i OGEF^Q} i"i'i'l \si mm A A = — i— _ AI o m o m PH J o | S_i Z 3 = ■^■^_ L - 6 g - ^ 8 m ^^^ m m 5 = 5 1 = ™ - C J H BB M ■— -< 3 " 1 ^ <> ""TV ^ \/Alllm:/„/C'- '.:.,.„ %-*K 'V.«- Olfc, pM**fc, Illustrated . THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES K '<^^\ y.i %fe t Illustrated by Hugh ^Thomson. : il &Mii!i ' i y ate J?a. i%^ 5£ Q\/£rt'Ey: Days "with Sik Roger %> y mfyk^i^ffM i re print the mS^c, i wm,* rom Y Cpectator. London : MACMILLAN & CO AND NEW YORK. 1886. Richard Clay and Suns, London and Bungay. r iv CONTENTS. I'AGR sir Roger's family i MR. WILLIAM WIMBLE IO THE PICTURE GALLERY 19 A COUNTRY SUNDAY 30 THE WIDOW 38 THE CHASE 50 THE COUNTY ASSIZES 63 THE SPECTATOR'S RETURN TO TOWN 74 679258 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE dancing "sir Roger de coverley. " Frontispiece VIGNETTE i headpiece : sir roger's family i "i have observed them stealing a sight of me over an hedge." 3 the gray pad 5 sir roger arrives at the house 6 the village court of assize 7 sir Roger's chaplain • . 8 headpiece: mr. will wimble • . . . . io sir roger on the bowling green 12 will wimble in the hunting field 13 will wimble with the puppies' 15 the story of the garters 1 6 how the jack was caught 17 headpiece : the picture gallery 19 "dressed after this manner." 20 sir Roger's ancestor at the turnament 22 " knocked down two deer-stealers in carrying her off " 24 sir roger's ancestor invents a new mode of making love 26 "the day before the battle of worcester." 28 tailpiece : the picture gallery 29 headpiece : a country sunday 3° the weekly instruction in the tunes of the psalms 31 sir roger stands up to count the congregation 3 2 john matthews 33 sir roger and his tenants 34 catechizing day 3<> the squire of the next parish 37 headpiece: the widow 3& LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE THE GROVE SACRED TO THE WIDOW 40 'THE KIND LOOKS AND GLANCES." 41 "SHE CAST HER BEWITCHING EYE UPON ME." 42 "WITH SUCH AN AWE AS MADE ME SPEECHLESS." 45 "HAS DIRECTED A DISCOURSE TO ME WHICH I DO NOT UNDERSTAND."' 47 "I AM, MY LOVELY N.EVIA, EVER THINE." 49 HEADPIECE : THE CHASE 50 THE GRAY STONE-HORSE • 52 "THE MOST EXCELLENT BASE." 53 "HAPPY IF THEY COULD OPEN A GATE." 55 "IF PUSS WAS GONE THAT WAY?" • 57 "'TWAS A WONDER THEY HAD NOT LOST ALL THEIR SPORT." 58 "AN OLD HOUND OF REPUTATION." 59 A NOTED LIAR 59 "WITH ALL THE GAIETY OF FIVE AND TWENTY." 60 TAILPIECE: THE CHASE 62 HEADPIECE : THE COUNTY ASSIZES • 6$ SIR ROGER TAKES US TO THE ASSIZES 64 "THE TWO PLAIN MEN WHO RID BEFORE US " 65 AN HONEST YEOMAN 65 TOM TOUCHY 66 WILL WIMBLE 67 THE WIDOW CONSULTS HER LAWYER ANENT TOM TOUCHY 68 "A GENERAL WHISPER RAN THROUGH THE COUNTRY PEOPLE THAT SIR ROGER WAS UP " 69 * WE STOPPED AT A LITTLE INN TO REST OURSELVES AND OUR HORSES." 70 INSPECTING " HIS HONOUR'S HEAD WITH THE ALTERATIONS HE HAD ORDERED TO BE MADE IN IT." 71 MUCH "MIGHT" BE SAID ON BOTH SIDES 72 HEADPIECE : THE SPECTATOR'S RETURN TO TOWN 74 FAREWELL .... 75 OUR SETTING OUT 77 "YOU SEE ME, MADAM, YOUNG, SOUND, AND IMPUDENT" 78 " OUR RECKONINGS FELL UNDER EPHRAIM " 80 THE SPECTATOR IN TOWN 82 0r%tL AVING often received an invitation from my friend Sir Roger de Coverlev to pass away month with him in the country, I last week accompanied him thither, and am settled with him for some time at his country-house, where I intend to form several of my ensuing Speculations. Sir Roger, who is very well acquainted with my humour, lets me rise and go to bed when I please, dine at his own table or in my chamber as I think fit, sit still and say nothing without bidding me be merry. When the gentlemen of the country come to see him, he only shews me at a distance : As I have been walking in his fields I have observed them stealing a sight of me over an hedge and have heard the Knight desiring them not to let me see them, for that I hated to be stared at. B SIR ROGER'S FAMILY. I am the more at ease in Sir Roger's family, because it consists of sober and staid persons ; for as the Knight is the best master in the world, he seldom changes his servants ; and as he is beloved by all about him, his servants never care for leaving him ; by this means his domesticks are all in years, and orown old with their master. You would take his valet de chambre o for his brother, his butler is gray-headed, his groom is one of the gravest men that I have ever seen, and his coachman has the looks of a privy-counsellor. You see the goodness of the master even in the old house-dog, and in a gray pad that is kept in the stable with great care and tenderness out of regard to his past services, tho' he has been useless for several vears. I could not but observe with a great deal of pleasure the joy that appeared in the countenance of these ancient domesticks upon my friend's arrival at his country seat. Some of them could not refrain from tears at the sight of their old master ; every one of them press'd forward to do something for him, and seemed discouraged if they were not employed. At the same time the good old Knight, with a mixture of the father and the master of the family, tempered the enquiries after his own affairs with several kind questions relating to themselves. This humanity and good-nature engages every body to him, so that when he is pleasant upon any of them, all his family are in good humour, and none so much as the person whom he diverts himself with : On the contrary, if he coughs, or betrays SIR ROGER'S FAMILY any infirmity of old age, it is easy for a stander-by to observe a secret concern in the looks of all his servants. IIIM 'I L-'I 4 Tff i>< ■.("•..,*' few i > 1'. l»r- r; !i "i(VB«2i^-i J 4 ' - ■ ■ ' " I HAVE OBSERVED THEM STEALING A SIGHT OF ME OVER AN HEDGE." My worthy friend has put me under the particular care of his butler, who is a very prudent man, and, as well as the rest of his fellow-servants, wonderfully desirous of pleasing me, because they have often heard their master talk of me as of his particular friend. SIR ROGER'S FAMILY. My chief companion, when Sir Roger is diverting himself in the woods or the fields, is a very venerable man who is ever with Sir Roger, and has lived at his house in the nature of a chaplain above thirty years. This gentleman is a person of good sense and some learning, of a very regular life and obliging conversation : He heartily loves Sir Roger, and knows that he is very much in the old Knight's esteem, so that he lives in the family rather as a relation than a dependent. I have observed in several of my papers, that my friend Sir Roger, amidst all his good qualities, is something of an humorist ; and that his virtues, as well as imperfections, are as it were tinged by a certain extravagance, which makes them particularly his, and distinguishes them from those of other men. This cast of mind, as it is generally very innocent in itself, so it renders his conversation highly agreeable, and more delightful than the same degree of sense and virtue would appear in their common and ordinary colours. As I was walking with him last night, he asked me how I liked the good man whom I have just now mentioned ? and without staying for my answer told me, That he was afraid of being insulted with Latin and Greek at his own table ; for which reason he desired a particular friend of his at the University to find him out a clergyman rather of plain sense than much learning, of a good aspect, a clear voice, a sociable temper, and, if possible, a man that understood a little of back-gammon. My friend, says Sir Roger, found me out this gentleman, who, besides the endowments required of him, SIR ROGER'S FAMILY. is, they tell me, a good scholar, tho' he does not shew it : I have given him the parsonage of the parish ; and because I THE GRAY FAD. know his value, have settled upon him a good annuity for life. If he outlives me, he shall find that he was higher in my esteem than perhaps he thinks he is. He has now been with me SIR ROGER'S FAMILY. thirty years ; and tho' he does not know I have taken notice of it, has never in all that time asked any thing of me for himself, tho' he is every day soliciting me for some thing in behalf of SIR ROGER ARRIVES AT THE HOUSE. one or other of my tenants his parishioners. There has not been a law-suit in the parish since he has liv'd among them : If any dispute arises they apply themselves to him for the decision ; if they do not acquiesce in his judgment, which I think never happened above once or twice at most, they appeal SIR ROGER'S FAMILY. to me. At his first settling with me, I made him a present of all the good sermons which have been printed in English, and only begg'd of him that every Sunday he would pronounce one of them in the pulpit. Accordingly, he has digested them THE VILLAGE COURT OF ASSIZE. into such a series, that they follow one another naturally, and make a continued system of practical divinity. As Sir Roger was going on in his story, the gentleman we were talking of came up to us ; and upon the Knight's asking him who preached to-morrow (for it was Saturday night) told us, the Bishop of St. Asaph in the morning, and Dr. South SIR ROGER'S FAMILY. in the afternoon. He then shewed us his list of preachers for the whole year, where I saw with a great deal of pleasure Archbishop Tillotson, Bishop Saunderson, Dr. Barroiv, Dr. Calamy, with several living authors who have published discourses of ft) f!f||| /"ajfej of 'Jam ^ r , » > YVorce$0?rr servant, that this his ancestor was a brave man, and narrowly escaped being killed in the civil wars ; " For," said he, " he was sent out of the field upon a private message, the day before THE PICTURE GALLERY 29 the battle of Worcester." The whim of narrowly escaping by having been within a day of danger, with other matters above mentioned, mixed with good sense, left me at a loss whether I was more delighted with my friend's wisdom or simplicity. always very well pleased with a country Sunday, and think, if keeping holy the seventh day were only a human institution, it would fLU^i be the best method that could have been -W'Z'^ 9m thought of for the polishing and civilizing of mankind. It is certain the country people would soon degenerate into a kind of savages and barbarians, were there not such frequent returns of a stated time, in which the whole village meet together with their best faces, and in their cleanliest habits, to converse with one another upon in- different subjects, hear their duties explained to them, and join together in adoration of the Supreme Being. Sunday clears away the rust of the whole week, not only as it refreshes in their minds the notions of religion, but as it puts both the sexes upon appearing in their most agreeable forms, and exerting A COUNTRY SUNDAY. all such qualities as are apt to give them a figure in the eye of the village. A country-fellow distinguishes himself as much in the Church-yard, as a citizen does upon the Change, the whole parish-politicks being generally discussed in that place either after sermon or before the bell rings. .']Tie W&e?y|iljtract1oTi-i)ithe[uTiey of thzpbknj My friend Sir Roger, being a good churchman, has beautified the inside of his church with several texts of his own choosing : He has likewise given a handsome pulpit-cloth, and railed in the communion-table at his own expense. He has often told me. that at his coming to his estate he found A COUNTRY SUNDAY. his parishioners very irregular ; and that in order to make them kneel and join in their responses, he gave every one of them a hassock and a common-prayer-book : and at the same time employed an itinerant .singing-master, who goes about SIR ROGER STANDS UP TO COtJNT THE CONGREGATION. the country for that purpose, to instruct them rightly in the tunes of the psalms ; upon which they now very much value themselves, and indeed outdo must of the country churches that I have ever heard. A COUNTRY SUNDAY 35 As Sir Roger is landlord to the whole consreo-ation, ne keeps them in very good order, and will suffer no body to sleep in it besides himself; for if by chance he has been surprised into a short nap at sermon, upon recovering out of it he stands up and looks about him, and if he sees any body else nodding, either wakes them himself, or sends his servants —-, S MATTHEWS. to them. Several other of the old Knight's particularities break out upon these *■■ occasions : Sometimes he will be lenQ-theninq- out a verse in the sin^in^. psalms, half a minute after the rest of the congregation have done with it ; sometimes, when he is pleased with the matter of his devotion, he pronounces Amen three or four times to the same prayer : and someti: stands up when every body else is upon their k to count the conoreoation, or see if any of his tenants are missing. F 34 A COUNTRY SUNDAY. SIR ROGER AND HIS TENANTS. I was yesterday very much surprised to hear my old friend, in the midst of the service, calling out to one John Matthews A COUNTRY SUNDAY. 35 to mind what he was about, and not disturb the congregation. This John Matthews it seems is remarkable for being an idle fellow, and at that time was kicking his heels for his diversion. This authority of the Knight, though exerted in that odd manner which accompanies him in all circumstances of life, has a very good effect upon the parish, who are not polite enough to see any thing ridiculous in his behaviour ; besides that the general eood sense and worthiness of his character makes his friends observe these little singularities as foils that rather set off than blemish his good qualities. As soon as the sermon is finished, no body presumes to stir till Sir Roger is gone out of the church. The Knight walks down from his seat in the chancel between a double row of his tenants, that stand bowing to him on each side ; and every now and then enquires how such an one's wife, or mother, or son, or father do, whom he does not see at church ; which is understood as a secret reprimand to the person that is absent. The chaplain has often told me, that upon a catechising- day, when Sir Roger has been pleased with a boy that answers well, he has ordered a Bible to be given him next day for his encouragement ; and sometimes accompanies it with a Hitch of bacon to his mother. Sir Roger has likewise added five pounds a year to the clerk's place ; and that he may encourage the young fellows to make themselves perfect in the church service, has promised upon the death of the present incumbent, who is very old, to bestow it according to merit. A COUNTRY SUNDAY The fair understanding between Sir Roger and his chap- lain, and their mutual concurrence in doing good, is the more remarkable, because the very next village is famous for the differences and contentions that rise between the parson and the 0?>£ez\x\pnq ctey 'squire, who live in a perpetual state of war. The parson is always preaching at the 'squire, and the 'squire to be revenged on the parson never comes to church. The 'squire has made all his tenants atheists and tithe-stealers ; while the parson instructs A COUNTRY SUNDAY. 51 them every Sunday in the dignity of his order, and insinuates to them in almost every sermon, that he is a better man than his patron. In short, matters are come to such an extremity, ■ _ * that the 'squire has not said his prayers either in publick or private ...^1 this half year ; and that the parson threatens him, if he does not mend his manners, to pray $j for him in the face of the jS^J^ whole Conor-relation. Feuds of this nature, though too frequent in the country, are very fatal to the ordinary people ; who are so used to be dazzled with riches, that they pay as much deference to the under- standing of a man of an estate, as of a man of learning ; and are very hardly brought to regard any truth, how important soever it may be, that is preached to them, when they know there are several men of five hundred a year who do not believe it. ii ^0"= 1 i^T'- rife ^<&fcv ■r; -fi* > .' t. . JUS. ';«■ m IN my first description of the company in which I pass most of my time, it may be remembered that I mentioned a great affliction which my friend Sir Roger had met with in his youth ; which was no less than a disappointment in love. It happened this evening that we fell into a very pleasing walk at a distance from his house : As soon as we came into it, " It is," quoth the good old man, looking round him with a smile, "very hard, that any part of my land should be settled THE WIDOW. 39 upon one who has used me so ill as the perverse widow did ; and yet I am sure I could not see a sprig of any bough of this whole walk of trees, but I should reflect upon her and her severity. She has certainly the finest hand of any woman in the world. You are to know this was the place wherein I used to muss upon her ; and by that custom I can never come into it, but the same tender sentiments revive in my mind, as if I had actually walked with that beautiful creature under these shades. I have been fool enough to carve her name on the bark of several of these trees ; so unhappy is the condition of men in love, to attempt the removing of their passions by the methods which serve only to imprint it deeper. She has certainly the finest hand of any woman in the world." Here followed- a profound silence ; and I was not displeased to observe my friend falling so naturally into a discourse, which I had ever before taken notice he industriously avoided. After a very long pause he entered upon an account of this great circumstance in his life, with an air which I thought raised my idea of him above what I had ever had before ; and gave me the picture of that chearful mind of his, before it received that stroke which has ever since affected his words and actions. But he went on as follows : " I came to my estate in my twenty-second year, and resolved to follow the steps of the most worthy of my ancestors who have inhabited this spot of earth before me, in all the 4° THE WIDOW. . I % 'i ^f| e (3)ro^e la fheAA-idovvf methods of hospitality and good neighbourhood, for the sake of my fame ; and in country sports and recreations, for the THE WIDOW. 4i sake of my health. In my twenty-third year I was obliged to serve as sheriff of the county ; and in my ser- vants, officers and whole equipage, indulged the pleasure of a young man (who did not think ill of his own person) in taking that public occasion of shewing my figure and behaviour to advantage. You I may easily imagine to yourself what appearance I made, who am pretty tall, rid well, and was very well dressed, at the head of a whole countv, with musick before me, a feather in my hat, and my hoi G 42 THE WIDOW. well bitted. I can assure you I was not a little pleased with the kind looks and glances I had from all the balconies and windows as I rode to the hall where the assizes were held. But when I came there, a beautiful creature in a widow's habit sat in Shp cajt Jie-r'temckn^Eye upgi me court, to hear the event of a cause concerning her dower. This commanding creature (who was born for destruction of all who behold her) put on such a resignation in her countenance, and bore the whispers of all around the court with such a pretty uneasiness, I warrant you, and then recovered herself from one THE WIDOW. 43 eye to another, till she was perfectly confused by meeting something so wistful in all she encountered, that at last, with a murrain to her, she cast her bewitching eye upon me. I no sooner met it, but I bowed like a great surprised booby ; and knowing her cause to be the first which came on, I cried, like a captivated calf as I was, ' Make way for the defendant's witnesses.' This sudden partiality made all the county see the sheriff also was become a slave to the fine widow. During the time her cause was upon trial, she behaved herself, I warrant you, with such a deep attention to her business, took opportunities to have little billets handed to her counsel, then would be in such a pretty confusion, occasioned, you must know, by acting before so much company, that not only I but the whole court was prejudiced in her favour; and all that the next heir to her husband had to urge, was thought so groundless and frivolous, that when it came to her counsel to reply, there was not half so much said as every one besides in the court thought he could have urged to her advantage. You must understand, Sir, this perverse woman is one of those unaccountable creatures, that secretly rejoice in the admiration of men, but indulge themselves in no farther consequences. Hence it is that she has ever had a train of admirers, and she removes from her slaves in town to those in the country, according to the seasons of the year. She is a reading lady, and far gone in the pleasures of friendship : She is always accompanied by a confident, who is witness to her daily protestations against our sex. and 44 THE WIDOW. consequently a bar to her first steps towards love, upon the strength of her own maxims and declarations. " However, I must needs say this accomplished mistress of mine has distinguished me above the rest, and has been known to declare Sir Roger de Coverlev was the tamest and most humane of all the brutes in the country. I was told she said so, by one who thought he rallied me ; but upon the strength of this slender encouragement of being thought least detestable, I made new liveries, new-pair'd my coach-horses, sent them all to town to be bitted and tausrht to throw their legs well, and move all together, before I pretended to cross the country, and wait upon her. As soon as I thought my retinue suitable to the character of my fortune and youth, I set out from hence to make my addresses. The particular skill of this lady has ever been to inflame your wishes, and yet command respect. To make her mistress of this art, she has a greater share of knowledge, wit, and good sense, than is usual even among men of merit. Then she is beautiful beyond the race of women. If vou won't let her qo on with a certain J o artifice with her eyes, and the skill of beauty, she will arm herself with her real charms, and strike you with admiration instead of desire. It is certain that if you were to behold the whole woman, there is that dignity in her aspect, that composure in her motion, that complacency in her manner, that if her form makes you hope, her merit makes you fear. But then again, she is such a desperate scholar, that no THE WIDOW. 45 country-gentleman can approach her without being a jest. As I was going to tell you, when I came to her house I was admitted to her presence with great civility ; at the same time z©;tk. JpePchly she placed herself to be first seen by me in such an attitude, as I think you call the posture of a picture, that she dis- covered new charms, and I at last came towards her with 4 6 THE WIDOW. such an awe as made me speechless. This she no sooner observed but she made her advantage of it, and began a discourse to me concerning love and honour, as they both are followed by pretenders and the real votaries to them. When she discussed these points in a discourse, which I verily believe was as learned as the best philosopher in Europe could possibly make, she asked me whether she was so happy as to fall in with my sentiments on these important particulars. Her confident sat by her, and upon my being in the last confusion and silence, this malicious aid of hers turning to her says, ' I am very glad to observe Sir Roger pauses upon this subject, and seems resolved to deliver all his sentiments upon the matter when he pleases to speak.' They both kept their countenances, and after I had sat half an hour meditating how to behave before such profound casuists, I rose up and took my leave. Chance has since that time thrown me very often in her way, and she as often has directed a discourse to me which I do not understand. This barbarity has kept me ever at a distance from the most beautiful object my eyes ever beheld. It is thus also she deals with all mankind, and you must make love to her, as you would conquer the sphinx, by posing her. But were she like other women, and that there were any talking to her, how constant must the pleasure of that man be, who could converse with the creature — But, after all, you may be sure her heart is fixed on some one or other; and yet I have been credibly inform'd; but who THE WIDOW. 47 can believe half that is said ? After she had done speaking to me, she put her hand to her bosom and adjusted her ^! i"l !l g-ilifc"-..... v.. -_> 1^ S c]irecLed ^ DiycourJ? f° m e wh.icl\, I do no t UTicLerjt^ncL tucker. Then she cast her eyes a little down, upon my beholding her too earnestly. They say she sings excellently : her voice in her ordinary speech has something in it 4 8 THE WIDOW. inexpressibly sweet. You must know I dined with her at a publick table the day after I first saw her, and she helped me to some tansy in the eye of all the gentlemen in the country. She has certainly the finest hand of any woman in the world. I can assure you, Sir, were you to behold her, you would be in the same condition ; for as her speech is musick, her form is angelick. But I find I grow irregular while I am talking of her ; but indeed it would be stupidity to be unconcerned at such perfection. Oh the excellent creature ! she is as inimitable to all women, as she is inac- cessible to all men." I found my friend begin to rave, and insensibly led him towards the house, that we might be joined by some other company ; and am convinced that the widow is the secret cause of all that inconsistency which appears in some parts of my friend's discourse ; tho' he has so much command of himself as not directly to mention her, yet according to that of Martial, which one knows not how to render into English, Dum facet hanc loquitur. I shall end this paper with that whole epigram, which represents with much humour my honest friend's condition. Quicquid agit Rufus, nihil est, nisi Ncevia Ruff, Si gaudet, si fict, si facet, hanc loquitur: Cceuat, propinat, poscet, negat, annuit, una est Ncevia ; si non sit Ncevia, mitt us crit. Scriberet hesterna patri cum luce salutem, Ncevia lux, inquit, Ncevia nuinen, ave. Epig. 69, I. 1. THE WIDOW. 49 Let Rufus weep, rejoice, stand, sit, or walk, Still he can nothing but of Noevia talk ; Let him eat, drink, ask questions, or dispute, Still he must speak of Nezvz'a, or be mute. He writ to his father, ending with this line, " I am, my lovely Ncevia, ever thine." I AM, MY LOVELY X.LVIA, LVKR THINE." II I Wf& who have searched into human nature, *j3i^P t -^ observe that nothing- so much shews the l§§53i§§Hi^J nobleness of the soul as that its felicity consists in action. Every man has such an active principle in him, that he will find out something to employ himself upon, in whatever place or state of life he is posted. I have heard of a gentleman who was under close confinement in the Bastilc seven years ; during which time he amused himself in scattering a few small pins about his chamber, gathering them up again, and placing them in different figures on the arm of a great chair. He often told his friends afterwards, THE CHASE. 51 that unless he had found out this piece of exercise, he verily believed he should have lost his senses. After what has been said, I need not inform my readers that Sir Roger, with whose character I hope they are at present pretty well acquainted, has in his youth gone through the whole course of those rural diversions which the country abounds in ; and which seem to be extremely well suited to that laborious industry a man may observe here in a far greater degree than in towns and cities. I have before hinted at some of my friend's exploits : He has in his youthful days taken forty coveys of partridges in a season ; and tired many a salmon with a line consisting but of a single hair. The constant thanks and good wishes of the neighbourhood always attended him, on account of his remarkable enmity towards foxes ; having destroyed more of those vermin in one year, than it was thought the whole country could have produced. Indeed the Knight does not scruple to own among his most intimate friends, that in order to establish his reputation this way, he has secretly sent for great numbers of them out of other counties, which he used to turn loose about the country by night, that he might the better signalize himself in their destruction the next day. His hunting horses were the finest and best managed in all these parts : His tenants are still full of the praises of a grey stone-horse that unhappily staked himself several years since, and was buried with great solemnity in the orchard. 52 THE CHASE. Sir Roger, being at present too old for fox-hunting, to keep himself in action, has disposed of his beagles, and got a 1 ^ / pack of Stop-Hounds. What these want in speed, he endeavours to make amends for by the deepness of their mouths and the THE CHASE. 53 variety of their notes, which are suited in such manner to each /M^t excellent other, that the whole cry makes up a complete concert. He is so nice in this particular, that a gentleman having made him 54 THE CHASE. a present of a very fine hound the other day, the Knight returned it by the servant with a great many expressions of civility ; but desired him to tell his master, that the dog he had sent was indeed a most excellent Bass, but that at present he only wanted a Counter-Tenor. Could I believe my friend had ever read Shakespeare, I should certainly conclude he had taken the hint from Theseus in the Midsummer Nights Dream. My hounds are bred out of the Spartan kind, So Jtu'd, so sanded J and their heads are hung With ears that sweep away the morning dew. Crook-knee 'd and dew-lap\i like Thessalian bulls, Slow in pursuit, but matcKd in mouths like bells, Each tinder each ; A cry more tuneable Was never holldd to, nor chear'd with horn. Sir Roger is so keen at this sport, that he has been out almost every day since I came down ; and upon the chaplain's offering to lend me his easy pad, I was prevailed on yesterday morning to make one of the company. I was extremely pleased, as we rid along, to observe the general benevolence of all the neighbourhood towards my friend. The farmers' sons thought themselves happy if they could open a gate for the good old Knight as he passed by ; which he generally requited with a nod or a smile, and a kind of enquiry after their fathers and uncles. After we had rid about a mile from home, we came upon a large heath, and the sportsmen began to beat. They had done so for some time, when, as I was at a little distance from the THE CHASE. 55 rest of the company, I saw a hare pop out from a small furze-brake almost under my horse's feet. I marked the way she took, which I endeavoured J ^ Could open < to make the company sensible of by extending my arm ; but to no purpose, till Sir Roger, who 5 6 THE CHASE. knows that none of my extraordinary motions are insignificant, rode up to me, and asked me if puss was gone that way ? Upon my answering Yes, he immediately called in the dogs, and put them upon the scent. As they were going off, I heard one of the country-fellows muttering to his companion, That 'twas a wonder they had not lost all their sport, for zoant of the silent gentleman's crying Stole away. This, with my aversion to leaping hedges, made me withdraw to a rising ground, from whence I could have the pleasure of the whole chase, without the fatigue of keeping in with the hounds. The hare immediately threw them above a mile behind her ; but I was pleased to find, that instead of running straight forwards, or, in hunter's language, Flying the country, as I was afraid she might have done, she wheel'd about, and described a sort of circle round the hill where I had taken my station, in such manner as gave me a very distinct view of the sport. I could see her first pass by, and the doq-s some time afterwards unravelling the whole track she had made, and following her thro' all her doubles. I was at the same time delighted in observing that deference which the rest of the pack paid to each particular hound, according to the character he had acquired amongst them : If they were at a fault, and an old hound of reputation opened but once, he was immediately followed by the whole cry ; while a raw dog or one who was a noted Liar, might have yelped his heart out, without being taken notice of. THE CHASE. The hare now, after having squatted two or three times, and been put up again as often, came still nearer to the place where she was at first started. The dogs pursued her, and these were followed by the jolly Knight, who rode upon a wa^oT^ttofr^y'' white gelding, encompassed by his tenants and servants, and chearing his hounds with all the gaiety of five and twenty. One of the sportsmen rode up to me, and told me, that he was sure the chase was almost at an end, because the old i 58 THE CHASE. dogs, which had hitherto lain behind, now headed the pack. The fellow was in the right. Our hare took a large field just under us, followed by the full cry in view. I must confess the brightness of the weather, the chearfulness of every thing around me, the chiding of the hounds, which was returned upon us in a double echo from two neighbouring hills, with the hollowing of the sportsmen, and the sounding of the horn, lilted my spirits into a most lively pleasure, which I freely indulg-ed because I was sure it was innocent. If I was under any concern, it was on the ac- count of the poor hare, that was now quite spent and almost within the reach of her ene- •fir mies ; when the huntsman getting forward threw down his pole before the dogs. They w T ere now within eight yards of that game which they had been pursuing for almost as many hours ; yet on the signal before mentioned they all made a sudden stand, and tho' they continued opening as much as before, durst not once attempt to pass beyond the pole. At the same time Sir Roger rode forward, and alighting, took up the hare THE CHASE. 59 in his arms ; which he servants, with an or- der, if she could be kept alive, to let her go in his great orchard ; where it jfc soon delivered up to one of his I j$te \K"\^-4i ." seems he has /iff^^M^i <| , ,,|^#^ several of these ^^WIW§0'^ prisoners of war, who live together in a very comfortable captivity. I was highly pleased to see the disci- pline of the pack, and the good-nature of the ../-//.*, Knight, who could not find in his 6o THE CHASE. heart to murder a creature that had given him so much diversion. As we were returning home, I remembered that Monsieur Paschal, in his most excellent discourse on the misery of man, tells us, that all our endeavours after 'W^i greatness proceed from nothing but a desire of being surrounded by a multitude of persons and affairs that may hinder us from looking into ourselves, which is a view we cannot THE CHASE. 6r bear. He afterwards goes on to shew that our love of sports comes from the same reason, and is particularly severe upon hunting. What, says he, unless it be to drown thought, can make men throw away so much time and pains upon a silly animal, which they might buy cheaper in the market f The foregoing reflection is certainly just, when a man suffers his whole mind to be drawn into his sports, and altogether loses himself in the woods ; but does not affect those who propose a far more laudable end for this exercise, I mean, The preservation of health, and keeping all the organs of the soul in a condition to execute her orders. Had that incomparable person, whom I last quoted, been a little more indulgent to himself in this point, the world might probably have enjoyed him much longer ; whereas thro' too great an application to his studies in his youth, he contracted that ill habit of body, which, after a tedious sickness, carried him off in the fortieth year of his age ; and the whole history we have of his life till that time, is but one continued account of the behaviour of a noble soul struggling under innumerable pains and distempers. For my own part I intend to hunt twice a week during my stay with Sir Roger ; and shall prescribe the moderate use of this exercise to all my country friends as the best kind of physick for mending a bad constitution, and preserving a good one. I cannot do this better, than in the following lines out of Mr. Dry den. 62 THE CEIASE. The first physicians by debauch were made ; Excess began, and sloth sustains the trade. By chase our long- liv'd fathers earn'd their food; Toil strung the nerves, and purify 'd the blood ; But we their sons, a pamper' d race of men, Are dwindled down to threescore years and ten. Better to hunt in fields for health unboughl, Than fee the Doctor for a nauseous draught. The wise for cure on exercise depend ; God never made his work for man to mend. I'/ «' ..* %'$<>} ,.' '■'/(' Ki MAN'S first care should be to avoid the reproaches of his own heart ; his 1 # ' \ 1 r i 1% ¥ V next » to escape the censures ot the 4^WjJs wor ld : If the last interferes with the former, it ought to be entirely neglected ; but otherwise there cannot be a greater satisfaction to an honest mind, than to see those approbations which it gives itself seconded by the applauses of the publick : A man is more sure of his conduct, when the verdict which he passes upon his own behaviour is thus warranted and confirmed by the opinion of all that know him. My worthy friend Sir Roger is one of those who is not only at peace within himself, but beloved and esteemed by all about him. He receives a suitable tribute for his universal benevolence to mankind, in the returns of affection and good-will, which are paid him by every one that lives within 6 4 THE COUNTY ASSIZES. his Neighbourhood. I lately met with two or three odd instances of that general respect which is shewn to the good old Knight. He would needs carry Will Wimble and myself hi I ; ~ " SIR ROGER TAKES US To THE ASSIZES. with him to the county assizes : As we were upon the road Will Wimble join'd a couple of plain men who rid before us, and conversed with them for some time ; during which my friend Sir Roger acquainted me with their characters. THE COUNTY ASSIZES. 65 THE TWO TLAIN MEN WHO RID BEFORE US. The first of them, says he, that has a spaniel by his side, is a yeoman of about an hundred pounds a year, an honest man : He is just within the game-act, and qualified to kill an hare or a pheasant : He knocks down a dinner with his gun twice or thrice a week ; and by that means lives much cheaper than those who have not so good an estate as himself. He would be a good neigh- £ bour if he did not destroy so many partridges : In short, he is a very sensible man ; shoots flying ; and has been several times foreman of the petty-jury. The other that rides alon^ with him is Tom Touchy, a fellow famous for taking the law of every body. There is not one in the town where he lives that he has not sued at a quarter sessions. The rof*s«£ I was highly delighted, when the court rose, to see the gentlemen of the country gathering about my old friend, and striving who should compliment him most ; at the same time that the ordinary people gazed upon him at a distance, not a 7° THE COUNTY ASSIZES. little admiring his courage, that was not afraid to speak to the judge. In our return home we met with a very odd accident ; which I cannot forbear relating, because it shews how desirous "WE STOPPED AT A LITTLE INN TO REST OURSELVES AND OUR HORSES. all who know Sir Roger are of giving him marks of their esteem. When we were arrived upon the verge of his estate, we stopped at a little inn to rest ourselves and our horses. The man of the house had it seems been formerly a servant THE COUNTY ASSIZES. 7i in the Knight's family ; and to do honour to his old master, had some time since, unknown to Sir Roger, put him up in a sign-post before the door; so that the Knight's head had hung out upon the road about a week before he himself knew any INSPECTING "HIS HONOUR'S HEAD WITH THE ALTERATIONS HE HAD ORDERED TO HE MADE IN IT." thing of the matter. As soon as Sir Roger was acquainted with it, finding that his servant's indiscretion proceeded wholly from affection and good-will, he only told him that he had made 72 THE COUNTY ASSIZES. him too high a compliment ; and when the fellow seemed to think that could hardly be, added with a more decisive look, That it was too great an honour for any man under a duke ; but told him at the same time, that it might be altered with a very few touches, and that he himself would be at the charge | 11 I / 1 ... . l.*r MUCH "MIGHT BE SAID ON BOTH SIDES. of it. Accordingly they got a painter by the Knight's directions to add a pair of whiskers to the face, and by a little aggra- vation of the features to change it into the Saracen 's- Head. I should not have known this story had not the inn-keeper, THE COUNTY ASSIZES. 73 upon Sir Roger's alighting, told him in my hearing, That his honour's head was brought back last night with the alterations that he had ordered to be made in it. Upon this my friend with his usual chearfulness related the particulars above- mentioned, and ordered the head to be brought into the room. I could not forbear discovering greater expressions of mirth than ordinary upon the appearance of this monstrous face, under which, notwithstanding it was made to frown and stare in a most extraordinary manner,. I could still discover a distant resemblance of my old friend. Sir Roger upon seeing me laugh, desired me to tell him truly if I thought it possible for people to know him in that disguise. I at first kept my usual silence ; but upon the Knight's conjuring me to tell him whether it was not still more like himself than a Saracen, I composed my countenance in the best manner I could, and replied, That much might be said on both sides. These several adventures, with the Knight's behaviour in them, gave me as pleasant a day as ever I met with in any of my travels. i. •I , I.I -' The Spectator s Return to Town. V notified to my good friend Sir Roger that I should set out for London the next day, his horses were ready at the appointed hour in the evening ; and attended by one of his grooms, I arrived at the country town at twilight, in order to be ready for the stage-coach the day following. As soon as we arrived at the inn, the servant, who waited upon me, enquir'd of the chamberlain in my hearing what company he had for the coach ? The fellow answered, Mrs. Betty Arable, the great fortune, and the widow her mother ; a re- cruiting officer (who took a place because they were to go ;) THE SPECTATOR'S RETURN TO TOWN'. 75 young 'Squire Quickset her cousin (that her mother wished her to be married to ;) Ephraim the Quaker, her guardian ; and a crentleman that had studied himself dumb from Sir Roger de Coverley's. I ob- "V served by what he said of myself, that according to his office he dealt much in intelligence ; and doubted not but there was some foundation for his reports for the rest of the company, as well as for the whimsical account he gave of me. The next morning at day-break we 76 THE SPECTATOR'S RETURN TO TOWN/ were all called; and I, who knew my own natural shyness, and endeavour to be as little liable to be disputed with as possible, dressed immediately, that I might make no one wait. The first preparation for our setting-out was, that the captain's half-pike was placed near the coachman, and a drum behind the coach. In the mean time the drummer, the captain's equipage, was very loud, that none of the captain's things should be placed so as to be spoiled ; upon which his cloke-bag was fixed in the seat of the coach : And the captain himself, according to a frequent, tho' invidious behaviour of military men, ordered his man to look" sharp, that none but one of the ladies should have the place he had taken fronting to the coach- box. We were in some little time fixed in our seats, and sat with that dislike which people not too good-natured usually conceive of each other at first sight. The coach jumbled us insensibly into some sort of familiarity ; and we had not moved above two miles, when the widow asked the captain what success he had in his recruiting ? The officer, with a frankness he believed very graceful, told her, " That indeed he had but very little luck, and had suffered much by desertion, therefore should be glad to end his warfare in the service of her or her fair daughter. In a word,'' continued he, " I am a soldier, and to be plain is my character : You see me, Madam, young, sound, and impudent ; take me yourself, widow, or give me to her, I will be wholly at your disposal. I am a soldier of fortune, ha ! ' THE SPECTATOR'S RETURN TO TOWN. 77 This was followed by a vain laugh of his own, and a deep silence of all the rest of the company. I had nothing left for it but to fall fast asleep, which I did with all j£ speed. "Come," said he, "resolve upon it, we will make a wedding at the next town : We will wake this pleasant companion who has fallen asleep, to be the brideman," (and giving the quaker a clap on the knee) 73 THE SPECTATOR'S RETURN TO TOWN. he concluded, "This sly saint, who I'll warrant, understands what's what as well as you or I, widow, shall give the bride as father." The quaker, who happened to be a man of smartness, answered, " Friend, I take it in good part that thou hast given THE SPECTATOR'S RETURN TO TOWN. 79 me the authority of a father over this comely and virtuous child ; and I must assure thee, that if I have the giving her, I shall not bestow her on thee. Thy mirth, friend, savoureth of folly : Thou art a person of a light mind ; thy drum is a type of thee, it soundeth because it is empty. Verily, it is not from thy fulness, but thy emptiness that thou hast spoken this day. Friend, friend, we have hired this coach in partnership with thee, to carry us to the great city ; we cannot go any other way. This worthy mother must hear thee if thou wilt needs utter thy follies ; we cannot help it, friend, I say: If thou wilt, we must hear thee ; but if thou wert a man of understanding, thou wouldst not take advantage of thy courageous countenance to abash us children of peace. Thou art, thou sayest, a soldier ; give quarter to us, who cannot resist thee. Why didst thou fleer at our friend, who feigned himself asleep ? he said nothing ; but how dost thou know what he containeth ? If thou speakest improper things in the hearing of this virtuous young virgin, consider it as an outrage against a distressed person that cannot get from thee : To speak indiscreetly what we are obliged to hear, by being hasped up with thee in this publick vehicle, is in some decree assaulting on the hioh road." Here Ephraim paused, and the captain with a happy and uncommon impudence (which can be convicted and support itself at the same time) cries, "Faith, friend, I thank thee; I should have been a little impertinent if thou hadst not repri- manded me. Come, thou art, I see, a smoky old fellow, and So THE SPECTATOR'S RETURN TO TOWN. I'll be very orderly the ensuing part of my journey. I was going to give myself airs, but, ladies, I beg pardon." The captain was so little out of humour, and our company / RfcVnii^--; f e ll unfcf JBjte 11 !. was so far from being soured by this little ruffle, that Ephraim and he took a particular delight in being agreeable to each other for the future ; and assumed their different provinces in THE SPECTATOR'S RETURN TO TOWN. 81 the conduct of the company. Our reckonings, apartments, and accommodation, fell under Ephraim ; and the captain looked to all disputes upon the road, as the good behaviour of our coachman, and the right we had of taking place as going to London of all vehicles coming from thence. The occurrences we met with were ordinary, and very little happened which could entertain by the relation of them : But when I consider'd the company we were in, I took it for no small good-fortune that the whole journey was not spent in impertinences, which to the one part of us might be an entertainment, to the other a suffering. What therefore Ephraim said when we were almost arriv'd at London had to me an air not only of good under- standing but good breeding. Upon the young lady's expressing her satisfaction in the journey, and declaring how delightful it had been to her, Ephraim delivered himself as follows : "There is no ordinary part of human life which expresseth so much a good mind, and a right inward man, as his behaviour upon meeting with strangers, especially such as may seem the most unsuitable companions to him : Such a man, when he falleth in the way with persons of simplicity and innocence, however knowing he may be in the ways of men, will not vaunt himself thereof; but will the rather hide his superiority to them, that he may not be painful unto them. My good friend, (con- tinued he, turning to the officer) thee and I are to part by and by, and peradventure we may never meet again : But be advised by a plain man ; modes and apparel are but trifles to the real M 82 THE SPECTATOR'S RETURN TO TOWN. man, therefore do not think such a man as thyself terrible for thy garb, nor such a one as me contemptible for mine. When two such as thee and I meet, with affections as we ought to have towards each other, thou shouldst rejoice to see my peaceable demeanour, and I should be glad to see thy strength and ability to protect me in it." l „--■ University Research Library