her decease; but he has a high proud spirit of his own, and it must be Fanny's charms, not her money, that will weigh with him."

Claypole was a man that looked to the main chance, and not a word of this was loft upon him: his eyes had not been idle, whilft Fanny's were employed with Henry; he knew her well, and had had a painful truft whilst she had been under his guardianship; he faw her daily in danger of being made the prey of the first fightly knave that laid his traps for her; he had as high an opinion of our young hero as Sir Roger himself had, and was in the fame perfuafion, as to his being the fon of Ratcliffe; believing also that he was in a fair train fhortly to become his nephew, he was by no means forry to hear of Lady Crowbery's intentions in his favour. Upon thefe grounds he not only became reconciled to the neceffity he was under of leaving his niece to her own choice, but was fecretly difpofed to further the connection by all the means in his power: all these thoughts he kept to himself, and quietly followed his friend Sir Roger to the drawing-room.

CHAPTER

CHAPTER V.

Fresh Mischief in Meditation against our Hero.

WHEN Sir Roger and his friend entered the apartment of the ladies, they found the young people diftributed into pairs; Cary in high talk, and fitting by his cousin ; Henry in no talk at all, but fairly pounded in a corner of the room by the manoeuvre of Fanny Claypole, who was fo pofted as to cut him off from all chance of an escape: fhe had feated herself in a chair with her back to one fide of the room and her knees to the other, fo as to form the exact hypothèneuse of a triangle, and Henry in the area of it. There were many fortunate circumftances concurring with the position fhe had taken to favour her operations; the fize of the room was enormous, and the little fhare of light, that only two candles could have beftowed upon her at that diftance, fhe fairly intercepted by fitting with her back to them, and fuffering no one ray to fall upon the perfon of her prifoner; he alfo was not the lefs attuned to her purpose, for being fomewhat flustered by

the many toafts he was obliged to pledge by Cary's ftrict attention to difcipline, which he took care to exact with the utmost impartiality towards all under his command, unless he could be faid to favour Henry as a volunteer, by thrusting him into the thickeft of the fire. To this circumftance only it was owing, that our hero, contrary to his natural good breeding, fuffered himself to be fo long detached from the reft of the company.

Something or other had difcompofed Ifabella's fpirits, and all Cary's efforts could not rally them, The prefence of her father was a relief to her, and, upon his entrance, Henry ftarted from his corner, and joined the circle; Claypole placed himself next to him, and drew him into talk about Blachford and his trepan. Henry, with a good deal of humour, related Ezekiel's account of that gentleman's state of confcience, and his mode of comforting him on the bed of fickness. Claypole obferved upon this with fome degree of afperity, and hinted, that he should confider Ezekiel as a dangerous enthusiast amongst his parishioners. This led Henry to speak of him in a more ferious ftile, and to give fuch a delineation of his character as turned all hearts in his favour,

especially

especially that foft charitable heart, which Ifabella wore in her bofom.-"I fhould do him injuftice," faid Henry, "if I were only to bring forward his oddities, and keep his virtues out of fight; I acknowledge that my friend, in fome inftances, has a fuper-abundancy of zeal; but it is not that zeal, without knowledge or difcernment, which would betray him to intrude where there is no call for his fervices; he is only a fhepherd to the ftragglers of the flock; at Crowbery he had full employ, here he will find none."-"I hear," faid the divine, "he has been preaching out of trees."" I don't doubt it," replied Henry, " and to the trees if he thought it would edify a fingle leaf upon their branches."-" And is it true," refumed the faid divine, "that he addrefs'd a funeral fermon at the foot of the gibbet to the effigy of justice Blachford ?"-" Perfectly true,' quoth Henry," and I honour him for it, for his heart was right, tho' the mistake was other wife ridiculous enough."-" I perceive he is a favourite of your's," repeated Claypole."And with me a very great one," faid Ifabella, with fome quickness.-Claypole faid no

more.

When Cary understood, from Henry's dif

M4

course,,

course, that he had been living in the fame cottage with Ezekiel, it ftruck him that he muft be the very perfon, who had been reprefented to him by Captain Crowbery as an idler and a vagrant, proper to be preffed into his fhip, and upon a fuller explanation of what had paffed on that occafion, there was no doubt that he conjectured rightly. This was a new difcovery of another plot, unknown to Henry, though not unnoticed by this hiftory, which that base junto, of which Lord Crowbery was the head, had contrived against him. His countenance upon the developement underwent a change, that fhewed the struggle he had within himself to reprefs the angry emotions of his mind; nevertheless, he commanded himfelf before the ladies, and fimply enquired of Cary if he was acquainted with Captain Crowbery: the answer was, that he had ferved in the fame fhip with him fome years ago, when he himself was a youngfter and Crowbery a lieutenant of marines. I fhall find an opportunity, perhaps," faid Henry, " to convince the gentleman that I want no preffing into a ship, when I can have the honour of fighting under the eye of fo gallant a commander." This was at beft equivocal, and Ifabella turned pale.

"My