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ship, and to his children his protection, he requested him to become his steward. That same

about the affairs of M. de Rosanges.

Excepting this last circumstance,

day, the lawyer received orders I can vouch for the truth of the not to concern himself in future foregoing anecdote.

MEMOIRS OF MYSELF.

will good-naturedly take the trouble to polish them up a little: so without farther ceremony I begin. I was the only son of one of the richest commoners in England, who died while I was an infant, leaving me under the guardianship of my mother. She declared to him in his last moments, that my happiness should be the study of her life; and as an effectual means to secure it, she strictly prohibited every thing in the form of correction, or even admonition. She was a woman of an excellent heart, but she had bewildered herself with the theories of our modern philosophers; and she gravely argued from them, that no created being has a right to arrogate to himself or herself any authority over another; that human nature is in itself perfect; and

It is half-past three in the morning; I have paced my bed-chamber till I am tired, looked with envy at my wife, who has been fast asleep these three hours, and whose countenance wears, even in repose, the sweet expression of happiness which it bore as she invoked Heaven to bless our children as she put up her nightly petition. I have tried to persuade myself, from her example, that the fulness of content ought to lead to repose, but all in vain: I find it impossible to sleep, and I cannot remain inactive."How then shall I beguile the time?" said I, five minutes ago, to myself: "suppose I write my Memoirs, and send them to the Repository?" Just as I was taking up the pen, Mr. Editor, I thought of all you could say if you were at my elbow. You would gravely declare that it was impos-that it is the most cruel tyranny to sible to write in such a frame of mind; that one ought to have calm spirits, a clear head, a facility of expressing oneself, &c. &c. &c. before we begin to write; at least, if we mean that our works should be read by any body but ourselves. N'importe, my good sir, I shall take my chance for that: it is the age of memoirs; every body writes them, every body reads them, and why the deuce should not mine be read among the rest? Besides, I am not without a hope that you

force upon the infant mind, principles, habits, or opinions, which may not accord with its peculiar bias. In conformity, sir, with these liberal ideas, I was suffered to be as free as air: but my mother had no great reason to congratulate herself upon the success of her plan; for, instead of being perfectly happy and reasonable, I became the most troublesome, disagreeable brat in the world: no pecuniary advantages could induce my nursery-maids to stay with

me, and as to nursery-governesses, || and take pains to entertain me, I believe I had half a dozen in a marched off with Jenny, leaving twelvemonth. us together.

"You

and I promised her I would take
care it should not be torn."
"Don't talk to me," cried I,

When I was five years old I was Henry rummaged out his scanty placed under the care of a tutor: stock of toys for my amusement, he was a good and conscientious but without effect; at last my eye man, who would have done his was caught by a little book with duty had he been suffered to do it; coloured prints, which I began to as it was, he told my mother that turn over very roughly. he could be of no use to me, and must not do so," said Henry; that he must go. I had, however," cousin Betty gave me that book, taken a fancy to him, and I insisted that he should stay; but he peremptorily refused, unless I would attend to my book. I remember," about your cousin Betty; I shall even to this moment, the astonishment with which I heard this declaration; it was the first time any body had ever presumed to put their will in competition with mine, and it seemed such a surprising thing, that I could hardly believe he was in earnest. However, the more intent he seemed on going, the more desirous I was that he should stay; so at last we patched up a treaty, which was very ill kept on my part, and he agreed to remain.

I believe I was rather more than seven years old, when one day, in the temporary absence of my tutor, I accompanied Jenny, my nurse-maid, to a cottage at a little distance from our mansion. The owner of the cottage had formerly been a fellow-servant of Jenny's, and was recently come to settle in our neighbourhood. It was the first time that the girl had been to see her friend, and she was desirous of looking at the garden. I refused to accompany her, because I preferred playing with the cottager's son, a little boy about my own age. The boy's mother, after giving him many charges to be sure

tear it, or do what I like with it: I am rich enough to pay for a hundred such books as this;" and I kept turning the leaves over more roughly than before. Henry snatched it up, and put it in his pocket. Bribery and threats were vain, cousin Betty's book was not to be sold, and my threat of giving him a good beating, was answered by an assurance, that I had better take care of myself, for he was more than my match.

My reply to this speech was a violent blow on the face, which my antagonist returned with interest. I soon found he was no boaster, for in a few minutes I was completely and soundly beaten. I disdained, however, to acknowledge myself conquered, though I was more than once knocked down:but my adversary was too generous to require my submission; he desisted, and ran to get some water to wash the blood from my face. At that moment Jenny and his mother entered. You may conceive the scene that followed; both fell upon Henry, and but for my interference, his mother would have given him a sounder beating

than I had been able to do. Jenny washed me, and took me home, declaring all the way, that she knew she should lose her place by this unlucky job.

tion warmly, because he foresaw many advantages to me in such a companion, and my mother cheer→ fully gave her consent.

I certainly profited by the society of Henry, but not as much as I ought to have done. I am ashamed to say, that though I loved him, I often capriciously ill-treated him: I made, however, a sort of compromise with my conscience, by never suffering the smallest slight to be offered to him by any body but myself. In acquiring polished manners, he lost nothing of his native sincerity; he blamed me freely when I was wrong, which Heaven knows was often enough, but he had always something to say to others in extenuation of my faults.

This was the first lesson I ever received of respect for the right of property, and without a pun, it made a strong impression upon me. Jenny escaped with a reprimand, through my vehement declarations that she should not be turned away, for she was not to blame. But to her great surprise, I insisted upon going in two days after to see Henry: my mother would have mustered up courage to contradict me for once, but at the request of my tutor, who knew what had happened, she permitted me to go. Henry received me with great kindness; he had just finish ed making a boat, and though 1 had several of my own, I fancied none of them equalled his. I praised it very much. "You may have it, if you like it," cried he bluntly," and I will shew you how to make a better one than this." This generosity quite won my heart: I invited him to the hall, secretly determining that he should not return empty handed. To my surprise, however, he was not at all struck with my fine toys; but he was very much delighted with some of my little books, which I prevailed upon him to keep, and be assured me he would be as careful of them as of cousin Betty's. In a little time, I became so much attached to this boy, although || he never flattered me, but, on the contrary, told me of my faults in his blunt rustic manner, that I in-guing; but Mr. Alwyn, who consisted upon his coming to live with sidered it perfectly just, supported us. My tutor seconded this mo- Henry's resolution; and, to my

Thus time stole on till we had each nearly attained our eighteenth year, when I began to think of making the grand tour. I had no doubt that Henry would accompany me, but, to my great surprise, he refused. " "My dear Augustus," cried he," it is time for me to think of doing something for myself: it would be a shame if, with the education which I owe to your generosity, I could not earn independent bread. Besides, I have another motive for refusing you: if I accompany you abroad, I should watch your conduct with perhaps too scrupulous an eye; the equality that has hitherto subsisted between us, would render me troublesome and importunate; I could be of no service to you, but I might, and probably would, soon lose your friendship." I exclaimed against this mode of ar

In a few years the career I pur. sued sensibly impaired my fortune large as it was; but this circumstance gave me no concern, for I had added gaming to my other follies; and as in the beginning I was tolerably successful, I had no doubt, that a few lucky throws would reinstate me in my former situation.

At that time chance threw in my

great mortification, he entered a f commercial house of the greatest respectability. My mother was almost as sorry as myself that he did not accompany me abroad. I should have mentioned, that he lost his parents about two years after he took up his residence with us; and that circumstance, by throwing him entirely upon her protection, contributed to endear him to her. The arrangements for my Con-way a very beautiful girl, the ortinental tour were soon completed, phan of an officer, who had left and Henry and I quitted what her under the guardianship of his might be called the paternal roof sister, a gay dissipated woman of to both of us: at the same time fashion, who was certainly very Mr. Alwyn declined accompany- unfit for the trust. ing me abroad, but his place was the first sight with the charms of filled by a gentleman so highly re- this lovely girl, but her dignified, commended, that my mother was though simple and unassuming quite satisfied; and I was equally manners, for some time prevented so, when I found it was a part of my declaring my flame. At times, his plan, that we were neither of however, I thought I could read in us to be a restraint on the other. her soft eyes that I was not an obI shall give no particulars of my ject of indifference to her, and I tour; suffice it to say, that nearly solicited her hand; but I had the three years spent in the unlimited mortification to meet with a polite indulgence of every vicious and but decided refusal. I learned foolish inclination, completely un-through her aunt, that her objecdid all that the respectable Mr. tions arose from my free course of Alwyn had done towards render-life; and I vowed, at the moment ing me a rational being.

The sudden and violent illness of my mother recalled me to England a few months before I should otherwise have returned. I arrived only to receive her last sigh; and when the grief, which I really felt, for her death had subsided, I plunged into dissipation with as much avidity as ever. Henry and I had corresponded regularly for some time after I went abroad, but in about a year an advantageous opportunity occurred for him to go out to India, and from that time I heard no more of him,

I was struck at

with sincerity, that I would reform. Sophia heard me with blushes of pleasure, and agreed to become mine, conditionally, that she had reason to think at the end of twelve months I had kept my promise.

For a short time all went well, but the cursed habit which I had acquired of gaming was too strong for all my good resolutions; I relapsed into it: this circumstance came to the knowledge of Sophia, and she wrote me a farewell. No arguments of her aunt, no entreaties of mine, could prevail upon her to rescind her resolution never

to be mine. Driven to despair by || the future, despair took entire posthis resolution, I madly sought to session of me. "There is not," drown her remembrance in riot and thought I, "any means of existexcess. I plunged openly and ence open for me; and why should without restraint into gaming; loss I endeavour to protract for a little succeeded to loss; my property while a miserable being, which was not entailed, and in a few must at last be terminated by acmonths I was a beggar. The sul- tual want? No; let me perish, ralen indifference with which I had ther than continue to endure the contemplated the spectre Poverty || abject miserable existence, which, vanished when I found myself if I live, must be my lot." While within her grasp, and I awoke, when too late, to a full sense of the horrors of my situation. I was obliged to fly from London, in order to escape from my creditors. || My watch, and a few trinkets of but little value, were all that remained of my once splendid property; and the small sum which they might bring, and which, with my habits, would scarcely be sufficient for a few weeks' subsistence, was all I had to trust to for support.

As I was coming out of a shop where I had disposed of these valuables, I saw a stage-coach going to set out for the seaport of

at that moment the only thing that struck me, was the necessity of quitting London, and I threw myself into it, thinking that before I reached the end of my journey, I could arrange my future plans.

Fatigue and want of sleep combined, had rendered me so ill, that I was incapable of thinking: it was late in the evening when we reached our journey's end, and after bespeaking a bed, I strolled out to try if the air would relieve the burning pain in my head. Till that unhappy moment, I had preserved, in the midst of my follies and my crimes, some sense of religion; but as I hurried on, vainly endeavouring to trace a plan for Vol. X. No. LV.

my mind was occupied with these thoughts, I had reached the quay; the sight of the water decided my purpose, and without a moment's hesitation, I plunged into the waves. Heaven, more gracious to me than I deserved, deigned to avert the fate I had so impiously courted: a gentleman who chanced to be passing at the instant, plunged in after me, and succeeded, though at the imminent hazard of his own life, in saving mine. Conceive-but no, it is impossible for any one to conceive-what were my feelings when, on recovering my senses, and raising my eyes to the face of a gentleman who stood over me, I beheld the dear and well-remembered features of Henry. Yes, it was to him I owed my life; he had been but a few hours landed from India, when Providence sent him to my rescue.

I shall not detail the scene that followed; those who have hearts can feel better than I can describe, the delight of Henry when he found who it was that he had rescued from a watery grave. He was returned, rich and happy, to his native land: a gentleman who became acquainted with him in India, had bequeathed him a handsome fortune; and he resolved to return to England, and devote the

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