SBCTM8B CHEAP REPOSITORY, THE Two Wealthy Fanners; Or, the Hiftory of Mr. BR AG WELL. WKm TART I. Sold by J. MARSHALL, (Printer to the Chbap Repository for Moral and Religious Tracts) No. 17, Queen-Street, Cheapfide, and No. 4, Alderrhary Church-Yard, and R. WHITE, Piccadilly, London. By S. HAZARD, (Printer to the Cheap Repository) at Bath ; and by all Bookfellers, Newfmen, and Hawkers, "m Town and Country. Great Atlcwance will be made to Shopkeepers and Hawker:, Price id. or 4s. 6d. per 100 50 for zj. 6d. 25 for is, td. §M Entered at Stationers Hall. On the if of June was publifhed, The Shepherd of Salifbury Plain, Part II.—The Beggarly Boy, a Parable,—and Wild Robert, a Ballad. On the xjl of July, The good Mother's Legacy}—Daniel in the feibns' ]Den,-—and the Newcastle Collier, a Ballad. $1|"- \ Qn the ifi of -dugu/l/h!^^fp^M Hints on the prefent Scarcity.—The Happyj|yyra- terman.—The Riot, a Ballad,—-and the Plow- boy's Dream, a Ballad. ll^Pi On the fl of September, slpl Noah's.^od.—^orn White, PaiJH ; or the Way to Plenty,—and Dame Andrews, a Ballad.' fMs On the. ifi of Otlober, i^||^,wo Farmers. Part I.—Harveft Homo,,—and rpie Honeft Miller, a Ballad;. §| ^ On the tjl of November, • JSl|&fP .The Parable of the Vineyard.:—The;p;wo..Fa|f.- mers, Part II.---and :tMfe'African^^'arnari's Lamentation, a Ballad, 'JLnd othffi.Pieces on a fimilar Plan, on thfi \jl of zvery Month. m 0r:H E Two Wealthy Farmers, &c, PART I. R. Bragwell and Mr. Worthy happened to meet, laft year at Weyhill Pair. They were glad to fee each other as "they had but feldom met of late; Mr. Brag- well having removed fome years before from Mr. Worthy's neighbourhood, to a diftant village where he had bought an Eftate. Mr. Bragwell was a fubflantial Farmer and Grazier. He had rifert in the world by what worldly men call a run of good fortune. Pie had alfo been a man of great in- duftry ; that is, he had paid a diligent and. conftant attention to his own intereft. He underftood bufinefs, and had a knack of turning alrrioft every thing to his own advantage. He had that fort of fenfe which' good, men call cunning, and knaves call wifdom~;- He was-too prudent ever to do any thing fo wrong .that the law could take hold of him; yet he was not over fcrupulous about the morality of an a6tion, when the profpecf of enriching himfelf by it was very great, and the chance of hurting his character was fmall. The corn he fent home to his cuf- .tomera was not always- quite fo good as the famples he had produced at Market, aj(id he now and then forgot to name B » \i /jgP-.Wtjlj, i I 2 K I I ( i ) name fdme capital blemifh in the horfes he fold at the Fair. Hefcornedtobeguilty of the petty frauds of ..cheating in weights and measures, for he thought that was a beggarly fin; but he valued himfelf on his fldflj|m making a bargain, and fancied it fhewed his knowledge of the world, .uptake .advantage I of the ignorance of a dealer. It was his cdftftant rule to undervalue every, thing he was about to buy, and to overvalue every thing he was about to fell; but as he prided^liimfelf on his character he avoided every thing that was very fhameful, fo that he was considered merely as a hard Tidea-ler, and a keen hand at a bargain. Now and then when he had been caught-in pufh- ing his own advantage too far, he contrived to get out of the fcrape by turning the whole Into a je-ft,- faying it was a gd©d take in,„a| rare joke, and that he. had only a mirjd tol divert himfelf with the folly of his neighbourj who could be fo eafil'y impofed on. Mr. Bragwell had one favourite maxim,| namely, that a man's fuccefs in life was ai fure proof of his wifdom ; and that all fai.-j lure and misfortune was the eonfequence 01 a man's own. folly. As'this opinion was ■firft taken up by him from vanity and ignorance ; fo it was more and more confirmee" by his own profperky. He faw that he himfelf had fucceeded greatly Without either money or education to begin with, and he 1 M ( 5 ) therefore now defpifed every Man, however excellent his character or talents might be* who had not had the fame fuccefs in life. His natural difpofi'tion wasnot particularly bad, but profpferity had hardened his heart. He made his own progrefs in life the rule by which the conduct: of all other men was to be judged, without any allowance" for their peculiar difadvantages, or the vifitations of Providence. He thought for his part, that every man of fenfe could command fuccefs on his undertakings, and control and dif- pofe the events of his own life. But though he confldered thofe who had had lefs fuccefs than himfelf as no better than fools, yet he did not extend this opinion to Mr. Worthy, whom he looked upon not only as a good but a wife man. They •had been bred up when, children in the fame// houf^ but with this difference, that Worthy was the nephew of the mailer, and Bragwell the fon of the Servant. ^^'Bragwell's Father had been ploughman in the family of Mr. Worthy's Uncle, a fen- fible man, who farmed a fmall eitate of his own, and who, having no children, bred up young Worthy as his fon, inftructed him in the bufinefs of hufbandry, and at his death ■ left him his eitate. The father of Worthy was a pious Clergyman who lived with his brother the farmer, in order to help out a narrow income. He had bellowed much? pains on theinftrucfion of his- Son, and ufed -,jV §1 i I ( 6 ) ill frequently to repeat to him a faying which he had picked up in a book, written by one of the greateft men in this Country, " that there were two things with which every mart ought to be acquainted, religion and his own business. While he therefore took ' care that his fon fhould be made an excellent Farmer, he filled up his leifure hours in improving- his mind; fo that .young Worthy- had read more good Books, and underftood them better than moft men in his ftation. His reading however had been chiefly confined to hufbandry and Divinity, the two ^Ifrbjecls which were of the moft immediate importance to him. The reader will fee by this time that Mr. Bragwell and Mr. Worthy were likelyiib© be as oppoflte to each other as two men could \<svell be, who were nearly of the fame age lend condition, and who were neither of them without credit in the world. Bragwell indeed made far the greater figure, for he liked to cut a dafh, as he called it.^ And while it was the ftudy of Worthy to conform to his ftation, and to fet a good example to thofe about him, it was the delight of Bragwell to vie in his way of life with men of larger fortune. He did not fee how much this vanity raifed the ill-will' of his'equals >and the contempt of his betters. ^W; Plis Wife was a notable fMrring Woman, Tbut vain, violent and ambitious; very ig- "^jBDrant, and very high-minded. She had ; „ ; flj . I 7 1 §1 married Bragwell' before he was worth', fhilling, and as fhe had brought him a god* . deal of money, fhe thought herfelf the gran caufe of \iv& viftng in the world,- and thenc took occafion to govern him moft complete •ly. Whenever he ventured to oppofe her fhe took care to put him in mind, " that he . owed every j thing to her, that had it no- been for her he might ftill have been flumping after a Plow tail, or ferving Hogs in old Worthy's Farm-Yard, but that it was fhe who , . had made a Gentleman of him. In order •to fet about making him a Gentleman, fhe had begSri by teaming him till he had turned away all his poor relations who worked in the FafftSk'- She next drew him pff from keeping company with his old ac quaintance, •and at laft perfuaded him iS'-remove from the place where he had got his money. Poor Woman! fhe had hot fenfe and virtue e- nough to fee how honourable it is for a man to raife himfelf in the world by fair means, and then to help forward his poor relations and friends^ engaging their fervices by his kindnefs, and endeavouring to keep waht out of his family. Mrs. Bragwell was an excellent miftrefs, according, to her own notions of excellence, for no one could fay that file ever loft an opportuniy of fcolding a fervant, or was ever guilty of the weaknefs of overlooking a fault. Towards her two daughters her be- ^iiviour was far otherwise. In them fhe ^0- ■ •'..■• 6S=3C5= ' ■ 'M ( 8 } M couwkfee nothing but perfections; but her extravagant fondnefs for thefe girls was full as much owing to pride as to affection. She was bentapri making a family, and having found out that fhe was too ignorant, and too much trained to the habits of getting money, eve^to hope to make a figure herfelf, fhe looked to. her daughters as the perfons who were to raife the family of--the Bragwell^ And in this hope fhe foolifh-ly fubmitted to. any drudgery for their fakes, and to any im- pertinence-ifrom fhem, ISt^The firft wifjkof her heart was to fet them above their neighbours; for fhe ufed to fay v" what was the ufe of having fubftance, if her daughters might not carry themfelves above girlsCwho had nothing?" To do her juftice, fhe herfelf would be about early and late to fee that the bufinefsof the houfe was not negle£ted. She had been bred to great. induftry, and continued to work when it was no longer neceffary, both from early habj$^y and the defire of heaping up money for her daughters. Yet her whole notion of gentility was, that it confifted in being rich and&dle, and though fhe was willing to be a drudge herfelf, fhe.refolved ti&rnake her daughters -gentlewomen. To be well drcfTed, and to do nothing, or nothing that was of any ufe, was wlia|Uhe fancied diftinguifhed people in genteel life.' And this is too common a notion.of a fine education among fome people. They do not efteera thin.g|by their ufe, but (9 ) by their fhew. They eftimate the value of their children's education by themoney^t^ cofts, and not by thej^nowledge and good- nefs it bellows. People of this ftamp often take a pride in the expence of learning, in- ftead of taking pleafure in the advantages of it. And the filly vanity of letting others fee that they can afford any thing, often fets parents, on letting their daughters learn not only things of no ufe, but things which may be really hurtful in their fituation; either by letting them above their proper duties, or by taking up their time in a way ineda^. fiftent with them. Mrs. Bragwell fent her daughters to a hoarding School, where fhe wifhed them to hold up their heads as high as any body; to have more fpirit than to be put upon by any one, never to be pitiful about money, but rather to.fhew that they could fpend with the beft; to keep company with the richeft. girls' in the School, and to make no acquaintance with Farmers Daughters. ^They came home at the ufual age of leaving School, with a large portion of vanity grafted on,their native ignorance. The vanity was added but the ignorance was not taken away. Of Religion they could not poffibly learn any thing, fince none was taught, for at that place it was confidered as apart of education which belonged only to Charity Schools. Of knowledge they got juft enough to laugh at their fond parents' i I 10 ); '^uftic manners and vulgar language, and juft enough tafte to defpife and ridicule every ■girl who was not as vainly dreffed as them- ielves. j^fjj The Mother had been comforting herfelf for the heavy expence of their bringing up, by looking forward to the pleafure of feeing them become fine ladies, and to the pride of marrying them above their ftation. Their Father hoped alfo that they would fje a comfort to him both in ficknefs and,fn|| health. He had had no learning himfelf, and could write but poorly, and owed what fkill he had in figures to his natural turn for: hufinefs. He. hoped that his daughters, after all the money he had fpent on them, would now write his letters and keep his accounts. And as he was now and then laid up with a fit of -the gout, he was enjoying the profpect of having two affectionate children to riurfe him. When they came home however, he had the mortification to find, that though he had two fmart fhowy ladies to vifit him, he had: neither dutiful daughters to nurfe him, nor faithful ftewards to keep his books. They neither foothed him by kindnefs when he was fick, nor helped him when he was bufy. They thought the maid might take care of him in the gout as fhe did before. And as to their fkill in cyphering he foon found to his coil, that though they knew how to ffiend both Pounds^ Shillings, and Pence, yet. ^Ws IH 1 I thje|||^^iotknow fo well how to caft them up. i0f$ JP|jj '$jm Mrs. Bragwell one day being very bufy in making a great dinner for the neighbours,' ventured to requeft her daughters to affift in making the paftry. They afked her fcorn- fully " whether fhe had fent themtoBoarding School to learn to cook; and added, that they fuppofed fhe would expe£t them next to make puddings for the hay-makers.^So' faying they coolly marched off to theirmu- fic. When the Mother found her girls were too polite to be of any ufe, 'fhe would take comfort in obferving how her parlour was fet out with their Fill.agree and Flowers^! their Embroidery and cut pvaper. They fpent the morning in be4,.the' noon in dreffing, the evening at the Spinnet, and the night in reading. Novels. ^|M With/all thefe fine qualifications it is eafy to fuppofe that as they defpifed their fober duties, . they no lefs defpifed their plain neighbours. When they could not get to a horfe race, a petty ball, or.a ftrollin'g play, with fome company as idle and as fmart as- themfelves, they were driven for amufcment to the Circulating Library. Jack the plow- boy, on whom they had now put a livery jacket, was employed half his time in trotting backwards and forwards with the moft wretched trafh the little neigbouring book fhop could.furnifh. The choice was often left to Jack, -who could not readout who liWiw^'iijw '1 >(«UWJl* fmstsm I warn. had general orders to -bring all the new things, and a great many of them. <|pi| Things were in this ftate, or rather grow- ihgiWOrfe, for idlenefs and vanity are never at a ftand ; when thefe two wealthy farmers, Bragwell and Worthy met at Weyhill Fair, as was faid before. After many hearty fa- lutations had paffed between them, it was agreed that Mr. Bragwell fhould fpend the next day with his old friend, whofe houfe "was not many miles diftant, which Bragwell invited himfelLto do inthe following manner, *s we have not had a comfortable day's chat for years, faid he, and as I am to look at a drove of lean beafts in your neighbourhood, I will take a bed at your houfe* and we will pafs the evening in debating as we ufed to do. - You know I always loved a bit of an argument, and am reckoned not to make the worft figure at our club:-#had not, to be fure, fuch good learning as you had, be- caufe your father was a Parfon, and you got it for nothing. But I can bear my part pretty well for all that. When, any man talks to me about his learning, I aflc if H has helped him to. get a good cftate ; if he fays no, then I would not give him a rufh for it; for of what ufe is all the learning in the world if it does not make a man rich? But j»s^|:was faying, Lwill come and fee you tomorrow ; but now don't let your' wife put herfelf into a fufs for me. Don't alter your -own plain way, for I am not proud I affure 1 *3 ) you, nor ^Sove my old friends, tliGUgri^[j thank God I am pretty well in the world. To all this flourifhing fpeech Mr. Worthy coolly anfwered,that certainly wordly prof- perky, ought never to make any man proud, fince it is-4€rOD who giveth ftrength to get riches, and without his bleffing 'tis in vain to rife up early and to eat the bread of care- fulnefs. About the middle of the next dayjlMr. Bragwell reached Mr. Worthy's neat and pleafant dwelling,. He found every thing'ii?, it the reverfe of his own. It had not fo many ornaments but it had more comforts. And when he law his friend's good old fafhioned arm chair in a warm corner, he gave a figh, to think how his own had been banifhed to make room for his daughter's Mufici^In-- ftead of made flowers in glafs cafes, and a tea cheft and fcrene too fine to be ufed, and about which he was cautioned, and fcolded as often as he came near them, he faw 'a neat fhe If of good books for the fervice of the family, and a fmall medicine cheit for.- the benefit of the poor. . \ Mrs. Worthy and her daughters had prepared a plain but neat and good dinner. The tarts were fo excellent that Bragwell felt a fecret kind of regret that his> own, daughters were too-genteel to So any thing fo very ufeful. Indeed he had been always unwilling to believe that any thing which was very proper and very neceflary, could be fo i I 1 * mm JffRfeWFSW!^ ( H };. erxttej^jely vulgar and unbecoming as his- daughters were always declaring it to be.. And his late experience of the little comfort he found at. home, inclined him now ft ill more. ftrongl-y to fufpe£t that things were not fo right as he had been made to fuppofe. But.it was in vain to fpeak; for his daughters eonftantly Hopped his- mouth by a fa-, j vorite faying of theirs, " better be out of the world than^t of the fafhion." Soon after dinner the women went out to their feveral employments, and Mr. Worthy being left alone with his gueft the following, difcourfe took place.. Bragwell. You haye a couple of fober,' pretty looking girls, Worthy; but I won-, <ler they don't tiff off a little more.- Why my girls have as much fat and flour^on their heads as would half maintain my reapers ift fuet pudding. %&$ |m« Worthy. Mr. Bragwell, in the management of my family, I don't confider^what I might afford only, though that is one great point ; but I confider alfo what is needful and becoming,-in a man of my ftation, for there are fo many ufeful ways of laying out money, that -Ifee'l as if it were a fin to fpend .one unneceffary milling. Having had the bleffmg of a-good education myfelf, I have been able to.give the like advantage,to my 4a.ughters. iOne -of the belt -leffons .1 have taught them is, to know themfelves; and one psoof that- tshey have.learnt this,leffon •^^•ji-iwtmsitifmnWv'" ( I | is, that they are not above an^of the dtffa<&$ of their ftation. They read-and write well, and when my eyes are bad they keep my accounts in a very pretty manner. If I had put them to learn what youeall genteelthing $■ thefe might either have been of no ufe to them, and fo both time and money might have been thrown away; or they might have proved worfe than nothing to them by leading them into wrong notions, and wrong- company. Though we don't with them to do the laborious parts of the dairy work, ■yet they always affift their -Mother in the management of it. As to their appearance, they are every day nearly as you fee them now, and on-Sundays they are very neatly ureffed, but it is always in a decent and mo- deft way. There are no lappets, fringes, furbelows, and tawdry ornaments-, fluttering about among my chee-fe and butter. And I fhould feel no vanity, but much mortification, if a ftranger feeing Farmer Worthy's daughters at -Church fhould afk who thole' fine ladies were ? W?$ Bragwell. "Now I own I fhould like to ave fuch .a queftion afked concerning myr aughters. I like to make people flare and nvy. It makes one feel one-felf fomebodyv ut as to yourfelf, to be fure you belt know vhat you can afford. And indeed there is ome difference between your deaighters arid |he Mifs Bragwells. ,: .jr..>-v - O Worthy,. For my part, before I engage" m ^^#* w i ( mm in any expence I always afkmyfelf thefe" two fhor£ queftions, Firft—Can I afford it ?— Secondly—Is it proper for me ?. Bragwell. Do you fo ? Now I own I afk myfelf but one. F.or*if I find I can afford it, I take care to make it proper for me. If I can pay for a thing, no one.h^s 'I right to hinder me from having it. Worthy. Certainly. But a man's own' prudence and fenfe of duty, ought to prevent him from doing an improper thing, as effectually as if there were fomebody to hinder him;- f|| ♦ Bragwell. Now I think a man" is^fool who is hindered from having any thfng he' ha^ a mind to ; unlefs. indeed he is in want of money to pay for it; I'm no friend to debt. A poor man muft want on. Worthy. But I hope my children have learnt not to want any thing which is not proper for them. They are very induftri ous,they attend to bufinefs all day ; and in the evening they fit down to their work and a good book. I think they live in the fear of God. I truft they are humble' and pious, and I am fure they feem cheerful and happy. If.I am fick, it is pleafant to fee them dispute which fnall wait upon me; for.they fay the maid cannot do it fo tenderly as^themfelves. . This part of the difcourfp ftaggered Bragwell. Vain as he was, lie could not help: feeling what a difference a religious and a ttjiiiiSBuntflStffilfl i ( n) worldly education made on the heart, and how much the former regulated even the natural temper. Another thing which fur- prifed him was, that thefe girls living a life of domeftic piety, without any public diver- fions, fhould be fo very cheerful and happy, while his own daughters, who were never contradicted, and were indulged with continual amufements, were always fullen and ill-tempered. That they who were more humoured fhould be lefs grateful andhappy, difturbed him much. He envied Worthy the tendernefs of his children, though'he would noj own it, but turned it off thus. Bragwell. > But my girls are too fmart to make mopes of, that is the truth. Though ours is fuch a lonely village, 'tis wonderful to fee how foon they g4tlhe fafhions. "What with the defcriptions in the Magazines, and ' pictures in the pocket Books, they have them in a twinkling, and out-do their patterns all to nothing. I ufed to take in the County Journal, becaufe it was ufeful enough to fee how Oats went,'the time of high water, and the price of Stocks. But when my ladies came home forfooth, I was foon wheedled out of that, and forced to"' ■take a London paper, that tells a deal about caps and feathers, and all the trumpery of . the quality, When I want to know-what Ihops are a bag, they are fnatchingthe paper to fee what violet foap is a pound. Arid as jto the dairy, they never care how .Cow's I I I 'milk goes, as long as they can get fome ftuff which, they call Milk of Rofes. • Worthy. But do your daughters never read ? m$ » ' Bragwell. Read! I believe they do too. Why our Jack the Plow-boy fpends half his time in going to a fhop in our Market- town j where they let out books-to read with marble covers*. , And they' fell paper with all manner of colours on'the edges, and gim cracks, and powder-puffs, and w'afh-balls, and cards without any pips,and every thing; in the world that's genteel and' of no ufe. 'Twas but t'other day I met lack Ifith a baf- ket full of thefe books, fo having fome time to fpare, I fat down to-dfee a little what they were about. : Worthy. Well, I hope you there foufij^.' ' what was likely to improve your daughters, and teach them the true ufe of time. '■%$&■Bragwell. O as to- that, you are-pretty much out. I could make neither head nor tail of k. It was neither fifh, flefh, riot good red-herring. Kwas aB about my Lord, ancLSir^Harry and'the Captain. But I never met with fuch nonferdlcal-fello'^'in my life'. Their talk, was no more like that of my old landlord, who was a Lord you know, nor the Captain of our fencibles, than chalk is like eheefc. I was fairly taken in at firft, and began to think I had got hold of a"godly book, for there was a deal about " hope and defpair, and heaven, and Angels,'and-tor- -X^;v_ >.--; ^.r ■:-:-. I f I Hist it(±o *ii§ ments, and everlafting happinefs." Biif. when I got a little on, I found there was no meaning in all thefe words, or if any, 'twas a bad meaning. " Mifery| perhaps only meant a difappointment about a bit of a letter: and s everlafting happinefs" meant two people talking nonfenfe together for five minutes. Inihort, I"never met with fuch a pa'i^jfe of lies. The people talk fuch gibberifh as no folks in their fober ferifes. ever talked; and the things that happen to them are not like the things Vthat ever happen to any of my acquaintance. They are ;aJt,home one minute, and beyond fea the next. Beggars to-day, and Lords to-morrow. Waiting maids in the morning, andJlucheffes at night. You andT, Mafter Worthy, have worked^ hard many years, and think it very well to have fcraped a trifle of money together, you a few hundred's ifup- . pofe, and I a few thoufands. 'But one would think every nian in thefe books, had the Bank of England in his Tcrutore. Then there's another thing which I never met with in true life. Wd-inink it pretty well you know, if one has got one thing, and ano- ther has. got another.'^'Til tell you howfp.f mean. You are reckoned Tenfible, our Parfon is learned, the Squire is rich, I am rather generous, one of your daughters is pretty, and both mine are genteel. But in thefe books, (except- here and there one, whom they make worfe than Satan himfelf) every man and woman's child, of them att 8EG^,, I I 20 | all .wife, and witty, and generous, and rich, and handfome, anld genteel. Nobody is huddling, or good in one thing,- and bad in another, like my liv«e acquaintance. But. 'tis all up' to the fkies, or down to the dirt. I had rather read Tom Hickathrift, or Jack the Giant killer. |||| ^Worthy. You have found' out Mr. Bragwell, that many of thefe books are ridiculous^ I will go farther, and fay, that to me they appear wicked alfo.. And I fhould account the reading of them a great mifchief, efpe- eially to people in micfdling and low life, if I only take into the account the great lofs of time fuch reading, caufes,' and the aver- jBJjbin, it-leaves- behind for what is more feri- ous and folid. But this, though a bad part, is not the worft. Thefe books give falfe views of human life. They teach a contempt f<* humble and domeftic duties; for induftry, frugality and retirement. Want of youth and beauty, is confidered as ridicu^ Ious. Plain people, like you and me, are objects of contempt. Parental authority is fet at nought. Nay, plots and contrivances againfl parents and guardians fill half the volumes. They make love'the great bufi- riefs of human life, and even teach that it is impoffible to be regulated or reftrained, and to the indulgence of this paffion every duty is therefore facrificed. A country life, with •a kind mother, or a fober aunt, is defcribed as.aftate of intolerable mifery. And one inMfmpt^fePvnffiljpfapiffl^^ I 11 would be apt to fancy, from their painting, that a good country houfe is a prifon,'and a worthy father the goaler. Vice is fet off with every ornament whi|;h can make it pleating and amiable; while virtue and piety are made ridiculous by tacking tq^them fomething ihat is filly, or abfurd. - Crimes which would be.confidered as hanging matter at the Old Bailey, are here made to take the appearance of Virtue,, by being mixed with fome wild flight of unnatural generofi- "ty. Thofe erying fins, Adultery, Gam ing,' Duels, and Self Murde-r, are made fo familiar, and the wickednefs^of themes,' •fo di-fgiiifed, that even innocent girls get tolofe their abhorrence, and to talk with complacency of things which Jliould not be fo much as nanied-by them. Js§ I fhould not have faid fo much on this mifchief, {continued .Mr. Worthy,) from which I dare fay, great folks fancy people in our ftation are fafe enough, if I- diet not know and lament that this corrupt reading is now got down even among fome of the low- eft clafs. And it is an evil which is fpread- ing every day. Poor induftrious girls, who get their bread by the needle, or the Joom, •fpend half the night in liftening to thefe. books. Thus the labour of one girl is loft, and the minds of the reft are corrupted; for though their hands are employed in honeft induftry, which might help to preferve them from a life of fin, .yet their hearts are at that ( 22 } -3£ry timepoliuted by fcenes and defafiptions which are too-likely to plunge them into it. Ai}d I think I' don't go too far, when I fay, that the vain and fhewy manner in which young women who have to work for their bread, have takeriJ-Q dref^themfelves, added to the poifon they draw from thefe books, contribute together to bring them to de- ftruction, more than almoft any other caufe. Now xell me, don't you think thefe-wild books will hurt your daughters ? Bragwell. Why I do think they are grown full of fchemes,and contrivances, and whifpers, that's the truthpn't. Every thing is a fecret. They always feem to be on the Mpk out for fomething, and when nothing comes o.n't, then they are fulky and difap- pointed. They will not keep company with their equals. They defpife trade and farming, and I own, I'm for the fluff. I fhould not like for them to marry any but a man of fubftance, if he was ever fo fmart. Now they will hardly fit dowr^jwith a fubftantial .'.country dealer. But if they hear of a recruiting party in our Market Town, on goes the finery—off they are. Some flimfy excufe is patched up. They want fomething at the Book-fhop, or the Millener's, becaufe I fuppofe there is a chance that fome Jackanapes of an Enfign may be there buying Sticking plaifter.^Hn fhort I do grow a little uneafy, for I fhould not like to fee all I have fayed thrown away on a Knapfack. | 23 ) .. /So faying they both rofe, and walked out to view the Farm. Mr. Bragwell affected greatly to admire the good order of every thing he faw ; but never forgot to compare it with fomething larger, and handfomer, or .bette* of his own. It was eafy to fee that Self^as the ftandard of perfection in every thing. All he poffeffecl gained fome in- ereafed value fn his eyes from being hjs;, and in furveying the property of his friend, he derived food for his vanity, from things which feemed lea ft likely to. raife it. Every appearance of comfort, of fuccefs, or merit in any thing which belonged to Mr. Worthy, led him to fpeak of fome fuperior advantage .of his own of the fame kind. ^And it was clear, that the chief part of the fatisfaction he felt, in walking over the farm of his frien'|^: was caufed by thinking how much larger his own was. Mr.. Worthy, who felt a kindnefs for him, which all his vanity could not cure, was on ,tne watch how to turn their talk to fome ufeful point. And whenever people refolve to go into ,company with this" view, it- is commonly their own fault if fome opportunity of turning it to account does not offer. He faw Bragwell was intoxicated with pride, and undone by profperity, and that - his family was in the high roadtO ruin. He thought that if fome means could be found to open his|;eyes on his own character, to '(.. 1 m which he was now totally blind, it midbt be of the utmoft fervice to him. The more Mr. Worthy reflected, the more he wifhed to undertake this kind office. He was not fure that Mr. Bragwell would bear it, but he was ver|y.<fure it was his duty to attempt it. Mr. Worthy was very humble, and very candid, and he had great patience and forbearance with the faults of others. He felt no pride at having efcaped the fame errors,; for he knew who, it was^had made them to differ. He remembered that God had given him many advantages, a pious father, and a religious Education; this made him humble Milder afenfe of his own fins*, snd charitable towards the fins/6f others, who had not the' fame privileges/ f"'^' ■ Tuft, as he-was going to try. to enter into a very ferious conversation with his gueft, he was ftopped^by the "appearance of InV daughter* who told them Supper was ready. This interruption oWges mtf* to break off alfo, and L fhall referve what follows t$ the next Month, when I promife to, give niy readers the fecond part of this Pliftory. FINIS,
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The two wealthy farmers; or, the history of Mr. Bragwell. Part I [unknown] [1795-10-01]
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Title | The two wealthy farmers; or, the history of Mr. Bragwell. Part I |
Creator |
[unknown] |
Publisher | London : Cheap Repository for Moral and Religious Tracts |
Date Issued | [1795-10-01] |
Extent | 24 pages : illustration ; 18.2 x 9.7 cm |
Subject |
Children's Literature |
Genre |
Chapbooks |
Type |
Text |
FileFormat | application/pdf |
Language | English |
Notes | Date found on the back of "The history of the two wealthy farmers; Part IV" book. |
Identifier | PR974 .C44 1795 PR974_C44_1795_V01 |
Collection |
Historical Children's Literature |
Series |
Two wealthy farmers |
Source | Original Format: University of British Columbia. Library. Rare Books and Special Collections. PR974 .C44 1795 |
Date Available | 2018-12-12 |
Provider | Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library |
Rights | Images provided for research and reference use only. Permission to publish, copy, or otherwise use these images must be obtained from Rare Books and Special Collections: http://rbsc.library.ubc.ca |
CatalogueRecord | http://resolve.library.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/catsearch?bid=1748080 |
DOI | 10.14288/1.0375966 |
AggregatedSourceRepository | CONTENTdm |
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