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contributes much to quicken the difcernment, enlarge the capacity, or elevate the imagination; but may, by hiring flattery, or laying diligence afleep, confirm error, and harden itupidity.

Wealth cannot confer greatnefs, for nothing can make that gfeat, which the decree of nature has ordained to be little. The bramble may be placed in a hot-bed, but can never become an oak. Even royalty itself is not able to give that dignity which it happens not to find; but opprefles little minds, though it may elevate the great. The world has been governed in the name of kings, whofe exiftence

has fcarcely been perceived by any real effects beyond their own. palaces.

When therefore the defire of wealth takes hold of the mind, let us look round and fee how it operates upon those whofe induftry, or fortune, has attained it. When we find them oppreffed with their own abundance, luxurious without pleafure, idle without eafe, impatient and quarrel fome in themfelves, or defpifed or hated by the rest of mankind; we fhall foon be convinced, that if the real wants of this condition are fatisfied, there remains little to be fought with folicitude, or defired with ardour.

To the Authors of the BRITISH MAGAZINE.

GENTLEMEN,

OF

F all the paffions of the human mind, none has given occafion to fuch a variety of events, or produced fo many extraordinary adventures, as the paffion of love; for this reafon the celebrated Mon. de Fontenelle is of opinion, that it is of all others the beft calculated for the theatre: indeed, fo furprising are the turns of fortune, to which it fometimes gives rife, as almost to juftify the liberties taken by Romance-writers, and induce us to believe that it is in a particular maner influenced by magic and enchantment. The narrative which I now fend you, though true in every particular, contains in it fomething as extraordinary as we meet with in works of invention; and as the moral which may be learned from it is of the higheft utility to mankind, I doubt not but it will

prove acceptable to your readers. The truth which it conveys to our knowledge is, that happiness, and above all, that happiness which refults from fuccefsful love, is hardly ever to be attained in this world, and that it often efcapes us even when we think ourselves most sure of it.

A gentleman, whofe real name we shall beg leave to conceal under that of Olindo, was endowed with every natural and acquired accomplishment that could procure him efteem amongst the men, or Dender him an object of admiration to the fair. Such was the gracefulnefs of his perfon, that he seemed framed by nature for the hero of a romance; his features were of a fweetnefs more than feminine, and his hair, which in blackness furpaffed the jet, might be compared to the curls of Hyperion. Tho

nature

terms upon the folly of an unequal match, that Sachariffa was determined in her refolution of treating Olindo with neglect, and did not even vouchfafe to answer his letter.

nature had been thus prodigal to Olindo, he was not equally favoured by fortune, a circumftance which had but little effect upon one of his easy and careless temper, till he beheld at Morpeth, where he was then quartered, the beauteous Sachariffa, whofe father's poffeffions were not to be equalled in Northumberland. He then first regretted the want of wealth, thinking, and not without reason, that the addreffes of a captain of foot, who had no fortune but his commiffion, would be but ill received by a beauty, who was heiress to the greatest estate in the north of England; and even if love fhould favour him fo far as to make his mistress overlook his deficiency in point of fortune, he could not be ignorant that her parents would not be fo eafily fatisfied, but would thwart his happiness to the utmost of their power. He was not herein mistaken. When firft he discovered his paffion to Sachariffa, the could not help looking upon him as prefumptuous to afpire to the poffeffion of one who had noblemen in the lift of her admirers, and whom the greatest lord in the kingdom would be ambitious to call his own. She was indeed a ftranger to avarice: but ambition has an afcendant over every female heart; The therefore thought herself in fome measure infulted by the declaration of Olindo, and fhewed his letter to her aunt Sabina, a woman of an haughty and afpiring temper, who had inftilled in to her young mind the principles of pride and ambition. Sabina was fired with refentment at beholding it, and expatiated in fuch

Olindo did not, however, defift from his purfuit; he was constant in his attendance at every public place, where he could have an opportunity of feeing Sacharifsa; and the filent eloquence of his looks, in a fhort time, proved fuccessful in kindling the flame of love in her heart, tho' his amorous declaration had failed: fhe could not be infenfible to his fhining merit; but foon conceived a pasfion for him, which he was refolved to conceal from all her relations, being well aware that they would never approve of her giving her hand to one fo much inferior to her in fortune. Olindo, who was no novice in intrigue, quickly perceived the impreffion he had made upon the heart of Sachariffa; he, therefore, ventured to address her again by letter, and received as favourable an anfwer as he could with. To procure an interview was now equally the defire of both lovers; but both were equally difcouraged by the difficulties they had to encounter. Love feldom fails to fharpen the invention; they at laft found means to enjoy each others converfation, and their mutual paffion was greatly increased by their intimacy. Notwithstanding all their caution and fecrecy, their interviews at laft came to the knowledge of Sachariffa's parents, who, in order to put a stop to them, refolved to carry her im

mediately

mediately to London, tho' they

had not before been used to quit the country fo early in the year. Sachariffa was almoft in defpair at hearing of this refolution; The gave immediate notice of it to her lover, whofe grief at the profpect of being feparated from the idol of his heart, was fuch as might be expected from the violence of his paffion. He by letter affured his mistress, that no confideration fhould for a long time deprive him of the pleafure of feeing her; but told her at the fame time, that he would not follow her to town directly, that he might the better escape the notice of her parents. The fincerity of his intention was fully proved by his actions. Not long after the departure of Sachariffa, Olindo, who was not at a lofs for a pretext in order to procure permiflion from the commanding officer to abfent himself from the regiment, fet out for London, attended by a fingle fervant, who by nature and education poffeffed talents which rendered him highly useful in promoting the fecret intercourfe of lovers. Olindo, upon his arrival in London, affumed a fictitious name, and cautioned all that knew him to fupprefs their knowledge of his being in town. At the fame time, he informed Sachariffa of his prefence by letter; and they concerted matters fo well, that they had frequent opportunities of feeing each other, before the family of Sachariffa could come to the knowledge of their intercourfe.

Sacharifla, however, would not confent to the propofals made by Olindo, of leaving the kingdom and marrying privately, as the

looked upon fuch a conduct as altogether inconfiftent with prudence and virtue. In this she was certainly right; for women whofe complaifance for their lovers is unbounded, are generally neglected by them in the end. Tho' the condition of Olindo and Sachariffa was far from being completely happy, as the wishes of neither could be fatisfied otherwise than by feeing their fate united by the indiffoluble bond of Hymen, they received fome confolation from the mutual demonftrations of love, which they gave each other at their amorous interviews, and from letters, in which they poured out the fentiments of their hearts, when they could not enjoy the higher pleasure of converfing in perfon. But this imperfect happiness was foon interrupted. The parents of Sachariffa, who were alarmed upon difcovering her paffion for Olindo, and were not without apprehenfions that fhe would one day match below herself, thought the best way to prevent so great a misfortune was to marry her, without delay, to fomebody whofe rank might reflect dignity upon the family, and whofe ample poffeffions might be adequate to those which he would acquire by the alliance. The wifhed-for occafion foon offered itself; Sachariffa was folicited in marriage by a noble peer, and her father, who was perfectly fatisfied with the title and eftate of the fuitor, fignified to his daughter his intention that the fhould receive lord , as one that was fhortly to be her husband. This injunction was the caufe of great affliction to Sacharifia; for tho' fhe was refolved never to give her

hand

hand except where she could give her heart, the forefaw that this propofal of her father would involve her in numberless difficulties and perplexities. She did not at once openly declare that he would never think of lord for a husband, leaft her father should entertain fome fufpicion that her paffion for another was the cause of her refufal to obey his commands: the only told him, that he had no inclination to change her condition, and that he thought the marriage - ftate could not fail to prove unhappy when a mutual affection was not the basis of it. The old gentleman did not, however, defift from preffing her to enter into the matrimonial ftate, and spoke in the most boastful terms of the rank and opulence of the man who was defirous of making her his companion for life. These reiterated importunities made Sachariffa throw off all difguife; fhe avowed an utter averfion for lord and declared that no confideration whatever should ever prevail with her to confent to be his wife. Sachariffa's whole family took the alarm upon this difcovery of her fentiments. As their own aggrandiz. ment was their chiefeft aim, they were grieved at the thoughts of miffing fuch an acceffion of opulence and honour; but it was a high addition to their uneafinefs to find that a remaining paffion for Olindo was the real caufe of Sachariffa's averfion to lord

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for Olindo, nothwithstanding all the care he took to keep himself concealed, was at laft discovered to be in town; and the relations of Sachariffa eafily judged that the was the fole cause of his repairing

to the capital at a time that duty required his prefence elsewhere.

This discovery so much encreased the vigilance of Sachariffa's parents, that it was not afterwards im her power to hold any further correfpondence with Olindo; so that it was eafy for them to prevent effectually his feeing her, by conveying her to the house of an aunt who lived in Yorkshire, and who would not fail to watch over her with the eyes of an Argus, as her natural acerbity of temper was encreafed by age, and she was per-' fectly well qualified both by nature and education to act the part of a duenna. It is easy to form a judgment of the grief and anxiety which was felt by both our lovers, when the parents of Sachariffa had put their design in execution; the feparation was equally dreadful to them both, as Olindo could not form a fcheme of life, in which Sacharia was not effential to his happiness; and Sachariffa had placed her affection in fuch a manner upon him, that she could enjoy no blifs in his abfence. Olindo's defpair was unequalled when he found himself deprived of the pleafure of even seeing Sachariffa for nothing can be more just than the lover's obfervation in Terence, certè extrema lineâ amare non eft nibil. The moft remote enjoyment of the beloved object is some confolation to the lover; and fuch was the purity and elegance of Olindo's flame, that the fight of his mistress alone was fufficient to make him happy. No fooner was he deprived of her prefence but his mind was overcaft with defpair; her idea was always prefent to his mind; but memory, instead of affwaging his

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He refolved to leave nothing unattempted in order to difcover the place to which Sachariffa had been removed by her parents; but his efforts were entirely unfuccefsful. The affliction of Sachariffa was equal to that of her lover: in the remote corner to which she had been as it were banished by her parents, fhe abandoned herself to a gloomy melancholy; and the company of her aunt and thofe about her, who had a conftant eye upon her conduct, added greatly to her constraint and uneasiness. She was deprived of the privilege of complaining, the wretch's only confolation, and was every moment reproached with her attachment to a lover whom she despaired of ever seeing again. Thus were the loves of Olindo and Sachariffa opposed by adverfe fate; the pride of Sachariffa herself made her for a time flight the proffered love of one, upon whom alone her happinefs depended. When that was conquered by the merit of Olindo, and it was equally the wifh of both to live and die together; the ambition of Sachariffa's parents was an infurmountable obftacle to their felicity. An event happened fome time after, from which Olindo derived fome hopes that his fate might brighten; a relation dying left him heir to a confiderable eftate,

June, 1763.

and he thought he could then, without prefumption, ask Sachariffa of her parents; but his want of a title was ftill confidered by that haughty family as a fufficient reafon to look upon the match as unequal. Thus were the hopes which Olindo'sencreafe of fortune had made him entertain, difappointed; when what he at first confidered as the greatest evil that could be dreaded from the unexhaufted rigour of fate, gave rife to a turn of fortune from which he expected compleat felicity.

Sacharifla was taken dangeroully ill, and her life was despaired of by all about her. Her parents had fcarce any doubt that the fource of her diforder was difappointed love; and the accounts which they received from the country, confirmed them in this opinion. As they tenderly loved their daughter, tho' they had fo long thwarted her inclinations, from a mistaken notion that grandeur was effential to happiness, they determined to remove the caufe of her illness, and to permit her to receive the addreffes of

Olindo.

The joy which this unexpected turn of fortune gave Olindo, was check'd by his concern for the state in which the then was; and he feared that fortune, which had been fo long unfavourable to him, would only render the lofs of Sachariffa the more infupportable, by thefe delufive hopes of poffeffing her. He fet out with all the ardour of love, and all the impatience of anxiety; and his joy became perfect and unmixed, when, upon his arrival, he found Sacharifia, whofe illne's had been entirely owing to her grief at be

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