choaked by pride and passion, and capable of any act of vengeance. When Mrs. Mortimer's friends heard this, they recommended her leaving town for some weeks, for they were fearful that close confinement would injure her health. She passed this period with a very charming agreeable widow lady in Essex, but finding that no inquiries had been made for her during her absence, she concluded, that, as before, they only meant to frighten her, therefore by the advice of her friends she returned to the lady who had treated her with such sisterly affection when she was ill, and who had on all occasions proved herself a most sincere and disinterested friend. They also desired that Mrs. Mortimer would pluck up courage, and face her enemies; that she would write to a friend in Brighton to obtain two persons to become bail for her, in case she should be arrested there, and that her friends in Town would indemnify them; that she

should go immediately herself to Brighton, open a subscription, and expose all the Baronet's letters, &c. &c. and if they commenced an action, then that she should defend it, as it was clear that they persecuted Mrs. Mortimer because she was a poor unprotected widow, who had not money to engage in a law-suit, or male relations to take her part.

She did as her friends recommended, but she found that a person of Sir Timothy Flight's fortune had great influence over the tradespeople in Brighton, to several of whom he was deeply in debt, and they were afraid of offending him, by opening subscriptions at their houses for the persecuted widow; consequently she determined to endeavour, by writing a novel, to procure a sum sufficient to pay a person for his trouble and expences to go to Brighton, when the season was full, and to open a subscription for herself and helpless children.

She heard that at this time Mr.

Abraham Modish and all his amiable family were in great trouble; the granddaughter who they had taken under their protection had ran off with the half-pay officer that Miss Charlotte Modish had designed to honour with her person and fortune, provided she could not do bet ter. Mr. Abraham Modish's nephew, being a young man of spirit, and good principles, could not submit to remain in a family whose conduct he could not sanction, without doing violence to his own honour, and who treated him as a dependant; therefore he accepted the situation of clerk to a very respectable solicitor in Finsbury-square, to whom he was related.

In short, it seemed that the period was now arrived when Mr. and Mrs. Abraham Modish must give up their ill-gotten wealth, and return to the neighbourhood of Islington, for the Hamburgh mail brought intelligence that a nephew of the late Mrs. Quadru

ped was soon coming fo England, to investigate the affairs of his deceased relative. Sir Timothy Flight began to suspect that old Modish was indeed a wolf in sheep's clothing, and consulted a gentleman of eminence, who convinced him that persons who kept him at variance with his relations, with the impres sion that they wished to confine him, must be designing villains, as unless he committed some act of violence, it was impossible in this free country, whose laws are the admiration of the world, that any subject could be deprived of his liberty, without ample cause being proved that such a measure was necessary. But the persecuted Mrs. Mortimer was still an object of the greatest commiseration, for she was incapable of doing any thing for the support of her family. Her good friend, Mr. Edward Stanton, had got her sons placed on the foundation of a public school, and the master had given

her permission to establish a boardinghouse for young gentlemen belonging to that seminary; but although the benevolent and humane friend of mankind, who severed the chains of slavery, generously assisted Mrs. Mortimer, yet she could not raise sufficient to engage in such an establishment, nor could she place her sons on that excellent foundation, as the expence of their board would far exceed the whole of her income. She was therefore compelled to exert herself to support her children, by again returning to needle-work, but the relapse of our beloved monarch put a stop once more to all fancy dresses, which prevented Mrs. Mortimer from obtaining employment.

Her reliance therefore rested upon the Supreme Disposer of all human events, that he would extend his mercy to her beloved children, being perfectly convinced that those who endeavour to merit his bounty, will never plead in