for a fhare of the prophecy no lefs than Mrs Abrahams: he had a kind of a fomething in his thoughts, when Goodifon fat at his elbow, that did not quite amount to a difcovery, and yet it was very like it; he had a fort of an impulfe to give him a gird or two upon the cha racter of Sterling, and he was very fure that what he threw out upon the occafion made him squeak, and that the difcovery would never have come about, if it had not been for him; he even ad. vanced fome learned remarks upon the good effect of ftage-plays in giving touches to the confcience, though I do pretend to fay he had Jeremy Collier in his thoughts at the time; in short, what between the Hebrew and the Chriftian there was little or nothing left for my fhare in the work, fo that I contented myfelf with cautioning Conftantia how the broke it to her mother, and recom mended to Mrs Abrahams to confine her difcourfe to her husband, and leave Conftantia to undertake for Mrs Goodifon.

When we arrived at our journey's end, we found the honeft Jew alone, and furprised him before he expected us: Mrs Goodifon was gone to bed a little indifpofed, Conftantia haftened up to her without entering the parlour; Mr Abrahams let loose the clapper of joy, and rang in the good news with fo full a peal, and fo 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 pleonafms, which were calculated to improve the tale in every particular but the truth of it. When the had fairly acquitted herself of the hiflory, the began to recollect her head ach, and then left us very thoroughly difpofed to have a fellow-feeling in the fame complaint.

After a few natural reflections upon the event, foberly debated and patiently delivered, I believe we were all of one mind in wifhing for a new fub ject, and a filence took place fufficiently preparatory for its introduction; when Abrahams, putting on a grave and serious look, in a more folemn tone of voice than I had ever heard him affume, delivered himself as follows:

There is fomething, Gentlemen, prefTes on my mind, which feems a duty on my conscience to impart to you: I can not reconcile myfelf to play the counter. feit in your company, and therefore if you will have patience to liften to a few particulars of a life, fo unimportant as

mine, I will not intrude long upon your attention, and at worft it may ferve to fill up a few fpare minutes before we are called to our meal.

I need not repeat what was faid on our parts; we drew our chairs round the fire: Abrahams gave a figh, hem med twice or thrice, as if the words in rifing to his throat had choaked him, and thus began :→→

I was born in Spain, the only fon of a younger brother of an ancient and noble houfe, which, like many others of the fame origin and perfuafion, had long been in the indispensable practice of con forming to the established religion, whilst fecretly, and under the moft guarded con. cealment, every member of it without exception hath adhered to those opinions, which have been the faith of our tribe from the earliest ages.

This I truft will account to you for my declining to expofe my real name, and juftify the difcretion of my affuming the fictitious one, by which I am now known to you.

Till I had reached my twentieth year, I knew myself for nothing but a Chrif tian, if that may be called Chriftianity which monkish fuperftition and idolatry have fo adulterated and diftorted from moral purity of its scriptural guides, as to keep no traces even of rationality in its form and practice.

This period of life is the ufual feafon for the parents of an adult to reveal to him the awful fecret of their concealed religion: The circumftances, under which this tremendous difcovery is confided to the youth, are fo contrived as to imprint upon his heart the strongest seal of fe crecy, and at the fame time prefent to his choice the alternative of parricide or conformity: With me there was no hefitation; none could be; for the yoke of Rone had galled my confcience till it feftered, and I feized emancipation with the avidity of a ranfomed flave, who efcapes out of the hands of infidels.

Upon our great and folemn day of the Paffover, I was initiated into Judaïm; my father conducted me to the interior chamber of a fuite of apartments, locked every door, through which we paled, with great precaution, and not uttering a fyllable by the way; in this fecure re treat he proposed to celebrate that antient rite, which our nation holds fo facred : He was at that time in an alarming de cline; the agitating task he had been ea gaged in overpowered his fpirits; whil he was yet fpeaking to me, and my eyes

were fixed upon his face, the hand of death fmote him; I faw his eye-lids quiver; I heard him draw his last expiring figh, and falling dead upon my neck as I was kneeling at his feet, he brought me backwards to the floor, where I lay panting under his lifeless cor, fcarce more alive than he was.

The noise of his fall, and the horrid farieks I began to utter, for I had no prefence of mind in that fatal moment, were unfortunately overheard, far as we were removed from the family: The room we were in had a cominunication with our private chanel; the monk, who was our family-confeffor, had a mafterkey, which commanded avenues to that place; he was then before the altar, when my cries reached his ears; he afcended haftily by the private ftair-cafe, and finding the door locked, his terror at my yells adding ftrength to a coloffal form, with one vehement kick he burft open the door, and, besides the tragic fpectacle on the ground, too plainly difcovered the dainning proofs of our apoftacy.

Vile wretch, cried he, as he feized hold of my father's body, unholy villain, circumcifed infidel!! I thank my God for having fmote thee with a fudden judg ment: Lie there like a dog as thou art, and expect the burial of a dog. This faid, with one furious jerk of his arm, he hurled the venerable corpfe of the moft benevolent of God's creatures with the utmoft violence to the corner of the room: Whilft 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 fpot; the fword, which my father had prefented to my hand, and pointed at his own breaft, when he imparted to me his faith, lay naked on the floor; I grafped it in my hand; nature tugged at my heart; I felt an impulse irrefiftible; I buried it in the bowels of the monk: I thruft it home with fo good a will, that the guard entangled in the cord that was tied about his carcafe; I left my weapon in the body, and the ponderous bigot fell thundering on the pavement.

A ready thought, which feemed like infpiration, feized me; I difpofed my father's corpfe in decent order; drew the ring from his finger, on which the fymbol of our tribe was engraved in Hebrew characters; I took away thofe fatal tokens which had betrayed us: there were implements, for writing on a sable; I wrote the following words on

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a feroll of paper-" This monk fell by "my hand; he merited the death I "gave him: Let not my father's me mory be attainted! He is innocent, " and died fuddenly by the will of Hea ❝ven, and not by the hand of man."This I figned with my name, and affixed to the breaft of the monk; then imprinting a laft kifs upon the hand of my dead father, 1 went foftly down the fecret ftairs, and paffing thro' the chapel, efcaped out of the house unnoticed by any of the family.

Our houfe flood at one extremity of the antient city of Segovia; I made my way as fast as my feet would transport me to the forefts of San Ildephonfo, and there sheltered myself till night came on: by fhort and ftealthy journeys, through various perils and almost incredible hardships, I arrived at Barcelona; I made myself known to an English merchant, fettled there, who had long been a correfpondent of my father's, and was employed by our family in the exportation of their wool, which is the chief produce of eftates in the great plain of Segovia, fo famous for it's fheep: By this gentleman I was supplied with mo ney and neceffaries; he alfo gave me letters of credit upon his correfpondent in London, and took a paffage for me in a very commodious and capital fhip bound to that port, but intermediately to Smyrna, whither fhe was chartered with a valuable cargo. Ever since the unhappy event in Segovia, it had been my firfi and conftant wish to take refuge in England; nothing therefore could be more acceptable than these letters of credit and introduction, and being eager to place myfelf under the protection of a nation, whofe generofity all Europe bears teftimony to, I loft not a moment in embarking on board the British Lion, (for so the ship was named) and in this afylum 1 for the firft time found that re pofe 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 gentle man, who was going to fettle 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 feized me on the third day after my coming an board; This gentleman refided many years at Smyrna, and practised there with great fuccefs;

he

Enough, Malvina. O'er my wither'd brain

Poetic tides refiftless pour along.

Give me the harp that bends across the plain,

The deeds of old fhall animate my strain When thy young lover fhone the valiant chiefs among.

Wide o'er Brabala's hills and verdant vales

Long his dominion aged Mornan fpread: His generous deeds infpired the Poets tales:

Ne'er to his caves the captive wretch was led;

Nor helpless wanderer in his dungeons bled.

Here, with his daughter, fair Calthona, bleft,

The circling years flew lightly o'er his

head.

In vain brave Narthon, rous'd by glory's flame,

For fair Calthona threw his glittering spear;

Slavery's fell chains foon bound the gentle dame,

She, with her father, pent in prisons drear,

Was left in hopeless fighs to waste the mournful year.

"Son of my fon! faid Fingal, mildest chief,

Let Morven's warriors on the billows ride.

To aged Mornan hafte to bring relief, And humble dark Colranno's heart of pride.

Let Öffian's arm of strength be by tky fide,

Mid dangers dire thy headlong youth to aid,

Narthon thy path thro' dangerous feas fhall guide;

And, when at last the storms of war are laid,

Give to the valiant youth Brabala's beau

teous maid."

For thee brave Narthon, mid the furious fight

Refiftless flew, and hush'd wild war's 2. larms:

Then hear his fighs of love, and bless him with thy charms."

every And yet o'er Morven's rocks the fons of Morven stray'd.

On