of

- Dear fenfibility! source inexhaufted of all that's precious in our joys, or coftly in our forrows! thou chaineft thy martyr down upon his bed of straw — and it is thou who lifteft him up to HEAVEN Eternal fountain of our feelings! — it is here I trace thee—and this is thy "divi"nity which ftirs within me”. not that, in fome fad and fickening moments, "my "foul fhrinks back upon herself, and start"les at deftruction" mere pomp words! - but that I feel fome generous joys and generous cares beyond myselfall comes from thee, great-great SENSORIUM of the world! which vibrates, if a hair of our heads but falls upon the ground, in the remotest desert of thy creation.-Touched with thee, Eugenius draws my curtain when I languish — hears my tale of symptoms, and blames the weather for the disorder of his nerves. Thou giveft a portion of it sometimes to the roughest peasant who traverses the bleakeft mountains-He finds the lacerated lamb of another's flock-This moment I beheld him leaning with his head against his crook, with piteous inclination looking down upon

it!-Oh! had I come one moment fooner!—it bleeds to death—his gentle heart bleeds with it

Peace to thee, generous swain! -I fee thou walkeft off with anguish—but thy joys fhall balance it for happy is thy cottage — and happy is the sharer of it— and happy are the lambs which sport about thee.

THE SUPPER.

A SHOE Coming loose from the forefoot of the thill-horse, at the beginning of the afcent of mount Taurira, the poftillion difmounted, twifted the shoe off, and put it in his pocket: as the afcent was of five or fix miles, and that horse our main dependance, I made a point of having the shoe fastened on again, as well as we could; but the poftillion had thrown away the nails, and the hammer in the chaise-box, being of no great use without them, I fubmitted to go on.

He had not mounted half a mile higher, when coming to a flinty piece of road, the poor devil loft a fecond shoe, and

- It

from off his other fore-foot. I then got out of the chaise in good earneft; and seeing a house about a quarter of a mile to the left hand, with a great deal to do I prevailed upon the poftillion to turn up to it. The look of the house, and of every thing about it, as we drew nearer, foon reconciled me to the difafter. was a little farm-houfe, furrounded with about twenty acres of vineyard, about as much corn - and clofe to the house, on one fide, was a potagerie of an acre and a half, full of every thing which could make plenty in a French peasant's house --and on the other fide was a little wood, which furnished wherewithal to dress it. It was about eight in the evening when I got to the house fo I left the poftillion to manage his point as he could - and for mine, I walked directly into the house.

The family confifted of an old greyheaded man and his wife, with five or fix fons and fons-in-law, and their several wives, and a joyous genealogy out of

them.

They were all fitting down together to Vol. II.

X

their lentil-foup; a large wheaten loaf was in the middle of the table; and a flaggon of wine at each end of it promifed joy through the stages of the repast— 'twas a feaft of love.

The old man rose up to meet me, and with a refpectful cordiality would have. me fit down at the table; my heart was fet down the moment I entered the room; fo I fat down at once like a fon of the family; and to inveft myself in the character as speedily as I could, I inftantly borrowed the old man's knife, and taking up the loaf, cut myself a hearty luncheon; and, as I did it, I faw a teftimony in every eye, not only of an honeft welcome, but of a welcome mixed with thanks that I had not feemed to doubt it.

Was it this or tell me, Nature, what else it was that made this morfel so sweet —and to what magick I owe it, that the draught I took of their flaggon was so delicious with it, that they remain upon my palate to this hour?

If the supper was to my tafte—the grace which followed it was much more fo.

THE GRACE.

WHEN fupper was over, the old man gave a knock upon the table with the haft of his knife, to bid them prepare for the dance: the moment the fignal was given, the women and girls ran all together into a back apartment to tie up their hair and the young men to the door to wash their faces, and change their fabots; and in three minutes, every foul was ready upon a little esplanade before the houfe to begin- The old man and his wife came out laft, and placing me betwixt them, sat down upon a sopha of turf by the door.

The old man had some fifty years ago been no mean performer upon the vielleand, at the age he was then of, touched it well enough for the purpose. His wife fung now-and-then a little to the tunethen intermitted-and joined her old man again, as their children and grand-children danced before them.

It was not till the middle of the fecond dance, when, for fome pauses in the move