class="x-ebookmaker-pageno" title="[Pg 41]"/> them serve the purposes of his resentment. He, therefore, one day dressed out his monkey in the most laughable manner: he tied a piece of stiff pasteboard about his neck; put upon him a pair of loose canvas bags, as trowsers; and covered the lower parts of his legs and his feet with oil and lampblack, in imitation of boots. Jack then put into his hands a huge tobacco-box, which he taught him to use as a snuff-box; and stuck upon his fingers several curtain-rings; and, thus accoutred, led him about with infinite satisfaction, calling him Sir, and jabbering such broken French as he had picked up from the conversation of the visitor. It happened very unluckily, at this very instant, that the young gentleman himself passed by, and instantly saw at one glance the intended copy of himself, and all the malice of little Jack, who was leading him along, and calling to him to hold up his head, and look like a person of fashion. Rage instantly took possession of his mind; he seized a stone which lay near at hand, knocked the poor monkey upon the head, and laid him dead upon the ground. What more he might have done, is uncertain; for Jack, who was not of a temper to see calmly such an outrage committed upon an animal which he considered as his friend, flew upon him like a fury. The young gentleman received a fall in the scuffle, which, though it did him no material damage, daubed all his clothes, and totally spoiled the whole arrangement of his dress. At this instant the lady herself, who had heard the noise, came down, and the violence of poor Jack was too apparent to be excused. Jack, indeed, was very submissive to his mistress whom he was very sorry to have offended; but when he was ordered to make concessions to the young gentleman, as the only conditions upon which he could be kept in the family, he absolutely refused. He owned, indeed, that he was much to blame for resenting the provocation he had received, and endeavouring to make his mistress’s company ridiculous; but as to what he had done in defence of his friend the monkey, there were no possible arguments which could convince him he was in the least to blame; nor would he have made submission to the king himself. This unfortunate obstinacy of Jack’s was the occasion of his being discharged, very much to the regret of the lady herself, and still more to that of Master Willets. Jack therefore packed up his clothes in a little bundle, shook all his fellow-servants by the hand, took an affectionate leave of his kind master and mistress, and once more sallied out upon his travels.

Thus Jack, by indulging the rashness of his temper, which he had promised to correct, deprived himself of a valuable service. His conduct in the whole of the affair was wrong; in the first place, he had not any right to turn another person into ridicule; and, in the next, when he had thus given the first insult, he ought not to have been so violent in taking satisfaction for the death of his monkey. But he was still farther to blame for the obstinate manner in which he resisted the request of his mistress to make some apology: he ought to have remembered that she had been for a long time his kind friend, and that he was bound to do much more at her desire than make an apology for an action in which he was wrong. Such is however the case with rash hot-headed people; they allow their passions to blind their understanding; but they almost always suffer, as Jack did in this case, for their misconduct.

He had not walked far before he came to a town, where a party of soldiers were beating up for volunteers. Jack mingled with the crowd that surrounded the recruiting serjeant, and listened with great pleasure to the sound of the fifes and drums; nor could he help mechanically holding up his head, and stepping forward with an air that shewed the trade was not entirely new to him. The serjeant soon took notice of these gestures, and seeing him a strong likely lad, came up to him, clapped him on the back, and asked him if he would enlist. “You are a brave boy,” said he, “I can see that in your looks—come along with us, and I don’t doubt but in a few weeks you’ll be as complete a soldier as those who have been in the army for years.” Jack made no answer to this, but by instantly poizing his stick, cocking his hat fiercely, and going through the whole manual exercise. “Prodigious, indeed!” cried the serjeant; “I see you have been in the army already, and can eat fire as well as any of us. But come with us, my brave lad, you shall live well, have little to do, but now and then fight for your king and country, as every gentleman ought; and in a short time, I don’t doubt but I shall see you a captain, or some great man, rolling in wealth, which you have got out of the spoils of your enemies.”—“Well,” said Jack, “as I am at present out of employment, and have a great respect for the character of a gentleman soldier, I will enlist directly in your regiment.”—“A brave fellow, indeed,” said the serjeant; “here, my boy, here is your money and your cockade;” both which he directly presented, and thus in a moment Little Jack became a soldier.

He had scarcely time to feel himself easy in his new accoutrements, before he was embarked for India in the character of a marine. This kind of life was entirely new to Jack; however, his usual activity and spirit of observation did not desert him here, and he had not been embarked many weeks, before he was perfectly acquainted with all the duty of a sailor, and in that respect equal to most on board. It happened that the ship in which he sailed touched at the Cormo Islands, in order to take in wood and water; these are some little islands near the coasts of Africa, inhabited by blacks. Jack often went on shore with the officers, attending them on their shooting parties, to carry their powder and shot, and the game they killed. All this country consists of very lofty hills, covered with trees and shrubs of various kinds, which never lose their leaves, from the perpetual warmth of the climate. Through these it is frequently difficult to force a way, and the hills themselves abound in precipices. It happened that one of the officers, whom Jack was attending upon a shooting party, took aim at some great bird, and brought it down; but as it fell into a deep valley, over some rocks which it was impossible to descend, they despaired of gaining their prey. Jack immediately, with officious haste, set off, and ran down the more level side of the hill, thinking to make a circuit, and reach the valley into which the bird had fallen. He set off, therefore; but as he was totally ignorant of the country, he, in a short time, buried himself so deep in the wood, which grew continually thicker, that he knew not which way to proceed. He then thought it most prudent to return; but this he found as difficult to effect as the other. He therefore wandered about the woods with inconceivable difficulty all day, but could never find his company, nor even reach the shore, nor obtain the prospect of the sea. At length the night approached, and Jack, who perceived it to be impossible to do that in the dark, which he had not been able to effect in the light, lay down under a rock, and composed himself to rest as well as he was able. The next day he arose with the light, and once more attempted to regain the shore; but unfortunately he had totally lost all idea of the direction he ought to pursue, and saw nothing around him but the dismal prospect of woods, and hills, and precipices, without a guide or path. Jack now began to be very