of a hotel, with a pretty court towards the town and behind, the best garden in Toulouse, laid out in serpentine walks, and so large that the company in our quarter usually come to walk there in the evenings, for which they have my consent "the more the merrier." -The house consists of a good salle à manger above stairs, joining to the very great salle à compagnie as large as the Baron d'Holbach's; three handsome bedchambers with dressing-rooms to them below stairs two very good rooms for myself, one to study in, the other to see company. I have, moreover, cellars round the court, and all other offices. Of the same landlord I have bargained to have the use of a countryhouse which he has two miles out of town, so that myself and all my family have nothing more to do than to take our hats and remove from the one to the other. My landlord is, moreover, to keep the gardens in order and what do you think I am to pay for all this? neither more nor less than thirty pounds a-year all things are cheap in proportion so we shall live for very little. I dined yesterday with Mr. H.; he is most pleasantly situated, and they are all well. As for the books you have received for D the bookseller was a fool not to send the bill along with them I will write to him about it. I wish you was with me for two months; it would cure you of all evils ghostly and bodily but this like many other wishes both for you and myself, must have its completion elsewhere. Adieu, my kind friend, and believe that I love you as much from inclination as reason, for I am most truly yours, L. STERNE.

My wife and girl join in compliments to you - My best respects to my worthy Baron d'Holbach and all

MY DEAR H.,

Toulouse, Oct. 19, 1762.

the

I re

I RECEIVED your letter yesterday so it has been travelling from Crazy Castle to Toulouse full eighteen days. If I had nothing to stop me, I would engage to set out this morning, and knock at Crazy Castle gates in three days less time by which time I should find you and the Colonel, Panty, &c., all alone season I most wish and like to be with you. joice, from my heart down to my reins, that you have snatch'd so many happy and sunshiny days out of the hands of the blue devils If we live to meet and join our forces as heretofore, we will give these gentry a drubbing and turn them for ever out of their usurped citadel some legions of them have been put to flight already by your operations this last campaign

-

and

I hope to have a hand in dispersing the remainder the first time my dear cousin sets up his banners again under the square tower But what art thou meditating with axes and hammers? "I know the pride and the naughtiness of thy heart," and thou lovest the sweet visions of architraves, friezes, and pediments, with their tympanums, and thou hast found out a pretenc à raison de cinq cent livres sterling to be laid out in four years, &c. &c. (so as not to be felt, which is always added by the d-1 as a bait) to justify thyself unto thyself It be may wise to do this very 'tis wiser to keep one's money in one's pocket, whilst

but

there are wars without and rumours of wars within. St. advises his disciples to sell both coat and waiscoat, and go rather without shirt or sword, than leave no money in their scrip to go to Jerusalem with Now these quatre ans consecutifs, my dear Anthony, are the most precious morsels of thy life to come (in this world,) and thou wilt do well to enjoy that morsel without cares, calculations, and curses, and damns, and debts for as sure as stone is stone, and mortar is mortar, &c. 'twill be one of the many works of thy repentance But after all, if the Fates have decreed it, as you and I have some time supposed it, on account of your generosity, "that you are never to be a monied man," the decree will be fulfilled whether you adorn your castle and line it with cedar, and paint it within side and without side with vermillion, or not, et celle étant (having a bottle of Frontiniac and glass at my right hand) I drink, dear Anthony, to thy health and happiness, and to the final accomplishment of all thy lunary and sublunary projects. For six weeks together, after I wrote my last letter to you, my projects were many stories higher, for I was all that time, as I thought, journeying on to the other world - I fell ill of an epidemic vile fever which killed hundreds about me The physicians here are the errantest charlatans in Europe, or the most ignorant of all pretending fools - I withdrew what was left of me out of their hands, and recommended my affairs entirely to Dame Nature She (dear goddess) has saved me in fifty different pinching bouts, and I begin to have a kind of enthusiasm now in her favour, and in my own, that one or two more escapes will make me believe I shall leave you all at last by translation, and not by

fair death. I am now stout and foolish again as a happy man can wish to be

and am busy playing the fool with my uncle Toby, whom I have got soused over head and ears in love. I have many hints and projects for other works; all will go on, I trust, as I wish in this matter. When I have reaped the benefit of this winter at Toulouse I cannot see I have any thing more to do with it; therefore, after having gone with my wife and girl to Bagnieres, I shall return whence I came. wife wants so stay another year, to save money, and this opposition of wishes, though 'twill not be as sour as lemon, yet 'twill not be as sweet as sugar-candy. I wish T- would lead

Now my

--

than to

but civi

Sir Charles to Toulouse; 'tis as good as any town in the South of France for my own part 'tis not to my taste but I believe the ground-work of my ennui is more to the eternal platitude of the French character - little variety, no originality in it at all any other cause for they are very civil lity itself, in that uniform, wearies and bodders one to death. If I do not mind, I shall grow most stupid and sententious. Miss Shandy is hard at it with music, dancing, and French-speaking, in the last of which she does à merveille, and speaks it with an excellent accent, considering she practises within sight of the Pyrenean mountains. If the snows will suffer me, I propose to spend two or three months at Barege, or Bagnieres, but my dear wife is against all schemes of additional expenses which wicked propensity (though not of despotic power) yet I cannot suffer - tho', by the bye, laudable enough. But she may talk I will do my

own way, and she will acquiesce without a word of debate on the subject. Who can say so much in

praise of his wife? Few, I trow. M- is out of town so write to me, Monsieur Sterne, Gentil'twill find me. We are as much out

vintaging homme Anglais

of the road of all intelligence here as at the Cape of Good Hope so write a long nonsensical letter like this, now and then, to me in which say nothing but what may be shewn (tho' I love every paragraph and spirited stroke of your pen, others might not), for you must know, a letter no sooner arrives from England, but curiosity is upon her knees to know the contents. Adieu, dear H., believe me,

Your affectionate,

L. STERNE.

We have had bitter cold weather here these fourteen days which has obliged us to sit with whole pagells of wood lighted up to our noses 'tis a dear article -but, every thing else being extremely cheap, Madame keeps an excellent good house, with soupe, bouilli, roti, &c. &c., for two hundred and fifty pounds a year.

XXXIV.

TO MR. FOLEY, AT PARIS.

MY DEAR FOLEY,

Toulouse, November 9, 1762.

I HAVE had this week your letter on my table, and hope you will forgive my not answering it sooner and even to-day I can but write you ten lines, being engaged at Mrs. M-'s. I would not omit, one post more, acknowledging the favour In a few posts I will write you a long one gratis, that is for love. Thank you for having done what I desired you

and