fuch; but he refused to explain himself farther. The master of the company being fent for, and examined touching the faid Wilson, faid the young man had engaged with him at Birmingham about fix months ago, but never would take his falary; that he had behaved fo well in his private character, as to acquire the respect and good-will of all his acquaintance; and that the public owned his merit as an actor was altogether extraordinary. After all, I fancy he will turn out to be a runaway 'prentice from London. The manager offered to bail him for any fum, provided he would give his word and honour that he would keep the peace; but the young gentleman was on his high ropes, and would by no means lay himself under any restrictions: On the other hand, Hopeful was equally obftinate; till at length the mayor declared, that, if they both refused to be bound over, he would immediately commit Wilfon as a vagrant to hard labour. I own I was much pleased with Jery's behaviour on this occafion: He faid, that, rather than Mr Wilson fhould be treated in fuch an ignominious manner, he would give his word and honour to profecute the affair no farther while they remained at Gloucefter. Wilson thanked him for his generous manner of proceeding, and was discharged. On our return to our lodgings, my nephew explained the whole mystery; and I own I was exceedingly incenfed. Liddy being questioned on the fubject, and very feverely reproached by that wild cat my sister Tabby, first swooned away, then diffolving into a flood of tears, confeffed all the particulars of the correfpondence; at the fame time giving up three letters, which were all she had received from her admirer. The laft, which Jery intercepted, I fend you inclofed; and when you have read it, I dare fay you won't wonder at the progress the writer had made in the heart of a fimple girl utterly unacquainted with the characters of mankind. Thinking it was high time to remove her from such a dangerous connection, I carried her off the very next day to Briftol; but the poor creature was fo frightened and fluttered by our threats and expoftulations, that fhe fell fick the fourth day after our arrival at Clifton, and continued fo ill for a whole week, that her life was despaired

of. It was not till yesterday that Dr Rigge declared her out of danger. You cannot imagine what I have fuffered, partly from the indifcretion of this poor child, but much more from the fear of lofing her entirely. This air is intolerably cold, and the place quite folitary. I never go down to the well, without returning low-fpirited; for there I meet with half a dozen poor emaciated creatures, with ghostly looks, in the last stage of a confumption, who have made shift to linger through the winter like fo many exotic plants languishing in a hot houfe; but in all appearance will drop into their graves, before the fun has warmth enough to mitigate the rigour of this ungenial spring. If you think the Bath water will be of any fervice to me, I will go thither as soon as my niece can bear the motion of the coach. Tell Barns I am obliged to him for his advice, but don't chufe to follow it. If Davis voluntarily offers to give up the farm, the other fhall have it; but I will not begin at this time of day to distress my tenants, because they are unfortunate, and cannot make regular payments. I wonder that Barns fhould think me capable of fuch oppreffion. As for Higgens, the fellow is a notorious poacher, to be fure; and an impudent rafcal, to fet his fnares in my own paddock; but I fuppofe he thought he had fome right, efpecially in my abfence, to partake of what nature feems to have intended for common use: You may threaten him in my name as much as you please; and, if he repeats the offence, let me know it before' you have recourse to justice-I know you are a great sportsman, and oblige many of your friends. need not tell you to make use of my grounds; but it may be neceffary to hint, that I'm more afraid of my fowling-piece than of my game. When you can fpare two or three brace of partridges, fend them over by the ftage-coach; and tell Gwyllim that the forgot to pack up my flannels and wide fhoes in the trunk-mail-I fhall trouble you as ufual, from time to time, till at laft, I fuppofe, you will be tired of corresponding with Your affured friend,

Clifton, April 17.

M. BRAMBLE,

I

To Mifs LYDIA MELFORD.

ISS WILLIS has pronounced my doom-you are

Mgoing away, dear Mifs Melford, you are going

to be removed I know not whither! what fhall I do? which way fhall I turn for confolation? I know not what I fay-all night long have I been toffed in a fea of doubts and fears, uncertainty, and distraction, without being able to connect my thoughts, much less to form any confiftent plan of conduct-I was even tempted to with that I had never feen you; or that you had been less amiable, or lefs compaffionate to your poor Wilfon; and yet it would be deteftable ingratitude in me to form fuch a wifh, confidering how much I am indebted to your goodness, and the ineffable pleasure I have derived from your indulgence and approbation-Good God! I never heard your name mentioned without emotion! the most distant profpect of being admitted to your company, filled my whole foul with a kind of pleafing alarm! as the time approached, my heart beat with redoubled force, and every nerve thrilled with a transport of expectation; but, when I found myself actually in your prefence-when I heard you speak-when I faw fmile-when I beheld your charming eyes turned favourably upon me, my breaft was filled with fuch tumults of delight, as wholly deprived me of the power of utterance, and wrapt me in a delirium of joy! Encouraged by your sweetness of temper and affability, I ventured to describe the feelings of my heart-even then you did not check my prefumption-you pitied my fufferings, and gave me leave to hope;-you put a favourable, perhaps too favourable a conftruction, on my appearance-Certain it is, I am no player in love-I speak the language of my own heart, and have no prompter but nature. Yet there is fomething in this heart, which I have not yet difclofed-I flattered myself-But, I will not, I must not proceed-Dear Mifs Liddy! for Heaven's fake, contrive, if poffible, fome means of letting me fpeak to you before you leave Gloucefter; otherwife

you

I know not what will-But I begin to rave again-I will endeavour to bear this trial with fortitude-while I am capable of reflecting upon your tenderness and truth, I furely have no caufe to defpair-yet I am ftrangely affected. The fun feems to deny me light-a cloud hangs over me, and there is a dreadful weight upon my.fpirits! While you stay in this place, I fhall continually hover about your lodgings, as the parted foul is faid to linger about the grave where its mortal confort lies-I know, if it is in your power, you will task your humanity— your compaffion-fhall I add, your affection? in order to affuage the almoft intolerable difquiet that torments the heart of your afflicted WILSON. Gloucefter, March 31.

To Sir WATKIN PHILLIPS, of Jefus College, Oxon.

I

DEAR PHILLIPS,

Hot Well, April 18.

GIVE Manfel credit for his invention, in propagating the report, that I had a quarrel with a mountebank's Merry Andrew at Gloucefter: But I have too much respect for every appendage of wit, to quarrel even with the loweft buffoonery; and therefore I hope Manfel and I fhall always be good friends. I cannot, however, approve of his drowning my poor dog Ponto, on purpose to convert Ovid's pleonafm into a punning epitaph-deerant quoque littora Ponto: For, that he threw him into the Ifis, when it was fo high and impetuous, with no other view than to kill the fleas, is an excufe that will not hold water: But I leave poor Ponto to his fate, and hope Providence will take care to accommodate Manfel with a drier death.

As there is nothing that can be called company at the well, I am here in a state of abfolute ruftication : This, however, gives me leisure to obferve the fingularities in my uncle's character, which feems to have interested your curiofity. The truth is, his difpofition and mine, which, like oil and vinegar, repelled one another at first, have now begun to mix, by dint of being beat

1

up together. I was once apt to believe him a complete Cynic, and that nothing but the neceffity of his occafions could compel him to get within the pale of fociety-I am now of another opinion; I think his peevithnefs arises partly from bodily pain, and partly from a natural excess of mental fenfibility; for, I fuppofe, the mind, as well as the body, is, in fome cafes, endowed with a morbid excefs of fenfation.

I WAS t'other day much diverted with a converfation that paffed in the pump-room, betwixt him and the famous Dr Ln, who is come to ply at the well for patients. My uncle was complaining of the ftink, occafioned by the vast quantity of mud and flime, which the river leaves at low ebb under the windows of the pump-room. He obferved, that the exhalations arifing from fuch a nuifance, could not but be prejudicial to the weak lungs of many confumptive patients, who came to drink the water. The doctor, overhearing this remark, made up to him, and affured him he was mistaken. He faid, people in general were fo mifled by vulgar prejudices, that philofophy was hardly fufficient to undeceive them. Then, hemming thrice, he affumed a moft ridiculous folemnity of afpect, and entered into a learned investigation of the nature of stink. He obferved, that stink, or stench, meant no more than a strong impreffion on the olfactory nerves, and might be applied to fubftances of the moft oppofite qualities; that, in the Dutch language, flinken fignified the most agreeable perfume, as well as the most fetid odour, as appears in Van Vloudel's tranflation of Horace, in that beautiful ode; Quis multa gracilis, &c. The words liquidis perfufus odoribus, he tranflates, van civet & moschata geftinken; that individuals differed toto cœlo in their opinion of finells, which indeed was altogether as arbitrary as the opinion of beauty; that the French were pleased with the putrid effluvia of animal food, and fo were the Hottentots in Africa, and the favages in Greenland; and that the negroes on the coast of Senegal would not touch fish till it was rotten; ftrong prefumptions in favour of what is generally called flink, as thofe nations are in a state of nature, undebauched by luxury, unfeduced by whim and caprice; that he had reason to believe the ftercora