moting our happiness, is the most flagrant injuftice. What magic is there in the word my, to overturn the decifion of everlasting truth? Did the obligations, as you call them, conferred upon you by your parents, originate in the conviction of your being a being of more worth and importance than any other young female of their acquaintance? If they did not, they were founded in injuftice, and therefore immoral; and whatever is fo, your judgment should contemn." "Yes," refumed Vallaton, "and as to your regard for them, philofophy fhould teach you to confider only-how can thefe old people benefit fociety? What can they do for the general good? And then placing befide them fome of thofe whofe extenfive faculties, whofe great powers enable them to perform the glorious task of enlightening the world; fay, whether justice, pure unadulterated juftice, will not point out where the preference ought to fall ?” Well rejoined Julia, I declare I never thought of it in this light before. Every new proof of affection which I received from my father and mother, has always fo endeared them to my heart, that I have thought, if I could lay down my life for them, it would be too little for all their goodness to me.' "How unworthy of the enlightened mind of Julia is fuch a fentiment !" exclaimed Vallaton. "But I hope you will foon get the better of these remains of prejudice, and in ardent defire for the general good, lofe this confined individuality of affection." • Indeed I shall never lose my affection for my parents, returned Julia; I should hate myself if I did.' Mr. Mr. Vallaton, afraid of pushing the matter too far, changed the difcourfe; but in every fubject that was introduced, artfully contrived to bring in fuch allufions to the purpose of his argument, as he thought beft calculated to work on the ardent imagination of his fair and unfufpecting pupil. CHAP. VIII. But fome there are who deem themfelves molt free, SOUTHEY. IN the sketch we prefented to our readers, of the principal incidents which marked the life of Mr. Myope, we entered into a fort of promise to furnish a similar degree of information concerning his friend and affociate, Mr. Vallaton. As we hold every engagement of this nature facred, and as it is probable that a more convenient opportunity than the prefent may not occur for discharging our obligation, we shall, without further lofs of time, proceed to gratify the curiosity which we make no doubt we have excited. Who were the parents of this illuftrious hero, it is probable the most accurate research could not have ascertained; not that we shall take upon us to affirm that fuch research was ever made; it VOL. I. B is is more probable, that the discovery was left to that chance which is fo obliging to the foundling hero of every novel. Similar as were the circumstances of Mr. Vallaton's birth, in point of obfcurity, to that of the great men, whofe lives and adventures have employed the pens of fo many eminent writers, philofophers and fempftreffes, authors by profeffion, ladies of quality, and milliners at their leifure hours; it was attended by fome peculiarities, a relation of which will fufficiently exculpate us from the charge of plagiarism. A woman who lodged in one of the fubterraneous abodes, vulgarly denominated cellars, in a little alley of St. Gile's, was called his mammy; and to her, upon pain of whipping, he delivered all the halfpence which his infant importunity had extorted from the paffengers in the street; but this woman, even at the foot of the gallows, denied being the mother of the funny vagabond, as her little charge was commonly called. To her inflructions, however, was he indebted for the first rudiments of his education; and it is but juftice to his early genius to obferve, that there never was an apter fcholar. At fix years old he could, with wonderful adroitnefs, adapt his tale fo as beft to work upon the feelings of his auditors. Sometimes, in a pitiful and whining tone, he would beg for God's fake, a fingle halfpenny to buy a bit of bread for fix of them, who had not broke their faft to-day.' Anó One paffenger he would follow with clamorous importunity for the length of a street. ther, from whofe afpect he expected better things, he would attack with a tale of forrow; his father had then a broken leg, and his mother was just that that morning brought to-bed of twins; a ftory which he told fo well, and with fuch apparent fimplicity, that it more than once produced a fixpence. In this way were the talents of our hero employed till his ninth year, when the fatal exit of his mammy left him at his own difpofal. During the last weeks of the life of his benefactress, he fo improved by the converfation of her fellow prisoners, that there were few of the choiceft fecrets in the fcience of pilfering, of which he did not acquire fome idea; of all the more common modes of exercising the profeffion he became perfect master. Being thus initiated in the theory, we make no doubt that he would foon have become an adept in the practice, had not the last moments of his mammy produced a certain feeling of terror, which fo forcibly operated upon his mind, as to deter him from accepting the overtures of a gang of thieves, who had conceived a juft opinion of his talents. That most great men have had their weaknesses, is an obfervation, which, however trite it may appear, is nevertheless founded in truth. Let not, then, our hero be derided for his; fince it must be acknowledged, that many have trembled at phantoms lefs formidable than the gallows. Whether the native ftrength of his mind might not have at length enabled him to conquer the dread of an evil from which he daily faw fo many adventurers efcape, and which he knew to be most despised by those on whom it was most likely to fall, we cannot take it upon us to determine. Before the power of exifting circumftances had directed his energies into this channel, an incident occurred, which probably changed the colour of his future destiny. B 2 While While employed in fweeping the croffing, oppofite the door of a charitable lady, in the neighbourhood of Bloomsbury-fquare, he obferved a fquirrel make its efcape from the house; and feeing two or three fervants immediately run after it, judged that fomething might be got by recovering the fugitive. He accordingly engaged in the chace, and being either the most active, or the most zealous, of those who were employed in the purfuit, eafily outftripped them all, and had the honour of fecuring the little runaway, who revenged the lofs of liberty by biting the hand of its enflaver. Notwithstanding the pain cccafioned by the wound, the litte fellow bravely kept hold of his adverfary, and returned with him in triumph to his miftrefs. The good lady delighted at the restoration of her favourite, demanded the name of his preferver. The boys calls me the funny vagabond, replied he, and Ise never answers to no other name.' "And where do your father and mother live?" enquired the lady. Ife have got no fathers nor mothers,' returned he, beginning to whimper. སྐ "Poor thing!" faid the lady, " and were you never at school?" The negative to this question, and the apparent wretchednefs of the little object, fo wrought upon the compaffionate heart of this good woman, that the immediately conceived the intention of taking him under her protection. He was accordingly cloathed, and put to fchool by the name of Alphonfo Vallaton; for fo the good lady, who was a great reader of novels, chofe to conftrue the appellation of funny vagabond, which, though probably but a nick name, |