Part with my dog! faid the poor man; and
who then would love me?

Public and Private Manners of 1786. warmth of hope, which burns their hearts; when I read there the fentiments of affection with which they are penetrated, and the confidence which infpires them; I regret the want of their confoling emotion. Reafon and philofophy put nothing in the place of thefe happy illufions.

In the fuburb St Marcel, where mifery reigns, a fpotted fever mowed down the poor in hundreds. The confeffor laboured night and day; the arms of the grave-digger failed; the hearfe rolled from door to door, and was never empty. A reinforcement of priefts was called in to affift the dying. A venerable capuchin entered a low hovel, where one of the victims of contagion fuffered. An old man in dirty rags lay dying. A bundle of ftraw ferved him for a covering and pillow. Not a moveable, not a chair in the house he had fold all, the firft days of his fickness, for a little broth; on the naked wall hung an ax and a faw. This was his whole poffeffion along with the ftrength of his arms, but then he was not able to lift them up. Take courage, my friend, faid the confeffor; it is a great bleffing God beflows on you to-day. You are going to depart from a world where you have known nothing but mifery.-But mifery, replied the dying man, with a feeble voice. You are mistaken; I have lived content, and never complained of my lot. I never knew hatred or envy. My fleep was tranquil. I laboured in the day, but I refted at night. The inftruments which you fee procured me bread, which I have eaten with pleasure. I never envied the table of the rich. I have obferved the rich more fubject to diseases than their neighbours. I was always poor, If I recover but I was never fick till now. health, which I do not expect, I will return to labour, and continue to blefs the hand of God, which has hitherto cared for me.The aftonished comforter knew not well what tone to take; he could not reconcile the miferable couch with the language of him who lay on it: Recovering himself, he faid, My fon, though this life has not been unpleasant to you, you muft neverthelefs refolve to quit it; for we owe fubmiffion to God's will. Without doubt, replied the dying man with a firm tone and compofed countenance; all the world muft pafs in their turn. I have known how to live; I know how to die. I thank God for having given me life, and for conducting me thro' death to himself. I feel the momentapproach.Adieu my father. the death-bed of the fage.

This is

None fo poor and wretched, but he has a dog. To one of them it was fuggefted, that the feeding of his dog was expenfive, and he ought to part with him.Hib. Mag. May, 1786.

It is more difficult at Paris to fix the public admiration than to excite it. They break without mercy the idol to which they offered incenfe yesterday.

No body reads now to be inftructed; they read to criticife. The form of a book is regarded more than the fubftance. They speak of the choice and arrangement of words, of rounding periods of cadence ; and conclude the book is ill written. Good fenfe, juft ideas, truth, find no favour with the delicate readers of this age.

At court the style is fimple and uniform, because there every paffion is disguifed. In that country the paffions have loft not only their language but their accent.— He muft This ftyle fuits not a man of letters, who must be an impaffionate man. himfelf be penetrated and transported to transfer fentiments to others. Let him not fear to offend by an excels of warmth. He cannot have too much in announcing verity.

I love an innovator in ftyle. He enriches the language with vigorous expreffions. I mean not fo much the creation of new words, as new fignifications annexed, more rapid movements, terms fearched and dug for, a picturesque language: this always finds us attentive and fufceptible. Why not revive an antiquated expreffion? May not a writer do with words what an artist does with inftruments, which obey the hand that guides them?

There must be many books fince there are many readers. All ranks have a right to rife from ignorance. An indifferent work is better than none; for every kind of, reading exercifes thought. Were there no writings but thofe of La Bruyere, Montefquieu, Bouffon, Rouffeau, the multitude would remain unenlightened. They muft have lighter food. The fictitious letters or Pope Ganganelli have had great fuccefs.— The ideas contained in them are good, clear, easily expreffed, and have with reaion delighted the multitude. Romances, which the proud men of letters think frivolous, and which they cannot make, are more ufeful than hiftories. The human heart feen analised, painted in all its forms, the variety of characters and events; all this is an inexhauftible fource of pleafure and reflection. In the country there is a tafte for large and interefting compofitions, for English romances, for thofe of Prevot, for thofe of the admirable Retif de la Bretonne, that emy breloquent painter, to whom I am happy to render the tribute of praffe, which thren, men of letters, and who call themfelves men of tafte, unjustly refuse. A critical

G g

1786.

The affecting History of Mifs Amelia Nevil.

the favour of a private conference with Mifs Nevil in the courfe of the evening, intimating, in the most delicate and doubtful terms, an ardent defire of becoming her husband. Mrs. Wormwood contrived that Amelia fhould not receive this billet till just before dinner-time, that the might not fhew it to her friend and confidante Mrs. Melford, and, by her means, detect its fallacy before the hour of her intended humiliation arriv

ed.

235

whispering in the ear of Amelia, and begged her not to harbour any vain expectations, for the billet she had received was a counter feit, and a mere piece of pleafantry. Amelia fhuddered, and turned pale. Surprife, disappointment, and indignation, confpired to overwhelm her. She exerted her utinoft power to conceal her emotions; but the confict in her bofom was too violent to be difguifed. The tears, which the vainly endeavoured to fupprefs, burft forth, and she was Amelia blufhed in reading the note, and, obliged to quit the room in vifible diforder. in the first furprise of unfufpecting innocence, Mr. Nelfon expreffed his concern; but he gave it to the vigilant Mrs. Wormwood: was checked in his benevolent enquiries by who burft into vehement expreffions of de- the caution of Mrs. Wormwood, who faid, light, congratulated her blufhing guest on on the occafion, that Mifs Nevil was a very the full fuccefs of her charms, and triumph- amiable girl, but she had fome peculiarities of ed in her own prophetic difcernment. They temper, and was apt to put a wrong conftruc fat down to dinner, but poor Amelia could tion on the innocent pleafantry of her friends. hardly swallow a morfel her mind was in 'Mr. Nelfon obferved that Ámelia did not 2 tumultuous agitation of pleasure and return, and hoping that his departure might amazement. The malicious impoftor en- contribute to restore the interrupted harmony joyed her confufion, allowed her no time to of the houfe, took an early feave of Mrs. compofe her hurried spirits in the folitude of Wormwood, who immediately flew to the her chamber. Some female vifitors arrived chamber of Amelia, to exult, like a fiend, to tea; and, at length, Mr. Nelfon entered over the lovely victim of her fuccefsful mathe room. Amelia trembled and blushed as lignity. She found not the perfon whom the he approached her; but fhe was a little re- was fo cager to infult. Amelia had, indeed, lieved from her embarraffinent by the bufi- retired to her chamber, and paffed there a nefs of the tea-table, over which the prefided. very miferable half hour, much hurt by the Amelia was naturally graceful in every thing treacherous cruelty of Mrs. Wornwood, she did, but the prefent agitation of her mind and ftill more wounded by reflections on her gave a temporary awkwardness to all her own credulity, which the condemned with motions: She committed many little blun that excefs of feverity fo natural to a delicate ders in the management' of the tea-table; mind in arraigning itself. She would have a cup fell from her trembling hand, and flown for immediate confolation to her friend, was broken; but the politeness of Mr. Nel- Mrs. Melford, but he had reafon to believe fon led him to fay fo many kind and grace that that Lady was gone on a vifit, and thereful things to her on thefe petty incidents, fore refolved to take a folitary walk, for the that, inftead of increating her diftrefs, they purpose of compofing her spirits. But neither produced an oppofite effect, and the tumult folitude nor exercife could reftore her tranof her bofom gradually fubfided into a calm quility; and, as it grew late in the evening, and compofed delight. She ventured to the haftened to Mrs. Melford's, in hopes of meet the eyes of Mr. Nelfon, and thought now finding her returned. Her worthy old them expreffive of that tenderness which confidante was, indeed, in her little parlour promifed a happy end to all the misfortunes. alone, when Amelia entered the room. The At the idea of exchanging mifery and de- eyes of this lovely girl immediately betrayed pendence for comfort and honour, as the wife her diftrefs; and the old Laly, with her of fo amiable a man, her heart expanded. ufual tenderness, exclaimed, "Good Heawith the most innocent and graceful joy. ven! my dear child, for what have you This appeared in her countenance, and gave been crying?" "Becaufe," replied Amelia, fuch an exquifite radiance to all her features, in a broken voice, and bursting into a fresh that he looked a thousand times more beau- fhower of tears, "because I am a fool."tiful than ever. Mrs. Wormwood faw this Mrs. Melford began to be most feriously improvement of her charins, and, fickening alarmed, and, expreffing her maternal foliat the fight, determined to reduce the splen- citude in the kindeft manner, Amelia prodor of fuch infufferable beauty, and haftily duced the fatal paper-" There," fays the, terminate the triumph of her deluded gueft." is a letter in the name of your excellent She began with a few malicious and farcaftic remarks on the vanity of beautiful young women, and the hopes, which they frequent ly entertain, of an imaginary lover; but finding thefe remarks produced not the effect the intended, the took an opportunity of

friend, Mr. Nelfon: it is a forgery of Mrs. Wormwood's, and I have been fuch an idiot as to believe it real." The affectionate Mrs. Melford, who, in her first alarm, had apprehended a much heavier calamity, was herfelf greatly comforted in difcovering the Gg 2

truth.

extent of your goodness." Nelfon, who
delighted moft in doing good by ftealth,
immediately extorted from the good old La-.
dy a prouife of fecrecy: It was the beft part
of his plan, that Amelia should never know
the perfons to whom she was to owe her in-
dependence. I am ftill afraid of you, my
your
worthy old friend," faid Nelfon;'
countenance or manner will, I know, betray
me, if Mifs Nevil fees me here to-night.'
"Well," faid the delighted old Lady, "I
will humour your delicacy; Amelia will,
probably, not ftay with me ten minutes; you
may amuse yourself, for that time, in my
fpacious garden: I will not say you are here;
and, as foon as the good girl returns home,
I will come and impart to you the particulars
of her recent vexation."-" Admirably fet,
tled," cried Nelfon; and he immediately re-
treated into a little back room, which led
through a glass door into a long flip of
ground, embellished with the sweeteft and
leaft expenfive flowers, which afforded a
favourite occupation and amusement to Mrs.
Melford. Nelfon, after taking a few turns
in this diminutive garden, finding himself
rather chilled by the air of the evening, re-
treated again into the little room he had
passed, intending to wait there till Amelia de
parted; but the partition between the par
lours being extremely flight, he owerheard,
the tender confcffion of Amelia, and was
hurried towards her by an irrefiftible impulfe,
in the manner already defcribed.

truth, and faid many kind things to confole
her young friend.
"Do not fancy," re-
plied Amelia," that I am foolishly in love
with Mr. Nelfon, though I think him the
moft pleafing as well as the most excellent of
men; and though I confess to you, that I
thould think it a bleffed lot to find a refuge
from the mifery of my prefent dependence,
in the arms of fo benevolent and fo generous
a protector."-" Thofe arms are now rea-
dy to receive you," faid a voice that was
heard before the fpeaker appeared. Amelia
ftarted at the found, and her furprise was
not a little increafed in feeing Mr. Nelfon
himself, who, entering the room from an
adjoining apartment, embraced the lovely
orphan in a tranfport of tenderness and de-
light. Amelia, alive to all the feeling of
genuine modefty, was for fome minutes more
painfully diftreffed by this furprife, than fhe
had been by her paft mortification: She was
ready to fink into the earth at the idea of
having betrayed her fecret to the man from
whom the would have laboured moft to con-
ceal it. In the firft tumult of this delicate
confufion, the finks into a chair, and hides
her face with her handkerchief. Nelfon,
with a mixture of respect and love, being
afraid of increasing her distress, feizes one
of her hands, and continues to kifs it, with-
out uttering a word. The good Mrs. Mel-
ford, almost as much aftonifhed, but lefs
painfully confused than Amelia, beholds this
unexpected fcene with that kind of joy which
is much more difpofed to weep than to
fpeak; and, while this little party is thus
abforded in filence, let me haften to relate
the incidents which produced their fituati-

on.

Mr. Nelfon had obferved the farcaftic manner of Mrs. Wormwood towards Amelia, and, as foon as he had ended his uncomfortable vifit, he haftened to the worthy Mrs. Melford, to give her fome little account of what had paffed, and to concert fome happier plan for the fupport of this amiable infulted orphan. "I am acquainted," faid he, "with fome brave and wealthy officers, who have served with the father of Mifs Nevil, and often speak of him with refpect; I am fure I can raise among them a fubfcription for the maintenance of this tender unfortunate girl: We will procure for her an annuity, that fhall enable her to efcape from fuch malignant patronage, to have a little home of her own, and to fupport a fervant." Mrs. Melford was tranfported at this idea: and, recollecting all her own obligations to this benevolent man, wept, and extolled his generofity; and, fuddenly feeing Amelia at fome diftance, through a bow window, which commanded the ftreet in which the lived, "Thank Heaven," the cried, "here comes my poor child, to hear and blefs you for the

Mrs. Melford was the firft that recovered from the kind of trance into which our little party had been thrown by their general fur prife; and fhe enabled the tender pair, in the profpect of whofe union her warm heart exulted, to regain that eafy and joyous pof feflion of their faculties, which they had loft for fome little time in their mutual embar raffinent. The applaufe of her friend, and the adoration of her lover, foon taught the diffident Amelia to think lefs feverely of her felf. The warm-hearted Mrs. Melford declared, that thefe occurrences were the work of Heaven. "That," replied the affectio nate Nelfon, "I am moft willing to allowi but you must grant, that Heaven has pro duced our prefent happiness by the blind agency of a fiend; and, as our dear Amelia has too gentle a fpirit to rejoice in beholding the malignity of a devil converted into the torment of its poffeffor, I muft beg that the may not return, even for a single night, to the houfe of Mrs. Wormwood." Amelia pleaded her fenfe of paft obligations, and wifhed to take a peaceful leave of her patro nefs; but the fubmitted to the urgent en treaties of Nelfon, and remained for a few weeks under the roof of Mrs. Melford, when the was united at the altar to the man of her heart. Nelfon had the double delight of re

warding