Amid all these gaieties there are glimpses of more serious scenes.  The Gordon riots took place in June, 1780, and the alarm they occasioned spread far and wide over the country.  The present 166

section, too, closes with a melancholy incident—­the death of Mr. Thrale.  He had been long ailing, and had had a paralytic stroke in 1779.  He died on the 4th of April, 1781.  Probably no one felt the loss more keenly than Thrale’s old friend, ’Dr. Johnson, in whose “Prayers and Meditations” occurs the following touching entry:—­

“Good Friday, 13th April, 1781.  On Wednesday, 11th, was buried my dear friend Thrale, who died on Wednesday, 4th ; and with him were buried many of my hopes and pleasures.  About five, I think, on Wednesday morning he expired.  I felt almost the last flutter of his pulse, and looked for the last time upon the face that for fifteen years had never been turned upon me but with respect or benignity."-Ed.]

A youthful prodigy.

Bath, April 7-The journey was very comfortable ; Mr. Thrale was charmingly well and in very good spirits, and Mrs. Thrale must be charming, well or ill.  We only went to Maidenhead Bridge the first night, where I found the caution given me by Mr. Smelt,(116) of not attempting to travel near Windsor on a hunting-day, was a very necessary one, as we were with difficulty accommodated even the day after the hunt; several stragglers remaining at all the inns, and we heard of nothing but the king and royal huntsmen and huntswomen.  The second day we slept at SDeen Hill, and the third day we reached Devizes.

And here Mrs. Thrale and I were much pleased with our hostess, Mrs. Laurence, who seemed something above her station in her inn.  While we were at cards before supper, we were much surprised by the sounds of a pianoforte.  I jumped up, and ran to listen whence it proceeded.  I found it came from the next room, where the overture to the “Buona Figliuola” was performing.  The playing was very decent, but as the music was not quite new to me, my curiosity was not whole ages in satisfying, and therefore I returned to finish the rubber.

Don’t I begin to talk in an old-cattish manner of cards?

Well, another deal was hardly played, ere we heard the sound of a voice, and out I ran again.  The singing, however, detained me not long, and so back I whisked; but the performance,

167 however indifferent in itself yet’ surprised us at the Bear

however indifferent in itself, yet surprised us at Devizes, and therefore Mrs. Thrale determined to know from whom it came.  Accordingly, she tapped at the door.  A very handsome girl, about thirteen years old, with fine dark hair upon a finely-formed forehead, opened it.  Mrs. Thrale made an apology for her intrusion, but the poor girl blushed and retreated into a corner of the room:  another girl, however, advanced, and obligingly and gracefully invited us in and gave us all chairs.  She was just sixteen extremely pretty, and with a countenance better than her features, though those were also very good.  Mrs. Thrale made her many compliments, which she received with a mingled modesty and pleasure, both becoming and interesting.  She was, indeed, a sweetly pleasing girl.