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Upon a clofe approach I discovered that they were a tribe of British ladies, who were always fond of appearing in the retinue of the goddess, from whofe indulgent fmiles they received an acceffional luftre to their charms. I then turned my eyes toward the monfters I have above defcribed. The principal of which turned pale, and fell down in a fwoon from her throne. Pride fhrunk into a fhade; Envy fell proftrate and bit the ground; while Ignorance vanifhed like a morning cloud before the rifing

expatiating on the numbers of her conquefts. At this incident arose in my breast all the tender fentiments of humanity that I had ever cultivated; and I began to blame my criminal curiofity, which had prompted me to afcend the mountain. But in a few minutes the whole scene was very agreeably reversed. For, toward the fouthern boundaries, I obferved the clouds parting, the fky purpling, and the fun breaking forth in all its glory. When immediately there appeared marching toward us Good Nature, in all her pomp and fplendor; arrayed fun. As the goddefs drew near, the like a fylvan nymph, and blooming with unftudied graces. She was of a fair and ruddy complexion, which received additional beauty from the frequent fmiles that fhe threw into her countenance. On her right hand fhone Good Sense, with much majefty and diffidence in her mien. She was an effential attendant on the young lady, who never appeared to fuch advantage, as when the was under her more immediate direction. On her left was Generofity, carrying a heart in her hand. The next that prefented, was Modefty, with her eyes fixed on the ground, and her cheeks fpread with roses. Then followed a train of beauties, who, by the unaffected charms of their perfons, made me defirous of a nearer inspection.

whole collection of fiends difappeared. The bafilifk fkulked into the glade, and the oak on which the fury was feated budded forth afresh. Wherever the goddess walked, the flowers fprang up fpontaneous at her feet. The trees, furprifed with new-born life, difplayed the enamelled bloffom. The tender roe was feen bounding over the mountains, and the little lamb fporting on the hills. Instead of the briar and the thorn, there fhot forth the myrtle and every odoriferous fhrub. The voice of the turtle was heard in the groves, and the dales refounded with the melodious harmony of the nightingale. In a word, the whole region confeffed the happy influences of the deity, and charmed in all the genial foftness of the spring.

An Account of FORD HOUSE, in Derbyshire, the Seat of JOHN HOLLAND, Efq. With a Perfpective View of that Manfion, and the adjacent Country.

FOR

ORD-HOUSE ftands on a fmall rife from the valley between Higham and Crick, in Derbyshire, a mile from the former; and although. not decorated with pillars, and other appendages of architecture, makes a refpectable, if not a magnificent appearance. Mr. Holland, from a highly cultivated tafte in the arts, hath made his pleasure grounds a continued fcene of picturefque and beautiful views. That wretched tafte which once prevailed, where each tree boasted a twin brother, has happily been driven from our prefent fyftem of gardening, and Nature once more affumes the reins.

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In few fpots does the appear to more
advantage than at Ford. The valley
extends for feveral miles, and is wa-
tered by a small stream, which though
an improvement to the verdure is
fome times rather a difadvantage,
it overflows and deftroys all the con-
veniences for croffing it. Higham,
whofe fituation deferves a better town,
confifts of ftragling thatched houses,
chiefly occupied by farmers, and is
on the road from Derby to Chetter-
field, about fifteen miles from the
former; it has no church, fo that the
inhabitants have two miles to walk to
Shirland, which is the parish church.

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The

The ERROR of a GOOD FATHER: A Tale, by M. Marmontel. Concluded from page 276.

THE following day, the young man, while walking with me, took up the hiftory of his flight, where his

father had left off.

"Sir," faid he, "if my father has fpoken to you of my childhood, you cannot be ignorant of my faults; my paffions are naturally violent; my fenfibility was put to fevere trials; I could not keep it within bounds, and that was the fource of my misfortunes. I had no longer a mother, and my father was every thing to me. I loved him from the bottom of my heart, and was jealous of his affection. My jealoufy rendered me fad, impatient, and gloomy; and my father, defpairing of my amendment, removed me from his houfe. In this exile, where I ftood in need of nothing, I was feverely treated, and thinking I could never be more wretched, I made my escape. I had made an exchange of my coat for the drefs of a young peafant, and, under this difguife, left the country. I trudged along the bye-paths during the night, taking care to avoid the villages, and feeking fome lone farmhoufe where a fhepherd might be wanting. At length I found the object of my ambition in a folitary ham-. let between Fleury and Aumale.

"In this free and quiet condition, with bread and milk in abundance, fleeping on clean firaw, and getting up at the dawn of day to take the command of the docile animals I led forth to feed, my fituation would not have been fo pitiable, if, to the recollection of my forrows, the remembrance of a father had not been joined, whom I figured to myfelf irritated, threatened, and inexorable, and preparing chaftifements for me as foon as I fhould fall into his hands.

"At the expiration of a few months, this uneafinefs wore off, and I had the cruel affurance of being either for gotten or abandoned. My affliction,

though it then became more calm, was but the deeper; the filence of the country, and the wilds which were fpread fo wide around me, and over which I wandered, ferving only to plunge me farther in my gloomy melancholy.

Whenever I fixed my

thoughts upon the abyfs that separated me from my father, and repeated to myself, I fhall fee him no more, I fell into the deepest defpondency. My weak brain would never have borne it, but for the pleafing fource of diverfion I had luckily brought with me; for, lefs an enemy to ftudy than to constraint, I had not been able to part with my favourite book; Virgil and I were never afunder. The Eclogues made me the affociate of Tityrus, and Mœlibeus ; and accordingly, when I disguised myself, I had taken the name of Alexis. The Georgics gave my new condition a degree of luftre in my eyes: I there aw rural occupations honoured by the poet, and I read him with a fentiment of pride.

"One day, when fitting at the foot of an old willow, after going deeply into this pleafing ftudy, I fell afleep, and during my flumber was noticed by a person who happened to pass by. It was a man who lived retired from the world, and whom just resentment had rendered a mifanthropist: in a word, it was this very M. de Nelcour. He perceived a book open by the fide of a young fhepherd. Aftonished at this novelty, and defirous to know what book it might be, he ftooped down, and found it to be Virgil. He would not wake me, but continuing his walk, and loitering about the willow, he contrived to keep me in fight, and ftepped up to me as foon as I awoke.

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read Virgil? And if fuch has been your education, by what misfortune are you reduced to the condition of a Thepherd ?"

"It is not impoffible," said I," that an orphan, well brought up, should be reduced to poverty: fuch a one am I." He then defired to know what place I came from, what was my name, and what my family?"My name is Alexis," faid I. "I come from yonder farm-houfe; it is quite unneceffary that you fhould know any thing farther." And as he feemed aftonished at my referve, I, in my turn, expreffed my surprise that a pafferby should be fo curious. The pride of my answer did not hurt me in his opinion.

"I do not blame you," faid he, "for being prudent, although fo young. Ah! why like you, did I not earlier know how to be upon my guard against paffers-by; however, my curiofity is fo natural, and so juft," added he," that you ought at leaft to think it innocent; and the concern infpired by your misfortune and your age, is fufficient for its juftification."

"I made an apology for having been fo little fenfible of this mark of kindness. "But, fir," said I, "what purpose does it answer to remember in adversity, what we have been, and what we are no longer? It is, at the beft, but heaping care on care. I with only to be known for a fhepherd, as I am. It is neither in your eyes nor my own that I blush at being fo. Virgil tells us, that the gods have been fhepherds; but every body does not know how much the paftoral life has been honoured, and how much it ought to be fo ftill. I therefore dare, without knowing who you are, fupplicate you not to betray me. I am a friendlefs youth; but I earn my livelihood by making myfelf of ufe; and you would disturb this innocent life, if you made an improper ufe of the fecret you have ftolen from me during my flumber. In the name of all you hold most dear," added I, " promife me not to divu'ge it.”

"I promise you," faid he; " but on condition that I may be allowed to come and spend a few hours with you, while you feed your sheep. Like you, young man, I am familiar with miffortune; like you, I have a turn for ftudy. I am fond of Virgil; we will read him together; and when we shall be better acquainted, and can better truft one another, a mutual confidence fhall mingle its effufions with the pleafure of our conversation.

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"This worthy man," continued Alexis (for he still retained his name) came frequently to join us in the pafturage; we there spent together a part of the fine days of the autumnal feafon, nor did thofe days pafs unpleasantly away. Virgil, Horace, with whom he had made me acquainted, and for whose beauties I began to have a relish as well as he, and fome French books he brought for my reading, fuch as Montaigne, La Fontaine, Racine, and Fenelon, contended for the employment of our leisure.

"But in the intervals of our readings, M. de Nelcour tried, from time to time, to come at the fecret of my misfortunes. "Is it poffible," said “that a child like you

he, one day, fhould not at least have met with fomebody in his family, or in the world, to take pity on him?" “*I have implored the pity of nobody," faid I; " young as I am, I well know, that, in the world, the wretched are ever looked upon as importunate."

"Ah! you are much in the right," faid he, (for without knowing it, I had touched his fenfible part) and then he related to me that he had been in his youth what is called an agreeable man; that he had ruined himself by his liberality; that out of a hundred good friends who had partaken of his entertainments, not a tingle one had offered him affiftance in the decay of his fortune; that the women, who ufed to cry him up as a pattern of gallantry and accomplishments, had found him horribly altered as foon as they knew he was ruined; and that, U u 2

grown

grown wifer at his own expence, he had taken without hesitation the refolution of felling his eftates to pay his debts, and of retiring to a little farm, the only remains of his property.

"I heard him with concern relate his follies, his idle credulity, his illufions, and his errors; but his confidence did not call forth mine. Perceiving that my fecret thus eluded all his attempts to lay hold of it, he came to the wife refolution of leaving me to the dictates of my own difcretion.

66

"Well, my dear Alexis," faid he, one day, "the winter will foon be here, and we shall no longer be able to fee one another; do you know that the idea afflicts me?" "It afflicts me too," faid I, with a figh. Why then," said he, "afflict one another? Why should we part? I lead a quiet and folitary life at the village of Fleury, in the vicinity of your farmhoufe; and I have still enough of the ruins of my fortune to make my old age happy; come hither, and partake of my happiness. The deareft object of my cares is a young female orphan, whom I am bringing up, and whom I love with the greatest tenderness; if you partake of her afylum, I fhall have two children instead of one."

"Sir," said I, "your kindnefs wears fuch an appearance of franknefs, that it is incumbent on me to Speak to you without difguife. My ruling paflion is the love of liberty; and I know no man free, but he, who dependent on himself and Nature alone, forces the earth by his labour to afford him food. I am determined to be fuch a man; I am determined to be either the farmer or gardener of Virgil."

"With me," faid he, "you will be both a good farm to manage, and a handfome garden to cultivate; this is what I propofe to you. As to the farming bufinefs, I am as yet but a novice myself, and we will learn it together; but in the cultivation of a garden, I think I do not want leffons from any one." This hope brought me to a decifion; and after taking

leave of the farmer, I followed M. de Nelcour.

"I found at his house a garden that was really in a moft defirable ftate of cultivation, and a little Natalie, nine years old, and as beautiful as the face of day.

"You fee," faid he, "in this amiable child, the greatest comfort of my folitude. She is not indebted to me for life; but the habit of loving one another is become fo natural to us, that the tie of adoption well supplies the place of that of blood. When I married her mother, the widow of M. de Leonval, a captain of grenadiers, killed at the attack of Denain, I adopted this child, whom he had left deftitute, and felt a pride in thus difcharging the debt of my country toward fo brave a man. Natalie already bad fair to be of the most amiable difpofition, and almost as dear to me as her mother; she rendered our union ftill more tender and happy, but my happiness was of fhort duration; and Natalie and myself were foon left to weep, fhe a good mother, and I an excellent wife." My dear," faid the, on her death-bed, "I bequeath you my child; fhe is all I poffefs in the world. Be to her a father and mother." "I promised her I would, and I keep my word; but as I have no longer a fortune to leave the dear girl, I bring her up in all the fimplicity of rural manners and pleasures. This farm fhall be her portion, and this houfe her own."

66

"I do not know what was M. de Nelcour's idea in speaking to me thus; but as for me, from that very moment, I thought I faw fome flight probability in the hope of being one day or other Natalie's husband; and conceived a fondness for her, which paffing through all the degrees of friendship fuited to her age and mine, at laft grew into love, as foon as love was in feafon.

"Beloved myfelf by M. de Nelcour, our labours, our ftudies, our walks, the attention we paid to the education of Natalie, the most pre

cious of our plants, every thing was in common between us. Our days were entirely taken up, and our nights were peaceful. The months and feafons paffed away as swiftly as thought; and M. de Nelcour was for ever telling us, that he had left nothing in the world worthy of his regret. But I had left a father there; and his image was inceffantly before my eyes, reproaching me with being happy out of his fight.

"The interefting and lovely Natalie repaid our cares with a charming docility. Thanks to the active life fhe led in following our example, her fhape, as he grew up, difplayed a thoufand charms; it was as fupple as the fhrubs he had planted; her complexion was as brilliant as the flowers, and as fresh as the fruit her hands had cultivated; and dreffed no better than a common country girl, fometimes with a pruning hook in her hand, and sometimes with a basket on her head, or under her arm, you would have taken her for the goddefs, with whofe gifts fhe was loaded.

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"Farewell study," faid Voltaire, "the garden will engrofs every thing.' Oh no,' replied Cideville, ftudy had its turn; and then it was that the mind of Natalie, her temper, and the fentiments by which she was animated, fhone forth with all their luftre, in a thousand fallies of ingenuous difpofition.'

"Natalie, faid Alexis, " perceived, as well as I, the progrefs a mutual friendship was making in both our breasts; but it was far from giving either of us any uneafinefs. Pleafed at being together, and taken up with each other, the with her charming gaiety, and I with my melancholy, we breathed love as others do air, and enjoyed the fight of each other as others do the light of day, a happy fecurity banishing all idea of danger from our minds. But the time came when M. de Nelcour, more clearfighted and lefs infatuated than we were, durft no longer abandon us to ourfelves on the ftrength of our inno

cence; and when Natalie had completed her fixteenth year, he refolved either to know from me whether I was a fuitable match for her, or to remove me from his house.

"Alexis," faid he, "I think I have waited long enough for your confidence: though due to my friendfhip, and though conftantly withheld, I will not complain. But at your time of life, prudence forbids your longer ftay, unless fanctified by the beft of titles: it is yours to fay whether you have any right to pretend to it."

"Yes, fir, I have that right," faid I; "my birth gives it me, although it is withheld by my ill fortune. I labour under the difgrace of a father, alas! cruelly deceived, and not less to be pitied than I; for he is beset by the enemies of his blood, and it is of his very goodness that they take the advantage. A juft, but a weak man, it is his fecret, alas! rather than my own, that I thought it my duty to conceal from you. I did not name him, because I did not wish to be his, accufer, because I would not reduce you yourself to the cruel neceffity either of giving me up to his anger, or of concealing me from him. Do not then blame this pious filence, which gives me already too much pain. You fhall know who I am, when heaven fhall have reftored to me the indulgence and the affection of a father. Then, if it be not too late, Alexis will lay at the feet of Natalie, at the feet of your amiable child, the fortune his birth will permit him to hope for. Till then, I bid you farewell, with a heart full of regret, gratitude, and affection. Do not forget me, fir; deign ftill to love one who will ever revere you."

My friend," faid he, "it is a fatisfaction to me to know, that your filence proceeded from fo virtuous a fentiment. Woe to the children, whofe complains reveal their father's wrongs. But I thould be guilty of a great one toward you, if I let you leave me, without providing you with a place

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