Think of your disappointments and your successes.
Has YOUR striving influenced one or the other?
A fit of indigestion puts itself between you and honours and reputation; an apple plops on your nose and makes you a world's wonder and glory; a fit of poverty makes a rascal of you, who were, and are still, an honest man; clubs, trumps, or six lucky mains at dice, make an honest man for life of you, who ever were, will be, and are a rascal.

Who sends the illness?
who causes the apple to fall?
who deprives you of your worldly goods?
or who shuffles the cards, and brings trumps, honour, virtue, and prosperity back again?
You call it chance; ay, and so it is chance that when the floor gives way, and the rope stretches tight, the poor wretch before St.
Sepulchre's clock dies.

Only with us, clear-sighted mortals as we are, we can't SEE the rope by which we hang, and know not when or how the drop may fall.
But revenons a nos moutons: let us return to that sweet lamb Master Thomas, and the milk-white ewe Mrs.Cat.Seven years had passed away, and she began to think that she should very much like to see her child once more.

It was written that she should; and you shall hear how, soon after, without any great exertions of hers, back he came to her.
In the month of July, in the year 1715, there came down a road about ten miles from the city of Worcester, two gentlemen; not mounted, Templar-like, upon one horse, but having a horse between them--a sorry bay, with a sorry saddle, and a large pack behind it; on which each by turn took a ride.

Of the two, one was a man of excessive stature, with red hair, a very prominent nose, and a faded military dress; while the other, an old weather-beaten, sober-looking personage, wore the costume of a civilian--both man and dress appearing to have reached the autumnal, or seedy state.