1826.] Memoirs and Writings of Rabelais. 517 
to get over the.difficulty by asserting that he “ rambled up and down 
awhile,”—a sweeping method of accounting for the occurrences of nearly 
ibwenty years:'’ From 1529, however, his biography proceeds on more 
jauthenticated data. “He read public lectures on physic to a numerous 
‘assemblage ‘at Montpellier; and devoted his mornings (see his own 
letters; part of which are preserved in the Floretum Philosophicum) to 
a) translation: of some ~aphorisms of Hippocrates, which in 1532, he 
dedicated to his’ unchanging friend and patron the Bishop of Maillezais. 
Mr. Ozell; on'what authority we know not, records that immediately 
after the publication of this volume, Rabelais quitted. Montpellier for 
Paris, to which place he had been previously invited by his early friend, 
John Du Bellay. ‘This however is doubtful, for we find him in the same 
year accompanying Du Bellay in his embassy to the Vatican, where he 
shortly afterwards contrived to obtain absolution from Pope Pius ITI. for 
his ‘exhaustless witticisms against the priesthood. An old work, entitled 
Particul: de la Vie de Rabelais, reprinted in 1781 at Paris, mentions 
that during his residence at Rome he offended the conclave so effec- 
tually, that he was compelled to quit Italy; on his journey from which 
country to France the following whimsical occurrence took place :— 
“ Being lodged at the Tower and Angel, a famous inn at Lyons, and 
being as usual much in want of money, he had recourse to a stratagem 
whereby to obtain good living, which might have been of dangerous 
consequence to one less known than Rabelais. He took some of the 
ashes in the chimney of the room where he sate, and having wrapped 
them up in several little papers, on one of them he writ ‘ Poison to 
kill the king’;’‘on another, ‘ Poison to kill the Queen ;’ on athird, ‘ Poi- 
son» to kill the Duke of Orleans ; and having on the Change met a 
young merchant, told him that, being skilled in physiognomy, he 
plainly saw that he had a great desire to get an estate easily, therefore 
if: he would (come ‘to his inn, he would put him in a way to gain a 
hundred thousand crowns. The greedy merchant was very ready ; so 
when ‘he’ had treated our Doctor, he came to the main point, that is, 
how to get'the hundred thousand crowns. Then Rabelais, after tother 
bottle or ‘two, pretending a great deal of caution, at last showed him 
the papers of powder, and proposed to him to make use of them according 
to their superscriptions ; which the other promised, and they appointed to 
meet the next day to take measures about it; but the too credulous, though 
honest trader, immediately ran to a judge, who having heard the infor- 
mation,'presently sent to secure Rabelais—the Dauphin having been 
poisoned some time before; so the Doctor with his powder was seized, 
and being examined by the judge, gave no answer to the accusation, 
save that he told the young merchant, that he had never thought him 
fit to keep a secret, and only desired them to secure what was in the 
papers and send him to the king, for that he had strange things to say to 
him. “Accordingly he is sent to Paris, and handsomely treated by the 
way on ‘free cost, as are all the king’s prisoners; and being come to 
Paris, was immediately brought before the king: who knowing him, 
asked him what he had done to be brought in that condition, and where 
he had left his old friend the Cardinal Du Bellay. Upon this the judge 
made his report,’ showed the bills with the powder, and the information 
which he had'drawn. ‘Rabelais, on his side, told his case; took some of 
allethe papers before the king, which being found to be only harmless 
wood-ashes, pleaded for Rabelais so effectually, that the business ended 
