THE 
 
 T 
 i 
 
 "0 soldier; 
 
 I SW ' D BY H( >WARD and EVANS, 
 
 i»f 't!td« P t RCp ° S ; tor! ' for MoraI Religious TractO 
 ,,iTc HARDNo^ n r £ UNE ' w «--Sm.thf,eli> ) and also by 
 .?"»• And L ,.^> PlcCA D'U. Y.London. By S. HAZARD, 
 t,?" JI "l Country ^^Hers, Newsmen, and Hawkers in, 
 
 PRif,,, " /0 Shopkeeper? umt linker?. 
 
 CuteleiJ at Stationers mi 
 
THE 
 
 TWO SOLDIERS. 
 
 TWO soldiers, Robert Wells and Isaac Clark, 
 * had obtained a three months 7 furlough from 
 their colonel, to visit their relations and friends in 
 a very distant part of England. On thjeir return 
 to join their regiment which was quartered at 
 Gloucester, having travelled till they were weary, 
 they proposed lying by for the night, at a little ale- 
 house called the Green Dragon near the roadside, 
 wells observing the house was pretty much thronged 
 ^company, proposed tohiscompanion to journey 
 « to the next, where they mi^ht spend the night in 
 J^quietthan the present prospect of things of- 
 eaattne Green Dragon. " HI not stir a s^ep 
 
 con! n "I (Said Clark ) for vvhere there is g° od 
 
 quarter/- > ?° d H( * Uor; there 111 make m Y head 
 fck I so . thr °wing his knapsack on 'he horse- 
 
 W f ? at himself - The Green Dra S™ 
 
 and ofcour I rewin S the best ale ^ those parts, 
 all( hefive 1] aaie the general rendezvous of 
 !0v ^V fan, ayeiSandskittle -P la y ersi " the county- 
 Nuced be^! S lndCed Was the lic * uor ' that it in- 
 and children Ln^n a " d famine amongst the wives 
 Placed hat a > i u nei g hb °uring cottages. A 
 nad been bowled far that evening, 
 
and the prfze was won by a young farmer, * 
 spy.ng our travellers swore a tfernendou 
 they should drink a bumper to the king's health 
 After they had drunk plentifully Wells twitched 
 his comrade by the shoulder and proposed tb 
 
 they should proceed on their march now they had 
 been refreshed with a friendly mug; Clark with an 
 oath, refused to comply, again repealing the sol- 
 diers best head- quarters was at the head of the beer 
 barrel; " it shall never be said, Wells, that Isaac 
 Clark was a starter, where the liquor was sound 
 and the company good.'" — ''The liquor is very god, 
 sure enough, ( said Wells, who was naturally a very 
 sober fellow) but enough is as good as a feast : and 
 as to the company I never beheld a worse set of 
 drunken, swearing reprobates in my life for which 
 reason let us on, for if we cannot make them bet- 
 tier they may make us worse." — " Thou art always 
 for preaching, Bob, (said Clark) as if a body were 
 going to die; why I was never in better health in 
 my life; and 'tis time enough to be sorry for ones 
 sins when the glass is out, so, Halloo, tap, bring* 
 another pot." Thus in spite of the persuasions or 
 poor Weils, he went on calling for another mug. 
 and another, till he was as drunk as a j 
 and his brains whirled round like the vane 
 a windmill. Unhappily, in some degree, | 
 fell into the same error; but ; unaccus^ 
 to take more than his pint, and being ^ 
 come with fatigue, he felt himself extrejj ^ 
 ordered, and staggering into the fresh 
 flat on the grass plat, where he lay in * pretty 
 all night 5 nor did he awake till tnc clay 
 far advanced; when his teeth chatter ecu # 
 and his limbs shivered with cold, tor ti staI iA 
 &imp and misty. As soon as he was w j 
 
5 
 
 l* steered in search of Clark, whom he found 
 offil more deplorable state, for he had continued 
 drinking till he was as mad as the restot hiscompa- 
 nions: they grew quarrelsome at length, and each took 
 offence at the other, till words proceeded to blows, 
 and blows ended in blood ; far a very profligate 
 young butcher struck his neighbour the shoemaker 
 such a violent blow across the head with a quart 
 pot that his skull was fractured : this unlucky cir- 
 cumstance brought the landlord to interfere, who 
 was alarmed for the honour of his house, or to speak 
 truly, the fear of losing his licence at the next 
 sessions; so he very prudently sent for a surgeon 
 whilst the rest of the joyous crew made their escape, 
 for fear of falling into the hands of justice. 
 Our travellers left the Green Dragon. Clark's 
 U was still too confused with liquor to permit 
 Wo think; but Wells, who was now quite come to 
 «f, was overcome with shame; and inwardly 
 jowed, that if the entertainment he met with at 
 ^ragon was called a merry-making, he would 
 eveuesire to be merry again for the rest of his 
 iJl or what good have we obtained by it, said 
 and th P° ckets > bl °ody noses, aching bones 
 fades 6 7 ° { ^ ustice hanging over our heads? 
 
 beinlr 1S StlU W ° rSe ' muttered he to himself, 
 re ^on vvK° V u rtaken in li( l uor > we have lost our 
 
 ^asa aSthegiftofGoc ^ and was S iven 
 *HimL eC1 °u S t0ken of his fav °ui\ to xiistin- 
 asthe Y ionrn , ebrute bea st that pcrisheth. Clark 
 n ow and thin ° n Was s P itef "l> sullen, and sulky: 
 
 WOuld get J n \ Ut 7 ring ' that s P ite of the P ast he 
 " AndI -" saiH°\xr a , wherey er it was to be had. 
 n %f orth 7 r wells," would make a vow to drink 
 st of ni y days rather than ever make 
 
6 
 
 myself a beast again, for I have a character t, 
 maintain, and a soul to be saved."— « And I'll t 
 thee, Bob, what is my design," rejoined Clark "to 
 swim in strong beer whenever I can find It, if poverty 
 and death both stared in my face."— " Thou talkest 
 like a bold fellow," said Wells, « and yet thou 
 mayest tremble when death comes in sight': prithee 
 where dost think to go when thou diest?"— " I have 
 never once thought about dying, Bob, I assure 
 thee." — "Then it is best thou sbouldest begin, 
 Isaac, for 'in the midst of life, we are in death,' a 
 I heard the parson say at my grandfather's funeral, 
 Time too is short when measured against eternity; 
 and if we make in the spring great preparations 
 for a summer's campaign in the army, what constant 
 preparations ought we not to be making for death! 
 We soldiers, Isaac, should be particularly careful 
 to keep our accounts between God and our souls 
 very short, since at the beat of the drum on the 
 day of battle, ten thousand may rush in a moment 
 into eternity ! and the best Christian then mayK 
 reckoned the boldest man. Why I would niM 
 spend the next night in battle, for there I sb*^ 
 performing my duty to my king and country, 
 in another such a riot at the Green 
 -Thou art a wishy-washy fellow," rep jc 
 " thou wilt never Megame, if for every litti 
 thou art so plagued with qualms of 
 am determined to live my own way, ho > „ ^ 
 what 'will. "—-Then take my wcr VLh'in afil 
 Wells/' thy ruin is not far oft; for tn 
 of bravery thou mayest appear ^^! ia H ke tureS at* 
 of God, the Devil may get up I *V";* int he< 
 last, and the law may take hold of tne tf e » 
 timer Then coming to fine a stream 
 
7 
 
 or^l hiking* up some in his hat, drank 
 W* f™f *JS? it cooled the fever in his 
 P '^ Swas feverish also, but he 
 S ool to tost with a glass . pf be^oUands 
 Jenextalehouse,which they saw at some distance 
 he side of the hill. There however they agreed 
 ostor after having made a plentiful breaklast,they 
 called for their bill, when to their great dismay they 
 found their pockets entirely emptied of cash, ex- 
 cept two shillings and a few halfpence, each having 
 lost between two and three guineas, which had been 
 given them by theft friends to defray the expences 
 fif their journey. By what means they had been 
 stripped of their cash they could not imagine ; 
 whether the landlord had made free with their 
 pockets to pay himself, or that it had slipped out 
 in the general scuffle; they were greatly dismayed 
 however by their misfortune, for they had more 
 ! than fifty miles to travel, and not more thati ten* 
 P £ nce left after the present expences were dis- 
 \ ch-rged; and when the night came on, they were 
 | impelled to seek the most comfortable lodging 
 ™7 could find under a haystack. " We ought 
 P. t0 c °mplain of our hard fate," said Weils, 
 J®* what we are about to suffer is but part of 
 ^Punishment due to our felly. With sobriety, 
 enabfeH mana S ement > our monev would have 
 Ollrio stotravel comfortably, and at the end of 
 to have 1 Weshould have had pienty to spare, 
 been u ff 1V ? n a treat to OUr comrades, who have 
 
 per ret *° Us on a llke ^basidn,;^' 1 
 saidCi arlc UUl t0 the re gi^ent to be laughed :-r> 
 k^pC Utterin S 1 y ) " I am almost famished to 
 "look W ei J deser [- , ~ Prithee, Isaac/' said Well*, 
 to thy words, and before thou art 
 
s 
 
 tempted to commit a great gift askth } 
 thou shal like to bear the punishment 2 Jj! 
 art found-out 5 and if thou shouldst escTA- 
 brought to justice while on earth, it will 
 out in the day of judgment, Take my word for? 
 he is the only free, and I may add, happy man j 
 is always doing the work of him that made C 
 lalk no more of desertion then, dear Isaac, let us 
 bear our misfortune like men, and as our catechism 
 says, patiently resolve to do " our duty in thatstate 
 of life unto which it hath pleased God to callus."- 
 " When I was a child, Bob/' s^id Clark, - 1 never 
 learnt my catechism; learning, which I have head 
 thee say, has kept thee out of many scrapes, 1 
 bated ; for I was a boy of spirit, I loved boxing, 
 five playing, and robbing of orchards a deal 1/ettei 
 than my book. 5 ' — " So much the worse lor thee, 
 Isaac, a sober education to a poor man will keep 
 him on in the world much more creditably than a 
 little estate without it ; for laziness and drunken- 
 ness will soon bring a pretty property to notliinf 
 and thou may est have heard that 
 
 * When land is gone and money spent , 
 'Then learning is mo st excellent.' 
 
 " Honesty is the best policy, Isaac, and a W 
 name is better than great riches. Think no mo 
 of deserting then, thou hast taken the W 
 money and a strong oath to serve him P' 1 | 
 take care then that thy red coat be not stainec ^ 
 black spots. Consider we are all <^ TLE % nT 
 diers, then let us not disgrace ourselves toy < ^ 
 ing the bloody marks of the rod o! corie as to 
 our backs; if thou art resolved to behave - ^ 
 deserve punishment, don't murmur ag < [y> 
 laws which must inflict it. The laws, Isaac 
 
9 
 
 disgrace 
 now mv 
 
 n]ade to protect honest men from the shares of 
 Tains Courage, man, don't despair of finding a 
 l Lkfest in the morning; mayhap we may meet 
 Ik some good charitable well disposed people, 
 Lwhom we will relate our misfortune, and our 
 for I shan't be ashamed to ask for bread 
 icily has reduced me to ask for it. " — 
 "Thisis fine talking," replied Clark, " do as thou 
 wilt Bob, but my pride is above it , in this beggarly 
 itarved condition I'll never join the regiment to 
 hesneered and jeered at by every one 5 so I am re- 
 solved to have my own way for once*" — " Then re- 
 member Isaac, 'tis a dangerous thing for a man 
 togive himself up to the evil of his ways; I am 
 only talking to thee for thy good and since thou 
 art determined to have thy own way in every thing, 
 I will only further advise thee to think how thou 
 can'st bear punishment, before thou committest a 
 hich will sooner or later bring down the ven- 
 geance of the law against thee. Have a good 
 m, man, pluck up, that we may be able to begin 
 w march by break of day, and as I said before 
 ^ e may meet with some kind assistance on the 
 
 f ew ;tlllsis . a charitable land, Isaac, and there are 
 w People in it who ai e not ready to relieve dis- 
 
 fere i 3 k is known t0 be real ; and if we shollld 
 an( | pU f edat a surly door, \vc must not be angry 
 
 areso f rglV - ngj> since thekmd hearts of the wealthy 
 fort un c C ffk Un P° sed upon bv false stories of mis- 
 Won i lt ° ften shuts U P Lheir bovvcls of com- 
 ^'8 na^!? n pf al , misei 7 stands before them. 
 Soften b ^ V ar *' becomeg suspicious when it 
 to m eet on 660 lm P 0S€d U P°»- M Y pride now is 
 Shis evl- re f lment before the t;ime of 
 
 our fur- 
 
 L l le <J it will give us great credit with our 
 
10 
 
 eoloneJ, who is the very best of men, and who. 
 tag^hat we have made a generous use of 7 
 power intrusted to us, will not be afraid to 
 clulge us again, at a at time. For seven years til 
 I have been in the regiment, i have never re. 
 ceived an ill word or an unkind look from my 
 officers, because I always made it my pleasure to 
 do my duty."— " My pleasure then," replied Clark 
 **, is to have my own way ; I don't care a rush for 
 any man — I don't care for the general— I don't care 
 for the colonel — nor I don't care for the captain- 
 so I have made up my mind as to that matter-Ill 
 have food whilst I can eat it — drink when I can get 
 it — and money and pleasure wherever 1 can find 
 them." — "Clark, thou dost make me tremble 
 sadly," said Wells, "to hoar thee t<*ik so desperately, 
 do turn thy thoughts towards God, for there seems 
 to be a strong temptation upon thee— humble thy- 
 self before him, tell him thou art a miserable 
 sinner, and beg his mercy to assist thee in thy 
 distress, don't go on adding sin to sin; we have been 
 both guilty of an heinous fault; let us take ^ 
 lesson of instruction out of it, and resolve to do so 
 no more. My father was an honest labourei, an 
 he used to tell all his children that dwfj 
 was -sure to bring three evils to every laboMi 
 man, namely, sickness, hunger, andrfl#s> ^ ^ 
 lio sin makes the heart so bard as drunkennes^ ^ 
 drunkard is without pity, since he can ° e ^ Q0 
 wife and children dying of famine, becaU ^ rat the 
 beastly appetite must have its fill ot **1 . t0 a 
 village ale-house."— -Thou art preac" iig ^ 
 deaf man," interrupted Clark, " I™ r!* ee W! 
 way, I tell thee again and again; it * s ver leit 
 to rail against pleasure when one hasn ? 
 
il 
 
 ., „ « thou wilt live to repent thy say- 
 ^ m word for it," said Wells, "for my 
 u ltfher cat a hard crust for my dinner 
 P at .^Tdt ' e officers on roast beef and plumb 
 *f n T must do dirty work to obtain it."-" I 
 
 ^iS^iJ^ cWk - who wo ; ,ld 
 
 dSnncr,' and drink with any man that 
 goffer me his cup, though perhaps he did ex- 
 Si little underhand business of me in return ; I 
 L resolved to serve myself, Bob, and there .s an 
 end of my chapter."—" And a sorrowful ending it 
 is/'answred Wells, " and so good night; (drawing 
 some of the loose hay about him, and placing his 
 knapsack under his head for a pillow) I shall sny 
 my prayers, Isaac, for if I am taken off in my sleep, 
 lis a good thing for a man to have had his last 
 waking thoughts employed on the goodness of 
 God." jHg£* '% • ' : t ' 'i %0M * I ai '^^^f 
 
 Wells slept sweetly till the rising sun shining on 
 his face awakened him ; he called aloud to his com- 
 panion, telling him it was time to prepare for their 
 journey ; h e called again, and again, hut still no 
 answer was made him ; he then rose to go in search 
 ofhim, but he was no where to he found. After 
 ! aitl ng his return for near an hour, and finding he 
 
 1(1 appear, he set forward on his journey , after 
 ravelling- some miles he hegao to find hunger very 
 
 eeil > and seeing a low/ farm house at a distance, 
 
 rl St T k aer0SS a {ield and w + ide U P t0 it; WelU 
 mist ^ ^ 00r, vv ' licn heing opened by the 
 to j 16 ^ tne house, he very modestly asked her 
 fe gve i him a cup of whey, or a draught of sttafl- 
 
 tresJ 01 Was a £ ood denl distressed.—" Dis- 
 
 10 
 
 hard <?' e ' t0 be sure >" sai d she, " tne times are 
 l Mne world is full of distress,' W The hard- 
 
12 
 
 ff* 01 the til ^s, ma'am," said Well, <a 
 thing to do with my distress, since 'ti^liT" 0, 
 sequence of my own folly. "—."You must 1 
 ^ordinary man, master soldier/' sa id Mrs jl* 
 to confess that yonr own crimes have bS 
 
 nuth, said Wells, " and hungry as I am, I would 
 not impose a he upon you to obtain the best mo 
 Mm your house; people in general rail at the 
 badness of the times, when nine times out often 
 they owe their misery to their extravagance; to 
 nights ago my fellow-traveller and myself acci- 
 dentally tell into bad company, we got drunk and 
 we lost our money ; I have ajourney of more tbu 
 forty miles to make, and I have not a sixpence left 
 to furnish me with provisions."— " Follow mcto 
 the kitchen/' said the good woman, "and I will 
 give you the best my house affords, I love a sol. 
 dier to my heart, because he fights for my country; 
 but when I find a soldier to be a Christian, I love 
 him to my soul, because our country may stand a 
 better chance to be preserved from the enemy in 
 lime of war, if our soldiers are Christians; and 
 since, my honest friend, you ha'n't the courage to 
 tell a lie to God, I'm certain sure you'll neve* 
 In doing your duty towards your country. "^ c | 
 now fed heartily on some cold pork and cabbage, 
 Qnd drank prudently of an excellent mugo(cy« 
 that stood before him. After silently thanking 
 Giver of all good for a blessing he so little exp 
 ed, and so little deserved, he was about to ta U 
 
 leave of his kind hostess, when a hustling w» ^ 
 passage, and soon after the room | 
 ~j „ .,'.oud of people, in the midst of whoi ^ 
 saw his unfortunate comrade Clark, witn 
 
 in the 
 by a croud 
 
13 
 
 *M* him- H^^S^l^ ^ 
 
 it was as clear to him as the light, before it had 
 
 5 his . 
 
 Joineon't what would. He was as pale as death, 
 
 ^5 VlvM* _ 
 
 teen explained to him, that Clark had been as 
 pod as his word, and would have his own way let 
 
 lis jaws trembled, and the tears ran down his 
 cheeks. The farmer now explained to his wife 
 ikt they had taken the villain who last night would 
 have robbed the post-chaise, but was prevented by 
 i gentleman within it, who let fly a brace of pistols 
 llim, which made him keep his distance ; that 
 early this morning, as he was riding to market, he 
 faself had been attacked by him, before it wai 
 but some of the neighbours coming to hk 
 ice, they determined to pursue the rogti§ 
 icameup with him aboutMtwo miles off, as hf 
 •altering an alehouse. I have sent to the 
 Vire's, added the farmer, to advertise the gentle* 
 ^ who is at his house, that the robber is taken, 
 ^Ihope he will soon be here. 
 J««poor Clark wept bitterly; "All! Bob, Bob," 
 Spying Wells, "had 1 taken thy kind advice 
 »er have been brought to this— I should 
 m l*e a man and died like a Christian, bill 
 mer cy upon me, what havS I brought 
 4vL have bought my life into dang^. 
 UZ.l? ruined m >' soul."- Honest Welti 
 
 |pU5 ; " f olsaac r cfW he > " cmM 
 
 ^ Iwo , e vo ' ,n 8Uch a E'ievous lnis- 
 I my J., aye sbared m y last morsel with 
 Nyer S 6rS are now aH 1 can offer thee, and 
 ffrof,:S. ,bo » can'st save thyself, for th*» 
 
 may bi f eve " whc » offered up in ;i pri- 
 NcS^ h ' hy timelv r <?P«>tanre, 
 
 ™ c °mL „ V ," the favour of leaven, thou 
 ° n un <ler every affliction." 
 
14 
 
 Here the gentleman arrived whose carriage U 
 been stopped the preceedmg evening; QaV 
 sooner caught a glimpse of him than he knew 
 
 to be his own colonel ; a man whom every person 
 in the regiment loved and honoured as a parent 
 *' O my gracious father!" exclaimed Clark, seeing 
 this honourable gentleman enter, "my punishment 
 is already greater than I can bear, if I have offended 
 the man I would die to serve." He then fa 
 away, but a little warm ale being given him, lie 
 soon recovered; when the noble colonel spoke so 
 mildly and kindly to him, that Mrs. Jenkins pii 
 her apron to her eyes; here Wells related to tie 
 colonel what had passed; she shook like an aspen 
 leaf when he came to relate the sorrowful adven- 
 tures which befei them at the Green Dragon, and 
 all the grief and affliction which had befallen lira 
 in consequence of it. When Wells 
 story, " your father, Clark," said the colonel, "cod 
 not reel more concern at your present situation 
 than I do; I have always regarded every mar. 1 " 
 my regiment as my son ; for I have always. 
 to win their affection by kindness rather than>* 
 their obedience By severity. A man of true coin 
 Clark, abhors the thought of a base action, 
 
 he lives without principle in his heart, ne o . 
 fcesuprised, if sooner «r later ; he is bcW | 
 his passions into the blackest sins ; and J 
 taken in the commission of a crime, ne ^| 
 pect to pay the penalty of the law. , ne j#ii| 
 groaned and wept bitterly while the cc j 
 continued, << Vm thankful that 1 * m ^ { , d d 
 when I fired my pistols on being stopi ^ 
 in my carriage. As the night was n™ 
 &>r me to be able to give evidence as 
 
not 
 
 you, m 
 
 * 
 
 yon 
 
 13 
 
 tte person who stopped mc, you may expect, 
 L k t i u t no bill of indictment will be preferred 
 against you by me, it is a most dreadful thing for 
 aSvmantotakean oath, when he is not positive 
 as to the fact he is going to swear to f the farmer I 
 fear, from having secured your person, has certain 
 evidence to bring against you, but that is a business 
 in which 1 have no right to interfere, as your ex- 
 amination must take place before a neighbouring 
 Justice of the Peace. Whether the fact be, or be 
 -"proved against you, here is a trifle to support 
 , in case you should get your discharge ; that 
 ( may not plead your wants as an excuse for 
 committing such a dreadful outrage against so- 
 ciety; after what is past it will be highly improper 
 to admit you again into the regiment; in future 
 learn to labourwith diligence, live soberly, then vou 
 will hve honestly ; be steady and constant in at- 
 
 Sftf Which your church enjoins 
 
 oo i learn to fear God, honour the king, and be W 
 
 7»r neighbour." Tears now filled the K 
 
 S ° bbed M 
 7 had never heard so Moving a 
 
 CteSi b ° rn day ? ; the ^ a11 said ^ a |* 
 
 *SfiS£i Was ' vhen a PP Iied to ^nstian 
 
 Wbe ™i a BiEp n0We COl ° nel COuld 
 
 t0 speak t0 Wells ^ 
 
 S Robert » „;H , een hlS equal 1 "*» for 3™* 
 ng bee n the S- ' <,y ° Ur stead y conduct i 
 S ^amon^ ° f my obse ™tion, and 
 ^ et y°fyourS \ my brother ^Hcers; the 
 ? es ^ alw avs fc ; and regularity at church 
 
 A °ng had lt m my thoughts to pro* 
 
16 
 
 cure you some promotion, without being able f 
 obtain the means; an occasion has presented ih if 
 in your absence; Serjeant Jefferson is dead and"! 
 
 have reserved his place for you; I know you can 
 both write and cast accounts well; in this 
 doubt not but you will exercise power with as much 
 
 post: 
 
 humility as you have hitherto practised obedience 
 with chearfulness; and since this little affray k 
 caused you much disappointment, and much delay 
 on your journey, I will pay your fare, and your 
 expences in the stage coach, which I find will pass 
 this afternoon, that agreeably to your intentionsyou 
 may join your regiment before the time of your 
 furlough is expired; in order that your conduct 
 may stand as an example to your comrades, (fiat 
 having been intrusted with power, you had too higli 
 a sense of duty to abuse it." 
 
 What makes the end of this little story yen' 
 moving, and very instructive rs, that while Wells 
 for his honesty and good conduct was enabled by 
 his Colonel to finish his journey by the coach, at the 
 very moment in which he mounted the box, lie sa* 
 his unfortunate comrade Clark, with his hands tie 
 behind him, carried off to the county gaol, to ta.^ 
 his trial at the next assizes, sorely -lamenting > 
 unhappy fate, and the wilful obstinacy that .. 
 him deaf to the excellent advice of so good a 
 
 I IN I &