THE YOUNG ANGLER. 91 "I now see," said Mr. Lathom, "why your worthy relation fears that you should consume time in reading, and that it is wise and good in you to refrain from it; but I hope, my boy, it is not very painful to you?" Not if I am busy, sir; otherwise I should really pine after books. I know also that she loves them as well as I do ; so I think to myself, if granny, who naturally loves to be quiet, gives up such indulgence, surely I may do it, who can run about and find pleasure in every thing around me.' A very short time closed the intercourse between our poor boy and his temporary patrons, who talked frequently about him and his multifarious pursuits, often concluding that his abilities were of a higher order than his situation could develope. They nevertheless thought that his present happiness and indepen I have not tackle for trout, otherwise I could sell them well; but now and then I get a few eels, which grandmother pots nicely, and we sell them at Basingstoke: any thing to get an honest penny by; and, thank Heaven, we pay our rent famously, since I have got a bit bigger and stronger.' "Perhaps you have a kind landlord, dence were such, that it would be unwise Locke ?" : 'Yes, sir, he's very kind, but mighty particular he gave me my donkey because we were so punctual; and quite a treasure it is, for it carries the garden stuff to the market, and brings back things for the neighbours, who are always willing to give me twopence, because I do my very best to bring the things they want of the right sort. I take it too, when I gather the mushrooms we make ketchup of, and the herbs we distil; and while I gather them, the poor creature finds a meal for himself; not that I ever grudge gathering one for him.' to disturb it, and by that means introduce him to desires that could not be gratified, and sorrows that might not be remedied. Far better was his present situation, than that of his long-suffering grandsire, whose sad story they had read in the 'Calamities of Authors,' and whose genius, however differently employed, seemed transmitted to a poor boy capable of so many employments, and industrious in all. Time passed-Locke and his minnows were forgotten; for in London objects of every description succeed each other so rapidly, that business and benevolence continually change their subjects. About two years afterwards, as Mr Strickland was one morning passing Middlesex Hospital, he saw a person advancing slowly, as if to take possession of a space in the open pavement, with a pile of willow cages on his head, and his arms loaded with baskets. The almost invisible mover formed altogether a grotesque spectacle, and attracted the attention of two mischievous elves, who, by a preconcerted plan, ran against him in such a manner, that he was thrown off his centre, and his light merchandise scattered in the dust. Stepping briskly forward, Mr. Strickland gave one of the boys a stroke with his cane, and seized the other by the arm, intending to turn him over for punishment to the injured party. This youth, who was clearing the path, and securing his property, on seeing the culprit and comprehending why he was seized, called out' Please, sir, to let him go; he deserves beating, but he is too little for me to meddle with him.' My troubles, sir. Poor grandmother has been six weeks in that hospital; but, thank Heaven, she is doing well, and I am quite in heart again.' "But surely you have not left your cottage entirely ?" Tears sprung to poor Locke's eyes, and he had a difficulty in answering, for the scene of his labours, his success, and his sorrows, was necessarily dear to him; but he was now inured to suffering, and soon replied—' Yes, sir, we were forced to give up; our losses came so thick upon us first, the damsons failed, and they used to pay half the rent; then the slugs ate my winter greens in spite of all my care; and, lack-a-day! a hunted hare ran into the garden one morning, as my poor grandmother stood at the open door, and all the dogs and hunters followed. They completely ruined the ground, and, what was worse, they knocked her down, and bruised her so much, she was ill the whole winter, and all we had in the world would not make her well again.' "But how came you here, Locke ?" 'Our good landlord (he who gave me my donkey, and has now, I thank him, taken it again) got a friend to put grandmother into this great house, and he paid for her to come up in the wagon, whilst I walked beside her to keep up her spirits. We had then nothing left; but I have made shift to get her a little coffee and sugar, and bore pinching myself; and the doctors are very kind, and let me The tone of the voice, and something in the countenance, struck Mr.Strickland as familiar to his memory; but still those thin, sharp features, that tall, spare form, was unknown, until, with an exulting voice, the basket-seller exclaimed-'O, I am so glad to see you, sir! I have not seen a face I know before in all London; but I beg pardon for being so bold; I am the poor boy that got your honor the minnows at Pately.' "Is it indeed you, my poor fellow ? see her pretty often, which is a great what has brought you here?" comfort. In a few weeks she will be out THE YOUNG ANGLER. and well, and I must see for a place hereabouts for her, for the cottage is pulled down, and the garden ploughed up, more pity.' 93 boy when he saw him in the country, and readily began to devise some scheme for assisting him, and removing him from the metropolis. "Although Locke's disposition is excellent," said he," and it is evident that from his cradle his mind has been imbued with the best principles, his very abilities may, in our great metropolis, lead him to destruction. No! we “There are no cottages here, Locke." 'No, sir,' said the youth, with a deep sigh; and I greatly fear she will want the sunshine and the sweet air, in her weak state.' "I fear, Locke, she will want more found him pure, and we will keep him substantial things also ?" so; poverty took him from a garden, prosperity must replace him in a garden." Why, no, sir; I hope to be able to support her; you see I have got a capital stock of willow-work (made in my poor garret), to sell in the mornings, and I can earn three shillings a week by writing for the law-stationers in the evenings. Sometimes I can get a job by sorting and tying flowers and herbs, in Covent Garden market; and, if I had decent clothes, there is a schoolmaster hard by, who would employ me to teach the little ones, and to mend pens. Who knows but in time I might get to be a parish clerk, for they have a very young man at a great church in Holborn, who keeps his mother, and does a deal of good beside !' Mr. Strickland smiled to see that poverty, even in its most pressing form, had not quenched the hopefulness of poor Locke's spirit, though it had evidently diminished his bodily strength; and, having given him his card and appointed a time to receive him, he proceeded to call on his friend Lathom, and inform him of Locke's situation. This gentleman was a very benevolent man, had been much pleased with the At the time when poor Mrs Eastwood was able to quit the hospital, where she had happily regained her health, she repaired with her grandson to Isleworth, where the two gentlemen had appointed to receive them, having already, as may be supposed, relieved the more pressing necessities of poor Locke, and given him decent clothing. It was now summer, and the very sight of the country seemed to revive the invalid; but on the youth it had rather a depressing effect, by recalling memories of his blighted hopes and profitless exertions; nevertheless, he followed his patrons, with a cheerful air, to a small house, decently furnished, which stood in the midst of a noble market-garden, well fenced and stocked, and which they were told to consider as their future home, on payment of a moderate rent. Judge, if you can, my dear young readers, what was the surprise, the delight, the gratitude, of poor Locke, as his eye glanced on the pale but happy countenance of his beloved grandmother, and thence to the rich and lovely scene around him ; the expanse of well-cultivated earth, where his future labors seemed sure of reward, the flowing Thames covered with boats and anglers, the long island waving with willows, all pressed upon him a sense of power to provide for the future, and even actual wealth in possession. His heart swelling with joy, rose up to Heaven in thankfulness; but, as he looked at Mr. Lathom, his eyes were filled with tears, and his tongue became utterly incapable of expressing his feelings: his grandmother alone could speak her gratitude. Perhaps however he was not less happy when, on the very day it was due, he took his rent, and a basket of his choicest productions with it, and presented them, with many thanks, to his benefactor. “Well, Locke, I am glad to find you get on so well. I hear of your industry often from your neighbors. I suppose you have no time now for reading, and that, notwithstanding it is winter, you don't write much; you have enough to do without." 'I have enough to do, that is certain; but I love my employment, and try to improve myself in it, by reading when I get an hour; for it seems up here there are books about every thing that grows, and ignorance, you know, sir, would be a reproach to a young man, in so fine a situation as you have placed me; but, except with my Bible and my gardening books, I will promise never to meddle.' "Nor to think of authorship?" ‹ Pardon me, sir, I must think of it, though I may never do it; for I hope every year of my life to gain knowledge by observation and experience, so surely by the time I am as old as my grandmother, I may be able to say something useful to my fellow-creatures.' 66 I certainly think you may, Locke,” said Mr. Lathom, looking kindly upon him, and rejoicing in his recovered strength; "for even now you could tell them, that to cultivate natural abilities for the purposes of utility, and at the call of duty, is the best proof we can give of obedience to God, and the best example we can offer of active virtue to man. You might also prove, from your own experience, that, sooner or later, our habits will be allied to our pleasures-and, in attaining the knowledge our condition requires, we shall become possessed of that we are most happy to possess. You have proved yourself the worthy descendant of a man of genius, though in a different path; and whether you write on the subject or not, I trust you will live to be, as a gardener, second only to Mac Nab of Edinburgh." PRIDE. OF German pride we have the following extraordinary anecdote. A German lord left orders in his will not to be buried; but that he should be inclosed upright in a pillar, which he had ordered to be hollowed, and fastened to a post in the parish, in order to prevent any peasant or slave from walking over his body. INSTANCES OF PRIDE. 95 dopted the titles of great men, of whose exploits they had heard. There was among them, in 1743, a King William, whose august spouse called herself Queen Anne. This king William was a little Cæsar. For twenty years he had carried on a war against king Martin, one who had dared to attempt to become his equal. At length, after a famous and decisive general battle, wherein William lost three men, and his rival five, king Martin made offers for a cessation of hos tilities, which were agreed to on the following conditions : 1. That Martin should renounce the title of king, and assume that of captain. 2. That captain Martin should never more put on stockings or slippers when he went on board European ships, but that this brilliant distinction should hereafter solely belong to king William. 3. That captain Martin should give the conqueror his most handsome daughter in marriage. In pursuance of this glorious treaty, the nuptials were performed, and king William went on board a Danish ship in stockings and slippers, where he bought silk to make a robe for his queen, and a grenadier's cap for her majesty's headdress. Captain Martin paid a visit of ceremony to his royal daughter on occa⚫ sion of her finery, and declared she never appeared so handsome before. This wedding ended a feud, which had divided the sable tribe into combatants as íerocious and bloody as the partisans of the white and red roses in England. |