complains of the absence of his parishioners during the week, so long as he enjoys the satisfaction of seeing them assembled on the Sunday. On that day, mass is performed at an hour convenient to all the inhabitants, and it receives additional splendour only from an increased audience. As there is no man in our village employed both at the church and at the opera, the mass is never delayed whilst the singer is fetched from the opera-house, and half of the vespers is not omitted, to give time to some figurante to reach the theatre before the curtain rises. Neither have we any of those fine musical masses, with duets and trios in the style of operas: and when the collection is to be made, his reverence does not choose the prettiest woman, whose beauty might awaken profane thoughts, nor the richest, who might dazzle by the splendour of her attire, but the most discreet, the most modest, who accepts the office with gratitude, and performs it with decency. This honour'excites the emulation of all the young damsels in the village, and their very rivalry is an homage to virtue. "And yet I am compelled to confess, and I tell it you in confidence, that some of those, who during the week are most assiduous in their pious exercises, seem to derive no benefit whatever from it. There is a rich merchant, who never omits to attend mass, and yet cannot get rid of his habit of selling dearer than every one else. At church, his devotion is most edifying, but at home his inattention is so great, that he usually gives short weight. I have been obliged to forsake his shop, and I was sorry for it, because he has, through all the country, a much greater reputation for probity than the man with whom I now deal; but the latter sells cheaper and serves better,-things not to be neglected in an economical household. "The curate seldom omits after mass to take a walk through the village. Sometimes he endeavours to excite the compassion of his rich parishioners towards poor people, who have not the confidence to beg for themselves; sometimes he assists in the parish school; he questions the children, and thus satisfies himself at once of their progress and of the fidelity of the master. His visits are not all attended with the same happy consequences wealth has its scruples to avoid charity; some people will not give alms to encourage mendicity; and fear to give in one instance, lest they should be drawn into a habit of it. "But money alone will not always console misfortune; there are griefs which riches cannot remedy, tears which bounty cannot dry up, and his reverence varies his attention as the case requires; to one he gives, another he consoles, and frequently pours the balm of hope into the rankling wounds of wretchedness. Indulgent as the religion he professes, he compassionates both the miseries and the weaknesses of humanity: the mild eloquence of his remonstrances have brought back more than one stray sheep to the fold; and when a hapless victim, whose life has been blasted by the withering breath of scepticism, is about to resign himself to the sleep which he believes eternal, our good curate, appalled by no difficulties, glides softly to his pillow, and by his energetic discourse, his touching and paternal exhortations, infuses conviction and remorse into his soul, which he fosters to a saving repentance. Thanks to his humanity, in this village, even the hardened criminal is not suffered to die in despair. "The burying-ground, which you see there, through the window, is also one of his accustomed walks; it is there principally that he reads his breviary; seated on a tomb, as he says, on the very brink of corruption and of eternity, he meditates on his sermons for the great festivals. I have sometimes listened to him rehearsing them, and nothing gives him greater pleasure than to find me moved to tears by overhearing them; it is true, that this is generally the prelude to the whole village doing the same. "Our burying-ground does not boast the magnificence of those of the capital; our parishioners have not the rage for building fine tombs; they erect dwellings rather for their posterity than for their car casses -" and as I now pointed out to her one, which seemed at variance with her assertion, she hastened to apprize me, that the two columns of white marble indicated the spot where the Baron de Bro- was to have been buried. This rich young nobleman had bought the ground at a dear rate, and after having himself superintended the plan for his last abode, after having directed the work and chosen the decorations, had died on board a frigate on her way to the Indies, and had found a simple grave in the sea. "And thus," observed I to Darvis, "Fortune does not ensure to the man who proposes it, even the occupation of his own tomb." "My master," continued Monimia, "mostly dines at home, but rarely alone. Sometimes he rises from table at the very beginning of his meal, to go to the assistance of some of his parishioners, for he never suffers them to wait for him. I may well scold him, represent to him how injurious it is to his health to do so; but he excuses himself to his guests, and goes away without answering me. "I recollect one day that I left him, after having served up dinner, and what was my surprise, on my return, to behold a whole family seated at the table, devouring his meal, whilst he, standing behind them, the bottle in his hand, was filling by turns to the father, the mother, and two children. I was choked by my tears, and could say nothing. The curate, who could not understand why I should be so much affected, begged me to go down again into the cellar, and I could not help obeying him. "It is usually in the afternoon that he examines in the catechism: he admits all children, of whatever rank, without distinction; he is equally kind to all, and this equal distribution of his favours excites a laudable emulation amongst them; it gives to some a desirable degree of confidence, and imposes on others a necessary restraint, both of which have a most beneficial influence on their conduct. He is of opinion that to inspire children with the love of virtue, you must first set them the example. "In the evening, he sometimes attends the parties of some of his neighbours, or invites them to join his; and I have always admired his complaisance to a crowd of originals, to whose caprices and humours he pays an attention that angers me. Piquet and trictrac are the usual games of these parties, and the gains consigned to a box for the benefit of the poor: thus those who lose do good, and the unfortunate mutually assist each other." Monimia, after taking breath, was about to enter on a fresh chapter of her master's eulogium, when he abruptly entered, and thus addressed us: "Heaven has sent you here to assist me to perform a good action. The man, from whose house I have just come, is one of those whom fate has loaded with a splendid misery. The foundling of fortune, she has crushed him beneath her favours. Discreet enough to do himself justice, and always surprised at his successes, he trembles to enjoy them. Convinced by hourly observation that money is the representative of every thing that is valuable, he has exchanged part of his wealth for the semblance of love and part for the appearances of friendship. Averse to a lasting tie, he has purchased the shame of giving existence to children, whom he does not permit to call him father. Skilled in affairs of merchandise, he has thrown a golden veil over his errors, and fortune has gratified him with the public esteem. Powerful men have entreated him to grant the honour of his name to their daughters; and his sons, wiser than himself, have formed legitimate alliances. Yet this fortunate man, abandoned by health, which for a long time deceived his age and his wishes, sees, fast approaching, the term of a life, which has been a continued succession of pleasures and gaiety; and this man, who could not leave his name to his children, is now anxious to deprive them of their inheritance. I found him dictating to his notary a will, which would be a monument of the most stupid cruelty. He leaves castles and houses to those who for a moment called themselves his friends; he pays his servants with annuities, and his flatterers with jewels; and from the list of his legatees he excludes only his children. My remonstrances have a little shaken his determination, and I do not doubt that the presence of those whom he is about to disinherit would altogether change his purpose. Hasten then immediately in search of them, and if possible bring them hither before night-fall; something whispers to my heart that we shall succeed.' I immediately took leave of my cousin, and Monimia politely attended us to the place where our carriage waited for us. Darvis said nothing; what he had seen and heard convinced him that he had too precipitately condemned mankind; and yet I confess I should have been very much embarrassed, if he had deferred his conversion till I could have brought forward two more such examples. Just as we were mounting the little vehicle that was to take us to Paris, Monimia twitched me by the sleeve. "I hope, sir," said she, "that you will not betray my confidence. My master cannot but gain by being known; but he would never forgive me for having said so much good of him; and the other persons named perhaps might be hurt by my observations. Every body wishes to be thought otherwise than ridiculous, and they never pardon those who draw back the curtain to expose them to public notice: you may say what you will of their virtues, their talents, their fortunes; such praises never cure the wounds inflicted on their self-love." calmed Monimia's anxiety as to the consequences of her communicativeness, but I dared not promise her absolute secrecy, for I felt an inward determination to pursue an opposite course. I. FORTUNE'S PAGEANT. THINK of this world, my friend, as of a show |