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with shrivelled cheeks, a sallow complexion, a laced shoe on one foot, and his youthful hose a world too wide for his shrunk shanks,' who took great pains to accommodate the eldest of the sisters with a convenient seat, and had hustled himself on the end of the bench beside her. In his devoirs he was assisted by a lively-looking little man, seemingly not much younger, but much fresher than him, who very soon told us, in the only English words he seemed master of, that he was a native of Gascony, and had been but a few weeks in London. He was dressed in a full suit of black, had his hair tied in a thin queue, and his curls much indebted to a large quantity of powder and pomatum. Seeing me the only isolé person near him, he made a sign for me to approach the place where the Poupée was to give audience; and with a continuation of the same friendly action of his hand, offered me a pinch of snuff out of a very beautiful papier maché snuff-box. I thanked him in French, and we were immediately on an intimate footing.

Et vous monsieur,'- -said he, holding out the box to the gentleman with the slender legs. The old gentleman took the box; and examined very curiously some figures that were painted on the lid.

The master of the exhibition now made his appearance, and addressed the company (as nearly as I can recollect, after hearing the same piece of eloquence twice) in the following words: Ladies and gentlemen, Ave de goodness to regard dis young lady. She has had de honneur to be seen by de Emperor of Germany, de King of Prusse, de King and Queen of France, and Monseigneur le Dauphin, when he was but tri monts old, at which time she had de honneur of being exactly of de same size vid Monsiegneur. You see her attach'd to de plafond of de chamber only by dis small chain, no bigger dan

one silk trid, and I hold myself here at long distance from her, so dat it is impossible der can be communication vid any person. You see dat trompette which she wears at her mout; in dat if you speak any question it please you to put, in ever so low a visper, maʼmoiselle will ave de honneur of making answer.'

There was a short pause, nobody seeming to choose being the first to address her; till my Gascon rose, and making a bow, first to the old gentleman, by way of apology, and then to the young lady who sat next to him, handed her, who seemed not well to know whether to refuse going or not, up to the place, and with another bow presented her to the figure, to whom her question was to be addressed. Having been a visitor of the lady's before, I knew how to make the most of my visit; and contrived to place myself in such a situation as not only to hear the questions that should be put aloud, but to make a pretty shrewd guess at those which the questioner might not quite so much incline should be audible to the company, as well as the answers. The young lady blushed, smiled, and bit her fan; but being re-assured by her conductor, and the rest of the company, at last put her mouth to the little trumpet that conveys the question, and asked mademoiselle, in a half whisper, How many lovers she had?'- More than are good for me.' -Miss smiled again, but looked as if she did not agree with her.

The exhibitor made a sign to the French gentleman, who had handed back the young lady to her seat, to ask his question next. Place aux Dames,' said he, pointing to the married lady I mentioned before; who, recommending her lap-dog, who was sleeping on the bench by her, to the care of her relation, whom she now called cousin Martha, advanced to the figure, and asked her, If she was married?'— 'Dieu m'en garde-Heaven forbid,' answered the

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Poupée.The lady looked at her husband, and seemed as if she perfectly agreed with her.

As the gentleman got up to make way for his lady, he discomposed the lap-dog; for which his wife chid him, and scolded Martha. 'Does monsieur choose to ask any thing?' said the showman to him.- Not I,' said he surlily. Does your Doll never speak but when she is spoken to?'- —— Never, sir; she is too well bred.'-He interpreted the question and his answer to the Frenchman. C'est dommage,' said he in return. That's a pity, the gentleman thinks;' reinterpreted the exhibitor to the married man. No, by G, that it is not,' replied the other. The showman interpreted again;-the Gascon received it with one of those significant shrugs with which the philosophers of his country reconcile to themselves and others every dispensation of Providence.

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A lady, whom I had not observed before, now came forward. She was in a much fuller dress than any of the rest of the company, and had one of the finest complexions in the world. She looked very narrowly at the Poupée's head-dress, and the particular sit of. her tucker. What sort of paint do you use?' said she, loud enough to be heard by us who were near her. Vous n'en avez pas besoin,-You have no need on't,' answered the figure; the equivoque was a very polite one. 'C'est charmant!' said the Frenchman, looking first on the Poupée, and then on the lady; the lady drew back, and seemed inclined to blushbut could not.

'Do you choose, sir?' said our exhibitor to me. I declined putting the lady to the trouble, having been convinced of her abilities at Brussels. On this the old gentleman came forward. Like the last questioner, he examined mademoiselle very closely, putting on his spectacles to assist his examination. Pray, miss,' said he with a sort of chuckle, do you

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garter above or below the knee?' The answer was so low I could not hear it; but the old gentleman hobbled back to his seat, apparently not quite satisfied with his reception. The married lady now pressed her kinswoman to put her question in turn: but she would by no means consent to it, hinting that she could not think of putting her mouth to a trumpet that had so lately been polluted by the lips of a male. My friend the Gascon, on being told of her refusal, seemed to enjoy some joke that had struck him, and, as they sometimes think aloud, was muttering to himself. I heard the words, d'une certain age; but he stopped short, and said aloud, that the lady certainly thought it was more selon les règles for her to be asked questions than to ask them. Miss Martha pursed up her lips, and said something of impertinence and mixed companies. It is almost four,' said her kinswoman; and taking up the lap-dog, walked out of the room, leaning upon Miss Martha, and telling her husband to follow them. The Frenchman was on his feet in an instant; and, skipping over the benches, got down stairs in time enough to call her servant, and to hand, first her lap-dog, and then its mistress, into the carriage, that waited for them. He offered his hand to Miss Martha, who would not accept of it. The husband brushed past him with a look that did not seem to thank him for his attentions. Go home,' said the lady to the footman, who looked to her for the order; and the coach drove from the door. French gentleman turned to me, who was standing behind in the entrance; En Angleterre le marriage est une affaire si sombre,-In England marriage is so gloomy a business.'- - Quelquefois,-sometimes,' said I smiling.--My Frenchman caught himself immediately.—' Assurément, monsieur n'est pas marié. I assured him I was not married.- Il n'en pas l'air,-You have not the look on't.'--This, in

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his opinion, was both a felicitation and a compliment; and so it had one of my best bows at parting. V.

No. 23. SATURDAY, JULY 9, 1785.

IT has been remarked, that in proportion as a nation advances from barbarism to civilization, the women rise into esteem, hold a more important station in society, and become more and more objects of attention. Upon a fair estimate, we shall probably find a higher degree of true refinement in the polished nations of modern Europe than what prevailed even in the brightest days of Greece and Rome.

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ingly, a lady at the court of Versailles, or of London, is treated with respect, attention, and observance, to which an Athenian beauty, or a Roman matron, was not accustomed.

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One would naturally expect to meet with the same progress of refinement among writers who treat of the female character. We find, however, that this is not the case; and that women are often treated in books with the most sovereign contempt by the most elegant writers. An English author, distinguished for the elegance and the politeness of his manners, while he acknowledges the influence of the fair sex, and inculcates the necessity of gaining their good graces by every man who wishes to advance in the road of ambition, at the same time talks of women in general as beings of an inferior order. He does not scruple to call them, children of a larger growth,'