Be not dismay'd!—The Fairy of the Well salutes thee!—The water which I bring will not only be a present gratifica­tion; for it contains a fortifying quality, and will be no small assistance in counter­acting or resisting the plans and intrigues of your motley Rival.

Rival!—What do you mean?—I thought I had been the only aerial merry Andrew.

O, you are mistaken.—But the Rival I mean is no Balloonist; but has been bred chiefly under ground by a rival of mine, a great Magician.

Oh, ho! I understand you.—I find, then, we are to be, as the Scotchman says in the play, Twa to twa.—I doubt I shall make but a sorry second; for, in my last flight, I lost a weapon, with which I could have done wonders.

What, your magical weapon of wood!—The Magician Nordin has stolen it from your side, and presented it to his son, your rival, Mr. Orator Mum.

Mr. Mum?

Yes.—The tongue of this his fav'rite offspring is spell bound.—No one can free it but Hymen.—In plain English, he'll never be able to speak till he's marry'd.

If he's wise he'll remain dumb all his life.—But, plague on him—tongue or no tongue—he has my sword.

Fear not!—We shall be too hard for Master Nimble-heels and his grim-visag'd Papa.—To his activity you must oppose your wit; and tho' he, by a flourish of his sword, may be able to change places, persons, times, and seasons, I have a wand here by no means its inferior, and, in the moment of need, will be always at hand to relieve you.

Always at hand!—Why can't you as well give it me, and let me relieve myself?

It has no virtue in any hand but mine.—But, in lieu of it, take this ring.—When­ever you touch it, you may appear to any [Page 12] beholder whatever, or whomsoever you shall wish to be thought: nay, to different spectators at once, as many different beings.—By removing it from one finger to ano­ther, it shall render your opponents deaf, dumb, or blind, as occasion shall require.—It will also enable you to imitate any voice, as well as assume whatever character you please.

Assume whatever character I please!—I am told London swarms with people who can do that without a magic ring.—One part of its virtue I can easily conceive to be inestimable; for I am not to learn that great things may be done there by having what they call the command of a few voices.

Yes, yes;—You won't find liberty of speech the least of my favours.

O! I know the first men in the king­dom are speech-makers, and practise their trade not only all day, but sometimes all night too. But, however fond I may be of the speaking Harlequins, my strong at­tachment is to my brethren of the sword!

I perceive you have been in London be­fore.—Then you admire the English?

Admire them!—Who does not?—An Englishman takes to fighting as a New­foundland [Page 14] dog takes to the water.—Your true British Harlequin leaps at a breach made by a cannon ball as eagerly as a hun­ter leaps at a hedge.—Liberty is his Co­lombine! the goddess of his idolatry!—For her he dares the most imminent dan­ger; and Courage is the magic sword with which he is endow'd to conquer every diffi­culty.—So, my dear, dear little Fairy, take t'other dip in the well, and follow me—for, I say—Hey, for London.

Behold me here.—Accompanied by some of my invisible agents, you shall repair to the spot where you first saw me, which [Page 17] may, perhaps, ere this, by the spells of the wicked Nordin, be rendered a mere desert. You will, at worst, find some vestiges which may lead to the well and its neighbourhood; there I'll meet you. In the mean time, Mr. Dumb▪ and his Intended will find work for their and your pursuers, who shall, for a time, be as dumb as themselves.—They approach—begone.

Ye plighted pair be happy.—Your faith and constancy deserve it.—Now to my pa­lace.

[Page 18] Oh! are you there?—You are, as I take it, the son of my mortal foe, but, I find, do not inherit his malignity.—Come, Nannette, repentance is next in rank to in­nocence.—Descend with me, and be happy.

My curses follow thee! perverted boy! who, spite of admonition and entreaty, canst prefer love to duty, and pleasure to revenge. May thy joys be transient as my spells have been feeble! May the speech thou'rt about to acquire, be ever employed in re­proaches and revilings; and trebly unpro­pitious be those revels, which I must nei­ther partake of nor behold.