N° CXIX.

Y friend Ned Drowfy is a man, who

MY

hath indeed neglected nature's gifts, but not abused them; he is as void of vice, as he is of industry, his temper is ferene, and his manners harmless and inoffenfive; he is avaricious of nothing but of his cafe, and certainly poffeffes benevolence, though too indolent to put it into action: He is as fparing of his teeth as he is of his tongue, and whether it be that he is naturally temperate, or that eating and drinking are too troublesome, fo it is that he is very abftemious in both particulars, and having received the bleffings of a good conftitution and a comely perfon from the hand of Providence, he has not fquandered his talent, though he has not put it out to use.

Accordingly when I perceived him interested in the manner I have related upon Mr. Sparkle's difcourfe, and heard him give orders to his fervant to fhew the gentleman into the room, which he did in a quicker and more fpirited tone than is ufual with him, I began to think that nature was about to ftruggle for her privileges

vileges, and fufpecting that this ftranger might perhaps have fome connection with Sparkle's incognita, I grew impatient for his appearance.

After a while the fervant returned and introduced a little fwarthy old man with fhort grey hair and whimsically dreffed; having on a dark brown coat with a tarnished gold edging, black figured velvet waistcoat and breeches of scarlet cloth with long gold knee-bands, dangling down a pair of black filk ftockings, which cloathed two legs not exactly caft in the mould of the Belvedere Apollo. He made two or three low reverences as he advanced, fo that before Mr. Sparkle could announce him by name, I had set him down for an Ifraelite, all the world to nothing; but as foon as I heard the words, Gentlemen, this is my worthy friend Mr. Abraham Abrahams! I recognized the perfon of my correfpondent, whofe humble and ingenuous letter I thought fit to publish in N° LXIV. of my third volume, and whom I had once before had a glimpse of, as he walked past my bookfeller's door in Cornhill, and was pointed out to me from the fhop.

Mr. Abrahams, not being a perfon, to whom nature had affixed her passport, faying Let this man have free ingrefs and egrefs upon my authority, made his first approaches with all those civil affiduities,

affiduities, which fome people are constrained to practise, who must first turn prejudice out of company, before they can fit down in it. In the prefent cafe I flatter myself he fared somewhat better for the whisper I gave my friend Ned in his favor, and filence after a short time having taken place in fuch a manner as feemed to indicate an expectation in the company, that he was the person who was now to break it, he began not without fome hesitation to deliver himself in these words.

Before I take the liberty of addreffing the gentleman of the houfe, I wish to know from my friend Mr. Sparkle, whether he has opened any hint of what has paffed between him and me relative to a certain advertisement; and if he has, I should next be glad to know, whether Į haye permiffion of the party concerned to go into the business.

Yes, Sir, cried Ned fomewhat eagerly, Mr. Sparkle has told me all that paffed, and you have not only my free leave, but my earnest defire to fay every thing you think fit before these friends. Then, Sir, faid Abrahams, I fhall tell you a plain tale without varying a fingle tittle from the truth.

As I was coming home from my club pretty late in the evening about five months ago, in

turning

turning the corner of a narrow alley, a young woman came haftily out of the door of a house, and, feizing hold of my hand, eagerly befought me for the love of God to follow her. I was ftartled, and knew not what to think of fuch a greeting; I could difcern that she was young and beautiful, and I was no adventurer in affairs of gallantry; fhe feemed indeed to be exceedingly agitated and almoft befide herself, but I knew the profligate of that fex can fometimes feign diftrefs for very wicked purposes, and therefore defired to be excufed from going into any houfe with her; if fhe would however advance a few paces I would hear what he had to fay, and fo it was nothing but my charity fhe folicited, I was ready to relieve her: We turned the corner of the alley together, and being now in one of the principal ftreets of the city, I thought I might safely stop and hear the petition fhe had to make. As we ftood together under the eaves of a fhop, the night being rainy, the told me that the reafon fhe befought me to go into the house with her was in hopes the fpectacle of distress, which would there prefent itfelf to my fight, might, if there was any pity in my heart, call it forth, and prevail with me to top a deed of cruelty, which was then in execution, by faving a wretched object from being thruft

thrust into the ftreets in a dying condition for a fmall debt to her landlord, whom no entreaties could pacify. Bleffed. God! I exclaimed, can there be fuch human monfters? who is the woman? My mother, replied fhe, and burst into an agony of tears; if I would be what I may have appeared to you, but what I never can be even to fave the life of my parent, I had not been driven to this extremity, for it is refentment, which actuates the brutal wretch no lefs than cruelty. Though I confess myself not infenfible to fear, being as you fee no athletic, I felt fuch indignation rife within me at these words, that I did not hesitate for another moment about accompanying this unhappy girl to her house, not doubting the truth of what she had been telling me, as well from the manner of her relating it, as from my observation of her countenance, which the light of the lamp under which we were ftanding, difcovered to be of a moft affecting, modest and even dignified character

Sir, I honor you for your benevolence, cried Ned; pray proceed with your story.

She led me up two pair of stairs into a back apartment, where a woman was in bed, pleading for mercy to a furly-looking fellow, who was calling out to her to get up and be gone out