my tutor, who, good man, has been no ftranger to poverty or diftrefs.

Here the called Mr Ruth from an innerroom, Give me leave, my dear, fays the, to introduce a young ftranger to you:: from what world he comes, I know not; but I am fure that he is not wholly of the world that we have lived in.

Mr Ruth's countenance fpoke at once the meeknefs of Mofes and the patience of Job. Having faluted, we both fat down. Mr Ruth, faid I, I have a meffage to you. and your lady from your fweet pretty neighbour, Mifs Diana Stern. In token of her refpect and affection for you, fhe prefents you with this cafh-note of a hundred pounds. Diana Stern! cried out Mr Ruth, why, mafter, fhe is nearly as poor as ourfelves. By no means, Sir, I affure you; her grandfather is come to town, the is worth feveral thousands, befides a confiderable eftate to which the is heiress. O, the dear creature, the dear angel! cried Mrs Ruth, I will inftantly go and pay her. my acknowledgments; fo upfhe got and out the run, before I could prevent her.

As foon as he was gone, Mr Ruth, fays I, my dada is much fonder of me than I deferve. He has given me a little money to dispose of, at pleasure, among

the

the confined debtors; and though I may not have enough to answer your occafions, yet my dada is fo very good and fo very generous, that if you give me the fum of your debts, with the story of your di ftreffes, his heart, Lam fure, will melt, and he will fet you clear in the world.

"

He made no anfwer, however, to this my offer, but, lifting up his eyes, he cried, Well mightest thou fay, great Saviour of the fimple, "Suffer little children to come "unto me, for of fuch is the kingdom of "heaven." O, thou babe of the manger,. "thou first born of many brethren," here,. indeed, is a dear and true little brother of thine; but he speaks in his fimplicity, and not according to knowledge! Then, turns ing toward me, Can you guefs, my dar ling, faid he, what you undertake to do for me? I queftion if the charities of all this nation would be fufficient, when u-nited, to effect my deliverance. Nothing, nothing but the arm of the Almighty can do it. He will do it, indeed, in death; but what then thall become of my wife and feven infants? that truly is terrible; is worfe than death to think of!

- While we were fpeaking, two sweet little fellows came in, the eldest very nearly of my fize, but both clad in very thin and poor looking apparel. Having

kneeled

kneeled for their father's bleffing, they flipt behind us; and, turning my head to obferve them, I was quite afhamed, and drew it back again, on perceiving that the poor things were unlading their pockets of old crufts and broken meats, which I fuppofed they had begged for the family.

Mrs Ruth just then returned, and her countenance looked fomething dejected. She took her feat by her hufband, and, continuing a while filent, fhe put her handkerchief before her eyes, and began in broken words, Can you guefs, my dear, faid fhe, what sort of a creature this is whom we have got among us? This little heavenly impoftor, to lighten our obligation, would have perfuaded us that the hundred pounds was the gift of another; but it is all his own bounty, it is all his own gracioufnefs. Come, my daughters, come, my children, kneel down and return your thanks to this your patron, your benefactor, your little father here!

O dada, you would have pitied me fadly, had you feen me at this time. The poor dear things came, all in a cluster, picfling, and catching, and clafping, and clinging about me; while my love, and my very heart was torn, as it were, to fritters among them. So I took them,,

one:

one by one, in my arms, and kiffed and embraced them, very cordially, calling them my brothers and fifters. I then took out another hundred pound note,. and, giving it to the eldest of the daughters, Here, my dear, faid I, I always lo ved the little miffes better than the little mafters; here is for yourself and your fi fters, to cloth you in a way more becoming your family. And then taking a note, of equal value, I gave it to the eldeft fon, for himself and his brothers, as 1 faid, to help to educate them in a manner more agreeable to the house from whence they came..

Mr and Mrs Ruth looked fo aftonished at me, and at each other, that, for a while, they were not able to utter a fylTable. And, juft as they began to make their acknowledgments, I cried, Huth,. hush! here comes my tutor.

Mr Clement juft then entered, followed by feveral fervants, who carried a tea equipage, cold fowl, baked meats, with paftries, and some wine.

Having introduced Mr Clement, we all got round the table, and, after tea and a further regale, I befought Mr Ruth to give us the ftory of his misfortunes.

My father, faid he, was baron of Frankford. He left my brother, with the titles,

title, four thousand five hundred pounds a-year, entailed however upon me, in cafe of his dying without male iffue. And he left me a fmall inheritance of four hundred pounds yearly, to support in some measure, the appearance of a gentleman.

As my concern bordered on my brother's estate, we saw one another every day, and continued, for feveral years, in ftrait and tender amity.

Being both invited, one day, to dine with other company, at the house of a neighbour called Mr Heartlefs, a question happened to be started over the bottle, whether the method of fetting an egg on end was originally the invention of Columbus, or whether it was communicated to him by fome other; and I unhappily efpoufed the opinion that was oppofite to that of my brother.

Now, though the question was not worth the very fhell of the egg about which we debated, yet we entered as warmly into it as though a province had lain at ftake: for it is not truth, or inftruction, that difputants feek after; it is victory alone, that is the object of their contention.

After fome warm words and perfonal retorts had paffed between my brother and me, he ftarted into fudden paffion

and