fhe, upon fome account or other, (I forget what) was univerfally pitied by the whole regiment ;-but finish the ftory thou art upon."Tis finifh'd already, faid the corporal,for I could ftay no longer,-fo wished his honour a good night; young Le Fevre rofe from off the bed, and faw me to the bottom of the stairs; and as we went down together, told me they had come from Ireland, and were on their route to join the regiment in Flanders-But alas! faid the corporal, the lieutenant's last day's march is over.Then what is to become of his poor boy? cried my uncle Toby. Ir was to my uncle Toby's eternal honour,though I tell it only for the fake of those, who, when cooped in betwixt a natural and a positive law, know not for their fouls, which way in the world to turn themselves-That notwithstanding my uncle Toby was warmly engaged at that time in carrying on the fiege of Dendermond, parallel with the allies, who preffed theirs on fo vigorously, that they. fcarce allowed him time to get his dinner that neverthelefs he gave up Dendermond, though he had already made a lodgment upon the counterfcarp; and bent his whole. thoughts towards the private diftreffes at the inn; and, except that he ordered the garden-gate to be bolted up, by which he might be faid to have turned the fiege of Dendermond into a blockade, he left Dendermond to itself,-to be relieved or not by the French king, as the French king thought good; and only confidered how he himself should relieve the poor lieutenant and his fon. THAT kind Being, who is a friend to the friendlefs, hall recompenfe thee for this. THOU haft left this matter fhort, faid my uncle Toby to the corporal, as he was putting him to bed, and I will tell tell thee in what, Trim.-In the first place, when thou madeft an offer of my fervices to Le Fevre,-as fickness and travelling are both expenfive, and thou knoweft he was but a poor lieutenant, with a fon to fubfift as well as himself, out of his pay, that thou didst not make an offer to him of my purfe; because, had he stood in need, thou knoweft, Trim, he had been as welcome to it as myself.--Your honour knows, faid the corporal, I had no orders;--True, quoth my uncle Toby,-thou didst very right, Trim, as a foldier,—but certainly very wrong as a man. In the fecond place, for which, indeed, thou haft the fame excufe, continued my uncle Toby,-when thou offered ft him whatever was in my houfe-thou fhouldft have offered him my houfe too :-A fick brother officer should have the beft quarters, Trim; and if we had him with us, --we could tend and look to him: Thou art an excellent nurse thyfelf, Trim,-and what with thy care of him, and the old woman's, and his boy's, and mine together, we might recruit him again at once, and fet him upon his legs. -IN a fortnight or three weeks, added my uncle Toby, fmiling-he might march.-He will never march, an' please your honour, in this world, faid the corporal:He will march; faid my uncle Toby, rifing up from the fide of the bed, with one fhoe off:-An' pleafe your honour, faid the corporal, he will never march but to his grave:He fhall march, cried my uncle Toby, marching the foot which had a fhoe on, though without advancing an inch,-he shall march to his regiment. He cannot ftand it, faid the corporal. He fhall be fupported, faid my uncle Toby; ———He'll drop at last, faid the corporal, and what will become of his boy?— -He fhall not drop, faid my uncle Toby, Toby, firmly.A-well-o'day,do what we can for him,. faid Trim, maintaining his point,-the poor foul will die: ----He shall not die, by G-d, cried my uncle Toby.. -THE ACCUSING SPIRIT which flew up to heaven's chancery with the oath, blush'd as he gave it in- -and the RECORDING ANGEL, as he wrote it down, dropp'd a tear upon the word, and blotted it out for ever. -My uncle Toby went to his bureau,—put his purse into his breeches pocket, and having ordered the corporal to go early in the morning for a phyfician-he went to bed and. fell asleep. THE, fun look'd bright the morning after, to every eye in the village. but Le Fevre's and his afflicted fon's; the hand of death preffed heavy upon his eye-lids, and hardly could the wheel at the ciftern turn round its circle,-when my uncle Toby, who had rofe up an hour before his wonted time, entered the lieutenant's room, and without preface or apology, fat himfelf down 'upon the chair, by the bed-fide, and, independently of all modes and cuftoms, opened the curtain in the manner an old friend and brother officer would have done it, and asked him how he did, how he had refted in the night,what was his complaint,-where was his pain,—and what he could do to help him?—and without giving him time to answer any one of the inquiries, went en and told him of the little plan which he had been con certing with the corporal the night before for him.———— -You fhall go home directly, Le Fevre, faid my uncle: Toby, to my houfe, and we'll fend for a doctor to fee what's the matter, and we'll have an apothecary, and the corporal fhall be your nurfe;-and I'll be your fervant,. Le Fevre, THERE was a franknefs in my uncle Toby.-not the ef'fect of familiarity,-but the caufe of it,-which let you at once into his foul, and fhowed you the goodness of his nature; to this, there was fomething in his looks, and voice, and manner, fuperadded, which eternally beckoned to the unfortunate to come and take fhelter under him; so that before my uncle Toby had half finished the kind offers he was making to the father, had the son infenfibly pressed up close to his knees, and had taken hold of the breast of his coat, and was pulling it towards him.-The blood and fpirits of Le Fevre, which were waxing cold and flow within him, and were retreating to their laft citadel, the heart, rallied back, the film forfook his eyes for a moment, he looked up wifhfully in my uncle Toby's face,-then caft a look upon his boy, and that ligament, fine as it was, was never broken. Nature inftantly ebb'd again,—the film returned to its place the pulse fluttered- -stopp'd- went onthrobb'd-ftopp'd -ftopp'd again-moved-stopp’d——shall I go on ?—No. STERNE CHA P. II. YORICK'S DEATH. A FEW hours before Yorick breathed his laft, Eugenius stept in with an intent to take his laft fight and last farewel of him. Upon his drawing Yorick's curtain, and asking how he felt himself, Yorick looking up in his face, took hold of his hand,——and, after thanking him for the many many tokens of his friendship to him, for which, he said, if it was their fate to meet hereafter, he would thank him again and again; he told him, he was within a few hours of giving his enemies the flip for ever. I hope not, anfwered Eugenius, with tears trickling down his cheeks, and with the tendereft tone that ever man fpoke,-I hope not, Yorick, faid he.--Yorick replied, with a look up, and gentle fqueeze of Eugenius's hand, and that was all,-but it cut Eugenius to the heart.-Come, come, Yorick, quoth Eugenius, wiping his eyes, and fummoning up the man within him,—my dear lad, be comforted,-let not all thy fpirits and fortitude forsake thee at this crifis when thou most wanteft them;-who knows what refources are in ftore, and what the power of God may yet do for thee?Yorick laid his hand upon his heart, and gently shook his head; for my part, continued Eugenius, crying bitterly as he uttered the words,-I declare I know not, Yorick, how to part with thee, and would gladly flatter my hopes, added Eugenius, cheering up his voice, that there is ftill enough left of thee to make a bishop,-and that I may live to fee it.—I beseech thee, Eugenius, quoth Yorick, taking off his night-cap as well as he could with his left handhis right ftill being grasped clofe in that of Eugenius,I beseech thee to take a view of my head.—I fee nothing that ails it, replied Eugenius. Then alas! my friend, faid Yorick, let me tell you, that it is fo bruised and mif-fhapened with the blows which have been fo unhandfomely given me in the dark, that I might fay with Sancho Panca, that should I recover, and " mitres thereupon be fuffered to rain down "from heaven as thick as hail, not one of them would fit "it."—Yorick's last breath was hanging upon his trembling lips ready to depart as he uttered this ;-yet ftill it was |