the promise of reward, engaged him to discover the ill-fated addrefs.

The name of Sophia in Jofeph's hand writing roufed his fufpicions, and his curfed curiofity could not refift the temptation of infpecting the contents. His rage was violent; but his diabolical genius fuddenly prompted the means, as he imagined, of making Sophia herself discharge his fon for ever from her prefence. After obliging the boy to fecrecy, he made him accompany him to a neighbouring houfe, where being furnished with writing materials, he wrote thus.

Deluded Girl,

I AM fenfibly affected at the infincerity of my fon's conduct, in amufing you with foolish tales of love, You will certainly think it becoming your fpirit to defpife the man who makes you the subject of mirth amongst his companions. I refpect you too much to fuffer you to become a dupe to his profeffions.-Jofeph is like other young gentlemen of the prefent age, who pique themfelves on their addrefs in gaining the affections of innocent unthinking girls, with whom they pafs their leifure hours, and afterwards laugh heartily at their fimplicity. He is under promife of marriage to Mifs B, and you would do well, if you have any regard for your character, to think no more of him. But if you ftill with a further proof of the truth of my affertions, obferve his behaviour to-morrow at church; you will fee him conducting his intended bride; while I am perfuaded he will be ashamed to take the leaft notice of you in public.

I am your well-wisher.

LOTHARIO.

N. B. It will be the most prudent ftep for you, and the moft mortifying for Jofeph, that your refentment fhould feem the effect of your own, penetration, rather than from any information received from me.

The boy was inftantly dispatched to Sophia with this infernal feroll, and as he required no answer, it was eafy for him to affure his mafter that he had delivered the identical letter committed to his care.

An envious girl in the village, fince this affair tranfpired, made great pretenfions of friendship to Sophia, and filled her ears with many falfe tales refpecting Jofeph, fo that she was well prepared to credit his father's intelligence. She was thunder-ftruck-Death, furrounded with his blackeft tortures, would have been lefs horrible to her frightened imagination. She trembled-fhe grew pale, and, in the space of a few minutes, experienced all the pangs of rage, detpair, and grief; but love gaining the afcendancy, fhe foothed thefe diforderly paffions, and determined to fee Jofeph, not doubting, if thefe reports were really true, that the could read her fate in his countenance.

I remained ignorant of all these latter circumftances till after the cataftrophe of my fad ftory: though I perceived a wildness in my daughter's looks, and fomething inconfiftent in her converfation, I was far from fufpecting the worft.-Next morning, which was Sunday, I was rather indifpofed, and Sophia begged I would permit her to walk to church alone, as the day was fine, and the diftance little more than half a mile. I readily confented, fuppofing that the company might have a good effect upon her fpirits. She was unufually ceremonious in taking her departure. She embraced me with tenderness, while tears feemed ready to burst from her eyes. Farewell, my dear mother, faid fhe-Farewell, my daughter: but why fo particular today-She then affected to fmile, faying, good b'ye, and in a playful trip difappeared.

Lothario's whole family was at church;

church; and Jofeph, as was predicted, more gaily drefied than ordinary, in the midst of his relations, with Mifs Blinked in his arm, walked paft Sophia, without deigning her a fingle look, though he had purpofely placed herfelt in a confpicuous fituation. She followed them with her eyes till they were both feated in one chair, and drove off with a loud laugh, of which the fuppofed herself the subject.

This was more than enough to drive Sophia to defperation. She chole an unfrequented path through the wood, as if the wished to fhorten her journey home; and when the had reached the fhade of a ftately laurel, the early fcene of their unhappy courtship, fhe came to the dreadful refolution of putting a period to her exiftence. A penknife of curious workmanship, the first prefent fhe had accepted from Jofeph, while they were children at fchool, and with which he had often cut out her name in the bark of the tree where the fell, was the inftrument of her fhocking death. Mrs. F, whom you fee here prefent, was the first who difcovered her, about two hours after the fatal ftroke. She was extended at the foot of the laurel, on a heap of wild flowers, which the must have collected for her death-bed, as emblematical of her innocence: the dire weapon was erected in her virgin breaft. In the right hand the held her prayer-book, and in the left the treacherous letter of Lothario. At a little diftance was found a pencil, and a finall fcrap of paper, on which were written the words, Dear mother, I *****. It appeared that the intended to write to ine, but fearing the might not have time to accomplish her chief purpofe, he had thrown the paper from her, and rufhed at once into eternity. The crowd was foon affembled from all quarters; and I should have quickly followed

my daughter, had not the unparalleled attentions of the gentleman who fits next to you (meaning Mr.F) reftored me to myself and to right reason.

Lothario's villainy was fuddenly brought to light, to his extrême mor tification; and Jofeph raving, wild as the raging winds, called upon all the furies of hell to devour his family. He fwore to expiate her precious blood on his own devoted head, and ran over the country in fearch of his Sophia's body; but no one would conduct him to the fpot where she was laid. At length a negro pointed out to him the ground where his Sophia expired. When he beheld the blood fprinkled on the grafs, and her name on the bark of the tree, he became quite furious, and threatened inftant death to the perfon who should attempt to drive him from that fcene of deftruction. His friends, however, perfuaded him to remove, on condition that they would permit him to walk at a little distance, and not fhackled like a murderer. Go, faid he, and confine my unnatural father; but leave me free to torment myself. On his way home he darted from his conductors, plunged into the thickest of the wood, and ten days afterwards his body was found floating on the streams of Afhley.

My dear Sir, I fee you are deeply touched at the story of these unfor tunate lovers, and you are no doubt furprifed that I have finifhed my tedious narration with fuch apparent coolness-But my mind is familiarized to forrow-I have shed as many tears for Jofeph as for Sophia-The fources of grief are now exhaufted; I can weep no more. Let the Author of the univerfe, the great Searcher of hearts, be the judge of my conduc— I will neither venture to justify nor condemn myfelf.-From this impartial review of the most striking circumftances of my life, you will eafily

perceive

perceive that I have much room for felf-examination.

Here the old lady concluded her melancholy tale, referring me to Mr. F for information refpecting the fate of Lothario. My fpirits were depreffed with sadness, and having no inclination for fupper, to which the company were invited, I retired to my bed-chamber, while my eyes

overflowed liberally to the memory of Jofeph and Sophia. My vifionary fancy reprefented the departed fhades of that hapless pair, paffing and repaffing in the watery beams of the moon, which played acrofs my window; and I fighed to think that no country on earth could fhelter mankind from vice, and the fury of the paffions.

YOU

OU will not expect to be fent to the authors, who are usually called Claffical, for much information in the English History. Very little is met with in the Greek, and not a great deal in the Latin. Cefar, Tacitus, and Suetonius, are the only ones worth mentioning on this fubject.

Nor will you chufe to be referred to the Monkish writers. Jeffrey of Monmouth and his ftory of Brute are now generally given up. Some of them indeed, as William of Malmfbury, Matthew Paris, &c. have a more authentic character: but I fuppofe any one (except a profefied antiquary) will be contented with them at fecond-hand in the modern hiftorians. Carte has made the most and beft ufe of them, which is the greatest merit of his book. Hume often puts their names in his margin; but I fear all he knew of them was through the media of other writers. He has fome mistakes, which could not have happened had he really confulted the originals.

The first planting of every nation is neceffarily obfcure, and always loft in a pretended antiquity. It matters little to us whether our Iland was first peopled by Trojans, Phoenicians, Scythians, Celts, or Gauls, who have all their respective advocates; and the famous Daniel de Foe makes his True born Englishman a compound

you

of all nations under heaven. If y chufe, however, to read about this matter, Sheringham de Anglorum Origine, 8vo. 1670, is the best book for the purpofe. I may juft mention, that fome writers would cavil at the word Island juft above, and infift that we were formerly joined to the French Continent.

Little real knowledge is to be picked up from our history before the conqueft; yet it may not be amifs to have a general idea of the Druidical Government among the ancient Britons; of the invafion of the Romans under Julius Cæfar, and again in the time of Claudius; the ftruggles for liberty under Caractatus, Boadicea, &c.; the defertion of the Ifland by the Romans; the irruption of the Picts and Scots; the calling in of the Saxons as allies; who, after a time, turned their arms against the natives and conquered them (fome few excepted), who secured themfelves in the mountains of Wales; whence their defcendants affect to call themselves Ancient Britons; the establishment of the Heptarchy, &c.; the union under King Egbert; the invasion and various fortunes of the Danes; and, laftly, the Normans under William the Conqueror.

The best authors for this period are Milton and Sir William Temple; the latter more pleafing, but the former more accurate. Milton's profe

works

works are exceeding ftiff and pedantic, and Sir William's as remarkably eafy and genteel; but he should have attended more to the minutiæ of names and dates.

As to the religion of our ancestors, fomething of the Druids may be learned from Schedius de DisGermanis, and an Effay in Tholand's Pofthumous Works. Chriftianity feems to have been introduced, perhaps by fome of the Romans, in the first century. Some indeed pretend that St. Paul himself came over.

The Saxons brought their own gods with them, viz. the Sun, Moon, Tuifco, Woden, Thor, Friga, and Seater, and, in imitation of the Romans dedicated to them refpectively the days of the week; and hence the names, which continue to our times. For this fubject I would recommend VerЛlegan's "Reftitution of decayed Intelligence."

From the Conqueft our annals are more clear than thofe of any other nation in the world. This happens from the custom or obligation that every mitred Abbey was under to employ a Registracy for all extraordinary events; and their notes were ufually compared together at the end of every reign. Hence the great number of Monkish Hiftorians.

It luckily happens that no partyfpirit has biaffed the Hiftorians in their accounts of our old Kings; and it therefore does not much fignify what author is read. You would fmile at my love of black letter were I to refer you to Hollinshed or Stowe; men, I affure you, by no means defpicable, and much fuperior to Caxton, Fabian, Grafton, &c. nor will you chufe to read chronicles in rhyme, as Robert of Gloucester and Harding. The most elegant old history we have is that by Samuel Daniel, a poet of no mean rank. Though he wrote more than half a century before Milton, his ftyle appears much

more modern. His continuator Truffel is not fo well fpoken of. Da-. niel is very concife in his accounts before the Conqueft, but much fuller afterwards. He ends with Edward III. and Truffel with Richard III. This book is printed in Bishop Kennet's Collections; but the old editions are the best. The Bishop employed Old-mixon, a hero of the Dunciad, in the re-publication, who, we are told, falfified it in many places.

If we are not content with general accounts of the fubfequent reigns it may not be amifs to look at their particular writers. Buck's Hiftory of Richard III. is remarkable from the pains he takes to clear his character against the fcandal (as he calls it) of other Hiftorians. Lord Bacon's florid Hiftory of Henry VII. comes next You must know this King was a favourite with James the I. and as it was written to recover his favour, the author, you may fuppofe, has not been impartial. Lord Herbert's Henry the VIII. well deserves reading; he was a free-thinker and a free-writer; his information was good, and the æra particularly interesting. The next word of importance (not quite forgetting Dr. (afterwards Sir John) Hayward's Edward the VI.) is Camden's Elizabeth, a performance worthy of its author. The story of Mary Queen of Scots may be more particularly learned from her countrymen Melville, Buchannan, &c.

The Stuarts have brought in a flood of hiftories, many high flying panegyrics, and many fcandalous invectives. On James the I. Wilfon, Sanderfon, Weldon, &c. and a late writer, one Harris, an Anabaptift Parfon.

For Charles the I. appears our greateft Hiftorian Lord Clarendon : on the other fide Ludlow; who, however, is particularly fevere on Cromwell. I omit Whitlock, Rufh

worth,