You are affected my deareft coufin---I had better ftop here. If you are moved by small matters, how would your heart be wrung by fome enfuing diftreffes !---I muft not venture to proceed.

Go on, cried the countefs, go on, I infift upon it! I love to weep, I joy to grieve; it is my happinefs, my delight, to have my heart broken in pieces.

We were both of us much relieved by the vent of our mutual paffion; for, though my wife ftill continued to keep to me and cling about me, the yet feemed to be sweetly compofed, and funk within my arms, as into a bed and depth of

peace.

At length I liftened to a kind of murmur and buftle in the hall, and I heard fome one diftinctly cry, O my mafter, my mafter!

We started up at the inftant. Mr Golding had been from home at the time of the deadly crifis of my two darling little ones; and had quieted all his fears and renewed all his profpects, in the view and full affurance of their life and quick recovery. We had been too much engaged and occupied in our own perfonal griefs, to give to our fervants the teasonable precaution of breaking the matter to our father by unalarming degrees; and a rude

fellow

fellow, at his enterance, bluntly told him that the children were both dead; whereupon he clapped his hands together, and, cafting himself into a chair, remained without fenfe or motion.

When we ran out, we were greatly terrified by the manner of his afpect: though his eyes were clofed, his brows were gloomy and contracted, while the nether part of his face looked quiet and compofed.

I inftantly fent for a furgeon, and recalled the phyficians who had but lately left us; while my Matty ftood motionless, with her hands clofed together, and her eyes fixed upon her father. At length fhe cried out, My papa, my papa, my dear papa, I would, I would I had died before I came to this hour! But, bleffed be thy will, fince it is thy will, O God! When all other props are fapped and plucked from under me, I truft to fall into thee, my Father which art in heaven!

Being put to bed, and bled, he recovered motion and fpeech, and we got him to fwallow a compofing draught, though he did not yet recollect any person or thing about him.

Notwithstanding our late fatigues, Matty and I fat up with him moft of the night; and then ordering a pallet to be brought

into

into the room, we lay down to take a little reft toward morning. Alas, faid I to myfelf, how rich was I yefterday, and how is my world abridged! These narrow walls now contain all that is left me of all the poffeffions that I value upon earth.

Poor Mr Golding was but ill qualified to bear calamity. His life had been a life of found health and fucceffes; and he never had been acquainted with sickness, or with affliction, fave on the death of his wife whom he had married for money, and on the illness of his daughter as already related.

1944

As he had taken an opiate, he did not awaken till it was late in the day. Turning his head toward me, Is it you, Harry, fays he? How do you find yourself, Sir, faid 1?---- Why, has any thing been the matter with me? Indeed I do not feel myfelf right; but, fend my children to me; fend my Jacky and my little Harriet; the fight of them will be a reftorative beyond all the cordials in the world. You are filent, Harry-What is the meaning?---O, now I begin to remember--my iweet babies, my little play-fellows, I fhail never fee you any more.

Here he burft into the moft violent guft of paffion. He groaned, he wept, he cried aloud with heart-piercing excla mations;

mations; while I caught up Matty in my arms, and, running with her to a distant apartment, catched a kiss, and locked her

in.

I returned, but found him in the fame violence of agitation. I fpoke to him, I would have comforted him; but he cried, Be quiet, Harry, I will not be comforted. " I will go to my children; they shall not be torn from me; we will die, we will be buried, we will lie in the same grave together.

As I found myself fick, and ready to faint under the oppreffion of his lamentations, I withdrew to the next chamber, and there plentifully vented the contagious shower.

After fome time I liftened, and perceived that all was quiet, and returning, I found him in a kind of troubled doze, from whence he fell into a deep and peaceful fleep. Thus he continued for three days, wailing and flumbering by fits, without tafting any matter of nourishment, though his daughter and I implored him on our knees, and with tears. No reasonings, no intreaties could avail for appeafing him; it was from the affociation of our forrows alone that he ap peared to admit of any confolation.

At

At length his paffion fubfided into a fullen and filent calm; he would speak to nobody, he would answer none of us except by monofyllables.

Within a few following weeks, news was brought me that our fhip the Phoenix was arrived in the Downs, fafe and richly laden from the Eaft Indies.

Immediately I carried the tidings to the old man, in the pleafing expectation that they would ferve to divert, or, at least, to amufe his melancholy. But, fixing his look upon me, Wherefore, Harry, doft thou tell me of ships and Indies? he cried; both Indies are poor to me, they have nothing that they can fend me.

I have

no road to go upon earth, no way upon fea to navigate; I am already become a wild and wafted Babylon, wherein the voice of mufic fhall never more be heard. O ye old and unbleffed knees, where are now your precious babes, who were wont to play about ye, and to cling and climb upon ye? gone, gone, gone, gone, never, never to return!

Here, breaking into tears, I cried, We are both young yet, my father, we may yet have many children to be the comfort of your age. No, my Harry, no, he replied; you may, indeed, have many chilVOL. III. dren,

B