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Madame de Sevigne. It is the same with all the domestic relations; and it is sufficient to go to the cimetiere of Pere la Chaise; to be convinced how true the affection which the mothers, and sons, and sisters of France have for each other! How simple, and yet how tender the inscription upon the tombs! There the sister goes to renew the tender recollection of her sister, and a son to place a garland over the grave of his mother. With you the dead are never mentioned, never visited, and, I believe, seldom remembered. With the kindest feelings to their relations, the French it is true, do not think it inconsistent to mix the sociability of a larger circle, and they endeavour to be happy through the short period of existence allotted them. The Englishman began with the most diffident air, by refusing any comparison with the Spaniards, the Italians or the Germans. The first, he said, had no political liberty, the second had not even independence, and the Germans could scarcely be said to possess a classical literature; without every one of these advantages no nation could claim the pre-eminence. It was now his duty to show that the English nation was the wisest, the happiest, and the best.

sier, and Davy had pushed his researches to a distance, which none of his rivals or fellow labourers had reached.

"If we turn from physical science," he continued, "and look to history, which, joining the investigation of fact, with the exercise of moral judgement, and the use of a cultivated style, seems to form the link between the exact sciences and polite literature, we shall find that Hume is the most profound, and Gibbon the most learned of modern historians. I will not compare them with De Thou or Rapin; D'Anquetille or Lacretelle; but I will assert, without hesitation, that they have far surpassed Davila, Guicciardini, Mariana, and Schiller.

"In the region of poetry we fear no comparison with France; in fact, except the Tragedies of Racine, two or three of Voltaire, and some passages of Corneille, France has no poe try of the higher class; but not even in those, have they any thing so sublime as the conceptions of Milton? or any character so true, or an invention so various as that of Shakespeare. Every man can with us speak, think, and write as he pleases; no previous censorship of the press prevents the general communication of facts and of ideas; truth is not squeezed under the hat of a Cardinal, or screwed by the vice of an officer of police, but carried into the broad day-light, and appreciated by the general judgement of inlightened men.

The only mode of estimating the rank of England in science and literature, was to enumerate the men she had produced. Whatever claims the Parisians (for Paris was France) might have to distinction in the annals of modern science, they would not dis- Nor have we stained the cause of pute that Bacon was the first theore- liberty by innumerable murders and tical teacher, and Newton the greatest prescriptions; our revolution was fruitpractical discoverer of sound philoso-ful in great qualities and great virtues; ophy. Nor could England be said it produced but few crimes. to be inferior to any in the science of the day, namely chemistry; when Priestly and Cavendish made discoveries contemporary with those of Lavo

Perhaps of all the advantages our constitution has presented to us, none is more considerable than the freedom. of industry. The consequence is a

perfection in the arts of life a solidity and completeness of happy comforts unequalled in any other part of the world. "Nor have the English been less remarkable in foreign war; during the late war they gained by sea the battles of Camperdown, St. Vincent, Alboukir, Copenhagen, and Trafalgar." "Oh, but then" said the Frenchman, your nation are islanders, and cannot cope with us on the land." Talavera, Barrosa, Salamanca, Vittoria, and Waterloo are the answers to this objection."

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When all the parties had been heard, I said, with the gravest face, and the most solemn tone I could put on, that I would read over my notes, and give my judgement another day. I did not say, however, that I would give the case another hearing, as they do in the English Chancery Court, although it might have been done, in this case, without putting the parties to an hundred pounds expence each.

REVIEW.

Napoleon in Exile; or, a Voice from St. Helena. The opinions and reflections of Napoleon on the most important events of his Life and Government, in his own words. By BARRY E. O'MEARA, Esq. his late Surgeon. 2 Vols.-Con

tinued.

friends of that most perfect model of a soldier.

He then spoke of some English officers. "Moore," said he, "was a brave soldier, an excellent officer, and a man of talent.. He made a few mistakes, which were probably inseparable from the difficulties with which he was surrounded, and caused perhaps by his information having misled him." This eulogium he repeated more than once; and observed, that he had commanded the reserve in Egypt, where he had behaved very well, and displayed talent. I remarked, that Moore was always in front of the battle, and was generally unfortunate enough to be wounded. "Ah!" said he, "it is necessary some times. He died gloriously he died like a soldier. Menou was a man of courage, but no soldier. You ought not to have taken Egypt. If Kleber had lived, you An army would never have conquered it. without artillery or cavalry. The Turks signified nothing. Kleber was an irreparable loss to France and to me. He was a man of the brightest talents and the greatest bravery. I have composed the history of my own campaigns in Egypt, and of yours, while I was at the Briars. But I want the Moniteurs for the dates.

A report having been industriously circulated, that Napoleon hated the appearance of a British soldier, be cause it reminded him of the loss of Waterloo, he sent for Captain Poppleton, the officer on duty at Longwood, and thus addressed him :-

"Well, M. le capitaine," said he, "I believe you are the senior captain of the 53d?" "I am." "I have an esteem for the officers and men of the 53d. They are brave men, and do their duty. I have been informed, that it is said in camp, that I do not wish to see the officers.Will you be so good as to tell them, that whoever asserted this told a falsehood.never said or thought so; I shall be always happy to see them. I have been told also, that they have been prohibited by the governor from visiting me."Captain Poppleton replied, that he be lieved the information which he had received

We haveno doubt that the following testimony to the merits of our gallant I countryman, Sir John Moore, whose military talents it has for sometime been the fashion to undervalue, if we are correctly informed, even among some of those who misled him by false intelligence, will be duly appreciated by the numerous admirers and

was groundless, and that the officers of the 53d were acquainted with the good opinion which he had previously expressed of them, which was highly flattering to their feel

ings. That they had the greatest respect for him. Napoleon smiled and replied, "I love a brave soldier, whatever nation he may belong to.

Our next quotation must speak for itself.

cludes with attempting to deny me the faculty of specch; and then has the impudence to write, that he has changed nothing. He says, that if strangers come to visit me, wishes that they may be presented by him. they cannot speak to any of my suit, and If my son came to the island, and it were required that he should be presented by him, I would not see him. You know," continued he, that it was more a trouble than a pleasure for me to receive many of the strangers who arrived; some of whom merely came to gaze at me, as they would at a curious beast; but still it was consoling to have the right to see them if I pleased.

We give next, a sketch of charac

ter:

I asked him, whom he thought had been the best minister of police, Savary, or Fouche? adding, that both of them had a bad reputation in England. said he, “is not a bad man; on the con“Savary," trary, Savary is a man of a good heart, and a brave soldier. You have seen him weep. He loves me with the affection of a son. The English, who have been în France, will soon undeceive your nation. Fouche is a miscreant of all colours-a deist, a terrorist, and one who took an active part in many bloody scenes in the revolution. He is a man who can worm all your secrets out of you with an air of calm and of unconcern. He is very rich," added he, "but his riches were badly acquired. There was a tax upon gambling houses in Paris, but, as it was an infamous way of gaining money, I did not like to profit by

"Truly," said he, "it requires great resolution and strength of mind to support such an existence as mine in this horrible abode. Daily he imagines modes of annoying, insulting, and making me undergo fresh privations. He wants to shorten my life by daily irritations. By his last restrictions, I am not permitted to speak to any one whom I may meet. To people under sentence of death this is not denied. A man may be ironed, confined in a cell, and kept on bread and water, but the liberty of speaking is not denied to him. It is a piece of tyranny unheard of, except in the instance of the man with the iron mask. In the tribunals of the Inquisition, a man is heard in his own defence; but I have been condemned unheard, and without trial, in violation of all laws divine and human; detained as a prisoner of war in a time of peace; separated from my wife and child; violently transported here, where arbitrary and hitherto-unknown restrictions are imposed upon me, extending even to the privation of speech. I am sure," continued he, "that none of the ministers, except Lord Bathurst, would give their consent to this last act of tyranny. His great desire of secrecy shows that he is afraid of his conduct being made known, even to the ministers themselves. Instead of all this mystery and espionage, they would do better to treat me in such a man-it, and therefore ordered that the amount ner as not to be afraid of any disclosures being made. You recolleet what I said to you, when this governor told me, in presence of the admiral, that he would send any complaints we had to make to England, and get them published in the journals. You see now that he is in fear and trembling lest Montholon's letter should find its way to England, or be known to the inhabitants here. They profess in England to furnish all my wants, and in I asked some questions about the infernal fact they send out many things: this man machine transaction. Napoleon replied in then comes out, reduces every thing, obli- the following manner: is it was about ges me to sell my plate, in order to pur- Christmas time, and great festivities were chase those necessaries of life which he going on. I was much pressed to go to either denies altogether, or supplies in the opera. I had been greatly occupied quantities so small as to be insufficient; with business all the day, and in the even, imposes daily new and arbitrary restric-ing found myself sleepy and tired. I tions; insults me and my followers; con- threw myself on a sofa in my wife's saloon,

of the tax should be appropriated to an hospital for the poor. It amounted to some millions; but Fouche, who had the collection of the impost, put many of them into his own pockets, and it was impossible for me to discover the real yearly sumtotal.

The following is his account of the affair of the infernal machine :—

and fell asleep. Josephine came down some time after, awoke me, and insisted that I should go to the theatre. She wasan excellent woman, and wished me to do every thing to ingratiate myself with the people. You know, that when women take a thing into their heads, they will go through with it, and you must gratify them. Well, I got up, much against my inclination, and went in my carriage, accompanied by Lasnes and Bessieres. I was so drowsy that I fell asleep in the coach. I was asleep when the explosion took place, and I recollect, when I awoke, experiencing a sensation as if the vehicle had been raised up, and was passing through a great body of water. The contrivers of this were a man named St. Regent, Imolan, a religious man, who has since gone to America, and turned priest, and some others. They got a cart and a barrel, resembling that with which water is supplied through the streets of Paris, with this exception, that the barrel was put cross-ways. This he had filled with gunpowder, and placed it and himself nearly in the turning of the street through which I was to pass.What saved me was, that my wife's carriage was the same in appearance as mine, and there was a guard of fifteen men to each. Imolan did not know which I was in, and indeed was not certain that I should be in either of them. In order to ascertain this, he stepped forward to look into the carriage, and assured himself of my presence. One of my guards, a great, tall, strong fellow, impatient and angry, at seeing a man stopping up the way, and staring into the carriage, rode up, and gave him a kick with his great boot, crying, Get out of the way, pekin,' which knocked him down. Before he could get up, the carriage had passed a little on. Imolan being confused I suppose by his fall, and by his intentions, not perceiving that the carriage had passed, ran to the cart, and exploded his machine between the two carriages. It killed the horse of one of my guards, and wounded the rider, knocked down several houses, and killed and wounded about forty or fifty badauds, who were gazing to see me pass. The police collected together all the remnants of the cart and the machine, and invited all the workmen in Paris to come and look at them. The pieces were recognized by several. One said, I made this, another that, and all agreed that they had sold them to two men, who, by their accent were Bas Bretons, but nothing more could

be ascertained. Shortly after, the hackney coachmen, and others of that description, gave a great dinner in the Champs Elysees to Cesar, my coachman, thinking that he had saved my life by his skill and activity at the moment of the explosion; which was not the case, for he was drunk at the time. It was the guardsman who saved it, by knocking the fellow down. Possibly, my coachman may have assisted, by driving furiously round the corner, as he was drunk, and not afraid of any thing. He was so far gone, that he thought the report of the explosion was that of a salute fired in honour of my visit to the theatre. At this dinner, they all took their bottle freely, and drank to Cesar's health. One of them, when he was drunk, said, Cesar, I know the men who tried to blow the first consul up the other day. In such a street, and such a house, (naming them) I saw on that day a cart like a water-cart coming out of a passage, which attracted my attention, as I never had seen one there before. I observed the men and the horse, and should know them again.' The minister of police was sent for; he was interrogated, and brought them to the house which he had mentioned, where they found the measure with which the conspirators had put the powder into the barrel, with some of the powder still adhering to it. A little also was found scattered about. The master of the house, on being questioned, said, that there had been people there for some time, whom he took to be smugglers; that on the day in question they had gone out with the cart, which he supposed to contain a loading of smuggled goods. He added, that they were Bas Bretons, and that one of them had the appearance of being master over the other two. Having now a description of their persons, every search was made for them; and St. Regent and Carbon were taken, tried, and executed. was a singular circumstance, that an inspector of police had noticed the cart standing at the corner of the street for a long time, and had ordered the person. who was with it to drive it away; but he had made some excuse, and said that there was plenty of room, and the other seeing what he thought to be a water-cart, with a miserable horse not worth twenty francs, did not suspect any mischief."

It

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I gaz'd as I stood on the pale moon's height
Rais'd aloft in her tremulous glory;
I look'd till my eyes were bedimm'd with
her light,

And my fancy had dwelt on her story.

And aye, as the light of her beams

The heaven's blue zenith illumin'd more clear,

The clouds sail'd along, while her bright'ning beams

Pierc'd through as the light in a forest drear.

And ever anon her glory was crost
By clouds of a misty and sombre hue;
And the light of her splendour afar was
lost

In the untrod fields of etherial blue.
But she shone through the gloom that at-
tended her train,

And scaled the high vault in her queenly

pride;

Till her strength burst forth on the fields again

Like lava stream on the dark mountain side.

IMPROMPTU.

TO A YOUNG POETESS WITH SOME FLOWERS. +4....

Accept dear maid, these flow'rets few,
Which friendship's hand hath cull'd for you,
Nor give their boast of crimson'd dyes
To sun, or soil, or nursing skies;
But view them as by fancy drest,
And own her magic flow'rs the best;
Then in thy soft, thy melting lay,
Do them a gracious tribute pay;
And ne'er may meaner theme inspire
Thy breathing thoughts, thy words of fire.
N.

NOTICES

TO CORRESPONDENTS. We will always be happy to receive communications from our esteemed correspondent NEMO, as those he has already furnished are excellent; and we feel obliged for his advice, and the interest he appears to take in the Melange. The paucity of our Poet's corner in the two last numbers, was owing to particular circumstances.

Phocion's remarks are better fitted for a Newspaper than the Melange. We wish to keep free from politics.

Before we insert Jonathan Sharp's first

And oh! how sweet thus to muse in her letter, we would like, as he promises us a

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:

But mark and the murky drapery veils
Her silvery glare from mortal eye;
And the moaning night-wind mournfully
wails,

While she sinks far off in the black'ning sky.

I turn'd from the gloom that portentously lowr'd,

And o'ershadow'd her far glimmering light;

I sigh'd that the orb which so lately had towr'd,

Was entomb'd in the blackness of night. Ah! such said I then is too often the fate Of the lights which our fond hope uprears; And the fabric which rises in loftiest state, Hatbits cope-stone bedew'd with our tears.

N.

series, to see one or two more of them, that we may be better able to judge of their scope.

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