Imagens das páginas
PDF
ePub

' of those, which ambition persuades us with such difficulty, danger, and often villany to aspire to. The wants of a beggar are commonly as chimerical as the abun'dance of a nobleman; for besides vanity, which a judicious beggar will always apply to with wonderful efficacy, there are in reality very few natures SO ' hardened, as not to compassionate poverty and distress, 'when the predominancy of some other passion doth not เ prevent them.

[ocr errors]

There is one happiness which attends money got with ease, namely, that it is never hoarded; otherwise, as we 'have frequent opportunities of growing rich, that canker care might prey upon our quiet, as it doth on others: ' but our money stock we spend as fast as we acquire it; ' usually at least, for I speak not without exception; thus it gives us mirth only, and no trouble. Indeed, the เ luxury of our lives might introduce diseases, did not our daily exercise prevent them. This gives us an appetite and relish for our dainties, and at the same time an 'antidote against the evil effects, which sloth, united 'with luxury, induces on the habit of a human body. 'Our women we enjoy with ecstacies, at least equal to 'what the greatest men feel in their embraces. I can, 'I am assured, say of myself, that no mortal could reap more perfect happiness from the tender passion than my 'fortune had decreed me. I married a charming young เ woman for love; she was the daughter of a neighbour'ing beggar, who, with an improvidence too often seen, spent a very large income which he procured by his profession, so that he was able to give her no fortune 'down; however, at his death, he left her a very well 'accustomed begging-hut, situated on the side of a steep hill, where travellers could not immediately escape from us, and a garden adjoining, being the twenty-eighth เ part of an acre, well planted. She made the best of

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

' wives, bore me nineteen children, and never failed, 'unless on her lying-in, which generally lasted three days, to get my supper ready, against my return home ' in an evening; this being my favourite meal, and at 'which I as well as my whole family, greatly enjoyed ' ourselves; the principal subject of our discourse being 'generally the boons we had that day obtained, on which 'occasions laughing at the folly of the donors made no 'inconsiderable part of the entertainment; for, whatever might be their motive for giving, we constantly imputed our success to our having flattered their vanity, or overreached their understanding.

[ocr errors]

'But perhaps I have dwelt too long on this character; 'I shall conclude therefore with telling you, that after a 'life of 102 years continuance, during all which I had เ never known any sickness or infirmity, but that which 'old age necessarily induced, I at last, without the least pain, went out like the snuff of a candle.

Minos, having heard my history, bid me compute, if 'I could, how many lies I had told in my life. As we เ are here, by a certain fated necessity, obliged to confine 'ourselves to the truth, I answered, I believed about เ 50,000,000. He then replied with a frown, Can such a wretch conceive any hopes of entering Elysium? I immediately turned about, and, upon the whole, was ' rejoiced at his not calling me back.'

CHAPTER XX.

Julian performs the part of a Statesman.

It was now my fortune to be born of a German Princess; 'but a man-midwife pulling my head off, in delivering

my mother, put a speedy end to my princely life.

Spirits, who end their lives before they are at the age ' of five years, are immediately ordered into other bodies; ' and it was now my fortune to perform several infancies 'before I could again entitle myself to an examination of 'Minos.

'At length I was destined once more to play a con'siderable part on the stage. I was born in England, in 'the reign of Etheldred II. My father's name was 'Ulnoth. He was Earl or Thane of Sussex: I was 'afterwards known by the name of Earl Godwin, and เ began to make a considerable figure in the world, in the time of Harold Harefoot, whom I procured to 'be made King of Wessex, or the West Saxons, in pre'judice of Hardicanute, whose mother Emma endeavoured 'afterwards to set another of her sons on the throne: but 'I circumvented her, and communicating her design to 'the king, at the same time acquainted him with a project 'which I had formed for the murder of these two young princes. Emma had sent for these her sons from Nor'mandy, with the king's leave, whom she had deceived by her religious behaviour, and pretended neglect of all worldly affairs; but I prevailed with Harold to invite 'these princes to his court, and put them to death. The prudent mother sent only Alfred, retaining Edward to 'herself, as she suspected my ill designs, and thought 'I should not venture to execute them on one of her sons, 'while she secured the other; but she was deceived, for 'I had no sooner Alfred in my possession, than I caused ' him to be conducted to Ely, where I ordered his eyes to be put out, and afterwards to be confined in a monastery.

This was one of those cruel expedients which great men satisfy themselves well in executing, by concluding 'them to be necessary to the service of their prince, who 'is the support of their ambition.

[ocr errors]

Edward, the other son of Emma, escaped again to

[ocr errors]

me,

Normandy; whence, after the death of Harold and 'Hardicanute, he made no scruple of applying to my ' protection and favour, though he had before prosecuted with all the vengeance he was able, for the murder of his brother: but in all great affairs private relation must yield to public interest. Having therefore concluded very advantageous terms for myself with him, I made no scruple of patronising his cause, and soon placed him on the throne. Nor did I conceive the least appre'hension from his resentment, as I knew my power was 'too great for him to encounter.

.

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

Among other stipulated conditions, one was to marry my daughter Editha. This Edward consented to with great reluctance, and I had afterwards no reason to be pleased with it; for it raised her, who had been my favourite child, to such an opinion of greatness, that, instead of paying me the usual respect, she frequently threw in my teeth (as often at least as I gave 'admonition), that she was now a queen, and that the character and title of father merged in that of subject. This behaviour, however, did not cure me of my affection towards her, nor lessen the uneasiness which I ' afterwards bore on Edward's dismissing her from his bed.

her any

'One thing, which principally induced me to labour 'the promotion of Edward, was the simplicity or weak'ness of that prince, under whom I promised myself ' absolute dominion, under another name. Nor did this 'opinion deceive me: for during his whole reign my administration was in the highest degree despotic: I ' had every thing of royalty but the outward ensigns: no man ever applying for a place, or any kind of preferment, but to me only. A circumstance, which as it greatly enriched my coffers, so it no less pampered my 'ambition, and satisfied my vanity with a numerous

VOL. IV.

FF

'attendance; and I had the pleasure of seeing those, who 'only bowed to the king, prostrating themselves before

'me.

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

'Edward the Confessor, or St. Edward, as some have 'called him in derision, I suppose being a very silly fellow, had all the faults incident, and almost in'separable to fools. He married my daughter Editha, 'from his fear of disobliging me; and afterwards, out of ' hatred to me, refused even to consummate his marriage, though she was one of the most beautiful women of her age. He was likewise guilty of the basest ingratitude 'to his mother (a vice to which fools are chiefly, if not only liable), and in return for her endeavours to procure ' him a throne in his youth, confined her in a loathsome 'prison in her old age. This, it is true, he did by my advice: but as to her walking over nine ploughshares 'red-hot, and giving nine manors, when she had not one ' in her possession, there is not a syllable of veracity ' in it.

The first great perplexity I fell into, was on the account of my son Swane, who had deflowered the 'Abbess of Leon, since called Leominster in Herefordเ shire. After this fact, he retired into Denmark, whence 'he sent to me to obtain his pardon. The king at first 'refused it; being moved thereto, as I afterwards found, by some churchmen, particularly by one of his chap'lains, whom I had prevented from obtaining a bishopric. Upon this, my son Swane invaded the coasts with 'several ships, and committed many outrageous cruelties; which, indeed, did his business, as they served me to apply to this fear of this king, which I had long since 'discovered to be his predominant passion. And, at last, he, who had refused pardon to his first offence, 'submitted to give it him after he had committed many other more monstrous crimes; by which his pardon

[ocr errors]

[ocr errors]
« AnteriorContinuar »