lf<)2- trntfiohs of Abbe Blanchef. j- 



present and kept it five years. He gave him ano- 

 ther which was worth to him a canonry in the cathe- 

 dral church of Boulogne, near the sea. He set oul;, 

 and writes thus in his first letter : " Here I am arrived 

 .at Boulogne, the question now is whether I Ihall re- 

 main here ? That no mortal can determine ; for even 

 I myself, who ought to know more on that subject 

 than any one else, cannot !" It is from this period 

 that the scruples, the indecision, and the singularities 

 of the Abbe Blanchet, went on increasing ; but as he 

 was in some sort a double man, tliat is to say two 

 different characters were visible in him, we fliall soon 

 consider him in another point of view. His chapter 

 prefsed him to complete his orders ; he replied as he 

 had before done, and gave his resignation into tl^e 

 hands of M. de Mirepoix, who allowed him eight days 

 to consider of it» He persisted in it. The difficulty 

 was how ta inform his friend of it ; but M. de Cha- 

 vannes, who respected and admired the virtue which 

 kept him poor, accepted his reasons,, as he had before 

 done, without being disgusted. What would become 

 of human kind if strong minds did not every now 

 and then tak^ pity of the weak ? 



Being freed from his canonry,. he again took to 

 what he used to call in joke his Collar of rniserf., 

 and at which he was the first to laugh. " Since 

 one must row, said he, I row with a tolerable good 

 grace, and cheerfully enough." He always looked 

 on the title oi preceptor as honourable ; and delighted ^a 

 much in that profcfsion formerly so highly esteemed h 



^ See Plutarch', life of Tjj'seus and the 7th Satire of JuvenaL 



