fcience, and of heaven's avenging, of his unfortunate and revered judgment. Accept a guiltlefs hand, parents, rolled down his manly a conftat heart, and a name unful-cheek; while gratitude to heaven, lied." for the restoration of thofe rights that empowered him to diffufe happinefs around him, foftened his filial forrow.

As the high and venerable tur-love rets of his native castle rofe to the view of Henry, emerging from the thick foliage of the lofty trees by which they were furrounded, a thoufand varied emotions filled his noble heart: tears, to the memory VOL. XXVII.

HISTORY of the decaved ENGLISH |
MERCHANT and his DAUGHTER.
(From Pratt's Gleanings.)
(Continued from p. 19.)

OTWITHSTANDING this

N declaration, the merchant re

ing the rain and the hoped return of fine weather, at the window. Seeing no profpect of its clearing, the determined to do that herfelf,at all hazards, which he could not afk another to perform, namely, to be herself the meffenger; to which end the defired to know, whether the road fhe faw from the window, was the nearest and most direct to Montgomery, or to any other town where there was an apothecary's fhop, and what might be the distance to any fuch place?

The affecting voice in which these questions were demanded, and the prevailing appearance of the fpeaker, gained her an interest in every hearer and beholder,feveral of whom knew and acknowledged her for a neighbour, mingling their expreffions of good-will with numberless kind inquiries after her fick father, for whofe languishing fituation they unanimoufly declared their pity and regard, and whofe death, if it fhould please God to fnatch him away, they fhould long lament.

ceiving no manner of benefit from the Welch doctors, and being unable, indeed, to pay for their continued attendance, without an injury to that fcanty fund, out of which he had to draw all the neceffaries of life, he often, fighed out in a voice of pining, as it were, involuntarily, the name of ***. The found of that voice, languishing for that which might poffibly change its tone to gladness, penetrated the foul of his daughter, who needed not fo pathetic a memento of her father's wishes, to make her bitterly regret her inability to gratify them. The poor gentleman grew worfe, and, expreffing a defire for fomething which he imagined might afford a momentary relief, his Amelia (fo was the young lady named) took the first opportunity of his being compofed, to go into the neighbourhood in fearch of a perfon to fetch it from Montgomery. A little road-fide public-houfe, about a mile from her father's cottage, appeared the most likely place to find a meffenger. Thither the repaired, and arrived juft in time to take fhelter from a fudden ftorm that fell with great violence. At the moment of her entrance there were none but the old hoft and hoftefs in the alehouse; but in a very few minutes after, it filled with labourers and paffengers, who, like herself, fought protection from the hurricane during the fury, how-went with furprise and tottering ever, of which, fhe had too much | compafiion to mention her wishes; for fhe was amongst thofe whofe nature would not fuffer her to turn an enemy's dog out of door at fuch a feafou." This neceffary delay, nevertheless, greatly increafed her uncalines, and the kept watch

This laft obfervation bringing to mind the image of her father's danger more clofely, the trembling Amelia loft all thought of herself, or of the weather, and thanking every body around her for their civility, while her lovely face was covered with her tears, the had got the latch of the door in her hand, and was preparing to hurry out on her commillion, according to the directions fhe had received, when a traveller, who had not opened his lips during the converfation of the peafants, but fat drying himself at the fire, rofe up fuddenly, and begged permiffion to fpeak to her. She

fteps into an adjoining room, where he used to her thefe very words:

"One of your neighbours, young lady, has told me, you have been for many years the best daughter in the world, to the beft father, who has been once the licheft though now the poorest man in Wales con

fidering,

wifhed-for phyfician was an intimate acquaintance of the traveller, and "all the interests of an old affection fhall be tried with the doctor," exclaimed the ftranger, “ as foon as I get to town, on condition that you will now go home to your father with this purfe, and an affurance that although I am an ufurer, i will receive neither principal nor intereft,

He did not give the aftonifhed Amelia time to refufe: but feeing the weather inclined to remit its rigours, he put half a crown into the hands of the peasants, to drink the young lady's and her fick father's health; and ordering his horse to the door, mounted and proceeded on his journey.

Does not your bounding heart affure you, his feelings would have defended him from beftowing a

fidering you and he are to be fupported as gentlefolks. It is plain to fee there is a great deal of diftrefs upon your mind, and it is natural to guefs the caufe of it may be removed. I am not, by any means, a wealthy man ; but I have had my fhare of evil fufficiently to make me feel for the unfortunate; and I have always, thank God, a fomething to fpare for the mitiga-till he is very able to pay both." tion of honeft diftrefs, in whatever 'country it is prefented to my view. I beg you will prefent this trifle, (giving her a bank-bill) with compliments, begging the favour of Is making use of it, till it may fuit his circumftances to return it. I have no manner of occafion for it till about this time next year, when I will call to ask after his health, which, I hope, will long ere that be re-eftablifhed; and if it fhould not at that time be convenient to make reftitu-thought "on the peltings of the tion of the loan, we will put it off pitilefs ftorm," had they continued till the year after, when I will pay to rage? And does it not allo ina fecond vifit to you: as I purpofe form you, that this fair pattern of paffing through this country into filial piety was proof against the war Ireland, where I have concerns, anof elements? The funthine of benenually. I am now going to Lon-volence had, indeed, fo animated don." her, that its fudden and intense This laft fentence feemed to anni-rays might have been too ftrong hilate the reft. The very name of London had, at that inftant, more charms for Amelia, than it could ever boast of creating in the head of any mifs in her teens, who had her mama's promife to pafs the winter among the fine folks and fine fights with which it abounds. But it drew the attention of Amelia from fuperior motives. It was the refidence of her poor father's phyfician, on whofe heart fhe now refolved to make an attempt, by the medium of the generous ftranger, who, fhe rightly judged, would fuffer his bounty to take any direction fhe might wish, and to whom the stated the merchant's anxious but hopelefs defires.

for her tender frame, had they not been moderated by a fhower of tears. She had, fcarcely regained her cottage, indeed, when, overcome by her fenfations, fhe tainted in the arms of her aged nurfe, who had been mourning her delay.

Alas, my friend, what fragile creatures we are! How much at the difpofal of contrary events! How totally the vaffals of forrow and of joy! How little able to encounter the extremes of either! But you will not eafily forgive exclamations that detain you from poor Amelia, whom I lef in diftrefs to indulge them. My heart is but too often the mafter of my pen, and guides it as it lifteth. Let me haften You have juft the foul, my dear to make atonement by informing friend, to fuggeft the ecffafy of you that our lovely fufferer, on her Amelia's on hearing that this much-recovery, had the pleasure to find

S 2

that

that her father had dosed best part | of the morning; and though he miffed her from his apartment when he awoke, he told the nurse, that he hoped the was taking a little necefiary reft in her own room, where he defired fhe might remain undisturbed.

fieurs a more than sufficient sum to pay travelling expenfes. In many parts of the continent, indeed, where a fhilling value in coin that has lefs of filver in its compofition, than would be found in the analyfis of a filver penny, is received as a fettled gratuity for running a German mile, fifty pounds would cut a handfome figure in phyfic, and go very far towards curing a whole city of an epidemy fo far as prefcriptions could affift in its recovery.

As, however, the vifit of Dr. *** was a point rather " devoutly to be wifhed," than expected, it being the middle of a very hard winter, Amelia thought it prudent to conceal the little adventure at the public houfe from her father, whose inalady, nevertheles, rather increased than abated: and his love of life being in effect his love for his daughter, he could not help occafionally regretting his impaffable diftance from the only man, by whofe aid there might be a chance of refifting his disease. There is, you know, a fort of fuperftition which often runs through a family in favour of its family phyfician.

This gave her opportunity to manage her good fortune, of which the refolved to be fo excellent an economist, that the fupply the had received fhould anfwer the wifeft and happieft purposes: the recollected, that, the day before the met the benevolent stranger, her father had received by the poft a bank-bill to the amount of the quarterly divifion of his annuity; of courfe a further reinforcement was not immediately neceffary; on which account he had to regret, that the flurry into which her fpirits were thrown had hindered her from perfifting in her refufal of the loan, to the acceptance of which, however, the was fomewhat reconciled, when the reflected on the condition annexed to her borrowing it; and an idea which just then started to her imagination, of the manner in which it might be appropriated, complete-Nor is it altogether without a fup. ly fatisfied her feelings on the occafion. She confidered the gentle man's bank-bill as the luckieft fund in the world, to ferve as the phyfician's fee, in cafe the generous ftranger fhould prevail on him to 'come; and to that facred ufe her heart devoted it. The fum was fifty pounds, a recompenfe which her ignorance in the price of medical advice in the golden climes of England led her to fuppofe would be all-fufficient for a journey down to Wales. Alas! were a regular charge to be made out by doctors W. R. G. F. L. or any other of the popular fons of Efculapius, of London, for fuch a tour from the grand mart of cuftom, the 50l. would fcarcely be thought by thofe mef3

port from reafon, fince the perfon who has long been in the fecrets of our conftitution and familiar with our habits of living, muft in all general cafes be better able to apply the proper remedies, than he who is called into our bed-chamber, when there is a difeate in it, and when he fees us for the first time under its influence: befides which, an old phyfician is commonly an old friend, and unites the lenitives of affection to the cathartics of fcience; no wonder, then, that we have faith in him, and faith, you know is a great doctor in itself, performing a thousand cures, which the highest profeffional skill has not been able to accomplish without it.

(To be continued.)

POETI

POETICAL ESSAYS.