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said I, was he too old for her? And giving the officer a look that I fancy was something akin to the face on the sign, called the Bull and Mouth, within Aldersgate, I went out into the street.

The marquis, so he was styled, a man of honour, and of spirit too, took it as I meant it, and followed me in a moment, and hemm'd after me in the street; upon which I stopped, and he came up to me; Sir, said he, our circumstances are very unhappy in France, that we cannot do ourselves justice here, without the most severe treatment in the world; but, come on it what will, you must explain yourself to me on the subject of your behaviour just now.

I was a little cooled, as to the point of my conduct to him in the very few moments that had passed, and was very sensible that I was wrong to him, and I said, therefore, to him very frankly, Sir, you are a gentleman, whom I know very well, and I have a very great respect for you; but I had been disturbed a little about the conduct of my wife, and, were it your own case, what would you have done less?

I am sorry for any dislike between you and your wife, says he, but what is that to me? Can you charge me with any indecency to her, except my talking so and so (at which he repeated the words), and, as I knew you were in the next room, and heard every word, and that all the doors were open, I thought no man could have taken amiss so innocent an expression.

I could no otherwise take it amiss, said I, than as I thought it implied a farther familiarity, and that you cannot expect should be borne by any man of honour; however, sir, said I, I spoke only to my wife; I said nothing to you, but gave you my hat as I passed you.

Yes, said he, and a look as full of rage as the devil; are there no words in such looks?

I can say nothing to that, said I, for I cannot see my own countenance; but my rage, as you call it, was at my wife, not at you.

But hark you, sir, said he, growing warm as I grew calm, your anger at your wife was for her discourse with me, and Í think that concerns me too, and I ought to resent it.

I think not, sir, said I, nor had I found you in bed with my wife, would I have quarrelled with you; for, if my wife will let you lie with her, it is she is the offender, what have I to

do with you ? You could not lie with her, if she was not willing, and if she is willing to be a whore, I ought to punish her; but I should have no quarrel with you; I will lie with your wife, if I can, and then I am even with you.

I spoke this all in good humour, and in order to pacify him, but it would not do; but he would have me give him satisfaction, as he called it. I told him I was a stranger in the country, and perhaps should find little mercy in their course of justice; that it was not my business to fight any man in his vindicating his keeping company with my wife, for that the injury was mine, in having a bad woman to deal with; that there was no reason in the thing, that after any man should have found the way into my bed, I, who am injured, should go and stake my life upon an equal hazard against the man who has abused me.

Nothing would prevail with this person to be quiet for all this; but I had affronted him, and no satisfaction could be made him, but that at the point of the sword; so we agreed to go away together to Lisle in Flanders. I was now soldier enough not to be afraid to look a man in the face, and as the rage at my wife inspired me with courage, so he let fall a word, that fired and provoked me beyond all patience; for speaking of the distrust I had of my wife, he said, unless I had good information, I ought not to suspect my wife. I told him, if I had good informatiou, I should be past suspicion; he replied, if he was the happy man that had so much of her favour, he would take care then to put me past the suspicion; I gave him as rough an answer as he could desire, and he returned in French, Nous verrons aux Lisle, that is to say, We will talk farther of it at Lisle.

I told him I did not see the benefit either to him or me of going so far as Lisle to decide this quarrel, since now I perceived he was the man I wanted, that we might decide this quarrel, aux champ, upon the spot, and whoever had the fortune to fell the other, might make his escape to Lisle as well afterwards as before.

Thus we walked on talking very ill-naturedly on both sides, and yet very mannerly, till we came clear of the suburbs of Paris, on the way to Charenton; when, seeing the way clear, I told him, under those trees was a very fit place for us, pointing to a row of trees adjoining to Monsieur

-'s garden-wall; so we went thither, and fell to work

immediately; after some fencing, he made a home thrust at me, and run me into my arm, a long slanting wound, but at the same time received my point into his body, and soon after fell; he spoke some words before he dropped; first, he told me I had killed him; then he said he had indeed wronged me, and, as he knew it, he ought not to have fought me; he desired I would make my escape immediately, which I did into the city, but no farther, nobody, as I thought, having seen us together. In the afternoon, about six hours after the action, messengers brought news, one on the heels of another, that the marquis was mortally wounded, and carried into a house at Charenton; that account, saying he was not dead, surprised me a little, not doubting but that, concluding I had made my escape, he would own who it was; however, I discovered nothing of my concern, but, going up into my chamber, I took out of a cabinet there what money I had, which indeed was so much as I thought would be sufficient for my expenses; but having an accepted bill for two thousand livres, I walked sedately to a merchant who knew me, and got fifty pistoles of him upon my bill, letting him know my business called me to England, and I would take the rest of him when he had received it.

CHAPTER XV.

DISTRESS OF MY WIFE-I CAST HER OFF, AND TAKE HORSE FOR LORRAINE-I ARRIVE SAFELY IN LONDON-NEWS OF MY WIFE, TO WHOM I SEND A SMALL SUM OF MONEY— HER GALLANT RECOVERS, AND CLEARS MY HANDS OF HER—I MEET WITH A YOUNG WIDOW IN A STAGE COACH, WITH WHOM I FALL IN FANCY, AND MARRY WITH EVERY PROSPECT OF HAPPINESS-SHE TAKES TO DRINKING AND DIES.

HAVING furnished myself thus, I provided me a horse for my servant, for I had a very good one of my own, and once more ventured home to my lodging, where I heard again that the marquis was not dead. My wife, all this while, covered her concern for the marquis so well, that she gave

me no room to make any remark upon her; but she saw evidently the marks of rage and deep resentment in my behaviour after some little stay, and perceiving me making preparations for a journey, she said to me, Are you going out of town? Yes, madam, says I, that you may have room to mourn for your friend the marquis; at which she started, and showed she was indeed in a most terrible fright, and making a thousand crosses about herself, with a great many callings upon the Blessed Virgin, and her country saints, she burst out at last, Is it possible! Are you the man that killed the marquis? Then you are undone, and I too.

You may, madam, be a loser by the marquis being killed, but I'll take care to be as little a loser by you as I can; it is enough, the marquis has honestly confessed your guilt, and I have done with you; she would have thrown herself into my arms, protesting her innocence, and told me she would fly with me, and would convince me of her fidelity, by such testimonies as I could not but be satisfied with, but I thrust her violently from me; Allez infame! said I, go, infamous creature, and take from me the necessity I should be under, if I stayed, of sending you to keep company with your dear friend the marquis. I thrust her away with such force, that she fell backward upon the floor, and cried out most terribly, and indeed she had reason, for she was very much hurt.

It grieved me indeed to have thrust her away with such force, but you must consider me now in the circumstances of a man enraged, and, as it were, out of himself, furious and mad. However, I took her up from the floor, and laid her on the bed, and calling up her maid, bid her go and take care of her mistress; and, going soon after out of doors, I took horse, and made the best of my way, not towards Calais or Dunkirk, or towards Flanders, whither it might be suggested I was fled, and whither they did pursue me the same evening, but I took the direct road for Lorrain, and, riding all night, and very hard, I passed the Maine the next day at night, at Chalons, and came safe into the Duke of Lorrain's dominions the third day, where I rested one day only, to consider what course to take, for it was still a most difficult thing to pass any way, but that I should either be in the king of France's dominions, or be taken by the French allies as a subject of France; but getting good advice from a priest at Bar le Duc, who, though I did not tell him the

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particulars of my case, yet guessed how it was, it being, as he said, very usual for gentlemen in my circumstances to fly that way. Upon this supposition, this kind padre got me a church pass, that is to say, he made me a purveyor for the abbey of and, as such, got me a passport to go to Deux Ponts, which belonged to the King of Sweden. Having such authority there, and the priest's recommendation to an ecclesiastic in the place, I got passports from thence in the King of Sweden's name to Cologne, and then I was thoroughly safe; so, making my way to the Netherlands, without any difficulty, I came to the Hague, and from thence, though very privately, and by several names, I came to England; and thus I got clear of my Italian wife, whore I should have called her; for, after I had made her so myself, how should I expect any other of her.

Being arrived at London, I wrote to my friend at Paris, but dated my letters from the Hague, where I ordered him to direct his answers. The chief business of my writing was, to know if my bill was paid him, to inquire if any pursuit was made after me, and what other news he had about me, or my wife, and particularly how it had fared with the marquis.

I received an answer in a few days, importing that he had received the money on my bill, which he was ready to pay as I should direct; that the marquis was not dead, but said he, you have killed him another way, for he has lost his commission in the guards, which was worth to him twenty thousand livres, and he is yet a close prisoner in the Bastile; that pursuit was ordered after me upon suspicion; that they had followed me to Amiens, on the road to Dunkirk, and to Chastean de Cambresis, on the way to Flanders; but missing me that way, had given it over; that the marquis had been too well instructed to own that he had fought with me, but said, that he was assaulted on the road, and unless I could be taken, he would take his trial and come off for want of proof; that my flying was a circumstance indeed that moved strongly against him, because it was known that we had had some words that day, and were seen to walk together; but that nothing being proved on either side, he would come off with the loss of his commission, which, however, being very rich, he could bear well enough.

As to my wife, he wrote me word she was inconsolable,