distress, was carried into that region of defolation and fterility. His ftated employment was, to follow the herds of an imperious mafter; and his fuccefs in hunting was all that was allowed him to fupply his precarious fubfiftence. Every morning waked him to a renewal of famine or toil, and every change of feafon ferved but to aggravate his unfheltered diftrefs. After fome years of bondage, however, an opportunity of escaping offered; he embraced it with ardour; fo that, travelling by night, and lodging in caverns by day, to fhorten a long ftory, he at laft arrived in Rome. The fame day on which Alcander arrived, Septimius fat adminiftering juftice in the forum, whither our wanderer came, expecting to be inftantly known, and publickly acknowledged by his former friend. Here he flood the whole day amongst the crowd, watching the eyes of the judge, and expecting to be taken notice of; but he was fo much altered by a long fucceffion of hardfhips, that he continued unnoticed amongst the rest; and, in the evening, when he was going up to the prætor's chair, he was brutally repulfed by the attending lictors. The attention of the poor is generally driven from one ungrateful object to another; for, night coming on, he now found himfelf under a neceffity of feeking a place to ly in, and yet knew not where to apply. All emaciated, and in rags as he was, none of the citizens would harbour fo much wretchedness; and sleeping in the ftreets might be attended with interruption or dan ger: in fhort, he was obliged to take up his lodg ing in one of the tombs without the city, the ufual retreat of guilt, poverty, and defpair. In this manfion of horror, laying his head upon an inverted urn, he forgot his miferies for a while in

fleep;

fleep; and found, on his flinty couch, more eafe than beds of down can fupply to the guilty.

As he continued here, about midnight, two robbers came to make this their retreat; but, happening to disagree about the divifion of their plunder, one of them ftabbed the other to the heart, and left him weltering in blood at the entrance. In these circumftances, he was found next morning dead at the mouth of the vault. This naturally inducing a farther enquiry, an alarm was spread; the cave was examined; and Alcander was apprehended, and accused of robbery and murder. The circumftances against him were strong, and the wretchedness of his appearance confirmed fufpicion. Misfortune and he were now fo long acquainted, that he at laft became regardless of life. He detefted a world where he had found only ingratitude, falfhood, and cruelty; he was determined to make no defence; and, thus lowering with refolution, het was dragged, bound with cords, before the tribunal of Septimius. As the proofs were pofitive againft him, and he offered nothing in his own vindication, the judge was proceeding to doom him to a moft cruel and ignominious death, when the attention of the multitude was foon divided by another object. The robber, who had been really guilty, was apprehended felling his plunder, and, ftruck with a panick, had confeffed his crime. He was brought bound to the fame tribunal, and acquitted every other perfon of any partnership in his guilt. Alcander's innocence therefore appeared, but the fullen rashness of his conduct remained a wonder to the furrounding multitude; but their aftonishment was ftill far

ther

ther increased, when they faw their judge ftart from his tribunal, to embrace the supposed criminal. Septimius recollected his friend and former benefactor, and hung upon his neck with tears of pity and of joy. Need the fequel be related? Alcander was acquitted; fhared the friendship and honours of the principal citizens of Rome; lived afterwards in happinefs and eafe; and left it to be engraved on his tomb, That no circumstances are fo defperate, which Provis dence may not relieve.

WHEN I reflect on the unambitious retirement in which I paffed the earlier part of my life in the country, I cannot avoid feeling some pain in thinking that thofe happy days are never to return. In that retreat, all Nature seemed capable of affording pleasure. I then made no refinements on happiness, but could be pleased with the most awkward efforts of ruftick mirth; thought cross-purposes the highest stretch of hus man wit, and questions and commands the most rational way of spending the evening. Happy, could fo charming an illufion ftill continue! I find that age and knowledge only contribute to four our difpofitions. My prefent enjoyments may be more refined, but they are infinitely lefs pleating. The pleafure the best actor gives, can no way compare to that I have received from a country wag, who imitated a Quaker's fermon.

The

The mufick of the fineft finger is diffonance, to what I felt when our old dairy-maid fung me into tears with Johnny Armstrong's Laft Good Night, or the Cruelty of Barbara Allen.

WRITERS of every age have endeavoured to fhow, that pleasure is in us, and not in the objects offered for our amusement. If the foul be happily difpofed, every thing becomes capable of affording entertainment, and diftrefs will almoft want a name. Every occurrence paffes in review like the figures in a proceffion; fome may be awkward, others ill-dreffed; but none but a fool is for this enraged with the master of the ceremonies.

I REMEMBER to have once feen a flave in a fortification in Flanders, who appeared no way touched with his fituation. He was maimed, deformed, and chained; obliged to toil from the appearance of day till night fall, and condemned to this for life: yet, with all these circumftances of apparent wretchedness, he fung, would have danced, but that he wanted a leg, and appeared the merrieft, happiest man of all the garrifon. What a practical philofopher was here! an happy conftitution fupplied philosophy; and, though feemingly deftitute of wisdom, he was really wife. No reading or ftudy had contributed to difenchant the fairy land around him. Every thing furnished him with an opportunity of mirth; and though fome thought him, from his infenfibility, a fool, he was fuch an idiot as philofophers fhould wish to imitate; for all philofophy is only forcing the trade of happiness, when Nature feems to deny the means.

THEY

THEY who, like our flave, can place themfelves on that fide of the world in which every thing appears in a pleafing light, will find fomething in every occurrence to excite their good humour. The most calamitous events, either to themselves or others, can bring no other afflic tion; the whole world is to them a theatre, on which comedies only are acted. All the buftle of heroifm, or the rants of ambition, ferve only to heighten the abfurdity of the fcene, and make the humour more poignant. They feel, in fhort, as little anguish at their own diftrefs, or the complaints of others, as the undertaker, though dreffed in black, feels forrow at a funeral.

Or all the men I ever read of, the famous Cardinal de Retz poffeffed this happiness of temper in the highest degree. As he was a man of gallantry, and defpifed all that wore the pedantick appearance of philofophy, wherever pleasure was to be fold, he was generally foremost to raife the auction. Being an universal admirer of the fair fex, when he found one lady cruel, he generally fell in love with another, from whom he expected a more favourable reception. If the too rejected his addreffes, he never thought of retiring into deferts, or pining in hopeless dif trefs. He perfuaded himself, that, instead of loving the lady, he only fancied that he had lov ed her; and fo all was well again. When fortune wore her angrieft look, and he at laft fell into the power of his moft deadly enemy Cardinal Mazarine, (being confined a clofe prisoner in the caftle of Valenciennes), he never attempted to fupport his diftrefs by wifdom or philofophy, for he pretended to neither he only laughed at himself

and