both of us laughed at this calm confidence of the
Parisian minister, while we who were in a country where people saw deeper
into affairs knew that the truth was quite otherwise.

On M. d'Afri's hearing that I was staying with a Jew, he advised me to
keep my own counsel when with Jews, "because," said he, "in business,
most honest and least knavish mean pretty much the same thing. If you
like," he added, "I will give you a letter of introduction to M. Pels, of
Amsterdam." I accepted his offer with gratitude, and in the hope of being
useful to me in the matter of my foreign shares he introduced me to the
Swedish ambassador, who sent me to M. d'O----.

Wanting to be present at a great festival of Freemasons on St. John's
Day, I remained at the Hague till the day after the celebration. The
Comte de Tot, brother of the baron, who lost all his money at the
seraglio, and whom I had met again at the Hague, introduced me. I was not
sorry to be in company with all the best society in Holland.

M. d'Afri introduced me to the mother of the stadtholder, who was only
twelve, and whom I thought too grave for his years. His mother was a
worthy, patient kind of woman, who fell asleep every minute, even while
she was speaking. She died shortly after, and it was discovered at the
postmortem examination that she had a disease of the brain which caused
her extreme propensity to sleep. Beside her I saw Count Philip de
Zinzendorf, who was looking for twelve millions for the empress--a task
which was not very difficult, as he offered five per cent. interest.

At the play I found myself sitting next to the Turkish minister, and I
thought he would die with laughter before my eyes. It happened thus:

They were playing Iphigenia, that masterpiece of Racine's. The statue of
Diana stood in the midst of the stage, and at the end of one act
Iphigenia and her train of priestesses, while passing before it, all made
a profound bow to the goddess. The candlesnuffer, who perhaps may have
been a bad wit, crossed the stage just after wards, and likewise bowed to
the goddess. This put pit and boxes in a good humour, and peals of
laughter sounded from all parts of the house. All this had to be
explained to the Turk, and he fell into such a fit of laughter that I
thought he would burst. At last he was carried to his inn still laughing
but almost senseless.

To have taken no notice of the Dutchman's heavy wit would have been, I
confess, a mark of stupidity