his dress, and
his gilded chariot, would have been tempted to smile at so unfashionable
and absurd a question. He soon however obtained the information he
desired. And his eagerness was increased, when the name of Godfrey, and
the recollection of the talents by which he had been so eminently
distinguished, led him to apprehend that he was one, to whose abilities
and character he had been greatly attached.

He found some difficulty to obtain admission. But this was quickly
removed, as, from the dignity of his appearance, it was not probable that
he was a person, from whom Mr. Godfrey had any thing to apprehend. He
found him in a wretched apartment, his hair dishevelled and his dress
threadbare and neglected. Mr. Godfrey was unspeakably surprised at his
appearance. And it was with much difficulty that Damon prevailed upon him
to accept of an assistance, that he assured him should be but temporary,
if it were in the power of him, or any of his connections, to render him
respectable and independent, in such a situation as himself should chuse.

Disappointment and misfortune are calculated to inspire asperity into the
gentlest heart. Mr. Godfrey inveighed with warmth, and sometimes with
partiality, against the coldness and narrowness of the age. He said, "that
men of genius, in conspicuous stations, had no feeling for those whom
nature had made their brothers; and that those who had risen from
obscurity themselves, forgot the mortifications of their earlier life, and
did not imitate the generous justice which had enabled them to fulfil the
destination of nature." But though misfortune had taught him asperity upon
certain subjects, it had not corrupted his manners, debauched his
integrity, or narrowed his heart. He had still the same warmth in the
cause of virtue, as in days of the most unexperienced simplicity. He still
dreaded an oath, and reverenced the divinity of innocence. He still
believed in a God, and was sincerely attached to his honour, though he had
often been told, that this was a prejudice, unworthy of his comprehension
of thinking upon all other subjects.

CHAPTER III.

_A Misanthrope._

Such was the story, in its most essential circumstances, that Mr. Godfrey
related. Delia was exceedingly interested in the gaiety of his
imagination, the cruelty of his disappointments, and the acuteness, and
goodness of heart that appeared in his reflections. Miss Fletcher listened
to the whole with gaping wonder.