516 



men \rci'c ttylng m a gainie of skill what 

 the former were duiii^ by clmuce (to 

 overreach their neighbour.) The repose 

 of the piece was preserved by groups of 

 literary people, novelists, poets, &c. 

 with musicians; aud over the fire with 

 heads drawn closer together, and elbow 

 On knees, your pretty scandal whis- 

 perers, or more serious ghost-stoiy tel- 

 lers, were seen amusing or horrifying 

 one another at leisure. I acquired 

 many years of knowledge in a moment 

 —-of a truth I learnt a world of wisdom ; 

 and I pronounced The Portodimare a 

 woman of surpassing merit. In her 

 circle we were all originals in our way. 

 The first who opened his mouth had a 

 firm and decisive air, and I thought 

 him half a prodigy from his manner. 

 He talked of every thing, had seen 

 ^very thing, and been every where. 

 W'henever a guest was announced, he 

 had uniformly something to whisper in 

 bis ear : if there was any one who 

 mtn'ed in a certain set, lie either was, 

 or had been, or was likely to be his 

 Most particular acquaintance. Now 

 this genitis's pockets were not to he 

 compared in value to a courier's in- 

 come, at this time. Two politicians 

 were alwut to wax somewhat wroth and 

 loud, and began to attract attention to 

 their discussions of civil, or rather un- 

 civil tolerance to States and to one 

 another. After this I was called ojwn 

 to recite; they made me Impriivoi.in- 

 tore — all urge«l me, and all applauded 

 fV>r a moment, and the next they turned 

 their backs on me, coming and going 

 tt pleasure. The Fortndimare seemed 

 a little inspired, I invoke her " youth- 

 ful thoughts," and the days that were 

 gone, and she thanked me. This made 

 tbeili pay court to nie again, and we 

 M'ere all satisfied with one another. I 

 repeated iwy visits to this delightful 

 house as flften as jK)s«ible ; but visits, 

 Hke evei^ thing else, must have an 

 end, and I at last grew (ired of mine. 



LOVE. 



I have travelled long and far in 

 search of amusement and something 

 iHore solid — but my success has been 

 very middling. In the glory of my 

 Happiest con«jUeSts I have often wished 

 ana struggled for a literary one. The 

 firtt passion that sacrifiee<i my heart, 

 was trie purest, the most obstinate, the 

 most harmonious and Petl-archan like 

 in the woi'ld. It was in fact assaulted, 

 taken and stormed, before I knew that 

 I rightly had one. The lady had a 

 touch of the " bas bleu," and in about 



VApe llaliana.—No. XX 11, 



[July I, 



a week I found I liad exhausted 

 her stock of conversation — the same 

 phrases, a most monotonous sort of 

 erudition, the san»eiM)or looks, and the 

 same dry tilings extracted out of them 

 for ever. I began to feel a vaetxum, 

 which philosophers say nature abhors — 

 when 1 was again smitten by the most 

 animated and variable of little beings 

 that Love ever enumerated in his an- 

 nals. She was French <i la Fratipaife, 

 a double distilled essence of polite 

 Paris — but the violence of her passions 

 threw her into as many distortions aud 

 iinpleasing expressions, as we find in 

 a French elegy. She had travelled 

 through Italy with professors, i-ecited 

 comedies to the Dilettanti, talked like 

 an angel, and read as agreeably as she 

 si>oke. I should really have got en- 

 tangled, had the jewel been put in as 

 fair a case — let philosophers talk of 

 mind in the face as they will, two eyes 

 and arms are absolutely essential to the 

 most abstract species of beauty. Be- 

 sides I was no admirer of French flip- 

 pancy and flirts, an«l my mind was 

 luckily freed from all doubt by the 

 appearance of Zelinda, who wore (he 

 " veni, vidi, vici," for her motto. 



If ever one human being were made 

 for another, she certainly was meant 

 for mc. On her toilet I found a volume 

 of the Philosophical Transactions, tli«; 

 Maid of Orleans, the Letters of Eugene, 

 and her fingers bore traces of recent 

 correspondence with her pen. The 

 disorder of her house hori' ample wit- 

 ness of its freedom from the slavery of 

 liousehold rules. I was surprised to 

 find that this philosophical lady had a 

 daughter, and that her husband had 



been abroad for many years hnt 



I now come to my 



SORROWFUL ADVENTURBS. 



I had always a laudable desire to dis- 

 tinguish myself, and to exercise some 

 important office. To do this, Iwwever, 

 we should first learn to serve, which is 

 always irksome to a man fully sensible 

 of his own merits. I was notwith- 

 standing, in a fair way of gratifying 

 this kind intention towards myself. 



1 was well received in the literary 

 and philosophical society under the 



President , but in my first visit 



he instituted a polite but rigorous in- 

 quisition into my attainments^ and the 

 old gentleman had the imp»?rtinence to 

 conclude b}' advising me to study and 

 learn something. Well — I devoted my- 

 self for a whole month to the delicious 

 task of au Amanuensis, and then he 

 actually 



