got upon fuch close terms with General Paoli, that, had my hearers been but half as credulous as they ought to have been, they might have fet us down for fworn friends and infeparables: But here again, as ill luck would have it, my evil genius tapt me on the shoulder, and remarking that I principally addressed myself to the gentleman, whofe politeness and attention were fo flattering, faid to me with a fmile, that had the malice of the devil in it "Give me leave to in"troduce you to General Paoli here prefent."Death and confufion, what I felt! a stroke of lightning would have been charity compared to this. My perfecutor had not done with me -I "am afraid you have forgot your old friend and "familiar, who no doubt will be overjoyed at

recognizing a brother warrior, who has per"formed fuch noble fervices jointly with himself "in the glorious ftruggle for the liberties of " his beloved country."-Can I paint the shame I fuffered at this moment? It is impoffible; I can only say there is a generofity in true valour, which fcorns to triumph over the fallen."There were fo many brave men," (faid that gallant perfon in a tone I fhall never lose the impreffion of) "of whofe fervices I fhall ever "preferve a grateful memory, but whose per

"fons

"fons have flipt from my recollection, that I "have only to entreat your pardon for a for"getfulness, which I defire you to believe is "not my fault, but my infirmity." If a bottle had been vollied at my head, I could not have been more in need of a furgeon, than I was at this inftant: I could never have fufpected Truth of playing me such a jade's trick; I always confidered her as a good-natured fimple creature without gall or bitterness, and was in the habit of treating her accordingly; but this was fuch a specimen of her malice, that I fled out of her company as hastily as I could.

The very next morning I took my paffage in the stage-coach for my native town in the north of England, heartily out of humour with my trip to Corfica; but even here I could not fhake off old habits fo far as to refift the temptation of getting into a post-chaise for the last stage, by which manœuvre I took the credit of having travelled like a gentleman, and became intitled to rail against the post-tax and the expences of

the road.

I was now voted into a club of the chief inhabitants of the place, and as I had no reason to believe the ftory of my late difcomfiture had reached them, I foon recovered my fpirits, and

with them the amplifying powers of my invention. My ftories for a confiderable time were fwallowed fo glibly, and feemed to fit fo eafy on the ftomachs of thefe natural, unfophifticated people, that I was encouraged to encrease the dofe to fuch a degree, as feemed at length to produce fomething like a naufea with thofe I adminiftered it to; efpecially with a certain precife perfonage of the fet, of Quakers, one Simon Stiff, a wealthy trader and much refpected for his probity and fair-dealing. Simon had a way of afking me at the end of a ftory-But is it true?--which fometimes difconcerted me, and confiderably leffened the applaufes, that the reft of the club had been accustomed to beftow upon my narratives.

One evening, when I had been defcribing an enormous fark, by which I had been attacked in one of my Weft-India voyages, Simon Stiff, lifting up both his hands in an attitude of aftonifhment, cried out" Verily, friend Cracker, "thou draweft a long bow." With an angry look I demanded the meaning of that expreffion.-"I mean," replied Simon, "thou fpeak"eft the thing which is not." "That is as "much as to fay I tell a lie."-" Even fo, "friend, thou haft hit it," faid Simon without altering his voice, or regarding the tone of rage

I had thrown mine into: The steady serenity of his countenance put me down, and I fuffered him to proceed without interruption-" Thou haft «told us many things, friend Cracker, that are "perfectly incredible; were I to attempt im<< pofing upon my cuftomers in the way of traf"fic, as thou doft upon thy company in the way ❝of talk, the world would juftly fet me down. "for a difhoneft man. Believe me, thou mayest ❝be a very good companion without swerving " from the truth, nay, thou canst no otherwise "be a good one than by adhering to it; for if

thou art in the practice of uttering falfehoods, "we shall be in the practice of difbelieving thee, ❝even when thou fpeakeft the truth, and fo "there will be an end of all confidence in fo"ciety, and thy word will pafs for nothing. I "have obferved it is thy vanity, that betrays "thee into falfehood; I fhould have hoped "thou wou'dft not have forgotten how thy "falfehood betrayed thee into shame, and how

we received and welcomed thee into our fo"ciety, when thy friends in the metropolis had "hooted thee out of their's. Think not thou "canft establish a credit with us by the fic❝tions of imagination; plain truths fuit men of "plain understandings. Had thy fhark been as

"big again as thou wou'dft have us believe it was, what wou'dft thou have gained by it? Nothing but the merit of having seen a mon

fter; and what is that compared to the rifque "of being thought a monster-maker? If thou "waft fnatched from the jaws of the animal by « the hand of God, give God the praise: If "thine own courage and address contributed to fave thee, give Him ftill the praife, who infpired thee with those means of furthering his Providence in thy refcue; Where is the ground for boafting in all this? Sometimes “thou wou'dst perfuade us thou art a man of confequence, in the favour of princes and in the fecrets of minifters: If we are to believe all this, thou doft but libel those minifters for “letting fuch a babler into their councils, and "if thou thinkeft to gain a consequence with us "thereby, thou art grievously deceived, friend

Cracker, for we do not want to know what "thou oughtest not to tell, and we despise the "fervant, who betrayeth his master's truft. As "for wonders, what fignifieth telling us of them? "The time is full of wonders; the revolution of "empires, the fall of despotisin and the emanci"pation of mankind are objects, whose supe "rior magnitude makes thy fhark fhrink into

an