SUFFERINGS OF LIEUTENANT o'bRIEN. 205 



To arrive at a right and wholesome state, sincerity must take 

 the place of hypocrisy, wisdom that of folly, and fashion be 

 hurled from her throne by reason and simplicity. 



A De Stael, a Somerville, and a Martineau are found among 

 their ranks ; to what then is a deficiency and perversion of 

 ability and talent to be attributed, but to corporeal, instead of 

 mental cultivation, — the sacrifice of the mind to the empire of the 

 body. 



Philombrotus. 



SUFFERINGS OF LIEUTENANT D. O'BRIEN, R. N. 



Continued from page 163. 



We continued in this misex'able plight until about four o'clock, when Mr. 

 Essel became quite weak and feeble, and the rest not much better, which 

 induced us to quit this wretched place, and endeavour to get shelter in a house, 

 let the consequence be what it might. Accordingly we approached a single 

 hut, at a short distance from the village—entered, and found in it a poor old 

 peasant and two lads, who proved to be his sons : they were shivering over a 

 few cinders, and appeared very miserable. We requested they would make 

 a fire, and allow us to dry our things and warm ourselves ; which they did, 

 upon our promising payment ; they appeared very much astonished at our 

 appearance, and seemed greatly at a loss to know who and what we were. 

 The fire being now made, we proceeded to squeeze the water out of our 

 clothes, and to endeavour to get them a little dry. We made the old peasant 

 bring us some bread ; he also brought us a little butter, which by chance he 

 had in the house ; the old dame, his wife, having taken all the rest that 

 morning to St. Quentin's market. We imagined we should do extremely well 

 if the old man would allow us to remain all night, even by the fire-side ; as it 

 was impossible to attempt to travel, it rained so excessively hard. This w^e 

 intimated to our venerable host, but he, without hesitation, assured us it was 

 impossible. There was a public house in the village, he observed, where we 

 could get supplied with every thing we might want ; and as it was so very 

 near, there could be little difficulty attending our getting there ; at this moment 

 two peasants were passing his door, he added, — those two men belong to the 

 village, they will point out the house to you. He then called the two men : 

 they appeared very civil : no alternative, so we paid the old man for his fire> 

 bread, butter, &c., and accepted of the otfer of those men. 



We soon arrived at the little village, and to our inexpressible joy found it a 

 very miserable one. Our guides shewed us the public house, and quitted. 

 We entered, and found the good landlady had nothing to give us but bread 

 and eggs ; no bed, but a loft full of clean hay ! This was the only inn (as 

 they termed it) in the village. We appeared to hesitate, whether we should 

 remain here or proceed to the next town : inquiring what distance it might be. 

 Our hostess replied about three or four miles to a tolerably large village. It 

 rained too hard, we told her, to go that distance, and inconvenient as it was, 

 we would remain with her, and sleep in the hay-loft that night, in preference 

 to being exposed any longer to the inclemency of the weather. This was 



