I

N° CXXVII.

Am under promise to refume the history of

my friend Ned Drowfy, from which I was obliged to break off in my last volume, N° 122. The events, which have fince occurred, shall now be related.

The reader will perhaps recollect that the worthy Hebrew, who affumes the name of Abrahams, had juft concluded the narrative of his adventures, and that the next morning was appointed for a conciliatory interview between Mrs. Goodifon 'and her father. Ned, whose natural indolence had now began to give place to the most active of all paffions, had been fo much agitated by the events of the day, that we had no fooner parted from honest Abrahams, than he began to comment upon the lucky incident of our rencontre with the old gentleman at the comedy; he seemed ftrongly inclined to deal with destiny for fome certain impulfes, which he remembered to have felt, when he was so earnest to go to the play; and declared with much gravity, that he went thither fully prepoffeffed fome good fortune would turn up: "Well, to

be fure," faid he, "I ought to rejoice in the

"happy

"happy turn affairs have now taken, and I do

rejoice; but it would have given me infinite "delight to have fulfilled the plan I had in de"fign for Mrs. Goodifon's accommodation;

fhe will now want no affiftance from me; my "little cottage will never have the honour of re"ceiving her; all thofe fchemes are at an end; "Conftantia too will be a great fortune, fhe "will have higher views in life, and think no "more of me; or, if he did, it is not to be "fuppofed her grandfather, who fo bitterly re

fented his daughter's match, will fuffer her to "fall into the fame offence." I must confefs I thought fo entirely with my friend Ned in the concluding part of these remarks, that I could only advise him to wait the event of time, and recommend himself in the mean while as well as he could to Mr. Somerville, the grandfather of Conftantia. Art and education, it is true, had not contributed much to Ned's accomplishments, but nature, had done great things in his favour; to a person admirably, though not finically, formed, fhe had given a most interesting fet of features, with fuch a ftriking character of benevolence and open honesty, that he might be faid to carry his heart in his countenance: though there was a kind of laffitude in his deportment,

the

the effect of habits long indulged, yet his fenfibi bility was ever ready to start forth upon the first call, and on those occafions no one would have regretted that he had not been trained in the school of the graces; there was something then difplayed, which they cannot teach, and only nature in her happiest moments can bestow.

The next morning produced a letter from honeft Abrahams, full of joy for the happy reconciliation now established, and inviting us to celebrate the day with Mrs. Somerville and the ladies at his houfe. This was an anxious crisis for my friend Ned; and I perceived his mind in fuch a state of agitation, that I thought fit to stay with him for the reft of the forenoon: he began to form a variety of conjectures as to the reception he was likely to meet from the old gentleman, with no lefs a variety of plans for his own behaviour, and even of fpeeches with which he was to usher in his firft addreffes; fometimes he funk into melancholy and despair, at other times he would fnatch a gleam of hope, and talk himfelf into transports; he was now, for the first time in his life, ftudiously contriving how to fet off his person to the beft advantage; his hair was fashionably dreft, and a handsome new fuit was tried on, during which he furveyed himself in the

glafs

glafs with fome attention, and, as I thought, not entirely without a fecret fatisfaction, which, indeed, I have féen other gentlemen bestow upon their perfons in a much greater degree, with much less reafon for their excufe.

When he was compleatly equipt, and the time approached for our going, "Alas!" he cried, "what does all this fignify? I am but a "clown in better clothes. Why was my fa"ther fo neglectful of my education, or rather "why was I fo negligent to avail myself of the "little he allowed me? What would I not give "to redeem the time I have thrown away! But " 'tis in vain: I have neither wit to recommend "myself, nor addrefs to disguise my want of it; "I have nothing to plead in my favour, but "common honour and honefty; and what cares "that old hard-hearted fellow for qualities, "which could not reconcile him to his own "fon-in-law? he will certainly look upon me "with contempt. As for Conftantia, gratitude, perhaps, might in time have difpofed her

66

heart towards me, and my zealous fervices "might have induced her mother to overlook << my deficiencies, but there is an end of that "only chance I had for happiness, and I am a

fool to thrust myself into a society, where I

am

"am fute to heap frefh fuel on my paffion, and "fresh misfortunes on my head."

Honeft;

With thefe impreffions, which I could only footh but not difpel, Ned proceeded to the place of meeting with an aching heart and dejected countenance. We found the whole party affembled to receive us, and though my friend's embarraffiment difabled him from uttering any one of the ready-made fpeeches he had digested for the purpofe, yet I faw nothing in Mr. Somerville's countenance or addrefs, that could augur otherwife than well for honeft Ned; Mrs. Goodifon was as gracious as poffible, and Conftantia's fimile was benignity itself, Abrahams, who has all the hofpitality, as well as virtues of his forefathers the patriarchs, received us with open arms, and a face in whichwide-mouthed joy grinned moft delectably. It was with pleasure I obferved Mr. Somerville's grateful attentions towards him and his good dame; they had nothing of oftentation or artifice in them, but feemed the genuine effufions of his heart; they convinced me he was not a man innately morofe, and that the resentment, fo long foftered in his bofom, was effectually extirpated. Mrs. Abrahams, in her province, had exerted herfelf to very good purpose, and spread her board,