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THE MONTHLY ANTHOLOGY.

"Wander forth to fee the world alone,"

221

is an incident far more congenial to the page of fiction, than to that of fober hiftory. But the most romantic projects of youth are feldom formed without a reference to the accomplishment of fome rational purpose, or to the attainment of fome particular pleasure. Curiofity after every thing worthy of curiosity, and that knowledge of the world, which is fo frequently extolled as the most desirable acquirement, induced this fair adventurer to adopt a condu&t, which, at first view, appears to be fingular indifcretion. She did not, however, leave her home without some settled plan. She had often heard her family mention the wife of a tradesman, who was a distant relation. This relation the determined to vifit, imagining that, after having made herfelf known, she should be permitted to remain under her care, till fhe had gratified that curiofity, which had prompted her to this extraordinary undertaking, and for which fhe intended to folicit her mother's pardon by `writing to her from this asylum. But, alas, no afylum was open! On arriving at the house, fhe had the inconceivable mortification to find, that it was no longer occupied by persons related to her. They had retired from bufinefs, and had taken a refidence in Wales.

It was near ten at night, when Mifs Simpson received these difmal tidings. The furprise and anxiety, difcovered in her countenance, drew the attention of thofe, to whom fhe was speak, ing. She appeared before them haraffed, alarmed, and evidently without a place of fhelter. She confeffed her fituation, and requested they would permit her to ftay, till fhe could confider whither to go, for the remainder of the night. Touched with pity, the people of the house complied, with her request. This civility, more than her fituation, filling her eyes with tears, her hofpitable entertainers then invited her to continue with them through the night. They likewife defired her to make herself eafy with fo much good-nature and kindness, as to raise in her mind fufpicions more alarming, than any that she had yet conceiv ed on finding herself in London without a friend to protect her.

As her knowledge of the world had been chiefly derived from the perufal of novels, fhe had read too many ftories of the various arts of feduction to attribute fuch particular civilities to any

other motive than feducing artifice. Her fufpicion of their evil defign was confirmed on recollecting that fhe heard the people in the fhop whisper, as fhe paffed through it," how beautiful!" and that the coachman, on receiving his fare and leaving her to their protection, fignificantly bade them "make the most of her."-What more fully convinced her was the entrance of an elderly, corpulent woman fo exactly answerable to the common defcriptions, in novels, of a procurefs, that our heroine immediately faw her fafety dependent on another elopement. Seizing her band-box, fhe filently and fuddenly rufhed out of the house, leav ing the good people, in the midft of their tenderness and compaffion, to ftare on each other, and to reprove their ill-timed pity.

Fatigued at length in her hurried flight, fhe ftopped a moment to rest her box on a poft in the street. The horrors of her fituation now presented themselves in colours more dreadful than ever. To procure a lodging for the remainder of the night without expofing herself to the arts and impofitions of licentious men, or of mercenary women, fhe thought would be impracticable without recourfe to ftratagem; for the unexperienced are too apt to conclude, that deceit and artifice can be counteracted only by their own inftruments. After ruminat ing fome time, the thought was fuggefted, that could she conceal the circumstance of her being a country girl, fhe would have nothing to dread from thofe, whom fhe confidered as the unprincipled and inhuman deftroyers of female innocence, Without reflecting how fhe might be questioned under any af sumed character, fhe fpiritedly entered the first house, which she saw exhibit" Lodgings to let," pretending that she was “a milliner's apprentice, accustomed to London, and wanted lodgings only for a night or two, because her mistress, having unexpectedly a number of visitors from the country, was obliged to give up all her beds." The people, to whom she addreffed this tale, expreffed their doubts of its veracity; and while fhe was ftrongly afferting its truth, fhe turned her head and beheld the fame tradefman, from whofe house she had juß escaped, an attentive auditor to her new ftory. He had fol lowed his uncommon vifitor, and, confronting her with the

relation fhe had given him of her being juft arrived from the country, gave her a fense of fhame, which had hitherto been an utter stranger to her bofom.

In this dilemma, the unfortunate wanderer fharply caft her eye on the band-box and meditated another elopement. She was stopped in her attempt, and the door was locked. As a detected impoftor, fhe was now obliged to endure the harsh menaces of those around her, who threatened her with imprifonment, unless she discovered her abettors and the end propofed by her impofition. Reduced to this extremity, fhe again had recourfe to fincerity, and, in tears, once more candidly confeffed who and what she was; protesting that her own prefervation, rather than the wrong of another, induced her to use the falsehoods, of which fhe was guilty. But truth was now of little avail: her hearers treated it as another instance of prevarication; and the woman of the house, with a favage love of honesty, was on the point of ordering a conftable, when a fudden exclamation withdrew the attention of all to another object. A boy, about twelve years old, with a heart as tender as his years, pitying the distress, and moved by the fupplications of the lovely wanderer, cried on feeing her cry, and declared to his mother, that he would never go to school again, if she would not let the young lady go without her fending for a conftable. This oratory proved irresistible, and the outrageous justice of the woman fubfided. Our poor adventurer, after being infultingly advised to repent, was turned out of doors near midnight, and was left alone to wander in the ftreets of London.

two.

Exposed to those infults, which females ufually encounter, when they walk unprotected in the streets at that hour, Mifs Simpfon roamed, where chance directed, till the clock ftruck At this time fhe found herself at Holborn bridge, and saw a stage coach fetting off for York; hearing, at the fame time, the coachman tell a perfon, who afked for a place, that there was none to be fpared, it immediately occurred to her to ask the fame queftion; and on receiving the fame answer, fhe applied for lodging at the inn, as a difappointed paffenger. This fcheme happily fucceeded; but not without evident fufpicions of her character on the part of her host and hostess.

Thefe fufpicions however afforded her the confolation of an affurance, that fhe had nothing to apprehend in this house, where her youth and beauty seemed the only bar to a kind reception. The landlady took the precaution even to lock the door of the wretched chamber, where fhe was permitted to fleep, and, like a careful duenna, wifely put the key in her pocket.

(To be continued.)

MR. EDITOR,

FOR THE MONTHLY ANTHOLOGY.

OBSERVING in fome late numbers of your publication several detached articles entitled Selections, Scraps, and Loose Paragraphs, and knowing that fuch fhort articles are often preferred by many readers to longer and more elab orate effays, I feel an inclination to offer you a few monthly portions of my own manuale. In thefe, if you accept them, you will probably find, that whatever is best, is mine no otherwise than by choice. When I comment on what is felected, it is not done with a pretenfion, that others cannot speak, on the fame occafion, with more intelligence, more wit, or more gravity. The paragraphs, which I infert, as entirely my own, you may preserve, or obliterate, according to your opinion of their desert.

THE COLLECTANEA;

OR MAGAZINE IN MINIATURE.-No. I.

DOES KNOWLEDGE PROMOTE HAPPINESS?

P. S.

ACTUAL doubts respecting the true worth of knowledge

are, perhaps, the most obvious feature of human imbecility. But it cannot be fuppofed, that fuch doubts are ever fincerely profeffed by thofe, who have liberally tafted its foul-enriching stream. Yet, as every bleffing, allotted to man, is more or lefs exposed to abufe, knowledge has fometimes become the fport of shallow fatire, and prefumptuous wit. These have often emboldened the conceited witling to argue, that ignorance is the best nurse of infenfibility, and insensibility is the surest protector. from mifery.-Nay, ingenuous minds have fometimes bewailed the enlargement of the scenes of deformity and evil by the illumination of science.-Prior, whofe mind was much enlightened by learning and genius, and who was naturally inclined to cheer

fulness, in a darkling moment once freely expreffed this beguiling and poisonous fentiment:

"If we fee right, we see our woes;
Then what avails it to have eyes?
From ignorance our comfort flows;

The only wretched are the wife !"

We may, however, fafely conclude, that, after exploring the whole world of literature, we should still be unable to find any one, who has employed found reasoning in defence of ignorance. They, who willingly plead her caufe, must be thofe, and those alone, who seldom digrefs from her idle and barren paths. Ignorance and infenfibility, it is true, blind us to innumerable evils, the fight or experience of which we never fhould fuffer, were they not unveiled by the light of knowledge. But is it not the univerfal confent of mankind, that good and evil are found in this world to be generally mingled in equal proportions? If knowledge amplifies our experience of evil, does the not then in an equal, if not in an exceeding degree, increase our enjoyment of good? Befide increasing our fenfibility to her additional good, knowledge equally strengthens our averfion and power for refifting or avoiding evil. She teaches us the right paths of life, and the best method of fhunning or enduring the miferies that are neceffarily incident. The ways of knowledge, therefore, are the ways that lead to the fureft happiness, and they who walk therein may

"with God himself

Hold converfe; grow familiar, day by day,
With his conceptions; act upon his plan ;
And form to his the relish of their fouls."

THE ANCIENT CLASSICS.

THE benefits, that refult from studying the ancient claffics, are great and manifold. It is universally granted by all, who know them, that the Greek and Roman languages exhibit the moft ingenious and perfect grammar, which has ever yet been

exercised, or invented by man.

the learning of thefe languages affords to the mind of the ftu

The useful employment, which

Vol. I. No. 5.

E E

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