182?.] Travelling Sketches. 247 



quenily, having formed the said arc, you have only to measure the sub- 

 tended chord, which will give you to a fraction the breadth of the river !" 

 " I hope," he added, " that I make myself understood : if not, I shall be 

 happy to repeat the proposition." But his bewildered pupil who had, by 

 this time, reached his journey's end, and was rising to depart evidently 

 convinced that he had been under the examination of an inspector general 

 of the forests assured him that his explanation had been perfectly clear ; 

 and, amid a'profusion of thanks for his condescension, hinted a hope that 

 he would note his name for promotion. 



From Orleans to Tours, and from Tours to Bordeaux, our compact of 

 merriment was faithfully adhered to. But to follow our facetious compa- 

 nion through a tithe of the drolleries which he enacted, would overtax ihe 

 pen of a Smollett. The versatility of talent, and compass of learning, which 

 he enlisted in the production of " broad grins," was quite prodigious, and 

 redeemed his feats of practical wit. To each new tenant of our vehicle, 

 he exhibited himself in a different disguise, assuming, by turns, the manner 

 and phraseology of every rank, profession, and even trade. With sur- 

 prising tact he seized and developed, at will, the salient points of every 

 new character, literally playing on each as though he were modulating 

 on a musical instrument; and, with still greater skill, so effectually guarded 

 his own, that on reaching Bordeaux, neither the captain nor I could form 

 the remotest idea of who or what he was. It was clear, however, not- 

 withstanding the mask of waggery which he had chosen to assume, that 

 he possessed a mind of no ordinary stamp ; -and we gladly accepted an 

 invitation to breakfast with him the morning after our arrival, that as he 

 added no time might be lost in settling the wager between him and the 

 captain. 



The moon was just rising as we entered the second city of France, by . 

 the finest bridge in Europe. A beaded crescent of luminous points, reflected 

 in the water, marked the outline of splendid masonry that sweeps round 

 the broad Garonne, exhibiting a quay of such grandeur, as to prove the 

 fitness of the appellation, which denotes that the main feature of the city 

 is its fine position, sur le bord de I'eau. But ray limits warn me to reserve 

 this subject for a future paper, and the repose which I needed after this 

 laughing journey, may not be unacceptable to some of my readers. They 

 will not, however, I trust, decline to join the breakfast party of the Pari- 

 sian unknown, to which I was summoned, next morning, at the appointed 

 hour, by my friend the captain. We again interchanged surmises respect- 

 ing our travelling enigma, but not a scintilla of probability could be struck 

 from any of our conjectures. " Well," said the captain, " we may unriddle 

 him at breakfast ; and, at all events, I promise you another chance over a 

 bottle of Lafitte, at the excellent dinner which I am to win presently by 

 my skill in divination;" so saying, he led the way to the apartment of our 

 Parisian friend, whose cheerful voice greeted our signal of approach : but 

 how shall I attempt to describe the paralysis of astonishment which smote 

 us, on beholding, as we entered, the living image, the speaking prototype 

 nay, the very person and identity of him who was, but yesterday, the 

 scholar, the philosopher, the wit now standing before us a tonsured, 

 cropped, and cassocked PRIEST!!! After a staring pause, so long, that 

 even on the stage it Would have appeared unnatural, he advanced smiling, 

 and cordially shaking our passive hands, said, " Gentlemen, I am truly re- 

 joiced to greet you at length in my real character. I am, indeed, a 

 priest ; and having now, I hope, fairly won my wager, I may congratu- 



