from his generous friend at Paris was almost | decent, and the displeasure of her other rereduced to the last guinea. He had not yet lations, from whom she had still greater exreaped the least benefit from his engage-pectations, and who, at that time, importuned ments with his lordship; and, disdaining to ask for a supply from him, he knew not how to subsist, with any degree of credit, till his

return.

her to marry a cousin of her own, whom she could not like. However, that M— might have no cause to repine at her delays, she freely entered with him into an intimacy of correspondence; during which nothing could have added to their mutual felicity, which was the more poignant and refined, from the mysterious and romantic manner of their enjoying it; for though he publicly visited her as an acquaintance, his behaviour on these occasions was always so distant, respectful, and reserved, that the rest of the company could not possibly suspect the na

sequence of which they used to have private interviews, unknown to every soul upon earth, except her maid, who was necessarily entrusted with the secret.

"This uncomfortable prospect was the more disagreeable to him, as, at that time of life, he was much inclined to appear in the gay world, had contracted a taste for plays, operas, and other public diversions, and acquired an acquaintance with many people of good fashion, which could not be maintained without a considerable expense. In this emergency, he thought he could not employ his idle time more profitably than in translat-ture of their reciprocal attachment; in coning, from foreign languages, such books as were then chiefly in vogue; and upon application to a friend, who was a man of letters, he was furnished with as much business of that kind as he could possibly manage, and wrote some pamphlets on the reigning controversies of that time, that had the good fortune to please. He was also concerned in a monthly journal of literature, and the work was carried on by the two friends jointly, though M— did not at all appear in the partnership. By these means he not only spent his mornings in useful exercise, but supplied himself with money for what the French call the menus plaisirs, during the whole summer. He frequented all the assemblies in and about London, and considerably enlarged his acquaintance among the fair sex.

"He had, upon his first arrival in England, become acquainted with a lady at an assembly not far from London; and though, at that time, he had no thoughts of extending his view farther than the usual gallantry of the place, he met with such distinguishing marks of her regard in the sequel, and was so particularly encouraged by the advice of another lady, with whom he had been intinate in France, and who was now of their parties, that he could not help entertaining hopes of making an impression upon the heart of his agreeable partner, who was a young lady of an ample fortune and great expectations. He therefore cultivated her good graces with all the assiduity and address of which he was master, and succeeded so well in his endeavours, that, after a due course of attendance, and the death of an aunt, by which she received an accession of fortune to the amount of three-and-twenty thousand pounds, he ventured to declare his passion, and she not only heard him with patience and approbation, but also replied in terms adequate to his warmest wish.

"Finding himself so favourably received, he pressed her to secure his happiness by marriage; but to this proposal she objected the recency of her kinswoman's death, which would have rendered such a step highly in

"In this manner they enjoyed the conversation of each other for above twelve months, without the least interruption; and though the stability of Mr M's fortune depended entirely upon their marriage, yet, as he perceived his mistress so averse to it, he never urged it with vehemence, nor was at all anxious on that score, being easily induced to defer a ceremony, which, as he then thought, could in no shape have added to their satisfaction, though he hath since altered his sentiments.

"Be that as it will, his indulgent mistress, in order to set his mind at ease in that particular, and in full confidence of his honour, insisted on his accepting a deed of gift of her whole fortune, in consideration of her intended marriage; and, after some difficulty, he was prevailed upon to receive this proof of her esteem, well knowing that it would still be in his power to return the obligation. Though she often entreated him to take upon himself the entire administration of her finances, and upon divers occasions pressed him to accept of large sums, he never once abused her generous disposition, or solicited her for money, except for some humane purpose, which she was always more ready to fulfil than he to propose.

"In the course of this correspondence, he became acquainted with some of her female relations, and, among the rest, with a young lady, so eminently adorned with all the qualifications of mind and person, that, notwithstanding all his philosophy and caution, he could not behold and converse with her, without being deeply smitten with her charms. He did all in his power to discourage this dangerous invasion in the beginning, and to conceal the least symptom of it from her relation: he summoned all his reflection to his aid, and, thinking it would be base and dishonest to cherish any sentiment repugnant to the affection which he owed to a mistress who had placed such unlimited confidence

in him, he attempted to stifle the infant flame, by avoiding the amiable inspirer of it. But the passion had taken too deep a root in his heart to be so easily extirpated-his absence from the dear object increased the impatience of his love-the intestine conflict between that and gratitude deprived him of his rest and appetite-he was, in a short time, emaciated by continual watching, anxiety, and want of nourishment, and so much altered from his usual cheerfulness, that his mistress being surprised and alarmed at the change, which, from the symptoms, she judged was owing to some uneasiness of mind, took all imaginable pains to discover the cause.

her faithful maid, one morning visited him for the first time at his own lodgings; and, after breakfast, desiring to speak with him in private, he conducted her into another room, where, assuming an unusual gaiety of aspect, My dear M,' said she, you are now going to leave me, and God alone knows if ever we shall meet again; therefore, if you really love me with that tenderness which you profess, you will accept of this mark of my friendship and unalterable affection; it will at least be a provision for your journey; and if any accident should befall me, before I have the happiness of receiving you again into my arms, I shall have the satisfaction of knowing that you are not altogether with"In all probability it did not escape her out resource.' So saying, she put an empenetration; for she more than once asked broidered pocket-book into his hand. He if he was in love with her cousin? protest-expressed the high sense he had of her gening, that, far from being an obstacle to his happiness, she would, in that case, be an advocate for his passion. However, this declaration was never made without manifest signs of anxiety and uneasiness, which made such an impression upon the heart of M, that he resolved to sacrifice his happiness, and even his life, rather than take any step which might be construed into an injury or insult to a person who had treated him with such generosity and goodness.

erosity and affection in the most pathetic terms, and begged leave to suspend his acceptance, until he should know the contents of her present, which was so extraordinary, that he` absolutely refused to receive it; he was, however, by her repeated entreaties, in a manner compelled to receive about one. half, and she afterwards insisted upon his taking a reinforcement of a considerable sum for the expense of his journey.

Having stayed with her ten days beyond the time he had fixed for his departure, and settled the method of their correspondence, he took his leave, with a heart full of sorrow, anxiety, and distraction, produced from the different suggestions of his duty and love. He then set out for France, and after a short stay at Paris, proceeded to Aix in Provence, and from thence to Marseilles, at which two places he continued for some months: but nothing he met with being able to dissipate those melancholy ideas which still preyed upon his imagination, and affected his spirits, he endeavoured to elude them with a succession of new objects; and, with that view, persuaded a counsellor of the parliament of Aix, a man of great worth, learning, and good humour, to accompany him in making a tour of those parts of France which he had not yet seen. On their return from this excursion, they found at Aix an Italian abbe, a person of character, and great knowledge of men and books, who, having travelled all over Germany and France, was so far on his return to his own country.

"In consequence of this resolution, he formed another, which was to go abroad, under pretence of recovering his health, but in reality to avoid the temptation, as well as the suspicion of being inconsistent; and in this design he was confirmed by his physician, who actually thought him in the first stage of a consumption, and therefore advised him to repair to the south of France. He communicated his design, with the doctor's opinion, to the lady, who agreed to it with much less difficulty than he found in conquering his own reluctance at parting with the dear object of his love. The consent of his generous mistress being obtained, he waited upon her with the instrument whereby she had made the conveyance of her fortune to him; and all his remonstrances being insufficient to persuade her to take it back, he cancelled it in her presence, and placed it in that state upon her toilet, while she was dressing; whereupon she shed a torrent of tears, saying, she now plainly perceived that he wanted to tear himself from her, and that his affections were settled upon another. He was sensibly affected by this proof of her concern, and endeavoured to calm the perturbation of her mind, by vowing eternal fidelity, and pressing her to accept of his hand in due form before his departure. By these means her transports were quieted for the present, and the marriage deferred for the same prudential reasons which had hith-ble in this city, his friend the abbe was so erto prevented it.

"Matters being thus compromised, and the day fixed for his departure, she, together with

"M—— having, by means of his friend the counsellor, contracted an acquaintance with this gentleman, and being desirous of seeing some parts of Italy, particularly the carnival of Venice, they set out together from Marseilles in a tartan for Genoa, coasting it all the way, and lying on shore every night. Having shown him what was most remarka

obliging as to conduct him through Tuscany, and the most remarkable cities in Lombardy, to Venice, where M- insisted upon de.

fraying the expense of the whole tour, in consideration of the abbe's complaisance, which had been of infinite service to him in the course of his expedition. Having remained five weeks at Venice, he was preparing to set out for Rome, with some English gentlemen whom he had met by accident, when he was all of a sudden obliged to change his resolution by some disagreeable letters which he received from London. He had, from his first departure, corresponded with his generous, though inconstant mistress, with a religious exactness and punctuality; nor was she, for some time, less observant of the agreement they had made. Nevertheless she, by degrees, became so negligent and cold in her expression, and so slack in her correspondence, that he could not help observing and upbraiding her with such indifference; and her endeavours to palliate it were supported by pretexts so frivolous, as to be easily seen through by a lover of very little discernment.

"While he tortured himself with conjectures about the cause of this unexpected change, he received such intelligence from England, as, when joined with that he himself had perceived by her manner of writing, left him little or no room to doubt of her fickleness and inconstancy. Nevertheless, as he knew by experience, that informations of that kind are not to be entirely relied upon, he resolved to be more certainly apprized; and, for that end, departed immediately for London, by the way of Tyrol, Bavaria, Alsace, and Paris.

to Paris, in order to dissipate his anxiety, where he hired an apartment in one of the academies, in the exercises whereof he took singular delight. During his residence at this place, he had the good fortune to ingratiate himself with a great general, a descendant of one of the most ancient and illustrious families of France; having attracted his notice by some remarks he had written on Folard's Polybius, which were accidentally shown to that great man by one of his aidesdecamp, who was a particular friend of M- The favour he had thus acquired, was strengthened by his assiduities and attention. Upon his return to London, he sent some of Handel's newest compositions to the prince, who was particularly fond of that gentleman's productions, together with Clark's edition of Cæsar; and, in the spring of the same year, before the French army took the field, he was honoured with a most obliging letter from the prince, inviting him to come over, if he wanted to see the operations of the campaign, and desiring he would give himself no trouble about his equipage.

66

singular service to him, though in an affair altogether foreign from their profession.

M- having still some remains of a military disposition, and conceiving this to be a more favourable opportunity than any he should ever meet with again, readily embraced the offer, and sacrificed the soft delights of love, which at that time he enjoyed without control, to an eager, laborious, and dangerous curiosity. In that and the following campaign, during which he was present at the siege of Philipsburg, and several other actions, he enlarged his acquaintance "On his arrival in England, he learned, among the French officers, especially those with infinite concern, that his intelligence of the graver sort, who had a taste for books had not been at all exaggerated; and his sor- and literature; and the friendship and interrow was inexpressible to find a person, en-est of those gentlemen were afterwards of dowed with so many other noble and amiable qualities, seduced into an indiscretion, that of necessity ruined the whole plan which "He had all along made diligent inquiry had been concerted between them for their into the trade and manufactures of the counmutual happiness. She made several at- tries through which he had occasion to travel, tempts, by letters and interviews, to palliate more particularly those of Holland, England, her conduct, and soften him into a reconcili- and France; and, as he was well acquainted ation; but his honour being concerned, he with the revenue and farms of this last kingremained deaf to all her entreaties and pro- dom, he saw with concern the great disadposals. Nevertheless, I have often heard vantages under which our tobacco trade (the him say, that he could not help loving her, most considerable branch of our commerce and revering the memory of a person to with that people) was carried on; what inwhose generosity and goodness he owed his considerable returns were made to the planfortune, and one whose foibles were over-ters, out of the low price given by the French balanced by a thousand good qualities. He often insisted on making restitution; but far from complying with that proposal, she afterwards often endeavoured to lay him under yet greater obligations of the same kind, and importuned him with the warmest solicitations to renew their former correspondence, which he as often declined.

“M— took this instance of the inconstancy of the sex so much to heart, that he had almost resolved for the future to keep clear of all engagements for life, and returned

company; and how much it was in the power of that company to reduce it still lower. M- had formed a scheme to remedy this evil, so far as it related to the national loss or gain, by not permitting the duty of one penny in the pound, old subsidy, to be drawn back on tobacco re-exported. He demonstrated to the ministry of that time, that so inconsiderable a duty could not in the least diminish the demand from abroad, which was the only circumstance to be apprehended, and that the yearly produce of that reve

had already sent; but his good friend the abbe (whom he had left behind in America), by an unparalleled piece of treachery, found means to overturn the whole project. He secretly wrote a memorial to the company,

nue would amount to one hundred and twenty thousand pounds, without one shilling additional expense to the public; but the ministry having the excise scheme then in contemplation, could think of no other till that should be tried; and that project hav-importing, that he found by experience ing miscarried, he renewed his application, when they approved of his scheme in every particular, but discovered a surprising backwardness to carry it into execution.

M- could afford to furnish them at a much lower price than that which they had agreed to give; and that, by being in possession of the contract for five years, as was intended according to the proposal, he would have the company so much in his power, that they must afterwards submit to any

"His expectations in this quarter being disappointed, he, by the interposition of his friends, presented a plan to the French company, in which he set forth the advan-price he should please to impose; and that, tages that would accrue to themselves, from fixing the price, and securing that sort of tobacco which best suited the taste of the public and their manufacture; and finally proposed to furnish them with any quantity, at the price which they paid in the port of London.

"After some dispute, they agreed to his proposal, and contracted with hiin for fifteen thousand hogsheads a-year, for which they obliged themselves to pay ready money, on its arrival in any one or more convenient ports in the south or western coasts of Great Britain that he should please to fix upon for that purpose. Mno sooner obtained this contract, than he immediately set out for America, in order to put it into execution; and, by way of companion, carried with him a little French abbe, a man of humour, wit, and learning, with whom he had been long acquainted, and for whom he had done many good offices.

if they thought him worthy of such a trust, he would undertake to furnish them at an easier rate, in conjunction with some of the leading men in Virginia and Maryland, with whom, he said, he had already concerted measures for that purpose.

"The company were so much alarmed at these insinuations, that they declined complying with Mr M- -'s demands until the abbe's return; and though they afterwards used all their endeavours to persuade him to be concerned with that little traitor in his undertaking, by which he might still have been a very considerable gainer, he resisted all their solicitations, and plainly told them in the abbe's presence, that he would never prostitute his own principles so far, as to enter into engagements of any kind with a person of his character, much less in a scheme that had a manifest tendency to lower the market price of tobacco in England.

66

Thus ended a project the most extensive, "On his arrival in Virginia, which oppor- simple, and easy, and (as appeared by the tunely happened at a time when all the gen-trial made) the best calculated to raise an tlemen were assembled in the capital of that province, he published a memorial, representing the disadvantages under which their trade was carried on, the true method of redressing their own grievances in that respect, and proposing to contract with them for the yearly quantity of fifteen thousand hogsheads of such tobacco as was fit for the French market, at a price which he demonstrated to be considerably greater than that which they had formerly received.

immense fortune, of any that was ever undertaken or planned by a private person; a project, in the execution of which Mhad the good of the public, and the glory of putting in a flourishing condition the valua ble branch of our trade (which gives employment to two great provinces, and above two hundred sail of ships), much more at heart than his own private interest. It was reasonable to expect, that a man whose debts M— had paid more than once, whom he "This remonstrance met with all the suc- had obliged in many other respects, and cess and encouragement he could expect: whom he had carried with him at a very the principal planters, seeing their own in- considerable expense, on this expedition, terest concerned, readily assented to the merely with a view of bettering his fortune, proposal, which, through their influence, would have acted with common honesty, if was also relished by the rest; and the only not with gratitude; but such was the depravdifficulty that remained related to the secu-ity of this little monster's heart, that, on his rity for payment of the bills on the arrival of the tobacco in England, and to the time stipulated for the continuance of the contract.

death-bed, he left a considerable fortune to mere strangers, with whom he had little or no connection, without the least thought of refunding the money advanced for him by M- -, in order to prevent his rotting in a jail.

"In order to remove these objections, Mr M- returned to Europe, and found the French company of farmers disposed to "When M― had once obtained a comagree to every thing he desired for facilitat-mand of money, he, by his knowledge in ing the execution of the contract, and per- several branches of trade, as well as by the fectly well pleased with the sample which he assistance of some intelligent friends at

Paris and London, found means to employ it | of the young upstart. Indeed the early to very good purpose; and had he been a intelligence he received of Mr A-y's man of that selfish disposition, which too making himself known in the West Indies, much prevails in the world, he might have furnished him with numberless advantages been at this day master of a very ample for- over that unhappy young gentleman; for, tune; but his ear was never deaf to the voice being in possession of a plentiful fortune, and of distress, nor his beneficent heart shut lord of many manors in the neighbourhood against the calamities of his fellow creatures. of the very place where the claimant was He was even ingenious in contriving the born, he knew all the witnesses who could most delicate methods of relieving modest give the most material evidence of his legitiindigence; and by his industrious benevo- macy; and, if his probity did not restrain lence, often anticipated the requests of him, had, by his power and influence, suffimisery. cient opportunity and means of applying to the passions and interest of the witnesses, to silence many, and gain over others to his side; while his competitor, by an absence of fifteen or sixteen years from his native country, the want of education and friends, together with his present helpless situation, was rendered absolutely incapable of taking any step for his own advantage. And although his worthy uncle's conspicuous virtue, and religious regard for justice and truth, might possibly be an unconquerable restraint to his taking any undue advantages, yet the consciences of that huge army of emissaries he kept in pay were not altogether so very tender and scrupulous. This much, however, may be said, without derogation from, or impeachment of, the noble earl's nice virtue and honour, that he took care to compromise all differences with the other branches of the family, whose interests were, in this affair, connected with his own, by sharing the estate with them, and also retained most of the eminent counsel within the bar of both kingdoms against this formidable bastard, before any suit was instituted by him.

"I could relate a number of examples to illustrate my assertions, in some of which you will perceive the most disinterested generosity; but such a detail would trespass too much upon your time, and I do not pretend to dwell upon every minute circumstance of his conduct. Let it suffice to say, that, upon the declaration of war with Spain, he gave up all his commercial schemes, and called in his money from all quarters, with a view of sitting down, for the rest of his life, contented with what he had got, and restraining his liberalities to what he could spare from his yearly income. This was a very prudential resolution, could he have kept it; but, upon the breaking out of the war, he could not without concern see many gentlemen of merit, who had been recommended to him, disappointed of commissions, merely for want of money to satisfy the expectations of the commission-brokers of that time; and therefore launched out considerable sums for them on their bare notes, great part whereof was lost by the death of some in the unfortunate expedition to the West Indies.

"He at length, after many other actions of the like nature, from motives of pure humanity, love of justice, and abhorrence of oppression, embarked in a cause every way the most important that ever came under the discussion of the courts of law in these kingdoms; whether it be considered in relation to the extraordinary nature of the case, or the immense property of no less than fifty thousand pounds a-year and three peerages, that depended upon it.

"In the year 1740, the brave admiral who at that time commanded his majesty's fleet in the West Indies, among the other transactions of his squadron transmitted to the duke of Newcastle, mentioned a young man, who, though in the capacity of a common sailor on board one of the ships under his command, laid claim to the estate and titles of the earl of A. These pretensions were no sooner communicated in the public papers, than they became the subject of conversation in all companies; and the person whom they chiefly affected, being alarmed at the appearance of a competitor, though at such a distance, began to put himself in motion, and take all the precautions which he thought necessary to defeat the endeavour

"While he was thus entrenching himself against the attack of a poor forlorn youth, at the distance of fifteen hundred leagues, continually exposed to the dangers of the sea, the war, and an unhealthy climate, Mr M— in the common course of conversation, happened to ask some questions relating to this romantic pretender, of one Hwho was at that time the present Lord A- -a's chief agent. This man, when pressed, could not help owning that the late Lord A-m actually left a son, who had been spirited away into America soon after his father's death, but said he did not know whether this was the same person.

"This information could not fail to make an impression on the humanity of Mr Mwho, being acquainted with the genius of the wicked party who had possessed themselves of this unhappy young man's estate and honours, expressed no small anxiety and apprehension lest they should take him off by some means or other; and, even then, seemed disposed to contribute towards the support of the friendless orphan, and to inquire more circumstantially into the nature of his claim. In the mean time his occasions called him to France; and, during his ab