notice of the very minute when the child was born: which she did, and acquainted him therewith. This passed without any singular notice; many fathers having had such a fancy, without any farther thought. But about a week after, when I was pretty hearty, he comes into my room, 'My dear,' says he, you little think what I have been doing this morning. Nor ever shall,' said I, unless you will be so good to inform me.' · Why then,' cried he, I have been calculating this child's nativity; and in grief I speak it, he was born in an evil hour; Jupiter, Venus, and the Sun, were all under the Earth, and the Lord of his Ascendant afflicted by a hateful square of Mars and Saturn. If he lives to arrive at his eighth year, he will go near to die a violent death on his very birthday; but if he should escape, as I see but small hopes, he will in his twenty-third year be under she same evil direction. And if he should, which seems almost impossible, escape that also, the thirty-third or thirty-fourth year is, I fear,'-- -- I interrupted him here,- O! Mr. Dryden, what is this you tell me? my blood runs cold at your fatal speech; recall it, I beseech you.

Here Corinna is indebted to our author. See the Prologue to THE WILD GALLANT:

"FIRST ASTROL. Yet let me judge it by the rules of art. First Jupiter, the ascendant's lord disgraced,

In the twelfth house, and near grim Saturn placed,
Denote short life-

Shall my little angel, my Dryden" boy, be doomed to so hard a fate? Poor innocent! what hast thou done? No; I will fold thee in my arms, and if thou must fall, we will both perish together.' A flood of tears put a stop to my speech; and through Mr. Dryden's comfortable persuasions, and the distance of time, I began to be a little appeased, but always kept the fatal period in my mind.

"At last the summer arrived; August was the inauspicious month, in which my dear son was to enter on his eighth year. The Court being in Progress, and Mr. Dryden at leisure, he was invited to my brother Berkshire's, to keep the long vacation with him at Charlton, in Wilts; I was also invited to my uncle Mordaunt's, to pass the remainder of the summer at his country-seat. All this was well enough; but when we came to dividing the children, I would have had him take John, and let me have the care of Charles; because, as I told him, a man might be engaged in company, but a woman could have no pretence for not guarding of the evil hour. Poor Mr. Dryden was in this too absolute, and I as positive. In fine, we parted in anger; and, as a husband always will be master, he took Charles, and I was forced to be content with my son John. But when the fatal day approached, such anguish of heart seized me, as none but a fond mother can form any idea

• Probably a mistake of the press, for-" my darling boy."

of. I watched the post; that failed; I wrote and wrote, but no answer. Oh, my friend, judge what I endured, terrified with dreams, tormented by my apprehensions. I abandoned myself to despair, and remained inconsolable.

"The anxiety of my spirits occasioned such an effervescence of my blood, as threw me into so violent a fever, that my life was despaired of; when a letter came from my spouse, reproving my womanish credulity, and assured me all was well, and the child in perfect health: on which I mended daily, and recovered my wonted state of ease; till about six weeks after the fatal day, I received an eclaircissement from Mr. Dryden, with a full account of the whole truth, which belike he feared to acquaint me with, till the danger was over. It was this: in the month of August, being Charles's anniversary, it happened that Lord Berkshire had made a general hunting-match, to which were invited all the adjacent gentlemen: Mr. Dryden being at his house, and his brother-in-law, could not be dispensed with from appearing.

"I have told you, that Mr. Dryden, either through fear of being thought superstitious, or thinking it a science beneath his study, was extremely cautious in letting any one know that he was a dabbler in astrology; therefore could not excuse his absence from the sport; but he took care to set the boy a double exercise in the Latin tongue, (which he taught his children himself,) with a strict charge not to stir out of the room till

his return, well knowing the task he had set him would take up longer time. Poor Charles was all obedience, and sat close to his duty; when, as ill fate ordained, the stag made towards the house. The noise of the dogs, horns, &c. alarmed the family to partake of the sport; and one of the servants coming down stairs, the door being open, saw the child hard at his exercise without being moved: Master,' cried the fellow, why do you sit there? Come down, come down, and see the sport. No,' replied Charles, my papa has forbid me, and I dare not.' 'Pish,' quoth the clown, vather shall never know it: so takes the child by the hand, and leads him away; when just as they came to the gate, the stag, being at bay with the dogs, cut a bold stroke, and leaped over the court-wall, which was very low and very old; and the dogs following, threw down at once a part of the wall ten yards in length, under which my dear child lay buried. He was as soon as possible dug out; but, alas! how mangled! his poor little head being crushed to a perfect mash.

"In this miserable condition he continued above six weeks, without the least hope of life. Through the divine Providence, he recovered; and in process of time, having a most advantageous invitation to Rome from my uncle, Cardinal Howard, we sent over our two sons, Charles and John, having through the grace of God been ourselves admitted into the true Catholick faith. They were received suitable to the grandeur and generosity of his

Eminence, and Charles immediately planted in a post of honour, as Gentleman-Usher to his Holiness; in which he continued about nine years. But what occasions me to mention this, is in allusion to my dear Mr. Dryden's too fatal prediction. In his twenty-third year, being in perfect health, he had attended some ladies of the palace, his Holiness's nieces, as it was his place, on a party of pleasure his brother John and he lodged together, at the top of an old round tower belonging to the Vatican, with a well staircase, much like the Monument; when he knew his brother Charles was returned, he went up, thinking to find him there, and to go to bed. But, alas! no brother was there on which he made a strict enquiry at all the places he used to frequent; but no news, more, than that he was seen by the centinel to go up the staircase. On which he got an order for the door of the foundation of the tower to be opened, where they found my poor unfortunate son Charles mashed to a mummy, and weltering in his own blood. How this happened, he gave no farther account when he could speak, than that the heat of the day had been most excessive, and as he came to the top of the tower, he found himself seized with a megrim, or swimming in his head, and leaning against the iron rails, it is to be supposed, tipp'd over, five stories deep. Under this grievous mischance, his Holiness, (God bless him!) omitted nothing that might conduce to his recovery; but as he lay many months without hopes of life, so