792. adventures of a Rufsidn gentlemen. 143 
that fault, and attached myself to a dancer of the opera. 
She had the finest leg in Paris, a young Provencal, lively, 
gay, and bustling about from morning till night. She 
was so greedy, I mean of louis d’ors, that fhe often made 
me remember the words of the marechal.de Villars to 
Lewis x1v.—the only required three things, money, money, 
money. Her caprices were never ended, and, among 
others I began to suspect fhe had one for my valet de 
chambre ; but fhe very soon cured me of that jealousy ; for 
one evening I went to see her, I found her in the arms of 
a young French officer. I demanded satisfaction imme- 
diately of the military gallant, and he run me through © 
the body, which put me into the hands of another surgeon 
for three months. I entered again into the beau monde, 
with a firm resolution to be wise for the future. They 
afsured me I was improving amazingly ;—that I would 
fhine on my return to my own country ;—that there is no 
rose without athorn. Ah! why had not I a friend to 
tell me that the roses would fade, while the thorns would 
remain! Being always behind the scenes of the opera, L 
was overcome at last by the temptation, and took a third 
mistrefs. For my misfortune fhe sung like an angel. If 
the other had a fine leg, this one had the most perfect 
arms in the world,—I thought I fhould have died with plea- 
sure when fhe employed them in embracing me, while fhe 
sung, 
O thou, the only one on earth my heart can love! 
She was at once a Syreneand a Circé; the had a langui- 
fhing eye, a fine fkin, an enchanting softnefs, and an air 
of honesty that would have deceived Ulyfses. Her mo- 
ther had been a dancer, and mifs was brought up in the opera 
house; and, from her, infancy, had learned to dance, to sing, 
to receive the friends of her mama, and to be present at all 
