For the Monthly Visitor. THE BEGGAR's TALE. Non hæc Evandrode te promissa parcnti -O Philander! What was thy fate! a double fate to me. VIRGIL Like the black raven hovering o'er my peace, prey; It call'd Narcissa long before her hour, It call'd her tender soul by break of bliss, IN YOUNG. N one of my late solitary walks among the neighbouring woods and groves, as I was reading, with equal pleasure and instruction, Thomson's Seasons,* I was surprised by the appearance of one of those miserable objects who continually wander from door to door, in quest of the necessary subsistence of life. He lay prostrate upon the earth, beneath the shade of an ancient oak, which grew at the foot of a naked precipice, with his eyes fixed attentively downwards; while every sense seemed absorbed in a kind of listless indifference. When he perceived me, he arose with more agility than his figure seemed to bespeak, and approached with a firm, though slow step, intending, as I then imagined, to solicit assistance; but, as I afterwards found, principally to apologise for having intruded into my inclosures. His modest, though at the same time elegant, manner of addressing me, and his easy deportment, * A beautiful pocket edition of Thomson's Seasons is now in the press, under the direction of the Rev. J. Evans, and will be embellished with eight beautiful engravings by eminent artists. This work is promised to the public in December. in a situation to all appearance so miserable, excited my attention, and awakened in me a more than ordinary degree of curiosity. I beheld with astonishment the feeble remains of an excellent and manly figure, joined to a most expressive countenance, clothed in tattered garments, coarsely patched with different coloured rags, "that seemed to speak variety of wretchedness." He was withal so clean, and there appeared in his manner something so dignified, that I could not help supposing him a person who had been once much above his present mean condition. A meagre countenance, that seemed the effect of disappointment and grief, partly shaded by his venerable grey hairs, added strongly to the first impressions which the sight of this child of misery had made upon my mind, and rendered me unsually anxious to be informed of his history. I, therefore, invited him to my house; and, after administering to his necessities, entreated him to favour me with the particulars of his life. "Sir," replied the man," neither your patience nor my own feelings, I am afraid, will allow me to answer your request, or to do justice to the recital of those events which have reduced me to the condition that you now behold. But, if your generosity will indulge me, and your heart does not disclaim to interest itself in the tale of woe, my story, I hope, will not prove altogether barren, either of utility or pleasure. A melancholy kind of pleasure indeed, suited to the relish of those minds alone who have been trained in the school of adversity and yet the only enjoyment, of which, for many years, I have been susceptible. "To be brief, then, sir, my father was the younger branch of an illustrious family; but, unhappily, attaching himself to the interest of the unfortunate house of Stuart, he was abandoned by his friends, disowned by his relations, and entirely neglected in the distributions of fraternal bounty. Supported, however, by his own merit, he acquired a competency, which enabled him to live, if not in splendour, at least in independence. For his courage as a soldier, and his prudence as an officer, having recommended him to the attention of the greatest men in the army, by their influence, when the party of Charles was ruined, he obtained a commission in the French service. "After remaining a few years in this situation, he married the only child of an old French officer, who had always behaved to him with the greatest regard, and who died soon after the celebration of their nuptials. By this event he became possessed of 5000l. and, wishing to spend the remainder of his days in his native country, he sold his commission, and with a fortune of 6oool. embarked with his wife for Scotland. Here he purchased a small, but elegant villa; and there they resolved to dedicate their future hours to retirement and happiness, when I appeared the first pledge of their mutual loves -but, alas! I was also the last. It was not granted to a fond mother to embrace her only child. Never did the maternal benediction descend on my unhallowed head; never did my infant tongue lisp the endearing name of mother. In fact, she died in the very agonies of child-birth, and such was her untimely fate, that it was with the utmost difficulty my life was preserved. "Thus Providence frowned upon me at my birth, and seemed to mark it strongly as a presage of my future woes and misfortunes. What I lost by the death of my mother, was, in a great measure, compensated by the care, the solicitude, and the vigilance of the best of fathers. His paternal tenderness watched over my infant state; and his sound judgment directed my early youth. "I soon discovered a strong inclination for a military life; and this my father appeared rather to encourage than repress. Often had he been solicited by men in power to accept a commission in the British army; and, as he was now convinced that the interest of the House of Stuart was completely ruined, and being still a steady advocate in the cause of his country, he resolved to gratify my inclination for the military life, at the same time that he acceded to their proposals. "Accordingly we both entered the army in the beginning of the last German war; he in the rank of colonel, and I in quality of an ensign. Never could I have entered with nobler prospects of success-never with better opportunities of improvement. All the care of a father, and all the abilities of a general, were devoted to my service. To me he communicated whatever knowledge or experience he had treasured up, and whatever admonitions his prudence could suggest. Through his influence and respectability I enjoyed the friendship of my superiors, and the universal acquaintance of my brother officers. For his reputation as a soldier, gained him the esteem of the old; and his easy manners made his company courted by the young. "I was always taken notice of (think not, sir, that I repeat this from a principle of vanity,) for a peculiar delicacy and correctness of taste, and for a certain happy genius for the mathematical sciences. These, under so excellent a tuition, I improved to the best advantage; and, in consequence, was soon advanced to the emoluments of an engineer, and the rank of a captain. "There was hardly an engagement of note, during the whole war, in which I was not present; but the most glorious, and the most dreadful of all, was the battle of Fontenoy. It is needless for me, sir, to attempt to describe to you this terrible I scene of carnage and heroism; when prowess was overpowered by numbers, and, as the poet nobly says "Threatening warriors stoop'd to kiss the ground." Suffice it to say, that I survived the death of many a braver man, and saw that field of glory died with British blood. There, in the foremost ranks of a regiment, who so eminently distinguished themselves on that occasion by their prodigious efforts of valour, my father fell amid the brave, and paid the last purchase for the wreath of eternal fame. Tỏ his corse I offered all the honours that filial piety could bestow; and to his memory was paid the tribute of universal regret. After the battle I was preferred to his post, and, at the conclusion of the war, was permitted to return to my paternal estate. I had been married for some years, and already the happy father of two most beautiful daughters. These, with my wife, and one of her sisters, a maiden lady, composed my little family; wherein the most harmonious peace and happiness always reigned. But we did not long enjoy this virtuous retirement undisturbed. A contagious distemper, which raged in the neighbourhood, cut off first my youngest daughter, and then my wife, whose humanity always led her to administer comfort to the afflicted, though at her own hazard. My feelings, apon that occasion, are unutterable; and though time and various objects have abated the keenness of my sorrow, a melancholy gloom still hangs on my soul, and there is a void in my mind, which hath rendered all posterior enjoyments incomplete. "My whole care was now confined to my eldest daughter, Maria; and all my hopes were concentrated in her prosperity. Her education and her morals I most assiduously cultivated; and, in return, had the pleasure of beholding that every day |