he head of Natura, crying at the same time, 'Maria sends you
this.'--Heaven so directed the bullets, that the one passed by his
ear, and the other only grazed upon his shoulder, without doing any
farther damage, than taking away a small piece of his sleeve. It is
easy to judge of his surprize, yet was it not so great as to disable
him from drawing his sword in order to revenge himself on the
assassin; but the wretch, in case his fire-arms should miscarry, had
provided a falchion concealed under his coat, with which, the same
instant, he ran furiously on Natura, and had certainly cleft him down,
tho' perhaps in doing so, he might have received his own death's wound
at the same time from the sword of his antagonist; but both these
events were happily prevented by the peculiar interposition of Divine
Providence: some reapers, who had lain asleep under an adjacent hedge,
being roused with the noise of the pistol, ran to the combatants, and
with their hooks beat down both their weapons; while at the same
fortunate crisis, two gentlemen attended by three servants, who
happening to cross a road which had a full prospect over the field,
had seen, at a distance, all that had passed, and came galloping up to
the assistance of Natura, who was then beginning to interrogate the
villain on the occasion of this attempt; but he refused to give any
satisfactory answer to what he said, so was dragged by the countrymen,
and others, who by this time were gathered together, back into the
town, and carried immediately before a magistrate, who, on his
obstinately refusing to make any confession, committed him to prison.

Natura, who imagined nothing more certain, than that Maria had set
this fellow on to murder him, as the surest way to get rid of his
addresses, went directly to the house where she lodged, full of a
resentment equal to the detestable crime of which he thought her
guilty;--he found her in the room with her father and mother, of whom
he took little notice, but stepped forwards to the place where she was
sitting; and seeing her a little surprized, which indeed was
occasioned only by his sudden return, and the abrupt manner in which
he entered:--'You find, madam,' said he, with a voice broke with rage,
'your plot has miscarried;--Natura still lives, though it must be
owned your emissary did all could be expected to obey your commands,
for my destruction.'

It is hard to say, whether Maria, or her parents, were in the greatest
c