finefs could have taken fo old and poor a man so far a journey from his own home.

It had pleased Heaven, he said, to bless him with three fons, the finest lads in all Germany; but having, in one week, lost two of the eldest of them by the small-pox, and the youngest falling ill of the fame diftemper, he was afraid of being bereft of them all; and made a vow, if Heaven would not take him from him alfo, he would go, in gratitude, to St. Iago in Spain.

When the mourner got thus far on his story, he ftopp'd to pay nature her tribute-and wept bitterly.

He faid, Heaven had accepted the conditions; and that he had set out from his cottage with this poor creature, who had been a patient partner of his journey that it had eat the fame bread with him all the way, and was unto him as a friend.

Every body who ftood about, heard the poor fellow with concern -La Fleur offered him money. -The mourner faid, he did not want it—it was not the value of the afs-but the lofs of him.

The afs, he faid, he was affured, doved him—and upon this, told them a long ftory of a mischance upon their paffage over the Pyrenean mountains, which had feparated them from each other three days; during which time, the ass had fought him as much as he had fought the afs, and that they had neither scarce eat or drank till they met.

Thou haft one comfort, friend, faid I, at least, in the lofs of thy poor beaft; I'm fure thou haft been a merciful master to him.- -Alas! faid the mourn

er, I thought fo, when he was alive-but now that he is dead, I think otherwise.-I fear the weight of myself, and my afflictions together, have been too much for him—they have fhortened the poor creature's days, and I fear I have them to answer for.Shame on the world! faid I to myselfDid we but love each other, as this poor foul loved his ass-twould be fomething.

NAMPONT.

THE POSTILLION.

THE concern which the poor fellow's story threw me into, required some attention; the postillion paid not the least to it, but fet off upon the pave in a full gallop.

The thirstieft foul in the most fandy defert of Arabia could not have wished more for a cup of cold water, than mine did for grave and quiet move'ments; and I should have had an high opinion of the postillion, had he but stolen off with me in something like a penfive pace-On the contrary, as the mourner finished his lamentation, the fellow gave an unfeeling lash to each of his beasts, and set off clattering like a thousand devils.

I called to him as loud as I could, for heaven's fake, to go flower—and the louder I called, the more unmercifully he galloped.The deuce take him and his galloping too-faid I—he'll go on tearing my nerves to pieces, till he has worked me

into a foolish paffion, and then he'll go flow, that I may enjoy the fweets of it.

The postillion managed the point to a miracle; by the time he had got to the foot of a steep hill about half a league from Nampont, he had put me out of temper with him, and then with myself, for being fo.

My cafe then required a different treatment; and a good rattling gallop would have been of real fer

vice to me-

~Then, prithee, get on-get on, my good lad, faid I.

The poftillion pointed to the hill--I then tried to return back to the story of the

poor

German and his afs but I had broke the clue-and could no more get into it again, than the poftillion could

into a trot.

-The deuce go, faid I, with it all! Here am I fitting as candidly disposed to make the best of the worst, as ever wight was, and all runs counter.

There is one sweet lenitive at least for evils, which Nature holds out to us; fo I took it kindly at her hands, and fell asleep; and the firft word which roufed me was Amiens.

-Blefs me! faid I, rubbing my eyes-this is the very town where my poor lady is to come.

AMIENS.

TH HE words were scarce out of my mouth, when the Count de L***'s post-chaise, with his fifter in it, drove haftily by: fhe had just time to make me

a bow of recognition—and of that particular kind of it, which told me she had not yet done with me. She was as good as her look; for, before I had quite finished my fupper, her brother's fervant came into the room with a billet, in which, fhe faid, fhe had taken the liberty to charge me with a letter, which I was to present myself to Madame R*** the first morning I had nothing to do at Paris. There was only added, she was forry, but from what penchant fhe had not confidered, that she had been prevented telling me her story-that she still owed it me; and if my route should ever lie through Bruffels, and I had not by then forgot the name of Madame de L*** that Madame de L*** would be glad to

discharge her obligation.

Then I will meet thee, faid I, fair fpirit! at Bruffelstis only returning from Italy through Germany to Holland, by the route of Flanders, home --'twill scarce be ten pofts out of my way; but were it ten thousand! with what a mortal delight will it crown my journey, in sharing in the fickening incidents of a tale of mifery told to me by fuch a fufferer? to fee her weep! and though I cannot dry up the fountain of her tears, what an exquifite fenfation is there ftill left, in wiping them away from off the cheeks of the firft and faireft of women, as I'm fitting with my handkerchief in my hand in filence the whole night befide her?

There was nothing wrong in the fentiment; and yet I instantly reproached my heart with it in the bitterest and most reprobate of expreflions.

It had ever, as I told the reader, been one of the

fingular blessings of my life, to be almost every hour of it miferably in love with fome one; and my last flame happening to be blown out by a whiff of jealoufy on the fudden turn of a corner, I had lighted it up afresh at the pure taper of Eliza but about three months before-fwearing as I did it, that it fhould last me through the whole journey— -Why fhould I diffemble the matter? I had fworn to her eternal fidelity-she had a right to my whole heart

-to divide my affections was to leffen them-to. expose them, was to risk them: where there is risk, there may be lofs:and what wilt thou have, Yorick to answer to a heart fo full of trust and confidence-fo good, fo gentle, and unreproach

ing!

-I will not go to Bruffels, replied I, interrupting myself—but my imagination went on—I re called her looks at that crisis of our feparation, when neither of us had power to fay adieu! I look'd at the picture he had tied in a black ribband about my neck--and blufh'd as I look'd at it-I would have given the world to have kiss'd it but was afhamed. -And fhall this tender flower, faid I, preffing it be tween my hands-fhall it be fmitten to its very root and fmitten Yorick! by thee, who haft promif

ed to shelter it in thy breast?

Eternal fountain of happiness! faid I, kneeling down upon the ground-be thou my witnefs-----and every pure fpirit which taftes it, be my witness alfo, That I would not travel to Bruffels, unless Eliza went along with me, did the road lead me towards heaven.