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refining, that our court at present is so full of patriots, who wish for nothing but the honours and wealth of their country; and our ladies are all so chaste, so spotless, so good, so devout-there is nothing for a jester to make a jest of.”

"Voila un persiflage!" cried the Count.

THE PASSPORT.

VERSAILLES.

As the passport was directed to all lieutenantgovernors, governors, and commandants of cities, generals of armies, justiciaries, and all officers of justice, to let Mr. Yorick, the King's jester, and his baggage, travel quietly along,— I own the triumph of obtaining the passport was not a little tarnished by the figure I cut in it. But there is nothing unmixed in this world; and some of the gravest of our divines

have carried it so far as to affirm, that enjoyment itself was attended with a sigh; and that the greatest they knew of terminated, in a general way, in little better than a convulsion.

I remember the grave and learned Bevoris

kius, in his " Commentary upon the Genera

tions from Adam," very naturally breaks off in the middle of a note, to give an account to the world of a couple of sparrows upon the out edge of his window, which had incommoded him all the time he wrote, and at last had entirely taken him off from his genealogy.

"but

—“'Tis strange !" writes Bevoriskius ; the facts are certain, for I have had the curiosity to mark them down one by one with my pen; but the cock-sparrow, during the little time. that I could have finished the other half of this note, has actually interrupted me, with the reiteration of his caresses, three and twenty times and a half.

'How merciful," adds Bevoriskius, "is Heaven to His creatures!"

Ill-fated Yorick! that the gravest of thy

brethren should be able to write that to the world, which stains thy face with crimson to copy, even in thy study.

But this is nothing to my travels; so I twice -twice beg pardon for it.

CHARACTER.

VERSAILLES.

"AND how do you find the French?" said the

Count de B

passport.

after he had given me the

The reader may suppose, that after so obliging a proof of courtesy, I could not be at a loss to say something handsome to the inquiry.

-“Mais passe, pour cela.—Speak frankly,” said he "do you find all the urbanity in the French which the world give us the honour of?"

"I had found everything," I said, "which confirmed it."

“Vraiment,” said the Count, "les François sont polis."

"To an excess," replied I.

The Count took notice of the word excess; and would have it I meant more than I said. I defended myself a long time as well as I could against it: he insisted I had a reserve, and that I would speak my opinion frankly.

"I believe, Monsieur le Count," said I, "that man has a certain compass as well as an instrument; and that the social and other calls have occasion by turns for every key in him; so that if you begin a note too high or too low, there must be a want either in the upper or under part, to fill up the system of harmony."

The Count de B- did not understand music, so desired me to explain it in some other way.

"A polished nation, my dear Count," said I, "makes every one its debtor; and besides, urbanity itself, like the fair sex, has so many charms, it goes against the heart to say it can

do ill; and yet, I believe, there is but a certain line of perfection that man, take him altogether, is empowered to arrive at: if he gets beyond, he rather exchanges qualities than gets them. I must not presume to say how far this has affected the French, in the subject we are speaking of; but, should it ever be the case of the English, in the progress of their refinements, to arrive at the same polish which distinguishes the French, if we did not lose the politesse du cœur, which inclines men more to humane actions than courteous ones, we should at least lose that distinct variety and originality of character, which distinguishes them, not only from each other, but from all the world besides."

I had a few of King William's shillings, as smooth as glass, in my pocket; and foreseeing they would be of use in the illustration of my hypothesis, I had got them into my hand when I had proceeded so far:

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:

'See, Monsieur le Count," said I, rising up, and laying them before him upon the table;

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by jingling and rubbing one against another

for seventy years together in one body's pocket

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