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him in; I say, they satisfied themselves of what they had to expect, if it had been otherwise; and this put them upon reflecting what course they had to take; where, dear sister, who can but observe, that, in all their consultations, God did not give them grace once to think of submitting themselves to their father, and conforming themselves to the most reasonable desire that ever father made to his children, viz. only to restrain wicked liberties and company, and attend the worship of God in the family; but, on the contrary, for five weeks that they staid at home after that, they never appeared at prayer-time, but kept up stairs, pretending either not to be well, or not dressed, or not up, and such like excuses, till they were a shame to the whole family; and, besides this, their father observed, that notwithstanding his express command, they went both of them twice to the play-house that very same week, as if on purpose to insult him, and let him see they valued not what he either said or would say to them.

Aunt. That was very provoking, indeed; pray what said my brother to it?

Moth. If it had not been for me, sister, he had turned them both out of doors that very week.

Aunt. Indeed, I could not have blamed him if he had; I think he had done them but justice.

Moth. I am sure he had done himself justice, sister; but I considered their good more than they did themselves; and that to have them cast entirely off had been to precipitate their ruin, and throw them into the very mouth of all manner of temptation; and representing this to their fa ther, it convinced him so far, as not to proceed to that extremity with them; but he had told them in so many words by me, that, since they had declined his authority, he would decline their conversation; that those that would not join with him in his duty to God; should not enjoy with him the bounty of God; and that they that would not kneel with him to pray, should not sit with him to eat; and so he flatly forbade them his sight.

Aunt. I think he is very just in it; I wonder how it was possible they could behave so.

Moth. You may be sure it could not hold long thus, and at best it made a very melancholy family among us. And at last my son truly came to his father, and in a few words said, he was sorry he had disobliged him so much; but as he saw no remedy, he told his father he came to ask his consent to a resolution he had taken to travel. His father said readily, there was no need for his consent, if it was a resolution: he supposed he rather came to take his leave of him. The foolish boy, for though he is a man in growth, he showed the boy and the fool by his behaviour, told his father he was resolved to go, but had rather have his consent than not.

Aunt. He acted weakly in that, and rudely too; pray how did my brother take it?

Moth. Truly with more composure than I could have expected. He told him, that, as his father, he could not but be sorry to see him push on his own ruin; but as it was his duty to exercise the authority of a father, he not only refused to consent, but forbid him to go; and withal bid him remember what he had said to him before, viz. that if he set foot out of his house upon this account, he should never set his foot in it again, but as a penitent.

Aunt. What could he say to that?

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Moth. Truly he said little; but told his father he was resolved to go, and so withdrew and the same evening, without acquainting me with it, or taking any further leave, he went his way.

Aunt. Went his way, sister! why, whither did he go? I am sure he has not gone abroad now, for he has been several times at our house to see his sister within this week.

Moth. No, he is not gone yet: we know that he has lodgings at Westminster; and yesterday he wrote his fa ther a letter, pretending to beg his pardon for going abroad without his consent. You know, sister, he has about 2001.

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a year, which his uncle

self his own master.

left him, so he thinks him

Aunt. Alas! how long will that last for a foolish, gay young fellow, that expects to make a figure, and look like a gentleman abroad?

Moth. Not long, to be sure; I expect he will see his way through it very quickly.

Aunt. Why, I hear he has bought a commission. I suppose he has disposed of some of it already that way.

Moth. It is very likely; but he acquaints me with nothing. I expect we shall hear of him again when it is all spent.

Aunt. It may be so indeed.

Moth. Well, if he may but come home like the prodigal, I shall not think that estate is ill lost; I shall be glad of his poverty, for the sake of his penitence.

Aunt. Well, and what said my niece to all this?

Moth. Truly, she kept her chamber, as I told you, above a month, and hardly ever was seen in the family. I cannot imagine what folly possessed them both; she cried incessantly, conversed with nobody, would scarce speak if I came to her; at last she fell very sick, as well she might; sure, as I told her one day, no girl was ever such a mourner, for the loss of her wicked pleasures.

Aunt. Childhood and youth are vanity.

Moth. I took what care I could of her, and especially to remove the discontent of her mind; for we all believed she would die. I asked her, if she would see her father; nay, her father, who I think verily wept for her more than I did, would, I believe, have been tempted to have broke his resolutions, and have been reconciled to her, and would fain have been so far reconciled as to see her; but when I did but name him, she burst out into a fit of crying, and would not so much as hear of it; but, her brother! her brother! if her brother might come again, she would see him. Well, such was the tenderness of her father to her, who most passionately loved her, that he would have given

way to have her brother come again; but when he came to be told of it, he insolently answered, he would not come unless his father would send for him. This, you may be sure, was provoking; nay, sister, it moved me so at them both, that though he is my own son, and my eldest, I care not if I never see him more, except in the terms as above; and as for her, I commit her to God's mercy, and concerned myself no more about her, otherwise than to take care she wanted nothing.

Aunt. I never heard the like in my life. Pray what said my brother?

Moth. Truly, he was not so provoked at it, as I thought he would have been; I mean it did not throw him into a passion. He retired into his closet, and in an hour or two came down again, composed in his temper; but I could see, like that of Job, his grief was great: and indeed, from that time, I thought it my duty rather to comfort my husband than my daughter. While she continued ill, he was very uneasy and impatient; but when she recovered again, he was better satisfied, and thought less of her. Our next consideration was, what was to be done with her, for our family looked very oddly; we had authority quite turned upside down among us; instead of her father refusing to be reconciled to her, who had been the guilty person, and had provoked him to the uttermost, truly she pretended resentment, and refused to be reconciled to her father.

Aunt. It was strange usage, I confess; 1 did not think she had been of such a spirit.

Moth. When she was recovered, and was well enough to go abroad, instead of going to church to give God thanks for restoring her health, she wanted to go to a young wild companion of her's, my Lady Lighthead, that they might go to the play together. I could not bear the thoughts of this with any patience; but not being willing to disturb her father with it, because I knew it would exasperate him, I took upon me to tell her, of my own authority, that she should not go; at which she said very smartly

to me, she had but one request more to make me as long as she lived: and what's that? said I; that you'll let me go to service, says she, very scornfully. Dear sister, you may judge how cutting this usage has been to us, who so dearly loved this child, as that we distinguished her in our affection from the rest of our children, and that even to a fault.

Aunt. That kind of love is generally so returned, sister, and Providence suffers it to be so, as a just punishment for an ill grounded and unequal dividing our affection among our children; in which case we may read our sin in our punishment. But I pray what said you to her? I know not, I confess, what I should have done or said to it. I believe I should have been apt to have told her, that her petition was granted.

Moth. If I had consulted my own passions, rather than her welfare, I should have done so too; for I was not without resentment enough; but I saw, sister, she was rash and foolish, and I was not so willing to let her ruin herself, as she was to do it.

Annt. But pray what did you say to her?

Moth. I told her, it was a pity a petition that had so much ingratitude in it, should not find resentment enough in me to grant it; that, however, I would give her a week to cool her thoughts in; and in that time I would have her consider seriously of what she had desired; and if she would say then, calmly and deliberately, that she desired it still, I would acquaint her father with it, and it should be granted only I bade her remember the condition which her father had made with her brother, viz. that if ever he set his foot out of the house in this quarrel, he should never have leave to set his foot in it again, but as a penitent; and she might depend upon it, that both her father and I too would make the same conditions with her at parting. And so I left her to consider of it.

Aunt. I suppose she was wiser when she thought of it. Moth. Yes, about three or four days after, she asked

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