CHAP. VIII.
A Receipt to regain the loſt Affections of a Wife, which hath never been known to fail in the moſt deſperate Caſes.
The Captain was made large Amends for the unpleaſant Minutes which he paſſed in the Converſation of his Wife (and which were as few as he could contrive to make them) by the pleaſant Meditations he enjoyed when alone.
Theſe Meditations were entirely employed on Mr. Allworthy’s Fortune; for firſt, he exerciſed much Thought in calculating, as well as he could, the exact Value of the whole; which Calculations he often ſaw Occaſion to alter in his own Favour: And ſecondly, and chiefly, he pleaſed himſelf with intended Alterations in the Houſe and Gardens, and in projecting many other Schemes, as well for Improvement of the Eſtate, as of the Grandeur of the Place, For this Purpoſe he applied himſelf to the Studies of Architecture and Gardening, and read over many Books on both theſe Subjects; for theſe Sciences, indeed, employed his wholeTime,
