fufpect it was owing to the generofity of Lady Bellafton, can hardly imagine any other.

To clear, therefore, the honour of Mr Jones, and to do juftice to the liberality of the lady, he had really received this prefent from her, who, though fhe did not give much into the hackney charities of the age, fuch as building hofpitals, &c. was not, however, entirely void of that Christian virtue; and conceived (very rightly I think) that a young fellow of merit, without a fhilling in the world, was no improper object of this virtue.

Mr Jones and Mr Nightingale had been invited to dine this day with Mrs Miller. At the appointed hour, therefore, the two young gentlemen, with the two girls, attended in the parlour, where they waited from three till almost five before the good woman appeared. She had been out of town to vidit a relation, of whom, at her re

turn, she gave the following account.

I hope, gentlemen, you will pardon my making you wait; I am fure if you knew the occafion.-I have been to fee a cousin of mine, about fix miles off, who now lies in.It should be a warning to all perfons (fays fhe, looking at her daughters) how they marry indifcreetly. There is no happiness in this world without • competency. O Nancy! how fhall I defcribe the • wretched condition in which I found your poor cousin! fhe hath scarce lain in a week, and there was the, this • dreadful weather, in a cold room, without any curtains to her bed, and not a bufhel of coals in her houfe to fupply her with fire: her second son, that sweet little fel• low, lies ill of a quinzy in the fame bed with his mother, for there is no other bed in the houfe, Poor little Tommy! I believe, Nancy, you will never fee your favourite any more; for he is really very ill. The reft of the children are in pretty good health; but Molly, I am afraid, will do herfelf an injury; she is but thirteen years old, Mr Nightingale, and yet in my life I never faw a better nurfe: fhe tends both her mother and her brother: and, what is wonderful in a creature fo young, The fhews all the chearfulness in the ⚫ world to her mother, and yet I faw her-I faw the poor child, Mr Nightingale, turn about, and privately wipe the tears from her eyes.' Here Mrs Miller was pre

6

vented, by her own tears, from going on, and there was not, I believe, a perfon prefent who did not accompany her in them; at length the a little recovered her felf and proceeded thus: In all this diftrefs the mother fupports her fpirits in a furprifing manner. The danger of her fon fits heavieft upon her, and yet fhe endeavours as much as poffible to concel even this concern, on her husband's • account. Her grief, however, fometimes gets the better of all her endeavours; for fhe was always extravagantly fond of this boy, and a moft fenfible, fweet-tempered creature it is. I proteft I was never more affec-` ted in my life than when I heard the little wretch, who is hardly yet feven years old, while his mother was wetting him with her tears, beg her to be comforted.Indeed, Mamma,' cried the child, I fhan't die; God Almighty, I'm fure, won't take Tommy away; let heaven be ever fo fine a place, I had rather stay here and ftarve with you and my papa than go to it.'--Pardon me, gentlemen, I can't help it,' fays fhe, wiping her fuch fenfibility and affection in a child----- -And yet, perhaps, he is leaft the object of pity; for a day or two will, perhaps, place him beyond the reach of all⚫ human evils. The father is indeed moft worthy of compaffion. Poor man, his countenance is the very picture of horror, and he looks rather like one dead than alive. Oh heavens! what a fcene did I behold at my first coming into the room! The good creature was lying behind the bolfter, fupporting at once beth his child and his wife. He had nothing on but a thin waistcoat : for his coat was fpread over the bed, to fupply the want of blankets.- -When he rofe up, at my entrance, I fcarce knew him. As comely a man, Mr Jones, within this fortnight, as you ever beheld; Mr Nightingale hath feen him. His eyes funk, his face pale, with at long beard; his body fhivering with cold, and worn with hunger too; for my coufin fays, fhe can hardly

<

eyes,

• prevail upon him to eat.- -He told me himfelf, in a

6

whifper, he told me I can't repeat it--he faid, he could not bear to eat the bread his children wanted And yet can you believe it gentlemen? in all this mifery, his wife has as good cawdle as if the lay in, in the midst of greateft affluence; I tafted it, and I

• scarce ever tafted better.-The means of procuring her this, he faid, he believed was fent him by an angel from heaven: I know not what he meant ; for I had not fpirits enough to ask a single question.'

This was a love-match, as they call it, on both fides; ‹ that is, a match between two beggars. I must indeed fay I never faw a fonder couple; but what is their fondnefs good for, but to torment each other? Indeed, mama,' cries Nancy, I have always looked on my • cousin Anderson (for that was her name) as one of the ‹ happiest of women.' I am fure,' fays Mrs Miller, the

.

cafe at present is much otherwife; for any one might have difcerned that the tender confideration of each other's fufferings, makes the most intollerable part of their calamity, both to the husband and the wife. Compared to which, hunger and cold as they affect their own perfons only, are fcarce evils. Nay, the very chil dren, the youngest which is not two years old, excepted, feel in the fame manner; for they are a most loving family; and, if they had but a bare competen6 cy, would be the happieft people in the world.' 'I never faw the leaft fign of mifery at her houfe,' replied Nancy; I am fure my heart bleeds for what you now tell me.O child, anfwered the mother, fhe hath always endeavoured to make the best of every thing. They have always been in great diftrefs; but, indeed, this abfolute ruin hath been brought upon them by others. The poor man was bail for the villain his brother; and about a week ago, the very day before her lying in, their goods were all carried away, and fold by an execution. He fent a letter to me of it by one of the bailiffs, which the villain never delivered.- What muft he think of my fuffering a week to pafs before he

• heard me.'.

It was not with dry eyes that Jones heard this narrative; when it was ended, he took Mrs Miller apart with him into another room, and delivering her his purfe, in which was the fum of 50 1. defired her to fend as much of it as fhe thought proper to thefe poor people. The look which Mrs Miller gave Jones on this occafion is not easy to be defcribed. She burst into a kind of agony of transport, and cried out, Good heavens! is there fuch a man in

the world?'-But recollecting herfelf, the faid, Indeed I know one fuch; but can there be another?'

'I

hope Madam,' cries Jones, there are many who have. common humanity for to relieve fuch diftreffes in our fellow creatures can hardly be called more.' Mrs Miller then took ten guineas, which were the utmoft he could prevail with her to accept, and faid, She would find fome means of conveying them early the next morning; adding, that she had herself done fome little matter for the poor pec ple, and had not left them quite in fo much mifery as fhe found them.

They then returned to the parlour, where Nightingale expreffed much concern at the dreadful fituation of thefe wretches, whom indeed he knew; for he had seen them more than once at Mrs Miller's. He enveighed again the folly of making one's felf liable for the debts of others, vented many bitter execrations against the brother, and concluded with wishing fomething could be done for the unfortunate family. Suppofe, Madam,' faid he, you 'fhould recommend them to Mr Allworthy? Or what • think you of a collection? I will give them a guinea with all my heart.'

Mrs Miller made no anfwer; and Nancy, to whom her mother had whispered the generofity of Jones, turned pale upon the occafion; though, if either of them was angry with Nightingale, it was furely without reafon. For the liberality of Jones; if he had known it, was not an example which he had any obligation to follow; and there are thoufands who would not have contributed a fingle halfpenny, as indeed he did not in effect, for he made no tender of any thing; and therefore, as the others thought proper to make no demand, he kept his money ia his pocket.

I have in truth obferved, and fhall never have a better opportunity than at prefent to communicate my obfervation, that the world are in general divided into two opinions concerning charity, which are the very reverfe of each other. One party feems to hold, that all acts of this kind were to be efteemed as voluntary gifts, and however little you give (if indeed no more than your good wishes) you acquire a great degree of merit in fo doing. Others, on the contrary, appear to be as firmly perfwaded, that beneficence is a politive duty, and that

whenever the rich fall greatly short of their ability in relieving the diftreffes of the poor, their pitiful largefies are fo far from being meritorious, that they have only per formed their duty by halves, and are in fome sense more contemptible than thofe who have entirely neglected it.

To reconcile thefe indifferent opinions is not in my power. I fhall only add, that the givers are generally of of the former fentiment, and the receivers are almost univerfally inclined to the latter.

Which treats of matters of a very different kind from thofe in the preceding chapter.

IN

N the evening Jones met his lady again, and a long converfation again enfued between them; but as it confifted only of the fame ordinary occurrences as before, we fhall avoid mentioning particulars, which we despair of rendering agreeble to the reader; unless he is one whofe devotion to the fair fex, like that of the Papists to their faints, wants to be raised by the help of pictures. But I am fo far from defiring to exhibit fuch pictures to the public, that I would wish to draw a curtain over those that have been lately fet forth in certain French novels; very bungling copies of which have been presented us here, under the name of tranflations.

Jones grew ftill more and more impatient to fee Scphia; and finding, after repeated Interviews with Lady Bellafton, no likelihood of obtaining this by her means; (for, on the contrary, the lady began to treat even the mention of the name of Sophia with refentment); he refolved to try fome other method. He made no doubt but that Lady Bellafton knew where his angel was, fo he thought it most likely that fome of her fervants should be acquainted with the fame fecret. Partridge therefore was employed to get acquainted with thofe fervants, in order to fifh this fecret out of them.

Few fituations can be imagined more uneafy than that to which his poor master was at prefent reduced; for, befides the difficulties he met with in difcovering Sophia, befides the fears he had of having difobliging her, and