THE

YOUNG PHILOSOPHER.

CHAP. I.

"Of moving accidents by flood or field."

A

Few years have paffed, fince it happened that Dr. Winflow, a dignified clergyman, who, besides an affluent private fortune, poffeffed very confiderable church preferment, together with his wife, the co-heirefs of a rich citizen, their only fon, now in his twentieth year, and Mrs. Winflow's niece, Mifs Goldthorp, the only daughter of a de.ceafed banker, and poffeffing above fifty thousand pounds, were induced to pass part of the autumn at a public place of great resort, about fixty miles from LonVOL. I.

B

don.

don. Mrs. Winflow was extremely nervous, and nothing was fo good for that complaint as fea air; the Doctor indeed had three excellent houses, in three different counties, but they all happened to be very far inland, and the prefent ftate of his lady's nerves demanded the benefit of marine breezes.

Her nerves had received fome benefit after a refidence of near a month on the coaft. It was not certain whether this defirable end had been obtained by gentle airings on the falubrious hills around her prefent refidence, or by another specific, occafionally applied to by ladies of a certain age in fuch cafes, that of paffing more than half the night at cards. Something was probably due to the latter caufe, as Mrs. Winflow had been unusually fuccefsful; fhe had befides augmented her acquaintance among people of fashion, which was al ways an object of her ambition-having added five titled friends to her visiting lift for the enfuing winter.

His

His wife now being in a state to bear the journey, the Doctor ventured to propofe her accompanying him on a vifit he had long meditated, and for which he had received a recent and very preffing invitation. Mrs. Winflow, who was occafionally all sweetnefs, especially when defired to do any thing she did not diflike, affented readily.-Young Winflow had just purchased a pair of very fine horfes of a man of fashion (whose stablekeeper had hinted, in no very respectful terms, the neceffity of his felling them) and their present mafter was glad of this opportunity" to try their bottom."-It "to was fettled that he should conduct his fair cousin in his curricle, while the Doctor and Mrs. Winflow, with her own maid on a feat before, were to proceed in a postchaife. The great object of Mrs. Winflow's life had been to be accounted a woman of moft elegant tafte, and the word elegant was inceffantly uttered on. all the opinions fhe held, and in all the decifions fhe gave.-It would now have B 2

been

been much more elegant to have had four horfes, an equipage with which they generally moved when at any of the Doctor's livings, where he had grafs and corn of his own; but as he never loft fight of economy, he had now prudently contented himself with a pair; and though he would not have been forry to have had them on the prefent occafion, to make an handfome figure at the houfe of his old friend, he peevishly refifted his wife's remonftrances, who thought poft-horfes would be more elegant; and he afferted, that no body but herfelf would fay fuch a thing-He only defired, that as their journey was to be four and twenty miles, and the days were fo much fhortened, fhe would be ready to fet out before noon.

To make any exertion, however, was quite out of her way; had the risen an hour before her time, fhe would have been nervous the whole day. Instead of noon, therefore, it was near two o'clock before Mrs. Dibbins, her woman, who

was

was as nervous and as elegant as her miftrefs, had collected and arranged all the elegancies they both thought it neceffary to provide, then, juft as they were preparing to depart, the lady's amiable new friends, Lady Stockbury, and her most elegant daughter Lady Therefa, arrived to pay her a morning vifit; they had had a great deal to tell her of an elopement in high life, of which they had learned the particulars, and to relate all that paffed the preceding evening at an affembly they were at, where feveral perfons of the highest rank were collected. Mrs. Winflow delighted to liften to fuch converfation, which to relate at the place fhe was going to would give her the air of frequenting the most elegant fociety, quite forgot that the morning was wearing away, and that the poor Doctor was in one of his most restless fits of fretting, waiting for her in another room.

The clock had told three fome time before they departed; and they had advanced two or three miles on their road