The old man then informed me that the caſtle in which he now was ſheltered formerly belonged to his family—ſuch are the changes and chances of this mortal life—ſaid he, and haſtily ſtruck up a lively tune.
While he was ſtriking the ſtrings, I thought too of the changes in life which an age had produced. The deſcendant of thoſe who had made the hall ring with ſocial mirth now mourned in its ruins, and hung his harp on the mouldering battlements. Such is the fate of buildings and of families!
After I had diſmiſſed my gueſt, I ſent for the landlord, to make ſome farther enquiries, and found that I had not been deceived; I then determined to aſſiſt him, and thought my accident providential. I knew a man of conſequence in the neighbourhood; I viſited him, and exerted myſelf to procure the enlargement of the young man. I ſucceeded; and not only reſtored him to his family, but prevailed on my friend to let him rent a ſmall farm on his eſtate, and I gave him money to buy ſtock for it, and the implements of huſbandry.
