joined by the mother and daughter, at their return from the play. And now they all spent a very ehearful evening together; for all but Jones were heartily merry, and even he put on as much conftrained mirth as poffible. Indeed half his natural flow of animal fpirits, joined to the sweetness of his temper, was fufficient to make a most amiable companion; and notwithstanding the heaviness of his heart, fo agreeable did he make himself on the prefent occafion, that at their breaking up the young gentleman earnestly defired his further acquaint ance. Mifs Nancy was well pleased with him; and the widow, quite charmed with her new lodger, invited him with the other, next morning to breakfast.

JONES on his part was no lefs fatisfied. As for Miis Nancy, though a very little creature, fhe was extremely pretty, and the widow had all the charms which can adorn a woman near fifty. As fhe was one of the most innocent creatures in the world, fo she was one of the most chearful. She never thought, nor fpoke, nor wished any ill, and had constantly that defire of pleafing, which may be cailed the hap piest of all defires in this, that it scarce ever fails of attaining its ends, when not difgraced by affecta tion. In fhort, though her power was very fmall, fhe was in her heart one of the warmest friends. She had been a most affectionate wife, and was a moft fond and tender mother.

As our history doth not, like a newspaper, give great characters to people who were never heard of before, nor will ever be heard of again; the reader may hence conclude, that this excellent woman will hereafter appear to be of fome importance in our history.

NOR was Jones a little pleafed with the young gentleman himself, whose wine he had been drinking. He thought he difcerned in him much good fenfe, though a little too much tainted with towns foppery; but what recommended him moft to Jones, were fome fentiments of generofity and humanity, which occafionally dropt from him; and particularly many expreffions of the higheft difinterestednes in the affair of love.. On which fubject the young

gentleman delivered himself in a language which might have very well become an Arcadian shepherd of old, and which appeared very extraordinary when prooeeding from the lips of a modern fine gentleman; but he was only one by imitation, and meant by nature for a much better character.

CHA P. VI.

What arrived while the company were at breakfast, with Jome hints concerning the government of daughters.

UR company brought together in the morning the fame good inclinations towards each other with which they had feparated the evening before; but poor Jones was extremely difconfolate; for he had just received information from Partridge, that Mrs Fitzpatrick had left her lodging, and that he could not learn whither fhe was gone. This news highly afflicted him, and his countenance, as well as his behaviour, in defiance of all his endeavours to the contrary, betrayed manifeft indications of a difordered mind.

THE difcourfe turned at prefent, as before, on love; and Mr Nightingale again expreffed many of thofe warm, generous, and difinterested fentiments upon this fubject, which wife and fober men call romantic, but which wife and fober women generally regard in a better light. Mrs Miller (for fo the miftrefs of the houfe was called) greatly approved those fentiments; but when the young gentleman appealed to Mifs Nancy, the answered only, That the believed the gentleman who had spoke the least, was capable of feeling the most.

THIS Compliment was fo apparently directed to Jones that we fhould have been forry had he passed it by unregarded. He made her, indeed, a very polite anfwer, and concluded with an oblique hint, that her own filence fubjected her to a fufpicion of the fame kind: for, indeed, fhe had fcarce opened her lips either now, or the laft evening.

I AM glad, Nanny,' fays Mrs Miller, the gentle man hath made the obfervation; I proteft I am al. moft of his opinion. What can be the matter with

you, child? I never faw fuc' an alteration. What 4 is become of all your gaiety? Would you think, Sir, I used to call her my little prattler? She hath not fpoke twenty words this week.'

2

HERE their converfation was interrupted by the entrance of a maid-fervant, who brought a bundle. in her hands, which, fhe faid, was delivered by a porter for Mr Jones. She added, That the man immediately went away, faying it required no answer.

JONES expreffed fome furprise on this occafion, and declared it must be some mistake: but the maid perfifting that he was certain of the name, all the women were defirous of having the bundle immediately opened; which operation was, at length, performed by little Betfey, with the confent of Mr Jones; and the contents were found to be a domino, a mask, and a masquerade ticket.

JONES was now more pofitive than ever, in afferting that these things must have been delivered by mistake; and Mrs Miller herself expreffed fome doubt, and faid, the knew not what to think. But when Mr Nightingale was afked, he delivered a very different opinion. All I can conclude from it, Sir,' faid he, is, that you are a very happy man: for I make no doubt but thefe were fent you by fome lady whom you will have the happinefs of meeting at the masquerade.'

JONES had not a fufficient degree of vanity to entertain any fuch flattering imaginations; nor did Mrs Miller herself give much affent to what Mr Nightingale had faid, till Mifs Nancy having lifted up the domino, a card dropped from the fleeve, in

which was written as follows:

To Mr JONES.

The Queen of the Fairies fends you this;
Ufe her favours not amifs.

MRS Miller and Mifs Nancy now both agreed with Mr Nightingale, nay, Jones himfelf was almoft perfuaded to be of the fame opinion. And as no other lady but Mrs Fitzpatrick, he thought, knew his lodging, he began to flatter himself with fome

hopes, that it came from her, and that he might poffibly fee his Sophia. Thefe hopes had, furely, very little foundation; but as the conduct of Mrs Fitzpatrick, in not feeing him according to her promife, and in quitting her lodgings, had been very odd and unaccountable, he conceived fome faint hopes, that the (of whom he had formerly heard a very whimsical character) might poflibly intend to do him that fervice in a ítrange manner, which the declined doing by more ordinary methods. To fay the truth, as nothing certain could be concluded from fo odd and uncommon an incident, he had the greater latitude to draw what imaginary conclufions from it he pleated. As his temper, therefore, was naturally fanguine, he indulged it on this occafion, and his imagination worked up a thousand conceits, to favour and fupport his expectations of meeting his dear Sophia in the evening.

READER, if thou haft any good wishes towards me, I will fully repay them, by wishing thee to be poffeffed of this fanguine difpofition of mind: fince, after having read much, and confidered long on that fubject of happiness, which hath employed fo many great pens, I am almoft inclined to fix it in the poffeffion of this temper, which puts us, in a manner, out of the reach of Fortune, and makes us happy without her affittance. Indeed, the fenfations of pleasure it gives are much more conftant, as well as much keener than thofe which that blind lady beltows; Nature having wifely contrived, that fome fatiety and langour fhould be annexed to all our real enjoyments, left we should be so taken up by them, as to be stopped froin further pursuits. I make no manner of doubt but that, in this light, we may fee the imaginary future chancellor just called to the bar, the archbishop in crape, and the prime minifter at the tail of an oppofition, more truly happy than thofe who are invefted with all the power and profit of those refpective offices.

MR Jones having now determined to go to the masquerade that evening, Mr Nightingale offered to conduct him thither. The young gentleman, at the fame time, offered tickets to Mils Nancy and

her mother; but the good woman would not accept them. She faid, She did not conceive the harm which fome people imagined in a masquerade; but that fuch extravagant diverfions were proper only for perfons of quality and fortune, and not for young women who were to get their living, and could at best hope to be married to a good tradesman. A tradefman!' cries Nightingale, you ✦ shan't undervalue my Nancy. There is not a nobleman upon earth above her merit.' 0 fy, Mr Nightingale,' anfwered Mrs Miller, you must not fill the girl's head with fuch fancies: but if it was her good luck (fays her mother with a fimper) to find a gentleman of your generous way of thinking, I hope the would make a better return to his generofity, than to give her mind up to extravagant pleatures. Indeed where young ladies bring great fortunes themfelves, they have fome right to infift on spending what is their own; < and, on that account, I have heard the gentlemen fay, a man has sometimes a better bargain with a < poor wife than with a rich one.——— -But let my daughters marry whom they will, I fhall endeavour to make them bleffings to their husbands.I beg, therefore, I may hear of no more mafquerades. Nancy is, I am certain, too good a girl to defire to go; for the must remember when you carried her thither last year, it almost turned her ‹ head; and she did not return to herself, or to her needle, in a month afterwards.'

THOUGH a gentle figh, which stole from the bofom of Nancy, feemed to argue fome fecret difapprobation of these sentiments, the did not dare openly to oppofe them. For as this good woman had all the tenderness, fo fhe had preferved all the authority of a parent; and as her indulgence to the defires of her children was reftrained only by her fears for their fafety and future welfare, fo the never fuffered thofe commands, which proceeded from fuch fears, to be either difobeyed or difputed. And this the young gentleman who had lodged two years in the houfe, knew fo well, that he prefently acquiefced in the refufal.

VOL. III.

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