vanquished gentleman had recovered breath enough to thank Mr. Jones for his seasonable assistance: he received likewise the hearty thanks of the young woman present, who was, indeed, no other than Miss. Nancy, the eldest daughter of the house.

The footman having now recovered his legs, shook his head at Jones, and, with a sagacious look, cried-'O d-n me, I'll have nothing more 'to do with you; you have been upon the stage, or I am d-nably mistaken:' And, indeed, we may forgive this his suspicion; for such was the agility and strength of our hero, that he was, perhaps, a match for one of the first-rate boxers, and could, with great ease, have beaten all the muffled graduates of Mr. Broughton's school.

The master, foaming with wrath, ordered his man immediately to strip; to which the latter very readily agreed, on condition of receiving his wages. This condition was presently complied with, and the fellow was discharged.

And now the young gentleman, whose name was Nightingale, very strenuously insisted, that

* Lest posterity should be puzzled by this epithet, I think proper to explain it by an advertisement, which was published Feb. 1, 17476

N.B. Mr. Broughton proposes, with proper assistants, to open an academy at his house in the Hay-Market, for the instruction of those who are willing to be initiated in the mystery of boxing; where the whole theory and practice of that truly British art, with all the various stops, blows, cross-buttocks, &c. incident to combatants, will be fully taught and explained; and that persons of quality and dis tinction may not be deterred from entering into a course of those lectures, they will be given with the utmost tenderness and regard to the delicacy of the frame and constitution of the pupil; for which reason muffies are provided, that will effectually secure them from the inconveniency of black eyes, broken jaws, and bloody noses,

his deliverer should take part of a bottle of wine with him; to which Jones, after much entreaty, consented, though more out of complaisance than inclination; for the uneasiness of his mind fitted him very little for conversation at this time, Miss Nancy, likewise, who was the only female then in the house, her mamma and sister being toth gone to the play, condescended to favour them with her company.

When the bottle and glasses were on the table, the gentleman began to relate the occasion of the eceding disturbance.

I hope, sir,' said he to Jones, you will not 'from this accident conclude, that I make a cus'tom of striking my servants; for I assure you

this is the first time I have been guilty of it in 6 my remembrance; and I have passed by many 6 provoking faults in this very fellow, before he could provoke me to it; but when you hear what hath happened this evening, you will, I ' believe, think me excusable. I happened to come home several hours before my usual time, when I found four gentlemen of the cloth at C whist by my fire;-and my Hoyle, sir,-my best Hoyle, which cost me a guinea, lying open on the table, with a quantity of porter spilled on one of the most material leaves of the whole' book. This, you will allow, was provoking; but I said nothing till the rest of the honest company were gone, and then gave the fellow a gentle rebuke; who, instead of expressing any concern, made me a pert answer, That ser“vants must have their diversions as well as other "people; that he was sorry for the accident "which had happened to the book, but that se

6

veral of his acquaintance had bought the same "for a shilling; and that I might stop as much

"in his wages, if I pleased." I now gave him a severer reprimand than before, when the rascal had the insolence to-In short, he imputed my early coming home to-In short, he cast a re'flection- -He mentioned the name of a young lady, in a manner-in such a manner that incensed me beyond all patience, and, in my passion, I struck him.'

Jones answered, That he believed no person living would blame him; for my part,' said he, 'I confess I should, on the last-mentioned provocation, have done the same thing.'

Our company had not sat long, before they were joined by the mother and daughter, at their return from the play. And now they all spent a very cheerful evening together; for all but Jones were heartily merry, and even he put on as much constrained mirth as possible. Indeed, half his natural flow of animal spirits, joined to the sweetness of his temper, was sufficient to make a most amiable companion; and, notwithstanding the heaviness of his heart, so agreeable did he make himself on the present occasion, that, at their breaking up, the young gentleman earnestly desired his further acquaintance. Miss Nancy was well pleased with him; and the widow, quite charmed with her new lodger, invited him, with the other, next morning to breakfast.

As

Jones, on his part, was no less satisfied. for Miss Nancy, though a very little creature, she was extremely pretty, and the widow had all the charms which can adorn a woman near fifty. As she was one of the most innocent creatures in the world, so she was one of the most cheerful. She never thought, nor spoke, nor wished, any ill; and had constantly that desire of pleasing, which may be called the happiest of all desires, in this,

ན

that it scarce ever fails of attaining its ends, when not disgraced by affectation. In short, though her power was very small, she was in her heart one of the warmest friends. She had been a most affectionate wife, and was a most fond and tender mother.

As our history doth not, like a newspaper, give great characters to people who never were heard of before, nor will ever be heard of again, the reader may hence conclude, that this excellent. woman will hereafter appear to be of some importance in our history.

Nor was Jones a little pleased with the young gentleman himself, whose wine he had been drinking. He thought he discerned in him much good sense, though a little too much tainted with town-foppery; but what recommended him most. to Jones, were some sentiments of great generosity and humanity, which occasionally dropped from him; and particularly many expressions of the highest disinterestedness in the affair of love. On which subject the young gentleman delivered himself in a language which might have very well become an Arcadian shepherd of old, and which appeared very extraordinary when proceeding from the lips of a modern fine gentleman; but he was only one by imitation, and meant by nature for a much better character.

CHAP. VI.

What arrived while the company were at breaks fast; with some hints concerning the government of daughters.

OUR company brought together in the morning

the same good inclinations towards each other, with which they had separated the evening before; but poor Jones was extremely disconsolate; for he had just received information from Partridge, that Mrs. Fitzpatrick had left her lodging, and that he could not learn whither she was gone. This news highly afflicted him, and his counte nance, as well as his behaviour, in defiance of all his endeavours to the contrary, betrayed manifest indications of a disordered mind.

The discourse turned at present, as before, on love; and Mr. Nightingale again expressed many of those warm, generous, and disinterested, sen. timents upon this subject, which wise and sober men call romantic, but which wise and sober women generally regard in a better light. Mrs. Miller (for so the mistress of the house was called) greatly approved these sentiments; but when the young gentleman appealed to Miss Nancy, she answered only, That she believed the gentleman who had spoke the least was capable of feeling the most.'

This compliment was so apparently directed to Jones, that we should have been sorry had he passed by it unregarded. He made her, indeed, a very polite answer; and concluded with an oblique hint, that her own silence subjected her to a suspicion of the same kind; for, indeed, she had