Advertisement ☞ The second Part is now in the Press and will be publisht with all convenient speed THE Compleat Mendicant OR Unhappy Beggar BEING The Life of an Unfortunate Gentleman In which is a Comprehensive Account of several of the most Remarkable Adventures that befel him in Three and Twenty Years Pilgrimage Also a Narrative of his entrance at Oxford his Ordination his Behaviour and Departure from Court his taking upon him the habit of a Shepherd c. With general Reflections and Observations upon the Men Manners Customs and Religions of the several Countreys he wander'd through Likewise Divers familiar Letters both Latin and English Sermons Poems Essays upon particular occasions with a singular Character of a Monastick Life and the Description of a Monastery all faithfully Collected from his Original Papers Quisquis enim duros casus virtutis amore Vicerit ille sibi laudemque dâ—ousque parabit Virgil. in Fragm de littera LONDON Printed for E. Harris at the Harrow in Little-Britain MDCXCIX THE Epistle Dedicatory TO THE Lady Mary Charleton Madam THE Character you bear every where of an extraordinary Lady has brought this unhappy Mendicant a great many doleful Miles to throw himself at your Feet ` T is true between New-Castle and London I presume he might have some few Friends that would have taken him in and refresht him but then Madam he had still wanted some body to have sign`d his Pass in order to make his Progress thro` a stubborn Inhospitable World a little more safe and easy This indeed it is that has brought him into the North to your Ladyship and tho he comes a stranger unrecommended and with all the disadvantages that may be yet still the sence he has of your Ladyships Universal Charity encourages him to believe you will at least examine his Credentials before you order him to be turn`d out of your Gate ` T is true Madam he has no great matters to pretend to bespeak your Compassion only a little Artless Modesty and Innocence and both those Two are so unhappily sullied by this last Insolence that if your Ladyships Goodness does not exert it self beyond the common Degree he can expect little less than to be treated like a Sturdy Vagrant and so whipt and sent back into his own Countrey But let the Success be what it will the poor Wanderer is under a Necessity once more to take a melancholy Turn into the World How far your Ladyship may be obliged to protect him the Sequel of his Narrative must declare As for my part what I have done is by his Direction and truly I have the same Notion of it that he had that your Vertue Piety and Charity that have render'd you for many Years the Ornament of your Sex will all plead strongly for your acceptance of these few unworthy sheets and engage you too to pardon him that has ventur`d to commend `em to your Protection who is with the most profound respect Good Madam Your Obedient Servant THE PREFACE TO THE READER THese few sheets might have taken their chance without the sanction of a Preface if the Mendicants unhappy Circumstances had not made it a proper Introduction to his future Progress He`s doom'd to a second Pilgrimage in a dull Censorious uncharitable Age upon which account without doubt he`ll have need enough to be equipt with the utmost Caution and after all I`m affraid too he`ll find it far more difficult for him to wander the World in this Paper Dress then in his Mendicant Itinerant Shepherds or Monastick habit The first great objection against him will be that he`s an absolute stranger and comes into the World without the assistance of a Name Place or Recommendation and so consequently may be an Impostor It must be granted that this is a very material Objection and will inevitably be the occasion of a great many harsh Reflections but for all that he resolves to submit to `em all rather then betray his own modesty or be the cause of the least disreputation to his Family Indeed for my own part I cannot see any single Action through all the Occurrences of his Life that can any ways reflect upon himself or his Relations upon which Account I should have been very glad if it had fall`n within the compass of my directions to have made his Name publick but since I`m solemnly forbid that I can do no less in his behalf then let his Censurers know `t is in the Judgment of the most considerate part of Mankind an Indication of ill manners or ill nature if not both to pry into a secret that 's Industriously preserv`d The great Query of all will be whether the matters here related are real matters of fact and that they are so I have as good proof as the Nature of the thing is capable of and he that expects more would do well to erect a new Scheme of Principles to direct us how to form our belief by the whole Narrative is exactly of a piece all regular natural and familiar and withal confirm`d by such a multitude of concuring Circumstances that in my sence he must be a Person that nothing will go down with but flat Demonstrations that will object against it But after all supposing the worst that can be that the whole should be a well contriv`d Fable I can see no Reason why the fabulous Life of a Vertuous Mendicant should not be as acceptable to the World as an English Rogue a Gusman Lazerillo or any other Romantick History of Villanous Tricks c. I`m sure there can be no reason given for that unless it be that the present Age is grown more in Love with Vanity and Vice then with Vertue and Sobriety There`s enough to be said if the thing requir`d it to Vindicate this Unhappy Beggar from the suspicion of an Impostor but for that I `ll refer you to this and the succeeding parts of his Life which you need not question but to find gradually confirm'd by the most Authentick Testimonies THE CONTENTS CHAP. I. WHerein by way of Introduction the Mendicant complains of the Calamities of Humane Life and makes some short and general Reflections upon Charity CHAP. II. He gives an Account of his Birth and Parentage the Death of his Father and Mother the hardships and Severities he met with in his Childhood the Kindness of an Aunt the Manner of his being sent to School and from thence to Oxford c. CHAP. III. He relates the Manner of his leaving the Vniversity recites a short Copy of Verses he writ at his Departure together with his Adventure with the Mountebank CHAP. IV. He gives a further Account of his Adventure with the Mountebank who discovers to him the Secrets of his Art They straggle together into Bedfordshire where he first Robs him at an Alehouse and then leaves him in pawn for the Reckoning CHAP. V. He gives a short Account ef his Rencounter with his Landlords writes a begging Copy of Verses and a
and reliev'd me in all respects He told me upon the hearing of the Letter and Verses Notwithstanding my Misfortunes I was one of the happiest Men living and if I would but Actuate that Talent that God had entrusted me with I need not doubt a subsistance in any part of the Kingdom that very Copy of Verses and Letter says he if you knew how to apply them rightly were a sufficient Vade Mecum to carry you all over England but says he I find you are but a youngster in the secrets of Travelling and therefore upon our march to Morrow I 'll give you some General Instructions by the help of which you 'll be able to understand your business a little better To be an exact Master in this kind of Art of Living I must tell you requires a great deal both of Judgment Discretion and Experience and when once you 're arriv'd to a tolerable perfection a Person of your Sence and Learning may make his Passage through the World with abundance of delight and satisfaction ` T was too late now to descend into particulars and so we went to our respective Appartments for that Night with a mutual resolution to be up Early in the Morning in order to Prosecute our Journey as we accordingly did about seven the next Day When we came at a convenient distance from the Town I put him in mind of his promise i. e. to instruct me in the Secrets and Mysteries of a Travelling Mendicant which he readily comply`d with and withal told me to prevent being mis-understood it would be necessary to give me a general Idea and Notion of the business As to the Science and Occupation of begging for that in strictness of sense is the properest Name I can call it by `t is in the main a kind of ars vivendi a sort of Trade and Profession as well as any of the rest so that if it be not always nicely conformable to the Rules of Vertue Justice and Truth there`s as much if not more to be said for it than for any other Science or Calling But Sir says I Is it impossible for a Man to be Vertuous and a Mendicant We have it from the Mouth of a great Man that a Man may be Poor or Sick by Mis-fortune but none can be Vitious or Unjust but they must be the cause of it themselves and truly I cannot see what tollerable reason can be ascrib'd Why an Ingenuous and Faithful Account of our Circumstances should not be as moving and acceptable as one that is Forg'd and Surreptitious I grant indeed says he that the true State of your Condition provided you had none but Loyal Persons to make your addresses to were sufficient But then how would you do if you should fall into a Country where there are none of these sort to be found which you know is not impossible considering the Age we live in Beside if you take up the Trade as I said quatenus ars vivendi Why then I think in point of Prudence you are oblig'd to make the most of it and if there be a little Prevarication upon occasion I can't perceive where the great sin or harm of it lies you know a violent necessity can plead to any thing even to the breach of the general Rules of Civility and Modesty But Sir this is all Forreign to our Case and if you throw stumbling blocks in my way you can never expect I should discharge my promise To go on therefore if you intend to be a Proficient in the Science of begging your first business will be to consult the Nature and Temper of the Person you are to make your application to and by what expedient you may best recommend your self to him our method for this is commonly to go to some adjacent Ale-house where for the expence of Six Pence we may be equipt with the several Characters and Inclinations of all the Gentry and Clergy within four or five Miles round When you have hit of the Person the next thing is to consult whether it be most proper to attend him your self or send him the nature of your Case in a letter if you do the first you must be sure to fix upon such a time when you are Morally certain he is not engag'd in business or Company if you do the latter the great difficulty is to get your Letter handsomly convey'd to him my way and I think 't is the best is to carry it my self and walk about the Hall c. Till I have got my Answer He had went on with his Discourse if we had not been Interrupted by a third Person of whom my Companion enquiring the way to Northampton we were inform'd that we were come more than Two Miles out of the Road and that our way lay directly back again which I believe from the Sequel of the Matter was rather a Design than a Mistake He ask'd me If my Occasions at Northampton were so urgent and particular that I could not avoid going thither If they are says he I 'll accompany you with all my Heart for my own part I am not oblig'd to any one place and shall be willing to dispence with a greater inconveniency than this for the sake of such good Conversation I told him my Business was only to carry a Letter of Recommendation to a Loyal Clergy-man in order to request him to accept me as an Assistant in his School from whence I propos'd some sort of Settlement till I could be able to guess how it would please God to dispose of the World If your Resolutions are fix'd to undertake the drudgery of an Usher says he far be it from me to oppose it however I may tell you as a Friend 't is but wedding your self to a Life of Slavery Vexation and Confinement and indeed were I in your Circumstances had I your Parts and Youth and were I Master of so many Qualifications as you are it should be the last Business in the Kingdom I would take up with But Sir says I being alas but too easie to be perswaded in that particular if I should relinquish my Pretensions what must be done for a Subsistence I have neither Estate Money nor Friends and to be left destitute in such a barbarous Age as this is a reasonable inducement for me to put my Hand to any thing for an honest Livelyhood that I am in the least capable of undertaking I will says he in no respect interpose in your Affairs as for a Subsistence my Condition in every point is the same with yours and has been so for divers Years and yet thanks to my Stars I have never wanted Food and Rayment and what 's more have enjoy'd a Freedom and Priviledge which you must not expect under the Capacity of an Usher Beside I have had the opportunity of seeing several Countries and making my Observations upon the Men and things which I must tell you is no inconsiderable advantage to a Man of Parts
of my Begging Talent I have made a doleful Passage through the World the manner and Circumstances I intend to relate at large in the following Sheets CHAP. II. In which he gives an Account of his Birth and Parentage the death of his Father and Mother with the severities and hardships he met with in his Childhood the kindness of his Aunt the manner of his being sent to School and from thence to Oxford c. I was born in the year 87. my Father was a Gentleman of a considerable Fortune and Figure in his Country having been twice honoured by King Charles the First with the Character of Envoy Extraordinary to two Foreign Courts and as I have been often told behav'd himself not only with a great deal of Prudence and Sincerity in his Negotiations abroad but likewise acquitted himself like a true English Gentleman in the Station of a Justice of the Peace and Deputy-Lieutenant of his County He was a Member in the long Parliament and when he saw the Affairs in the House of Commons inclining apace towards Rebellion c. with several other Loyal Gentlemen he entered his Protest against their Proceedings and retir'd into the Country where he continued till the unhappy Tumults broke out and then as â—n early Instance of his Fidelity to his Loyal Master rais'd a Troop of Horse at â—is own Charge Not long after the King was pleased to give him a Regiment of Foot and appoint him Governour of a Town in the West of England which he defended to the last Extremity but being through the want of Provisions or rather by the Treachery of some of the Officers in the Garrison which the Parliament had Brib'd to betray him forc'd to surrender the Place upon Discretion he was immediately made a Prisoner of War and soon after tryed by a Court Martial and sentenced to be shot to Death however by the friendship of his Keeper with the help of a Womans Habit he made his Escape the Night before his Execution and got beyond Sea where he continued till King Charles the Second made his Attempt at Worcester and there amongst a great many other brave Men he had the Misfortune to be wounded by a Musket-Shoâ— in the Shoulder of which he died within two or three days after but first got the following Letter conveyed to my Mother the Particulars of which for secret causes I have set down at large Coll. Letter to his Lady c. My Dear BY the Assistance of the Honest Bearer I have got an Opportunity to give you a short account of our Misfortunes our whole Army is intirely routed and dispersed and what 's become of the King I cannot learn I pray God deliver him out of the hands of the Rebels as to my own part I have received a scurvy Wound by a Musket-Shot in my Left Shoulder which the Surgeon tells me is Mortal whether it be or not is no great matter for it seems they have discovered who I am and if I should recover of my Wounds are resolved to take me off afterwards Well My Dear I have a good Cause and a Gracious God and so am no otherwise affected for the Loss of my Life than as it relates to you and my poor Children I would advise you if I could which way to manage your self in this perplexed State but alas my Circumstances are all so entangled that I know not where to begin beside the anguish of my Wound at present is so very great that I am hardly able to support my self under it I know my Dear your Loyalty will disswade you against Immoderate Grief and then your Vertue and Conduct in our long Separation has superseded even the necessity of advising you with regard to your Family As for poor Peregrine for that 's the name I intend to pass under here if your Circumstances will permit and his own Genius inclines him to it I would have him bred a Schollar he may live to see the World mended and be an Instrument to repair the Ruins of his Family Commend me earnestly to all my Friends and let my Children know their Father sends them his Blessing I am my Dear till we meet again either in this or the next World affectionately thine Adieu About two days after came a Messenger from the Governour of Worcester to my Mother with the heavy News of my Father's Death and withal that he had obtained a Grant for her to bury him where she pleased My Mother receiv'd the Message as I have been told with a Resolution and Courage beyond the common behaviour of her Sex and instead of breaking out into passionate Exclamations and Reflections which she knew would be of no use at that time of day Immediately dispatches away a Servant with a Neighbour or two and a Hearse who brought him home and the Night following he was buried privately in a Vault amongst his Ancestors The Death of my Father was but in some respects a Preludium to the rest of my Misfortunes for in less than a Month by an Order of State all we had was seized upon and my Mother with four Children forced out of her House to seek Shelter and Relief where she could find it the Creditors to mend the matter put in their Claims too so that in a short time all was Sold and tore to pieces Neither did my Misfortunes stop here for my Mother being deprived of her Country Habitation thought London might be the fittest place to fix upon some method for a Livelihood but there we had not been to the best of my Remembrance above six Weeks before my Sister Sickens of the Small-Pox and dies my youngest Brother dies about ten days after of the same Distemper and my Mother the very Week following and truly if it had not been for the extraordinary Care and Charity of an Excellent Woman in whose House we Lodged my Brother and I had both Perished with the rest Here I begun to have a small Sence of our Condition and accordingly got a Friend to instruct me how I might best recommend it to an Aunt I had in the Country who no sooner heard of it but indeed pittied us and sent for us home to her House and to speak the Truth used us both with a Tenderness and Compassion not very common in such cases This good Aunt sent us to School and though my Master was none of the best yet with his Assistance and my own Industry in two Years time I became so far a Proficient in the Latine Tongue that with the help of a Dictionary I could Construe some Verses in Ovid's Metamorphosis and Translate a Dialogue in Erasmus and turn an easie Sentence into Latin and make a lame Verse c. My Master himself had never been at any University but was a young Gentleman that had spent his Fortune in the King's Service and so was forc'd to shelter himself under the Character of a Paedagogue to be secure from the Suspition of the
annos incubui at interim amicis perditis defunctis a Collegio hei mihi haud invitus discessi Appropinquans igitur hanc tuaem Ignotam Patriam humiliter imploro benignitatem ut aliquid ad sustinendum fragile meum Corpus accipiam Miserere Iuvenis Magnae spei Iampridem nunc perituri sic Divina Clementia tui misereatur in hoc Mundo in futuro Peregrinus In Answer to this next Morning I receiv'd a gentile Note with ten Shillings with several neat and pretty Apologies for the smallness of the Present By the help of these kind of Letters Letters of Request Petitions and other Mendicant Conveniencies my Companion was well furnish'd with we wander'd the Country for about a Month before we reacht Bosworth which was the Place my Associate had pitcht upon to continue at for three or four days in order to Equip us with Necessaries fit for a Summer's Expedition 'T was about eight a Clock I believe before we came to our Quarters and truly I think we had not been there above half an Hour but in comes a Constable with a strong Party of Assistance and seized us both it seems they had discover'd my Itinerant Friend to be a a rank Impostor and what was worse that by an ungrateful piece of Knavery had cheated an honest Gentleman in Warwickshire out of the Horse he had left here till his Return from his Southern Peregrination To make short of the Story we were both immediately carried before Sir B. D. a worthy Justice of the Peace that liv'd in the Neighbourhood my Camerade was called first to his Examination and tho he made his Defence with the greatest assurance and readiness yet the Charge against him was so heavy and plain and confirm'd by so many corroborating Circumstances that there was no possibility either to stifle or evade it They prov'd several very black things upon him but especially that his Orders Testimonials c. were all forg'd and Counterfeited and that he had left his Wife at Falmouth and had straggled the Country with another Woman which he either was or at least pretended to be Married to upon the whole although the Justice was a Gentleman of an extraordinary Temper and Compassion and would very willingly have Saved him the Crimes against him were so exaltedly hainous and Scandalous and so evidently and clearly proved beside that he was constrained to order his Clerk to make his Mittimus for Leicester Goal My turn came next and truly he was not more ready to plead for and excuse his Villany than I was at a loss to defend my Innocence The good Gentleman perceiving me in such a strange Agony and Disorder kindly told me I need not be so mightily terrified I was not charg'd with any of his Crimes but only with being in his Company which so far incourag'd me that in a sort of perplext manner I gave a general account of our meeting and of all our Travels and Transactions with which the Justice and all the Company were so well satisfied that with a great deal of Pity and Advice I was instantly discharged CHAP. VIII The Mendicant returns into Northampton shire delivers his Letter he had from the Gentleman at Leighton to the Clergy-man by whom he 's reâ—eiv'd as an Vsher he is ordain'd a Deacon the Clergy-Man's Sister falls in Love with him to avoid which he forsakes his Place and returns to his former Profession of a Mendicant BEing divided from my Companion by this unlucky Accident I was in a deep Quandary whether I should carry on my new Profession upon my own bottom or return into Northampton-shire and deliver my Letter which by great accident I had preserv'd my former Success and Encouragement together with my rambling Itch and Inclination to see the Countrey had certainly carried the Cause if the Fate of my late Associate had not happily interpos'd the Prospect of which was still so dismal and frightful to me that at length tho not without some Reluctancy I conclude upon the latter but just as I was packing up comes a Messenger from the Justice of Peace with advice That I must instantly come and speak with him This put me under fresh Apprehensions and notwithstanding I was sensible I had done nothing that could any ways expose me to the Law yet for all that I was sufficiently terrify`d to think what should be the consequence of this Second Interview however I found there was no Remedy but I must put it to the venture and so that I might be out of my pain as soon as possible I went up to the house When I came there I found the Gentleman and his Lady walking in his Court who immediately beckened me to come to him Young Man says he I was very sorry to find you in such bad Company but I hope it will be a caution to you for the future how you embark your self with Strangers Says the good Lady You have had a very happy deliverance for 't is a thousand to one if you had continu'd your Rambles with him but he 'd have drawn you into some Inconveniency that probably might have been the cause of your Destruction They order'd me to follow 'em into their Garden and commanded me to sit down with 'em in a Summer-house and to give 'em a particular Narrative of my Travels and Circumstances which I did in as comprehensive a manner as I could and withall repeated to 'em my Verses Letters c. with all the rest of my Transactions since my first departure from Oxford They were both extreamly pleas'd and affected with my Relation and the Gentleman gave me ten Shillings to help to bear my Charges into Northamptonshire and ordered One of his Servants to go Two or Three Miles with me to set me in the ready Road and moreover enjoyn'd me to send him a Letter with an account of my Success c. as I did about a month after The fourth day at night I came to the End of my Journey and deliver'd my Letter according to direction and indeed was receiv'd with a Civility and Respect beyond what I could reasonably imagine they told me my good Friends at Leighton had sent two other Letters in my behalf and were under very great Apprehensions and Trouble to find out what was become of me all this while I pretended something I can't tell what which pass'd well enough for an excuse and so the next thing was after some short Examination upon what Terms I would consent to live with him which I referr'd to himself and he very candidly offer'd me Twenty Pounds per Annum Meat Drink Washing and Lodging and the conveniency of his Books and Study as often as I had occasion With this I thankfully comply'd and the next Morning he conducted me into his School where was about Thirty Gentlemens Sons the greatest part of which were boarded in his own Family And now I began to think my self as happy as I could wish having beside
Acquaintance and a few books Provided they are both true are enough and if they are not they are too many you 'll find the forming a proper conversation to be one of the highest Indications of a prudent Person and if you mistake in that you 'll find too t' will be a difficult matter for you to manage your self in London Your Education and Diversion will require a great deal of your Circumspection the one should be neither formal nor pedantick nor the other lewd or Extravagant but they should be both Genteel and usefull and adapted intirely to the comfort and quiet or the advantage of human Life Well Alexander I will not trouble thee any more now but reserve the rest of my admonitions till another opportunity as for my own part I am accidentually fall'n into a bye Corner of the World where if some spiteful Accident does not remove me I intend to fix my non Vltra Greatness I despise and abhor next the Falshoods and flatteries of the Court the Town I abominate too and truly am heartily sorry thy hard fate has confin'd thee to it Bread and Liberty I have and the plentifull opportunity of wholesome Air and Innocent Company I want nothing but a little Library and one Learned Friend upon whom I could depend for advice and assistance and were these ensur'd to me for Life I 'd freely quit all future pretentions Let all my Friends know I send 'em my Prayers and Love take a double Portion of 'em to thy self and believe me to be in all Capacities thy affectionate Friend and Brother Peregrine CHAP. XIV The Mendicant Writes a Letter to his Friend in London wherein he makes Passionate reflections vpon the Town and Court and gives a further account of a Shepherds Life Dear Capt. My sudden departure from London I perceive has been the Subject of no small reflection amongst my Friends but why they should be so much Surpriz'd and concern'd at it I can't Imagine Indeed I 'm as much at a stand what it can be that can influence them to undergo so long the Din's and Impertinencies the Dangers and Disappointments and the contagious stinks and Smoaks of a fulsome beastly Town I know the pretence is preferment from Court but why they should be so blinded to exspect any thing from thence I profess is a greater Mistery to me than either of the former A Person with half an Eye may easily see which way the game is like to go Knavery and Hypocrisy are the two only thriveing qualifications at Court and poor passive Loyaltie is doom'd to rags and contempt or to subsist upon its own Primitive excellence Alas my Friend Vertue has utterly lost her Perogative and unless she will condescend so low to sneak and cringe to the Knave and the Fool she may Perish at Court and who but a Coward or a Natural can stand by with Patience and see her starving to Death I potest I stay'd shivering upon the Brink of the Waters as long as I was able and there I might have stay'd till Doom's Day before any Body would have push'd me in unless a deceitful look or a false promise would have done it But thanks to providence I am remov'd out of the Verge of your ungrateful Court and the Noise and filth of your Town Where I am or in what Post is nothing to the purpose I Live and enjoy bread and Retirement and what I Value equal to 'em both I am remov'd not only out of the reach but even from the pain of exspecting any manner of greatness or preferment 'T is true I ought to have taken my leave of you and some other Friends but Indeed my Distemper was grown so Hectick I could not stay to do it Sir you 're the only Man that know the true State of my condition and therefore I think I must depend upon you to get me excused Since my absence I have composed a few short Essays upon the Calamities of Human Life which I intend to trouble you with as soon as I have time to Write 'em out in the mean time by Vertue of our Old true Friendship let me advise you to remove your self from Court with the first opportunity it 's a Dangerous Place and if you Venture to stay long there it 's ten to one but you 'll have cause to repent it when `t is too late in my next you may exspect a more Particular account from your true Friend and Fellow sufferer Peregrine May 25. 1662. To return to my Former Narrative I kept my Shepherds post about five Months in which time I had so effectually learnt the whole Mystery that as the General report of me went I was one of the best shepherds upon the Down My honest Master was extreamly obliging and courteous to me and so indeed was his Wife and his Son nay the whole Village by Vertue of the Old Mans Character behav'd themselves to me with a respect and distance as I thought much beyond what they did to other Shepherds But still my unlucky Fate pursues me my Industry among the Shepherds in teaching of 'em to read and Reprimanding 'em as often as I found 'em in any manner of Vice or Irregularity had not only gain'd me a sort of respect among themselves but likewlse urg'd 'em much beyond my desert to spread my Character all about the Neighbourhood Squire F it seems had heard of me among the rest and nothing would serve his turn but I must needs come to him The Innocent Old Man my Master was apprehensive at first it was only to hire me for his Shepherd and so made abundance of excuses and objections against it but all to no purpose Within a day comes the Bayliff with Positive orders that he and his Man Peregrine must come next Sunday to the Hall to Dinner In the Interim I discover'd by one of the Shepherds that the common Censures and Conjectures concerning me run very high some were of Opinion that I was a Jesuit in Masquerade and come down into the Country for a Spy others that I was some discontented Person or a Person that some Crosses or disappointments had driven out of my own Country and that I had taken upon me the business of a Shepherd the better to keep my self conceal'd The Squire and his Family were of Opinion that I was a Gentleman in disguise and had taken up a Shepherd's habit purely to Gratifie a Curiosity or a humour which was strongly confirm'd to them by the report the Shepherds made that I was often observ'd to desire to be by my self where I might Write read and Meditate with the lesser Disturbance which I suppose was the cause that made 'em so earnest to see me that they might attempt to learn who I was and upon what account I came into Dorset-shire All this the Old Shepherd at last knew well enough and yet never once Mention'd it to me nor suffer'd his son or his Wife to take the least
Notice In short I found this was no abiding place for me if I Stay'd here I foresaw it would be Impossible for me to escape being discover'd which I was resolv'd to prevent at all Hazards But then the next consideration was how I should bring it about and at the same time acquit my self Handsomely and fairly to the honest Shepherd and his Family In order to which I could think of no better expedient than to pretend some accidental business at Dorchester which would require me to be there for a Day at least The Old Man readily comply'd with my request in this Particular and withal offer'd me one of his Horses to carry me thither which I rejected However he told me his Son should tend my Sheep in my absence Having thus far settl'd the manner of my Departure the next thing was how to convey away my Satchell Books c. Which was no other way to be effected but by waiting an opportunity when all the Family was gone abroad and then taking `em out and putting them in a secret place at a convenient distance from the House This hapned to my Wish and upon Fryday Morning I set out and when I had recover`d my Satchell instead of Dorchester I directed my course for Shaftsbury I need not tell you what a Contest I had in my mind upon the resignation of my Shepherds Profession The Friendly Entertainment I had receiv`d from the good Old Man and his Family pierc`d me to the Soul insomuch that I was sometimes almost resolv`d to return and Venture a discovery and I believe I had done it too if it had not been upon the account of some Relations I had in the County to whom Notwithstanding their unkindness indeed I might say unjustice I was loth to give occasion of scandal or reflection CHAP. XV. The Mendicant having left the Shepherd goes to Shaftsbury from whence he Writes several Letters one to his Master the Shepherd another to Squire F and a third to Capt to whom he sends some short Essays upon the Calamities of Human Life which he Writ upon the Downs c. About twelve a Clock I reach'd Shaftsbury which as I was Inform'd was Nine Miles from my former Habitation To prevent discoveries I had disrob'd my self of my Shepherds habit and put on that I came from London in but 't was so rumpl'd and disorder'd by being Cram'd up so long together in my Satchel that I look'd so very ruff and Particular that I was both affraid and asham'd to go into the Town with it however I got into a little Ale House as far out of all observation as I could and after I had refresh'd my self Pursuant to my resolution upon my walk I Writ the following Letters The Mendicants Letter to his Master Good Master THis comes to Inform you I have quitted your Service but not out of any dislike to you or your Family I must own you have us'd me with the highest Frendship and Civility the remembrance of which I shall preserve with the greatest Solemnity through every Capacity I need not tell you the cause that forc'd me to leave you privately you 're sensible of that already but why your Neighbours should grow so very Inquisitive to know what I am which is a secret that at present I don't think convenient to discover that I can't conceive but for their better Satisfaction you may tell 'em I am no Iesuite in Masquerade nor a Person that has run his Country for Debt but an Unfortunate young Man that a great many unhappy accidents several cross turns of Fortune have driven into this part of the Kingdom I may Live to see you again but if I never should I hope you won't forget the Instructions your poor Servant Peregine left you I mean those in Particular relating to your Religion and the Government of your Family As to the Rubrick of the Church of England I have so well Instructed my Bedfellow in it that I hope t' will be needless now to put him in mind of our Method i. e. To read the Psalms and Chapters for the day every Night with the Litany and some other proper Collects which I have mark'd in your common Prayer-Book you will excuse me I presume that I did not formally take my leave of you and attribute the reason of it to some secret cause pray all possible thanks and service to my good Dame and her Son and in return for all your kindness and Civility accept the Prayers and acknowledgments of Your faithful Servant Peregrine Shaftsbury Aug. 27. 62. The Letter to Squire F SIR IT seems the Character of an unfortunate Shepherd has spred it self as far as your Family poor Peregrine is become the common talk of the Country some Censure him others Judg and condem him and every Body mistakes him so that to be out of the general clamour he 's constrain'd to withdraw himself from the service of a most honest worthy Master Who and what he is is the Grand Query Some will have him a Jesuite some a Cheat others an humorist when in short he 's nothing else but the neglected off-spring of deceas'd Cavalier whom a conjunction of cross Circumstances have bandyed hither in the quest of bread c. I know Sir my private departure will inflame the reports and perhaps may occasion some reflections upon my Master That indeed I would prevent at any Hazard and rather than he shall suffer the least Injury Notwithstanding my solemn resolutions to the contrary will discover my self to your Worship Sir I beseech you to Pardon this Insolent trouble from an unfortunate Stranger that with the utmost distance and Submission Subscribes Shaftsbury Aug. 27. 62. Peregrine The Letter to Capt. M with a short Essay upon the Calamities of Human Life Dear Capt. I Promis'd you some short Essays upon the Calamities of Human Life which I have here enclos'd I know upon the first sight you will be apt to conclude that I have stretcht the point a little too far Experience is our best Mistress in such Cases and I dare be bold if the Generality of Men consider their Birth simply as an entrance into Humane Life and their Death as an exit out of it they 'll find in the main without the enforcement of Philosophy that the assertion of the Wise King is a great truth that the Day of our Death is upon many accounts much preferable to the Day of our Birth I have some other Melancholy observations which I intend to trouble you with but those I 'll reserve till my next Accept of these lame and defective as they are and allow their unworthy Author some low place amongst the Catalogue of your Friends who shall ever esteem it his happiness to be thought fit to be Your Affectionate Peregrine Shaftsbury August 27. 62. ESSAY I. Vpon the General Calamities of Human Life IN all Accounts of Wise Men we find every thing esteem'd more or less according as it most