proper cognizance of the laws, police, and execution of justice, in every depart ment of the state. He spoke of commerce with the burgomatter, reafoned with the philofopher, and debated with the politician. At Paris he was not the mere English petit maitre, who is generally the most ridiculous being to be met with in that capital. To fee a man, who has never learnt to dance, enter a room, unattended with one of the graces, yet equipped with all the frippery of Rue la fripperie, is indeed intolerable-red heels and filver clocks, to a Jack roaft beef, who has not learnt to turn out his toes! In fine, as a traveller, he acquitted bimfelf like a citizen of the world, and Beither courted contempt, or endeavour ed to force adulation from imaginary confequence. As a scholar and a gentleman he was esteemed wherever he went; as an English nobleman he was courted and cherished whenever he appeared.

The tour being made he returned to his native country, which he found, by comparifon, to be the best he had feen. If the fruits of Italy, or the wines of France, did not grow here in fuch perfection as they did in ten degrees of more indulgent fkies, he found that all his wants and wishes might ftill be amply gratified that this emporium of the world could produce the commodities of every foil; and that if even the nectar of the gods could be trafficked for, it would here be found. At the fame time he alfo reflected, here were no Baftiles or inquifitions, to keep a man's tongue as well as body in conftant reftraint; that every fubject, or even foreigner, in this realm, might fpeak his fentiments freely and with impunity, either upon politics or religion. From these motives he would fay, with every impartial traveller, that the greatest benefit a fenfible Englishman receives from vifiting foreign countries, is to enable him to make a juft comparifon between them and his own, and to draw a most favourable and happy conclufion in behalf of old England.

With these fentiments our hero returned to his native foil, where he had not been long ere the group of Arthur's Square table fingled him out as an object worthy of their attention. A young nobleman, with an ample fortune, juft returned from the grand tour, without having been touched by foreign fharpers, was a fine fubject for native connoiffeurs. No fooner was the fignal given than he was attacked from every quarter-propofed a candidate, and admitted a member without a fingle black ball. What courtefy:

what fingular politeness, to almost a stranger!

In the courfe of a few months, his grace's pockets were pretty well drained. A commiffioner of the customs thought he had a warrantable right to make his grace pay his duties to him for the fix fuits of French cloaths he allowed him to fmuggle, upon his return from France. Other members of superior note had fuperior claims; till at length our young hero found himself furrounded with Jews and brokers, who hearing of his diftrefs, thought they had a right, in the Reynard ftyle, to annuity him to-nothing.

He had, by this time, taken the alarm he faw his folly and impending danger he retreated from the brink of the precipice before it was too late; for tho' he had loft fome thousands among the knights of Arthur's square table, he did not find himself under the neceffity of mortgaging any part of his eftate, or raifing annuities with the affiftance of the Levites. He diverted his attention entirely from play by pursuits of a different kind. He retired from the scene of diffipation to his eftate in the country, where he turned his thoughts entirely to improvements; and among others (having obtained an act of parliament for the purpose) he entered upon a very extenfive navigable cut, for the advancement of inland trade, and an eafy and cheap conveyance of goods. His grace made a very fpeedy progrefs in this bufinefs, to the great advantage of his own eftates, as well as those of his neighbours, and such as were contiguous to this navigation.

The fports of the field alfo engaged his attention; he was reckoned as good a shot as any in the county; and in the chace he was conftantly in at the death. But though these pursuits had completely diverted his thoughts from play, there was one object that neither philosophy or business could make him forget: it were almoft needlefs to add that this was the fair fex.

Whilft he was in the metropolis, and at the watering places, he had not been entirely overlooked by the demirets of fashion. His perfon, his rank, his fortune, all united to render him a very defirable conquest. The Bunbury's, the Grosvenor's, and the Ligoniers of the day thought him worthy of tettifying their partiality; and his grace was too well read in the school of Chesterfield, not to make fuitable returns to their kind intimations. were, however, but tranfient connexions. Vanity more than love feemed the ftimulus to their affection. Universal Conqueft

Thefe

was

was the motto of each of these ladies; and though it has generally been thought they are framed of fuch amorous clay as to yield to the first impreffion of importunity, royal blood and ducal coronets have had more influence over them than their natural paffion. He accordingly amufed himself with them by way of relaxation, without pinning either his faith upon their fidelity, or yielding to the least anxiety upon discovering the inftability of their proteftations.

Mrs. Herbert, a lady of fome fmall fortune, widow of an officer in the army, though he had not made fo great a noise in the world as the ladies already mentioned, had made a far greater impreffion upon our hero's affections, than either of them, or all united. She was beautiful without affectation, and fenfible without vanity. In her company his grace paffed many agreeable hours. The world, as ufual, thought proper to determine upon this connexion, and pronounced it of the criminal kind; yet if we may judge from the friendly manner in which his grace acted, upon an advantageous pro pofal of marriage being made this lady, there is reafon to think that their correfdence was folely founded in friend flip. An eminent packer in the city paid his addreffes to Mrs. Herbert, and though this gentleman had many good qualities, and was a very agreeable man in his perfon, he had fo much of the trader about him, that he could not overlook the article of fortune in the confideration of matrimony. Mrs. Herbert he greatly esteemed, as well for her mental as perfonal qualifications; but her fortune was fmall, and he was upon the point of making a purchase, which required five hundred pounds more than Mrs. Herbert's fortune confifted of. His grace no fooner learnt this circumftance, than he in a delicate manner presented her with it, and thereby fecured her a good husband and an easy fortune.

In the neighbourhood of the duke of Bridgewater refides a farmer Langley, who had a very agreeable daughter; as fhe grew up, the drew the attention of all the young fellows in the village, and fhe had more fweethearts than all the other girls in the parish; but fhe had entertained fuch romantic notions from reading of novels and plays, that fhe could think of nothing but being a dramatic heroine. What confirmed her in this refolution was, her having been one winter in town, when the was a spectator at the reprefentation of Romeo and Juliet. From that moment (Juliet appearing fo

amiable and beautiful in her eyes) the refolved fhe would be Juliet. The enfuing fummer a ftrolling party paffing through the village, the eloped with them, and actually represented the part of Juliet at the next place they performed.

She met with fome fuccefs in this character, and her Romeo being a likely young fellow, they acted their parts very naturally, and did not deftroy themselves before the confummation of their nominal nuptials.

After an itinerant circle of many miles, the company at length reached Salisbury, where they played feveral nights; and where they began to fet famine (who had for fome weeks made great incroachments upon their territories) at defiance. The produce of their exhibitions, for the last fortnight, did not exceed twenty fhillings, upon which eleven perfons were almost ftarved. Their appearances at this time were, indeed, very tragic, and it would almoft have been impoffible to enter into the vis comica of one of Congreve's pieces. However, a week's tolerable diet had brought them pretty well about, and they began to fling afide the buskin for the fock.

His grace arrived at Salisbury one evening, when they were to reprefent the Recruiting Officer, in which Mifs Langley was to perform Sylvia. Our hero's curiofity was excited to fee the play; though fhe had changed her name in the bills, he no fooner beheld Sylvia, than he recollected Mifs Langley.

After the play he fent for her to his inn, and invited her to fupper, an invitation that was then very acceptable. He perceived her eat very hearty, or rather voraciously, and from thence fufpected her ufual table was not always fo well ferved. Hinting this, he gave him a detail of the fufferings and hardfhips fhe had met with fince her elope. ment; and concluded, fhe was heartily tired with the profeffion of a strolling player.

As fhe had made no fecret of her connexion with Romeo, his grace was not under any delicate fcruples to hint a propofal the readily accepted; this was, to fuperintend a fmall farm in his neighbourhood. Her wardrope was eafily packed up, and the fet out with him the next morning early in his poft chaife.

Being arrived at the fpot deftined for her habitation, the threw off all her tinfelled finery; and though she had hitherto been a very gay girl in her appearance, to convince him of her reformation,

the

fhe never dreffes now but in a quaker

file.

Her father died whilft the was upon her dramatic excurfion, fo that he was under no apprehenfions of being upbraided by him for her conduct; otherwife, probably, the would not have been fo eafily induced to return to her former neighbourhood.

Mifs Langley now paffes her hours agreeably and rationally, dividing her time between the infpection of her farm and houfhold, working and reading. His grace frequently vifits her, but does it always incog, and with fuch decency and decorum, that few people in the neighbourhood fufpect an alliance of the amorous kind between them. Her lover has often preffed her to vifit London again, but he has taken fuch a thorough dif uft to the vanity and folly of a life of diffipation, that the always excufes herfelf, which gives his grace no fmall fecret fatisfaction, as he is convinced, that in her present fituation, the can have no temptations to fwerve from that fidelity, which fhe has fworn inviolably to preferve.

In fine, his grace, and the reclufe quaker, form as happy a tete-a-tete, as we have ever yet celebrated.

The following Tale, with its Introduction, in one of laft Month's English Magazines, relating chiefly to this Kingdom, we give with pleasure to our Readers.

NOT

Hiftory of Mifs Warner. TOT having travelled much in my youth, I have taken a fancy to fee a little of the world before I leave it, and have refolved to beflow fix months out of every year that remains to me, in viliting, not foreign countries, but our own-I mean his majefty's dominions, namely, England, Ireland, and Scotland; for, in the prefent unhappy fiate of our colonies, I cannot well turn my thoughts towards them with a view to any kind of pleasure.

As I have fenfe enough to know that my future span is rather contracted, and of course that it is too late in the day to begin my journey, I chose to fet out on the outermost line of my circle, and vifit the most distant part of my circuit, frit. I accordingly travelled, in the beginning of March last, to Ireland; and though I do not at prefent mean to give you an history of my travels, or to defcribe a country too little known to the inhabitants of this, I muft fay in general, that it is a fine and beautiful country by

nature, and that had it the advantages of commerce and culture, which we fo eminently poffefs, it would be by no means inferior to its elder fifter, Britain. The people of Ireland, I mean the gentry, or better fort, are lively and hofpitable, and particularly affable to firangers: the whole nation feem to have a turn for humour, and are apt to fee any thing that is truly ridiculous, in a quick and ftrong light. The Irish ladies have a peculiar knack of relating ftories, whether grave or gay, with infinite propriety: from one of them (whose name is Taylor), at whofe house I spent a fortnight molt agreeably, I learned the following tale; which I here devote to the fervice of my fair country-women, as it is an additional inftance to a million of others, of the perfidy and barbarity of men to thofe unhappy frail ones, who, forfaking the real guards of innocence and virtue are compelled to rely on their feducer for kindness and protection.

Now to my ftory.-Mr. and Mrs. Taylor are both young people; he being about three-and-thirty, and the about feven-and-twenty. They have been married above five years, and have not yet had any children; yet, to my great furprife, there was a young lady of the age of nineteen, who was called Lucy Warner, that lived in the house, who conftantly addreifed Mrs. Taylor by the title of mother, and behaved in every respect, towards her, as the moft dutiful and atfectionate daughter. The impoflibility of this relationship really fubfifting between the ladies was too obvious to admit of a doubt; and I thought it much too early for Mrs. Taylor to have given up the hopes of having children, and content herself with fettling her affections on an adoption.

One morning, then, that Mifs Warner was gone to pay a vifit, I took the liberty of expreffing my curiofity upon the subject of the connection between thefe ladies, to my fair hoftefs; who, in the moft obliging manner, immediately fatisfied my doubts, as nearly as I can recollect, in the following words:

"LUCY WARNER (faid fhe) has been my adopted daughter, ever fince I was fix years old: the circumftances that attended her birth, and occafioned my attachment to her at that early age, are fo very extraordinary, that I will relate them to you.

"My mother, then a widow, refided with me at her country-feat, in the county of Rofcommon. One day a beautiful. creature, not above feventeen years of

age,