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Chapter 69 My mother had gone with her left arm twisted in my fathers right, till they had got to the fatal angle of the old garden wall, where Doctor Slop was overthrown by Obadiah on the coach-horse: as this was directly opposite to the front of Mrs. Wadmans house, when my father came to it, he gave a look across; and seeing my uncle Toby and the corporal within ten paces of the door, he turnd aboutLet us just stop a moment, quoth my father, and see with what ceremonies my brother Toby and his man Trim make their first entryit will not detain us, added my father, a single minute: No matter, if it be ten minutes, quoth my mother. It will not detain us half one; said my father. The corporal was just then setting in with the story of his brother Tom and the Jews widow: the story went onand onit had episodes in itit came back, and went onand on again; there was no end of itthe reader found it very long G.. help my father! he pishd fifty times at every new attitude, and gave the corporals stick, with all its flourishings and danglings, to as many devils as chose to accept of them. When issues of events like these my father is waiting for, are hanging in the scales of fate, the mind has the advantage of changing the principle of expectation three times, without which it would not have power to see it out. Curiosity governs the first moment; and the second moment is all oeconomy to justify the expence of the firstand for the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth moments, and so on to the day of judgmenttis a point of Honour. I need not be told, that the ethic writers have assigned this all to Patience; but that Virtue, methinks, has extent of dominion sufficient of her own, and enough to do in it, without invading the few dismantled castles which Honour has left him upon the earth. My father stood it out as well as he could with these three auxiliaries to the end of Trims story; and from thence to the end of my uncle Tobys panegyrick upon arms, in the chapter following it; when seeing, that instead of marching up to Mrs. Wadmans door, they both faced about and marchd down the avenue diametrically opposite to his expectationhe broke out at once with that little subacid soreness of humour, which, in certain situations, distinguished his character from that of all other men. |
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