o carry the open letter I had to the French Consul, and which,
I forgot to tell you, I had shewn to the acute, discerning, and
sagacious merchant Wombwell. It was written by _Madame de Maigny_, the
Lady of the _Chevalier de Maigny_, of the regiment _d'Artois_, one of
the Gentlemen with whom I had eat that voluptuous supper in company at
_Pont St. Esprit_; but, as Mr. Wombwell shrewdly observed, my name was
not even mentioned in that letter, it was the _bearer only_ who was
recommended; and how could that Lady, any more than Mr. Wombwell, tell,
but that I had murdered the first bearer, and robbed him of his
recommendatory letter, and dressed myself in his scarlet and gold-laced
coat, to practise the same wicked arts upon their lives and fortunes?

Now, you will naturally wish to know how Sir Thomas Gascoyne, my
_vis-a-vis_ neighbour in the same _Hotel_, conducted himself. I had,
before all this fuss, eat, drank, and conversed with him: he is a
sensible, genteel, well-bred man; and there was with him Mr. Swinburne,
who was equally agreeable: no wonder, therefore, if I endeavoured to
cultivate an acquaintance with two such men, so much superior, in all
respects, to what the town afforded. Sir Thomas, however, became rather
reserved; perhaps not more so than good policy made necessary for a man
who was only just entering upon a grand tour through the whole kingdom,
from Barcelona to Cadiz, Madrid, &c. &c. I perceived this shyness, but
did not resent it, because I could not censure it. He had no suspicion
of me at first; and if he had afterwards, I could not tell what
circumstances might have been urged against me; and I considered, that
if a man of his fortune and figure could have been suspected, there was
much reason for him to join with others in suspecting me.

The Moor, it seems, who had put off the counterfeit bank notes, had been
advertised in all the foreign papers; his person was particularly
described; and as application had been made to the Courts of France and
Spain, to stop the career of such a villain, the Governor of _Barcelona_
had, upon Sir Thomas Gascoyne's first arrival, stopped him, and sent
for the Consul, verily believing he had got the offender. The Moor was
described as a short, plump, black man; and as Sir Thomas has black
eyes, and is rather _en bon point_, the plain, honest Governor had not
discernment enough to see that ease and good breeding in Sir Thomas,
which no Moor, however well he may imit