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the cor

-My uncle Toby proceeded

-Corporal! faid my uncle Toby
poral made his bow.
no farther, but finished his pipe.

Trim! faid my uncle Toby, I have a project in my head, as it is a bad night, of wrapping myself up warm in my roquelaure, and paying a vifit to this poor gentleman. Your honour's roquelaure, replied the corporal, has not once been had on, fince the night before your honour received your wound, when we mounted guard in the trenches before the gate of St Nicholas; -and befides it is fo cold and rainy a night, that what with the roquelaure, and what with the weather, 'twill be enough to give your honour your death, and bring on your honour's torment in your groin. I fear fo, replied my uncle Toby: But I am not at rest in my mind, Trim, fince the account the landlord has given me.I wish I had not known fo much of this affair,added my uncle Toby, or that I had known more of it :-) How fhall we manage it? Leave it, an't pleafe your honour, to me, quoth the corporal;--I'll take my hat and ftick, and go to the house and reconnoitre, and act accordingly, and I will bring your honour a full account in an hour. -Thou shalt go, Trim, faid my uncle Toby; and here's a fhilling for thee to drink with his fervant. I fhall get it all out of him, faid the corporal, fhutting

the door.

My uncle Toby filled his fecond pipe; and had it not been that he now and then wandered from the point, with confidering whether it was not full as well to have the curtain of the tennail a ftraight line as a crooked one; he might be faid to have thought of nothing else but poor Le Fevre and his boy the whole time he fmoaked it.

It was not till my uncle Toby had knocked the ashes out of his third pipe, that corporal Trim returned from the inn, and gave him the following account.

I defpaired at firft, faid the corporal, of being able to bring back your honour any kind of intelligence concerning

cerning the poor fick lieutenant-Is he in the army, then? faid my uncle Toby He is, faid the corporal -And in what regiment? faid my uncle Toby

-I'll tell your honour, replied the corporal, every thing straight forwards as I learnt it.Then, Trim, I'll fill another pipe, faid my uncle Toby, and not interrupt thee till thou haft done; fo fit down at thy cafe, Trim, in the window feat, and begin thy ftory again. The corporal made his old bow, which generally spoke, as plain as a bow could speak it,Your honour is good And having done that, he fat down, as he was ordered, and began the story to my uncle Toby over again in pretty near the fame words.

I defpaired at first, said the corporal, of being able to bring back any intelligence to your honour about the lieutenant and his fon; for when I asked where his fervant was, from whom I made myself fure of knowing every thing which was proper to be asked,

That's a right diftinction, Trim, faid my uncle Toby I was answered, an' please your honour, that he had no fervant with him that he had come to the inn with hired horfes, which, upon finding himfelf unable to proceed, (to join, I fuppofe, the regi ment) he had difmiffed the morning after he came.If I get better, my dear, faid he, as he gave his purfe to his fon to pay the man, we can hire horses from hence. But, alas! the poor gentleman will never get from hence, said the landlady to me, for I heard the death-watch all night long ;- -and when he dies, the youth, his son, will certainly die with him; for he is broken-hearted already.

--

I was hearing this account, continued the corporal, when the youth came into the kitchen, to order the thin toaft the landlord fpoke of;but I will do it for my father myfelf, faid the youth. Pray let me fave you the trouble, young gentleman, faid I, taking up a fork for the purpose, and offering him my chair to fit down upon by the fire, whilft I did it. I believe, Sir, faid he, very modeftly, I can please him beft my

felf.

felf.I am fure, faid I, his honour will not like the toast the worse for being toasted by an old foldier.The youth took hold of my hand, and inftantly burst into tears. Poor youth! faid my uncle Toby,-he has been bred up from an infant in the army, and the name of a foldier, Trim, founded in his ears like the name of a friend;-I wish I had him here.

I never, in the longest march, faid the corporal, had fo great a mind to my dinner, as I had to cry with him for company :---- What could be the matter with me, an' please your honour? Nothing in the world, Trim, faid my uncle Toby, blowing his nose,—but that thou art a good-natured fellow.

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When I gave him the toaft, continued the corporal, I thought it was proper to tell him I was captain Shandy's fervant, and that your honour (though a stranger) was extremely concerned for his father; And that if there was any thing in your houfe or cellar(and thou mightest have 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 anfwer- -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 corporal I 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 sent down into the kitchen, to let me know, that in about ten minutes he should be glad if I would step up ftairs.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 saw his fon take up a cufhion..

I thought, faid the curate, that you gentlemen of the army, Mr Trim, never faid your prayers at all.

I heard

I heard the poor gentleman fay his prayers laft 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 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. uncle Toby.But when a foldier, faid 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;-haraffed, perhaps, in his rear to-day;-haraffing others to-morrow;-detached here; countermanded there;-resting 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 ;-muft fay his prayers bow 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' 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

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-But go on, Trim, faid my uncle Toby, with thy story.

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 raised 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 supposed 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 fame time.Let it remain there, my dear, faid the lieutenant.

tenant

He did not offer to fpeak to me, till I had walked up clofe to his bed-fide:-If you are captain Shandy's fervant, faid he, you must present 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 lieu-I 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,-faid he, a second time, mufing;poffibly he may my story-added he-pray tell the captain, I was the enfign at Breda, whofe wife was most unfortunately killed with a musket-shot, as The lay in my arms in my tent.-I remember the story, an' please your honour, faid I, very well.-Do you

fo? faid 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 kiffed 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 kissed it too, then kiffed his father, and fat down upon the bed and wept.

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