and, as they proposed to sleep that night at Abbeville, commanded the postillion to drive with extraordinary speed. Perhaps it was well for his cattle that the axle-tree gave way, and the chaise of course overturned, before they had travelled one third part of the stage.

This accident compelled them to return to the place from whence they had set out, and as they could not procure another convenience, they found themselves under the necessity of staying till their chaise could be refitted. Understanding that this operation would detain them a whole day, our young gentleman had recourse to his patience, and demanded to know what they would have for dinner; the garcon or waiter thus questioned, vanished in a moment, and immediately they were surprised with the appearance of a strange figure, which, from the extravagance of its dress and gesticulation, Peregrine mistook for a madman of the growth of France. This phantom (which, by the by, happened to be no other than the cook), was a tall, long-legged, meagre, swarthy fellow, that stooped very much; his cheek-bones were remarkably raised, his nose bent into the shape and size of a powder-horn, and the sockets of his eyes as raw round the edges, as if the skin had been pared off. On his head he wore an handkerchief, which had once been white, and now served to cover the upper part of a black periwig, to which was attached a bag, at least a foot square, with a solitaire and rose that stuck up on each side to his ear; so that he looked like a criminal on the pillory. His back was accommodated with a linen waistcoat, his hands adorned with long ruffles of the same piece, his middle was girded by an apron tucked up, that it might not conceal his white silk stockings rolled; and, at his entrance, he brandished a bloody weapon full three feet in length. Peregrine, when he first saw him approach in this menacing attitude, put himself upon his guard; but, being informed of his quality, perused his bill of fare, and having bespoke three or four things for dinner, walked out with Mr Jolter to view both towns, which they had not leisure to consider minutely before. In their return from the harbour they met with four or five gentle men, all of whom seemed to look with an air of dejection, and, perceiving our hero and his governor to be English by their dress, bowed with great respect as they passed. Pickle, who was naturally compassionate, felt an emotion of sympathy; and seeing a person, who by his habit he judged to be one of their servants, accosted him in English, and asked who the gentlemen were. The lacquey gave him to understand that they were his own countrymen, exiled from their native homes, in consequence of their adherence to an unfortunate and ruined cause; and that they were gone to the sea-side, according to their daily practice, in order to indulge their longing eyes with a prospect of the white

cliffs of Albion, which they must never more approach.

Though our young gentleman differed widely from them in point of political principles, he was not one of those enthusiasts who look upon every schism from the established articles of faith as damnable, and exclude the sceptic from every benefit of humanity and Christian forgiveness: He could easily comprehend how a man of the most unblemished morals might, by the prejudice of education, or indispensible attachments, be engaged in such a blame-worthy and pernicious undertaking; and thought that they had already suffered severely for their impru dence. He was affected with the account of their diurnal pilgrimage to the sea-side, which he considered as a pathetic proof of their affliction, and invested Mr Jolter with the agreeable office of going to them with a compliment in his name, and begging the honour of drinking a glass with them in the evening. They accepted the proposal with great satisfaction and respectful acknowledgment, and in the afternoon waited upon the kind inviter, who treated them with coffee, and would have detained them to supper; but they entreated the favour of his company at the house which they frequented so earnestly, that he yielded to their solicitations, and with his governor was conducted by them to the place, where they had provided an elegant repast, and regaled them with some of the best claret in France.

It was easy for them to perceive, that their principal guest was no favourer of their state maxims, and therefore they industriously avoided every subject of conversation which could give the least offence; not but that they lamented their own situation, which cut them off from all their dearest connections, and doomed them to perpetual, banishment from their families and friends; but they did not, even by the most distant hint, impeach the justice of that sentence by which they were condemned; although one of them, who seemed to be about the age of thirty, wept bitterly over his misfortune, which had involved a beloved wife and three children in misery and distress, and, in the impatience of his grief, cursed his own fate with frantic imprecations. His companions, with a view of beguiling his sorrow, and manifesting their own hospitality at the same time, changed the topic of discourse, and circulated the bumpers with great assiduity; so that all their cares were overwhelmed and forgotten, several drinking French catches were sung, and mirth and good fellowship prevailed.

In the midst of this elevation, which commonly unlocks the most hidden sentiment, and dispels every consideration of caution and constraint, one of the entertainers, being more intoxicated than his fellows, proposed a toast, to which Peregrine with some warmth excepted, as an unmannerly insult. The other maintain

ed his proposition with indecent heat, and the dispute beginning to grow very serious, the company interposed, and gave judgment against their friend, who was so keenly reproached and rebuked for his impolite behaviour, that he retired in high dudgeon, threatening to relinquish their society, and branding them with the appellation of apostates from the common cause. Mortified at the behaviour of their companion, those that remained were earnest in their apologies to their guests, whom they besought to forgive his intemperance, assuring them with great confidence, that he would, upon the recovery of his reflection, wait upon them in person, and ask pardon for the umbrage he had given. Pickle was satisfied with their remonstrances, resumed his good humour, and the night being pretty far advanced, resisted all their importunities with which he was entreated to see another bottle go round, and was escorted to his own lodgings more than half seas over. Next morning about eight o'clock, he was waked by his valet-de-chambre, who told him that two of the gentlemen with whom he had spent the evening were in the house, and desired the favour of being admitted into his chamber. He could not conceive the meaning of this extraordinary visit, and ordering his man to shew them into his apartment, beheld the person who had affronted him enter, with the gentleman who had reprehended his rude

ness.

He who had given the offence, after having made an apology for disturbing Mr Pickle, told him that his friend there present had been with him early that morning, and proposed the alternative of either fighting with him immediately, or coming to beg pardon for his unmannerly deportment over night; that, though he had courage enough to face any man in the field in a righteous cause, he was not so brutal as to dis obey the dictates of his own duty and reflection, in consequence of which, and not out of any regard to the other's menaces, which he despised, he had now taken the liberty of interrupting his repose, that he might, as soon as possible, atone for the injury he had done him, which, he protested, was the effect of intoxication alone, and begged his forgiveness accordingly. Our hero accepted of this acknowledgment very graciously, thanked the other gentleman for the gallant part he had acted in his behalf, and, perceiving that his companion was a little irritated at his officious interposition, effected a reconciliation, by convincing him that what he had done was for the honour of the company. He then kept them to breakfast, expressed a desire of seeing their situation altered for the better; and, the chaise being repaired, took leave of his entertainers, who came to wish him a good journey, and, with his attendants, left Boulogne for the second time.

CHAP. XXXVII.

Proceeds for the Capital. Takes up his lodging at Bernay, where he is overtaken by Mr Hornbeck, whose head he longs to fortify.

DURING this day's expedition, Mr Jolter took an opportunity of imparting to his pupil the remarks he had made upon the industry of the French, as an undeniable proof of which he bade him cast his eyes around, and observe with what care every spot of ground was cultivated; and, from the fertility of that province, which is reckoned the poorest in France, conceive the wealth and affluence of the nation in general. Peregrine, amazed, as well as disgusted at this infatuation, answered, that what he ascribed to industry was the effect of mere wretchedness; the miserable peasants being obliged to plough up every inch of ground to satisfy their oppressive landlords, while they themselves, and their cattle, looked like so many images of famine; that their extreme poverty was evident from the face of the country, on which there was not one enclosure to be seen, or any other object, except scanty crops of barley and oats, which could never reward the toil of the husbandman; that their habitations were no better than paltry huts; that, in twenty miles of extent, not one gentleman's house appeared; that nothing was more abject and forlorn than the attire of their country people; that the equipage of their travelling chaises was infinitely inferior to that of a dung cart in England; and that the postillion, who then drove their carriage, had neither stockings to his legs, nor a shirt to his back.

The governor, finding his charge so intractable, resolved to leave him in the midst of his own ignorance and prejudice, and reserve his observations for those who would pay more deference to his opinion. And indeed this resolu tion he had often made, and as often broke, in the transports of his zeal, that frequently hurried him out of the plan of conduct which in his cooler moments he had laid down. They halted for a refreshment at Montreuil, and about seven in the evening arrived at a village called Bernay, where, while they waited for fresh horses, they were informed by the landlord, that the gates of Abbeville were shut every night punctually at eight o'clock, so that it would be impossible for them to get admittance. He said, there was not another place of entertainment on the road where they could pass the night; and therefore, as a friend, he advised them to stay at his house, where they would find the best of accommodation, and proceed upon their journey betimes in the morning.

Mr Jolter, though he had travellel on that road before, could not recollect whether or not

mine host spoke truth; but his remonstrance being very plausible, our hero determined to follow his advice; and, being conducted into an apartment, asked what they could have for supper. The landlord mentioned every thing that was eatable in the house, and the whole being engrossed for the use of him and his attendants, he amused himself till such time as it should be dressed, in strolling about the house, which stands in a very rural situation. While he thus loitered away the time that hung heavy on his hands, another chaise arrived at the inn; and, upon inquiry, he found that the new comers were Mr Hornbeck and his lady. The landlord, conscious of his inability to entertain this second company, came and begged with great humiliation, that Mr Pickle would spare them some part of the victuals he had bespoke; but he refused to part with so much as the wing of a partridge, though at the same time he sent his compliments to the strangers, and, giving them to understand how ill the house was provided for their reception, invited them to partake of his supper. Mr Hornbeck, who was not deficient in point of politeness, and extremely well disposed for a relishing meal, which he had reason to expect from the savoury steam that issued from the kitchen, could not resist this second instance of our young gentleman's civility, which he acknowledged by a message, importing that he and his wife would do themselves the pleasure of profiting by his courteous offer. Peregrine's cheeks glowed when he found himself on the eve of being acquainted with Mrs Hornbeck, of whose heart he had already made a conquest in imagination; and he forthwith set his invention at work to contrive some means of defeating her husband's vigilance.

When supper was ready, he in person gave notice to his guest, and, leading the lady into his apartment, seated her in an elbow chair at the upper end of the table, squeezing her hand and darting a most insidious glance at the same time. This abrupt behaviour he practised, on the presumption that a lady of her breeding was not to be addressed with the tedious forms that must be observed in one's advances to a person of birth and genteel education. In all probability his calculation was just; for Mrs Hornbeck gave no signs of discontent at this sort of treat ment, but, on the contrary, seemed to consider it as a proof of the young gentleman's regard; and though she did not venture to open her mouth three times during the whole repast, she shewed herself particularly well satisfied with her entertainer, by sundry sly and significant looks, while her husband's eyes were directed another way, and divers loud peals of laughter, signifying her approbation of the sallies which he uttered in the course of their conversation. Her spouse began to be very uneasy at the frank demeanour of his yoke-fellow, whom he endeavoured to check in her vivacity, by assuming a

severity of aspect; but whether she obeyed the dictates of her own disposition, which perhaps was merry and unreserved, or wanted to punish Mr Hornbeck for his jealousy of temper, certain it is, her gaiety increased to such a degree, that her husband was grievously alarmed and incensed at her conduct, and resolved to make her sensible of his displeasure, by treading in secret upon her toes. He was, however, so disconcerted by his indignation, that he mistook his mark, and applied the sharp heel of his shoe to the side of Mr Jolter's foot, comprehending his little toe that was studded with an angry corn, which he invaded with such a sudden jerk, that the governor, unable to endure the torture in silence, started up, and, dancing on the floor, roared hideously with repeated bellowings, to the unspeakable enjoyment of Peregrine and the lady, who laughed themselves almost into convulsions at the joke. Hornbeck, confounded at the mistake he had committed, begged pardon of the injured tutor with great contrition, protesting that the blow he had so unfortunately received was intended for an ugly cur which he thought had posted himself under the table. It was lucky for him that there was actually a dog in the room, to justify this excuse, which Jolter admitted with the tears running over his cheeks; and the economy of the table was recomposed.

As soon, however, as the strangers could with decency withdraw, this suspicious husband took his leave of the youth, on pretence of being fatigued with his journey, after having, by way of compliment, proposed that they should travel together next day; and Peregrine handed the lady to her chamber, where he wished her good night with another squeeze, which she returned. This favourable hint made his heart bound with a transport of joy; he lay in wait for an opportunity of declaring himself, and, seeing the hus band go down into the yard with a candle, glided softly into his apartment, where he found her almost undressed. Impelled by the impetuosity of his passion, which was still more inflamed by her present luscious appearance, and encouraged by the approbation she had already expressed, he ran towards her with eagerness, crying, "Zounds, madam, your charms are irresistible!" and, without further ceremony, would have clasped her in his arms, had she not begged him for the love of God to retire; for should Mr Hornbeck return and find him there, she would be undone for ever. He was not so blinded by his passion, but that he saw the reasonableness of her fear, and as he could not pretend to crown his wishes at that interview, he avowed himself her lover, assured her that he would exhaust his whole invention in finding a proper opportunity for throwing himself at her feet; and, in the meantime, he ravished sundry small favours, which she in the hurry of her fright could not withhold from his impudence of address. Having thus happily settled the pre

liminaries, he withdrew to his own chamber, and spent the whole night in contriving stratagems to elude the jealous caution of his fellow-traveller.

CHAP. XXXVIII.

They set out in company, breakfast at Abbeville, dine at Amiens, and about eleven o'clock arrive at Chantilly, where Peregine executes a plan which he had concerted upon Hornbeck.

THE whole company, by agreement, rose and departed before day, and breakfasted at Abbeville, where they became acquainted with the finesse of their Bernay landlord, who had imposed upon them, in affirming that they would not have been admitted after the gates were shut. From thence they proceeded to Amiens, where they dined, and were pestered by begging friars; and the roads being deep, it was eleven o'clock at night before they reached Chantilly, where they found supper already dressed, in consequence of having dispatched the valet-de-chambre before them on horseback.

The constitution of Hornbeck being very much impaired by a life of irregularity, he found himself so fatigued with his day's journey, which amounted to upwards of an hundred miles, that, when he sat down at table, he could scarcely sit upright; and in less than three minutes began to nod in his chair. Peregrine, who had foreseen and provided for this occasion, advised him to exhilarate his spirits with a glass of wine; and the proposal being embraced, tipped his valet-de-chambre the wink, who, according to the instructions he had received, qualified the Burgundy with thirty drops of laudanum, which this unfortunate husband swallowed in one glass. The dose, co-operating with his former drowsiness, lulled him so fast asleep, as it were instantaneously, that it was found necessary to convey him to his own chamber, where his footman undressed and put him to bed. Nor was Jolter, naturally of a sluggish disposition, able to resist his propensity to sleep, without suffering divers dreadful yawns, which encouraged his pupil to administer the same dose to him, which had operated so successfully upon the other Argus. This cordial had not such a gentle effect upon the rugged organs of Jolter, as upon the more delicate nerves of Hornbeck; but discovered itself in certain involuntary startings, and convulsive motions in the muscles of his face; and when his nature at length yielded to the power of this medicine, he sounded the trumpet so loud through his nostrils, that our adventurer was afraid the noise would wake his other patient, and consequently prevent the accomplishment of his aim. The governor was therefore committed to the care of Pipes, who lugged him into the next room, and, having stripped off his

clothes, tumbled him into his nest, while the two lovers remained at full liberty to indulge their mutual passion.

Peregrine, in the impatience of his inclination, would have finished the fate of Hornbeck immediately; but his inamorata disapproved of his intention, and represented, that their being together by themselves for any length of time, would be observed by her servant, who was kept as a spy upon her actions; so that they had recourse to another scheme, which was executed in this manner-He conducted her into her own apartment, in presence of her footman, who lighted them thither, and, wishing her good rest, returned to his own chamber, where he waited till every thing was quiet in the house; then stealing softly to her door, which had been left open for his admission in the dark, he found the husband still secure in the embraces of sleep, and the lady in a loose gown, ready to seal his happiness. He conveyed her to his own chamber, but his guilty passion was not gratified.

The opium which had been given to Jolter, together with the wine he had drank, produced such a perturbation in his fancy, that he was visited with horrible dreams, and, among other miserable situations, imagined himself in danger of perishing in the flames, which he thought had taken hold on his apartment. This vision made such an impression upon his faculties, that he alarmed the whole house with the repeated cries of Fire! fire! and even leaped out of his bed, though he still continued fast asleep. The lovers were very disagreeably disturbed by this dreadful exclamation; and Mrs Hornbeck, running in great confusion to the door, had the mortification to see the footman, with a light in his hand, enter her husband's chamber, in order to give him notice of this accident. She knew that she would be instantly missed, and could easily divine the consequence, unless her invention could immediately trump up some plausible excuse for her absence.

Women are naturally fruitful of expedients in cases of such emergency; she employed but a few seconds in recollection, and rushing directly towards the apartment of the governor, who still continued to hollow in the same note, exclaimed, in a screaming tone, "Lord have mercy upon us! where! where!" By this time all the servants were assembled in strange attire; Peregrine burst into Jolter's room, and seeing him stalking in his shirt, with his eyes shut, bestowed such a slap upon his back, as in a moment dissolved his dream, and restored him to the use of his senses. He was astonished and ashamed at being discovered in such an indecent attitude; and, taking refuge under the clothes, asked pardon of all present for the disturbance he had occasioned; soliciting with great humility the forgiveness of the lady, who, to a miracle, counterfeited the utmost agitation of terror and surprise. Meanwhile, Hornbeck being