must have smarted, to have forced them. upon the use of it

Grant me, O ye powers which touch the tongue with eloquence in distress! -whatever is my caft, grant me but decent words to exclaim in, and I will give my nature way.

-But as these were not to be had in France, I refolved to take every evil juft as it befel me without any exclamation at all.

La Fleur, who had made no fuch covenant with himself, followed the bidet with his eyes till it was got out of fight -and then, you may imagine, if you please, with what word he clofed the whole affair.

As there was no hunting down a frighten'd horse in jack-boots, there remained no alternative but taking LaFleur either behind the chaife, or into

it

I preferred the latter, and in half an hour we got to the post-house at Nampont.

-A

NAMPONT.

THE DEAD ASS.

ND this, faid he, putting the remains of a cruft into his wallet -and this, fhould have been thy portion, faid he, hadft thou been alive to have shared it with me.-I thought by the accent, it had been an apostrophe to his child; but 'twas to his ass, and to the very afs we had feen dead in the road, which had occafioned La Fleur's mifadventure. The man feemed to lament it much; and it inftantly brought into my mind Sancho's lamentation for his; but he did it with more true touches of nature.

The mourner was fitting upon a stonebench at the door, with the afs's pannel and its bridle on one fide, which he took up from time to time-then laid them down-look'd at them and shook his head. He then took his cruft of bread out of his wallet again, as if to

eat it; held it fome time in his hand. then laid it upon the bit of his afs's bridle-looked wiftfully at the little arrangement he had made-and then gave a figh.

The fimplicity of his grief drew numbers about him, and La Fleur amongst the reft, whilft the horfes were getting ready; as I continued fitting in the poftchaife, I could fee and hear over their heads.

-He faid he had come laft from Spain, where he had been from the fur. theft borders of Franconia; and had got fo far on his return home, when his afs died. Every one feemed defirous to know what bufinefs could have taken fo old and poor a man fo far a journey from his own home.

It had pleafed heaven, he faid, to blefs him with three fons, the finest lads in all Germany; but having in one week loft two of the eldeft of them by the fmall-pox, and the youngest falling ill of the fame diftemper, he was afraid of being bereft of them all; and made a

vow, if Heaven would not take him from him also, he would go in gratitude to St. Iago in Spain.

When the mourner got thus far on his ftory, he stopp'd to pay nature his tribute and wept bitterly.

He faid, Heaven had accepted the conditions, and that he had set out from his cottage with this poor creature, who had been a patient partner of his journey- that it had eat the fame bread with him all the way, and was unto him as a friend.

-La

Every body who stood about, heard the poor fellow with concern— Fleur offered him

money-The mourner faid, he did not want itit was not the value of the afs-but the lofs of him.-The afs, he said, he was affured loved him-and upon this told them a long ftory of a mischance upon their paffage over the Pyrenean mountains which had feparated them from each other three days; during which time the afs had fought him as much as he had fought the ass, and that

they had neither scarce eat or drank till they met.

Thou haft one confort, friend, faid I, at leaft in the lofs of thy poor beaft; I'm fure thou haft been a merciful mafter to him.-Alas! faid the mourner, I thought fo, when he was alive-but now that he is dead I think otherwife. -I fear the weight of myfelf and my afflictions together have been too much for him-they have fhortened the poor creature's days, and I fear I have them to answer for.-Shame on the world! faid I to myself-Did we love each other, as this poor foul but loved his afs'twould be fomething.

THE

NAMPONT.

THE POSTILLION.

HE Concern which the poor fellow's story threw me into required fome attention: the poftillion paid not the leaft to it, but set off upon the pavé in a full gallop.