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moralized upon my new profeffion!And thou fhould't have laughed and moralized on- Truft me, my dear Eugenius, I should have said, " There are "worse occupations in this world, than feeling a wo"man's pulse.". -But a Griffet's! thou wouldst have

faid—and in an open shop! Yorick

-So much the better; for when my views are direct, Eugenius, I care not if all the world faw me feel it.

I had counted twenty pulfations, and was going on faft towards the fortieth, when her husband coming unexpected from a back parlour into the fhop, put me a little out of my reckoning.-'Twas nobody but her husband, fhe faid,-fo I began a fresh fcore-Monfieur is fo good, quoth fhe, as he paffed by us, to give himself the trouble of feeling my pulfe-The husband took off his hat, and making me a bow, faid I did him too much honour and having faid that, he put on his hat and walked out.

Good God! faid I to myself, as he went outand can this man be the husband of this woman?

Let it not torment the few who know what must have been the grounds of this exclamation, if I explain it to those who do not.

In London, a fhop-keeper and a fhop-keeper's wife feem to be one bone and one flesh in the several endowments of mind and body, fometimes the one, fometimes the other has it, fo as in general to be upon a par, and to tally with each other as nearly as man and wife need to do.

In Paris, there are scarce two orders of beings more different: for the legislative and executive powers of the fhop not refting in the hufband, he feldom comes there-in fome dark and difmal room behind, he fits, commercelefs, in his thrum night-cap; the fame rough fon of Nature that Nature left him.

The genius of a people where nothing but the monarchy is falique, having ceded this department, with fundry others, totally to the women-by a continual higgling with customers of all ranks and fizes from morning, to night, like. fo many rough pebbles fhook long together in a bag, by amicable collifions they have worn down their afperities and sharp angles, and not only become round and fmooth, but will receive, fome of them, a polish like a brilliantMonfieur Le Mari is little better than the stone under your foot.

-Surely-furely, man! it is not good for thee to fit alone, thou waft made for focial intercourfe and gentle greetings; and this improvement of our natures from it, I appeal to as my evidence.

--

-And how does it beat, Monfieur? faid fhe.-With all the benignity, faid I, looking quietly in her eyes, that I expected-She was going to fay fomething civil in return-but the lad came into the fhop with the gloves-A propos, fàid I, I want a couple of pair myfelf.

The beautiful Griffet rose up when I said this, and going behind the counter, reached down a parcel and! untied it I advanced to the fide over-against her;

they were all too large. The beautiful Griffet meafured them one by one acrofs my hand-It would not alter the dimenfions-She begged I would try a fingle pair, which feemed to be least.She held it open-my hand flipped into it at once-It will not

do, faid I, fhaking my head a little-No, faid fhe, doing the fame thing.

There are certain combined looks of fimple fubtlety

-where whim, and fenfe, and seriousness, and nonfense are so blended, that all the languages of Babel fet loofe together could not exprefs them-they are communicated and caught so instantaneously, that you can scarce fay which party is the infector. I leave it to your men of words to fwell pages about it- -it is enough in the present to fay again, the gloves would. not do ; fo folding our hands within our arms, we both loll'd the counter-it was narrow, and there was upon juft room for the parcel to lie between us.

The beautiful Griffet looked fometimes at the gloves, then fideways to the window, then at the gloves-and then at me. I was not difpofed to break filence-I followed her example. So I looked at the gloves, then to the window, then at the gloves, and then at her, and fo on alternately.

I found I loft confiderably in every attack-fhe had a quick black eye, and fhot through two fuch long and filken eye-lashes with fuch penetration, that the looked into my very heart and reins-It may feem ftrange, but I could actually feel fhé did

It is no matter, faid I, taking up a couple of the pairs next me, and putting them into my pocket.

I was fenfible the beautiful Griffet had not ask'd above a fingle livre above the price-I wifh'd fhe had ask'd a livre more; and was puzzling my brains how to bring the matter about--Do you think, my dear Sir, faid fhe, miftaking my embarrassment, that I could ask a fous too much of a ftranger--and of a stranger whofe politeness, more than his want of gloves, has done me the honour to lay himself at my mercy?-M'en croyez capable ?-Faith! not I, faid I; and if you were, you are welcome-So counting the money into her hand, and with a lower bow than one generally makes to a fhopkeeper's wife, I went out, and her lad with his parcel followed me.

SENT. JOURNEY, PAGE 95

THE PI E-MA N.

EEING a man standing with a basket on the other

SEEIN

fide of the street, in Versailles, as if he had fomething to fell, I bid La Fleur go up to him and inquire for the Count de B***'s hotel.

La Fleur returned a little pale: and told me it was a Chevalier de St. Louis felling pâtés-It is impoffible, La Fleur! faid I.-La Fleur could no more account for the phenomenon than myfelf; but perfifted in his

story he had feen the croix, fet in gold, with its red ribband, he said, tied to his button-hole-and had looked into his basket, and feen the pâtés which the Chevaler was felling; fo could not be mistaken in

that.

Such a reverse in man's life awakens a better principle than curiofity: I could not help looking for fome time at him as I fat in the remifi-the more I looked at him, his crcix, and his basket, the stronger they wove themselves into my brain-I got out of the remife, and went towards him.

He was begirt with a clean linen apron which fell below his knees, and with a fort of bib which went half way up his breast; upon the top of this, but a little below the hem, hung his croix. His basket of little pâtés was covered over with a white damask napkin; another of the fame kind was spread at the bottom; and there was a look of propreté and neatness throughout; that one might have bought his pâtés of him, as much from appetite as fentiment.

He made an offer of them to neither; but stood still with them at the corner of an hotel, for those to buy who chose it, without folicitation.

He was about forty-eight-of a fedate look, fome. thing approaching to gravity. I did not wonder.-I went up rather to the basket than him, and having lifted up the napkin and taken one of his pâtés into my hand—I begged he would explain the appearance which affected me.

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