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have walked out of company at that moment without his feeing them.

The good man, who, as we have before obferved, was only patient upon principle, had been not a little nettled at the retort of the trumpet, which being a martial inftrument, had founded a note in his ear, that had fomewhat roused the natural ardour of his fpirit; a hint, which we think fit to give to the fagacious reader, who might elfe conceive there was hardly caufe fufficient for the vivacity of his reproof to our young hero, whose nature certainly was not prone to give offence, nor wanting in humility; in proof of which wo take leave to add, that he quietly submitted to a long lecture from Doctor Daw upon that very virtue, of which it was plain he had a much greater fhare by nature than his teacher.

CHAPTER VII

The Events of this Life are chequered with Good and Evil.

DAME May now returned to the cottage, having circulated the happy tidings of her daughter's promotion into every house of

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the village, where fhe could find an acquaintance at leisure to give her the hearing; and as we are never better difpofed to rejoice with others than when we are joyful ourselves, so it was with this good woman, whose heart, though naturally apt to fympathize, was at this moment in the best humour poffible to take a friendly share in Henry's good fortune: whilst her eyes overflowed with pleasure at the fight of him in his new apparel, her tongue poured forth praises in abundance, and bleffings without ftint upon his generous benefactress.

The hoftile cabal affembled at Blachford's were in the mean time projecting ways and means of revenge; for Lord Crowbery had joined them full fraught with what he called ocular demonstration of his lady's misconduct; for though he had obferved a fullen filence when he met her in the plantation, nothing which there paffed had escaped his obfervation; and the reader will recollect enough of her fituation to acknowledge it was a very fufpicious one: the credit of Jemima's intelligence, as reported to him by his friend Blachford, was now completely established, and his mind prepared for any measures of revenge, that could be propofed to him; but as it was

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his practice in all cafes of danger to keep himfelf out of fight, and put his proxies in the front, his caution did not forfake him upon the meeting with his lady, and he prudently forbore to waste any of his noble anger in words, not wishing either that Mifs Manstock should witness them, or that Henry should be called to an altercation on the fpot; whether because he deemed him too ignoble for his perfonal refentment, or too gallant to fubmit to his infult, must be left as matter of opinion; we do not wish to have any correfpondence with his lordship's private meditations; as to his difcuffions with Lady Crowbery, he was very ingenious in felecting proper times and feafons for them. The cabal now fitting confifted of Blachford, Captain Crowbery of the marines, and Fulford, an attorney; gentlemen entirely devoted to his lordship, and the major part at least not immoderately prejudiced by the fecret dictates of justice, confcience, or honour.

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The inmates of the cottage were now collected, for Sufan had joined the party, but not with the fame joyous spirits that her mother had brought amongst them; a fecret melancholy feemed to weigh upon her heart, and Henry, who well divined the cause, between. compaffion

compassion for her and alarm for Lady Crowbery, found ample occupation for his thoughts: as for Ezekiel Daw, the even tenor of his fpirits was not apt to be difcompofed either by the fortunate or unfortunate events of this life.

One of the first meafures refolved upon by the cabal, had been to expel the tenants of the cottage from their humble abode; the tenement belonged to Blachford, and was held at will; fo long as he fofter'd any hopes of fucceeding with the daughter, that confiderate. gentleman had been a very eafy landlord to the mother; but now that he faw his defigns blafted, first by her attachment to Henry, and fecondly, by her engagement with Mifs Manstock, his charity cooled fo faft, that he commiffioned Fulford the attorney not only to warn her mother from the premiffes, but also to enforce payment of certain arrears of rent, which he had abftained to demand from motives above-mentioned; nay, it was afferted on the part of the poor widow, that as far as any unwitneffed promife could avail, he had paffed his word to her for an acquittal of the whole.

Charged with these inftructions, Fulford

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now presented himself to the party in the cottage, and in proper terms of office delivered himself of his commiffion. Goody May heard the warning, and demand accompanying it, with horror proportioned to the diftrefs it menaced her with. The bounty of Lady Crowbery in confideration of her kindness to Henry, had just enriched her with a fum, which this demand fo nearly involved, that fhe felt herself in imagination even poorer than fhe was before; her flattering hopes of peace and plenty vanifhed like a dream; ftript by her deceitful creditor of all her ftock of wealth, and thruft out of her cottage, fhe knew herself to be excluded in effect from the parish, where fhe had long dwelt in the good eftcem of the villagers, and by the humble exercife of her art had hitherto contrived to earn a decent maintenance; it was a further aggravation to her forrows, that in this diftrefs her friend and inmate Ezekiel was to be a fharer: fhe fixed her eyes upon the counte nance of the attorney, fhe faw no movements of compaffion there; fhe then turned them upon her friends affembled around her, fhe drew no comfort from their looks, threw\ herself into a chair and burst into tears.

Ezekiel

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