Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB
[ocr errors][ocr errors]
[merged small][graphic][merged small]

The Tears of Gratitude. ATale.

25

as the complaints are of the degeneracy of the age, of the corrup tion of the times, who do the highest

paled through fhould make her obfarve a greater decorum, fince the ought to refume the modefty and innocence of a maid, with the know-honour to human nature, not only

ledge of a wife. Wifdom must be her infeparable guide, or he will be liable to cenfure; if the can, therefore, be difengaged from the cares of a family, and the affairs which are capable of retaining her in the world, the best thing the can do is to retire herself from it; fhe knows all the deficiencies of it, the injustice, the cruelty, and the affactions of it; the pleafures fhe has enjoyed not having recompenfed the pains, a cloifter is for her a fafe and fure afylum. But let there be no forced cells, no vic tims of family and intereft. Among the number of nuns those that are content are by much the fmallest

part.

Thus, my dearest Julia, have 1 led you through the different flages of human life, and hope, when you read this, you will rather think it came from a friend, whofe tendernefs endeavoured to make you perfect, than from a mother grown fevere by age; and do not enquire whether the who gave you thefe leffons obferved them herfelf; only think that he who could give them was capable of following them; others faults do not leffen ours, but ought to ferve as examples to deter us from them. I flatter myself, from the obfervations I have made on your temper, that this abridgment of your conduct may be ferviceable to you in all the inflances of your life.

[blocks in formation]

Of this happy difpofition was a Mrs. Simpfon, a widow lady, who lived in a genteel retirement in one of the pleafant counties in England, in a very refpectable style of life, and as he was poffeffed of a large fortune, the might alfo have lived in a fplendid one. But fplendour had no charms for her; he had no tafte for pomp, fhe had a strong averfion to oftentation, and, therefore, instead of living up to her income, and making a brilliant appearance in the world with the income at her command, fhe devoted two thirds of it to charitable uses. that is to the enjoyment of those pleafures which the felt in doing good actions; always feeling an enlargement of her domestic happinefs, while he was promoting the felicity of others. To the poor

fhe was a conftant, a generous, an active friend; and, indeed, every human being who flood in need of her affittance was an object of altertion in her benevolent eyes.

This amiable, refpectable, and beneficent lady, though he had no very near relations, had a numerous family to provide for, as the confidered whom he could relieve under the preffure of their diftreffes entitled to her regard, if they

The TEARS of GRATITUDE. proved fenfible of the favours which

[blocks in formation]

The conferred on them, fhe was doubly fatisfied with her behaviour, but even ingratitude was not fufficiently powerful to stop the tide of her benevolence in its flowing course.

While the was ftrolling one day through a neighbouring village, the E difcovered

an old man feated upon a bank, who [them both the most pleafing, teemed almoft fpent with fatigue. With his hat in one hand, and with a thick in the other, he folicited her charity, though he had not the appearance of a common beggar. She was, indeed, fo much ftruck by his appearance, and his folicitation, that he could not help withing to know what had brought him into his fupplicating fituation.

moit decided proofs of pa affection. But at her death fcene was totally changed. then about fifteen, and had the tification to find, upon my fat entering into a fecond connec a very striking alteration in his baviour to me. From the entran my mother-in-law into the fami was no longer treated with the nefs to which I had been, from infancy, accustomed. On the of a fon I was fo much negle that I could not help feeling change in my condition with a cern not easily to be described fear, madam, I fhall tire your tience with my garrulity, but I with pleasure, that you int yourfelf in my history. From birth of my brother I was loo Mrs. Simpfon having declared a upon by my new mother with a delire to know what had reduced lignity which gave me the fron him to the tate in which he then reason to believe that she would appeared, he, bowing his head, every thing in her power-and with the most fubmiflive humility, power was abfolute to preju opened his narrative in the follow- my father-too, too fond of he ing manner. against me; and I was, unhapp Your curiofity, madam, is ex-right in my conjectures with reg tremely natural, and I will make, to her conduct. She had, in tru hatte, with a few outlines of my fo much influence over him, t variegated history, to give you the the prevailed on him, while he wished for fatisfaction. - I have, in- upon his death-bed, to cancel deed, feen better days; I was born wi, in which he had provided a gentleman, I have been a prof-me in a very liberal manner, and perous one, but the days of my profperity are over, and I am deftined, I fear, for the remainder of my lite, to be ranked among the unfortunate of the human fpecies. My name is Simplon."

Taking fome pieces of money out of her purfe, the dropped them into his hat. The fight of them had fuch an effect upon his feelings, that the tears of gratitude rufhed from his eyes, and he loaded her with acknowledgements, delivered in a ftyle of expreffion which fufficiently convinced her that he had been educated like a gentleman, and that he had feen better days.

On the utterance of the last word Mrs. Simpfon ftarted the farted with furprife her pity was not leffened, her curiofity was very * much increased.

"My father, continued he, was a man of large property, in various fhapes, and proved the mast indulgent one to me, during the life of my mother, whom he fincerely loved; and, indeed, I received from

fettle the portion which he had lotted for me on her own fon, addition to what she had, in con quence of the fortune the broug fecured for him, fo that upon death I not only found myfelf d prived of the fums defigned, was turned out of the houfe in manner the moft provoking, as w as most ungenerous, unfeeling ma ner to be conceived. From n mother-in-law I had nothing to e pect, and the had trained up o brother too much in her own wa of thinking, and acting, to perm me to hope for any kind treatme from him; they were both equall

The Tears of Gratitude.

27

inveterate against me, and at the
moment of my difmiffion, difco-
vered the most pointed figns of fa-tering nature. With the fmall mar-
ter in my poffeffion 1 then refolved
to make myfelf known to the lady
whom my brother married fome
years ago, and who is now, I am
told, a widow, in this part of the
country. Of her generous difpo-
fition I had received the most afto-
nifhing proofs, and, therefore, pre-
pared, not without fome fenfations
of pleafure, for my journey; but
before I had travelled many miles,
I was attacked by a couple of high-
waymen, who fripped me of all
the cafh I had in my pockets, fo
that I am now in the strictest fenfe
of the word, a beggar. Having
walked till I was unable to proceed,
I fat down upon this bank, not with--
out hopes that fome paflenger,
touched with compaffion, would kind-

turn in my affairs, though my prof
pects were not, certainly, of a flat-

Heaven I have not been disappointed; but your generofity has operated in a manner fo different from the common, modes of donation to men, in my apparent circumstances, that I cannot help expreffing a defire to know to whom I am fo deep

tisfaction in their faces. On my departure from them I went to a merchant in the city, an old friend of my father's, who had often blamed his behaviour to me, in confequence of his fecond marriage, but little imagined that he would have carried his parental refentment fo far as not to leave me a fhilling for my fupport. In this gentle min's eyes I appeared doubly an object of compation, and he gave me the ftrongest proofs of his regard, by procuring an appointment for me in the East Indies, having connections with fome friends in that part of the world, who, he was affured, would, from his recommendations, put me in the road to independence if I acted agreeably to their inftructions and admoni-ly contribute to my relief. Thank tions. To thofe friends I was warm ly recommended, and by listening to them, was happy enough to raife a fortune, with which I was fo well fatisfied, that I determined to return to my native country, and enjoy it in the way molt agreeable, to me. In confequence of this de-ly obliged." termination, I made remittances from time to time to the fon of the gentleman who had fitted me out for my departure from England,rative delivered to her with eager. and who died foon after my arrival at Bengal. After a very agreeable paffage I arrived, but, alas! to what did I arrive? To poverty in ftead of riches; as the perfon to whom I had remitted my fortune had not been only totally ruined It gives me the fincereft pleahimself, by very fevere and unex- fure, fir, on the prefent occafion, pected loffes, but had involved me to inform you, that your diftreffesin his own misfortunes, by having arifing from the want of pecuniary taken the liberty to make ufe of the affittance-are at an end. You be fums which I had committed to his hold in me the woman whom your care. This, I must confefs, was a brother married, and to whom, bedifappointment hardly to be en-fore he died, he made difclofures, dared. However, my trust in providence was not fhaken by it; Iftill ventured to hope for a favourable

Mrs. Simpfon, whofe fenfibility was as acute as her benevolence was active, having liftened to the nar

attention, and felt various emotions during the recital of it, wiped away the tears which food trembling in her eyes, which that recital had produced, thus replied with a smile replete with benignity.

which, while they proved the fin cerity of his repentance, convinced me that his recollection, on your E 2

account,

« AnteriorContinuar »