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My mother had gone with her left arm twisted in my fatherвАЩs right, till they had got to the fatal angle of the old garden wall, where Doctor Slop was overthrown by Obadiah on the coach-horse: as this was directly opposite to the front of Mrs.¬†WadmanвАЩs house, when my father came to it, he gave a look across; and seeing my uncle Toby and the corporal within ten paces of the door, he turnвАЩd aboutвБ†вЄЇвАЬLet us just stop a moment, quoth my father, and see with what ceremonies my brother Toby and his man Trim make their first entryвБ†вЄЇвБ†it will not detain us, added my father, a single minute:вАЭвБ†вЄЇвБ†No matter, if it be ten minutes, quoth my mother.
вЄЇвБ†It will not detain us half one; said my father.
The corporal was just then setting in with the story of his brother Tom and the JewвАЩs widow: the story went onвБ†вАФand onвБ†вЄЇвБ†it had episodes in itвБ†вЄЇвБ†it came back, and went onвБ†вЄЇвБ†and on again; there was no end of itвБ†вЄЇвБ†the reader found it very longвБ†вЄЇвБ†
вЄЇвБ†GвБ†вЄЇ help my father! he pishвАЩd fifty times at every new attitude, and gave the corporalвАЩs stick, with all its flourishings and dangling, to as many devils as chose to accept of them.
When issues of events like these my father is waiting for, are hanging in the scales of fate, the mind has the advantage of changing the principle of expectation three times, without which it would not have power to see it out.
Curiosity governs the first moment; and the second moment is all ≈Уconomy to justify the expense of the firstвБ†вЄЇвБ†and for the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth moments, and so on to the day of judgmentвБ†вАФвАЩtis a point of Honour.
I need not be told, that the ethic writers have assigned this all to Patience; but that Virtue, methinks, has extent of dominion sufficient of her own, and enough to do in it, without invading the few dismantled castles which Honour has left him upon the earth.
My father stood it out as well as he could with these three auxiliaries to the end of TrimвАЩs story; and from thence to the end of my uncle TobyвАЩs panegyrick upon arms, in the chapter following it; when seeing, that instead of marching up to Mrs.¬†WadmanвАЩs door, they both faced about and marchвАЩd down the avenue diametrically opposite to his expectationвБ†вАФhe broke out at once with that little subacid soreness of humour which, in certain situations, distinguished his character from that of all other men.