mention it ?--Ask my pen,--it governs me, Ι govern

not it.

"He was one evening fitting thus at his fupper, when the landlord of a little inn in the village came into the parlour with an empty phial in his hand, to beg a glafs or two of fack; 'tis for a poor gentleman,-I think, of the army, faid the landlord, who has been taken ill at my house four days ago, and has never held up his head fince, or had a defire to tafte any thing, till juft now, that he has a fancy for a glafs of fack and a thin toaft,-I think, fays he, taking his hand from his forehead, it would comfort me.

If I could neither beg, borrow, or buy such a a thing,-added the landlord,I would almost steal it for the poor gentleman, he is so ill.I hope in God he will ftill mend, continued he,we are all of us concerned for him.

"Thou art a good-natured foul, I will answer for thee, cried my uncle Toby; and thou fhalt drink the poor gentleman's health in a glass of fack thyself,-and take a couple of bottles with my service, and tell him he is heartily welcome to them, and to a dozen more if they will do him good.

"Though I am perfuaded, faid my uncle Toby, as the landlord fhut the door, he is a very compaffionate fellowTrim, yet I cannot help entertaining a high opinion of his gueft too; there must be something more than common in him, that in so short a time should win fo much upon the affections of his hoft;--And of his whole family, added the corporal, for they are all concerned for him.-Step after him, faid my uncle Toby,do Trim,—and ask if he knows his name?

"I have quite forgot, truly, faid the landlord, coming back into the parlour with the corporal,—but I can afk his fon again.-Has he a fon with him then? faid my uncle Toby.-A boy, replied the landlord, of about eleven or twelve years of age; but the poor creature has tafted almost as little as his father; he does nothing but mourn and lament for him night and day :-he has not ftirred from the bed-fide these two days.

"My uncle Toby laid down his knife and fork, and thrust his plate from before him, as the landlord gave him the account; and Trim, without being ordered, took away without faying one word, and in a few minutes after brought him his pipe and tobacco.

REV. Jan. 1762.

66

Stay in the room a little, faid my uncle Toby.

"Trim! faid my uncle Toby, after he lighted his pipe, and fmoaked about a dozen whiffs.- -Trim came in front of his master and made his bow ;-my uncle Toby fmoaked on, and faid no more.Corporal! faid my uncle Tobythe corporal made his bow. My uncle Toby proceeded

no farther, but finished his pipe.

"Trim! faid my uncle Toby, I have a project in my head, as it is a bad night, of wrapping myfelf up warm in my roquelaure, and paying a vifit to this poor gentleman.Your honour's roquelaure, replied the corporal, has not once been had on fince the night before your honour received your wound, when we mounted guard in the trenches before the gate of St. Nicholas; and befides, it is fo cold and rainy a night, that what with the roquelaure, and what with the weather, 'twill be enough to give your honour your death, and bring on your honour's torment in your groin. I fear fo, replied my uncle Toby; but I am not at rest in my mind, Trim, fince the account the landlord has given me. -I wish I had not known so much of this affair, added my uncle Toby,--or that I had known more of it.- How fhail we manage it? Leave it, an't please your honour, to me, quoth the corporal;-I'll take my hat and ftick, and go to the house and reconnoitre, and act accordingly; and I will bring your honour a full account in an hour. fhalt go, Trim, faid my uncle Toby, and here's a fhilling for thee to drink with his fervant.— -I fhall get it all out of him, faid the corporal, fhutting the door.

-Thou

"My uncle Toby filled his fecond pipe; and had it not been, that he now and then war.dered from his point, with confidering whether it was not full as well to have the curtain of the tennaile a ftraight line, as a crooked one, he might be faid to have thought of nothing elfe but poor Le Fever and his boy the whole time he fmoaked it.

"It was not till my uncle Toby had knocked the afhes out of his third pipe, that corporal Trim returned from the inn, and gave him the following account.

"I defpaired at firft, faid the corporal, of being able to bring back your honour any kind of intelligence concerning the poor fick lieutenant.Is he in the army then? faid my uncle Toby.He is, faid the corporal. -And in what regiment? faid my uncle Toby.. -I'll tell your honour, replied the corporal, every thing ftraight forwards, as

I

I-learnt it. -Then, Trim, I'll fill another pipe, said my uncle Toby, and not interrupt thee till thou haft done; fo fit down at thy cafe, Trim, in the window feat, and begin thy ftory again. The corporal made his old bow, which generally spoke as plain as a bow could speak it--Your honour is good. -And having done that, he fat down as he was ordered, and begun the ftory to my uncle Toby over again in pretty near the fame words.

"I despaired at first, said the corporal, of being able, to bring back any intelligence to your honour, about the licutenant and his fon; for when I afked where his fervant was, from whom I made myfelf fure of knowing every thing which was proper to be afked,That's a right distinction, Trim, faid my uncle TobyI was answered, an' please your honour, that he had no fervant with him ;-that he had come to the inn with hired horfes, which, upon finding himself unable to proceed, (to join, I suppose, the regiment) he had difmiffed the morning after he came.--If I get better, my dear, faid he, as he gave his purfe to his fon to pay the man, -we can hire horfes from hence.But alas! the poor gentleman will never get from hence, faid the landlady to me, for I heard the death-watch all night long; and when he dies, the youth, his fon, will certainly die with him; for he is broken-hearted already.

"I was hearing this account, continued the corporal, when the youth came into the kitchen, to order the thin toast the landlord fpoke of;but I will do it for my father myself, faid the youth.- Pray let me fave you the trouble, young gentleman, faid I, taking up a fork for the purpose, and offering him my chair to fit down upon by the fire, whilft I did it. I believe, Sir, faid he, very modeftly, I can please him beft myself.I am fure, faid I, his honour will not like the toaft the worfe for being toafted by an old foldier.The youth took hold of my hand, and inftantly burst into tears.Poor youth! faid my uncle Toby,-he has been bred up from an infant in the army, and the name of a foldier, Trim, founded in his ears like the name of a friend; -I wish I had him here.

I never in the longest march, faid the corporal, had fo great a mind to my dinner, as I had to cry with him for company: what could be the matter with me, an' please your honour? Nothing in the world, Trim, faid my uncle Taby, blowing his nose, but that thou art a good-natured fellow. "When

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"When I gave him the toast, continued the corporal, I thought it was proper to tell him I was Captain Shandy's fervant, and that your honour (though a ftranger) was extremely concerned for his father; and that if there was any thing in your house or cellar (And thou might'ft have added my purfe too, faid my uncle Toby)he was heartily welcome to it he made a very low bow, (which was meant to your honour) but no answer,-for his heart was full-fo he went up ftairs with the toaft. I warrant you,

my dear, faid I, as I opened the kitchen door, your father will be well again.- Mr. Yorick's curate was fmoaking a pipe by the kitchen fire,-but faid not a word good or bad to comfort the youth.--I thought it wrong, added the corporal. I think fo too, faid my uncle Toby.

"When the lieutenant had taken his glass of fack and toaft, he felt himself a little revived, and fent down into the kitchen, to let me know, that in about ten minutes he fhould be glad if I would ftep up ftairs.-I believe, faid the landlord, he is going to fay his prayers,-for there was a book laid upon the chair by his bed fide, and as I fhut the door, I faw his fon take up a cushion.

"I thought, faid the curate, that you gentlemen of the army, Mr. Trim, never faid your prayers at all.-I heard the poor gentleman fay his prayers laft night, faid the landlady, very devoutly, and with my own ears, or I could not have believed it.--Are you fure of it? replied the curate.- -A foldier, an' please your reverence, faid I, prays as often (of his own accord) as a parfon ;-and when he is fighting for his king, and for his own life, and for his honour too, he has the most reafon to pray to God, of any one in the whole world-'Twas well faid of thee, Trim, faid my uncle Toby. -But when a foldier, faid I, an' please your reverence, has been standing for twelve hours together in the trenches, up to his knees in cold water,-or engaged, faid I, for months together in long and dangerous marches;-harraffed, perhaps, in his rear to-day;-harraffing others to-morrow;-detached here;-countermanded there ;-refting this night out upon his arms;-beat up in his fhirt the next;-benumbed in his joints;-perhaps without ftraw in his tent to kneel on ;-muft fay his prayers how and when he can.-I believe, faid I, for I was piqued, quoth the corporal, for the reputation of the army,I believe, an' please your reverence, faid I, that when a foldier gets time to pray, he prays as heartily as a parfon,-though not with all his fufs and hypocrify.-Thou

fhould't

fhould'ft not have faid that, Trim, faid my uncle Toby,-for God only knows who is a hypocrite, and who is not :-at the great and general review of us all, corporal, at the day of judgment, (and not till then)-it will be feen who has done their duties in this world,-and who has not; and we fhall be advanced, Trim, accordingly.I hope we shall, faid Trim.--It is in the Scripture, faid my uncle Toby, and I will fhew it thee to-morrow:in the mean time we may depend upon it, Trim, for our comfort, faid my uncle Toby, that God Almighty is fo good and just a governor of the world, that if we have but done our duties in it,-it will never be enquired into whether we have done them in a red coat or a black one.-I hope not, faid the corporal——But go on, Trim, faid my uncle Toby, with thy story.

"When I went up, continued the corporal, into the lieutenant's room, which I did not do till the expiration of the ten minutes, he was lying in his bed with his head raised upon his hand, with his elbow upon the pillow, and a clean white pillow, and a clean white cambrick handkerchief befide it.- The youth was juft ftooping down to take up the cufhion, upon which I fuppofed he had been kneeling, the book was laid upon the bed,-and as he rofe, in taking up the cushion with one hand, he reached out his other to take it away at the fame time.-Let it remain there, my dear, faid the lieutenant.

"He did not offer to speak to me, till I had walked up clofe to his bed fide.If you are Captain Shandy's fervant, faid he, you must prefent my thanks to your mafter, with my little boy's thanks along with them, for his courtesy to me;-if he was of Levens's,-faid the lieutenant,-I told him your honour was. — Then, faid he, I ferved three campaigns with him in Flanders, and remember him,—but 'tis most likely, as I had not the honour of any acquaintance with him, that he knows nothing of me. -You will tell him, however, that the perfon his good nature has laid under obligations to him, is one Le Fever, a lieutenant in Angus's

-but he knows me not,- -said he, a second time, mufing;poffibly he may my ftory-added he-pray tell the captain, I was the enfign at Breda, whofe wife was most unfortunately killed with a mufket-fhot, as he lay in my arms in my tent. I remember the ftory, an't please yout honour, faid I, very well.Do you fo? faid he, wiping his eyes with his handkerchief, then well may I.-In faying this, he drew a little ring out of his bofom, which feemed

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