shop, put me a little out in my reckoning. 'Twas nobody but her husband, she said, so I began a fresh score - Monsieur is so good, quoth she, as he passed by us, as to give himself the trouble of feeling my pulse The husband took off his hat, and making me a bow, said I did him too much honour - and having said that, he put on his hat, and walked out.

Good God! said I to myself, as he went out, and can this man be the husband of this woman? Let it not torment the few who know what must have been the grounds of this exclamation, if I explain it to those who do not.

In London a shop-keeper and a shop-keeper's wife seem to be one bone and one flesh; in the several endowments of mind and body, some times the one, sometimes the other has it, so as in general to be upon a par, and to tally with each other as nearly as a man and wife need to do.

In Paris, there are scarce two orders of beings more different: for the legislative and executive powers of the shop not resting in the husband, he seldom comes there in some dark and dis mal room behind, he sits commerceless in his thrum night-cap, the same rough son of Nature that Nature left him.

The genius of a people where nothing but the monarchy is Salique, having ceded this depart ment, with sundry others, totally to the women by a continual higgling with customers of all ranks and sizes from morning till night, like so many rough pebbles shook together in a bag, by ami cable collisions, they have worn down their asperities and sharp angles, and not only become round and smooth, but will receive, some of them, a polish like a brilliant Monsieur le Mari is

Surely

little better than the stone under your foot surely, man! it is not good for thee to sit alone thou wast made for social intercourse and gentle greetings, and this improvement of our natures from it, I appeal to as my

evidence.

-And how does it beat, Monsieur? said she, with all the benignity, said I, looking quietly

She was going to but the lad came

in her eyes, that I expected.
say something civil in return
into the shop with the gloves
I want a couple of pairs myself.

THE GLOVES.

A propos, said I,

PARIS.

The beautiful grisette rose up when I said this, and, going behind the counter, reach'd down a parcel and untied it. I advanced to the side over against her: they were all too large. The beau tiful grisette measured them one by one across my hand it would not alter the dimensions she begg'd I would try a single pair, which seemed to be the least. - She held it open slipped into it at once. shaking my head a little the same thing.

my hand

It will not do, said I,
No, said she, doing

There are certain combined looks of simple subtlety where whim, and sense, and serious. ness, and nonsense are so blended, that all the languages of Babel set loose together could not express them; they are communicated and caught so instantaneously, that you can scarce say which party is the infector. I leave it to your men of words to swell pages about it; it is enough in the present to say again, the gloves would not do; so folding our hands within our arms, we both loll'd upon the counter- it was narrow, and there was just room for the parcel to lay between us.

The beautiful grisette look'd sometimes at the gloves, then side-ways to the window, then at the gloves and then at me. I was not disposed to break silence I followed her example; so I look'd at the gloves, then to the window, then at the gloves, and then at her; and so on alternately.

-

I found I lost considerably in every attack she had a quick black eye, and shot through two such long and silken eye-lashes with such pene tration, that she look'd into my very heart and reins. It may seem strange, but I could actual ly feel she did

It is no matter, said 1, taking up a couple of the pairs next me, and putting them into my pocket.

I was sensible the beautiful grisette had not ask'd above a single livre above the price wish'd she had ask'd a livre more, and was puzzling my brains how to bring the matter about - Do you think, my dear Sir, said she, mistaking my embarrassment, that I could ask a sous too much of a stranger and of a stranger whose polite. ness, more than his want of gloves, has done me the honour to lay himself at my mercy? croyez vous capable? - Faith! not I, said I; and if So counting you were, you are welcome the money into her hand, and with a lower bow than one generally makes to a shop.keeper's wife, I went out, and her lad with his parcel followed me.

THE TRANSLATION.

M'en

PARIS.

There was nobody in the box I was let into but a kindly old French officer. I love the character, not only because I honour the man whose manners are softened by a profession which makes bad men worse, but that I once knew one for he is no more and why should I not rescue one page from violation by writing his name in it, and telling the world it was Captain Tobias Shandy, the dearest of my flock and friends, whose philanthropy I never think of, at this long distance from his death but my eyes gush out with tears. For his sake, I have a predilection for the whole corps of veterans; and so I strode over the two back rows of benches, and placed myself beside him.

The old officer was reading attentively a small pamphlet, - it might be the book of the opera, with a large pair of spectacles. As soon as I sat down, he took his spectacles off, and putting them in a shagreen case, returned them and the book into his pocket together. I half rose up and made him a bow.

Translate this into any civilized language in the world the sense is this:

"Here's a poor stranger come into the box he seems as if he knew nobody; and is never likely, was he to be seven years in Paris, if every man he comes near keeps his spectacles upon his nose 'tis shutting the door of con⚫versation absolutely in his face and using him worse than a German.»

The French officer might as well have said it all aloud; and if he had, I should in course have put the bow I made him into French too, and told him, "I was sensible of his attention, and returned him a thousand thanks for it."

There is not a secret so aiding to the progress of sociality as to get master of this short-hand, and be quick in rendering the several turns of looks and limbs, with all their inflections and delineations, into plain words. For my own part, by long habitude, I do it so mechanically, "that when I walk the streets of London, I go translating all the way; and have more than once stood behind in the circle, where not three words have been said, and have brought off twenty different dialogues with me, which I could have fairly wrote down and sworn to.

I was going one evening to Martini's concert at Milan, and was just entering the door of the hall, when the Marquisina di F*** was coming out in a sort of a hurry she was almost upon me before I saw her; so I gave a spring to one side to let her pass she had done the same, and on the same side too; so we ran our heads together: she instantly got to the other side to get out; I was just as unfortunate as she had been ; for I had sprung to that side, and opposed her passage again We both flew together to the other side, and then back and so on it was ridiculous: we both blushed intolerably: so I did at last the thing I should have done at first stood stockstill, and the Marquisina had no more difficulty. I had no power to go into the room, till I had made her so much reparation as to wait and follow her with my eye to the end of the

So we

SO

passage she look'd back twice,and walk'd along it rather sideways, as if she would make room for any one coming up stairs to pass her. — No, said I that's a vile translation: the Marquisina has a right to the best apology I can make her: and that opening is left for me to do it in — so I ran and begged pardon for the embarrassment I had given her, saying, it was my intention to have made her way. She answered, she was guid. ed by the same intention towards me reciprocally thanked each other. She was at the top of the stairs: and seeing no cicisbeo near her, I begged to hand her to her coach we went down the stairs, stopping at every third step to talk of the concert and the adventure, Upon my word, Madam, said I, when I had handed her in, I made six different efforts to let you go out And I made six efforts, replied she, to let you enter I wish to heaven you would make a seventh, said I. my heart, said she, making room, short to be long about the forms of itso I instantly stepped in, and she carried me home with her, And what became of the concert, St. Cecilia, who, suppose, was at it, knows more

than 1.

With all Life is too

I will only add, that the connexion which arose out of the translation gave me more pleasure than any one I had the honour to make in Italy.

THE DWARF.

PARIS.

I had never heard the remark made by any one in my life, except by one; and who that was will probably come out in this chapter; so that being pretty much unprepossessed, there must have been grounds for what struck me the mo ment 1 cast my eyes over the parterre and that was, the unaccountable sport of Nature in forming such numbers of Dwarts. No doubt, she sports at certain times in almost every corner of the world; but in Paris there is no end to her amusements. -- The goddess seems almost as merry as she is wise.