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added my purfe too, faid my uncle Toby)—he was heartily welcome to it:He made a very low bow, (which was meant to your honour) but no answer,-for his heart was full-fo he went up ftairs with the toaft; I warrant you, my dear, faid I, as I opened the kitchen-door, your father will be well again.—Mr. Yorick's curate was fmoaking a pipe by the kitchen fire,—but faid not a word good or bad to comfort the youth.-I thought it was wrong, added the corporalI think fo too, faid my uncle Toby.

WHEN the lieutenant had taken his glass of fack and toaft, he felt himself a little revived, and fent down into the kitchen, to let me know, that in about ten minutes he fhould be glad if I would step up stairs.I believe, faid the landlord, he is going to fay his prayers,-for there was a book laid upon the chair by his bed-fide, and as I fhut the door, I faw his fon take up a cushion.

I THOUGHT, faid the curate, that you gentlemen of the army, Mr. Trim, never faid your prayers at all.- -I heard the poor gentleman fay his prayers last night, faid the landlady, very devoutly, and with my own ears, or I could not have believed it.Are you fure of it? replied the curate.. A foldier, 'an please your reverence, faid I, prays as often (of his own accord) as a parfon ;and when he is fighting for his king, and for his own life, and for his honour too, he has the most reason to pray to God of any one in the whole world.- 'Twas well faid of thee, Trim, faid my uncle Toby.-But when a foldier, said I, an' please your reverence, has been standing for twelve hours together in the trenches, up to his knees in cold water,-or engaged, faid I, for months together in long and dangerous marches;-harraffed, perhaps, in his rear to-day;-harraffing others to-morrow ;-detached here; countermanded there;

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-refting this night out upon his arms;-beat up in his fhirt the next;-benumbed in his joints ;-perhaps without straw in his tent to kneel on;-must say his prayers how and when he can. I believe, faid I,-for I was piqu'd, quoth the corporal, for the reputation of the army,I believe, an't please your reverence, faid I, that when a foldier gets time to pray, he prays as heartily as a parfon-though not with all his fufs and hypocrify.-Thou should'st not have faid that, Trim, faid my uncle Toby, for God only knows who is a hypocrite, and who is not :- -At the great and general review of us all, corporal, at the day of judgment, (and not till then)-it will be feen who has done their duties in this world,-and who has not; and we shall be advanced, Trim, accordingly.I hope we fhall, faid Trim-It is in the Scripture, faid my uncle Toby; and I will fhew it thee to-morrow: In the mean time we may depend upon it, Trim, for our comfort, faid my uncle Toby, that God Almighty is fo good and just a governor of the world, that if we have but done our duties in it, it will never be enquired into, whether we have done them in a red coat or a black one :I hope not; faid the corporal-But go on, Trim, faid my uncle Toby, with thy ftory.

WHEN I went up, continued the corporal, into the lieutenant's room, which I did not do till the expiration of the ten minutes- -he was lying in his bed with his head raifed upon his hand, with his elbow upon the pillow, and a clean white cambric handkerchief befide it :The youth was juft ftooping down to take up the cushion, upon which I fuppofed he had been kneeling-the book was laid upon the bed,- and as he rofe, in taking up the cushion with one hand, he reached out his other to take it away at the

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-Let it remain there, my dear, faid the lieu

He did not offer to speak to me, till I had walked up clofe to his bed-fide:If you are Captain Shandy's fervant, faid he, you must prefent my thanks to your master, with my little boy's thanks along with them, for his courtesy to me; if he was of Leven's-faid the Lieutenant.――Į told him your honour was-Then faid he, I ferved three campaigns with him in Flanders, and remember him— but 'tis most likely, as I had not the honour of any acquaintance with him, that he knows nothing of me.- -You will tell him, however, that the perfon his good-nature has laid under obligations to him, is one Le Fevre, a lieutenant in Angus's but he knows me not,-said he, a second .time, mufing;—poffibly he may my story-added he~ pray tell the captain, I was the enfign at Breda, whose wife was most unfortunately killed with a mufket-fhot, as fhe lay in my arms in my tent.-I remember the ftory, an't please your honour, faid I, very well.-Do you fo? said he, wiping his eyes with his handkerchief,-then well may I.In faying this, he drew a little ring out of his bofom, which feemed tied with a black ribband about his neck, and kissed it twice-Here, Billy, faid he, the boy flew across the room to the bed-fide,-and falling down upon his knee, took the ring in his hand, and kiffed it too,-then kiffed his father, and fat down upon the bed and wept.

I WISH, faid my uncle Toby, with a deep figh,-I wish, Trim, I was afleep.

YOUR honour, replied the corporal, is too much concerned ;-shall I pour your honour out a glass of fack to your pipe?-Do, Trim, said my uncle Toby.

I REMEMBER, faid my uncle Toby, fighing again, the ftory of the enfign and his wife, with a circumftance his

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modesty omitted;-and particularly well that he, as well as fhe, upon fome account or other, (I forget what) was universally pitied by the whole regiment;-but finish the story thou art upon :-'Tis finish'd already, faid the corporal, for I could ftay no longer,-so wished his honour a good night; young Le Fevre rose from off the bed, and faw me to the bottom of the ftairs; and as we went down together, told me, they had come from Ireland, and were on their route to join the regiment in Flanders-But alas! faid the corporal,-the lieutenant's laft day's march is over. Then what is to become of his poor boy? cried my uncle Toby.

It was to my uncle Toby's eternal honour,-though I tell it only for the fake of thofe, who, when cooped in betwixt a natural and a pofitive law, know not for their fouls, which way in the world to turn themselves- That notwithstanding my uncle Toby was warmly engaged at that time in carrying on the fiege of Dendermond, parallel with the allies, who preffed theirs on fo vigorously, that they scarce allowed him time to get his dinner- -that nevertheless he gave up Dendermond, though he had already made a lodgment upon the counterfcarp; and bent his whole thoughts towards the private diftreffes at the inn; and, except that he ordered the garden-gate to be bolted up, by which he might be said to have turned the fiege of Dendermond into a blockade, he left Dendermond to itfelf,to be relieved or not by the French king, as the French king thought good; and only confidered how he himself should relieve the poor lieutenant and his fon.

-THAT kind Being, who is a friend to the friend

lefs, fhall recompenfe thee for this.

THOU haft left this matter fhort, faid my uncle Toby

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to the corporal, as he was putting him to bed,—and I will tell thee in what, Trim.In the first place, when thou madeft an offer of my fervices to Le Fevre,-as fickness and travelling are both expenfive, and thou knoweft he was but a poor lieutenant, with a fon to fubfift as well as himself, out of his pay, that thou didst not make an offer to him of my purfe; because, had he stood in need, thou knoweft, Trim, he had been as welcome to it as myself. Your honour knows, faid the corporal, I had no orders ;True, quoth my uncle Toby,-thou didst very right, Trim, as a foldier,-but certainly very wrong as a man.

In the fecond place, for which, indeed, thou haft the fame excufe, continued my uncle Toby,-when thou offeredft him whatever was in my houfe,-thou fhouldst have offered him my houfe too: -A fick brother officer fhould have the beft quarters, Trim; and if we had him with us,

we could tend and look to him :-Thou art an excellent nurse, thyself, Trim,-and what with thy care of him, and the old woman's, and his boy's, and mine together, we might recruit him again at once, and fet him upon his legs.

-IN a fortnight or three weeks, added my uncle Toby, fmiling-he might march. He will never march, an' please your honour, in this world, faid the corporal:

He will march, faid my uncle Toby, rifing up from the fide of the bed, with one fhoe off:-. -An' please your honour, faid the corporal, he will never march but to his grave: -He fhall march, cried my uncle Toby, marching the foot which had a fhoe on, though without advancing an inch,--he fhall march to his regiment.He cannot stand it, said the corporal.He shall be fupported, faid my uncle Toby He'll drop at laft faid the cor

poral,

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