The Vicar of Wakefield Read Online Free PDF Page B

hospitality. He sate down to supper among us,
and my wife was not sparing of her gooseberry wine. The tale went
round; he sung us old songs, and gave the children the story of the
Buck of Beverland, with the history of Patient Grissel, the
adventures of Catskin, and then Fair Rosamond's bower. Our cock,
which always crew at eleven, now told us it was time for repose;
but an unforeseen difficulty started about lodging the stranger:
all our beds were already taken up, and it was too late to send him
to the next alehouse. In this dilemma, little Dick offered him his
part of the bed, if his brother Moses would let him lie with him;
'And I,' cried Bill, 'will give Mr Burchell my part, if my sisters
will take me to theirs.'—'Well done, my good children,' cried I,
'hospitality is one of the first Christian duties. The beast
retires to its shelter, and the bird flies to its nest; but
helpless man can only find refuge from his fellow creature. The
greatest stranger in this world, was he that came to save it. He
never had an house, as if willing to see what hospitality was left
remaining amongst us. Deborah, my dear,' cried I, to my wife, 'give
those boys a lump of sugar each, and let Dick's be the largest,
because he spoke first.'
    In the morning early I called out my whole family to help at
saving an after-growth of hay, and, our guest offering his
assistance, he was accepted among the number. Our labours went on
lightly, we turned the swath to the wind, I went foremost, and the
rest followed in due succession. I could not avoid, however,
observing the assiduity of Mr Burchell in assisting my daughter
Sophia in her part of the task. When he had finished his own, he
would join in her's, and enter into a close conversation: but I had
too good an opinion of Sophia's understanding, and was too well
convinced of her ambition, to be under any uneasiness from a man of
broken fortune. When we were finished for the day, Mr Burchell was
invited as on the night before; but he refused, as he was to lie
that night at a neighbour's, to whose child he was carrying a
whistle. When gone, our conversation at supper turned upon our late
unfortunate guest. 'What a strong instance,' said I, 'is that poor
man of the miseries attending a youth of levity and extravagance.
He by no means wants sense, which only serves to aggravate his
former folly. Poor forlorn creature, where are now the revellers,
the flatterers, that he could once inspire and command! Gone,
perhaps, to attend the bagnio pander, grown rich by his
extravagance. They once praised him, and now they applaud the
pander: their former raptures at his wit, are now converted into
sarcasms at his folly: he is poor, and perhaps deserves poverty;
for he has neither the ambition to be independent, nor the skill to
be useful.' Prompted, perhaps, by some secret reasons, I delivered
this observation with too much acrimony, which my Sophia gently
reproved. 'Whatsoever his former conduct may be, pappa, his
circumstances should exempt him from censure now. His present
indigence is a sufficient punishment for former folly; and I have
heard my pappa himself say, that we should never strike our
unnecessary blow at a victim over whom providence holds the scourge
of its resentment.'—'You are right, Sophy,' cried my son Moses,
'and one of the ancients finely represents so malicious a conduct,
by the attempts of a rustic to flay Marsyas, whose skin, the fable
tells us, had been wholly stript off by another.' Besides, I don't
know if this poor man's situation be so bad as my father would
represent it. We are not to judge of the feelings of others by what
we might feel if in their place. However dark the habitation of the
mole to our eyes, yet the animal itself finds the apartment
sufficiently lightsome. And to confess a truth, this man's mind
seems fitted to his station; for I never heard any one more
sprightly than he was to-day, when he conversed with you.'—This was
said without the least design, however it