As they were thus employed, the minister, who though he had not thought it beneath the dignity of his character to do honour to the birth-day of the husband of his neice, yet had his mind taken up with other things than the amusements of the place, took Natura aside on a sudden, and asked him if he had not a paper in his custody, which he had some time before put into his hands; to which the other answering in the affirmative, ’There are some things in it I do not well remember,’ said the great man; ’and a thought just now occurs to me, in which they may be of use’:—­Natura then offered to fetch it; ‘No,’ replied the other, ’I will go with you, and we will examine it together.’

There was no need of making any apology to the company, they being, as I have already said, dispersed in several parts of the garden; but had they not been so, the statesman was absolute master wherever he came, and no one would have taken umbrage at Natura’s following him.

They went hastily up stairs together, and the door of a room, thro’ which they were to pass to Natura’s study, being shut, he gave a push against it with his foot, and it being but slightly fastened, immediately flew open, and discovered a sight no less unexpected than shocking to both;—­the wife, and own brother of Natura, on a couch, and in a posture which could leave no room to doubt of the motive which had induced them to take the opportunity of the company separating themselves, to retire, without being missed, which, but for this accident, they probably would not have been.

It is easy to conceive what a husband must feel in so alarming a circumstance, nor will any one wonder that Natura behaved in the manner he did, in the first emotions of a rage, which might very well be justified by the cause that excited it.—­Not having a sword on, he flew to the chimney, on each side of which hung a pistol; he snatched one off the hook, and was going to revenge the injury he had received on one or both the guilty persons, when the minister, stepping between, beat down that arm which held the instrument of death, crying at the same time, ’What, are you a madman!—­would you to punish them expose yourself!’—­The passion with which Natura was overwhelmed was too mighty for his breast; it stopped the passage of his words, and all he could bring out was ’villain!’—­’whore’—­while those he called so, made their escape from his fury, by running out of the room.  In attempting to follow them he was still with-held; and the minister having with much ado got the pistol from him, began to expostulate with him, in order to disarm his mind from pursuing any future revenge, as he had done his hand from executing the present.

‘Consider,’ said the statesman, ’that these are but slips of nature, that there are in this town a thousand husbands in the same situation:—­indeed the affair happening with your own brother, very much enhances the crime and the provocation; but as the thing is done, and there is no remedy, it will but add to your disgrace to make it public.’