on the day fixed for signing the contract, (the seventh of June,) I sent for the apostolic notary, whose function it is to superintend this ceremony. But what was my surprise when this official told me that he was going to make Señor Clavijo sign a declaration of a very different nature; as he had, the day before, received a writ of opposition to my sister's marriage, on the part of a young woman who affirmed that she had a promise from Clavijo, given in 1755, nine years before!

"I inquired who the woman was, and was told by the notary that she was a waiting-woman. In a transport of rage, I ran to Clavijo, loaded him with threats and reproaches. He besought me to moderate my anger and suspend my opinion. He had long ago, he said, made some such promise to Madame Portugues's waiting-woman, who was a pretty girl; but he had never since heard of it, and believed that the girl was now set on by some enemy of Donna Maria. The affair, he assured me, was a trifle, and could be got rid of by the aid of a few pistoles. He repeated his vows of eternal constancy to Maria, and begged me to return at eight o'clock in the evening, when he would go with me to an eminent advocate, who would easily put him on the way of getting rid of this trifling obstacle.

"I left him, full of indecision and bitterness of heart. I could make nothing of his conduct, or imagine any reasonable object he could have in deceiving me. At eight o'clock I returned to his lodgings with two of my friends; but we had hardly got out of the carriage, when the landlady came to the door, and told me that Señor Clavijo had removed from her house an hour before, and was gone she knew not whither.

"Thunderstruck at this intelligence, and unable to believe it, I went up to the room he had occupied. Every thing belonging to him had been carried off. Perplexed and dismayed, I returned home, and had no sooner arrived than a courier from Aranjuez brought me a letter, which he had been ordered to deliver with the utmost speed. It was from the French ambassador. He informed me that the governor of Madrid had just been with him, to tell him that Señor Clavijo had retired to a place of safety, in order to protect himself from the violence he apprehended from me, as I had, a few days before, compelled him, in his own house, and with a pistol at his breast, to sign an engagement to marry my sister. The Marquis, at the same time, expressed his belief of my innocence; but feared that the affair might be turned to my disadvantage, and requested that I would do nothing whatever until I had seen him.

"I was utterly confounded. This man, who for weeks had been treating me like a brother,—who had been writing me letter upon letter, full of affection,-who had earnestly besought me to give him my sister, and had visited her again and again as her betrothed husband, this monster had been all the while secretly plotting my destruction!

66

Suddenly an officer of the Walloon guards came into the room. 'M. de Beaumarchais,' he said, 'you have not a moment to lose. Save yourself, or to-morrow morning you will be arrested in your bed. The order is given, and I am come to apprise you of it. Your adversary is a monster. He has contrived to set almost everybody against you, and has led you into snare after snare, till he has found means

to make himself your public accuser. Fly instantly, I beseech you. Once immured in a dungeon, you will have neither protection nor defence.'

"I fly !—I make my escape !-I will die sooner. Say not a word more, my friends. Let me have a travelling carriage to-morrow morning at four o'clock, and meanwhile leave me to prepare for my journey to Aranjuez.'

"I shut myself up in my room. My mind was utterly exhausted. I threw myself into a chair, where I remained for two hours in a state of total vacuity of thought. At length I roused myself. I reflected on all the circumstances of the case, and on the abundant proofs of my integrity. I sat down to my desk, and, with the rapidity of a man in a high fever, I wrote an exact journal of my actions since my arrival at Madrid: names, dates, conversations,-everything sprang, as it were, into my memory, and fixed itself under my pen. I was still writing at five in the morning, when I was told that my carriage was ready. Some friends wanted to accompany me. 'I wish to be alone,' I said. Twelve hours of solitude are not more than necesto calm the agitation of my frame.' I set out for Aranjuez.

"When I arrived, the ambassador was at the palace, and I could not see him till eleven o'clock at night. He was glad, he said, I was come; for he had been very uneasy about me. During the last fortnight my adversary had gained all the avenues of the palace; and, had it not been for him, I should have been already arrested, and probably sent to a dungeon for life, on the African coast. He had done what he could with M. Grimaldi, the minister, to whom he had earnestly represented his conviction of my probity and honour; but all was without effect. You must really go, M. de Beaumarchais,' he continued. You have not a moment to lose. I can do nothing in opposition to the general impression against you, or against the positive order that has been issued for your imprisonment; and I should be sincerely grieved should any calamity happen to you in this country. You must leave Spain instantly.'

"I did not shed tears while he was speaking, but large drops of water fell at intervals from my eyes, gathered in them by the contraction of my whole frame. I was stupified and speechless. The ambassador was affected by my situation, and spoke to me in the kindest and most soothing manner; but still persisted in saying that I must yield to necessity, and escape from consequences which could not otherwise be averted. I implored him to think of the ruin to my own character in France if I fled from Spain under such circumstances; to consider the situation of my unhappy, innocent sister. He said he would write to France, where his account of my conduct would be credited; and that, as to my sister, he would not neglect her. I could bear this conversation no longer; but, abruptly quitting his presence, I rushed out of the house, and wandered all night in the dark alleys of the park of Aranjuez, in a state of inexpressible anguish.

"In the morning, my courage rose; and, determined to obtain justice or perish, I repaired to the levee of M. Grimaldi, the minister. While I waited in his ante-chamber, I heard several voices pronounce the name of M. Whal. That distinguished and venerable statesman, who had retired from the ministry that, in the close of

life, he might have a brief interval of repose, was then residing in M. Grimaldi's house. I heard this, and was suddenly inspired with the idea of having recourse to him for protection. I requested permission to see him, as a stranger who had something of importance to communicate. I was admitted; and the sight of his mild and noble countenance gave me courage. I told him that my only claim to his favour was that I was a native of the country in which he himself was born, persecuted almost to death by cruel and powerful enemies; but this title, I trusted, was sufficient to obtain for me the protection of a just and virtuous man.

"You are a Frenchman,' he said, and that is always a strong claim with me. But you tremble-you are pale and breathless; sit down-compose yourself, and tell me the cause of such violent agitation.' He ordered that no one should be admitted; and I, in an unspeakable state of hope and fear, requested permission to read my journal of occurrences since my arrival in Madrid. He complied, and I began to read. As I went on, he from time to time begged me to be calm, and to read more slowly that he might follow me the better; assuring me that he took the greatest interest in my narrative. As I proceeded, I laid before him in succession the letters and other documents which were referred to. But when I came to the criminal charge against me,-to the order for my imprisonment, which had been only suspended for a little by M. Grimaldi at the request of our ambassador,-to the urgent advices which I had received to make my escape, but which I avowed my determination not to follow, -he uttered an exclamation, rose, and took me kindly by the hand:

"Unquestionably the king will do you justice, M. de Beaumarchais. The ambassador, in spite of his regard for you, is obliged to act with the caution which befits his office; but I am under no such restraint. It shall never be said that a respectable Frenchman, after leaving his home, his friends, his business,-after having travelled a thousand miles to succour an innocent and unfortunate sister, has been driven from this country, carrying with him the impression that no redress or justice is to be obtained in Spain. It was I who placed this Clavijo in the king's service, and I feel myself responsible for his infamous conduct. Good God! how unhappy it is for statesmen that they cannot become sufficiently aware of the real character of the persons they employ, and thus get themselves surrounded by specious knaves, of whose shameful actions they often bear the blame. A minister may be forgiven for being deceived in the choice of a worthless subordinate; but when once he comes to a knowledge of his character, there is no excuse for retaining him a moment. For my part, I shall immediately set a good example to my successors.'

"So saying, he rang, ordered his carriage, and took me with him to the palace. He sent for M. Grimaldi; and, while waiting for the arrival of that minister, went into the king's closet, and told his majesty the story, accusing himself of indiscretion in recommending such a man to his majesty's favour. M. Grimaldi came; and I was called into the royal presence. Read your memorial,' said M. Whal, every feeling and honourable heart must be as much moved by it as I was.' I obeyed. The king listened with attention and interest; examined the proofs of my statements; and the result was an

order that Clavijo should be deprived of his employment, and dismissed for ever from his majesty's service."

From subsequent parts of the narrative, it appears that Clavijo exerted all his powers of cunning and intrigue in order to get himself re-instated in his situation; not omitting further attempts to impose upon M. de Beaumarchais, accompanied with abject entreaties and hypocritical professions. All, however, was in vain; and this man, who seems to have been an extraordinary compound of intellectual ability and moral depravity, seems to have sunk into contempt and insignificance. The young lady recovered the shock she had received; and was afterwards happily married, and settled at Madrid.

MARS AND VENUS.

ONE day, upon that Trojan plain,
Where men in hecatombs were slain,
Th' immortal gods (no common sight)
Thought fit to mingle in the fight,
And found convincing proof that those
Who will in quarrels interpose
Are often doom'd to suffer harm—
Venus was wounded in the arm;
Whilst Mars himself, the god of war,
Receiv'd an ignominious scar,
And, fairly beat by Diomed,

Fled back to heav'n and kept his bed.
That bed (the proof may still be seen)
Had long been shared with beauty's queen ;
For, with th' adventure of the cage,
Vulcan had vented all his rage, (a)
And, like Italian husbands, he
Now wore his horns resignedly.
Ye modest critics! spare my song:
If gods and goddesses did wrong,
And revell'd in illicit love,
As poets, sculptors, painters, prove,
Is mine the fault? and, if I tell
Some tales of scandal that befell
In heathen times, why need my lays
On ladies' cheeks more blushes raise,
When read (if such my envied lot)
In secret boudoir, bower, or grot,
Than scenes which, in the blaze of light,
They throng to witness ev'ry night?
Ere you condemn my humble page,
Glance for a moment at the stage,
Where twirling gods to view expose
Their pliant limbs, in tighten'd hose,
And goddesses of doubtful fame

Are by lord chamberlains allow'd,
With practis'd postures, to inflame
The passions of a gazing crowd:
And if great camels, such as these,
Are swallow'd with apparent ease,

Oh! strain not at a gnat like me,
Nor deem me lost to decency,
When I now venture to declare
That Mars and Venus-guilty pair-
On the same couch extended lay,
And cursed the fortunes of the day.
The little Loves, who round them flew,
Could only sob to show their feeling,
Since they, of course, much better knew
The art of wounding than of healing,
And Cupid's self essay'd in vain
To ease his lovely mother's pain:
The chaplet that his locks confin'd
He tore indeed her wound to bind;
But from her sympathetic fever
He had no nostrum to relieve her,
And, thinking that she might assuage
That fever, as she did her rage,
By talking loud,-her usual fashion
Whenever she was in a passion,-
He stood, with looks resign'd and grave,
Prepar'd to hear his mother rave.
Who thus began: "Ah! Cupid, why
Was I so silly as to try

My fortune in the battle-field, (b)
Or seek a pond'rous spear to wield,
Which only Pallas (hated name !)

Of all her sex can wield aright?
What need had I of martial fame,

Sought 'midst the dangers of the fight, When beauty's prize, a trophy far More precious than the spoils of war, Was mine already, won from those Whom rivalry has made my foes, And who on Trojan plains would sate E'en with my blood that ranc'rous hate Which Ida's neighb`ring heights inflame, And not this wound itself can tame? Ah! why did I not bear in mind That Beauty, like th' inconstant wind, Is always privileg'd to raise

The rage of others to a blaze,

Then, lull'd to rest, look calmly on,

And see the work of havoc done!

'Twas well to urge your father, Mars,

To mingle in those hated wars ;

'Twas well-" But piteous cries of pain,
From him she named, here broke the chain
Of her discourse, and seem'd to say,
"What want of feeling you display!”
So, turning to her wounded lover,
She kindly urged him to discover

By whom and where the wound was given,
That sent him writhing back to heaven.
The god, thus question'd, hung his head,
A burning blush of shame o'erspread
With sudden flush his pallid cheek,
As thus he answer'd: "Dost thou seek
To hear a tale of dire disgrace,
Which all those honours must efface,