and with what keen and spirited strokes of satire he retorted the sarcasms of Darnel. which he was disabled from giving personal | treaty subsisting between the two families; attention to his own interest. My father, indeed, employed all his diligence and address, and spared neither money, time, nor constitution, till at length he drank himself into a consumption, which was the death of him. But, after all, there is a great difference between a steward and a principal. Mr Darnel attended in propria persona, flattered and caressed the women, feasted the electors, hired mobs, made processions, and scattered about his money in such a manner, that our friends durst hardly show their heads in public. "At this very crisis, our young squire, to whom his father had written an account of the transaction, arrived unexpectedly at Gravesbury-hall, and had a long private conference with Sir Everhard. The news of his return spread like wild-fire through all that part of the country, bonfires were made, and the bells set a-ringing in several towns and steeples; and next morning above seven hundred people were assembled at the gate, with music, flags, and streamers, to welcome their young squire, and accompany him to the borough of Ashenton. He set out on foot with his retinue, and entered one end of the town just as Mr Darnel's mob had come in at the other. Both arrived about the same time at the market place; but Mr Darnel, mounting first into the balcony of the town-house, made a long speech to the people in favour of his own pretensions, not without some invidious reflections glanced at Sir Everhard, his competitor. "He no sooner concluded his harangue, than there was such a burst of applause, as seemed to rend the very sky. Our music immediately struck up; our people advanced with their ensigns, and, as every man had a good cudgel, broken heads would have ensued, had not Mr Darnel and his party thought proper to retreat with uncommon dispatch. He never offered to make another public entrance, as he saw the torrent ran so violently against him; but sat down with his loss, and withdrew his opposition, though at bottom extremely mortified and incensed. Sir Everhard was unanimously elected, and appeared to be the happiest man upon earth; for, besides the pleasure arising from his victory over this competitor, he was now fully satisfied that his son, instead of disgracing, would do honour to his family. It would have moved a heart of stone to see with what a tender transport of paternal joy he received his dear Launcelot, after having heard of his deportment and success at Ashenton, where, by-the-bye, he gave a ball to the ladies, and displayed as much elegance and politeness, as if he had been bred at the court of Versailles. "This joyous season was of short duration: in a little time all the happiness of the family was overcast by a sad incident, which hath left such an unfortunate impression upon the mind of the young gentleman, as, I am afraid, will never be effaced. Mr Darnel's niece and ward, the great heiress, whose name is Aurelia, was the most celebrated beauty of the whole country; if I said the whole kingdom, or indeed all Europe, perhaps I should barely do her justice. I don't pretend to be a limner, gemmen; nor does it become me to delineate such excellence; but surely I may presume to repeat from the play, "We did not much mind the acclamation of his party, which we knew had been hired for the purpose; but we were in some pain for Mr Greaves, who had not been used to speak in public. He took his turn, however, in the balcony, and, uncovering his head, bowed all around with the most engaging courtesy. He was dressed in a green frock trimmed with gold, and his own dark hair flowed about his ears in natural curls, 'Oh! she is all that painting can express, while his face was overspread with a blush, 'Or youthful poets fancy when they love!' that improved the glow of youth to a deeper crimson; and I dare say set many a female "At that time she might be about sevenheart a-palpitating. When he made his first teen; tall and fair, and so exquisitely shaped appearance, there was just such a humming-you may talk of your Venus de Medicis, and clapping of hands as you may have heard your Dianas, your nymphs, and Galateas: when the celebrated Garrick comes upon but if Praxiteles, and Roubillac, and Wilton, the stage in King Lear, or King Richard, or any other top character. But how agreeably were we disappointed, when our young gentleman made such an oration as would not have disgraced a Pitt, an Egmont, or a Murray! While he spoke, all was hushed in admiration and attention; you could have almost heard a feather drop to the ground. It would have charmed you to hear with what modesty he recounted the services which his father and grandfather had done to the corporation; with what eloquence he expatiated upon the shameful infraction of the were to lay their heads together, in order to ADVENTURES OF SIR LAUNCELOT GREAVES. 225 her pouting lips of coral hue; her neck, that | dozen gentlemen, who had watched their rises like a tower of polished alabaster be- motions. It was in vain for them to dissemtween two mounts of snow. I tell you what, ble their design, which could not now take gemmen, it don't signify talking; if e'er a effect. They gave up their pistols, and a one of you was to meet this young lady reconciliation was patched up by the pressalone, in the midst of a heath or common, or ing remonstrances of their common friends; any unfrequented place, he would down on but Mr Darnel's hatred still rankled at bothis knees, and think he kneeled before some tom, and soon broke out in the sequel. About supernatural being. I'll tell you more; she three months after this transaction, his niece not only resembles an angel in beauty, but a Aurelia, with her mother, having been to saint in goodness, and a hermit in humili- visit a lady in the chariot, the horses being ty; so void of all pride and affectation'; so young, and not used to the traces, were soft, and sweet, and affable, and humane! startled at the braying of a jack-ass on the Lord! I could tell such instances of her cha- common, and, taking fright, ran away with rity! was thrown from the box, and the ladies screamed piteously for help. Mr Greaves the carriage, like lightning. The coachman chanced to be a-horseback on the other side and, riding up to the hedge, knew the chaof an inclosure when he heard their shrieks, riot, and saw their disaster. The horses were then running full speed, in such a direction as to drive headlong over a precipice into a stone quarry, where they and the chariot and the ladies must be dashed in pieces. "Sure enough, she and Sir Launcelot were formed by nature for each other; howsoever, the cruel hand of fortune hath intervened, and severed them for ever. Every soul that knew them both said it was a thousand pities but they should come together, and extinguish, in their happy union, the mutual animosity of the two families, which had so often embroiled the whole neighbourhood. Nothing was heard but the praises of Miss Aurelia Darnel and Mr Launcelot Greaves; and, no doubt, the parties were prepossessed by this applause in favour of each other. At length Mr Greaves went one Sunday to her parish church; but, though the greater part of the congregation watched their looks, they could not perceive that she took the least notice of him, or that he seemed to be struck with her appearance. He afterwards had an opportunity of seeing her, more at leisure, at the York assembly, during the races; but this opportunity was productive of no good effect, because he had that same day quarrelled with her uncle on the turf. "An old grudge, you know, gemmen, is soon inflamed to a fresh rupture. It was thought Mr Darnel came on purpose to show his resentment. They differed about a bet upon Miss Cleverlegs, and, in the course of the dispute, Mr Darnel called him a petulant boy. The young squire, who was as hasty as gunpowder, told him he was man enough to chastise him for his insolence; and would do it on the spot, if he thought it would not interrupt the diversion. In all probability they would have come to points immediately, had not the gentlemen interposed so that nothing further passed, but abundance of foul language on the part of Mr Anthony, and a repeated defiance to single combat. thoughts were when he saw such a fine "You may conceive, gemmen, what his young lady, in the flower of her age, just plunging into eternity: when he saw the lovely Aurelia on the brink of being precipitated among rocks, where her delicate limbs must be mangled and torn asunder; when he perceived, that, before he could ride round by the gate, the tragedy would be finished. The fence was so thick and high, flanked with a broad ditch on the outside, that he could not hope to clear it, although he was mounted on Scipio, bred out of Miss Cowslip, the sire Muley, and his grandsire the famous father, who would not have taken a hundred guineas for him from any other person but Arabian Mustapha. Scipio was bred by my the young squire.-Indeed, I have heard my poor father say—" come so outrageous, that he exclaimed, in a with great expedition. Captain Crowe was "Mr Greaves, making a low bow, retired from the field and in the evening danced at the assembly with a young lady from the bishopric, seemingly in good temper and spirits, without having any words with Mr Darnel, who was also present. But in the morning he visited that proud neighbour be- for the young lawyer, and, thinking him in Dolly had conceived a sneaking kindness times; and they had almost reached a grove danger of being roughly handled, flew to his of trees on the north side of the town, when relief. She twisted her hand in Crowe's they were suddenly overtaken by half-a-neckcloth without ceremony, crying,— 4 W* 226 "Sha't then, I tell thee, old codger,-who | good cheer, and jollity, and assist with culi- CHAPTER IV. In which it appears that the knight, when heartily set in for sleeping, was not easily disturbed. In all probability the kitchen of the Black Lion, from a domestic temple of society and good fellowship, would have been converted into a scene or stage of sanguinary dispute, had not Pallas or Discretion interposed in the person of Mr Fillet, and, with the assistance of the ostler, disarmed the combatants, not only of their arms, but also of their resentment. But to return from this digressive simile :The other no sooner stept between those menacing antagonists, than Tom Clarke very quietly resumed his clothes, and Mr Ferret resigned the gridiron without farther question. The doctor did not find it quite so easy to release the throat of Captain Crowe from the masculine grasp of the virago Dolly, whose fingers could not be disengaged until the honest seaman was almost at the After some pause, during which last gasp. he panted for breath, and untied his neckcloth,-"Damn thee for a brimstone galley," cried he, "I was never so grappled withal since I knew a card from a compass. Adzooks! the jade has so taughtened my rigging, d'ye see, that I-Snatch by bowlines, if I come athwart thy hawser, I'll turn thy keel upwards-or mayhap set thee a-driving under bare poles-I will-I will, you hell-fire, saucy-I will” Dolly made no reply, but, seeing Mr Clarke sit down again with great composure, took her station likewise at the opposite side of the apartment. Then Mr Fillet requested the lawyer to proceed with his story, which, after three hems, he accordingly prosecuted in these words: "I told you, gemmen, that Mr Greaves was mounted on Scipio, when he saw Miss The impetuosity of Mr Clarke was a little Darnel and her mother in danger of being checked at sight of the gridiron, which Fer- hurried over a precipice. Without reflectaing a moment, he gave Scipio the spur, and ret brandished with uncommon dexterity; circumstance from whence the company at one spring he cleared five and twenty feet, were, upon reflection, induced to believe, over hedge and ditch, and every obstruction. that, before he plunged into the sea of poli- Then he rode full speed, in order to turn the tics, he had occasionally figured in the cha-coach-horses; and, finding them quite wild racter of that facetious droll who accompanies your itinerant physicians, under the familiar appellation of Merry-Andrew or Jack-Pudding, and on a wooden stage entertains the populace with a solo on the saltbox, or a sonata on the tongs and gridiron. Be that as it may, the young lawyer seemed to be a little discomposed at the glancing of this extraordinary weapon of offence, which the fair hands of Dolly had scoured, until it had shone as bright as the shield of Achilles, or as the emblem of good old English fare, which hangs by a red ribbon round the neck of that thrice-honoured sage's head, in velvet bonnet cased, who presides by rotation at the genial board, distinguished by the title of the beef-steak club; where the delicate rumps irresistibly attract the stranger's eye, and, while they seem to cry,-" come cut me, come cut me," constrain, by wondrous sympathy, each mouth to overflow; where the obliging and humorous Jemmy B-t, the gentle Billy Hd, replete with human kindness, and the generous Johnny Rd, respected and beloved by all the world, attend as the priests and ministers of mirth, and furious, endeavoured to drive against for him; and that, if he wanted to know the cause of it, he might inform himself by his own servants. 'So I shall,' cried the uncle of Aurelia, and perhaps let you know my sentiments of the matter.' Hereafter, as it may be,' said the youth, who, turning out of the avenue, walked home, and made his father acquainted with the particulars of this adventure. face with a redoubled glow, while she de- |ner in which he spoke that the old quarrel sired him to set her down upon the turf. was not yet extinguished, answered, with "Mrs Darnel, far from being shy or re-equal disdain, that the visit was not intended served in her compliments of acknowledgements, kissed Mr Launcelot without ccremony, the tears of gratitude running down her cheeks she called him her dear son, her generous deliverer, who, at the hazard of his own life, had saved her and her child from the most dismal fate that could be imagined. "Mr Greaves was so much transported on this occasion, that he could not help disclosing a passion which he had hitherto industriously concealed. What I have done,' said he, was but a common office of humanity, which I would have performed for any of my fellow-creatures; but, for the preservation of Miss Aurelia Darnell, I would at any time sacrifice my life with pleasure.' The young lady did not hear this declaration unmoved; her face was again flushed, and her eyes sparkled with pleasure: nor was the youth's confession disagreeable to the good lady her mother, who, at one glance, perceived all the advantages of such an union between the two families. 66 "The old gentleman chid him for his rashness, but seemed pleased with the success of his attempt, and still more so, when he understood his sentiments of Aurelia, and the deportment of the ladies. "Next day the son sent over a servant with a compliment to inquire about their health; and the messenger, being seen by Mr Darnel, was told that the ladies were indisposed, and did not choose to be troubled with messages. The mother was really seized with a fever, produced by the agitation of her spirits, which every day became more and more violent, until the physicians despaired of her life. Believing that her end approached, she sent a trusty servant to Mr Greaves, desiring that she might see him without delay; and he immediately set out with the messenger, who introduced him in the dark. overwhelmed with grief; her lovely hair in the utmost disorder, and her charming eyes inflamed with weeping. The good lady beckoning Mr Launcelot to approach, and directing all the attendants to quit the room, except a favourite maid, from whom I learned the story, she took him by the hand, and, fixing her eyes upon him with all the fondness of a mother, shed some tears in silence, while the same marks of sorrow trickled down his cheeks. After this affecting pause, Mr Greaves proposed to send the coachman to his father's stable for a pair of sober horses, that could be depended upon, to draw the ladies home to their own habitation; but they declined the offer, and chose to walk, as the distance was not great. He then insisted upon his being their conductor; "He found the old lady in bed almost exand, each taking him under the arm, sup-hausted, and the fair Aurelia sitting by her, ported them to their own gate, where such an apparition filled all the domestics with astonishment. Mrs Darnel, taking him by the hand, led him into the house, where she welcomed him with another affectionate embrace, and indulged him with an ambrosial kiss of Aurelia, saying, But for you, we had both been by this time in eternity. Sure it was Heaven that sent you as an angel to our assistance!' She kindly inquired if he had himself sustained any damage in administering that desperate remedy to which they owed their lives. She entertained him with a small collation: and, in the course of the conversation, lamented the animosity which had so long divided two neighbouring families of such influence and character. He was not slow in signifying his approbation of her remarks, and expressing the most eager desire of seeing all those unhappy differences removed: in a word, they parted with mutual satisfaction. "Just as he advanced from the outward gate, on his return to Gravesbury-hall, he was met by Anthony Darnel on horseback, who, riding up to him with marks of surprise and resentment, saluted him with Your servant, sir: have you any commands for me?' The other replying, with an air of indifference, none at all, Mr Darnel asked what had procured him the honour of a visit. The young gentleman perceiving by the man 1 My dear son,' said she, 'Oh! that I could have lived to see you so indeed! you find me hastening to the goal of life.' Here the tender-hearted Aurelia, being unable to contain herself longer, broke out into a violent passion of grief, and wept aloud. The mother, waiting patiently till she had thus given vent to her anguish, calmly entreated her to resign herself submissively to the will of Heaven: then turning to Mr Launcelot,'I had indulged,' said she, 'a fond hope of seeing you allied to my family. This is no time for me to insist upon the ceremonies and forms of a vain world. Aurelia looks upon you with the eyes of tender prepossession.' No sooner had she pronounced these words, than he threw himself on his knees before the young lady, and, pressing her hand to his lips, breathed the softest expressions which the most delicate love could suggest. I know,' resumed the mother, 'that your passion is mutually sincere; and I should die satisfied, if I thought your union would not be opposed: but that violent man, my brother-in-law, who is Aurelia's sole guardian, will thwart her wishes with every obstacle that brutal resentment and implacable malice can contrive. Mr Greaves, I have long admired your virtues, and am confident that I can depend upon your honour. You shall give me your word, that, when I am gone, you will take no steps in this affair without the concurrence of your father; and endeavour, by all fair and honourable means, to vanquish the prejudices, and obtain the consent, of her uncle: the rest we must leave to the dispensation of Providence.' "It was then we thought Mr Launcelot a little disordered in his brain, his grief was so wild, and his passion so impetuous. He refused all sustenance, neglected his person, renounced his amusements, rode out in the rain sometimes bare-headed, strolled about the fields all night, and became so peevish, that none of the domestics durst speak to him without the hazard of broken bones. Having played these pranks for about three weeks, to the unspeakable chagrin of his father, and the astonishment of all that knew him, he suddenly grew calm, and his good humour returned. But this, as your seafaring people say, was a deceitful calm, that soon ushered in a dreadful storm. "He had long sought an opportunity to "The squire promised, in the most solemn and fervent manner, to obey all her injunc-tamper with some of Mr Darnel's servants, tions, as the last dictates of a parent whom he should never cease to honour. Then she favoured them both with a great deal of salutary advice, touching their conduct before and after marriage; and presented him with a ring, as a memorial of her affection; at the same time he pulled another off his finger, and made a tender of it as a pledge of his love to Aurelia, whom her mother permitted to receive this token. Finally, he took a last farewell of the good matron, and returned to his father with the particulars of this interview. "In two days Mrs Darnel departed this life, and Aurelia was removed to the house of a relation, where her grief had like to have proved fatal to her constitution. who could inform him of the place where Aurelia was confined, but there was not one about the family who could give him that satisfaction; for the persons who accompanied her remained as a watch upon her motions, and none of the other domestics were privy to the transaction. All attempts proving fruitless, he could no longer restrain his impatience, but throwing himself in the way of the uncle, upbraided him in such harsh terms, that a formal challenge ensued. They agreed to decide their difference without witnesses; and one morning, before sun-rise, met on that very common where Mr Greaves had saved the life of Aurelia. The first pistol was fired on each side without any effect; but Mr Darnel's second wounded the "In the mean time, the mother was no young squire in the flank; nevertheless, sooner committed to the earth, than Mr having a pistol in reserve, he desired his anGreaves, mindful of her exhortations, began tagonist to ask his life. The other, instead to take measures for a reconciliation with of submitting, drew his sword; and Mr the guardian. He engaged several gentle- Greaves, firing his piece into the air, followed men to interpose their good offices, but they his example. The contest then became very always met with the most mortifying repulse; hot, though of short continuance. Darnel and at last Anthony Darnel declared, that being disarmed at the first onset, our young his hatred to the house of Greaves was here- squire gave him back the sword, which he ditary, habitual, and unconquerable. He was base enough to use a second time against swore he would spend his heart's blood to his conqueror. Such an instance of repeated perpetuate the quarrel; and that, sooner than ingratitude and brutal ferocity divested Mr his niece should match with young Launce- Greaves of his temper and forbearance. He lot, he would sacrifice her with his own hand. attacked Mr Anthony with great fury, and at "The young gentleman, finding his preju- the first lunge ran him up to the hilt, at the dices so rancorous and invincible, left off same time seizing with his left hand the shell making any further advances; and, since he of his enemy's sword, which he broke in disfound it impossible to obtain his consent, re- dain. Mr Darnel having fallen, the other solved to cultivate the good graces of Aurelia, immediately mounted his horse, which he and wed her in despite of her implacable had tied to a tree before the engagement, guardian. He found means to establish a and riding full speed to Ashenton, sent a literary correspondence with her as soon as surgeon to Anthony's assistance. He afterher grief was a little abated, and even to wards ingenuously confessed all these particueffect an interview after her return to her lars to his father, who was overwhelmed with own house; but he soon had reason to repent consternation, for the wounds of Darnel were of this indulgence. The uncle entertained judged mortal; and as no person had seen spies upon the young lady, who gave him an the particulars of the duel, Mr Launcelot account of this meeting: in consequence of might have been convicted of murder. which she was suddenly hurried to some distant part of the country, which we never could discover. "On these considerations, before a warrant could be served upon him, the old knight, by dint of the most eager entreaties, accom |