This well-timed présent plèaaed more powerfully in his favour thán ány thing I had to say could óbviate. I therefore contínued silent, sátisfied with júst háving pointed out danger, and leaving ít tó thèir own discrétion to avoid ít. Thát virtue which requires tó bè éver guàrded, is scarcely worth the séntinel.

CHAPTER VI.

The Happiness of a Country Fire-side.

As wè carried on the former dispute with some degree of warmth, ín òrder tó accómmodate mátters, it wás universally agrèed, that we should have a part of the vénison fór supper, and the girls undertook the task with alácrity,,,Ì ám sórry,“ cried I,,,thát we have nò neighbour ór strànger to take part in this good cheer: feasts of this kind acquire a double rélish fróm hospitality."—,,Bléss mè!" cried my wife,,,hère cóme òur good friend Mr. Burchell, thát sàved our Sophia, and tha rún yòu dówn fairly in the argument.“ ,,Confùte mè in argument, child!" cried Ì;,,yòu mistake thère, mỳ dèar. Ì beliève thère are bút few thát cán dò thát. Ì néver dispute your abilities át making a goose-pie, ánd Ì bég yòu'll leave àrgument 1) tó mè.“ Ás Ì spòke, pòor Mr. Burchell éntered the house, and was welcomed by the family, who shook hím heartily by the hand, while little Dick offíciously reached hím a chàir.

I was pleased with the pòor mán's friendship fór twò rèasons; because Ì knew that he wanted mine, and I knew hìm tó bè friendly ás fàr ás hè wás àble. He was known ín òur nèighbourhood by the character of the pòor géntleman that would dò nò good when he was young, though he was not yet thirty. He would át íntervals talk with great good sénse; bút ín géneral hè wás fóndest of the company of children, whóm hè ùsed tó call harmless little mén. Hè wás fàmous, Ì fòund, fór sínging thém bállads, and télling thém stòries; ánd séldom wént òut

1) argument, das (gute) Disputiren.

without something in his póckets for thém a pièce óf gíngerbread, ór a halfpenny whistle. Hè génerally came fór a fèw days into our neighbourhood ónce a-year, and lived upon the neighbours' hospitálity. Hè sát dówn tó súpper amóng ús, and my wife was not spàring óf hér gooseberry-wine. The tale went ròund; hè súng ús òld sóngs, and gàve the children the story of the Búck of Beverland, with the History of Patient Gríssel, the Adventures óf Cátskin, ánd thén Fair Ròsamond's Bówer 2). Our cóck, which always crèw át eléven, nòw tòld ús it was time fór repòse; bùt án unforeseen difficulty started about lódging the stranger; àll òur beds wère already taken up, and it wás too late to send hím to the next àlehouse. Ín thís dilémma, little Dick offered him his part of the béd, if his brother Mòses would lét hím lie with him. ,,Ánd Ì," cried Bill,,,will give Mr. Burchell mỳ pàrt, if my sisters will take mè tó thèirs.“ „Well done, mỳ good children," cried Ì,,,hospitálity is óne of the first Chrístian dùties. The beast retires tó hís 3) shélter, and the bird flies tó íts nést; bút hélpless mán cán ònly find réfuge from his fellow-crèatures. The greatest strànger in this world wás Hè thát came tó sàve ít; hè néver hád a hòuse *), ás íf willing to see whát hospitality wás léft remaining amongst ús. Déborah, my dear," cried Ì tó mỳ wife,,,give those bòys a lump of sùgar èach; ánd lét Díck's bè the largest, because hè spòke first."

In the morning early, I called out my whole family tó hélp át saving án after-growth of hày, ánd our guést óffering his assistance, hè 5) was accépted among the number. Our labours

2) the Buck of Bèverland etc., lauter Volksgesänge. Rosamond's Bower. Rosamunde Clifford, Geliebte Heinrich II. von England (1154-1189), wurde zu Woodstock vor der Königin Eleonore verborgen gehalten, und zwar in einem Gebäude (bówer), welches durch labyrinthische Gänge Jedem den Zutritt zu ihr unmöglich machen sollte. Aber der listigen und eifersüchtigen Eleonore gelang es doch, vermöge des Fadens von einem seidnen Knäuel, den der König einst unbewusst nach sich gezogen hatte, den Weg nach ihrem Zimmer zu finden, und sie durch Gift zu tödten. So die Sage. Geschichtlich ist, dass die Eifersucht der Königin den Aufenthaltsort der Geliebten entdeckte, worauf letztere in das Nonnenkloster zu Godslow sich zurückzog, wo sie ihre Tage auch beschloss.

3) Andere Ausgaben: tó its shelter.

4) hè néver hád a hòuse, s. Ev. Matth. 8, 20.

5) hè wás etc. Die abermalige Andeutung des vorher schon genannten Subjekts ist nicht nachzuahmen.

wént ón lightly; wè turned the swath to the wind; Ì went foremost, and the rést fóllowed in dùe succéssion. I could not avòid, however, obsérving the assiduity of Mr. Búrchell ín assísting mỳ dàughter Sophia ín hér pàrt of the tàsk. - Whén hè hád finished his own, hè would join ín hér's, ánd énter into a clòse conversation; bút Ì hád too good án opinion of Sophia's understanding, and was too well convinced of hér ambition, tó bè únder ány uneasiness fróm a mán óf bròkenfortune. When we were finished for the dày, Mr. Burchell wás invited, ás ón the night before; bút hè refùsed, ás hè wás tó lie that night át a nèighbour's ") tó whòse child hè wás cárrying a whistle. Whén góne, òur conversàtion át súpper túrned upón òur làte unfortunate guést. ,Whát a strong instance, “sáid Ì,,,ís thát pòor mán, óf the míseries atténding a youth of lévity and extrávagance! Hè by no means wants sénse, which ònly sérves tó ággravate hís fòrmer fólly. Pòor forlòrn creature! whère àre nów the révellers, the flátterers, thát hè cóuld ónce inspire ánd command? Góne, perhaps, tổ attend the bágnio pánder, gròwn rích by his extravagance. They once praised him, and now they applaud the pander, their former raptures át hís wít, àre nów convérted into sarcásms át hís fólly. Hè ís pòor, and perhaps desérves póverty; fór hè hás neither the ambition tó bè indepéndent, nór the skill tó bè ùseful." Prómpted perhaps by sóme sècret reasons, I delivered this observation with tòo múch ácrimony, which my Sophia géntly repròved.,,Whatsoever his former conduct mày háve béen 7), papà, hís círcumstances should exémpt hím fróm cénsure nów. His présent índigence is a sufficient púnishment fór fòrmer fólly; ánd Ì háve heard my papà himsélf sày, thát wè should never strike óne unnécessary blòw át a víctim over whóm Providence holds the scourge of its reséntment.". ,,You àre rìght, Sóphy," cried mỳ són Mòses, „ánd óne óf the ancients finely represénts sò malícious a conduct, by the attémpts of a rústic tó flày Màrsyas ), whòse skín, the fable

6) át a neighbour's scil. house. Ebenso wird auch bekanntlich beim Genitiv church (Kirche) und shóp (Laden) ausgelassen.

7) Fehlerhaft in den ältern Ausgaben: whatsoever his fòrmer conduct mày bè, statt may have been.

8) Marsyas, ein Satyr, welcher einst den Apollo zum Wettstreit in der

télls ús, hád béen whòlly stripped off by another; besides, Ì don't know if this pòor mán's situation bè sò bád ás mỳ fàther would represént ít. Wè àre nót tó júdge óf the feelings of others by what wè mìght fèel íf ín thèir plàce. However dàrk the habitation of the mòle tó òur eyes, yet the ánimal itself finds the apartment sufficiently lightsome. Ánd, tó conféss a trùth, this man's mind seems fitted tó hís stàtion; fòr Ì néver héard ány óne more sprightly thán hè wás tó-dày, whén hè conversed with you." This wás sáid withòut the least design; however, ít excited a blúsh, which shè stròve tó cóver bỳ án affected laugh; assùring him that shè scarcely took ány notice of what he said tó hér; bút that she belièved hè mìght ónce háve béen a véry fine géntleman. The réadiness with which she undertook tó víndicate herself, and her blúshing, wère symptoms Ì did not intérnally appròve; bút Ì représsed my suspicions.

Ás wè expécted our lándlord the néxt dày, mỳ wife went to make the vénison-pàsty. Mòses sát reading, while Ì tànght the little ones; mỳ dàughters sèemed equally busy with the rést; ánd Ì obsérved them for a good while cooking something over the fire. Í át first suppòsed they were assisting their móther; bút little Dick informed mè, in a whisper, that they wère making a wash for the fàce. Washes of all kinds Ì hád a natural antipathy tó; fór Ì knew that, instead of ménding the complexion, they spoiled ít. Ì therefore approached my chair by slow degrèes ) to the fire, and grásping the pòker, ás íf ít wanted ménding, seemingly by áccident, overtúrned the whole composition, and it was too làte tó begin another.

Musik aufforderte. Er wurde besiegt, und Apollo zog ihm für seine Verwegenheit die Haut ab. S. Ovid, Metam. VI, 382. ff.; vgl. auch Xenophon, Anab. Lib. I. Cap. II, 8.

9) by slow degrees; so Walter Scott statt der ältern Lesart: by slỳ degrees. Sly scheint jedoch passender als slow zu sein; letzteres ist ein sehr überflüssiger Zusatz, da bỳ slow degrè es nichts Anderes sagt, als das einfache,,by degrees."

CHAPTER VII.

A Town Wit described. The dúllest féllows mày léarn tó bè cómical fór a night or twò.

WHEN the morning arrived ón which wè wère tó entertain our yoúng lándlord, ít mày bè èasily suppòsed whát provisions wère exhausted tó màke an appearance. It mày àlso bè conjéctured, thát mỳ wife and daughters expanded their gayest plùmage on this occasion. Mr. Thornhill càme with a couple of friends, hís chaplain and feeder. The sérvants, whò wère numerous, hè politely òrdered to the next àlehouse; bút mỳ wife, in the triumph of hér heàrt, insisted on entertaining thém àll; fór whích, by the bỳ, òur family wás pínched for three weeks after. Ás Mr. Búrchell hád hínted to ús, the dày befòre, thát hè wás making some propòsals óf márriage tó Míss Wilmot, mỳ són Geòrge's former mistress, this a good deal damped the heartiness of hís recéption; bút áccident, ín sóme méasure, relièved òur embarrassment; fór óne of the company happening to mention hér name, Mr. Thòrnhill obsérved, with án òath, thát hè néver knèw ány thíng mòre absúrd thán càlling such a fright a beaùty: „Fór strìke mè úgly,“ contínued hè,,,íf Ì should not find ás múch pléasure in choosing mỳ mistress by the information of a lámp únder the clock óf St. Dunstan's 1).“ Át this he laughed, and sò did wè: the jésts of the rích àre éver succéssful. Olívia tòo cóuld not avòid whispering, lòud enough tó bè héard, thát hè hád án infinite fúnd of humour.

After dinner, İ begán with my usual tòast the Church; for this I was thánked by the chaplain, ás hè sáid the Church was the only mistress óf his afféctions. ‚Cóme, téll ús hónestly, Fránk," said the Squire, with his ùsual àrchness,,,suppose

1) of St. Dunstan's, scil. church. Dunstan, ein englischer Geistlicher, geb. 925, zeichnete sich vorzüglich in der Malerei und Musik aus. Er wurde 961 Erzbischof von Canterbury und päpstlicher Legat in England. Ihm zu Ehren wurde eine Kirche in Fleetstrèet zu London St. Dunstan's genannt. Das Zifferblatt der Uhr an dieser Kirche geht weit hin auf die Strasse, in deren Nähe berüchtigte Weiber wohnen sollen. Eine Beschreibung und eine Abbildung findet man im Mirror" (Londoner Journal) SeptemberHeft 1829.