many of the leading politicians and distinguished men of the state. It was there I first saw De Witt Clinton, Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, Doctor Mason, Morgan Lewis, Daniel D. Tompkins, John Armstrong, Chancellor Livingston, and many others. It was while there, I had the opportunity and the pleasure of examining leisurely, and with a critical eye, that lightest twig of the great Corsican tree, Mr. Jerome Bonaparte; and of observing the fine form, the careless, abandoned air, and soldierly aspect of the celebrated Moreau, the rival at once of Xenophon and Napoleon. The Tontine was, indeed, for several years, my local observatory, from which I watched the transit of the political planets, and noted the restless movements of the wandering stars. It was, in fact, the best school house I ever entered, and the only one, I am sorry to say, in which I ever took much delight.

I can not resist the temptation (though I know I shall make nothing of it) to relate a ludicrous circumstance which took place at the Tontine, in the summer of 1804. I am well aware that many a good joke has been spoiled, and many a laughable incident rendered grave, by an attempt to put them on paper. 'Tis useless, said Doctor Johnson, to print Quin's jokes, unless you print his face with them. Nevertheless, I shall venture to relate the circumstance to which I have referred. I shall call it.

THE STORY OF MONSIEUR GARROT.

Among the many foreigners at the Tontine in the traveling season of 1804, was a French gentleman by the name of Garrot, apparently about twenty-five or thirty years of age; remarkable for the simplicity of his manners, for his taste in music, and for his inability to speak a word of English. His personal appearance was greatly in his favor; being stout, well made, and of a most agreeable countenance. Sitting near him at table, and speaking a little French, I soon became acquainted with him. He was, I found, a German by birth, born in

Frankfort, but a resident of Nantes. He remained several months in the city, was flush of money, and liberal, not to say profuse, in his expenditures.

His object, if indeed he had any, was to obtain infor. mation as to the form and character of our government; the institutions and condition of the country; its extent, population, trade, commerce, agricultural products, arts, manufactures, &c., &c. Of all the travelers I had ever met with, he was the most inquisitive. He asked ten thousand questions about things of which I knew nothing, or next to nothing-questions, some of which, it would have puzzled Chief Justice Marshall, Mr. Madison, Mr. Clay, or Mr. Anybody Else, save John Quincy Adams, to have answered off-hand. But as I perceived he entertained a high opinion of my abilities, I had not the heart, nor was it indeed my business, to undeceive him. I was ashamed to confess ignorance upon any point, and therefore gave him prompt and specific answers to each and every question, let it relate to what it might: but the mischief of it was, they were all taken for gospel, and immediately noted down in his tablets.

I could not but laugh at the idea. It was, perhaps, unfair on my part, but the fault was his. To suppose a young man of twenty-two or three, of sufficient authority for the history and statistics of an empire, was absurd. He should have known better. Many a book, however, has been written upon information of an inferior quality to that with which I furnished Monsieur Garrot, and from a less rational, not to say reliable source. It was through the priests and poets of Egypt and Assyria, that Herodotus obtained the materials for his famous history; and who thinks the less of his history on that account? The credulity and child-like simplicity of the author, together with the traditional and poetical character of its testimony constitute, in fact, its greatest attractions.

But Monsieur Garrot, no doubt, congratulated himself upon his good fortune in finding a person so full of information, and so ready to impart it. On the other side, I

did the best I could, under the circumstances. I studied day and night to prepare myself for Mr. Garrot's questions; and if monsieur published his book, I flattered myself that it would be found in the truth of its statements and the accuracy of its details, at least equal to the history of Herodotus, or the travels of Basil Hall!

But this has nothing to do with the circumstance which it was my intention to narrate. It may serve, however, as a preface to the story, which runs thus:

Monsieur Garrot and myself after a long walk one Sunday afternoon, returned to the Tontine about six o'clock. The weather was extremely hot; and as the private parlors below were filled with strangers, I accompanied Mr. Garrot to his own chamber, where, complaining of the heat, he threw off his coat, and, somewhat to my surprise, continued the operation of stripping, until he came to the last article, over which, however, he threw a light silk morning gown-light, indeed, as gossamer this he tied loosely at the neck, and then sticking his toes into a pair of yellow slippers, began walking backward and forward between the window and door, both of which were thrown open to admit the air. The window looked into the street; the door opened into a wide hall, with dormitories on either side. While thus cooling himself in the breeze, which swept his loose drapery from side to side, he suddenly turned to me and inquired whether I was fond of music. I answered, of course, in the affirmative. When, without further ceremony, he opened a long case filled with musical instruments of various kinds, and asked me which I preferred. I could hardly believe it possible that he really meant to exercise his musical talents on that day of the week; but being a little curious, and, I must confess, a little mischievous at the same time, I pointed to the violin, which he immediately took out, and began to twang and tune. The discharge of a 12 pounder in the hall, would not have set the house in greater commotion. The first scrape of the bow brought half a dozen chambermaids to [Annals, x.]

19

the door; who, catching sight of monsieur's bare legs, &c., ran down stairs, and reported that there was a Frenchman fiddling in the chambers, stark naked! By this time, my friend Garrot had got fairly a going; and, with his head inclined to one shoulder, and his eye turned upwards, stalked up and down the room, fiddling as if the devil, together with Apollo and the whole nine were in him. The figure he cut was so ridiculous, that I thought I should have died in the effort to suppress my laughter.

In less than five minutes from the time he began, it appeared to me that not less than five hundred heads had passed the door, each one catching something more than a glimpse of monsieur's fine form. The wind seemed to increase with the music, and the stride of the performer became more lofty and majestic. At every turn the morning gown filled and swelled with the breeze-now waving and flapping in the cross current, and now extending out, as it were, upon a taught bowline. The hall was literally crowded with spectators, and the several questions Who is he? Where did he come from? Is he mad? were whispered in rapid succession. But Monsieur Garrot saw nothing but the ceiling of his roomheard nothing but the clarion voice of his own fiddle.

I was amazed at his abstraction-at his enthusiasm; and yet found it difficult to prevent myself from laughing aloud. He fiddled with such force and energy, that his elbow seemed to move like a whipsaw driven by steam. I had no idea that 'twas in the power of a single instrument to produce such a tumult of sounds.

The Battle of Prague, roared from ten "forty piazzas" (as Johnny Robison used to called them) would be a mere tinkling, compared with this uproar of Mr. Garrot's fiddle. I could not but confess, that in variety, force and compass, he surpassed even my old friend Mr. Giles. This is no light compliment. A greater, indeed, could not in sincerity be paid to the most celebrated performer.

But Mr. Gregory, at length, made his appearance, and as he worked his way through the crowd at the door, I

could perceive that he was not only angry, but a little frightened. He was about to speak to Mr. Garrot, but Mr. Garrot was too much engaged to take the least notice of him; he therefore addressed himself to me, and said- For God's sake, Mr. Jones, what is the meaning of all this?" I was so full of laughter that I could not speak, and of course said nothing. He then turned to Mr. Garrot, and raised his hand as a sign for him to stop. Now, Mr. Gregory had no more the appearance of an innkeeper than he had of an emperor. It was natural, therefore, that the Frenchman should consider him as an intruder, and order him out of the room; which he did. But 'twas in French, which he perceived Mr. Gregory did not understand. He therefore collected all the English he was master of, and exclaimed, in an offended tone, "Vat you vont?" Mr. Gregory was about to reply, when monsieur, waving his hand, cried " Go vay! go vay!" and thereupon commenced fiddling fiercer than ever. This produced a universal burst of laughter; and so loud and long was the peal (in which I was compelled to join), that monsieur paused, and seemed now, for the first time, to be sensible that there was an unusual collection in the hall, and that something was wrong somewhere.

The scene at this moment was picturesque in the highest degree. There stood Mons. Garrot, in the middle of the room, with his fiddle in his hand; his pantaloons hanging upon a chair, and his morning gown floating behind him; looking first at Mr. Gregory, then at me, then at the cluster of heads at the door, utterly at a loss to know what it all meant. There stood Mr. Gregory, too, in his neat drab colored coat and Sunday inexpressibles, the very impersonation of order, decency and decorum, looking at the brawny, half naked Frenchman, with wonder and surprise. There, too, was the crowd of curious faces, male and female, peering in at the hall door; exhibiting every variety of expression, from the most serious to the most comic; all staring in profound silence, at the Frenchman and his fiddle. It was ridiculous