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Anecdotes ofra Mjjl.erious Foreigner,WH A TEVER may have been the bu-finefs of a certain foreigner here, about yvhom the French have juft made, or affefted id make, a great buftiej t here is fomething in hrs'mcift intelligible hiftory that is very entertaining; and there.are accounts of tranfadliopf, which bound -fo nearly upon the marvellous, that it is impofftbls but they mull excite the attention of this Athenian age. I imagine this gentleman, aghihff \yhom ho ill was ever al-1 edged; and fvr whcife genius and. knowledge I have the moft fincere refpccf, will not take umbrage aVnxy observing, that the high title he affumes is nojt the right oi image, or the gift of rdyalifa'fphr what, is his real name is perhaps one of titofe myfteries, which, at his death,'will firtprife the world, more than all the ilrange incident's of. his l:fe ; hut hrrnfelf will not be averfe, 1 think, to own this, by whidi he goes, is no more than a travelling title. ‘ . .'There fee'ms foinething infelting in the term un'incontm, by which the F.rench have fpoke of hint; and the terms we have borrowed from their language, of an avanturier and a che'ufllisr d'indit/Irie, alwSys convey reproach : as they have been applied to tins—1 had almolt faid, .nobleman-It is juftice to declare, that m any. itl'fenfe they appear to be very foreign from his .character. It is certain, that, like the periods, gerierally undefftocd by thefe denominations, he has ftppGrted hirnftlf always at a ' eonfi-ierable expence, arid in perfeft iridep.enr dence, without any vifble or known way of living ; bat let thole who' fry this,'.always add, 'that'he1 docs not pJa'y.; nor is there,- prrbiips, a perfon io the world;'who can lay he has en-richdd himfelf Ox-pmce at his expence.The. country of this ftranger is as perfectly; tlnkahwn' as his name; but. .concerning, both, as alfo’ of his early life, btify conjecture has taken the place of knowlege ; and,'asit was equal whkt to invent, the pcrverfene's of human nature, and, perhlt;ps, envy m thole, who-,took the chatpse of the invention, has ltd thefts' to'feledl palT-c,es.'k6 favourable, than wotilrf have been lun-lihed by truth. Till, more authentic materials-ftall fee predated. It will be proper that the world fufp'end,'heir .©sriofity; -and'eharky requires not to believe fome. things which have-no foundation.All ure .carl with juftice fay is, This gentleman is;to be. cmrfidered as an unk nown and, krofferilive. ftrrfeer; who has fuppl-es for a. large expencc, tlte fources- of which are not! undferftobd. Many years ago be was in- England, and fine? that time' he has vifsted the feseral other European kingdoms ; always keeping up the appearance; at a man of fashion, and always Irving,with credit.The reader remembers Cfil Bias’s mafter, vi'hb fpint his money without any body’s un-derftariding how he lived ; ’fis applicable,- in ' more relpefls-than one, to this ftranger; who like him has been examined alfo in dangerous, times* b'oiflund innbeeqt and refpcftaLle. But there Vs'this'differtric?,'that the hero of om ftpryT-enis.to'have histnoney concentrated,.as ' chyfiifls'keVp' their.p^werfttl nxenfttuiitrrs, not inis n Rural and bulky, form ; f:r no carts f ufed lO-dome loaded to his lodgings.' Ke’had the -adrfr.efs to find the reig-ing foible always of the place where he was gofrg to reflde, aodw that he built, the fcheme o.-i*!en ^ t ani'he appeared a eonnoiffeur in gems, antiques, j and medals : in France, he was a fop ; in Cer-■ ninny, a chyrnift.• By thefe arts he introduced himfelf in each of dxofe countries,; and to his high praii'e it mult be owned, that to which ever of them, or to whatfoever elfe it may have been that he .was bred, yet whichever he chofe for the time, feeped to Stave been the only employment of his' life. With regard to mafic, he not only p’ayed, but corn poled; and both in a feign taftc. Nay, his very ideas were acconv mddsted to the art; and in thefe occurrences which had no relation to mulic, he found means to exprefs ffmfelf in figurative terms deduced from this fcisnce. There could not be a more arrful way of ihewing his attention to rite fub-je£h I remember an incident which impiefied it ilfon-glv on njy-raemory : i bad the honour to be at- an affembly of Lady ***'*, who, to many other good and great accompldlmsehts, added a tafte for mufic, fo delicate, thaplhe was made a judge in the difputes of mailers. This ftranger was to.betf the.party; and toward eveninghe came in hisufual free and polite, mariner • but with more hurry than was.cuftom-ar.y, and with his fingers lloppsd in Ids eats.I can conceive , eafily, -that in molt men, this wouldhave been a very ungraceful attitude; and, 1 am afraid, it would have been -conftrued into an wigenteel-entrance ; but he had a manner that made every thing agreeable. They' had been emptying a cart lead of ihnes, jolt at the door, to. mend the pavement: he threw himlelf into a chair, and, when the Lady tied W-hat was the matter, i e pointed to the place, and faid, “ 1 ?.ni itunced with a whole cart load or d icurds, ’ -’T-tvss tints in. all the reft : smong tbe,Germans, where -he.played chymiftfyL'be was every inch a chymift.: and iie‘tya^,; certainly in Paris, every inch a fcp.From Germany he carried into France the reputation cf a high and fbvereign akhymift;. one .vho poifeffed the iecret powder, and, rfi confequence, the. untvc'fa! medicine. The wlnfvkr ran, this ftranger cm Id make grid. The .;xpence at which he lived feeme.d to con firm that recount;, but the mindier' at that t'ime, towhom the matter bad been wliifpertd as important, fmiling, ar.iwev.ed, he would pur it da a flrort ifiue : He ordered an enquiry to be m-’d-e, whence the remittances • he- received came ; and field thole, who had applied toih.m, that he would loon fhew them what quH'Ties they were which yielded this pivlc-fopher's rone. The means that great.man :ook to explain the myftcry, .though very judicious, lerved unly to encreafe it: whether the ftranger had accounts-of the enquiry; that was ordered, and found me.,ns to evade it, or by what other accidents, ’tis not knowrf, but, the .faft is, that in the fpace of two year?, while he was thus w’atched, he lived as ulual; paid for every thing ia ready money; and yet no remittance came itro the kingdom'for him..Tire- thirg w?s fpvksn.of; and ncne now doubted, what at fit ft had been treated as a chijripra ; he was undcrftood to poflefs, with -other grand fc-crer, a rentedv lor all dif-and even faF the infirmities in which date iria.rijphs over the human fabiic.A-ceitsin cuchefs, who had been focrt'cn years-a ce'ebrated cuquette, begvti -o think the i.ivv, or f'sred fhe Ihould fee feme cf thofe marks, vdvch the crow of age imprims upon t e face or -beauty. She feet to this ftranger: s. McnSieur le Count, faid {he, what 1 ft:all iky ‘ wants rayre apology, than I know how to make, but you are all politenefs : they tv 11 ‘ me you have that ineftimable ftcret, worth f mere than, all your gold, the medicine that 5 will reftore youth'; — I don’t know that 1‘ want it’yet; but time is time; and, perhaps ‘ Morificur, what it can remedy, it wnll nrore ‘ eafily preventI would be early; in my ‘ care:—Ccme, anfwer me :—Caq^bbtain it of you?—Let me have it, and-'titme your * own conditions.’The ftranger put on a myfterious air, and anfwered, ‘ Thole who have thefe fccrets do ‘ net chufir i£ Ihould be known they have ‘ them.’ ■—?- ‘ I know ir, Sir, replied the ‘ Lady,—but you may confide in me,’—In fine,- he was prevailed uprn : he-brought next .day a vial of four or five fpoonfhls. He’told her ten drops was enough to rake-at once, and that on'y at the new and full of the moon : that it was innocent: but if fhe wafted this, perhaps, it would r.ot be eafy to gttafuppH*.1 he Lady put it by in the l'ecure place where fhe kept her rouge; and went out on a vifit. Her woman happened- that afternoon to he ftized with the cholic. She looked over the hcufe for a liqueur (in England we Ihould f,.y a dram) and finding this vial in fo careful a ftate of pr eferva tit-n, file doubted not its excellence : --fhe fmtlt to it, ’twas fragrant, /he tailed it, ’twas vt ry pleafant: ard fire drank it'alj off.The cholic vanifiied, and Hie fat down in great fpirits to adjuft her Lady’s toilet.At evening the Dutchefs came in t'red, limped, to her chamber, and was calling for her things, when calling her eyes upon the woman “ Child, fays fixe, who are you ? “ What do you. want with me ! How came you here !” The ether only curtfy’d ; and the Dutchefs pee.vilh'iy bad her g o. She anfwered, “ Your Grace is pleafed to fptak in an an-“ common manner; I 'have the honour to be “ your Grace’s woman, and wait to undrefs “ you.”“ Heaven and earth, .replied the Elutd.els, “ you, my woman.! why child, my woman is “ five and forty; you, idarefwear, have not -yet feer, fixteen !”T he myftery was never ex plained.; al! France rung with the miracle; but the iiranger was 'gone ; and the'Du'chels is r.ow as’grey as other frsjatrons of lixty-fix ; never having been able to obtain anctheF bottle.1 has is the ftory told, and thus it will be fid in Paris many generatior.s all that appeared Was thus ; But whether the medicine had transformed the woman, or the ftranger had removed her, ar.d put a young one in her place, ’tis not mine to determine..Lady's Magazine.This Day nuas piillifned, Price i s. 6 d. Honour arid Advau'agts of A G Rl-X CULTURE. Being the T vvtlfrh Difcourfe of the Eighth Volume of F R-IJOO’s Works. .Tranilatei frora the SjUNtfh by a Farmer in Chefhire.Printed for R. anj J. Doolley in Pallmall; and fold by M. Cooper in Pater-nofter Roiv.A Few Copies being left of the l.e*rn-d Mr. JOSEPH BINGHAM’S WORKS, in Two Voiumts, Folio; ilmilrated tvith Mars, c. Containing-Origines Eeclefiailics, or the Antiquities of the Cbnfti in Chim h ; and his other Pieces : They are piopoi'ed to be fold at the very low Price of us. in Sheets (ouVjrady i-l. s S- bound.)%* My Dctign, fays the Author, is chit fly to gratify the ring ilh Reader witli an entire CoJloftion of ffe Antiquities of the Chriflun . hurch, as others have done i f the -Grt-tdt and Roman, and jeuil'h Antiquiric.'.In tins Work (fay the Writers of Piographia. Bri-tannict) tire Author diibovtrs a prodigious Fund of Reading ; as alfo a great deal of Judgment; Sincerity, and Candour; and gives at the fame Time a Specimen -of what Induliiy and a diligent Application are capable of doing. .Soid by L. Davis and C. Reymers, againll Gray's-Inn, Kolberrx.
Newspaper Details
London Chronicle
London, Middlesex, GB
Sat, May 31, 1760
Page 2
Full Page
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Anonymous
USA 27 Apr 2025
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