
and, even then, seemed disposed to contribute towards the support of the
friendless orphan, and to enquire more circumstantially into the nature of his
claim. In the mean time his occasions called him to France; and, during his
absence, Mr. A-y arrived in London, in the month of October 1741. --«
    Here the clergyman was interrupted by Peregrine, who said there was
something so extraordinary, not to call it improbable, in the account he had
heard of the young gentleman's being sent into exile, that he would look upon
himself as infinitely obliged to the doctor, if he would favour him with a true
representation of that transaction, as well as of the manner in which he arrived
and was known at the island of Jamaica.
    The parson, in compliance with our hero's request, taking up the story from
the beginning, »Mr. A-y (said he) is the son of Arthur late lord baron of A-m,
by his wife Mary Sh-d, natural daughter to John duke of B-- and N-- by, whom he
publickly married on the 21st day of July 1706, contrary to the inclination of
his mother, and all his other relations, particularly Arthur late earl of A-y,
who bore an implacable enmity to the duke her father, and, for that reason, did
all that lay in his power to traverse the marriage: but, finding his endeavours
ineffectual, he was so much offended, that he would never be perfectly
reconciled to lord A-m, tho' he was his presumptive heir. After their nuptials,
they cohabited together in England for the space of two or three years; during
which she miscarried more than once: and he being a man of levity, and an
extravagant disposition, not only squandered away all that he had received of
his wife's fortune, but also contracted many considerable debts, which obliged
him to make a precipitate retreat into Ireland, leaving his lady behind him in
the house with his mother and sisters; who, having also been averse to the
match, had always looked upon her with eyes of disgust.
    It was not likely that harmony should long subsist in this family,
especially as lady A--m was a woman of a lofty spirit, who could not tamely bear
insults and ill-usage from persons, who, she had reason to believe, were her
enemies at heart. Accordingly a misunderstanding soon happened among them, which
was fomented by the malice of one of her sisters-in-law: divers
