My master sent for Jonathan, and I held up all the fingers of my two
hands; and my master giving a nod of approbation as he came in, I said,
Well, Mr. Jonathan, I could not be satisfied without seeing you in form,
as it were, and thanking you for all your past good-will to me. You'll
accept of that, for a pair of gloves, on this happy occasion; and I gave
him ten guineas, and took his honest hand between both mine: God bless
you, said I, with your silver hairs, so like my dear father!--I shall
always value such a good old servant of the best of masters!--He said, O
such goodness! Such kind words! It is balm to my heart! Blessed be God
I have lived to this day!--And his eyes swam in tears, and he
withdrew.--My dear, said my master, you make every one happy!--O, sir,
said I, 'tis you, 'tis you! And let my grateful heart always spring to
my lips, to acknowledge the blessings you heap upon me.
Then in came Harry, and Isaac, and Benjamin, and the two grooms of this
house, and Arthur the gardener; for my dear master had ordered them, by
Mrs. Jervis, thus to be marshalled out: and he said, Where's John? Poor
John was ashamed, and did not come in till he heard himself called for.
I said to them, How do you do, my old friends and fellow-servants? I am
glad to see you all. My master said, I have given you a mistress, my lads, that is the joy of
my heart: You see her goodness and condescension! Let your respects to
her be but answerable, and she'll be proportionately as great a blessing
to you all, as she is to me. Harry said, In the names of all your
servants, sir, I bless your honour, and your good lady: and it shall
be all our studies to deserve her ladyship's favours, as well as your
honour's. And so I gave every one five guineas, to rejoice, as I said,
in my happiness. When I came to John, I said, I saw you before, John; but I again tell
you, I am glad to see you. He said, he was quite ashamed and confounded.
O, said I, forget every thing that's past, John!--Your dear good master
will, and so will I. For God has wonderfully brought about all these
things, by the very means I once thought most grievous. Let us,
therefore, look forward, and be only ashamed to commit faults for
the time to come: for they may not always be attended with like happy
consequences.