20 The Chase 



not immediately able to satisfy Jones, who was very 

 solicitous to know whether she had received any 

 hurt. She soon after, however, recovered her spirits, 

 assured him she was safe, and thanked him for the 

 care he had taken of her. Jones answered, " If I 

 have preserved you, madam, I am sufficiently repaid ; 

 for, I promise you, I would have secured you from 

 the least harm at the expense of a much greater 

 misfortune to myself than I have suffered on this 

 occasion." 



"What misfortune?" replied Sophia eagerly: 

 "I hope you have come to no mishief?" 



" Be not concerned, madam," answered Jones. 

 " Heaven be praised you have escaped so well, con- 

 sidering the danger you were in. If I have broke 

 my arm, I consider it as a trifle, in comparison of 

 what I feared on your account. . . ." 



Mr. Western, who was advanced at some distance 

 when this accident happened, was now returned, as 

 were the rest of the horsemen. Sophia immediately 

 acquainted them with what had befallen Jones, and 

 begged them to take care of him. Upon which 

 Western, who had been much alarmed by meeting 

 his daughter's horse without its rider, and was now 

 overjoyed to find her unhurt, cried out, " I am glad 

 it is no worse. If Tom hath broken his arm, we 

 will get a joiner to mend un again. . . ." 



As to Squire Western, he was seldom out of the 

 sick-room, unless when he was engaged either in 

 the field or over his bottle. Nay, he would some- 

 times retire hither to take his beer, and it was not 

 without much difficulty that he was prevented from 

 forcing Jones to take his beer too : for no quack 

 ever held his nostrum to be a more general panacea 

 than he did this; *' which," he said, "had more 

 virtue in it than was all the physic in an apothecary's 



