Letter I.

TO perform the promise which I made to you before I began my journey, I will give you such an account of this, once forest, but now cultivated and pleas­ant country, as I can collect from my con­versation with its inhabitants, and from the perusal of their old family papers, [Page 12] which they have kindly permitted me to look into for my entertainment. By these means I have acquainted myself with the story of their first planting, consequent improvements, and present state; the re­cital of which will occupy the hours which I shall be able to spare from business, com­pany and sleep, during my residence among them.

IN reading the character of John Bull, which was committed to paper some years ago by one who knew him well, you must have observed, that though "he was in the main an honest, plain dealing fellow, yet he was choleric and inconstant, and very apt to quarrel with his best friends." This observation you will find fully verified in the course of the narrative; and as the opinions and manners of superiors have a very great influence in forming the char­acter of inferiors, you need not be sur­prised if you find a family likeness pre­vailing among the persons whose history I [Page 13] am about to recite, most of whom were formerly residents in Mr. Bull's house, or apprentices in his shop.

THERE was among the appendages to John's estate, a pretty large tract of land, which had been neglected by his ancestors, and which he never cared much about, ex­cepting that now and then some of his family went thither a hunting, and brought home venison and furs. Indeed this was, as far as I can find, the best pretence that John had to call the land his; for he had no legal title to it. It was then a very woody country, in some parts rocky and hil­ly, in other parts level; well watered with brooks and ponds, and the whole of it bor­dered on a large lake, in which were plenty of fish, some of which were often served up at John's table, on fast days.

THE stories told by one and another of these adventurers, had made a deep impres­sion on the mind of Walter Pipeweed, one [Page 14] of John's domestics, a fellow of a roving and projecting disposition, and who had learned the art of surveying. Walter hav­ing frequently listened to their chat, began to think within himself, "If these fellows make so many pence by their excursions to this wild spot, what might not I gain by sit­ting down upon it? There is plenty of game and fish at hand, for a present supply; plenty of nuts and acorns to fatten pigs, and with some small labour I may be able to raise corn and feed poultry, which will fetch me a good price at market.—I can carry bisket enough in my pockets to keep me alive till my first crop comes in, and my dog can live upon the offals of the game that I shall kill.—Besides, who knows what treasures the land itself may contain—per­haps some rich mines!—then I am made for this world—I shall be as rich as Lord Strut!

FULL of this dream, Walter applied to his master one day for a lease of part of [Page 15] the forest, as it was called. Bull at first laughed at the proposal, and put him off; but Walter followed it up so close, and told what advantages might be gained by settling there, and promised, if he should succeed, to turn all his trade into his mas­ter's hand, and give him the refusal of whatever he might bring to market, and withal shewed him some drafts, which he had made with chalk, from the reports of the huntsmen, that Bull began to think of the matter in good earnest, and consult­ed his lawyer upon the subject, who, after due consideration of the premises, and strok­ing his band, advised him as follows. "Why yes, Mr. Bull, I don't see why you ought not to look about you as well as your neigh­bours. You know that old Lord Peter lays claim to the whole country, and has assum­ed to parcel it out among his devotees. He has given all the western part of it, where this forest lies, to Lord Strut, and he has a large manor adjoining to your forest, which, they say, yields him a fine rent, and [Page 16] who knows but this may bring you in as much, or more?—Then there is Lewis, the cudgel player, and Nicholas Frog, the dra­per, who have, perhaps, (I say perhaps, Mr. Bull, because there may be a little doubt on both sides, and in that case, you know Sir, it would not become gentlemen of our cloth to speak positively) as good a claim as your Honor to this land; but then it is a maxim, you know, that possession is elev­en points of the law, and if you once get your foot upon it, they cannot oust you without a process, and your Honor knows that your purse is as long as theirs, and you are as able to stand a suit with them as they are with you. I therefore advise you to hu­mour your man Walter, and give him a lease, and a pretty large one—you may find more advantages in it than you are aware of—but lease it, lease it, at any rate." Upon this he was ordered to make out a lease; and Walter being thus invested with as good authority as could be obtained, fill­ed his pockets with bread and cheese, took [Page 17] his gun, powder-flask, and shot of various kinds, with a parcel of fishing-lines and hooks, his surveying instruments, and a bag of corn on his shoulders, and off he trotted to his new paradise.

IT was some time before he could fix upon a spot to his liking, and he at first met with some opposition from the bears and wolves, and was greatly exposed to the weather, before he could build him a hut; once or twice the savage animals had almost devoured him, but being made of good stuff, he stood his ground, cleared a little spot, put his seed into the earth, and lived as well as such adventurers can expect, poorly e­nough at first, but supported, as all new planters are, by the hope of better times. After a while he began to thrive, and his master Bull recommended a wife, ^* whom he married, and by whom he had a number of children. Having found a new sort of grain in the forest, and a certain plant of a narcotic quality, he cultivated both, and [Page 18] having procured a number of black cattle, he went on pretty gaily in the planting way, and brought his narcotic weed into great repute, by sending a present of a quantity of it to his old master, who grew excessive­ly fond of it, and kept calling for more, till he got the whole trade of it into his own hands, and sold it out of his own ware­house to Lewis, Frog, and all the other tradesmen around him. In return, he sup­plied Walter with cloths and stuffs for his family, and utensils for his husbandry; and as a reward for being the first, who had courage to make a settlement in his forest, he dignified his plantation with the name of the ancient dominion. Beside this mark of respect, and in token of his high esteem of him as a customer, as well as for certain other reasons, he made it a practice, every year, to present him with a waggon load of Ordure, the sweepings of his back yard, the scrapings of his dog kennel, and contents of his own water closet. This was a mark of politeness which John valued himself [Page 19] much upon. "It may seem odd (said he one day to a friend) that I make such a kind of compliment as this to my good custom­er; but if you consider it aright, you will find it a piece of refined policy; for by this means I get rid of a deal of trash and rub­bish that is necessarily made in such a fam­ily as mine; I get a cursed stink removed from under my nose, and my good friend has the advantage of it upon his farm, to manure his grounds, and make them pro­duce more plentifully that precious weed in which we all so much delight." Walter was often seen, on the arrival of Bull's waggon, to clap his handkerchief to his nose; but as he knew his old master was an odd sort of a fellow, and it was his in­terest to keep in with him, he generally turned off the compliment with a laugh, saying, good-naturedly enough, "Let him laugh that wins," without explaining his meaning, though it might admit of a double entendre; then calling some of his servants, he ordered them to shovel out the dung, [Page 20] and make his black cattle mix theirs with it. When spread over the land, the air took out most of the scent, and the salts were of some advantage to the soil.

AFTER Walter Pipeweed had got his af­fairs into tolerable order, he was visited in his retirement by Cecilius Peterson, ^* anoth­er of Bull's apprentices, who had taken a fancy to the same kind of life, from a dis­gust to some things that had happened in the family. He had not been long with Walter before he found it would not do for him to remain there. Peterson was suppo­sed to be a natural son of old Lord Peter, after whom he was nick-named. He had the same affected airs, and a tincture of the high-flying notions of his reputed father. These made him rather disgustful to Wal­ter, who had learned his manners of Mr. Bull's mother, when she was in her sober [Page 21] senses, and between her and Lord Peter there had been a long variance. When Peterson perceived that his company was not desired, he had so much good sense as to leave Walter's plantation, and, paddling across a creek, seated himself on a point of land that ran out into the lake. Of this he obtained a lease of his old master, and went to work in the same manner as Walter had done, who, liking his company best at a dis­tance, was willing to supply him with bread and meat till he could scramble for himself. Here he took to husbandry raising corn and the narcotic weed, and buying up black cat­tle, and after a while turned his produce into his old master's ware-house, and received from him the annual compliment of a wag­gon load of dung, excepting that when there had not been so much as usual made, he and Walter were to share a load between them.

TO ingratiate himself still farther with his old master, he accepted of a girl out of his family for a wife, (for John was always [Page 22] fond of his tenants marrying for fear of their doing worse) he took as little notice as possible of his reputed father, and drop­ping, or disowning his nick-name of Peter­son, he assumed that of Marygold, which old Madam Bull understood as a compli­ment to one of her daughters. He also made his court to the old lady by kneeling down and kissing the golden fringe of her embroidered petticoat, as was the fashion of that day. This ceremony, though a trifle in itself, helped much to recommend him to Mr. Bull, who was a very dutiful son, and took his mother's advice in most parts of his business. In short, Cecilius was too much of a politician to suppose that filial affection ought to stand in the way of a man's interest, and in this he judged as ma­ny other men would have done in the same circumstances.

Letter II.

ABOUT the time in which these first attempts were making, and the fame of them had raised much jealousy among some, and much expectation among others, there happened a sad quarrel in John Bull's family. His mother, poor woman, had been seized with hysteric fits, which caused her at times to be delirious and full of all sorts of whims. She had taken it into her head that every one of the family must hold [Page 24] knife and fork and spoon exactly alike; that they must all wash their hands and face precisely in the same manner; that they must sit, stand, walk, kneel, bow, spit, blow their noses, and perform every other ani­mal function by the exact rule of uniformity, which she had drawn up with her own hand, and from which they were not al­lowed to vary one hair's breadth. If any one of the family complained of a lame an­cle or stiff knee, or had the crick in his neck, or happened to cut his finger, or was any other way so disabled as not to perform his duty to a tittle, she was so far from making the least allowance, that she would frown, and scold, and rave like a bedlamite; and John was such an obedient son to his moth­er, that he would lend her his hand to box their cars, or his foot to kick their back­sides, for not complying with her humours. This way of proceeding raised an uproar in the family; for though most of them com­plied, either through affection for the old lady, or through fear, or some other motive, [Page 25] yet others looked sour, and grumbled; some would openly find fault and attempt to remonstrate, but they were answered with a kick or a thump, or a cat-o'nine-tails, or shut up in a dark garret till they promised a compliance. Such was the logic of the family in those days!

AMONG the number of the disaffected, was Peregrine Pickle, a pretty clever sort of a fellow about his business, but a great lov­er of sour crout, and of an humour that would not bear contradiction. However, as he knew it would be fruitless to enter into a downright quarrel, and yet could not live there in peace; he had so much pru­dence as to quit the house, which he did by getting out of the window in the night. Not liking to be out of employment, he went to the house of Nicholas Frog, his master's old friend and rival, told him the story of his sufferings, and got leave to em­ploy himself in one of his workshops till the storm should be over. After he had been here a while, he thought Nick's family were [Page 26] as much too loose in their manners as Bull's were too strict; and having heard a ru­mour of the Forest, to which Nick had some kind of claim, he packed up his little all, and hired one of Nick's servants who had been there a hunting, to pilot him to that part of the Forest to which Nick laid claim. But Frog had laid an anchor to windward of him; for as Pickle had said nothing to him about a lease, he supposed that when Peregrine had got into the For­est he would take a lease of his old master Bull, which would strengthen his title, and weaken his own; he therefore bribed the pilot to shew Peregrine to a barren part of the Forest, instead of that fertile place^* to which he had already sent his surveyors, and of which he was contriving to get pos­session. Accordingly the pilot having con­ducted Pickle to a sandy point which runs into the lake,^† it being the dusk of the even­ing,^‡ bade him good night, and walked off. Peregrine, who was fatigued with his [Page 27] march, laid down and went to sleep, but waking in the morning, saw himself alone in a very dreary situation, where he could get nothing to live upon but clams, and a few acorns which the squirrels had left. In this piteous plight, the poor fellow folded his arms, and walking along the sandy beach, fell into such a soliloquy as this. "So much for travelling! Abused by Bull, cheat­ed by Frog, what am I at last come to? Here I am alone, no creatures but bears, and wolves, and such vermin around me! Nothing in the shape of an human being that I know of, nearer than Pipeweed's plan­tation, and with him I cannot agree; he is so devoted to old Dame Bull that he and I cannot live together any more than I could with the old woman. But, why should I despair? That is unmanly; there is at least a possibility of my living here, and if I am disappointed in my worldly prospects, it is but right, for I professed not to have any. My wish was to have my own way without disturbance or contradic­tion, and surely I can here enjoy my liber­ty. [Page 28] I have nobody here to curse me, or kick me, or cheat me. If I have only clams to eat, I can cook them my own way, and say as long a grace over them as I please. I can sit or stand, or kneel, or use any other posture at my devotions, without any cross old woman to growl at me, or any hector­ing bully to cuff me for it. So that if I have lost in one way I have gained in anoth­er. I had better therefore reconcile myself to my situation, and make the best of a bad market. But company is good! A propos! I will write to some of my fellow-appren­tices; I know they were as discontented as myself in old Bull's family, though they did not care to speak their minds as plainly as I did. I'll tell them how much happi­ness I enjoy here in my solitude. I'll point out to them the charms of liberty, and coax them to follow me into the wilderness; and by and by, when we get all together, we shall make a brave hand of it." Full of this resolution, he sat down on a wind-fall­en tree, and pulling out his inkhorn and pa­per; wrote a letter to John Codline, Hum­phry [Page 29] Ploughshare, and Roger Carrier, three of his fellow-apprentices, informing them of the extreme happiness he enjoyed in hav­ing liberty to eat his scanty meals in his own way, and to lay his swelled ancles and stiff knee in whatever posture was most easy to him; conjuring them by their former friendship, to come to join him in carry­ing on the good work so happily begun, &c. &c. As soon as he had finished the letter, (which had deeply engaged his atten­tion) a huntsman happened to come along in quest of game. This was a lucky cir­cumstance indeed, for Peregrine had not once thought of a conveyance for his let­ter; it proved also favourable to him in another view, for the huntsman taking pity on his forlorn situation, spared him some powder and shot, and a few biscuit which he happened to have in his pocket; so tak­ing charge of the letter, he delivered it as it was directed.

THIS letter arrived in good season, for old Madam had grown much worse since [Page 30] Pickle had left the family; her vapours had increased, and her longings and aver­sions were much stronger. She had a strange lurch for embroidered petticoats and high waving plumes; her Christmas pies must have double the quantity of spice that was usual; the servants must make three bows where they formerly made but one, and they must never come into her presence without having curled and powdered their hair in the pink of the mode, for she had an aversion to every thing plain, and a strong relish for every thing gaudy. Be­sides, she had an high-mettled chaplain^* who was constantly at her elbow, and said prayers night and morning in a brocaded cope with a gilded mitre on his head; and he exacted so many bows and scrapes of ev­ery one in the family, that it would have puzzled a French dancing-master to have kept pace with him. Nor would he per­form the service at all, unless a verger stood by him all the while with a yard-wand in his hand; and if any servant or apprentice [Page 31] missed one bow or scrape, or made it at the wrong time, or dared to look off his book, or said Amen in the wrong place, rap went the stick over his head and ears or knuckles. It was in vain to appeal from the chaplain or the old Dame to their master, for he was so obedient a son that he suffered them to govern him as they pleased; nay, though broad hints were given that the chaplain was an emissary of lord Peter, and was tak­ing advantage of the old lady's hysterics to bring the whole family into his interest, John gave no heed to any of these insinuations.

AS soon as the letter of Peregrine Pickle arrived, the apprentices, to whom it was directed, held a consultation what they should do. They were heartily tired of the conduct of the chaplain; they lament­ed the old lady's ill health, and wished for a cure; but there was at present no hope of it, and they concluded that it was best to follow Pickle's advice, and retire with him into the Forest. Though they were infected with the spirit of adventure, yet [Page 32] they were a set of wary fellows, and knew they could not with safety venture thither unless they had a lease of the land. Hap­pily, however, for them, Bull had a little while before that put the affairs of the For­est into the hands of a gentleman of the law,⁷ with orders to see that the matter was properly managed, so as to yield him some certain profit. To this sage they ap­plied, and for the proper fees, which they clubbed for between them, they obtained a lease, under hand and seal; wherein, for "sundry causes him thereunto moving, the said Bull did grant and convey unto John Codline and his associates, so many acres of his Forest, bounded so and so, and which they were to have, hold, and enjoy for ever and ever, yielding and paying so and so, and so forth." When this grand point was gained by the assistance of the lawyer and his clerks, who knew how to manage busi­ness, the adventurers sold all their super­fluities to the pawn-brokers, and got to­gether what things they supposed they [Page 33] should want, and leaving behind them a note on the compter,^* to tell their master where they were bound, and what were their designs; they set off all together and got safe into a part of the Forest adjoining to Pickle, who, hearing of their arrival, took his oaken staff in his hand, and hob­bled along as fast as his lame legs could carry him to see them, and a joyful meet­ing indeed they had. Having laid their heads together, it was agreed that Codline should send for a girl whom he had court­ed,^† and marry her, and that he should be considered as the lord of the manor, that Pickle should have a lease of that part which he had pitched upon, and that Ploughshare and Carrier should for the present be con­sidered as members of Codline's family. John had taken a great fancy to fishing, and thought he could wholly or chiefly sub­sist by it; but Humphry had a mind for a farm; so after a while they parted in [Page 34] friendship. Humphry, with a pack on his back and a spade in his hand, travelled a­cross the Forest till he found a wide mead­ow with a large brook^* running through it, which he supposed to be within John's grant, and intended still to consider himself as a distant member of the family. But as it fell out otherwise, he was obliged to get a new lease, to which Mr. Frog made some objections, but they were over-ruled; and soon after another old fellow servant, THE­OPHILUS WHEAT-EAR, came and sat down by him. They being so much alike in their views and dispositions, agreed to live to­gether as intimates, though in two families, which they did till Wheat-ear's death, when Ploughshare became his sole heir, and the estate has ever since been his. This Hum­phry was always a very industrious, frugal, saving husband; and his wife, though a formal strait-laced sort of a body, yet al­ways minded her spinning and knitting, and took excellent care of her dairy. She al­ways cloathed her children in homespun gar­ments, [Page 35] and scarcely ever spent a farthing for outlandish trinkets. The family and all its concerns were under very exact reg­ulations: not one of them was suffered to peep out of doors after the sun was set. It was never allowed to brew on Saturday, lest the beer should break the Fourth Com­mandment by working on Sunday: and once, it is said, the stallion was impounded a whole week for holding crim. con. with the mare while the Old gentleman was at his devotions. Bating these peculiarities, (and every body has some) Humphry was a very good sort of a man, a kind neighbour, very thriving, and made a respectable fig­ure. Though he lived a retired life, and did not much follow the fashions, yet he raised a good estate, and brought up a large family. His children and grand-children have penetrated the interior parts of the country, and seated themselves on the best soil, which they know how to distinguish at first sight, and to cultivate to the great­est advantage. Whereever you find them, you find good husbandmen.

Letter III.

AFTER Ploughshare's departure, John Codline with his family kept on their fishing and planting, and sometimes went a hunting, so that they made out to get a tolerable subsistence. John's family grew, and he settled his sons as fast as they be­came of age, to live by themselves; and [Page 37] when any of his old acquaintance came to see him, he bade them welcome, and was their very good friend, as long as they contin­ued to be of his mind, and no longer; for he was a very pragmatical sort of a fellow, and loved to have his own way in every thing. This was the cause of a quarrel between him and Roger Carrier, for it hap­pened that Roger had taken a fancy to dip his head into water,^* as the most effectual way of washing his face, and thought it could not be made so clean in any other way. John, who used the common way of taking water in his hand, to wash his face, was displeased with Roger's innovation, and remonstrated against it. The remon­strance had no other effect, than to fix Roger's opinion more firmly; and as a far­ther improvement on his new plan, he pretended that no person ought to have his face washed till he was capable of doing it himself, without any assistance from his parents. John was out of patience with this addition, and plumply told him, that [Page 38] if he did not reform his principles and practice, he would fine him, or flog him, or kick him out of doors. These threats put Roger on inventing other odd and whimsical opinions. He took offence at the letter X, and would have had it ex­punged from the alphabet, because it was the shape of a cross, and had a tendency to introduce Popery.^* He would not do his duty at a military muster, because there was an X in the colours. After a while he began to scruple the lawfulness of bear­ing arms, and killing wild beasts. But, poor fellow! the worst of all was, that being seized with a shaking palsy,^† which affected every limb and joint of him, his speech was so altered that he was unable to pronounce certain letters and syllables as he had been used to do. These oddities and defects rendered him more and more disagreeable to his old friend, who, how­ever, kept his temper as well as he could, till one day, as John was saying a long [Page 39] grace over his meat, Roger kept his hat on the whole time. As soon as the ceremony was over, John took up a case-knife from the table, and gave Roger a blow on the ear with the broad side of it, then with a rising stroke turned off his hat. Roger said nothing, but taking up his hat put it on again; at which John broke out into such a passionate speech as this—"You impudent scoundrel! is it come to this? Have I not borne with your whims and fidgets these many years, and yet they grow upon you? Have I not talked with you time after time, and proved to you as plain as the nose in your face that your no­tions are wrong? Have I not ordered you to leave them off, and warned you of the consequence, and yet you have gone on from bad to worse? You began with dip­ping your head into water, and would have all the family do the same, pretending there was no other way of washing the face. You would have had the children go dirty all their days, under pretence that they were not able to wash their own faces, [Page 40] and so they must have been as filthy as the pigs till they were grown up Then you would talk your own balderdash lin­go, thee and thou, and nan forsooth—and now you must keep your hat on when I am at my devotions, and I suppose would be glad to have the whole family do the same! There is no bearing with you any longer—so now, hear me, I give you fair warning, if you don't mend your manners, and retract your errors, and promise refor­mation, I'll kick you out of the house. I'll have no such refractory fellows here: I came into this forest for reformation, and reformation I will have."

"FRIEND John (said Roger) dost not thou remember when thou and I lived to­gether in friend Bull's family, how hard thou didst think it to be compelled to look on thy book all the time that the hooded chaplain was reading the prayers, and how many knocks and thumps thou and I had for offering to use our liberty, which we thought we had a right to? Didst thou [Page 41] not come hitherunto for the sake of enjoy­ing thy liberty, and did not I come to en­joy mine? Wherefore then dost thou as­sume to deprive me of the right which thou claimest for thyself?"

"DON'T tell me (answered John) of right and of liberty—you have as much liberty as any man ought to have. You have liberty to do right, and no man ought to have liberty to do wrong."

"WHO is to be judge (replied Roger) of what is right or what is wrong? Ought not I to judge for myself? or, Thinkest thou it is thy place to judge for me?"

"WHO is to be judge? (said John) why the book is to be judge; and I have proved by the book over and over again that you are wrong, and therefore you are wrong, and you have no liberty to do any thing but what is right."

[Page 42]"BUT friend John, (said Roger) who is to judge whether thou hast proved my opinions or conduct to be wrong—thou or I?"

"COME, come, (said John) not so close neither; none of your idle distinctions: I say you are in the wrong, I have proved it, and you know it; you have sinned against your own conscience, and therefore you deserve to be cut off as an incorrigible heretic."

"HOW dost thou know (said Roger) that I have sinned against my own conscience? Canst thou search the heart?"

AT this John was so enraged that he gave him a smart kick on the posteriors, and bade him be gone out of his house, and off his lands, and called after him to tell him, that if ever he should catch him there again he would knock his brains out. Roger, having experienced the logic of the foot, applied to the seat of honour, walked off, with as much meekness as hu­man [Page 43] nature is capable of, on such occa­sions; and having travelled as far as he supposed to be out of the limits of John's lease, laid himself down by the side of a clear rivulet, which slowed down a hill; here he composed himself to sleep, and on his awaking found several bears about him, but none offered him any insult. Upon which he said, and minuted it down in his pocket-book, "Surely the beasts of the wilderness are in friendship with me, and this is designed by Providence ^* as my rest­ing place; here, therefore, will I pitch my tabernacle, and here shall I dwell more in peace, though surrounded by bears and wolves, than when in the midst of those whom I counted my brethren."

On this spot he built an hut, and having taken possession, made a visit to his old mas­ter Bull, who gave him a lease of the place, with an island or two in an adjoining cove [Page 44] of the great lake, and recommended to him a wife, by whom he had a few chil­dren; but his plantation was chiefly in­creased by the flocking of strangers to him; for he was a very hospitable man, and made it a rule in his family not to refuse any who should come, whether lame or blind, short or tall, whether they had two eyes or one, whether they squinted, or stammered, or limped, or had any other natural defect or impediment; it was another rule that all should bear with the infirmities of their neighbours, and help them as they were able. Once, as I was passing through Roger's plantation, I saw one man carrying another on his shoulders, which, at first, I thought a very odd sight; upon coming up to them, I perceived that the lower one was blind, and the upper one was lame, so as they had but one pair of eyes and one pair of legs between them, the lame man availed himself of the blind man's legs, and he of the other's eyes, and both went along very well together. I remember also, that as I passed along, the fences were in [Page 45] some places made of very crooked, knotty rails; but the crooks and knots were made to say into each other so cleverly, that the fences were as tight as if they had been made of stuff sawed ever so even; a circum­stance which convinced me that very crook­ed things might be put together, to advan­tage, if proper pains were taken.

WHEN John Codline had settled the controversy with Roger, by kicking him out of doors, he began to look about him to see what his neighbours were doing. Having found a young fellow on his north-eastern limits, who had come thither with­out his knowledge or permission, he took it into his head to survey the extent of his grounds. The words of his lease were rather ambiguous, and by virtue thereof, he thought it convenient to extend his claims over the lands on which Robert Lumber (for that was the name of the young fellow) had settled. It seems that Bob had been sent by some of John Bull's family to erect a fishing stage on the borders of [Page 46] the lake, and the lawyer who had the care of the forest not being acquainted so much as he ought to have been with the situation of the lands, or having no knowledge of the art of surveying, had made out a lease which lapped over Codline's; so that each of them had a claim upon the same land. In some circumstances this might have been deemed unfortunate, but as it happened it proved lucky for poor Bob. His employers had left him in the lurch, and he would have starved to death if John had not taken him under his wing and sent him provisions to keep him alive. He also lent him a hand to clear up the bushes, and furnished him with materials to build a saw-mill. This set Bob on his own legs, and he proved a sturdy faithful fellow. He was of great service to John in killing bears and wolves that infested his plantation; and when he himself was in danger, John lent him pow­der, shot, and flints, and sent hands to help him; and in so doing he served himself as well as his neighbour, which was no breach of morality. Thus they lived pretty peace­ably [Page 47] together, till after a while Bob's old owners found the land was grown good for something, and then (without paying John for his assistance in making it so) appealed to Mr. Bull, and got it away, and took a large slice of John's land into the bargain.^* This was a matter which stuck in John's throat a great while, and if I am rightly in­formed he has hardly swallowed it yet. He did not think himself fairly dealt by, though he had all Peregrine Pickle's land put into a new lease which Bull gave him. To be short, John Codline and John Bull never heartily loved one another; they were in their temper and disposition too much alike; each was eternally jealous of the other; and this jealousy was kept alive by a variety of incidents which it would be too tedious to enumerate. One of them, however, was of so singular a nature that I think it deserves to be remembered. It was this. Lewis had erected a fishing [Page 48] stage and ware-house^* on the northeast, which interfered with Codline's favourite employment. Without consulting his old Master Bull, or waiting for his advice or orders, Jack sent a bailiff with a writ of in­trusion to the fishermen, and began a suit in law. Mr. Bull hearing of it, was glad to take advantage of the circumstance and [...]ee council in the cause, which finally went in his favour. But though the issue of the cause was of so much advantage to him; yet he ever after looked upon Codline as a forward, meddling fellow, for running on that errand before he was sent; and there were not wanting persons who were con­tinually buzzing in his ear, to keep a good look out on that impudent jackanapes, or he would soon begin to think himself as good a man as his master.

Letter IV.

IN my last letter I had got a little too forward in my story, in point of time; but as I write by piecemeal, and often in a hurry, you must excuse chronological in­accuracy. I now go back to tell you, that between the lands occupied by Marygold, and those on which Ploughshare had made [Page 50] his settlement, was a large tract of waste, where none of Mr. Bull's family had ever been; but the report of the plantations which one and another of them had made, drew the attention of Bull's neighbours. Among these, Nicholas Frog was not an idle spectator. He was as sly a fellow as you will meet with in a summer's day, always attentive to his interest, and never let slip an opportunity to promote it. Observing that Mr. Bull was rather careless of the Forest, and trusted his lawyers and servants▪ with the management of it, and knowing there was a large slice of it unoccupied, he clandestinely sent out some surveyors in the disguise of hunters, to make a descrip­tion of the country, and report to him at their return. Another good neighbour, Gustavus the ironmonger, was gaping after it, and gave out word among his journey­men, that if any of them would adventure thither and set up their trade, he would uphold them in their pretensions, and lend them any assistance in his power. Accord­ingly one of them, by the name of Casimir, [Page 51] ventured to make a beginning on the shore of a navigable creek;^* but did not care to penetrate far into the country, on account of the wolves and bears, which were very numerous thereabout. As soon as Frog heard of this, he picked a quarrel with Gustavus, and insisted that the land was his, by possession, because he had already sent surveyors thither. It happened, how­ever, that the place which Frog's people had pitched upon was at the mouth of an­other creek,^† at a considerable distance; where they had built a hut, on a point of land, and farther up the creek had erected a kind of lodge or hunting house,^‡ for the convenience of collecting game. On this plantation Frog had placed Peter Stiver, a one-legged fellow, as his overseer. As soon as Peter heard of the quarrel between his master and Gustavus, he thought the quickest way of ending it was the best; and therefore, without waiting for orders or ceremony, he went and commanded Casimir off the ground; and with one of [Page 52] his crutches beat his house to pieces about his ears. The poor fellow stared at this rough treatment; but was glad to escape with whole bones, and humbly requested leave to remain there with his tools, prom­ising to follow his business quietly, and become an obedient servant to Mr. Frog. Upon these conditions he was permitted to remain, and the whole tract was reputed Frog's property.

WHILE these things were doing, John Bull was confined to his house with a vio­lent fever and delirium, which ended in the hypochondria,^* and his imagination was the seat of every wild freak and strange vagary. One while he fancied himself an absolute monarch; then, a presbyterian clergyman; then a general of horse; then a lord protector: His noddle was filled with a jumble of polemic divinity, political disputes, and military arrangements, and it was not till after much blood-letting, blistering, vomiting, purging, cold-bathing, [Page 53] and horse-trotting, that he began to mend. Under this severe but wholesome regimen, he at length grew cool and came to him­self, but found on his recovery that his af­fairs had gone behind hand during his sickness. Beside the loss of business, he had physicians' and apothecaries' bills to pay, and those who had attended upon him as nurses, watchers, porters, &c. all expected wages or douceurs, and were con­tinually haunting him with, "How does your honor do? I am glad to see your honor so well as to be abroad." They were continually putting themselves in his way; and if they did not directly dun him for payment, their looks were so significant that a man of less penetration could easily have guessed what was their meaning.

BULL was somewhat perplexed how to answer all their demands and expectations. He was too far behind hand to be able to satisfy them, and withal too generous to let them remain unpaid. At length he hit on this expedient: "These fellows, said [Page 54] he to himself, have served me well, and may be of use to me again. There is yet a considerable part of my forest unoccupied. I'll offer to lease them tracts of land which cost me nothing, and if they will accept them at a low rent, they may prove useful ser­vants, and I shall be a gainer as well as they." Having come to this resolution, he began to inquire into the affairs of his for­est, and found that his neighbours had in­truded upon his claim. Lewis had taken possession at one end;^* Lord Strut at the other;^† Nicholas Frog in the middle,^‡ and his own tenants had heen quarrelling with their new neighbours, as well as among themselves. "Hey-day! says John, this will never do; I must keep a good look out upon these dogs, or they will get the advantage of me." Away he goes to Frog, and begun to complain of the ill treatment which he had received. Frog, who had [Page 55] no mind either to quarrel, or to cry peccavi, like a sly, evasive whore-son as he was, shrugged up his shoulders, disowned what his servants had done, and said, "he sup­posed they only meant to kill game, and did not intend to hold possession." Bull was not to be put off so; his blood was up, and he determined to treat Frog's ser­vants as they had treated Casimir. So, calling a trusty old stud out of his compting house, "Here Bob,^* said he, take one of my hunters with a pair of blood-hounds, and go to that part of the forest where Pe­ter Stiver has encroached, give him fair warning; tell him the land is mine, and I will have it; if he gives up at once, treat him well, and tell him I'll give him leave to remain there; but if he offers to make any resistance, or hesitates about an answer, set your dogs at him and drive him off; kill his cattle, and set his house on fire: Never fear, I'll bear you out in it." Away goes Bob, and delivered his message. [Page 56] Peter at first thought it a matter of amuse­ment, and began to divert himself with it; but as soon as the dogs opened upon him, he found his mistake, and rather than run the risk of being driven off, he quietly sub­mitted to the conditions proposed. "Hang it, said he to himself, what care I who is my landlord? Gain is my object; I have already been at great expense, and have a prospect of getting an estate. To remove will ruin me; I'll therefore stay here, and make money under Bull, or Frog, or any other master that will let me stay."

IN a subsequent quarrel which happened between Bull and Frog, the latter seized upon this plantation again, and Peter re­cognized his old master; but upon a com­promise it was given up to Bull in exchange for a tract of swamp^* which lay far to the southward. Peter continued on the ground through all these changes, and followed his business with great diligence, collecting game and pelts, and vending them some­times [Page 57] to Mr. Bull, and sometimes to Mr. Frog. However, Bull thought it best, that in token of subjection, he should change his name; to which he consented, and partly to please his new master, and partly to retain the remembrance of his old one, he dropped the name of Stiver, and as­sumed the name of Bullfrog.

THE whole tract which was thus gotten from Frog, was thought too large for one plantation, and therefore Mr. Bull, in pur­suance of the plan which he had formed, ap­propriated the rents of the plantation, on which Bullfrog was seated, to his brother,^* and the other was leased to two of his ser­vants, CART-RUT and BARE-CLAY, and some time after another tract was set off to WIL­LIAM BROADBRIM, whose father had been an assiduous rat-catcher in Bull's family; but more of this hereafter.

CART-RUT and Bare-clay agreed to divide their land into two farms, which they call­ed [Page 58] the east and west farms; but when they came to run the division line, their com­passes differed so much that they could not fix the boundary. This was one cause of dissention. Another was the different hu­mours and dispositions of their families. Those on the east farm were brought up under Mr. Bull's sister PEG, and as it is well known that she and her brother had long been at variance, so their domestics had got tinctured with the notions and prej­udices of their respective families. The family on the west farm was made up of persons who were subject to the epidemic ague or shaking palsy;^* with some strag­glers from Bullfrog's and Casimir's families. From this diversity of constitutions and hu­mours arose bickerings and quarrels, a dis­inclination to work and submit to family government. These disorders continued a long while, and business went on very slow­ly, till at length the heads of both families agreed to give up their separate leases, and take a new one of the whole, and let Mr. [Page 59] Bull appoint an overseer. By these means peace was restored, and the new overseer, who was supposed to be a descendant of a natural son of JULIUS CAESAR, gave the name of his ancestor to the farm, which has ever since been called CAESAREA.

THERE was another portion of the for­est, which lay southward of Walter Pipe­weed's plantation, and which no person had yet taken up, though some had made attempts and had been driven off by the numberless musquetoes and sand-flies, which abound in those places. Mr. Bull was still desirous to reward his friends in the cheapest manner, and at the same time to keep his neighbours from encroaching upon him, and secure the possession of the forest to himself. In pursuance of his plan, and to make short work of it at once, he leased the whole of this southern extremity to CHARLES INDIGO, who was expressly order­ed to take under his care and into his fami­ly all persons who had attended Mr. Bull, in his late sickness, in quality of nurses, [Page 60] druggists, apothecaries, laundresses, uphol­sters, porters, watchers, &c. &c. By this order Charles found himself at once sur­rounded by a large body of retainers of various ranks and qualities, and, being a speculator himself, he employed a specula­tive man, Mr. Padlock, who had written a large treatise upon Ideas, to draw up some rules, for the management of such a fami­ly, intending when he should build an house, to paste it up in the parlour, as a di­rectory to his wife. Accordingly Mr. Pad­lock went to work, and with an exquisite mixture of political and metaphysical knowl­edge, distinguished between the hall, the par­lour, the dressing-room, the gallery, the mu­sic-room, the bed-chambers, the chapel, the kitchen, the water-closet, &c. shewing what was to be done in each, and the prop­er subordination of one to the other, all which would have been of excellent service in a palace, and among people who had got to a high degree of refinement, but was ill suited to the circumstances of new adven­turers [Page 61] in a forest. They rather needed to be instructed in the method of felling trees, draining swamps, digging clams, guard­ing against musquetoes, killing wolves and bears, and erecting huts to keep off the weather. To these necessary affairs they were obliged to attend, and Mr. Padlock's fine spun rules were laid by and little thought of.

CHARLES had pitched upon a sandy point, between two brooks, for his mansion house, and had made a small beginning, when his repose was disturbed by one AU­GUSTINE, a lubberly fellow, who had taken a lease of Lord Strut, and lived farther southward. This Strut was the largest landholder in the country, and was never satisfied with adding field to field. He had already got much mere than he could man­age, and had greatly impoverished his homestead by attending to his extra territo­ries. His tenants were infected with the same land fever, and wished to have no neighbours within sight or call. With this [Page 62] envious disposition, Augustine collected a rabble of lousy fellows, and was coming to dispossess Charles, thinking him too weak to make a defence; but Charles was a lad of too much spunk to be brow-beaten. He armed all his people with some weapon or other, and advanced till he came with­in sight of the place where Augustine was, who, on seeing him, took wit in his anger, and went back, without attempting any mischief.

ANOTHER difficulty which Charles ex­pected to encounter was from the wild beasts; but luckily for him, these creatures got into a quarrel among themselves, and fought with each other till they had thin­ned their numbers considerably, so that Charles and his companions could venture into the woods, where they caught some few and tamed them, as was the usual prac­tice among all Mr. Bull's tenants at that day. Of this practice a more particular ac­count shall be given in my next letter.

Letter V.

YOU must have remarked in your acquaintance with the life and character of Mr. John Bull, that he is very whimsical, and as positive as whimsical. Among oth­er advantages which he expected from the settlement of his Forest, one was, that the wild animals, whom nature had made fero­cious and untractable in the highest degree, would be rendered tame and serviceable, by receiving instruction and education from the nurturing hand of humanity. He had con­ceived a notion that every creature has certain [Page 64] latent principles and qualities which form a foundation for improvement; and he thought it a great piece of injustice that these qualities should be suffered to remain uncultivated: he had a mind that experi­ments should be attempted to discover how far this kind of cultivation was practicable, and what use could be made of the animal powers under the direction and control of rational government. Full of this idea, he came to a resolution, that it should be the duty of every one of his tenants to catch wild beasts of various sorts, and discipline them so as to find out their several proper­ties and capacities, and use them accord­ingly; and this kind of service was men­tioned in their respective leases as one con­dition of the grants.

SOME of the tenants, particularly Pere­grine Pickle, John Codline, and Humphry Ploughshare, entered zealously into the meas­ure from principle. They had, during Mr. Bull's sickness and delirium, before spoken of, formed an association for their mutual [Page 65] safety.^* The object of their union was two fold: first, to endeavour by all fair means to tame and discipline the wild beasts; and secondly, in case of their prov­ing refractory, to defend themselves against their attacks. The other tenants did some­thing in the same way; some from one principle, and some from another. Peter Bullfrog, who was as cunning as any of them, made use of those which he had tamed, as his caterers, to provide game for his table, of which the feathers and furs served him as articles of traffic, and brought him in a profitable return.

THE principal consideration (setting aside interest) which induced the more zealous of the Foresters to enter into this business, was an idea that these animals were a de­generated part of the human species, and might be restored to their proper rank and order, if due pains were taken. The grounds of this opinion were these: Among the traditions of the ancient Druids there was [Page 66] a story, that out of twelve families which inhabited a certain district by themselves, ten had been lost, and no account could be given of them; and, where, said they, is it more likely to find them than in this forest, in the shape of some other creatures? espe­cially, if the doctrine of TRANSMIGRATION, which the Druids held, be true. Another tradition was, that one of Mr. Bull's great-great-uncles, by the name of Madok, had many years ago disappeared, and the last account which had been received of him was, that he had been seen going towards this forest; hence it was concluded that his descendants must be found here. In con­firmation of this argument, it was alleged, that the sounds which some of these crea­tures made in their howlings, resembled the language spoken in that day: nay, some were positive that they had heard them pro­nounce the word Madokawando;^* and one hunter roundly swore that he had seen in the den of a bear, an old book which he supposed to be a Bible written in the Celtic [Page 67] language, and this book they concluded must have been left there by Madok, who could read and speak no other language. Another very material circumstance was the discovery of a rock by the side of a brook,^* inscribed with some characters which bore no resemblance to any kind of writing, ancient or modern; the conclusion from hence was, that it must be of the re­motest antiquity: this rock was deemed an unaccountable curiosity, till a certain virtu­oso took it into his noddle, first to imagine, and then to become extremely positive that the characters were Punic; and finally this inscription was translated, and affirmed to be nothing less than a treaty of alliance and commerce between the Phenicians and the first inhabitants of this forest. From all these premises it was inferred, with some plausibility, and more positiveness, that one species at least of the savage animals was descended from Madok, and that the others were the posterity of the long lost ten fam­ilies, who were well known to have had a [Page 68] commercial connexion with the Phenicians, and that these probably found out their haunt, and followed them for the sake of their former friendship.—What happy light do modern discoveries and conjectures throw on the dark pages of antiquity.

FROM these principles, as well as from motives of humanity and of interest, some of the Foresters entered with zeal on the consideration and practice of the best meth­ods to fulfil this condition of their grants, the disciplining of the savage animals, and they certainly deserve praise for their honest endeavours; but, others who pretended to the same zeal, it is to be lamented, made use of this pretence to cover their vanity or their avarice. Had none but gentle means been used, it is probable more good might, on the whole, have been produced; but as it often happens that many a good project has been ruined for want of pru­dence in the execution, so it fared with this; for while the new comers were busy in putting up their huts, and preparing the [Page 69] land for cultivation, both of which were necessary before they could attend to any other business, some of the savage tribe would be a little impertinent, either by peeping into the huts, or breaking up a nest where the poultry were hatching, or carrying off a chick or a gosling. These impertinencies bred frequent quarrels, and the poor creatures were sometimes driven off with bloody noses, or obliged to hop on three legs, or even laid sprawling and slyly covered with earth, no service or ceremony being said over the carcass, and no other epitaph, than "Poh, they are nothing but brutes, and where's the harm of killing them!" or in rhyme thus:

WHATEVER plausible excuses might have been made for these proceedings, they serv­ed to render the creatures jealous of their new neighbours; but instead of abating their appetite for mischief, it sharpened their invention to take more sly methods of [Page 70] accomplishing it. The more wary of them kept aloof in the day time, and would not be enticed by the arts which were used to draw them in; however, they were some­times pinched for food, and the new inhab­itants used to throw crusts of bread, hand­fuls of corn, and other eatables, in their way, which allured them by degrees to familiarity. After a while it was found that nothing succeeded so well as molasses. It was therefore thought a capital manoeu­vre to drop a train of it on the ground, which the creatures would follow, licking it, till they had insensibly got up to the doors of the houses, where if any body held a bowl or a plate besmeared with the liquor, they would come and put their noses into it, and then you might pat them on the back and sides, or stroke them, say­ing, "Poor Bruin, poor Isgrim, poor Rey­nard, poor Puss," and the like, and they would suffer themselves to be handled and fondled till they dropped asleep. When they awaked, they would make a moan and wag their tails, as if they were asking for [Page 71] more, and if it was denied them, they would retire to the woods in disgust, till the scent of the molasses operating on their depraved appetites, invited them to return where it was to be had. This was, upon repeated trial, found to be the most effect­ual way of taming them, as they might be taught to imitate any kind of tricks and gestures, if a dish of molasses was held out as a reward.

THE Foresters knew that they could not ingratiate themselves better with their old master Bull, than by humouring his itch for projects. They therefore took care to raise reports and write letters from time to time concerning the wonderful success which they had met with in civilizing the savage animals. Bull was greatly pleased with these reports, and made a practice of sending presents of trinkets to be distributed among them; such as collars, ear-rings, and nose-jewels. Several times some of the most stately and best instructed of them were carried to his house for a show, where [Page 72] he had them dressed up in scarlet and gold trappings, and led through all his apart­ments for the entertainment of his family, and feasted with every nick-nack which his cook and confectioner could procure. He was so fond of being thought their patron and protector, that he usually spoke of them as his red children, from the colour of their hides. It is not many years since one of them, after being led through several fam­ilies and plantations of the tenants, was carried by a certain witty cur, to Mr. Bull's own house, dressed in the habit of a clergy­man, having been previously taught to lift his paws and roll his eyes, as if in the act of devotion. This trick was so well carried on, that the managers of it picked up a large pocket full of pence, by exhibiting him for a raree show, and the money was applied toward building a menagerie, to which beasts of all kinds might be brought and tamed. This project, like many such whims, has made more noise than profit; for most of those who were supposed to be tamed and domesticated, after they had been sent back [Page 73] to their native woods, with a view to their being instrumental in taming their fellow savages, have returned to their former fe­rocious habits, and some of them have proved greater rogues than ever, and have done more mischief than they could other­wise have been capable of.

MR. Bull himself was once so full of the project, that he got his chaplain and some others to form themselves into a club; the professed object of which was, to propagate knowledge among these savage creatures. After some trials, which did not answer ex­pectation, old Madam Bull conceived that the money which was collected might as well be expended in teaching Mr. Bull's own tenants themselves a little better man­ners; for some of them were rather awk­ward and slovenly in their deportment, while others were decent and devout in their own way. Madam, as we have before observed, was a great zealot in the cause of uniformity, and had a vast influence over her son, by virtue of which, the attention of [Page 74] the club was principally directed to the promoting of this grand object. Accord­ingly, every one of the tenants was furnish­ed with a Bible and a Prayer Book, a clean napkin, bason, platter, and chalice, with a few devotional tracts, and some young ad­venturers who had been educated in the family, were recommended as chaplains; who had also by-orders to keep a look out toward the savage animals, when they should fall in their way.

THE chaplains were tolerably well receiv­ed in most of the families; but some, par­ticularly Codline and Ploughshare, who gloried in being able to say their prayers without book, always looked sour upon them, and would frequently say to them, "Go, take care of the savage objects of your mis­sion, and don't come here to teach us, till you have learned better yourselves." The chaplains in disgust, and perhaps in revenge, (for they were but men of like passions) would pout and swell and call schismatic and other canonical nick-names, of which there [Page 75] is extant a large vocabulary, and would fre­quently write letters, much to the disad­vantage of their opponents. It is not many years since they, with the club which sent them, were pretty severely handled by one of Codline's own chaplains,^* and it is sup­posed that they have ever since been more modest; certain it is, that they are now on better terms with their neighbours than formerly; this may, in part, be owing to Mr. Bull's deserting them and refusing to pay them for their services ever since the time that he began to quarrel with his ten­ants. On that occasion some of them re­moved their quarters; others kept their old places, and have got along as well as they could without the help which they formerly received.

Letter VI.

I HAVE observed in a former let­ter, that the lease which Mr. Bull gave to Charles Indigo, obliged him to receive into his family all such persons as had been at­tendants on Mr. Bull during his sickness, and for whom he had no other means of providing. This general indulgence pro­cured to Charles the reputation of a very friendly, hospitable person, and induced great numbers of other people of various characters, views, and interests, to seek an [Page 77] asylum within his limits. About this time Mr. Lewis had grown sick and peevish, and had severely cudgelled some of his appren­tices, because they did not make their P's and Q's exactly to his mind.^* The poor fellows, to prevent worse treatment, fled from his house, and took refuge with Mr. Bull, who treated them civilly, and recom­mended them to the Forest, where they dispersed themselves in the several families of his tenants, and a large party of them took up their abode with Charles, to whom they proved an industrious, profitable ac­quisition, though some of the family looked a little sourly upon them.

THIS facility of admitting strangers pro­duced an effect which had almost proved fatal to the reputation of the family; for a number of highwaymen also sought shelter there, and by means of their gold and silver, which they had in plenty, made friends in the house, and were admitted by night [Page 78] at a back door. After a while they grew more bold, and came in the day time, un­der the disguise of pedlars, with packs on their shoulders. One of them actually took his stand behind a corner of one of the fences, from whence he sallied out on travellers; this corner obtained, from that circumstance, the name of Cape Fear; and as the first names of places are not easily got rid of, it retains the name to this day, and perhaps will ever retain it. Here the rascal intended to have built himself a lodge, and taken up his quarters for life; but the matter was now grown so public, that Charles, for the honour of his family, or­dered all stragglers to be seized, and this fellow in particular, after a severe strug­gle, was apprehended and brought to jus­tice.

THE same spot was afterward taken pos­session of by PETER PITCH, a poor fellow who got his living as he did his name, from collecting the resmous juice of the numerous pines which grew thereabout. [Page 79] He had to work hard and fare hard, and go a great way for his victuals and clothes; but after he had lived alone for some time, he picked up one or two acquaintances of his own stamp, and they formed a family, which was at first rather disorderly. Far­ther discovery of the lands, and the advan­tage of the water carriage, induced some other people to sit down by him, and in process of time he became so respectable as to be noticed by Mr. Bull, who, though he never gave him a lease in form, yet let him have cloth and haberdashery upon credit, and took his pitch in payment as fast as he could collect it. This kept him in a dependent state, and subjected him to impositions from Bull's clerks and journey­men. About five and twenty years ago, Bull sent him a taylor to try on a new coat,^* which was so strait that it split in several places, and never could be altered so as to fit him; but he was obliged to wear it, rather than quarrel with his patron. This same taylor was remarkable for cabbaging, [Page 80] as Peter Bullfrog and Humphry Plough­share have since had large experience.

TO finish what relates to Charles Indigo, I shall observe, that the land on which he began his plantation, was in general so wet and miry, that it was unfavourable to the production of wheat, and it was for some time doubtful whether he would be able to raise his own bread. Chance at length effected what labour and ingenuity could not: a bird of passage having dropped some kernels of rice in his dung, it was found to thrive exceedingly well; from whence the hint was taken, and rice became the standard grain of the plantation. By the cultivation of this, and of a weed which was useful to the dyers, he grew rich, and made a sightly figure among his neighbours in point of dress and equipage; though his countenance is rather sallow, and he is subject to frequent returns of the inter­mittent fever.

[Page 81]BY the extensive lease given to Indigo and his associates, most of Mr. Bull's de­pendants and attendants were provided for, and their services recompensed with a shew of generosity on his part, and of satisfac­tion on theirs. I have before just hinted at a grant made to WILLIAM BROADBRIM, of which I shall now give a more particu­lar account.

HIS father had been an old servant of Mr. Bull, and had been employed in the very laborious and necessary business of catching and killing rats. In this employ­ment he was so very dexterous and suc­cessful, that he recommended himself high­ly to his master, who not only allowed him large wages, but promised him farther recompense. During Mr. Bull's sickness, the care and diligence of this faithful ser­vant had been unremitted, and his merits were thereby increased, so that Mr. Bull, on his recovery, found himself deeply in­debted to him, and he still continued his services▪ till, worn out with age and in­firmity, [Page 82] he died and had an honourable funeral.

HIS son William then became his heir, and solicited for payment of the arrears due to his father, which Mr. Bull, accord­ing to the maxim he had laid down for himself, and urged by the necessity of the occasion, proposed to discharge by a lease of part of the Forest. This happened to fall in, exactly, with William's views, which were of a singular nature.

ABOUT this time a nervous disorder ap­peared in Bull's family, which went by the name of the shaking palsy. ^* We shall not pretend to trace the causes of it, as the origin of such things is often obscure and impenetrable; but the effects were, a trembling of the nerves, a stiffness in the neck and shoulders, and a hesitancy in the speech, so that it was impossible for the patients to incline the head, or pronounce certain words and syllables, such as Sir, [Page 83] Madam, your Honor, my Lord, &c. nor could one of them raise his hand to take off his hat, or hold it on the book when an oath was to be administered.

MR. Bull's choleric temper misinter­preted this natural infirmity into a sullen disrespect. When he found a change in the behaviour of these domestics; that in­stead of bowing to him they stood upright as a may-pole, and instead of Sir, and your Honor, they could utter nothing but Friend, he grew angry, and made a pretty free use of his fist; and when he found that they could not be cured by such means, he thrust some of them into a dark closet, and shut them up till they should, as he termed it, "learn better manners;" and it is suppos­ed he would have carried his resentment much further, but for this circumstance: William Broadbrim, who had himself strong symptoms of the disorder, whispered to Mr. Bull, that if he would give him time to ripen a project, which he had conceived, he would rid him of all trouble with these [Page 84] people. William had a plodding genius, and the scheme with which his head was pregnant at this time, was nothing more or less than to make a settlement in the forest, and take all these people with him. Bull, who was glad to get rid of them, and of the debt which he owed to William, readily fell in with the project; and a grant was made out under hand and seal, where­in William Broadbrim, and his heirs, were invested with the right of soil, and all oth­er privileges of proprietorship, in a certain part of the forest, between the plantation of Marygold and that of Cart-rut and Bare-clay, being in the neighbourhood of the spot where Casimir had rebuilt his hut, and lived in an ambiguous situation, not know­ing who was his landlord. With him Wil­liam made a peaceable compromise, saying, "Friend, I will do thee no violence, there is room enough for us both." Casimir was glad of so good a neighbour, and he had reason to be, for he throve more rapidly af­ter this than before.

[Page 85]WILLIAM pitched upon a level piece of ground, where two large brooks met, for the situation of his mansion house, and went to work to draw up rules for the gov­ernment of his family. One of which was, that no person should be refused admittance into it, or disturbed in it, or cast out of it, on account of any natural infirmity. Anoth­er was, that no arms nor ammunition should ever be made use of, on any pretence what­ever. The first of these rules gained Wil­liam great reputation among all sensible men; the latter was a notion which candor would lead us to suppose proceeded from a love of peace, and the exercise of good will toward his fellow-creatures; though some were so ill-natured as to imagine that it was an effect of the disorder in his nerves.

WHEN any of William's neighbours, who were of a different way of thinking, spake to him of the impolicy of this rule, and ask­ed him how he expected to defend himself and his family against the wild beasts, if they should attack him; William, who was [Page 86] fond of harangue, would answer thus— "There is in all creatures a certain in­stinct, which disposeth them to peace. This instinct is so strong and fixed, that upon it, as upon a foundation, may be erected a complete system of love and concord, which all the powers of anarchy shall not be able to overthrow. To cultivate and improve this instinct, is the business of every wise man, and he may reasonably expect that an example of this kind, if steadily and regu­larly adhered to, will have a very extensive and beneficial influence, on all sorts of creatures; even the wild beasts of the for­est will become tame as lambs, and birds of prey harmless as doves. Dost thou not see, friend, what influence my example has already had on those creatures which are deemed savage? I go into their dens with safety, and they enter my habitation without fear. When they are hungry I feed them, when they are thirsty I give them drink, and they in return bear my burdens, and do such other kind offices as they are capa­ble of, end I require of them. I have even [Page 87] tamed some of them so far, that they have sold me the land on which they live, and have acknowledged the bargain by a mark made with their toe-nails on parchment. They are certainly some of the best natured creatures in the world; their native instinct leads them to love and peace, and sociabil­ity; and as long as I set them a good exam­ple, I have no doubt they will follow it. When such is my opinion and expectation, why should I be anxious about what may, and I trust never will happen? Why should I put myself in a posture of defence against those who may never attack me? or, why should I, by the appearance of jealousy and distrust on my part, offend those who now put confidence in me? No, no, I will not sup­pose that they will ever hurt me. I will not suffer the carnal weapon to be seen in my house, nor shall one of my family ever learn the detestable practice of pulling the trigger. I leave the instruments of destruction to the offspring of Cain and the seed of the serpent; whilst I meekly imitate the gen­tleness [Page 88] of the lamb, and the innocence of the dove."

WITH such harangues William would frequently entertain himself and his friends, and he was so sanguine in his benevolent project, that instead of having his own name, as was usual, written over his door, he had the words BROTHERLY LOVE, translated in­to the Greek language, ΦΙΛΑΔΕΛΦΙΑ, and inscribed in golden characters, as a stand­ing invitation to persons of all nations and characters, to come and take shelter under his roof.

Letter VII.

THE general invitation which Wil­liam Broadbrim had given to all persons who were destitute of a home, to come and take shelter under his roof, and the gentle, humane treatment which those who accepted the invitation met with, spread his fame abroad, and brought him much company. His family was sometimes com­pared [Page 90] to the Ark of Noah, because there was scarcely any kind of being, of what­ever shape, size, complexion, disposition, or language, but what might be found there. He had also the art to keep them pretty well employed. Industry, frugality, and temperance, were the leading princi­ples of his family; and their thriving was in a ratio compounded of these three forces. Nothing was wanting to make them as happy a family as any in the world, but a disposition among themselves, to live in peace. Unluckily, this desirable blessing, on ac­count of the variety of their humours and interests, was seldom found among them. Ambition, jealousy, avarice, and party spirit, had frequent out-breakings, and were with difficulty quelled. It is needless to enter into a very particular discussion of the grounds or effects of these dissensions: family quarrels are not very entertaining either at home or abroad, unless to such as delight in scandal. But there was one cause of dissension which it would be im­proper not to notice, because I have already [Page 91] hinted at the principle from which it pro­ceeded. William's aversion to fire-arms was so strong, that he would not suffer any of his family to molest the wild inhabitants of the forest, though they were ever so mischievous. While the family was small, the savage animals who lived in the neigh­bourhood, being well fed, were tolerably tame and civil, but when the increased number of the family had penetrated far­ther into the forest, the haunts of the na­tives were disturbed, and the straggling labourers were sometimes surprised, and having nothing to defend themselves with, fell a sacrifice to savage resentment. Re­monstrances were presented to Mr. Broad­brim one after another, but he always in­sisted on it that the sufferer must have been the aggressor, and that "they who take the sword, must expect to perish by the sword." At length the dead corpse of one of the labourers, mangled and torn in a dreadful manner, was brought and laid at the door of William's parlour,^* with a label affixed [Page 92] to the breast, on which were written these words, "Thou thyself must be accounted my murderer, because thou didst deny me the means of defence." At sight of this horrid spectacle, Broadbrim turned pale! the eye of his mind looked inward! Nature began to plead her own cause within him! he gave way in some degree to her opera­tions, though contrary to his pre-conceived opinion, and with a trembling hand signed a permission for those to use the carnal weapon, ^* who could do it without scruple; and when they asked him for money to buy guns, powder and ball, he gave them a certain sum to provide the necessaries of life, leaving them to put their own con­struction on the words. By degrees his squeamishness decreased, and though it is imagined he has still some remainder of it, yet necessity has so often overcome it, that there is not much said on the subject, un­less it be very privately and among friends.

[Page 93]DURING the time of which we have been speaking, Mr. John Bull had undergone another sickness,^* not so long nor so violent as the former, but much more beneficial in its effects. His new physicians had admin­istered medicines which composed his nerves; he ate, drank, and slept more regu­larly; and he was advised to marry again, for his former wife had died of a consump­tion a little before this sickness came on. By these means his vigour was renewed, but still his whimsical disposition remained, and broke out on several occasions. When he viewed his extensive forest, now planted and thriving, under the honest hand of in­dustry, he thought within himself that still greater advantages might be derived from that territory. There was yet a part of it unsettled between the plantation of Charles Indigo, and the dominions of Lord Strut; and Bull thought it a pity to let so much remain a wilderness. The other plantations had been made by discontented servants and needy adventurers, who, struggling [Page 94] with hardships, by a steady perseverance had surmounted many difficulties, and obtained a comfortable living. "Now, said Bull, if these fellows have done so well, and got so far aforehand, without having any capital of their own to begin with, what cannot be done by the force of my great capital? If they have performed such wonders, what greater wonders may be brought into view by my own exertions, with all the advantages which it is in my power to command? To it, boys; I vow I'll have a farm of my own that shall beat you all!"—Having hit upon this project, his brains immediately became pregnant with ideas; but according to the rule which he had lately prescribed to him­self, he communicated the matter to his wife. This good lady was not free from an ambitious turn of mind. She was ex­tremely fond of having it thought that she had great influence over her husband, and would sometimes gratify his humour at the expense of her own judgment, rather than not keep up this idea. His expectations from his new project were very sanguine. [Page 95] The land on which he had cast his eye was enough for a large farm; it had a southern exposure; it was warm, rich and fertile in some parts, and in others boggy or sandy. He had conversed with some foreigners, who told him that it was proper for the cultivation of wine and silk, and he imagin­ed that if he could but add these articles to the list of his own productions, there would be a great saving in the family. Mrs. Bull too was pleased with the idea of having her silk gowns and ribbands of her own growth, and with the expectation of having the vaults filled with wine, made on her own plantation; for these and other good rea­sons, her thereunto moving, Madam gave her consent to the project. The person appointed to carry it into execution was George Trusty, a sensible well bred merchant, but one who had only speculated in the science of agriculture, and knew nothing of it by experience. Having collected a number of poor people who were out of employment, he sent them to the spot, with strict orders to work six days in seven, [Page 96] to keep their tools free from rust, and their fire-arms in readiness for their defence. Whatever they should earn was to be their own as long as they lived, and after their death their possessions were to descend to their sons, and in default of male issue to revert to the original grantor. They were not allowed to use black cattle in the la­bour of the field; and were expressly for­bidden to drink grog. Their business was to cultivate vines and mulberry trees, and to manufacture wine and silk. Upon this project another was grafted by the very sagacious Doctor Squintum, who chose this new plantation as the most convenient spot in the world for a charity school, where Orphans might receive the best education, and be fitted to be the pillars of church and State.

BUT notwithstanding the sums which Bull so freely lavished out of his bags for the support of the vine and mulberry plant­ations; and notwithstanding the collections which Squintum made among his numer­ous [Page 97] devotees, these projects were either so impracticable in themselves, or so ill con­ducted in the execution, that neither of them answered the expectations of the pro­jectors. For want of black cattle, the soil could not be properly tilled; and for want of grog, the labourers fainted at their work; the right of inheritance being limited to the male line, women and girls were not fond of living there, and the men could not well live without them; land, cattle, women and grog, were to be had elsewhere, and who would be confined to such a place? The land, too, was claimed by Lord Strut, who sent them writs of ejectment. As to the charity school, it was on trial found that the cost was more than the profit, and the building, which had swallowed up thou­sands of charity money, was finally consu­med by fire. Poor George Trusty was discouraged, and begged Mr. Bull to take the plantation into his own hands; how­ever, Bull continued to supply him with cash, and he kept on making attempts. Alterations were made in the terms of set­tlement, [Page 98] the restrictions were removed, cat­tle and grog were allowed, Lord Strut was ousted, and possession held; the swamps were drained; rice and indigo were culti­vated instead of silk and wine; and upon the whole, considerable improvements were made, though at such a vast expense, that Mr. Bull never saw any adequate returns.

THE ill success of this adventure did not deter him from another project. He was extremely fond of Trout, ^* and thought if he could have them regularly catched and brought to his table, he should exceed all his neighbours in delicate living; and now and then be able to send a mess to his par­ticular friends. Lord Peter's family, too, he thought, would be glad to buy them, as they were very useful in the long lents, and frequent meagre days observed by them. There was a part of the forest on the north-east quarter, which was very con­veniently situated for this employment. It had been occupied by ALEXANDER SCOTUS, [Page 99] a purblind fellow, who had straggled thither no one could tell how; and it was matter of doubt whether he derived his right from Bull, or Lewis; for both of them laid claim to the land, and their claims had not been fairly decided in law. To make sure of the matter, Mr. Bull, by advice of his wife, sent a waggon to bring off the family of Scotus, whom he distributed among the other families of his tenants; and in their room sent thither^* a parcel of naked, half starved people, who could live no where else, and supported them for several years with provisions, furnished them with skiffs, lines, hooks and other implements to carry on the fishery; but every trout which they catched, cost him ten times as much as if he had bought it in the common market; nor could he, after all, get half of what he wanted for his own consumption. His trout fishery, and his mulberry plantation, rendered him the laughing stock of his neighbours, nor could he ever gain even the interest of the money which he had laid [Page 100] out upon them; while the foresters who had settled at their own expense, grew rich and became respectable. He had indeed the benefit of their trade, which kept his journeymen at work, and obliged him to enlarge their number; for the foresters had a respect for their old master and landlord, and when they had any thing to sell, they always let him have the refusal of it, and bought all their goods of him. But though he called himself their father, and his wife their mother, yet he began to abate of his parental affection for them; and rather looked on them with a jealous eye, as if they were aiming to deprive him of his claim, and set up for independence. Had he been contented with the profits of their trade, as was certainly his interest, they might have remained his tenants to this day; but ambition, avarice, jealousy and choler, inflamed by bad counsellors, have wrought such a separation, that it is thought Mr. Bull will go mourning all the remainder of his days, and his grey hairs will be brought down with sorrow to the grave.

Letter VIII.

IN my former letters I have endeav­oured to trace the several steps by which the forest became cultivated and peopled. Mr. Bull had no less than fourteen tenants who held under him, and were settled on lands which he claimed as his own, and which he had granted to them in separate parcels. Their names, were as follows:

• Alexander Scotus,
• Robert Lumber,
• John Codline,
• Roger Carrier,
• — Casimir,
• William Broadbrim,
• Cecilius Marygold,
• Walter Pipeweed,
• [Page 102]Humphry Ploughshare,
• Peter Bullfrog,
• Julius Caesar,
• Peter Pitch,
• Charles Indigo,
• George Trusty.

IT was observed that of all the adventu­rers, those generally were the least thriving, who received most assistance from their old master. I cannot tell whether it was ow­ing to their being employed in business to which they had not served a regular ap­prenticeship, or to a natural indolence, and a disposition to continue hangers-on where they had got a good hold; for it must be noted, that Mr. Bull was very generous to some persons, and on some occasions where it suited his fancy; and this disposition in him was so prevalent, that they who ken­ned him, and would humour his whims, could work him out of any thing which they had a mind to.

ON the other hand, those adventurers who came into the forest on their own ac­count, and had no assistance at all from their old master, nor any thing to help [Page 103] themselves with, but their four limbs and five senses, proved to be the most industri­ous and thriving, and after a while told up a good estate. They all seemed to have an affection for Mr. Bull, and it was generally believed to be sincere. His house was usually spoken of by them as their home. His ware-house was the centre of their traffic; and he had the address to engross the profits of their labour, and draw their earnings into his own fob. To some of them he would now and then make a pres­ent, to others he would lend a pack of his hounds, when he was out of the humour of hunting; but they were generally useless to them for the purpose of scouring the woods; those who could afford it, kept dogs of their own, who were better trained to the game, and could better scent the forest, being native curs, and not so spruce and delicate a breed as Bull's grey-hounds.

IT has been before observed, that each end of the forest was occupied by Bull's rivals. His old neighbour Lewis had got [Page 104] the north end, and Lord Strut the south. Bull's tenants had seated themselves chief­ly on or near the shore of the lake, and had not extended very far back, because of the beasts of prey; but Lewis, like a cunning old fox, had formed a scheme to get footing in the interior parts of the country, and prevent these planters from penetrating be­yond the limits which he intended to assign them. His emissaries had been sent slily into the distant parts of the forest, under pretence of taming these beasts of prey; but in fact they had halved the matter with them, and had themselves become as savage as the beasts had become tame. They would run, leap and climb with them, and crawl into their dens, imparting to them a lick of molasses out of their calabash, and teaching them to scratch with their paws the sign of a cross. They had built several hunting lodges on the most convenient pass­es of the brooks and ponds, and though thus scattered in the wood, were all united un­der one overseer, called ONONTIO, who [Page 105] lived in the mansion-house of St. Lewis's Hall.

IT was matter of wonder among Bull's tenants, for some time, what could be the reason that the wild beasts had grown more surly and snappish of late than formerly; but after a while, some hunters made a dis­covery of the new lodges, which the emis­saries of Onontio had erected, and the de­sign of them being apparent, a general alarm was raised in the plantations. On the first news, Walter Pipeweed sent his grandson George, a smart, active, lively youth, across the hills, with his compliments to the in­truders, desiring them to move off, and threatening them with a writ, in case of non-compliance.^* This modest warning being ineffectual, it was thought that if an Union could be formed among the tenants, they might make a stand against these en­croachments. A meeting was held at Or­ange Hall, ^† but no efficient plan could be hit on, without a previous application to [Page 106] their landlord, who hearing of this meeting, conceived a jealousy with regard to this union which seemed to be their object, and thought it was better to retain the manage­ment of the matter in his own hands, and keep them divided among themselves, but united in their dependence on him. He therefore sent them word that "he had a very great affection for them, and would take care of their interest, which was also his own; that he would not suffer Lewis to set his half tamed wild beasts upon them, nor eject them from their possessions, but that he would immediately take advice of his council, learned in the law, conjuring them by the affection which they professed to bear towards him, to be aiding and as­sisting in all ways in their power, towards bringing the controversy to an issue.

AT this time, the steward, to whom Mr. Bull entrusted the care of his [...]siness, was not a person of that discernment and expe­dition which the exigency of affairs requi­red. He had committed divers blunders in [Page 107] his accounts, and it was suspected that he was a defaulter in more respects than one. It cannot, therefore, be expected, that in conducting a controversy of this magnitude, he should exactly hit on the right methods, nor employ the best council which could be had. The first step taken was to send Broadoak ^* the bailiff, with a writ of intru­sion, which he was ordered to serve volens nolens, upon one of the messuages or hunt­ing-seats of Lewis. This bailiff, proceed­ing rashly and against the best advice into the forest, not a step of which he was ac­quainted with, found his progress impeded in a way wholly unexpected. For Onontio had taken care to place a number of his half tamed wild-cats and wolverenes on the boughs of trees, which hung over the path, and as soon as the bailiff came within reach, having first wetted their tails with their own urine, they whisked it into his eyes till they blinded him. This manoeuvre put a stop to the process for that time.

[Page 108]SEVERAL other attempts of the like kind were made without success, and Lewis at one time had almost got possession of Orange Hall ^* Not only the foresters themselves, but even Bull's own domestics, complained bitterly of these ineffectual measures, and their clamors at last prevailed to make him discharge his old steward, and put another into his place. The new officer^† soon changed the face of affairs; he employed no attorneys, nor bailiffs, but those of tried and approved abilities, men of enterprise and resolution, by whom the suit was pros­ecuted in good earnest. In every action Bull recovered judgment, and got possession. When Lord Strut came in to the aid of Lew­is, Bull cast him also, and took away his ma­nor of Augustine, which, with the whole tract of land, where Onontio presided, was annexed to his estate. The agents who had been employed in this arduous service, were not only well paid for doing their duty, but, with the steward who employed them, were honoured according to the an­cient [Page 109] but whimsical custom of Bull's fam­ily, by having their effigies pourtrayed on sign-boards, pocket handkerchiefs, snuff-boxes, and punch-bowls; so that while the fit lasted, you could not walk the streets, nor blow your nose, nor take a pinch of snuff, nor a draught of punch, but you were obliged to salute them.

WHENEVER Bull's steward called upon the foresters for their quotas of aid towards carrying on this heavy law-suit, they always readily afforded it; and some of them were really almost exhausted by the efforts which they made, to do more than their share. The steward was so sensible of their merit, that on due consultation with Mr. Bull's wife, and her taking him in the right mood, he was prevailed upon to reimburse the ex­tra expense to them, and mutual compla­cency reigned between the landlord and tenants all the time this steward remained in office. But these times were too good to last long; there were some who envied the steward his reputation, and raised stories [Page 110] to his disadvantage, which highly affronted him. At this time Mr. Bull was so much off his guard, as to give heed to these re­ports, and take a rash step in a hurry, which he had occasion to repent of at his leisure. He accepted the resignation of this trusty servant, and put one of his^* sis­ter Peg's cast off footmen into his place; whereby he laid a foundation for his own disgrace, and the dismemberment of his estate, of which I shall give you a particular account hereafter.

Letter IX.

TO trace with precision all the causes, great and small, which operated to the dismemberment of John Bull's estate, would be no easy task; some of them per­haps, were secret, but of such as were open to observation, we shall endeavour to sketch out the principal.

IT is well known that he was of a chol­eric habit, and that those who were ac­quainted with his humor and passions, could manage and impose upon him at their pleasure. Had he been let alone to [Page 112] pursue his own business himself, his plain, natural good sense, and generosity of mind, would have kept him clear of many diffi­culties; but he had his advisers, his hang­ers-on, his levee-hunters, his toad-eaters, and sycophants, forever about him, who, like a parcel of blood-suckers, could never have enough to glut their voracity.

WHEN the forest was first occupied by the tenants, Bull had a wife who minded her own domestic business, and did not concern herself with his landed interest. The leases and grants were made out in his name, and he was supposed to be the owner or proprietor; but the lady whom he had married after his second sickness, was very assuming, and insisted on having her hand in the management of all his affairs. She visited the compting-house, and made the clerks shew her their books; she overhauled the steward's accounts, and inspected his correspondence; she not only looked after the rents and incomes of the forest, but even intruded into the household [Page 113] concerns of the tenants, and affected to call herself their mother, because she had taken some care of one or two of them in their first setting out, although most of them scarcely ever had seen her face, or had any acquaintance with her, but by hearsay.

IT must be observed, also, that this wo­man had engaged Mr. Bull in some expen­sive law-suits and speculations, which had got him deeply into debt, and he was obli­ged to hire money of usurers to carry her schemes into execution. Had she, at the same time, introduced that frugality and economy into the family, which her duty ought to have prompted her to, this debt might have been kept down; but the swarm of harpies which were continually about her, and the course of gambling which was carried on under her conni­vance and direction, swallowed up all the profits of the trade, and incomes of the land; while the luxury and dissipation of the family increased, in proportion as the [Page 114] means of discharging the debt decreased. In short, Mr. Bull was reduced to that humiliating condition, which, by whatever fashionable name it may now go, was formerly called petticoat government.

DURING the law-suit with Lewis and Lord Strut,^* concerning the forest, there had been a great intercourse with the ten­ants. Many of Bull's servants and retain­ers, who were employed as bailiffs and at­tornies, and their deputies, had been very conversant with them, and were entertained at their houses, where they always found wholesome victuals, jolly fire sides, and warm beds. They took much notice of every thing that passed, asked many ques­tions, and made many remarks on the good­ness of the land, the pleasant situation of the houses, the clean and thriving condition of the children, who were always ready to wait on them, to clean their boots, hold their stirrups, open and shut the gates for them, and the like little necessary services, [Page 115] as well bred children in the country are wont. The remarks which these persons made, when they got home, favored rather of envy, than of gratitude or affection. Some of them would say: "Those fellows live too well in the forest; they thrive too fast; the place is too good for them; they ought to know who is their master; they can afford to pay more rent; they ought to pay for the help they have had; if it had not been for Master Bull, and the assist­ance which he has lent them, they would have been turned out of doors; and now they are to reap the benefit of his exertions, while he, poor man, is to pay the cost."

THERE were not wanting some, in the families of the Foresters themselves, who had the meanness to crouch to these fel­lows, and supplicate their favour and inte­rest with Mr. Bull, to recommend them to some posts of profit, as under-stewards, col­lectors of rent, clerks of receipts, and the like petty offices. These beggarly curs would repeat the same language, and hold [Page 116] correspondence with the bailiffs, attornies, &c. after they had got home. Whenever any trifling quarrel happened in the families of the tenants, they would magnify it, and fill their letters with complaints of the licentiousness of the people, and plead for a tighter hand to be held over them.

SUGH speeches as these were frequently made, and such letters read, in the hearing of Mr. Bull's wife and steward. Their language grew by degrees to be the current language of the family, and Bull himself listened to it. His choler rose upon the occasion, and when his hangers-on observed it, they plied him with stronger doses, till his jealousy and hatred were excited, and a complete revolution in his temper, with regard to his tenants, took place, agreeably to the most sanguine and malevolent wishes of his and their enemies.

THE first effect of this change was, that his clerks were ordered to charge not only the prices of the goods, which the tenants [Page 117] should purchase, but to make them pay for the paper ^* on which their bills of parcels and notes of hand were written, and that at a very exorbitant rate. This was so in­tolerable an abuse, and withal so mean, pit­iful and beggarly an expedient to pick their pockets, that they held a meeting among themselves, and resolved not to buy any more of his goods, as long as this imposi­tion lasted; and by way of contempt, they hanged and burned the effigies of the stew­ard, and other persons who were suspected of having advised to these new measures.

THE resentment shewn by the tenants on this occasion was quite unexpected. The secret favourers, and real authors of the mischief, began to be afraid that they had gone too far for the first attempt. Bull's journeymen were in an uproar about it, lest, by the failure of his trade, they should be out of bread; and to shorten the story, he was obliged to give up the point of making them pay for the paper; though [Page 118] Madam had the singular modesty to make a declaration, that it was a mere matter of expediency, and that she had power and right "to bind them in all cases whatsoever," notwithstanding Mr. Bull's most gracious concession at that time.^*

THIS was considered by the tenants as a most impudent and barefaced assumption; for whatever rights Mr. Bull might pretend to have as their old master and landlord, yet they never had any idea of a mistress over them; and though they very com­plaisantly returned him their thanks for his present goodness, yet as they suspected that there was more mischief hatching, they began to inquire more narrowly than ever into his right and title to the land on which they lived. They looked over old parchments and memorandums, consulted council learned in the law, and after due deliberation, they were fully convinced, that their own title was at least as good as his, and that they had a right to refuse him any [Page 119] rent or acknowledgment, if it were prudent for them to exercise it.

MR. Bull's jealousy was now increased with regard to their intentions, and his scribbling retainers frequently accused them of ingratitude and disobedience, and a long premeditated design to set up for independ­ence; a thing which they had not yet thought of, and probably never would, if this abusive treatment had not put it into their heads.

BUT though by those means they were led into an inquiry, and a train of thinking, which were quite new to them; yet as old habits are not easily broken, and their affec­tion for their master was very strong, they endeavoured, with a candour which did them honour, to transfer the blame from him to his wife and steward, to whose machina­tions they knew he was a dupe. These bad counsellors soon renewed their attempts in another shape, by raising the rent, and put­ting an advanced price upon the goods; and [Page 120] by means of additional clerks, packers, por­ters, watchmen, draymen, &c. who were continually in waiting, and to all of whom fees were to be paid, the trade laboured under great embarrassments, and some of the foresters were quite discouraged, others were vexed and impatient, while some of the better tempered of them, endeavoured to persuade the rest to keep up the commu­nication as long as they could. They were loth to quarrel with their old master, and yet could not pocket the affronts and abuses to which they were daily exposed.

DURING this sullen interval, many letters passed, many books and precedents were examined, and much ink was shed, in a controversy, which, however incapable of a decision in this way, might have been com­promised, if Mr. Bull's first thoughts had been as good as his second; but he was so completely under management, as not to see his true interest. It was a common saying among his neighbours, "John Bull's wit comes afterward;" and in fact it did [Page 121] not come, in this case, till too late, for when a cause once gets into the law, there are so many quirks, evasions, demurs, and procrastinations, that it is impossible to make a retreat, till one or both of the parties have severely smarted for their temerity.

Letter X.

I SUPPOSE you are by this time impatient for the story of the law-suit; how it began, and how it was carried on and ended. I will give it to you as briefly as so long and intricate a matter will bear to be told; and I am apprehensive you will think that Mr. Bull was so ill a politician, or so badly advised, as actually to pick a quarrel with his best customers. But facts will speak for themselves. Know then, that by the advice of his dear wife, and [Page 123] her gambling junto, Mr. Bull was prevailed upon to send a dozen pounds of tea to each of his tenants, as a present, in token of his extreme good will to them, and because he knew that they loved it; and at the same time to order his clerks to charge three pence for the paper and pack-thread in which each pound of this exhilerating weed was wrapped. This trifling sum he expected would be paid on demand, in ac­knowledgment of their good will to him as their kind and generous landlord, who had protected and defended them against all opposers, and would still continue to pro­tect and defend them as his beloved chil­dren, and obedient humble servants.

THE knowledge of his intention hap­pened to come to them sooner than the present, and they began to argue thus among themselves—"Ha! how comes this? What is freer than a gift? If Mr. Bull really intends the tea as a present, why does he exact three pence? Had he offered it to us as an article of merchandise, [Page 124] as usual, we might have taken it if we had liked the price, or left it if we had not; but this is a new way of trading to which we have not been accustomed. There is a design in this. If we receive this present and pay the trifling acknowledgment of three pence, by and by we shall have a pres­ent with six pence annexed, and another with a shilling, and so on. If we once establish a precedent, there is no knowing where to stop, and by these presents we may be gulled out of all our loose corns, and afterwards our real estates may be de­manded! No, it is better to prevent an evil than to cure it. We will have none of your presents, Mr. Bull, if this is to be the consequence. We have paid our debts well—you have had the exclusive benefit of our trade, and have become rich by it, and now in your old age you are grown trick­ish. It is time for us to be on our guard and keep a sharp look out; for if a man does not take care of himself, who can he expect will take care of him?" Fortified with these arguments, they waited for the [Page 125] approach of the messengers, who were on the road with the presents.

ONE of them came to Charles Indigo's house, and with Mr. Bull's compliments begged his acceptance of a package of tea. "Throw it into that cellar, said Charles, and let it lie there till I have considered of the matter."

ANOTHER came to William Broadbrim —but as the way to William's mansion was through a long, crooked, miry lane, he had ordered the porter to stop him, and give him liberty to return without deliver­ing his message.

PETER BULLFROG did the same; but some part of the tea being smuggled into the house, as soon as Peter knew it, he threw it into the gutter.

JOHN CODLINE had the greatest difficulty about Mr. Bull's present. He would glad­ly have sent back the messenger, but un­luckily [Page 126] for him, the gate which led to his house was held fast by Bull's Under Stew­ard, who constantly watched and attended there, to observe who went in and out, which service he was more particularly fond of, because he expected a douceur for open­ing and shutting the gate. Having admit­ted the messenger and received his penny, he stiffly refused to let him out again without having delivered the present. The fee was tendered, but this could not prevail; the family were uneasy, they were loth to af­front Mr. Bull, and yet determined not to receive his present. They could not ac­count for the conduct of the under steward on any other principle than this, that he ex­pected to get a share of the three pence, and of all other profits arising from future pres­ents; and was afraid he should lose it if he let the messenger return. The family was called together in the chapel, where they held a long consultation, sent several messa­ges to the under steward, who held fast the gate, and finally refused to open it. They were driven at length to an extremity, and [Page 127] threw the tea into the vault, where it perish­ed, at the same time protesting that the whole blame ought to be charged on the under steward, as they had no intention of injuring Mr. Bull if they could have avoid­ed it.

AS soon as this was known in Mr. Bull's family, his wife fell into a violent hysteric fit, and in her raving phrenzy denounced all the vengeance which it was in her pow­er to execute, on these refractory, ungrate­ful tenants, who would not accept a pres­ent when it was so freely offered to them. But when she came a little to herself, she was persuaded by her gambling companions not to attempt any thing against the whole body of the tenants, lest they should be driven by necessity to form an union a­mong themselves, which might defeat the plan; she therefore proposed to Mr. Bull to single out one of the most refractory of them, and shew his resentment in a partic­ular manner to him, hoping that the others would be intimidated and let him suffer [Page 128] alone, and be glad to get off so well them­selves. The person singled out for the ob­ject of resentment was John Codline, and the mode of resentment was as ridiculous as it was malicious, for it was nothing more nor less than to send a bailiff, with a pack of blood-hounds, to stand before the great gate that led to the front of his house.^* This, it was thought, would strengthen the authority of the under steward who had the key of the gate, and would reduce the fam­ily to this dilemma, either to receive no company and carry on no business, or else to submit to Mr. Bull's new mode of trading.

THE reason assigned for this particular mode of revenge was, that Mr. Bull, as lord of the manor, claimed a kind of sove­reign right to the high way. He had for a long time exacted an acknowledgment from all passengers; whenever they hap­pened to meet any of his horses or carriages on the road, whether he was there himself or not, they were obliged to douse the hat, [Page 129] or they might be sure of receiving a stroke of the whip, if not of being run down by his servants, who had special orders not to let any omission of this nature pass unpun­ished.

IN consequence of this manoeuvre on the part of Mr. Bull, every person who had any business to do with John Codline was stopped in the road, and ordered to go back, or pass by, like the Priest and Levite, on the other side. However, those who had a mind to see him, found means to climb over the fence, or to go up a narrow lane, which, by the help of a stile and a foot path, led them to Codline's back door.

THIS species of punishment exposed Mr. Bull to the ridicule of all his neighbours. It also proved quite ineffectual to the pur­pose for which he designed it. Instead of hindering company from coming to Cod­line's house, it brought more; and he re­ceived many letters from those who could not come in person. But, what was of [Page 130] more service to him than letters or visits was this, that many who were indebted to him came and made payment, and those who had at various times received favours from him when they were in distress, sent him presents, and encouraged him to keep up a good heart, promising to stand by him to the last extremity, if he should be redu­ced to it.

IT has been observed, that one advantage which Mrs. Bull expected would arise from this specimen of her refined policy was, that it would disunite the tenants, and frighten some or perhaps all the others into a com­pliance with the new mode of traffic. This expectation was grounded on one of the fables of Esop, which relates, that a fox who had been caught in a trap, and disen­gaged himself by the loss of his tail, when­ever he appeared among the foxes, was the object of their ridicule; upon which, he endeavoured to persuade them that he had been travelling to learn fashions, and that the newest fashion was for foxes to cut off [Page 131] their tails as a useless and burdensome ap­pendage, and boasted how much more light and nimble he had become since he had parted with that incumbrance; to which an old fox replied, that if he would do jus­tice to his argument, he ought to produce the shears with which he had cut off his tail, for the conviction of his brethren.

THIS fable, and the moral couched un­der it, raised a great deal of vain expecta­tion and triumph in the family of Mr. Bull; but the foresters had another of their own making, which was a match for it. A man meeting a serpent in the field, struck at him with a stick, and there being but one in his view he thought to kill him immediately; but the snake set up such a hiss as brought a dozen more out of their holes, who attack­ed the proud murderer in front, rear, and flank, and obliged him to take to his heels for safety. This fable was so much admired among the foresters at that time, that they had an engraving made on all their message cards, of a wounded serpent, with this motto, Join or die.

Letter XI.

THE insult which the foresters sup­posed to be put on them by the obstruction of the road, as mentioned in my last, caus­ed a serious alarm, and induced them to call a meeting of the heads of the several families to consult for their own safety. The result of this meeting was to endeav­our, by all peaceable means in their power, to effect an accommodation; but if that should fail, to prepare, in the best manner they could, to assert and maintain their rights, possessions and properties.

[Page 133]IN prosecution of the former part of their plan, they wrote letters to Mr. Bull, and to several members of his family; and with respect to the latter part, they came to a resolution to buy nothing more of him till he should change his mode of conduct, and treat them as he had formerly done.

IN the letters which they wrote on this occasion, though they professed a great deal of respect and affection for the old gentleman himself; they omitted to send their compliments to his wife. This was more than Madam could bear. She there­fore, after consulting with her gambling companions, determined upon the two fol­lowing points; first, that no answer at all should be given to the letter; and secondly, that an action at law should be entered, and the tenants ejected from their posses­sions. She would not however have come to this latter determination, if she had not been assured by persons who pretended thoroughly to understand their family se­crets, that the foresters would not dare to [Page 134] defend their title in law; but on the first appearance of a legal process, would sub­mit to any terms of accommodation which her ladyship might think proper to impose. Full of this idea, she roundly swore that she would see them prostrate at her feet, be­fore she would make up the matter with them on any terms whatever.

INFLUENCED by her passions, Mr. Bull's choler rose to the highest pitch. As lord of the manor, he placed bailiffs and blood­hounds in the high way, and denied all passage to any persons without his license. He then called upon all the counsellors and attornies to whom he had given a re­taining fee, and who were very numerous, to exert all their learning and eloquence in maintaining his cause, promising them not only a regular payment of their fees, but a generous allowance for disbursements and incidental charges, to be paid at sight by a draught on his banker; and when the cause should be gained, that each one [Page 135] should be entitled to a plantation in the forest.

THESE sagacious gentlemen, (many of whom were of Madam's own junto) find­ing that they had a fat client, contrived to husband the job, and spin out the cause secundum artem. They were old profi­cients in the science, and knew very well how to take double receipts of their sta­tioners, bailiffs, messengers, and other re­tainers, i. e. one receipt for the exact sum paid, and another for double the same sum; these latter were always produced as vouch­ers in the settlement of accounts, and in the glorious uncertainty of the law were admitted under the name of duplicates. It would divert you to see the numberless items which they crowded into their bills of cost, and the various pleas and pre­tences which were formed for demurring and continuing the cause from one session to another; while they were feeding their client with the hope that in every next session it would be decided.

[Page 136]ON the other hand, the foresters finding that Mr. Bull had retained so many learned counsellors, serjeants and barristers in his service, and that he had by far the longest purse, were obliged to use the greatest economy in conducting their defence. On looking round to see who was the most prudent, the most deliberate, and the most determined among them, and to whom they might with safety commit their cause, they unanimously pitched upon Walter Pipeweed's grandson George; who, being elected their chief attorney, modestly ac­cepted the office on this generous condition, that they should not insist on his receiving any fee or reward, because he conceived that in serving them he was doing no more than his duty. This instance of magna­nimity was interpreted by them as a sure omen of success.

GEORGE was a man of good understand­ing and true spunk; he had made consid­erable progress in the study of the law for his own amusement, and had practised at [Page 137] the bar in the defence of his own family claims against the encroachments of Lewis. His abilities were of such a nature as to rise and shine with the opportunities which called them into action. This was also the case with divers other persons in the families of the foresters; who would, per­haps, never have thought of engaging in the study of the law, had not this contro­versy been agitated; but would have re­mained in the state which is thus elegantly described by the poet.

THIS circumstance was predicted in the hearing of Mr. Bull's wife, by a very learn­ed and honest gentleman, who would have dissuaded her from giving her husband such bad advice as to plunge himself into that deep ditch, the law, out of which there is no coming till the last farthing be paid. [Page 138] "If there are any seeds of genius," said this faithful adviser, "they are drawn into action by public ferments and troubles; but might have remained in time of tranquillity forever useless and unknown, perhaps at the plough, under a shed, or among the lowest class of mechanics."^* This sage hint was totally disregarded, because, as I before observed, too much confidence was placed in a set of advisers, who pretended to know all the family secrets of the forest­ers. But the prediction was fully verified when this law-suit brought to the bar one from his farm, and another from his mer­chandize, one from his shed, and another from his shop,^† till in fact they became a [Page 139] match, in point of numbers at least, for the whole host of Mr. Bull's attornies.

THE first action was brought against John Codline, who was deemed the most surly and refractory of the whole number. It was thought if he could be cast, the others would of course submit. In this way of proceeding, Mr. Bull acted like that species of dog which bears his name, and which is known to attack his enemy by the head.

THE cause was learnedly argued at the Court of Bunker hall, and the arguments in favour of the foresters made a very un­expected [Page 140] and very deep impression on the managers for Mr. Bull. They found it a much more serious affair than they had imagined, and thought it best to stop short and have the case hung up, that they might consult their books over again, and pre­pare themselves by better authorities and allegations at the next hearing. After a long time they contrived to shift their ground, ^* and let John alone. They advised Mr. Bull to send for some lawyers out of Germany, who had been more used to this kind of pleading, and to lay an attachment on the estate of Peter Bullfrog▪ and the farm called Caesarea; where they expected to gain some greater advantage, partly because the tenancy was different, being founded on courtesy and not on lease, and partly because of the dissentions which they heard were subsisting in these families. In this interval also Madam Bull's resentment was raised so high, that she swore point blank that not one of these refractory scoun­drels should enter her husband's doors, nor [Page 141] have the least connexion with him, but that she would drive them off from the land, and re-people the forest with another set of men.

WHEN they had heard of this resolution, the heads of all the families in one of their consultations, came to a determination to publish an advertisement, setting forth the various abuses and grievances which they had suffered from Mr. Bull, his wife, and her junto; and declaring that they looked upon the country as their own, and them­selves free from any obligations to him, and at liberty to look out for other markets, and invite other merchants to form connex­ions with them. This transaction was so important an era in the controversy, that the fourth of July, the day on which the advertisement was dated, has ever since been celebrated as a day of festivity. The morning of that anniversary is ushered in with a firing of guns and fluttering of pi­geons. At noon you may hear some young lad spouting a declamation in favour of free [Page 142] trade; which is generally followed by a bowl of punch and a rump of beef, and the day is concluded with a song and a dance.

IN the progress of the action, several points of law were argued at different times with much skill and learning. On one of these occasions George was reduced to a dilemma, and his opponents thought him absolutely silenced; but suddenly rec­ollecting himself, he rose superior to them,^* and compelled them again to move for a continuance. Thus the cause was kept suspended till the third year was almost closed. At length a vaunting braggadocio of a barrister on Mr. Bull's side, who thought to carry all before him, was so completely answered and confuted in an obstinate argument, that a verdict was giv­en at Saratoga hall in favour of those plan­tations, which had been sued for in the northern part of the manor. This verdict relieved the foresters in some degree, and it [Page 143] was hoped would prove a good precedent for the decision of the other suits which were meditating against their brethren in the southern part.

THE unfortunate barrister was severely reflected on by Mr. Bull's wife, for not do­ing his duty; and he was obliged to jus­tify himself by producing his instructions, and by telling a number of serious truths respecting the forest and the foresters, which Mrs. Bull had often heard before but would not believe. The relation of these truths was so very offensive that she influ­enced her husband never more to employ him; and as he could get no other busi­ness in the law, he afterward employed himself in writing plays and romances, in which he was more successful.

Letter XII.

YOU may well suppose that a three years law-suit was a very expensive undertaking on both sides; and you will wonder how the foresters, circumstanced as they were, could struggle with such an antagonist; especially when the high way was so obstructed that they could not car­ry their provisions to market to procure them cash. The truth is, that though they were [Page 145] served gratis by their prime counsellor, yet they were obliged to give promissory notes to the attornies, scriveners, bailiffs, and mes­sengers, whom they employed under him; but as the prospect of payment was distant, the notes passed at a discount, and the only remedy in their power was to issue more, which instead of lessening increased the dif­ficulty.

THEY had early foreseen this difficulty, and applied privately to Mr. Lewis, Mr. Frog, and Lord Strut, to borrow money on interest. These old curmudgeons, though each of them looked with an envi­ous eye on Mr. Bull, and secretly wished he might lose the cause, yet were induced by various considerations to evade the ques­tion proposed to them by the foresters. "We must, said they, keep up appearances with our old neighbour; we have accounts open with him, as well as claims upon some portions of land, to which our title is no better than his; we may draw ourselves in­to a scrape, and set our own tenants a bad [Page 146] example, for who knows but the same ar­guments may avail with them to refuse their rents to us? Besides, how do we know whether these fellows will ever be able to pay? They offer to mortgage the manor to us, but the title is yet in dispute, and how do we know whether it be their's or Mr. Bull's?" These were the secret reasons which induced them to evade a di­rect answer to the messengers; and, like true courtiers, "To squeeze their hands, and beg them come to­morrow."

BUT as soon as the verdict was given at Saratoga hall, they began to change their mind, and wished not only to make them debtors, but even to enter into contracts to a large amount.

MR. Lewis was the first to make advan­ces, and meeting the messengers one day on 'change, he accosted them thus: "Your servant, gentlemen—I congratulate you on your success; you are welcome to my house, [Page 147] and ware-house, and table. I will lend you a few livres to help you to finish the con­troversy; and if Mr. Frog will advance a few stivers, I will give him my bond for se­curity. Besides, I will consent that my own counsellors, barristers, and attornies, whom I have retained, shall assist you at the next session, and I will see if I cannot open the high way, that you may bring your pro­duce to market. When you see Lord Strut, give my compliments to him, and tell him what I have promised, and I dare say he will, out of friendship to me, and for the sake of our old family compact, give you some assistance; for look ye, gentlemen, I will be honest with you, I mean to promote my own interest by serving you, and I am sure he has the same meaning.

THIS change in the sentiments and lan­guage of Mr. Lewis, was immediately made known to Mr. Bull, by means of some run­ning footmen, who frequently carried news from one house to the other. Consternation seized the whole family, and Mrs. Bull her­self [Page 148] began to think it a very serious matter, and that it was necessary to do something immediately to prevent worse consequen­ces. She therefore held a curtain confer­ence with Mr. Bull on the subject, thus—

Well, my dear, what do you think of the conduct of your neighbour Lewis?

Why I think he is a deceit­ful dog, and means to ruin me. If these fellows get him for their friend, he will draw in Lord Strut and Nic Frog, and I shall have them all to contend with at once; and therefore I think we had better compromise the matter with the tenants, and let them take the land, if they will, and go to the D-v-l; why should I keep on throwing away good money after bad; I am over head and ears in debt now, and I wish to stop where I am, without getting any deeper into the law.

I agree with you, my dear, that he is a deceitful dog, and I wish the [Page 149] tenants could know his true character: if they did, I am persuaded they would not put any confidence in him. There is a number of very sensible persons among them, and by the discourse which I have had with some who know their secrets, I believe that means might yet be found to divide them, and to detach them from the interest of Lewis; and if you will let me manage the matter, I have no doubt that I shall be able to accomplish it.

POOR John fetched a deep sigh, and said inwardly—Ah, I have let you manage my matters so long, that you have almost brought me to ruin! Then raising his voice and wiping his eyes, he replied, Well, my dear, I have told you my mind plainly, but if you think you can do any thing to save me, pray be speedy; I would gladly keep the tenants attached to me for the benefit of their trade, which is a matter of more consequence than their rent, and if I should finally lose the land, I wish to be again con­nected with them in business.

Never fear, I do not doubt but we shall find means to keep the land and have the trade too. I know how to sweeten them and bring them to good hu­mour again.

AS soon as this conference was ended, she wrote a billet in a very complaisant style, but in a hand scarcely legible,^* and was in such a hurry to send it, that she could not wait for one of the clerks to copy it, pre­senting Mr. and Mrs. Bull's compliments to the gentlemen tenants, informing them that it was not intended to trouble them any farther for the payment of paper and pack-thread, which had been the occasion of the controversy; but to settle all mat­ters by a reference, and that suitable per­sons should soon be deputed to confer with them, or any of them on the premises. This billet was hurried away by an express, and actually arrived before the foresters had heard of Mr. Lewis's intended kindness to them. But they received it with con­tempt, [Page 151] and gave no other answer to it than this, "Let Mr. Bull withdraw his action and clear the road, and we will talk with him; but as to his wife, we will have noth­ing to do with her."

AFTER they had given this answer, word was brought them of the good will of Mr. Lewis, which was received with the great­est joy imaginable. He was accounted the finest gentleman in the whole country, and all the stories which they had heard of him, through the medium of Bull's family, were set down as lies. He was regarded as the protector of the injured, the helper of the distressed, and the friend of the rights of mankind.

WHILE the praises of Lewis were thus echoed from house to house, the deputies of Madam Bull arrived. They were in­structed by her ladyship to enter into free conversation with the foresters, or any of them, publickly or privately; to tell them that they were greatly deceived if they took [Page 152] Mr. Lewis for their friend; that he was an arch, sly, deceitful fellow, and that no trust ought to be put in him; that Mr. and Mrs. Bull were very amicably disposed toward them, and willing to forget and forgive all that was past, to renew the former intercourse, to take off all the charges and burdens which had been com­plained of; to help them to pay the debt which they had incurred by the law-suit; and as the greatest proof imaginable of Mrs. Bull's particular favour to them, she would admit any of them to visit her in her own drawing-room, and give them a seat at her card-table. As a token of her sincerity in these professions, she sent several presents to their wives and daughters, and gave the deputies a large purse of money, to be distributed privately among the most influential persons in the several families.

THE deputies had scarcely alighted, be­fore they sent their footman to the door of the house where the heads of the families were assembled, with a message of compli­ments [Page 153] to announce their arrival, and ask permission to make a friendly visit. The porter refused entrance to the footman, and he returned, without having delivered his message. The deputies then wrote the purport of their errand, and sent it to the porter, who delivered it, and the following answer was returned—

DISAPPOINTED and chagrined, but not wholly discouraged, the deputies attempted privately to get into some of the houses; but they were refused entrance. They wrote letters and threw them in at the windows, or put them into the key-holes, but all to no purpose. The firmness and [Page 154] inflexibility of the foresters astonished them, and they were obliged to return with aching hearts, and tell their master and mistress that the forest was lost forever.

AND now was verified the old saying,

BUT Madam's fury and its consequences, will be the subject of my next.

Letter XIII.

NOTHING could exceed the rage into which Mrs. Bull was thrown by this disappointment. "O these cursed, stub­born, ungrateful, disobedient wretches, to refuse all my invitations, and spurn at my offers of friendship and reconciliation! [Page 156] What, not admit my deputies into their hou­ses! Did ever any woman suffer such dis­grace? Well, faith, I will be revenged, and they shall feel the power of my vengeance. I will prosecute them, to the utmost extrem­ity of the law; ay, and beyond law too, for I will set their houses on fire over their heads, and drive them off the land! And as to that deceitful dog of a Lewis, I will raise such a hornet's nest about his ears, that he shall repent his bargain! If Lord Strut attempts to help him, I'll lay an at­tachment upon his richest farms. And as for Nic Frog, if he lends them money, I will break up his ware-house, and fell all his goods by auction. I will satiate my vengeance on the whole pack of them, and if I fall myself among the general wreck, I shall have the glory of dying like Samson in the ruin of my enemies."

THE rage which Mrs. Bull indulged on this occasion, and the noise which she made in her raving fits, raised a great alarm in the family, and as hysterics are said to be [Page 157] catching, so the distemper spread into the two next families, viz. into those of sister Peg and brother Patrick. The former imagined that it was Mr. Bull's intention to call in Lord Peter to his aid, because he had been of late somewhat complaisant to those of his natural children, who resided in the family; and the latter expected that he should be treated in the same manner as the foresters, because he had complained of some restraints and impositions from his brother John Bull, in respect to his trade and business, which was that of a linen-draper. Old jealousies and grudges were revived on this occasion, and the whole neighbourhood was in confusion. The dogs in Peg's family kept a constant howl­ing and barking, and were answered by those of Mr. Bull. Several of them actu­ally ran mad,^* and Bull was obliged to place guards at his doors and gates, who attacked the curs with clubs, and killed sev­eral on the spot. In the midst of this hurly burly, his house was set on fire, and was [Page 158] actually seen blazing in thirty-six places at once;^* the fire even penetrated Madam's drawing-room, and her card party were obliged to hand buckets and pump the en­gine; and it was not without the greatest exertions that the whole mansion was saved from utter destruction.

A DIFFICULTY also arose from another quarter, where it was little expected. The measure which Mr. Bull had adopted of stopping the high way, and searching all carriages, provoked all the neighbours, who thought it a great infringement of their common rights; but as he was a person of so much wealth and power, they were afraid openly to contest that point with him. At length an elderly widow lady, of large property, with whom he had al­ways lived on friendly terms, and who gen­erally went by the name of Madam Kate, took the liberty to tell him, that she could no longer suffer her neighbours and herself to be so imposed upon; that the high way [Page 159] was common to all; that he had no right to stop passengers and examine them, but that every body ought to go about their lawful business without let or hindrance, and that she was determined to form a combination^* with Mr. Frog, Mr. Lewis, Lord Strut, and all the other neighbours, to remove the incumbrances which Mr. Bull had thrown in the way, and clear the passage.

THIS combination extended to other ob­jects, besides clearing the high way. They were all disposed to help the foresters against Mr. Bull, though in different ways. Lewis had already lent them money and feed law­yers to plead for them. Lord Strut, though rich in landed interest, yet generally antici­pated his revenues, (or as the vulgar phrase is, ate the calf in the cow's belly) he there­fore had no money to spare; but to oblige his friend Lewis, he laid an attachment on a southerly corner of the forest, which formerly [Page 160] belonged to him, and which from the numerous flowers with which it a­bounds, had got the name of Terra Florida. At the same time he attached one of Mr. Bull's favourite hunting-seats,^* which com­manded an extensive prospect, and was sit­uate extremely convenient for hunting, fowling, and fishing. It had formerly be­longed to Strut, but he had foolishly lost it by staking it in a game of whilst, which he played with Mr. Bull. It was a doubt in law whether real estate could be held by such tenure, but Bull had possession, and that you know is eleven points of the law. At any rate, it would oblige Bull to defend; and that would cost him money, and divert some at least of his lawyers from the busi­ness of the forest.

A SECRET correspondence had for some time been carried on between the foresters and Mr. Frog, for a loan of cash, and a mercantile contract. Bull had suspected it, but could not prove it, till one night, [Page 161] his myrmidons caught a messenger from the forest and searched his pockets,^* in which were found certain letters and other papers, which were supposed to amount to full evidence.

UPON this occasion an advertisement was published, according to fashion, justifying the measures about to be taken, and deplo­ring the evils which were connected with them. However small a share of credit these publications obtain, it is generally as much as they deserve.

TO make short work with Frog, Mr. Bull got a search-warrant, and sent a bailiff to his richest ware-house,^† who entered it, per fas aut nefas, tumbled over the mer­chandise, under pretence of searching for stolen goods; and having taken away as many as he pleased, by a writ of venditioni exponas, he put them up at auction, and it is said, made a fortune by this job. Mr. [Page 162] Lewis was so exasperated at the outrage thus committed on his friend Frog, that by a writ of scire facias, he laid claim to the ware-house and its contents, and brought in Bull for damages.

In short, Mr. Bull now found himself soused over head and ears in that deep ditch, the law. Like Ishmael of old, his hand was against every man, and every man's hand against him. Look which way soever he would, he found enemies, and his own family were continually buzzing in his ears, that he would bring his affairs to ruin.

BY the assistance derived from the loans which they had negociated with Lewis and Frog, and the additional counsellors and attornies which Lewis employed for them, the foresters pursued the controversy with as much vigour as the forms, delays and uncertainty of the law would permit. No less than four years longer were consumed in this expensive quarrel, and Mr. Bull's [Page 163] numerous retinue of lawyers were employ­ing themselves in the various chicanery and tergiversations of their profession, all the while fattening on the profits of the suit; whilst his debt was growing at such a rate, that he was at his wit's end to keep the interest from accumulating as well as the principal. At length, by a capital manoeu­vre of Pipeweed's grandson George, aided by the counsellors of Lewis, the cause was brought to a hearing at York court, and the arguments were of such efficacy, that a second verdict was given in favour of the foresters, with large damages. This ver­dict came so near to a final decision, that all Mr. Bull's friends were convinced he could no longer maintain an action against the foresters; and some trusty old servants ventured to whisper in Madam's ear that it was high time to end the controversy, for that it could not possibly be carried any farther, without bringing the family and the trade to total ruin.

[Page 164]"LOOK ye, Madam, (said they) how all the schemes which you have laid, have been uniformly defeated; you have pro­fessed to know the family secrets of these foresters; but those fellows who pretended to give you this information have deceived you. In fact, they have no such secrets as your ladyship imagines. What has been openly told you all along, is the truth, and you ought long ago to have believed it. Now the conviction has forced itself upon you, and you can no longer withstand it. The foresters have been defending their title in the law, and they have made it ap­pear so plainly, that no jury in the world will ever give a verdict against them. All who are acquainted with new lands, know that the labour attending the improvement of them, is worth ten times more than the land; and in fact gives the best title to it. If our master will now end the matter by a compromise, he may yet save some part of the manor at the northward, where is the best of hunting and fishing; but if he [Page 165] pursues the matter any farther, he will lose it all."

THESE faithful remonstrances, enforced by the necessity of the case, began to have some effect on the turbulent mind of Mad­am. She saw that it was in vain to con­tend against the opinions of all mankind, and therefore in her next curtain lecture she held a short dialogue with Mr. Bull, thus—

My dear, I have been think­ing whether it would not be best for you to come to a settlement of this long con­troversy.

So then you have changed your mind, have you?

Yes, my dear, I find I have been deceived with false information, or I would never have advised you to prosecute the matter so far.

Well, but how like a fool shall I appear to the world, if, after I have threatened and hectored these fellows, and spent so much money to recover my right, I should give it up at this time of day?

Why you know, my dear, that you have formerly made concessions to them, because I judged it expedient.

Ay, then I retained my claim of right; but that will not do now.

True, my dear, you must give up your right and title to about two-thirds of the forest; but you may still hold the other third, and I dare say no­body will contest your right to that. And as for that part which you give up, you may say by it as Lewis did of that which you once took from him—"Hang it, it is not worth the keeping; it has always been a bill of cost to me," and the like.

I wish, my dear, you had given me this advice some years sooner, I should have saved my money and my credit too.

Why, my dear, I tell you I was deceived; I am as sorry as you are for the loss of the money and of the forest, but as the case is now circumstanced, I think a com­promise would be best.

Well, I will consider of it.

WHEN Mr. Bull had taken the matter into consideration, he thought it best to wait the issue of the suit with Lord Strut about the hunting-seat, for he was loth to lose that; and happily for him, when that cause came to trial, it was argued so forcibly by his lawyers, that Strut was obliged to give it up. As soon as Bull heard of that, he cried out, "Now is the moment of victory —now is the time for peace." So calling one of his clerks, "Here, says he, go and settle the matter with the foresters, or their deputies, on the best terms that you can." [Page 168] The deputies and the clerk soon came to an agreement, and a quit-claim deed was drawn, describing the butts and bounds of the for­est, and distinguishing what he gave up to them from what he retained. This quit-claim being properly engrossed, he with a trembling hand and aching heart subscribed it, while Madam, standing behind him, could not help shedding a tear at the sight of a transaction to which she would never have consented but from dire necessity.

Letter XIV.

I WAS loth to break the thread of my narration in my former letters, and you know that we prattling folks love to tell our stories in our own way, which we are under great advantage to do when we are writing letters. But I will now go back to tell you something of the manner in which the foresters managed their domestic affairs during the controversy with Mr. Bull, and for some time after it was closed.

[Page 170]WHEN they had broken their connex­ion with him, it was uncertain what con­nexions they might form abroad, but it was judged expedient for them to be united a­mong themselves, that no one family should connect itself in trade with any merchant or factor, without the consent of the others. In short, it became necessary for them to enter into a partnership for their mutual interest and convenience. To do this was a nice point, and required much delicacy. It was to them a new subject, and they had an untrodden path before them. After much consultation and inquiry, their inge­nuity suggested to them the idea of an original social compact. "Why should we (said they) look abroad for precedents, when we have enough among ourselves? See the beavers in our own brooks and meadows, how they work in complete partnership, each family has its own cell, and a number of cells are placed in one pond. They carry on their operations with peace and unanimity, without even the appearance of a master. Here is a perfect republic, a [Page 171] complete equality, a striking example of order without subordination, of liberty without jealousy, of industry without coer­cion, of economy without parsimony, of sagacity without overbearing influence. Every one knows his own business and does it, their labour goes on with regular­ity and decency; their united efforts serve the common cause, and the interest of every one is involved in that of the whole. Let us go and do likewise." The hint took, and a plan of CONFEDERATION, as it was called, was drawn up on principles of the purest equality; each family retaining the entire control of its own domestic concerns, without any interference of the others, and agreeing to contribute voluntarily its pro­portion of labour and money to support the common interest.

THIS was, in theory, a very pretty de­vice, exactly suited to a set of people who thought themselves completely virtuous. But as it often happens that great ingenuity exists without much judgment or policy, [Page 172] so it proved here. These foresters did not consider that their intellects were not, like those of the beavers, confined to a few par­ticular objects; that they were not, like the beavers, void of passions and prejudices, void of ambition, jealousy, avarice and self-interest. With all the infirmities of hu­manity, they were expecting to establish a community on a plan similar to that in which no such deformities can possibly find admittance.

THOUGH for a while, and during the period of the law-suit, when common dan­ger impelled them to keep themselves close together, this plan answered the end better than none; yet in fact the notion of inde­pendence had so intoxicated their minds, that having cast off their dependence on Mr. Bull, they thought themselves inde­pendent of all the world beside. When they had got entirely clear of the contro­versy with him, they were in the condition of a young heir just come of age, who feels proud of his freedom, and thinks he [Page 173] has a right to act without control. Each family felt its own importance, and expect­ed a degree of respect from the others, in proportion to its numbers, its property, its exertions, its antiquity, and other trifling considerations, which ought never to have had any place in a partnership of complete equality; and in consequence of this in­toxicating idea of independence, each fam­ily claimed the right of giving or withhold­ing its consent to what was proposed by any or all of the others.

IN the club room, among a number of ingenious devices, there was a clock, of a most curious and intricate construction, by which all the common concerns of the part­nership were to be regulated. It had one bell, on which thirteen distinct hammers struck the hours. Each hammer was moved by independent wheels and weights, each set of wheels and weights was inclosed in a separate case, the key of which was kept, not as it ought to have been, by the person who represented the family at club, but in [Page 174] each mansion house; and every family claimed a right either to keep the key at home or send it to club, when and by whom they pleased. Now as this clock, like all other automatons, needed frequently to be wound up, to be oiled and cleaned, a very nice and particular adjustment of circum­stances was necessary to preserve the regu­larity of its motions, and make the ham­mers perform their functions with propri­ety. Sometimes one or two of the ham­mers would be out of order, and when it came to the turn of one to strike it would be silent; then there must be a running or sending home for the key, and the houses being at a considerable distance, much time was spent in waiting. Sometimes▪ the messenger arrived at an unseasonable hour, when the family was asleep, or abroad in the fields, and it would take up a consider­able time to collect them, and lay the case before them, that they might deliberate and determine whether the key should be sent or not; and before this could be done, the clock would get more out of order. [Page 175] By this means, the club was frequently perplexed; they knew neither the hour of the day, nor the day of the month; they could not date their letters, nor adjust their books, nor do business with any regularity.

BESIDES this, there was another inconve­nience. For though they had a strong-box, yet it was filled with nothing but bills of parcels, and accounts presented for pay­ment, contracts of loans, and indentures for services. No money could be had from any of the families, but by their own vol­untary consent; and to gain this consent there was great difficulty. Some had ad­vanced what they supposed to be more than their proportion; others had paid less. The former would give no more, till the latter had made up their quotas, and there was no authority which could call any one to account, or make him do his duty. Their whole estates were mortgaged for the money which they had borrowed of Mr. Lewis and Mr. Frog; and yet they could carry on no business in partnership. [Page 176] In fact they had formed such an unheard of kind of partnership, that though they could run themselves in debt, yet they could not oblige one another to raise any money to discharge their debts.

EACH family, however, carried on a sep­arate trade, and they contrived to undersell each other, both at home and at market. Each family also had a separate debt, which some were providing means to discharge, and others neglected. In one or two of the families they went to loggerheads among themselves. John Codline's family was, for several days, a scene of confusion and disorder; nothing was seen or heard, but cursing and calling names, kicking shins and pulling noses. John at first tried to silence them by gentle means, but finding these ineffectual, he at length drew his hanger, and swore he would cut off the ears of the first that should dare to make any more noise. This threatening drove two or three turbulent fellows out of doors, after which the house was tolerably quiet. [Page 177] Something of the same kind happened in Robert Lumber's family, but he made so good a use of his fist as quelled the disturb­ance at once.

IN the family of Roger Carrier there seemed to be a predominant lurch for knavery, for he publickly advertised that he was ready to pay his debts by notes of hand, subject to a discount, the amount of which was indefinite, because continually increasing; and that whoever did not take his pay, when thus offered, might go with­out. The other families were alarmed at his conduct; but had no power to oblige him to deal honestly, and he carried his roguery so far, as to bid them all defiance.

IN this state of debility and distraction, it became necessary to consult on some measures for a better plan of union. They began to be convinced that they were not beavers, nor capable of subsisting in such a state of society as had been adopted from them. Something more energetic was [Page 178] wanted to compel the lazy, to check the knavish, to direct the industrious, and to keep the honest from being imposed up­on. It had been often in contemplation to amend the mode of partnership; but now the disorders in some of the families be­came so alarming, that though they had been quelled for the present, it was un­certain whether they would not break out again, especially as one whole family seem­ed determined openly to patronize roguery. These considerations served to hasten the change which had been contemplated. It was accordingly moved in the club, that each family should appoint one or more persons to meet together, and consult upon some alterations and improvements in the partnership. This meeting was according­ly held, and the result of it shall be the sub­ject of my next letter.

Letter XV.

IT is not in my power to give you a particular detail of the whole proceedings of the meeting, which was held to reform the plan of partnership, in the manner of your parliamentary journalists, who make speeches for the members, perhaps better than some of them make for themselves; but I will endeavour to give you a summary [Page 180] of the principles on which they pro­ceeded.

THE professed design of the meeting was to reform and amend the plan; but in fact when they came to examine it, they found themselves obliged to pass the same sentence on it that was once delivered con­cerning the famous poet Alexander Pope, whose usual ejaculation was God mend me! "Mend you," said a hackney coachman, (looking with contempt on his dwarfish form and hump back) "it would not be half so much trouble to make a new one."

A NEW one was accordingly entered up­on, and the fundamental principle of it was, not to suppose men as good as they ought to be, but to take them as they are. "It is true" said they, "that all men are natu­rally free and equal; it is a very good idea, and ought to be understood in every con­tract and partnership which can be formed; it may serve as a check upon ambition and other human passions, and put people in mind that they may some time or other be [Page 181] called to account by their equals. But it is as true that this equality is destroyed by a thousand causes which exist in nature and in society. It is true that all beasts, birds, and fishes are naturally free and equal in some respects, but yet we find them unequal in other respects, and one becomes the prey of another. There is, and always will be, a superiority and an inferiority, in spite of all the systems of metaphysics that ever existed. How can you prevent one man from being stronger, or wiser, or richer than another? and will not the strong overcome the weak? will not the cunning circumvent the foolish? and will not the borrower become servant to the lender? Is not this noble, free and independent crea­ture man, necessarily subject to lords of his own species in every stage of his exist­ence? When a child, is he not under the command of his parents? Send him to school, place him out as an apprentice, put him on board a ship, enrol him in a compa­ny of militia, must he not be subject to a master? Place him in any kind of society [Page 182] whatever, and he has wants to be supplied, and passions to be subdued; his active pow­ers need to be directed, and his extravagan­ces to be controlled, and if he will not do it himself, somebody must do it for him. Self government is indeed the most perfect form of government in the world; but if men will not govern themselves, they must have some governors appointed over them, who will keep them in order, and make them do their duty. Now if there is in fact such an inequality existing among us, why should we act as if no such thing existed? We have tried the beaver scheme of partner­ship long enough, and find it will not do. Let us then adopt the practice of another kind of industrious animals which we have among us—Let us imitate the bees, who are governed by one supreme head, and, under that direction, conduct their whole econo­my with perfect order and regularity."

ON this principle they drew up an entire new plan, in which there was one chief steward, who was to manage their united [Page 183] interest, and be responsible to the whole for his conduct. He was to have a kind of council to advise and direct him, and sev­eral inferior officers to assist him, as there might be occasion; and a certain contribu­tion was to be levied on the trade, or on the estates of the whole, which was to make a common stock for the support of the common interest; and they were to erect a tribunal among themselves, which should decide and determine all differences. If nine of the families should agree to this plan, it was to take place; and the others might or might not adopt it; but if any one should finally refuse, or if any should adopt it and afterward fall from it, he was to be looked upon as an outcast, and no person was to have any connexion with him.

THE meeting having continued a long time, every body became extremely anxious to know what they were about; the doors were kept shut, and no person whatever was let into the secret till the whole was [Page 184] completed. A copy was then sent to each family, for them to consider at their leisure.

THOUGH curiosity was now gratified, yet anxiety was not relaxed. The new plan of partnership went by the name of the fiddle; those who were in favour of it call­ed themselves fiddlers, and those who oppo­sed it were styled antifiddlers. The former said it was the best plan that human wis­dom had ever contrived. The latter imag­ined it "pregnant with mischief." The former compared it to a strong fence about a rich field of wheat. The latter com­pared it to the whale that swallowed up Jonah.

IN each family a consultation was held on the question, Whether it should be adopted or not? and liberty was given for every one to speak his mind with the ut­most freedom. The objections, answers, replies, rejoinders, and rebutters, which were produced on this occasion, would make a curious collection, and form an im­portant [Page 185] page in the history of man. The fiddlers were extremely fond of having it examined, because they said it was like a rich piece of plate, which the more it be rubbed shines the brighter. The antifiddlers said it was like a worm-eaten bottom of a ship, the defects of which would more evi­dently appear, the more it was ripped to pieces; they were therefore for rejecting it at once, without any examination at all.

WHEN they were urged to point out its defects, they would say, "It is dangerous to put so much power into the hands of any man, or set of men, lest they should abuse it. Our liberty and property will be safe whilst we keep them ourselves, but when we have once parted with them, we may never be able to get them back again."

IF the plan was compared to a house, then the objection would be made against build­ing it too high, lest the wind should blow it down. How shall we guard it against fire? how shall we secure it against rob­bers? [Page 186] and how shall we keep out rats and mice?

IF it was likened to a ship, then it would be asked, how shall we guard it against leak­ing? how shall we prevent it from run­ning on the rocks and quicksands?

SOMETIMES it would be compared to a clock, then the question was, how shall we secure the pendulum, the wheels and the bal­ance from rust? who shall keep the key, and who shall we trust to wind it up?

SOMETIMES it was represented by a purse, and then it was said to be dangerous to let any one hold the strings. Money is a tempting object, and the best men are lia­ble to be corrupted.

IN short, the whole of the arguments against it might be summed up in one word —JEALOUSY; which is well known to be the highest degree of republican virtue.

[Page 187]TO shew the futility of these arguments, it was observed by the opposite party, that it was impossible to put it into any man's power to do you good, without at the same time putting it into his power to do you hurt. If you trust a barber to shave your beard, you put it into his power to cut your throat. If you trust a baker to make your bread, or a cook to dress your meat, you put it into the power of each to poison you; nay, if you venture to lie in the same bed with your wife, you put it into her power to choak you when you are asleep. Shall we therefore let our beards grow till they are long enough to put into our pock­ets, because we are afraid of the barber? shall we starve ourselves because the baker and the cook may poison us? and shall we be afraid to go to bed with our wives? Fie, fie, gentlemen, do not indulge such whims: Be careful in the choice of your barbers, your bakers, your cooks, and your wives; pay them well, and treat them well, and make it their interest to treat you well, and you need not fear them.

[Page 188]AFTER much debate and discussion, some of the families adopted it without excep­tion, but in others, the opposition was so strong that it could not be made to pass, but by the help of certain amendments, which were proposed; and of these amend­ments every family which thought proper to make any, made as many as they pleased. The new plan with its appendage of amend­ments, cut such a grotesque figure, that a certain wag in one of the families, like Jotham the son of Gideon, ridiculed it in the following fable.

"A CERTAIN man hired a taylor to make him a pair of small clothes; the taylor meas­ured him and made the garment. When he had brought it home, the man turned and twisted and viewed it on all sides; it is too small here, said he, and wants to be let out; it is too big here, and wants to be taken in; I am afraid there will be a hole here, and you must put on a patch; this button is not strong enough, you must set on another. He was going on in this [Page 189] manner, when his wife overhearing him, said, have you put on the small clothes, my dear? No, said he. How then, replied she, can you possibly tell whether they will fit you or not? If I had made such objec­tions to a gown or a pair of stays before I had put them on, how would you have laughed at my female wisdom? The man took his wife's advice, and saved the taylor a deal of trouble."

IN like manner, the new plan of part­nership was tried on, and was found to fit very well. The amendments were thrown by, for future consideration; some of them have been since adopted, but they are so few and so trifling, as to make no essential difference.

AS soon as a sufficient number of the families had adopted the plan, they began to set it in operation; and unanimously chose for their High Steward and manager, GEORGE, the grandson of Walter Pipeweed. He had served them so faithfully and gen­erously [Page 190] in conducting the law-suit against Mr. Bull, that no person was higher in their confidence. As he would take no reward for his former services; so he began this new business with a declaration of the same kind, and a protestation that nothing could have induced him to quit the sweets of retirement for the toils of public busi­ness, but a disposition to oblige his numer­ous friends who had united their suffrages in his favour. Every one who knows him is fully convinced of the sincerity of his declarations, and he has perhaps as large a share of the esteem and affection of the people in these families, as any person ever could expect from a course of faithful and friendly offices.

BESIDES him there is an under steward, a council of advice, a chief clerk, a cashier, and a master of the hounds. The under steward is a person of a grave deportment, much reading and strict integrity; he has written a large and valuable treatise on family government, and was largely con­cerned [Page 191] in effecting the compromise with Mr. Bull. The council of advice are cho­sen from the several families, and consist of persons of the best education, abilities, and popularity. The chief clerk has the care of the most important papers, and the cashier keeps the key of the strong-box, which now has something in it besides pa­per. By his advice the debts of the com­pany are put into a fair way of being paid, though some grumbling still subsists among those who were obliged to sell their notes at a discount. The master of the hounds is an officer, who it was at first thought would have very little business; but as the wild beasts of the forest have of late grown very troublesome, it is supposed that he will have his hands full. There is too much of a lurch for hunting among many of the foresters; and some have not been ashamed to express their wishes that the whole race of wild creatures was exterminated from the face of the earth. There are others who still continue of the mind, that these animals are a degenerated part of the human [Page 192] species, and might yet be recovered if prop­per methods were used to tame them; but it is greatly feared, that while the rage for hunting continues, all such benevolent projects will fail in the execution.

IN some late hunting matches, these wild animals discovered so much art and cour­age, that several of the hunters were laid to sleep in the bed of honour; and the rest were obliged to take to their heels, that they might "live to hunt another day." Some persons are of the mind that it is not best to seek these beasts in their dens, but rather to guard the fields and take care of the poultry at home. Others are for pur­suing them to the thickest shades of the forest, and this seems at present to be the prevailing opinion. What the success of it will be, time must determine.

SINCE the new partnership has been established, husbandry and trade have been carried on briskly; the houses are full of good things, and the children are well clad [Page 193] and healthy; but there is one inconveni­ence which usually attends a full house, and that is, that rats are very numerous, and a new species of them have lately found their way thither. Some of them are very fat and sleek, and are not afraid to appear in open day light; though it is supposed they burrow under ground, and have sub­terraneous communications from house to house. This is an inconvenience against which no remedy has yet been found; though some people, from their apparent voracity, are of the mind that they will ei­ther prey upon one another, or else eat till they burst.

I HAD almost forgot to tell you that two new families have lately been added to the number of partners. One is that of Ethan Greenwood, a stout, lusty fellow, born in the family of Robert Lumber, but married in­to that of Peter Bullfrog, from whom, after a long dispute, he has got a good tract of land, which originally belonged to his own father, but was surreptitiously taken pos­session [Page 194] of by his father-in-law. The other is Hunter Longknife; he was bred in the family of Walter Pipeweed, and has a large share of his spirit of adventure. Having taken up his residence in the outskirts of the forest, he has had many a scuffle with the wild beasts, who are extremely fond of his green corn and young chickens, when­ever they can get a taste of them.

Letter XVI.

AFTER giving you such a long detail of the affairs of these foresters, I will close my correspondence, for the present, with a brief account of the situation of the principal persons with whom they are or have been connected, and whom I have had occasion to mention in my other letters.

TO begin with Mr. Bull. Though he has given a quit-claim of that part of the forest where his old servants and best cus­tomers have possession, yet he retains the [Page 196] northern part, together with some hunting-seats which he promised to give up to the foresters. The chief produce of this north­ern territory is the furs, which are brought to his ware-house and wrought up by his tradesmen. Notwithstanding the loss of his title to the lands of the foresters, they have not wholly forsaken him as a trader. He keeps his fulling-mills at work, and supplies them with cloths of various kinds, but they feel themselves at liberty either to purchase of him or his neighbours, or to manufacture for themselves. He is rather more complaisant to them in his own shop, than his factors are in some of his distant ware-houses, where they are not allowed to carry their produce to market, nor to re­ceive coffee, cotton, and sugar, as formerly. However, they have found out other places where they can buy these commodities without asking his permission. And as for that capital article TEA, which was the occasion of beginning the controversy, they now fetch it directly from the original ware-house of old Cang-hi, where it is man­ufactured. [Page 197] They purchase their silks and muslins of the first makers and dealers, and get their wines directly from the vineyards.

I HAVE before told you that Mr. Bull formerly used to send the ordure made in his family to enrich the plantations of the foresters; but since his quarrel with them, he has been somewhat at a loss how to dispose of it. At first he threw it into the gutter^* before his door. But there was such a large quantity of it, and the stench which it caused was so offensive, that this expedient would not answer the end. He then thought of sending it to a place where some of his family had been employed in botanizing, ^† in hope that by adding to the fertility of the soil, they would find more encouragement to prosecute their inquiries, and that he should in time receive some rent or recompense. This scheme, like some others, the product of his fruitful brain, has been hitherto attended with more cost [Page 198] than profit; yet it is still persisted in, and great expectations are still indulged.

AS to his domestic affairs, his wife still rules him according to her usual maxims, and keeps up her gaming club, where she wins and loses alternately; but between the shop and the drawing-room, there is enough gained to pay the interest of his debt, though it is not imagined he will ever be able to pay the principal. This, like a millstone about his neck, must finally sink him.

YOU may possibly be curious to know what is become of his mother, whom I have formerly mentioned to you as having had some sway in his family. The truth is, that since he married his present wife, the old lady found her influence decreasing and retired to her chamber, where she has been for many years confined, and is now whol­ly bed-rid. Mr. and Mrs. Bull, indeed treat the old lady with much decency, and suffer none to intrude upon her, but such [Page 199] company as she is fond of. Old Madam has all the infirmities of age about her. She will not suffer herself to be touched nor turned in her bed; nor the room to be aired, nor her linen shifted. She keeps her window-shutters closed, and will not admit the least ray of light in her apart­ment, but what proceeds from her own candle, which having been once dipped in consecrated water, is supposed to possess all the virtues of an everlasting taper.

NOW I have spoken of Madam's taper, perhaps you will be amused with some ac­count of it. It is a wax candle of a com­mon size, set in an old-fashioned silver can­dlestick richly embossed and gilt; but the rust and dust of it are so sacred, that it is never permitted to be scoured. The tradi­tion is, that this candlestick formerly be­longed to St. Peter, and the candle first placed in it, is supposed to have been light­ed at the SUN, and by a mysterious kind of uninterrupted succession, has been kept burn­ing ever since. By the light of this taper, [Page 200] old Madam reads her bible and books of devotion, which always lie on a table by her bed-side.

SOME persons of an incredulous turn of mind, have pretended to call in question this mystery; but it is still held sacred by the old lady, and by most of Mr. Bull's own family. There are some even among the foresters of the same opinion; and such is the liberality in these families, that no one is molested in the indulgence of any inno­cent whim, which does not affect the peace of the families, nor the interest of the part­nership. It was not long after the re-estab­lishment of harmony between them and Mr. Bull, that these persons sent two can­dles in one lantern, and one in another, to be lighted at this venerable taper, and dipt in the consecrated water. Two of them were actually lighted in old Madam Bull's presence, and to her great satisfaction. The third was lighted at a taper supposed to be derived from the same original, but "hid under a bushel" in one of sister Peg's out­houses, [Page 201] it not being permitted to burn pub­lickly in her family, where the only candles allowed, are of the manufacture of Geneva.

THERE has been as long a controversy between different opinionists on this sub­ject, as between the sectaries in Liliput, about breaking the egg at the big or little end. But it is easy enough to accommo­date the matter by granting that St. Peter's candle, as well as those from Geneva, were originally lighted at the SUN; that the same source of light is open to all; and that it is of no consequence of what materials tapers are made, nor in what kind of can­dlesticks they are placed, nor by whose hands they are lighted, provided they give so clear a light as to answer the purposes of vision.

IT remains only that I give you some account of Mr. Lewis. The adventures in his family have been very singular. I formerly told you that he feed lawyers to plead the cause of the foresters. These [Page 202] subtile practitioners soon found that the same arguments which they were obliged to use in favour of the foresters, would apply with equal propriety to the case of Mr. Lewis's own family. He had long been a widower, and the family was gov­erned by a succession of kept mistresses, who [...] only their pleasures and the enriching of their own relations and depend­ants. The tenants were abused, the man­sion house was dirty and out of repair, and though the rents were paid into the hands of the steward, yet much oppression and embezzlement, and little economy, were the constant topics of complaint.

AFTER the alteration, produced by the assistance of Lewis's lawyers in the forest, they began to think it was high time to do something of the same kind at home. The only peaceable remedy which they could imagine, was to persuade Mr. Lewis to marry a reputable woman, who would be agreeable to the family. After much argument he was at length brought to see [Page 203] the necessity of the case; and, to prevent a law-suit, with which they threatened him, he consented to take the wife which they recommended. She is a lady of good sense and polite manners, and treats him with the greatest deference and propriety. She has had the mansion thoroughly repaired, the floors and windows cleaned, and the walls whitewashed, and is not afraid to let her inmost apartments be visited by the sun and air. The building is now commo­dious, wholesome and pleasant, and the dirty dog-kennel,^* which stood near the door, is demolished.

IT is suspected by some that Lewis still has a hankering after his old connexions, but he professes love to his new wife in the strongest terms imaginable. His cast off mistress has had the audacity to insult the newly married lady, and tell her that she has no business to occupy her apartments; that all Mr. Lewis's professions are insincere, and that she still possesses his heart. If [Page 204] these ladies should go to pulling caps, Mr. Lewis will be in a critical situation, as in­deed every man is when two women are contending for him. It is said that some of the neighbouring gentlemen, who prefer concubinage to matrimony, have taken the part of the late mistress, and insist on her restoration to bed and board; but how this matter will terminate, can be decided only by futurity.

HE has also been very unfortunate in some of his distant plantations and facto­ries. His black cattle have caught the horn distemper; some of his farm houses have been burnt, and it is thought that several years will intervene before his affairs will be set to rights.

THUS, my friend, I have endeavoured to fulfil my promise by giving you such an account as I have been able to procure of the foresters and their connexions. I assure you I am extremely delighted with the country and its improvements, which ex­ceed [Page 205] by far the expectations of every per­son who travels this way, and has formed what he may think a just idea of the coun­try, by staying at home and hearing the re­ports of others. There is no possibility of conceiving what a fine country it is with­out actually seeing it; I therefore recom­mend to you a journey hither, for a two-fold purpose, viz. to cure you of the spleen, and to convince you how much human in­dustry and ingenuity can perform in a short time, when nature has already done her part toward making a good country and a happy people.

Letter XVII.

BEING assured that my former let­ters have afforded some entertainment to you and your friends, I shall with pleas­ure resume my pen agreeable to your re­quest, and continue my account of the For­esters and their connexions.

[Page 207]MY last gave you the latest information which could then be had, relative to the families of Mr. Bull and Mr. Lewis; and it is proper for me to begin where I left off, because the circumstances of those two eternal rivals have had some influence, and I fear will always have too much on the sen­timents and transactions of my favourite foresters. For, notwithstanding all that dignity and independence of character which really exist among them, and which ought to prevail over every inferior princi­ple, yet there are persons in all these fam­ilies, who, from local and commercial at­tachments, or from natural and political connexions, are strongly inclined to imitate the manners and adopt the principles of one or the other of those ancient rivals.

I HAVE told you, that there was a suspi­cion of a hankering which Lewis indulged toward his cast off mistress; and that the neighbouring gentlemen favoured the in­trigue. This suspicion has been sadly ver­ified, and a long and bitter controversy has [Page 208] ensued between Lewis and the new wife who had been imposed on him. Her jeal­ousy was raised to a monstrous pitch, and the proofs of his infidelity became so fla­grant, that nothing would satisfy her but a divorce, not barely à mensa et thoro but à vìnculo matrimonii. After a long and sol­emn hearing, the sentence was pronounced in due form, and approved by the major part of the family; who, in consequence, turned him out of doors. The minor part, who adhered to him, were so roughly hand­led by the majority, that such of them as could, were glad to escape, leaving the rest maimed and wounded on the floors; which were so stained with blood, that they look­ed as if the famous Doctor Sangrado^*, and all his imps had been fully employed in their favourite operation.

SUCH was the noise and uproar on this occasion, that all the neighbours, and espe­cially those who favoured Lewis's intrigue▪ were alarmed. Mr. Bull, whose choler [Page 209] you know is very easily raised, took this opportunity to swear the peace against the whole family of which Lewis was lately at the head. Not content with this, which might have passed merely for a defensive measure, he entered a complaint to the grand jury, and had a bill found against them "for riotous, routous and disorderly behaviour," and determined to prosecute them with the utmost rigour of the law. For, said he, within himself, "If these fellows are suffered to go on at this rate, they will set a fine example to their neighbours, and turn every thing upside down. If the conduct of masters does not happen to hit the humours of ser­vants, we shall all be turned out of doors as well as Lewis. Poor devil! I once hated him as heartily as any body; but now he is in distress, I pity him, and can say as Ahab did to Benhadad, he is my brother. If such principles and conduct should pass unpunished, no master can be sure of his property, or power; all family govern­ment is at an end, and a strong-box is no [Page 210] security. It is evidently my duty to bestir myself; and besides, what a fine oppor­tunity is now presented to revenge the conduct of this officious family, who meddled in my controversy with the for­esters! Now I will pay them double and round."

TO carry this resolve into execution, he entered into articles of agreement with Lord Strut and Nicholas Frog to stand by him; and gave large fees to the most able pleaders, particularly to Ferdinand, Frederic and Leopold, who professed to have an inter­est of their own in supporting his cause. These crafty brethren of the long robe, after making a formal parade of their elo­quence at the bar, contrived by various pretences and stratagems, well known in their profession, to spin out the cause, and require additional sums of money; which Mr. Bull generously, and even profusely advanced. For it is a settled maxim with him, never to spoil any piece of work for fear of expense. This being well known [Page 211] to those whom he employs, they are never in a hurry to finish a job; and why should they, when they have so able and ready a pay-master.

WHAT became of Mr. Lewis after his divorce and expulsion, is uncertain. A let­ter^* has appeared, pretending to have been written by him, which speaks in strong terms of the ill treatment he has received, and contains a strange compound of sever­ity and lenity toward the family. Some are still of opinion that he may be restored; but it is generally thought that he will not be able very soon to show his head again among his old neighbours.

THE changes which took place in the family after his expulsion, were numerous and rapid. The new wife did not long preserve her dignity, but was frequently tousled and tumbled by the rude hand of every frolicksome fellow in the house. The name of Lewis was expunged from [Page 212] the sign-board, and in its place was substi­tuted the name of some remote ancestors of the family who were called The Franks, and by this firm the house is now known. Various devices were proposed for a new coat of arms; one was a wheel within a wheel, with the word Jacobina for a motto. Another was a bloody robe mounted on a spear, with the motto, in terrorem. But it seems to be at length determined, that three plain stripes of white, red and blue, shall be the device, with the motto une et indivisible. Had there been but one colour, the motto would have been more intelli­gible.

NOTWITHSTANDING all their intestine divisions, and their daily and nightly broils among themselves; yet the Franks have had the address to show a bold face to their adversaries, and to defend their cause in the law with a resolution truly honourable. Their resources are supposed to be consid­erable. Those who quitted the family were not permitted to carry off their clothes and [Page 213] trunks, some of which contained a valuable booty. The old family plate and jewels, and the ornaments of the devotional closet, have been sold at auction. The real estate is in effect mortgaged, by promissory notes, issued on its credit, which, though they have greatly depreciated in the market, by reason of forgeries carried on in Mr. Bull's family, and by his connivance, yet will probably be redeemed at some rate of dis­count at present unknown.

THE Franks have also found means to silence Mr. Bull's most powerful pleaders, notwithstanding the large fees they received from him. They have even detached Ni­cholas Frog from his connexions with Bull, and taken him into partnership with them­selves; though it is whispered that Nicholas is not over and above pleased with the new mode of fraternization, as it hath brought him into a law-suit with Bull, who at once laid attachments on all his silks and spices. Lord Strut has also disengaged himself from the concern; Bull grins hor­ribly [Page 214] at him for his insincerity, and threat­ens to sieze all his plate and bullion, (of which he has an immense quantity) to make good the damage.

HAVING introduced the word fraterniza­tion, I must tell you that this is one speci­men, and there are many others, of that liberty which the Franks have assumed, of coining words. It has been the practice of the family for a long time, and they have been flattered by the frequent adop­tion and use of their new words in oth­er families, who always regarded them as the most polite and plausible, if not the most deeply learned in the whole neighbour­hood. When words have a real and defi­nite meaning, it is of no consequence who is the original coiner of them, nor by whom they are brought into use; but every one is fond of the productions of his own brain, and every one has a right to claim and en­joy the honour (if there is any) belonging to such productions. Never was a word better adapted to any particular purpose [Page 215] than this. To fraternize, in the sense of the Franks, is to make brethren; to coax, or bribe, or compel, or use means of any kind whatever with other people to make them brethren.

AFTER the divorce and expulsion of Mr. Lewis, the majority, who assumed to gov­ern the family, were so intoxicated with the idea of the liberty which they enjoyed in being free from their master, in tousling and handling their mistress, in picking the locks and searching the trunks of the de­serters, and breaking up the old family hordes, that they began to think this was a kind of liberty which all families had a right to enjoy as well as themselves. They came therefore to a resolution, to endea­vour as far as in them lay, to extend the blessings of this liberty to their neigh­bours, beginning with the nearest. They made offers of service, either secretly or openly, to bring on revolutions among them, or as they metaphorically expressed it, "to plant the tree of liberty in their [Page 216] gardens." This was what they meant by fraternization. All who favoured their ideas in other men's families were called democrats, and those who were not fond of the fraternizing plan were termed aristo­crats, words also of their own coining. To show their contempt of all titular distinc­tions, they disused the appellations of Sir, Monsieur, your Honor, and the like, and substituted the name of citizen, which was supposed to be equally applicable to all. But to express their own most modest opinion of themselves, in the lowest of all possible terms, they affected the name of Sans-culotte, which in plain English signifies bare-****; a word, before this time ap­plied only to those most contemptible of the species who were too lazy to earn enough to buy a pair of small-clothes. To such ridiculous lengths will people go, when they suffer their enthusiastic imagination to get the better of their judgment! But the wisest have their foibles; and, who is there that cannot recollect, in the course of his life, some instances of indiscretion?

[Page 217]I SHOULD not have detained your atten­tion so long to this article, had there not been a very absurd attempt made to extend the plan of fraternization to the Foresters; who were already the elder brethren of the Franks, both in principle and conduct, and heartily wished well to their cause—But of this you shall hear more in my next.

I WILL only further observe, at this time, that there has appeared in the family of the Franks, a strange kind of zeal on the subject of religion. Before these changes took place, Mr. Lewis, and the family in general, entertained a decent, though partial respect for Lord Peter, and were fond of buying those devotional books and trinkets, in which you know he is a large dealer; but since the expulsion of Lewis, no notice has been taken of the old gentleman, ex­cept to insult him, by burning all those books and trinkets which they could find in the family, and thus turning his whole trade into ridicule and contempt. To shew how totally they disregarded all their former [Page 218] received opinions, both true and false, they have contrived a new almanack, from which all the old red-letter days are ex­punged, and even the dominical letter is omitted. They have also revised their vo­cabulary, and erased the words revelation, resurrection and sundry others; and by a new inscription on the family tomb, they have declared their disbelief of immortality.^* Yet by an unaccountable inconsistency, they have dug up several corpses, which were very offensive;^† and exhibited them pub­lickly, in the same manner as the Romans performed what they called the apotheosis of their Emperors. This idle attempt to annihilate souls and to deify carcasses, has not gained them any credit among men of re­flection, because neither one nor the other is supposed, by sober people, to be within the reach of human power.

[Page 219]IT is said, and I hope it is true, that the most considerate among them are dis­posed to throw a veil over these transac­tions, and not to make themselves any more ridiculous, by opposing opinions which at least are innocent, and whch have some claims to respect from their antiquity.

Letter XVIII.

I HAVE already given you some idea of the fraternizing scheme of the Franks; I shall now inform you of the means by which they attempted to intro­duce it among the foresters.

[Page 221]MANY of the Franks had been in the forest, and had visited the plantations and families there, not only during the law-suit with Bull, but after the dispute had been terminated. They had kept journals and made remarks on manners, economy, hus­bandry, manufactures, literature, and other things worthy of notice. After they had effected the expulsion of their master, these travellers were very fond of introducing the same family economy which they had observed among the Foresters, and of ex­tending the blessings of fraternity to them, by drawing them into the controversy in which they were engaged. "Why should not these foresters (said they) bear a part of our burden, as we did of their's. We involved ourselves in their quarrel with Bull, and helped them to terminate it in their favour. One good turn deserves another; and it is now time for them to enter into our controversy, and help us in the same way."

[Page 222]TO execute this plan, they dispatched a plausible, prattling, insinuating petit-maitre, by the name of TENEG, who had been em­ployed in fraternizing the family of CAL­VINO, a famous distiller of gin,^* and had there been very successful.

ARTIFICES of the same kind will not succeed on all sorts of persons; but a vari­ation must be observed, according to the variety of humours, interests and prejudi­ces. The foresters were well known to be a wary and discerning, as well as in­genious kind of people, and fond of novel­ties. To hit their ruling passion, and there­by influence or deceive their judgment, Te­neg was furnished with a basket of birds' eggs, of a new species, which had recently appeared in the gardens of the Franks. Of these birds, I cannot give you the name and description, nor do I know whether they are included in any of the classes found by naturalists; but to speak in the vulgar phrase they are known, in some places, by [Page 223] the name of war-hawks; rather improperly, I think, because the hawk though a fero­cious is yet a silent bird; whereas these are so very noisy that they seem to belong to the pettrel tribe, and have been not improp­erly called Mother Carey's Chickens, from their resemblance to a bird of that name, which is well known to chirp and whistle at the approach and during the height of a storm.

THESE birds have some peculiarities, which must be considered as characteristic of the species. One is, that they vary their note according to the instruction of their keepers; in this respect they resemble the magpye and the mock-bird. Their usual sound, when not under any particular direc­tion, is a dull monotony, an eternal repeti­tion of jaco, jaco, jaco; but they have been taught to sound other words which terminate with a vowel, or a liquid consonant; such as, war, war, war;—whisky, whisky, whisky, —ja, ja, ja, &c. If they chance to hear the whetting of a knife, or the snapping of a [Page 224] trigger, or any noise which seems to be a preparation for mischief, they will readily imitate it, and the sound will catch from one to another like a feu-de-joye. It is surprising to see how easily they can be trained and disciplined. Teneg, with a bird-call, which he carried in his mouth, could bring them by dozens to light on his head and shoulders, and even dive into his pocket, to pick the grains which he carried there to feed them. He could make them flutter about him in all directions, and imi­tate any noise which he was pleased to make. It is said, that he has imparted this secret to some choice spirits, his associates.

ANOTHER peculiarity of these birds is, that they seem to have an aversion to some particular days, and a predilection for oth­ers. On the twenty-second of February they are scarcely ever seen on the wing, and are remarkably silent; but on the tenth of August, and the twenty-second of September, they appear in great numbers, and are heard to whistle through the [Page 225] whole day. The cause of this peculiarity is one of the secrets of nature, which, it is hoped, the learned will in time be able to penetrate. The vulgar supposition is, that their hilarity in the months of August and September is owing to the great quantity of the seeds of water-melons, which are then to be found, and of which they are said to be remarkably fond. But this is altogether a vague conjecture, and unwor­thy of a philosophic mind.

YOU will now be ready to ask, how were these eggs to be hatched? and what use could be made of the birds if they should be hatched? To the first, I answer—Teneg was well informed that there were certain old hens in the forest, who would readily perform the office of incubation. To the second—By a due management of the birds, and principally by the force of their notes, it was expected that they would excite in the foresters, and their children, the same disposition to mischief, with which them­selves [Page 226] were possessed, and thus prepare the way for a complete fraternization.

TENEG arrived first in the plantation of Charles Indigo; where he placed some of his eggs under an old hen, and scattered the seeds of a particular species of grain, on which the chickens were to subsist till they could pick for themselves. So prolif­ic was the brooding warmth of the old hen, that the eggs were soon hatched, and the chicks began their natural cry, jaco, jaco, jaco; but were soon taught the note war, war, war. The effect was so surprizing, that several of Mr. Indigo's domestics im­mediately roared out the war-whoop, equip­ped themselves in the habit of highway­men, and took to the road, with a view to rob any of Mr. Bull's family, or plunder any of his waggons, which they might chance to meet in an unguarded and de­fenceless state.

TENEG was so slushed with this success, that he hasted to the other plantations, dis­tributing [Page 227] the eggs with his own hands, or sending them by trusty messengers, who were well acquainted with the nests of the old hens. A brood was soon hatched in each of the plantations, who began their cackling as soon as they were out of the shell. The effect was not so great in all parts, as it was in Indigo's plantation; for though the music excited several persons to kick up a war-dance, and become knights of the highway; yet the number was far greater who saw through the artifice, and combined to defeat it. Still, however, the noise of the chickens was continued, and the highwaymen became so impudent, that when Mr. Bull heard what was doing, he began to swell with choler against the for­esters. "Curse these fellows, (said he) do they intend to aid the Franks against me? I'll begin with them betimes. The high­way is mine; I'll seize their waggons, and ruin their carrying trade; and if they have a mind for another law-suit, I am their match." Accordingly, as lord of the manor, he sent out his huntsmen [Page 228] and hounds, seized several of their wag­gons and drove them into inclosures, where they might be secured till a court-manor could be holden for adjudication upon them.

THE most considerate among the forest­ers were greatly incensed, on account of the plots thus formed against them. Though they respected the family of the Franks, and rejoiced at their emancipation from the old absurd system of family govern­ment, under which they had long groaned; though they made no scruple publickly to own them as friends and brethren; yet they could not approve all the whims and innovations, which had crept into the fam­ily; nor did they relish the plan of frater­nization, as the Franks intended to carry it on. They hated the cackling of the chick­ens, and wished they had perished in the shell: but they were loth to quarrel with the whole family for the folly and vanity of their servant; especially as those who had the principal hand in sending him were in disgrace, and another set had got the di­rection [Page 229] of the house. They had at the same time a high resentment against Bull for seizing their waggons, but thought the best way of getting them back again was by remonstrance and persuasion. In these circumstances, a consultation was held by the council of advice, at which presided their trusty High Steward, GEORGE, the grandson of Walter Pipeweed, than whom there is not, perhaps, a man who carries more wisdom in his head, more goodness in his heart, or more vigour in his nerves. George has had enough of law-suits; and though he will suffer no man to wrong him with impunity, yet he had rather compro­mise difficulties than inflame them by op­position. The result of the consultation was, that a letter be written to the Franks, in a very friendly style, complaining of Teneg, and requesting that a better man might be sent in his place; that a special messenger be sent to Bull, to demand satis­faction for the damage they had sustained from his huntsmen; at the same time dis­claiming the conduct of the highwaymen; [Page 230] and declaring that they did not intend to meddle with the quarrel between Mr. Bull and the Franks; but to be in friendship with both, and trade with both as usual.

NO sooner was this determination known, than those who had the direction of the chickens, set them on raising a terrible cry, of war, war, war—ja, ja, ja. This was very troublesome and provoking; but it was thought most prudent to bear with their impertinent vociferation for a while, in hope that they would soon quit the plantations. For as they had come in all at once, it was not known but that they were birds of passage, and might disappear at the season of migration; but even if they should continue, there was an expec­tation that means might be found to tame and silence them, and perhaps render them in some degree useful.

AN experiment of this kind was actually made. A flock of these chickens, under the direction of a mischievous old hen, [Page 231] once got into a field of William Broadbrim, on the western side of his plantation, and set up a cry of whisky, whisky, whisky. The noise was so very loud, and their number was so large, that it was feared they would devour the crop, then almost ripe for the sickle. A company of archers was there­fore sent out, with orders to try the effect of some particular sounds, before they should discharge their arrows. They crept along, making several kinds of noise, to no pur­pose, till they had got very near, when they set up a loud cry of Wash, Wash, Wash, which entirely drowned the noise of whisky, and was so formidable to the chickens, that they slew away with precipitation, and be­came remarkably silent. They have not only made no more disturbance in that quarter, but some of them have since been observed hovering about the barn-yards, and mixing with the common poultry.

THE letter sent to the Franks was well received, and produced the desired effect. Teneg was disqualified and superseded; [Page 232] but he did not think it proper to return, lest he should lose his ears. He has since married a girl of the family of Peter Bull­frog, and taken up his abode in the forest; and, such is the good-natured policy of these people, that he is permitted to reside among them, and to enjoy what he has earned, without any inquiry how he came by it; provided that he pays his taxes and lives peaceably.

THE messenger who went to Mr. Bull, was a long time in consultation with his clerk, before all matters could be adjusted to mutual satisfaction. The result, howev­er, was a tolerable compromise; in which Bull engaged to give up the hunting-seats which he had so long withheld, on condi­tion that the whole body of the foresters should become bound to pay the balance of an old account, due to him from the southern planters. He also promised to let the dis­puted limits be adjusted by a committee; to expedite the manor-courts, in which the trespasses should be fairly tried; and to [Page 233] pay damages if awarded. Other matters which had been in dispute were adjusted; but one clause was inserted, which prohib­ited them from trading at his sugar ware­house, unless they should carry their pro­duce in waggons of no larger size than a wheelbarrow▪ This article was so singular and ridiculous, that the council of foresters rejected it. The other parts of the agree­ment met the approbation of twenty out of thirty, which made the instrument valid, and it was signed, sealed, published and declared in due form.

AS soon as this transaction was known, and even before the instrument was execu­ted, those choice spirits whom Teneg had instructed, as aforesaid, in the use of the bird-call, set all the chickens a crying ja, ja, ja—treaty, treaty, treaty. The sound rang through the forest, and was reverber­ated from house to house, and from tree to tree, in such a surprizing manner, that no other noise could, for a while, be heard. Some very sober people were actually deaf­ened; [Page 234] others were vexed with the clamour. But considering from what cause it pro­ceeded, they determined to let the chickens cry till they were weary; and then calmly and coolly to examine the reasons which influenced their keepers thus to set them a cackling. This examination has been done in a very masterly manner; and the peo­ple in general are pretty well satisfied with the compromise. They see, that though it is not altogether to their wishes, yet it is the best bargain that could be made. They see that it has prevented a long law-suit, the issue of which must have been uncer­tain; and they had rather enjoy the bles­sings of cultivation and of sending their pro­duce to market, than spend their money in paying council, attornies, solicitors, scriven­ers and bailiffs; of which kind of drudgery they have already done enough to make the present generation sick of such business.

THERE remained one effort more, which the disciples of Teneg were determined to [Page 235] make, to prevent the agreement from being carried into effect. It was necessary that a sum of money should be allowed for travel­ing charges, clerks' fees, and other incident­al expenses. When this matter came to be debated in the council of advice, a flock of the chickens, who had been trained for the purpose, flew into the hall, perched on the table and chairs, and began to cackle with a new note in addition to their former vociferations. Papers, papers, papers. Two of them had the impudence to alight on the shoulders of the High Steward, as he sat musing in his elbow-chair, and, putting their bills into his ears to squall this harsh note. GEORGE bore it a while calmly, and continued his contemplations; till, at length, with his deep-grum voice, and with a determined air and manner, he pronounc­ed the monosyllable No, so forcibly, that the cackling ceased, and the chickens re­tired to their managers, for farther instruc­tion. Their invention was ready, and some pains were taken to teach them the same monosyllable No, with the addition of the [Page 236] word supply. This was the most difficult task which had yet been attempted; and it took them so long to learn it, that the neighbours, who observed what was going on, had time to blow the horn, to call the people together, and put an end to the in­sults of this noisy brood. At the sound of the horn, the chickens were frightened; some to save their necks from being wrung, flew off in various directions; others hid themselves and remained silent; till the council had finished their deliberation, and voted the money. The only ill consequence of this disturbance, was a little delay in the execution of the agreement, which all good men had the candour to impute to the true cause.

NOTWITHSTANDING all the appearance of good will on the part of Mr. Bull, there are many who think he still looks with an envious eye on the Foresters, and is jealous of their enterprizing spirit, and of their extensive and growing commerce. Their agents and factors are seen in all [Page 237] those ware-houses, from which he had been used to fetch commodities by wholesale, and dispose of them by retail at very ad­vanced prices. There is no place to which they cannot find as ready access as himself, and where they cannot trade on equal terms. It is not long since he sent a very pompous messenger to old Cang-hi, the tea manufacturer, with his compliments, re­questing that he might have some exclusive advantages in trade, at his ware-house; and to ingratiate himself the better, this messen­ger carried a number of valuable presents, which, it was thought would be highly ac­ceptable. The old gentleman received the messenger, and some of the presents, with his usual politeness; but observing the supercilious air of the messenger, he quick­ly dismissed him with this sententious re­ply. "My ancestors have taught wisdom to their descendants. Their pictures and their maxims are delineated in this book, which I present to thy master. Tell him there is no friendship in trade. My doors are open to all customers, and every man is wel­come for his money."

[Page 238]WHEN the Foresters heard of this saga­cious reply, they could not help laughing in their sleeves, at the mortification which old Bull must have received from it.

YOU will wish to know on what terms these people are with the wild beasts on their western border. Since I wrote to you concerning them, a strong hunting party has been sent out, who have driven them from their old haunts, and have erect­ed lodges in the most convenient places, where future huntsmen may reside. But as the creatures appear to be less formida­ble, and their ferocity is evidently in the wane, it has been thought best to entice them to peace, and admit them to familiar­ity. The old practice is revived of setting molasses for them to lick, and furnishing them with collars and nose-jewels. But above all, a line has been drawn, beyond which no person is permitted to make any plantation. This precaution is one of the best which could be invented, and it is hoped will have so good an effect, as to keep the neighbours out of fear of being devoured.

[Page 239]BESIDES the compromise with Bull, the Foresters have concluded an agreement with two of the Arabian rovers, Muley^* and Hassan,^† which stipulates that they may go about their business without moles­tation, on the payment of a certain sum down, and an annual acknowledgment be­sides. This is a cheaper way of dealing with such old rogues, than to let them rob and plunder at their own pleasure. For they are the genuine children of Ishmael, whose "hand was against every man, and every man's hand against him."

AN advantageous agreement has also been made between the Foresters and Lord Strut, adjusting the limits of his forest and theirs, and opening a road between them, which is to be free to both parties. Mr. Bull has quietly and honourably given up the hunting-seats, according to the agree­ment, and the Foresters are in peaceable possession of them. This will enable them to extend their plantations and cultivate [Page 240] their country to the greatest advantage. They are continually making improvements by bridges and canals; and if they should continue at peace among themselves, unin­fluenced by the quarrels, and untainted by the dissipation and folly of their neighbours, they will be as happy a set of people as any on the globe.