh servant girl put out her
+head; her night-cap, if cap it might be called which shape had none, was
+half off, her black hair streamed over her shoulders, and her face was
+the face of vulgar, superstitious amazement.
+
+"Oh, 'tis our old ghost of Nelly Gwynn, all in white, walking and saying
+her prayers backwards--I heard 'em quite plain, as I hope to breathe,"
+said the terrified girl to herself; and, shutting the window with a
+trembling hand, she hastened to waken an old woman, who slept in
+the same room with her.--Angelina, whose patience was by this time
+exhausted, went to the door of the cottage, and shook it with all her
+force.--It rattled loud, and a shrill scream was heard from within.
+
+"A scream!" cried Angelina; "Oh, my Araminta!--All is hushed
+again."--Then raising her voice, she called as loudly as she could at
+the window--"My Araminta! my unknown friend! be not alarmed, 'tis your
+Angelina."
+
+The door opened slowly and softly, and a slip-shod beldam peeped out,
+leaning upon a stick; the head of Betty Williams appeared over the
+shoulder of this sibyl; Angelina was standing, in a pensive attitude,
+listening at the cottage window. At this instant the postilion, who was
+tired of waiting, came whistling up the lane; he carried a trunk on his
+back, and a bag in his hand. As soon as the old woman saw him, she held
+up her stick, exclaiming--
+
+"A man! a man!--a ropper and murterer!--Cot suve us! and keep the door
+fast polted."--They shut the door instantly.
+
+"What is all this?" said Angelina, with dignified composure.
+
+"A couple of fools, I take it, miss, who are afraid and in tred of
+roppers," said the postilion; "put I'll make 'em come out, I'll be
+pound, plockheads."--So saying, he went to the door of Angelina Bower,
+and thundered and kicked at it, speaking all the time very volubly
+in Welsh. In about a quarter of an hour he made them comprehend that
+Angelina was a young lady come to visit their mistress: then they came
+forth curtsying.
+
+"My name's Betty Williams," said the girl, who was tying a clean cap
+under her chin. "Welcome to Llanwaetur, miss!--pe pleased to excuse our
+keeping hur waiting, and polting the toor, and taking hur for a ghost
+and a ropper--put we know who you are now--the young lady from London,
+that we have been told to expect."
+
+"Oh, then, I have been expected; all's right--and my Araminta, where is
+she? where is she?"
+
+"Welcome to Llanwaetur, welcome to Llanwaetur, and Cot pless hur pretty
+face," said the old woman, who followed Betty Williams out of the
+cottage.
+
+"Hur's my grandmother, miss," said Betty.
+
+"Very likely--but let me see my Araminta," cried Angelina: "cruel woman!
+where is she, I say?"
+
+"Cot pless hur!--Cot pless hur pretty face," repeated the old woman,
+curtsying.
+
+"My grandmother's as deaf as a post, miss--don't mind her; she can't
+tell Inglis well, put I can:--who would you pe pleased to have?"
+
+"In plain English, then--the lady who lives in this cottage."
+
+"Our Miss Hodges?"
+
+This odious name of Hodges provoked Angelina, who was so used to call
+her friend Araminta, that she had almost forgotten her real name.
+
+"Oh, miss," continued Betty Williams, "Miss Hodges has gone to Pristol
+for a few days."
+
+"Gone! how unlucky! my Araminta gone!"
+
+"Put Miss Hodges will pe pack on Tuesday--Miss Hodges did not expect hur
+till Thursday--put her ped is very well aired--pe pleased to walk in,
+and light hur a candle, and get hur a nightcap."
+
+"Heigho! must I sleep again without seeing my Araminta!--Well, but I
+shall sleep in a cottage for the first time in my life--
+
+"'The swallow twittering from the straw-built shed.'"
+
+At this moment, Angelina, forgetting to stoop, hit herself a violent
+blow as she was entering Angelina Bower--the roof of which, indeed, "was
+too low for so lofty a head."--A headache came on, which kept her awake
+the greatest part of the night. In the morning she set about to explore
+the cottage; it was nothing like the species of elegant retirement,
+of which she had drawn such a charming picture in her imagination. It
+consisted of three small bedchambers, which were more like what she had
+been used to call closets; a parlour, the walls of which were, in many
+places, stained with damp; and a kitchen which smoked. The scanty,
+moth-eaten furniture of the rooms was very different from the luxury and
+elegance to which Angelina had been accustomed in the apartments of Lady
+Diana Chillingworth. Coarse and ill-dressed was the food which Betty
+Williams with great bustle and awkwardness served up to her guest;
+but Angelina was no epicure. The first dinner which she ate on wooden
+trenchers delighted her; the second, third, fourth, and fifth, appeared
+less and less delectable; so that by the time she had boarded one week
+at her cottage, she was completely convinced that
+
+     "A scrip with herbs and fruit supplied,
+     And water from the spring,"
+
+though delightful to Goldsmith's Hermit, are not quite so satisfactory
+in actual practice as in poetic theory; at least to a young lady who had
+been habituated to all the luxuries of fashionable life. It was in vain
+that our heroine repeated
+
+     "Man wants but little here below:"
+
+She found that even the want of double refined sugar, of green tea, and
+Mocha coffee, was sensibly felt. Hour after hour, and day after day,
+passed with Angelina, in anxious expectation of her Araminta's return
+home. Her time hung heavy upon her hands, for she had no companion with
+whom she could converse; and one odd volume of Rousseau's Eloise, and a
+few well-thumbed German plays, were the only books which she could find
+in the house. There was, according to Betty Williams's report, "a vast
+sight of books in a press, along with some table-cloths," but Miss
+Hodges had the key of this press in her pocket. Deprived of the
+pleasures both of reading and conversation, Angelina endeavoured to
+amuse herself by contemplating the beauties of nature. There were some
+wild, solitary walks in the neighbourhood of Angelina Bower; but though
+our heroine was delighted with these, she wanted, in her rambles,
+some kindred soul, to whom she might exclaim--"How charming is
+solitude[1]!"--The day after her arrival in Wales, she wrote a long
+letter to Araminta, which Betty Williams undertook to send by a careful
+lad, a particular friend of her own, who would deliver it, without fail,
+into Miss Hodges's own hands, and who would engage to bring an answer
+by three o'clock the next day. The careful lad did not return till four
+days afterward, and he then could give no account of his mission, except
+that he had left the letter at Bristol, with a particular friend of his
+own, who would deliver it, without fail, into Miss Hodges's own hands,
+if he could meet with her. The post seems to be the last expedient which
+a heroine ever thinks of for the conveyance of her letters; so that,
+if we were to judge from the annals of romance, we should infallibly
+conclude there was no such thing as a post-office in England. On the
+sixth day of her abode at this comfortless cottage, the possibility of
+sending a letter to her friend by the post occurred to Angelina, and she
+actually discovered that there was a post-office at Cardiffe. Before she
+could receive an answer to this epistle, a circumstance happened, which
+made her determine to abandon her present retreat. One evening she
+rambled out to a considerable distance from the cottage, and it was long
+after sunset ere she recollected that it would be necessary to return
+homewards before it grew dark. She mistook her way at last, and
+following a sheep-path, down the steep side of a mountain, she came to
+a point, at which she, apparently, could neither advance nor recede. A
+stout Welsh farmer who was counting his sheep in a field, at the top of
+the mountain, happened to look down its steep side in search of one of
+his flock that was missing: the farmer saw something white at a distance
+below him, but there was a mist--it was dusk in the evening--and whether
+it were a woman, or a sheep, he could not he certain. In the hope that
+Angelina was his lost sheep, he went to her assistance, and though, upon
+a nearer view, he was disappointed, in finding that she was a woman, yet
+he had the humanity to hold out his stick to her, and he helped her
+up by it, with some difficulty. One of her slippers fell off as she
+scrambled up the hill--there was no recovering it; her other slipper,
+which was of the thinnest kid leather, was cut through by the stones;
+her silk stockings were soon stained with the blood of her tender feet;
+and it was with real gratitude that she accepted the farmer's offer, to
+let her pass the night at his farmhouse, which was within view. Angelina
+Bower was, according to his computation, about four miles distant,
+as well, he said, as he could judge of the place she meant by her
+description: she had unluckily forgotten that the common name of it
+was Llanwaetur. At the farmer's house, she was, at first, hospitably
+received, by a tight-looking woman; but she had not been many minutes
+seated, before she found herself the object of much curiosity and
+suspicion. In one corner of the room, at a small round table, with a
+jug of ale before him, sat a man, who looked like the picture of a Welsh
+squire: a candle had just been lighted for his worship, for he was
+a magistrate, and a great man, in those parts, for he could read the
+newspaper, and his company was, therefore, always welcome to the farmer,
+who loved to hear the news, and the reader was paid for his trouble with
+good ale, which he loved even better than literature.
+
+[Footnote 1: Voltaire.]
+
+"What news, Mr. Evans?" said the farmer.
+
+"What news?" repeated Mr. Evans, looking up from his paper, with a
+sarcastic smile. "Why, news that might not be altogether so agreeable to
+the whole of this good company; so 'tis best to keep it to ourselves."
+
+"Every thing's agreeable to me, I'm sure," said the farmer--"every
+thing's agreeable to me in the way of news."
+
+"And to me, not excepting politics, which you gentlemen always think
+so polite," said the farmer's wife, "to keep to yourselves; but,
+you recollect, I was used to politics when I lived with my uncle at
+Cardiffe; not having, though a farmer's wife, always lived in the
+country, as you see, ma'am--nor being quite illiterate.--Well, Mr.
+Evans, let us have it. What news of the fleets?"
+
+Mr. Evans made no reply, but pointed out a passage in the newspaper to
+the farmer, who leant over his shoulder, in vain endeavouring to spell
+and put it together: his smart wife, whose curiosity was at least equal
+to her husband's, ran immediately to peep at the wonderful paragraph,
+and she read aloud the beginning of an advertisement:--
+
+"Suspected to have strayed, or eloped, from her friends or relations,
+a young lady, seemingly not more than sixteen years of age, dressed in
+white, with a straw hat: blue eyes, light hair."
+
+Angelina coloured so deeply whilst this was reading, and the description
+so exactly suited with her appearance, that the farmer's wife stopped
+short; the farmer fixed his eyes upon her; and Mr. Evans cleared his
+throat several times with much significance.--A general silence ensued;
+at last the three heads nodded to one another across the round table;
+the farmer whistled and walked out of the room; his wife fidgeted at a
+buffet, in which she began to arrange some cups and saucers; and, after
+a few minutes, she followed her husband. Angelina took up the newspaper,
+to read the remainder of the advertisement. She could not doubt that it
+was meant for her, when she saw that it was dated the very day of her
+arrival at the inn at Cardiffe, and signed by the landlady of the
+inn, Mrs. Hoel. Mr. Evans swallowed the remainder of his ale, and then
+addressed Angelina in these words:--
+
+"Young lady, it is plain to see you know when the cap fits: now, if
+you'll take my advice, you'll not make the match you have in your eye;
+for, though a lord's son, he is a great gambler. I dined with one that
+has dined with him not long ago. My son, who has a living near Bristol,
+knows a great deal--more about you than you'd think; and 'tis my advice
+to you, which I wouldn't be at the trouble of giving, if you were not as
+pretty as you are, to go back to your relations; for he'll never marry
+you, and marriage to be sure is your object. I have no more to say,
+but only this--I shall think it my duty, as a magistrate, to let
+your friends know as soon as possible where you are, coming under
+my cognizance as you do; for a vagabond, in the eye of the law, is a
+person--"
+
+Angelina had not patience to listen to any more of this speech; she
+interrupted Mr. Evans with a look of indignation, assured him that he
+was perfectly unintelligible to her, and walked out of the room with
+great dignity. Her dignity made no impression upon the farmer or his
+wife, who now repented having offered her a night's lodging in their
+house: in the morning they were as eager to get rid of her as she was
+impatient to depart. Mr. Evans insisted upon seeing her safe home,
+evidently for the purpose of discovering precisely where she lived.
+Angelina saw that she could no longer remain undisturbed in her retreat,
+and determined to set out immediately in quest of her unknown friend
+at Bristol.--Betty Williams, who had a strong desire to have a jaunt to
+Bristol, a town which she had never seen but once in her life, offered
+to attend Miss Warwick, assuring her that she perfectly well knew the
+house where Miss Hodges always lodged. Her offer was accepted; and what
+adventures our heroine met with in Bristol, and what difficulties she
+encountered before she discovered her Araminta, will be seen in the next
+chapter.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+
+Angelina went by water from Cardiffe to Bristol; the water was rather
+rough, and, as she was unused to the motion of a vessel, she was both
+frightened and sick. She spent some hours very disagreeably, and without
+even the sense of acting like a heroine, to support her spirits. It was
+late in the evening before she arrived at the end of her voyage: she was
+landed on the quay at Bristol. No hackney-coach was to be had, and
+she was obliged to walk to the Bush. To find herself in the midst of a
+bustling, vulgar crowd, by whom she was unknown, but not unnoticed, was
+new to Miss Warwick. Whilst she was with Lady Diana Chillingworth,
+she had always been used to see crowds make way for her; she was now
+surprised to feel herself jostled in the streets by passengers, who were
+all full of their own affairs, hurrying different ways, in pursuit of
+objects which probably seemed to them as important as the search for an
+unknown friend appeared to Angelina.
+
+Betty Williams's friend's friend, the careful lad, who was to deliver
+the letter to Miss Hodges, was a waiter at the Bush. Upon inquiry, it
+was found that he had totally forgotten his promise: Angelina's letter
+was, after much search, found in a bottle-drainer, so much stained
+with port wine, that it was illegible. The man answered with the
+most provoking nonchalance, when Angelina reproached him for his
+carelessness--"That, indeed, no such person as Miss Hodges was to be
+found: that nobody he could meet with had ever heard the name." They
+who are extremely enthusiastic suffer continually from the total
+indifference of others to their feelings; and young people can scarcely
+conceive the extent of this indifference until they have seen something
+of the world. Seeing the world does not _always_ mean seeing a certain
+set of company in London.
+
+Angelina, the morning after her arrival at the Bush, took a
+hackney-coach, and left the care of directing the coachman to Betty
+Williams, who professed to have a perfect knowledge of Bristol. Betty
+desired the man to drive to the drawbridge; and, at the sound of the
+word drawbridge, various associations of ideas with the drawbridges
+of ancient times were called up in Miss Warwick's imagination. How
+different was the reality from her castles in the air! She was roused
+from her reverie by the voices of Betty Williams and the coachman.
+
+"Where _will_ I drive ye to, I ask you?" said the coachman, who was
+an Irishman: "_Will_ I stand all day upon the drawbridge stopping the
+passage?"
+
+"Trive on a step, and I will get out and see apout me," said Betty: "I
+know the look of the house, as well as I know any thing."
+
+Betty got out of the coach, and walked up and down the street, looking
+at the houses like one bewildered.
+
+"Bad luck to you! for a Welsh woman as you are," exclaimed the coachman,
+jumping down from the box, "will I lave the young lady standing in
+the streets all day alone for you to be making a fool this way of us
+both?--Sorrow take me now! If I do--"
+
+"Pless us, pe not in a pet or a pucker, or how shall I recollect any
+body or any thing.--Cood! Cood!--Stand you there while I just say over
+my alphabet: a, p, c, t, e, f, g, h, i, k, l, m, n, o, b.--It was some
+name which begins with _p_, and ends with a _t_, I pelieve."
+
+"Here's a pretty direction, upon my troth; some name which begins with a
+_p_, and ends with a _t_," cried the coachman; and after he had uttered
+half a score of Hibernian execrations upon the Welsh woman's folly,
+he with much good nature went along with her to read the names on the
+street doors.--"Here's a name now that's the very thing for you--here's
+Pushit now.-Was the name Pushit?--Ricollict yourself, my good girl, was
+that your name?"
+
+"Pushit!--Oh, yes, I am sure, and pelieve it was Pushit--Mrs. Pushit's
+house, Pristol, where our Miss Hodges lodges alway."
+
+"Mrs. Pushit--but this is quite another man; I tell you this is Sir
+John--Faith now we are in luck," continued the coachman--"here's another
+p just at hand; here's Mrs. Puffit; sure she begins with a p, and ends
+with a t, and is a milliner into the bargain? so sure enough I'll engage
+the young lady lodges here.--Puffit--Hey?--Ricollict now, and don't be
+looking as if you'd just been pulled out of your sleep, and had never
+been in a Christian town before now."
+
+"Pless us, Cot pless us!" said the Welsh girl, who was quite overpowered
+by the Irishman's flow of words--and she was on the point of having
+recourse, in her own defence, to her native tongue, in which she could
+have matched either male or female in fluency; but, to Angelina's great
+relief, the dialogue between the coachman and Betty Williams ceased. The
+coachman drew up to Mrs. Puffit's; but, as there was a handsome carriage
+at the door, Miss Warwick was obliged to wait in her hackney-coach
+some time longer. The handsome carriage belonged to Lady Frances
+Somerset.--By one of those extraordinary coincidences which sometimes
+occur in real life, but which are scarcely believed to be natural when
+they are related in books, Miss Warwick happened to come to this shop
+at the very moment when the persons she most wished to avoid were there.
+Whilst the dialogue between Betty Williams and the hackney-coachman was
+passing, Lady Diana Chillingworth and Miss Burrage were seated in
+Mrs. Puffit's shop: Lady Diana was extremely busy bargaining with the
+milliner; for, though rich, and a woman of quality, her ladyship piqued
+herself upon making the cheapest bargains in the world.
+
+"Your la'ship did not look at this eight and twenty shilling lace," said
+Mrs. Puffit; "'tis positively the cheapest thing your la'ship ever
+saw. Jessie! the laces in the little blue band-box. Quick! for my Ladi
+Di.--Quick!"
+
+"But it is out of my power to stay to look at any thing more now," said
+Lady Diana; "and yet," whispered she to Miss Burrage, "when one does go
+out a shopping, one certainly likes to bring home a bargain."
+
+"Certainly; but Bristol's not the place for bargains," said Miss
+Burrage; "you will find nothing tolerable, I assure you, my dear Lady
+Di., at Bristol."
+
+"Why, my dear," said her ladyship, "were you ever at Bristol before? How
+comes it that I never heard that you were at Bristol before? Where were
+you, child?"
+
+"At the Wells, at the Wells, ma'am," replied Miss Burrage, and she
+turned pale and red in the space of a few seconds; but Lady Diana,
+who was very near-sighted, was holding her head so close to the blue
+band-box full of lace, that she could not see the changes in her
+companion's countenance. The fact was, that Miss Burrage was born and
+bred in Bristol, where she had several relations, who were not in high
+life, and by whom she consequently dreaded to be claimed. When she first
+met Lady Diana Chillingworth at Buxton, she had passed herself upon
+her for one of the Burrages of Dorsetshire, and she knew that, if her
+ladyship was to discover the truth, she would cast her off with horror.
+For this reason, she had done every thing in her power to prevent Lady
+Di. from coming to Clifton; and for this reason she now endeavoured to
+persuade her that nothing tolerable could be met with at Bristol.
+
+"I am afraid, Lady Di., you will be late at Lady Mary's," said she.
+
+"Look at this lace, child, and give me your opinion--eight and twenty
+shillings, Mrs. Puffit, did you say?"
+
+"Eight and twenty, my lady--and I lose by every yard I sell at that
+price. Ma'am, you see," said Mrs. Puffit, appealing to Miss Burrage,
+"'tis real Valenciennes, you see."
+
+"I see 'tis horrid dear," said Miss Burrage: then in a whisper to Lady
+Di. she added, "at Miss Trentham's at the Wells, your ladyship will meet
+with such bargains!"
+
+Mrs. Puffit put her lace upon the alabaster neck of the large doll which
+stood in the middle of her shop. "Only look, my lady--only see, ma'am,
+how beautiful becoming 'tis to the neck, and sets off a dress too, you
+know, ma'am. And (turning to Miss Burrage) eight and twenty, you know,
+ma'am, is really nothing for any lace you'd wear; but more particularly
+for real Valenciennes, which can scarce be had _real_, for love or
+money, since the French Revolution. Real Valenciennes!--and will wear
+and wash, and wash and wear--not that your ladyship minds that--for
+ever and ever,--and is such a bargain, and so becoming to the neck,
+especially to ladies of your la'ship's complexion."
+
+"Well, I protest, I believe, Burrage, I don't know what to say, my
+dear--hey?"
+
+"I'm told," whispered Miss Burrage, "that Miss Trentham's to have a lace
+raffle at the Wells next week."
+
+"A raffle?" cried Lady Di., turning her back immediately upon the doll
+and the lace.
+
+"Well," cried Mrs. Puffit, "instead of eight say seven and twenty
+shillings, Miss Burrage, for old acquaintance sake."
+
+"Old acquaintance!" exclaimed Miss Burrage: "la! Mrs. Puffit, I don't
+remember ever being twice in your shop all the time I was at the Wells
+before."
+
+"No, ma'am," replied Mrs. Puffit, with a malicious smile--"but when you
+_was_ living on Saint Augustin's Back."
+
+"Saint Augustin's Back, my dear!" exclaimed Lady Diana Chillingworth,
+with a look of horror and amazement.
+
+Miss Burrage, laying down a bank-note on the counter, made a quick and
+expressive sign to the milliner to hold her tongue.
+
+"Dear Mrs. Puffit," cried she, "you certainly mistake me for some other
+strange person. Lady Di., now I look at it with my glass, this lace _is_
+very fine, I must agree with you, and not dear, by any means, for real
+Valenciennes: cut me off three yards of this lace--I protest there's no
+withstanding it, Lady Di."
+
+"Three yards at eight and twenty--here, Jesse," said Mrs. Puffit. "I beg
+your pardon, ma'am, for my mistake; I supposed it was some other lady
+of the same name; there are so many Burrages. _Only_ three yards did you
+say, ma'am?"
+
+"Nay, I don't care if you give me four. I'm of the Burrages of
+Dorsetshire."
+
+"A very good family, those Burrages of Dorsetshire, as any in England,"
+said Lady Di.--"and put up twelve yards of this for me, Mrs. Puffit."
+
+"Twelve at eight and twenty--yes, my lady--very much obliged to your
+ladyship--much obliged to you, Miss Burrage. Here, Jesse, this to my
+Lady Di. Chillingworth's carriage." Jesse called at the shop-door, in a
+shrill voice, to a black servant of Lady Frances Somerset--"Mr. Hector,
+Mr. Hector! Sir, pray put this parcel into the carriage for Lady Diana
+Chillingworth."
+
+Angelina, who was waiting in her hackney-coach, started; she could
+scarcely believe that she heard the name rightly:--but, an instant
+afterwards, the voice of Lady Diana struck her ear, and she sunk back
+in great agitation. However, neither Miss Burrage nor Lady Di. saw her;
+they got into their carriage, and drove away.
+
+Angelina was so much alarmed, that she could scarcely believe that the
+danger was past when she saw the carriage at the furthest end of the
+street.
+
+"Wouldn't you be pleased to 'light, ma'am?" said Jesse.
+
+"We don't bring things to the door."
+
+"Who have we here?" cried Mrs. Puffit; "who have we here?"
+
+"Only some folks out of a hack, that was kept waiting, and couldn't draw
+up whilst my Lady Di.'s carriage was at the door," said Jesse.
+
+"A good pretty girl, the foremost," said Mrs. Puffit. "But, in the name
+of wonder, what's that odd fish coming behind her?"
+
+"A queer-looking pair, in good truth!" said Jesse.
+
+Angelina seated herself, and gave a deep sigh. "Ribands, if you please,
+ma'am," said she to Mrs. Puffit. "I must," thought she, "ask for
+something before I ask for my Araminta."
+
+"Ribands--yes, ma'am--what sort? Keep an eye upon the glass," whispered
+the milliner to her shop girl, as she stooped behind the counter for a
+drawer of ribands--"keep an eye on the glass, Jesse--a girl of the town,
+I take it. What colour, ma'am?"
+
+"Blue--'cerulean blue.' Here, child," said Angelina, turning to Betty
+Williams, "here's a riband for you."
+
+Betty Williams did not hear, for Betty was fascinated by the eyes of the
+great doll, opposite to which she stood fixed.
+
+"Lord, what a fine lady! and how hur stares at Betty Williams!" thought
+she: "I wish hur would take her eyes off me."
+
+"Betty! Betty Williams!--a riband for you," cried Angelina, in a louder
+tone.
+
+Betty started--"Miss!--a riband!" She ran forward, and, in pushing by
+the doll, threw it backward: Mrs. Puffit caught it in her arms, and
+Betty, stopping short, curtsied, and said to the doll--"Peg pardon,
+miss--peg pardon, miss--tit I hurt you?--peg pardon. Pless us! 'tis a
+toll, and no woman, I teclare."
+
+The milliner and Jesse now burst into uncontrollable, and, as Angelina
+feared, "unextinguishable laughter." Nothing is so distressing to a
+sentimental heroine as ridicule: Miss Warwick perceived that she had her
+share of that which Betty Williams excited; and she who imagined herself
+to be capable of "combating, in all its Proteus forms, the system of
+social slavery," was unable to withstand the laughter of a milliner and
+her 'prentice.
+
+"Do you please to want any thing else, ma'am?" said Mrs. Puffit, in a
+saucy tone--"Rouge, perhaps?"
+
+"I wish to know, madam," said Angelina, "whether a lady of the name of
+Hodges does not lodge here?"
+
+"A lady of the name of Hodges!--no, ma'am--I'm very particular
+about lodgers--no such lady ever lodged with me.--Jesse! to the
+door--quick!--Lady Mary Tasselton's carriage."
+
+Angelina hastily rose and departed. Whilst Jesse ran to the door, and
+whilst Mrs. Puffit's attention was fixed upon Lady Mary Tasselton's
+carriage, Betty Williams twitched from off the doll's shoulders the
+remainder of the piece of Valenciennes lace which had been left there.
+"Since hur's only wood, I'll make free," said she to herself, and she
+carried off the lace unobserved.
+
+Angelina's impatience to find her Araminta was increased, by the dread
+of meeting Lady Di. Chillingworth in every carriage that passed, and in
+every shop where she might call. At the next house at which the coachman
+stopped, the words, _Dinah Plait, relict of Jonas Plait, cheesemonger_,
+were written in large letters over the shop-door. Angelina thought she
+was in no danger of meeting her ladyship here, and she alighted. There
+was no one in the shop but a child of seven years old; he could not
+understand well what Angelina or Betty said, but he ran to call his
+aunt. Dinah Plait was at dinner; and when the child opened the door of
+the parlour, there came forth such a savoury smell, that Betty Williams,
+who was extremely hungry, could not forbear putting her head in, to see
+what was upon the table.
+
+"Pless hur! heggs and pacon and toasted cheese--Cot pless hur!"
+exclaimed Betty.
+
+"Aunt Dinah," said the child, "here are two women in some great
+distress, they told me--and astray and hungry."
+
+"In some great distress, and astray and hungry?--then let them in here,
+child, this minute."
+
+There was seated at a small table, in a perfectly neat parlour, a
+quaker, whose benevolent countenance charmed Angelina the moment she
+entered the room.
+
+"Pardon this intrusion," said she.
+
+"Friend, thou art welcome," said Dinah Plait, and her looks said so
+more expressively than her words. An elderly man rose, and leaving the
+cork-screw in the half-drawn cork of a bottle of cider, he set a chair
+for Angelina, and withdrew to the window.
+
+"Be seated, and eat, for verily thou seemest to be hungry," said Mrs.
+Plait to Betty Williams, who instantly obeyed, and began to eat like one
+that had been half famished.
+
+"And now, friend, thy business, thy distress--what is it?" said Dinah,
+turning to Angelina: "so young to have sorrows."
+
+"I had best take myself away," said the elderly gentleman, who stood at
+the window--"I had best take myself away, for miss may not like to speak
+before me--though she might, for that matter."
+
+"Where is the gentleman going?" said Miss Warwick; "I have but one short
+question to ask, and I have nothing to say that need--"
+
+"I dare say, young lady, you can have nothing to say that you need be
+ashamed of, only people in distress don't like so well to speak before
+third folks, I _guess_--though, to say the truth, I have never known, by
+my own experience, what it was to be in much distress since I came into
+the world--but I hope I am not the more hard-hearted for that--for I can
+guess, I say, pretty well, how those in distress feel when they come
+to speak. Do as you would be done by is my maxim till I can find a
+better--so I take myself away, leaving my better part behind me, if it
+will be of any service to you, madam."
+
+As he passed by Miss Warwick, he dropped his purse into her lap, and he
+was gone before she could recover from her surprise.
+
+"Sir!--madam!" cried she, rising hastily, "here has been some strange
+mistake--I am not a beggar--I am much, very much obliged to you, but--"
+
+"Nay, keep it, friend, keep it," said Dinah Plait, pressing the purse
+upon Angelina; "John Barker is as rich as a Jew, and as generous as
+a prince. Keep it, friend, and you'll oblige both him and me--'tis
+dangerous in this world for one so young and so pretty as you are to be
+in _great distress_; so be not proud."
+
+"I am not proud," said Miss Warwick, drawing her purse from her pocket;
+"but my distress is not of a pecuniary nature--Convince yourself--I am
+in distress only for a friend, _an unknown_ friend."
+
+"Touched in her brain, I doubt," thought Dinah.
+
+"Coot ale!" exclaimed Betty Williams--"Coot heggs and pacon."
+
+"Does a lady of the name of Araminta--Miss Hodges, I mean--lodge here?"
+said Miss Warwick.
+
+"Friend, I do not let lodgings; and I know of no such person as Miss
+Hodges."
+
+"Well, I swear hur name, the coachman told me, did begin with a p, and
+end with a t," cried Betty Williams, "or I would never have let him
+knock at hur toor."
+
+"Oh, my Araminta! my Araminta!" exclaimed Angelina, turning up her
+eyes towards heaven--"when, oh when shall I find thee? I am the most
+unfortunate person upon earth."
+
+"Had not hur petter eat a hegg, and a pit of pacon? here's one pit
+left," said Betty: "hur must be hungry, for 'tis two o'clock past, and
+we preakfasted at nine--hur must be hungry;" and Betty pressed her
+_to try the pacon_; but Angelina put it away, or, in the proper style,
+motioned the bacon from her.
+
+"I am in no want of food," cried she, rising: "happy they who have no
+conception of any but corporeal sufferings. Farewell, madam!--may the
+sensibility, of which your countenance is so strongly expressive, never
+be a source of misery to you!"--and with that depth of sigh which suited
+the close of such a speech, Angelina withdrew.
+
+"If I could but have felt her pulse," said Dinah Plait to herself, "I
+could have prescribed something that, maybe, would have done her good,
+poor distracted thing! Now it was well done of John Barker to leave this
+purse for her--but how is this?--poor thing! she's not fit to be trusted
+with money--here she has left her own purse full of guineas."
+
+Dinah ran immediately to the house-door, in hopes of being able to catch
+Angelina; but the coach had turned down into another street, and was out
+of sight. Mrs. Plait sent for her constant counsellor, John Barker, to
+deliberate on the means of returning the purse. It should be mentioned,
+to the credit of Dinah's benevolence, that, at the moment when she was
+interrupted by the entrance of Betty Williams and Angelina, she
+was hearing the most flattering things from a person who was not
+disagreeable to her: her friend, John Barker, was a rich hosier, who
+had retired from business; and who, without any ostentation, had a great
+deal of real feeling and generosity. But the fastidious taste of _fine_,
+or sentimental readers, will probably be disgusted by our talking of
+the feelings and generosity of a hosier and a cheesemonger's widow.
+It belongs to a certain class of people to indulge in the luxury of
+sentiment: we shall follow our heroine, therefore, who, both from
+her birth and education, is properly qualified to have--"exquisite
+feelings."
+
+The next house at which Angelina stopped, to search for her amiable
+Araminta, was at Mrs. Porett's academy for young ladies.
+
+"Yes, ma'am, Miss Hodges is here--Pray walk into this room, and you
+shall see the young lady immediately." Angelina burst into the room
+instantly, exclaiming--
+
+"Oh, my Araminta! have I found you at last?"
+
+She stopped short, a little confounded at finding herself in a large
+room full of young ladies, who were dancing reels, and who all stood
+still at one and the same instant, and fixed their eyes upon her, struck
+with astonishment at her theatrical entree and exclamation.
+
+"Miss Hodges!" said Mrs. Porett--and a little girl of seven years old
+came forward:--"Here, ma'am," said Mrs. Porett to Angelina, "here is
+Miss Hodges."
+
+"Not _my_ Miss Hodges! not my Araminta! alas!"
+
+"No, ma'am," said the little girl; "I am only Letty Hodges."
+
+Several of her companions now began to titter.
+
+"These girls," said Angelina to herself, "take me for a fool;" and,
+turning to Mrs. Porett, she apologized for the trouble she had given, in
+language as little romantic as she could condescend to use.
+
+"Tid you bid me, miss, wait in the coach, or the passage?" cried Betty
+Williams, forcing her way in at the door, so as almost to push down the
+dancing-master, who stood with his back to it. Betty stared round,
+and dropped curtsy after curtsy, whilst the young ladies laughed
+and whispered, and whispered and laughed; and the words,
+odd--vulgar--strange--who is she?--what is she?--reached Miss Warwick.
+
+"This Welsh girl," thought she, "is my torment. Wherever I go she makes
+me share the ridicule of her folly."
+
+Clara Hope, one of the young ladies, saw and pitied Angelina's
+confusion.
+
+"Gif over, an ye have any gude nature--gif over your whispering and
+laughing," said Clara to her companions: "ken ye not ye make her so
+bashful, she'd fain hide her face wi' her twa hands."
+
+But it was in vain that the good-natured Clara Hope remonstrated: her
+companions could not forbear tittering, as Betty Williams, upon Miss
+Warwick's laying the blame of the mistake on her, replied in a strong
+Welsh accent--"I will swear almost the name was Porett or Plait, where
+our Miss Hodges tid always lodge in Pristol. Porett, or Plait, or
+Puffit, or some of her names that pekin with a p and ent with at."
+
+Angelina, quite _overpowered_, shrunk back, as Betty bawled out her
+vindication, and she was yet more confused, when Monsieur Richelet, the
+dancing-master, at this unlucky instant, came up to her, and with
+an elegant bow, said, "It is not difficult to see by her air, that
+mademoiselle dances superiorly. Mademoiselle vould she do me de
+plaisir--de honneur to dance one minuet?"
+
+"Oh, if she would but dance!" whispered some of the group of young
+ladies.
+
+"Excuse me, sir," said Miss Warwick.
+
+"Not a minuet?--den a minuet de la cour, a cotillon, or contredanse, or
+reel; vatever mademoiselle please vill do us honneur."
+
+Angelina, with a mixture of impatience and confusion, repeated, "Excuse
+me, sir--I am going--I interrupt--I beg I may not interrupt."
+
+"A coot morrow to you all, creat and small," said Betty Williams,
+curtsying awkwardly at the door as she went out before Miss Warwick.
+
+The young ladies were now diverted so much beyond the bounds of decorum,
+that Mrs. Porett was obliged to call them to order.
+
+"Oh, my Araminta, what scenes have I gone through! to what derision have
+I exposed myself for your sake!" said our heroine to herself.
+
+Just as she was leaving the dancing-room, she was stopped short by Betty
+Williams, who, with a face of terror, exclaimed, "'Tis a poy in the
+hall, that I tare not pass for my lifes; he has a pasket full of pees
+in his hand, and I cannot apide pees, ever since one tay when I was a
+chilt, and was stung on the nose by a pee. The poy in the hall has a
+pasketful of pees, ma'am," said Betty, with an imploring accent, to Mrs.
+Porett.
+
+"A basketful of bees!" said Mrs. Porett, laughing: "Oh, you are
+mistaken: I know what the boy has in his basket--they are only flowers;
+they are not bees: you may safely go by them."
+
+"Put I saw pees with my own eyes," persisted Betty.
+
+"Only a basketful of the bee orchis, which I commissioned a little boy
+to bring from St. Vincent's rocks for my young botanists," said Mrs.
+Porett to Angelina: "you know the flower is so like a bee, that at
+first sight you might easily mistake it." Mrs. Porett, to convince Betty
+Williams that she had no cause for fear, went on before her into the
+hall; but Betty still hung back, crying--
+
+"It is a pasket full of pees! I saw the pees with my own eyes."
+
+The noise she made excited the curiosity of the young ladies in the
+dancing-room: they looked out to see what was the matter.
+
+"Oh, 'tis the wee-wee French prisoner boy, with the bee orchises for
+us--there, I see him standing in the hall," cried Clara Hope, and
+instantly she ran, followed by several of her companions, into the hall.
+
+"You see that they are not bees," said Mrs. Porett to Betty Williams, as
+she took several of the flowers in her hand. Betty, half convinced, yet
+half afraid, moved a few steps into the hall.
+
+"You have no cause for dread," said Clara Hope; "poor boy, he has nought
+in his basket that can hurt any body."
+
+Betty Williams's heavy foot was now set upon the train of Clara's gown,
+and, as the young lady sprang forwards, her gown, which was of thin
+muslin, was torn so as to excite the commiseration of all her young
+companions.
+
+"What a terrible rent! and her best gown!" said they. "Poor Clara Hope!"
+
+"Pless us! peg pardon, miss!" cried the awkward, terrified Betty; "peg
+pardon, miss!"
+
+"Pardon's granted," said Clara; and whilst her companions stretched out
+her train, deploring the length and breadth of her misfortune, she went
+on speaking to the little French boy. "Poor wee boy! 'tis a sad thing
+to be in a strange country, far away from one's ane ane kin and happy
+hame--poor wee thing," said she, slipping some money into his hand.
+
+"What a heavenly countenance!" thought Angelina, as she looked at Clara
+Hope: "Oh, that my Araminta may resemble her!"
+
+"Plait il--take vat you vant--tank you," said the little boy, offering
+to Clara Hope his basket of flowers, and a small box of trinkets, which
+he held in his hand.
+
+"Here's a many pretty toys--who'll buy?" cried Clara, turning to her
+companions.
+
+The young ladies crowded round the box and the basket.
+
+"Is he in distress?" said Angelina; "perhaps I can be of some use to
+him!" and she put her hand into her pocket, to feel for her purse.
+
+"He's a very honest, industrious little boy," said Mrs. Porett, "and he
+supports his parents by his active ingenuity."
+
+"And, Louis, is your father sick still?" continued Clara Hope to the
+poor boy.
+
+"Bien malade! bien malade! very sick! very sick!" said he. The
+unaffected language of real feeling and benevolence is easily
+understood, and is never ridiculous; even in the broken English
+of little Louis, and the broad Scotch tone of Clara, it was both
+intelligible and agreeable.
+
+Angelina had been for some time past feeling in her pocket for her
+purse.
+
+"'Tis gone--certainly gone!" she exclaimed: "I've lost it! lost
+my purse! Betty, do you know any thing of it? I had it at Mrs.
+Plait's!--What shall I do for this poor little fellow?--This trinket
+is of gold!" said she, taking from her neck a locket--"Here, my little
+fellow, I have no money to give you, take this--nay, you must, indeed."
+
+"Tanks! tanks! bread for my poor fader! joy! joy!--too much joy! too
+much!"
+
+"You see you were wrong to laugh at her," whispered Clara Hope to her
+companions: "I liked her lukes from the first."
+
+Natural feeling, at this moment, so entirely occupied and satisfied
+Angelina, that she forgot her sensibility for her unknown friend; and it
+was not till one of the children observed the lock of hair in her locket
+that she recollected her accustomed cant of--"_Oh, my Araminta! my
+amiable Araminta!_ could I part with that hair, more precious than
+gold?"
+
+"Pless us!" said Betty; "put, if she has lost her purse, who shall pay
+for the coach, and what will become of our tinners?"
+
+Angelina silenced Betty Williams with peremptory dignity.
+
+Mrs. Porett, who was a good and sensible woman, and who had been
+interested for our heroine, by her good-nature to the little French boy,
+followed Miss Warwick as she left the room. "Let me detain you but for
+a few minutes," said she, opening the door of a little study. "You have
+nothing to fear from any impertinent curiosity on my part; but, perhaps,
+I may be of some assistance to you."--Miss Warwick could not refuse to
+be detained a few minutes by so friendly a voice.
+
+"Madam, you have mentioned the name of Araminta several times since you
+came into this house," said Mrs. Porett, with something of embarrassment
+in her manner, for she was afraid of appearing impertinent. "I know, or
+at least I knew, a lady who writes under that name, and whose real name
+is Hodges."
+
+"Oh, a thousand, thousand thanks!" cried Angelina: "tell me, where can I
+find her?"
+
+"Are you acquainted with her? You seem to be a stranger, young lady, in
+Bristol. Are you acquainted with Miss Hodges's _whole_ history?"
+
+"Yes, her _whole_ history; every feeling of her soul; every thought of
+her mind!" cried Angelina, with enthusiasm. "We have corresponded for
+two years past."
+
+Mrs. Porett smiled. "It is not always possible," said she, "to judge of
+ladies by their letters. I am not inclined to believe _above half_
+what the world says, according to Lord Chesterfield's allowance for
+scandalous stories; but it may be necessary to warn you, as you seem
+very young, that--"
+
+"Madam," cried Angelina, "young as I am, I know that superior genius and
+virtue are the inevitable objects of scandal. It is in vain to detain me
+further."
+
+"I am truly sorry for it," said Mrs. Porett; "but, perhaps, you will
+allow me to tell you, that--"
+
+"No, not a word; not a word more will I hear," cried our heroine; and
+she hurried out of the house, and threw herself into the coach. Mrs.
+Porett contrived, however, to make Betty Williams hear, that the most
+probable means of gaining any intelligence of Miss Hodges, would be to
+inquire for her at the shop of Mr. Beatson, who was her printer. To Mr.
+Beatson's they drove--though Betty professed that she was half unwilling
+to inquire for Miss Hodges from any one whose name did not begin with a
+p, and end with a t.
+
+"What a pity it is," said Mrs. Porett, when she returned to her
+pupils--"what a pity it is that this young lady's friends should permit
+her to go about in a hackney-coach, with such a strange, vulgar servant
+girl as that! She is too young to know how quickly, and often how
+severely, the world judges by appearances. Miss Hope, now we talk of
+appearances, you forget that your gown is torn, and you do not know,
+perhaps, that your friend, Lady Frances Somerset--"
+
+"Lady Frances Somerset!" cried Clara Hope--"I love to hear her very
+name."
+
+"For which reason you interrupt me the moment I mention it--I have a
+great mind not to tell you--that Lady Frances Somerset has invited you
+to go to the play with her to-night:--'The Merchant of Venice, and the
+Adopted Child.'"
+
+"Gude-natured Lady Frances Somerset, I'm sure an' if Clara Hope had been
+your adopted child twenty times over, you could not have been more kind
+to her _nor_ you have been.--No, not had she been your are countrywoman,
+and of your are clan--and all for the same reasons that make some
+neglect and look down upon her--because Clara is not meikle rich, and
+is far away from her ane ane friends.--Gude Lady Frances Somerset! Clara
+Hope luves you in her heart, and she's as blythe wi' the thought o'
+ganging to see you as if she were going to dear Inverary."
+
+It is a pity, for the sake of our story, that Miss Warwick did not stay
+a few minutes longer at Mrs. Porett's, that she might have heard this
+eulogium on Lady Frances Somerset, and might have, a second time in
+one day, discovered that she was on the very brink of meeting with the
+persons she most dreaded to see; but, however temptingly romantic such
+an incident would have been, we must, according to our duty as faithful
+historians, deliver a plain unvarnished tale.
+
+Miss Warwick arrived at Mr. Beatson's, and as soon as she had pronounced
+the name of Hodges, the printer called to his devil for a parcel of
+advertisements, which he put into her hand; they were proposals for
+printing by subscription a new novel--"The Sorrows of Araminta."
+
+"Oh, my Araminta! my amiable Araminta! have I found you at last?--_The
+Sorrows of Araminta, a novel, in nine volumes_--Oh, charming!--_together
+with a tragedy on the same plan_--Delightful!--_Subscriptions
+received at Joseph Beatson's, printer and bookseller; and by Rachael
+Hodges_--Odious name!--_at Mrs. Bertrand's_."
+
+"_Bartrand!_--There now _you_, do ye hear that? the lady lives at Mrs.
+Bartrand's: how will you make out now that Bartrand begins with a p,
+and ends with a t, now?" said the hackney-coachman to Betty, who was
+standing at the door.
+
+"Pertrant! why," cried Betty, "what would you have?"
+
+"Silence! O silence!" said Miss Warwick; and she continued
+reading--"_Subscriptions received at Mrs. Bertrand's_."
+
+"Pertrant, you hear, plockhead, you Irishman!" cried Betty Williams.
+
+"Bartrand--you have no ears, Welshwoman as you are!" retorted Terence
+O'Grady.
+
+"Subscription two guineas, for the Sorrows of Araminta," continued
+our heroine; but, looking up, she saw Betty Williams and the
+hackney-coachman making menacing faces and gestures at one another.
+
+"Fight it out in the passage, for Heaven's sake!" said Angelina; "if you
+must fight, fight out of my sight."
+
+"For shame, before the young lady!" said Mr. Beatson, holding the
+hackney-coachman: "have done disputing so loud."
+
+"I've done, but she is wrong," cried Terence.
+
+"I've done, put he is wrong," said Betty.
+
+Terence was so much provoked by the Welshwoman, that he declared he
+would not carry her a step further in his coach--that his _beasts_ were
+tired, and that he must be paid his fare, for that he neither could nor
+would wait any longer. Betty Williams was desired by Angelina to pay
+him. She hesitated; but after being assured by Miss Warwick that the
+debt should be punctually discharged in a few hours, she acknowledged
+that she had silver enough "in a little box at the bottom of her
+pocket;" and, after much fumbling, she pulled out a snuff-box, which,
+she said, had been given to her by her "creat crandmother."--Whilst she
+was paying the coachman, the printer's devil observed one end of a piece
+of lace hanging out of her pocket; she had, by accident, pulled it out
+along with the snuff-box.
+
+"And was this your great grandmother's too?" said the printer's devil,
+taking hold of the lace.
+
+Betty started. Angelina was busy, making inquiries from the printer, and
+she did not see or hear what was passing close to her: the coachman
+was intent upon the examination of his shillings. Betty, with great
+assurance, reproved the printer's devil for touching such lace with his
+plack fingers.
+
+"'Twas not my Grandmother's--'tis the young lady's," said she: "let
+it pe, pray--look how you have placked it, and marked it, with plack
+fingers."
+
+She put the stolen lace hastily into her pocket, and immediately went
+out, as Miss Warwick desired, to call another coach.
+
+Before we follow our heroine to Mrs. Bertrand's, we must beg leave to
+go, and, if we can, to transport our readers with us, to Lady Frances
+Somerset's house, at Clifton.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+
+"Well, how I am to get up this hill again, Heaven knows!" said Lady
+Diana Chillingworth, who had been prevailed upon to walk down Clifton
+Hill to the Wells. "Heigho! that sister of mine, Lady Frances, walks,
+and talks, and laughs, and admires the beauties of nature till I'm half
+dead."
+
+"Why, indeed, Lady Frances Somerset, I must allow," said Miss Burrage,
+"is not the fittest companion in the world for a person of your
+ladyship's nerves; but then it is to be hoped that the glass of water
+which you have just taken fresh at the pump will be of service, provided
+the racketing to Bristol to the play don't counteract it, and undo all
+again."
+
+"How I dread going into that Bristol playhouse!" said Miss Burrage to
+herself--"some of my precious relations may be there to claim me. My
+aunt Dinah--God bless her for a starched quaker--wouldn't be seen at a
+play, I'm sure--so she's safe;--but the odious sugar-baker's daughters
+might be there, dizened out; and between the acts, their great tall
+figures might rise in judgment against me--spy me out--stare and
+curtsy--pop--pop--pop at me without mercy, or bawl out across the
+benches, 'Cousin Burrage! Cousin Burrage!' And Lady Diana Chillingworth
+to hear it!--oh, I should sink into the earth."
+
+"What amusement," continued Miss Burrage, addressing herself to Lady
+Di., "what amusement Lady Frances Somerset can find at a Bristol
+playhouse, and at this time of the year too, is to me really
+unaccountable."
+
+"I do suppose," replied Lady Diana, "that my sister goes only to please
+that child--(Clara Hope, I think they call her)--not to please me, I'm
+sure;--but what is she doing all this time in the pump-room? does she
+know we are waiting for her?--oh, here she comes.--Frances, I am half
+dead."
+
+"Half dead, my dear! well, here is something to bring you to life
+again," said Lady Frances: "I do believe I have found out Miss Warwick."
+
+"I am sure, my dear, _that_ does not revive me--I've been almost plagued
+to death with her already," said Lady Diana.
+
+"There's no living in this world without plagues of some sort or
+other--but the pleasure of doing good makes one forget them all: here,
+look at this advertisement, my dear," said Lady Frances: "a gentleman,
+whom I have just met with in the pump-room, was reading it in the
+newspaper when I came in, and a whole knot of scandal-mongers were
+settling who it could possibly be. One snug little man, a Welsh curate,
+I believe, was certain it was the bar-maid of an inn at Bath, who is
+said to have inveigled a young nobleman into matrimony. I left the
+Welshman in the midst of a long story, about his father and a young
+lady, who lost her shoe on the Welsh mountains, and I ran away with the
+paper to bring it to you."
+
+Lady Diana received the paper with an air of reluctance.
+
+"Was not I very fortunate to meet with it?" said Lady Frances.
+
+"I protest I see no good fortune in the business, from beginning to
+end."
+
+"Ah, because you are not come to the end yet--look--'tis from Mrs. Hoel,
+of the inn at Cardiffe, and by the date, she must have been there last
+week."
+
+"Who--Mrs. Hoel?"
+
+"Miss Warwick, my dear--I beg pardon for my pronoun--but do read
+this--eyes--hair--complexion--age--size--it certainly must be Miss
+Warwick."
+
+"And what then?" said Lady Di, with provoking coldness, walking on
+towards home.
+
+"Why, then, my dear, you know we can go to Cardiffe to-morrow morning,
+find the poor girl, and, before any body knows any thing of the matter,
+before her reputation is hurt, or you blamed, before any harm can
+happen, convince the girl of her folly and imprudence, and bring her
+back to you and common sense."
+
+"To common sense, and welcome, if you can; but not to me."
+
+"Not to you!--Nay; but, my dear, what will become of her?"
+
+"Nay; but, my dear Frances, what will the world say?"
+
+"Of her?"
+
+"Of me."
+
+"My dear Di., shall I tell you what the world would say?"
+
+"No, Lady Frances, I'll tell _you_ what the world would say--that Lady
+Diana Chillingworth's house was an asylum for runaways."
+
+"An asylum for nonsense!--I beg your pardon, sister--but it always
+provokes me to see a person afraid to do what they think right, because,
+truly, 'the world will say it is wrong.' What signifies the uneasiness
+we may suffer from the idle blame or tittle-tattle of the day, compared
+with the happiness of a young girl's whole life, which is at stake?"
+
+"Oh, Lady Frances, that is spoken like yourself--I love you in my
+heart--that's right! that's right!" thought Clara Hope.
+
+Lady Diana fell back a few paces, that she might consult one whose
+advice she always found agreeable to her own opinions.
+
+"In my opinion," whispered Miss Burrage to Lady Diana, "you are right,
+quite right, to have nothing more to do with the _happiness_ of a young
+lady who has taken such a step."
+
+They were just leaving St. Vincent's parade, when they heard the sound
+of music upon the walk by the river side, and they saw a little
+boy there, seated at the foot of a tree, playing on the guitar, and
+singing--
+
+"J'ai quitte mon pays et mes amis, Pour jouer de la guitare, Qui va
+clin, clin, qui va clin, clin, Qui va clin, clin, clin, clin."
+
+"Ha! my wee wee friend," said Clara Hope, "are you here?--I was just
+thinking of you, just wishing for you. By gude luck, have you the weeny
+locket about you that the young lady gave you this morning?--the weeny
+locket, my bonny boy?"
+
+"Plait-il?" said little Louis.
+
+"He _don't_ understand one word," said Miss Burrage, laughing
+sarcastically, "he don't understand one word of all your _bonnys_, and
+_wee wees_ and _weenies_, Miss Hope; he, unfortunately, don't understand
+broad Scotch, and maybe he mayn't be so great a proficient as you are
+in _boarding-school_ French; but I'll try if he can understand _me_, if
+you'll tell me what you want."
+
+"Such a trinket as this," said Clara, showing a locket which hung from
+her neck.
+
+"Ah oui--yes, I comprehend now," cried the boy, taking from his
+coat-pocket a small case of trinkets--"la voila!--here is vat de young
+lady did give me--good young lady!" said Louis, and he produced the
+locket.
+
+"I declare," exclaimed Miss Burrage, catching hold of it, "'tis Miss
+Warwick's locket! I'm sure of it--here's the motto--I've read it, and
+laughed at it twenty times--L'Amie Inconnue."
+
+"When I heard you all talking just now about that description of the
+young lady in the newspaper, I cude not but fancy," said Clara Hope,
+"that the lady whom I saw this morning must be Miss Warwick."
+
+"Saw--where?" cried Lady Frances, eagerly.
+
+"At Bristol--at our academy--at Mrs. Porett's," said Clara; "but mark
+me, she is not there now--I do not ken where she may be now."
+
+"Moi je sais!--I do know de demoiselle did stop in a coach at one house;
+I was in de street--I can show you de house."
+
+"Can you so, my good little fellow? then let us begone directly," said
+Lady Frances.
+
+"You'll excuse me, sister," said Lady Di.
+
+"Excuse you!--_I_ will, but _the world_ will not. You'll be abused,
+sister, shockingly abused."
+
+This assertion made more impression upon Lady Di. Chillingworth than
+could have been made either by argument or entreaty.
+
+"One really does not know how to act--people take so much notice of
+every thing that is said and done by persons of a certain rank: if you
+think that I shall be so much abused--I absolutely do not know what to
+say."
+
+"But I thought," interposed Miss Burrage, "that Lady Frances was going
+to take you to the play to-night, Miss Hope?"
+
+"Oh, never heed the play--never heed the play, or Clara Hope--never heed
+taking me to the play: Lady Frances is going to do a better thing.--Come
+on, my bonny boy," said she to the little French boy, who was following
+them.
+
+We must now return to our heroine, whom we left on her way to Mrs.
+Bertrand's. Mrs. Bertrand kept a large confectionary and fruit shop in
+Bristol.
+
+"Please to walk through this way, ma'am--Miss Hodges is above
+stairs--she shall be apprized directly--Jenny! run up stairs," said
+Mrs. Bertrand to her maid--"run up stairs, and tell Miss Hodges here's
+a young lady wants to see her in a great hurry--You'd best sit down,
+ma'am," continued Mrs. Bertrand to Angelina, "till the girl has been up
+with the message."
+
+"Oh, my Araminta! how my heart beats!" exclaimed Miss Warwick.
+
+"How my mouth waters!" cried Betty Williams, looking round at the fruit
+and confectionaries.
+
+"Would you, ma'am, be pleased," said Mrs. Bertrand, "to take a glass
+of ice this warm evening? cream-ice, or water-ice, ma'am? pine-apple or
+strawberry ice?" As she spoke, Mrs. Bertrand held a salver, covered with
+ices, toward Miss Warwick: but, apparently, she thought that it was
+not consistent with the delicacy of friendship to think of eating or
+drinking when she was thus upon the eve of her first interview with
+her Araminta. Betty Williams, who was of a different _nature_ from our
+heroine, saw the salver recede with excessive surprise and regret; she
+stretched out her hand after it, and seized a glass of raspberry-ice;
+but no sooner had she tasted it than she made a frightful face, and let
+the glass fall, exclaiming--
+
+"Pless us! 'tis not as good as cooseherry fool."
+
+Mrs. Bertrand next offered her a cheesecake, which Betty ate
+voraciously.
+
+"She's actually a female Sancho Panza!" thought Angelina: her own
+more striking resemblance to the female Quixote never occurred to our
+heroine--so blind are we to our own failings.
+
+"Who is the young lady?" whispered the mistress of the fruit shop
+to Betty Williams, whilst Miss Warwick was walking--we should say
+_pacing_--up and down the room, in _anxious solicitude, and evident
+agitation_.
+
+"Hur's a young lady," replied Betty, stopping to take a mouthful of
+cheesecake between every member of her sentence, "a young lady--that
+has--lost hur--"
+
+"Her heart--so I thought."
+
+"Hur purse!" said Betty, with an accent, which showed that she thought
+this the more serious loss of the two.
+
+"Her purse!--that's bad indeed:--you pay for your own cheesecake and
+raspberry-ice, and for the glass that you broke," said Mrs. Bertrand.
+
+"Put hur has a great deal of money in hur trunk, I pelieve, at
+Llanwaetur," said Betty.
+
+"Surely Miss Hodges does not know I am here," cried Miss Warwick--"her
+Angelina!"
+
+"Ma'am, she'll be down immediately, I do suppose," said Mrs. Bertrand.
+"What was it you pleased called for--angelica, ma'am, did you say? At
+present we are quite out, I'm ashamed to say, of angelica, ma'am--Well,
+child," continued Mrs. Bertrand to her maid, who was at this moment seen
+passing by the back door of the shop in great haste.
+
+"Ma'am--anan," said the maid, turning back her cap from off her ear.
+
+"Anan! deaf doll! didn't you hear me tell you to tell Miss Hodges a lady
+wanted to speak to her in a great hurry?"
+
+"No, mam," replied the girl, who spoke in the broad Somersetshire
+dialect: "I heard you zay, _up to Miss Hodges_; zoo I thought it was the
+bottle o'brandy, and zoo I took alung with the tea-kettle--but I'll go
+up again now, and zay miss bes in a hurry, az she zays."
+
+"Brandy!" repeated Miss Warwick, on whom the word seemed to make a great
+impression.
+
+"Pranty, ay, pranty," repeated Betty Williams--"our Miss Hodges always
+takes pranty in her teas at Llanwaetur."
+
+"Brandy!--then she can't be my Araminta."
+
+"Oh, the very same, and no other; you are quite right, ma'am," said
+Mrs. Bertrand, "if you mean the same that is publishing the novel,
+ma'am,--'The Sorrows of Araminta'--for the reason I know so much
+about it is, that I take in the subscriptions, and distributed the
+_pur_posals."
+
+Angelina had scarcely time to believe or disbelieve what she heard,
+before the maid returned, with "Mam, Mizz Hodges haz hur best love to
+you, mizz--and please to walk up--There be two steps; please to have a
+care, or you'll break your neck."
+
+Before we introduce Angelina to her "unknown friend," we must relate the
+conversation which was actually passing between the amiable Araminta
+and her Orlando, whilst Miss Warwick was waiting in the fruit shop. Our
+readers will be so good as to picture to themselves a woman, with a face
+and figure which seemed to have been intended for a man, with a
+voice and gesture capable of setting even man, "imperial man," at
+defiance--such was Araminta. She was, at this time, sitting cross-legged
+in an arm-chair at a tea-table, on which, beside the tea equipage, was
+a medley of things of which no prudent tongue or pen would undertake to
+give a correct inventory. At the feet of this fair lady, kneeling on
+one knee, was a thin, subdued, simple-looking quaker, of the name of
+Nathaniel Gazabo.
+
+"But now, Natty," said Miss Hodges, in a voice more masculine than her
+looks, "you understand the conditions--If I give you my hand, and make
+you my husband, it is upon condition that you never contradict any of my
+opinions: do you promise me that?"
+
+"Yea, verily," replied Nat.
+
+"And you promise to leave me entirely at liberty to act, as well as to
+think, in all things as my own independent understanding shall suggest?"
+
+"Yea, verily," was the man's response.
+
+"And you will be guided by me in all things?"
+
+"Yea, verily."
+
+"And you will love and admire me all your life, as much as you do now?"
+
+"Yea, verily."
+
+"Swear," said the unconscionable woman.
+
+"Nay, verily," replied the meekest of men, "I cannot swear, my Rachel,
+being a quaker; but I will affirm."
+
+"Swear, swear," cried the lady, in an imperious tone, "or I will never
+be your Araminta."
+
+"I swear," said Nat Gazabo, in a timid voice.
+
+"Then, Natty, I consent to be Mrs. Hodges Gazabo. Only remember always
+to call me your dear Araminta."
+
+"My dear Araminta! thus," said he, embracing her, "thus let me thank
+thee, my dear Araminta!"
+
+It was in the midst of these thanks that the maid interrupted the
+well-matched pair, with the news that a young lady was below, who was in
+a great hurry to see Miss Hodges.
+
+"Let her come," said Miss Hodges; "I suppose it is only one of the
+Miss Carvers--Don't stir, Nat; it will vex her to see you kneeling to
+me--don't stir, I say--"
+
+"Where is she? Where is my Araminta?" cried Miss Warwick, as the maid
+was trying to open the outer passage-door for her, which had a bad lock.
+
+"Get up, get up, Natty; and get some fresh water in the
+tea-kettle--quick!" cried Miss Hodges, and she began to clear away some
+of the varieties of literature, &c., which lay scattered about the room.
+Nat, in obedience to her commands, was making his exit with all possible
+speed, when Angelina entered, exclaiming--
+
+"My amiable Araminta!--My unknown friend!"
+
+"My Angelina!--My charming Angelina!" cried Miss Hodges.
+
+Miss Hodges was not the sort of person our heroine expected to see;--and
+to conceal the panic, with which the first sight of her unknown friend
+struck her disappointed imagination, she turned back to listen to the
+apologies which Nat Gazabo was pouring forth about his awkwardness and
+the tea-kettle.
+
+"Turn, Angelina, ever dear!" cried Miss Hodges, with the tone and action
+of a bad actress who is rehearsing an embrace--"Turn, Angelina, ever
+dear!--thus, thus let us meet, to part no more."
+
+"But her voice is so loud," said Angelina to herself, "and her looks
+so vulgar, and there is such a smell of brandy!--How unlike the
+elegant delicacy I had expected in my unknown friend!" Miss Warwick
+involuntarily shrunk from the stifling embrace.
+
+"You are overpowered, my Angelina--lean on me," said her Araminta.
+
+Nat Gazabo re-entered with the tea-kettle--
+
+"Here's _boiling_ water, and we'll have fresh tea in a trice--the young
+lady's over-tired, seemingly--Here's a chair, miss, here's a chair,"
+cried Nat. Miss Warwick _sunk_ upon the chair: Miss Hodges seated
+herself beside her, continuing to address her in a theatrical tone.
+
+"This moment is bliss unutterable! my kind, my noble-minded Angelina,
+thus to leave all your friends for your Araminta!"--Suddenly changing
+her voice--"Set the tea-kettle, Nat!"
+
+"Who is this Nat, I wonder?" thought Miss Warwick.
+
+"Well, and tell me," said Miss Hodges, whose attention was awkwardly
+divided between the ceremonies of making tea and making speeches--"and
+tell me, my Angelina--That's water enough, Nat--and tell me, my
+Angelina, how did you find me out?"
+
+"With some difficulty, indeed, _my Araminta_." Miss Warwick could hardly
+pronounce the words.
+
+"So kind, so noble-minded," continued Miss Hodges--"and did you receive
+my last letter--three sheets?--And how did you contrive--Stoop the
+kettle, _do_, Nat."
+
+"Oh, this odious Nat! how I wish she would send him away!" thought Miss
+Warwick.
+
+"And tell me, my Araminta--my Angelina I mean--how did you contrive
+your elopement--and how did you escape from the eye of your aristocratic
+Argus--how did you escape from all your unfeeling persecutors?--Tell me,
+tell me all your adventures, my Angelina!--Butter the toast, Nat," said
+Miss Hodges who was cutting bread and butter, which she did not do with
+the celebrated grace of Charlotte, in the Sorrows of Werter.
+
+"I'll tell you all, my Araminta," whispered Miss Warwick, "when we are
+by ourselves."
+
+"Oh, never mind Nat," whispered Miss Hodges.
+
+"Couldn't you tell him," rejoined Miss Warwick, "that he need not wait
+any longer?"
+
+"_Wait_, my dear! why, what do you take him for?"
+
+"Why, is not he your footman?" whispered Angelina.
+
+"My footman!--Nat!" exclaimed Miss Hodges, bursting out a laughing, "my
+Angelina took you for my footman."
+
+"Good heavens! what is he?" said Angelina, in a low voice.
+
+"Verily," said Nat Gazabo, with a sort of bashful simple laugh, "verily,
+I am the humblest of her servants."
+
+"And does my Angelina--spare my delicacy," said Miss Hodges--"does
+my Angelina not remember, in any of my long letters, the name
+of--Orlando!--There he stands."
+
+"Orlando!--Is this gentleman your Orlando, of whom I have heard so
+much?"
+
+"He! he! he!" simpered Nat. "I am Orlando, of whom you have heard so
+much; and she--(pointing to Miss Hodges)--she is, to-morrow morning, God
+willing, to be Mistress Hodges Gazabo."
+
+"Mrs. Hodges Gazabo, my Araminta!" said Angelina, with astonishment,
+which she could not suppress.
+
+"Yes, my Angelina: so end 'The Sorrows of Araminta'--Another cup?--do I
+make the tea too sweet?" said Miss Hodges, whilst Nat handed the bread
+and butter to the ladies officiously.
+
+"The man looks like a fool," thought Miss Warwick.
+
+"Set down the bread and butter, and be quiet, Nat--Then, as soon as
+the wedding is over, we fly, my Angelina, to our charming cottage in
+Wales:--there may we bid defiance to the storms of fate--
+
+"'The world forgetting, by the world forgot.'"
+
+"That," said Angelina, "'is the blameless vestal's lot:'--but you forget
+that you are to be married, my Araminta; and you forget that, in your
+letter of three folio sheets, you said not one word to me of this
+intended marriage."
+
+"Nay, my dear, blame me not for a want of confidence, that my heart
+disclaims," said Miss Hodges: "from the context of my letters, you must
+have suspected the progress my Orlando had made in my affections;
+but, indeed, I should not have brought myself to decide apparently so
+precipitately, had it not been for the opposition, the persecution of my
+friends--I was determined to show them that I know, and can assert, my
+right to think and act, upon all occasions, for myself."
+
+Longer, much longer, Miss Hodges, spoke in the most peremptory voice;
+but whilst she was declaiming on her favourite topic, her Angelina was
+"revolving in her altered mind" the strange things which she had seen
+and heard in the course of the last half-hour; every thing appeared to
+her in a new light; when she compared the conversation and conduct
+of Miss Hodges with the sentimental letters of her Araminta; when
+she compared Orlando in description to Orlando in reality, she could
+scarcely believe her senses: accustomed as she had been to elegance
+of manners, the vulgarity and awkwardness of Miss Hodges shocked and
+disgusted her beyond measure. The disorder, and--for the words must be
+said--slatternly dirty appearance of her Araminta's dress, and of every
+thing in her apartment, were such as would have made a hell of heaven;
+and the idea of spending her life in a cottage with Mrs. Hodges Gazabo
+and Nat overwhelmed our heroine with the double fear of wretchedness and
+ridicule.
+
+"Another cup of tea, my Angelina?" said Miss Hodges, when she had
+finished her tirade against her persecutors, that is to say, her
+friends, "another cup, my Angelina?--do, after your journey and fatigue,
+take another cup."
+
+"No more, I thank you."
+
+"Then reach me that tragedy, Nat--you know--"
+
+"Your own tragedy, is it, my dear?" said he.
+
+"Ah, Nat, now! you never can keep a secret," said Miss Hodges. "I wanted
+to have surprised my Angelina."
+
+"I am surprised!" thought Angelina--"oh, how much surprised!"
+
+"I have a motto for our cottage here somewhere," said Miss Hodges,
+turning over the leaves of her tragedy--"but I'll keep that till
+to-morrow--since to-morrow's the day sacred to love and friendship."
+
+Nat, by way of showing his joy in a becoming manner, rubbed his hands,
+and hummed a tune. His mistress frowned, and bit her lips; but the
+signals were lost upon him, and he sung out, in an exulting tone--
+
+"When the lads of the village so merrily, ah! Sound their tabours, I'll
+hand thee along."
+
+"Fool! Dolt! Idiot!" cried his Araminta, rising furious--"out of my
+sight!" Then, sinking down upon the chair, she burst into tears, and
+threw herself into the arms of her pale, astonished Angelina. "Oh, my
+Angelina!" she exclaimed, "I am the most ill-matched! most unfortunate!
+most wretched of women!"
+
+"Don't be _frighted_, miss," said Nat; "she'll come _to_ again
+presently--'tis only _her way_." As he spoke, he poured out a bumper of
+brandy, and kneeling, presented it to his mistress. "'Tis the only thing
+in life does her good," continued he, "in this sort of fits."
+
+"Heavens, what a scene!" said Miss Warwick to herself--"and the woman
+so heavy, I can scarce support her weight--and is this _my unknown
+friend?_"
+
+How long Miss Hodges would willingly have continued to sob upon Miss
+Warwick's shoulder, or how long that shoulder could possibly have
+sustained her weight, is a mixed problem in physics and metaphysics,
+which must for ever remain unsolved: but suddenly a loud scream was
+heard. Miss Hodges started up--the door was thrown open, and Betty
+Williams rushed in, crying loudly--"Oh, shave me! shave me! for the
+love of Cot, shave me, miss!" and, pushing by the swain, who held the
+unfinished glass of brandy in his hand, she threw herself on her knees
+at the feet of Angelina.
+
+"Gracious me!" exclaimed Nat, "whatever you are, you need not push one
+so."
+
+"What now, Betty Williams? is the wench mad or drunk?" cried Miss
+Hodges.
+
+"We are to have a mad scene next, I suppose," said Miss Warwick,
+calmly--"I am prepared for every thing, after what I have seen."
+
+Betty Williams continued crying bitterly, and wringing her hands--"Oh,
+shave me this once, miss! 'tis the first thing of the kind I ever tid,
+inteet, inteet! Oh, shave me this once--I tid not know it was worth so
+much as a shilling, and that I could be hanged, inteet--and I--"
+
+Here Betty was interrupted by the entrance of Mrs. Puffit, the milliner,
+the printer's devil, and a stern-looking man, to whom Mrs. Puffit, as
+she came in, said, pointing to Betty Williams and Miss Warwick, "There
+they are--do your duty, Mr. Constable: I'll swear to my lace."
+
+"And I'll swear to my black thumbs," said the printer's devil.
+
+"I saw the lace hanging out of her pocket, and there's the marks of my
+fingers upon it, Mr. Constable."
+
+"Fellow!" cried Miss Hodges, taking the constable by the arm, "this is
+my apartment, into which no minion of the law has a right to enter; for,
+in England, every man's house is his castle."
+
+"I know that as well as you do, _madam!_" said the constable; "but I
+make it a principle to do nothing without a warrant: here's my warrant."
+
+"Oh, shave me! the lace is hers inteet!" cried Betty Williams, pointing
+to Miss Warwick. "Oh, miss is my mistress inteet--"
+
+"Come, mistress or miss, then, you'll be pleased to come along with
+me," said the constable, seizing hold of Angelina--"like mistress, like
+maid."
+
+"Villain! unfeeling villain! oh, unhand my Angelina, or I shall die! I
+shall die!" exclaimed Araminta, falling into the arms of Nat Gazabo, who
+immediately held the replenished glass of brandy to her lips--"Oh, my
+Angelina, my Angelina!"
+
+Struck with horror at her situation, Miss Warwick shrunk from the grasp
+of the constable, and leaned motionless on the back of a chair.
+
+"Come, my angel, as they call you, I think--the lady there has brandy
+enough, if you want spirits--all the fits and faintings in Christendom
+won't serve you now. I'm used to the tricks o' the trade.--The law must
+take its course; and if you can't walk, I must carry you."
+
+"Touch me at your peril! I am innocent," said Angelina.
+
+"Innocent--innocence itself! pure, spotless, injured innocence!"
+cried Miss Hodges. "I shall die! I shall die! I shall die on the spot!
+barbarous, barbarous villain!"
+
+Whilst Miss Hodges spoke, the ready Nat poured out a fresh glass of that
+restorative, which he always had ready for cases of life and death; and
+she screamed and sipped, and sipped and screamed, as the constable took
+up Angelina in his arms, and carried her towards the door.
+
+"Mrs. Innocence," said the man, "you shall see whom you shall see."
+
+Mrs. Puffit opened the door; and, to the utter astonishment of every
+body present, Lady Diana Chillingworth entered the room, followed
+by Lady Frances Somerset and Mrs. Bertrand. The constable set down
+Angelina. Miss Hodges set down the glass of brandy. Mrs. Puffit
+curtsied. Betty Williams stretched out her arms to Lady Diana, crying,
+"Shave me! shave me this once!" Miss Warwick hid her face with her
+hands.
+
+"Only my Valenciennes lace, that has been found in that girl's pocket,
+and--" said Mrs. Puffit.
+
+Lady Diana Chillingworth turned away with indescribable haughtiness,
+and, addressing herself to her sister, said, "Lady Frances Somerset, you
+would not, I presume, have Lady Diana Chillingworth lend her countenance
+to such a scene as this--I hope, sister, that you are satisfied now." As
+she said these words, her ladyship walked out of the room.
+
+"Never was further from being satisfied in my life," said Lady Frances.
+
+"If you look at this, my lady," said the constable, holding out the
+lace, "you'll soon be satisfied as to what sort of a young lady _that_
+is."
+
+"Oh, you mistake the young lady," said Mrs. Bertrand, and she whispered
+to the constable. "Come away: you may be sure you'll be satisfied--we
+shall all be satisfied, handsomely, all in good time. Don't let the
+_delinquency_ there on her knees," added she aloud, pointing to Betty
+Williams--"don't let the _delinquency_ there on her knees escape."
+
+"Come along, mistress," said the constable, pulling up Betty Williams
+from her knees. "But I say the law must have its course, if I am not
+satisfied."
+
+"Oh, I am confident," said Mrs. Puffit, the milliner, "we shall all be
+satisfied, no doubt; but Lady Di. Chillingworth knows my Valenciennes
+lace, and Miss Burrage too, for they did me this morning the honour--"
+
+"Will you do me the favour," interrupted Lady Frances Somerset, "to
+leave us, good Mrs. Puffit, for the present? Here is some mistake--the
+less noise we make about it the better. You shall be satisfied."
+
+"Oh, your ladyship--I'm sure, I'm confident--I shan't utter another
+syllable--nor never would have articulated a syllable about the lace
+(though Valenciennes, and worth thirty guineas, if it is worth a
+farthing), had I had the least intimacy or suspicion the young lady was
+your la'ship's protegee. I shan't, at any rate, utter another syllable."
+
+Mrs. Puffit, having glibly run off this speech, left the room, and
+carried in her train the constable and Betty Williams, the printer's
+devil, and Mrs. Bertrand, the woman of the house.
+
+Miss Warwick, whose confusion during this whole scene was excessive,
+stood without power to speak or move.
+
+"Thank God, they are gone!" said Lady Frances; and she went to Angelina,
+and taking her hands gently from before her face, said, in a soothing
+tone, "Miss Warwick, your friend, Lady Frances Somerset, you cannot
+think that she suspects--"
+
+"La, dear, no!" cried Nat Gazabo, who had now sufficiently recovered
+from his fright and amazement to be able to speak: "Dear heart! who
+could go for to suspect such a thing? but they made such a bustle and
+noise, they quite flabbergasted me, so _many_ on them in this small
+room. Please to sit down, my lady.--Is there any thing I can do?"
+
+"If you could have the goodness, sir, to leave us for a few minutes,"
+said Lady Frances, in a polite, persuasive manner--"you could have the
+goodness, sir, to leave us for a few minutes."
+
+Nat, who was not _always_ spoken to by so gentle a voice, smiled, bowed,
+and was retiring, when Miss Hodges came forward with an air of defiance:
+"Aristocratic insolence!" exclaimed she: "Stop, Nat--stir not a foot, at
+your peril, at the word of command of any of the privileged orders upon
+earth--stir not a foot, at your peril, at the behest of any titled _She_
+in the universe!--Madam, or my lady--or by whatever other name more
+high, more low, you choose to be addressed--this is my husband."
+
+"Very probably, madam," said Lady Frances, with an easy calmness, which
+provoked Miss Hodges to a louder tone of indignation.
+
+"Stir not a foot, at your peril, Nat," cried she. "I will defend him,
+I say, madam, against every shadow, every penumbra of aristocratic
+insolence."
+
+"As you and he think proper, madam," replied Lady Frances. "'Tis easy to
+defend the gentleman against shadows."
+
+Miss Hodges marched up and down the room with her arms folded. Nat stood
+stock still.
+
+"The woman," whispered Lady Frances to Miss Warwick, "is either mad or
+drunk--or both; at all events we shall be better in another room." As
+she spoke, she drew Miss Warwick's arm within hers.--"Will you allow
+aristocratic insolence to pass by you, sir?" said she to Nat Gazabo, who
+stood like a statue in the doorway--he edged himself aside.
+
+"And is this your independence of soul, my Angelina?" cried Araminta,
+setting her back to the door, so as effectually to prevent her from
+passing--"and is this your independence of soul, my Angelina--thus, thus
+tamely to submit, to resign yourself again to your unfeeling, proud,
+prejudiced, intellect-lacking persecutors?"
+
+"This lady is my _friend_, madam," said Angelina, in as firm and
+tranquil a tone as she could command, for she was quite terrified by her
+Araminta's violence.
+
+"Take your choice, my dear; stay or follow me, as you think best," said
+Lady Frances.
+
+"Your friend!" pursued the oratorical lady, detaining Miss Warwick with
+a heavy hand: "Do you feel the force of the word? _Can_ you feel it, as
+I once thought you could? Your friend! am not _I_ your friend, your
+best friend, my Angelina? your own Araminta, your amiable Araminta, your
+_unknown friend?_"
+
+"My _unknown_ friend, indeed!" said Angelina. Miss Hodges let go her
+struggling hand, and Miss Warwick that instant followed Lady Frances,
+who, having effected her retreat, had by this time gained the staircase.
+
+"Gone!" cried Miss Hodges; "then never will I see or speak to her more.
+Thus I whistle her off, and let her down the wind to prey at fortune."
+
+"Gracious heart! what quarrels," said Nat, "and doings, the night before
+our wedding-day!"
+
+We leave this well-matched pair to their happy prospects of conjugal
+union and equality.
+
+Lady Frances, who perceived that Miss Warwick was scarcely able to
+support herself, led her to a sofa, which she luckily saw through the
+half-open door of a drawing-room, at the head of the staircase.
+
+"To be taken for a thief!--Oh, to what have I exposed myself!" said Miss
+Warwick.
+
+"Sit down, my dear, now we are in a room where we need not fear
+interruption--sit down, and don't tremble like an aspen leaf," said Lady
+Frances Somerset, who saw that at this moment, reproaches would have
+been equally unnecessary and cruel.
+
+Unused to be treated with judicious kindness, Angelina's heart was
+deeply touched by it, and she opened her whole mind to Lady Frances,
+with the frankness of a young person conscious of her own folly, not
+desirous to apologize or extenuate, but anxious to regain the esteem of
+a friend.
+
+"To be sure, my dear, it was, as you say, rather foolish to set out in
+quest of an _unknown friend_," said Lady Frances, after listening to the
+confessions of Angelina. "And why, after all, was it necessary to have
+an elopement?"
+
+"Oh, madam, I am sensible of my folly--I had long formed a project of
+living in a cottage in Wales--and Miss Burrage described Wales to me as
+a terrestrial paradise."
+
+"Miss Burrage! then why did she not go to paradise along with you?" said
+Lady Frances.
+
+"I don't know--she was was so much attached to Lady Di. Chillingworth,
+she said, she could never think of leaving her: she charged me never
+to mention the cottage scheme to Lady Di., who would only laugh at it.
+Indeed, Lady Di. was almost always out whilst we were in London, or
+dressing, or at cards, and I could seldom speak to her, especially
+about cottages; and I wished for a friend, to whom I could open my whole
+heart, and whom I could love and esteem, and who should have the same
+tastes and notions with myself."
+
+"I am sorry that last condition is part of your definition of a friend,"
+said Lady Frances, smiling; "for I will not swear that my notions are
+the same as yours, but yet I think you would have found me as good a
+friend as this Araminta of yours. Was it necessary to perfect felicity
+to have an _unknown friend_?"
+
+"Ah! there was my mistake," said Miss Warwick. "I had read Araminta's
+writings, and they speak so charmingly of friendship and felicity, that
+I thought
+
+     'Those best can paint them who can feel them most.'"
+
+"No uncommon mistake," said Lady Frances.
+
+"But I am fully sensible of my folly," said Angelina.
+
+"Then there is no occasion to say any more about it at
+present--to-morrow, as you like romances, we'll read Arabella, or the
+Female Quixote; and you shall tell me which, of all your acquaintance,
+the heroine resembles most. And in the mean time, as you seem to have
+satisfied your curiosity about your _unknown friend_, will you come home
+with me?"
+
+"Oh, madam," said Angelina, with emotion, "your goodness--"
+
+"But we have not time to talk of my goodness yet--stay--let me see--yes,
+it will be best that it should be known that you are with us as soon as
+possible--for there is a thing, my dear, of which, perhaps, you are not
+fully sensible--of which you are too young to be fully sensible--that,
+to people who have nothing to do or to say, scandal is a necessary
+luxury of life; and that, by such a step as you have taken, you have
+given room enough for scandal-mongers to make you and your friends
+completely miserable."
+
+Angelina burst into tears--though a sentimental lady, she had not yet
+acquired the art of _bursting into tears_ upon every trifling occasion.
+Hers were tears of real feeling. Lady Frances was glad to see that she
+had made a sufficient impression upon her mind; but she assured Angelina
+that she did not intend to torment her with useless lectures and
+reproaches. Lady Frances Somerset understood the art of giving advice
+rather better than Lady Diana Chillingworth.
+
+"_I_ do not mean, my dear," said Lady Frances, "to make you miserable
+for life--but I mean to make an impression upon you that may make you
+prudent and happy for life. So don't cry till you make your eyes so
+red as not to be fit to be seen at the play to-night, where they
+must--positively--be seen."
+
+"But Lady Diana is below," said Miss Warwick: "I am ashamed and afraid
+to see her again."
+
+"It will be difficult, but I hope not impossible, to convince my
+sister," said Lady Frances, "that you clearly understand that you have
+been a simpleton; but that a simpleton of sixteen is more an object
+of mercy than a simpleton of sixty--so my verdict is--Guilty;--but
+recommended to mercy."
+
+By this mercy Angelina was more touched than she could have been by the
+most severe reproaches.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+
+Whilst the preceding conversation was passing, Lady Diana Chillingworth
+was in Mrs. Bertrand's fruit-shop, occupied with her smelling-bottle and
+Miss Burrage. Clara Hope was there also, and Mrs. Puffit, the milliner,
+and Mrs. Bertrand, who was assuring her ladyship that not a word of the
+affair about the young lady and the lace should go out of her house.
+
+"Your la'ship need not be in the least uneasy," said Mrs. Bertrand,
+"for I have satisfied the constable, and satisfied every body; and the
+constable allows Miss Warwick's name was not mentioned in the warrant;
+and as to the servant girl, she's gone before the magistrate, who, of
+course, will send her to the house of correction; but that will no ways
+implicate the young lady, and nothing shall transpire from this house
+detrimental to the young lady, who is under your la'ship's protection.
+And I'll tell your la'ship how Mrs. Puffit and I have settled to tell
+the story: with your ladyship's approbation, I shall say--"
+
+"Nothing, if you please," said her ladyship, with more than her usual
+haughtiness. "The young lady to whom you allude is under Lady Frances
+Somerset's protection, not mine; and whatever you do or say, I beg that
+in this affair the name of Lady Diana Chillingworth may not be used."
+
+She turned her back upon the disconcerted milliner as she finished this
+speech, and walked to the furthest end of the long room, followed by the
+constant flatterer of all her humours, Miss Burrage.
+
+The milliner and Mrs. Bertrand now began to console themselves for the
+mortification they had received from her ladyship's pride, and for the
+insolent forgetfulness of her companion, by abusing them both in a low
+voice. Mrs. Bertrand began with, "Her ladyship's so touchy and so proud;
+she's as high as the moon, and higher."
+
+"Oh, all the Chillingworths, by all accounts, are so," said Mrs. Puffit;
+"but then, to be sure, they have a right to be so if any body has, for
+they certainly are real high-horn people. But I can't tolerate to
+see some people, that aren't no ways born nor entitled to it, give
+themselves such airs as some people do. Now, there's that Miss Burrage,
+that pretends not to know me, ma'am."
+
+"And me, ma'am,--just the same: such provoking assurance--I that knew
+her from this high."
+
+"On St. Augustin's Back, you know," said Mrs. Puffit.
+
+"On St. Augustin's Back, you know," echoed Mrs. Bertrand.
+
+"So I told her this morning, ma'am," said Mrs. Puffit.
+
+"And so I told her this evening, ma'am, when the three Miss Herrings
+came in to give me a call in their way to the play; girls that she used
+to walk with, ma'am, for ever and ever in the green, you know."
+
+"Yes; and that she was always glad to drink tea with, ma'am, when asked,
+you know," said Mrs. Puffit.
+
+"Well, ma'am," pursued Mrs. Bertrand, "here she had the impudence to
+pretend not to know them. She takes up her glass--my Lady Di. herself
+couldn't have done it better, and squeezes up her ugly face this way,
+pretending to be near-sighted, though she can see as well as you or I
+can."
+
+"Such airs! _she_ near-sighted!" said Mrs. Puffit: "what will the world
+come to!"
+
+"Oh, I wish her pride may have a fall," resumed the provoked milliner,
+as soon as she had breath. "I dare to say now she wouldn't know her
+own relations if she was to meet them; I'd lay any wager she would
+not vouchsafe a curtsy to that good old John Barker, the friend of her
+father, you know, who gave up to this Miss Burrage I don't know how many
+hundreds of pounds, that were due to him, or else miss wouldn't have had
+a farthing in the world; yet now, I'll be bound, she'd forget this as
+well as St. Augustin's Back, and wouldn't know John Barker from Abraham;
+and I don't doubt that she'd pull out her glass at her aunt Dinah,
+because she is a cheesemonger's widow."
+
+"Oh no," said Mrs. Bertrand, "she couldn't have the baseness to be
+near-sighted to good Dinah Plait, that bred her up, and was all in all
+to her."
+
+Just as Mrs. Bertrand finished speaking, into the fruit-shop walked the
+very persons of whom she had been talking--Dinah Plait and Mr. Barker.
+
+"Mrs. Dinah Plait, I declare!" exclaimed Mrs. Bertrand.
+
+"I never was so glad to see you, Mrs. Plait and Mr. Barker, in all my
+days," said Mrs. Puffit.
+
+"Why you should be so particularly glad to see me, Mrs. Puffit, I don't
+know," said Mr. Barker, laughing; "but I'm not surprised Dinah Plait
+should be a welcome guest wherever she goes, especially with a purse
+full of guineas in her hand."
+
+"Friend Bertrand," said Dinah Plait, producing a purse which she held
+under her cloak, "I am come to restore this purse to its rightful
+owner: after a great deal of trouble, John Barker (who never thinks it a
+trouble to do good) hath traced her to your house."
+
+"There is a young lady here, to be sure," said Mrs. Bertrand, "but
+you can't see her just at present, for she is talking on _petticlar_
+business with my Lady Frances Somerset above stairs."
+
+"Tis well," said Dinah Plait: "I would willingly restore this purse, not
+to the young creature herself, but to some of her friends,--for I fear
+she is not quite in a right state of mind. If I could see any of the
+young lady's friends."
+
+"Miss Burrage," cried Mrs. Bertrand, in a tone of voice so loud that
+she could not avoid hearing it, "are not you one of the young lady's
+friends?"
+
+"What young lady's friend?" replied Miss Burrage, without stirring from
+her seat.
+
+"Miss Burrage, here's a purse for a young lady," said Mrs. Puffit.
+
+"A purse for whom? Where?" said Miss Burrage, at last deigning to rise,
+and come out of her recess.
+
+"There, ma'am," said the milliner. "Now for her glass!" whispered Mrs.
+Puffit to Mrs. Bertrand. And, exactly as it had been predicted, Miss
+Burrage eyed her aunt Dinah through her glass, pretending not to know
+her. "The purse is not mine," said she, coolly: "I know nothing of
+it--nothing."
+
+"Hetty!" exclaimed her aunt; but as Miss Burrage still eyed her through
+her glass with unmoved invincible assurance, Dinah thought that, however
+strong the resemblance, she was mistaken. "No, it can't be Hetty. I beg
+pardon, madam," said she, "but I took you for--Did not I hear you say
+the name of Burrage, friend Puffit?"
+
+"Yes, Burrage; one of the Burrages of Dorsetshire," said the milliner,
+with malicious archness.
+
+"One of the Burrages of Dorsetshire: I beg pardon. But did you ever see
+such a likeness, friend Barker, to my poor niece, Hetty Burrage?"
+
+Miss Burrage, who overheard these words, immediately turned her back
+upon her aunt. "A grotesque statue of starch,--one of your quakers, I
+think, they call themselves: Bristol is full of such primitive figures,"
+said Miss Burrage to Clara Hope, and she walked back to the recess and
+to Lady Di.
+
+"So like, voice and all, to my poor Hester," said Dinah Plait, and she
+wiped the tears from her eyes. "Though Hetty has neglected me so of
+late, I have a tenderness for her; we cannot but have some for our own
+relations."
+
+"Grotesque or not, 'tis a statue that seems to have a heart, and a gude
+one," said Clara Hope.
+
+"I wish we could say the same of every body," said Mrs. Bertrand.
+
+All this time, old Mr. Barker, leaning on his cane, had been silent:
+"Burrage of Dorsetshire!" said he; "I'll soon see whether she be or no;
+for Hetty has a wart on her chin that I cannot forget, let her forget
+whom and what she pleases."
+
+Mr. Barker, who was a plain-spoken, determined man, followed the young
+lady to the recess; and, after looking her full in the face, exclaimed
+in a loud voice, "Here's the wart!--'tis Hetty!"
+
+"Sir!--wart!--man!--Lady Di.!" cried Miss Burrage, in accents of the
+utmost distress and vexation.
+
+Mr. Barker, regardless of her frowns and struggles, would by no means
+relinquish her hand; but leading, or rather pulling her forwards, he
+went on with barbarous steadiness: "Dinah," said he, "'tis your
+own niece. Hetty, 'tis your own aunt, that bred you up! What,
+struggle--Burrage of Dorsetshire!"
+
+"There certainly," said Lady Diana Chillingworth, in a solemn tone, "is
+a conspiracy, this night, against my poor nerves. These people, amongst
+them, will infallibly surprise me to death. What is the matter now?--why
+do you drag the young lady, sir? She came here with _me_, sir,--with
+Lady Diana Chillingworth; and, consequently, she is not a person to be
+insulted."
+
+"Insult her!" said Mr. Barker, whose sturdy simplicity was not to be
+baffled or disconcerted either by the cunning of Miss Burrage, or by the
+imposing manner and awful name of Lady Diana Chillingworth. "Insult her!
+why, 'tis she insults us; she won't know us."
+
+"How should Miss Burrage know you, sir, or any body here?" said Lady
+Diana, looking round, as if upon beings of a species different from her
+own.
+
+"How should she know her own aunt that bred her up?" said the invincible
+John Barker, "and me who have had her on my knee a hundred times, giving
+her barley-sugar till she was sick?"
+
+"Sick! I am sure you make me sick," said Lady Diana. "Sir, that young
+lady is one of the Burrages of Dorsetshire, as good a family as any in
+England."
+
+"Madam," said John Barker, replying in a solemnity of tone equal to
+her ladyship's, "that young lady is one of the Burrages of Bristol,
+drysalters; niece to Dinah Plait, who is widow to a man, who was, in his
+time, as honest a cheesemonger as any in England."
+
+"Miss Burrage!--My God!--don't you speak!" cried Lady Diana, in a voice
+of terror.
+
+"The young lady is bashful, my lady, among strangers," said Mrs.
+Bertrand.
+
+"Oh, Hester Burrage, is this kind of thee?" said Dinah Plait, with in
+accent of mixed sorrow and affection; "but thou art my niece, and I
+forgive thee."
+
+"A cheesemonger's niece!" cried Lady Diana, with horror; "how have I
+been deceived! But this is the consequence of making acquaintance at
+Buxton, and those watering-places: I've done with her, however. Lord
+bless me! here comes my sister, Lady Frances! Good heavens! my dear,"
+continued her ladyship, going to meet her sister, and drawing her
+into the recess at the farthest end of the room, "here are more
+misfortunes--misfortunes without end. What will the world say? Here's
+this Miss Burrage,--take no more notice of her, sister; she's an
+impostor; who do you think she turns out to be? Daughter to a drysalter,
+niece to a cheesemonger! Only conceive!-a person that has been going
+about with _me_ every where!--What will the world say?"
+
+"That it is very imprudent to have _unknown friends_, my dear," replied
+Lady Frances. "The best thing you can possibly do is to say nothing
+about the matter, and to receive this penitent ward of yours without
+reproaches; for if you talk of her _unknown friends_, the world will
+certainly talk of yours."
+
+Lady Diana drew back with haughtiness when her sister offered to put
+Miss Warwick's hands into hers; but she condescended to say, after an
+apparent struggle with herself, "I am happy to hear, Miss Warwick,
+that you have returned to your senses. Lady Frances takes you under her
+protection, I understand; at which, for all our sakes, I rejoice; and I
+have only one piece of advice, Miss Warwick, to give you--"
+
+"Keep it till after the play, my dear Diana," whispered Lady Frances;
+"it will have more effect."
+
+"The play!--Bless me!" said Lady Diana, "why, you have contrived to
+make Miss Warwick fit to be seen, I protest. But, after all I have
+gone through to-night, how can I appear in public? My dear, this Miss
+Burrage's business has given me such a shock,--such nervous affections!"
+
+"Nervous affections!--Some people, I do believe, have none but nervous
+affections," thought Lady Frances.
+
+"Permit me," said Mrs. Dinah Plait, coming up to Lady Frances, and
+presenting Miss Warwick's purse--"permit me, as thou seemest to be a
+friend to this young lady, to restore to thee her purse, which she left
+by mistake at my house this forenoon. I hope she is better, poor thing!"
+
+"She _is_ better, and I thank you for her, madam," said Lady Frances,
+who was struck with the obliging manner and benevolent countenance of
+Dinah Plait, and who did not think herself contaminated by standing in
+the same room with the widow of a cheesemonger.
+
+"Let me thank you myself, madam," said Angelina; "I am perfectly in my
+senses _now_, I can assure you; and I shall never forget the kindness
+which you and this benevolent gentleman showed me when you thought I was
+in real distress."
+
+"Some people are more grateful than other people," said Mrs. Puffit,
+looking at Miss Burrage, who in mortified, sullen silence, followed the
+aunt and the benefactor of whom she was ashamed, and who had reason to
+be ashamed of her.
+
+We do not imagine that our readers can be much interested for a young
+lady who was such a compound of pride and meanness; we shall therefore
+only add, that her future life was spent on St. Augustin's Back, where
+she made herself at once as ridiculous and as unhappy as she deserved to
+be.
+
+As for our heroine, under the friendly and judicious care of Lady
+Frances Somerset, she acquired that which is more useful to the
+possessor than genius--good sense. Instead of rambling over the world
+in search of an _unknown friend_, she attached herself to those of whose
+worth she received proofs more convincing than a letter of three folio
+sheets, stuffed with sentimental nonsense. In short, we have now, in the
+name of Angelina Warwick, the pleasure to assure all those whom it may
+concern, that it is possible for a young lady of sixteen to cure herself
+of the affectation of sensibility, and the folly of romance.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE GOOD FRENCH GOVERNESS
+
+
+Among the sufferers during the bloody reign of Robespierre, was Mad. de
+Rosier, a lady of good family, excellent understanding, and most amiable
+character. Her husband, and her only son, a promising young man of about
+fourteen, were dragged to the horrid prison of the Conciergerie, and
+their names, soon afterward, appeared in the list of those who fell
+a sacrifice to the tyrant's cruelty. By the assistance of a faithful
+domestic, Mad. de Rosier, who was destined to be the next victim,
+escaped from France, and took refuge in England--England!--that generous
+country, which, in favour of the unfortunate, forgets her national
+prejudices, and to whom, in their utmost need, even her "_natural
+enemies_" fly for protection. English travellers have sometimes been
+accused of forgetting the civilities which they receive in foreign
+countries; but their conduct towards the French emigrants has
+sufficiently demonstrated the injustice of this reproach.
+
+Mad. de Rosier had reason to be pleased by the delicacy of several
+families of distinction in London, who offered her their services under
+the name of gratitude; but she was incapable of encroaching upon the
+kindness of her friends. Misfortune had not extinguished the energy
+of her mind, and she still possessed the power of maintaining herself
+honourably by her own exertions. Her character and her abilities being
+well known, she easily procured recommendations as a preceptress. Many
+ladies anxiously desired to engage such a governess for their children,
+but Mrs. Harcourt had the good fortune to obtain the preference.
+
+Mrs. Harcourt was a widow, who had been a very fine woman, and continued
+to be a very fine lady; she had good abilities, but, as she lived in
+a constant round of dissipation, she had not time to cultivate her
+understanding, or to attend to the education of her family; and she had
+satisfied her conscience by procuring for her daughters a fashionable
+governess and expensive masters. The governess whose place Mad. de
+Rosier was now to supply, had quitted her pupils, to go abroad with a
+lady of quality, and Mrs. Harcourt knew enough of the world to bear her
+loss without emotion;--she, however, stayed at home one whole evening,
+to receive Mad. de Rosier, and to introduce her to her pupils. Mrs.
+Harcourt had three daughters and a son--Isabella, Matilda, Favoretta,
+and Herbert. Isabella was about fourteen; her countenance was
+intelligent, but rather too expressive of confidence in her own
+capacity, for she had, from her infancy, been taught to believe that she
+was a genius. Her memory had been too much cultivated; she had learned
+languages with facility, and had been taught to set a very high value
+upon her knowledge of history and chronology. Her temper had been hurt
+by flattery, yet she was capable of feeling all the generous passions.
+
+Matilda was a year younger than Isabella; she was handsome, but her
+countenance, at first view, gave the idea of hopeless indolence; she
+did not learn the French and Italian irregular verbs by rote as
+expeditiously as her sister, and her impatient preceptress pronounced,
+with an irrevocable nod, that Miss Matilda was _no_ genius. The phrase
+was quickly caught by her masters, so that Matilda, undervalued even
+by her sister, lost all confidence in herself, and with the hope of
+success, lost the wish for exertion. Her attention gradually turned to
+dress and personal accomplishments; not that she was vain of her beauty,
+but she had more hopes of pleasing by the graces of her person than of
+her mind. The timid, anxious blush, which Mad. De Rosier observed to
+vary in Matilda's countenance, when she spoke to those for whom she felt
+affection, convinced this lady that, if Matilda were _no_ genius, it
+must have been the fault of her education. On sensibility, all that is
+called genius, perhaps, originally depends: those who are capable of
+feeling a strong degree of pain and pleasure may surely be excited
+to great and persevering exertion, by calling the proper motives into
+action.
+
+Favoretta, the youngest daughter, was about six years old. At this
+age, the habits that constitute character are not formed, and it is,
+therefore, absurd to speak of the character of a child six years old.
+Favoretta had been, from her birth, the plaything of her mother and of
+her mother's waiting-maid. She was always produced, when Mrs. Harcourt
+had company, to be admired and caressed by the fashionable circle;
+her ringlets and her lively nonsense were the never-failing means of
+attracting attention from visitors. In the drawing-room, Favoretta,
+consequently, was happy, always in high spirits, and the picture of good
+humour; but, change the scene, and Favoretta no longer appeared the same
+person: when alone, she was idle and spiritless; when with her maid
+or with her brother and sisters, pettish and capricious. Her
+usual play-fellow was Herbert, but their plays regularly ended in
+quarrels--quarrels in which both parties were commonly in the wrong,
+though the whole of the blame necessarily fell upon Herbert, for Herbert
+was neither caressing nor caressed. Mrs. Grace, the waiting-maid,
+pronounced him to be the plague of her life, and prophesied evil of him,
+because, as she averred, if she combed his hair a hundred times a day,
+it would never be fit to be seen; besides this, she declared "there was
+no managing to keep him out of mischief," and he was so "thick-headed
+at his book," that Mrs. Grace, on whom the task of teaching him
+his alphabet had, during the negligent reign of the late governess,
+devolved, affirmed that he never would learn to read like any other
+young gentleman. Whether the zeal of Mrs. Grace for his literary
+progress were of service to his understanding, may be doubted; there
+could be no doubt of its effect upon his temper; a sullen gloom
+overspread Herbert's countenance, whenever the shrill call of "Come and
+say your task, Master Herbert!" was heard; and the continual use of the
+imperative mood--"Let that alone, _do_, Master Herbert!"--"Don't make a
+racket, Master Herbert!"--"Do hold your tongue and sit still where I bid
+you, Master Herbert!" operated so powerfully upon this young gentleman,
+that, at eight years old, he partly fulfilled his tormentor's
+prophecies, for he became a little surly rebel, who took pleasure in
+doing exactly the contrary to every thing that he was desired to do,
+and who took pride in opposing his powers of endurance to the force
+of punishment. His situation was scarcely more agreeable in the
+drawing-room than in the nursery, for his mother usually announced
+him to the company by the appropriate appellation of _Roughhead_; and
+Herbert _Roughhead_ being assailed, at his entrance into the room, by
+a variety of petty reproaches and maternal witticisms upon his uncouth
+appearance, became bashful and awkward, averse from _polite_ society,
+and prone to the less fastidious company of servants in the stable and
+the kitchen. Mrs. Harcourt absolutely forbade his intercourse with the
+postilions, though she did not think it necessary to be so strict in her
+injunctions as to the butler and footman; because, argued she, "children
+will get to the servants when one's from home, and it is best that they
+should be with such of them as one can trust. Now Stephen is quite a
+person one can entirely depend upon, and he has been so long in the
+family, the children are quite used to him, and safe with him."
+
+How many mothers have a Stephen, on whom they can entirely depend!
+
+Mrs. Harcourt, with politeness, which in this instance supplied the
+place of good sense, invested Mad. de Rosier with full powers, as the
+preceptress of her children, except as to their religious education; she
+stipulated that Catholic tenets should not be instilled into them. To
+this Mad. de Rosier replied--"that children usually follow the religion
+of their parents, and that proselytes seldom do honour to their
+conversion; that were she, on the other hand, to attempt to promote her
+pupils' belief in the religion of their country, her utmost powers could
+add nothing to the force of public religious instruction, and to the
+arguments of those books which are necessarily put into the hands of
+every well-educated person."
+
+With these opinions, Mad. de Rosier readily promised to abstain from
+all direct or indirect interference in the religious instruction of her
+pupils. Mrs. Harcourt then introduced her to them as "a friend, in whom
+she had entire confidence, and whom she hoped and believed they would
+make it their study to please."
+
+Whilst the ceremonies of the introduction were going on, Herbert kept
+himself aloof, and, with his whip suspended over the stick on which he
+was riding, eyed Mad. de Rosier with no friendly aspect: however, when
+she held out her hand to him, and when he heard the encouraging tone of
+her voice, he approached, held his whip fast in his right hand, but very
+cordially gave the lady his left to shake.
+
+"Are you to be my governess?" said he: "you won't give me very long
+tasks, will you?"
+
+"Favoretta, my dear, what has detained you so long?" cried Mrs.
+Harcourt, as the door opened, and as Favoretta, with her hair in nice
+order, was ushered into the room by Mrs. Grace. The little girl ran up
+to Mad. de Rosier, and, with the most caressing freedom, cried,--
+
+"Will you love me? I have not my red shoes on to-day!"
+
+Whilst Mad. de Rosier assured Favoretta that the want of the red shoes
+would not diminish her merit, Matilda whispered to Isabella--"Mourning
+is very becoming to her, though she is not fair;" and Isabella, with a
+look of absence, replied--"But she speaks English amazingly well for a
+French woman."
+
+Mad. de Rosier did speak English remarkably well; she had spent some
+years in England, in her early youth, and, perhaps, the effect of her
+conversation was heightened by an air of foreign novelty. As she was
+not hackneyed in the common language of conversation, her ideas were
+expressed in select and accurate terms, so that her thoughts appeared
+original, as well as just.
+
+Isabella, who was fond of talents, and yet fonder of novelty, was
+charmed, the first evening, with her new friend, more especially as
+she perceived that her abilities had not escaped Mad. de Rosier. She
+displayed all her little treasures of literature, but was surprised to
+observe that, though every shining thing she said was taken notice of,
+nothing dazzled the eyes of her judge; gradually her desire to talk
+subsided, and she felt some curiosity to hear. She experienced the
+new pleasure of conversing with a person whom she perceived to be her
+superior in understanding, and whose superiority she could admire,
+without any mixture of envy.
+
+"Then," said she, pausing, one day, after having successfully enumerated
+the dates of the reigns of all the English kings, "I suppose you have
+something in French, like our Gray's Memoria Technica, or else you never
+could have such a prodigious quantity of dates in your head. Had you
+as much knowledge of chronology and history, when you were of my age,
+as--as--"
+
+"As you have?" said Mad. de Rosier: "I do not know whether I had at your
+age, but I can assure you that I have not now."
+
+"Nay," replied Isabella, with an incredulous smile, "but you only say
+that from modesty."
+
+"From vanity, more likely."
+
+"Vanity! impossible--you don't understand me."
+
+"Pardon me, but you do not understand _me_."
+
+"A person," cried Isabella, "can't, surely, be vain--what we, in
+English, call vain--of _not_ remembering any thing."
+
+"Is it, then, impossible that a person should be what you, in English,
+call vain, of _not_ remembering what is useless? I dare say you can tell
+me the name of that wise man who prayed for the art of forgetting."
+
+"No, indeed, I don't know his name; I never heard of him before: was he
+a Grecian, or a Roman, or an Englishman? can't you recollect his name?
+what does it begin with?"
+
+"I do not wish either for your sake or my own, to remember the name;
+let us content ourselves with the wise man's sense, whether he were a
+Grecian, a Roman, or an Englishman: even the first letter of his name
+might be left among the useless things--might it not?"
+
+"But," replied Isabella, a little piqued, "I do not know what you call
+useless."
+
+"Those of which you can make no use," said Mad. de Rosier, with
+simplicity.
+
+"You don't mean, though, all the names, and dates, and kings, and Roman
+emperors, and all the remarkable events that I have learned by heart?"
+
+"It is useful, I allow," replied Mad. de Rosier, "to know by heart the
+names of the English kings and Roman emperors, and to remember the dates
+of their reigns, otherwise we should be obliged, whenever we wanted
+them, to search in the books in which they are to be found, and that
+wastes time."
+
+"Wastes time--yes; but what's worse," said Isabella, "a person looks so
+awkward and foolish in company, who does not know these things--things
+that every body knows."
+
+"And that every body is supposed to know," added Mad. de Rosier.
+
+"_That_ never struck me before," said Isabella, ingenuously; "I only
+remembered these things to repeat in conversation."
+
+Here Mad. de Rosier, pleased to observe that her pupil had caught an
+idea that was new to her, dropped the conversation, and left Isabella
+to apply what had passed. Active and ingenious young people should have
+much left to their own intelligent exertions, and to their own candour.
+
+Matilda, the second daughter, was at first pleased with Mad. de
+Rosier, because she looked well in mourning; and afterwards she became
+interested for her, from hearing the history of her misfortunes, of
+which Mad. de Rosier, one evening, gave her a simple, pathetic account.
+Matilda was particularly touched by the account of the early death of
+this lady's beautiful and accomplished daughter; she dwelt upon every
+circumstance, and, with anxious curiosity, asked a variety of questions.
+
+"I think I can form a perfect idea of her now," said Matilda, after
+she had inquired concerning the colour of her hair, of her eyes, her
+complexion, her height, her voice, her manners, and her dress--"I think
+I have a perfect idea of her now!"
+
+"Oh no!" said Mad. de Rosier, with a sigh, "you cannot form a perfect
+idea of my Rosalie from any of these things; she was handsome and
+graceful; but it was not her person--it was her mind," said the mother,
+with a faltering voice: her voice had, till this instant, been steady
+and composed.
+
+"I beg your pardon--I will ask you no more questions," said Matilda.
+
+"My love," said Mad. de Rosier, "ask me as many as you please--I like
+to think of _her_--I may now speak of her without vanity--her character
+would have pleased you."
+
+"I am sure it would," said Matilda: "do you think she would have liked
+me or Isabella the best?"
+
+"She would have liked each of you for your different good qualities, I
+think: she would not have made her love an object of competition, or
+the cause of jealousy between two sisters; she could make herself
+sufficiently beloved, without stooping to any such mean arts. She had
+two friends who loved her tenderly; they knew that she was perfectly
+sincere, and that she would not flatter either of them--you know _that_
+is only childish affection which is without esteem. Rosalie was esteemed
+_autant qu'aimee_."
+
+"How I should have liked such a friend! but I am afraid she would have
+been so much my superior, she would have despised me--Isabella would
+have had all her conversation, because she knows so much, and I know
+nothing!"
+
+"If you know that you know nothing," said Mad. de Rosier, with an
+encouraging smile, "you know as much as the wisest of men. When the
+oracle pronounced Socrates to be the wisest of men, he explained it by
+observing, 'that he knew himself to be ignorant, whilst other men,' said
+he, 'believing that they know every thing, are not likely to improve.'"
+
+"Then you think I am likely to improve?" said Matilda, with a look of
+doubtful hope.
+
+"Certainly," said Mad. de Rosier: "if you exert yourself, you may be any
+thing you please."
+
+"Not any thing I please, for I should please to be as clever, and as
+good, and as amiable, and as estimable, too, as your Rosalie--but that's
+impossible. Tell me, however, what she was at my age--and what sort
+of things she used to do and say--and what books she read--and how she
+employed herself from morning till night."
+
+"That must be for to-morrow," said Mad. de Rosier; "I must now show
+Herbert the book of prints that he wanted to see."
+
+It was the first time that Herbert had ever asked to look into a book.
+Mad. de Rosier had taken him entirely out of the hands of Mrs. Grace,
+and finding that his painful associations with the sight of the
+syllables in his dog's-eared spelling-book could not immediately be
+conquered, she prudently resolved to cultivate his powers of attention
+upon other subjects, and not to return to syllabic difficulties, until
+the young gentleman should have forgotten his literary misfortunes, and
+acquired sufficient energy and patience to ensure success.
+
+"It is of little consequence," said she, "whether the boy read a year
+sooner or later; but it is of great consequence that he should love
+literature."
+
+"Certainly," said Mrs. Harcourt, to whom this observation was addressed;
+"I am sure you will manage all those things properly--I leave him
+entirely to you--Grace quite gives him up: if he read by the time we
+must think of sending him to school I shall be satisfied--only keep him
+out of my way," added she, laughing, "when he is stammering over that
+unfortunate spelling-book, for I don't pretend to be gifted with the
+patience of Job."
+
+"Have you any objection," said Mad. de Rosier, "to my buying for him
+some new toys?"
+
+"None in the world--buy any thing you will--do any thing you please--I
+give you carte blanche," said Mrs. Harcourt.
+
+After Mad. de Rosier had been some time at Mrs. Harcourt's, and had
+carefully studied the characters, or, more properly speaking, the
+habits of all her pupils, she took them with her one morning to a large
+toy-shop, or rather warehouse for toys, which had been lately opened,
+under the direction of an ingenious gentleman, who had employed proper
+workmen to execute rational toys for the rising generation.
+
+When Herbert entered "the rational toy-shop," he looked all around, and,
+with an air of disappointment, exclaimed, "Why, I see neither whips
+nor horses! nor phaetons, nor coaches!"--"Nor dressed dolls!" said
+Favoretta, in a reproachful tone--"nor baby houses!"--"Nor soldiers--nor
+a drum!" continued Herbert.--"I am sure I never saw such a toy-shop,"
+said Favoretta; "I expected the finest things that ever were seen,
+because it was such a new _great_ shop, and here are nothing but
+vulgar-looking things--great carts and wheel-barrows, and things fit for
+orange-women's daughters, I think."
+
+This sally of wit was not admired as much as it would have been by
+Favoretta's flatterers in her mother's drawing-room:--her brother seized
+upon the very cart which she had abused, and dragging it about the room,
+with noisy joy, declared he had found out that it was better than a
+coach and six that would hold nothing; and he was even satisfied without
+horses, because he reflected that he could be the best horse himself;
+and that wooden horses, after all, cannot gallop, and they never mind
+if you whip them ever so much: "you must drag them along all the time,
+though you make _believe_," said Herbert, "that they draw the coach of
+themselves; if one gives them the least push, they tumble down on their
+sides, and one must turn back, for ever and ever, to set them up upon
+their wooden legs again. I don't like make-believe horses; I had rather
+be both man and horse for myself." Then, whipping himself, he galloped
+away, pleased with his centaur character.
+
+When the little boy in Sacontala is offered for a plaything "_a peacock
+of earthenware, painted with rich colours_," he answers, "_I shall
+like the peacock if it can run and fly--not else_." The Indian drama of
+Sacontala was written many centuries ago. Notwithstanding it has so long
+been observed, that children dislike useless, motionless playthings,
+it is but of late that more rational toys have been devised for their
+amusements.
+
+Whilst Herbert's cart rolled on, Favoretta viewed it with scornful eyes;
+but at length, cured by the neglect of the spectators of this fit of
+disdain, she condescended to be pleased, and spied a few things
+worthy of her notice. Bilboquets, battledores, and shuttlecocks, she
+acknowledged were no bad things--"And pray," said she, "what are those
+pretty little baskets, Mad. de Rosier? And those others, which look as
+if they were but just begun? And what are those strings, that look like
+mamma's bell cords?--and is that a thing for making laces, such as Grace
+laces me with? And what are those cabinets with little drawers for?"
+
+Mad. de Rosier had taken notice of these little cabinets--they were for
+young mineralogists; she was also tempted by a botanical apparatus; but
+as her pupils were not immediately going into the country, where flowers
+could be procured, she was forced to content herself with such things
+as could afford them employment in town. The making of baskets, of
+bell-ropes, and of cords for window-curtains, were occupations in which,
+she thought, they might successfully employ themselves. The materials
+for these little manufactures were here ready prepared; and only such
+difficulties were left as children love to conquer. The materials for
+the baskets, and a little magnifying glass, which Favoretta wished to
+have, were just packed up in a basket, which was to serve for a model,
+when Herbert's voice was heard at the other end of the shop: he was
+exclaiming in an impatient tone, "I must and I will eat them, I say." He
+had crept under the counter, and, unperceived by the busy shopman, had
+dragged out of a pigeon-hole, near the ground, a parcel, wrapped up in
+brown paper: he had seated himself upon the ground, with his back to the
+company, and, with patience worthy of a better object, at length untied
+the difficult knot, pulled off the string, and opened the parcel. Within
+the brown paper there appeared a number of little packets, curiously
+folded in paper of a light brown. Herbert opened one of these, and
+finding that it contained a number of little round things which looked
+like comfits, he raised the paper to his mouth, which opened wide to
+receive them. The shopman stopping his arm, assured him that they were
+"_not good to eat_;" but Herbert replied in the angry tone, which caught
+Mad. de Rosier's ear. "They are the seeds of radishes, my dear," said
+she: "if they be sown in the ground, they will become radishes; then
+they will be fit to eat, but not till then. Taste them now, and try." He
+willingly obeyed; but put the seeds very quickly out of his mouth, when
+he found that they were not sweet. He then said "that he wished he
+might have them, that he might sow them in the little garden behind his
+mother's house, that they might be fit to eat some time or other."
+
+Mad. de Rosier bought the radish-seeds, and ordered a little spade,
+a hoe, and a watering-pot, to be sent home for him. Herbert's face
+brightened with joy: he was surprised to find that any of his requests
+were granted, because Grace had regularly reproved him for being
+troublesome whenever he asked for any thing; hence he had learned to
+have recourse to force or fraud to obtain his objects. He ventured now
+to hold Mad. De Rosier by the gown: "Stay a little longer," said he; "I
+want to look at every thing:" his curiosity dilated with his hopes. When
+Mad. de Rosier complied with his request to "stay a little longer,"
+he had even the politeness to push a stool towards her, saying, "You'd
+better sit down; you will be tired of standing, as some people say they
+are;--but I'm not one of them. Tell 'em to give me down that wonderful
+thing, that I may see what it is, will you?"
+
+The wonderful thing which had caught Herbert's attention was a dry
+printing press. Mad. de Rosier was glad to procure this little machine
+for Herbert, for she hoped that the new associations of pleasure which
+he would form with the types in the little compositor's stick, would
+efface the painful remembrance of his early difficulties with the
+syllables in the spelling-book. She also purchased a box of models
+of common furniture, which were made to take to pieces, and to be put
+together again, and on which the names of all the parts were printed.
+A number of other useful toys tempted her, but she determined not to be
+too profuse: she did not wish to purchase the love of her little
+pupils by presents; her object was to provide them with independent
+occupations; to create a taste for industry, without the dangerous
+excitation of continual variety.
+
+Isabella was delighted with the idea of filling up a small biographical
+chart, which resembled Priestley's; she was impatient also to draw the
+map of the world upon a small silk balloon, which could be filled with
+common air, or folded up flat at pleasure.
+
+Matilda, after much hesitation, said she had decided in her mind, just
+as they were going out of the shop. She chose a small loom for weaving
+riband and tape, which Isabella admired, because she remembered to have
+seen it described in "Townsend's Travels:" but, before the man could put
+up the loom for Matilda, she begged to have a little machine for drawing
+in perspective, because the person who showed it assured her that it
+required _no sort of genius_ to draw perfectly well in perspective with
+this instrument.
+
+In their way home, Mad. de Rosier stopped the carriage at a circulating
+library. "Are you going to ask for the novel we were talking of
+yesterday?" cried Matilda.
+
+"A novel!" said Isabella, contemptuously: "no, I dare say Mad. de Rosier
+is not a novel-reader."
+
+"Zeluco, sir, if you please," said Mad. de Rosier. "You see, Isabella,
+notwithstanding the danger of forfeiting your good opinion, I have dared
+to ask for a novel."
+
+"Well, I always understood, I am sure," replied Isabella, disdainfully,
+"that none but trifling, silly people were novel-readers."
+
+"Were readers of trifling, silly novels, perhaps you mean," answered
+Mad. de Rosier, with temper; "but I flatter myself you will not find
+Zeluco either trifling or silly."
+
+"No, not Zeluco, to be sure," said Isabella, recollecting herself; "for
+now I remember Mr. Gibbon, the great historian, mentions Zeluco in one
+of his letters; he says it is the best philosophical romance of the age.
+I particularly remember _that_, because somebody had been talking of
+Zeluco the very day I was reading that letter; and I asked my governess
+to get it for me, but she said it was a novel--however, Mr. Gibbon calls
+it a philosophical romance."
+
+"The name," said Mad. de Rosier, "will not make such difference to _us_;
+but I agree with you in thinking, that as people who cannot judge for
+themselves are apt to be misled by names, it would be advantageous to
+invent some new name for philosophical novels, that they may no longer
+be contraband goods--that they may not be confounded with the trifling,
+silly productions, for which you have so just a disdain."
+
+"Now, ma'am, will you ask," cried Herbert, as the carriage stopped at
+his mother's door--"will you ask whether the man has brought home my
+spade and the watering-pot? I know you don't like that I should go to
+the servants for what I want; but I'm in a great hurry for the spade,
+because I want to dig the bed for my radishes before night: I've got my
+seeds safe in my hand."
+
+Mad. de Rosier, much pleased by this instance of obedience in her
+impatient pupil, instantly inquired for what he wanted, to convince him
+that it was possible he could have his wishes gratified by a person who
+was not an inhabitant of the stable or the kitchen. Isabella might have
+registered it in her list of remarkable events, that Herbert, this day,
+was not seen with the butler, the footman, or the coachman. Mad. de
+Rosier, who was aware of the force of habit, and who thought that no
+evil could be greater than that of hazarding the integrity of her little
+pupils, did not exact from them any promise of abstaining from the
+company of the servants, with whom they had been accustomed to converse;
+but she had provided the children with occupations, that they might
+not be tempted, by idleness, to seek for improper companions; and, by
+interesting herself with unaffected good-nature in their amusements, she
+endeavoured to give them a taste for the sympathy of their superiors
+in knowledge, instead of a desire for the flattery of inferiors. She
+arranged their occupations in such a manner, that, without watching them
+every instant, she might know what they were doing, and where they were;
+and she showed so much readiness to procure for them any thing that
+was reasonable, that they found it the shortest method to address
+their petitions to her in the first instance. Children will necessarily
+delight in the company of those who make them happy; Mad. de Rosier knew
+how to make her pupils contented, by exciting them to employments in
+which they felt that they were successful.
+
+"Mamma! mamma! dear mamma!" cried Favoretta, running into the hall, and
+stopping Mrs. Harcourt, who was dressed, and going out to dinner, "do
+come into the parlour, to look at my basket, my beautiful basket, that I
+am making _all_ myself."
+
+"And _do_, mother, or some of ye, come out into the garden, and see the
+bed that I've dug, with my own hands, for my radishes--I'm as hot as
+fire, I know," said Herbert, pushing his hat back from his forehead.
+
+"Oh! don't come near me with the watering-pot in your hand," said Mrs.
+Harcourt, shrinking back, and looking at Herbert's hands, which were not
+as white as her own.
+
+"The carriage is but just come to the door, ma'am," said Isabella, who
+next appeared in the hall; "I only want you for one instant, to show you
+something that is to hang up in your dressing-room, when I have finished
+it, mamma; it is really beautiful."
+
+"Well, don't keep me long," said Mrs. Harcourt, "for, indeed, I am too
+late already."
+
+"Oh, no! indeed you will not be too late, mamma--only look at my
+basket," said Favoretta, gently pulling her mother by the hand into the
+parlour.--Isabella pointed to her silk globe, which was suspended in the
+window, and, taking up her camel-hair pencil, cried, "Only look, ma'am,
+how nicely I have traced the Rhine, the Po, the Elbe, and the Danube;
+you see I have not finished Europe; it will be quite another looking
+thing, when Asia, Africa, and America are done, and when the colours are
+quite dry."
+
+"Now, Isabella, pray let her look at my basket," cried the eager
+Favoretta, holding up the scarcely begun basket--"I will do a row, to
+show you how it is done;" and the little girl, with busy fingers, began
+to weave. The ingenious and delicate appearance of the work, and the
+happy countenance of the little workwoman, fixed the mother's pleased
+attention, and she, for a moment, forgot that her carriage was waiting.
+
+"The carriage is at the door, ma'am," said the footman.
+
+"I must be gone!" cried Mrs. Harcourt, starting from her reverie. "What
+am I doing here? I ought to have been away this half-hour--Matilda!--why
+is not she amongst you?"
+
+Matilda, apart from the busy company, was reading with so much
+earnestness, that her mother called twice before she looked up.
+
+"How happy you all look," continued Mrs. Harcourt; "and I am going to
+one of those terrible _great_ dinners--I shan't eat one morsel; then
+cards all night, which I hate as much as you do, Isabella--pity me, Mad.
+de Rosier!--Good bye, happy creatures!"--and with some real and some
+affected reluctance, Mrs. Harcourt departed.
+
+It is easy to make children happy, for one evening, with new toys and
+new employments; but the difficulty is to continue the pleasure of
+occupation after it has lost its novelty: the power of habit may
+well supply the place of the charm of novelty. Mad. de Rosier exerted
+herself, for some weeks, to invent occupations for her pupils, that
+she might induce in their minds a love for industry; and when they had
+tasted the pleasure, and formed the habit of doing _something_, she now
+and then suffered them to experience the misery of having nothing to do.
+The state of _ennui_, when contrasted with that of pleasurable mental or
+bodily activity, becomes odious and insupportable to children.
+
+Our readers must have remarked that Herbert, when he seized upon the
+radish-seeds in the rational toy-shop, had not then learned just notions
+of the nature of property. Mad. de Rosier did not, like Mrs. Grace,
+repeat ineffectually, fifty times a day--"Master Herbert, don't touch
+that!" "Master Herbert, for shame!" "Let that alone, sir!" "Master
+Herbert, how dare you, sir!" but she prudently began by putting
+forbidden goods entirely out of his reach: thus she, at least, prevented
+the necessity for perpetual, irritating prohibitions, and diminished
+with the temptation the desire to disobey; she gave him some things
+for his _own_ use, and scrupulously refrained from encroaching upon his
+property: Isabella and Matilda followed her example, in this respect,
+and thus practically explained to Herbert the meaning of the words
+_mine_ and _yours_. He was extremely desirous of going with Mad. de
+Rosier to different shops, but she coolly answered his entreaties by
+observing, "that she could not venture to take him into any one's house,
+till she was sure that he would not meddle with what was not his own."
+Herbert now felt the inconvenience of his lawless habits: to enjoy the
+pleasures, he perceived that it was necessary to submit to the duties
+of society; and he began to respect "_the rights of things and
+persons_[1]." When his new sense of right and wrong had been
+sufficiently exercised at home, Mad. de Rosier ventured to expose him
+to more dangerous trials abroad; she took him to a carpenter's workshop,
+and though the saw, the hammer, the chisel, the plane, and the vice,
+assailed him in various forms of temptation, his powers of forbearance
+came off victorious.
+
+[Footnote 1: Blackstone]
+
+"To _bear_ and _forbear_" has been said to be the sum of manly virtue:
+the virtue of forbearance in childhood must always be measured by
+the pupil's disposition to activity: a vivacious boy must often have
+occasion to forbear more, in a quarter of an hour, than a dull, indolent
+child in a quarter of a year.
+
+"May I touch this?"--"May I meddle with that?" were questions which our
+prudent hero now failed not to ask, before he meddled with the property
+of others, and he found his advantage in this mode of proceeding. He
+observed that his governess was, in this respect, as scrupulous as she
+required that he should be, and he consequently believed in the truth
+and _general_ utility of her precepts.
+
+The coachmaker's, the cooper's, the turner's, the cabinet-maker's, even
+the black ironmonger's and noisy tinman's shop, afforded entertainment
+for many a morning; a trifling gratuity often purchased much
+instruction, and Mad. de Rosier always examined the countenance of
+the workman before she suffered her little pupils to attack him with
+questions. The eager curiosity of children is generally rather agreeable
+than tormenting to tradesmen, who are not too busy to be benevolent; and
+the care which Herbert took not to be troublesome pleased those to whom
+he addressed himself. He was delighted, at the upholsterer's, to observe
+that his little models of furniture had taught him how several things
+were _put together_, and he soon learned the workmen's names for his
+ideas. He readily understood the use of all that he saw, when he went to
+a bookbinder's, and to a printing-office, because, in his own printing
+and bookbinder's press, he had seen similar contrivances in miniature.
+
+Prints, as well as models, were used to enlarge his ideas of visible
+objects. Mad. de Rosier borrowed the Dictionnaire des Arts et des
+Metiers, Buffon, and several books, which contained good prints of
+animals, machines, and architecture; these provided amusement on rainy
+days. At first she found it difficult to fix the attention of the
+boisterous Herbert and the capricious Favoretta. Before they had half
+examined one print, they wanted to turn over the leaf to see another;
+but this desultory, impatient curiosity she endeavoured to cure by
+steadily showing only one or two prints for each day's amusement.
+Herbert, who could but just spell words of one syllable, could not
+read what was written at the bottom of the prints, and he was sometimes
+ashamed of applying to Favoretta for assistance;--the names that were
+printed upon his little models of furniture he at length learned to
+make out. The _press was obliged to stand still_ when Favoretta, or his
+friend, Mad. de Rosier, were not at hand, to tell him, letter by letter,
+how to spell the words that he wanted to print. He, one evening, went
+up to Mad. de Rosier, and, with a resolute face, said, "I must learn to
+read."
+
+"If any body will be so good as to teach you, I suppose you mean," said
+she, smiling[2].
+
+[Footnote 2: Vide Rousseau.]
+
+"Will _you_ be so good?" said he: "perhaps you could teach me, though
+Grace says 'tis very difficult; I'll do my best."
+
+"Then I'll do _my_ best too," said Mad. de Rosier.
+
+The consequences of these good resolutions were surprising to Mrs.
+Grace. Master Herbert was quite changed, she observed; and she wondered
+why he would never read when she took so much pains with him for an hour
+every day to hear him his task. "Madame de What d'ye call her,"
+added Mrs. Grace, "need not boast much of the hand she has had in the
+business: for I've been by at odd times, and watched her ways, whilst
+I have been dressing Miss Favoretta, and she has been hearing you your
+task, Master Herbert."
+
+"She doesn't call it my task--I hate that word."
+
+"Well, I don't know what she calls it; for I don't pretend to be a
+French governess, for my part; but I can read English, Master Herbert,
+as well as another; and it's strange if I could not teach my mother
+tongue better than an emigrant. What I say is, that she never takes
+much pains one way or the other; for by the clock in mistress's
+dressing-room, I minuted her twice, and she was five minutes at one
+time, and not above seven the other. Easy earning money for
+governesses, nowadays. No tasks!--no, not she!--Nothing all day long but
+play--play--play, laughing and running, and walking, and going to see
+all the shops and sights, and going out in the coach to bring home
+radishes and tongue-grass, to be sure--and every thing in the house is
+to be as she pleases, to be sure. I am sure my mistress is too good
+to her, only because she was born a lady, they say. Do, pray, Master
+Herbert, stand still, whilst I comb your hair, unless that's against
+your new governess's commandments."
+
+"I'll comb my own hair, Grace," said Herbert, manfully. "I don't like
+one word you have been saying; though I don't mind any thing you, or any
+body else, can say against _my friend_. She is my friend--and she has
+taught me to read, I say, without bouncing me about, and shaking me, and
+Master Herbert_ing_ me for ever. And what harm did it do the coach to
+bring home my radishes? My radishes are come up, and she shall have some
+of them. And I like the sights and shops she shows me;--but she does not
+like that I should talk to you; therefore, I'll say no more; but good
+morning to you, Grace."
+
+Herbert, red with generous passion, rushed out of the room, and Grace,
+pale with malicious rage, turned towards the other door that opened
+into Mrs. Harcourt's bedchamber, for Mad. de Rosier, at this moment,
+appeared.--"I thought I heard a great noise?"--"It was only Master
+Herbert, ma'am, that _won't never_ stand still to have his hair
+combed--and says he'll comb it for himself--I am sure I wish he would."
+
+Mad. de Rosier saw, by the embarrassed manner and stifled choler of Mrs.
+Grace, that the whole truth of the business had not been told, and she
+repented her indiscretion in having left Herbert with her even for a
+few minutes. She forbore, however, to question Herbert, who maintained
+a _dignified_ silence upon the subject; and the same species of
+silence would also become the historian upon this occasion, were it not
+necessary that the character of an intriguing lady's maid should, for
+the sake both of parents and children, be fully delineated.
+
+Mrs. Grace, offended by Mad. de Rosier's success in teaching her former
+pupil to read; jealous of this lady's favour with her mistress and
+with the young ladies; irritated by the bold defiance of the indignant
+champion who had stood forth in his _friend's_ defence, formed a
+_secret_ resolution to obtain revenge. This she imparted, the very same
+day, to her confidant, Mrs. Rebecca. Mrs. Rebecca was the favourite maid
+of Mrs. Fanshaw, an acquaintance of Mrs. Harcourt. Grace invited Mrs.
+Rebecca to drink tea with her. As soon as the preliminary ceremonies of
+the tea-table had been adjusted, she proceeded to state her grievances.
+
+"In former times, as nobody knows better than you, Mrs. Rebecca, I had
+my mistress's ear, and was all in all in the house, with her and the
+young ladies, and the old governess; and it was I that was to teach
+Master Herbert to read; and Miss Favoretta was almost constantly from
+morning to night, except when she was called for by company, with me,
+and a sweet little well-dressed creature always, you know, she was."
+
+"A sweet little creature, indeed, ma'am, and I was wondering, before you
+spoke, not to see her in your room, as usual, to-night," replied Mrs.
+Rebecca.
+
+"Dear Mrs. Rebecca, you need not wonder at that, or any thing else
+that's wonderful, in our present government above stairs, I'll assure
+you; for we have a new French governess, and new measures. Do you know,
+ma'am, the coach is ordered to go about at all hours, whenever she
+pleases _for to_ take the young ladies out, and she is quite like my
+mistress. But no one can bear two mistresses, you know, Mrs. Rebecca;
+wherefore, I'm come to a resolution, in short, that either she or I
+shall quit the house, and we shall presently see which of us it must be.
+Mrs. Harcourt, at the upshot of all things, must be conscious, at the
+bottom of her heart, that, if she is the elegantest dresser about town,
+it's not all her own merit."
+
+"Very true indeed, Mrs. Grace," replied her complaisant friend; "and
+what sums of money her millinery might cost her, if she had no one
+clever at making up things at home! You are blamed by many, let me tell
+you, for doing so much as you do. Mrs. Private, the milliner, I know
+from the best authority, is not your friend: now, for my part, I
+think it is no bad thing to have friends _abroad_, if one comes to any
+difficulties at home. Indeed, my dear, your attachment to Mrs. Harcourt
+quite blinds you--but, to be sure, you know your own affairs best."
+
+"Why, I am not for changing when I am well," replied Grace: "Mrs.
+Harcourt is abroad a great deal, and hers is, all things considered,
+a very eligible house. Now, what I build my hopes upon, my dear Mrs.
+Rebecca, is this--that ladies, like some people who have been beauties,
+and come to _make themselves up_, and wear pearl powder, and false
+auburn hair, and twenty things that are not to be advertised, you know,
+don't like quarrelling with those that are in the secret--and ladies who
+have never made a _rout_ about governesses and _edication_, till lately,
+and now, perhaps, only for fashion's sake, would upon a pinch--don't you
+think--rather part with a French governess, when there are so many,
+than with a favourite maid who knows her ways, _and has_ a good taste in
+dress, which so few can boast?"
+
+"Oh, surely! surely!" said Mrs. Rebecca; and having tasted Mrs. Grace's
+creme-de-noyau, it was decided that war should be declared against _the
+governess_.
+
+Mad. de Rosier, happily unconscious of the machinations of her enemies,
+and even unsuspicious of having any, was, during this important
+conference, employed in reading Marmontel's Silvain, with Isabella and
+Matilda. They were extremely interested in this little play; and Mrs.
+Harcourt, who came into the room whilst they were reading, actually
+sat down on the sofa beside Isabella, and, putting her arm round her
+daughter's waist, said--"Go on, love; let me have a share in some of
+your pleasures--lately, whenever I see you, you all look the picture of
+happiness--Go on, pray, Mad. de Rosier."
+
+"It was I who was reading, mamma," said Isabella, pointing to the place
+over Mad. de Rosier's shoulder--
+
+     Une femme douce et sage
+     A toujours tant d'avantage!
+     Elle a pour elle en partage
+     L'agrement, et la raison.'"
+
+"Isabella," said Mrs. Harcourt, from whom a scarcely audible sigh
+had escaped--"Isabella really reads French almost as well as she does
+English."
+
+"I am improved very much since I have heard Mad. de Rosier read," said
+Isabella.
+
+"I don't doubt _that_, in the least; you are, all of you, much improved,
+I think, in every thing;--I am sure I feel very much obliged to Mad. de
+Rosier."
+
+Matilda looked pleased by this speech of her mother, and affectionately
+said, "I am glad, mamma, you like her as well as we do--Oh, I forgot
+that Mad, de Rosier was by--but it is not flattery, however."
+
+"You see you have won all their hearts"--_from me_, Mrs. Harcourt was
+near saying, but she paused, and, with a faint laugh, added--"yet you
+see I am not jealous. Matilda! read those lines that your sister has
+just read; I want to hear them again."
+
+Mrs. Harcourt sent for her work, and spent the evening at home. Mad. de
+Rosier, without effort or affectation, dissipated the slight feeling of
+jealousy which she observed in the mother's mind, and directed towards
+her the attention of her children, without disclaiming, however,
+the praise that was justly her due. She was aware that she could not
+increase her pupils' real affection for their mother, by urging them to
+sentimental hypocrisy.
+
+Whether Mrs. Harcourt understood her conduct this evening, she could not
+discover--for politeness does not always speak the unqualified language
+of the heart--hut she trusted to the effect of time, on which persons
+of integrity may always securely rely for their reward. Mrs. Harcourt
+gradually discovered that, as she became more interested in the
+occupations and amusements of her children, they became more and more
+grateful for her sympathy; she consequently grew fonder of domestic
+life, and of the person who had introduced its pleasures into her
+family.
+
+That we may not be accused of attributing any miraculous power to
+our French governess, we shall explain the natural means by which she
+improved her pupils.
+
+We have already pointed out how she discouraged, in Isabella, the vain
+desire to load her memory with historical and chronological facts,
+merely for the purpose of ostentation. She gradually excited her to
+read books of reasoning, and began with those in which reasoning and
+amusement are mixed. She also endeavoured to cultivate her imagination,
+by giving her a few well-chosen passages to read, from the best English,
+French, and Italian poets. It was an easier task to direct the activity
+of Isabella's mind, than to excite Matilda's dormant powers. Mad. de
+Rosier patiently waited till she discovered something which seemed to
+please Matilda more than usual. The first book that she appeared to like
+particularly was, "Les Conversations d'Emilie:" one passage she read
+with great delight aloud; and Mad. de Rosier, who perceived by the
+manner of reading it that she completely understood the elegance of the
+French, begged her to try if she could translate it into English: it was
+not more than half a page. Matilda was not terrified at the length of
+such an undertaking: she succeeded, and the praises that were bestowed
+upon her translation excited in her mind some portion of ambition.
+
+Mad. de Rosier took the greatest care in conversing with Matilda, to
+make her feel her own powers: whenever she used good arguments,
+they were immediately attended to; and when Matilda perceived that a
+prodigious memory was not essential to success, she was inspired with
+courage to converse unreservedly.
+
+An accident pointed out to Mad. de Rosier another resource in Matilda's
+education. One day Herbert called his sister Matilda to look at an ant,
+which was trying to crawl up a stick; he seemed scarcely able to carry
+his large white load in his little forceps, and he frequently fell back,
+when he had just reached the top of the stick. Mad. de Rosier, who
+knew how much of the art of instruction depends upon seizing the proper
+moments to introduce new ideas, asked Herbert whether he had ever heard
+of the poor snail, who, like this ant, slipped back continually, as he
+was endeavouring to climb a wall twenty feet high.
+
+"I never heard of that snail; pray tell me the story," cried Herbert.
+
+"It is not a story--it is a question in arithmetic," replied Mad. de
+Rosier. "This snail was to crawl up a wall twenty feet high; he crawled
+up five feet every day, and slipped hack again four feet every night: in
+how many days did he reach the top of the wall?"
+
+"I love questions in arithmetic," exclaimed Matilda, "when they are
+not too difficult!" and immediately she whispered to Mad. de Rosier the
+answer to this easy question.
+
+Her exclamation was not lost;--Mad. de Rosier determined to cultivate
+her talents for arithmetic. Without fatiguing Matilda's attention by
+long exercises in the common rules, she gave her questions which obliged
+her to _think_, and which excited her to reason and to invent; she
+gradually explained to her pupil the relations of numbers, and gave her
+rather more clear ideas of the nature and use of the common rules of
+arithmetic than she had acquired from her writing-master, who had taught
+them only in a technical manner. Matilda's confidence in herself was
+thus increased. When she had answered a difficult question, she could
+not doubt that she had succeeded; this was not a matter that admitted
+of the uncertainty which alarms timid tempers. Mad. de Rosier began
+by asking her young arithmetician questions only when they were by
+themselves--but by and by she appealed to her before the rest of the
+family. Matilda coloured at first, and looked as if she knew nothing of
+the business; but a distinct answer was given at last, and Isabella's
+opinions of her sister's abilities rose with amazing rapidity, when she
+heard that Matilda understood decimal fractions.
+
+"Now, my dear Matilda," said Mad. de Rosier, "since you understand
+what even Isabella thinks difficult, you will, I hope, have sufficient
+confidence in yourself to attempt things which Isabella does not think
+difficult."
+
+Matilda shook her head--"I am not Isabella yet," said she.
+
+"No!" cried Isabella, with generous, sincere warmth; "but you are
+much superior to Isabella: I am certain that I could not answer those
+difficult questions, though you think me so quick--and, when once
+you have learned any thing, you never forget it; the ideas are not
+superficial," continued Isabella, turning to Mad. de Rosier; "they have
+depth, like the pins in mosaic work."
+
+Mad. de Rosier smiled at this allusion, and, encouraged by her smile,
+Isabella's active imagination immediately produced another simile.
+
+"I did not know my sister's abilities till lately--till you drew them
+out, Mad. de Rosier, like your drawing upon the screen in sympathetic
+inks;--when you first produced it, I looked, and said there was nothing;
+and when I looked again, after you had held it to the fire for a few
+moments, beautiful colours and figures appeared."
+
+Mad. de Rosier, without using any artifice, succeeded in making Isabella
+and Matilda friends, instead of rivals, by placing them, as much as
+possible, in situations in which they could mutually sympathize, and by
+discouraging all painful competition.
+
+With Herbert and Favoretta she pursued a similar plan. She scarcely ever
+left them alone together, that she might not run the hazard of their
+quarrelling in her absence. At this age children have not sufficient
+command of their tempers--they do not understand the nature of society
+and of justice: the less they are left together, when they are of
+unequal strength, and _when they have not any employments in which they
+are mutually interested_, the better. Favoretta and Herbert's petty, but
+loud and violent disputes, had nearly ceased since these precautions had
+been regularly attended to. As they had a great deal of amusement in
+the few hours which they spent together, they grew fond of each other's
+company: when Herbert was out in his little garden, he was impatient for
+the time when Favoretta was to come to visit his works; and
+Favoretta had equal pleasure in exhibiting to her brother her various
+manufactures.
+
+Mad. de Rosier used to hear them read in Mrs. Barbauld's excellent
+little books, and in "Evenings at Home;" she generally told them some
+interesting story when they had finished reading, and they regularly
+seated themselves, side by side, on the carpet, opposite to her.
+
+One day Herbert established himself in what he called his "_happy
+corner_," Favoretta placed herself close beside him, and Mad. de Rosier
+read to them that part of Sandford and Merton in which Squire Chace is
+represented beating Harry Sandford unmercifully because he refused to
+tell which way the hare was gone. Mad. de Rosier observed that this
+story made a great impression upon Herbert, and she thought it a good
+opportunity, whilst his mind was warm, to point out the difference
+between resolution and obstinacy. Herbert had been formerly disposed to
+obstinacy; but this defect in his temper never broke out towards Mad. de
+Rosier, because she carefully avoided urging him to do those things to
+which she knew him to be adverse; and she frequently desired him to do
+what she knew would be agreeable to him: she thought it best to suffer
+him gradually to forget his former bad habits and false associations,
+before she made any trial of his obedience; then she endeavoured to give
+him new habits, by placing him in new situations. She now resolved to
+address herself to his understanding, which she perceived had opened to
+reason.
+
+He exclaimed with admiration, upon hearing the account of Harry
+Sandford's fortitude, "That's right!--that's right!--I am glad Harry
+did not tell that cruel Squire Chace which way the hare was gone. I like
+Harry for bearing to be beaten, _rather than speak a word when he did
+not choose it_. I love Harry, don't you?" said he, appealing to Mad. de
+Rosier.
+
+"Yes, I like him very much," said Mad. de Rosier: "but not for the
+reason that you have just given."
+
+"No!" said Herbert, starting up: "why, ma'am, don't you like Harry for
+saving the poor hare? don't you admire him for bearing all the hard
+blows, and for saying, when the man asked him afterward why he didn't
+tell which way the hare was gone, 'Because I don't choose to betray the
+unfortunate?'"
+
+"Oh! don't you love him for that?" said Favoretta, rising from her seat;
+"I think Herbert himself would have given just such an answer, only
+not in such good words. I wonder, Mad. de Rosier, you don't like that
+answer!"
+
+"I have never said that I did not like that answer," said Mad. de
+Rosier, as soon as she was permitted to speak.
+
+"Then you _do_ like it? then you do like Harry?" exclaimed Herbert and
+Favoretta, both at once.
+
+"Yes, I like that answer, Herbert; I like your friend Harry for saying
+that he did not choose to betray the unfortunate. You did not do _him_
+justice or yourself, when you said just now that you liked Harry because
+he bore to be beaten rather than speak a word when he did not _choose
+it_."
+
+Herbert looked puzzled.
+
+"I mean," continued Mad. de Rosier, "that, before I can determine
+whether I like and admire any body for persisting in doing or in not
+doing any thing, I must hear their reasons for their resolution. 'I
+don't choose it,' is no reason; I must hear their reasons for choosing
+or not choosing it before I can judge."
+
+"And I have told you the reason Harry gave for not choosing to speak
+when he was asked, and you said it was a good one; and you like him for
+his courage, don't you?" said Herbert.
+
+"Yes," said Mad. de Rosier; "those who are resolute, when they have good
+reasons for their resolution, I admire; those who persist merely because
+_they choose it_, and who cannot, or will not, tell why they choose it,
+I despise."
+
+"Oh, so do I!" said Favoretta: "you know, brother, whenever you say you
+don't choose it, I am always angry, and ask you why."
+
+"And if you were not _always_ angry," said Mad. de Rosier, "perhaps
+_sometimes_ your brother would tell you why."
+
+"Yes, that I should," said Herbert; "I always have a good reason to give
+Favoretta, though I don't always choose to give it."
+
+"Then," said Mad. de Rosier, "you cannot always expect your sister to
+admire the justice of your decisions."
+
+"No," replied Herbert; "but when I don't give her a reason, 'tis
+generally because it is not worth while. There can be no great wisdom,
+you know, in resolutions about trifles: such as, whether she should be
+my horse or I her horse, or whether I should water my radishes before
+breakfast or after."
+
+"Certainly, you are right: there can be no great wisdom in resolutions
+about such trifles, therefore wise people never are obstinate about
+trifles."
+
+"Do you know," cried Herbert, after a pause, "they used, before you
+came, to say that I was obstinate; but with you I have never been so,
+because you know how to manage me; you manage me a great deal more
+_cunningly_ than Grace used to do."
+
+"I would not manage you more _cunningly_ than Grace used to do, if I
+could," replied Mad. de Rosier; "for then I should manage you worse than
+she did. It is no pleasure to me to govern you; I had much rather that
+you should use your reason to govern yourself."
+
+Herbert pulled down his waistcoat, and, drawing up his head, looked with
+conscious dignity at Favoretta.
+
+"You know," continued Mad. de Rosier, "that there are two ways of
+governing people--by reason and by force. Those who have no reason, or
+who do not use it, must be governed by force."
+
+"I am not one of those," said Herbert; "for I hate force."
+
+"But you must also love reason," said Mad. de Rosier, "if you would not
+be _one of those_."
+
+"Well, so I do, when I hear it from _you_," replied Herbert, bluntly;
+"for you give me reasons that I can understand, when you ask me to do or
+not to do any thing: I wish people would always do so."
+
+"But, Herbert," said Mad. de Rosier, "you must sometimes be contented to
+do as you are desired, even when I do not think it proper to give you my
+reasons;--you will, hereafter, find that I have good ones."
+
+"I have found that already in a great many things," said Herbert;
+"especially about the caterpillar."
+
+"What about the caterpillar?" said Favoretta.
+
+"Don't you remember," said Herbert, "the day that I was going to tread
+upon what I thought was a little bit of black stick, and _she_ desired
+me not to do it, and I did not, and afterwards I found out that it was
+a caterpillar;--ever since that day I have been more ready, you know,"
+continued he, turning to Mad. de Rosier, "to believe that you might be
+in the right, and to do as you bid me--you don't think me obstinate, do
+you?"
+
+"No," said Mad. de Rosier.
+
+"No! no!--do you hear that, Favoretta?" cried Herbert joyfully: "Grace
+used to say I was as obstinate as a mule, and she used to call me an
+ass, too: but even poor asses are not obstinate when they are well
+treated. Where is the ass, in the Cabinet of Quadrupeds, Favoretta,
+which we were looking at the other day? Oh, let me read the account to
+you, Mad. de Rosier. It is towards the middle of the book, Favoretta;
+let me look, I can find it in a minute. It is not long--may I read it to
+you?"
+
+Mad. de Rosier consented, and Herbert read as follows:--"Much has been
+said of the stupid and stubborn disposition of the ass, but we are
+greatly inclined to suspect that the aspersion is ill-founded: whatever
+bad qualities of this kind he may sometimes possess, they do not appear
+to be the consequences of any natural defect in his constitution or
+temper, but arise from the manner used in training him, and the bad
+treatment he receives. We are the rather led to this assertion, from
+having lately seen one which experiences a very different kind of
+treatment from his master than is the fate of the generality of asses.
+The humane owner of this individual is an old man, whose employment is
+the selling of vegetables, which he conveys from door to door on
+the back of his ass. He is constantly baiting the poor creature with
+handfuls of hay, pieces of bread, or greens, which he procures in his
+progress. It is with pleasure we relate, for we have often curiously
+observed the old man's demeanour towards his ass, that he seldom carries
+any instrument of incitement with him, nor did we ever see him lift his
+hand to drive it on.
+
+"Upon our observing to him that he seemed to be very kind to his ass,
+and inquiring whether he were apt to be stubborn, how long he had had
+him, &c., he replied, 'Ah, master, it is no use to be cruel, and as for
+stubbornness, I cannot complain, for he is ready to do any thing, and
+will go any where; I bred him myself, and have had him these two years:
+he is sometimes skittish and playful, and once ran away from me: you
+will hardly believe it, but there were more than fifty people after him
+to stop him, and they were not able to effect it, yet he turned back of
+himself, and never stopped till he run his head kindly into my breast.'
+
+"The countenance of this individual is open, lively, and cheerful;
+his pace nimble and regular; and the only inducement used to make him
+increase his speed is that of calling him by name, which he readily
+obeys."
+
+"I am not an ass," said Herbert, laughing, as he finished this
+sentence, "but I think Mad. de Rosier is very like the good old man, and
+I always obey whenever she speaks to me. By the by," continued Herbert,
+who now seemed eager to recollect something by which he could show his
+readiness to obey--"by the by, Grace told me that my mother desired I
+should go to her, and have my hair combed every day; now I don't like
+it, but I will do it, because mamma desires it, and I will go this
+instant; will you come and see how still I can stand? I will show you
+that I am not obstinate."
+
+Mad. de Rosier followed the little hero, to witness his triumph _over
+himself_. Grace happened to be with her mistress who was dressing.
+
+"Mamma, I am come to do as you bid me," cried Herbert, walking stoutly
+into the room: "Grace, here's the comb;" and he turned to her the
+tangled locks at the back of his head. She pulled unmercifully, but he
+stood without moving a muscle of his countenance.
+
+Mrs. Harcourt, who saw in her looking-glass what was passing, turned
+round, and said, "Gently, gently, Grace; indeed, Grace, you do pull that
+poor boy's hair as if you thought that his head had no feeling; I am
+sure, if you were to pull my hair in that manner, I could not bear it so
+well."
+
+"Your hair!--Oh, dear ma'am, that's quite another thing--but Master
+Herbert's is always in such a tangle, there's no such thing as managing
+it." Again Mrs. Grace gave a desperate pull: Herbert bore it, looked up
+at Mad. de Rosier, and said, "Now, that was resolution, not obstinacy,
+you know."
+
+"Here is your little obedient and patient boy," said Mad. de Rosier,
+leading Herbert to his mother, "who deserves to be rewarded with a kiss
+from you."
+
+"That he shall have," said Mrs. Harcourt; "but why does Grace pull your
+hair so hard? and are not you almost able to comb your own hair?"
+
+"Able! that I am. Oh, mother, I wish I might do it for myself."
+
+"And has Mad. de Rosier any objection to it?" said Mrs. Harcourt.
+
+"None in the least," said Mad. de Rosier; "on the contrary, I wish that
+he should do every thing that he can do for himself; but he told me that
+it was your desire that he should apply to Mrs. Grace, and I was pleased
+to see his ready obedience to your wishes: you may be very certain that,
+even in the slightest trifles, as well as in matters of consequence, it
+is _our_ wish, as much as it is our duty, to do exactly as you desire."
+
+"My dear madame," said Mrs. Harcourt, laying her hand upon Mad. de
+Rosier's, with an expression of real kindness, mixed with her habitual
+politeness, "I am sensible of your goodness, but you know that in the
+slightest trifles, as well as in matters of consequence, I leave every
+thing implicitly to your better judgment: as to this business between
+Herbert and Grace, I don't understand it."
+
+"Mother--" said Herbert.
+
+"Madam," said Grace, pushing forward, but not very well knowing what
+she intended to say, "if you recollect, you desired me to comb Master
+Herbert's hair, ma'am, and I told Master Herbert so, ma'am, that's all."
+
+"I do not recollect any thing about it, indeed, Grace."
+
+"Oh dear, ma'am! don't you recollect the last day there was company, and
+Master Herbert came to the top of the stairs, and you was looking at
+the _organ's_ lamp, I said, 'Dear! Master Herbert's hair's as rough as
+a porcupine's;' and you said directly, ma'am, if you recollect, 'I wish
+you would make that boy's hair fit to be seen;' those _was_ your very
+words, ma'am, and I thought you meant always, ma'am."
+
+"You mistook me, Grace," said Mrs. Harcourt, smiling at her maid's eager
+volubility: "in future, you understand, that Herbert is to be entire
+master of his own hair."
+
+"Thank you, mother," said Herbert.
+
+"Nay, my dear Herbert, thank Mad. de Rosier: I only speak in her name.
+You understand, _I am sure_, Grace, now," said Mrs. Harcourt, calling
+to her maid, who seemed to be in haste to quit the room--"you, I hope,
+understand, Grace, that Mad. de Rosier and I are always of one mind
+about the children; therefore you need never be puzzled by contradictory
+orders--hers are to be obeyed."
+
+Mrs. Harcourt was so much pleased when she looked at Herbert, as she
+concluded this sentence, to see an expression of great affection and
+gratitude, that she stooped instantly to kiss him.
+
+"Another kiss! two kisses to-day from my mother, and one of her own
+accord!" exclaimed Herbert joyfully, running out of the room to tell the
+news to Favoretta.
+
+"That boy has a heart," said Mrs. Harcourt, with some emotion; "you have
+found it out for me, Mad. de Rosier, and I thank you."
+
+Mad. de Rosier seized the propitious moment to present a card of
+invitation, which Herbert, with much labour, had printed with his little
+printing-press.
+
+"What have we here?" said Mrs. Harcourt, and she read aloud--
+
+'Mr. Herbert Harcourt's love to his dear mother, and, if she be not
+engaged this evening, he should be exceedingly glad of her company, to
+meet Isabella, Matilda, Favoretta, and Mad. de Rosier, who have promised
+to sup with him upon his own radishes to-night. They are all very
+impatient for _your_ answer.'"
+
+"My answer they shall have in an instant," said Mrs. Harcourt:--"why,
+Mad. de Rosier, this is the boy who could neither read nor spell six
+months ago. Will you be my messenger?" added she, putting a card into
+Mad. de Rosier's hand, which she had written with rapidity:--
+
+"Mrs. Harcourt's love to her dear little Herbert; if she had a hundred
+other invitations, she would accept of his."
+
+"Bless me!" said Mrs. Grace, when she found the feathers, which she had
+placed with so much skill in her mistress's hair, lying upon the table
+half an hour afterward--"why, I thought my mistress was going out!"
+
+Grace's surprise deprived her even of the power of exclamation, when she
+learned that her mistress stayed at home to sup with Master Herbert upon
+radishes. At night she listened with malignant curiosity, as she sat
+at work in her mistress's dressing-room, to the frequent bursts of
+laughter, and to the happy little voices of the festive company who were
+at supper in an adjoining apartment.
+
+"This will never do!" thought Grace; but presently the laughter ceased,
+and listening attentively, she heard the voice of one of _the young
+ladies_ reading. "Oh ho!" thought Grace, "if it comes to reading, Master
+Herbert will soon be asleep."--But though it had _come to reading_,
+Herbert was, at this instant, broad awake.
+
+At supper, when the radishes were distributed, Favoretta was very
+impatient to taste them; the first which she tasted was _hot_, she said,
+and she did not quite like it.
+
+"_Hot_!" cried Herbert, who criticized her language, in return for
+her criticism upon his radishes, "I don't think you can call a radish
+_hot_--it is cold, I think: I know what is meant by tasting sweet, or
+sour, or bitter."
+
+"Well," interrupted Favoretta, "what is the name for the taste of this
+radish which bites my tongue?"
+
+"_Pungent_," said Isabella, and she eagerly produced a quotation in
+support of her epithet--
+
+"'And _pungent_ radish biting infant's tongue.'"
+
+"I know for once," said Matilda, smiling, "where you met with that line,
+I believe: is it not in Shenstone's Schoolmistress, in the description
+of the old woman's neat little garden?"
+
+"Oh! I should like to hear about that old woman's neat little garden,"
+cried Herbert.
+
+"And so should I," said Mrs. Harcourt and Mad. de Rosier. Isabella
+quickly produced the book after supper, and read the poem.
+
+Herbert and Favoretta liked the old woman and her garden, and they were
+much interested for the little boy, who was whipped for having been
+gazing at the pictures on the horn-book, instead of learning his lesson;
+but, to Isabella's great mortification, they did not understand above
+half of what she read--the old English expressions puzzled them.
+
+"You would not be surprised at this, my dear Isabella," said Mad. de
+Rosier, "if you had made as many experiments upon children as I have. It
+is quite a new language to them; and what you have just been reading is
+scarcely intelligible to me, though you compliment me so much upon my
+knowledge of the English language." Mad. de Rosier took the book,
+and pointed to several words which she had not understood--such as
+"eftsoons," "_Dan_ Phoebus," and "_ne_ and _y_," which had made many
+lines incomprehensible.
+
+Herbert, when he heard Mad. de Rosier confess her ignorance, began to
+take courage, and came forward with his confessions.
+
+"_Gingerbread y rare_," he thought, was some particular kind of
+gingerbread; and "_Apples with cabbage net y covered o'er_" presented no
+delightful image to his mind, because, as he said, he did not know what
+the word _netycovered_ could mean.
+
+These mistakes occasioned some laughter; but as Herbert perceived that
+he was no longer thought stupid, he took all the laughter with good
+humour, and he determined to follow, in future, Mad. de Rosier's
+example, in pointing out the words which were puzzling.
+
+Grace was astonished, at the conclusion of the evening, to find Master
+Herbert in such high spirits. The next day she heard sounds of woe,
+sounds agreeable to her wishes--Favoretta crying upon the stairs. It had
+been a rainy morning: Favoretta and Herbert had been disappointed in
+not being able to walk out; and after having been amused the preceding
+evening, they were less disposed to bear disappointment, and less
+inclined to employ themselves than usual. Favoretta had finished her
+little basket, and her mother had promised that it should appear at the
+dessert; but it wanted some hours of dinner-time; and between the
+making and the performance of a promise, how long the time appears to an
+impatient child! how many events happen which may change the mind of the
+promiser!
+
+Mad. de Rosier had lent Favoretta and Herbert, for their amusement,
+the first number of "The Cabinet of Quadrupeds," in which there are
+beautiful prints; but, unfortunately, some dispute arose between
+the children. Favoretta thought her brother looked too long at the
+hunchbacked camel; he accused her of turning over leaves before she had
+half seen the prints; but she listened not to his just reproaches, for
+she had caught a glimpse of the royal tiger springing upon Mr. Munro,
+and she could no longer restrain her impatience. Each party began
+to pull at the book; and the camel and the royal tiger were both in
+imminent danger of being torn in pieces, when Mad. de Rosier interfered,
+parted the combatants, and sent them into separate rooms, as it was her
+custom to do, whenever they could not agree together.
+
+Grace, the moment she heard Favoretta crying, went up to the room where
+she was, and made her tiptoe approaches, addressing Favoretta in a
+tone of compassion, which, to a child's unpractised ear, might appear,
+perhaps, the natural voice of sympathy. The sobbing child hid her face
+in Grace's lap; and when she had told her complaint against Mad. de
+Rosier, Grace comforted her for the loss of the royal tiger by the
+present of a queen-cake. Grace did not dare to stay long in the room,
+lest Mad. de Rosier should detect her; she therefore left the little
+girl, with a strict charge "not to say a word of the queen-cake to her
+governess."
+
+Favoretta kept the queen-cake, that she might divide it with Herbert;
+for she now recollected that she had been most to blame in the dispute
+about the prints. Herbert absolutely refused, however, to have any share
+of the cake, and he strongly urged his sister to return it to Grace.
+
+Herbert had, _formerly_, to use his own expression, been accused of
+being fond of eating, and so, perhaps, he was; but since he had acquired
+other pleasures, those of affection and employment, his love of eating
+had diminished so much, that he had eaten only one of his own radishes,
+because he felt more pleasure in distributing the rest to his mother and
+sisters.
+
+It was with some difficulty that he prevailed upon Favoretta to restore
+the queen-cake: the arguments that he used we shall not detail, but he
+concluded with promising, that, if Favoretta would return the cake, he
+would ask Mad. de Rosier, the next time they passed by the pastrycook's
+shop, to give them some queen-cakes--"and I dare say she will give us
+some, for she is much more _really_ good-natured than Grace."
+
+Favoretta, with this hope of a future queen-cake, in addition to all
+her brother's arguments, at last determined to return Grace's
+present--"Herbert says I had better give it you back again," said she,
+"because Mad. de Rosier does not know it."
+
+Grace was somewhat surprised by the effect of Herbert's oratory, and
+she saw that she must change her ground. The next day, when the children
+were walking with Mad. de Rosier by a pastrycook's shop, Herbert, with
+an honest countenance, asked Mad. de Rosier to give Favoretta and him a
+queen-cake. She complied, for she was glad to find that he always asked
+frankly for what he wanted; and yet that he bore refusals with good
+humour.
+
+Just as Herbert was going to eat his queen-cake, he heard the sound of
+music in the street; he went to the door, and saw a poor man who was
+playing on the dulcimer--a little boy was with him, who looked extremely
+thin and hungry--he asked Herbert for some halfpence.
+
+"I have no money of my own," said Herbert, "but I can give you this,
+which is my own."
+
+Mad. de Rosier held his hand back, which he had just stretched out to
+offer his queen-cake; she advised him to exchange it for something
+more substantial; she told him that he might have two buns for one
+queen-cake. He immediately changed it for two buns, and gave them to
+the little boy, who thanked him heartily. The man who was playing on the
+dulcimer asked where Herbert lived, and promised to stop at his door to
+play a tune for him, which he seemed to like particularly.
+
+Convinced by the affair of the queen-cake that Herbert's influence was
+a matter of some consequence in the family, Mrs. Grace began to repent
+that she had made him her enemy, and she resolved, upon the first
+convenient occasion, to make him overtures of peace--overtures which,
+she had no doubt, would be readily accepted.
+
+One morning she heard him sighing and groaning, as she thought, over
+some difficult sum, which Mad. de Rosier had set for him; he cast up one
+row aloud several times, but could not bring the total twice to the same
+thing. When he took his sum to Mad. de Rosier, who was dressing, he
+was kept waiting a few minutes at the door, because Favoretta was not
+dressed. The young gentleman became a little impatient, and when he
+gained admittance his sum was wrong.
+
+"Then I cannot make it right," said Herbert, passionately.
+
+"Try," said Mad. de Rosier; "go into that closet by yourself, and try
+once more, and perhaps you will find that you _can_ make it right."
+
+Herbert knelt down in the closet, though rather unwillingly, to this
+provoking sum.
+
+"Master Herbert, my dear," said Mrs. Grace, following him, "will you be
+so good as to go for Miss Favoretta's scissors, if you please, which she
+lent you yesterday?--she wants 'em, my dear."
+
+Herbert, surprised by the unusually good-natured tone of this request,
+ran for the scissors, and at his return, found that his difficult sum
+had been cast up in his absence; the total was written at the bottom
+of it, and he read these words, which he knew to be Mrs. Grace's
+writing--"Rub out my _figurs_, and write them in your own." Herbert
+immediately rubbed out Mrs. Grace's figures with indignation, and
+determined to do the sum for himself. He carried it to Mad. de
+Rosier--it was wrong: Grace stared, and when she saw Herbert patiently
+stand beside Mad. de Rosier and repeat his efforts, she gave up all idea
+of obtaining any influence over him.
+
+"Mad. de Rosier," said she to herself, "has bewitched 'em all; I think
+it's odd one can't find out her art!"
+
+Mrs. Grace seemed to think that she could catch the knack of educating
+children, as she had surreptitiously learnt, from a fashionable
+hairdresser, the art of dressing hair. Ever since Mrs. Harcourt had
+spoken in such a decided manner respecting Mad. de Rosier, her maid had
+artfully maintained the greatest appearance of respect for that lady, in
+her mistress's presence, and had even been scrupulous, to a troublesome
+extreme, in obeying _the governess's orders_; and by a studied show of
+attachment to Mrs. Harcourt, and much alacrity at her toilette, she had,
+as she flattered herself, secured a fresh portion of favour.
+
+One morning Mrs. Harcourt found, when she awoke, that she had a
+headache, and a slight feverish complaint. She had caught cold the night
+before in coming out of a warm assembly-room. Mrs. Grace affected to
+be much alarmed at her mistress's indisposition, and urged her to send
+immediately for Dr. X----. To this Mrs. Harcourt half consented, and a
+messenger was sent for him. In the meantime Mrs. Harcourt, who had been
+used to be much attended to in her slight indispositions, expressed some
+surprise that Mad. de Rosier, or some of her children, when they heard
+that she was ill, had not come to see her.
+
+"Where is Isabella? where is Matilda? or Favoretta? what is become of
+them all? do they know I am ill, Grace?"
+
+"Oh dear! yes, ma'am; but they're all gone out in the coach, with Mad.
+de Rosier."
+
+"All?" said Mrs. Harcourt.
+
+"All, I believe, ma'am," said Grace; "though, indeed, I can't pretend to
+be sure, since I make it my business not to scrutinize, and to know as
+little as possible of what's going on in the house, lest I should seem
+to be too particular."
+
+"Did Mad. de Rosier leave any message for me before she went out?"
+
+"Not with me, ma'am."
+
+Here the prevaricating waiting-maid told barely the truth in words: Mad.
+de Rosier had left a message with the footman in Grace's hearing.
+
+"I hope, ma'am," continued Grace, "you weren't disturbed with the noise
+in the house early this morning?"
+
+"What noise?--I heard no noise," said Mrs. Harcourt.
+
+"No noise! dear ma'am, I'm as glad as can possibly be of that, at any
+rate; but to be sure there was a great racket. I was really afraid,
+ma'am, it would do no good to your poor head."
+
+"What was the matter?" said Mrs. Harcourt, drawing back the curtain.
+
+"Oh! nothing, ma'am, that need alarm you--only music and dancing."
+
+"Music and dancing so early in the morning!--Do, Grace, say all you have
+to say at once, for you keep me in suspense, which, I am sure, is not
+good for my head."
+
+"La, ma'am, I was so afraid it would make you angry, ma'am--that was
+what made me so backward in mentioning it; but, to be sure, Mad. de
+Rosier, and the young ladies, and Master Herbert, I suppose, thought you
+couldn't hear, because it was in the back parlour, ma'am."
+
+"Hear what? what was in the back parlour?"
+
+"Only a dulcimer man, ma'am, playing for the young ladies."
+
+"Did you tell them I was ill, Grace?"
+
+It was the second time Mrs. Harcourt had asked this question. Grace was
+gratified by this symptom.
+
+"Indeed, ma'am," she replied, "I did make bold to tell Master Herbert,
+that I was afraid you would hear him jumping and making such an uproar
+up and down the stairs; but to be sure, I did not say a word to the
+young ladies--as Mad. de Rosier was by, I thought she knew best."
+
+A gentle knock at the door interrupted Mrs. Grace's charitable
+animadversions.
+
+"Bless me, if it isn't the young ladies! I'm sure I thought they were
+gone out in the coach."
+
+As Isabella and Matilda came up to the side of their mother's bed, she
+said, in a languid voice--
+
+"I hope, Matilda, my dear, you did not stay at home on my account--Is
+Isabella there? What book has she in her hand?"
+
+"Zeluco, mamma--I thought, perhaps, you would like to hear some more of
+it--you liked what I read to you the other day."
+
+"But you forget that I have a terrible headache--Pray don't let me
+detain either of you, if you have any thing to do for Mad. de Rosier."
+
+"Nothing in the world, mamma," said Matilda; "she is gone to take
+Herbert and Favoretta to Exeter Change."
+
+No farther explanation could take place, for, at this instant,
+Mrs. Grace introduced Dr. X----. Now Dr. X---- was not one of those
+complaisant physicians who flatter ladies that they are very ill when
+they have any desire to excite tender alarm.
+
+After satisfying himself that his patient was not quite so ill as Mrs.
+Grace had affected to believe, Dr. X---- insensibly led from medical
+inquiries to general conversation: he had much playful wit and knowledge
+of the human heart, mixed with a variety of information, so that he
+could with happy facility amuse and interest nervous patients, who were
+beyond the power of the solemn apothecary.
+
+The doctor drew the young ladies into conversation by rallying Isabella
+upon her simplicity in reading a novel openly in her mother's presence;
+he observed that she did not follow the example of the famous Serena, in
+"The Triumphs of Temper." "Zeluco!" he exclaimed, in an ironical tone
+of disdain: "why not the charming 'Sorrows of Werter,' or some of our
+fashionable hobgoblin romances?"
+
+Isabella undertook the defence of her book with much enthusiasm--and
+either her cause, or her defence, was so much to Dr. X.----'s taste,
+that he gradually gave up his feigned attack.
+
+After the argument was over, and every body, not excepting Mrs.
+Harcourt, who had almost forgotten her headache, was pleased with the
+vanquished doctor, he drew from his pocket-book three or four small
+cards; they were tickets of admittance to Lady N----'s French reading
+parties.
+
+Lady N---- was an elderly lady, whose rank made literature fashionable
+amongst many, who aspired to the honour of being noticed by her. She was
+esteemed such an excellent judge of manners, abilities, and character,
+that her approbation was anxiously courted, more especially by mothers
+who were just introducing their daughters into the world. She was
+fond of encouraging youthful merit; but she was nice, some thought
+fastidious, in the choice of her young acquaintance.
+
+Mrs. Harcourt had been very desirous that Isabella and Matilda should
+be early distinguished by a person, whose approving voice was of so much
+consequence in fashionable as well as in literary society; and she was
+highly flattered by Dr. X----'s prophecy, that Isabella would be a great
+favourite of this "nice judging" lady--"Provided," added he, turning to
+Isabella, "you have the prudence not to be always, as you have been this
+morning, victorious in argument."
+
+"I think," said Mrs. Harcourt--after the doctor had taken his leave--"I
+think I am much better--ring for Grace, and I will get up."
+
+"Mamma," said Matilda, "if you will give me leave, I will give my ticket
+for the reading party to Mad. de Rosier, because, I am sure, it is an
+entertainment she will like particularly--and, you know, she confines
+herself so much with us--"
+
+"I do not wish her to confine herself _so_ much, my dear, I am
+sure," said Mrs. Harcourt, coldly, for, at this instant, Grace's
+representations of the morning's music and dancing, and some remains of
+her former jealousy of Mad. de Rosier's influence over her children's
+affections, operated upon her mind. Pride prevented her from explaining
+herself further to Isabella or Matilda--and though they saw that she was
+displeased, they had no idea of the reason. As she was dressing, Mrs.
+Harcourt conversed with them about the books they were reading. Matilda
+was reading Hogarth's Analysis of Beauty; and she gave a distinct
+account of his theory.
+
+Mrs. Harcourt, when she perceived her daughter's rapid improvement, felt
+a mixture of joy and sorrow.
+
+"My dears," said she, "you will all of you be much superior to your
+mother--but girls were educated, in my days, quite in a different style
+from what they are now."
+
+"Ah! there were no Mad. de Rosiers then," said Matilda, innocently.
+
+"What sort of a woman was your mother, mamma?" said Isabella, "my
+grandmother, mamma?"
+
+"She--she was a very good woman."
+
+"Was she sensible?" said Isabella.
+
+"Matilda, my dear," said Mrs. Harcourt, "I wish you would see if Mad.
+de Rosier has returned--I should be very glad to speak with her, for one
+moment, if she be not engaged."
+
+Under the veil of politeness, Mrs. Harcourt concealed her real feelings,
+and declaring to Mad. de Rosier that she did not feel in spirits, or
+sufficiently well, to go out that evening, she requested that Mad. de
+Rosier would go, in her stead, to a dinner, where she knew her company
+would be particularly acceptable.--"You will trust me, will you, with
+your pupils for one evening?" added Mrs. Harcourt.
+
+The tone and manner in which she pronounced these words revealed the
+real state of her mind to Mad. de Rosier, who immediately complied with
+her wishes.
+
+Conscious of this lady's quick penetration, Mrs. Harcourt was abashed
+by this ready compliance, and she blamed herself for feelings which she
+could not suppress.
+
+"I am sorry that you were not at home this morning," she continued, in a
+hurried manner--"you would have been delighted with Dr. X----; he is one
+of the most entertaining men I am acquainted with--and you would have
+been vastly proud of your pupil there," pointing to Isabella; "I assure
+you, she pleased me extremely."
+
+In the evening, after Mad. de Rosier's departure, Mrs. Harcourt was not
+quite so happy as she had expected. They who have only seen children
+in picturesque situations, are not aware how much the duration of this
+domestic happiness depends upon those who have the care of them. People
+who, with the greatest abilities and the most anxious affection, are
+unexperienced in education, should not be surprised or mortified if
+their first attempts be not attended with success. Mrs. Harcourt thought
+that she was doing what was very useful in hearing Herbert read; he
+read with tolerable fluency, but he stopped at the end of almost every
+sentence to weigh the exact sense of the words. In this habit he had
+been indulged, or rather encouraged, by his preceptress; but his simple
+questions, and his desire to have every word precisely explained, were
+far from amusing to one who was little accustomed to the difficulties
+and misapprehensions of a young reader.
+
+Herbert was reading a passage, which Mad. de Rosier had marked for him,
+in Xenophon's Cyropaedia. With her explanations, it might have been
+intelligible to him. Herbert read the account of Cyrus's judgment upon
+the two boys, who had quarrelled about their great and little coats,
+much to his mother's satisfaction, because he had understood every word
+of it, except the word _constituted_.
+
+"_Constituted judge_--what does that mean, mamma?"
+
+"Made a judge, my dear: go on."
+
+"I saw a judge once, mamma, in a great wig--had Cyrus a wig, when he was
+con--const!--made a judge?"
+
+Isabella and Mrs. Harcourt laughed at this question; and they
+endeavoured to explain the difference between a Persian and an English
+judge.
+
+Herbert with some difficulty separated the ideas, which he had so firmly
+associated, of a judge and a great wig; and when he had, or thought
+he had, an abstract notion of a judge, he obeyed his mother's repeated
+injunctions of "Go on--go on." He went on, after observing that what
+came next was not marked by Mad. de Rosier for him to read.
+
+Cyrus's mother says to him: _"Child, the same things are not accounted
+just with your grandfather here, and yonder in Persia."_ At this
+sentence Herbert made a dead stop; and, after pondering for some time,
+said, "I don't understand what Cyrus's mother meant--what does she mean
+by _accounted just_?--_Accounted_, Matilda, I thought meant only about
+casting up sums?"
+
+"It has another meaning, my dear," Matilda mildly began.
+
+"Oh, for Heaven's sake, spare me!" exclaimed Mrs. Harcourt; "do not
+let me hear all the meanings of all the words in the English language.
+Herbert may look for the words that he does not understand, in the
+dictionary, when he has done reading. Go on, now, pray; for," added she,
+looking at her watch, "you have been half an hour reading half a page:
+this would tire the patience of Job."
+
+Herbert, perceiving that his mother was displeased, began in the same
+instant to be frightened; he hurried on as fast as he could, without
+understanding one word more of what he was reading; his precipitation
+was worse than his slowness: he stumbled over the words, missed
+syllables, missed lines, made the most incomprehensible nonsense of the
+whole; till, at length, Mrs. Harcourt shut the book in despair, and soon
+afterward despatched Herbert, who was also in despair, to bed. At this
+catastrophe, Favoretta looked very grave, and a general gloom seemed to
+overspread the company.
+
+Mrs. Harcourt was mortified at the silence that prevailed, and made
+several ineffectual attempts to revive the freedom and gaiety of
+conversation:--"Ah!" said she to herself, "I knew it would be so;--they
+cannot be happy without Mad. de Rosier."
+
+Isabella had taken up a book. "Cannot you read for our entertainment,
+Isabella, my dear, as well as for your own?" said her mother: "I assure
+you, I am as much interested always in what you read to me, as Mad. de
+Rosier herself can be."
+
+"I was just looking, mamma, for some lines, that we read the other day,
+which Mad. de Rosier said she was sure you would like. Can you find
+them, Matilda? You know Mad. de Rosier said that mamma would like them,
+because she has been at the opera."
+
+"I have been at a great many operas," said Mrs. Harcourt, dryly; "but I
+like other things as well as operas--and I cannot precisely guess what
+you mean by _the_ opera--has it no name?"
+
+"Medea and Jason, ma'am."
+
+"The _ballet_ of Medea and Jason. It's a very fine thing, certainly; but
+one has seen it so often. Read on, my dear."
+
+Isabella then read a passage, which, notwithstanding Mrs. Harcourt's
+inclination to be displeased, captivated her ear, and seized her
+imagination.
+
+     "Slow out of earth, before the festive crowds,
+     On wheels of fire, amid a night of clouds,
+     Drawn by fierce fiends, arose a magic car,
+     Received the queen, and, hov'ring, flamed in air.
+     As with raised hands the suppliant traitors kneel,
+     And fear the vengeance they deserved to feel;
+
+     "Thrice, with parch'd lips, her guiltless babes she press'd,
+     And thrice she clasp'd them to her tortured breast.
+     Awhile with white uplifted eyes she stood,
+     Then plunged her trembling poniards in their blood.
+     Go, kiss your sire! go, share the bridal mirth!
+     She cried, and hurl'd their quiv'ring limbs on earth.
+     Rebellowing thunders rock the marble tow'rs,
+     And red-tongucd lightnings shoot their arrowy show'rs:
+     Earth yawns!--the crashing ruin sinks!--o'er all
+     Death with black hands extends his mighty pall."
+
+"They are admirable lines, indeed!" exclaimed Mrs. Harcourt.
+
+"I knew, mamma, you would like them," said Isabella; "and I'm sure I
+wish I had seen the ballet too."
+
+"You were never at an opera," said Mrs. Harcourt, after Isabella had
+finished reading; "should you, either of you, or both, like to go with
+me to-night to the opera?"
+
+"To-night, ma'am!" cried Isabella, in a voice of joy.
+
+"To-night, mamma!" cried Matilda, timidly; "but you were not well this
+morning."
+
+"But I am very well, now, my love; at least quite well enough to go
+out with you--let me give you some pleasure. Ring for Grace, my dear
+Matilda," added Mrs. Harcourt, looking at her watch, "and do not let us
+be sentimental, for we have not a moment to lose--we must prevail upon
+Grace to be as quick as lightning in her operations."
+
+Grace was well disposed to be quick--she was delighted with what she
+called _the change of measures_;--she repeated continually, in the midst
+of their hurried toilette--
+
+"Well, I am so glad, young ladies, you're going out with your _mamma_,
+at last--I never saw my mistress look so well as she does to-night."
+
+Triumphant, and feeling herself to be a person of consequence, Grace was
+indefatigably busy, and Mrs. Harcourt thought that her talkative zeal
+was the overflowing of an honest heart.
+
+After Mrs. Harcourt, with Isabella and Matilda, were gone to the opera,
+Favoretta, who had been sent to bed by her mother, because she was in
+the way when they were dressing, called to Grace to beg that she would
+close the shutters in her room, for the moon shone upon her bed, and she
+could not go to sleep.
+
+"I wish mamma would have let me sit up a little longer," said Favoretta,
+"for I am not at all sleepy."
+
+"You always go to bed a great deal earlier, you know, miss," said Grace,
+"when your governess is at home; I would let you get up, and come down
+to tea with me, for I'm just going to take my late dish of tea, to rest
+myself, only I dare not let you, because--"
+
+"Because what?"
+
+"Because, miss, you remember how you served me about the queen-cake."
+
+"But I do not want you to give me any queen-cake; I only want to get up
+for a little while," said Favoretta.
+
+"Then get up," said Grace: "but don't make a noise, to waken Master
+Herbert."
+
+"Do you think," said Favoretta, "that Herbert would think it wrong?"
+
+"Indeed, I don't think at all about what he thinks," said Mrs. Grace,
+tossing back her head, as she adjusted her dress at the glass; "and, if
+you think so much about it, you'd better lie down again."
+
+"Oh! I can't lie down again," said Favoretta; "I have got my shoes
+on--stay for me, Grace--I'm just ready."
+
+Grace, who was pleased with an opportunity of indulging this little
+girl, and who flattered herself that she should regain her former
+power over Favoretta's undistinguishing affections, waited for her
+most willingly. Grace drank her _late_ dish of tea in her mistress's
+dressing-room, and did every thing in her power to humour "her sweet
+Favoretta."
+
+Mrs. Rebecca, Mrs. Fanshaw's maid, was summoned; she lived in the next
+street. She was quite overjoyed, she said, at entering the room, to see
+Miss Favoretta--it was an age since she had a sight or a glimpse of her.
+
+We pass over the edifying conversation of those two ladies--Miss
+Favoretta was kept awake, and in such high spirits by flattery, that she
+did not perceive how late it was--she begged to stay up a little longer,
+and a little longer.
+
+Mrs. Rebecca joined in these entreaties, and Mrs. Grace could not refuse
+them; especially as she knew that the coach would not go for Mad. de
+Rosier till after her mistress's return from the opera.
+
+The coachman had made this arrangement for his own convenience, and had
+placed it entirely to the account of his horses.
+
+Mrs. Grace depended, rather imprudently, upon the coachman's
+arrangement; for Mad. de Rosier, finding that the coach did not call for
+her at the hour she had appointed, sent for a chair, and returned home,
+whilst Grace, Mrs. Rebecca, and Favoretta, were yet in Mrs. Harcourt's
+dressing-room.
+
+Favoretta was making a great noise, so that they did not hear the knock
+at the door.
+
+One of the housemaids apprised Mrs. Grace of Mad. de Rosier's arrival.
+"She's getting out of her chair, Mrs. Grace, in the hall."
+
+Grace started up, put Favoretta into a little closet, and charged her
+not to make the least noise _for her life_.--Then, with a candle in her
+hand, and a treacherous smile upon her countenance, she sallied forth
+to the head of the stairs, to light Mad. de Rosier.--"Dear ma'am! my
+mistress will be _so_ sorry the coach didn't go for you in time;--she
+found herself better after you went--and the two young ladies are gone
+with her to the opera."
+
+"And where are Herbert and Favoretta?"
+
+"In bed, ma'am, and asleep, hours ago.--Shall I light you, ma'am, this
+way, to your room?"
+
+"No," said Mad. de Rosier; "I have a letter to write: and I'll wait in
+Mrs. Harcourt's dressing-room till she comes home."
+
+"Very well, ma'am. Mrs. Rebecca, it's only Mad. de Rosier.--Mad. de
+Rosier, it's only Rebecca, Mrs. Fanshaw's maid, ma'am, who's here very
+often when my mistress is at home, and just stepped out to look at the
+young ladies' drawings, which my mistress gave me leave to show her the
+first time she drank tea with me, ma'am."
+
+Mad. de Rosier, who thought all this did not concern her in the least,
+listened to it with cold indifference, and sat down to write her letter.
+
+Grace fidgeted about the room, as long as she could find any pretence
+for moving any thing into or out of its place; and, at length, in no
+small degree of anxiety for the prisoner she had left in the closet,
+quitted the dressing-room.
+
+As Mad. de Rosier was writing, she once or twice thought that she heard
+some noise in the closet; she listened, but all was silent; and she
+continued to write, till Mrs. Harcourt, Isabella, and Matilda, came
+home.
+
+Isabella was in high spirits, and began to talk, with considerable
+volubility, to Mad. de Rosier about the opera.
+
+Mrs. Harcourt was full of apologies about the coach; and Matilda rather
+anxious to discover what it was that had made a change in her mother's
+manner towards Mad. de Rosier.
+
+Grace, glad to see that they were all intent upon their own affairs,
+lighted their candles expeditiously, and stood waiting, in hopes that
+they would immediately leave the room, and that she should be able to
+release her prisoner.
+
+Favoretta usually slept in a little closet within Mrs. Grace's room, so
+that she foresaw no difficulty in getting her to bed.
+
+"I heard!--did not _you_ hear a noise, Isabella?" said Matilda.
+
+"A noise!--No; where?" said Isabella, and went on talking alternately
+to her mother and Mad. de Rosier, whom she held fast, though they seemed
+somewhat inclined to retire to rest.
+
+"Indeed," said Matilda, "I did hear a noise in that closet."
+
+"Oh dear, Miss Matilda," cried Grace, getting between Matilda and the
+closet, "it's nothing in life but a mouse."
+
+"A mouse, where?" said Mrs. Harcourt.
+
+"Nowhere, ma'am," said Grace; "only Miss Matilda was hearing noises, and
+I said they must be mice."
+
+"There, mamma! there! that was not a mouse, surely!" said Matilda. "It
+was a noise louder, certainly, than any mouse could make."
+
+"Grace is frightened," said Isabella, laughing.
+
+Grace, indeed, looked pale and terribly frightened.
+
+Mad. de Rosier took a candle, and walked directly to the closet.
+
+"Ring for the men," said Mrs. Harcourt.
+
+Matilda held back Mad. de Rosier; and Isabella, whose head was now just
+recovered from the opera, rang the bell with considerable energy.
+
+"Dear Miss Isabella, don't ring so;--dear ma'am, don't be frightened,
+and I'll tell you the whole truth, ma'am," said Grace to her mistress;
+"it's nothing in the world to frighten any body--it's only Miss
+Favoretta, ma'am."
+
+"Favoretta!" exclaimed every body at once, except Mad. de Rosier, who
+instantly opened the closet door, but no Favoretta appeared.
+
+"Favoretta is not here," said Mad. de Rosier.
+
+"Then I'm undone!" exclaimed Grace; "she must have got out upon the
+leads." The leads were, at this place, narrow, and very dangerous.
+
+"Don't scream, or the child is lost," said Mad. de Rosier.
+
+Mrs. Harcourt sank down into an arm-chair. Mad. de Rosier stopped
+Isabella, who pressed into the closet.
+
+"Don't speak, Isabella--Grace, go into the closet--call Favoretta--hear
+me, quietly," said Mad. de Rosier, steadily, for Mrs. Grace was in such
+confusion of mind, that she was going to call upon the child, without
+waiting to hear what was said to her.--"Hear me," said Mad. de Rosier,
+"or _you are_ undone--go into the closet without making any bustle--call
+Favoretta, gently; she will not be frightened, when she hears only your
+voice."
+
+Grace did as she was ordered, and returned from the closet in a few
+instants, with Favoretta. Grace instantly began an exculpatory speech,
+but Mrs. Harcourt, though still trembling, had sufficient firmness to
+say, "Leave us, Grace, and let me hear the truth from the child."
+
+Grace left the room. Favoretta related exactly what had happened, and
+said that when she heard all their voices in the dressing-room, and
+when she heard Matilda say there's a noise, she was afraid of being
+discovered in the closet, and had crept out through a little door, with
+which she was well acquainted, that opened upon the leads.
+
+Mrs. Harcourt now broke forth into indignant exclamations against Grace.
+Mad. de Rosier gently pacified her, and hinted that it would be but just
+to give her a fair hearing in the morning.
+
+"You are always yourself! always excellent!" cried Mrs. Harcourt;
+"you have saved my child--we none of us had any presence of mind, but
+yourself."
+
+"Indeed, mamma, I _did_ ring the bell, however," said Isabella.
+
+With much difficulty those who had so much to say, submitted to Mad. de
+Rosier's entreaty of "Let us talk of it in the morning." She was afraid
+that Favoretta, who was present, would not draw any salutary moral from
+what might be said in the first emotions of joy for her safety. Mad. de
+Rosier undressed the little girl herself, and took care that she should
+not be treated as a heroine just escaped from imminent danger.
+
+The morning came, and Mrs. Grace listened, with anxious ear, for the
+first sound of her mistress's bell--but no bell rang; and, when she
+heard Mrs. Harcourt walking in her bedchamber, Grace augured ill of her
+own fate, and foreboded the decline and fall of her empire.
+
+"If my mistress can get up and dress herself without me, it's all over
+with me," said Grace; "but I'll make one trial." Then she knocked with
+her most obliging knock at her mistress's door, and presented herself
+with a Magdalen face--"Can I do any thing for you, ma'am?"
+
+"Nothing, I thank you, Grace. Send Isabella and Matilda."
+
+Isabella and Matilda came, but Mrs. Harcourt finished dressing herself
+in silence, and then said--
+
+"Come with me, my dear girls, to Mad. de Rosier's room. I believe I had
+better ask her the question that I was going to ask you. Is she up?"
+
+"Yes, but not dressed," said Matilda; "for we have been reading to her."
+
+"And talking to her," added Isabella; "which, you know, hinders people
+very much, mamma, when they are dressing."
+
+At Mad. de Rosier's door they found Herbert, with his slate in his hand,
+and his sum ready cast up.
+
+"May I bring this little man in with me?" said Mrs. Harcourt to Mad. de
+Rosier--"Herbert, shake hands with me," continued his mother: "I believe
+I was a little impatient with you and your Cyrus last night; but you
+must not expect that every body should be as good to you as this lady
+has been;" leading him up to Mad. de Rosier.
+
+"Set this gentleman's heart at ease, will you?" continued she,
+presenting the slate, upon which his sum was written, to Mad. de Rosier.
+"He looks the picture, or rather the reality, of honesty and good humour
+this morning, I think. I am sure that he has not done any thing that he
+is ashamed of."
+
+Little Herbert's countenance glowed with pleasure at receiving such
+praise from his mother; but he soon checked his pride, for he discovered
+Favoretta, upon whom every eye had turned, as Mrs. Harcourt concluded
+her speech.
+
+Favoretta was sitting in the furthest corner of the room, and she turned
+her face to the wall when Herbert looked at her; but Herbert saw that
+she was in disgrace. "Your sum is quite right, Herbert," said Mad. de
+Rosier.
+
+"Herbert, take your slate," said Matilda; and the young gentleman had at
+length the politeness to relieve her outstretched arm.
+
+"Send him out of the way," whispered Mrs. Harcourt.
+
+"Go out of the room, Herbert, my dear," said Mad. de Rosier, who never
+made use of artifices upon any occasion to get rid of children--"go out
+of the room, Herbert, my dear: for we want to talk about something which
+we do not wish that you should hear."
+
+Herbert, though he was anxious to know what could be the matter with
+Favoretta, instantly withdrew, saying, "Will you call me again when
+you've done talking?"
+
+"We can speak French," added Mad. de Rosier, looking at Favoretta,
+"since we cannot trust that little girl in a room by herself; we must
+speak in a language which she does not understand, when we have any
+thing to say that we do not choose she should hear."
+
+"After all this preparation," said Mrs. Harcourt, in French, "my
+little mouse will make you laugh; it will not surprise or frighten you,
+Matilda, quite so much as the mouse of last night. You must know that I
+have been much disturbed by certain noises."
+
+"More noises!" said Matilda, drawing closer, to listen.
+
+"More noises!" said Mrs. Harcourt, laughing; "but the noises which
+disturbed my repose were not heard in the dead of the night, just as the
+clock struck twelve--the charming hour for being frightened out of one's
+wits, Matilda: my noises were heard in broad daylight, about the time
+
+     'When lap-dogs give themselves the rousing shake.'
+
+Was not there music and dancing here, early yesterday morning, when I
+had the headache, Isabella?"
+
+"Yes, mamma," said Isabella: "Herbert's dulcimer-boy was here! We call
+him Herbert's dulcimer-boy, because Herbert gave him two buns the other
+day;--the boy and his father came from gratitude, to play a tune for
+Herbert, and we all ran and asked Mad. de Rosier to let him in."
+
+"We did not know you had the headache, mamma," said Matilda, "till after
+they had played several tunes, and we heard Grace saying something to
+Herbert about racketing upon the stairs--he only ran up stairs once for
+my music-book; and the moment Grace spoke to him, he came to us, and
+said that you were not well; then Mad. de Rosier stopped the dulcimer,
+and we all left off dancing, and we were very sorry Grace had not told
+us sooner that you were ill: at that time it was ten--nearly eleven
+o'clock."
+
+"Grace strangely misrepresented all this," said Mrs. Harcourt: "as she
+gave her advice so late, I am sorry she gave it at all; she prevented
+you and Isabella from the pleasure of going out with Mad. de Rosier."
+
+"We prevented ourselves--Grace did not prevent us, I assure you, mamma,"
+said Isabella, eagerly: "we wished to stay at home with you--Herbert and
+Favoretta were only going to see the royal tiger."
+
+"Then you did not stay at home by Mad. de Rosier's desire."
+
+"No, indeed, madam," said Mad. de Rosier, who had not appeared in any
+haste to justify herself; "your children always show you affection
+by their own desire, never by mine: your penetration would certainly
+discover the difference between attentions prompted by a governess, and
+those which are shown by artless affection."
+
+"My dear madam, say no more," said Mrs. Harcourt, holding out her hand:
+"you are a real friend."
+
+Mad. de Rosier now went to call Herbert, but on opening the door, Mrs.
+Grace fell forward upon her face into the room; she had been kneeling
+with her head close to the key-hole of the door; and, probably, the
+sound of her own name, and a few sentences now and then spoken in
+English, had so fixed her attention, that she did not prepare in time
+for her retreat.
+
+"Get up, Grace, and walk in, if you please," said Mrs. Harcourt, with
+much calmness; "we have not the least objection to your hearing our
+conversation."
+
+"Indeed, ma'am," said Grace, as soon as she had recovered her feet, "I'm
+above listening to any body's conversations, except that when one hears
+one's own name, and knows that one has enemies, it is but natural to
+listen in one's own defence."
+
+"And is that all you can do, Grace, in your own defence?" said Mrs.
+Harcourt.
+
+"It's not all I can _say_, ma'am," replied Grace, pushed to extremities;
+and still with a secret hope that her mistress, _upon a pinch, would not
+part with a favourite maid_: "I see I'm of no further use in the family,
+neither to young or old--and new comers have put me quite out of favour,
+and have your ear to themselves--so, if you please, ma'am, I had better
+look out for another situation."
+
+"If you please, Grace," said Mrs. Harcourt.
+
+"I will leave the house this instant, if you think proper, ma'am."
+
+"If you think proper, Grace," said her mistress, with immovable
+philosophy.
+
+Grace burst into tears: "I never thought it would come to this, Mrs.
+Harcourt--_I_, that have lived so long such a favourite!--but I don't
+blame you, madam; you have been the best and kindest of mistresses to
+me; and, whatever becomes of me, to my dying words, I shall always give
+you and the dear young ladies the best of characters."
+
+"The character we may give _you_, Grace, is of rather more consequence."
+
+"Every thing that I say and do," interrupted the sobbing Grace, "is
+_vilified_ and misinterpreted by those who wish me ill. I--"
+
+"You have desired to leave me, Grace; and my desire is that you should
+leave me," said Mrs. Harcourt, with firmness. "Mad. de Rosier and
+I strictly forbade you to interfere with any of the children in our
+absence; you have thought proper to disregard these orders; and were you
+to stay longer in my house, I perceive that you would teach my children
+first to disobey, and afterward to deceive me."
+
+Grace, little prepared for this calm decision, now in a frightened,
+humble tone, began to make promises of reformation; but her promises
+and apologies were vain; she was compelled to depart, and every body was
+glad to have done with her.
+
+Favoretta, young as she was, had already learned from this cunning
+waiting-maid habits of deceit which could not be suddenly changed. Mad.
+de Rosier attempted her cure, by making her feel, in the first place,
+the inconveniences and the disgrace of not being trusted. Favoretta was
+ashamed to perceive that she was the only person in the house who
+was watched: and she was heartily glad when, by degrees, she had
+opportunities allowed her of obtaining a character for truth, and all
+the pleasures and all the advantages of confidence.
+
+Things went on much better after the gnome-like influence of Mrs Grace
+had ceased; but we must now hasten to introduce our readers to Mrs.
+Fanshaw. Mrs. Fanshaw was a card-playing lady, who had been educated
+at a time when it was not thought necessary for women to have any
+knowledge, or any taste for literature. As she advanced in life, she
+continually recurred to the maxims as well as to the fashions of her
+youth; and the improvements in modern female education she treated as
+dangerous innovations. She had placed her daughter at a boarding-school
+in London, the expense of which was its chief recommendation; and she
+saw her regularly at the Christmas and Midsummer holidays. At length,
+when Miss Fanshaw was about sixteen, her prudent mother began to think
+that it was time to take her from school, and to introduce her into
+the world. Miss Fanshaw had learned to speak French passably, to read
+a _little_ Italian, to draw _a little_, to play tolerably well upon the
+piano-forte, and to dance as well as many other young ladies. She had
+been sedulously taught a sovereign contempt of whatever was called
+_vulgar_ at the school where she was educated; but, as she was
+profoundly ignorant of every thing but the routine of that school, she
+had no precise idea of propriety; she only knew what was thought vulgar
+or genteel at Suxberry House; and the authority of Mrs. Suxberry (for
+that was the name of her schoolmistress) she quoted as incontrovertible
+upon all occasions. Without reflecting upon what was wrong or right, she
+decided with pert vivacity on all subjects; and firmly believed that
+no one could know or could learn any thing who had not been educated
+precisely as she had been. She considered her mother as an inferior
+personage, destitute of genteel accomplishments: her mother considered
+her as a model of perfection, that could only have been rendered thus
+thoroughly accomplished by _the most expensive masters_--her only fear
+was, that her dear Jane should be rather too _learned_.
+
+Mrs. Harcourt, with Isabella and Matilda, paid Mrs. Fanshaw a visit, as
+soon as they heard that her daughter was come home.
+
+Miss Fanshaw, an erect stiffened figure, made her entree; and it was
+impossible not to perceive that her whole soul was intent upon her
+manner of holding her head and placing her elbows, as she came into
+the room. Her person had undergone all the ordinary and extraordinary
+tortures of back-boards, collars, stocks, dumbbells, &c. She looked at
+Isabella and Matilda with some surprise and contempt during the first
+ten minutes after her entrance; for they were neither of them seated
+in the exact posture which she had been instructed to think the only
+position in which a _young lady_ should sit in company. Isabella got
+up to look at a drawing; Miss Fanshaw watched every step she took, and
+settled it in her own mind that Miss Harcourt did not walk as if she had
+ever been at Suxberry House. Matilda endeavoured to engage the figure
+that sat beside her in conversation; but the figure had no conversation,
+and the utmost that Matilda could obtain was a few monosyllables
+pronounced with affected gravity; for at Suxberry House this young
+lady had been taught to maintain an invincible silence when produced to
+strangers; but she made herself amends for this constraint, the moment
+she was with her companions, by a tittering, gossiping species of
+communication, which scarcely deserves the name of conversation.
+
+Whilst the silent Miss Fanshaw sat so as to do her dancing-master strict
+justice, Mrs. Fanshaw was stating to Mrs. Harcourt the enormous expense
+to which she had gone in her daughter's education. Though firm to her
+original doctrine, that women had no occasion for learning--in which
+word of reproach she included all literature--she nevertheless had been
+convinced, by the unanimous voice of fashion, that accomplishments were
+_most desirable for young ladies_--desirable, merely because they were
+fashionable; she did not, in the least, consider them as sources of
+independent occupation.
+
+Isabella was struck with sudden admiration at the sight of a head of
+Jupiter which Miss Fanshaw had just finished, and Mrs. Harcourt borrowed
+it for her to copy; though Miss Fanshaw was secretly but decidedly of
+opinion, that no one who had not learned from the drawing-master at
+Suxberry House could copy this head of Jupiter with any chance of
+success.
+
+There was a pretty little netting-box upon the table which caught
+Matilda's eye, and she asked the silent figure what it was made of.
+The silent figure turned its head mechanically, but could give no
+information upon the subject. Mrs. Fanshaw, however, said that she
+had bought the box at the Repository for ingenious works, and that the
+reason she chose it was because Lady N---- had recommended it to her.
+
+"It is some kind of new manufacture, her ladyship tells me, invented by
+some poor little boy that she patronizes; her ladyship can tell you more
+of the matter, Miss Matilda, than I can," concluded Mrs. Fanshaw; and,
+producing her netting, she asked Mrs. Harcourt, "if she had not been
+vastly notable to have got forward so fast with her work."
+
+The remainder of the visit was spent in recounting her losses at the
+card-table, and in exhortation to Mrs. Harcourt to send Miss Isabella
+and Matilda to finish their education at Suxberry House.
+
+Mrs. Harcourt was somewhat alarmed by the idea that her daughters would
+not be equal to Miss Fanshaw in accomplishments but, fortunately for
+Mad. de Rosier and herself, she was soon induced to change her opinion
+by farther opportunities of comparison.
+
+In a few days her visit was returned. Mrs. Harcourt happened to mention
+the globe that Isabella was painting: Miss Fanshaw begged to see it, and
+she went into Mrs. Harcourt's dressing-room, where it hung. The moment
+she found herself with Isabella and Matilda, _out of company_, the
+silent figure became talkative. The charm seemed to be broken, or rather
+reversed, and she began to chatter with pert incessant rapidity.
+
+"Dear me," said she, casting a scornful glance at Matilda's globe, "this
+is vastly pretty, but we've no such thing at Suxberry House. I wonder
+Mrs. Harcourt didn't send both of you to Suxberry House--every body
+sends their daughters, who can afford it, now, to Suxberry House; but,
+to be sure, it's very expensive--we had all silver forks, and every
+thing in the highest style, and Mrs. Suxberry keeps a coach. I assure
+you she's not at all like a schoolmistress, and she thinks it very rude
+and vulgar of any body to call her a schoolmistress. Won't you ask your
+mamma to send you, if it's only for the name of it, for one year, to
+Suxberry House?"
+
+"No," said Matilda; "we are so happy under the care of Mad. de Rosier."
+
+"Ah, dear me! I forgot--mamma told me _you'd got_ a new French governess
+lately--our French teacher, at Suxberry House, was so strict, and so
+cross, if one made a mistake in the tenses: it's very well for you your
+governess is not cross--does she give you very hard exercises?--let me
+look at your exercise book, and I'll tell you whether it's the right
+one--I mean _that_ we used to have at Suxberry House."
+
+Miss Fanshaw snatched up a book, in which she saw a paper, which she
+took for a French exercise.
+
+"Come, show it me, and I'll correct the faults for you, before your
+governess sees it, and she'll be so surprised!"
+
+"Mad. de Rosier has seen it," said Matilda;--but Miss Fanshaw, in
+a romping manner, pulled the paper out of her hands. It was the
+translation of a part of "Les Conversations d'Emilie," which we formerly
+mentioned.
+
+"La!" said Miss Fanshaw, "we had no such book as this at Suxberry
+House."
+
+Matilda's translation she was surprised to find correct.
+
+"And do you write themes?" said she--"We always wrote themes once every
+week, at Suxberry House, which I used to hate of all things, for I
+never could find any thing to say--it made me hate writing, I know;--but
+that's all over now; thank goodness, I've done with themes, and French
+letters, and exercises, and translations, and all those plaguing things;
+and now I've left school for ever, I may do just as I please--that's the
+best of going to school; it's over some time or other, and there's an
+end of it; but you that have a governess and masters at home, you go
+on for ever and ever, and you have no holidays either; and you have no
+out-of-school hours; you are kept _hard at it_ from morning till night:
+now I should hate that of all things. At Suxberry House, when we had
+got our task done, and finished with the writing-master and the
+drawing-master, and when we had practised for the music-master, and _all
+that_, we might be as idle as we pleased, and do what we liked out of
+school-hours--you know that was very pleasant: I assure you, you'd like
+being at Suxberry House amazingly."
+
+Isabella and Matilda, to whom it did not appear the most delightful of
+all things to be idle, nor the most desirable thing in the world to have
+their education finished, and then to lay aside all thoughts of farther
+improvement, could not assent to Miss Fanshaw's concluding assertion.
+They declared that they did not feel any want of holidays; at which Miss
+Fanshaw stared: they said that they had no tasks, and that they liked
+to be employed rather better than to be idle; at which Miss Fanshaw
+laughed, and sarcastically said, "You need not talk to me as if your
+governess were by, for I'm not a tell-tale--I shan't repeat what you
+say."
+
+Isabella and Matilda, who had not two methods of talking, looked rather
+displeased at this ill-bred speech.
+
+"Nay," said Miss Fanshaw, "I hope you aren't affronted _now_ at what I
+said; when we are by ourselves, you know, one says just what comes
+into one's head. Whose handsome coach is this, pray, with a coronet?"
+continued she, looking out of the window: "I declare it is stopping at
+your door; do let us go down. I'm never afraid of going into the room
+when there's company, for we were taught to go into a room at Suxberry
+House; and Mrs. Suxberry says it's very vulgar to be ashamed, and I
+assure you it's all custom. I used to colour, as Miss Matilda does,
+every minute; but I got over it before I had been long at Suxberry
+House."
+
+Isabella, who had just been reading "A Father's Legacy to his
+Daughters," recollected at this instant Dr. Gregory's opinion, "that
+when a girl ceases to blush, she has lost the most powerful charm
+of beauty." She had not, however, time to _quote_ this in Matilda's
+defence; for Miss Fanshaw ran down stairs, and Isabella recollected,
+before she overtook her, that it would not be polite to remind her of
+her early loss of charms.
+
+Lady N---- was in the coach which had excited Miss Fanshaw's admiration;
+and this young lady had a glorious opportunity of showing the graces
+that she had been taught at so much expense, for the room was full of
+company. Several morning visitors had called upon Mrs. Harcourt, and
+they formed a pretty large circle, which Miss Fanshaw viewed upon her
+entrance with a sort of studied assurance.
+
+Mrs. Fanshaw watched Lady N----'s eye as her daughter came into
+the room; but Lady N---- did not appear to be much struck with the
+second-hand graces of Suxberry House; her eye passed over Miss Fanshaw,
+in search of something less affected and more interesting.
+
+Miss Fanshaw had now resumed her _company face_ and attitude; she sat
+in prudent silence, whilst Lady N---- addressed her conversation
+to Isabella and Matilda, whose thoughts did not seem to be totally
+engrossed by their own persons.
+
+Dr. X---- had prepared this lady to think favourably of Mad. de Rosier's
+pupils, by the account which he had given her of Isabella's remarks upon
+Zeluco.
+
+A person of good sense, who has an encouraging countenance, can easily
+draw out the abilities of young people, and from their manner of
+listening, as well as from their manner of speaking, can soon form a
+judgment of their temper and understanding.
+
+Miss Fanshaw, instead of attending with a desire to improve herself from
+sensible conversation, sat with a look as absent as that of an unskilful
+actress, whilst the other performers are engaged in their parts.
+
+There was a small book-case, in a recess, at the farthest end of the
+room, and upon a little table there were some books, which Isabella
+and Matilda had been reading with Mad. de Rosier. Mrs. Fanshaw looked
+towards the table, with a sarcastic smile, and said--
+
+"You are great readers, young ladies, I see: may we know what are your
+studies?"
+
+Miss Fanshaw, to show how well she could walk, crossed the room, and
+took up one of the books.
+
+"'Alison upon Taste'--that's a pretty book, I dare say--but la! what's
+this, Miss Isabella? 'A Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments'--dear me!
+that must be a curious performance--by a smith! a common smith!"
+
+Isabella, good-naturedly, stopped her from farther absurd exclamations
+by turning to the title-page of the book and showing her the words
+_"Adam Smith."_
+
+"Ah! _A_ stands for _Adam!_ very true--I thought it was _a_ smith," said
+Miss Fanshaw.
+
+"Well, my dear," said her mother, who had quickness enough to perceive
+that her daughter had made some mistake, by the countenances of the
+company, but who had not sufficient erudition to know what the mistake
+could be--"well, my dear, and suppose it was _a_ smith, there's nothing
+extraordinary in that--nothing extraordinary in a smith's writing a
+book nowadays,--why not a common blacksmith, as well as a common
+ploughman?--I was asked, I know, not long ago, to subscribe _to_ the
+poems of a common ploughman."
+
+"The Ayrshire ploughman?" said Lady N----.
+
+"Yes, they called him so, as I recollect, and I really had a mind to
+put my name down, for I think I saw your ladyship's amongst the
+subscribers."
+
+"Yes, they are beautiful poems," said Lady N----.
+
+"So I understand--there are some vastly pretty things in his
+collection--but one hears of so many good things coming out every day,"
+said Mrs. Fanshaw, in a plaintive voice. "In these days, I think, every
+body writes--"
+
+"And reads," said Lady N----.
+
+"And reads," said Mrs. Fanshaw. "We have learned ladies now, wherever
+one goes, who tell one they never play at cards--I am sure they are very
+bad company. Jane," said she, turning to her daughter, "I hope you won't
+take it into your head to turn out a reading lady!"
+
+"Oh dear, no!" said Miss Fanshaw: "we had not much time for reading at
+Suxberry House, we were so busy with our masters;--we had a charming
+English master though, to teach us elocution, because it's so
+fashionable now to read loud well. Mrs. Harcourt, _isn't it odd_ to read
+English books to a French governess?" continued this young lady, whose
+constrained taciturnity now gave way to a strong desire to show herself
+off before Lady N----. She had observed that Isabella and Matilda had
+been listened to with approbation, and she imagined that, when she
+spoke, she should certainly eclipse them. Mrs. Harcourt replied to
+her observation, that Mad. de Rosier not only read and spoke English
+remarkably well, but that she had also a general knowledge of English
+literature.
+
+"Oh! here are some French books," said Miss Fanshaw, taking down one out
+of the book-case--"'Journal Etranger'--dear me! are you translating _of_
+this, Miss Isabella?"
+
+"No," said Mrs. Harcourt; "Madame de Rosier brought it down stairs
+yesterday, to show us an essay of Hume's on the study of history, which
+is particularly addressed to women; and Mad. de Rosier says that it is
+not to be found in several of the late editions of Hume's Essays--she
+thought it singular that it should be preserved in a French
+translation."
+
+"There is," said Isabella, "an entertaining account in that essay of
+a lady who asked Hume to lend her some novels! He lent her Plutarch's
+Lives, which she thought very amusing, till she found out that they
+were true. As soon as she came to the names of Caesar and Alexander, she
+returned the books."
+
+Mrs. Fanshaw was surprised that Lady N---- begged to look at this essay;
+and was much disappointed to observe that the graceful manner in which
+Miss Fanshaw presented the book to her ladyship escaped notice.
+
+"Pray, Miss Matilda, is that a drawing?" said Mrs. Fanshaw, in hopes of
+leading to a more favourable subject.
+
+"Oh, dear me! do pray favour us with a sight of it!" cried Miss Fanshaw,
+and she eagerly unrolled the paper, though Matilda assured her that it
+was not a drawing.
+
+It was Hogarth's print of a country dance, which was prefixed to his
+"Analysis of Beauty."
+
+"It is the _oddest_ thing!" exclaimed Miss Fanshaw, who thought every
+thing _odd_ or _strange_ which she had not seen at Suxberry house.
+Without staying to observe the innumerable strokes of humour and of
+original genius in the print, she ran on--"La! its hardly worth any
+one's while, surely, to draw such a set of vulgar figures--one hates low
+humour." Then, in a hurry to show her taste for dress, she observed
+that "people, formerly, must have had no taste at all;--one can hardly
+believe such things were ever worn."
+
+Mrs. Fanshaw, touched by this reflection upon the taste of former times,
+though she seldom presumed to oppose any of her daughter's opinions,
+could not here refrain from saying a few words in defence of sacks, long
+waists, and whalebone stays, and she pointed to a row of stays in the
+margin of one of these prints of Hogarth.
+
+Miss Fanshaw, who did not consider that, with those who have a taste for
+propriety in manners, she could not gain any thing by a triumph over her
+mother, laughed in a disdainful manner at her mother's "_partiality for
+stays_," and _wondered_ how any body could think long waists becoming.
+
+"Surely, any body who knows any thing of drawing, or has any taste
+for an antique figure, must acknowledge the present fashion to be most
+graceful." She appealed to Isabella and Matilda.
+
+They were so much struck with the impropriety of her manner towards her
+mother, that they did not immediately answer; Matilda at length said,
+"It is natural to like what we have been early used to;" and, from
+unaffected gentleness, eager to prevent Miss Fanshaw from further
+exposing her ignorance, she rolled up the print; and Lady N----, smiling
+at Mrs. Harcourt, said, "I never saw a print more _gracefully_ rolled up
+in my life." Miss Fanshaw immediately rolled up another of the prints,
+but no applause ensued.
+
+At the next pause in the conversation, Mrs. Fanshaw and her daughter
+took their leave, seemingly dissatisfied with their visit.
+
+Matilda, just after Mrs. Fanshaw left the room, recollected her pretty
+netting-box, and asked Lady N---- whether she knew any thing of the
+little boy by whom it was made.
+
+Her ladyship gave such an interesting account of him, that Matilda
+determined to have her share in relieving his distress.
+
+Matilda's benevolence was formerly rather passive than active; but from
+Mad. de Rosier she had learned that sensibility should not be suffered
+to evaporate in sighs, or in sentimental speeches. She had also learnt
+that economy is necessary to generosity; and she consequently sometimes
+denied herself the gratification of her own tastes, that she might be
+able to assist those who were in distress.
+
+She had lately seen a beautiful print[3] of the king of France taking
+leave of his family; and, as Mad. de Rosier was struck with it, she
+wished to have bought it for her; but she now considered that a guinea,
+which was the price of the print, might be better bestowed on this poor,
+little, ingenious, industrious boy; so she begged her mother to send
+to the repository for one of his boxes. The servants were all busy, and
+Matilda did not receive her box till the next morning.
+
+[Footnote 3: By Egginton.]
+
+Herbert was reading to Mad. de Rosier when the servant brought the box
+into the room. Favoretta got up to look at it, and immediately Herbert's
+eye glanced from his book: in spite of all his endeavours to command his
+attention, he heard the exclamations of "Beautiful!--How smooth!--like
+tortoise-shell!--What can it be made of?"
+
+"My dear Herbert, shut the book," said Mad. de Rosier, "if your head be
+in that box. Never read one moment after you have ceased to attend."
+
+"It is my fault," said Matilda; "I will put the box out of the way till
+he has finished reading."
+
+When Herbert had recalled his wandering thoughts, and had fixed his mind
+upon what he was about, Mad. de Rosier put her hand upon the book--he
+started--"Now let us see the _beautiful_ box," said she.
+
+After it had passed through Favoretta and Herbert's impatient hands,
+Matilda, who had scarcely looked at it herself, took it to the window,
+to give it a sober examination. "It is not made of paper, or pasteboard,
+and it is not the colour of tortoise-shell," said Matilda: "I never saw
+any thing like it before; I wonder what it can be made of?"
+
+Herbert, at this question, unperceived by Matilda, who was examining the
+box very earnestly, seized the lid, which was lying upon the table, and
+ran out of the room; he returned in a few minutes, and presented the
+lid to Matilda. "I can tell you one thing, Matilda," said he, with an
+important face--"it is an animal--an animal substance, I mean."
+
+"Oh, Herbert," cried Matilda, "what have you been doing?--you have
+blackened the corner of the box."
+
+"Only the least bit in the world," said Herbert, "to try an experiment.
+I only put one corner to the candle that Isabella had lighted to seal
+her letter."
+
+"My dear Herbert, how could you burn your sister's box?" expostulated
+Madame de Rosier: "I thought you did not love mischief."
+
+"Mischief!--no, indeed; I thought you would be pleased that I remembered
+how to distinguish animal from vegetable substances. You know, the day
+that my hair was on fire, you told me how to do that; and Matilda wanted
+to know what the box was made of; so I tried."
+
+"Well," said Matilda, good-naturedly, "you have not done me much harm."
+
+"But another time," said Mad. de Rosier, "don't burn a box that costs
+a guinea to try an experiment; and, above all things, never, upon any
+account, take what is not your own."
+
+The corner of the lid that had been held to the candle was a little
+warped, so that the lid did not slide into its groove as easily as it
+did before. Herbert was disposed to use force upon the occasion; but
+Matilda with difficulty rescued her box by an argument which fortunately
+reached his understanding in time enough to stop his hand.
+
+"It was the heat of the candle that warped it," said she: "let us dip
+it into boiling water, which cannot be made _too_ hot, and that will,
+perhaps, bring it back to its shape."
+
+The lid of the box was dipped into boiling-water, and restored to its
+shape. Matilda, as she was wiping it dry, observed that some yellow
+paint, or varnish, came off, and in one spot, on the inside of the lid,
+she discovered something like writing.
+
+"Who will lend me a magnifying glass?"
+
+Favoretta produced hers.
+
+"I have kept it," said she, "a great, _great_ while, ever since we were
+at the Rational Toy-shop."
+
+"Mad. de Rosier, do look at this!" exclaimed Matilda--"here are letters
+quite plain!--I have found the name, I do believe, of the boy who made
+the box!" and she spelled, letter by letter, as she looked through the
+magnifying glass, the words Henri-Montmorenci.
+
+Mad. de Rosier started up; and Matilda, surprised at her sudden emotion,
+put the box and magnifying glass into her hand. Madame de Rosier's hand
+trembled so much that she could not fix the glass.
+
+"Je ne vois rien--lisez--vite!--ma chere amie--un mot de plus!" said
+she, putting the glass again into Matilda's hand, and leaning over her
+shoulder with a look of agonizing expectation.
+
+The word _de_ was all Matilda could make out--Isabella tried--it was in
+vain--no other letters were visible.
+
+"_De_ what?--_de_ Rosier!--it must be! my son is alive!" said the
+mother.
+
+Henri-Montmorenci was the name of Mad. de Rosier's son; but when she
+reflected for an instant that this might also be the name of some other
+person, her transport of joy was checked, and seemed to be converted
+into despair.
+
+Her first emotions over, the habitual firmness of her mind returned.
+She sent directly to the repository--no news of the boy could there
+be obtained. Lady N---- was gone, for a few days, to Windsor; so no
+intelligence could be had from her. Mrs. Harcourt was out--no carriage
+at home--but Mad. de Rosier set out immediately, and walked to
+Golden-square, near which place she knew that a number of French
+emigrants resided. She stopped first at a bookseller's shop; she
+described the person of her son, and inquired if any such person had
+been seen in that neighbourhood.
+
+The bookseller was making out a bill for one of his customers, but
+struck with Mad. de Rosier's anxiety, and perceiving that she was a
+foreigner by her accent, he put down his pen, and begged her to repeat,
+once more, the description of her son. He tried to recollect whether he
+had seen such a person--but he had not. He, however, with true English
+good-nature, told her that she had an excellent chance of finding him
+in this part of the town, if he were in London--he was sorry that his
+shopman was from home, or he would have sent him with her through the
+streets near the square, where he knew the emigrants chiefly lodged;--he
+gave her in writing a list of the names of these streets, and stood at
+his door to watch and speed her on her way.
+
+She called at the neighbouring shops--she walked down several narrow
+streets, inquiring at every house, where she thought that there was any
+chance of success, in vain. At one a slip-shod maid-servant came to
+the door, who stared at seeing a well-dressed lady, and who was so
+bewildered, that she could not, for some time, answer any questions; at
+another house the master was out; at another, the master was at dinner.
+As it got towards four o'clock, Mad. de Rosier found it more difficult
+to obtain civil answers to her inquiries, for almost all the tradesmen
+were at dinner, and when they came to the door, looked out of humour, at
+being interrupted, and disappointed at not meeting with a customer.
+She walked on, her mind still indefatigable:--she heard a clock in the
+neighbourhood strike five--her strength was not equal to the energy of
+her mind--and the repeated answers of, "We know of no such person"--"No
+such boy lives here, ma'am," made her at length despair of success.
+
+One street upon her list remained unsearched--it was narrow, dark, and
+dirty;--she stopped for a moment at the corner, but a porter, heavily
+laden, with a sudden "By your leave, ma'am!" pushed forwards, and she
+was forced into the doorway of a small ironmonger's shop. The master of
+the shop, who was weighing some iron goods, let the scale go up, and,
+after a look of surprise, said--
+
+"You've lost your way, madam, I presume--be pleased to rest yourself--it
+is but a dark place;" and wiping a stool, on which some locks had been
+lying, he left Mad. de Rosier, who was, indeed, exhausted with fatigue,
+to rest herself, whilst, without any officious civility, after calling
+his wife from a back shop, to give the lady a glass of water, he went on
+weighing his iron and whistling.
+
+The woman, as soon as Mad. de Rosier had drunk the water, inquired if
+she should send for a coach for her, or could do any thing to serve her.
+
+The extreme good-nature of the tone in which this was spoken seemed to
+revive Mad. de Rosier; she told her that she was searching for an only
+son, whom she had for nearly two years believed to be dead: she showed
+the paper on which his name was written: the woman could not read--her
+husband read the name, but he shook his head--"he knew of no lad who
+answered to the description."
+
+Whilst they were speaking, a little boy came into the shop with a bit
+of small iron wire in his hand, and, twitching the skirt of the
+ironmonger's coat to attract his attention, asked if he had any such
+wire as that in his shop. When the ironmonger went to get down a roll of
+wire, the little boy had a full view of Mad. de Rosier. Though she was
+naturally disposed to take notice of children, yet now she was so intent
+upon her own thoughts that she did not observe him till he had bowed
+several times just opposite to her.
+
+"Are you bowing to me, my good boy?" said she--"you mistake me for
+somebody else; I don't know you;" and she looked down again upon the
+paper, on which she had written the name of her son.
+
+"But, indeed, ma'am, I know _you_," said the little boy: "aren't you the
+lady that was with the good-natured young gentleman, who met me going
+out of the pastry-cook's shop, and gave me the two buns?"
+
+Mad. de Rosier now looked in his face; the shop was so dark that she
+could not distinguish his features, but she recollected his voice, and
+knew him to be the little boy belonging to the dulcimer man.
+
+"Father would have come again to your house," said the boy, who did not
+perceive her inattention--"Father would have come to your house again,
+to play the tune the young gentleman fancied so much, but our dulcimer
+is broken."
+
+"Is it? I am sorry for it," said Mad. de Rosier. "But can you tell me,"
+continued she to the ironmonger, "whether any emigrants lodge in the
+street to the left of your house?" The master of the shop tried to
+recollect: she again repeated the name and description of her son.
+
+"I know a young French lad of that make," said the little dulcimer boy.
+
+"Do you?--Where is he? Where does he lodge?" cried Mad. de Rosier.
+
+"I am not speaking as to his name, for I never heard his name," said the
+little boy; "but I'll tell you how I came to know him. One day lately--"
+
+Mad. de Rosier interrupted him with questions concerning the figure,
+height, age, eyes, of the French lad.
+
+The little dulcimer boy, by his answers, sometimes made her doubt, and
+sometimes made her certain, that he was her son.
+
+"Tell me," said she, "where he lodges; I must see him immediately."
+
+"I am just come from him, and I'm going back to him with the wire; I'll
+show the way with pleasure; he is the best-natured lad in the world;
+he is mending my dulcimer; he deserves to be a great gentleman, and
+I thought he was not what he seemed," continued the little boy, as he
+walked on, scarcely able to keep before Mad. de Rosier.
+
+"This way, ma'am--this way--he lives in the corner house, turning into
+Golden-square." It was a stationer's.
+
+"I have called at this house already," said Mad. de Rosier; but she
+recollected that it was when the family were at dinner, and that a
+stupid maid had not understood her questions. She was unable to speak,
+through extreme agitation, when she came to the shop: the little
+dulcimer boy walked straight forward, and gently drew back the short
+curtain that hung before a glass door, opening into a back parlour. Mad.
+de Rosier sprang forward to the door, looked through the glass, and was
+alarmed to see a young man taller than her son; he was at work; his back
+was towards her.
+
+When he heard the noise of some one trying to open the door, he turned
+and saw his mother's face! The tools dropped from his hands, and the
+dulcimer boy was the only person present who had strength enough to open
+the door.
+
+How sudden! how powerful is the effect of joy! The mother, restored to
+her son, in a moment felt herself invigorated--and, forgetful of her
+fatigue, she felt herself another being. When she was left alone with
+her son, she looked round his little workshop with a mixture of pain and
+pleasure. She saw one of his unfinished boxes on the window-seat, which
+served him for a work-bench; his tools were upon the floor. "These have
+been my support," said her son, taking them up: "how much am I obliged
+to my dear father for teaching me early how to use them!"
+
+"Your father!" said Mad. de Rosier--"I wish he could have lived to be
+rewarded as I am! But tell me your history, from the moment you were
+taken from me to prison: it is nearly two years ago,--how did you
+escape? how have you supported yourself since? Sit down, and speak
+again, that I may be sure that I hear your voice."
+
+"You shall hear my voice, then, my dear mother," said her son, "for at
+least half an hour, if that will not tire you. I have a long story to
+tell you. In the first place, you know that I was taken to prison; three
+months I spent in the Conciergerie, expecting every day to be ordered
+out to the guillotine. The gaoler's son, a boy about my own age, who
+was sometimes employed to bring me food, seemed to look upon me with
+compassion; I had several opportunities of obliging him: his father
+often gave him long returns of the names of the prisoners, and various
+accounts, to copy into a large book; the young gentleman did not like
+this work; he was much fonder of exercising as a soldier with some
+boys in the neighbourhood, who were learning the national exercise; he
+frequently employed me to copy his lists for him, and this I performed
+to his satisfaction: but what completely won his heart was my mending
+the lock of his fusil. One evening he came to me in a new uniform, and
+in high spirits; he was just made a captain, by the unanimous voice of
+his corps; and he talked of _his_ men, and _his_ orders, with prodigious
+fluency; he then played _his_ march upon his drum, and insisted upon
+teaching it to me; he was much pleased with my performance, and,
+suddenly embracing me, he exclaimed, 'I have thought of an excellent
+thing for you; stay till I have arranged the plan in my head, and you
+shall see if I am not a great general.' The next evening he did not come
+to me till it was nearly dusk; he was in his new uniform; but out of a
+bag which he brought in his hand, in which he used to carry his father's
+papers, he produced his old uniform, rolled up into a surprisingly
+small compass. 'I have arranged every thing,' said he; 'put on this
+old uniform of mine--we are just of a size--by this light, nobody
+will perceive any difference: take my drum and march out of the prison
+slowly; beat my march on the drum as you go out; turn to the left, down
+to the Place de ----, where I exercise my men. You'll meet with one of
+my soldiers there, ready to forward your escape.' I hesitated; for I
+feared that I should endanger my young general; but he assured me that
+he had taken his precautions so '_admirably_,' that even after my escape
+should be discovered, no suspicion would fall upon him. 'But, if you
+delay,' cried he, 'we are both of us undone.' I hesitated not a moment
+longer, and never did I change my clothes so expeditiously in my life:
+I obeyed my little captain exactly, marched out of the prison slowly,
+playing deliberately the march which I had been taught; turned to the
+left, according to orders, and saw my punctual guide waiting for me on
+the Place de ----, just by the broken statue of Henry the Fourth.
+
+"'Follow me, fellow-citizen,' said he, in a low voice; 'we are not all
+Robespierres.'"
+
+Most joyfully I followed him. We walked on, in silence, till at length
+we came to a narrow street, where the crowd was so great that I thought
+we should both of us have been squeezed to death. I saw the guillotine
+at a distance, and I felt sick.
+
+"'Come on,' said my guide, who kept fast hold of me; and he turned
+sharp into a yard, where I heard the noise of carts, and the voices of
+muleteers. 'This man,' said he, leading me up to a muleteer, who seemed
+to be just ready to depart, 'is my father; trust yourself to him.'
+
+"I had nobody else to trust myself to. I got into the muleteer's covered
+cart; he began a loud song; we proceeded through the square where the
+crowd were assembled. The enthusiasm of the moment occupied them so
+entirely, that we were fortunately disregarded. We got out of Paris
+safely: I will not tire you with all my terrors and escapes. I, at
+length, got on board a neutral vessel, and landed at Bristol. Escaped
+from prison, and the fear of the guillotine, I thought myself happy; but
+my happiness was not very lasting. I began to apprehend that I should be
+starved to death; I had not eaten for many hours. I wandered through the
+bustling streets of Bristol, where every body I met seemed to be full of
+their own business, and brushed by me without seeing me. I was weak, and
+I sat down upon a stone by the door of a public-house.
+
+"A woman was twirling a mop at the door. I wiped away the drops with
+which I was sprinkled by this operation. I was too weak to be angry;
+but a hairdresser, who was passing by, and who had a nicely powdered wig
+poised upon his hand, was furiously enraged, because a few drops of the
+shower which had sprinkled me reached the wig. He expressed his anger
+half in French and half in English; but at last I observed to him in
+French, that the wig was still '_bien poudree_'--this calmed his rage;
+and he remarked that I also had been _horribly_ drenched by the shower.
+I assured him that this was a trifle in comparison with my other
+sufferings.
+
+"He begged to hear my misfortunes, because I spoke French; and as I
+followed him to the place where he was going with the wig, I told him
+that I had not eaten for many hours; that I was a stranger in Bristol,
+and had no means of earning any food. He advised me to go to a tavern,
+which he pointed out to me--'The Rummer;'--he told me a circumstance,
+which convinced me of the humanity of the master of the house.[4]
+
+[Footnote 4: During Christmas week it is the custom in Bristol to keep a
+cheap ordinary in taverns: the master of the Rummer observed a stranger,
+meanly dressed, who constantly frequented the public table. It was
+suspected that he carried away some of the provision, and a waiter
+at length communicated his suspicions to the master of the house.
+He watched the stranger, and actually detected him putting a large
+mince-pie into his pocket. Instead of publicly exposing him, the
+landlord, who judged from the stranger's manner that he was not an
+ordinary pilferer, called the man aside as he was going away, and
+charged him with the fact, demanding of him what could tempt him to such
+meanness. The poor man immediately acknowledged that he had for several
+days carried off precisely what he would have eaten himself for his
+starving wife, but he had eaten nothing. The humane, considerate
+landlord gently reproved him for his conduct, and soon found means to
+have him usefully and profitably employed.]
+
+"I resolved to apply to this benevolent man. When I first went into his
+kitchen, I saw his cook, a man with a very important face, serving out
+a large turtle. Several people were waiting with covered dishes, for
+turtle soup and turtle, which had been bespoken in different parts of
+the city. The dishes, as fast as they were filled, continually passed by
+me, tantalizing me by their savoury odours. I sat down upon a stool near
+the fire--I saw food within my reach that honesty forbade me to touch,
+though I was starving: how easy is it to the rich to be honest! I was
+at this time so weak, that my ideas began to be confused--my head grew
+dizzy--I felt the heat of the kitchen fire extremely disagreeable to
+me. I do not know what happened afterward; but when I came to myself, I
+found that I was leaning against some one who supported me near an open
+window: it was the master of the house. I do not know why I was ashamed
+to ask him for food; his humanity, however, prevented me. He first
+gave me a small basin of broth, and afterwards a little bit of bread,
+assuring me, with infinite good nature, that he gave me food in such
+small quantities, because he was afraid that it would hurt me to satisfy
+my hunger at once--a worthy, humane physician, he said, had told him,
+that persons in my situation should be treated in this manner. I thanked
+him for his kindness, adding, that I did not mean to encroach upon his
+hospitality. He pressed me to stay at his house for some days, but I
+could not think of being a burden to him, when I had strength enough to
+maintain myself.
+
+"In the window of the little parlour, where I ate my broth, I saw a
+novel, which had been left there by the landlord's daughter, and in the
+beginning of this book was pasted a direction to the circulating library
+in Bristol. I was in hopes that I might earn my bread as a scribe. The
+landlord of the Rummer told me that he was acquainted with the master
+of the library, and that I might easily procure employment from him on
+reasonable terms.
+
+"Mr. S----, for that was the name of the master of the library, received
+me with an air of encouraging benevolence, and finding that I could read
+and write English tolerably well, he gave me a manuscript to copy, which
+he was preparing for the press. I worked hard, and made, as I fancied,
+a beautiful copy; but the printers complained of my upright French hand,
+which they could not easily decipher:--I began to new-model my writing,
+to please the taste of my employers; and as I had sufficient motives to
+make me take pains, I at last succeeded. I found it a great advantage
+to be able to read and write the English language fluently; and when my
+employers perceived my education had not been neglected, and that I
+had some knowledge of literature, their confidence in my abilities
+increased. I hope you will not think me vain if I add, that I could
+perceive my manners were advantageous to me. I was known to be a
+gentleman's son; and even those who set but little value upon _manners_
+seemed to be influenced by them, without perceiving it. But, without
+pronouncing my own eulogium, let me content myself with telling you my
+history.
+
+"I used often, in carrying my day's work to the printer's, to pass
+through a part of the town of Bristol which has been allotted to poor
+emigrants, and there I saw a variety of little ingenious toys, which
+were sold at a high price, or at a price which appeared to me to be
+high. I began to consider that I might earn money by invention, as well
+as by mere manual labour; but before I gave up any part of my time to
+my new schemes, I regularly wrote as much each day as was sufficient to
+maintain me. Now it was that I felt the advantage of having been taught,
+when I was a boy, the use of carpenters' tools, and some degree of
+mechanical dexterity. I made several clumsy toys, and I tried various
+unsuccessful experiments, but I was not discouraged. One day I heard a
+dispute near me about some trinket--a toothpick-case, I believe--which
+was thought by the purchaser to be too highly priced; the man who made
+it repeatedly said, in recommendation of the toy--'Why, sir, you could
+not know it from tortoise-shell.'
+
+"I, at this instant, recollected to have seen, at the Rummer, a great
+heap of broken shells, which the cook had thrown aside, as if they were
+of no value. Upon inquiry, I found that there was part of the inside
+shell which was thought to be useless--it occurred to me that I might
+possibly make it useful. The good-natured landlord ordered that all
+this part of the shells should be carefully collected and given to me.
+I tried to polish it for many hours in vain. I was often tempted to
+abandon my project--there was a want of _finish_, as the workmen call
+it, in my manufacture, which made me despair of its being saleable. I
+will not weary you with a history of all my unsuccessful processes;
+it was fortunate for me, my dear mother, that I remembered one of
+the principles which you taught me when I was a child, that it is
+not _genius_, but perseverance, which brings things to perfection. I
+persevered, and though I did not bring my manufacture to _perfection_,
+I actually succeeded so far as to make a very neat-looking box out of my
+refuse shells. I offered it for sale--it was liked: I made several
+more, and they were quickly sold for me, most advantageously, by my
+good friend, Mr. S----. He advised me to make them in the shape of
+netting-boxes; I did so, and their sale extended rapidly.
+
+"Some benevolent lady, about this time, raised a subscription for me;
+but as I had now an easy means of supporting myself, and as I every day
+beheld numbers of my countrymen, nearly in the condition in which I was
+when I first went to the Rummer, I thought it was not fit to accept of
+the charitable assistance, which could be so much better bestowed upon
+others. Mr. S---- told me, that the lady who raised the contribution,
+so far from being offended, was pleased by my conduct in declining her
+bounty, and she undertook to dispose of as many of my netting-boxes as I
+could finish. She was one of the patronesses of a repository in London,
+which has lately been opened, called the 'Repository for Ingenious
+Works.' When she left Bristol, she desired Mr. S---- to send my boxes
+thither.
+
+"My little manufacture continued to prosper--by practice I grew more and
+more expert, and I had no longer any fears that I should not be able
+to maintain myself. It was fortunate for me that I was obliged to be
+constantly employed: whenever I was not actually at hard work, whenever
+I had leisure for reflection, I was unhappy.
+
+"A friend of Mr. S----, who was going to London, offered to take me with
+him--I had some curiosity to see this celebrated metropolis, and I had
+hopes of meeting with some of my friends amongst the emigrants in this
+city--amongst all the emigrants at Bristol there was not one person with
+whom I had been acquainted in France.
+
+"Impelled by these hopes, I quitted Bristol, and arrived a few weeks ago
+in London. Mr. S---- gave me a direction to a cabinet-maker in Leicester
+Fields, and I was able to pay for a decent lodging, for I was now master
+of what appeared to me a large sum of money--seven guineas.
+
+"Some time after I came to town, as I was returning from a visit to an
+emigrant, with whom I had become acquainted, I was stopped at the corner
+of a street by a crowd of people--_a mob_, as I have been taught to
+call it, since I came to England--who had gathered round a blind man, a
+little boy, and a virago of a woman, who stood upon the steps before
+a print-shop door. The woman accused the boy of being a thief. The boy
+protested that he was innocent, and his ingenuous countenance spoke
+strongly in his favour. He belonged to the blind man, who, as soon as
+he could make himself heard, complained bitterly of the damage which had
+been done to his dulcimer. The mob, in their first fury, had broken it.
+I was interested for the man but more for the boy. Perhaps, said I to
+myself, he has neither father nor mother!
+
+"When the woman, who was standing yet furious at the shop-door, had no
+more words for utterance, the little boy was suffered to speak in his
+own defence. He said, that, as he was passing by the open window of the
+print-shop, he put his hand in to give part of a bun which he was eating
+to a little dog, who was sitting on the counter, near the window;
+and who looked thin and miserable, as if he was half-starved. 'But,'
+continued the little boy, 'when I put the bun to the dog's mouth, he did
+not eat it; I gave him a little push to make him mind me, and he fell
+out of the window into my hands; and then I found that it was not a
+real dog, but only the picture of a dog, painted upon pasteboard. The
+mistress of the shop saw the dog in my hand, and snatched it away,
+and accused me of being a thief; so then, with the noise she made, the
+chairmen, who were near the door, came up, and the mob gathered, and
+our dulcimer was broken, and I'm very sorry for it.' The mistress of
+the print-shop observed, in a loud and contemptuous tone, 'that all this
+must be a lie, for that _such a one as_ he could not have buns to give
+away to dogs!'--Here the blind man vindicated his boy, by assuring us
+that 'he came honestly by the bun--that two buns had been given to him
+about an hour before this time by a young gentleman, who met him as
+he was coming out of a pastry-cook's shop.' When the mob heard this
+explanation, they were sorry for the mischief they had done to the blind
+man's dulcimer; and, after examining it with expressions of sorrow, they
+quietly dispersed. I thought that I could perhaps mend the dulcimer, and
+I offered my services; they were gladly accepted, and I desired the man
+to leave it at the cabinet-maker's, in Leicester Fields, where I
+lodged. In the meantime the little boy, whilst I had been examining the
+dulcimer, had been wiping the dirt from off the pasteboard dog, which,
+during the fray, had fallen into the street--'Is it not like a real
+dog?' said the boy, 'Was it not enough to deceive any body?'
+
+"It was, indeed, extremely like a _real_ dog--like my dog, Caesar, whom
+I had taken care of from the time I was five years old, and whom I was
+obliged to leave at our house in Paris, when I was dragged to prison.
+The more I looked at this pasteboard image, the more I was convinced
+that the picture must have been drawn from the life. Every streak, every
+spot, every shade of its brown coat I remembered. Its extreme thinness
+was the only circumstance in which the picture was unlike my Caesar.
+I inquired from the scolding woman of the shop how she came by this
+picture--'Honestly,' was her laconic answer; but when I asked whether it
+were to be sold, and when I paid its price, the lady changed her tone;
+no longer considering me as the partisan of the little boy, against whom
+she was enraged, but rather looking upon me as a customer, who had paid
+too much for her goods, she condescended to inform me that the dog
+was painted by one of the _poor_ French emigrants, who lived in her
+neighbourhood. She directed me to the house, and I discovered the man to
+be my father's old servant Michael. He was overjoyed at the sight of me;
+he was infirm, and unequal to any laborious employment; he had supported
+himself with great difficulty by painting toys, and various figures of
+men, women, and animals, upon pasteboard. He showed me two excellent
+figures of French poissardes, and also a good cat, of his doing;--but my
+Caesar was the best of his works.
+
+"My lodgings at the cabinet-maker's were too small to accommodate
+Michael; and yet I wished to have him with me, for he seemed so infirm
+as to want assistance. I consequently left my cabinet-maker, and took
+lodgings with this stationer; he and his wife are quiet people, and I
+hope poor Michael has been happier since he came to me; he has, however,
+been for some days confined to his bed, and I have been so busy, that I
+have not been able to stir from home. To-day the poor little boy called
+for his dulcimer; I must own that I found it a more difficult job to
+mend it than I had expected. I could not match the wire, and I sent the
+boy out to an ironmonger's a few hours ago. How little did I expect to
+see him return with--my mother!"
+
+We shall not attempt to describe the alternate emotions of joy and
+sorrow which quickly succeeded each other in Mad. de Rosier's heart,
+while she listened to her son's little history. Impatient to communicate
+her happiness to her friends, she took leave hastily of her beloved son,
+promising to call for him early the next day. "Settle all your
+business to-night," said she, "and I will introduce you to _my_ friends
+to-morrow. _My_ friends, I say proudly--for I have made friends since
+I came to England; and England, amongst other commodities excellent in
+their kind, produces incomparable friends--friends in adversity. _We_
+know their value. Adieu: settle all your affairs here expeditiously."
+
+"I have no affairs, no business, my dear mother," interrupted Henry,
+"except to mend the dulcimer, as I promised, and that I'll finish
+directly. Adieu, till to-morrow morning! What a delightful sound!"
+
+With all the alacrity of benevolence he returned to his work, and his
+mother returned to Mrs. Harcourt's. It was nearly eight o'clock before
+she arrived at home. Mrs. Harcourt, Isabella, and Matilda, met her with
+inquiring eyes.
+
+"She smiles," said Matilda; and Herbert, with a higher jump than he had
+ever been known to make before, exclaimed, "She has found her son!--I am
+sure of it!--I knew she would find him."
+
+"Let her sit down," said Matilda, in a gentle voice.
+
+Isabella brought her an excellent dish of coffee; and Mrs. Harcourt,
+with kind reproaches, asked why she had not brought her son _home_ with
+her. She rang the bell with as much vivacity as she spoke, ordered her
+coach to be sent instantly to Golden-square, and wrote an order, as she
+called it, for his coming _immediately_ to her, quitting all dulcimers
+and dulcimer boys, under pain of his mother's displeasure. "Here, Mad.
+de Rosier," said she, with peremptory playfulness, "countersign my
+order, that I may be sure of my prisoner."
+
+Scarcely were the note and carriage despatched, before Herbert and
+Favoretta stationed themselves at the window, that they might be ready
+to give the first intelligence. Their notions of time and distance were
+not very accurate upon this occasion; for before the carriage had
+been out of sight ten minutes, they expected it to return; and they
+exclaimed, at the sight of every coach that appeared at the end of the
+street, "Here's the carriage!--Here he is!" But the carriages rolled by
+continually, and convinced them of their mistakes.
+
+Herbert complained of the dull light of the lamps, though the street was
+remarkably well lighted; and he next quarrelled with the glare of the
+flambeaux, which footmen brandished behind carriages that were unknown
+to him. At length a flambeau appeared with which he did not quarrel.
+Herbert, as its light shone upon the footman, looked with an eager eye,
+then put his finger upon his own lips, and held his other hand forcibly
+before Favoretta's mouth, for now he was certain. The coach stopped
+at the door--Mad. de Rosier ran down stairs--Mrs. Harcourt and all
+the family followed her--Herbert was at the coach door before Henri de
+Rosier could leap out, and he seized his hand with the familiarity of an
+old acquaintance.
+
+The sympathy of all her joyful pupils, the animated kindness with which
+Mrs. Harcourt received her son, touched Mad. de Rosier with the most
+exquisite pleasure. The happiness that we are conscious of having
+deserved is doubly grateful to the heart.
+
+Mrs. Harcourt did not confine her attentions within the narrow limits
+of politeness--with generous eagerness she exerted herself to show her
+gratitude to the excellent governess of her children. She applied to the
+gentleman who was at the head of the academy for the education of the
+sons of French emigrants, and recommended Henri de Rosier to him in the
+strongest terms.
+
+In the meantime Lady N----, who had been warmly interested in Mad. de
+Rosier's favour, and more by what she had seen of her pupils, wrote
+to her brother, who was at Paris, to request that he would make every
+possible inquiry concerning the property of the late Comte de Rosier.
+The answer to her letter informed her that Mad. de Rosier's property was
+restored to her and to her son by the new government of France.
+
+Mrs. Harcourt, who now foresaw the probability of Mad. de Rosier's
+return to France, could not avoid feeling regret at the thoughts of
+parting with a friend to whom her whole family was sincerely attached.
+The plan of education which had been traced out remained yet unfinished,
+and she feared, she said, that Isabella and Matilda might feel the want
+of their accomplished preceptress. But these fears were the best omens
+for her future success: a sensible mother, in whom the desire to educate
+her family has once been excited, and who turns the energy of her
+mind to this interesting subject, seizes upon every useful idea, every
+practical principle, with avidity, and she may trust securely to her
+own persevering cares. Whatever a mother learns for the sake of her
+children, she never forgets.
+
+The rapid improvement of Mrs. Harcourt's understanding since she had
+applied herself to literature, was her reward, and her excitement to
+fresh application. Isabella and Matilda were now of an age to be her
+companions, and her taste for domestic life was confirmed every day by
+the sweet experience of its pleasures.
+
+"You have taught me your value, and now you are going to leave me," said
+she to Mad. de Rosier. "I quarrelled with the Duke de la Rochefoucault
+for his asserting, that in the misfortunes of our best friends there is
+always something that is not disagreeable to us; but I am afraid I
+must stand convicted of selfishness, for in the good fortune of my best
+friend there is something that I cannot feel to be perfectly agreeable."
+
+
+
+
+
+
+MADEMOISELLE PANACHE.
+
+SECOND PART[1]
+
+[Footnote 1: The first part is in the Parent's Assistant, vol. iv.]
+
+
+The tendency of any particular mode of education is not always
+perceived, before it is too late to change the habits or the character
+of the pupil. To superficial observers, children of nearly the same age
+often seem much alike in manners and disposition, who, in a few years
+afterward, appear in every respect strikingly different. We have given
+our readers some idea of the manner in which Mrs. Temple educated her
+daughters, and some notion of the mode in which Lady Augusta was managed
+by Mlle. Panache; the difference between the characters of Helen and
+Lady Augusta, though visible even at the early age of twelve or thirteen
+to an intelligent mother, was scarcely noticed by common acquaintance,
+who contented themselves with the usual phrases, as equally applicable
+to both the young ladies. "Upon my word, Lady Augusta and Miss Helen
+Temple are both of them very fine girls, and very highly accomplished,
+and vastly well educated, as I understand. I really cannot tell which to
+prefer. Lady Augusta, to be sure, is rather the taller of the two, and
+her manners are certainly more womanly and fashioned than Miss Helen's;
+but then, Miss Helen Temple has something of simplicity about her
+that some people think very engaging. For my part, I don't pretend to
+judge--girls alter so; there's no telling at twelve years old what they
+may turn out at sixteen."
+
+From twelve to sixteen, Lady Augusta continued under the direction of
+Mlle. Panache; whilst her mother, content with her daughter's progress
+in external accomplishments, paid no attention to the cultivation of her
+temper or her understanding. Lady S---- lived much in what is called the
+world; was fond of company, and fonder of cards, sentimentally anxious
+to be thought a good mother, but indolently willing to leave her
+daughter wholly to the care of a French governess, whose character she
+had never taken the trouble to investigate. Not that Lady S---- could
+be ignorant that, however well qualified to teach the true French
+pronunciation, she could not be a perfectly eligible companion for
+her daughter as she grew up: her ladyship intended to part with the
+governess when Lady Augusta was fifteen; but from day to day, and from
+year to year, this was put off: sometimes Lady S---- thought it a pity
+to dismiss mademoiselle, because "she was the best creature in the
+world;" sometimes she rested content with the idea, that six months more
+or less could not signify; till at length _family reasons_ obliged her
+to postpone mademoiselle's dismission: part of the money intended for
+the payment of the governess's salary had been unfortunately lost by the
+mother at the card-table. Lady Augusta consequently continued under the
+auspices of Mlle. Panache till her ladyship was eighteen, and till her
+education was supposed to be entirely completed.
+
+In the meantime Mlle. Panache endeavoured, by all the vulgar arts of
+flattery, to ingratiate herself with her pupil, in hopes that from
+a governess she might become a _companion_. The summer months seemed
+unusually long to the impatient young lady, whose imagination daily
+anticipated the glories of her next winter's campaign. Towards the end
+of July, however, a reinforcement of visitors came to her mother's,
+and the present began to engage some attention, as well as the future.
+Amongst these visitors was Lord George ----, a young nobleman, near
+twenty-one, who was heir to a very considerable fortune. We mention
+his fortune _first_, because it was his _first_ merit, even in his own
+opinion. Cold, silent, selfish, supercilious, and silly, there appeared
+nothing in him to engage the affections, or to strike the fancy of a
+fair lady; but Lady Augusta's fancy was not fixed upon his lordship's
+character or manners, and much that might have disgusted consequently
+escaped her observation. Her mother had not considered the matter very
+attentively; but she thought that this young nobleman might be no bad
+match for her Augusta, and she trusted that her daughter's charms
+would make their due impression on his heart. Some weeks passed away in
+fashionable negligence of the lady on his part, and alternate pique and
+coquetry on hers, whilst, during these operations, her confidante and
+governess was too much occupied with her own manoeuvres to attend to
+those of her pupil. Lord George had with him upon this visit a Mr.
+Dashwood, who was engaged to accompany him upon his travels, and who had
+had the honour of being his lordship's tutor. At the name of a _tutor_,
+let no one picture to himself a gloomy pedant; or yet a man whose
+knowledge, virtue, and benevolence, would command the respect, or win
+the affections, of youth. Mr. Dashwood could not be mistaken for a
+pedant, unless a coxcomb be a sort of pedant. Dashwood pretended neither
+to win affection nor to command respect; but he was, as his pupil
+emphatically swore, "the best fellow in the world." Upon this best
+fellow in the world, Mlle. Panache fixed her sagacious hopes; she
+began to think that it would be infinitely better to be the wife of
+the gallant Mr. Dashwood, than the humble companion or the slighted
+governess of the capricious Lady Augusta. Having thus far opened the
+views and characters of these various personages, we shall now give our
+readers an opportunity of judging of them by their words and actions.
+
+"You go with us, my lord, to the archery-meeting this evening?" said
+Lady S----, as she rose from breakfast--his lordship gave a negligent
+assent.
+
+"Ah!" exclaimed Mlle. Panache, turning eagerly to Dashwood, "have you
+seen _de uniforme?--C'est charmant_; and I have no small hand in it."
+
+Dashwood paid he expected compliment to her taste. "Ah! _non_," said
+she, "you are too good, too flattering; but you must tell me your
+judgment without flattery! _Vous etes homme de gout_, though an
+Englishman--you see I have got no _prejuges_." Dashwood bowed.
+"_Allons!_" said she, starting up with vast gaiety: "we have got no time
+to lose. I have de _rubans_ to put to de bow; I must go and attend my
+Diane."
+
+"Attend her Diane!" repeated Dashwood, the moment the door was shut,
+and he was left alone with Lord George. "Attend her Diane! a very
+proper attendant." Lord George was wholly indifferent to propriety or
+impropriety upon this, as upon all other subjects. "What are we to do
+with ourselves, I wonder, this morning!" said he, with his customary
+yawn; and he walked towards the window. The labour of finding employment
+for his lordship always devolved upon his companion. "I thought, my
+lord," said Dashwood, "you talked yesterday of going upon the water; the
+river is very smooth, and I hope we shall have a fine day."
+
+"I hope so too; but over the hill yonder it looks confounded black, hey?
+Well, at any rate we may go down and make some of them get ready to go
+with us. I'll take my black Tom--he's a handy fellow."
+
+"But if you take black Tom," said Dashwood, laughing, "we must not
+expect to have the ladies of our party; for you know mademoiselle has an
+unconquerable _antipaty_, as she calls it, to a negro."
+
+Lord George declared that, for this very reason, he would order black
+Tom down to the water-side, and that he should enjoy her affectation,
+or her terror, whichever it was, of all things. "I suppose," said he,
+"she'll scream as loud as Lady Augusta screamed at a frog the other
+day."
+
+"I'll lay you a wager I spoil your sport, my lord; I'll lay you a
+guinea I get mademoiselle into the boat without a single scream," said
+Dashwood.
+
+"Done!" said Lord George. "Two to one she screams."
+
+"Done!" said Dashwood; and he hoped that, by proposing this bet, he had
+provided his pupil with an object for the whole morning. But Lord George
+was not so easily roused immediately after breakfast. "It looks terribly
+like rain," said he, going back and forward irresolutely between the
+door and the window. "Do you think it will rain, hey?"
+
+"No, no; I'm sure it will not rain."
+
+"I wouldn't lay two to one of that, however: look at this great cloud
+that's coming."
+
+"Oh! it will blow over."
+
+"I don't know that," said Lord George, shaking his head with great
+solemnity. "Which way is the wind?" opening the window. "Well, I believe
+it may hold up, hey?"
+
+"Certainly--I think so."
+
+"Then I'll call black Tom, hey?--though I think one grows tired of going
+upon the water," muttered his lordship, as he left the room. "Couldn't
+one find something better?"
+
+"Nothing better," thought Dashwood, "but to hang yourself, my lord,
+which, I'll be bound, you'll do before you are forty, for want of
+something better. But that's not my affair."
+
+"Where's mademoiselle?" cried Lady Augusta, entering hastily, with a bow
+and arrow in her hand: "I've lost my quiver: where's mademoiselle?"
+
+"Upon my word I don't know," said Dashwood, assuming an air of interest.
+
+"You don't know, Mr. Dashwood!" said Lady Augusta, sarcastically;
+"that's rather extraordinary. I make it a rule, whenever I want
+mademoiselle, to ask where you are, and I never found myself
+disappointed before."
+
+"I am sorry, madam, you should ever be disappointed," said Dashwood,
+laughing. "Is this your ladyship's _own_ taste?" added he, taking the
+painted bow out of her hand. "It's uncommonly pretty."
+
+"Pretty or not, Lord George did not think it worth while to look at it
+last night. His lordship will go through the world mighty easily, don't
+you think so, Mr. Dashwood?" Dashwood attempted an apology for his
+pupil, but in such a sort, as if he did not mean it to be accepted,
+and then, returning the bow to her ladyship's hand, paused, sighed, and
+observed, that, upon the whole, it was happy for his lordship that he
+possessed so much nonchalance. "Persons of a different cast," continued
+he, "cannot, as your ladyship justly observes, expect to pass through
+life so easily." This speech was pronounced in a tone so different from
+Dashwood's usual careless gaiety, that Lady Augusta could not help being
+struck with it; and by her vanity, it was interpreted precisely as the
+gentleman wished. Rank and fortune were her serious objects, but she
+had no objection to amusing herself with romance. The idea of seeing the
+gay, witty Mr. Dashwood metamorphosed, by the power of her charms, into
+a despairing, sighing swain, played upon her imagination, and she heard
+his first sigh with a look which plainly showed how well she understood
+its meaning.
+
+"Why now, was there ever any thing so provoking!" cried Lord George,
+swinging himself into the room.
+
+"What's the matter, my lord?" said Dashwood.
+
+"Why, don't you see, it's raining as hard as it can rain?" replied his
+lordship, with the true pathos of a man whose happiness is dependent
+upon the weather. His scheme of going upon the water being now
+impracticable, he lounged about the room all the rest of the morning,
+supporting that miserable kind of existence, which idle gentlemen are
+doomed to support, they know not how, upon a rainy day. Neither Lady
+Augusta nor her mother, in calculating the advantages and disadvantages
+of an alliance with his lordship, ever once considered his habits of
+listless idleness as any objection in a companion for life.
+
+After dinner the day cleared up--the ladies were dressed in their
+archery uniform--the carriages came to the door, and Lord George was
+happy in the prospect of driving his new phaeton. Dashwood handed
+the ladies to their coach; for his lordship was too much engaged in
+confabulation with his groom, on the merits of his off-leader, to pay
+attention to any thing else upon earth.
+
+His phaeton was presently out of sight, for he gloried in driving as
+fast as possible; and, to reward his exertions, he had the satisfaction
+of hearing two strangers, as he passed them, say--"Ha! upon my word,
+those horses go well!" A postilion at a turnpike gate, moreover,
+exclaimed to a farmer, who stood with his mouth wide open--"There goes
+Lord George! he cuts as fine a figure on the road as e'er a man in
+England." Such was the style of praise of which this young nobleman was
+silly enough to be vain.
+
+"I've been in these three quarters of an hour!" cried he, exultingly, as
+Lady S---- got out of her coach.
+
+"There has been no shooting yet though, I hope?" said Lady Augusta.
+
+"No, no, ma'am," replied Dashwood; "but the ladies are all upon the
+green--a crowd of fair competitors; but I'd bet a thousand pounds upon
+your ladyship's arrows. Make way there--make way," cried the man of
+gallantry, in an imperious tone, to some poor people, who crowded round
+the carriage; and talking and laughing loud, he pushed forward, making
+as much bustle in seating the ladies as they could have wished. Being
+seated, they began to bow and nod to their acquaintance. "There's Mrs.
+Temple and her daughters," said Lady S----.
+
+"Where, ma'am?" said Lady Augusta: "I'm sure I did not expect to meet
+them here. Where are they?"
+
+"Just opposite to us. Pray, Mr. Dashwood, who is that gentleman in
+brown, who is talking to Miss Helen Temple?" "Upon my word I don't know,
+madam; he bowed just now to Lord George."
+
+"Did he?" said Lady Augusta. "I wonder who he is!"
+
+Lord George soon satisfied her curiosity, for, coming up to them, he
+said negligently, "Dashwood, there's young Mountague yonder."
+
+"Ha! is that young Mountague? Well, is his father dead? What has he done
+with that old quiz?"
+
+"Ask him yourself," said Lord George sullenly: "I asked him just now,
+and he looked as black as November."
+
+"He was so fond of his father--it is quite a bore," said Dashwood. "I
+think he'll be _a quiz_ himself in due time."
+
+"No," said Lord George; "he knows better than that too in some things.
+He has a monstrous fine horse with him here; and that's a good pretty
+girl that he's going to marry."
+
+"Is he going to be married to Miss Helen Temple?" said Lady S----. "Who
+is he, pray? I hope a suitable match."
+
+"That I can't tell, for I don't know what she _has_," replied Lord
+George. "But Mountague can afford to do as he pleases--very good
+family--fine fortune."
+
+"Yes; old quiz made an excellent nurse to his estate," observed
+Dashwood; "he owes him some gratitude for that."
+
+"Is not he very young to settle in the world?" said Lady S----.
+
+"Young--yes--only a year older than I am," said Lord George; "but I knew
+he'd never be quiet till he got himself _noosed_."
+
+"I suppose he'll be at the ball to-night," said Lady Augusta, "and then
+we shall see something of him, perhaps. It's an age since we've seen
+the Miss Temples any where. I wonder whether there's any thing more
+than report, my lord, in this conquest of Miss Helen Temple? Had you the
+thing from good authority?"
+
+"Authority!" said Lord George; "I don't recollect my authority,
+faith!--somebody said so to me, I think. It's nothing to me, at any
+rate." Lady Augusta's curiosity, however, was not quite so easily
+satisfied as his lordship's; she was resolved to study Mr. Mountague
+thoroughly at the ball; and her habitual disposition to coquetry, joined
+to a dislike of poor Helen, which originated whilst they were children,
+made her form a strong desire to rival Helen in the admiration of this
+young gentleman of--"very good family and fine fortune." Her ladyship
+was just falling into a reverie upon this subject, when she was summoned
+to join the archeresses.
+
+The prize was a silver arrow. The ladies were impatient to begin--the
+green was cleared. Some of the spectators took their seats on benches
+under the trees, whilst a party of gentlemen stood by, to supply the
+ladies with arrows. Three ladies shot, but widely from the mark; a
+fourth tried her skill, but no applause ensued; a fifth came forward,
+a striking figure, elegantly dressed, who, after a prelude of very
+becoming diffidence, drew her bow, and took aim in the most graceful
+attitude imaginable.
+
+"Who is that beautiful creature?" exclaimed Mr. Mountague, with
+enthusiasm; and as the arrow flew from the bow, he started up, wishing
+it success.
+
+"The nearest, by six inches, that has been shot yet," cried Dashwood.
+"Here, sir! here!" said he to Mr. Mountague, who went up to examine the
+target, "this is Lady Augusta S----'s arrow, within the second circle,
+almost put out the bull's eye!" The clamour of applause at length
+subsiding, several other arrows were shot, but none came near to Lady
+Augusta's, and the prize was unanimously acknowledged to be hers.
+
+The silver arrow was placed on high over the mark, and several gentlemen
+tried to reach it in vain: Mr. Mountague sprung from the ground with
+great activity, brought down the arrow, and presented it, with an air of
+gallantry, to the fair victor.
+
+"My dear Helen," said Emma to her sister, in a low voice, "you are not
+well."
+
+"I!" replied Helen, turning quickly: "why! can you think me so mean as
+to--"
+
+"Hush, hush! you don't consider how loud you are speaking."
+
+"Am I?" said Helen, alarmed, and lowering her tone; "but then, why did
+you say I was not well?"
+
+"Because you looked so pale."
+
+"Pale! I'm sure I don't look pale," said Helen--"do I?"
+
+"Not now, indeed," said Emma, smiling.
+
+"Was not it an excellent shot?" said Mr. Mountague, returning to them;
+"but you were not near enough to see it; do come and look at it." Mrs.
+Temple rose and followed him.--"I can't say," continued he, "that I
+particularly admire lady archeresses; but this really is a surprising
+shot."
+
+"It really is a surprising shot," said Helen, looking at it quite at
+ease. But a moment afterwards she observed that Mr. Mountague's eyes
+were not intent upon the _surprising shot_, but were eagerly turned to
+another side of the green, where, illuminated by the rays of the setting
+sun, stood a beautiful figure, playing with a silver arrow, totally
+unconscious, as he imagined, either of her own charms or his
+admiration.--"Are you acquainted with Lady Augusta?" said Mr. Mountague.
+
+"Yes," said Mrs. Temple. "Are you?"
+
+"Not yet; but I have met her mother often in town--a silly, card-playing
+woman. I hope her daughter is as little like her in her mind as in her
+person." Here Mr. Mountague paused, for they had walked up quite close
+to the seemingly unconscious beauty.--"Oh, Mrs. Temple!" said she,
+starting, and then recovering herself, with an innocent smile--"is it
+you? I beg ten thousand pardons," and, offering a hand to Helen and
+Emma, seemed delighted to see them. Helen involuntarily drew back her
+hand, with as much coldness as she could without being absolutely rude.
+
+It was now late in the evening, and as the ball was to begin at ten,
+the ladies called for their carriages, that they might drive to their
+lodgings, in an adjacent town, to change their dress. In the crowd,
+Helen happened to be pretty close behind Lady S----, so close, that she
+could not avoid hearing her conversation.
+
+"Dear ma'am!" an elderly lady in black was saying to her, "I can assure
+you, your ladyship has been misinformed. I assure you, it is no such
+thing. He's a relation of the family--he has paid a long visit in
+this country, but then it is a parting visit to his uncle: he sets out
+immediately for Italy, I'm told. I assure you, your ladyship has been
+misinformed; he and his uncle are often at Mrs. Temple's; but depend
+upon it he has no thoughts of Miss Helen."
+
+These words struck Helen to the heart: she walked on, leaning upon her
+sister's arm, who fortunately happened to know where she was going. Emma
+helped her sister to recollect that it was necessary to get into the
+carriage when the step was let down. The carriage presently stopped with
+them at the inn, and they were shown to their rooms. Helen sat down, the
+moment she got up stairs, without thinking of dressing; and her mother's
+hair was half finished, when she turned round and said, "Why, Helen, my
+dear! you certainly will not be ready."
+
+"Shan't I, ma'am?" said Helen, starting up. "Is there any occasion that
+we should dress any more?"
+
+"Nay, my dear," said Mrs. Temple, laughing, "look in the glass at your
+hair; it has been blown all over your face by the wind."
+
+"It is a great deal of useless trouble," said Helen, as she began the
+duties of the toilette.
+
+"Why, Helen, this is a sudden fit of laziness," said her mother.
+
+"No, indeed, mamma; I'm not lazy. But I really don't think it signifies.
+Nobody will take notice how I am dressed, I dare say."
+
+"A sudden fit of humility, then?" said Mrs. Temple, still laughing.
+
+"No, ma'am; but you have often told us how little it signifies. When the
+ball is over, every thing about it is forgotten in a few hours."
+
+"Oh, a sudden fit of philosophy, Helen?"
+
+"No, indeed, mother," said Helen, sighing; "I'm sure I don't pretend to
+any philosophy."
+
+"Well, then, a sudden fit of caprice, Helen?"
+
+"No, indeed, ma'am!"
+
+"No, indeed, ma'am!" said Mrs. Temple, still rallying her.--Why, Helen,
+my dear, you have answered 'No, indeed, ma'am,' to every thing I've said
+this half hour."
+
+"No, indeed, mother," said Helen; "but I assure you, ma'am," continued
+she, in a hurried manner, "if you would only give me leave to explain--"
+
+"My dear child," said Mrs. Temple, "this is no time for explanations:
+make haste and dress yourself, and follow me down to tea." Mr. Mountague
+was engaged to drink tea with Mrs. Temple.
+
+How many reflections sometimes pass rapidly in the mind in the course of
+a few minutes!
+
+"I am weak, ridiculous, and unjust," said Helen to herself. "Because
+Lady Augusta won a silver arrow, am I vexed? Why should I be displeased
+with Mr. Mountague's admiring her? I will appear no more like a fool;
+and Heaven forbid I should become envious."
+
+As this last thought took possession of her mind, she finished dressing
+herself, and went with Emma down to tea. The well-wrought-up dignity
+with which Helen entered the parlour was, however, thrown away upon this
+occasion; for opposite to her mother at the tea-table there appeared,
+instead of Mr. Mountague, only an empty chair, and an empty teacup
+and saucer, with a spoon in it. He was gone to the ball; and when Mrs.
+Temple and her daughters arrived there, they found him at the bottom of
+the country dance, talking in high spirits to his partner, Lady Augusta,
+who, in the course of the evening, cast many looks of triumph upon
+Helen. But Helen kept to her resolution of commanding her own mind,
+and maintained an easy serenity of manner, which the consciousness of
+superior temper never fails to bestow. Towards the end of the night, she
+danced one dance with Mr. Mountague, and as he was leading her to her
+place, Lady Augusta, and two or three of her companions, came up, all
+seemingly stifling a laugh. "What is the matter?" said Helen. "Why, my
+dear creature," said Lady Augusta, who still apparently laboured under a
+violent inclination to laugh, and whispering to Helen, but so loud that
+she could distinctly be overheard--"you must certainly be in love."
+
+"Madam!" said Helen, colouring, and much distressed.
+
+"Yes; you certainly must," pursued Lady Augusta, rudely; for ladies of
+quality can be as rude, sometimes ruder, than other people. "Must
+not she, Lady Di.," appealing to one of her companions, and laughing
+affectedly--"must not she be either in love, or out of her senses? Pray,
+Miss Temple, put out your foot." Helen put out her foot.
+
+"Ay, that's the black one--well, the other." Now the other was white.
+The ill-bred raillery commenced. Helen, though somewhat abashed, smiled
+with great good humour, and walked on towards her seat. "What is the
+matter, my dear?" said her mother.
+
+"Nothing, madam," answered Mr. Mountague, "but that Miss Helen Temple's
+shoes are odd, and her temper--even." These few words, which might pass
+in a ball-room, were accompanied with a look of approbation, which made
+her ample amends for the pain she had felt. He then sat down by Mrs.
+Temple, and, without immediately adverting to any one, spoke with
+indignation of coquetry, and lamented that so many beautiful girls
+should be spoiled by affectation.
+
+"If they be spoiled, should they bear all the blame?" said Mrs. Temple.
+"If young women were not deceived into a belief that affectation
+pleases, they would scarcely trouble themselves to practise it so much."
+
+"Deceived!" said Mr. Mountague--"but is any body deceived by a person's
+saying, 'I have the honour to be, madam, your obedient, humble servant?'
+Besides, as to pleasing--what do we mean? pleasing for a moment, for a
+day, or for life?"
+
+"Pleasing for a moment," said Helen, smiling, "is of some consequence;
+for, if we take care of the moments, the years will take care of
+themselves, you know."
+
+"Pleasing for _one_ moment, though," said Mr. Mountague, "is very
+different, as you must perceive, from pleasing _every_ moment."
+
+Here the country dance suddenly stopped, and three or four couple were
+thrown into confusion. The gentlemen were stooping down, as if looking
+for something on the floor. "Oh, I beg, I insist upon it; you can't
+think how much you distress me!" cried a voice which sounded like Lady
+Augusta's. Mr. Mountague immediately went to see what was the matter.
+"It is only my bracelet," said she, turning to him. "Don't, pray don't
+trouble yourself," cried she, as he stooped to assist in collecting
+the scattered pearls, which she received with grace in the whitest hand
+imaginable. "Nay, now I must insist upon it," said she to Mr. Mountague,
+as he stooped again--"you shall not plague yourself any longer." And in
+her anxiety to prevent him from plaguing himself any longer, she laid
+upon his arm the white hand, which he had an instant before so much
+admired. Whether all Mr. Mountague's sober contempt of coquetry was,
+at this moment, the prevalent feeling in his mind, we cannot presume to
+determine; we must only remark, that the remainder of the evening was
+devoted to Lady Augusta; he sat beside her at supper, and paid her
+a thousand compliments, which Helen in vain endeavoured to persuade
+herself meant nothing more than--"I am, madam, your obedient, humble
+servant."
+
+"It is half after two," said Mrs. Temple, when she rose to go.
+
+"Half after two!" said Mr. Mountague, as he handed Mrs. Temple to her
+carriage--"bless me! can it be so late?"
+
+All the way home Emma and Mrs. Temple were obliged to support the
+conversation; for Helen was so extremely entertained with watching
+the clouds passing over the moon, that nothing else could engage her
+attention.
+
+The gossiping old lady's information respecting Mr. Mountague was as
+accurate as the information of gossips usually is found to be. Mr.
+Mountague, notwithstanding her opinion and sagacity, _had thoughts
+of Miss Helen Temple_. During some months which he had spent at his
+uncle's, who lived very near Mrs. Temple, he had had opportunities of
+studying Helen's character and temper, which he found perfectly well
+suited to his own; but he had never yet declared his attachment to her.
+Things were in this undecided situation, when he saw, and was struck
+with the beauty of Lady Augusta ----, at this archery-ball. Lord George
+---- introduced him to Lady S----; and, in consequence of a pressing
+invitation he received from her ladyship, he went to spend a few days at
+S---- Hall.
+
+"So Mr. Mountague is going to spend a week at S---- Hall, I find," said
+Mrs. Temple, as she and her daughters were sitting at work the morning
+after the archery-ball. To this simple observation of Mrs. Temple a
+silence, which seemed as if it never would be broken, ensued.
+
+"Helen, my dear!" said Mrs. Temple, in a soft voice.
+
+"Ma'am!" said Helen, starting.
+
+"You need not start so, my dear; I am not going to say any thing very
+tremendous. When you and your sister were children, if you remember, I
+often used to tell you that I looked forward, with pleasure, to the time
+when I should live with you as friends and equals. That time is come;
+and I hope, now that your own reason is sufficiently matured to be the
+guide of your conduct, that you do not think I any longer desire you to
+be governed by my _will_. Indeed," continued she, "I consider you as my
+equals in every respect but in _age_; and I wish to make that inequality
+useful to you, by giving you, as far as I can, that advantage, which
+only _age_ can give--experience."
+
+"You are very kind, dear mother," said Helen.
+
+"But you must be sensible," said Mrs. Temple, in a graver tone, "that it
+will depend upon yourselves, in a great measure, whether I _can_ be so
+much your friend as I shall wish."
+
+"Oh, mother," said Helen, "_be_ my friend! I shall never have a better;
+and, indeed, I want a friend," added she, the tears starting from her
+eyes. "You'll think me very silly, very vain. He never gave me any
+reason, I'm sure, to think so; but I did fancy that Mr. Mountague liked
+me."
+
+"And," said Mrs. Temple, taking her daughter's hand, "without being very
+silly or very vain, may not one sometimes be mistaken? Then you thought
+you had won Mr. Mountague's heart? But what did you think about your
+own? Take care you don't make another mistake (smiling). Perhaps you
+thought he never could win yours?"
+
+"I never thought much about that," replied Helen, "till yesterday."
+
+"And to-day," said Mrs. Temple--"what do you think about it to-day?"
+
+"Why," said Helen, "don't you think, mother, that Mr. Mountague has a
+great many good qualities?"
+
+"Yes; a great many good qualities, a great many advantages, and, amongst
+them, the power of pleasing you."
+
+"He would not think _that_ any advantage," said Helen; "therefore I
+should be sorry that he had it."
+
+"And so should I," said Mrs. Temple, "be very sorry that my daughter's
+happiness should be out of her own power."
+
+"It is the uncertainty that torments me," resumed Helen, after a pause.
+"One moment I fancy that he prefers _me_, the next moment I am certain
+he prefers another. Yesterday, when we were coming away from the green,
+I heard Mrs. Hargrave say to Lady S---- but why, mother, should I take
+up your time with these minute circumstances? I ought not to think any
+more about it."
+
+"Ought not!" repeated Mrs. Temple; "my dear, it is a matter of prudence,
+rather than duty. By speaking to your mother with so much openness, you
+secure her esteem and affection; and, amongst the goods of this life,
+you will find the esteem and affection of a mother worth having,"
+concluded Mrs. Temple, with a smile; and Helen parted from her mother
+with a feeling of gratitude, which may securely be expected from an
+ingenuous well-educated daughter, who is treated with similar kindness.
+
+No one was ready for breakfast the morning that Mr. Mountague arrived at
+S---- Hall, and he spent an hour alone in the breakfast-room. At length
+the silence was interrupted by a shrill female voice, which, as it
+approached nearer, he perceived to be the voice of a foreigner half
+suffocated with ineffectual desire to make her anger intelligible. He
+could only distinguish the words--"I ring, ring, ring, ay, twenty time,
+and nobody mind my bell nor me, no more dan noting at all." With a
+violent push, the breakfast-room door flew open, and Mlle.
+Panache, little expecting to find any body there, entered, volubly
+repeating--"Dey let me ring, ring, ring!" Surprised at the sight of a
+gentleman, and a young gentleman, she repented having been so loud
+in her anger. However, upon the second reconnoitring glance at
+Mr. Mountague, she felt much in doubt how to behave towards him.
+Mademoiselle boasted often of the well-bred instinct, by which she could
+immediately distinguish "_un homme comme il faut_" from any other; yet
+sometimes, like Falstaff's, her instinct was fallacious. Recollecting
+that Lady S---- had sent for an apothecary, she took it into her head
+that Mr. Mountague was this apothecary. "Miladi is not visible yet,
+sir," said she; "does she know you are here?"
+
+"I hope not, ma'am; for I should be very sorry she were to be disturbed,
+after sitting up so late last night."
+
+"Oh, dat will do her no harm, for I gave her, _pardonnez_, some
+excellent white wine whey out of my own head last night, when she got
+into her bed. I hope you don't make no objection to white wine whey,
+sir?"
+
+"I!--not in the least, ma'am."
+
+"Oh, I'm glad you don't disapprove of what I've done! You attend many
+family in dis country, sir?"
+
+"Madam!" said Mr. Mountague, taking an instant's time to consider what
+she could mean by _attend_.
+
+"You _visit_ many family in dis country, sir?" persisted mademoiselle.
+
+"Very few, ma'am; I am a stranger in this part of the world, except at
+Mrs. Temple's."
+
+"Madame Temple, ah, _oui_! I know her very well; she has two fine
+daughters--I mean when dey have seen more of de world. It's a great
+pity, too, dey have never had de advantage of a native, to teach de
+good pronunciation _de la langue Francaise_. Madame Temple will repent
+herself of dat when it is too late, as I tell her always. But, sir, you
+have been at her house. I am sorry we did not hear none of de family had
+been indisposed."
+
+"They are all now perfectly well, ma'am," replied Mr. Mountague,
+"except, indeed, that Mrs. Temple had a slight cold last week."
+
+"But she is re-establish by your _advise_, I suppose? and she--did she
+recommend you to miladi?"
+
+"No, madam," said Mr. Mountague, not a little puzzled by mademoiselle's
+phraseology: "Lord George ---- did me the honour to introduce me to Lady
+S----."
+
+"Ah, Milord George! are you a long time acquainted wid milord?"
+
+"Yes, ma'am, I have known Lord George many years."
+
+"Ah, many year!--you be de family physician, _apparemment_?"
+
+"The family physician! Oh no, ma'am!" said Mr. Mountague, smiling.
+
+"Eh!" said mademoiselle, "but dat is being too modest. Many take _de
+titre_ of physician, I'll engage, wid less pretensions. And," added she,
+looking graciously, "_absolument_, I will not have you call yourself de
+family _apothicaire_."
+
+At this moment Lord George came in, and shook his family apothecary
+by the hand, with an air of familiarity which astounded mademoiselle.
+"_Qu'est ce que c'est_?" whispered she to Dashwood, who followed his
+lordship: "is not dis his _apothicaire_?" Dashwood, at this question,
+burst into a loud laugh. "Mr. Mountague," cried he, "have you been
+prescribing for mademoiselle? she asks if you are not an apothecary."
+
+Immediately Lord George, who was fond of a joke, especially where there
+was a chance of throwing ridicule upon any body superior to him in
+abilities, joined most heartily in Dashwood's mirth; repeating the
+story, as "an excellent thing," to every one, as they came down to
+breakfast; especially to Lady Augusta, whom he congratulated, the moment
+she entered the room, upon her having danced the preceding evening with
+an apothecary. "Here he is!" said he, pointing to Mr. Mountague.
+
+"_Ma chere amie! mon coeur!_ tink of my mistaking your Mr. Mountague for
+such a sort of person! If you had only told me, sir, dat you were Miladi
+Augusta's partner last night, it would have saved me de necessity of
+making ten million apologies for my stupidity, dat could not find
+it out. _Ma chere amie! Mon coeur!_ Miladi Augusta, will you make my
+excuse?"
+
+"_Ma chere amie! mon coeur!_" repeated Mr. Mountague to himself: "is
+it possible that this woman can be an intimate friend of Lady Augusta?"
+What was his surprise, when he discovered that Mlle. Panache had been
+her ladyship's governess! He fell into a melancholy reverie for some
+moments. "So she has been educated by a vulgar, silly, conceited French
+governess!" said he to himself; "but that is her misfortune, not her
+fault. She is very young, and a man of sense might make her what he
+pleased." When Mr. Mountague recovered from his reverie, he heard the
+company, as they seated themselves at the breakfast-table, begin to talk
+over the last night's ball. "You did not tire yourself last night with
+dancing, my lord," said Dashwood.
+
+"No; I hate dancing," replied Lord George: "I wish the ladies would take
+to dancing with one another; I think that would be an excellent scheme."
+An aunt of his lordship, who was present, took great offence at this
+suggestion of her nephew. She had been used to the deference paid in
+former times to the sex; and she said she could not bear to see women
+give up their proper places in society. "Really, George," added she,
+turning to her nephew, "I wish you would not talk in this manner. The
+young men now give themselves the strangest airs. Lady S----, I will
+expose him; do you know, last night, he was lolling at his full length
+upon a bench in the ball-room, while three young handsome ladies were
+standing opposite to him, tired to death."
+
+"They could not be more tired than I was, I am sure, ma'am."
+
+"Why, you had not been dancing, and they had."
+
+"Had they, ma'am? that was not my fault. I did not ask 'em to dance, and
+I don't see it was my business to ask 'em to sit down. I did not know
+who they were, at any rate," concluded his lordship, sullenly.
+
+"You knew they were women, and as such entitled to your respect."
+
+Lord George gave a sneering smile, looked at Dashwood, and pulled up his
+boot.
+
+"Another thing--you were in the house three weeks with Miss Earl last
+summer; you met her yesterday evening, and you thought proper not to
+take the least notice of her."
+
+"Miss, Earl, ma'am; was she there?"
+
+"Yes, close to you, and you never even bowed to her."
+
+"I did not see her, ma'am."
+
+"Mrs. Earl spoke to you."
+
+"I didn't hear her, ma'am."
+
+"I told you of it at the moment."
+
+"I didn't understand you, ma'am."
+
+"Besides, ma'am," interposed Dashwood, "as to Miss Earl, if she meant
+that my lord should bow to her, she should have curtsied first to him."
+
+"Curtsied first to him!"
+
+"Yes, that's the rule--that's the thing now. The ladies are always to
+speak first."
+
+"I have nothing more to say, if that be the case. Lady Augusta, what say
+you to all this?"
+
+"Oh, that it's shocking to be sure!" said Lady Augusta, "if one thinks
+of it; so the only way is not to think about it."
+
+"An excellent bon-mot!" exclaimed Dashwood. "It's _thinking_ that spoils
+conversation, and every thing else."
+
+"But," added Lady Augusta, who observed that her bon-mot was not so much
+admired by all the company as by Dashwood, "I really only mean, that one
+must do as other people do."
+
+"_Assurement_," said mademoiselle; "not dat I approve of the want of
+gallantry in our gentlemen, neider. But, I tink, Mademoiselle Earl is
+as stiff as de poker, and I don't approve of dat, neider--_Je n'aime pas
+les prudes, moi_."
+
+"But, without prudery, may not there be dignity of manners?" said the
+old lady, gravely.
+
+"_Dignite!_--Oh, I don't say noting against _dignite_, neider; not but
+I tink de English reserve is _de trop_. I tink a lady of a certain
+rank has always good _principes_ enough, to be sure, and as to the rest
+_qu'importe?_--dat's my notions."
+
+Mr. Mountague looked with anxiety at Lady Augusta, to see what she
+thought of her governess's notions; but all that he could judge from
+her countenance was that she did not think at all. "Well, she has time
+enough before her to learn to think," said he to himself. "I am glad
+she did not assent to mademoiselle's _notions_, at least. I hope she has
+learnt nothing from her but '_the true French pronunciation_.'"
+
+No sooner was breakfast finished than Lord George ---- gave his
+customary morning yawn, and walked as usual to the window. "Come," said
+Dashwood, in his free manner--"come, mademoiselle, you must come down
+with us to the water-side, and Lady Augusta, I hope."
+
+"Ay," whispered Lord George to Dashwood, "and let's settle our wager
+about mademoiselle and my blackamore--don't think I'll let you off
+that."
+
+"Off!--I'm ready to double the bet, my lord," said Dashwood aloud,
+and in the same moment turned to mademoiselle with some high-flown
+compliment about the beauty of her complexion, and the dangers of going
+without a veil on a hot sunny day.
+
+"Well, Mr. Dashwood, when you've persuaded mademoiselle to take the
+veil, we'll set out, if you please," said Lady Augusta.
+
+Mr. Mountague, who kept his attention continually upon Lady Augusta,
+was delighted to see that she waited for the elderly lady, who, at
+breakfast, had said so much in favour of dignity of manners. Mr.
+Mountague did not, at this moment, consider that this elderly lady was
+Lord George's aunt, and that the attention paid to her by Lady Augusta
+might possibly proceed from motives of policy, not from choice. Young
+men of open tempers and generous dispositions are easily deceived by
+coquettes, because they cannot stoop to invent the meanness of their
+artifices. As Mr. Mountague walked down to the river, Lady Augusta
+contrived to entertain him so completely, that Helen Temple never once
+came into his mind; though he had sense enough to perceive his danger,
+he had not sufficient _courage_ to avoid it: it sometimes requires
+courage to fly from danger. From this agreeable _tete-a-tete_ he was
+roused, however, by the voice of Mlle. Panache, who, in an affected
+agony, was struggling to get away from Dashwood, who held both her
+hands--"No! no!--_Non! non!_ I will not--I will not, I tell you, I will
+not."
+
+"Nay, nay," said Dashwood; "but I have sworn to get you into the boat."
+
+"Ah! into de boat _a la bonne heure_; but not wid dat vilain black."
+
+"Well, then, persuade Lord George to send back his man; and you'll
+acknowledge, my lord, in that case it's a drawn bet," said Dashwood.
+
+"I! not I. I'll acknowledge nothing," replied his lordship; and he swore
+his black Tom should not be sent away: "he's a capital boatman, and I
+can't do without him."
+
+"Den I won't stir," said mademoiselle, passionately, to Dashwood.
+
+"Then I must carry you, must I?" cried Dashwood, laughing; and
+immediately, to Mr. Mountague's amazement, a romping scene ensued
+between this tutor and governess, which ended in Dashwood's carrying
+mademoiselle in his arms into the boat, amidst the secret derision
+of two footmen, and the undisguised laughter of black Tom, who were
+spectators of the scene.
+
+Mr. Mountague trembled at the thoughts of receiving a wife from the
+hands of a Mlle. Panache; but, turning his eye upon Lady Augusta, he
+thought she blushed, and this blush at once saved her, in his opinion,
+and increased his indignation against her governess. Mademoiselle being
+now alarmed, and provoked by the laughter of the servants, the dry
+sarcastic manner of Lord George, the cool air of Mr. Mountague, and the
+downcast looks of her pupil, suddenly turned to Dashwood, and in a high
+angry tone assured him, "that she had never seen nobody have so much
+assurance;" and she demanded, furiously--"how he could ever tink to take
+such liberties wid her? Only tell me how you could dare to tink of it?"
+
+"I confess I did not _think_ as I ought to have done, mademoiselle,"
+replied Dashwood, looking an apology to Lady Augusta, which, however, he
+took great care mademoiselle should not observe. "But your bet, my lord,
+if you please," added he, attempting to turn it off in a joke: "there
+was no scream--my bet's fairly won."
+
+"I assure you, sir, dis won't do: it's no good joke, I promise you.
+_Ma chere amie, mon coeur_," cried mademoiselle to Lady
+Augusta--"_viens_--come, let us go--Don't touch that," pursued she,
+roughly, to black Tom, who was going to draw away the plank that led
+to the shore. "I will go home dis minute, and speak to Miladi S----.
+_Viens! viens, ma chere amie!_"--and she darted out of the boat, whilst
+Dashwood followed, in vain attempting to stop her. She prudently,
+however, took the longest way through the park, that she might have a
+full opportunity of _listening to reason_, as Dashwood called it; and
+before she reached home, she was perfectly convinced of the expediency
+of moderate measures. "Let the thing rest where it is," said Dashwood:
+"it's a joke, and there's an end of it; but if you take it in earnest,
+you know the story might not tell so well, even if you told it, and
+there would never be an end of it." All this, followed by a profusion of
+compliments, ratified a peace, which the moment he had made, he
+laughed at himself for having taken so much trouble to effect; whilst
+mademoiselle rested in the blessed persuasion that Dashwood was
+desperately in love with her; nay, so little knowledge had she of the
+human heart as to believe that the scene which had just passed was a
+proof of his passion.
+
+"I wonder where's Miladi Augusta? I thought she was wid me all this
+time," said she.
+
+"She's coming; don't you see her at the end of the grove with Mr.
+Mountague? We have walked fast,"
+
+"Oh, she can't never walk so fast as me; I tink I am as young as she
+is."
+
+Dashwood assented, at the same time pondering upon the consequences
+of the attachment which he saw rising in Mr. Mountague's mind for Lady
+Augusta. If a man of sense were to gain an influence over her, Dashwood
+feared that all his hopes would be destroyed, and he resolved to use
+all his power over mademoiselle to prejudice her, and by her means to
+prejudice her pupil against this gentleman. Mademoiselle's having begun
+by taking him for an _apothicaire_, was a circumstance much in favour
+of Dashwood's views, because she felt herself pledged to justify, or at
+least to persist, in her opinion, that he did not look like _un homme
+comme il faut_.
+
+In the mean time Mr. Mountague was walking slowly towards them with Lady
+Augusta, who found it necessary to walk as slowly as possible, because
+of the heat. He had been reflecting very soberly upon her ladyship's
+late blush, which, according to his interpretation, said, as plainly as
+a blush could say, all that the most refined sense and delicacy could
+dictate. Yet such is, upon some occasions, the inconsistency of the
+human mind, that he by no means felt _sure_ that the lady had blushed at
+all. Her colour was, perhaps, a shade higher than usual; but then it was
+hot weather, and she had been walking. The doubt, however, Mr.
+Mountague thought proper to suppress; and the reality of the blush,
+once thoroughly established in his imagination, formed the foundation
+of several ingenious theories of moral sentiment, and some truly logical
+deductions. A passionate admirer of grace and beauty, he could not help
+wishing that he might find Lady Augusta's temper and understanding equal
+to her personal accomplishments. When we are very anxious to discover
+perfections in any character, we generally succeed, or fancy that we
+succeed. Mr. Mountague quickly discovered many amiable and interesting
+qualities in this fair lady, and, though he perceived some defects, he
+excused them to himself with the most philosophic ingenuity.
+
+"Affectation," the judicious Locke observes, "has always the laudable
+aim of pleasing:" upon this principle Mr. Mountague could not reasonably
+think of it with severity. "From the desire of pleasing," argued
+he, "proceeds not only all that is amiable, but much of what is most
+estimable in the female sex. This desire leads to affectation and
+coquetry, to folly and vice, only when it is extended to unworthy
+objects. The moment a woman's wish to please becomes discriminative, the
+moment she feels any attachment to a man superior to the vulgar herd,
+she not only ceases to be a coquette, but she exerts herself to excel in
+every thing that he approves, and, from her versatility of manners, she
+has the happy power of adapting herself to his taste, and of becoming
+all that his most sanguine wishes could desire." The proofs of this
+discriminative taste, and the first symptoms of this salutary attachment
+to a man superior to the vulgar herd, Mr. Mountague thought he discerned
+very plainly in Lady Augusta, nor did he ever forget that she was but
+eighteen. "She is so very young," said he to himself, "that it is but
+reasonable I should constantly consider what she may become, rather than
+what she is." To do him justice, we shall observe, that her ladyship at
+this time, with all the address of which so young a lady was capable,
+did every thing in her power to confirm Mr. Mountague in his favourable
+sentiments of her.
+
+Waiting for some circumstance to decide his mind, he was at length
+determined by the generous enthusiasm, amiable simplicity, and candid
+good sense which Lady Augusta showed in speaking of a favourite friend
+of hers, of whom he could not approve. This friend, Lady Diana, was one
+of the rude ladies who had laughed with so much ill-nature at Helen's
+white and black shoes at the archery ball. She was a dashing, rich,
+extravagant, fashionable widow, affecting bold horsemanlike manners, too
+often "touching the brink of all we hate," without exciting any passions
+allied to love. Her look was almost an oath--her language was suitable
+to her looks--she swore and dressed to the height of the fashion--she
+could drive four horses in hand--was a desperate huntress--and so
+loud in the praises of her dogs and horses, that she intimidated
+even sportsmen and jockeys. She talked so much of her favourite horse
+_Spanker_, that she acquired amongst a particular set of gentlemen the
+appellation of my Lady Di Spanker. Lady Augusta perceived that the soft
+affectations remarkable in her own manners were in agreeable contrast
+in the company of this masculine dame; she therefore cultivated her
+acquaintance, and Lady S---- could make no objection to a woman who was
+well received every where; she was rather flattered to see her daughter
+taken notice of by this dashing belle; consequently, Lady Di. Spanker,
+for by that name we also shall call her, frequently rode over from
+Cheltenham, which was some miles distant from S---- Hall. One morning
+she called upon Lady Augusta, and insisted upon her coming out to try
+her favourite horse. All the gentlemen went down immediately to assist
+in putting her ladyship on horseback: this was quite unnecessary, for
+Lady Diana took that office upon herself. Lady Augusta was all timidity,
+and was played off to great advantage by the rough raillery of her
+friend. At length she conquered her fears so much as to seat herself
+upon the side-saddle; her riding mistress gathered up the reins for
+her, and fixed them properly in her timid hands; then armed her with her
+whip, exhorting her, "for God's sake, not to be such a coward!" Scarcely
+was the word _coward_ pronounced, when Lady Augusta, by some unguarded
+motion of her whip, gave offence to her high-mettled steed, which
+instantly began to rear: there was no danger, for Mr. Mountague caught
+hold of the reins, and Lady Augusta was dismounted in perfect safety.
+"How now, Spanker!" exclaimed Lady Di., in a voice calculated to strike
+terror into the nerves of a horse--"how now, Spanker!" and mounting him
+with masculine boldness of gesture--"I'll teach you, sir, who's your
+mistress," continued she; "I'll make you pay for these tricks!"
+Spanker reared again, and Lady Di. gave him what she called "a complete
+dressing!" In vain Lady Augusta screamed; in vain the spectators
+entreated the angry amazon to spare the whip; she persisted in beating
+Spanker till she fairly mastered him. When he was perfectly subdued, she
+dismounted with the same carelessness with which she had mounted; and,
+giving the horse to her groom, pushed back her hat, and looked round for
+applause. Lord George, roused to a degree of admiration, which he had
+never before been heard to express for any thing female, swore that,
+in all his life, he had never seen any thing better done; and Lady Di.
+Spanker received his congratulations with a loud laugh, and a hearty
+shake of the hand. "Walk him about, Jack," added she, turning to the
+groom, who held her horse; "walk him about, for he's all in a lather;
+and when he's cool, bring him up here again. And then, my dear child,"
+said she to Lady Augusta, "you shall give him a fair trial."
+
+"I!--Oh! never, never!" cried Lady Augusta, shrinking back with a faint
+shriek: "this is a trial to which you must not put my friendship. I must
+insist upon leaving Spanker to your management; I would not venture upon
+him again for the universe."
+
+"How can you talk so like a child--so like a woman?" cried her friend.
+
+"I confess, I am a very woman," said Lady Augusta, with a sigh: "and I
+fear I shall never be otherwise."
+
+"_Fear_!" repeated Mr. Mountague, to whom even the affectation of
+feminine softness and timidity appeared at this instant charming, from
+the contrast with the masculine intrepidity and disgusting coarseness of
+Lady Diana Spanker's manners. The tone in which he pronounced the single
+word _fear_ was sufficient to betray his feelings towards both the
+ladies. Lady Di. gave him a look of sovereign contempt. "All I know and
+can tell you," cried she, "is, that fear should never get a-horseback."
+Lord George burst into one of his loud laughs. "But as to the rest,
+_fear_ may be a confounded good thing in its proper place; but they say
+it's catching; so I must run away from you, child," said she to Lady
+Augusta. "Jack, bring up Spanker. I've twenty miles to ride before
+dinner. I've no time to lose," pulling out her watch: "faith, I've
+fooled away an hour here; Spanker must make it up for me. God bless you
+all! Good bye!" and she mounted her horse, and galloped off full speed.
+
+"God bless ye! good bye to ye, Lady Di. Spanker," cried Dashwood, the
+moment she was out of hearing. "Heaven preserve us from amazons!" Lord
+George did not say, _Amen_. On the contrary, he declared she was a fine
+dashing woman, and seemed to have a great deal of blood about her. Mr.
+Mountague watched Lady Augusta's countenance in silence, and was much
+pleased to observe that she did not assent to his lordship's encomium.
+"She has good sense enough to perceive the faults of her new friend, and
+now her eyes are open she will no longer make a favourite companion, I
+hope, of this odious woman," thought he. "I am afraid, I am sadly afraid
+you are right," said Lady Augusta, going up to the elderly lady, whom
+we formerly mentioned, who had seen all that had passed from the open
+windows of the drawing-room. "I own I _do_ see something of what you
+told me the other day you disliked so much in my friend, Lady Di.;" and
+Lady Augusta gave the candid sigh of expiring friendship as she uttered
+these words.
+
+"Do you know," cried Dashwood, "that this spanking horsewoman has
+frightened us all out of our senses? I vow to Heaven, I never was so
+much terrified in my life as when I saw you, Lady Augusta, upon that
+vicious animal."
+
+"To be sure," said Lady Augusta, "it was very silly of me to venture; I
+almost broke my neck, out of _pure friendship_."
+
+"It is well it is no worse," said the elderly lady: "if a fall from a
+horse was the worst evil to be expected from a friendship with a woman
+of this sort, it would be nothing very terrible."
+
+Lady Augusta, with an appearance of ingenuous candour, sighed again,
+and replied--"It is so difficult to see any imperfections in those one
+loves! Forgive me, if I spoke with too much warmth, madam, the other
+day, in vindication of my friend. I own I ought to have paid more
+deference to your judgment and knowledge of the world, so much superior
+to my own; but certainly I must confess, the impropriety of her
+amazonian manners, as Mr. Dashwood calls them, never struck my partial
+eyes till this morning. Nor could I, nor would I, believe half the world
+said of her; indeed, even now, I am persuaded she is, in the main, quite
+irreproachable; but I feel the truth of what you said to me, madam, that
+young women cannot be too careful in the choice of their female friends;
+that we are judged of by our companions; how unfairly one must be
+judged of sometimes!" concluded her ladyship, with a look of pensive
+reflection.
+
+Mr. Mountague never thought her half so beautiful as at this instant.
+"How _mind_ embellishes beauty!" thought he; "and what quality of the
+mind more amiable than candour!--All that was wanting to her character
+was reflection; and could one expect so much reflection as this from a
+girl of eighteen, who had been educated by a Mlle. Panache?" Our readers
+will observe that this gentleman now reasoned like a madman, but
+not like a fool; his deductions from the appearances before him were
+admirable; but these appearances were false. He had not observed that
+Lady Augusta's eyes were open to the defects of her amazonian friend, in
+the very moment that Lord George ---- was roused to admiration by
+this horseman belle. Mr. Mountague did not perceive that the candid
+reflections addressed to his lordship's aunt were the immediate
+consequence of female jealousy.
+
+The next morning, at breakfast, Lord George was summoned three times
+before he made his appearance: at length he burst in, with a piece of
+news he had just heard from his groom--"That Lady Di. Spanker, in riding
+home full gallop the preceding day, had been thrown from her horse by an
+old woman. Faith, I couldn't believe the thing," added Lord George, with
+a loud laugh; "for she certainly sits a horse better than any woman in
+England; but my groom had the whole story from the grand-daughter of the
+old woman who was run over."
+
+"Run over!" exclaimed Lady Augusta; "was the poor woman run over?--was
+she hurt?"
+
+"Hurt! yes, she was hurt, I fancy," said Lord George. "I never heard of
+any body's being run over without being hurt. The girl has a petition
+that will come up to us just now, I suppose. I saw her in the back yard
+as I came in."
+
+"Oh! let us see the poor child," said Lady Augusta: "do let us have her
+called to this window." The window opened down to the ground, and, as
+soon as the little girl appeared with the petition in her hand, Lady
+Augusta threw open the sash, and received it from her timid hand with
+a smile, which to Mr. Mountague seemed expressive of sweet and graceful
+benevolence. Lady Augusta read the petition with much feeling, and her
+lover thought her voice never before sounded so melodious. She wrote
+her name eagerly at the head of a subscription. The money she gave was
+rather more than the occasion required; but, thought Mr. Mountague,
+
+     "If the generous spirit flow
+     Beyond where prudence fears to go
+     Those errors are of nobler kind,
+     Than virtues of a narrow mind[2]."
+
+[Footnote 2: Soame Jenyns.]
+
+By a series of petty artifices Lady Augusta contrived to make herself
+appear most engaging and amiable to this artless young man: but the
+moment of success was to her the moment of danger. She was little aware,
+that when a man of sense began to think seriously of her as a wife, he
+would require very different qualities from those which please in public
+assemblies. Her ladyship fell into a mistake not uncommon in her
+sex; she thought that "Love blinds when once he wounds the swain[3]."
+Coquettes have sometimes penetration sufficient to see what will please
+their different admirers: but even those who have that versatility of
+manners, which can be all things to all men, forget that it is possible
+to support an assumed character only for a time; the moment the
+immediate motive for dissimulation diminishes, the power of habit acts,
+and the real disposition and manners appear.
+
+[Footnote 3: Collius's Eclogues.]
+
+When Lady Augusta thought herself sure of her captive, and consequently
+when the power of habit was beginning to act with all its wonted
+force, she was walking out with him in a shrubbery near the house, and
+mademoiselle, with Mr. Dashwood, who generally was the gallant partner
+of her walks, accompanied them. Mademoiselle stopped to gather some fine
+carnations; near the carnations was a rose-tree. Mr. Mountague, as three
+of those roses, one of them in full blow, one half blown, and another a
+pretty bud, caught his eye, recollected a passage in Berkeley's romance
+of _Gaudentio di Lucca_. "Did you ever happen to meet with Gaudentio di
+Lucca? do you recollect the story of Berilla, Lady Augusta?" said he.
+
+"No; I have never heard of Berilla: what is the story?" said she.
+
+"I wish I had the book," said Mr. Mountague; "I cannot do it justice,
+but I will borrow it for you from Miss Helen Temple. I lent it to her
+some time ago; I dare say she has finished reading it."
+
+At these words, Lady Augusta's desire to have Gaudentio di Lucca
+suddenly increased; and she expressed vast curiosity to know the story
+of Berilla. "And pray what put you in mind of this book just now?" said
+she.
+
+"These roses. In Berkeley's Utopia, which he calls Mezzorania--(every
+philosopher, you know, Mr. Dashwood, must have a Utopia, under whatever
+name he pleases to call it)--in Mezzorania, Lady Augusta, gentlemen did
+not, as amongst us, make declarations of love by artificial words, but
+by natural flowers[4]. The lover in the beginning of his attachment
+declared it to his mistress by the offer of an opening bud; if she felt
+favourably inclined towards him, she accepted and wore the bud. When
+time had increased his affection--for in Mezzorania it is supposed that
+time increases affection for those that deserve it--the lover presented
+a half-blown flower; and, after this also was graciously accepted, he
+came, we may suppose not very long afterwards, with a full-blown flower,
+the emblem of mature affection. The ladies who accepted these full-blown
+flowers, and wore them, were looked upon amongst the simple Mezzoranians
+as engaged for life; nor did the gentlemen, when they offered their
+flowers, make one single protestation or vow of eternal love, yet they
+were believed, and deserved, it is said, to be believed."
+
+[Footnote 4: Gaudentio di Lucca, p. 202.]
+
+"_Qu'est ce que c'est? Qu'est ce que c'est?_" repeated mademoiselle
+several times to Dashwood, whilst Mr. Mountague was speaking: she did
+not understand English sufficiently to comprehend him, and Dashwood was
+obliged to make the thing intelligible to her in French. Whilst he
+was occupied with her, Mr. Mountague gathered three roses, a bud, a
+half-blown and a full-blown rose, and playfully presented them to Lady
+Augusta for her choice.--"I'm dying to see this Gaudentio di Lucca;
+you'll get the book for me to-morrow from Miss Helen Temple, will you?"
+said Lady Augusta, as she with a coquettish smile took the rose-bud, and
+put it into her bosom.
+
+"_Bon!_" cried mademoiselle, stooping to pick up the full-blown rose,
+which Mr. Mountague threw away carelessly. "_Bon!_ but it is great pity
+dis should be thrown away."
+
+"It is not thrown away upon Mlle. Panache!" said Dashwood.
+
+"Dat maybe," said mademoiselle; "but I observe, wid all your fine
+compliment, you let me stoop to pick it up for myself--_a l'Anglaise!_"
+
+"_A la Francaise_, then," said Dashwood, laughing, "permit me to put it
+into your nosegay."
+
+"Dat is more dan you deserve," replied mademoiselle.--"_Eh! non, non_.
+I can accommodate it, I tell you, to my own taste best." She settled
+and resettled the flower: but suddenly she stopped, uttered a piercing
+shriek, plucked the full-blown rose from her bosom, and threw it upon
+the ground with a theatrical look of horror. A black earwig now appeared
+creeping out of the rose; it was running away, but mademoiselle pursued,
+set her foot upon it, and crushed it to death. "Oh! I hope to Heaven,
+Mr. Mountague, there are none of these vile creatures in the bud you've
+given me!" exclaimed Lady Augusta. She looked at her bud as she spoke,
+and espied upon one of the leaves a small green caterpillar: with a look
+scarcely less theatrical than mademoiselle's, she tore off the leaf and
+flung it from her; then, from habitual imitation of her governess, she
+set her foot upon the harmless caterpillar, and crushed it in a moment.
+
+In the same moment Lady Augusta's whole person seemed metamorphosed to
+the eyes of her lover. She ceased to be beautiful: he seemed to see her
+countenance distorted by malevolence; he saw in her gestures disgusting
+cruelty; and all the graces vanished.
+
+When Lady Augusta was a girl of twelve years old, she saw Mlle. Panache
+crush a spider to death without emotion: the lesson on humanity was
+not lost upon her. From imitation, she learned her governess's foolish
+terror of insects; and from example, she was also taught that species of
+cruelty, by which at eighteen she disgusted a man of humanity who was in
+love with her. Mr. Mountague said not one word upon the occasion. They
+walked on. A few minutes after the caterpillar had been crushed, Lady
+Augusta exclaimed, "Why, mademoiselle, what have you done with Fanfan? I
+thought my dog was with us: for Heaven's sake, where is he?"
+
+"He is run, he is run on," replied mademoiselle.
+
+"Oh, he'll be lost! he'll run down the avenue, quite out upon the
+turnpike road.--Fanfan! Fanfan!"
+
+"Don't alarm, don't distress yourself," cried Dashwood: "if your
+ladyship will permit me, I'll see for Fanfan instantly, and bring her
+back to you, if she is to be found in the universe."
+
+"O Lord! don't trouble yourself; I only spoke to mademoiselle, who
+regularly loses Fanfan when she takes him out with her." Dashwood set
+out in search of the dog; and Lady Augusta, overcome with affectation,
+professed herself unable to walk one yard further, and sank down upon a
+seat under a tree, in a very graceful, languid attitude. Mr. Mountague
+stood silent beside her. Mademoiselle went on with a voluble defence
+of her conduct towards Fanfan, which lasted till Dashwood reappeared,
+hurrying towards them with the dog in his arms--"_Ah, la voila! chere_
+Fanfan!" exclaimed mademoiselle.
+
+"I am sure I really am excessively obliged to Mr. Dashwood, I must say,"
+cried Lady Augusta, looking reproachfully at Mr. Mountague.
+
+Dashwood now approached with panting, breathless eagerness, announcing
+a terrible misfortune, that Fanfan had got a thorn or something in his
+fore-foot. Lady Augusta received Fanfan upon her lap, with expressions
+of the most tender condolence; and Dashwood knelt down at her feet to
+sympathize in her sorrow, and to examine the dog's paw. Mademoiselle
+produced a needle to extract the thorn.
+
+"I wish we had a magnifying-glass," said Dashwood, looking with strained
+solicitude at the wound.
+
+"Oh, you insensible monster! positively you shan't touch Fanfan," cried
+Lady Augusta, guarding her lapdog from Mr. Mountague, who stooped now,
+for the first time, to see what was the matter. "Don't touch him, I say;
+I would not trust him to you for the universe; I know you hate lapdogs.
+You'll kill him--you'll kill him."
+
+"I kill him! Oh no," said Mr. Mountague; "I would not even kill a
+caterpillar."
+
+Lady Augusta coloured at these words; but she recovered herself when
+Dashwood laughed, and asked Mr. Mountague how long it was since he had
+turned brahmin; and how long since he had professed to like caterpillars
+and earwigs.
+
+"_Bon Dieu!_--earwig!" interrupted mademoiselle: "is it possible that
+monsieur or any body dat has sense, can like _dose_ earwig?"
+
+"I do not remember," answered Mr. Mountague, calmly, "ever to have
+professed any _liking_ for earwigs."
+
+"Well, _pity_; you profess pity for them," said Mr. Dashwood, "and pity,
+you know, is 'akin to love.'--Pray, did your ladyship ever hear of the
+man who had a pet toad?"[5]
+
+[Footnote 5: Vide Smellie's Natural History, vol. ii.]
+
+"Oh, the odious wretch!" cried Lady Augusta, affectedly; "but how could
+the man bring himself to like a toad?"
+
+"He began by _pitying_ him, I suppose," said Dashwood. "For my part, I
+own I must consider that man to be in a most enviable situation whose
+heart is sufficiently at ease to sympathize with the insect creation."
+
+"Or with the brute creation," said Mr. Mountague, smiling and looking
+at Fanfan, whose paw Dashwood was at this instant nursing with infinite
+tenderness.
+
+"Oh, gentlemen, let us have no more of this, for Heaven's sake!" said
+Lady Augusta, interposing, with affected anxiety, as if she imagined
+a quarrel would ensue. "Poor dear Fanfan, you would not have any body
+quarrel about you, would you, Fanfan?" She rose as she spoke, and,
+delivering the dog to Dashwood to be carried home, she walked towards
+the house, with an air of marked displeasure towards Mr. Mountague.
+
+Her ladyship's displeasure did not affect him as she expected. Her
+image--her gesture stamping upon the caterpillar, recurred to her
+lover's mind many times in the course of the evening; and in the silence
+of the night, and whenever the idea of her came into his mind, it was
+attended with this picture of active cruelty.
+
+"Has your ladyship," said Mr. Mountague, addressing himself to Lady
+S----, "any commands for Mrs. Temple? I am going to ride over to see her
+this morning."
+
+Lady S---- said that she would trouble him with a card for Mrs. Temple;
+a card of invitation for the ensuing week. "And pray don't forget my
+kindest remembrances," cried Lady Augusta, "especially to Miss Helen
+Temple; and if she should have entirely finished the book we were
+talking of, I shall be glad to see it."
+
+When Mr. Mountague arrived at Mrs. Temple's, he was shown into the usual
+sitting-room: the servant told him that none of the ladies were at home,
+but that they would soon return, he believed, from their walk, as they
+were gone only to a cottage at about half a mile's distance.
+
+The room in which he had passed so many agreeable hours awakened in his
+mind a number of dormant associations--work, books, drawing, writing! he
+saw every thing had been going forward just as usual in his absence. All
+the domestic occupations, thought he, which make _home_ delightful, are
+here: I see nothing of these at S---- Hall. Upon the table, near a
+neat work-basket, which he knew to be Helen's, lay an open book; it was
+Gaudentio di Lucca. Mr. Mountague recollected the bud he had given to
+Lady Augusta, and he began to whistle, but not for want of thought. A
+music-book on the desk of the piano-forte caught his eye; it was open at
+a favourite lesson of his, which he remembered to have heard Helen play
+the last evening he was in her company. Helen was no great proficient
+in music; but she played agreeably enough to please her friends, and she
+was not ambitious of exhibiting her accomplishments. Lady Augusta,
+on the contrary, seemed never to consider her accomplishments as
+occupations, but as the means of attracting admiration. To interrupt the
+comparison, which Mr. Mountague was beginning to enter into between her
+ladyship and Helen, he thought the best thing he could do was to walk
+to meet Mrs. Temple; wisely considering, that putting the body in motion
+sometimes stops the current of the mind. He had at least observed,
+that his schoolfellow, Lord George ----, seemed to find this a specific
+against thought; and for once he was willing to imitate his lordship's
+example, and to hurry about from place to place, without being in a
+hurry. He rang the bell, inquired in haste which way the ladies were
+gone, and walked after them, like a man who had the business of the
+nation upon his hands; yet he slackened his pace when he came near the
+cottage where he knew that he was to meet Mrs. Temple and her daughters.
+When he entered the cottage, the first object that he saw was Helen,
+sitting by the side of a decrepit old woman, who was resting her head
+upon a crutch, and who seemed to be in pain. This was the poor woman who
+had been ridden over by Lady Di. Spanker. A farmer who lived near Mrs.
+Temple, and who was coming homewards at the time the accident happened,
+had the humanity to carry the wretched woman to this cottage, which was
+occupied by one of Mrs. Temple's tenants. As soon as the news reached
+her, she sent for a surgeon, and went with her daughters to give that
+species of consolation which the rich and happy can so well bestow upon
+the poor and Miserable--the consolation not of gold, but of sympathy.
+
+There was no affectation, no ostentation of sensibility, Mr. Mountague
+observed, in this cottage scene; the ease and simplicity of Helen's
+manner never appeared to him more amiable. He recollected Lady Augusta's
+picturesque attitude, when she was speaking to this old woman's
+grand-daughter; but there was something in what he now beheld that gave
+him more the idea of nature and reality: he heard, he saw, that much had
+actually been _done_ to relieve distress, and done when there were no
+spectators to applaud or admire. Slight circumstances show whether the
+mind be intent upon self or not. An awkward servant girl brushed by
+Helen whilst she was speaking to the old woman, and with a great black
+kettle, which she was going to set upon the fire, blackened Helen's
+white dress, in a manner which no lady intent upon her personal
+appearance could have borne with patience. Mr. Mountague saw the black
+streaks before Helen perceived them, and when the maid was reproved for
+her carelessness, Helen's good-natured smile assured her "that there was
+no great harm done."
+
+When they returned home, Mr. Mountague found that Helen conversed with
+him with all her own ingenuous freedom, but there was something more of
+softness and dignity, and less of sprightliness, than formerly in
+her manner. Even this happened to be agreeable to him, for it was
+in contrast with the constant appearance of effort and artificial
+brilliancy conspicuous in the manners of Lady Augusta. The constant
+round of cards and company, the noise and bustle at S---- Hall, made it
+more like town than country life, and he had often observed that, in
+the intervals between dressing, and visiting, and gallantry, his fair
+mistress was frequently subject to _ennui_. He recollected that, in the
+many domestic hours he had spent at Mrs. Temple's, he had never beheld
+this French demon, who makes the votaries of dissipation and idleness
+his victims. What advantage has a man, in judging of female character,
+who can see a woman in the midst of her own family, "who can read her
+history" in the eyes of those who know her most intimately, who can
+see her conduct as a daughter and a sister, and in the most important
+relations of life can form a certain judgment from what she has been, of
+what she is likely to be? But how can a man judge what sort of wife he
+may probably expect in a lady, whom he meets with only at public places,
+or whom he never sees even at her own house, without all the advantages
+or disadvantages of _stage decoration_? A man who marries a showy,
+entertaining coquette, and expects that she will make him a charming
+companion for life, commits as absurd a blunder as that of the
+famous nobleman, who, delighted with the wit and humour of Punch at
+a puppet-show, bought Punch, and ordered him to be sent home for his
+private amusement.
+
+Whether all or any of these reflections occurred to Mr. Mountague during
+his morning visit at Mrs. Temple's we cannot pretend to say; but
+his silence and absence seemed to show that his thoughts were busily
+engaged. Never did Helen appear to him so amiable as she did this
+morning, when the dignity, delicacy, and simplicity of her manners were
+contrasted in his imagination with the caprice and coquetry of his
+new mistress. He felt a secret idea that he was beloved, and a sober
+certainty that Helen had a heart capable of sincere and permanent
+affection, joined to a cultivated understanding and reasonable
+principles, which would wear through life, and ensure happiness, with
+power superior to the magic of passion.
+
+It was with some difficulty that he asked Helen for Gaudentio di Lucca,
+and with yet greater difficulty that he took leave of her. As he was
+riding towards S---- Hall, "revolving in his altered mind the various
+turns of fate below," he was suddenly roused from his meditations by the
+sight of a phaeton overturned in the middle of the road, another phaeton
+and four empty, and a group of people gathered near a bank by the
+road-side. Mr. Mountague rode up as fast as possible to the scene of
+action: the overturned phaeton was Lord George's, the other Lady Di.
+Spanker's; the group of people was composed of several servants, Lord
+George, Lady Di., and mademoiselle, all surrounding a fainting fair one,
+who was no other than Lady Augusta herself. Lord George was shaking his
+own arms, legs, and head, to make himself sure of their safety. Lady Di.
+eagerly told the whole story to Mr. Mountague, that Lord George had been
+running races with her, and by his confounded bad driving had overturned
+himself and Lady Augusta. "Poor thing, she's not hurt at all, luckily;
+but she's terrified to death, as usual, and she has been going from one
+fainting fit to another."
+
+"_Bon Dieu!_" interrupted mademoiselle; "but what will Miladi S---- say
+to us? I wish Miladi Augusta would come to her senses."
+
+Lady Augusta opened her beautiful eyes, and, just come sufficiently
+to her senses to observe who was looking at her, she put aside
+mademoiselle's smelling-bottle, and, in a soft voice, begged to have her
+own salts. Mademoiselle felt in one of her ladyship's pockets for the
+salts in vain: Lady Di. plunged her hand into her other pocket, and
+pulled out, in the first place, a book, which she threw upon the bank,
+and then came out the salts. In due time the lady was happily restored
+to the full use of her senses, and was put into her mother's coach,
+which had been sent for to convey her home. The carriages drove away,
+and Mr. Mountague was just mounting his horse, when he saw the book
+which had been pulled out of Lady Augusta's pocket, and which, by
+mistake, was left where it had been thrown upon the grass. What was his
+astonishment, when upon opening it, he saw one of the very worst hooks
+in the French language; a book which never could have been found in the
+possession of any woman of delicacy--of decency. Her lover stood for
+some minutes in silent amazement, disgust, and, we may add, terror.
+
+These feelings had by no means subsided in his mind, when, upon his
+entering the drawing-room at S---- Hall, he was accosted by Mlle.
+Panache, who, with no small degree of alarm in her countenance, inquired
+whether he knew any thing of the book which had been left upon the road.
+No one was in the room but the governess and her pupil. Mr. Mountague
+produced the book, and Lady Augusta received it with a deep blush.
+
+"Put a good face upon the matter at least," whispered her governess in
+French.
+
+"I can assure you," said her ladyship, "I don't know what's in this
+book; I never opened it; I got it this morning at the circulating
+library at Cheltenham: I put it into my pocket in a hurry--pray what is
+it?"
+
+"If you have not opened it," said Mr. Mountague, laying his hand upon
+the book; "I may hope that you never will--but this is the _second_
+volume."
+
+"May be so," said Lady Augusta; "I suppose, in my hurry, I mistook--"
+
+"She never had the first, I can promise you," cried mademoiselle.
+
+"Never," said Lady Augusta. The assertions had not the power to
+convince; they were pronounced with much vehemence, but not with the
+simplicity of truth. Mr. Mountague was determined to have the point
+cleared up; and he immediately offered to ride back to Cheltenham, and
+return the second volume. At this proposal, Lady Augusta, who foresaw
+that her falsehood would be detected, turned pale; but mademoiselle,
+with a laugh of effrontery, which she thought was putting a good face
+upon the matter, exclaimed,
+
+"Eh! listen to me--you may spare yourself de trouble of your ride," said
+she, "for the truth is, I have de first volume. _Mon Dieu!_ I have not
+committed murder--do not look so shock--what signify what I read at my
+age?"
+
+"But Lady Augusta, your pupil!" said Mr. Mountague.
+
+"I tell you she has never read one word of it; and, after all, is she
+child now? When she was, Miladi S---- was very particular, and I, of
+consequence and of course, in de choice of her books; but now, _oder
+affaire_, she is at liberty, and my maxim is--_Tout est sain aux
+sains_."
+
+Mr. Mountague's indignation was now strongly raised against this odious
+governess, and he looked upon her pupil with an eye of compassion. "So
+early, so young, tainted by the pernicious maxims of a worthless woman!"
+
+"Eh, _donc_, what signify your silence and your salts?" cried
+mademoiselle, turning to her.
+
+"If I could be spared this scene at present," said Lady Augusta,
+faintly--"I really am not well. We had better talk over this business
+some other time, Mr. Mountague:" to this he acceded, and the lady gained
+more by her salts and silence than her governess did by her garrulous
+effrontery.
+
+When she talked over the business with Mr. Mountague, she threw all the
+blame upon mademoiselle, and she appeared extremely shocked and alarmed
+at the idea that she had lessened herself by her _folly_, as she called
+it, in the esteem of a man of superior sense and taste. It was perhaps
+possible that, at this moment of her life, her character might have
+taken a new turn, that she might really have been awakened to higher
+views and nobler sentiments than any she had ever yet known; but the
+baleful influence of her constant attendant and conductress prevailed
+against her _better self_. Mademoiselle continually represented to
+her, that she did not know or exert the whole of her power over Mr.
+Mountague; and she excited her to caprice and coquetry. The fate of
+trifling characters is generally decided by trifles: we must beg leave
+to relate the important history of a turban.
+
+Mlle. Panache, who piqued herself much upon her skill as a milliner,
+made up a certain turban for Lady Augusta, which Dashwood admired
+extremely, but which Mr. Mountague had the misfortune not to think
+perfectly beautiful. Vexed that he should dare to differ from her in
+taste, Lady Augusta could not rest without endeavouring to make him give
+up his opinion: he thought that it was not worth while to dispute about
+a trifle; and though he could not absolutely say that it was pretty, he
+condescended so far as to allow that it might perhaps be pretty, if it
+were put on differently.
+
+"This is the way I always wear it--every body wears it so--and I shall
+not alter it," said Lady Augusta, who was quite out of temper.
+
+Mr. Mountague looked grave: the want of temper was an evil which he
+dreaded beyond measure in a companion for life. Smiles and dimples
+usually adorned Lady Augusta's face; but these were artificial smiles:
+now passions, which one should scarcely imagine such a trifle could
+excite, darkened her brow, and entirely altered the air of her whole
+person, so as to make it absolutely disagreeable to her admirer. Lord
+George, who was standing by, and who felt delighted with such scenes,
+winked at Dashwood, and, with more energy than he usually expressed upon
+any subject, now pronounced that, in his humble opinion, the turban was
+quite the thing, and could not be better put on. Lady Augusta turned a
+triumphant, insulting eye upon Mr. Mountague: he was silent--his silence
+she took as a token of submission--in fact, it was an expression of
+contempt. The next day, at dinner, her ladyship appeared in the same
+turban, put on sedulously in the same manner. Lord George seated himself
+beside her; and as she observed that he paid her unusual attention, she
+fancied that at length his icy heart would thaw. Always more intent
+upon making cages[6], Lady Augusta bent her mind upon captivating a new
+admirer. Mr. Mountague she saw was displeased, but she now really
+felt and showed herself indifferent to his opinion. How variable, how
+wretched, is the life of a coquette! The next day Lord George's heart
+froze again as hard as ever, and Lady Augusta lightened upon the
+impassive ice in vain. She was mortified beyond measure, for her grand
+object was conquest. That she might triumph over poor Helen, she had
+taken pains to attract Mr. Mountague. Dashwood, though far beneath her
+ladyship in fortune and in station, she deemed worth winning, as a man
+of wit and gallantry. Lord George, to be sure, had little wit, and less
+gallantry; but he was Lord George, and that was saying enough. In short,
+Lady Augusta exacted tribute to her vanity without any discrimination,
+and she valued her treasures by number, and not by weight. A man of
+sense is mortified to see himself confounded with the stupid and the
+worthless.
+
+[Footnote 6: Swift]
+
+Mr. Mountague, after having loved like a madman, felt it not in the
+least incumbent upon him to love like a fool; he had imprudently
+declared himself an admirer of Lady Augusta, but he now resolved
+never to unite himself to her without some more reasonable prospect
+of happiness. Every day some petty cause of disagreement arose between
+them, whilst mademoiselle, by her silly and impertinent interference,
+made matters worse. Mademoiselle had early expressed her strong
+abhorrence of prudes; her pupil seemed to have caught the same
+abhorrence; she saw that Mr. Mountague was alarmed by her spirit of
+coquetry, yet still it continued in full force. For instance, she would
+continually go out with Lord George in his phaeton, though she declared,
+every time he handed her in, "that she was certain he would break her
+neck." She would receive verses from Dashwood, and keep them embalmed in
+her pocket-book, though she allowed that she thought them "sad stuff."
+
+However, in these verses something more was meant than met the ear. He
+began with addressing a poem to her ladyship, called The Turban, which
+her silly mother extolled with eagerness, and seemed to think by no
+means inferior to the Rape of the Lock. Lady Augusta wrote a few lines
+in answer to the Turban--reply produced reply--nonsense, nonsense--till
+Dashwood now and then forgot his poetical character. Lady Augusta
+forgave it; he, of course, forgot himself again into a lover in prose.
+For some time the sonnets were shown to Lady S----, but at length some
+were received, which it was thought as well not to show to any body. In
+short, between fancy, flattery, poetry, passion, jest, and earnest, Lady
+Augusta was drawn on till she hardly knew where she was; but Dashwood
+knew perfectly well where he was, and resolved to keep his ground
+resolutely.
+
+When encouraged by the lady's coquetry, he first formed his plans; he
+imagined that a promise of a wedding-present would easily secure her
+governess: but this was a slight mistake; avarice happened not to be
+the ruling, or, at least at this time, the reigning passion of
+mademoiselle's mind; and quickly perceiving his error, he paid assiduous
+court to her vanity. She firmly believed that she had captivated him,
+and was totally blind to his real designs. The grand difficulty with
+Dashwood was, not to persuade her of his passion, but to prevent her
+from believing him too soon; and he thought it expedient to delay
+completing his conquest of the governess till he had gained an equally
+powerful influence over her pupil. One evening, Dashwood, passing
+through a sheltered walk, heard Lady Augusta and Mr. Mountague talking
+very loudly and eagerly: they passed through the grove so quickly that
+he could catch only the words "phaeton--imprudence."
+
+"Pshaw! jealousy--nonsense."
+
+"Reasonable woman for a wife."
+
+"Pooh, no such thing."
+
+"My unalterable resolution," were the concluding words of Mr. Mountague,
+in a calm but decided voice; and, "As you please, sir! I've no notion of
+giving up my will in every thing," the concluding words of Lady Augusta
+pronounced in a pettish tone, as she broke from him; yet pausing for
+a moment, Dashwood, to his great surprise and concern, heard her in a
+softer tone add a _but_, which showed she was not quite willing to break
+from Mr. Mountague for ever. Dashwood was alarmed beyond measure; but
+the lady did not long continue in this frame of mind, for, upon going
+into her dressing-room to rest herself, she found her governess at the
+glass.
+
+"_Bon Dieu!_" exclaimed mademoiselle, turning round: "Miladi told me you
+was gone out--_mais qu'est ce que c'est? vous voila pale_--you are as
+white--_blanc comme mon linge_," cried she, with emphasis, at the same
+time touching a handkerchief, which was so far from white, that her
+pupil could not help bursting out into a laugh at the unfortunate
+illustration. "_Pauvre petite! tenez_," continued mademoiselle, running
+up to her with salts, apprehensive that she was going into fits.
+
+"I am not ill, thank you," said Lady Augusta, taking the smelling
+bottle.
+
+"But don't tell me dat," said mademoiselle: "I saw you walking out of de
+window wid dat man, and I know dis is some new _demele_ wid him. Come,
+_point de secret, mon enfant_. Has not he being giving you one good
+lecture?"
+
+"Lecture!" said Lady Augusta, rising with becoming spirit: "no,
+mademoiselle, I am not to be lectured by any body."
+
+"No, to be sure; dat is what I say, and, _surtout_, not by a lover.
+_Quel homme!_ why I would not have him to pay his court to me for all de
+world. Why, _pauvre petite_, he has made you look ten years older ever
+since he began to fall in love wid you. Dis what you call a lover in
+England? _Bon_, why, I know noting of de matter, if he be one bit in
+love wid you, _mon enfant_."
+
+"Oh, as to that, he certainly is in love with me: whatever other faults
+he has, I must do him that justice."
+
+"_Justice!_ Oh, let him have justice, _de tout mon caeur_; but I say, if
+he be a man in love, he is de oddest man in love I ever happen to see;
+he eat, drink, sleep, talk, laugh, _se possede tout comme un autre.
+Bon Dieu!_ I would not give noting at all _myself_ for such a sort of
+a lover. _Mon enfant_, dis is not de way I would wish to see you loved;
+dis is not de way no man ought for to dare for to love you."
+
+"And how ought I to be loved?" asked Lady Augusta, impatiently.
+
+"_La belle question!_ Eh! don't every body, de stupidest person in
+de world, know how dey ought to be love? _Mais passionnement,
+eperdument_--dere is a--a _je ne sais quoi_ dat infailliblement
+distinguish de true lover from de false."
+
+"Then," said Lady Augusta, "you really don't think that Mr. Mountague
+loves me?"
+
+"Tink!" replied mademoiselle, "I don't tink about it; but have not I
+said enough? Open your eyes; make your own _comparaisons_."
+
+Before Lady Augusta had made her comparisons, a knock at the door from
+her maid came to let her know that Lord George was waiting.
+
+"Ah! milord George! I won't keep you den: _va t'en_."
+
+"But now, do you know, it was only because I just said that I was going
+out with Lord George that Mr. Mountague made all this rout."
+
+"Den let him make his rout; _qu'importe? Miladi votre chere mere_ make
+no objections. _Quelle impertinence!_ If he was milord duc he could not
+give himself no more airs. _Va, man enfant_--Dis a lover! _Quel homme,
+quel tyran!_ and den, of course, when he grows to be a husband, he will
+be worserer and worserer, and badderer and badderer, when he grows to be
+your husband."
+
+"Oh," cried Lady Augusta, snatching up her gloves hastily, "my husband
+he shall never be, I am determined. So now I'll give him his _coup de
+grace_."
+
+"_Bon!_" said mademoiselle, following her pupil, "and I must not miss to
+be by, for I shall love to see dat man mortify."
+
+"You _are_ going then?" said Mr. Mountague, gravely, as she passed.
+
+"Going, going, going, gone!" cried Lady Augusta, who, tripping
+carelessly by, gave her hand to the sulky lord; then springing into the
+phaeton, said as usual--"I know, my lord, you'll break my neck;" at the
+same time casting a look at Mr. Mountague, which seemed to say--"I hope
+you'll break _your heart_, at least."
+
+When she returned from her airing, the first glance at Mr. Mountague's
+countenance convinced her that her power was at an end. She was not the
+only person who observed this. Dashwood, under his air of thoughtless
+gaiety, watched all that passed with the utmost vigilance, and he knew
+how to avail himself of every circumstance that could be turned to
+his own advantage. He well knew that a lady's ear is never so happily
+prepared for the voice of flattery as after having been forced to hear
+that of sincerity. Dashwood contrived to meet Lady Augusta, just after
+she had been mortified by her late admirer's total recovery of his
+liberty, and, seizing well his moment, pressed his suit with gallant
+ardour. As he exhibited all those signs of passion which her governess
+would have deemed unequivocal, the young lady thought herself justified
+in not absolutely driving him to despair.
+
+Where was Lady S---- all this time! Where?--at the card-table, playing
+very judiciously at whist. With an indolent security, which will be
+thought incredible by those who have not seen similar instances of folly
+in great families, she let every thing pass before her eyes without
+seeing it. Confident that her daughter, after having gone through the
+usual routine, would meet with some suitable establishment, that the
+settlements would then be the father's business, the choice of the
+jewels hers, she left her dear Augusta, in the meantime, to conduct
+herself; or, what was ten times worse, to be conducted by Mlle. Panache.
+Thus to the habitual indolence, or temporary convenience of parents,
+are the peace and reputation of a family secretly sacrificed. And we may
+observe, that those who take the least precaution to prevent imprudence
+in their children are most enraged and implacable when the evil becomes
+irremediable.
+
+In losing Mr. Mountague's heart, Lady Augusta's vanity felt a double
+pang, from the apprehension that Helen would probably recover her
+captive. Acting merely from the impulse of the moment, her ladyship was
+perfectly a child in her conduct; she seldom knew her own mind two hours
+together, and really did not foresee the consequences of any one of her
+actions. Half a dozen incompatible wishes filled her heart, or, rather,
+her imagination. The most immediate object of vanity had always the
+greatest power over her; and upon this habit of mind Dashwood calculated
+with security.
+
+In the pride of conquest, her ladyship had rejoiced at her mother's
+inviting Mrs. Temple and her daughters to an entertainment at S----
+Hall, where she flattered herself that Mr. Mountague would appear as her
+declared admirer. The day, alas! came; but things had taken a new turn,
+and Lady Augusta was as impatient that the visit should be finished,
+as she had been eager to have the invitation sent. Lady S---- was not
+precisely informed of all that was going on in her own house, as we
+have observed; and she was, therefore, a little surprised at the look of
+vexation with which her daughter heard that she had pressed Mrs. Temple
+to stay all night. "My dear," said Lady S----, "you know you can sleep
+in mademoiselle's room for this one night, and Miss Helen Temple will
+have yours. One should be civil to people, especially when one sees
+them but seldom." Lady Augusta was much out of humour with her mother's
+ill-timed civility; but there was no remedy. In the hurry of moving her
+things at night, Lady Augusta left in her dressing table drawer a letter
+of Dashwood's--a letter which she would not have had seen by Miss
+Helen Temple for any consideration. Our readers may imagine what her
+ladyship's consternation must have been, when, the next morning, Helen
+put the letter into her hand, saying, "There's a paper you left in your
+dressing-table, Lady Augusta." The ingenuous countenance of Helen, as
+she spoke, might have convinced any one but Lady Augusta that she
+was incapable of having opened this paper; but her ladyship judged
+otherwise: she had no doubt that every syllable of the letter had been
+seen, and that her secret would quickly be divulged. The company had not
+yet assembled at breakfast. She retired precipitately to her own room,
+to consider what could possibly be done in this emergency. She at length
+resolved to apply to Mr. Mountague for assistance; for she had seen
+enough of him to feel assured that he was a man of honour, and that she
+might safely trust him. When she heard him go down stairs to breakfast,
+she followed, and contrived to give him a note, which he read with no
+small degree of surprise.
+
+"How to apologize for myself I know not, nor have I one moment's time
+to deliberate. Believe me, I feel my sensibility and delicacy severely
+wounded; but an ill-fated, uncontrollable passion must plead my excuse.
+I candidly own that my conduct must appear to you in a strange light;
+but spare me, I beseech you, all reproaches, and pardon my weakness, for
+on your generosity and honour must I rely, in this moment of distress.
+
+"A letter of mine--a fatal letter from Dashwood--has fallen into the
+hands of Miss Helen Temple. All that I hold most dear is at her mercy. I
+am fully persuaded that, were she to promise to keep my secret, nothing
+on earth would tempt her to betray me; but I know she has so much the
+habit of speaking of every thing to her mother, that I am in torture
+till this promise is obtained. Your influence I must depend upon. Speak
+to her, I conjure you, the moment breakfast is over; and assure yourself
+of my unalterable gratitude.
+
+"AUGUSTA ----."
+
+The moment breakfast was over, Mr. Mountague followed Helen into the
+library; a portfolio, full of prints, lay open on the table, and as he
+turned them over, he stopped at a print of Alexander putting his seal
+to the lips of Hephaestion, whom he detected reading a letter over
+his shoulder. Helen, as he looked at the print, said she admired the
+delicacy of Alexander's reproof to his friend; but observed, that it was
+scarcely probable the seal should bind Hephsestion's lips.
+
+"How so?" said Mr. Mountague, eagerly.
+
+"Because," said Helen, "if honour could not restrain his curiosity, it
+would hardly secure his secrecy."
+
+"Charming girl!" exclaimed Mr. Mountague, with enthusiasm. Helen, struck
+with surprise, and a variety of emotions, coloured deeply. "I beg your
+pardon," said Mr. Mountague, changing his tone, "for being so abrupt.
+You found a letter of Lady Augusta's last night. She is in great, I am
+sure needless, anxiety about it."
+
+"Needless, indeed; I did not think it necessary to assure Lady Augusta,
+when I returned her letter, that I had not read it. I gave it her
+because I thought she would not like to have an open letter left where
+it might fall into the hands of servants. As she has mentioned this
+subject to you, I hope, sir, you will persuade her of the truth; you
+seem to be fully convinced of it yourself."
+
+"I am, indeed, fully convinced of your integrity, of the generosity, the
+simplicity of your mind. May I ask whether you formed any conjecture,
+whether you know whom that letter was from?"
+
+Helen, with an ingenuous look, replied--"Yes, sir, I did form a
+conjecture--I thought it was from you."
+
+"From me!" exclaimed Mr. Mountague. "I must undeceive you there: the
+letter was not mine. I am eager," continued he, smiling, "to undeceive
+you. I wish I might flatter myself this explanation could ever be half
+as interesting to you as it is to me. That letter was not mine, and I
+can never, in future, be on any other terms with Lady Augusta than those
+of a common acquaintance."
+
+Here they were interrupted by the sudden entrance of mademoiselle,
+followed by Dashwood, to whom she was talking with great earnestness.
+Mr. Mountague, when he had collected his thoughts sufficiently to think
+of Lady Augusta, wrote the following answer to her letter:--
+
+"Your ladyship may be perfectly at ease with respect to your note. Miss
+Helen Temple has not read it, nor has she, I am convinced, the slightest
+suspicion of its contents or its author. I beg leave to assure your
+ladyship, that I am sensible of the honour of your confidence, and
+that you shall never have any reason to repent of having trusted in my
+discretion. Yet permit me, even at the hazard of appearing impertinent,
+at the still greater hazard of incurring your displeasure, to express my
+most earnest hope that nothing will tempt you to form a connexion, which
+I am persuaded would prove fatal to the happiness of your future life. I
+am, with much respect, Your ladyship's obedient servant, F. MOUNTAGUE."
+
+Lady Augusta read this answer to her note with the greatest eagerness:
+the first time she ran her eye over it, joy, to find her secret yet
+undiscovered, suspended every other feeling; but, upon a second perusal,
+her ladyship felt extremely displeased by the cold civility of the
+style, and somewhat alarmed at the concluding paragraph. With no esteem,
+and little affection for Dashwood, she had suffered herself to imagine
+that her passion for him was _uncontrollable_.
+
+What degree of felicity she was likely to enjoy with a man destitute
+equally of fortune and principle, she had never attempted to calculate;
+but there was something awful in the words--"I earnestly hope that
+nothing will tempt you to form a connexion which would prove fatal
+to your future happiness." Whilst she was pondering upon these words,
+Dashwood met her in the park, where she was walking alone. "Why so
+grave?" exclaimed he, with anxiety.
+
+"I am only thinking--that--I am afraid--I think this is a silly
+business: I wish, Mr. Dashwood, you wouldn't think any more of it, and
+give me back my letters."
+
+Dashwood vehemently swore that her letters were dearer to him than life,
+and that the "last pang should tear them from his heart."
+
+"But, if we go on with all this," resumed Lady Augusta, "it will at
+least break my mother's heart, and mademoiselle's into the bargain;
+besides, I don't half believe you; I really--"
+
+"I really, what?" cried he, pouring forth protestations of passion,
+which put Mr. Mountague's letter entirely out of her head.
+
+A number of small motives sometimes decide the mind in the most
+important actions of our lives; and faults are often attributed to
+passion which arise from folly. The pleasure of duping her governess,
+the fear of witnessing Helen's triumph over her lover's recovered
+affections, and the idea of the bustle and eclat of an elopement, all
+mixed together, went under the general denomination of love!--Cupid is
+often blamed for deeds in which he has no share.
+
+"But," resumed Lady Augusta, after making the last pause of expiring
+prudence, "what shall we do about mademoiselle?"
+
+"Poor mademoiselle!" cried Dashwood, leaning back against a tree to
+support himself, whilst he laughed violently--"what do you think she is
+about at this instant?--packing up her clothes in a band-box."
+
+"Packing up her clothes in a band-box!"
+
+"Yes; she verily believes that I am dying with impatience to carry her
+off to Scotland, and at four o'clock to-morrow morning she trips down
+stairs out of the garden-door, of which she keeps the key, flies across
+the park, scales the gate, gains the village, and takes refuge with her
+good friend, Miss Lacy, the milliner, where she is to wait for me. Now,
+in the mean time, the moment the coast is clear, I fly to you, my _real_
+angel."
+
+"Oh, no, upon my word," said Lady Augusta, so faintly, that Dashwood
+went on exactly in the same tone.
+
+"I fly to you, my angel, and we shall be half way on our trip to
+Scotland before mademoiselle's patience is half exhausted, and before
+_Miladi_ S---- is quite awake."
+
+Lady Augusta could not forbear smiling at this idea; and thus, by an
+_unlucky_ stroke of humour, was the grand event of her life decided.
+
+Marmontel's well-known story, called _Heureusement_, is certainly not
+a moral tale: to counteract its effects, he should have written
+_Malheureusement_, if he could.
+
+Nothing happened to disconcert the measures of Lady Augusta and
+Dashwood.
+
+The next morning Lady S---- came down, according to her usual custom,
+late to breakfast. Mrs. Temple, Helen, Emma, Lord George, Mr. Mountague,
+&c., were assembled. "Has not mademoiselle made breakfast for us yet?"
+said Lady S----. She sat down, and expected every moment to see Mlle.
+Panache and her daughter make their appearance; but she waited in vain.
+Neither mademoiselle, Lady Augusta, nor Dashwood, were any where to
+be found. Every body round the breakfast-table looked at each other in
+silence, waiting the event. "They are out walking, I suppose," said Lady
+S----, which supposition contented her for the first five minutes; but
+then she exclaimed, "It's very strange they don't come back!"
+
+"Very strange--I mean rather strange," said Lord George, helping
+himself, as he spoke, to his usual quantity of butter, and then drumming
+upon the table; whilst Mr. Mountague, all the time, looked down, and
+preserved a profound silence.
+
+At length the door opened, and Mlle. Panache, in a riding habit, made
+her appearance. "_Bon jour, miladi! Bon jour!_" said she, looking round
+at the silent party, with a half terrified, half astonished countenance.
+"_Je vous demande mille pardons--Qu'est ce que c'est?_ I have only been
+to take a walk dis morning into de village to de milliner's. She has
+disappointed me of my tings, dat kept me waiting; but I am come back in
+time for breakfast, I hope?"
+
+"But where is my daughter?" cried Lady S----, roused at last from her
+natural indolence--"where is Lady Augusta?"
+
+"_Bon Dieu!_ Miladi, I don't know. _Bon Dieu!_ in her bed, I suppose.
+_Bon Dieu!_" exclaimed she a third time, and turned as pale as ashes.
+"But where den is Mr. Dashwood?" At this instant a note, directed to
+mademoiselle, was brought into the room: the servant said that Lady
+Augusta's maid had just found it upon her lady's toilette--mademoiselle
+tore open the note.
+
+"Excuse me to my mother--_you_ can best plead my excuse.
+
+"You will not see me again till I am
+
+'Augusta Dashwood.'"
+
+"_Ah scelerat! Ah scelerat! Il m'a trahi!_" screamed mademoiselle: she
+threw down the note, and sunk upon the sofa in real hysterics; whilst
+Lady S----, seeing in one and the same moment her own folly and her
+daughter's ruin, fixed her eyes upon the words "Augusta Dashwood," and
+fainted. Mr. Mountague led Lord George out of the room with him, whilst
+Mrs. Temple, Helen, and her sister, ran to the assistance of the unhappy
+mother and the detected governess.
+
+As soon as mademoiselle had recovered tolerable _composure_, she
+recollected that she had betrayed too violent emotion on this occasion.
+"_Il m'a trahi_," were words, however, that she could not recall; it was
+in vain she attempted to fabricate some apology for herself. No apology
+could avail: and whilst Lady S----, in silent anguish, wept for her own
+and her daughter's folly, the governess, in loud and gross terms,
+abused Dashwood, and reproached her pupil with having shown duplicity,
+ingratitude, and a _bad heart_.
+
+"A bad education!" exclaimed Lady S----, with a voice of mingled anger
+and sorrow. "Leave the room, mademoiselle; leave my house. How could
+I choose such a governess for my daughter! Yet, indeed," added her
+ladyship, turning to Mrs. Temple, "she was well recommended to me, and
+how could I foresee all this?"
+
+To such an appeal, at such a time, there was no reply to be made: it is
+cruel to point out errors to those who feel that they are irreparable;
+but it is benevolent to point them out to others, who have yet their
+choice to make.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE KNAPSACK [1]
+
+[Footnote 1: In the Travels of M. Beanjolin into Sweden, he mentions
+having, in the year 1790, met carriages laden with the knapsacks of
+Swedish soldiers, who had fallen in battle in Finland. These carriages
+were escorted by peasants, who were relieved at every stage, and thus
+the property of the deceased was conveyed from one extremity of the
+kingdom to the other, and faithfully restored to their relations. The
+Swedish peasants are so remarkably honest, that scarcely any thing is
+ever lost in these convoys of numerous and ill-secured packages.]
+
+
+
+_DRAMATIS PERSONAE_
+
+COUNT HELMAAR, _a Swedish Nobleman_. CHRISTIERN, _a Swedish Soldier_.
+ALEFTSON, _Count Helmaar's Fool_. THOMAS, _a Footman_.
+
+ELEONORA, _a Swedish Lady, beloved by Count Helmaar_. CHRISTINA,
+_Sister to Helmaar_. ULRICA, _an old Housekeeper_. CATHERINE, _Wife to
+Christiern_.
+
+KATE _and_ ULRIC, _the Son and Daughter of Catherine--they are six and
+seven years old_.
+
+_Serjeant, and a Troop of Soldiers, a Train of Dancers, a Page,
+Peasants, &c_.
+
+
+
+ACT I.
+
+
+SCENE--_A cottage in Sweden_.--CATHERINE, _a young and handsome woman,
+is sitting at her spinning wheel.--A little Boy and Girl, of six and
+seven years of age, are seated on the ground eating their dinner_.
+
+CATHERINE _sings, while she is spinning_.
+
+Haste from the wars, oh, haste to me, The wife that fondly waits for
+thee; Long are the years, and long each day, While my loved soldier's
+far away. Haste from the wars, &c.
+
+Lone ev'ry field, and lone the bow'r; Pleasant to me nor sun nor show'r:
+The snows are gone, the flow'rs are gay--Why is my life of life away?
+Haste from the wars, &c.
+
+_Little Girl_. When will father come home?
+
+_Little Boy_. When will he come, mother? when? To-day? to-morrow?
+
+_Cath_. No, not to-day, nor to-morrow, but soon, I hope, very soon; for
+they say the wars are over.
+
+_Little Girl_. I am glad of that, and when father comes home, I'll give
+him some of my flowers.
+
+_Little Boy (who is still eating)_. And I'll give him some of my bread
+and cheese, which he'll like better than flowers, if he is as hungry
+as I am, and that to be sure he will be, after coming such a long, long
+journey.
+
+_Little Girl_. Long, long journey! how long?--how far is father off,
+mother?--where is he?
+
+_Little Boy_. I know, he is in--in--in--in--in Finland? how far off,
+mother?
+
+_Cath_. A great many miles, my dear; I don't know how many.
+
+_Little Boy_. Is it not two miles to the great house, mother, where we
+go to sell our faggots?
+
+_Cath_. Yes, about two miles--and now you had best set out towards the
+great house, and ask Mrs. Ulrica, the housekeeper, to pay you the little
+bill she owes you for faggots--there's good children; and when you have
+been paid for your faggots, you can call at the baker's, in the village,
+and bring home some bread for to-morrow (_patting the little boy's
+head_)--you that love bread and cheese so much must work hard to get it.
+
+_Little Boy_. Yes, so I will work hard, then I shall have enough
+for myself and father too, when he comes. Come along--come (_to his
+sister_)--and, as we come home through the forest, I'll show you where
+we can get plenty of sticks for to-morrow, and we'll help one another.
+
+_Little Girl sings_.
+
+That's the best way, At work and at play, To help one another--I heard
+mother say--To help one another--I heard mother say--
+
+[_The children go off, singing these words_.]
+
+_Cath. (alone_.) Dear, good children, how happy their father will be to
+see them, when he comes back!--(_She begins to eat the remains of the
+dinner, which the children have left_.) The little rogue was so hungry,
+he has not left me much; but he would have left me all, if he had
+thought that I wanted it: he shall have a _good large bowl_ of milk for
+supper. It was but last night he skimmed the cream off his milk for me,
+because he thought I liked it. Heigho!--God knows how long they may have
+milk to skim--as long as I can work they shall never want; but I'm not
+so strong as I used to be; but then I shall get strong, and all will be
+well, when my husband comes back (_a drum beats at a distance_). Hark!
+a drum!--some news from abroad, perhaps--nearer and nearer (_she sinks
+upon a chair_)--why cannot I run to see--to ask (_the drum beats louder
+and louder_)--fool that I am! they will be gone! they will be all gone!
+(_she starts up_.)
+
+[_Exit hastily_.]
+
+SCENE _changes to a high road, leading to a village.--A party of ragged,
+tired soldiers, marching slowly. Serjeant ranges them_.
+
+_Serj_. Keep on, my brave fellows, keep on, we have not a great way
+further to go:--keep on, my brave fellows, keep on, through yonder
+village. (_The drum beats_.)
+
+[_Soldiers exeunt_.]
+
+_Serj_. (_alone_.) Poor fellows, my heart bleeds to see them! the sad
+remains, these, of as fine a regiment as ever handled a musket. Ah! I've
+seen them march quite another guess sort of way, when they marched,
+and I amongst them, to face the enemy--heads up--step firm--thus it
+was--quick time--march!--(_he marches proudly_)--My poor fellows, how
+they lag now (_looking after them_)--ay, ay, there they go, slower and
+slower; they don't like going through the village; nor I neither; for,
+at every village we pass through, out come the women and children,
+running after us, and crying, "Where's my father?--What's become of my
+husband?"--Stout fellow as I am, and a Serjeant too, that ought to know
+better, and set the others an example, I can't stand these questions.
+
+_Enter_ CATHERINE, _breathless_.
+
+_Cath_. I--I--I've overtaken him at last. Sir--Mr. Serjeant, one word!
+What news from Finland?
+
+_Serj_. The best--the war's over. Peace is proclaimed.
+
+_Cath. (clasping her hands joyfully_.) Peace! happy sound!--Peace! The
+war's over!--Peace!--And the regiment of Helmaar--(_The Serjeant appears
+impatient to get away_)--Only one word, good serjeant: when will the
+regiment of Helmaar be back?
+
+_Serj_. All that remain of it will be home next week.
+
+_Cath_. Next week?--But, all that _remain_, did you say?--Then many have
+been killed?
+
+_Serj_. Many, many--too many. Some honest peasants are bringing home the
+knapsacks of those who have fallen in battle. 'Tis fair that what little
+they had should come home to their families. Now, I pray you, let me
+pass on.
+
+_Cath_. One word more: tell me, do you know, in the regiment of Helmaar,
+one Christiern Aleftson?
+
+_Serj, (with eagerness_.) Christiern Aleftson! as brave a fellow, and as
+good as ever lived, if it be the same that I knew.
+
+_Cath_. As brave a fellow, and as good as ever lived! Oh, that's he! he
+is my husband--where is he? where is he?
+
+_Serj, (aside_.) She wrings my heart!--(_Aloud_)--He was--
+
+_Cath_. _Was!_
+
+_Serj_. He is, I hope, safe.
+
+_Cath_. You _hope!_--don't look away--I must see your face: tell me all
+you know.
+
+_Serj_. I know nothing for certain. When the peasants come with the
+knapsacks, you will hear all from them. Pray you, let me follow my men;
+they are already at a great distance.
+
+[_Exit Serj. followed by Catherine_.]
+
+_Cath_. I will not detain you an instant--only one word more--
+
+[_Exit_.]
+
+SCENE.--_An apartment in Count Helmaar's Castle.--A train of
+dancers.--After they have danced for some time,
+
+Enter a Page_.
+
+_Page_. Ladies! I have waited, according to your commands, till Count
+Helmaar appeared in the ante-chamber--he is there now, along with the
+ladies Christina and Eleonora.
+
+_1st Dancer_. Now is our time--Count Helmaar shall hear our song to
+welcome him home.
+
+_2nd Dancer_. None was ever more welcome.
+
+_3rd Dancer_. But stay till I have breath to sing.
+
+SONG.
+
+I.
+
+Welcome, Helmaar, welcome home; In crowds your happy neighbours come, To
+hail with joy the cheerful morn, That sees their Helmaar's safe return.
+
+II.
+
+No hollow heart, no borrow'd face. Shall ever Helmaar's hall disgrace:
+Slaves alone on tyrants wait; Friends surround the good and great.
+
+Welcome Helmaar, &c.
+
+_Enter_ ELEONORA, CHRISTINA, _and_ COUNT HELMAAR.
+
+_Helmaar_. Thanks, my friends, for this kind welcome.
+
+_1st Dancer (looking at a black fillet on Helmaar's head_). He has been
+wounded.
+
+_Christina_. Yes--severely wounded.
+
+_Helmaar_. And had it not been for the fidelity of the soldier who
+carried me from the field of battle, I should never have seen you more,
+my friends, nor you, my charming Eleonora. (_A noise of one singing
+behind the scenes_.)--What disturbance is that without?
+
+_Christina_. Tis only Aleftson, the fool:--in your absence, brother,
+he has been the cause of great diversion in the castle:--I love to play
+upon him, it keeps him in tune;--you can't think how much good it does
+him.
+
+_Helmaar_. And how much good it does you, sister:--from your childhood
+you had always a lively wit, and loved to exercise it; but do you waste
+it upon fools?
+
+_Christina_. I'm sometimes inclined to think this Aleftson is more knave
+than fool.
+
+_Eleon_. By your leave, Lady Christina, he is no knave, or I am much
+mistaken. To my knowledge, he has carried his whole salary, and all
+the little presents he has received from us, to his brother's wife and
+children. I have seen him chuck his money, thus, at those poor children,
+when they have been at their plays, and then run away, lest their mother
+should make them give it back.
+
+_Enter_ ALEFTSON, _the fool, in a fool's coat, fool's cap and bells,
+singing_.
+
+I.
+
+There's the courtier, who watches the nod of the great; Who thinks much
+of his pension, and nought of the state: When for ribands and titles his
+honour he sells--What is he, my friends, but a fool without bells?
+
+II.
+
+There's the gamester, who stakes on the turn of a die His house and
+his acres, the devil knows why: His acres he loses, his forests he
+sells--What is he, my friends, but a fool without bells?
+
+III.
+
+There's the student so crabbed and wonderful wise, With his plus and
+his minus, his x's and y's: Pale at midnight he pores o'er his magical
+spells--What is he, my friends, but a fool without bells?
+
+IV.
+
+The lover, who's ogling, and rhyming, and sighing, Who's musing, and
+pining, and whining, and dying: When a thousand of lies ev'ry minute he
+tells--What is he, my friends, but a fool without bells?
+
+V.
+
+There's the lady so fine, with her airs and her graces, With a face
+like an angel's--if angels have faces: She marries, and Hymen the vision
+dispels--What's her husband, my friends, but a fool without bells?
+
+_Christina, Eleonora, Helmaar, &c_.--Bravo! bravissimo!--excellent
+fool!--Encore.
+
+[_The fool folds his arms, and begins to cry bitterly_.]
+
+_Christina_. What now, Aleftson? I never saw you sad before--What's the
+matter?--Speak.
+
+[_Fool sobs, but gives no answer_.]
+
+_Helm_. Why do you weep so bitterly?
+
+_Aleft_. Because I am a fool.
+
+_Helm_. Many should weep, if that were cause sufficient.
+
+_Eleon_. But, Aleftson, you have all your life, till now, been a merry
+fool.
+
+_Fool_. Because always, till now, I was a fool, but now I am grown wise:
+and 'tis difficult, to all but you, lady, to be merry and wise.
+
+_Christina_. A pretty compliment; 'tis a pity it was paid by a fool.
+
+_Fool_. Who else should pay compliments, lady, or who else believe them?
+
+_Christina_. Nay, I thought it was the privilege of a fool to speak the
+truth without offence.
+
+_Fool_. Fool as you take me to be, I'm not fool enough yet to speak
+truth to a lady, and think to do it without offence.
+
+_Eleon_. Why, you have said a hundred severe things to _me_ within this
+week, and have I ever been angry with you?
+
+_Fool_. Never; for, out of the whole hundred, not one was true. But have
+a care, lady--fool as I am, you'd be glad to stop a fool's mouth with
+your white hand this instant, rather than let him tell the truth of you.
+
+_Christina_ (_laughing, and all the other ladies, except Eleonora,
+exclaim_)--Speak on, good fool; speak on--
+
+_Helm_. I am much mistaken, or the lady Eleonora fears not to hear the
+truth from either wise men or fools--Speak on.
+
+_Fool_. One day, not long ago, when there came news that our count there
+was killed in Finland--I, being a fool, was lying laughing, and thinking
+of nothing at all, on the floor, in the west drawing-room, looking at
+the count's picture--In comes the Lady Eleonora, all in tears.
+
+_Eleon_. (stopping his mouth.) Oh! tell any thing but _that_, good fool.
+
+_Helmaar_ (_kneels and kisses her hand_). Speak on, excellent fool.
+
+_Christina and ladies_. Speak on, excellent fool--In came the Lady
+Eleonora, all in tears.
+
+_Fool_. In comes the Lady Eleonora, all in tears--(_pauses and
+looks round_). Why now, what makes you all so curious about these
+tears?--Tears are but salt water, let them come from what eyes they
+will--my tears are as good as hers--in came John Aleftson, all in tears,
+just now, and nobody kneels to me--nobody kisses my hands--nobody cares
+half a straw for my tears--(_folds his arms and looks melancholy_). I am
+not one of those--I know the cause of my tears too well.
+
+_Helm_. Perhaps they were caused by my unexpected return--hey?
+
+_Fool_ (_scornfully_). No--I am not such a fool as that comes to. Don't
+I know that, when you are at home, the poor may hold up their heads,
+and no journeyman-gentleman of an agent dares then to go about plaguing
+those who live in cottages? No, no,--I am not such a fool as to cry
+because Count Helmaar is come back; but the truth is, I cried because I
+am tired and ashamed of wearing this thing--(_throwing down his fool's
+cap upon the floor, changes his tone entirely_)--_I!_--who am brother
+to the man who saved Count Helmaar's life--I to wear a fool's cap and
+bells--Oh shame! shame!
+
+[_The ladies look at one another with signs of astonishment._]
+
+_Christina_ (_aside_). A lucid interval--poor fool!--I will torment him
+no more--he has feeling--'twere better he had none.
+
+_Eleon_. Hush!--hear him!
+
+_Aleft_. (_throwing himself at the counts feet_). Noble count, I have
+submitted to be thought a fool; I have worn this fool's cap in your
+absence, that I might indulge my humour, and enjoy the liberty of
+speaking my mind freely to the people of all conditions. Now that you
+are returned, I have no need of such a disguise--I may now speak the
+truth without fear, and without a cap and bells.--I resign my salary,
+and give back the ensign of my office--(_presents the fool's cap_).
+
+[_Exit_.]
+
+_Christina_. He might well say, that none but fools should pay
+compliments--this is the best compliment that has been paid you,
+brother.
+
+_Eleon_. And observe, he has resigned his salary.
+
+_Helm_. From this moment let it be doubled:--he made an excellent use of
+money when he was a fool--may he make half as good a use of it now he is
+a wise man.
+
+_Christina_. Amen--and now I hope we are to have some more dancing.
+
+[_Exeunt_.]
+
+
+
+ACT II.
+
+
+SCENE--_By moonlight--a forest--a castle illuminated at a distance.--A
+group of peasants seated on the ground, each with a knapsack beside
+him.--One peasant lies stretched on the ground_.
+
+_1st Peasant_. Why, what I say is, that the wheel of the cart
+being broken, and the horse dead lame, and Charles there in that
+plight--(_points to the sleeping peasant_)--it is a folly to think of
+getting on further this evening.
+
+_2nd Peasant_. And what I say is, it's folly to sleep here, seeing I
+know the country, and am certain sure we have not above one mile at
+furthest to go, before we get to the end of our journey.
+
+_1st Peasant_ (_pointing to the sleeper_). He can't walk a mile--he's
+done for--dog tired--
+
+_3rd Peasant_. Are you _certain_ sure we have only one mile further to
+go?
+
+_2nd Peasant_. Certain sure--
+
+_All, except the sleeper and the 1st Peasant_. Oh, let us go on, then,
+and we can carry the knapsacks on our backs for this one mile.
+
+_1st Peasant_. You must carry him, then, knapsack and all.
+
+_All together_. So we will.
+
+_2nd Peasant_. But first, do you see, let's waken him; for a sleeping
+man's twice as heavy as one that's awake--Hollo, friend! waken!
+waken!--(_he shakes the sleeper, who snores loudly_)--Good Lord, he
+snores loud enough to waken all the birds in the wood.
+
+[_All the peasants shout in the sleeper's ear, and he starts up, shaking
+himself._]
+
+_Charles_. Am I awake?--(_stretching_.)
+
+_2nd Peasant_. No, not yet, man--Why, don't you know where you are? Ay;
+here's the moon--and these be trees; and--I be a man, and what do you
+call this? (_holding up a knapsack_.)
+
+_Charles_. A knapsack, I say, to be sure:--I'm as broad awake as the
+best of you.
+
+_2nd Peasant_. Come on, then; we've a great way further to go before you
+sleep again.
+
+_Charles_. A great way further! further to-night!--No, no.
+
+_2nd Peasant_. Yes, yes; we settled it all while you were fast
+asleep--You are to be carried, you and your knapsack.
+
+[_They prepare to carry him_.]
+
+_Charles_ (_starting up, and struggling with them_). I've legs to
+walk--I won't be carried!--I, a Swede, and be carried!--No! No!--
+
+_All together_. Yes! Yes!
+
+_Charles_. No! No!--(_he struggles for his knapsack, which comes untied
+in the struggle, and all the things fall out_.)--There, this comes of
+playing the fool.
+
+[_They help him to pick up the things, and exclaim,_]
+
+_All_. There's no harm done--(_throwing the knapsack over his
+shoulder_).
+
+_Charles_. I'm the first to march, after all.
+
+_Peasants_. Ay, in your sleep!
+
+[_Exeunt, laughing._]
+
+_Enter_ CATHERINE'S _two little Children_.
+
+_Little Girl_. I am sure I heard some voices this way--suppose it was
+the fairies!
+
+_Little Boy_. It was only the rustling of the leaves. There are no such
+things as fairies; but if there were any such, we have no need to fear
+them.
+
+_Little Boy sings_.
+
+     I.
+
+     Nor elves, nor fays, nor magic charm,
+     Have pow'r, or will, to work us harm;
+     For those who dare the truth to tell,
+     Fays, elves, and fairies, wish them well.
+
+     II.
+
+     For us they spread their dainty fare,
+     For us they scent the midnight air;
+     For us their glow-worm lamps they light,
+     For us their music cheers the night.
+
+_Little Girl sings_.
+
+I.
+
+     Ye fays and fairies, hasten here,
+     Robed in glittering gossamere;
+     With tapers bright, and music sweet,
+     And frolic dance, and twinkling feet.
+
+     II.
+
+     And, little Mable, let us view
+     Your acorn goblets fill'd with dew;
+     Nor warn us hence till we have seen
+     The nut-shell chariot of your queen:
+
+     III.
+
+     In which on nights of yore she sat,
+     Driven by her gray-coated gnat;
+     With spider spokes and cobweb traces,
+     And horses fit for fairy races.
+
+     IV.
+
+     And bid us join your revel ring,
+     And see you dance, and hear you sing:
+     Your fairy dainties let us taste,
+     And speed us home with fairy haste.
+
+_Little Boy_. If there were really fairies, and if they would give me my
+wish, I know what I should ask.
+
+_Little Girl._ And so do I--I would ask them to send father home before
+I could count ten.
+
+_Little Boy_. And I would ask to hear his general say to him, in the
+face of the whole army, "This is a brave man!" And father should hold up
+his head as I do now, and march thus by the side of his general.
+
+[_As the little Boy marches, he stumbles.]
+
+_Little Girl_. Oh! take care!--come, let us march home:--but stay, I have
+not found my faggot.
+
+_Little Boy_. Never mind your faggot; it was not here you left it.
+
+_Little Girl_. Yes, it was somewhere here, I'm sure, and I must find it,
+to carry it home to mother, to make a blaze for her before she goes to
+bed.
+
+_Little Boy_. But she will wonder what keeps us up so late.
+
+_Little Girl_. But we shall tell her what kept us. Look under those
+trees, will you, whilst I look here, for my faggot.--When we get home,
+I shall say, "Mother, do you know there is great news?--there's a great
+many, many candles in the windows of the great house, and dancing
+and music in the great house, because the master's come home, and the
+housekeeper had not time to pay us, and we waited and waited with our
+faggots; at last the butler--"
+
+_Little Boy_. Heyday!--What have we here?--a purse, a purse, a heavy
+purse.
+
+_Little Girl_. Whose can it be? let us carry it home to mother.
+
+_Little Boy_. No, no; it can't be mother's: mother has no purse full of
+money. It must belong to somebody at the great house.
+
+_Little Girl_. Ay, very likely to dame Ulrica, the housekeeper, for she
+has more purses and money than any body else in the world.
+
+_Little Boy_. Come, let us run back with it to her,--mother would tell
+us to do so, I'm sure, if she was here.
+
+_Little Girl_. But I'm afraid the housekeeper won't see us to-night.
+
+_Little Boy_. Oh, yes; but I'll beg, and pray, and push, till I get into
+her room.
+
+_Little Girl_. Yes; but don't push me, or I shall knock my head against
+the trees. Give me your hand, brother.--Oh, my faggot! I shall never
+find you.
+
+[_Exeunt_.]
+
+SCENE--Catherine's _Cottage_.
+
+CATHERINE, _spinning, sings_.
+
+     I.
+
+     Turn swift, my wheel, my busy wheel,
+     And leave my heart no time to feel;
+     Companion of my widow'd hour,
+     My only friend, my only dow'r.
+
+     II.
+
+     Thy lengthening thread I love to see,
+     Thy whirring sound is dear to me:
+     Oh, swiftly turn by night and day,
+     And toil for him that's far away.
+
+_Catherine_. Hark! here come the children. No, 'twas only the wind.
+What can keep these children so late?--but it is a fine moonlight
+night--they'll have brave appetites for their supper when they come
+back--but I wonder they don't come home.--Heigho! since their father
+has been gone, I am grown a coward--(_a knock at the door heard_)--Come
+in!--Why does every knock at the door startle me in this way?
+
+_Enter_ CHARLES, _with a knapsack on his back_
+
+_Charles_. Mistress! mayhap you did not expect to see a stranger at
+this time o' night, as I guess by the looks of ye--but I'm only a poor
+fellow, that has been a-foot a great many hours.
+
+_Cath_. Then, pray ye, rest yourself, and such fare as we have you're
+welcome to.
+
+[_She sets milk, &c., on a table. Charles throws himself into a chair,
+and flings his knapsack behind him_.]
+
+_Charles_. 'Tis a choice thing to rest one's self:--I say, mistress,
+you must know, I, and some more of us peasants, have come a many, many
+leagues since break of day.
+
+_Cath_. Indeed, you may well be tired--and where do you come from?--Did
+you meet, on your road, any soldiers coming back from Finland?
+
+_Charles (eats and speaks_). Not the soldiers themselves, I can't say as
+I did; but we are them that are bringing home the knapsacks of the poor
+fellows that have lost their lives in the wars in Finland.
+
+_Cath._ (during this speech of Charles, leans on the back of a chair.
+_Aside_) Now I shall know my fate.
+
+_Charles (eating and speaking)_. My comrades are gone on to the village
+beyond with their knapsacks, to get them owned by the families of them
+to whom they belonged, as it stands to reason and right. Pray, mistress,
+as you know the folks here-abouts, could you tell me whose knapsack this
+is, here, behind me? (_looking up at Catherine_.)--Oons, but how pale
+she looks! (_aside_). Here, sit ye down, do. (_Aside_) Why, I would not
+have said a word if I had thought on it--to be sure she has a lover now,
+that has been killed in the wars. (_Aloud_) Take a sup of the cold milk,
+mistress.
+
+_Catherine (goes fearfully towards the knapsack_). 'Tis his! 'tis my
+husband's!
+
+[_She sinks down on a chair, and hides her face with her hands_.]
+
+_Charles_. Poor soul! poor soul!--(_he pauses_.) But now it is not clear
+to me that you may not be mistaken, mistress:--these knapsacks be all
+so much alike, I'm sure I could not, for the soul of me, tell one from
+t'other--it is by what's in the inside only one can tell for certain.
+(_Charles opens the knapsack, pulls out a waistcoat, carries it towards
+Catherine, and holds it before her face_.)--Look ye here, now; don't
+give way to sorrow while there's hope left--Mayhap, mistress--look at
+this now, can't ye, mistress?
+
+[_Catherine timidly moves her hands from before her face, sees the
+waistcoat, gives a faint scream, and falls back in a swoon. The peasant
+runs to support her.--At this instant the back door of the cottage
+opens, and_ ALEFTSON _enters_.]
+
+_Aleft_. Catherine!
+
+_Charles_. Poor soul!--there, raise her head--give her air--she fell
+into this swoon at the sight of yonder knapsack--her husband's--he's
+dead. Poor creature!--'twas my luck to bring the bad news--what shall we
+do for her?--I'm no better than a fool, when I see a body this way.
+
+_Aleft_. (_sprinkling water on her face_.) She'll be as well as ever she
+was, you'll see, presently--leave her to me!
+
+_Charles_. There! she gave a sigh--she's coming to her senses.
+
+[_Catherine raises herself_.]
+
+_Cath_. What has been the matter?--(_She starts at the sight of
+Aleftson_.)--My husband!--no--'tis Aleftson--what makes you look so like
+him?--you don't look like yourself.
+
+_Aleft. (aside to the peasant_.) Take that waistcoat out of the way.
+
+_Cath_. (_looking round, sees the knapsack_.) What's there?--Oh, I
+recollect it all now.--(_To Aleftson_) Look there! look there! your
+brother! your brother's dead! Poor fool, you have no feeling.
+
+_Aleft_. I wish I had none.
+
+_Cath_. Oh, my husband!--shall I never, never see you more--never more
+hear your voice--never more see my children in their father's arms?
+
+_Aleft_. (_takes up the waistcoat, on which her eyes are fixed_.) But we
+are not sure this is Christiern's.
+
+_Charles (snatching it from him_). Don't show it to her again,
+man!--you'll drive her mad.
+
+_Aleft. (aside_.) Let me alone; I know what I'm about. (_Aloud_) 'Tis
+certainly like a waistcoat I once saw him wear; but perhaps--
+
+_Cath_. It is his--it is his--too well I know it--my own work--I gave it
+to him the very day he went away to the wars--he told me he would wear
+it again the day of his coming home--but he'll never come home again.
+
+_Aleft_. How can you be _sure_ of that?
+
+_Cath_. How!--why, am not I sure, too sure?--hey!--what do you mean?--he
+smiles!--have you heard any thing?--do you know any thing?--but he can
+know nothing--he can tell me nothing--he has no sense. (_She turns to
+the peasant_.) Where did you get this knapsack?--did you see--
+
+_Aleft_. He saw nothing--he knows nothing--he can tell you
+nothing:--listen to me, Catherine--see, I have thrown aside the dress of
+a fool--you know I had my senses once--I have them now as clear as ever
+I had in my life--ay, you may well be surprised--but I will surprise you
+more--Count Helmaar's come home.
+
+_Cath_. Count Helmaar!--impossible!
+
+_Charles_. Count Helmaar!--he was killed in the last battle, in Finland.
+
+_Aleft_. I tell ye, he was not killed in any battle--he is safe at
+home--I have just seen him.
+
+_Cath_. Seen him!--but why do I listen to him, poor fool! he knows not
+what he says--and yet, if the count be really alive--
+
+_Charles_. Is the count really alive? I'd give my best cow to see him.
+
+_Aleft_. Come with me, then, and in one quarter of an hour you _shall_
+see him.
+
+_Cath. (clasping her hands_.) Then there _is_ hope for me--Tell me, is
+there any news?
+
+_Aleft_. There is.
+
+_Cath_. Of my husband?
+
+_Aleft_. Yes--ask me no more--you must hear the rest from Count Helmaar
+himself--he has sent for you.
+
+_Cath. (springs forward_.) This instant let me go, let me hear--(_she
+stops short at the sight of the waistcoat, which lies in her
+passage_).--But what shall I hear?--there can be no good news for
+me--this speaks too plainly.
+
+[_Aleftson pulls her arm between his, and leads her away_.]
+
+_Charles_. Nay, master, take me, as you promised, along with you--I
+won't be left behind--I'm wide awake now--I must have a sight of Count
+Helmaar in his own castle--why, they'll make much of me in every cottage
+on my road home, when I can swear to 'em I've seen Count Helmaar alive,
+in his own castle, face to face--God bless him, he's _the poor man's
+friend_.
+
+[_Exeunt_.]
+
+SCENE--_The housekeeper's room in Count_ HELMAAR'S _Castle_.
+
+ULRICA _and_ CHRISTIERN.
+
+CHRISTIERN _is drawing on his boots_.--_Mrs_. ULRICA _is sitting at a
+tea-table making coffee_.
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_. Well, well; I'll say no more: if you can't stay to-night,
+you can't--but I had laid it all out in my head so cleverly, that you
+should stay, and take a good night's rest here, in the castle; then, in
+the morning, you'll find yourself as fresh as a lark.
+
+_Christiern_. Oh! I am not at all tired.
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_. Not tired! don't tell me that, now, for I know that you
+_are_ tired, and can't help being tired, say what you will--Drink this
+dish of coffee, at any rate--(_he drinks coffee_).
+
+_Christiern_. But the thoughts of seeing my Catherine and my little
+ones--
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_. Very true, very true; but in one word, I want to see the
+happy meeting, for such things are a treat to me, and don't come every
+day, you know; and now, in the morning, I could go along with you to the
+cottage, but you must be sensible I could not be spared out this night,
+on no account or possibility.
+
+_Enter Footman_.
+
+_Footman_. Ma'am, the cook is hunting high and low for the
+brandy-cherries.
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica._ Lord bless me! are not they there before those eyes of
+yours?--But I can't blame nobody for being out of their wits a little
+with joy such a night as this.
+
+[_Exit Footman_.]
+
+_Christiern_. Never man was better beloved in the regiment than Count
+Helmaar.
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_. Ay! ay! so he is every where, and so he deserves to be.
+Is your coffee good? sweeten to your taste, and don't spare sugar, nor
+don't spare any thing that this house affords; for, to be sure, you
+deserve it all--nothing can be too good for him that saved my master's
+life. So now that we are comfortable and quiet over our dish of coffee,
+pray be so very good as to tell me the whole story of my master's
+escape, and of the horse being killed under him, and of your carrying
+him off on your shoulders; for I've only heard it by bits and scraps, as
+one may say; I've seen only the bill of fare, ha! ha! ha!--so now pray
+set out all the good things for me, in due order, garnished and all;
+and, before you begin, taste these cakes--they are my own making.
+
+_Christiern (aside)_. 'Tis the one-and-twentieth time I've told the
+story to-day; but no matter. (_Aloud_) Why, then, madam, the long and
+the short of the story is--
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_. Oh, pray, let it be the _long_, not the _short_ of the
+story, if you please: a story can never be too long for my taste, when
+it concerns my master--'tis, as one may say, fine spun sugar, the longer
+the finer, and the more I relish it--but I interrupt you, and you eat
+none of my cake--pray go on--(_A call behind the scenes of Mrs. Ulrica!
+Mrs. Ulrica!_)--Coming!--coming!--patience.
+
+_Christiern_. Why, then, madam, we were, as it might be, here--just
+please to look; I've drawn the field of battle for you here, with
+coffee, on the table--and you shall be the enemy.
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_. I!--no--I'll not be the enemy--my master's enemy!
+
+_Christiern_. Well, I'll be the enemy.
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_. You!--Oh no, you sha'n't be the enemy.
+
+_Christiern_. Well, then, let the cake be the enemy.
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_. The cake--my cake!--no, indeed.
+
+_Christiern_. Well, let the candle be the enemy.
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_. Well, let the candle be the enemy; and where was my
+master, and where are you--I don't understand--what is all this great
+slop?
+
+_Christiern_. Why, ma'am, the field of battle; and let the coffee-pot be
+my master: here comes the enemy--
+
+_Enter Footman_.
+
+_Footman_. Mrs. Ulrica, more refreshments wanting for the dancers above.
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_. More refreshments!--more!--bless my heart, 'tis an
+_un_possibility they can have swallowed down all I laid out, not an hour
+ago, in the confectionary room.
+
+_Footman_. Confectionary room! Oh, I never thought of looking there.
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_. Look ye there, now!--why, where did you think of looking,
+then?--in the stable, or the cockloft, hey?--[_Exit Footman_.]--But I
+can't scold on such a night as this: their poor heads are all turned
+with joy; and my own's scarce in a more proper_er_ condition--Well,
+I beg your pardon--pray go on--the coffee-pot is my master, and the
+candle's the enemy.
+
+_Christiern_. So, ma'am, here comes the enemy full drive, upon Count
+Helmaar.
+
+[_A call without of Mrs. Ulrica! Mrs. Ulrica! Mrs. Ulrica!_]
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_. Mrs. Ulrica! Mrs. Ulrica!--can't you do without Mrs.
+Ulrica one instant but you must call, call--(_Mrs. Ulrica! Mrs.
+Ulrica!_)--Mercy on us, what do you want? I _must_ go for one instant.
+
+_Christiern_. And I _must_ bid ye a good night.
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_. Nay, nay, nay,--(_eagerly_)--you won't go--I'll be back.
+
+_Enter Footman_.
+
+_Footman_ Ma'am! Mrs. Ulrica! the key of the blue press.
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_. The key of the blue press--I had it in my hand just
+now--I gave it--I--(_looks amongst a bunch of keys, and then all round
+the room_)--I know nothing at all about it, I tell you--I must drink my
+tea, and I will--[_Exit Footman_]. 'Tis a sin to scold on such a night
+as this, if one could help it--Well, Mr. Christiern, so the coffee-pot's
+my master.
+
+_Christiern_. And the sugar-basin--why here's a key in the sugar-basin.
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_. Lord bless me! 'tis the very key, the key of the blue
+press--why dear me--(_feels in her pocket_)--and here are the sugar
+tongs in my pocket, I protest--where was my poor head? Hers, Thomas!
+Thomas! here's the key; take it, and don't say a word for your life, if
+you can help it; you need not come in, I say--(_she holds the door--the
+footman pushes in_).
+
+_Footman_. But, ma'am, I have something particular to say.
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_. Why, you've always something particular to say--is it any
+thing about my master?
+
+_Footman_. No, but about your purse, ma'am.
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_. What of my purse?
+
+_Footman_. Here's your little godson, ma'am, is here, who has found it.
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_ (_aside_). Hold your foolish tongue, can't you?--don't
+mention my little godson, for your life.
+
+[_The little boy creeps in under the footman's arm; his sister Kate
+follows him. Mrs. Ulrica lifts up her hands and eyes, with signs of
+impatience_.]
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_ (_aside_). Now I had settled in my head that their father
+should not see them till to-morrow morning.
+
+_Little Girl_. Who is that strange man?
+
+_Little Boy_. He has made me forget all I had to say.
+
+_Christiern_ (_aside_). What charming children!
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_ (_asid_). He does not know them to be his--they don't know
+him to be their father. (_Aloud_) Well, children, what brings you here
+at this time of night?
+
+_Little Boy_. What I was going to say was--(_the little boy looks at
+the stranger between every two or three words, and Christiern looks at
+him_)--what I was going to say was--
+
+_Little Girl_. Ha! ha! ha!--he forgets that we found this purse in the
+forest as we were going home.
+
+_Little Boy_. And we thought that it might be yours.
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_. Why should you think it was mine?
+
+_Little Boy_. Because nobody else could have so much money in one purse;
+so we brought it to you--here it is.
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_. 'Tis none of my purse. (_Aside_) Oh! he'll certainly find
+out that they are his children--(_she stands between the children and
+Christiern_). 'Tis none of my purse; but you are good, honest little
+dears, and I'll be hanged if I won't carry you both up to my master
+himself, this very minute, and tell the story of your honesty before all
+the company.
+
+[_She pushes the children towards the door. Ulric looks back._]
+
+_Little Boy_. He has a soldier's coat on--let me ask him if he is a
+soldier.
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_. No--what's that to you?
+
+_Little Girl_. Let me ask him if he knows any thing about father.
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_ (_puts her hand before the little girl's mouth_). Hold
+your little foolish tongue, I say--what's that to you?
+
+[_Exeunt, Mrs. Ulrica pushing forward the children._]
+
+_Enter, at the opposite door,_ THOMAS, _the footman._
+
+_Footman._ Sir, would you please to come into our servants'-hall, only
+for one instant: there's one wants to speak a word to you.
+
+_Christiern._ Oh, I cannot stay another moment: I must go home: who is
+it?
+
+_Footman_. 'Tis a poor man who has brought in two carts full of my
+master's baggage; and my master begs you'll be so very good as to see
+that the things are all right, as you know 'em, and no one else here
+does.
+
+_Christiern (with impatience)._ How provoking!--a full hour's work:--I
+sha'n't get home this night, I see that:--I wish the man and the baggage
+were in the Gulf of Finland. [_Exeunt._]
+
+SCENE--_The apartment where the_ COUNT, ELEONORA, CHRISTINA, _&c., were
+dancing._
+
+_Enter Mrs._ ULRICA, _eading the two children._
+
+_Christina._ Ha! Mrs. Ulrica, and her little godson.
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica._ My lady, I beg pardon for presuming to interrupt; but
+I was so proud of my little godson and his sister, though not my
+goddaughter, that I couldn't but bring them up, through the very midst
+of the company, to my master, to praise them according to their deserts;
+for nobody can praise those that deserve it so well as my master--to my
+fancy.
+
+_Eleonora_ (_aside_). Nor to mine.
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_. Here's a purse, sir, which this little boy and girl
+of mine found in the woods as they were going home; and, like honest
+children, as they are, they came back with it directly to me, thinking
+that it was mine.
+
+_Helmaar_. Shake hands, my honest little fellow--this is just what I
+should have expected from a godson of Mrs. Ulrica, and a son of--
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica (aside to the Count_). Oh, Lord bless you, sir, don't
+tell him--My lady--(_to Christina_)--would you take the children out of
+hearing?
+
+_Eleon_. (_to the children_). Come with us, my dears.
+
+[_Exeunt ladies and children._]
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_. Don't, sir, pray, tell the children any thing about their
+father: they don't know that their father's here, though they've just
+seen him; and I've been striving all I can to keep the secret, and to
+keep the father here all night, that I may have the pleasure of seeing
+the meeting of father and mother and children at their own cottage
+to-morrow. I would not miss the sight of their meeting for fifty pounds;
+and yet I shall not see it after all--for Christiern will go, all I can
+say or do. Lord bless me! I forgot to bolt him in when I came up with
+the children--the bird's flown, for certain--(_going in a great hurry_).
+
+_Helmaar_. Good Mrs. Ulrica, you need not be alarmed; your prisoner is
+very safe, I can assure you, though you forgot to bolt him in: I have
+given him an employment that will detain him a full hour, for I design
+to have the pleasure of restoring my deliverer myself to his family.
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_. Oh! that will be delightful!--Then you'll keep him here
+all night!--but that will vex him terribly; and of all the days and
+nights of the year, one wouldn't have any body vexed this day or night,
+more especially the man, who, as I may say, is the cause of all our
+illuminations, and rejoicings, and dancings--no, no, happen what will,
+we must not have him vexed.
+
+_Helmaar_. He shall not be vexed, I promise you; and, if it be necessary
+to keep your heart from breaking, my good Mrs. Ulrica, I'll tell you a
+secret, which I had intended, I own, to have kept from you one half hour
+longer.
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_. A secret! dear sir, half an hour's a great while, to
+keep a secret from one when it's about one's friends: pray, if it be
+proper--but you are the best judge--I should be very glad to hear just a
+little hint of the matter, to prepare me.
+
+_Helmaar_. Then prepare in a few minutes to see the happy meeting
+between Christiern and his family: I have sent to his cottage for his
+wife, to desire that she would come hither immediately.
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_. Oh! a thousand thanks to you, sir; but I'm afraid the
+messenger will let the cat out of the bag.
+
+_Helmaar_. The man I have sent can keep a secret--Which way did the Lady
+Eleonora go?--Are those peasants in the hall? [_Exit Count._]
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_ (_following_). She went towards the west drawing-room, I
+think, sir.--Yes, sir, the peasants are at supper in the hall. (_Aside_)
+Bless me! I wonder what messenger he sent, for I don't know many--men I
+mean--fit to be trusted with a secret. [_Exit_.]
+
+SCENE--_An apartment in Count_ HELMAAR'S
+_Castle_.--ELEONORA.--CHRISTINA.--_Little_ KATE _and_ ULRIC _asleep on
+the floor_.
+
+_Eleon_. Poor creatures! they were quite tired by sitting up so late: is
+their mother come yet?
+
+_Christina._ Not yet; but she will soon be here, for my brother told
+Aleftson to make all possible haste. Do you know where my brother
+is?--he is not among the dancers. I expected to have found him sighing
+at the Lady Eleonora's feet.
+
+_Eleon_. He is much better employed than in sighing at any body's
+feet; he is gone down into the great hall, to see and reward some
+poor peasants who have brought home the knapsacks of those unfortunate
+soldiers who fell in the last battle:--your good Mrs. Ulrica found out
+that these peasants were in the village near us--she sent for them, got
+a plentiful supper ready, and the count is now speaking to them.
+
+_Christina_. And can you forgive my ungallant brother for thinking of
+vulgar boors, when he ought to be intent on nothing but your bright
+eyes?--then all I can say is, you are both of you just fit for one
+another: every _fool_, indeed, saw that long ago.
+
+[_A cry behind the scenes of "Long line Count Helmaar! Long live the
+good count! long live the poor man's friend!_"]
+
+_Christina (joins the cry_). Long live Count Helmaar!--join me,
+Eleonora--long live the good count! long live the poor man's friend!
+
+[_The little children waken, start up, and stretch themselves_.]
+
+_Eleon_. There, you have wakened these poor children.
+
+_Ulric_. What's the matter? I dreamed father was shaking hands with me.
+
+_Enter Mrs_. ULRICA.
+
+_Little Kate_. Mrs. Ulrica! where am I? I thought I was in my little bed
+at home--I was dreaming about a purse, I believe.
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_. Was it about this purse you were dreaming?--(_shows the
+purse which the children found in the wood_)--Come, take it into your
+little hands, and waken and rouse yourselves, for you must come and
+give this purse back to the rightful owner; I've found him out for
+you--(_Aside to Christina and Eleonora_). And now, ladies, if you please
+to go up into the gallery, you'll see something worth looking at.
+
+[_Exeunt_.]
+
+SCENE--_A hall in Count_ HELMAAR'S _Castle.--Peasants rising from supper
+in the back scene_.
+
+_1st Peasant_. Here's a health to the poor man's friend; and may
+every poor man, every poor honest man--and there are none other in
+Sweden--find as good a friend as Count Helmaar.
+
+_Enter_ CHARLES, _eagerly_.
+
+_Charles_. Count Helmaar! is he here?
+
+_Omnes_. Heyday! Charles, the sleeper, broad awake! or is he walking in
+his sleep?
+
+_Charles_. Where's Count Helmaar, I say?--I'd walk in my sleep, or any
+way, to get a sight of him.
+
+_1st Peasant_. Hush! stand back!--here's some of the quality coming, who
+are not thinking of you.
+
+[_The peasants all retire to the back scene. Count_ HELMAAR, CHRISTINA,
+_and_ ELEONORA, _appear, looking from a gallery. Enter_ ALEFTSON _and_
+CATHERINE _at one door, Mrs._ ULRICA _at the opposite door, with_
+CHRISTIERN, _followed by the two children._]
+
+_Cath._ (_springs forward_.) Christiern! my husband! alive!--is it a
+dream?
+
+_Christiern_ (_embracing her_). Your own Christiern, dearest Catherine.
+
+[_The children clap their hands, and run to their father._]
+
+_Ulric._ Why, I thought he was my father; only he did not shake hands
+with me.
+
+_Kate._ And Mrs. Ulrica hid me hold my tongue.
+
+_Christiern._ My Ulric! my little Kate!
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica._ Ay, my little Kate, you may speak now as much as you
+will.--(_Their father kisses them eagerly._)--Ay, kiss them, kiss them;
+they are as good children as ever were born--and as honest: Kate, show
+him the purse, and ask him if it be his.
+
+_Kate._ Is it yours, father?--(_holds up the purse_).
+
+_Christiern._ 'Tis mine; 'twas in my knapsack; but how it came here,
+Heaven knows.
+
+_Ulric._ We found it in the wood, father, as we were going home, just at
+the foot of a tree.
+
+_Charles_ (_comes forward_). Why, mayhap, now I recollect, I might
+have dropped it there--more shame for me, or rather more shame for
+them--(_looking back at his companions_)--that were playing the fool
+with me, and tumbled out all the things on the ground. Master, I hope
+there's no harm done: we poor peasant fellows have brought home all the
+other knapsacks safe and sound to the relations of them that died; and
+yours came by mistake, it seems.
+
+_Christiern._ It's a very lucky mistake; for I wouldn't have lost a
+waistcoat which there is in that knapsack for all the waistcoats in
+Sweden. My Catherine, 'twas that which you gave me the day before I went
+abroad--do you remember it?
+
+_Charles._ Ay, that she does; it had like to have been the death of
+her--for she thought you must be dead for certain when he saw it brought
+home without you--but I knew he was not ead, mistress--did not I tell
+you, mistress, not to give way to sorrow while there was hope left?
+
+_Cath_. O joy! joy!--too much joy!
+
+_Aleft_. Now are you sorry you came with me when I bade you?--but I'm a
+fool!--I'm a fool!
+
+_Ulric_. But where's the cap and coat you used to wear?
+
+_Kate_. You are quite another man, uncle.
+
+_Aleft_. The same man, niece, only in another coat.
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica (laughing)_. How they stare!----Well, Christiern, you are
+not angry with my master and me for keeping you now?--but angry or not,
+I don't care, for I wouldn't have missed seeing this meeting for any
+thing in the whole world.
+
+_Enter Count_ HELMAAR, ELEONOKA, _and_ CHRISTINA.
+
+_Christina_. Nor I.
+
+_Eleon_. Nor I.
+
+_Helmaar_. Nor I.
+
+_The Peasants_. Nor any of us
+
+_Helmaar (to little Ulric)_. My honest little boy, is that the purse
+which you found in the wood?
+
+_Ulric_. Yes, and it's my own father's.
+
+_Helmaar_. And how much money is there in it?
+
+[_The child opens the purse, and spreads the money on the floor_.]
+
+_Ulric (to Mrs. Ulrica)_. Count you, for I can't count so much.
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica (counts)_. Eight ducats, five rixdollars, and let me see
+how many--sixteen carolines[2]:--'twould have been pity, Catherine, to
+have lost all this treasure, which Christiern has saved for you.
+
+[Footnote 2: A rixdollar is 4s. 6d. sterling; two rixdollars are equal
+in value to a ducat; a caroline is 1s. 2d.]
+
+_Helmaar_. Catherine, I beg that all the money in this purse may be
+given to these honest peasants. (_To Kate_) Here, take it to them, my
+little modest girl. As for you and your children, Catherine, you may
+depend upon it that I will not neglect to make you easy in the world:
+your own good conduct, and the excellent manner in which you have
+brought up these children, would incline me to serve you, even if your
+husband had not saved my life.
+
+_Cath_. Christiern, my dear husband, and did _you_ save Count Helmaar's
+life?
+
+_Mrs. Ulrica_. Ay, that he did.
+
+_Cath_. (_embracing him_.) I am the happiest wife, and--(_turning to
+kiss her children_)--the happiest mother upon earth.
+
+_Charles_ (_staring up in Count Helmaar's face_). God bless him! I've
+seen him face to face at last; and now I wish in my heart I could see
+his wife.
+
+_Christina_. And so do I most sincerely: my dear brother, who has been
+all his life labouring for the happiness of others, should now surely
+think of making himself happy.
+
+_Eleonora_ (_giving her hand to Helmaar_). No, leave that to me, for I
+shall think of nothing else all my life.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Tales And Novels, Volume 1 (of 10), by
+Maria Edgeworth
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