been dressed for dinner) and laid on a cushion at the fire side. I found indeed one of the late numbers of the Lounger, which I began to read; but my neighbour Broadcast yawned so on the first page, that I laid it by out of complaisance to him. Soon after the lap-dog, some of her Ladyship's company came in one after another, and did us the honour of staring at us, and speaking to the lap-dog. The dinner bell was rung before my lady appeared, who, to do her justice, behaved politely enough, and began to ask half a dozen questions about our wives and children, to which she did not wait for an answer; but to say truth she had her hands full of the bear-baiting company, who when they were all assembled, made a very numerous party. My Lord entered a few minutes after her; he did not give himself much trouble about any of us, till on the Captain's whispering something in his ear, he came up to where my neighbour and I stood, and said he was very happy to have the honour of seeing us at Lodge.

When we went to dinner, we contrived to place ourselves on each side of our good friend the Captain, and things went one pretty well. I knew that at such a table the victuals were not always what they seemed; and therefore I was cautious of asking for any of your figured dishes. At last, however, I got helped to a mutton-chop, as I would have called it; but the Captain told me it was a ragout. When I tasted it, it was so Frenchified, and smelt so of garlic, which I happened to have an aversion to, that I was glad to get rid of it as soon (and that was not very soon) as I could prevail on a servant to take away my plate. The Captain, who guessed my taste, I suppose, very kindly informed me there was roast beef on the side board, and sent a request

ing of it, for a slice for me. But whether he thought I looked like a cannibal, or that the dish, being little in request, was neglected in the roasting, he sent me a monstrous thick cut, so red and raw, that I could not touch a morsel of it: so that I was obliged to confine my dinner to the leg and wing of a partridge, which the second course afforded me. I did not observe how my friend Broadcast fared at dinner; but I saw he catched a Tartar at the desert; for happening to take a mouthful of a peach, as he thought it, what should it be but a lump of ice, that stung his hollow tooth to the quick, and brought the tears over his cheeks. The wine after dinner might have consoled us for all these little misfortunes, if we had had time to partake of it: but there the French mode came across us again, and we had drank but a few glasses, and had not got half through the history of the bear-baiting, when coffee was brought.

When we went into the drawing room, we found the card-tables set, and my Lady engaged with a party at whist. She recommended some of us to the care of a friend of hers, a lady somewhat advan-` ced in life, though she was still a maiden one, for they called her Miss Lurcher, who made up a table at farthing-loo. As this was a game I was used to play at home, and the stake was so very trifling, I consented to make one. My neighbour Broadcast refused, and sat down at the other end of the room to hear one of the young ladies play on the harpsichord, and where he affronted himself by falling asleep. It had been as well for some other people that they had been asleep too. This game, though it began with farthings, soon mounted up to a very considerable sum, and I had once lost to the amount of twenty pounds. A lucky reverse of fortune brought me a little up again, and I went to sup

per only 5000 farthings, that is, five guineas out of pocket. It would not become me to suspect any foul play at Lodge; but I could not help observing, that Miss Lurcher held Pam plaguily often. I have been told since, that she has little other fortune than what she makes by her good luck. at cards and yet she was as finely drest as my Lady, and had as fine a plume of feathers on her hat I shall never look on that hat again without thinking that I see Pam in the front of it.

:

When we were shown to our rooms, I looked for the attendance of John, to whom I had given strict charge to be watchful in that matter; but he was not to be found, and, I was told, had never appeared at the Lodge after he went with his horses to the inn. Before going to bed, I stole into the chamber where my friend Broadcast lay, and agreed with him, who seemed as willing to be gone as myself, that we should cut short our visit, and (since French was the word) take a French leave early next morning. We were both up by day-light, and groped our way down stairs to get our hats and whips, that we might make our escape to where John and the horses were lodged. But we could not find our road to the lob-, by, by which we had entered. There did not seem to be a creature stirring in the house; and, after wandering through several empty halls, in one of which we found a backg gammon table open, with a decanter not quite empty, on which was a claret label, we went down a few steps to another passage, where we imagined we heard some body stirring. But we had not gone many steps when the rattle of a chain made us take to our heels; and it was well we did; for we were within half a yard of being saluted by my Lord's bear, whose quarters it seems we had strayed into. The noise of our flight, and his pursuit, brought a chambermaid, who happened to

be up, to our assistance, and by her means we had the good fortune to get safely through the lobby into the lawn, from whence we had only a mile or two's walk to the inn where John was put up.

For want of John's attendance, I had comforted myself with the reflection, that if he had not been employed in taking care of me, the horses would fare the better for it. But when we reached the house, we found that John had been employed in nothing but taking care of himself. The servants of my Lord's other guests who were there, kept a very good house, as the landlord called it; and John had been a good deal jollier at dinner the day before than his master. It was with some difficulty we got him on his legs, and brought him along with It was a long time before my portmanteau could be found; and my new bridle, with a plaited bit, had been exchanged by some clearer-headed fellow for an old snaffle not worth a groat.

us.

situ

Such, Sir, is the history of my first visit, and I hope my last, to Lodge. But as I have found the experience even of one visit a little expensive, I think it is doing a kindness to people in my ation, to let them know what they have to expect there. When my Lord asks a vote again, let it be conditioned on the part of the freeholder, that he shan't be obliged to study the pictures of his saloon above half an hour, that he shall have something to eat and something to drink at dinner, and be insured from falling into the paws of the bear, or the hands of Miss Lurcher. I am, &c.

JOHN HOMESPUN,

2

N° 99. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1786.

SIR,

To the AUTHOR of the LOUNGER.

WITHOUT being thought partial to the present times, I believe one may venture to say, that in point of invention and discovery, this age very much excels any former one. In physics, in electricity, in chemistry, in mechanics, new worlds, if I may use the expression, have been opened to our researches. But in Britain we have a compendious way of calcu lating the number of inventions. If I am not misinformed, there have passed the offices within these twenty years, no fewer than 167 patents; so that this island alone has in that very inconsiderable space added 167 discoveries to the stock of knowledge which our fathers possessed.

Nor has France been less productive than her sister-kingdom. Besides the balloon, of which she may certainly claim the practical application, if Britain shall dispute the discovery of the principle, there are many other inventions, equally wonderful though less brilliant, which her philosophers have atchieved; and some of those which his British Majesty has sanctioned with his royal patent, are only naturalised subjects, which had their birth in the territories of the Most Christian King.

Of all discoveries ancient or modern, the most useful perhaps, as well as the most wonderful, took its rise in Paris about three years ago: I mean the Animal Magnetism of the illustrious Dr. Mesmer. This has lately been imported into England, and is