contact with that of a man; but, by the gentleman who offered the falute, it was conftrued into his having a bad breath, and a fear to difcover it. Now as an imputation of this kind would be more wounding to the felf love of our petitmaitres and maitreffes, than, perhaps, an expulfion from kiffing all the days of their lives; I advife them to give and lend their checks for the kifs of cuftom without farther hefitation. I feel it my duty likewife to prepare you for a little impofition in the hotels and private lodgings before you enter them, as well as for the counterbalancing agrémens. I muft lay it down as a firft general principle, that a Pruffian and German landlord, if he poffibly can, will over-reach you; not fo much, I believe from difhonefty, as from an almost innate idea of confidering the word Englishman fynonimous with the word riches. An Italian, French, and every other traveller, even Dutchman, whom, generally speaking, they know is well able to pay up to any price demanded, may always get accommodated at halfprice, in comparison with the British wandererthat felf-devoted victim of vanity and folly. Of this I will give you an inftance, not produced F 2 duced in refentment, for it was rather a fubject of pleafantry, but in order to put you, your friends, and every one into whofe hands. thefe gleanings may fall, on guard. . On my first tour to Cleves I wished to make a ftop of a few months, and not readily fuiting myfelf in an Hotel, I fought private apartments. A tradefman, of whom I had bought fome trifling articles, and who fpoke very good French, offered to attend me to the house of a man who, he faid, had rooms to lett; and added, that he would have the honour to be my interpreter. We went accordingly, and I defired my Interpreter to ask the price of the Rooms, when, by way of answer, came forth another question. Master of the Houfe. The gentleman, I fuppofe, is French. Interpreter. No. Master of the House. Dutch? This information, confifting only of two monofyllables, had the effect of a volume on the man's mind. He intended, however, to be cautious and manage the intelligence; but his features betrayed him. He He doubled upon me every article, as I fhall presently fhew, I caufed him to be informed, that, on the receipt of my next letters from England, I fhould be able to decide whether I remained in the town, or proceeded farther up the country; obferving, that if I became his inmate, it would be impoffible to do without a flip of carpeting, or fome covering by the bed fide. That may be had, quoth the landlord; and fo we parted. The expected letters arrived, and finding it convenient to purfue my route as far as Emeric, on the other fide of the Rhine, I gave him. notice two days earlier than my promife, that, as I fhould be abfent a month or fix weeks, I would not hazard the letting his apartments to a more stationary tenant fhould any fuch offer. Now, that this notice might be formal, it was tranflated and delivered by my interpreter. Here, I fuppofed, we had done with one another; but the next morning, when every thing was ready for my departure, the mafter of the inn, where I had flept, prefented me with a reply to my billet; written with a majesty of style that would have better fuited the Grand Frederick (who, by the way, would have given a much more courteous anfwer) than the little great man who was the author, or rather dictator; for he understood even lefs of the French than I of the German, and was at the expence of a notary-Voilà le decret defpotique de mon Maitre d' Hotel.But as all great events, in which great perfonages are concerned, are ushered in with due decorum, I fhall allot a separate letter to it. LETTER LXI. TO THE SAME. "PEUTETRE, Monfieur, que vous vous imaginez qu'il va ici comme en Angleterre, "ou chaqu'un joue fon rolle comme il veut. Non! "nous vivons fous le regne d'un tel Roi, qui "maintient fon plus bas fujet; ainfi aucun "Anglois ne doit s'imaginer qu'il peut exercer "le Rolle de l'Angletterre aux états Pruffiens. "Je ne vous ai pas appellé; vous etes venu "de vous même aupres moi; et vous avez "loué les chambres; et parceque vous l'avez "defiré que je mettrois des tappis fur les "planches, je les ai atcheté; le lit demonté "eft remonté, et puifque vous avez voulu deja occuper Dimanche les chambres, je me fuis "forte forte derangé à mes affaires pour les arranger... Pour toutecela jepretend d'être dedommagé, "puifque vous n'avez pas envie de les occuper; "et je vous demande par celle-ci, ou, vous avez "envie de payer le loué pour trois mois, ou non? "Si non, alors je chercherai mon droit à la "justice." Cleves, ce 23 Mars. "MITSDORFFER." As a Pruffian curiofity, you will accept a literal tranflation of it, courteous reader, if peradventure thou art not fufficiently in prac tice with the French language, to feel the might and majefty of the fentiments. You, I know, my dear friend, can relifh them in all their original bombaft. TRANSLATION. Perhaps, Sir, you imagine you may act here "as you do in England, where every one does juft as he pleafes. No. We live under the government of a king-Such a King! who fupports the rights of his meaneft fubjects. "And whofoever dares to fuppofe he may play "the game he does in Great Britain, within "the territory of his Pruffian majefty, will find " himself miftaken. It was not at my invita ❝tion you came to my houfe; it was an act of F 4 "your |