Howheoccupiedhimself，orwhatcountrieshevisitedduringhisabsence，wasneverknown，nordidheafterwardsmakeanyallusionorencourageanyinquiriestouchinghisforeignsojourn。HeleftIrelandintheyear1742，beingthenjustofage，andwasnotheardofuntiltheyear1760——
abouteighteenyearsafterwards——atwhichtimehereturned。Hispersonalappearancewas，asmighthavebeenexpected，verygreatlyaltered，morealtered，indeed，thanthetimeofhisabsencemighthavewarrantedoneinsupposinglikely。
Buttocounterbalancetheunfavourablechangewhichtimehadwroughtinhisformandfeatures，hehadacquiredalltheadvantagesofpolishofmannerandrefinementoftastewhichforeigntravelissup-
posedtobestow。ButwhatwastrulysurprisingwasthatitsoonbecameevidentthatSirRobertwasverywealthy——
wealthytoanextraordinaryandunaccountabledegree；andthisfactwasmademanifest，notonlybyhisexpensivestyleofliving，butbyhisproceedingtodis-