small terror of Partridge, who firmly believed himself to be bewitched, and that this light was a Jack-with-a-Lantern, or somewhat more mischievous.

But how were these fears increased, when, as they approached nearer to this light, (or lights, as they now appeared,) they heard a confused sound of human voices; of singing, laughing, and hallooing, together with a strange noise that seemed to proceed from some instruments, but could hardly be allowed the name of music. Indeed to favour a little the opinion of Partridge, it might very well be called music bewitched.

It is impossible to conceive a much greater degree of horror than what now seized on Partridge; the contagion of which had reached the postboy, who had been very attentive to many things that the other had uttered. He now, therefore, joined in petitioning Jones to return; saying, he firmly believed what Partridge had just before said, that though the horses seemed to go on, they had not moved a step forwards during at least the last half hour.

Jones could not help smiling in the midst of his vexation, at the fears of these poor fellows. "Either we advance," says he, "towards the lights, or the lights have advanced towards us; for we are now at a very little distance from them. But how can either of you be afraid of a set of people who appear only to be merry-making?"

Merry-making, sir !" cries Partridge; "who could be merry-making at this time of night, and in such a place, and such weather? They can be nothing but ghosts or witches, or some evil spirits or other, that's certain."

"Let them be what they will," cries Jones, "I am resolved to go up to them, and enquire the way to Coventry. All witches, Partridge, are not such ill-natured hags as that we had the misfortune to meet with last."

"O Lord, sir!" cries Partridge, "there is no knowing what'humour they will be in; to be sure it is always best to be civil to them: but what if we should meet with something worse than witches, with evil spirits themselves?Pray, sir, be advised; pray, sir, do. If you had read so many terrible accounts as I have of these matters, you would not be so fool-hardy. The Lord knows whither we have got already, or whither we are going: for sure such darkness was never seen upon earth, and I question whether it can be darker in the other world."

Jones put forwards as fast as he could, notwithstanding all these hints and cautions, and poor Partridge was obliged to follow: for though he hardly dared to advance, he dared still less to stay behind by himself.

At length they arrived at the place whence the lights and different noises had issued. This Jones perceived to be no other than a barn, where a great number of men and women were assembled, and diverting themselves with much apparent jollity.

Jones no sooner appeared before thegreat doors of the barn, which were open, than a masculine and very rough voice from within, demanded who was there?-To which Jones gently answered, "A friend ;" and immediately asked the road to Coventry.

"If you are a friend," cries another of the men in the barn, "you had better alight till the storm is over;" (for indeed it was now more violent than ever;) "you are very welcome to put up your horse; for there is sufficient room for him at one end of the barn."

"You are very obliging," returned Jones; " and I will accept your offer for a few minutes, whilst the rain continues; and here are two more who will be glad of the same favour." This was accorded with more good will than it was accepted; for Partridge would rather have submitted to the utmost inclemency of the weather than have trusted to the inclemency of those whom he took for hobgoblins; and the poor post-boy was now infected with the same apprehensions: but they were both obliged to follow the example of Jones; the one because he durst not leave his horse, and the other because he feared nothing so much as being left by himself.

Had this history been writ in the days of superstition, I should have had too much compassion for the reader to have left him so long in suspence, whether Beelzebub or Satan was about actually to appear in person, with all his hellish retinue; but as these doctrines are at present very unfortunate, and have but few, if any believers, I have not been much aware of conveying any such terrors. To say truth, the whole furniture of the infernal regions hath long been appropriated by the managers of playhouses, who seem lately to have lain them by as rubbish, capable only of affecting the upper gallery ; a place in which few of our readers ever sit.

However, though we do not suspect raising any great terror on this occasion, we have reason to fear some other apprehensions may here arise in our reader, into which we would not willingly betray him; I mean, that we are going to take a voyage into Fairyland, and to introduce a set of beings into our history, which scarce any one was ever childish enough to believe, though many have been foolish enough to spend their time in writing and reading their adventures.

To prevent, therefore, any such suspicions, so prejudicial to the credit of an historian who professes to draw his materials from nature only, we shall now proceed to acquaint the reader who these people were, whose sudden appearance had struck such terrors into Partridge, had more than half frightened the post-boy, and had a little surprised even Mr Jones himself.

The people, then, assembled in this barn, were no other than a company of Egyptians, or as they are vulgarly called, Gypsies; and they were now celebrating the wedding of one of their society.

It is impossible to conceive a happier set of

people than appeared here to be met together. The utmost mirth indeed shewed itself in every countenance; nor was their ball totally void of all order and decorum. Perhaps it had more than a country assembly is sometimes conducted with: for these people are subject to a formal government and laws of their own, and all pay obedience to one great magistrate, whom they call their King.

Greater plenty likewise was no where to be seen than what flourished in this barn. Here was indeed no nicety nor elegance, nor did the keen appetite of the guests require any. Here was good store of bacon, fowls, and mutton, to which every one present provided better sauce himself than the best and dearest French cook can prepare.

Eneas is not described under more consternation in the temple of Juno,

Dum stupet obtutuque hæret defixus in uno, than was our hero at what he saw in this barn. While he was looking every where round him with astonishment, a venerable person approach ed him with many friendly salutations, rather of too hearty a kind to be called courtly. This was no other than the King of the Gypsies himself. He was very little distinguished in dress from his subjects, nor had he any regalia of majesty to support his dignity; and yet there seemed (as Mr Jones said) to be somewhat in his air which denoted authority, and inspired the beholders with an idea of awe and respect; though all this was perhaps imaginary in Jones, and the truth may be, that such ideas are incident to power, and almost inseparable from it.

There was somewhat in the open countenance and courteous behaviour of Jones, which, being accompanied with much comeliness of person, greatly recommended him, at first sight, to every beholder. These were perhaps a little heightened in the present instance, by that profound respect which he paid to the King of the Gypsies, the moment he was acquainted with his dignity, and which was sweeter to his Gypseian Majesty, as he was not used to receive such homage from any but his own subjects.

The king ordered a table to be spread with the choicest of their provisions for his accommodation; and having placed himself at his right hand, his Majesty began to discourse our hero in the following manner:

"Me doubt not, sir, but you have often seen some of my people, who are what you call de parties detache: for dey go about every where; but me fancy you imagine not we be so considerable body as we be; and may be you will surprise more, when you hear de Gypsey be as orderly and well govern people as any upon face

of de earth.

"Me have honour, as me say, to be deir king, and no monarch can do boast of more dutiful

subject, ne no more affectionate. How far me deserve deir good-will me no say; but dis me can say, dat me never design any ting but to do dem good. Me sall no do boast of dat neidar; for what can me do oderwise dan consider of de good of dose poor people who go about all day to give me always de best of what dey get? Dey love and honour me darefore, because me do love and take care of dem; dat is all, me know no oder reason.

"About a tousand or two tousand year ago, me cannot tell to a year or two, as can neider write nor read, dere was a great what you call, -a volution among de Gypsey: for dere was de Lord Gypsey in dose days; and dese lord did quarrel vid one anoder about de place; but de King of de Gypsey did demolish dem all, and made all his subject equal vid each oder; and since dat time dey have agree very well; for dey no tink of being king, and maybe it be better for dem as de be; for me assure you it be ver troublesome ting to be king, and always to do justice; me have often wish to be de private Gypsey when me have been forced to punish my dear friend and relation; for dough we never put to death, our punishments be ver severe. Dey make de Gypsey ashamed of demselves, and dat be ver terrible punishment; me ave scarce ever known de Gypsey so punish do harm any more."

The King then proceeded to express some wonder that there was no such punishment as shame in other governments. Upon which Jones assured him to the contrary; for that there were many crimes for which shame was inflicted by the English laws, and that it was indeed one consequence of all punishments. "Dat be ver strange," said the King; " for me know and hears good deal of your people, dough me no live among dem; and me ave often hear dat shame is de consequence and de cause too of many of your rewards. Are your rewards and punishments den de same ting?"

While his Majesty was thus discoursing with Jones, a sudden uproar arose in the barn, and as it seems upon this occasion: The courtesy of these people had by degrees removed all the apprehensions of Partridge, and he was prevailed upon not only to stuff himself with their food, but to taste some of their liquors, which by degrees entirely expelled all fear from his composition, and in its stead introduced much more agreeable sensations.

A young female Gypsey, more remarkable for her wit than her beauty, had decoyed the honest fellow aside, pretending to tell his fortune. Now, when they were alone together in a remote part of the barn, whether it proceeded from the strong liquor, which is never so apt to inflame inordinate desire as after moderate fatigue; or whether the fair Gypsey herself threw aside the delicacy and decency of her sex, and tempted the youth Partridge with express solicitations;

ruler. This is, indeed, the only absolute power which can by Scripture be derived from heaven. If, therefore, the several tyrannies upon earth can prove any title to a divine authority, it must be derived from this original grant to the Prince of Darkness, and these subordinate deputations must consequently come immediately from him whose stamp they so expressly bear.

To conclude: as the examples of all ages shew us that mankind in general desire power only to do harm, and when they obtain it, use it for no other purpose; it is not consonant with even the least degree of prudence to hazard an alteration, where our hopes are poorly kept in countenance by only two or three exceptions out of a thousand instances to alarm our fears. In this case, it will be much wiser to submit to a few inconveniences arising from the dispassionate deafness of laws, than to remedy them by applying to the passionate open ears of a tyrant. Nor can the example of the Gypsies, though possibly they may have long been happy under this form of government, be here urged; since we must remember the very material respect in which they differ from all other people, and to which perhaps this their happiness is entirely owing, namely, that they have no false honours among them, and that they look on shame as the most grievous punishment in the world.

CHAP. XIII.

A Dialogue between Jones and Partridge.

THE honest lovers of liberty will, we doubt not, pardon that long digression into which we were led at the close of the last chapter, to prevent our history from being applied to the use of the most pernicious doctrine which priestcraft had ever the wickedness or the impudence to preach.

We will now proceed with Mr Jones, who, when the storm was over, took leave of his Egyptian majesty, after many thanks for his courteous behaviour and kind entertainment, and set out for Coventry; to which place (for it was still dark) a Gypsey was ordered to con

duct him.

Jones having, by reason of his deviation, travelled eleven miles instead of six, and most of those through very execrable roads, where no expedition could have been made in quest of a midwife, did not arrive at Coventry till near twelve. Nor could he possibly get again into the saddle till past two; for post-horses were now not easy to get; nor were the hostler or post-boy in half so great a hurry as himself, but chose rather to imitate the tranquil disposition of Partridge, who, being denied the nourishment of sleep, took all opportunities to supply its place with every other kind of nourishment, and was never better pleased than when he ar

rived at an inn, nor ever more dissatisfied than when he was again forced to leave it.

Jones now travelled post; we will follow him therefore, according to our custom, and to the rules of Longinus, in the same manner. From Coventry he arrived at Daventry, from Daventry at Stratford, and from Stratford at Dunstable, whither he came the next day a little after noon, and within a few hours after Sophia had left it; and though he was obliged to stay here longer than he wished, while a smith, with great deliberation, shoed the post-horse he was to ride, he doubted not but to overtake his Sophia before she should set out from St Albans ; at which place he concluded, and very reasonably, that his lordship would stop and dine.

Ånd had he been right in this conjecture, he most probably would have overtaken his angel at the aforesaid place; but unluckily my lord had appointed a dinner to be prepared for him at his own house in London, and, in order to enable him to reach that place in proper time, he had ordered a relay of horses to meet him at St Alban's. When Jones therefore arrived there, he was informed that the coach and six had set out two hours before.

If fresh post-horses had been now ready, as they were not, it seemed so apparently impossible to overtake the coach before it reached London, that Partridge thought he had now a proper opportunity to remind his friend of a matter which he seemed entirely to have forgotten; what this was the reader will guess, when we inform him that Jones had eat nothing more than one poached egg since he had left the alehouse where he had first met the guide returning from Sophia; for with the Gypsies he had feasted only his understanding.

The landlord so entirely agreed with the opinion of Mr Partridge, that he no sooner heard the latter desire his friend to stay and dine, than he very readily put in his word, and retracting his promise before given of furnishing the horses immediately, he assured Mr Jones he would lose no time in bespeaking a dinner, which, he said, could be got ready sooner than it was possible to get the horses up from grass, and to prepare them for their journey by a feed

of corn.

Jones was at length prevailed on, chiefly by the latter argument of the landlord; and now a joint of mutton was put down to the fire. While this was preparing, Partridge, being admitted into the same apartment with his friend or master, began to harangue in the following manner. Certainly, sir, if ever man deserved a young lady, you deserve young Madam Western; for what a vast quantity of love must a man have, to be able to live upon it without any other food, as you do! I am positive I have eat thirty times as much within these last twenty-four hours as your honour, and yet I am almost famished; for nothing makes a man so hungry as travel

ling, especially in this cold raw weather. And yet I can't tell how it is, but your honour is seemingly in perfect good health, and you never looked better nor fresher in your life. It must be certainly love that live upon." you

"And a very rich diet too, Partridge," answered Jones. "But did not fortune send me an excellent dainty yesterday? Dost thou imagine I cannot live more than twenty-four hours on this dear pocket-book?"

"Undoubtedly," cries Partridge, "there is enough in that pocket-book to purchase many a good meal. Fortune sent it to your honour very opportunely for present use, as your honour's money must be almost out by this time."

"What do you mean?" answered Jones; "I hope you don't imagine that I should be dishonest enough, even if it belonged to any other person besides Miss Western"

"Dishonest!" replied Partridge, "Heaven forbid I should wrong your honour so much; but where's the dishonesty in borrowing a little for present spending, since you will be so well able to pay the lady hereafter? No, indeed, I would have your honour pay it again, as soon as it is convenient, by all means; but where can be the harm in making use of it, now you want it? Indeed if it belonged to a poor body, it would be another thing; but so great a lady to be sure can never want it, especially now as she is along with a lord, who, it can't be doubted, will let her have whatever she hath need of. Besides, if she should want a little, she cannot want the whole, therefore I would give her a little; but I would be hanged before I mentioned the having found it at first, and before I got some money of my own; for London, I have heard, is the very worst of places to be in with out money. Indeed, if I had not known to whom it belonged, I might have thought it was the devil's money, and have been afraid to use it; but as you know otherwise, and came honestly by it, it would be an affront to Fortune to part with it all again, at the very time when you want it most; you can hardly expect she should ever do you such another good turn; for Fortuna nunquam perpetuo est bona. You will do as you please, notwithstanding all I say; but for my part, I would be hanged before I mentioned a word of the matter."

"By what I can see, Partridge," cries Jones, "hanging is a matter non longe alienum à Scœvolæ studiis."-" You should say alienus," says Partridge" I remember the passage; it is an example under communis, alienus, immunis, variis casibus serviunt."-" If you do remember it," cries Jones, "I find you don't understand it; but I tell thee, friend, in plain English, that he who finds another's property, and wilfully detains it from the known owner, deserves, in foro conscientiæ, to be hanged no less than if he had stolen it. And as for this very identical bill, which is the property of my angel, and was

once in her dear possession, I will not deliver it into any hands but her own, upon any consideration whatever; no, though I was as hungry as thou art, and had no other means to satisfy my craving appetite. This I hope to do before I sleep; but if it should happen otherwise, I charge thee, if thou wouldst not incur my displeasure for ever, not to shock me any more by the bare mention of such detestable baseness."

"I should not have mentioned it now," cries Partridge, "if it had appeared so to me; for I'm sure I scorn any wickedness as much as another; but perhaps you know better; and yet I might have imagined that I should not have lived so many years, and have taught school so long, without being able to distinguish between fas et nefas; but it seems we are all to live and learn. I remember my old schoolmaster, who was a prodigious great scholar, used often to say, Polly matete cry town is my daskalon; the English of which he told us was, that a child may sometimes teach his grandmother to suck eggs. I have lived to a fine purpose truly, if I am to be taught my grammar at this time of day. Perhaps, young gentleman, you may change your opinion if you live to my years; for I remember I thought myself as wise when I was a stripling of one or two and twenty as I am now. I am sure I always taught alienus, and my master read it so before me."

There were not many instances in which Partridge could provoke Jones, nor were there many in which Partridge himself could have been hurried out of his respect. Unluckily, however, they had both hit on one of these. We have already seen Partridge could not bear to have his learning attacked, nor could Jones bear some passage or other in the foregoing speech. And now looking upon his companion with a contemptuous and disdainful air, (a thing not usual with him,) he cried, " Partridge, I see thou art a

conceited old fool, and I wish thou art not likewise an old rogue. Indeed, if I was as well convinced of the latter as I am of the former, thou shouldst travel no farther in my company."

The sage pedagogue was contented with the vent which he had already given to his indig nation, and, as the vulgar phrase is, immediately drew in his horns. He said he was sorry he had uttered any thing which might give offence, for that he had never intended it; but nemo omnibus horis sapit.

As Jones had the vices of a warm disposition, he was entirely free from those of a cold one; and if his friends must have confessed his temper to have been a little too easily ruffled, his enemies must at the same time have confessed, that it as soon subsided; nor did it at all resemble the sea, whose swelling is more violent and dangerous after a storm is over than while the storm itself subsists. He instantly accepted the submission of Partridge, shook him by the hand, and, with the most benign aspect imagi