'A week before he left Paris, he was so reduced, that he had not one
single Crown at Command, and was forc'd to thrust in with any
Acquaintance for a Lodging; Walsh and I have had him by Turns, all to
avoid a Crowd of Duns, which he had of all Sizes, from Fourteen hundred
Livres to Four, who hunted him so close, that he was forced to retire to
some of the neighbouring Villages for Safety. I, sick as I was, hurried
about Paris to raise Money, and to St. Germain's to get him Linen; I
bought him one Shirt and a Cravat, which with 500 Livres, his whole
Stock, he and his Duchess, attended by one Servant, set out for Spain.
All the News I have heard of them since is that a Day or two after, he
sent for Captain Brierly, and two or three of his Domesticks, to follow
him; but none but the Captain obey'd the Summons. Where they are now, I
can't tell, but fear they must be in great Distress by this Time, if he
has no other Supplies; and so ends my Melancholy Story.
'I am, &c.'
Still his good-humour did not desert him; he joked about their poverty
on the road, and wrote an amusing account of their journey to a friend,
winding up with the well-known lines:--
'Be kind to my remains, and oh! defend,
Against your judgment, your departed friend.
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