influenced the mind of a stranger to relieve her diftrefs. She earneftly looked at me, and then, with eyes and hands up-lifted, `I heard her address the Deity, O mon Dieu! with a fervent zeal. Feturning to my apartments, I met Mrs. La Reux, who accofted me in English, hoping we had had a good paffage, &c. I told her of my embarraffment, in not making myself underftood by her fervant, when I folicited the ufe of a parlour, or dining-room. She made many apologies for not having a better than that to which we were conducted, faying that it was not their cuftom to have other or better than the rooms we occupied." In England, (fays fhe,) I know, Sir, that travelling is more pleafing, and the inns much better adapted than with us, for the accommodation of their guefts; but, Sir, we will endeavour to make every thing as agreeable to you as poffible.' After the exchange of many compliments, I afcended to my companions; and whilft they were under the barber's hands, I took my stand again at my window.

Numbers of women were tripping to their mattins, whose drefs ftruck me as fingular. If I had not known to the contrary, I fhould have thought myself in Holland, for they were habited like the people of that country; fhort petticoats, up to their knees, and fo thick about their hips, that you would have fworn they had cork rumps on: no ftays, but fhapes of coarfe woollen, different in colour from their lower garment. Their caps had long and wide pinners, which were fometimes ftuck to the head as lappets, fufpended over their fhoulders like a handkerchief, which ferved either to cover their bofoms, or, I fuppofe, occafionally to wipe their nofes. Their feet were ftuck in flippers, without hind quarters yet they trode firm, and walked nimbly. Their habiliments, though coarfe, were light and clean.-I am now going to view the town on my return fhall refume my letter again.

[To be continued.]

The HISTORY of MARTIUS and ISMENIA.
Written by a LADY.

MA

ARTIUS was a general in the army, and was no less amorous than valiant, and ferved both the powers of love and war with equal fuccefs. After a long courfe of triumphs, he was very near being foiled by a young lady, whose innocence was equal to her beauty, and who, on the first difcovery made of

his inclinations, gave him a rebuff, fuch as he had not been accustomed to be treated with.

In vain he tempted her with all the arts which artful men practice on our too often unwary and believing fex :-in vain he followed her with prefents, promifes, fighs, tears,-made ufe of every argument that love could dictate, or that wit could form; her virtue, like a rock, was impregnable to all affaults from without, and as little capable of being betrayed by any guilty tendernefs within.

Perfecuted, however, with his continual folicitations, in fpite of all the methods fhe could take to put a stop to them in a town, where, being obliged to be often at public places, fhe was fure of always meeting him, fhe took a refolution of going into the country to a maiden aunt, who having but a mall for tune, lived extremely retired; and rather chofe to banish herfelf from all the pleafures of one of the moil agreeable cities in the world, than, by her prefence, give the leaft encouragement to a pation, which, as Martius was a married man, the could not even think of without horror.

Bat let virtue be ever fo induftrious for its prefervation, vice will still be more fo for its deftruction.-Martius found means, by bribing one of his father's fervants, to discover the place to which he was retired, and, borne on the wings of furious defire, immediately pursued her thither; but, not yet determined in his mind how he fhould proceed, concealed his name and quality, and lay privately at an inn near the house which Iímenia (for fo I fhall call her) had made choice of for her afylum.

While he remained thus perdu, he was not idle in the profecation of that defign which had carried him fo great a distance from all his other affairs in life :-he made a strict enquiry concerning the behaviour of Ifmenia, and hearing fhe went but little abroad, except to church, and fometimes to take a little walk in the fields, always accompanied by her aunt, who, they told him, was in narrow circumftances, and alfo extremely covetous; he perceived there would be difficulties in getting into her company, which could no way be furmounted without the affiftance of that very person to whom the had flown for protection.

He therefore prevailed upon the woman of the inn to engage the aunt of Ifmenia to come to her houfe, under the pretence of having got a hurt in her leg, the old lady being, as many of those who live in the country are, a very great doctress.

While the was there, the general came into the room, as if by accident, and eafily found means to ingratiate himself:-the landlady leaving them alone, as had been agreed between them, VOL. III. 57.

he

he let her know his name and quality; and then, having properly prepared her for the declaration, acquainted her with the paffion he had for her lovely niece, expatiated on the length of time he had fuffered by her cruelty, and clofed his fpeech with the offer of a bank note of five hundred pounds for her charitable affiftance in the affair, and the promise of as much more if he fucceeded.

It is not to be doubted but fhe made fome fcruples at firft; but his rhetoric, together with that of the few words which the bit of paper contained, foon filenced all objections, and the became entirely the creature of his will, and concerted with him on the moft proper measures to accomplish it.

Little did poor Ifmenia apprehend the cruel ftratagem that was laid to enfnare her innocence; when the next day this wicked aunt told her that fhe had hired a chaife and pair, and would take her out in the afternoon, and fhew her the country; which as yet, (faid fhe,) my dear niece, you have seen nothing of."

The young lady thought herself highly obliged for this proof of her love and complaifance, and accordingly dreffed herself as foon as dinner was over, in order to go.

The chaife being come, they went together into it, and the coachman had orders to take a pretty large circuit. During this time Ifmenia was very agreeably entertained with the profpect of feveral fine feats, which were fcattered up and down, as well as with the hiftory of thofe who lived in them, related to her by her aunt, who was now in a most excellent humour.

Two or three hours were taken up in this amufement; after which, the aunt said some refreshment would be neceffary, and bad the coachman to ftop at fome place of entertainment, where they might go in.

The fellow, who was before inftructed what he was to do, drove to the gate of a houfe which stood a little out of the road, where they alighted, and went into a room-wine and cakes were called for; but how furprized and terrified was Irmenia, when the faw the man that brought them in was followed by Martius; who, accofting them with a gay air, told them, that happening to be in that part of the country, and calling at this houfe to bait, he had feen them come out of the chaife, and was rejoiced to meet juch good company in a place he fo little expected them.

The fpirits of Ifmenia were in too great a hurry to permit her to make any anfwer to what he faid; but her aunt, who pretended to have been formerly well acquainted with the general, talked to him with a great deal of familiarity, and feemed ex

tremely

tremely pleased with feeing him :-Ifmenia, however, grew more and more uneafy, and would have given the world for a moment's opportunity to let her aunt know the defigns he had upon her, not in the leaft doubting but the old lady would then haften away as foon as decency would permit.

After fome time, fortune favoured her wishes in this point: Martius went out of the room to give fome orders in the house, and was no fooner out of hearing, than fhe difburthened all the fears her innocent breast was full of; on which the treacherous wretch affected fome furprize, and told her that he would have her be perfectly eafy, fince there could be nothing offered offenfive to her modefty while fhe was prefent, and it would not look well to leave a man of his quality, and whom she had known fo long, in an abrupt manner.

Ifmenia was a little fatisfied with the reasons the gave her, and the more fo, as the perceived the general behaved to her with no more than a diftant civility, which the imagined was entirely owing to the restraint he was under on her aunt's account. A handfome collation being ferved up, fhe partook of it with little lefs chearfulness than fhe would have done, had this fo much dreaded lover not been there.

It was now pretty late, yet the durft not prefume to fet limits to her aunt's difcretion; and finding the mentioned nothing of going, thought it would ill become her to remind her of it :is certain they were all extremely gay, and Martius taking an opportunity of drawing them to a window, to admire the beauty of the moon, which was then at her full height, and feemed to dance on a little river which ran oppofite to the houfe, the perfidious aunt flipped out of the room, unperceived by Ifmenia, who at that moment was taken up with the foftnefs of the profpect before her.

It was not, however, long before fhe miffed her, and turned haftily about-fhe looked round the room, and not feeing her, cried, in fome fort of confufion, "Where is my aunt ?" The general made only fome flight anfwer, and was endeavouring to engage her in difcourfe; but her confternation encreafing, the liftened to nothing he faid, but was going to ring the bell for the people of the house to come up, in order to enquire where her aunt was gone:this he prevented her from doing, and plainly told her, that the lady on whom the depended was gone home, and had left her under his protection that night.

Scarce could the give credit to fo fhocking a truth, until fatally convinced of it, by finding fhe did not return, and the change of the general's behaviour :-he treated her, indeed, with no indecent freedoms, but let her know she was in his

power,

power, and that he had taken too much pains for the procurement of this opportunity to let it flip.

It is not in the power of words to exprefs the terror, the con fternation, the agonies of heart, which the poor beguiled Ifmenia now endured the wept, fhe implored, and fometimes had Courage enough to menace this profecutor of her innocence ; but he was as inflexible to all the urged in the defence of her virtue, as she had been to the attacks he made upon it.

At length, whether it were that she had drank more freely than he was a cuftomed, or whether her reason was fo far loft by the hurry her fpirits had fuftained in this furprize, but all her refolution feemed to flag, and fhe confented to go to bed, on his fwearing to her, upon his honour, he would offer nothing to the prejudice of her virtue.

How little he kept his word, the reader's thoughts, I dare fay, will anticipate my relation; but the motive that induced me to prefent them with this story, was to fhew how little honour is to be depended upon when paffion intervenes, and how much the general fpoke the fenfe of all his fex, when Ifmenia reproaching him with his breach of honour, he replied, laughing, "Oh, Madam, we throw honour afide when we come between a pair of sheets."

In fine, love, intereft, ambition, or any other predominant paffion, will render, us forgetful of what is owing to honour or morality, were it not for fomething more than barely knowing what we ought to do; and we should be apt to fay with Abdalla in the play,

"If when a crown and mistress are in place,
"Virtue intrudes with her lean holy face;
"Virtue's then mine, and I not virtue's foe:

Why does the come where the has nought to do?
"Let her with anchorets, not with lovers lie,
"Statesmen and they keep better company."

Since, then, the belief of a future ftate is fo neceffary a guard on our behaviour in the prefent, we ought, methinks, to look on all thofe who attempt to depreciate it, as the pefts of fociety, and common enemies of mankind.

On the other hand, all encouragement ought to be given to whatever may contribute to the ftrengthening our faith in this fo material a point; and bad as fuperftition is reprefented, and really is, it can neither lead us into fo many errors in this world, nor fo much endanger our eternal happiness in the next, as in fidelity.

ON