whofe lively eye and countenance, as expreffive as uncommon, interefted me greatly.

I approached, hoping to engage him in a converfation which might enable me to form a better judgment of his character, but I was deceived in my expectation; for whether he was difpleafed with my forward eagernefs, or was in reality going before I came up to him, he immediately paid for his difh of coffee, and faluting me with a cold and diftant politenefs left the room.

Piqued at his behaviour, and obbliged to follow him by a kind of irresistible charm, I went out after him, and, keeping him in fight, though at a diftance, presently faw him go down one of the walks of the Fauxbourg de la Guillotiere, which I likewife immediately entered.

He walked alone in one of the molt retired alleys; and I, fearing again to offend, went into another, pretending not to take any notice of him, though at the fame time infenfibly approaching him, but feemingly attentive to another object.

However, as I could difcern by a fide glance that he perceived and no longer endeavoured to avoid me, when I came to the bottom of the walk, I entered that in which he was, still affecting an absent behaviour; and, prefently after meeting him, saluted him fo refpectfully, that he could no longer doubt he was recollected by me.

But how great was my furprise when, on turning, at the end of the walk, I looked in vain for the stranger who had fo much engaged my curiofity, and who, as I was informed by one of the porters, had just left the place.

You are no ftranger to my difpofition or opinions, my friend, continued Marivaux, who faw I could not help fmiling.

Far from finding my curiosity di

59

minifhed, it was fo much increased, that, having fought him again the next day, and found him in the fame place, I fufficiently overcame my timidity to go up to him, and, with as much earneftnefs as I was capable of at that age, intreated him to grant me his company, though only for a few minutes.

I know you, Monfieur de Marivaux, anfwered he fmiling; and you may perceive that the trouble you have been at to procure a knowledge of me has not escaped my notice; but in this endeavour (at least at prefent) you will not fucceed.

How! Sir: I have the honour to be known to you, and yet you will refuse

Be calm.-Yes; I know you, and knew your father, and the greater part of your relations; and, what is more, I know the motives which brought you hither, and am as well acquainted as you are yourself with your disguft at your prefent fituation; but reasons which I cannot discover compel me to beg you will enquire no farther, and be not offended if I now take my leave.

I ask your pardon, Sir; but fince you know me, may I not at least hope

No, I tell you, I cannot now, and it is to no puropose to press me any more. Do not attempt to follow me, it can be of no advantage to you, but may prove hurtful to us both. I can only fay you have excited in me a confiderable regard for you, of which it depends on yourself to receive one day convincing proofs. Adieu, then, my dear Marivaux, continue to cultivate literature, and above all to preserve your rectitude; and, whatever may happen, be certain, and rely on my word for it, you shall not die till you have feen me again. Once more adieu ; we are obferved, and I cannot stay any longer.

The

The next day I made a very diligent fearch in all the coffee-houses, public places, and inns, of Lyons, but to no purpose. This extraordinary person was known to no one, and feemed to have been a phantom vifible to me alone. I have now lived almof forty years, and have not feen him fince.

Such is my hiftory, faid Marivaux fighing; and in fpite of every en deavour to difregard the impreffion made on me by this adventure, I never can perfuade myself that this man was either an imaginary being or an impoftor; who had any kind of intereft, prefent or future, in abufing the credulity of a perfon from

whom he had nothing to hope, and ftill lefs to fear.

I then perceived, my dear Marquis, how improbable it was I should be able to remove a prejudice for deeply rooted: it even appeared to me that, could I effect it, it would only be doing my friend an unkindnefs, fince it rendered him perfe&ly eafy under his ailments; and I have fince learned by Mademoiselle de St. Jean, at whofe house he lived, that he died at the age of feventy five, without doubting the truth of what had been told him by his little old man, or abandoning the expectation of feeing him once more..

I have the honour, &c.

APPHO is the only child of Clemens, who is a widower: a paffionate fondnefs for this daughter, tempered with a very small share of obfervation or knowledge of the world, determined Clemens to an attempt (which has feldom been found to fucceed) of rendering Sappho a miracle of accomplishments, by putting her under the inftructions of mafters in almost every art and fcience at one and the fame time: His house now became an academy of musicians, dancing-masters, language-mafters, drawing-mafters, geographers, hiftorians, and a variety of inferior artists male and female; all these studies appeared the more defirable to Clemens from his own ignorance of them, having devoted his life to bufinefs of a very different nature. Sappho made juft as much progrefs in each as is ufual with young ladies fo attended; fhe could do a little of most of them, and talk of all: She could play a concerto by heart with every grace her mafter had taught her, note for note, with the precife repetition of a barrel organ: She had ftuck the room round with drawings, which Clemens praifed to the fkies, and which Sappho affured him had been only touched up a little by her mafter: She could tell the capital of every country, when he questioned her out of the newfpaper, and would point out the very fpot upon the terreftrial globe, where Paris, Madrid, Naples, and Conftantinople actually were to be found: She had as much French as puzzled Clemens, and would have ferved

her to buy blonde-lace and Paris netting at a French milliner's; nay, fhe had gone so far as to pen a letter in that language to a young lady of her acquaintance, which her master, who ftood over her whilft fhe wrote it, declared to be little inferior in ftyle to Madame Sevigné's. In hiftory, both ancient and modern, her progrefs was proportion able; for he could run through the twelve Cæfars in a breath, and reckon up all the kings from the conqueft upon her fingers without putting one out of place: This appeared a prodigy to Clemens, and in the warmth of his heart he fairly told her fhe was one of the world's wonders. Sappho aptly fet him right in this mistake, by affuring him that there were but feven wonders in the world; all of which fhe repeated to him, and only left him more convinced that he herfelf was defervedly the eighth.

There was a gentleman about fifty years old, a friend of Clemens, who came frequently to his houfe, and, being a man of talents and leifure, was fo kind as to take great pains in directing and bringing Sappho forward in her ftudics. This was a very acceptable fervice to Clemens; and the vifits of Mufidorus were always joyfully welcomed both by him and Sappho herself: Mufidorus declared himfelf overpaid by the delight it gave him to contemplate the opening talents of fo promifing a young la dy; and as Sappho was now of years to establifh her pretenfions to tafte and fentiment,

Mufi

Mufidorus made fuch a felection of authors for her reading, as were beft calculated to accomplish her in thofe particulars: In fettling this important choice, he was careful to put none but writers of delicacy and fenfibility into her hands; interesting and affecting tales or novels were the books he chiefly recommended, which by exhibiting the fair eft patterns of female purity (fuf fering diftrefs and even death itself from the attacks of licentious paffion in the grof fer fex), might infpire her fympathetic heart with pity, and guard it from feduction, by difplaying profligacy in its moft odious colours.

Sappho's propenfity to thefe ftudies fully anfwered the intentions of her kind director, and the became more and more attached to works of fentiment and pathos. Mufidorus's next folicitude was to form her ftyle; and with this view he took upon himself the trouble of carrying on a kind of probationary correfpondence with her. This happy expe tient fucceeded beyond expectation; for as two people, who faw each other every day, could have very little matter to write upon, there was fo much the more exercife for in vention; and fuch was the copioufnefs and fluency of expreffion which she became miftrefs of by this ingenious practice, that the could fill four fides of letter-paper with what other people exprefs upon the back of a card. Clemens once, in the exultation of his heart, put a bundle of these manufcripts into my hands, which he confeffed he did not clearly understand, but nevertheless be lieved them to be the most elegant things in the language. I fhall give the reader a fample of two of them which I drew out of the number, not by choice, but by chance; they were carefully folded, and labelled on the back in Sappho's own hand as follows, Mufidorus to Sappho of the 10th of June; underneath he had wrote with a pencil these words:

PICTURESQUE! ELEGANT!

HAPPY ALLUSION TO THE SUN! KING DAVID NOT TO BE COMPARED TO MUSIDORUS.

Here follows the note; and I cannot doubt but the reader will confess that its contents deferve all that the label expreffes.

"June the 10th, 1785.

"As foon as I arofe this morning, I ditected my eyes to the east, and demanded of the fun if he had given you my good morrow: This was my parting injunction last night when I took leave of him in the wet; and he this moment plays his beams with fo particular a luftre, that I am fatis fied he has fulfilled my commiffion, and fa luted the eye-lids of Sappho: If he is defcribed to come forth as a bridegroom out of bis VOL. IV. No 19.

41

chamber, how much rather may it be faid of him, when he comes forth out of yours? I fhall look for him to perform his journey this day with a peculiar glee; I expect he will not fuffer a cloud to come near him; and I shall not be surprised, if, through his eagerness to repeat his next morning's falu tation, he fhould whip his fiery-footed steeds to the weft fome hours before their time; un lefs indeed you should walk forth whilst he is defcending, and he should delay the wheels of his chariot to look back upon an object fo pleasing. You fee, therefore, moft amiable Sappho, that unless you fulfil your engage ment, and confent to repeat our ufual ram ble in the cool of the evening, our part of the world is likely to be in darkness before it is expected, and that nature herfelf will be put out of courfe, if Sappho forfeits her pro mife to Mufidorus."

SAPPHO IN REPLY TO MUSIDORUS.

"Ir nature holds her courfe till Sappho forfeits her word to Mufidorus, neither the fetting nor the rifing fun fhall vary from his appointed time. But why does Mufidorus afcribe to me fo flattering an influence, when, if I have any intereft with Apollo, it must be to his good offices only that I owe it? If he bears the meffages of Mufidorus to me, is it not a mark of his refpect to the peron who fends him, rather than to her he is fent to? And whoni fhould he fo willingly obey, as one whom he fo copiously, infpires? I fhall walk as usual in the cool hour of eventide, liftening with greedy ear to that dif courfe, which, by the refined and elevated fentiments it inspires, has taught me to look down with filent pity and contempt upon thofe frivolous beings, who talk the mere language of the fenfes, not of the foul, and to whofe filly prattle I neither condescend to lend an ear, or to fubfcribe a word. Know then that Sappho will referve her attention for Mufidorus; and if Apollo shall delay the wheels of bis chariot to wait upon us in our evening ramble, believe me he will not stop for the unworthy purpose of looking back upon Sappho, but for the nobler gratification of liftening to Mufidorus."

The evening walk took place as ufual; but it was a walk in the dusty purlieus of London, and Sappho fighed for a cottage and the country: Mufidorus feconded the figh, and he had abundance of fine things to fay on the occafion: Retirement is a charming fubject for a fentimental enthufiaft; there is not a poet in the language, but will help him out with a description: Mufidorus had them all at his fingers ends, from Hefperus that led the flarry boft down to a glow-worm.

The paffion took fo strong a hold of Sappho's mind, that the actually affiled her

F

father on the fubject, and with great energy of perfuafion moved him to adopt her ideas. It did not exactly fuit Clemens to break up a very lucrative profeffion, and fet out in fearch of fome folitary cottage, whose romantic fituation might fuit the fpiritualifed defires of his daughter, and I am afraid he was for once in his life not quite fo refpectful to her wishes as he might have been. Sappho was fo unused to contradiction, that the explained herself to Mufidorus with fome afperity, and it became the fubject of much debate between them: Not that he held a contrary opinion from hers; but the difficulty which embarrassed both parties was, where to find the happy scene fhe fighed for, and how to obtain it when it was found. The first part of this difficulty was at laft furmounted, and the chofen fpot was pointed out by Mufidorus, which, according to his defcription, was the very bower of felicity; it was in a northern country at a distance from the capital, and its fituation was most delectable. The next meafure was a ftrong one; for the queftion to be decided was, if Sappho fhould abandon her project or her father? She called upon Mufidorus for his opinion, and he delivered it as follows:-" If I was not convinced, most amiable Sappho, that a fecond application to Clemens would be as unfuccessful as the firit, I would advise you to the experiment; but as there is no doubt of this, it must be the height of imprudence to put that to a trial of which there is no hope: it comes therefore next to be confidered, if you fhall give up your plan, or execute it without his privity; in other words, if you fhall or fhall not do that which is to make you happy: If it were not confiftent with the ftrictest purity of character, I fhould anfwer no; but when I reflect upon the innocence, the fimplicity, the moral beauty of the choice you make, I then regard the duty you owe to yourself as fuperior to all others, which are falfely called natural; whereas, if you follow this in preference, you obey nature herself. If you were of an age too childish to be allowed to know what fuits you beft, or, if being old enough to be intitled to a choice, you wanted wit to make one, there would be no doubt in the cafe; nay, will go fo far as to fay, that if Clemens was a man of judgment fuperior to your own, I fhould be staggered with his oppofition; but if truth may ever be fpoken, it may on this occafion, and who is there that does not fee the weakness of the father's understanding; who but muft acknewledge the pre-eminence of the daugh'ter's? I will speak yet plainer, most incomparable Sappho, it is not fitting that folly fhould prefcribe to wisdom: The queftion, therefore, is come to an upfhot, Shall Sap

pho live a life the defpifes and detefts, to humour a father, whose weakness fhe pities, but whofe judgment fhe cannot refpect?"

rus,

"No," replied Sappho," that point is decided; pafs on to the next, and fpeak to me upon the practicability of executing what I am refolved to attempt." "The authority of a parent," refumed Mufido. "is fuch over an unprotected child, that reafon will be no defence to you against obftinacy and coercion. In the cafe of a fon, profeffion gives that defence; new duties are impofed by a man's vocation, which supercede what are called natural ones; but in the inftance of a daughter, where fhall fhe fly for protection against the imperious countrol of a parent, but to the arms— ? I tremble to pronounce the word; your own imagination must complete the fentence"Oh! horrible!" cried Sappho, interrupting him, "I will never marry; I will never fo contaminate the spotlefs luftre of my incorporeal purity: No, Mufidorus, no—I'll bear my blufbing honours ftill about me."—" And fit you fhould," cried Mufidorus; "what dæmon dare defile them? Perifh the man that could intrude a fenfual thought within the sphere of fuch repelling virtue !—But marriage is a form, and forms are pure; at leaft they may he fuch; there's no pollution in a name; and if a name will fhelter you, why fhould you fear to take it?""I perceive," anfwered Sappho," that I am in a very dangerous dilemma; fince the very expedient which is to protect me from violence of one fort, expofes me to it under another shape too odious to mention.". "And is there then," faid Mufidorus fighing," is there no human being in your thoughts in whom you can confide? Alas for me! if you believe you have no friend who is not tainted with the impurities of his fex: And what is friendship? What, but the union of fouls? and are not fouls thus united already married? For my part, I have long regarded our pure and spiritualized connection in this light; and I cannot forefee how any outward ceremony is to alter that inherent delicacy of fentiment, which is infeparable from my foul's attachment to the foul of Sappho. If we are determined to defpife the world, we should alfo defpife the conftructions of the world: If retirement is our choice, and the life and habits of Clemens are not to be the life and habits of Sappho, why fhould Mufidorus, who is ready to facrifice every thing in her defence, not be thought incapable of abufing her confidence, when he offers the protection of his name? If a few words muttered over us by a Scotch blackfmith will put all our troubles to reft, why fhould we refort to dangers and difficulties, when fo

eafy

eafy a remedy is before us?But why fhould I feek for arguments to allay your apprehenfions, when you have in me fo natural a fecurity for my performance of the ftricteft ftipulations?"- "And what is that fecurity?" fhe eagerly demanded. Mufidorus now drew back a few paces, and with the most folemn air and action, laying his hand upon his heart, replied, "My age, Madam!". "That's true," cried Sappho and now the converfation took a new turn; in the courfe of which they agreed upon their plan of proceeding, fettled their rendezvous for the next day, and Mufidorus departed to prepare all things neceffary for the fecurity of their expedition.

Upon the day appointed, Sappho, with her father's confent, fet out in a hired postchaife upon a pretended vifit to a relation, who lived about twenty miles from town on the northern road. At the inn where the was to change horfes, fhe difmiffed her London poftillion with a fhort note to her father, in which fhe told him the fhould write to him in two or three days time. Here she took poft for the next stage upon the great road, where fhe was met by Mufidorus, and from thence they preffed forward with all poffible expedition towards Gretna Green.

The mind of Sappho was vifited with fome compunctions by the way; but the eloquence of her companion, and the refpectful delicacy of his behaviour, foon reconeiled her confcience to the step she had taken. The reflections which paffed in Mufidorus's breaft were not fo eafily quieted: The anxiety of his thoughts, and the fatigues of the journey, brought fo violent an attack upon him, that when he was within a ftage or two of his journey's end, he found himfelf unable to proceed; the gout had feized upon his ftomach, and immediate relief became neceffary: The romantic vifions, with which Sappho hitherto had indulged her imagination, now began to vanish, and a gloomy profpect opened upon her; in place of a comforter and companion by the way to footh her cares, and fill her mind with foft healing fentiments, fhe had a wretched object before her eyes, tormented with pain and at the point of death.

The house in which she had taken fhelter was of the meaneft fort, but the good people were humane and affiduous, and the village afforded a medical affiftant of no contemptible skill in his profeffion: There was another confolation attended her fituation, for in the fame inn was quartered a dragoon officer with a small recruiting party. This young coronet was of a good family, of an engaging perfon, and of a very elegant addrefs; his humanity was exerted not only in

43

confoling Sappho, but in nurfing and cheers ing Mufidorus. Thefe charitable offices were performed with fuch a natural benignity, that Sappho must have been most infenfible if he could have overlooked them; her gentle heart on the contrary overflowed with gratitude, and in the extremity of her diftrefs, fhe freely confeffed to him, that but for his fupport fhe must have funk outright. Though the extremity of Mufidorus's danger was now over, yet he was incapable of exertion; and Sappho, who was at leifure to reflect upon her fituation, began to waver in her refolution, and to put fome queftions to herself, which reafon could not readily anfwer. Her thoughts were fo distracted and perplexed, that the faw no refource but to unburden them, and throw herself upon the honour and difcretion of Lionel, for fo this young officer was called. This the had frequently in mind to do, and many opportunities: offered themfelves for it, but ftill her fenfibility of fhame prevented it. The constant apprehenfion of purfuit hung over er her, and fometimes the meditated to go back to her father. In one of thefe moments fhe had begun to write a letter to Clemens to prepare him for her return, when Lionel entered the room, and informed her, that he perceived fo vifible an amendment in Mufidorus, that he expected to congratulate her on his recovery in a very few days" and then, Madam," added he, " my forrows will begin where yours end. Be it fo! if you are happy, I must not complain: I prefume this gentleman is your father, or near relation?". "Father!" exclaimed Sappho :- -She caft her eyes upon the letter she was inditing, and burst into tears. Lionel approached, and took her hand in his; the raifed her handkerchief to her eyes with the other, and he proceeded- "If my anxious folicitude for an unknown lady, in whofe happiness my heart is warmly interefted, expofes me to any hazard of your displeasure, ftop me before I fpeak another word; if not, confide in me, and you fhall find me ready to devote my life to ferve you. The mystery about you and the road you are upon (were it not for the companion you are with), would tempt me to believe you was upon a generous errand, to reward fome worthy man, whom fortune and your parents do not favour; but this poor object above stairs makes that impoffible. If, however, there is any favoured lover waiting in fecret agony for that expected moment, when your release from hence may crown him with the best of human bleffings, the hand which now has hold of yours thall be devoted to his fervice: Command me where you will; I never yet have forfeited my honour, and cannot wrong your confidence."

F 2

« You