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«742. Mtiecdole of the Duie of Bedford. 39 



>NECDOTE OF THE DUKE OF BEDFORD- 

 Sir 

 As the following anecdote does honour to humanity, 

 and flieds a milder, tho not lefs pleasing lustre round no- 

 bility, than the pomp of pageantry with which it is usu- 

 ally attended, I hope you will not think it imworthy of 

 insertion in your useful miscellany. 



Philadelphus, 

 A WILD summer morning had invited the late Duke of 

 Bedford to walk abroad, with a book In his hand. His 

 attention was so much engrofsed by the subjeft, that 

 before he was aware, he had wandered farther from 

 home then he intended. Having stopt of a sudden to 

 see where he was, he observed a woman at a little di- 

 stance from him, wringing her hands, weeping aloud and 

 discovering every mark of the deepest distrefs. Moved 

 with sympathy, he immediately approached her, desired 

 her to dry up her tears, to tell him the cause of her sor- 

 row, and promised to do her all the service in his power. 

 Seeing a man in a plain but genteel drefs, looking at her 

 with an air of benignity, and interesting himfelf in her 

 sufferings ; being entirely ignorant of his rank, she com- 

 municated her story to him without reserve. " I have 

 (says she^ a large family, my husband is sick, and being 

 unable to pay our rent, the Duke of Bedford's steward has 

 seized our stock, and left us nothing but the dismal pro- 

 spect of unavoidable ruin j and I came out to this field 

 to take my last sad sight of my poor cows, which are 

 still feeding in the park there." Deeply affected with 

 her melancholy tale, he advised her to drive the cows 

 home, and offered to set open the gate to her for that 

 purpose. But at this proposal she started, burst agaijj 



