your ladyfhip loves, and it shall not tire you by it's length.

It was upon occafion of a great lofs and difappointment which happened to my dear parents: (for though they were never high in life, yet they were not always to low as my honoured lady found them, when she took me) my poor father came home; and as the lofs was of fuch a nature, as that he could not keep it from my mother, he took her hand, I remem ber well, and faid, after he had acquainted her with it- Come, my dear, let us take comfort, that we did for the best. 'We left the iffue to Providence, as we -ought, and that has turned it as it pleafed; and we must be content, though 'not favoured as we wished. All the bufinefs is, our lot is not caft for this life. Let us refign ourselves to the Divine will, and continue to do our duty, and this fhort life will foon be past. Our troubles will be quicklyoverblown; and we shall be happy in a better, I 'make no doubt.'

Then my dear mother threw her kind arms about his neck, and faid with tears - God's will be done, my dear love! 'All cannot be rich and happy. I am ⚫ contented, and had rather fay, I have a poor honeft husband, than a guilty rich one. What fignifies repining: let the 'world go as it will, we shall have our length and our breadth at last. And Providence, I make no doubt, will be • a better friend to our good girl here, because she is good, than we could be, if this had not happened,' pointing to me, who, then about eleven years old, (for it was before my lady took me) fat weeping in the chimney-corner, over a few dying embers of a fire, at their moving expreffions.

I arofe, and kiffing both their hands, and bleffing them, faid-'And this length and breadth, my dear parents, will be 'one day, all that the rich and the great can poffefs; and, it may be, their ungracious heirs will trample upon their afhes, and rejoice they are gone: while 'fuch a poor girl as I, am honouring 'the memories of mine, who in their good names, and good leffons will have • left me the best of portions."

And then they both hugged their prating girl to their fond bofoms, by turns; and all three were fo filled with comfort in one another, that after joining in a grateful hymn, we went to bed (what

See

though fupperlefs perhaps?) with fuch true joy, that very few of the rich and great can have any idea of it; I to my loft, and they to their rufh-floor'd cleanly bed-room. And we have had sweet fleep, and dreams fo pleasant, that we have reaped greater plenfures, in repeating them one to another, at our next leifure-hour, than, poffibly, we should have received, had we enjoyed the comforts we wanted.

And, truly, I muft needs fay, that while the virtuous poor can be blessed with fuch fweet enjoyments as thefe, in contented minds all day, and in found fleep at night, I don't know whether they have not more, even of this world's plea fures, than the abounding rich and while the hours of night bear fo near a proportion to thofe of the day, may not fuch be faid, even at the worst, to pafs at leaft half their lives with more comfort than many times the voluptuous and diftempered great can pretend to know?

For a farther proof that boneft poverty is not fuch a deplorable thing as fome people imagine, let me afk, what pleasure can thofe over-happy perfons know, who from the luxury of their taftes, and their affluent circumitances, always eat before they are hungry, and drink before they are thirty? This may be illuftrated by the inftance of a certain eaftern monarch, who, as I have read, marching at the head of a vaft army through a wide extended defart, which afforded neither river nor fpring, for the first time, found himfelf (in common with his foldiers) overtaken by a craving thirft, which made him with for, and pant after a cup of wa

ter.

And when at laft, after diligent and diftant fearch, one of his foldiers found a little dirty puddle, and carried him fome of the filthy water in his nafty helmet; the monarch, greedily fwallowing it, cried out, that in all his life he never tafted fo fweet a draught!

But when I talk or write of my wor thy parents, how I run on !-Excuse me, my good lady; and don't think me, in this refpect, too much like the cat in the fable*, turned into a fine lady; for methinks, though I would never forget what I was, yet I would be thought to know bow, gratefully to enjoy my present happinefs, as well with regard to my obligations to GOD, as to your dear brother. But let me proceed to your ladyfhip's third particular,

3. And you cannot imagine, Madam, how much you have fet my heart at reft, when you tell me, that my dear Mr. B. gave me a juft narrative of this affair with Mifs Godfrey: for, when your ladyship defired to know how he had recounted that ftory, left you fhould make a mifunderstanding between us unawares, I did not know what to think. I was afraid fome blood had been shed on the occafion by him: for the lady was ruined, and as to her, nothing could have happened worse. And the regard I have for Mr. B.'s future happiness, which in my conftant fupplications for him in private, colts me many a tear, gave me great apprehenfions, and not a little uneafinefs. But as your ladyfhip tells me that he gave me a juft account, I am happy again.

What makes one, my dear lady, in our moft profperous condition, be always intermingling one's fears of what may be; whereby one robs one's felf of the pleafure of one's best worldly enjoyments? Is this apprehenfivenefs, does your ladythip think, implanted in our natures for wife and good ends, that we may not think ourselves fo happy here, as to caufe us to forget that there is a better, and more perfectly happy ftate, which we ought to afpire after? I believe it is: and if fo, what an ufeful monitor do we carry about us, that shall make us confider and reflect, when in prosperity; and in adverfity teach us to bear up to hopes of a happier lot! Thus it is faid by Mr. Norris, in his tranflation of one of Horace's Odes,

Be life and spirit when fortune proves unkind, And fummon up the vigour of thy mind; But when thou'rt driven by too officious gales, Be wife, and gather in the fwelling fails.

I now come to your ladyship's fourth particular.

And highly delighted I am for having obtained your approbation of my conduct to the child, as well as of my behaviour towards the dear gentleman, on the unhappy lady's fcore. Your ladyfhip's wife intimations about having the child with me,make due impreffion upon me; and I fee in them, withgrateful pleafure, yourunmerited regard for me. Yet, I don't know how it is, but I have conceived a strange paffion for this dear baby: I cannot but

Look upon her poor mamma as my fifter in point of trial: and shall not the profperous fifter pity and love the poor dear

fifter, that, in fo flippery a path, has fallen, while he had the happiness to keep her feet?

No doubt, Mifs Godfrey loved virtue, and preferred it to all confiderations: 'tis plain fhe did even after her fall—when, as I have obferved in the papers I fent your ladyship, he could leave country, parents, friends, and the man of all others fhe loved beft, and feek a new fortune, run the danger of the fcas, and perhaps the hazards of meeting with worde men, rather than trust to her own ftrength, where it had once fo unhappily failed her.

What a love of virtue for virtue's fake is this? I know not who could have acted up to this part of her character.

Thereft of your ladyship's articles give me the greatest pleasure and fatisfaction; and if I can but continue myself in the favour of your dear brother, and improve in that of his noble fitter, how happy fhail I be! I will do all I can to deferve both. And I hope your ladyship will take as an inftance that I will, the cheerful obedience which I pay to your commands, in writing to fo fine a judge, fuch crude and indigested stuff, as otherwife I ought to be ashamed to lay before

you.

I am impatient for the honour, which your ladyship makes me hope for, of your prefence here: and yet I perplex myself with the fear of appearing fo unworthy in your eye when near you, as to fuffer in your opinion; but I promise myself, I that however this may be the cafe on your firft vifit, I fhall be fo much improved by the benefits I fhall reap from your leffons and good example, that whenever I fhall be favoured with a second, you shall have fewer faults to find with me; till, as I shall be more and more favoured, I shall in time be just what your ladyship will with me to be, and, of confequence, more worthy than I am of the honour of ftiling myself your ladyship's most humble and obedient fervant,

LETTER XXI.

P.-B.

FROM MISS DARNFORD. IN ANSWER TO MRS. B.`S, P. 334.

MY DEAR MRS. B.

body

body in this world, out of our own family, in whofe company I should be happier: but my papa won't part with ine, I think; though I have fecured my mamma in my intereft; and I know Nancy would be glad of my absence, because the dear perverfely envious thinks me more valued than be is; and yet, foolish gil, the don't confider, that if her envy be wellgrounded, I should return with more than double advantages to what I now have, improved by your charming converfation.

My papa affects to be in a fearful pet at your lecturing of him fo justly; for my mamma would fhew him the letter; and he fays he will pofitively demand fatisfaction of Mr. B. for your treating him fo freely. And yet he fhall hardly think him, he fays, on a rank with him, unless Mr. B. will, on occafion of the new commiffion, take out his Dedimus: and then if he will bring you down to Lincolnfhire, and join with him to commit you prifoner for a month at the Hall, all shall be well.

It is very obliging in Mr. B. to join in your kind invitation: but-yet I am loth to fay it to you the character of your worthy gentleman, I doubt, stands a little in the way with my papa; for he will have it, that he is just such a rake as is to be liked by a lady; one that faves common appearances, and that's all; and is too handfome, too witty, and too enterprising, for any boneft man, that's Sir Simon's phrafe, to truft bis daughter with.

My manima pleaded his being married. Ads-dines, Madam,' faid he, 'what of all that! What married man, when a pretty girl's in the way, minds his wife, except fhe has made him ftand in fear of her? and that's far from the cafe here. Why, I tell you,' added his peevith highness, if our Polly fhould happen to flip,' (I thank him for his fuppofition) he'd make his lady nurse both ber and the baftard, (another of ⚫his polite expreffions) if he had a mind 'to it, and the durft not refufe him. And ⚫ would you truft fuch a sprightly girl as Polly, in the house with fuch a fellow 'as that?'

Thefe, it seems, were his words and his reasonings: I thank him for his opinion of his daughter. It becomes not me to fay, by what rules my papa judges of mankind; rules, however, that are not auch to the credit of his fex:-but it

made me put on very grave airs when I came to fupper, (for after this repulfe, and the realons given for it, I pretended indifpofition, not to dine with my papa, being half-vexed, and half-afraid of his raillery) and he faid- Why, how now, Polly! What! in the fullens, < girl?' I faid, I fhould have hoped, that I never gave my papa caufe to fufpect my conduct, and that he would have had a better opinion of the force which the example and precepts of my good mamma had upon me.

Not your papa's example thenVery well, faucebox,Iunderstand you.'

But, Sir,' faid I, I hope, if I may not go to Bedfordshire, you'll permit me to go to London, when Mrs. B. goes.'

No,' faid he, positively no!'

Well, Sir, I have done. I could hope, however, you would enable me to give a better reafon to good Mrs. B. why I am not permitted to accept of the kind invitation, than that which I underftand you have been pleated to affign." He ftuck his hands in his fides, with his ufual humorous pofitiveness then tell her, fhe is a very faucy lady, for her last letter to you; and her lord and matter is not to be trufted; and it is my abfolute will and pleafure that you ask me no more questions about it.'

Why

I will very faithfully make this report, Sir. Do fo.'-And fo I have. -And your poor Polly Darnford is difappointed of one of the greatest pleafures fhe could have had.

I can't help it-And if you truly pity me, I can put you in a way to make me eafier under the difappointment, than otherwife I can poffibly be; and that is, to favour me with an epiftolary converfation, fince I am denied a personal one; and this my mamma joins with me to request of you; and particularly, to let us know how Lady Davers's firft vifit paffes; which Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Jones, who know my lady fo well, likewife long to hear. And this will make us the best amends in your power for the lofs of your good neighbourhood, which we had all promifed to ourselves.

This denial of my papa comes out, fince I wrote the above, to be principally owing to a propofal made him of an humble fervant to one of his daughters: he won't fay which, he tells us, in his ufual humorous