N the beginning of March last, a young man, of about 17 years of age, who spoke an idiom that has not yet been known or understood by any who have feen him, was found not far from Caen. The Count de Faudoas, high fheriff of Caen, having met with him when he was brought to that city, was so affected with his fituation, that he ordered him to be received into the HôtelDieu, till fome intelligence could be had of his family, his country, and the circumstances that brought him to France.

M. Feydeau de Brou, intendant of Caen, on feeing this young foreigner, was also much interested in his behalf. He thought, that as Paris contained perfons of all nations, and many who are well acquainted with foreign languages, fome one who could understand the idiom spoken by this young incognito, might probably be found there. He therefore wrote to M. le Noir, lieutenant-gemeral of the police; and on receiving z favourable answer from the magiftrate, he fent the stranger to Paris on the 25th of the same month.

On his arrival there, having the good fortune to lodge in the house of Mad. Billard, who keeps a lacefhop in St. Honoré-street, at the corner of Roule-ftreet, fhe interefted herself ftrongly in his favour; fhe not only received him into her house, where he ftill remains, but he took as much care of him as of her own children. The Sieur la Rive, of the French theatre, being acquainted with this young man, mentioned him to his company. They embraced the opportunity of exercifing an act of benevolence; and fettled on him, by an unanimous refolve, a penfion of 63 livres per month. This event,

New-York Mag. Vol. II. No. 1.

and fome other circumstances, have

given this youth forme confequence.

He has been prefented to the Count de Vergennes, minifter for foreign affairs, who faw him with compaffion, and wifhed Mad. Billard to continue her good offices. M. le Noir has affured her, that he would be accountable for every thing the young ftranger might want.-He has also been prefented to M. de Calonne comptroller-general, and to the Baron de Breteuil minifter for the department of Paris.-The Duchefs of Bourbon has defired that he might be introduced to her, and has fhown him that tender attention which is the fweeteft confolation of the diftreffed. She was defirous of adding to it a prefent in money; and many other persons of diftinction, who have feen him at Mad. Billard's have made him the like offers: but that gentlewoman, being unacquainted with the rank of the young incognito, did not think it proper to accept for him any tranfient fupplies.

He has been seen by a great number of foreigners, who have heard him speak without understanding him, and have fpoken to him without being underflood. With as little fuccefs, almost all the languages, of which we have grammars and vocabularies, have been tried in his hearing. In his perfon, however, he refembles the Europeans, and in particular fome people of the North of Europe. The great regularity of his behaviour, and his exemplary moral conduct, indicate an education fuperior to what is common; but the little inftruction he has had proves that it has been much neglected. The only knowledge which he seems to have acquired, is that of the objects which he has feen in different countries. He feems not

B

to know how to write: the rude characters which he traces refemble those of a child who is beginning to learn the first elements of writing; and their direction, which is almost perpendicular, gives them fome fimilitude to the running hand used throughout all the north of Europe. He has written feveral times; but though he feems to diftinguish from time to time the characters which he has formed by divifions, it seems only to be in imitation of those that he has feen made. He has never read a fingle word of what he has written; he has been frequently defired to read It, but always in vain. Since he has been at Paris, our characters have been shown him; thofe are what he traces at present, when he is asked to write.

He fhows a particular attachment to the military, an inclination, a Arong propenfity to arms. He is of a gentle and cheerful difpofition, has a proper affurance, feems firm, courageous, fober, difinterefted, repoles a confidence, is frank and fincere. He is fond of liberty and independence; shows a contempt for flaves; regards our fervants as fuch; and is difpofed to grant every thing to perfuafion and affection, but nothing to compul. fion. Of what belongs to him he is careful, and remarkably neat.-With the plainnefs of his dress he feems not difpleafed; and it appears as if it would be more agreeable to his eyes if it were more elegant.

He has sketched, in a very intelligent drawing, a fhip that has Dutch lec-boards, and he has diftinguished them on fome Dutch veffels, of which a print was fhown him. He has made it understood by figns, that he is acquainted with the favages of America, their arms, and their utenfils. When a map of the world was laid before him, the place where he now is being pointed out to him, and being asked by figns from whence he

came, he showed the fouth-weft. He particularly diftinguished, in the King's cabinet, the arms and utenfils of the favages of South-America, fome fruits of that country, and two infects which the favage women hang by way of ornament in their ears; in fhort, he seemed to intimate that he was born in an island. These united teftimonies feem to point out the Antilles; and his knowledge of the Datch buildings, discovered by himself, feem more efpecially to lead our conjectures to a Dutch island.

However, on the contrary, he has known fome leaves on which fome Malabar characters were engraved. He has given us to understand, that they were hung round the necks of flaves, and that thofe characters were engraved with a bodkin. He has alío drawn an uniform, refembling that of the Cipaïes, and distinguished by the lining of the vest.

But when he was fhown, in the map of the world, the places where thefe things were found, and asked if he came from thence, he replied by negative figns. If he is of the Antilles, or of Surinam, and Dutch, he might have had fome knowledge of them without having been in the EaftIndies.

When fome fnow-fhoes were offered him, of which the inhabitants of the North make ufe to go on the ice, he immediately put his feet into them, and fhowed that fomething was wanting to fasten them. He made it also appear, that he was acquainted with the manner in which the favages of North-America wrap themselves up in their cloaths: but this last custom is common to many favage nations; and one circumftance, which induces a belief, either that he is acquainted with those customs by hearfay, or that he may have feen them in fome dwellings in the coldest regions of Chili, is, that he fhows a great diflike to cold climates, and feems con

stantly

ftantly to defire and to ask that those whom he most efteems would conduct and accompany him to the SouthWeft. He exprefles, that, in order to arrive at his country, they must first go by fea; afterwards take horse, and make fome days journey by land. He seems, in his recitals, to fpeak of fea-fights and a fhip-wreck, of a counting-house, of money, of rich relations; of papers, letters, and a porto-folio, of which he has been robbed. He often repeats the word peou, or pelou. It cannot yet be afcertained whether he means Peru, or whether it be a word which in his idiom has fome other fignification. He intimates, that, when he was a child, he wore a failor's dress, made of cotton, with a fringe of muflin; that, when he embarked, he wore a blue coat with gold embroidered buttons, faced and lined with red; that he had a mufket, a large greyhound, and fome horses of his own (in fact, he knows how to manage a horse.) He adds, that his father is about 55 years of age, and that he wears the ribbons of two orders: that his mo'ther dreffes in the European manher; that fhe has a hat adorned with feathers; an aigrette of jewels, fome pearls on her neck and in her ears: that there are in their house fome marble pavements, and a pavilion decorated with glass, the floor of which is covered with a red ftuff. However, as he applies the name of father, which he pronounces paupa, to his patrons in France, it is poffible, that what he endeavours to exprefs on that fubject does not really mean his father, but the commandant of fome European fettlement, by whom The may have been fuccoured and protected. He makes it also understood, that there are some mines in his country, which produce gold and filver, of which money is coined; that the ufe of coaches is not known there, but only a kind of calafh. Laftly,

he appears to have fome knowledge of the late American war.

All the intelligence that can be drawn from him is comprised in this advertisement. But no ftrefs is laid on the various conjectures to which it may have given rife; as not knowing our language, in the multitude of particulars which he wishes to communicate, thofe which really relate to his country or his family cannot be diftinguished from thofe which he may have learned in his travels.

The idiom which he speaks is a medley of words corrupted from different languages, and of a great number of French words mutilated and distorted; the greatest part of which he may have learned fince he has been in France; fome of them he learns every day. When firft he came to Paris, he did not articulate the letters b, l, r, ch,j. He now pronounces them, and even our liquid 7. His profody is drawling; it is compofed of long founds, blended with founds ftill longer. This flowness renders it foft, though he chiefly employs the ftrong articulations p, t, g, f, and b.

We must not be surprised at not having discovered what is his idiom, when we confider that there are in the world at least 30 general languages, and fome thoufand jargons, or gibberish, each of which is only spoken and understood in a small diftrict; poffibly, being born of an European in the Antilles, or on the continent of South-America, he may, as children often are in that country, have been expofed, if we may fo exprefs it, among the Negro, Caribbee, Brafilian, and other flaves, and only fpeak the jargon used by those slaves. On the whole, we fhall only repeat, that what has been just faid, and all that we are yet able to fay, of this young man and his country, are vague conjectures, which can be confirmed or deftroyed by two methods only:

the

faw them, with menacing looks, feat themselves round the table, and now and then addreffed themfelves to Mr. Willis, who, all pale and astonished, neither understood nor had power to anfwer them. I obferved they took a great pleasure in terrifying him, by flourishing their knives, and gathing the table with their hatchets. Alas! this fight fhot icicles to my foul; and, to encrease my diftrefs, my Sophia's little heart beat against my breast, with redoubled strokes, at every word they uttered.

"Having finished their repast in a gluttinous manner, they laid a firebrand in each corner of the chamber, and then departed, driving poor Mr. Willis before them. The fmoke foon incommoded us; but we dreaded our barbarous enemy more than the fire. At length, however, the flames beginning to invade our retreat, trembling and apprehenfive we ventured down stairs; the whole house now glowed like a furnace; the flames rolled towards the ftairs, which we haftily defcended; but just as I fat my foot on the threshold of the door, a piece of timber, nearly confumed through, gave way, and fell on my left arm, which fupported my infant, miferably fracturing the bone. I inAtantly caught up my fallen lamb, and hafted to overtake my Sophia. There was a large hollow tree contiguous to our house, with an aperture juft large enough to admit fo fmall a woman as I am. Here we had often laughingly propofed to hide our children, in case of a vifit from the olive coloured natives. In this we now took fhelter; and being feated fome time, my soul seemed to awake as it were from a vision of horror: I lifted up my eyes, and beheld the cottage that lately circumfcribed all my worldly wealth and delight, melting away before the devouring fire. I dropt a tear as our apoftate firft parents did when thruft out from Eden..

"The world lay all before them, where to chufe their place of rest, and Providence their guide. Ah! Eve thought I, hadft thou been like me, folitary, maimed, and unprotected, thy fituation had been deplorable indeed. Then preffing my babe to my heart, "how quiet art thou, my angel," faid I; "furefure, Heaven has ftilled thy little plaints in mercy to us."—"Ah!” fobbed Sophia, "now I am comforted again that I hear my dear mamma's voice. I was afraid grief would have for ever deprived me of that happiness." And here fhe kifled my babe and me with vehemence. When her transports were moderated, "how cold my fifter is," faid the, "do wrap her up warmer, mamma; poor thing, fhe is not used to fuch uncomfortable lodging."

"The pain of my arm now called for all my fortitude and attention; but I forbore to mention this afflicting circumftance to my daughter.

"The cheerful fwallow now began to usher in the dawn with melody; we timidly prepared to quit our hiding place; and turning round to the light, I cat an anxious eye of love on my innocent, wondering that fhe flept fo long. But oh! horror and mifery! I beheld her a pale, ftiff corpfe in my arms (fuffer me to weep, ladies, at the cruel recollection;) it feems the piece of wood that difabled me, had also crushed my Charlotte's tender skull, and no wonder my hapless babe was quiet. I could no longer fuftain my forrowful burden, but falling proftrate, almost infenfible, at the dreadful discovery, uttered nothing but groans. Sophia's little heart was too fufceptible for fo moving a scene. Distracted between her concern for me, and her grief for the lofs of her dear fifter, the caft herself befide me, and with the fofteft voice of forrow, bewailed the fate of her beloved Charlotte-her fweet

com