But as these were not to be had in France, I resolved to take every evil just as it befel me, without any exclamation at all.

La Fleur, who had made no such covenant with himself, followed the b'det with his eyes, till it was got out of sight -and then, you may imagine, if you please, with what word he closed the whole affair.

As there was no hunting down a frightened horse in jack-boots, there remained no alternative but taking La Fleur either behind the chaise, or into it.

I prefered the latter, and in half an hour we got to the post-house at Nampont..

NAMPONT.

THE DEAD ASS.

-And this, said he, putting the remains of a crust into his wallet and this should have been thy portion, said he, hadst thou been alive to have shared it with me. -I thought, by the accent, it had been an apostrophe to his child; but 'twas to his ass, and to the very ass we had seen dead in the road, which had occasioned La Fleur's misadventure. The mau seemed to lament it much; and it instantly brought into my mind Sancho's lamentation for his: but he did it with more true touches of nature.

The mourner was sitting upon a stone bench at the door, with the ass's pannel and its bridle on one side, which he took up from time to time-then laid them down-looked at them, and shook his head, He then took his crust of bread out of his wallet again, as if to eat it; held it some time in his hand-then laid it upon the bit of his ass's bridle-looked wistfully at the little arrangement he had made-and then gave a sigh.

The simplicity of his grief drew numbers about him, and La Fleur amongst the rest, whilst the horses were getting ready; as I continued sitting in the post-chaise, I could see and hear over their heads.

-He said he had come last from Spain, where he had

been from the furthest borders of Franconia; and had got so far on his return home, when his ass died. Every one seemed desirous to know what business could have taken so old and poor a man so far a journey from his own home.

It had pleased Heaven, he said, to bless him with three sons, the finest lads in all Germany; but having in one week lost two of the eldest of them by the small-pox, and the youngest falling ill of the same distemper, he was afraid of being bereft of them all; and made a vow, if Heaven would not take him from him also; he would go, in gratitude, to St. Iago in Spain.

When the mourner got thus far on his story, he stopped to pay nature her tribute-and wept bitterly.

He said, Heaven had accepted the conditions; and that he had set out from his cottage with this poor creature who had been a patient partner of his journey-that it had eat the same bread with him all the way, and was unto him as a friend.

Every body who stood about, heard the poor fellow with concern-La Fleur offered him money-The mourner said. he did not want it-it was not the value of the ass -but the loss of him-The ass, he said, he was assured, loved him and upon this told them a long story of a mischance upon their passage over the Pyrenean mountains, which had separated them from each other three days; during which time, the ass had sought him as much as he had sought the ass, and that they had neither scarce eat or drank till they met.

Thou hast one comfort, friend, said I, at least, in the loss of thy poor beast; I'm sure thou hast been a merciful master to him.-Alas! said the mourner, I thought so, when he was alive-but now that he is dead, I think otherwise.-I fear the weight of myself and my afflictions together have been too much for him—they have shortened the poor creature's days, and I fear I have them to answer for.-Shame on the world! said I to myself-did we love each other, as this poor soul but loved his ass-'twould be something.

NAMPONT,

THE POSTILLION.

The concern which the poor fellow's story threw me into, required some attention: the postillion paid not the least to it, but set off upon the pave in a full gallop.

The thirtiest soul in the most sandy desart of Arabia could not have wished more for a cup of cold water, than mine did for grave and quiet movements; and I should have had an high opinion of the postillion, had he but stolen off with me in something like a pensive pace.On the contrary, as the mourner finished his lamentation, the fellow gave an unfeeling lash to each of his beasts, and set off clattering like a thousand devils.

go

I called to him as loud as I could, for heaven's sake to slower and the louder I called, the more, unmercifully he galloped.-The deuce take him and his galloping too -said I-he'll go on tearing my nerves to pieces, till he has worked me into a foolish passion, and then he'll go slow, that I may enjoy the sweets of it.

The postillion managed the point to a miracle; by the time he had got to the foot of a steep hill, about half a league from Nampont, he had put me out of temper with him-and then with myself, for being so.

My case then required a different treatment; and a good rattling gallop would have been of real service to me-Then, prithee, get on-get on, my good lad, said I.

The postillion pointed to the hill—I then tried to return back to the story of the poor German and his ass-but I had broke the cluc-and could no more get into it again, than the postillion could into a trot.

--The deuce go, said I, with it all! Here am I sitting as candidly disposed to make the best of the worst, as ever wight was, and all runs counter.

There is one sweet lenitive at least for evils, which Nature holds out to us; so I took it kindly at her hands, and

fell asleep; and the first word which roused me was

Amiens.

-Bless me! said I, rubbing my eyes-this is the very town where my poor lady is to come.

AMIENS.

The words were scarce out of my mouth, when the count de L's post-chaise, with his sister in it, drove hastily by she had just time to make me a bow of recognition and of that particular kind of it, which told me she had not yet done with me. She was as good as her look; for, before I had quite finished my supper, her brother's servant came into the room with a billet, in which, she said, she had taken the liberty to charge me with a letter, which I was to present myself to Madame R—the first morning I had nothing to do at Paris. There was only added, she was sorry, but from what penchant she had notconsidered, that she had been prevented telling me her story that she still owed it me; and if my route should ever lay through Brussels, and I had not by then forgot the name of Madame de L-that Madame de Lwould be glad to discharge her obligation.

Then I will meet thee, said I, fair spirit! at Brussels 'tis only returning from Italy through Germany to Holland, by the route of Flanders, home 'twill scarce be ten posts out of my way; but were it ten thousand with what a moral delight will it crown my journey, in sharing in the sickening incidents of a tale of misery told to me by such a sufferer! to see her weep! and though I cannot dry up the fountain of her tears, what an exquisite sensation is there still left, in wiping them away from off the cheeks of the first and fairest of women, as I'm sitting with my handkerchief in my hand in silence the whole night bcside her!

There was nothing wrong in the sentiment; and yet I instantly reproached my heart with it in the bitterest and most reprobate of the expressions.

It had ever, as I told the reader, been one of the sin

gular blessings of my life, to be almost every hour of it miserably in love with some one; and my last flame happening to be blown out by a whiff of jealousy on the sudden turn of a corner, I had lighted it up afresh at the pure taper of Eliza but about three months before swearing,

as I did it, that it should last me through the whole journey-Why should I dissemble the matter? I had sworn to her eternal fidelity-she had a right to my whole heart -to divide my affections was to lessen them-to expose them was to risk them: where there is risk, there may be loss-and what wilt thou have, Yorick! to answer to a heart so full of trust and confidence-so good, so gentle and unreproaching?

-I will not go to Brussels, replied I, interrupting myself-but my imagination went on-I recalled her looks at that crisis of our separation, when neither of us had power to say adieu! I looked at the picture she had tied in a black riband about my neck—and blushed as I looked at it-I would have given the world to have kissed it—but was ashamed-And shall this tender flower, said I, pressing it between my hands-shall it be smitten to its very root-and smilten, Yorick! by thee, who hast promised to shelter it in thy breast?

Eternal fountain of happiness! said I, kneeling down upon the ground-be thou my witness-and ever pure spirit which tastes it, be my witness also, that I would not travel to Brussels, unless Eliza went along with me did the road lead me towards heaven.

In transports of this kind, the heart, in spite of the understanding, will always say too much.

THE LETTR.

AMIENS.

Fortune had not smiled upon La Fleur; for he had been unsuccessful in his feats of chivalry-and not one thing had offered to signalize his zeal for my service from the time he had entered into it, which was almost four and