much engaged to reflect that he was in his fhirt, when the matron came in. She had indeed given her mafter fufficient time to drefs himself t; for, out of refpect to him, and regard to decency, she had spent many minutes. in adjusting her hair at the looking-glafs, notwithstanding all the hurry in which fhe had been fummoned by the servant, and though her master, for aught she knew, lay expiring in an apoplexy or in fome other fit.

It will not be wondered at, that a creature, who had fo ftrict a regard to decency in her own person, should be fhocked at the leaft deviation from it in another. She therefore no fooner opened the door, and faw her master ftanding by the bed-fide in his fhirt, with a candle in his hand, than fhe ftarted back in a moft terrible fright, and might perhaps have fwooned away, had he not now recollected his being undreft, and put an end to her terrors, by defiring her to stay without the door, till he had thrown fomé cloaths over his back, and was become incapable of fhocking the pure eyes of Mrs. Deborah Wilkins, who, though in the 52d year of 'her age, vowed, fhe had never beheld a man without his coat. Sneerers and profane wits may perhaps laugh at her firft fright; yet, my graver reader, when he confiders the time of night, the fummons from her bed, and

the fituation in which the found her master, will highly justify and applaud her conduct; unless the prudence, which must be fuppofed to attend maidens at that period of life at which Mrs. Deborah had arrived, fhould a little leffen his admiration.

When Mrs. Deborah returned into the room, and was acquainted by her mafter with the finding the little infant, her confternation was rather greater than his had been; nor could she refrain from crying out, with great horror of accent as well as look: My good Sir! what's to be done? Mr. Allworthy answered, she must take care of the child that evening, and in the morning he would give orders to provide it a nurfe. Yes, Sir, fays fhe, and I hope your worship will send out your warrant to take up the huffy its mother, (for the must be one of the neighbourhood) and I fhould be glad to fee her committed to Bridewell, and whipt at the cart's tail. Indeed fuch wicked fluts cannot be too feverely punished. I'll warrant 'tis not her firft, by her impudence in laying it to your worship. In laying it to me! Deborah, anfwered Allworthy, I can't think the hath any fuch defign. I fuppofe the hath only taken this method to provide for her child, and truly I am glad the hath not done worse. I don't know what is worse, cries Deborah, than for fuch

wicked ftrumpets to lay their fins at honeft men's doors and though your worship knows your own innocence, yet the world is cenforious; and it hath been many an honeft man's hap to pafs for the father of children he never begot; and if your worship fhould provide for the child, it may make the people the apter to believe: befides, why should your worship provide for what the parish is obliged to to maintain ? For my own part, if it was an honeft man's child indeed; but for my own part, it goes against me to touch thefe mifbegotten wretches, whom I don't look upon as my fellow - creatures. Faugh, how it ftinks! It doth not fmell like a chriftian: if I might be fo bold to give my advice, I would have it put in a basket, and fent out and laid at the church-warden's door. It is a good night, only a little rainy and windy; and if it was well wrapt up, and put in a warm basket, it is two to one but it lives, till it is found in the morning. But if it fhould not, we have discharged our duty in taking proper care of it; and it is, perhaps, better for fuch creatures to die in a state of innocence, than to grow up and imitate their mothers ; for nothing better can be expected of them.

There were fome strokes in this fpeech which, perhaps, would have offended Mr. Allworthy, had he strictly attended to it; but he had now

got one of his fingers into the infant's hand, which, by its gentle preffure, feeming to implore his allistance, had certainly out - pleaded the eloquence of Mrs: Deborah, had it been ten times greater than it was. He now gave Mrs. Deborah pofitive orders to take the child to her own bed, and to call up a maid-fervant to provide it pap, and other things against it waked. He likewife ordered that proper cloaths fhould be procured for it early in the morning, and that it fhould be brought to himself as foon as he was stirring.

Such was the difcernment of Mrs. Wilkins, and fuch the respect the bore her master, under whom she enjoyed a moft excellent place, that her fcruples gave way to his peremptory commands; and fhe took the child under her arms, without any apparent difguft at the illegality of its birth; and declaring, it was a fweet little infant, walked off with it to her own chamber.

Allworthy here betook himself to those pleasing flumbers which a heart that hungers after goodness, is apt to enjoy when thoroughly fatisfied as thefe are poffibly sweeter than what are occafioned by any other hearty meal, I should take more pains to display them to the reader, if I knew any air to recommend him to for the procuring such an appetite.

CHAP. IV.

The reader's neck brought into danger by a defcription; his efcape, and the great condefcenfion of Mifs Bridget Allworthy.

THE Gothic ftile of building could produce nothing nobler than Mr. Allworthy's houfe. There was an air of grandeur in it, that struck you with awe, and rivalled the beauties of the best Grecian architecture; and it was as commodious within, as venerable without.

It stood on the fouth-eaft fide of a hill, but nearer the bottom than the top of it, fo as to be fheltered from the north-eaft by a grove of old oaks, which rofe above it in a gradual afcent of near half a mile, and yet high enough to enjoy a moft charming profpect of the valley beneath.

In the midst of the grove was a fine lawn, floping down towards the houfe, near the fummit of which rofe a plentiful fpring, gufhing out of a rock covered with firs, and forming a conftant cafcade of about thirty foot, not carried down a regular flight of steps, but tumbling in a natural fall over the broken and moffy ftones, till it came to the bottom of the rock; then running off in a pebbly channel, that with