He was not so smitten with the delightful situation of this ancient town,
but that he abandoned it as soon as he could procure a post-chaise, in
which he arrived at Paris, without having been exposed to any other
troublesome adventure upon the road. He took lodgings at a certain hotel
in the Fauxbourg de St. Germain, which is the general rendezvous of all
the strangers that resort to this capital; and now sincerely
congratulated himself upon his happy escape from his Hungarian
connexions, and from the snares of the banditti, as well as upon the
spoils of the dead body, and his arrival at Paris, from whence there was
such a short conveyance to England, whither he was attracted, by far
other motives than that of filial veneration for his native soil.
He suppressed all his letters of recommendation, which he justly
concluded would subject him to a tedious course of attendance upon the
great, and lay him under the necessity of soliciting preferment in the
army, than which nothing was farther from his inclination; and resolved
to make his appearance in the character of a private gentleman, which
would supply him with opportunities of examining the different scenes of
life in such a gay metropolis, so as that he should be able to choose
that sphere in which he could move the most effectually to his own
advantage. He accordingly hired an occasional domestic, and under the
denomination of Count Fathom, which he had retained since his elopement
from Renaldo, repaired to dinner at an ordinary, to which he was directed
as a reputable place, frequented by fashionable strangers of all nations.
He found this piece of information perfectly just; for he no sooner
entered the apartment, than his ears were saluted with a strange
confusion of sounds, among which he at once distinguished the High and
Low Dutch, barbarous French, Italian, and English languages. He was
rejoiced at this occasion of displaying his own qualifications, took his
place at one of the three long tables, betwixt a Westphalian count and a
Bolognian marquis, insinuated himself into the conversation with his
usual address, and in less than half an hour, found means to accost a
native of each different country in his own mother-tongue.
Such extensive knowledge did not pass unobserved. A French abbe, in a
provincial dialect, complimented him upon his retaining that purity in
pronunciation, which is not to be found in the speech of a Parisian. The
Bolognian, mistaking him for a Tuscan, "Sir," said he, "I presume you are
from Florence. I hope the illustrious house of Lorrain leaves you
gentlemen of that famous city no room to regret the loss of your own
princes." The castle of Versailles becoming the subject of conversation,
Monsieur le Compte appealed to him, as to a native German, whether it was
not inferior in point of magnificence to the chateau of Grubenhagen. The
Dutch officer, addressing himself to Fathom, drank to the prosperity of
Faderland, and asked if he had not once served in garrison at
Shenkenschans; and an English knight swore, with great assurance, that he
had frequently rambled with him at midnight among the hundreds of Drury.
To each person he replied in a polite, though mysterious manner, which
did not fail to enhance their opinion of his good breeding and
importance; and, long before the dessert appeared, he was by all the
company supposed to be a personage of great consequence, who for some
substantial reasons, found it convenient to keep himself incognito. This
being the case, it is not to be doubted that particular civilities were
poured upon him from all quarters. He perceived their sentiments, and
encouraged them, by behaving with that sort of complaisance which seems
to be the result of engaging condescension in a character of superior
dignity and station. His affability was general but his chief attention
limited to those gentlemen already mentioned, who chanced to sit nearest
him at table; and he no sooner gave them to understand that he was an
utter stranger in Paris, than they unanimously begged to have the honour
of making him acquainted with the different curiosities peculiar to that
metropolis.
He accepted of their hospitality, accompanied them to a coffee-house in
the afternoon, from whence they repaired to the opera, and afterwards
adjourned to a noted hotel, in order to spend the remaining part of the
evening. It was here that our hero secured himself effectually in the
footing he had gained in their good graces. He in a moment saw through
all the characters of the party, and adapted himself to the humour of
each individual, without descending from that elevation of behaviour
which he perceived would operate among them in his behalf. With the
Italian he discoursed on music, in the style of a connoisseur; and indeed
had a better claim to that title than the generality of those upon whom
it is usually conferred; for he understood the art in theory as well as
in practice, and would have made no contemptible figure among the best
performers of the age.
He harangued upon taste and genius to the abbe, who was a wit and critic,
ex officio, or rather ex vestitu for a young pert Frenchman, the very
moment he puts on the petit collet, or little band, looks upon himself as
an inspired son of Apollo; and every one of the fraternity thinks it
incumbent upon him to assert the divinity of his mission. In a word, the
abbes are a set of people that bear a strong analogy to the templars in
London. Fools of each fabric, sharpers of all sorts, and dunces of every
degree, profess themselves of both orders. The templar is, generally
speaking, a prig, so is the abbe: both are distinguished by an air of
petulance and self-conceit, which holds a middle rank betwixt the
insolence of a first-rate buck and the learned pride of a supercilious
pedant. The abbe is supposed to be a younger brother in quest of
preferment in the church--the Temple is considered as a receptacle or
seminary for younger sons intended for the bar; but a great number of
each profession turn aside into other paths of life, long before they
reach these proposed goals. An abbe is often metamorphosed into a foot
soldier; a templar sometimes sinks into an attorney's clerk. The galleys
of France abound with abbes; and many templars may be found in our
American plantations; not to mention those who have made a public exit
nearer home. Yet I would not have it thought that my description
includes every individual of those societies. Some of the greatest
scholars, politicians, and wits, that ever Europe produced, have worn the
habit of an abbe; and many of our most noble families in England derive
their honours from those who have studied law in the Temple. The worthy
sons of every community shall always be sacred from my censure and
ridicule; and, while I laugh at the folly of particular members, I can
still honour and revere the institution.
But let us return from this comparison, which some readers may think
impertinent and unseasonable, and observe, that the Westphalian count,
Dutch officer, and English knight, were not excepted from the particular
regard and attention of our adventurer. He pledged the German in every
bumper; flattered the Hollander with compliments upon the industry,
wealth, and policy of the Seven United Provinces; but he reserved his
chief battery for his own countryman, on the supposition that he was, in
all respects, the best adapted for the purposes of a needy gamester.
Him, therefore, he cultivated with extraordinary care and singular
observance; for he soon perceived him to be a humourist, and, from that
circumstance, derived an happy presage of his own success. The baronet's
disposition seemed to be cast in the true English mould. He was sour,
silent, and contemptuous; his very looks indicated a consciousness of
superior wealth; and he never opened his mouth, except to make some dry,
sarcastic, national reflection. Nor was his behaviour free from that air
of suspicion which a man puts on when he believes himself in a crowd of
pick-pockets, whom his caution and vigilance set at defiance. In a word,
though his tongue was silent on the subject, his whole demeanour was
continually saying, "You are all a pack of poor lousy rascals, who have a
design upon my purse. 'Tis true, I could buy your whole generation, but
I won't be bubbled, d'ye see; I am aware of your flattery, and upon my
guard against all your knavish pranks; and I come into your company for
my own amusement only."
Fathom having reconnoitred this peculiarity of temper, instead of
treating him with that assiduous complaisance, which he received from the
other gentlemen of the party, kept aloof from him in the conversation,
with a remarkable shyness of distant civility, and seldom took notice of
what he said, except with a view to contradict him, or retort some of his
satirical observations. This he conceived to be the best method of
acquiring his good opinion; because the Englishman would naturally
conclude he was a person who could have no sinister views upon his
fortune, else he would have chosen quite a different manner of
deportment. Accordingly, the knight seemed to bite at the hook. He
listened to Ferdinand with uncommon regard; he was even heard to commend
his remarks, and at length drank to their better acquaintance.