*9

HINTS of OCCURRENCES, &c.

replied with great fimplicity that he did, but not at frfl fight . I now offered him a glafs of wine, which he wasprevailed on with fome difficulty to accept; but finding it of a quality very fuperior to what he was accuftomed todrink, he finilhed two bottles without putting me to the trouble of a fecond invitation; which compleatly drownedboth his mufical and rational faculties: and I was as thankful to the fervants of the inn for removing him, as I hadbeen to their mailer for his introdu&ion.

He repeated his vifit the next day, and politely prefented me with the notes of an Air, of which I had expreffedfome admiration. Having returned his compliment, by prefenting him with a minuet he had very much admired,and half a crown for the ufe of his violin; I took my leave of him, without regretting the improbability of our evermeeting again. I received indeed as little amufement from his inllrument as his converfation; for we had exercifedourfelves but a ffiort time, before the fame company who attended me in my attempts to make drawings, attractedby the found of mufic, colle&ed about the houfe, and many of them entering without ceremony or invitation, formeda pretty numerous audience in my apartment: I was therefore glad to purchafe their abfence by laying down myfiddle.

I rofc the next morning with the fun, intending to have made a drawing of a very fine gateway, built in abeautiful ftile of gothic archite&ure: it is the only preferved ruin of a large monaftery; and if the building towhich it belonged in any degree correfponded with the entrance, its deftrudtion cannot be too much lamented. My evilgenius however, reprefented by an Oberwefel mob, prevented my adding this beautiful obje£l to my colle&ion; for,though I had chofen fo early an hour to efcape interruption, my former attendants furrounded me before I had madeany progrefs in my outline, and rendered my further proceeding impra&icable. They certainly had no other inten-tion than to gratify their curiofity, but being unable to make them fenfible, that by incommoding me they difappointedthemlelves, I fubmitted, very much againll my inclination, to put up my implements ; and returned as expeditiouflyas polfible to my inn: for I had no doubt but they were as much diffatisfied with my condu& as I was with them.Befides the inconvenience of being thus obftru6led in my purfuits, I began to apprehend that the univerfal defertion oftheir occupations, which my prefence occafioned, might induce the magiftrates to condu£l me out of the town withmore ceremony than I entered. This confideration, and the little probability that another day (which was theutmoft I ffiould have {laid) would produce any material change in their humour, determined me to prepare imme-diately for our departure.

We accordingly embarked as foon as we had dined for St. Goar, a handfome and well fortified town, belonging tothe Landgrave of Heffe-Caffel, beautifully fituated on the weftern bank of the Rhine, at a very fmall diftance from

K

Oberwefel.