qu'oui-he could make fpatterdalhes, and play a little upon the fiddle--Bravo! faid Wisdom Why, I play a bafs myself, faid I-we shall do very well. You can fhave, and drefs a wig a little, La Fleur?--He had all the difpofitions in the world-It is enough for heaven! faid I, interrupting him-and ought to be enough for me So fupper coming in, and having a frisky English fpaniel on one fide of my chair, and a French valet, with as much hilarity in his countenance as ever nature painted in one, or the other-I was fatisfied to my heart's content with my empire; and if monarchs knew what they would be at, they might be as fatisfied as I was.

MONTRI UL.

S La Fleur went the whole tour of France and Italy with me, and will be often upon the stage, I must intereft the reader a little further in his behalf, by faying, that I had never lefs reafon to repent of the impulfes which generally do determine me, than in regard to this fellow-he was a faithful, affectionate, fimple fout as ever trudged after the heels of a philofopher; and notwithstanding his talents of drum-beating and fpatterdash-making, which, though very good in themfelves, happen'd to be of no great fervice to me, yet was I hourly recompenced by the feftivity of his temper-it fupplied all defects-I had a conftant refource in his looks in all difficulties and diftreffes of my own-I was going to have added, of his too; but La Fleur was out of the reach of every thing; for whether 'twas hunger or thirft, or cold or nakedness, or watchings, or whatever ftripes of ill luck La Fleur met with in our journeyings, there was no index in his phyfiognomy to

point them out by-he was eternally the fame; fo that if I am a piece of a philofopher, which Satan now and then puts it into my head I am-it always mortifies the pride of the conceit, by reflecting how much I owe to the complexional philofophy of this poor fellow, for fhaming me into one of a better kind. With all this, La Fleur had a finall caft of the coxcomb-but he feemed at firft fight to be more a coxcomb of nature than of art; and before I had been three days in Paris with him-he feemed to be no coxcomb at all.

TH

MONTRI UL.

HE next morning La Fleur entering upon his employment, I delivered to him the key of my portmanteau, with an inventory of my half a dozen fhirts and filk pair of breeches; and bid him fasten all upon the chaife-get the horfes put to-and defire the landlord to come in with his>> bill

C'est un garçon du bonne fortune, faid the landlord, pointing through the window to half a dozen wenches who had got round about La Fleur, and were mon kindly taking their leave of him, as the poftilion was leading out the horses. La Fleur kiffed all their hands round and round again, and thrice he wiped his eyes, and thrice he promised he would bring them all pardons from Rome.

The young fellow, faid the landlord, is beloved by all the town, and there is fcarce a corner in Montriul where the want of him will not be felt : he has but one misfortune in the world, continued he, "He is always in love."I am heartily glad of it, faid I—'twill fave me the trouble every night

D2

of+

of putting my breeches under my head. In faying this, I was making not fo much La Fleur's eloge, as my own, having been in love with one princefs or another almost all my life, and I hope I fhall go on fo till I die, being firmly perfuaded, that if ever I do a mean action, it must be in fome interval be twixt one paffion and another: while this interregnum lafts, I always perceive my heart locked up I can scarce find in it to give Mifery a fixpence, and therefore I always get out of it as fast as I can; and the moment I am rekindled, I am all generofity and good will again, and would do a ny thing in the world either for, or with any one, if they will but fatisfy me there is no fin in it.

-But in faying this-furely I am commending the paffion-not myself.

A FRAGMENT.

-THE town of Abdera, notwithstanding Democritus lived there trying all the powers of irony and laughter to reclaim it, was the vileft and moft profligate town in all Thrace. What for poifons, confpiracies, and affaffinations-libels, pafqui nades, and tumults, there was no going there by day 'twas worfe by night.

:

Now, when things were at the worst, it came to pafs, that the Andromeda of Euripides being reprefented at Abdera, the whole orchestra was de lighted with it but of all the paffages which delighted them, nothing operated more upon their imaginations, than the tender ftrokes of nature which the poet had wrought up in that pathetic fpeech of Perfeus;

Cupid! prince of God and mèn, &c.

Every man almoft fpoke pure iambics the next day, and talk'd of nothing but Perfeus his pathetic addrefs. "Cupid! prince of God and men"

-in every ftreet of Abdera, in every house→→→ "O Cupid! Cupid!"-in every mouth, like the natural notes of fome fweet melody which drops from it whether it will or no-nothing but " Cu

pid! Cupid! prince of God and men". The fire caught-and the whole city, like the heart of one man, open'd itself to Love.

No pharmacopolift could fell one grain of hele bore-not a fingle armourer had a heart to forge one inftrument of death-Friendship and Virtue met together, and kifs'd each other in the street— the golden age return'd and hung over the town of Abdera-every Abderite took his oaten pipe, and every Abderitish woman left her purple web, and chately fat her down and liften'd to the fong

'Twas only in the power, fays the Fragment, of the God whole empire extendeth from heaven to earth, and even to the depths of the fea, to have done this.

MONTRI UL

Weed and paid for in the inn, uniefs you are a

7HEN all is ready, and every article is difpu THEN

little four'd by the adventure, there is always a matter to compound at the door, before you can get into your chaife; and that is with the fons and daughters of poverty, who furround you. Let no man fay," let them go to the devil"-'tis a cruel

D 3

journey

journey to fend a few miferables, and they have had fufferings enow without it: I always think it better to take a few fous out in my hand, and I would counsel every gentle traveller to do fo likewife; he need not be fo exact in setting down his motives for giving them they will be register'd elsewhere.

For my own part, there is no man gives fo little as I do; for few that I know have fo little to give: but as this was the first public act of my charity in France, I took the more notice of it.

A well a way! faid I. I have but eight fous in the world, fhewing them in my hand, and there are eight poor men and eight poor women for

'em.

A poor tatter'd foul, without a fhirt on, inftantly withdrew his claim, by retiring two fteps out of the circle, and making a disqualifying bow on his part. Had the whole parterre cried out, Place aux dames, with one voice, it would not have conveyed the fentiment of a deference for the fex with half the effect.

Juft heaven! for what wife reafons haft thou order'd it, that beggary and urbanity, which are at fuch variance in other countries, fhould find a way to be at unity in this?

-I infifted upon prefenting him with a single fous, merely for his politele.

A poor little dwarfish brifk fellow, who flood over against me in the circle, putting fomething first under his arm, which had once been a hat, took his fauff-box out of his pocket, and generously offer'd a pinch on both fides of him: it was a gift of confequence, and modeftly declined--The poor little fellow prefs'd it upon them with a ned

of