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that gentleman's displeasure had been incurred, will perhaps condemnthis as a foolish and desperate undertaking; but if he should totallycondemn young Jones on that account, he will greatly applaud him forstrengthening himself with all imaginable interest on so arduous anoccasion.For this purpose, then, Tom applied to Mr Western's daughter, a younglady of about seventeen years of age, whom her father, next afterthose necessary implements of sport just before mentioned, loved andesteemed above all the world. Now, as she had some influence on thesquire, so Tom had some little influence on her. But this being theintended heroine of this work, a lady with whom we ourselves aregreatly in love, and with whom many of our readers will probably be inlove too, before we part, it is by no means proper she should make herappearance at the end of a book.BOOK IV.CONTAINING THE TIME OF A YEAR.Chapter i.Containing five pages of paper.As truth distinguishes our writings from those idle romances which arefilled with monsters, the productions, not of nature, but ofdistempered brains; and which have been therefore recommended by aneminent critic to the sole use of the pastry-cook; so, on the otherhand, we would avoid any resemblance to that kind of history which acelebrated poet seems to think is no less calculated for the emolumentof the brewer, as the reading it should be always attended with atankard of good ale--While--history with her comrade ale,Soothes the sad series of her serious taleFor as this is the liquor of modern historians, nay, perhaps theirmuse, if we may believe the opinion of Butler, who attributesinspiration to ale, it ought likewise to be the potation of theirreaders, since every book ought to be read with the same spirit and inthe same manner as it is writ. Thus the famous author of Hurlothrumbotold a learned bishop, that the reason his lordship could not tastethe excellence of his piece was, that he did not read it with a fiddlein his hand; which instrument he himself had always had in his own,when he composed it.That our work, therefore, might be in no danger of being likened tothe labours of these historians, we have taken every occasion ofinterspersing through the whole sundry similes, descriptions, andother kind of poetical embellishments. These are, indeed, designed tosupply the place of the said ale, and to refresh the mind, wheneverthose slumbers, which in a long work are apt to invade the reader aswell as the writer, shall begin to creep upon him. Withoutinterruptions of this kind, the best narrative of plain matter of fact