bS8 the life ot 



before he had done. I in vain fpoke to him; 

 till at length I fent the boy Richards to bring 

 the cloth, finifl^ed or not, which he did, with- 

 out delay, to the great difplcafure of the taylor. 

 Next morning early, before I was out of bed, 

 the taylor came to deiire I would let him finifh 

 the things ; and, as I fpoke to him rather Iharp- 

 ]y about his negledl, he took upon himfelf to 

 give me a great deal of abufe. Enraged at be- 

 ing difturbed by fuch language from fuch a vi- 

 iitant, I jumped out of bed, feized a cane, and 

 made after the offender, who fled with great 

 nimblenefs into tlie ftrect, whither, with no- 

 thing on but a pair of Hippers, I purfucd him. 

 The chace was long ; for though he was never 

 quite out of my reach, I was not able to get a 

 blow at him ; at length he found fhelter, and I, 

 for the firft time during the purfuit, recolleded 

 that I was naked. I need hardly add that my 

 retreat was as fpcedy as I could make it. 



Thefe trifling adventures I Ihould not have 

 thought worth relating, were it not, as will 

 hereafter be feen, that they led to ferious confe- 

 quences, though I may chiefly attribute many 

 unpleafant things to an aff^air which I yet know 

 not how I could have avoided. It was as 

 follows : 



At a route given at a gentleman's houfe, 

 iit-here were prefent all the officers and inhabit 



tants 



