fhone with redoubled luftre in the eyes of all those who confider the union between beauty and virtue in a female form, as "a confummation devoutly to "be wifhed:" for without that union, the man who takes a Venus to his arms, may be juftly apprehenfive of every young Mars who comes in his way. On his march with the Perfian troops under his command towards the plains of Marathon, Harpagus could not, without deviating unneceffarily from the direct road, avoid paffing within fight of that cottage in which the above-mentioned beauty lived in a state of the pureft fimplicity. The fight of this cottage would have been no object of this general's attention, had he not beheld, at the entrance of it, a female figure, the most alluring, in spite of the rufticity of her attire, which he had ever met with. The meannefs of her drefs could not diveft her perfon of the power of ftriking whenever it appeared. Harpagus felt its force to fuch a degree that he could not restrain himself from halting, in order to folicit her company in his expedition. Celimene, happening at that moment to be quite alone, and waiting impatiently for the return of her father from the nearest city, on whofe account fhe endured no fmall uneafinefs, fearful of his having been detained from his homely, but happy dwelling, by fome difagreeable accident, was very much embarraffed barraffed and confufed at the approach of a fine young fellow, extremely pleafing in his perfon, and by his habiliments evidently a man of importance. in the Perfian army. The nearer he approached, the greater was her confufion; her eyes were fo powerfully attracted at the fame time by the pompoufnefs of his appearance, that fhe had not fucient prefence of mind to retire, in order to fhun an interview which fhe dreaded. Harpagus, having advanced near enough to take a very accurate furvey of her perfonal charms, was ftill more inflamed than he had been by a distant view of them, and, with all the politeness of a fatrap, made her an offer which few English girls in her fituation would have refused: nor would she have rejected them, had her admirer given her reason to believe that his generofity proceeded from the most difinterefted motives. As foon as the found that his magnificent offers were only intended as a bribe to feduce her from the paths of virtue, fhe felt her foul fuperior to all his glitter-ing temptations, and fled from his prefence. Impelled by love-or rather by a paffion which deserves not that name-he followed; and perceiving, with the utmost pleasure, that there was not a creature except herself in the cottage, he forced her from it, regardless of her intreaties and her prayer, doubly affecting by the tears with which they were accompanied, accompanied. By this compulfive mode of acting, he gained her for a companion in his march; but he had taken the worft way imaginable to gain her heart. She conceived, indeed, from the brutality of his behaviour, (the politeft men act the brutes in fome fituations) fuch an averfion for him, that she felt joy fpringing up in her bofom on her being made prisoner by Alcander. That joy was greatly increased by his carriage to her; for with as much politeness in his manners as her Perfian lover had difcovered, he fhewed himself to be a man of a very different turn, a turn which prevented her from being alarmed on account of her virtue. Alcander, indeed, was not lefs fenfible of her perfonal attractions than Harpagus had been; but as he had no difhonourable points to carry, his deportment, if not fo infinuating as that of her Perfian admirer, was far more fatisfactory. Celimene, tranfported to find in her deliverer (for in that light fhe looked upon Alcander) a man who, while he appeared tranfported with her beauty, behaved also with a respectfulness which feemed to arife from the operation of a laudable paffion, and not affumed with a defign to draw her into a criminal connection, felt herself as happy as fhe could be in a ftate of feparation from a father whom she loved with the fincereft filial affection; and her Grecian lover lover made her ftill more happy, by affuring her that he would do all in his power, on his return to Athens, to find him out, that he might partake of the felicity which he promised himself by her acceptance of his hand, heart, and fortune. Soon after this event, Cephifus, having received difpatches from Athens, relating to the unexpected conduct of a man in whom he had-prefuming too much upon his infight into characters-placed too much confidence, begged leave of Miltiades to withdraw himself from the camp; and his request was readily granted. As a foldier, indeed, he removed himself not without fome reluctance; but as he had fufficiently proved his valour against the enemies of his country, he was willing to hope that the deeds he had done would preclude any conftructions, upon his fudden return to Athens, injurious to his military reputation. It was not, however, on account of fuch conftructions only, that he felt difquiet at his being fummoned from the field of war, to make his appearance in the field of litigation. At the moment he faw his brother's beautiful captive, he felt an unufual commotion in his breaft; and as that commotion grew more violent every time he beheld her, he not only began to wish to have her in his own poffeffion, but to lay schemes for the gratification of his amorous defires. His bofom no longer throbbed with that kind of fraternal love, by which it had before been animated. Celimene's beauties, beyond expreffion, and not to be refifted, feparated the brother from the man, and he now, in the character of a rival, thought of nothing but how to win the heart of the Perfian prifoner, how to get her perfon into his power. His efforts to win were feducing, but they were unfuccefsful: fhe had no eyes, no ears for Alcander; and he, transported at the double conqueft he had gained, undefignedly, because unfufpectingly, increafed the flame which love had kindled in his brother's breast by his rapturous effufions. Fortunately, as Cephifus thought, while he was preparing to return to his native city, Celimene was attacked with a diforder which, though not of an alarming nature, had fuch an effect upon her fpirits, that Alcander imagined fhe would be more happily fituated, at that time, with fome of his female. relations at Athens, than with him, amidst the clamours and bustle of a camp, and therefore proposed to her a removal with Cephifus; and fhe, having no objection to him as a fellow-traveller, with the more readiness confented, as Alcander affured her, repeatedly, that he would follow her as foon as he poffibly could, without fixing a ftain. upon his honour as a foldier, and complete the happiness |