borrower, he defended his opinions with as much obstinacy as if
he had been my patron. He now and then also informed me to whom
the different seats belonged that lay in our view as we travelled
the road. 'That,' cried he, pointing to a very magnificent house
which stood at some distance, 'belongs to Mr Thornhill, a young
gentleman who enjoys a large fortune, though entirely dependent
on the will of his uncle, Sir William Thornhill, a gentleman, who
content with a little himself, permits his nephew to enjoy the
rest, and chiefly resides in town.' 'What!' cried I, 'is my young
landlord then the nephew of a man whose virtues, generosity, and
singularities are so universally known? I have heard Sir William
Thornhill represented as one of the most generous, yet whimsical,
men in the kingdom; a man of consumate benevolence'--'Something,
perhaps, too much so,' replied Mr Burchell, 'at least he carried
benevolence to an excess when young; for his passions were then
strong, and as they all were upon the side of virtue, they led it
up to a romantic extreme. He early began to aim at the
qualifications of the soldier and scholar; was soon distinguished
in the army and had some reputation among men of learning.
Adulation ever follows the ambitious; for such alone receive most
pleasure from flattery. He was surrounded with crowds, who shewed
him only one side of their character; so that he began to lose a
regard for private interest in universal sympathy. He loved all
mankind; for fortune prevented him from knowing that there were
rascals. Physicians tell us of a disorder in which the whole body
is so exquisitely sensible, that the slightest touch gives pain:
what some have thus suffered in their persons, this gentleman
felt in his mind. The slightest distress, whether real or
fictitious, touched him to the quick, and his soul laboured under
a sickly sensibility of the miseries of others. Thus disposed to