him, whether he had yet
married his eldest daughter? He told me, No. "But pray," says he, "tell
me sincerely, what are your thoughts of the King of Sweden?" For though
his wife and children were starving, I found his chief concern at
present was for this great monarch. I told him, that I looked upon him
as one of the first heroes of the age. "But pray," says he, "do you
think there is anything in the story of his wound?" And finding me
surprised at the question, "Nay," says he, "I only propose it to you." I
answered, that I thought there was no reason to doubt of it. "But why in
the heel," says he, "more than in any other part of the body?"
"Because," says I, "the bullet chanced to light there."

This extraordinary dialogue was no sooner ended, but he began to launch
out into a long dissertation upon the affairs of the North; and after
having spent some time on them, he told me, he was in a great perplexity
how to reconcile the _Supplement_ with the _English Post_, and had been
just now examining what the other papers say upon the same subject. "The
_Daily Courant_," says he, "has these words, 'We have advices from very
good hands, that a certain prince has some matters of great importance
under consideration.' This is very mysterious; but the _Postboy_ leaves
us more in the dark, for he tells us, that there are private intimations
of measures taken by a certain prince, which time will bring to light.
Now the _Postman_," says he, "who used to be very clear, refers to the
same news in these words: 'The late conduct of a certain prince affords
great matter of speculation.' This certain prince," says the
upholsterer, "whom they are all so cautious of naming, I take to
be"----. Upon which, though there was nobody near us, he whispered
something in my ear, which I did not hear, or think worth my while to
make him repeat.

We were now got to the upper end of the Mall, where were three or four
very odd fellows sitting together upon the bench. These I found were all
of them politicians, who used to sun themselves in that place every day
about dinner-time. Observing them to be curiosities in their kind, and
my friend's acquaintance, I sat down among them.

The chief politician of the bench was a great asserter of paradoxes. He
told us, with a seeming concern, that by some news he had lately read
from Muscovy, it appeared to him that there was a storm gathering in the
Black Sea, which might in time do hurt to the naval forces o