Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

W

THE

FILLE DE CHAMBRE.

PARIS.

HAT the old French officer had delivered upon travelling, bringing Polonius's advice to his son upon the same subject into my head-and that bringing in Hamlet; and Hamlet the rest of Shakespear's works, I stopp'd at the Quai de Conti in my return home, to purchase the whole set.

The bookseller said he had not a set in the world-Comment! said I; taking one up out of a set which lay upon the counter betwixt us. -He said, they were sent him only to be got bound, and were to be sent back to Versailles in the morning to the Count de B****.

-And does the Count de B ****, said I, read Shakespear? C'est un Esprit fort, replied the bookseller. He loves Engasin books; and what is more to his honour, Monsieur, he love the English too. You speak this so civilly, said I, that 'tis enough to oblige an Englishman to lay out a Louis d'or or two at your shop-The bookseller made a bow, and was going to say something, when a young decent girl of about twenty, who by her air and dress seemed to be fille de chambre to some devout woman of fashion, came into the shop and asked for Les Egarments du Cœur & de l'Esprit: the bookseller gave her the book directly; she pulled out a little green sattin purse run round with a ribband of the same colour, and putting her finger and thumb into it, she took out the money, and paid for it. As I had nothing more to stay me in the shop, we both walked out at the door together.

-And what have you to do, my dear, said I, with The Wanderings of the Heart, who scarce know yet you have one? nor, till Love has first told you it, or some faithless shepherd has made it ache, can'st thou ever be sure it is so. La Dieu m'en guard! said the girl. With reason, said I-for if it is a good one, 'tis pity it should be stolen: 'tis a little treasure to thee, and gives a better air to your face, than if it was dress'd out with pearls.

The young girl listened with a submissive attention, holding her sattin purse by its ribband in her hand all the time-'Tis a very small one, said I, taking hold of the bottom of it she held it towards me-and there is very little in it, my dear, said I; but be but as good as thou art handsome, and heaven will fill it: I had a parcel of crowns in my hand to pay for Shakespear; and as she had let go the purse intirely, I put a single one in; and tying up the ribband in a bow-knot, returned it to her.

The young girl made me more a humble courtesy than a low one-'twas one of those quiet, thankful sinkings where the spirit bows itself down-the body does no more than tell it. I never gave a girl a crown in my life which gave me half the pleasure.

My advice, my dear, would not have been worth a pin to you, said I, if I had not given this along with it: but now, when you see the crown, you'll remember it;-so don't, my dear, lay it out in ribbands.

Upon my word, Sir, said the girl, earnestly, I am incapable in saying which, as is usual in little bargains of honour, she gave me her hand -En verité, Monsieur, je mettrai cet argent apart, said she.

When a virtuous convention is made betwixt man and woman, it sanctifies their most private walks: so notwithstanding it was dusky, yet, as both our roads lay the same way, we made no scruple of walking along the Quai de Conti together.

She made me a second courtesy in setting off, and before we got twenty yards from the door, as if she had not done enough before, she made a sort of a little stop to tell me again-she thank'd me.

It was a small tribute, I told her, which I could not avoid paying to virtue, and would not be mistaken in the person I had been rendering it to for the world-but I see innocence, my dear, in your face and foul befal the man who ever lays a snare in its way!

The girl seem'd affected some way or other with what I said she gave a low sigh-I found I was not impowered to enquire at all after itso said nothing more till I got to the corner of the Rue de Nevers, where we were to part.

-But, is this the way, my dear, said I, to the

« ZurückWeiter »