that the lady fhould facrifice her health to her feelings, and take up with the closet herself, and abandon the bed next mine to her maid-or that the girl should take the clofet, etc. etc.

The lady was a Piedmontoife of about thirty, with a glow of health in her cheeks. -The maid was a Lyonnoife of twenty, and as brifk and lively a French girl as ever moved. There were difficulties every way-and the obftacle of the ftone in the road, which brought us into the diftress, great as it appeared whilft the peasants were removing it, was but a pebble to what lay in our way now-I have only to add, that it did not leffen the weight which hung upon our fpirits, that we were both too delicate to communicate what we felt, to each other, upon the occafion.

We fat down to fupper; and had we not had more generous wine to it than a little inn in Savoy could have furnished, our tongues had been tied up, till Neceffity herfelf had fet them at liberty-but the lady having a few bottles of Burgundy in her voiture; fent down her Fille de

Chambre for a couple of them; so that by the time fupper was over, and we were left alone, we felt ourselves inspired with a ftrength of mind fufficient to talk, at leaft, without reserve, upon our fituation. We turned it every way, and debated and confidered it in all kinds of lights, in in the course of a two hours negotiation; at the end of which, the articles were fettled finally betwixt us, and stipulated for, in form and manner of a treaty of peace-and, I believe, with as much religion and good faith on both fides, as in any treaty which has yet had the honour of being handed down to pofterity. They were as follow:

Firft. As the right of the bed-chamber is in Monfieur-and he thinking the bed next to the fire to be the warmeft, he infifts upon the concession on the lady's fide of taking up with it.

Granted, on the part of Madame; with a provifo, That as the curtains of that bed are of a flimsey transparent cotton, and appear likewise too scanty to draw close, that the Fille de Chambre fhall faften up the opening, either by corking

pins, or needle and thread, in fuch manner as fhall be deemed a fufficient barrier on the fide of Monfieur.

2 dly. It is required on the part of Madame, that Monfieur fhall lie the whole night through in his robe de chambre.

:

Rejected inasmuch as Monfieur is not worth a robe de chambre; he having nothing in his portmanteau but fix fhirts, and a black filk pair of breeches.

The mentioning the filk pair of breeches made an entire change of the article -for the breeches were accepted as an equivalent for the robe de chambre; and fo it was ftipulated and agreed upon, that I should lie in my black filk breeches all night.

3 dly. It was infifted upon, and ftipulated for, by the lady, that after Monfieur was got to bed, and the candle and fire extinguished, that Monfieur should not speak one fingle word the whole night.

Granted; provided Monfieur's faying his prayers might not be deemed an infraction of the treaty.

There was but one point forgot in this treaty, and that was the manner, in which

1

the lady and myself should be obliged to undrefs and get to bed-there was one way of doing it, and that I leave to the reader to devife; protefting as I do it, that if it is not the moft delicate in nature, it is the fault of his own imagination-againft which this is not my firft complaint.

Now, when we were got to bed, whether it was the novelty of the fituation, or what it was, I know not; but fo it was, I could not fhut my eyes; I tried this fide and that, and turned and turned again, till a full hour after midnight, when Nature and patience both wearing out-O my God! said I

- You have broke the treaty, Monfieur, faid the lady, who had no more flept than myself. I begged a thousand pardons-but infifted it was no more than an ejaculation-she maintained it was an entire infraction of the treaty - I maintained it was provided for in the clause of the third article.'

The lady would by no means give up the point, though fhe weakned her barrier by it; for in the warmth of the dif

pute, I could hear two or three corking pins fall out of the curtain to the ground.

Upon my word and honour, Madame, said I-ftretching my arm out of bed, by way of affeveration

(I was going to have added, that I would not have trespassed against the remoteft idea of decorum for the world) – But the Fille de Chambre hearing there were words between us, and fearing that hoftilities would enfue in course, had crept filently out of her closet, and it being totally dark, had stolen so close to our beds, that she had got herself into the narrow passage which separated them, and had advanced so far up as to be in a line betwixt her mistress and me

So that when I ftretched out my hand, I caught hold of the Fille de Chambre's― .

End of the fecond Volume.