let them both pass, and afk'd nothing. I ftood obfer. ving him half an hour, in which time he had made a dozen turns backwards and forwards, and found that he invariably pursued the fame plan 7),

There were two things very fingular in this, which fet my brain to work, and to no purpose the first was, why the man fhould only tell his story to the fex and fecondly what kind of ftory it was, and. what fpecies of eloquence it could be, which soften'd the hearts of the women, which he knew 'twas to no purpose to practise upon the men,

There were two other circumftances which entangled this mystery the one was, he told every woman what he had to fay in her ear and in a way which had much more the air of a fecret than a petition the other was, it was always fuccessful never ftopp'd a woman; but fhe pull'd out her purfe; and immediately gave him fomething.

- he

I could form no fyftem to explain the pheno

menon.

I had got a riddle to amufe me for the rest of the evening; fo 1 walk'd up ftairs to my chamber.

6) before he afked

charity. S. Cap. 33. Not. 6.
7) he invariably pur-

fued the fame plan,, Er
beobachtete unveränderlich den

讀

L 3
Plan. "

THE

Nehmlich: dafs ter

nur Frauenzimmer und nicht

eine einzige Mannsperfon anfprach.

THE CASE OF CONSCIENCE,

PARIS.

LV.

I was immediately followed up by the mafter of the hotel, who came into my room to tell me I must pròvide lodgings elsewhere. How fo, friend? faid I. — He answer'd, I had had a young woman lock'd up with me two hours that evening in my bedchamber, and "twas against the rules of his houfe. Very well, said I, we'll all part friends then for the girl is no wor- and you will be just as I found

fe and I am no worse

you. It was enough, he faid, to overthrow the credit of his hotel. Voyez vous, Monfieur, faid he, pointing to the foot of the bed we had been fitting upon. I own it had fomething of the appea, rance of an evidence; but my pride not fuffering me to enter into any detail of the cafe, I exhorted him to let his foul fleep in peace, as I refolved to let mine do that night, and that I would discharge what I owed him at breakfast.

I should not have minded, Monfieur, said he, if you *) had had twenty girls 1) - 'Tis a score more, replied I, interrupting him, than I ever reckon'd upon →→→ Provided, added he, it had been but in a morning, And does the difference of the time of the day at Paris make a difference in the fin? It made a difference, he faid, in the fcandal. I like a good diftinction in my heart; and cannot fay I was intolerably out of tem

1) If you had had twenty girls. Hieraus und aus dem folgenden fieht man, dafs der Wirth nicht des Mäd chens halber auf Yorick böse

per

war und ihn ausziehen hiefs, fondern weil er keine von den Gefchöpfen, die er im Solde hatte, bey fich gehabt und ihr etwas abgekauft hatte,

per with the man, I own it is neceffary, re- affu med the mafter of the hotel, that a ftranger at Paris fhould have the opportunities prefented to him of buying. lace and filk ftockings and ruffles, et tout cela and 'tis nothing if a woman comes with a bandbox. O' my conscience 2), faid I, fhe had one; but I never look'd into it. Then, Monfieur, faid he, has Not one earthly thing, replied

bought nothing.

I. - Because, faid he, I could recommend one to you who would use you en confcience 3).

muft fee her this night, faid I.

bow and walk'd down.

But I

He made me a low

Now fhall I triumph over this maitre d'hotel,

cried I and what then?

I know he is a dirty fellow.

Then I fhall let him fee

And what then?

What then! ➡ I was too near myfelf to fay it was for the fake of others). I had no good answer left there was more of spleen than principle in my project, and I was fick of it before the execution.

In a few minutes the Griffet came in with her box of lace I'll buy nothing however, faid I, within myfelf.

The Griffet would fhew me every thing I was hard to please: fhe would not feem to fee it; fhe

open'd

4) I was to near my felf to fay it was for the fa ke of others. Um dem Wirthe zu zeigen, dafs er ein fchmutziger Mensch fey, und deshalb anszuziehen wäre nicht vernünftig gewefen. Er wäre dadurch nicht beffer geworden und ich hätte die Umstände und die üble Nachrede davon gehabt.

open'd her little magazine, and laid all her laces one after another before me - unfolded and folded them up again one by one with the most patient fweetness - I might buy or not he would let me have every thing at my own price the poor creature feem'd anxious to get a penny; and laid herself out to win me, and not fo much in a manner which feem'd artful, as in one 1 felt fimple and careffing.

-

If there is not a fund of honeft cullibility in man, fo much the worfe my heart relented; and I gave up my fecond refolution as quietly as, the first

Why fhould I chaftife one for the trefpafs of another? If thou art tributary to this tyrant of an hoft, thought I, looking up in her face, fo much harder is thy bread.

If I had not had more than four Louis d'ors in my purfe, there was no fuch thing as rifing up and Thewing her the door, till I had firft laid three of them out in a pair of ruffles.

with her - no matter

The master of the hotel will fhare the profit then I have only paid as many a poor foul has paid before me for an act he could not do, or think of.

THE RIDDLE.

PARIS.:

LVI.

When La Fleur came up to wait upon me a fupper, he told me how forry the mafter of the hotel was) for his affront to me in bidding me change my lodgings.

A man who values a good night's reft will not laye down with enmity in his heart if he can help it

So I bid La Fleur tell the mafter of the hotel, that I was forry on my fide for the occafion I had given him and you may tell him, if you will, La Fleur, added I, that if the young woman fhould call again, I fhall not fee her.

This was a facrifice not to him, but myfelf, having refolved, after fo narrow an escape, to run no more rifks, but to leave Paris, if it was poffible with all the virtue I enter'd it.

C'est déroger à la nobleffe, Monfieur, faid La Fleur, making me a bow down to the ground as he said it Et encore Monfieur, faid he, may change his fentiments and if (par hazard) he fhould like to amufe himfelf 2) I find no amusement in it, faid I, interrupting him

Mon Dieu! faid La Fleur

and took away.

me to bed, and fomething hung

In an hour's time he came to put was more than commonly officious upon his lips to say to me, or afk me, which he could not get off: I could not conceive what it was; and indeed gave myself little trouble to find it out, as I had another riddle fo much more interefting upon my mind, which was that of the man's afking charity before the door of the hotel I would have given any thing to have got to the bottom of it; and that, not out of cu riofity 'tis fo low a principle of enquiry 3), in ge neral

Wie leid es dem Wirthe thä te, Die Wirkung der drøy Louis d'or!

2) to amufe himfelf Wenn Sie Luft haben follten dem Wirthe einen Poffen für feine Grobheit zu spielen, fo

L 5

könnten Sie ausziehen und nun würde er fich erft ärgern, meynt La Fleur damit,

3) 'tis folow a prin ciple of enquiry. Daffel be fiehe Cap. 45. Not, 5,