said La Fleur: so laying down his hat upon the ground, and taking hold of the flap of his right side pocket with his left hand, he began to search for the letter with his right;-then contrariwise.-Diable! then sought every pocket-pocket by pocket, round, not forgetting his fob :Peste!-then La Fleur emptied them upon the floor-pulled out a dirty cravat-a handkerchief-a comb-a whip lash-a night cap-then gave a peep into his hatQuelle étourderie! He had left the letter upon the table in the auberge he would run for it, and be back with it in three minutes.

I had just finished my supper when La Fleur came in to give me an account of his adventure: he told me the whole story simply as it was: and only added that if Monsieur had forgot (par hazard) to answer Madame's letter, the arrangement gave him an opportunity to recover the faux pas-and if not, that things were only as they were.

Now I was not altogether sure of my étiquette, whether I ought to have wrote or no-but if I had a devil himself could not have been angry: 'twas but the officious zeal of a well meaning creature for my honour; and, however he might have mistook the road-or embarrassed me in so doing-his heart was in no fault-I was under no necessity to write ;-and, what weighed more than all-he did not look as if he had done amiss.

-'Tis all very well, La Fleur, said I.

'Twas sufficient. La Fleur flew out of the room like lightning, and returned with pen, ink, and paper, in his hand; and, coming up to the table, laid them close before me, with such a delight in his countenance, that I could not help taking up the pen.

I began and began again; and, though I had nothing to say, and that nothing might have been expressed in half a dozen lines, I made half a dozen different beginnings, and could no way please myself.

In short, I was in no mood to write.

La Fleur stepped out and brought a little water in a glass to dilute my ink-then fetched sand and sealing wax-It was all one; I wrote, and blotted, and tore off, and burned, and wrote again.-Le diable l'emporte! said I, half to myself-I cannot write this self-same letter, throwing down the pen despairingly as I said it.

As soon as I had cast down my pen, La Fleur advanced with the most respectful carriage up to the table, and making a thousand apologies for the liberty he was going to take, told me he had a letter in his pocket wrote by a drummer in his regiment to a corporal's wife, which he durst say would suit the occasion.

I had a mind to let the poor fellow have his humour. Then prithee, said 1, let me see it.

La Fleur instantly pulled out a little dirty pocket book crammed full of small letters and billet-doux in a sad condition, and laying it upon the table, and then un

tying the string which held them all together, run them over, one by one, till he came to the letter in question,-La voila! said he, clapping his hands; so unfolding it first, he laid it open before me, and retired three steps from the table whilst I

read it.

Madame,

THE LETTER.

Je suis pénétré de la douleur la plus vive, et réduit en même temps au désespoir par ce retour imprévu du Caporal qui rend notre entrevue de ce soir la chose du monde la plus impossible.

Mais vive la joie! et toute la mienne sera de penser à vous.

L'amour n'est rien sans sentiment

Et le sentiment est encore moins sans

amour.

On dit qu'on ne doit jamais se désesperér. On dit aussi que Monsieur le Caporal monte la garde mercredi: alors ce sera

mon tour.

Chacun à son tour.

En attendant-Vive l'amour! et vive la tagatelle !

Je suis, Madame,

Avec tous les sentimens les plus respectueux et les plus tendres,

tout à vous,

JAQUES ROCQUE

It was but changing the corporal into the count and saying nothing about

mounting guard on Wednesday-and the letter was neither right nor wrong:-so to gratify the poor fellow, who stood trembling for my honour, his own, and the honour of his letter-I took the cream gently off it, and whipping it up in my own way, I scaled it up and sent him with it to Madame de L***-and the next morning we pursued our journey to Paris.

PARIS.

WHEN a man can contest the point by dint of equipage, and carry all on floundering before him with half a dozen of lackies and a couple of cooks-'tis very well in such a place as Paris, he may drive in at which end of a street he will.

A poor prince who is weak in cavalry, and whose whole infantry does not exceed a single man, had best quit the field, and signalize himself in the cabinet, if he can get up into it ;-I say up into it-for there is no descending perpendicular amongst 'em with a "Me voici! mes enfans"-here I am-whatever many may think.

I own my first sensations, as soon as 1 was left solitary and alone in my own chamber in the hotel, were far from being so flattering as I had prefigured them.

walked up gravely to the window in my dusty black coat, and looking through the glass saw all the world in yellow, blue, and green, running at the ring of pleasure.The old with broken lances, and in helmets which had lost their vizards-the young in

armour bright which shone like gold, beplumed with each gay feather of the east; -all-all tilting at it like fascinated knights in tournaments of yore for fame and love. Alas, poor Yorick! cried I, what art thou doing here? On the very first onset of all this glittering clatter thou art reduced to an atom;-seek-seek some winding alley, with a tourniquet at the end of it, where chariot never rolled or flambeau shot its rays there thou mayest solace thy soul in converse sweet with some kind grisette of a barber's wife, and get into such coteries!

-May I perish! if I do, said I, pulling out the letter which I had to present to Madame de R***.-I'll wait upon this lady, the very first thing I do. So I called La Fleur to go seek me a barber directlyand come back and brush my coat.

THE WIG.

Paris.

WHEN the barber came, he absolutely refused to have any thing to do with my wig: 'twas either above or below his art: I had nothing to do but to take one ready made of his own recommendation.

-But I fear, friend! said I, this buckle won't stand. You may immerge it, replied he, into the ocean, and it will stand.

What a great scale is every thing upon in this city! thought I.-The utmost stretch of an English periwigmaker's ideas