⚫ thofe without hope. Howbeit we have not yet been * able to overtake young madam, we may account it fome good fortune, that we have hitherto traced 'her course aright. Peradventure she will soon be fatigated with her journey, and will tarry in fome inn, in order to renovate her corporeal functions; and in that cafe in all moral certainty, you will very briefly be compos voti.

Pogh' D-n the flut,' anfwered the 'fquire, I am lamenting the lofs of fo fine a morning for hunting. It is confounded hard to lofe one of the best 'fcenting days in all appearance, which hath been this feafon, and especially after fo long a froft.'

Whether fortune, who now and then fhews fome compaffion in her wantoneft tricks, might not take pity of the 'fquire; and as fhe had determined not to let him overtake his daughter, might not resolve to make him amends fome other way? I will not affert; but he had hardly uttered the words juft before commemorated, and two or three oaths at their heels, when a pack of hounds began to open their melodious throats at a small diftance from them, which thẹ 'fquire's horfe and his rider both perceiving, both immediately pricked up their ears, and the 'fquire crying: 'She's gone, fhe's gone! Damn me if the is not gone!' inftantly clapped fpurs to the beaft, who little needed it, having indeed the fame inclination with his mafter; and now the whole company crof fing into a corn-field, rode directly towards the hounds, with much hallowing and hooping, while the poor parfon, bleffing himfelf, brought up the rear.

Thus fable reports that the fair Grimalkin, whom Venus, at the defire of a paffionate lover, converted

T 5

from

from a cat into a fine woman, no fooner perceived a mouse, than mindful of her former fport, and ftill retaining her priftine nature, fhe leapt from the bed of her husband to purfue the little animal.

What are we to understand by this? Not that the bride was difpleased with the embraces of her amorous bridegroom; for though fome have remarked that cats are subject to ingratitude; yet women and cats too will be pleased and purr on certain occafions. The truth is, at the fagacious Sir Roger l'Eftrange obferves, in his deep reflections, that, if we shut nature out at the door, fhe will come in at the window; and that pufs, though a madam, will be a moufer ftill. In the fame manner we are not to arraign the fquire of any want of love for his daughter; for in reality he had a great deal: we are only to confider, that he was a fquire and a fportfman, and then we may apply the fable to him, and the judicious reflections likewife.

The hounds ran very hard, as it is called, and the fquite purfued over hedge and ditch with all his ufual vociferation and alacrity, and with all his ufual pleafure; nor did the thoughts of Sophia ever once intrude themselves to allay the fatisfaction he enjoyed in the chace, which he faid was one of the finest he ever faw, and which he swore was very well worth going fifty miles for. As the fquire forgot his daughter, the fervants, we may eafily believe, forgot their miftrefs; and the parfon, after having expreffed much aftonishment in Latin to himself, at length likewife abandoned all farther thoughts of the young lady, and, jogging on at a distance behind, began to meditate a portion of doctrine for the enfuing Sunday.

The

The fquire who owned the hounds was highly pleased with the arrival of his brother fquire and fportfiman; for all men approve merit in their own way, and no man was more expert in the field than Mr. Western, nor did any other better know how to encourage the dogs with his voice, and to animate the hunt with his holla.

Sportsmen, in the warmth of a chace, are too much engaged to attend to any manner of ceremony; nay, even to the offices of humanity: for, if any of them' meet with an accident by tumbling into a ditch, or into a river, the reft pafs on regardless, and generally leave him to his fate; during this time, therefore, the two fquires, though often close to each other, interchanged not a fingle word. The mafter of the hunt, however, often faw and approved the great judgment of the ftranger in drawing the dogs when they were at a fault, and hence conceived a very high opinion of his understanding, as the number of his attendants infpired no fmall reverence to his quality. As foon therefore as the sport was ended by the death of the little animal which had occafioned it, the two fquires met, and, in all fquire-like greeting, faluted each other.

The converfation was entertaining enough, and what me may perhaps relate in an appendix, or on fome other occafion; but, as it nowife concerns this hiftory, we cannot prevail on ourselves to give it a place here. It concluded with a fecond chace, and that with an invitation to dinner. This, being accepted, was followed by a hearty bout of drinking," which ended in as hearty a nap on the part of fquire Western,

Our

Our fquire was by no means a match either for his hoft, or for parfon Supple, at his cups that evening; for which the violent fatigue of mind as well as body, that he had undergone, may very well account, without the leaft derogation from his honour. He was indeed, according to the vulgar phrafe, whiftled-drunk; for, before he had fwallowed the third bottle, he became fo entirely overpowered, that, though he was not carried off to bed till long after, the parfon confidered him as abfent, and, having acquainted the other fquire with all relating to Sophia, he obtained his promife of feconding thofe arguments, which he intended to urge the next morning for Mr. Western's return.

No fooner therefore had the good squire fhaken off his evening, and began to call for his morning draught, and to fummon his horfes in order to renew his purfuit, than Mr. Supple began his diffuafives, which the hoft fo ftrongly feconded, that they at length prevailed, and Mr. Western agreed to return home, being principally moved by one argument, viz. that he knew not which way to go, and might probably be riding farther from his daughter inftead of towards her. He then took leave of his brother sportsman, and, expreffing great joy that the froft was broken, (which might perhaps be no finall motive to his haftening home), fet forward, or rather backwards, for Somerset-fhire; but not before he had first dispatched part of his retinue in queft of his daughter, after whom he likewise sent a volley of the most bitter execrations which he could invent.

CHAP.

CHAP. III.

The departure of Jones from Upton, with what paft between him and Partridge on

the road.

A and, to fay truth, we have been obliged to part

T length we are once more come to our hero;

with him fo long, that, confidering the condition in which we left him, I apprehend many of our readers have concluded we intended to abandon him for ever; he being at prefent in that fituation, in which prudent people usually defift from enquiring any farther after their friends, leaft they fhould be fhocked by hearing fuch friends had hanged themselves.

But, in reality, if we have not all the virtues, I will boldly fay, neither have we all the vices of a prudent character; and, though it is not eafy to conceive circumstances much more miferable than thofe of poor Jones at prefent, we fhall return to him, and attend upon him with the fame diligence, as if he was wantoning in the brighteft beams of fortune.

Mr. Jones then, and his companion Partridge, left the inn a few minutes after the departure of fquire Western, and purfued the fame road on foot; for the hoftler told them, that no horfes were by any means to be at that time procured at Upton. On they marched with heavy hearts; for though their difquiet proceeded from very different reafons, yet difpleafed they were both; and, if Jones fighed bitterly, Partridge grunted altogether as fadly at every step.

When they came to the cross-roads, where the squire had stopt to take counfel, Jones ftopt likewise, and, turning to Partridge, afked his opinion which track

they