and candour of this youth; when he considered his talents and amiability, and viewed his ingenuous but languid countenance flushed with a hectic which announced a swift decay, selfishness became extinct in his bosom, and in a fit of generous enthusiasm he exclaimed, regarding his wife and friend affectionately, "I see it all, and how impossible it was for two such excellencies not to love each other-and shall I then be the selfish mortal to divide two such hearts, or deny them the fulness of their love?—No, Sylvanus, live, be well-Florence is rich in love, and has a heart capable of entertaining us both-she will not appreciate me less for my generosity, and my friend I bind for life. Speak to him, Florence, assure him of comfort, and entreat him to recover for both our sakes." Sylvanus looked up, his face betraying a mixed expression of joy, wildness, and incredulity; but seeing Florence approach him, he threw his arms rapturously around her, straining her vehemently to his heart, pressing a long burning kiss upon her lips, which ending in a deep sigh, his hold slackened, and his head dropped upon her bosom lifeless. "By my faith" exclaimed the hearty Dorilaus, "but here have been two sad tales told together-in this latter one particularly, it seems difficult to determine whether love for his friend's wife, or inherent con→ sumption, had the greatest share in the catastrophe→→→ be that however as it may, I am determined we will have no more melancholy for the present, and to prove to you that love has not always such fatal terminations, and may be directed to divers and more substantial objects than youth and beauty, I will relate the Adventures of a Yorkshire Knight and his Daughter during their travels in search of accomplishments and taste-always however with the consent of our sovereign lady the Queen.” TALE IV. THE YORKSHIRE KNIGHT. The state of a fat turkey, the decorum He marches in with, all the train and circumstances, And then his sauce with oranges and onions, And at my need, I would betray my father, And, for a roasted congor, all my country. Oh then, goddess of plenty! Fill me this day with some rare delicates. He is none of these same ordinary eaters, that will devour three breakfasts and as many dinners without any prejudice to their bevers, drinkings, or suppers; but he hath a more courtly kind of hunger, and doth hunt more after novelty than hunger. May it please your Grace to take note of a Gentleman well read, deeply learned, and thoroughly grounded in the hidden knowledge of all sallads and pot herbs whatsoever. BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER. THE whole establishment of the Hotel de Londres, Rue de l'Ecu, Boulogne sur Mer, were drawn forth in the court yard, in as anxious expectation as French people can feel, expecting the arrival of an English Milor; the report of whose avant courier had just excited this anxiety and expectation. Madame with her stiff high cap and Valenciennes lappets; Mademoiselle with her sparkling eyes and jet hair, her piquant silk apron and silver chain, bearing the insignia of her domestic charge; the spruce garçon of 40, slipshod and uncombed, twirling an everlasting pirouette; sunburnt chambermaids, blue stockinged and boddiced, with flying caps, and dangling gold earpendants; jackbooted post-boys ceased to crack their eternal whips, and conducteurs thrust in their blue and red-capped heads among the assemblé, energetically whiffing their short pipes in token of the interest with which they participated the merveilleuse relations of Monsieur the courier, setting forth his magnifique employer, ses richesses, sa noblesse! I must premise, that this was before England had sent forth such motley crowds to bewilder innkeepers and their domestics, and contravene their previous notions of the elegance and grace attendant upon English riches and nobility. "Bon Dieu !" exclaimed Madame; "Mon Dieu!"" echoed Mademoiselle; "Mortbleu!" chirped the Garçon; "Jesus Marie!" the filles chambres; "Sacré diable !" the postillions and conducteurs,-at a doleful account given by Mons. Narcisse Jonquil of the innumerable maladies that oppressed Milor. Gout, asthma, pleurisy, water on the chest, loss of appetite and general debility, were but a few of those he enumerated. "Let your beds therefore be well-aired and of the softest; your wines old, natural and recherché; your soups and entremets of the rarest and most ex quisite, such as may tempt and provoke the appetite of an invalid by their racy piquancy, their delicate exactitude," "Mort de ma vie !" exclaimed the angry cook, who had been likewise drawn to the door by the bustle without, "dictate not to me in mine office; have I been cook to Monsieur le Duc de Serviette, broiled and minced, stuffed and stewed, larded and fricandeaued, forced, brazed and disguised, toiled and sweated, tasted, squeezed, sprinkled and digested fourscore various sauces for 'l'Amphitryon Recherché,'*-one hour begrimed and smoked like one of my own Bayonnes, the next basted and half roasted in tenderness for the roti. Keep your babbling, good Monsieur Courier, for le Garçon, superintend and assist the bed-making, but meddle not in affairs above your capacity." "Sacré nom de tonnere !" retorted the important courier, "Is it to Monsieur Narcisse Jonquil you talk thus? Have not princes, noblesse, and bourgeoise required my advice and submitted to my recommendations in the assorting of a table? and shall a mere machinist of dishes refuse to avail himself of my distinguishing gout in the choice of a few delicates, when they are for an Englishman, whose name alone coins rouleaus and Louis ?" " Ventre bleu !” sputtered the offended homme de bouche." If Milor has such a train of maladies infecting him, would not a sack posset or a few spoonfuls of chicken panado suit him better? and you, good A book the author believes is now out of print. |