Laurence Sterne England and France were still adversaries in the Seven Years' War. Sterne was gratified by his reception in France, where reports of the genius of "Tristram Shandy" had made him a celebrity. Aspects of this trip to France were incorporated into Sterne's second novel, "A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy". Early in 1767 Sterne met Eliza Draper, the wife of an official of the East India Company, then staying on her own in London. He was quickly captivated by Eliza’s charm, vivacity and intelligence, and she did little to discourage the attentions of such a celebrated man. They met
A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy caught hold of the fille de chambre's...End of vol II". The sentence is open to interpretation. You can say the last word is omitted, or that he stretched out "his" hand, and caught "hers" (this would be grammatically correct). Another interpretation is to incorporate 'End of Vol. II' into the sentence, so that he grabs the Fille de Chambre's 'End'. Because Sterne died before he could finish the novel, his long-time friend John Hall-Stevenson (identified with "Eugenius" in the novel) wrote a continuation. It is titled "Yorick's Sentimental Journey Continued: To Which Is Prefixed Some Account of the Life and