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than ever efteemed him, foon complied. Five years ⚫ did I live in a state of perfect happiness with that best ⚫ of men, 'till at laft-Oh! cruel, cruel fortune, that ever separated us, that deprived me of the kindest of husbands, and my poor girls of the tenderest parent. O my poor girls! you never knew the bleffing which ye loft. I am afhamed, Mr. Jones of this womanith weakness; but I fhall never mention him without tears. I ought rather, Madam,' faid Jones, to be ashamed that I do not accompany you.'- Well, Sir,' continued fhe, I was now left a fecond time in a much worfe condition than before; befides the terrible affliction I was to encounter, I had now two children to provide for; and was, if poffible, more pennyless than ever, when that great, that good, that glorious man, Mr. Allworthy, who had fome little acquaintance with my husband, accidentally heard of my diftrefs, and ⚫ immediately writ this letter to me. Here, Sir,⚫ here it is; I put it into my pocket to fhew it you. This is the letter, Sir; I muft and will read it to you.

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"MADAM,

Heartily condole with you on your late grievous lofs, which your own good fenfe, and the ex"cellent leffons you must have learnt from the wor"thieft of men, will better enable you to bear, than any advice which I am capable of giving. "have I any doubt that you, whom I have heard to be "the tenderest of mothers, will fuffer any immoderate

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indulgence of grief to prevent you from discharging your duty to those poor infants, who now alone. "ftand in need of your tenderness

"However, as you must be fuppofed at present "to be incapable of much worldly confideration,

you will pardon my having ordered a perfon to "wait on you, and to pay you twenty guineas, "which I beg you will accept 'till I have the pleafure of feeing you, and believe me to be Madam, &c."

This letter, Sir, I received within a fortnight after the irreparable lofs I have mentioned, and within a fortnight afterwards, Mr. Allworthy, -the bleffed Mr. Allworthy, came to pay me a vifit, when he placed me in the houfe where you now fee me, gave me a large fum of money to furnish it, and fettled an annuity of 50l. a year upon me, which I have conftantly received ever fince. Judge then, Mr. Jones, in what regard I must hold a benefactor, to whom I owe the prefervation of my life, and of thofe dear children, for whofe fake alone my life is valuable.- -Do not, therefore, think me impertinent, Mr. Jones, (fince I muft efteem one for whom I know Mr. Allworthy hath fo much value) if I beg you not to converfe with thefe wicked women. You are a young gentleman, and do not know half their artful wiles. Do not be angry with me, Sir, for what I faid upon account of my house; you • must be fenfible it would be the ruin of my poor dear girls. Befides, Sir, you cannot but be acquainted, that Mr. Allworthy himfelf would never forgive my conniving at fuch matters, and particularly with you.'

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Upon my word, Madam,' faid Jones, you need • make no farther apology; nor do I in the leaft take any thing ill you have faid: but give me leave, ‘as no one can have more value than myself for Mr. Allworthy, to deliver you from one mistake, which perhaps, would not be altogether for his honour: I do affure you, I am no relation of his.'

Alas! Sir,' answered the, I know you are not, I know very well who you are; for Mr. Allworthy hath told me all: but I do affure you, had you been twenty times his fon, he could not have expreffed. more regard for you, than he hath often expreffed in' my prefence. You need not be afhamed, Sir, of what you are; I promise you no good perfon will efteen you the lefs on that account. No, Mr. Jones; the words, "difhonourable birth," are nonfenfe, as my dear, dear husband used to say, unless the word, "difhonourable" be applied to the parents; for the

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⚫ children can derive no real dishonour from an ac of which they are entirely innocent.'

Here Jones heaved a deep figh, and then faid, Since I perceive, Madam, you really do know me, and Mr. Allworthy hath thought proper to mention my name to you; and fince you have been fo explicit with me as to your own affairs, I will acquaint you with fome more circumftances concern ing myself.' And these Mrs. Miller having expreffed great defire and curiofity to hear, he began and related to her his whole hiftory, without once men, tioning the name of Sophia.

There is a kind of fympathy in honeft minds, by means of which they give an eafy credit to each other. Mrs. Miller believed all which Jones told her to be true, and expreft much pity and concern for him. She was beginning to comment on the ftory, but Jones interrupted her; for as the hour of affignation now drew nigh, he began to ftipulate for a fecond interview with the lady that evening, which he promised fhould be the laft at her houfe; fwearing, at the fame time, that she was one of great diftinction, and that nothing but what was entirely innocent was to pafs between them; and I do firmly believe he intended to keep his word.

Mrs. Miller was at length prevailed on, and Jones departed to his chamber, where he fat alone till twelve o'clock, but no lady Bellafton appeared.

As we have faid that this lady had a great affection for Jones, and as it must have appeared that the really had fo, the reader may perhaps wonder at the first failure of her appointment as the apprehended him to be confined by sickness, a season when friendhip feems most to require fuch vifits. This behaviour therefore, in the lady, may, by fome, be condemned as unnatural; but that is not our fault; for our business is only to record truth.

CHAR

Containing a scene which we doubt not will affect all our readers.

MR

R. Jones clofed not his eyes during all the former part of the night; not owing it to any uneafinefs which he conceived at being difappointed by Lady Bellafton; nor was Sophia herself, though moft of his waking hours were juflly to be charged to her account, the prefent caufe of difpelling his flumbers. In fact, poor Jones was one of the bestnatured fellows alive, and had all that weakness which is called compaffion, and which distinguishes this imperfect character from that noble firmness of mind, which rolls a man, as it were, within himself and, like a polifhed bowl, enables him to run through the world, without being once ftopped by the calamities which happen to others. He could not help, therefore, compaffionating the fituation of poor Nancy, whofe love for Mr. Nigtingale feemed to hit fo apparent that he was aftonithed at the blindness of her mother, who had more than once the preceding evening, remarked to him the great change in the temper of her daughter, who from being,' fhe faid, one of the livelieft, merriest girls in the world, was, on a fudden, become all gloom and melancholy.'

Sleep, however, at length got the better of all refiftance; and now as if he had already been a deity, as the antients imagined, and an offended one too, he feemed to enjoy his dear-bought conqueft.-To speak fimply, and without any methaphor, Mr. Jones flept 'till eleven the next morning, and would perhaps, have continued in the fame quiet fituation much longer, had not a violent uproar awakened him.

Partridge was now fummoned, who, being asked what was the matter, answered, that there was a ⚫ dreadful hurricane below ftairs; that Mifs Nancy was in fits; and that the other fifter, and the mother, were both crying and lamenting over her.' Jones expreffed much concern at this news, which VOL. VIII.

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Partridge endeavoured to relieve, by faying with a fmile, he fancied the young lady was in no danger of death; for that Sufan (which v was the name of the maid) had given him to understand, it was nothing more than a common affair. In short,' faid he, Mifs Nancy hath had a mind to be as wife as her mother; that's all, fhe was a little hungry, it feems, and fo fat down to dinner before grace was faid; and fo there is a child coming for the foundling-hofpital.' Prithee leave thy ftupid jefting,' cries Jones, Is the mifery of thefe poor - wretches a fubject of mirth! Go immediately to Mrs. Miller, and tell her, I beg leave-Stay, you ⚫ will make fome blunder; I will go myself; for the ⚫ defired me to breakfast with her.' He then rofe, and dreffed himself as fast as he could: and while he was dreffing, Partridge, notwithstanding many fevere rebukes, could not avoid throwing forth certain pieces of brutality, commonly called jelts, on this occafion. Jones was no fooner. dreffed, than he walked down ftairs, and knocking at the door, was prefently admitted, by the maid, into the outward parlour, which was as empty of company as it was of any apparatus for eating. Mrs. Miller was in the inner room with her daughter, whence the maid prefently brought a meffage to Mr Jones, that her miftrefs hoped he ⚫ would excufe the disappointment, but an accident had happened, which made it impoffible for her to have the pleasure of his company at breakfast that day; and begged his pardon for not fending him · up notice fooner.' Jones defired fhe would give herself no trouble about any thing fo trifling as his difappointment; that he was heartily forry for the occafion; and that if he could be of any service to her, the might command him.’

He had fcarce fpoke these words, when Mrs. Miller, who heard them all, fuddenly threw open the door, and coming out to him, in a flood of tears, faid, Mr. Jones, you are certainly one of the best young men alive. I give you a thousand thanks for your kind offer of your fervice; but, alas! Sir, it is out of your power to preferve my poor girl