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asking, "who that Partridge was, whom he had called a worthlessfellow?""I mean," said the captain, "Partridge the barber, the schoolmaster,what do you call him? Partridge, the father of the little child whichyou found in your bed."Mr Allworthy exprest great surprize at this account, and the captainas great at his ignorance of it; for he said he had known it above amonth: and at length recollected with much difficulty that he was toldit by Mrs Wilkins.Upon this, Wilkins was immediately summoned; who having confirmed whatthe captain had said, was by Mr Allworthy, by and with the captain'sadvice, dispatched to Little Baddington, to inform herself of thetruth of the fact: for the captain exprest great dislike at all hastyproceedings in criminal matters, and said he would by no means have MrAllworthy take any resolution either to the prejudice of the child orits father, before he was satisfied that the latter was guilty; forthough he had privately satisfied himself of this from one ofPartridge's neighbours, yet he was too generous to give any suchevidence to Mr Allworthy.Chapter vi.The trial of Partridge, the schoolmaster, for incontinency; theevidence of his wife; a short reflection on the wisdom of our law;with other grave matters, which those will like best who understandthem most.It may be wondered that a story so well known, and which had furnishedso much matter of conversation, should never have been mentioned to MrAllworthy himself, who was perhaps the only person in that country whohad never heard of it.To account in some measure for this to the reader, I think proper toinform him, that there was no one in the kingdom less interested inopposing that doctrine concerning the meaning of the word charity,which hath been seen in the preceding chapter, than our good man.Indeed, he was equally intitled to this virtue in either sense; for asno man was ever more sensible of the wants, or more ready to relievethe distresses of others, so none could be more tender of theircharacters, or slower to believe anything to their disadvantage.Scandal, therefore, never found any access to his table; for as ithath been long since observed that you may know a man by hiscompanions, so I will venture to say, that, by attending to theconversation at a great man's table, you may satisfy yourself of hisreligion, his politics, his taste, and indeed of his entiredisposition: for though a few odd fellows will utter their ownsentiments in all places, yet much the greater part of mankind haveenough of the courtier to accommodate their conversation to the tasteand inclination of their superiors.But to return to Mrs Wilkins, who, having executed her commission withgreat dispatch, though at fifteen miles distance, brought back such a