fuade the young gentleman to return home, he doubted not but that he should again be received into the favour of Allworthy, and well rewarded for his pains; nay, and should be again reftored to his native country; a restoration which Ulyffes himself never wished more heartily than poor Partridge.

As for Jones he was well fatisfied with the truth of what the other had afferted, and believed that Partridge had no other inducements but love to him, and zeal for the caufe. A blameable want of caution and diffidence in the veracity of others, in which he was highly worthy of cenfure. To fay the truth, there are but two ways by which men become poffeffed of this excellent quality. The one is from long experience, and the other is from nature; which laft, I prefume is often meant by genius, or great natural parts; and it is infinitely the better of the two, not only as we are mafters of it much earlier in life, but as it is much more infallible and conclufive: for a man who hath been impofed upon by ever so many, may fill hope to find others more honeft; whereas he who receives certain neceffary admonitions from with. in, that this is impoffible, must have very little underftanding indeed, if he ever renders himself liable to be once deceived. As Jones had not this gift from nature, he was too young to have gained it by experience; for at the diffident wifdom which is to be acquired this way we feldom arrive till very late in life; which is perhaps the reason why fome old men are apt to defpife the understandings of all those who are a little younger than themselves.

Jones fpent moft part of the day in the company of a new acquaintance. This was no other than the landlord of the house, or rather the husband of the landlady. He had but lately made his defcent down stairs, after a long fit of the gout, in which diftemper he was generally confined to his room during one half of the year; and during the reft he walked about the houfe, fmoaked his pipe, and drank his bottle with his friends, without concerning himself in the leaft with any kind of bufinefs. He had been bred, as they call it, a gentleman, that is, bred up to do no

thing, and had spent a very fmall fortune, which he inherited from an induftrious farmer his uncle, in hunting, horfe-racing, and cock-fighting, and had been married by my landlady for certain purposes, which he had long fince defifted from anfwering: forwhich the hated him heartily. But as he was a furly kind of fellow, fo fhe contented herself with frequently upbraiding him by difadvantageous comparisons with her first husband, whofe praise the had eternally in her mouth; and as the was for the most part mistress of the profit, fo the was fatisfied to take upon herself the care and government of the family, and after a long fuccefslefs ftruggle, to fuffer her husband to be mafter of himself.

In the evening, when Jones retired to his room, a small dispute arofe between this fond couple concerning him. What,' fays the wife, you have • been tippling with the gentleman! I fee.' Yes," anfwered the husband, we have cracked a bottle together, and a very gentleman-like man he is, and hath a very pretty notion of horse-flesh. Indeed he is young and hath not feen much of the world: ' for I believe he hath been at very few horfe races.' 'Oho! he is one of your order, is he?' replies the landlady; he must be a gentleman to be fure, if he is a horfe racer. The devil fetch fuch gentry; I ' am fure I wish I had never seen any of them. I have 'reafon to love horse-racers truly.' That you have,' fays the husband; for I was one you know.'' Yes,' anfwered the, " you are a pure one indeed. As my 'first husband ufed to fay, I may put all the good I ' have ever got by you in my eyes, and fee never the 'worse.' D-n your first husband,' cries he.'Don't d-n a better man than yourself,' answered the wife; if he had been alive, you durft not have done it.' Then you think,' fays he, I have not 'fo much courage as yourfelf: for you have d-n'd him often in my hearing.' If I did,' fays fhe, I have repented of it, many's the good time and • oft. And if he was fo good to forgive me a word spoken in haste, or fo, it doth not become fuch a one as you to twitter me. He was a husband to

me

me, he was; and if ever I did make ufe of an ill word or fo in a paffion, I never called him rascal; I fhould have told a lie, if I had called him raf• cal.' Much more she said, but not in his hearing: for having lighted his pipe, he staggered off as fast as he could. We fhall therefore tranfcribe no more of her speech, as it approached ftill nearer and nearer to a subject too indelicate to find any place in this history.

Early in the morning Partridge appeared at the bedfide of Jones, ready equipped for the journey, with: his knapfack at his back. This was his own workmanfhip; for befides his other trades, he was no indifferent taylor. He had already put up his whole ftock of linen in it, confifting of four fhirts, to which he now added eight for Mr. Jones; and then packing. up the portmanteau, he was departing with it towards his own houfe, but was ftopt in his way by the landlady, who refused to fuffer any removals till after the payment of the reckoning.

The landlady was, as we have faid, abfolute governefs in thefe regions; it was therefore neceffary to comply with her rules; fo the bill was presently writ out, which amounted to a much larger fum than. might have heen expected, from the entertainment which Jones had met with. But here we are obliged to disclose fome maxims which publicans hold to be the grand myfteries of their trade The first is, if they have any thing good in their house (which indeed very feldom happens) to produce it only to perfons who travel with great equipages. 2dly, To charge the fame for the very wort provifions, as if they were the best. And, laftly, if any of their guests call but for little, to make them pay a double price for every thing they have, fo that the amount by the head may be much the fame.

The bill being made and discharged, Jones fet forward with Partridge, carrying his knapfack: nor did the landlady condescend to wish him a good journey: for this was it feems, an inn frequented by people of fashion; and I know not whence it is, but all those who get their livelihood by people of fafhion, contract

as

as much infolence to the rest of mankind as if they really belonged to that rank themselves.

CHAP. VIII.

Jones arrives at Gloucefter, and goes to the Bell; the character of that houfe, and of a pettyfogger, which be there meets with.

MTM

R. Jones, and Partridge, or Little Benjamin, which epithet of Little was perhaps given him ironically, he being in reality near fix feet high) having left their last quarters in the manner before defcribed, travelled on to Gloucefter, without meeting any adventure worth relating.

"

Being arrived here, they chofe for their houfe of entertainment the fign of the Bell, an excellent house indeed, and which I do moft feriously recommend to every reader who fhall vifit this ancient city. The master of it is brother to the great preacher Whitefield; but is abfolutely untainted with the pernicious principles of methodism, or of any other heretical fect. He is indeed a very honeft plain man, and, in my opinion, not likely to create any disturbance either in church or fate. His wife hath, I believe, had much pretenfion to beauty, and is ftill a very fine woman. Her perfon and deportment might have made a fhining figure in the politeft affemblies; but though fhe must be confcious of this, and many other perfections, fhe feems perfectly contented with, and refigned to that state of life to which fhe is called; and this refignation is entirely owing to the prudence and wisdom of her temper: for fhe is at prefent as free from any methodistical notions as her husband. I fay at prefent: for fhe freely confeffes that her brother's documents made at firit fome impreffion upon her, and that he had put herself to the expence of a long hood, in order to attend the extraordinary mo.. tions of the fpirit; but having found during an experiment of three weeks, no emotions, the fays, worth a farthing, the very wifely laid by her hood, and abandoned the fect. To be concife, the is a very friendly,

good

good-natured woman; and fo industrious to oblige, that her guests must be of a very morofe difpofition who are not extremely well fatisfied in her house.

Mrs. Whitefield happened to be in the yard when Jones and his attendant marched in. Her fagacity foon discovered in the air of our hero fomething which diftinguished him from the vulgar. She ordered her fervants, therefore, immediately to fhew him into a room, and prefently afterwards invited him to dinner with herfelf; which invitation he very thankfully accepted, for indeed much lefs agreeable company than that of Mrs. Whitefield, and a much worfe entertainment than fhe had provided, would have been welcome, after fo long fafting, and fo long a walk.

Befides Mr. Jones and the good governess of the manfion, there fat down at table an attorney of Salif bury, indeed the very fame who had brought the news of Mrs. Blifil's death to Mr. Allworthy, and whofe name, which I think we did not before mention, was Dowling: there was likewise present another perfon, who ftiled himself a lawyer, and who lived fomewhere near Linlinch, in Somersetshire. This fellow, I fay, stiled himself a lawyer, but was indeed a most vile petty-fogger, without fenfe or knowledge of any kind; one of those who may be termed train-bearers to the law; a fort of fupernumeraries in the profeffion, who are the hackneys of attornies, and will ride more miles for half-a-crown than a post-boy.

During the time of dinner, the Somerfetfhire lawyer recollected the face of Jones, which he had seen at Mr, Allworthy's: for he had often vifited in that gentleman's kitchen. He therefore took occafion to enquire after the good family there, with that familiarity which would have become an intimate friend or acquaintance of Mr. Allworthy; and indeed he did all in his power to infinuate himself to be fuch, though he had never had the honour of speaking to any perfon in that family higher than the butler. Jones anfwered all his questions with much civility, though he never remembered to have feen the pettyfogger before, and though he concluded from the outward appearance and behaviour of the man, that

he