iSj EDMUND, A TALE. June 8, 



^0 the Editor of the Bee, 



Edmund, a 'Tale. 



Hail native ftream, faid Edmund, fetting himfelf down on 

 a graffv plot •, thy flowery banks Invite me here to reft my 

 ■weary limbs. — Thy gentle murmurs cannot however foothe 

 my lorrow. — Oh I fcenes of ray juvenile amufements, you 



bring not along with you your former endearments An 



old man approached him — He leaned on his ftaff — His fil- 

 vcred locks v/aved to the gentle breeze — Experience and 

 benignity marked his venerable countenance. You feem 

 to be faint with travel, faid Mr. Tounshend, for that was 

 the name of the old gentleman. " I am very much fo," 

 replied Edmund — ' If you pleafe to retire to my houfe, which 

 IS juft at hand, a little reft and refrefliment will enable you 

 more agreeably to purfue your journey' — " I intended to 

 have gone a few miles farther before 1 had ftopt ; but, as I 

 find myfelf exceedingly fatigued, I cheerfully accept of 

 your friendly invitation." — So faying, he rofe up, and fol- 

 lowed Mr.. Tounshend to his villa. 



' You are a ftxanger, I fuppofe, in this part of the coun- 

 try,' faid Mk. Tounshfnd. — "* I was born in a village at 

 no great diftance from this •, I believe however, very few 

 here will now know me ; I am much altered : befides, I 



km poor I have brought nothing home with me but a few 



Icars received In the fervice of ray country •," looking at a 

 ftump, the remains of his left arm, which Mr. Tounshend 



tad not before obfcTved ' Oh ! thefe are marks of glory, 



exclaimed the old .gentleman ; infinitely more valuable than 

 riches — Blay I be allowed to afli your name.'' — '' My 

 name i^ Roberts ; if you have reCded here any confiderable 

 time, you are perhaps not a ftranger to my family — Do you 

 know my father f" — ' I have often heard of him, but never 

 liad the pleafure of his acquaintance.' " From your par- 

 lour window, I can fee the gently (loping hills where roam 

 his fnowy flocks, and the fpreading groves which fhelter his 

 little farm — Oh ! delightful fpot — refidence of exalted vir- 

 tue — Place of my nativity, inexprefllbly endeared to me by 

 the indulgence of the bell of parents— A parent^ perhaps 



