her, and bestowed it upon other ladies who are There is something captivating in that burst not subject to the same embarrassments. of splendour, scenery, human beauty, and fesOur party soon broke up after this event: Ned tivity, which a royal theatre displays to every and I repaired to our apartments in the Poul-spectator on his entrance: what, then, must try; Constantia to those slumbers which purity inspires, temperance endears, and devotion blesses.

The next morning brought Ned to my levee; he had lain awake all night, but no noises were complained of; they were not in the fault of having deprived him of his repose.

have been the stroke on his optics who never
entered one before? Ned looked about him with
surprise, and had there not been a central point
of attraction, to which his eyes were necessarily
impelled by laws not less irresistible than those
of gravitation, there might have been no speedy
stop to the eccentricity of their motions.
It was

houses which theatrical advertisers_announce so rapturously to draw succeeding audiences to the comforts of succeeding crowds, there to enjoy the peals of the loudest plaudits and most rearing bursts of laughter, bestowed upon the tricks of a harlequin or the gibberish of a buffoon; but it was a full assembly of rational beings convened for the enjoyment of a rational entertainment, where the ears were not in danger of being insulted by ribaldry, nor the understanding libelled by the spectacle of folly.

He took up the morning paper, and the play-not, indeed, one of those delightfully crowded house advertisements caught his eye. He began to question me about "The Clandestine Marriage," which was up for the night at Drury Lane: Was it a comedy? I told him yes, and an admirable one. Then it ended happily, he presumed? Certainly it did: a very amiable young woman was clandestinely married to a deserving young man, and both parties at the close of the fable were reconciled to their friends and made happy in each other. And is all this represented on the stage? cried Ned. All this, with many more incidents, is acted on the stage, and so acted, let me assure you, as leaves the merit of the performers only to be exceeded by that of the poet. This is fine indeed! replied he then, as sure as can be, I will be there this very night, if you think they will admit a country clown like me.-' e.-There was no fear of that.-Very well, then; is not this the play of all plays for Constantia? Oh, that I had old Surly there too! what would I give to have her grandfather at her elbow! He was so possessed with the idea, and built his castles in the air so nimbly that I could not find in my heart to dash the vision by throwing any bars in its way, though enough occurred to me, had I been disposed to employ them.

Away posted Ned-(quantum mutatus ab illo !) on the wings of love to Saint Mary Axe. What rhetoric he there made use of I cannot pretend to say, but certainly he came back with a decree in his favour for Mrs. Abrahams and Constantia to accompany him to the comedy, if I would undertake to convoy the party; for honest Abrahams (though a dear lover of the muse, and as much attached to stage plays as his countryman Shylock was averse from them) had an unlucky engagement elsewhere, and as for Mrs. Goodison, Ned had sagaciously discovered that she had some objection to the title of the comedy in her own particular, though she stated none against her daughter's being there.

After an early dinner with Abrahams, we repaired to the theatre, four in number, and whilst the second music was playing, posted ourselves with all due precaution on the third row of one of the front boxes, where places had been kept for us; Mrs. Abrahams on my left hand against the partition of the box, and Constantia on the other hand between her admirer and me.

Ned was charmed with the comedy, and soon became deeply interested for Lovewell and Fanny, on whose distressful situation he made many natural remarks to his fair neighbour, and she on her part bestowed more attention on the scene than was strictly reconcilable to modern high-breeding. The representative of Lord Ogleby put him into some alarm at first, and he whispered in my ear that he hoped the merry old gentleman was not really so ill as he seemed to be :-for 1 am sure, adds he, he would be the best actor in the world was he to recover his health, since he can make so good a stand even at death's door. put his heart to rest by assuring him that his sickness was all a fiction, and that the same old decrepid invalid, when he had washed the wrinkles out of his face, was as gay and as sprightly as the best.-Ay, added I, and in his real character one of the best into the bargain.-I am glad of it, I am glad of it to my heart, answered Ned; I hope he will never have one half of the complaints which he counterfeits; but 'tis surprising what some men can do.

In the interval of the second act an aged gentleman, of a grave and senatorial appearance, in a full-dressed suit of purple ratteen and a flowing white wig, entered the box alone, and as he was looking out for a seat, it was with pleasure I observed the young idlers at the back pay respect to his age and person by making way for him and pointing to a spare place on our bench, to which he advanced, and, after some apologies natural to a well bred man, took his seat on our

range.

His eyes immediately paid the tribute which even age could not withhold from the beauty of Constantia, he regarded her with more than a common degree of sensibility and attention; he watched for opportunities of speaking to her

ing; perhaps, added he, the sight of it will give a pang of sensibility to my poor discarded child, but I think it will give her joy also, if you ten-tened up to her without entering the parlour. der it as a pledge of my reconciliation and returning love.

before he expected us. Mrs. Goodison was gone to bed a little indisposed: Constantia has

Here his voice shook, his eyes swam in tears, and, clasping my hand eagerly between his, he conjured me to remember what I had promised, and hastened out of the house.

NUMBER XLIV..

Mrs. Abrahams let loose the clapper of joy, and rang in the good news with so full a peal and so many changes that there was no more to be done on my part but to correct a few trips in the performance of the nature of pleonasms, which were calculated to improve the tale in every particular but the truth of it. When she had fairly acquitted herself of the history, she began to recollect her headach, and then left us very thoroughly disposed to have a fellow feeling in the same complaint.

After a few natural reflections upon the event, soberly debated and patiently delivered, I believe we were all of one mind in wishing for a new subject, and a silence took place sufficiently preparatory for its introduction; when Abrahams, putting on a grave and serious look, in a more solemn tone of voice than I had ever heard him assume, delivered himself as follows:

There is something, gentlemen, presses on my mind which seems a duty on my conscience to impart to you. I cannot reconcile myself to play the counterfeit in your company, and therefore, if you will have patience to listen to a few particulars of a life so unimportant as mine, I will not intrude long upon your attention, and

I need not repeat what was said on our parts: we drew our chairs round the fire; Abrahams gave a sigh, hemmed twice or thrice, as if the words in rising to his throat had choked him, and thus began:

WHEN I had parted from the old gentleman, I found Mrs. Abrahams desirous to return home, being somewhat indisposed by the heat of the theatre, so that I lost no time in getting her and Constantia into the coach. In our way homewards I reported the conversation I had held with Mr. Goodison; the different effects it had upon my hearers were such as might be expected from their several characters; the gentle spirit of Constantia found relief in tears; her grateful heart discharged itself in praises and thanksgivings to Providence: Mrs. Abrahams forgot her headach, felicitated herself in having pre-at worst it may serve to fill up a few spare vailed upon Mrs. Goodison to consent to her minutes before we are called to our meal. daughter's going to the play, declared she had a presentiment that something fortunate would come to pass, thought the title of the comedy was a lucky omen, congratulated Constantia over and over, and begged to be indulged in the pleasure of telling these most joyful tidings to her good man at home: Ned put in his claim for a share in the prophecy no less than Mrs. Abrahams; he had a kind of a something in his thoughts, when Goodison sat at his elbow, that did not quite amount to a discovery, and yet it was very like it; he had a sort of an impulse to give him a gird or two upon the character of Sterling, and he was very sure that what he threw out upon the occasion made him, squeak, and that the discovery would never have come This, I trust, will account to you for my deabout if it had not been for him; he even ad-clining to expose my real name, and justify the vanced some learned remarks upon the good discretion of my assuming the fictitious one by effects of stage plays in giving touches to the which I am now known to you. conscience, though I do not pretend to say he Till I had reached my twentieth year I knew had Jeremy Collier in his thoughts at the time; myself for nothing but a Christian, if that may in short, what between the Hebrew and the be called Christianity which monkish superstiChristian, there was little or nothing left for tion and idolatry have so adulterated and dismy share in the work, so that I contented my-torted from the moral purity of its scriptural self with cautioning Constantia how she broke guides as to keep no traces even of rationality it to her mother, and recommended to Mrs. in its form and practice. Abrahams to cor.fine her discourse to her husband, and leave Constantia to undertake for Mrs. Goodison.

When we arrived at our journey's end we found the honest Jew alone, and surprised him

I was born in Spain, the only son of a younger brother of an ancient and noble house, which, like many others of the same origin and persuasion, had long been in the indispensable practice of conforming to the established religion, whilst, secretly and under the most guarded concealment, every member of it without exception hath adhered to those opinions which have been the faith of our tribe from the earliest ages.

This period of life is the usual season for the parents of an adult to reveal to him the awful secret of their concealed religion: the circumstances under which this tremendous discovery is confided to the youth are so contrived as to

imprint upon his heart the strongest seal of se- (tied about his carcass; I left my weapon in the crecy, and at the same time present to his choice body, and the ponderous bigot fell thundering on the alternative of parricide or conformity: with the pavement. me there was no hesitation; none could be; for the yoke of Rome had galled my conscience till t festered, and I seized emancipation with the avidity of a ransomed slave who escapes out of the hands of infidels.

A ready thought, which seemed like inspiration, seized me; I disposed my father's corpse in decent order; drew the ring from his finger, on which the symbol of our tribe was engraved in Hebrew characters; I took away those fatal

plements for writing on a table; I wrote the following words on a scroll of paper-"This monk fell by my hand; he merited the death I gave him; let not my father's memory be attainted! He is innocent, and died suddenly by the will of Heaven, and not by the hand of man."-This I signed with my name, and affixed to the breast of the monk; then imprinting a last kiss upon the hand of my dead father, I went softly down the secret stairs, and passing through the chapel, escaped out of the house unnoticed by any of the family.

Upon our great and solemn day of the Pass-tokens which had betrayed us; there were imover I was initiated into Judaism; my father conducted me to the interior chamber of a suit of apartments, locking every door through which we passed with great precaution, and not uttering a syllable by the way; in this secure retreat he proposed to celebrate that ancient rite, which our nation holds so sacred: he was at that time in an alarming decline; the agitating task he had been engaged in overpowered his spirits; whilst he was yet speaking to me, and my eyes were fixed upon his face, the hand of death smote him; I saw his eyelids quiver; I heard him draw his last expiring sigh; and, falling dead upon my neck as I was kneeling at his feet, he brought me backwards to the floor, where I laid panting under his lifeless corpse, scarce more alive than he was.

The noise of his fall and the horrid shrieks I began to utter, for I had no presence of mind in that fatal moment, were unfortunately overheard, far as we were removed from the family: the room we were in had a communication with our private chapel; the monk, who was our family confessor, had a master-key, which commanded the avenues to that place; he was then before the altar, when my cries reached his ears; he ascended hastily by the private staircase, and finding the door locked, his terror at my yells adding strength to a colossal form, with one vehement kick he burst open the door, and, besides the tragic spectacle on the ground, too plainly discovered the damning proofs of our apostacy.

Vile wretch, cried he, as he seized hold of my father's body, unholy villain, circumcised infidel! I thank my God for having smote thee with a sudden judgment. Lie there like a dog as thou art, and expect the burial of a dog! This said, with one furious jerk of his arm he hurled the venerable corpse of the most benevolent of God's creatures with the utmost violence to the corner of the room: whilst I tell it my blood curdles; I heard his head dash against the marble floor; I did not dare to turn my eyes to the spot; the sword, which my father had presented to my hand and pointed at his own breast, when he imparted to me his faith, lay naked on the floor; I grasped it in my hand; nature tugged at my heart; I felt an impulse irresistible; I buried it in the bowels of the monk; I thrust it home with so good a will that the guard entangled in the cord which was

Our house stood at one extremity of the ancient city of Segovia! I made my way as fast as my feet would transport me to the forests of San Ildephonso, and there sheltered myself till night came on; by short and stealthy journeys, through various perils and almost incredible hardships, I arrived at Barcelona; I made myself known to an English merchant, settled there, who had long been a correspondent of my father's, and was employed by our family in the exportation of their wool, which is the chief produce of estates in the great plain of Segovia, so famous for its sheep. By this gentleman I was supplied with money and necessaries; he also gave me letters of credit upon his correspondent in London, and took a passage for me in a very commodious and capital ship bound to that port, but immediately to Smyrna, whither she was chartered with a valuable cargo. Ever since the unhappy event in Segovia it had been my first and constant wish to take refuge in England; nothing, therefore, could be more acceptable than these letters of credit and introduction, and being eager to place myself under the protection of a nation, whose generosity all Europe bears testimony to, I lost not a moment in embarking on board the British Lion (for so the ship was named), and in this asylum I for the first time found that repose of mind and body which for more than two months I had been a stranger to.

Here I fortunately made acquaintance with a very worthy and ingenious gentleman, who was going to settle at Smyrna as physician to the factory, and to the care and humanity of this excellent person, under Providence, I am indebted for my recovery from a very dangerous fever, which seized me on the third day after my coming on board. This gentleman resided many years at Smyrna, and practised there with great

success; he afterwards went through a very | and that father his most generous benefactor, curious course of travel, and is now happily re- honoured for his virtues and adored for his chaturned to his native country. rities, the best of parents and the friend of manWhen we arrived at Smyrna I was on my re-kind; reflect, I say, upon these my agonies and covery, and yet under the care of my friendly provocations, make allowance for a distracted physician; I lodged in the same house with heart in such a crisis, and judge me with that him, and found great benefit from the air and charity, which takes the law of God, and not exercise on shore: he advised me to remain the law of man, for its direction. there for a season, and at the same time an offer was made to me by the ship's captain of acting for the merchants in place of their agent, who had died on the passage. The letters of credit given me at Barcelona, and the security entered into on my account with the house in London, warranted this proposal on his part, and there were many motives which prevailed with me for accepting it.