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now propose to make on the same point. The prophet Jeremiah never uttered more bitter lamentations or gloomy forebodings, with respect to Jerusalem, than did this good old man, when speaking of the actual influence and prospects of the gospel in his unchristian country. His creative fancy could not have magnified the evil, in the face of evidence open and irresistible to every observer, and if it could have exerted any sway would have had a contrary operation, as all his wishes and affections prompted him to be sanguine. He calculated that out of a population of six hundred thousand souls, which he ascribed to Paris, forty thousand were in the habit of going to church, and of that number he supposed about twenty thou sand to be actuated by a spirit of piety. This computation coincided with the result of my own personal observation. The proportion was even larger than I expected, when I adverted to the state of public worship but a few years before, and to the prevailing system of morals and opinions.

THE ABBE HAUY.

At the period of my residence in Paris, the Abbé Hauy, so celebrated for his labors in mineralogy, was the annual director of the garden of plants. I was made known to him soon after my arrival, and enjoyed a familiar access both to his study and to the invaluable treasures under his care. To this excellent person the world is largely indebted for his crystallography, and his plan for the specification of minerals. When I recollected what he had achieved in his department of science, and the labors he was then compelled to undergo, and adverted, at the same time, to his advanced age, and to the extreme debility of his frame, bordering on absolute decrepitude, I was struck with astonishment and admiration at the activity of spirit and the force of volition, which were necessary to vanquish obstacles apparently insurmountable. No person, who has had the good fortune to enjoy the society of this individual, can fail to do justice to the softness and urbanity of his manners, to the depth and variety of his scientific attainments, and to the sound and ele vated morality of his character and opinions. In his lectures he is remarkable for the perspicuity of method and expression, and the felicity of illustration, with which he treats a subject, the exposition of which exacts these qualities in an eminent degree. Hauy is a Catholic priest, and no less scrupulously exact in

the discharge of his ecclesiastical fu tions, than indefatigably laborious in prosecution of his official researches. wears the cross of the legion of hono common with his brethren of the In tute, and is treated by them with deference due to his private virtues, to his extensive knowledge.

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In one of our walks in the garden plants, he related to me a circumsta which was well fitted to recal my fa from the contemplation of the republ era of Athens, and deserves to be corded as an illustration of the despot under which he lives. He stated, t he had received a peremptory order fr the Emperor to compose and finish, w in the space of six months, a Treatise Natural Philosophy for the use of schools; and that it was in vain for 1 to plead either the multitude of his a cations, his physical infirmities, or distant connexion between this subj and his particular studies. All expos lation was futile; and the professor, order to accomplish his task within period prescribed, was forced to subd a considerable portion of time from hours which he usually allotted to rep and exercise. He produced a which now claims the first rank, as elementary Treatise on Natural Philo phy, and has been translated into nea all the languages of Europe. He show me a version of it in the Polish, up which he appeared to dwell with liv satisfaction. I was informed afterwar that a similar mandate had been sent several other of the savans and liter of Paris, who were supposed to be b qualified for the composition of su works as were required in the Lycé Their gracious sovereign and liege admitted of no excuse arising from a cause whatever, and, by this singular ercise of power, answered the dou purpose of obtaining luminous treati on the rudiments of science for the struction of the youth of the Lycées, a of perverting their judgment by pompous and extravagant adulation c tained in the preface of every new bo introduced into their libraries.

BUFFON,

The garden of plants owes its prese extent and magnificence to the exerti and care of the Comte de Buffon. this institution, and in his great work Natural History, which, if they were si ceptible of a comparison, might be s to resemble each other, he has left an

valuable inheritance to his country, and erected two noble monuments to his own fame. Gibbon remarks, in the commencement of his Memoirs, "that style is the image of character." This observation was verified in the person of Buffon, the pomp and splendor of whose diction bore an analogy to the nature of his understanding, to his modes of action, and to his general habits of life. He wrote, lived, dressed, and talked, magnificently. I was told, by one who had been among the number of his intimate friends, that he never sat down to compose in the morning, until his valet de chambre had completely equipped him for the social intercourse of the day. He imagined that his periods never flowed Volubly, or marched majestically, but when the business of the toilette was finished, and the person suitably decorated. It was a maxim with him, that neither the mind nor the body should ever be found but in full dress, or in an elegant dishabille. Notwithstanding the stately affectation and the rich coloring of his style, it is certain that he bestowed much less labor upon, it than Rousseau employed on a diction, the distinguishing characteristics of which are apparent ease and simplicity.

Marmontel, in his Memoirs, has not done justice to Buffon, when he speaks of his connexion with the encyclopedists, and ascribes his defection from them to an impatience of inferiority, and a desire of conciliating the favor of the court, to which they were obnoxious. The na turalist withdrew from them, because he disliked their principles, and was disgusted with the arrogant tone and jealous competition of their society. Marmontel misrepresents the motives of Buffon, but says truly, when he remarks that the latter felt himself strong enough to live with some magnificence, and preferred having a free and separate bark to himself. The naturalist left a son, who reached a high rank in the army, but perished by the guillotine in the year 1791. He met death with great courage, and exclaimed several times on the scaffold, "Citizens, my name is Buffon !" There was, however, nothing talismanic in this ejaculation, when addressed to the ears of the Parisian inob.

MADAME DE GENLIS,

The Arsenal of the former monarchs of France is situated opposite to the garden of plants, on the other side of the Seine.. It contains a public library of great ex

tent and value, but was, in my eye, still more attractive from being the residence of Madame de Genlis, with whose repu tation you are well acquainted. She occupied gratuitously, with the permission of the Emperor, the apartments immedi ately above the library, of which she had the unrestrained use, and was comfortably, although by no means splendidly, lodged. I had occasion to pay frequent visits to this celebrated woman, and enjoyed much of her conversation. Her previous history, and particularly the part which she acted in the commencement of the revolution, are too well known to you to need repetition here. I shall, there fore, speak only of her present situation, and of the impression which she left upon my mind.

Madame de Genlis, once the governess of the children of the Duke of Orleans, was invested with the same character at the period of my residence in Paris, in relation to the then Queen of Naples, the wife of Joseph Bonaparte. This was, however, a merely honorary title at the time, and has not, in all likelihood, since required personal attention to the duties of the station. It was accompani ed by a pension of twelve hundred dollars a year from the Emperor, for which it was said he exacted from her an hebdomadal or weekly epistle, on miscellaneous subjects. It was stated, that he had imposed this singular species of fealty, with a view to obtain her opinions on the affairs of the day, and the charac ters of those by whom she was surrounded.

The conversation of this lady impressed me with a high idea of her powers, and corresponded to the celebrity of her name. She appeared to me rather solemn and didactic than otherwise, and displayed much less fancy and vivacity in dis course, than I was led to expect from the rich imagery and the glowing pictures with which her works abound. But I was still delighted with the depth and beauty of her observations on human na ture, and with the rational and philoso phical strain of her ideas. I could discover, at every moment, proofs of the most acute discernment, of a memory uncommonly tenacious, and of a very singular faculty of description. The chief merit of her writings may, indeed, be said to consist, not so much in the flights of a vigorous imagination, as in the expression of strong feeling, and in the skill with which she discovers and exhibits the various shades and the ridiculous

points of the human character. She paints the depravity and the follies of the world with a force and fidelity, which lead you to suppose that she must have bad, for a long time, some horrible models before her eyes, and retained many bitter recollections of them in her heart.

We conversed much about England, where she resided during a part of the revolution, and was treated with the dis. tinction due to her reputation and talents. She appeared, however, to be but little infected with that Anglo-mania which has been made, by the French government, so serious a charge against her brilliant rival, Madame de Stael. She spoke of that country in terms much more creditable to her policy than to her candor or gratitude. The English were, according to Madame de Genlis, at least a century behind-hand in civilisation; wholly destitute of taste or knowledge in the fine arts; and chiefly remarkable for the illiberality of their prejudices, and the exorbitance of their pride. She found no merit in any English novels or romances excepting those of Miss Burney, and was particularly disgusted with the productions of Mrs. Radcliffe, who, nevertheless, is described by the author of the Pursuits of Literature, as "the mighty magician of the Mysteries of Udolpho, bred and nourished by the Florentine muses, and extolled as a poetess, whom Ariosto would have acknowledged with rapture." I coincide with this illustrious critic, and venture to claim, for the novels of England, a decided superiority over those of France, in their distinguishing and appropriate character, as a Just representation of familiar life and manners, and an exertion of the powers of fancy, in favour of genuine feeling and sound morals. In works of imagination generally the female writers of England greatly excel, in my opinion, the literary sisterhood of France. I have been often led to reflect upon this circumstance with some surprise, as French women certainly display much more fancy in conversation, and enjoy, by their prepon derance in society and their habits of social intercourse, very important advantages for the culture of all the faculties of the mind.

Madame de Genlis is said to have been uncommonly handsome in her youth, but is now of an advanced age, and preserves no other vestige of beauty than an eye of great fire and penetration. She was conspicuous at an early period

of life for the brilliancy of her wit, the variety of her accomplishments, m of which she still retains. She is almost unrivalled among her own sex her skill in music and drawing, and tinguished for a singular talent in im ting precious stones. She showed n specimen of her labours in this wa the form of a snuff box, that produ the most complete illusion. She w when I saw her, occupied in the com sition of a work, to be intitled, the tany of the Bible, or a History of Plants mentioned in the sacred writin and had herself sketched and colore number of designs for the work, in most happy style of execution.

The strongest and most valuable tit which this lady justly prefers to respe and admiration, do not, however, ar from any external accomplishments this kind, but are founded upon her i defatigable industry, her profound know ledge of the human heart, her vario attainments in literature, her uncommo powers of invention and description, an the ease, correctness, and occasional f licity, of her style. At a very early ag she was initiated into one of the mo brilliant, polished, intelligent, and, I ma add, depraved, societies that has eve existed. She brought to it, a mind a ways on the alert in observation, capabl of analysing the most intricate features and penetrating into the deepest re cesses, of the human character, and pos sessing, at the same time, a most ex quisite relish for the pleasures and occupa tions of the fashionable world.

No woman of her time has been more

habitually in conversation with the best intellects of Europe, during the course of a long life; and there is none, perhaps, who has more successfully improved her opportunities. She was closely connected, with the sect of republicans and philosophers, at the commencement of the revolution, and is far from having passed a blameless life. It is, however, a remarkable circumstance in itself, and highly honourable to her, that all her writings breathe the purest morality; and that many of them are exclusively devoted to the cause of religion and virtue. Her Theatre of Education, one of her first and most ingenious productions, is, I think, among the best sources of moral instruction open to young girls, and a book which, of all others, I would most readily put into their hands. Ie appeared to give her no small pleasure, when she was informed, that this work

had

had a considerable circulation in this Country. Her works would now fill at least sixty octavo volumes, and afford proofs, not only of a prodigious fertility of invention, but of the most astonishing diligence.

CARDINAL MAURY.

Mde. de Geulis, at the period of my acquaintance with her, saw the most inteligent society of Paris, and gave pelit soupers, which exhibited an image of the old entertainments of the same kind, and at which there reigned much of the bon ton of the old régime. The most prominent member of her circle was CARDINAL MAURY, so celebrated in the annals of the national assembly, and to whom, both the palm of eloquence and energy was, during the sitting of that body, almost universally accorded. As the author of several works of great merit, as the most intrepid and powerful antagonist of Mirabeau, and the bulwark of the clergy and the throne, he enjoyed an unequalled share of consideration, particularly among the royalists of the day. He is now in the first ranks of French literature, and, without competition, the most distinguished and able ecclesiastic of the empire. He emigrated to Italy before the death of the king, and sheltered himself, in different parts of that country, from the storm of the revolution. Pius the VI. gave him a cardinal's hat, and deputed him, in 1792, to Frankfort, to officiate there as his nuncio, at the corouation of the Emperor of Germany. On the irruption of the French armies into Italy, orders were is sued to arrest him wherever he could be found; and it was with no small difficulty, that he escaped the vigilant pursuit of his enemies. After sharing the fortunes of Pius until his death, he addressed, in 1805, a letter to the Emperor Napoleon, signifying his intention to return to France, and to do homage to the new government. Buonaparte granted him an interview the same year, at Genoa; and the result of the meeting was said to be perfectly satisfactory to both.

Since the period of his return to France, he has received the most flattering demonstrations of the imperial favour, and evinced his gratitude, by the most profound obsequiousness, and the grossest adulation. In all the mummerics to which the French government has rendered the forms of religion subservient, Cardinal Maury has been the chief puppet, and the ready instrument; Whether the tank, imposed upon him, 1

was to pronounce the legality of the emperor's divorce, or to attest the numerous favours which his master has conferred' upon the Catholic worship. The cardinal was made the almoner of Prince Jerome, and took occasion to introduce, into the discourse which he pronounced on his admission to the Institute, a solemn eulogium on that individual. The extraordinary virtues and talents of the imperial family constitute his favourite theme in conversation, and are habi tually extolled by him with a fervor and emphasis, of which the insincerity is no less certain, than the flattery is disgusting. His residence in Italy, appears not only to have destroyed the energy of his character, but to have weakened the powers of his understanding. The discourse I have just mentioned, excited the loftiest expectations throughout the whole capital, and attracted an auditory to the Institute, more numerous and brilliant than any which had been assembled, on a similar occasion, for many years before. It fatigued every hearer, and none more than myself, whose hopes were buoyed up to the highest pitch. Even his most zealous friends felt and expressed a heavy disappointment.

A little circumstance preceded this exhibition, which deserves to be mentioned, as an exemplification of the authority exercised by Buonaparte over the Institute. Cardinal Maury was a member of the old Academy of Paris, and, as such, was intitled to claim a seat among that body. This was granted without hesitation; but he insisted also upon receiving from them, at his inauguration, the title of Monseigneur, in virtue of his dignity as cardinal. The case was without a direct precedent in their annals, and the innovation not palatable to the members. Cardinal Du bois, indeed, of infamous nemory, had been saluted with this title; but it was in his capacity of minister to Louis XV. and not in his ecclesiastical character. The demand was, therefore, rejected; but Maury was not to be diverted from his purpose. The dispute, which arose out of this question, occasioned the ceremony of his admission to be postponed for some weeks. All Paris was in despair at the delay, until the emperor relieved his "good city," by interposing his authority, and seconding the request of his new proselyte, with a positive mandate, which was promptly. obeyed.

Marmontel pronounces in his memoirs

a warm

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a warm eulogium upon the splendid oratorical powers and the amiable qualities of Maury, but blames him for his overweening arrogance, and the excessive impetuosity of his temper. His character has undergone a sensible change since the period at which Marmontel wrote. scems no longer to possess that felicity of style which marks his early writings, or that nervous, prompt, and commanding, eloquence, which so eminently distinguished his magnanimous efforts in the national assembly. I saw in him, and those who approach him frequently alike recognise, an ambitious and arrogant, but cautious and politic, prelate, aspiring to the Roman purple and to political consequence, and willing to hold any language, or to act any part, which may prove agreeable or useful to his patron. Should Bonaparte be able to overcome, in his favor, that repugnance which he feels to all those who were conspicuous for their devotion to the house of Bourbon, Maury will undoubtedly be selected as the chief agent in the execution of the plans that he may have in view with regard to religion. It is said, that the cardinal has in his hands very important documents on the subject of the revolution, which, in all probability, will never see the light, in consequence, according to the Parisian phrase, of the new position in which he finds himself.

Although Maury, was the most distin guished of the royalist party in the nationa assembly, and by far the most strenuous active, and intrepid, defender of the throu and the altar, it is rather remarkable tha he was at no time personally odious even to the most infuriate of the jacobin mob of Paris, and rarely the object of their indignities. The poissardes some times abused, but more frequently ap plauded him; even the most venal and factious of the journals of the day occasi onally pronounced his panegyric. The populace are said to have applied this language to him: "At least he does not seek to deceive us: he serves the cause that he has espoused openly and honestly." Au moins il ne cherche pas a nons trahir, et il sert franchment le parti qu'il a embrassé." The impression produced upon the minds of all parties by the inflexible courage, the vehement candor, and the unshaken constancy with which he exposed and withstood the designs of the republican party, certainly contributed to save his life. He overawed his enemies, and extorted the respect and admiration of the lower classes. His example serves to show, that in a season of public commotion, or of danger from the plots of faction, an individual may best consult his personal interests by boldly asserting, and resolutely defending, the cause of justice and of truth.

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Extracts from the Portfolio of a Man of Letters.

INGENIOUS MOTTO.

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why not a good thought that we hear? and why not those little paragraphs in

Shakespeare was sent to Voltaire the letters of our friends, which contain with this motto prefixed.

Pallas te hoc vulnere Pallas Immolat.

CHURCH-STEEPLES.

A well-imagined book on cottage architecture has covered this country with pretty cottages: surely a wellimagined book on church-steeples, might as extensively teach the art of capping them gracefully, so as to embellish the landscape. Half our church-steeples

look as if the builders had left them unfinished.

OTTILIA'S REFLECTIONS. In Goethe's late novel, entitled Elective Attractions, the heroine, Ottilia, compiles a book of aphorisms, of which the following are a specimen.

A good thought that we read we put down in a common-place book, And

spirited words, or original observations ? Every word that is uttered excites the antithetic idea.

Contradiction and flattery both make a bad dialogue.

When we meet a man who is under obligations to us, the recollection occurs; but how often we meet those to whom we are under obligations without thinking about it.

The pleasantest companies are those in which the parties see one another with cheerful respect.

He who speaks long before others, without flattering his audience, incurs displeasure.

A man can bear to have his faults known, reproved even, and can suffer many of their evil consequences with patience; but impatient he is sure to become, if he has to leave them off.

Some

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