Quipe and Cranks, and wanton Wiles, Nods and Becks, and wreathed Smiles, Such as hang on Hebe's cheek, And love to live in dimple sweet; Sport, that wrinkled Care derides, And Laughter, holding both his fides, Come, and trip it as you go, light fantastic toe.

continue of the opinion of Werter, that no modeft woman ought to dance the walze unless her partner be either her hufband or her brother." (p. 141.) The French feem to think with Lvcurgus, who is juftified by Plato and Plutarch, that, though it may feem firange that virgins fhould appear naked with young men, where true modefty was obferved, and wantonnels excluded, there was nothing of fhame or indecency in it." The difficulty with us is, to exclude the wanton idea; at leaft, in modern times and manners. "A party of young men made preparations for an English dance, and taking places for their partners, which has occafioned feveral duels. The fupper, like all good French ones, coucluded with fish (turbot and falmon). But, though the women were handfome, the company elegant in their drefs, and genteel in their manuer, the mufick admirable, and the refresh-ments plentiful and good, there wanted that gaiety of heart, and that flow of fpirits, which, according to all accounts, the French formerly poffelled. The ladies danced to perfection; but they feemed to do fo rather for triumph than amufement; and any ftranger, coming fuddenly into the room, would have fuppofed that he faw before him the lives of the opera-houfe, not the daughters of the proud nobleffe. Dancing is, indeed, more a fcience than entertainment at Paris; and, while thofe who were engaged feemed to ftudy every step, and to make all their motions by rule, the by-ftanders looked on and criticifed with the fame profeffional attention. There was little or

On the

And in thy right hand lead with thee The mountain-nymph, fweet LIBERTY þ I have now paffed more than three months in Paris, and have not yet feen, in any of its inhabitants, one inftance of unbounded mirth. When it happens to me to be in English, American, or other foreign compa nies, I am always furprised at the fun and jollity of the perfons around me." (p.144.)

no converfation; the loud laugh, involuntary tribute of joy, was not heard, nor the innocent prattle of unfufpecting, happy youth. I know not whether this total change of character is to be attributed to the heavy misfortunes which the higher claffes have experienced, or to fome other caufe, but certainly nothing is more obfolete than French vivacity. Among the common people of France I have remarked fome of that livelinefs fo vaunted as forming a material ingredient in the French character. Happy Britons! who can yet fay, with their own poet, though a ftaunch Republican yet an Englishman,

'Hafte thee, Nymph, and bring with thee Jeft and ufeful Jollity,

At this ball our author faw the cele

brated Kofcioufko, perfectly recovered of his wound, without any marks of lamenefs, not now in the vigour or bloom of youth, but his eye finely expreffive.

"Edward in Scotland," a play, reprefenting the adventures of the Pretender, was twice acted at Paris, and the fong of "God fave the King!" in but omitted the fecond time, and the it received with unbounded applaufe; play finally forbidden.

The

The people, being permitted by the prefent Government to return to all their old habits, are celebrating, at this feafon of the year, the Carnival, with that gaiety, whim, and eccentricity, which it has long been a kind of religious duty, in Catholic countries, to difplay on fuch occafions. French are fo fond of pleafure, amufe ment, and Spectacle of all kinds, that there is no facrifice they will not endure to be able to indulge this favourite paffion. Not a fingle accident, or the lighteft difturbance, has been heard of. Whatever improprieties might have privately taken place, no indecency fhocks the public eye: no drunken perfons made their appearance; no woman was infulted; and no quiet, inoffenfive man dragged into a quarrel. This is the great and ftriking characteristick of a public place in France, that it may be vifited in fafety; and, if the Parifian Spectacles are lefs amufing than thofe of London, the former have, at leaft, the negative merit of not expofing those who frequent them to riot, rudeness, or inconvenience." (p. 152-157.)

Our

was originally made. It is really and not nominally an English garden, and would, even in our happy illand, be deemed as happily laid out as the finallnefs of the extent would permit. The grand Trianon, that favourite fpot of Lewis XVI. is ftill unhurt. The poverty of the inhabitants, in confequence of the revolution, compelled numbers of half-ftarved half-naked beggars to be very importunate and troublefome In The old caftle of St. every corner. Germain till remains, and the cele brated water-works of Marly in all their perfection. Malmaifon is fimply a moderate-fized houfe near the river, but too low to commannd a profpect. The promenade to Longchamp, April 16, being revived fince Bonaparte's time, was now performed, and appeared to our traveller a wretched and pitiful imitation of Hyde-park on an ordinary Sunday. He obferves, the French are rapidly, though aukwardly, adopting our fathions. The ladies of Paris and Loudon differ widely in their toilet; and the former might improve in modefty, and the latter in tafte, ele gance, and fancy.

On the 18th of the fame month the re-eftablishment of religion, and the ratification of the definitive treaty, were folemnized by finging Te Deum at Notre Dame. The crowd affembled early at the doors were driven away by foldiers with fixed bayonets calling for a troop of horfe, and many were wounded. The proceffion began with a numerous efcort of different regiments. Bonaparte, with Cambaceres on his right and Le Brun on his left, were in a new coach, fimply elegant, driven by eight very fine horfes richly caparifoned, and received by the archbishop of Paris under a canopy, and conducted to a throne erected near the altar, under which their three chairs were placed; and in a fimilar throne oppofite fat the cardinal legate. The bifhops bowed first to the altar, fecondly, to the confuls; and, laftly, to the cardinal. The oath fettled by the Concordat having been taken by the clergy, high-mafs was inftantly faid; and after it the venerable M. de Boifgelin, formerly archbishop of Aix, now of Thou

loufe, delivered an appropriate difcourfe from the very fame pulpit in which he preached at the coronation of Lewis XVI. The whole band of the operahoufe was employed, and the effect was fine, but comparatively very inferior to our mufical meetings in Weftminsterabbey. Madame Bonaparte feemed rather to decline than court the applaufe of the publick. Sixty cannon were fired at the Thuilleries at the First Conful's arrival and return; and Mr. Jackfon's illumination with lamps of different colours exceeded all others.

In the courts of juftice, the judges had a grave appearance; and, though not men of much importance, conducted themfelves with decency and propri ety. The counfel had no prepoffeffing outward garb; and, if it were not unjuft to form any conclufion from men's exterior, I fhould fay, that a French counfel and an English one appear to be drawn from a different clafs of fociety. At the tribunal de la police correctionelle" a man was tried for pawning fome goods in a fhop where he worked. The witneffes were regularly examined, and the criminal pa tiently heard in his defence, and found guilty by the judges, for I obferved no jury, and fentenced, though an old offender, to no more than fix months imprifonment. The chief or fupreme court of the republick, called "le tribunal de caffation," bore a more dignified appearance; and the judges, whofe number was confiderable, feemed by their drefs, their manner, and their language, to be well fuited to the important functions of their office, and to be men of education, learning, and polifhed manners. At the criminal court an Italian was convicted of affaffination, and led to the guillotine in a red fhirt. I faw here nothing like a jury, but am told that all capital offences are tried by that mode of procefs. The fyftem of fufpicion, bloodfhed, and injuftice, has completely paffed away. Thofe horrors, fo difgraceful to France, took place in a moment of national de lirium; and the inhabitants of Paris, who committed or fuffered fuch fcenes of judicial murder, are now the firft to deplore and execrate them*. For us,

who

juridical

who contemplate all these scenes with a reference to the divine government of the univerfe, we cannot but confider them as inftruments in the hand of Heaven to purge a guilty land, which feemed hardly yet awakened to a fenfe of its duty.

The public walks and gardens are in perfection in May, for no Frenchman has any idea of walking or taking exercife for the benefit of his health "I am every day convinced, that there is nothing to ridiculous that fancy can fuppofe that does not actually and frequently take place in this molt extraordinary town. Winter is the time for private fociety; but I have found, from experience, that a foreigner has fo little to expect on this head, that it is infinitely wifer to chofe a feafon when an infinite variety of amufements, and all the charms of Nature, in their richest and happielt colours, offer a fue and conftant fund of pleasure." (p. 234.) The manufactory of Gobelins deferves all its celebrity, and fill employs 90 perfons. For the obfervatory is preparing a telefcope, on the plan of Herfchel, 22 feet long, with a peculum of platina. The "enfans trouvés," or foundling hofpital, is fill kept up on the old plan, and has feldom lefs than 1000 fubjects. In the hall or chapel of "les invalides," now the Temple of Mars, are but two or three English colours, which, from their fize, belonged to the fame fhip. In the centre is the tomb of Turenne, refcued from the fury of Jacobinical rage. But it is juttly obferved, p. 241, by our writer, that Le Noir's plan of preferving the monuments difcovers in the whole arrangement a kind of quackery, which prevents one's feeling that unalloyed fatisfaction one has been led to expect; and that, in fpite of bet ter judgment, he felt an inclination to laugh, when, perhaps, tears ought to have flowed; and that thefe monuments would be better arranged in a church than in a garden on fo limited a fcale, and fo furrounded with houfes, and fo ill arranged as to look more like the working-yard of a ftatuary or the

pleafure-ground of a taftelefs citizen." The confort of our traveller dined with Bonaparte and 200 perfons, of whom there were not more than 15 women, and of them only two English. The dinner ferved on plate and Seve china, all marked with the letter B. The First Conful and Madame Bonaparte conducted themselves with much eafe, and fpoke very affably to thofe around them. The fervants were numerous, fplendidly dreffed, and highly atten tive. Tue dinner lafted more than two hours. (p. 247.)

"The poor man has the finest libraries and moft extenfive collections opened to his ufe without any expence; while he whofe circumftances are moderately eafy obtains, for a trifling confideration, every poffible means of additional improvement." (p. 249.)

The National Library contains 300,000 printed volumes, in fpacious apartments on the first floor, which take up three fides of the large court by which you enter. Five or fix rooms, well lighted and aired, offer, on each fide, the best books in every fcience and every language. Tables are placed for the convenience of ftudents; and attentive librarians civilly deliver the works which are asked for. The gallery of MSS. commonly called the Gallery of Mazarine, contains 30,000 volumes, generally on the hiftory of France, and more particularly relating to facts which have taken place fince the reign of Louis XI.; 25,000 of which are in learned or foreign lan guages. "I was much furprifed at finding, in the hand-writing of Louis XIV. memoirs of his own time, fo accurately taken, that, with very little difficulty, it might be prepared for the prefs. A gentleman belonging to the library had undertaken it, when a fudden illness deprived his country and the literary world of his fervices. The five large rooms on the fecond floor contain the titles and genealogies of private families; which, though forbidden, fince the Revolution, to be kept by individuals, are here preferved, in

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