A$ MONTRIUL. s La Fleur went the whole tour of France and Italy with me, and will be often upon the stage, I muft 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 foul as ever trudged after the heels of a philofopher; and notwithstanding his talents of drum-beating and spatterdash-making, which, tho' very good in themfelves, happened to be of no great fervice to me, yet was I hourly recompenfed by the feftivity of his temper-it fupplied all defects-I had a conftant resource 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 small caft of the coxcomb-but he feemed at first 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. THE MONTRIUL. 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 de bonne fortune, faid the landlord, pointing through the window to half a dozen wenches who had got round about La Fleur, and were most kindly taking their leave of him, as the poftillion was, leading out the horfes. 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, said I-'twill fave me the trouble every night 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 almoft all my life, and I hope |