A FRAGMENT. -THE town of Abdera, notwithstanding Democritus lived there, trying all the powers of irony and laughter to reclaim it, was the vilest and most profligate town in all Thrace. What for poisons, conspiracies, and assassinations-libels, pasquinades, and tumults, there was no going there by day 'twas worse by night. Now, when things were at the worst, it came to pass that the Andromede of Euripides being represented at Abdera, the whole orchestra was delighted with it: but, of all the passages which delighted them, nothing operated more upon their imaginations than the tender strokes of nature which the poet had wrought up in that pathetic speech of Perseus, O Cupid, prince of gods and men, &c. Every man almost spoke pure iambics the next day, and talked of nothing but Perseus his pathetic address-"O Cupid! prince of gods and men!"-in every street of Abdera, in every house "O Cupid! Cupid!"-in every mouth, like the natural notes of some sweet melody which drop from it, whether it will or no,-nothing but "Cupid! Cupid! prince of gods and men!"The fire caught--and the whole city, like the heart of one man, opened itself to Love. No pharmacopolist could sell one grain of hellebore-not a single armourer had a heart to forge one instrument of deathFriendship and Virtue met together, and kiss'd each other in the street; the golden age returned, and hung over the town of Abdera; every Abderite took his oaten pipe, and every Abderitish woman left her purple web, and chastely sat her down, and listened to the song. 'Twas only in the power, says the Fragment, of the God, whose empire extendeth from heaven to earth, and even to the depths of the sea, to have done this. MONTREUIL. WHEN all is ready, and every article is disputed and paid for in the inn, unless you are a little soured by the adventure, there is always a matter to compound at the door, before you can get into your chaise; and that is with the sons and daughters of poverty et them go to the who surround you. Let no man say, devil"-'tis a cruel journey to send a few miserables, and they have had sufferings enow without it: I always think it better to take a few sous out in my hand; and I would counsel every gentle traveller to do so likewise: he need not be so exact in setting down his motives for giving themthey will be registered elsewhere. For my own part, there is no man gives so little as I do; for few that I know have so 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-away! said I,-I have but eight sous in the world, showing them in my hand, and there are eight poor men and eight poor women for 'em. A poor tatter'd soul, without a shirt on, instantly withdrew his claim, by retiring two steps 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 sentiment of a deference for the sex with half the effect. Just Heaven! for what wise reasons hast thou ordered it, that beggary and urbanity, which are at such variance in other countries, should find a way to be at unity in this. -I insisted upon presenting him with a single sous, merely for his politesse. A poor little dwarfish brisk fellow, who stood over against me in the circle, putting something first under his arm, which had once been a hat, took his snuff-box out of his pocket, and generously offered a pinch on both sides of him: it was a gift of consequence, and modesty declined. The poor little fellow pressed it upon them with a nod of welcomeness.-Prenez en-en prenez, said he, looking another way; so they each took a pinch.-Pity thy box should ever want one! said I to myself; so I put a couple of sous into it-taking a small pinch out of his box, to enhance their value, as I did it. He felt the weight of the second obligation more than that of the first,'twas doing him an honour-the other was only doing him a charity-and he made me a bow down to the ground for it. -Here! said I to an old soldier with one hand, who had been campaigned and worn out to death in the service-here's a couple of sous for thee.-Vive le roi! said the old soldier. I had then but three sous left: so I gave one simply pour l'amour de Dieu, which was the footing on which it was begged. The poor woman had a dislocated hip; so it could not be well upon any other motive. Mon cher et très charitable monsieur.There's no opposing this, said I. Milord Anglois; the very sound was worth the money-so I gave my last sous for it. But in the eagerness of giving, I had overlooked a pauvre honteux, who had had no one to ask a sous for him, and who, I believe, would have perished, ere he could have asked one for himself: he stood by the chaise a little without the circle, and wiped a tear from a face which I thought had seen better days.-Good God! said I-and I have not one single sous left to give him. But you have a thousand! cried all the powers of nature, stirring within me; so I gave him-no matter what I am ashamed to say how much now-and was ashamed to think how little then so, if the reader can form any conjecture of my disposition, as these two fixed points are given him, he may judge within a livre or two what was the precise sum. I could afford nothing for the rest, but Dieu vous bénisse.-Et le bon Dieu vous bé nisse encore, said the old soldier, the dwarf, &c. The pauvre honteur could say nothing; he pulled out a little handkerchief, and wiped his face as he turned away -and I thought he thanked me more than they all. THE BIDET. HAVING settled all these little matters, I got into my post-chaise with more ease than ever I got into a post-chaise in my life; and La Fleur having one large jackboot on the far side of a little bidet, and another on this (for I count nothing of his legs)-he cantered away before me as happy and as perpendicular as a prince. But what is happiness! what is grandeur in this painted scene of life! A dead ass, before we had got a league, put a sudden stop to La Fleur's career;-his bidet would not pass by it,-a contention arose betwixt them, and the poor fellow was kicked out of his jack-boots the very first kick. La Fleur bore his fall like a French Christian, saying neither more nor less upon it, than Diable! so presently got up, and came to the charge again astride his bidet, beating him up to it as he would have beat his drum. The bidet flew from one side of the road to the other, then back again-then this way, then that way, and in short, every * Post-horse. |