blowing his nofe, but that thou art a good-natured fellow. When I gave him the toaft, continued the corporal, I thought it was proper to tell him I was Captain Shandy's fervant, and that your honour (though a ftranger) was extremely concerned for his father; and that if there was any thing in your houfe or cellar(and thou might'ft have added my purfe too, faid my uncle Toby) he was heartily welcome to it :-he made a very low bow, (which was meant to your honour) but no answer,-for his heart was full-fo he went up ftairs with the toaft:-I warrant you, my dear, faid I, as I opened the kitchen-door, your father will be well again. Mr. Yorick's curate was fmoking a pipe by the kitchen fire-but faid not a word good or bad to comfort the youth. I thought it was wrong, added the corporal--I think fo too, faid my uncle Toby. When the lieutenant had taken his glafs of fack and toast, he felt himself a little revived, and fent down into the kitchen, to let me know, that in about ten minutes he fhould be glad if I would ftep up ftairs.-I believe, faid the landlord, he is going to fay his prayers, for there was a book laid upon the chair by his bed-fide; and as I fhut the door I faw his fon take up a cushion. piqued, quoth the corporal, for the reputation of the army,-I believe, an't please your reverence, faid I, that when a foldier gets time to pray, he prays as heartily as a parfon-though not with all his fufs and hypocrify.--Thou should'st not have faid that, Trim, faid my uncle Toby,-for God only knows who is a hypocrite, and who is not:-At the great and general review of us all, corporal, at the day of judgment, (and not till then)-it will be feen who has done their duties in this world,-and who has not; and we fhall be advanced, Trim, accordingly.-I hope we fhall, faid Trim.--It is in the Scripture, faid my uncle Toby; and I will fhew it thee tomorrow-In the mean time we may depend upon it, Trim, for our comfort, faid my uncle Toby, that God Almighty is fo good and just a governor of the world, that if we have but done our duties in it,-it will never be enquired into, whether we have done them in a red coat or a black one:-I hope not, faid the corporal.-But go on, Trim, faid my uncle Toby, with thy tory. When I went up, continued the corporal, into the lieutenant's room, which I did not do till the expiration of the ten minutes, he was lying in his bed with his head raised upon his hand, with his elbow upon the pillow, and a clean white cambric handkerchief befide it:-The youth was juft ftooping down to take up the cushion, upon which I fuppofed he had been kneelingthe book was laid upon the bed, and as he rofe, in taking up the cufhion with one hand, he reached out his other to take it away at the fame time.Let it remain there, my dear, faid the lieutenant. He did not offer to speak to me, till I had walked up clofe to his bed-fide :-If you are Captain Shandy's fervant, said he, you must prefent my thanks to your mafter, with my little boy's thanks along with them, for his courtefy to me,-if he was of Leven's-faid the lieutenant.-I told him your honour was.Then, faid he, I ferved three campaigns with him in Flanders, and remember him but 'tis moft likely, as I had not the honour of any ac I thought, faid the curate, that you gentlemen of the army, Mr. Trim, never faid your prayers at all.- -I heard the poor gentleman fay his prayers laft night, faid the landlady, very devoutly, and with my own ears, or I could not have believed it. Are you fure of it? replied the curate :---A foldier, an' please your reverence, said I, prays as often (of his own accord) as a parfon; and when he is fighting for his king, and for his own life, and for his honour too, he has the most reafon to pray to God of any one in the whole world. 'Twas well faid of thee, Trim, faid my uncle Toby.-But when a foldier, said I, an' please your reverence, has been standing for twelve hours together in the trenches, up to his knees in cold water, or engaged, faid I, for months together in long and dangerous marches; -harraffed, perhaps, in his rear to-day-quaintance with him, that he knows nothing harraffing others to-morrow :-detached here;-countermanded there;-refting this night upon his arms;-beat up in his thirt the next;-benumbed in his joints;-perhaps without ftraw in his tent to kneel on; -he muft fay his prayers how and when he can. I believe, faid I, for I was of me.You will tell him, however, that the perfon his good-nature has laid under obligations to him, is one Le Fevre, a lieutenant in Angus's but he knows me not,-faid he, a fecond time, mufing ;poffibly he may my story-added he-pray tell the captain, I was the enfign at Breda, whofe wife was moft unfortunately killed with a mufket-fhot, as the lay in my arms in my tent.——I remember the story, an't pleafe your honour, faid I, very well.. Do you fo? faid he, wiping his eyes with his handkerchief,-then well may I.-In. faying this, he drew a little ring out of his bofom, which feemed tied with a black ribband about his neck, and kiffed it twice. --Here, Billy, faid he,-the boy flew across the room to the bed-fide, and falling down upon his knee, took the ring in his hand, and kiffed it too,-then kiffed his father, and fat down upon the bed and wept. I wish, said my uncle Toby with a deep figh,--I wish, Trim, I was afleep. Your honour, replied the corporal, is too much concerned;fhall I pour your honour out a glafs of fack to your pipe? ——Do, Trim, faid my uncle Toby. I remember, faid my uncle Toby, fighing again, the story of the enfign and his wife, with a circumftance his modefty omitted; and particularly well that he, as well as fhe, upon fome account or other, (I forget what) was univerfally pitied by the whole regiment ;-but finish the flory thou art upon-Tis finished already, faid the corporal, for I could ftay no longer, fo wifhed his honour a good night; young Le Fevre rofe from off the bed, and faw me to the bottom of the ftairs; and as we went down together, told me, they had come from Ireland, and were on their route to join their regiment in FlandersBut alas! faid the corporal,-the licutenant's laft day's march is over.-- -Then what is to become of his poor boy? cried my uncle Toby. It was to my uncle Toby's eternal honour, though I tell it only for the fake of thofe, who, when cooped in betwixt a natural and a pofitive law, know not for their fouls which way in the world to turn themfelves-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 fearce allowed him time to get his dinner--that nevertheless he gave up Dendermond, though he had already made a lodgment upon the counteifearp; 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 itfelf, 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, fhall recompenfe thee for this. Thou haft left this matter fhort, said my. uncle Toby to the corporal, as he was putting him to bed, and I will 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 purse; becaufe, had he stood in need, thou knowest, 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 offeredft him whatever was in my houfe,--thou shouldft have offered him my houfe too:--A fick brother officer fhould have the best quarters, Trim; and if we had him with us,we could tend and look to him :--thou art an excellent nurfe 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 the world, faid the corporal: He will march, faid my uncle Toby, rifing up from the fide of the bed, with one fhoe off:-An' please 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 shoe on, though without advancing an inch,he fhall march to his regiment.-He can, not ftand it, faid the corporal. He shall be fupported, faid my uncle Toby.-He'll drop at laft, faid the corporal, and what will become of his boy?-He shall not drop, faid my uncle Toby, firmly.-A-wello'day,-do what we can for him, faid Trim, maintaining his point, the poor foul will die:He fhall not die, by G—, cried my uncle Toby. -The accufing fpirit, which flew up to heaven's chancery with the oath, blushed as as he gave it in-and the recording angel, film returned to its place, the puf as he wrote it down, dropp'd a tear upon flutter'd-topp'd-went on-throbb'dthe word, and blotted it out for ever. --My uncle Toby went to his bureau, -put his purfe 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 looked bright the morning af ter, to every eye in the village but Le Fevre's and his afflicted fon's; the hand of death prefs'd heavy upon his eye-lids, and hardly could the wheel at the cistern 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 himself 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 rested 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 enquiries, went on and told him of the little plan which he had been concerting with the corporal the night before for him. -You fhall go home directly, Le Fevre, faid my uncle Toby, to my house, 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 frankness in my uncle Toby, -not the effect of familiarity,-but the cause of it, which let you at once into his foul, and fhewed 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; fo that before my uncle Toby had half finished the kind offers he was making to the father, had the fon infenfibly preffed up close to his knees, and had taken hold of the breaft 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 låft citadel, the heart, rallied back, the film forfook his eyes for a moment, he looked up wishfully in my uncle Toby's face,-then caft a look upon his boy, and that ligament, fine as it was, was never broken. Nature instantly ebb'd again,--the ftopp'd again-mov'd-ftopp'd-fhall I go on?- -No. Sterne. § 2. YORICK'S Death. A few hours before Yorick breathed his laft, Eugenius ftept in, with an intent to take his laft fight and lafl farewel of him. Upon his drawing Yorick's curtain, and alking how he felt himfelf, Yorick looking up in his face, took hold of his hand,—— and, after thanking him for the many tokens of his friendship to him, for which, he faid, 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 tenderest tone that ever man spoke,-I hope not, Yorick, faid he,--Yorick replied, with a look up, and a gentle fqueeze of Eugenius's hand,—and that was all,—but it cut Eugenius to his 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 forfake thee at this crifis when thou moft wanteft them ;who knows what refources are in store, and what the power of God may yet do for thee?-Yorick laid his hand upon his heart, and gently fhook 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, chearing up his voice, that there is ftill enough of thee left to make a bishop,and that I may live to fee it.--I befeech thee, Eugenius, quoth Yorick, taking off his night-cap as well as he could with his left hand,--his right being still grafped 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 bruifed 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 laft breath was hanging upon his trembling lips, ready to depart as he uttered this ;yet fill it was uttered with fomething of a Cervantic tone;-and as he spoke it, EuYy3 genius genius could perceive a stream of lambent fire lighted up for a moment in his eyes; --faint picture of thofe flashes of his fpirit, which (as Shakespeare faid of his anceftor) were wont to fet the table in a roar ! Eugenius was convinced from this, that the heart of his friend was broke; he fqueezed his hand,--and then walked foftly out of the room, weeping as he walked. Yorick followed Eugenius with his eyes to the door,--he then clofed them --and never opened them more. He lies buried in a corner of his churchyard, under a plain marble-flab, which his friend Eugenius, by leave of his executors, laid upon his grave, with no more than thefe three words of infcription, ferving both for his epitaph, and elegy- Athens, long after the decline of the Roman empire, ftill continued the feat of learning, politenefs, and wisdom. Theodoric the Oftrogoth repaired the schools which barbarity was fuffering to fall into decay, and continued those penfions to men of learning which avaricious governors had monopolized. In this city, and about this period, Alcander and Septimius were fellow-ftudents together: the one the moft fubtle reafoner of all the Lyceum, the other the moft eloquent speaker in the academic grove. Mutual admiration foon begot a friendship. Their fortunes were nearly equal, and they were natives of the two most celebrated cities in the world; for Alcander was of Athens, Septimius came from Rome. In this state of harmony they lived for fome time together; when Alcander, after paffing the first part of his youth in the indolence of philofophy, thought at length of entering into the busy world; and, as a ftep previous to this, placed his affections on Hypatia, a lady of exquifite beauty. The day of their intended nuptials was fixed; the previous ceremonies were performed; and nothing now remained but her being conducted in triumph to the apartment of the intended bridegroom. Alcander's exultation in his own happinefs, or being unable to enjoy any fatisfaction without making his friend Septimius a partner, prevailed upon him to introduce Hypatia to his fellow-ftudent; which he did with all the gaiety of a man who found himfelfequally happy in friendship and love. But this was an interview fatal to the future peace of both; for Septimius no fooner faw her, but he was fmitten with an involuntary paffion; and, though he ufed every effort to fupprefs defires at once fo imprudent and unjust, the emotions of his mind in a fhort time became fo trong, that they brought on a fever, which the phyficians judged incurable. During this illness, Alcander watched him with all the anxiety of fondi.efs, and brought his mistress to join in thofe amiable offices of friendship. The fagacity of the phyficians, by thefe means, foon difcovered that the cause of their patient's dif order was love and Alcander being apprized of their discovery, at length extorted a confeffion from the reluctant dying lover. It would but delay the narrative to describe the conflict between love and friendship in the breast of Alcander on this occafion; it is enough to fay, that the Athenians were at that time arrived at such refinement in morals, that every virtue was carried to excefs. In short, forgetful of his own felicity, he gave up his intended bride, in all her charms, to the young Roman. They were married privately by his connivance, and this unlooked-for change of fortune wrought as unexpected a change in the conftitution of the now happy Septimius in a few days he was perfectly recovered, and fet out with his fair partner for Rome. Here, by an exertion of those talents which he was fo eminently poffeffed of, Septimius in a few years arrived at the highest dignities of the ftate, and was conftituted the city-judge, or prætor, In the mean time Alcander not only felt the pain of being feparated from his friend and his miftrefs, but a profecution was alfo commenced commenced against him by the relations of Hypatia, for having bafely given up his bride, as was fuggefted, for money. His innocence of the crime laid to his charge, and even his eloquence in his own defence, were not able to withstand the influence of a powerful party. He was caft, and condemned to pay an enormous fine. However, being unable to raise fo large a fum at the time appointed, his poffeffions were confifcated, he himself was stripped of the habit of freedom, exposed as a flave in the market-place, and fold to the highest bidder. A merchant of Thrace becoming his purchaser, Alcander, with fome other companions of diftrefs, was carried into that region of defolation and sterility. His ftated employment was to follow the herds of an imperious mafter, and his fuccefs in hunting was all that was allowed him to fupply his precarious fubfiftence. Every morning awaked him to a renewal of famine or toil, and every change of season served but to aggravate his unfheltered distress. After fome years of bondage, however, an opportunity of efcaping offered; he embraced it with ardour; fo that travelling by night, and lodging in caverns by day, to fhorten a long ftory, he at laft arrived in Rome. The fame day on which Alcander arrived, Septimius fat adminiftering justice in the forum, whither our wanderer came, expecting to be inftantly known, and publicly acknowledged by his former friend. Here he stood the whole day amongst the crowd, watching the eyes of the judge, and expecting to be taken notice of; but he was fo much altered by a long fucceffion of hardships, that he continued unnoted among the reft; and, in the evening, when he was going up to the prætor's chair, he was brutally repulfed by the attending lictors. The attention of the poor is generally driven from one ungrateful object to another; for night coming on, he now found himself under a neceffity of feeking a place to lie in, and yet knew not where to apply. All emaciated, and in rags as he was, none of the citizens would harbour so much wretchednefs; and fleeping in the streets might be attended with interruption or danger: in short, he was obliged to take up his lodging in one of the tombs without the city, the ufual retreat of guilt, poverty, and defpair. In this manfion of horror, laying his head upon an inverted urn, he forgot his miseries for a while in fleep; and found, on his flinty couch, more eafe than beds of down can fupply to the guilty. As he continued here, about midnight two robbers came to make this their retreat; but happening to disagree about the divifion of their plunder, one of them ftabbed the other to the heart, and left him weltering in blood at the entrance. In thefe circumstances he was found next morning dead at the mouth of the vault, This naturally inducing a farther enquiry, an alarm was fpread; the cave was examined; and Alcander being found, was immediately apprehended, and accused of robbery and murder. The circumstances against him were strong, and the wretchednefs of his appearance confirmed fufpicion. Misfortune and he were now fo long acquainted, that he at last became regardlefs of life. He detefted a world where he had found only ingratitude, falsehood, and cruelty; he was determined to make no defence; and thus, lowering with resolution, he was dragged, bound with cords, before the tribunal of Septimius. As the proofs were pofitive against him, and he offered nothing in his own vindication, the judge was proceeding to doom him to a moft cruel and ignominious death, when the attention of the multitude was foon divided by another object. The robber, who had been really guilty, was apprehended felling his plunder, and, ftruck with a panic, had confeffed his crime. He was brought bound to the fame tribunal, and acquitted every other perfon of any partnership in his guilt. Alcander's innocence therefore appeared, but the fullen rashness of his conduct remained a wonder to the furrounding multitude; but their astonishment was still farther encreased, when they faw their judge start from his tribunal to embrace the fuppofed criminal: Septimius recollected his friend and former benefactor, and hung upon his neck with tears of pity and of joy. Need the fequel be related ? Álcander was acquitted: fhared the friendship and honours of the principal citizens of Rome; lived afterwards in happiness and ease; and left it to be engraved on his tomb, That no circumftances are fo desperate, which Providence may not relieve. |