After fome years of bondage,however, an opportunity of efcaping offered;. he embraced it with ardour; fo that,travelling bynight,and lodging in cavernsbyday, to fharten a long story, he at-laft arrived in Rome. The fame day on which Aleander arrived, Septimius fat adminiftering juftice in the forum, whither out wanderer came, expecting to be inftantly known, and publicly acknowledged by his former friend. Here he ftood the whole day amongst the crowd, watching the eyes of the judge, and expecting to be taken notice of; but he was fo much altered by a long fucceffion of hardships, that he continued unnoticed amongst the reft; and, in the evening, when he was going up to the prætor's chair, he was brutally repulfed by the attending lictors. The attention of the poor is generally driven from one ungrateful object to another; for, night coming on, he now found himself under a neceffity of feeking a place to lye in, and yet knew not where to apply. All emaciated, and in rags as he was, none of the citizens would harbour fo much wretchednefs; and fleeping in the streets might be attended with interruption or danger: in fhort, he was obliged to take up his lodging in one of the tombs without the city, the ufual retreat of guilt, poverty, and defpair. In this manfion of horror, laying his head upon an inverted urn, he forgot his miferies for a while in fleep; and found, on his flinty couch, more ease than beds of down can supply to the guilty.

As he continued here, about midnight, two robbers came to make this their retreat; but happening

to

te difagree about the divifion of their of them ftabbed the other to the heart, weltering in blood at the entrance. In t ftances, he was found next morning dead of the vault. This naturally inducing quiry, an alarm was spread; the cave wa and Alcander was apprehended, and acc bery and murder. The circumftances were strong, and the wretchednefs of hi confirmed fufpicion. Misfortune and fo long acquainted, that he at laft becan of life. He detefted a world where he only ingratitude, falfehood, and cruel determined to make no defence; and, th with refolution, he was dragged, bound before the tribunal of Septimius. As the pofitive against him, and he offered no own vindication, the judge was proceed him to a moft cruel and ignominious d the attention of the multitude was foon another object. The robber, who had guilty, was apprehended felling his pl ftruck with a panic, had confeffed his was brought bound to the fame tribun quitted every other person of any partne guilt. Alcander's innocence therefore but the fullen rafhnefs of his conduct wonder to the furrounding multitude aftonishment was ftill farther increased, faw their judge ftart from his tribunal, the fuppofed 'criminal. Septimius rec

friend and former benefactor, and hung upon his neck with tears of pity and of joy. Need the fe

quel be related? Alcander was acquitted; fhared the friendship and honours of the principal citizens of Rome; lived afterwards in happiness and ease; and left it to be engraved on his tomb, 'That no circumftances are fo defperate which Providence may not relieve,

To keep our good Humour, and make ourselves happy at all Times, is the beft Philofophy.

W

HEN I reflect on the unambitious retirement in which I paffed the earlier part of my life in the country, I cannot avoid feeling fome pain in thinking that thofe happy days are never to return. In that retreat, all nature feemed capable of afford ing pleasure. I then made no refinements on hap-piness, but could be pleased with the most awkward efforts of ruftic mirth; thought cross-purposes the highest ftretch of human wit, and questions and com, mands the most rational way of spending the evening. Happy, could fo charming an illufion ftill continue! I find that age and knowledge only contribute to four our difpofitions. My prefent enjoyments may be more refined, but they are infinitely lefs pleafing. The pleafure the beft actor gives, can. No way compare to that I have received from a coun

try

try wag, who imitated a quaker's fermon. The mufic of the finest finger is diffonance, to what I felt when ourold dairy-maid fung me into tears with Johnny Armstrong's Laft Good Night, or the cruelty of Barbara Allen.

Writers of every age have endeavoured to show, that pleasure is in us, and not in the objects offered for our amufement. If the foul be happily difpofed, every thing becomes capable of affording entertainment, and diftrefs will almost want a name. Every occurrence paffes in review like the figures in a proceffion; fome may be awkward, others ill-dreffed; but none but a fool is for this enraged with the mafter of the ceremonies.

I remember to have once feen a flave in a fortification in Flanders, who appeared no way touched with his fituation. He was maimed, deformed and chained; obliged to toil from the appearance of day till night-fall, and condemned to this for life: yet, with all these circumftances of apparent wretchedness, he fung, would have danced, but that he wanted a leg, and appeared the merrieft, happiest man of all the garrifon. What a practical philofopher was here! an happy conftitution fupplied philofophy; and, though feemingly deftitute of wifdom, he was really wife. No reading or study had contributed to difenchant the fairy land around him. Every thing furnished him with an opportunity of mirth: and though fome thought him, from his infenfibility, a fool, he was fuch an idiot as philofophers fhould wish to imitate; for all philofophy is only forcing the trade of happinefs, when Nature feems to deny the means.

They

A

They who, like our flave, can place themselves on that fide of the world in which every thing appears in a pleafing light, will find fomething in every occurrence to excite their good humour. The most calamitous events, either to themselves or others, can bring no other affliction; the whole world is to them a theatre, on which comedies only are acted. All the buftle of heroifm, or the rants of ambition, ferve only to heighten the abfurdity of the fcene, and make the humour more poignant. They feel, in fhort, as little anguish at their own diftrefs, or the complaints of others, as the undertaker, though dreffed in black, feels forrow at a funeral.

Of all the men I ever read of, the famous Cardinal de Retz poffeffed this happiness of temper in the highest degree. As he was a man of gallantry, and defpifed all that wore the pedantic appearance of phi lofophy, wherever pleasure was to be fold, he was generally foremost to raise the auction. Being an univerfal admirer of the fair fex, when he found one lady cruel, he generally fell in love with another, from whom he expected a more favourable reception. If the too rejected his addreffes, he never thought of retiring into deferts, or pining in hopeless diftrefs. He perfuaded himself, that inftead of loving the lady, he only fancied that he had loved her; and fo all was well again. When fortune wore her angrieft look, and he at laft fell into the power of his moft deadly enemy Cardinal Mazarine, (being confined a close prifoner in the caftle of Valenciennes,) he never attempted to fupport his diftress by wisdom or philofophy, for he pretended to neither: he only laughed