foon as we should be arrived at a place of fafety.

"We travelled with the greatest expedition until it was day, and even part of the morning; nor had we stopped when we did, had we not been afraid Matilda would be over-fatigued; we were willing, therefore, to allow a few hours rett, of which we thought he might ftand in need, To this end we alighted at an inn, which was not many leagues diftant from the frontiers of the elector's dominions; but ftaying here a little too long, was very near proving fatal to us: for Guy having difcovered his daughter's flight, as foon as it was light, if not before day-break, had dispatched divers horfemen in pursuit of us, who overtook us within three hundred paces of the inn, about an hour before the clofe of the evening.

"There were fix of them, well armed, and they seemed refolved not to give us any quarter; we judged, therefore, that we mult either conquer or die. In effect, the fair object, for whofe poffeffion we were about to venture our lives, infpired us with the moft lively courage; accordingly the Baron fought like a lion, and performed actions worthy of eternal fame; even Matilda herself would fignalize her bravery on this occafion; it seemed as if the drefs that fair maiden had put on had fortified ber against the fearfulness so natural to her fex; for the rushed, in fpite of us, into the midit of our purfuers, and fhot him who feemed to have the command of the reft, through the head. After fo refolute an action, you will not be fo much fur prized, my lord, at the heroic deeds to which you was witnels; for the brave Amazon, whom you faw behave fo gallantly, is that very Matilda of whom I have been now speaking.

"To return from whence I have digreffed, young Straalem and myself killed two others of our enemies, much about the fame time, which ftruck fuch a terror into the three who furvived, that they chole rather to owe their fafety to flight, than to run the hazard of undergoing the fame fate with their companions. As for ourselves, we had the good fortune not to receive any wounds which were dangerous in this action; my valet de chambre be, ing the only one that loft his life therein.

"After this brifk and bloody combat, we made all poffible hafte out of the territories of Bavaria; and as we were apprehensive of being again purfued, both by the orders of our fovereign, and of Matilda's father, if we ftaid in any place within the limits of the empire, we took refuge at Straiburgh, where we believed we should be more fecure, As foon as

we arrived there, the baron performed his promife, in marrying the fair maiden, who had behaved herself with so much prudence and modefty during the whole journey, that the greatly increased the esteem we before had for her.

"Then, and not till then, it was that I difcovered to them the lively paffion with which Matilda had infpired me, as alfo the great constraint I had put upon myself, and the violent ftruggle I had when I first became fenfible thereof to keep it within the bounds which friendship required, They both of them heard this confeffion with no little furprise, and could not help admiring the conqueft I had gained over myself: the baron, in particular, affured me, his value for me was before fo great, it could hardly admit of any increase; but nevertheless, this action of mine, in facrificing my love to him, would heighten his esteem for me, and render both that and his gratitude eternal. As for Matilda, the protefted I should always be dearer to her than any one but her husband, and fhe fhould ever love me with the affection of a fifter; to which both the and her spouse added, by way of gallantry, that they permitted me to call her my miftrefs.

"Thefe, my lord, are all the favours I have ever received from her to this day. Whenever I have taken delight in viewing her charms, I have obferved them to be tempered with fo much majefty, that if the one kindled in me the most ardent paffion, the other always kept it under due refraint, by infpiring me with the greatest awe and refpect; in fine, I can truly fay that love and friendship reigned at once equally in my breaft, and I should rather have chofen immediate death, than have given way to any thing which might have created the leaft uneafinefs in the ba ron or his lady.

"In the mean time, they both of them enjoyed a very happy state, when their satisfaction was interrupted by letters from our mutual friends at the court of Bavaria, which brought us the wort news we could poffibly have received. This was, that the elector had been so highly incenfed against us, that he had ordered us to be arraigned as ravifhers, and profecuted with the utmost severity that the law would allow. Guy himself was the moft earnest of any to folicit the court against us, and haften our ruin: in fhort, Straalem and myfelf were condemned to be beheaded, and our whole eftates confifcated.

"This misfortune, which we never in the least expected, made us refolve to advance farther into France; for we were apprehenfive of being arrested in Alfatia,, and thought even Strasburgle toe near our

OWR

1781.

own country. Paris, the fanctuary of all unfortunate ftrangers, appearing to us a more fecure retreat, we repaired forth with to that capital of the French domi, nions, which we found every way worthy the reputation it had obtained by the many wonders we there beheld, which we could never have been weary of admiring.

"We refided, then, in that beautiful city about two years; during which we ufed our utmost efforts, by the interpolition of our friends, to appeafe the anger of our fovereign and Matilda's fa, ther, but without the leaft fuccefs. Guy, being wholly influenced by his wife and Albert, was inexorable to all the folicitations and intreaties that could be made in our favour. Befides, he had obtained half of our forfeited eftates; which, to a man in whom intereft was the predominant paffion, as it was in him, was no Imall inducement to fhut his ears againit all the cries of nature, which pleaded in behalf of the baronefs: accordingly, he chofe rather to renounce his only daughter, than to be deprived of the estates, which, in cafe of a reconciliation, he must have restored to us.

66

Things being in this melancholy fituation, it is no wonder all our means of fpbfiftence at laft failed; our money was not only entirely gone, and all the valuable effects we had brought with us out of Bavaria, but even the jewels of the baronefs, wherewith the chearfully parted for our fuftenance, and which only put of our neceffity for a few months.

"In this cruel extremity, poverty, more than the news we heard, of an approaching war with our native country, made us think of withdrawing from Paris; we supported our misfortunes, how. ever with courage; and not being able to pitch upon any thing better, refolved to return to Germany, and take up arms in defence of the empire.

"The baronefs alone was an obstacle to this design, for it never entered on our thoughts that he could accompany us therein; her husband, therefore, whofe love for her was not the least abated, with much difficulty imparted it to her, grief and defpair being all the while painted in frong colours on his countenance. At the fame time he proposed to her, as had been agreed between us two, to endeavour to Bake her own peace as foon as poffible with her father, that the might find reception at his houfe whilft we went wherever the war fhould call us, till it fhould please fortune to put an end to our distress.

**But far from confenting to our propul, this heroine would never fo much

20

as hear of forfaking her husband; on the contrary, I will follow you wherever you go (faid fhe, with a manly resolution). and if it is impoffible for me to contribute to the change of your deftiny, I will at leaft render it more tolerable, by fharing it with you. Let not my fex (continued. fhe) be any hindrance to your undertaking, I will difguife.it, as I did before in our travels; nay more, I find in myself refolution enough to fecond you in all your military toils: come, my dear lord, let us at least deserve a better fate, by our courage and conftancy, or let us die generously in the defence of our country.'

"On hearing fo noble, and fo uncommon a declaration, the baron could no longer reftrain his tranfports, but embrac→ ing her tenderly feveral times, he extolled her refolution (from which he endeavoured, however, in vain to divert her) and gave her a thousand thanks for this new teftimony of her affection and generofity: as for my part, I was fo much furprized at this extraordinary and unprecedented inftance of heroic love and gallantry, that all I could do was to admire this incomparable lady, without uttering one fyllable.

"As the baronefs continued fixed in her refolution, there was no remedy but to comply with it; and in order to this, we remained two months longer at Paris; during which, having removed our lodgirgs to a diftant part of the town, for fear of being difcovered: we there taught that adorable charmer, who had now quitted the habit of her own fex a fecond time, all the exercises that were proper for the new profeffion fhe intended to follow. And the learnt them all with fuch eafe, as was perfectly astonishing; and handled her arms with fo much dexterity and grace, that he was taken for a moft accomplished cavalier. This done, we left Paris, and directing our course to Germany, where it was not long before the war was declared, entered ourselves all three as volunteers in the fame regiment.

"The baron and myself fhewed on all occafions that offered, we had no other hopes of rifing but by our valour; and our heroine refolving not to be behind us, has fufficiently demonftrated that love, which had given birth to her courage, had not only raised her above all perfons of her own fex, but had rendered her fuperior even to the most intrepid men.

"After an infinite number of actions, from which we came off with fome honour, we shut ourfelves up in this place, to have a thare in the glory of defending

it,

the avoiding of forbidden fruits, to keep conftantly the fairest, openest walks: the middle ones, between the extremities of the garden, being the fafeft and best.

The three young men having received thefe falutary inftructions, entered the garden, in which they found even much more than its outward appearance had promifed. They faw many fruit-trees, plants, and flowers, fweet to the fmell, and delightful to the eye: they heard nightingales, and other fong-birds whofe melody was inchanting. The diftribution of the waters for refreshment and fervice, was alfo admirable. Nor were there wanting here and there bowers of verdure, and even cabinets richly ornamented with gold and jewels.

The young men naturally enjoyed this delightful fpot. They eat its delicious fruits, and drank its pleafant waters, fome times refting under the fhelter of the fhadieft trees, on the boughs of which the mufick of the feathered chorifters lulled them harmoniously to fleep.

Having thus passed together some time they parted, by confent, each taking to thofe walks of the garden that he liked the best.

The firft having marked the abundance of its produce for the gratifications of fenfual appetite, abandoned himself to the delights of it; and thus eating and drinking, without fcrupling an indulgence of every circumstance of a voluptuous life, all heedless of the right or wrong of it, he paffed away his time in this carcer of unbridled licentioufnefs, totally unmindful of the advice given him by the third door-keeper.

The fecond of thefe young men, hav ing fixed his eyes and heart on the abundance of gold and jewels in the cabinets of the garden, fuffered them to ingrofs his whole care for the getting as much of them as he could; for which purpose he made purfes of his pockets, and facks of his clothes; and, under this poffeffion, he could neither eat, drink, nor fleep, with any comfort.

This exercise he followed, unremittingly, all the time he ftaid there, and unaccountably reckoning this among the delights of the garden gave himself wholly up to it, forgetting what the fecond door keeper had told him, that he might freely enjoy whatever he found there, but was not to keep any thing, for that he was not to carry more away than he had brought in with him.

The third young man, well remember ing every word the door-keepers had told him, did not approve of any of the walks his companions had chosen: he judged

them all, at the beft, unprofitable, if not highly culpable, repugnant as they were to the doctrine of the third door-keeper. He therefore thought it the most advifable to enjoy nothing more of that delightful garden than what was the moit naturally neceffary for the mere prefervation of his existence. His time he preferably employed in the contemplation of the various properties and ufes of the different trees, plants, and animals that were there in fuch prodigious order, amidft fuch infinite diverfity; none, in thort, of all the marvels of nature efcaping his obfervation. But what most aftonifhed him, was, that in a garden so wondefully laid out, fo finely preferved, he could never fee fo much as one gardener. This put him on the stretch to conjecture of who could be the mafter that kept it in fuch excellent order; well-concluding that this could never be merely accidental; that, on the contrary, there must be fome infinitely wife artist or malter, that had thus regulated every thing, though pleased to keep himself thus invifible.

This conclufion, every inftant of reflection, and much he reflected, the more confirmed; for his fpeculations on the actual order of things, only ferved to increafe his violent defire of knowing the mafter or gardener of this incomparable garden, for whom, though thus unknown, he could not help having the greatest love, in return for the fupport and delight he received from his works, both in the use and in the contemplation of them. In this fpirit, be examined all the parts of the garden, eager for discovering, if poffible, who was its owner.

Each of thefe probationers feverally continuing thus in their respective cour fes of life, according to the diverfity of their inclinations, and of the ends that each had proposed to himfelf, there came a meffenger from the king who had fent them, with an exprefs order for them to return inftantly to court, and give an account of themfelves. They, oblerving that the royal mandate was fo very definitive, inftantly obeyed, and fet out on their way back, leaving the garden, the first two with fentiments of regret, the other with none but thofe of duty and affection for the great king that had recalled him.

As they came out of the garden gate, the firit, who had given himself up to fenfibility and diffipation, feverely felt the change of the air, and withal the want of the dainties, delicacies, and luxuries to which he had been accuftomed in the garden, and to which he owed his being now grown a walking-hospital of difeafes, both

of