"Hem!" you may depend on't,” replied Digaway, "it is as I said before. The Colonel has a seat in parliament, and being a man of penetration, has been delegated by the ministry to look into the truth of our petition." When we have emptied a bottle, or squeezed an orange, we usually throw them aside: so it proved in Michael's case, for the worthy company having extracted all that it laid in his power to yield in the way of information, proceeded to acquaint him, by unanimously rising from their chairs, that his company was no longer wanted, dispensing with it by an adjournment to their respective homes. It was long past midnight; a piece of news not much relished by any of our convivial souls, who lay under the most serious dread of encountering the anger of their wives, by whom they were all governed; in fact the whole of them came in for a seyere lecture from their enraged spouses. The only exception to this was the barber, not that he exercised the supreme command, but because he knew his rib to possess an extraordinary thirst after news, with which she fed her gossips in return. Therefore when the storm was ready to burst, Simon allayed it by plumping out the news of Sir Andrew's intended departure; of the stranger he met with at the Red Lion; of the singularity of his questions; with various other points connected with the evening's discourse. Having thus disposed of his wife's gall, and released himself of the danger of a domestic affray, he advised her to follow his example, and retire to rest. CHAPTER IV. ALONZO." I know somewhat of Astrology myself; SIR ANDREW SAGITTARIUS, the mighty Astrologer of our tale, was descended from an old and highly respected family, whose large estates were situated in the country we have chosen for the scene of our plot; nor had these suffered the slightest decrease in point of value by any extravagance on the part of the several possessors. Sir Andrew, as early as his tenth year, was left to the entire guardianship of his mother, in consequence of the death of his father, Sir Jacopus, who imprudently entrusted her with the sole care of their child; not that his fondness for her was misplaced, as she was affectionately attached to him and her son, and was possessed also of a most amiable disposition. But it so happened that Sir Jacopus confided too much in that judgment, which he erroneously thought she possessed to an eminent degree, for not haing seen her otherwise than prndent in her actions, he never sufficiently reflected whether this proceeded from her natural strength of mind, or from what was in reality the truth, the attention and vigilance he paid to the management of his family. pe Sir Andrew proved to be a weak and delicate child; and Lady Sagittarius instead of exerting her utmost endeavours to rouze his energies, and correct the tulence of his disposition, increased these evils to sad extent by her mistaken course of fondness, which induced her to watch every turn of his countenance with a solicitude truly to be pitied; to note also the increase or decrease his health experienced from the respective changes in the atmosphere, and to put in requisition every recipe she could collect from her friends and acquaintances to improve the constitution of the child. Little wonder therefore, that the young Baronet, instead of thriving like a sturdy plant, grew up a "slender stalk of pains and agues," and his mind partaking most strictly of the weakness afflicting his body, shewed itself in time to the annoyance of every person that came near him. The most inconceivable dilemmas were produced by the impossibility of affording his whims the gratification they demanded. Sir Andrew's chief, and indeed his only delight, consisted in the perusal of medical works; that, by adhering to the regimen these recommended, he might experience their good effects on his own constitution, with a view of improving it. to at least the duration of a century. He |