1 faces without faying a word. Whilft this lafted, the monk rubb'd his horn box upon the fleeve of his tunick; and as foon as it had acquired a little air of brightness by the friction he made a low bow, and faid, 'twas too late to fay whether it was the weakness or goodness of our tempers which had involved us in this conteft but be it as it would - he begg'd we might exchange boxes In faying this, he prefented his to me with one hand, as he took mine from me in the other; and having kiffed it with a ftream of good-nature in his eyes he put it into his bofom and took his leave. I guard this box, as I would the inftrumental parts of my religion, to help my mind on to fomething better in truth, I feldom go abroad without it: and oft and many a time have I called up by it the courteous fpirit of its owner to regulate my own, in the juftlings of the world; they had found full employment for his, as I learnt from his story, till about the forty-fifth year of his age, when upon fome military services ill requited, and meeting at the fame time with a disappointment in the tendereft of paffions, he abandoned the fword and the fex together, and took fanctuary, not fo much in his convent as in himself. I feel a damp upon my fpirits, as I am going to add, that in my last return through Calais, upon inquiring after Father Lorenzo, I heard he had been dead near three months, and was buried, not in his convent, but, according to his defire, in a little cemetery belonging to it, about two leagues off: I had a strong defire to fee where they had laid him when, upon pulling out his little horn box, as I fat by his grave, and plucking up a nettle or two at the head of it, which had no bufinefs to grow there, they all ftruck together fo forcibly upon my affections, that I burst into a flood of tears - but I am as weak as a woman; and I beg the world not to smile, but pity me. THE REMISE DOOR. CALAI S. I Had never quitted the lady's hand all this time; and had held it fo long, that it would have been indecent to have let it go, without firft preffing it to my lips: the blood and fpirits, which had fuffered a revulfion from her, crowded back to her, as I did it. Now the two travellers, who had spoke to me in the coach-yard, happening at that crifis to be paffing by, and obferving our communications naturally took it into their heads that we must be man and wife, at least; so stopping as soon as they came up to the door of the Remife, the one of them, who was the inquifitive traveller, ask'd us, if we fet out for Paris the next morning? - I could only anfwer for myself I faid; and the lady added, she was for Amiens- We dined there yefterday, faid the fimple traveller-You go directly through the town, added the other, in your road to Paris. 6 I was going to return a thousand thanks for the intelligence, that Amiens was in the road to Paris; but upon pulling out my poor monk's little horn-box to take a pinch of fnuff I made them a quiet bow, and wifhed them a good paffage to Dover- they left us alone Now where would be the harm, faid I to myself, if I was to beg of this diftreffed lady to accept of half of my chaife? and what mighty mifchief could enfue? Every dirty paffion, and bad propenfity in my nature, took the alarm, as I ftated the propofition It will oblige you to have a third horfe, faid AVARICE, which will put twenty livres out of your pocket You know not who fhe is, faid CAUTION or what scrapes the affair may draw you into, whisper'd COWARDICE Depend upon it, Yorick! faid DISCRETION, 'twill be faid you went off with a mistress, and came by affignation to Calais for that purpose. -You can never after, cried HYPOCRISY aloud, fhew your face in the world-or rife, quoth MEANNESS, in the church or be any thing in it, faid PRIDE, but a loufy prebendary. But 'tis a civil thing, faid I-and as I generally act from the firft impulfe, and therefore feldom liften to thefe cabals, which ferve no purpose, that I know of, but to encompass the heart with adamant-I turn'd inftantly about to the lady -But the had glided off unperceived, as the cause was pleading, and had made ten or a dozen paces down the street, by the time I had made the determination; fo I fet off after her with a long ftride, to make her the proposal with the best address I was master of; but observing she walk'd with her cheek half refting upon the palm of her hand-with the flow, fhort meafur'd step of thoughtfulness, and with her eyes, as fhe went ftep by step, fix'd upon the ground, it ftruck me, she was trying the fame cause herself, God help her! faid I, The has fome mother-in-law or tartufish aunt, or nonfenfical old woman, to confult upon the occafion, as well as myself: fo not caring to interrupt the process, and deeming it more gallant to take her at difcretion than by surprise, I faced about, and took a fhort turn or two before the door of the Remife, whilft fhe walk'd mufing on one fide. IN THE STREET. CALAI S. HAVING, on first fight of the lady, fettled the affair in my fancy," that he was of the better "order of beings"and then laid it down as a fecond axiom, as indifputable as the first, "that she was a widow, and wore a character of distress "I went no further; I got ground enough for the fituation which pleased me-and had the remained close beside my elbow till midnight, I should have held true to my fyftem, and confidered her only under that general idea. She had fcarce got twenty paces distant from me, ere fomething within me called out for a more particular inquiry-it brought on the idea of a further feparation-I might poffibly never see her more-the heart is for faving what it can; and I wanted the traces thro' which my wifhes might find their way to her, in cafe I should never rejoin. her myself: in a word, I wish'd to know her name -her family's her condition; and as I knew the place to which fhe was going, I wanted to know from whence fhe came: but there was no coming at all this intelligence; a hundred little delicacies stood in the way. I form'd a score different plans There was no fuch thing as a man's alking her directly the thing was impoffible. A little French débonnaire captain, who came dancing down the street, fhewed me, it was the easiest thing in the world; for popping in betwixt us, juft as the lady was returning back to the door of the Remife, he introduced himself to my acquaintance, and before he had well got announced, begg'd I would do him the honor to prefent him to the lady-I had not been prefented myselffo turning about to her, he did it just as well by afking her, if fhe had come from Paris? No: fhe was going that route, fhe faid.-Vous n'êtes pas de Londres? She was not, fhe replied. Then Madame must have come through Flanders Apparem |