were a fpecies of bird which was remarkable for its unoffending innocence. The little creature burft into tears," my little Harriet, why do you weep?" faid her father, kiffing her white forehead, and preff ing her to him. "Why do you rebuke me?" faid the little fufferer, "when you know I love you so much that I could kiss your naked heart."

I mention this circumftance, to fhow how early in life, the French children imbibe the most charming expreffions, by which their more mature converfation is rendered fo peculiarly captivating. During our

The

repast, a circumstance occurred, which produced an unusual vivacity amongst all the party, and afforded a fpecimen of the talent and pleasantry of the French people. The gardener entered with the paper, and letters of the day. Amongst them, was a letter which had been opened, appeared very much difored, and ought to have been received upon the preseding day. Mons. O feemed much displeased, and called upon his man to explain the matter. gardener, who poffeffed a countenance which beamed with animation and good humor, made a low bow, and without appearing to be, in the leaft degree, difconcerted, proceeded to unfold the affair, with the most playful ingenuity. He ftated that the dairy maid was very pretty, that the made every body in love with her, and was very much in love herfelf, that the was accustomed to receive a great number of billet-: doux, which, on account of her education having

MIX 1889

been very far below her incomparable merits, fhe was not able to underftand, without the affiftance of Nicolene, the groom, who was her confident, and amanmenfis; that on the day before, he gave her the letter in queftion, with directions to carry it to his malter, that under the influence of that thoughtful ab fence which is faid to attend the advanced ftages of the tender paffion, fhe foon afterwards conceived that it was no other than a customary homage from one of her many admirers, upon which the committed the fuppofed depofitory of tender fighs and brittle vows, to the warm cuftody of her glowing bofom, than which, the gardener, (who at this moment faw his mafter's eyes were engaged by the fullied appearance of the letter) declared that nothing was fairer; he again proceeded, by obferving, that in the course of the preceding evening, as fhe was ftooping to adjuft her ftool in the meadow, the cow kicked, and the epiftle tumbled into the milk pail; that the afterwards dried it by the kitchen fire, and gave it, for the reafons before affigned, to her confidential friend to explain to her, who foon discovered it to be a letter of bufinefs, addreffed to his master, instead of an impaffioned love ditty for the tender Marie; that, finally, all the principals concerned in this unhappy affair were overwhelmed with diftrefs, or on account of the fad difafter, and that the kitchen had loft all its vivacity ever fince. No advocate could have pleaded more eloquently. All the family, from its chief, to

th

!

little Harriet, whofe tears were not yet dried, were in a continual fit of laughter. The gardener, whofe face very largely partook of the gaiety which he had fo fuccessfully excited, was commiffioned, by his amiable mafter, to tell the diftreffed dairy maid, that love always carried his pardon in his hand for all his offences, and that he cheerfully forgave her, but directed the gardener, to prevent a recurrence of fimilar accidents, not again to truft her with his letters until the tender disease was radically removed. The ruftic crator gracefully bowed; and left us to finish our breakfast with increafed good humour, and to carry forgiveness and confolation to poor Marie and: all her condoling friends in the kitchen. Before we had completed our repaft, a little deformed elderly lady made her appearance, whofe religion had been. fhaken by the revolution, into a crazy and gloomy fuperftition. She had fcarcely feated herfelf, before The began a very rapid and voluble comment upon the change of the times, and the devaftations which the late extraordinary froft had committed upon the: vineyards of France, which the pofitively afferted, with the confidence which the arrival of her tutelar faint with the intelligence ought to have infpired, was fent as an appropriate judgment upon the republic, to punish it, for fuffering the ladies of Paris to go fo thinly clothed. Monfieur O heard her very patiently throughout, and then obferved, that the

ways of Heaven were infcrutable, that human ingenuity was baffled, in attempting to draw inferences from its vifitations, and that it did not appear to him at least, that an offence which was affuredly calculated to infpire fenfations of warmth and tenderness, was appropriately punished by chastisement of an oppofite tendency, to which he added, that fome moralist who indulged in an endeavor to connect causes and effects, might think it rather incompatible with their notions of eternal equity, to endeavor to clothe the ladies, by ftripping the land to nakednefs-here the old lady could not help fmiling. Her amicable ad verfary pursued the advantage which his pleasantry had produced, by informing her, that prognoftications had been for a long period discountenanced, and that formerly when the ancient augurs, after the ceremonies of their fuccefsful illufions were over, met each other by accident in the ftreet, impreffed by the ridiculous remembrance of their impofitions, they could not help laughing in each other's faces. Madame V laughed too; upon which Monfieur O, very good humoredly told her, that as a foothfayer, the certainly would not have fmiled, unlefs the intended to retire forever from the office. Previous to my taking leave of Monfieur O

and

his charming family, we walked in the gardens, where our converfation. turned upon the extraordinary genius, who in the character of firft conful of the French unites a force, and extent of fway unknown

to the kings of France, from their firft appearance, to the final extinction of monarchy.

He told me that he had the honor of knowing him with intimacy from his youth, and extolled, with high eulogy, his fplendid abilities, and the great fervices which he had rendered France. He alfo related feveral amiable anecdotes of the minifter Talleyrand, who, when in America, had lived with him a confiderable time under the fame roof.

At length the cabriolet, which was to bear me from this little Paradife, approached the gate, and the moment arrived when I was to part with one of the moft charming families to be found the bofom of the republic.

As Monfieur O preffed me by one hand, and placed that of his little Harriet in my other, a tear of exquifite tenderness rolled down his cheek, it seemed to exprefs that we fhould never meet again on this Gde the grave. Excellent being! if it must be fo, if wafting and unfparing ficknefs is destined to tear thee ere long from those who delight thine eye, and foothe thine heart in the midft of its forrows, may the angel of peace fmile upon thee in thy laft moments, and bear thy mild and generous, and patient fpirit, to the realms of eternal repofe! Adieu! dear family of la Reine.

Upon my return to Paris, I proceeded to the hotel of Monfieur R. Curiofity led me to view the