Howard will grow fat, and even Mr. Aberton cease to be a fool. And now,
most noble Pelham, farewell. Il est plus aise d'etre sage pour les
autres que de l'etre pour soi-meme."




CHAPTER XXI.

This is a notable couple--and have met
But for some secret knavery.
--The Tanner of Tyburn.

I had now been several weeks in Paris, and I was not altogether
dissatisfied with the manner in which they had been spent. I had enjoyed
myself to the utmost, while I had, as much as possible, combined profit
with pleasure; viz. if I went to the Opera in the evening, I learned to
dance in the morning; if I drove to a soiree at the Duchesse de
Perpignan's, it was not till I had fenced an hour at the Salon des
Assauts d'Armes; and if I made love to the duchess herself it was sure to
be in a position I had been a whole week in acquiring from my master of
the graces; in short, I took the greatest pains to complete my education.
I wish all young men who frequented the Continent for that purpose, could
say the same.

One day (about a week after the conversation with Vincent, recorded in my
last chapter) I was walking slowly along one of the paths in the Jardin
des Plantes, meditating upon the various excellencies of the Rocher de
Cancale and the Duchesse de Perpignan, when I perceived a tall man, with
a thick, rough coat, of a dark colour (which I recognized long before I