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hensive views, its annual rotation; ridicule chastises folly and impudence, and keeps men in their proper sphere; subtlety seizes hold of the fine threads of truth; analogy darts away to the most sublime discoveries; feeling paints all the exquisite passions of man's soul, and rewards 5 him by a thousand inward visitations 7 for the sorrows that come from without.9 God made it all! 10 It 11 is all good! We must despise no sort 12 of talent; they all have their separate duties and uses; 13 all, the happiness of man for their object; they all 11 improve, exalt, and gladden life.

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SYDNEY SMITH,

"Elementary Sketches of Moral Philosophy."

A SKETCH OF BYRON.

The pretty fable by which the Duchess of Orleans* illustrated 15 the character of her son, the Regent,† might, with little change,16 be applied 17 to Byron. All the fairies, save one, had been bidden to his cradle. All the gossips had been profuse of their gifts. One 18 had bestowed nobility, another genius, a third beauty. The malignant elf 19 who had been uninvited came last,

1 Its, lui donnent-2 seizes hold of, saisit-3 fine, délicats— 4 darts away to, s'élance jusqu'à-5 rewards, dédommage-6 a, to be left out-7 inward visitations, émotions intimes-8 for, de9 from without, du dehors-10 God made it all, toutes ces facultés diverses, c'est Dieu qui les a créées-11 it, elles-12 sort, genre13 duties and uses, attributions et fonctions--14 they all, tous ils. 15 Illustrated, montra dans tout son jour-16 with little change, à quelques changements près-17 be applied, s'appliquer—18 onc, l'une 19 elf, elfine.

* The second wife of Philip, Duke of Orleans, brother of Louis XIV.

†The Regent governed France during the minority of Louis XV., 1715-1723.

A SKETCH OF BYRON.

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and, unable to 1 reverse what her sisters had done for their favourite, had mixed up a curse with every blessing. In the rank of Lord Byron, in his understanding, in his character, in his very person,3 there was a strange union of opposite extremes. He was born to all that men covet and admire. But in 5 every one of those eminent advantages which he possessed over others was mingled something of misery and debasement.7. He was sprung from a house, ancient indeed and noble, but degraded and impoverished by a series of crimes and follies which had attained a scandalous publicity. The kinsman whom he succeeded had died poor, and but for merciful judges 10 would have died upon the gallows. The young peer had great intellectual powers; 11 yet there was an unsound part 12 in his mind. He had naturally a generous and feeling heart; but his temper was wayward and irritable. He had a head which statuaries loved to copy, and a foot the deformity of which the beggars in the streets mimicked.13 Distinguished 14 at once by the strength and by the weakness of his intellect; affectionate, yet perverse; 15 a poor lord 16 and a handsome cripple,17 he required, if ever man required, 18 the firmest and most judicious training. But capriciously as nature had

1 Unable to, ne pouvant-2 had, elle avait-3 in his very person, jusque dans sa personne-4 to, avec-5 in, à-6 was mingled, se trouvait mêlé-7 something of misery and debasement, quelque chose de misérable et de bas-8 sprung, issu-9" to whom"-10 and but for merciful judges, et s'il n'eût eu affaire à des juges indulgents11 had great......powers, possédait de hautes facultés-12 unsound part, élément défectueux-13 the deformity of which the beggars in the streets mimicked, à la difformité duquel les mendiants des rues insultaient-14 distinguished, remarquable-15 perverse, méchant— a poor lord, grand seigneur sans patrimoine-17 a handsome cripple, estropié aux beaux traits-18 he required, if ever man required, il lui fallait, si jamais il fallut à quelqu'un.

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dealt with him,1 the parent 2 to whom the office of forming his character was entrusted was more capricious still. She passed from paroxysms 5 of rage to paroxysms of tenderness. At one time she stifled him with her caresses; at another time she insulted his deformity. He came into the world; and the world treated him as his mother had treated him, sometimes with fondness, sometimes with cruelty, never7 with justice. It indulged him without discrimination, and punished him without discrimination. He was truly the spoiled child, not merely the spoiled child of his parent, but the spoiled child of nature, the spoiled child of fortune, the spoiled child of fame, the spoiled child of society. His first poems were received with a contempt which, feeble as 10 they were, they did not absolutely deserve. The poem which he published on his return from 11 his travels was, on the other hand,12 extolled far above 13 its merits.14 At twenty-four 15 he found himself on the highest pinnacle 16 of literary fame, with Scott, Wordsworth, Southey, and a crowd of other distinguished writers beneath his feet.17 There is scarcely an instance in history 18 of so sudden a rise to so dizzy an eminence, 19

MACAULAY, "Essays."

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1 Capriciously as nature had dealt with him, si capricieuse que la nature eût été à son égard-2 parent, mère-3 office......entrusted, tâche......dévolue-4 was, se montra-5 sing.-6 at one time......at another time, tantôt.... .tantôt-7 never......., jamais-8 indulged, flatta-9 he was...... ..the, c'était... 10 un- feeble as, tout faibles que 11 on his return from, au retour de 12 on the other hand, au contraire-13 far above, bien au delà de-14 sing.—15 "at twenty-four years"-16 on the highest pinnacle, à l'apogée-1i beneath his feet, au-dessous de lui-18 there is, etc.......history, on rencontre à peine dans l'histoire un autre exemple (see note ", p. 52) -19 so dizzy an eminence, une hauteur si étourdissante.

WELLINGTON'S OPINION OF NAPOLEON. 127

WELLINGTON'S OPINION OF NAPOLEON.

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I asked him what he really thought of the talents of the Emperor Napoleon as a great general. He said, "I have always considered the presence of Napoleon with an army as equal to an additional force of 40,000 men, from his superior talent, and from the 5 enthusiasm which his name and presence inspired into the troops; and this was the more disinterested on my part because 7 in all my campaigns I had then never been opposed to him. When I was 10 in Paris in 1814, I gave this very 11 opinion in the 12 presence several Prussian and Austrian generals who had fought against him, and you have no idea 13 of the satisfaction and pleasure it 14 gave them to think that, though defeated,15 they had had such odds against them."16

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On 17 another occasion the Duke also said that he thought Napoleon 18 superior to Turenne,* Tallard,† or any 19 of the old generals of former times; but Napoleon had this advantage over every other general, himself 20 in particular, that his power was unlimited,.

1 Of, sur-2 as a, comme-3 he said, I have always, "I have always, said he to me”—1 from, à cause de―5 and from the, et de l' — into, à-7 the more......because, d'autant plus......que-8 I had then never been, je ne m'étais jusqu'alors jamais trouvé-9 opposed to, face à face avec-10 when I was, "being"-"I gave this very, j'émis précisément cette- 12 in the, en-13 you have no idea, vous ne vous faites pas d'idée- 14 it, cela-15 though defeated, dans leurs défaites-16 they had had such odds against them, ils avaient eu affaire à si forte partie-17 on, dans-18 he thought N., il considérait N. comme- any, à tout autre-20" over himself."

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* Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Viscount de Turenue, one of the greatest captains of modern times, was born at Sedan, in 1611, and was killed by a cannon ball in 1675.

+ Camille d' Hostun, Duke de Tallard, a marshal of France, was born in 1652, and died in 1728.

He could order everything on the spot as he pleased; 1 if he wanted reinforcements, they were sent; if to 2 change the plan of a campaign, it was changed; if to reward services, he could confer honours on the field of battle; whereas the Duke and other generals were obliged to write home to Ministers 3 and wait their decisions, perhaps that of Parliament, and he himself 4 never had the power of conferring 5 the slightest reward on any of his followers,7 however deserving.8

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T. RAIKES, "Diary."

GENIUS AND MISFORTUNE.

Connected with the illness and death of Keats may be mentioned two incidents that contain 10 a mournful and all striking interest. Amongst the earliest 12 friends of Keats were Haydon, the painter, and Shelley, the poet. When Keats was first smitten, Haydon visited the sufferer,13 who had written to his old friend, requesting him to see him before he set out 14 for Italy. Haydon describes in his journal the powerful 15 impression which the 16 visit made upon him-" the very colouring 17 of the scene struck forcibly on 18 the painter's imagination. The white curtains, the white sheets, the white shirt,

1 As he pleased, comme bon lui semblait-2 if to, s'il voulait3 to write home to Ministers, d'écrire à leurs Ministres-4 he himself, lui-même il 5 of conferring, de décerner-6 on any, à aucun7 followers, compagnons d'armes-8 however deserving, quel que fût son mérite.

9 Connected, etc.......mentioned, à la maladie et à la mort de Keats se rattachent-10 contain, présentent-11 a, to be left out-12 earliest, premiers-13 when K. was first smitten, H. visited the sufferer, K. venait de sentir les premières atteintes du mal quand H. fit une visite au pauvre jeune homme-14 requesting, etc.......out, pour le prier de venir le voir avant son départ-15 powerful, profonde16 the, cette 17 the very colouring, le coloris seul-18 struck......on, frappa.

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