leave every thing entirely to me? Well, well; I wull, I wull,' faid the fquire.,

I

And now Mrs Weftern, luckily for Sophia, put an end to the converfation, by ordering chairs to be called. fay luckily for had it continued much longer, fresh mat. ter of diffenfion would, most probably, have arifen between the brother and fifter; between whom education and fex made the only difference; for both were equally violent, and equally pofitive; they had both a vast affection for Sophia, and both a fovereign contempt for each other.

CHA P. V.

In which Jones receives a letter from Sophia, and goes to a play with Mrs Miller and Partridge.

TH

HE arrival of black George in town, and the good' offices which that grateful fellow had promifed to do for his old benefactor, greatly comforted Jones in the midst of all the anxiety and uneafinefs which he had fuffered on the account of Sophia; from whom, by the means of the faid George, he received the following fwer to his letter; which Sophia, to whom the use of pen, ink, and paper, was reftored with her liberty, wrote the very evening when flie departed from her confinement.

• SIR,

As

an

S I do not doubt of your fincerity in what you write, you will be pleafed to hear that fome of my afflic ⚫tions are at an end, by the arrival of my aunt Weftern, • with whom I am at prefent, and with whom I enjoy all the liberty I can defire. One promife my aunt hath infifted on my making, which is, that I will not fee or converfe with any perfon without her knowledge and confent. This promife I have moft folemnly given, and fhall moft inviolably keep; and though the hath not expressly forbidden me writing, yet that must be an omiffion from forgetfulnefs; or this, perhaps, is included in the word converfing. However, as I cannot but confider this as a breach of her generous confidence • in my honour, you cannot expect that I fhall, after

this, continue to write myself, or to receive letters without her knowledge. A promife is with me a very facred thing, and to be extended to every thing underftood from it, as well as to what is expreffed by it; and this confideration may perhaps, on reflection, af ford you fome comfort. But why should I mention a comfort to you of this kind? For though there is one thing in which I can never comply with the beft of fathers, yet I am firmly refolved never to act in defiance of him, or to take any ftep of confequence without his ⚫ confent. A firm perfuafion of this, muft teach you to divert your thoughts from what Fortune hath (perhaps) made impoffible. This your own intereft perfuades you. This may reconcile, I hope, Mr Allworthy to you; and if it will, you have my injunctions to purfue it. Accidents have laid fome obligations on me, and your good intentions probably more. Fortune may perhaps, be fometimes kinder to us both than at prefent., Believe this, that I fhall always think of you as I think you deserve, and am,

• SIR,

Your obliged humble Servant,
SOPHIA WESTERN.'

I charge you write to me no more-at prefent at leaft; and accept this, which is now of no fervice to me, which I know you muft want, and think you owe the trifle only to that fortune by which you found it *.?

A child who had just learned his letters, would have fpelled this letter out in lefs time than Jones took in reading it. The fenfations it occafioned were a mixture of joy and grief; fomewhat like what divide the mind of a good man, when he perufes the will of his deceafed friend, in which a large legacy, which his diftreffes make the more welcome, is bequeathed to him. Upon the whole, however, he was more pleafed than difpleased; and indeed the reader may probably wonder that he was difpleafed at all: but the reader is not quite fo much in love as was poor Jones; and love is a difeafe which, though it may in fome inftances refemble a confumption, (which it fometimes caufes), in others proceeds in direct

Meaning perhaps, the bank bill for 100 l.

oppofition to it, and particularly in this, that it never flatters itself, or fees any one fymptom in a favourable light.

One thing gave him complete fatisfaction, which was, that his miltres had regained her liberty, and was now with a lady where the might at leaft affure herself of a decent treatment. Another comfortable circumstance was, the reference which he made to her promise of never marrying another man: for however difinterested he might imagine his paffion, and notwithstanding all the generous overtures made in his letter, I very much queftion whether he could have heard a more afflicting piece of news, than that Sophia was married to another, tho' the match had been never fo great, and never fo likely to end in making her completely happy. That refined degree of Platonic affection which is abfolutely detached X from the flesh, and is indeed entirely and purely fpiritual, is a gift confined to the female part of the creation; many of whom I have heard declare, (and doubtlefs with great truth), that they would, with the utmost readiness, reign a lover to a rival, when fuch refignation was proved to be neceffary for the temporal intereft of fuch lover. Hence, therefore, I conclude, that this affection is in natare, though I cannot pretend to fay- I have ever feen an ́ inftance of it.

Mr Jones having spent three hours in reading and kiffing the aforefaid letter, and being, at laft, in a flate of good fpirits, from the lait-mentioned confiderations, he agreed to carry an appointment, which he had before made, into execution. This was to attend Mrs Miller, and her younger daughter, into the gallery at the playhoufe, and to admit Mr Partridge as one of the compa ny for as Jones had really that tafle for humour which many affect, he expected to enjoy much entertainment in the criticifms of Partridge; from whom he expected the fimple dictates of nature, unimproved indeed, but likewife unadulterated by art.

In the first row then of the first gallery did Mr Jones, Mrs Miller, her youngest daughter, and Partridge, tak: their places. Partridge immediately declared, it was the fineft place he had ever been in. When the first mu played, he faid, It was a wonder how fo many"

fic was

6

fiddlers could play at one time without putting one ano ther out.' While the fellow was lighting the upper candles, he cried out to Mrs Miller, Look, look, Madam, the very picture of the man in the end of the common-prayer book, before the gun-powder-treafon 'fervice.' Nor could he help obferving with a figh, when all the candles were lighted, That here were candles enough burnt in one night, to keep an honest poor family for a twelvemonth.

6

As foon as the play, which was Hamlet Prince of Denmark, began, Partridge was all attention, nor did he break filence till the entrance of the ghoft; upon which he asked Jones, What man that was in the ftrange drefs? Something,' faid he, like what I have feen in a pic< ture. Sure it is not armour, is it? Jones answered That is the gheft. To which Partridge replied with a fmile, Perfuade me to that, Sir, if you can. Though I can't fay I ever actually faw a ghoit in my life, yet I ' am certain I fhould know one, if I faw him, better than that comes to. No, no, Sir, ghofis don't appear in 'fuch dreffes as that neither.' In this mistake, which caufd much laughter in the neighbourhood of Partridge, he was fuffered to continue, till the fcene between the Ghoft and Hamlet, when Partridge gave that credit to Mr Garrick which he had denied to Jones, and fell into fo violent a trembling, that his knees knocked against each other. Jones afked him what was the matter, and whether he was afraid of the warrior upon the stage? Ola! Sir,' faid he, I perceive now it is what you told 6 me. I am not afraid of any thing; for I know it is but a play. And if it was really a ghoft, it could do one no larm at fuch a diflance, aud in fo much company; and yet if I was frightened, I am not the only perfon.' Why, who,' cries Jones, doft thou take to be fuch a coward here befides thyfelf!' Nay, you may call me a coward if you will; but if that little man there 6 upon the ftage is not frightened, I never faw any man frightenened in my life Ay, ay; go along with you! ay, to be fure! who's fool then? Will you? Lud have mercy upon fuch fool-hardinefs !Whatever hap pens, it is good enough for yor.- -Follow you? I'd follow the devil as foon. Nay, perhaps, it is the devil

for they fay he can put on what likeness he pleases. -Oh! here he is again.--No farther! No, you have gone far enough already; farther than I'd have gone for all the king's dominions.' Jones offered to fpeak, but Partridge cried, Hufh, huh, dear Sir, don't you hear him! And during the whole fpeech of the ghost, he fat with his eyes fixed partly on the ghoft, and partly on Hamlet, and with his mouth open; the fame paffions which fucceeded each other in Hamlet, fucceeded likewife in him.

6

When the fcene was over, Jones faid, Why, Par tridge, you exceed my expectations. You enjoy the play more than I conceived poffible.' Nay, Sir,' anfwered Partridge, if you are not afraid of the devil, I can't help it; but to be fure, it is natural to be furprifed at fuch things, though I know there is nothing in them not that it was the ghost that furprised me 'neither; for I fhould have known that to have been only a man in a ftrange drefs: but when I faw the little man fo frightened himself, it was that which 'took hold of me.' • And doft thou imagine then, Partridge,' cries Jones, that he was really frightened?" Nay, Sir,' faid Partridge, did not you yourfelf ob. 'ferve afterwards, when he found it was his own father's 'fpirit, and how he was murdered in the garden, how his fear forfook him by degrees, and he was struck 'dumb with forrow, as it were, juft as I fhould have been, had it been my own cafe.-But huh! O la! what noife is that? There he is again.-Well, to be cer'tain, though I know there is nothing at all in it, I am glad I am not down yonder, where those men are.' Then turning his eyes again upon Hamlet, Ay, you may draw your fword; what fignifies a fword against the power of the devil?'

<

Dering the fecond act, Partridge made very few remarks. He greatly admired the fineness of the dresses; nor could he help obferving upon the king's countenance. 'Well,' faid he, how people may be deceived by faces! Nulli files fronti, is, I find, a true faying. Who would 'think, by looking in the king's face, that he had ever 'committed a murder?' He then inquired after the ghoft; but Jones, who intended that he fhould be fur