fucceffion down my cheek. The fubject awakens all my fenfibility. And furely, a heart more fufceptible of all the tender feelings never throbbed in a fe male bofom. The foft effufion overwhelms me.--I must lay down my pen.

Being now a little recovered, I will refume my pen, and as a corroboration of the impropriety of leaving those whom we regard, in their laft mo ments, to the care of nurses and fervants, relate to you the circumftances of the late Mr. Holland's death.

This gentleman was fo extremely ill upon the turn of the small-pox, and nature appeared to be fo totally fubdued by the powerful disease, that he was fuppofed by the nurse who attended him to be an inhabitant of the other world. His corpfe was of course stript by her, and laid out in the usual way..

.

The phyfician who had attended him, coming a few hours after, was, to his inexpreffible surprise, informed that he was dead. As he had not entertained any apprehenfions when laft he was there of fo fudden a change, he defired to fee the ftate of the body. He was accordingly fhown into the room, when he found that fome fymptoms of life remained. Upon which, he ordered the bed to be immediately warmed, and the body to be placed between the blankets.

This was done; and in about an hour, the un happy young man gave figns of returning life; till at length he was able to utter, "I am in heaven!" But his blood had been fo thoroughly chilled by the exposure of his body, through the precipitance of his rapacious nurse, and the fatal disease had fo totally fubdued the vital warmth, that every reftorative measure which could be used, proved ineffectual!-and he probably fell a facrifice to the evil I have been lamenting. His dying exclamation, however, I hope was verified.

As I cannot imprefs this fubject too much, having frequently feen the unhappy consequences of it, and at the fame time to rescue my ideas from the melancholy train which the fubject of premature interments, and rapacious nurses, has thrown them into, I will entertain you with a droll incident that happened to a friend of Mr. Woodward's, by whom I have frequently heard it related.

This gentleman, whose name is Morgan, had brought himself, by an unremitting application to fludy, into an hypochondriacal way, which, at length attained to fuch a height, that he fuppofed himself upon the verge of the grave. The attendance of a nurse being now thought neceffary, he fent for one of those unfeeling ftrippers of the dead. -The invalid's diforder, however, continued to

gain ground, till at laft he fancied he faw the grim monster, death, approach with hafly ftrides. As he one day lay in this dejected state, with his arms out of bed, the harpy that attended him caft her eyes upon his fleeve buttons, which appeared to her to be of gold. But not being certain, her rapacity impelled her to ask the gentleman whether they were really of that valuable metal. Upon this anfwering in the affirmative, and concluding that fhe fhould now foon enter upon her favourite employment, she requested, that he would permit her to put him on one of his best shirts, that he might appear clean and decent when he died. At the fame time fhe foolishly added, that whatever he had about his person, when he made his exit, was a perquifite belonging to her.

This was too much to be borne.-Under fuch a trial, the extremeft patience, or most confirmed hypochondria, could not ftand against the sudden impulses of refentment-His nerves inftantly recovered their ufual tone-The blood flowed with its accustomed velocity-And his ftrength, which had only been fuppreffed by the force of the imagination, retrieved in a moment its elastic powers-The gentleman immediately leaped out of bed; fent the nurse about her business; forgot his indifpofition; and has never fince, that I have heard, had any return of the enervating diforder.

G. A. B

LETTER XXV.

April 17, 17

Ir being impoffible for me to leave my mother in

the fituation fhe was reduced to by the late melancholy incident, I fent an apology to my respected patronefs, informing her, at the same time, of the cause. From the many difagreeable circumstances which had lately occurred, one upon another, my mind took as ferious a turn as when I lived in retirement at the Farmer's at Ingatestone. I lost my vivacity, and delighted more in being alone than in company. To this, the frequent vifits of Mr. Crump, who I now found courted me by proxy, made no little addition. His being always a conftant attendant at my mother's parties rendered home disagreeable to me.

My mother endeavoured to find out the caufe of a change fo totally contrary to my natural difpofition, but in vain. Having heard me fpeak warmly in praise of the outward attractions of Medlicote, she wa apprehensive that the fuperficial qualifications of that empty man had captivated me. But when the reflected: that she had as frequently heard me declare that I would

would not marry him, were he disengaged and offered me his hand; placing a confidence in that fincerity which had ever been my boast, her fears vanished relative to him. What then could be the cause? for a cause there muft be. This perplexed her. And as she was very defirous of seeing me married to Mr. Crump, preferring eafy circumstances to happines, she was anxious to find out and remove it.

Whilft I appeared in public, fhe was neither furprized nor displeased at seeing verfes addreffed to me from one dying fwain or other; but my praise having been frequently resounded by an unknown Strephon, fince the theatre had been shut up, and I lived a more reclufe life, her fears were excited by it. And laying afide the forrow she had lately fuffered for her deceased friend, substituted in its room anxiety for her living daughter. So fufpicious now was she become of my having entered into some tender engagement without her confent, that even the strongest testimony of affection I could give her, that of almoft constantly staying at home with her, could not remove her apprehenfions. It even added to them, as the confidered fach noval behaviour only as a contrivance to hear the oftner from this favourite admirer.

Upon my mother's intrusting Mr. Crump with her fufpicions, he also took the alarm, and never refted