• after have further reason to rejoice at this morning's <- adventure.'

• I don't know what you mean by venture,' cries the fellow; it seems, I must venture whether you will return the lady her money or no: but I hope your worship will confider'- Come, come,' faid Partridge, tell his honour your name, and where you 'may be found; 1 warrant you will never repent having put the money into his hands.' The fellow, seeing no hopes of recovering the poffeffion of the pocket-book, at laft complied in giving in his name and

་

place of abode, which Jones writ upon a piece of paper with the pencil of Sophia; and then, placing the paper in the fame page where the had writ her name, he cried out, There, friend, you are the happiest man alive, I have joined your name to that of an angel.? 'I don't know any thing about : angels,' answered the fellow; but I wish you would give me a little more money, or elfe return me the pocket-book.' Partridge now waxed wroth:: he called the poor cripple by several vile and oppro- · brious name, and was abfolutely proceeding to beat him, but Jones would not fuffer any fuch thing: and : now, telling the fellow he would certainly find fome opportunity of ferving him, Mr. Jones departed as faft as his heels would carry him; and Partridge, into whom the thoughts of the hundred pound had infu- fed new spirits, followed his leader; while the man, who was obliged to ftay behind, fell to curfing them both, as well as his parents; for had they,' fays he, 'fent me to charity-fchool to learn to write and read and caft account, I fhould have known the value of these matters as well as other people.'.

CHAP. V.

Containing more adventures which Mr. Jones and his companion met on the road.

UR travellers now walked fo faft, that they had very little time or breath for converfation; Jonesmeditating all the way on Sophia, and Partridge on the bank-bill, which, though it gave him fome pleasure, caufed him at the fame time to repine at fortune, which,

Y 3,

in..

in all his walks, had never given him fuch an opportunity of fhewing his honefty. They had proceeded above three miles, when Partridge, being unable any longer to keep up with Jones, called to him, and begged him a little to flacken his pace; with this he was the more ready to comply, as he had for fome time loft the footsteps of the horfes, which the thaw had enabled him to trace for feveral miles, and he was now upon a wide common where were several roads. He here therefore stopt to confider which of these roads he should purfue, when on a sudden they heard the noife of a drum that seemed at no great distance. This found presently alarmed the fears of Partridge, and he cried out, Lord have mercy upon us all; they are certainly a-coming!' Who is coming?' cries Jones; for fear had long fince given place to fofter ideas in his mind; and, fince his adventure with the lame man, he had been totally intent on pursuing Sophia, without entertaining one thought of an enemy. Who! cries Partridge, why the rebels: but why should I call them rebels? they may be very honeft gentlemen, for any thing I know to the contrary. The devil take ⚫ him that affronts them, I fay. I am fure, if they have nothing to fay to me, I will have nothing to fay to them but in a civil way. For Heaven's fake, Sir, ⚫ don't affront them if they fhould come, and perhaps they may do us no harm; but would it not be the wifer way to creep into fome of yonder bushes till they are gone by? What can two unarmed men do perhaps against fifty thoufand? Certainly nobody but a madman; I hope your honour is not offended; but certainly no man who hath mens fana in corpore fano. Here Jones interrupted this torrent of elequence, which fear had infpired, faying, 'That by the drum he perceived they were near fome town.' He then made directly towards the place whence the noise proceeded, bidding Partridge take courage, for that he would lead him into no danger;' and adding, "it was impoffible the rebels fhould be fo near.' Partridge was a little comforted with this last affu rance; and, though he would more gladly have gone the contrary way, he followed his leader, his heart

་

beating

beating time, but not after the manner of heroes, to the music of the drum, which ceafed not till they had traversed the common, and were come into a narrow lane.

And now Partridge, who kept even pace with Jones, discovered fomething painted flying in the air, a very few yards before him; which fancying to be the colours of the enemy, he fell a bellowing, O lord, Sir, here they are; there is the crown and coffin. Oh lord! I never faw any thing fo terrible; and we are with in gun fhot of them already.'

Jones no fooner looked up than he plainly perceived what it was which Partridge had thus mistaken. Pertridge,' fays he, I fancy you will be able to engage this whole army yourself; for by the colours I guess what the drum was which we heard before, and which beats up for recruits to a puppet-show.'

A puppet-show,' answered Partridge, with moft eager tranfport. And is it really no more than that? • I love a puppet-show of all the pastimes upon earth. • Do, good Sir, let us tarry and fee it. Besides I am quite famifhed to death; for it is now almoft dark, ⚫ and I have not eat a morfel fince three o'clock in the morning.'

They now arrived at an inn, or indeed an alehouse where Jones was prevailed upon to ftop, the rather as he had no longer any affurance of being in the road he defired. They walked both directly into the kitchen, where Jones began to inquire if no ladies had paffed. that way in the morning, and Partridge as eagerly examined into the ftate of their provifions; and indeed his enquiry met with the better fuccefs; for Jones could not hear news of Sophia; but Partridge, to his great fatisfaction, found good reason to expect very fhortly the agreeable fight of an excellent fmoking difh of eggs and bacon.

In ftrong and healthy couftitutions love hath a very different effect from what it caufes in the puny part of the species. In the latter it generally deftroys all that appetite which tends towards the confervation of the individual: but in the former, though it often induces forgetfulness, and a neglect of food, as well as of every

thing elfe; yet place a good piece of well-powdered buttock before a hungry lover, and he seldom fails very handfomely to play his part. Thus it happened in the prefent cafe; for though Jones perhaps wanted a prompter, and might have travelled much farther, had he been alone, with an empty ftomach; yet no fooner did he fit down to the bacon and eggs, than he fell to as heartily and voraciously as Partridge himself. Before our travellers had finished their dinner, night came on, and as the moon was now paft the full, it was extremely dark. Partridge therefore prevailed on Jones to stay and fee the puppet-fhow, which was juft going. to begin, and to which they were very eagerly invited by the mafter of the faid fhow, who declared that his figures were the finest which the world had ever produced, and that they had given great fatisfaction to all the quality in every town in England.

The puppet-fhow was performed with great regu. larity and decency. It was called the fine and serious part of the Provoked Husband; and it was indeed a very grave and folemn entertainment, without any low wit or humour, or jefts; or, to do it no more than justice, without any thing which could provoke a laugh. The audience were all highly pleafed. A grave matron told the master she would bring her two daughters the next night, as he did not fhew any ftuff; and an attorney's clerk and an exciseman, both declared, that the characters of lord and lady Townley were well preserved, and highly in nature. Partridge likewife concurred with this opinion.

The mafter was fo highly elated with thefe encomiums, that he could not refrain from adding fome more of his own. He faid, The prefent age was not im⚫ proved in any thing fo much as in their puppet-fhows; which by throwing out Punch and his wife Joan, • and fuch idle trumpery, were at laft brought to be a rational entertainment. I remember,' faid he,' when I firft took to the bufinefs, there was a great deal of low stuff that did very well to make folks laugh; but was never calculated to improve the morals of young people; which certainly ought to be principally aimed at in every puppet-fhow; for why may not good • and .

6

⚫ and inftructive leffons be conveyed this way, as well as any other? My figures are as big as the life, and they represent the life in every particular; and I question not but people rife from my little drama. as much improved as they do from the great.' I would by no means degrade the ingenuity of your profeffion,' answered Jones, but I fhould have been glad to have feen my old acquaintance mafter Punch for all that; and fo far from improving, I think, by leaving out him and his merry wife Joan, you have fpoiled your puppet-fhow.'

The dancer of wires conceived an immediate and high contempt for Jones, from these words; and, with much difdain in his countenance, he replied, • Very probably, Sir, that may be your opinion; but I have the fatisfaction to know the best judges differ from you, and it is impoffible to please every taste. • I confefs, indeed, fome of the quality at Bath, two 'or three years ago, wanted mightily to bring Punch again upon the stage. I believe I loft fome money for not agreeing to it; but, let others do as they will, a little matter fhall never bribe me to degrade my own profeffion, nor will I ever willingly confent to the fpoiling the decency and regularity of my ftage, by introducing any fuch low ftuff upon it.'

<

་

Right, friend,' cries the clerk, you are very right. Always avoid what is low. There are feveral of my acquaintance in London, who are refolved to drive every thing which is low from the ftage.' Nothing can be more proper,' cries the excifeman, pulling his pipe from his mouth. I remember,'

added he, (for then I lived with my lord), I was in the footman's gallery, the night when this play of the Provoked Hufband was acted firft. There was a great deal of low ftuff in it about a country gen ⚫tleman come up to town to ftand for parliamentman; and there they brought a parcel of his fervants upon the ftage, his coachman I remember particularly; but the gentlemen in our gallery could not bear any thing fo low, and they damned it. obferve, friend, you have left all that matter out, and you are to be commended for it.'

• Nay,