But what's to be done, hufband? If an fhe be a rebel, I fuppofe you intend to betray her up to the court. Well, he's a fweet-tempered, good-hu ́ ́moured lady, be fhe what the will, and I fhall hardly refrain from crying, when I hear the is hanged or beheaded.' Pooh!' answered the hufband!

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•her.'

• and

• But as to what's to be done it is not fo caly a matter to determine. I hope, before fhe goes away, we 'fhall have the news of a battle: for, if the Chevalier fhould get the better, fhe may gain us intereft at court, and make our fortunes without betraying Why that s true,' replied the wife; I heartily hope fhe will have it in her power. Certainly the's a fweet good lady; it would go horribly against me to have her come to any harm.' "Pooh,' cries the landlord, • women are always fo • tender-hearted. Why you would not harbour rebels, would you? No certainly,' anfwered the wife; and as for betraying her, come what will on't, nobody can blame us. It is what any body would do in our cafe.'.

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While our politic landlord, who had not, we fee, . undefervedly the reputation of great wifdom among his neighbours, was engaged in debating this matter. with himself, (for he paid little attention to the opinion of his wife), news arrived that the rebels had given the Duke the flip, and had got a day's march towards London; and foon after arrived a famous. Jacobite 'fquire, who, with great joy in his countenance, fhook the landlord by the hand, faying, All's our own, boy; ten thoufand honeft Frenchmen are landed in Suffolk. Old England for ever! ten • thousand French, my brave lad! I am going to tap away directly.'

This news determined the opinion of the wife man, and he refolved to make his court to the young lady, when the arofe; for he had now (he faid), difcovered, that he was no other than Madam Jenny Came ron herself.

CHA P. III.

A very short chapter, in which however is a fun, a moon, a far, and an angel.

THE fun (for he keeps very good hours at this time of the year), had been fome time retired to reft, when Sophia arofe greatly refreshed by her fleep: which, thoit as it was, nothing but her extreme fatigue could have occafioned; for though she had told her maid, and perhaps herself too, that she was perfectly eafy when the left Upton; yet it is certain her mind was a little affected with that malady which is attended with all the reftlefs fymptoms of a fever, and is perhaps the very diftemper which phyficians mean (if they mean any thing), by the fever on the fpirits.

Mrs. Fitzpatrick likewife left her bed at the fame time; and, having fummoned her maid, immediately dreffed herself. She was really a very pretty woman, and, had the been in any other company but that of Sophia, might have been thought beautiful; but, when Mrs Honour of her own accord attended, (for her mistress would not suffer her to be waked), and had equipped our heroine, the charms of Mrs. Fitzpatrick, who had performed the office of the morning-itar, and had preceded greater glories, fhared the fate of that itar, and were totally eclipfed the moment thofe glories fhone forth.

Perhaps Sophia never looked more beautiful than fhe did at this inftant. We ought not therefore to condemn the maid of the inn for her hyperbole, who when the defcended, after having lighted the fire, declared, and ratified it with an oath, that, if ever there was an angel upon earth, fhe was now above ftairs..

Sophia had acquainted her coufin with her defign to go to London; and Mrs. Fitzpatrick had agreed to accompany her; for the arrival of her husband at Up ton had put an end to her defign of going to Bath, or to her aunt Weltern. They had therefore no fooner finished their tea, than Sophia propofed to fet out, the moon then thining extremely bright, and, as for the

frost,

froft, fhe defied it; nor had the any of thofe apprehenfions, which many young ladies would have felt at travelling by night; for the had, as we have before obferved, fome little degree of natural courage; and this her prefent fenfation, which-bordered fomewhat on despair, greatly increafed Befides, as the had already travelled twice with fafety, by the light of the moon, fhe was the better emboldened to truit to it a third time.

The difpofition of Mrs. Fitzpatrick was more timorous; for though the greater terrors had conquered the lefs, and the prefence of her husband had driven her away at fo unfeafonable an hour from Upton; yet, being now arrived at a place where the thought herself fafe from his purfuit, these leffer terrors of I know not what operated fo frongly, that fhe earnestly entreated her coufin to stay till the next morning, and not expofe herfelf to the dangers of travelling by night.

Sophia, who was yielding to an excefs, when the could neither laugh nor reafon her coufin out of thefe apprehenfions, at laft gave way to them. Perhaps indeed, had the known of her father's arrival at Upton, it might have been more difficult to have persuaded her; for, as to Jones, the had, I am afraid, no great horror at the thoughts of being overtaken by him; nay, to confess the truth, I believe the rather withed than feared it; though I might honefly enough have concealed this with from the reader, as it was one of those secret spontaneous emotions of the foul, to which the reafon is often a ftranger.

When our young ladies had determined to remain all that evening in their inn, they were attended by the landlady, who defired to know what their ladyfhips would be pleafed to eat. Such charms were there in the voice, in the manner, and in the affable deportment of Sophia, that the ravished the landlady to the highest degree; and that good woman, concluding that he had attended Jenny Cameron, became in a moment a ftaunch Jacobite, and wished heartily well to the young Pretender's caufe, from the great sweetness and affability, with which fhe had been treated by his fuppofed miftrefs.

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The two coufins began now to impart to each othertheir reciprocal curiofity, to know what extraordina ry accidents on both sides occafioned this fo ftrange and unexpected meeting. At laft Mrs. Fitzpatrick, having obtained of Sophia a promife of communica. ting likewife in her turn, began to relate what the reader, if he is defirous to know her history, may read in the enfuing chapter.

MR

CHAP. IV.

The hiftory of Mrs. Fitzpatrick.

RS. Fitzpatrick, after a filence of a few moments, fetching a deep figh, thus began: It is natural to the unhappy to feel a fecret concern in recollecting thofe periods of their lives which have been mot delightful to them. The remembrance of past pleasures affects us with a kind of tender grief, like what we fuffer for departed friends; and the ideas of both may be faid to haunt our imaginations.

For this reason, I never reflect without forrow on thofe days, (the happiest far of my life), which we ipent together, when both were under the care of my aunt Weßtern. Alas! why are Mifs Graveairs, and Mifs Giddy no more You remember, I am fure, when we knew each other by no other names. Indeed you gave the latter appellation with too much • caule. I have fince experienced how much I de• ferved it You. my Sophia, was always my fuperior in every thing, and I heartily hope you will be fo in 6 your fortune. I fhall never forget the wife and matronly advice you once gave me, when I lamented ⚫ being disappointed of a ball, though you could not be then fourteen years old. O my Sophy, • how bleft must have been my fituation, when I could think fuch a difappointment a misfortune; and when indeed it was the greatest I had ever known!" And yet my dear Harriet' anfwered Sophia, 'it was then a ferious matter with you. Comfort your ⚫ felf therefore with thinking, that whatever you now

lament

lament may hereafter appear as trifling and contemptible as a ball would at this time.'

Alas, my Sophia,' replied the other lady, you yourself will think otherwife of my prefent fituation; for greatly mult that tender heart be altered, if my misfortunes do not draw many a figh, nay, many a tear, from you. The knowledge of this fhould perhaps deter me from relating what I am convinced will fo much affect you Here Mrs. Fitzpatrick topt, till at the repeated entreaties of Sophia, the thus proceeded.

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Though you must have heard much of my marriage; yet as matters may probably have been mifreprefented, I will fet out from the very commencement of my unfortunate acquaintance with my prefent hufband; which was at Bath, foon after you left my aunt, and returned home to your father.

Among the gay young fellows, who were at this feafon at Bath, Mr. Fitzpatrick was one. He was handfome, degagé, extremely gallant, and in his • drefs exceeded moft others. In fhort, my dear, if you was unluckily to fee him now, I could defcribe him no better than by telling you he was the very • reverse of every thing which he is: for he hath rusti⚫cated himself so long, that he is become an absolute wild Irithman. But to proceed in my story; the qualifications which he then poffeffed, fo well recommended him, that though the people of quality at that time lived feparate from the reft of the company, and excluded them from all their parties, Mr. Fitzpatrick found means to gain admittance. It was perhaps no eafy matter to avoid him; for he required very little or no invitation; and as being handfome and genteel, he found it no very difficult matter to ingratiate himself with the ladies; fo, he having frequently drawn his fword, the men did not care publicly to affront him. Had it not been for fome fuch reafon, I believe he would have been 'foon expelled by his own fex; for furely he had no ftrict title to be preferred to the Englith gentry; nor did they feem inclined to fhew him any extraordinary favour. They all abufed him behind his back,

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