med at, fo that the deftruction on the whole must have been very great. The king having learned by fome accident that there were Englishmen in his train, defired the marechal to acquaint them with Margaret Nicholfon's attempt on the life of the king of Great Britain, of which he had just had an account by exprefs, adding, that the king had received no harm, and was very well. A very polite and ufeful piece of condefcenfion; for when we returned to town that evening, all Paris was filed with the report of his majefty's having been abfolutely murdered. Louis XIII and XIV. FROM the terrace before the royal palace of St. Germain, is an extensive profpect to the east. The fires of St. Denis are feen at about four miles distance, and from hence Louis XIII contemplated them on his death-bed. There,' faid the dying monarch, difgufted with the world, and difappointed in his dearest attachments, there is my laft home, to which I fhall foon remove.' Louis XIV, his fon, had no relish for contemplating his own burying-place, and for that reafon, it is faid, preferred the miferable fituation of Verfailles to that of St. Germain. Of the infufferable vanity of Louis XIV, Dr. Smith relates fome inftances. In the abbey of St. Denis,' he obferves, is a fuperb maufoleum for the viscount de Turenne, a tribute of the imperfect gratitude of Louis XIV. That little great man, it is faid, after having in the firft moment of enthufiafm given orders for a fumptuous funeral and monument for his illuftrious general, was mean enough, from paltry jealoufy and envy, to withhold the epitaph, becaufe one which had been compofed feemed to interfere with his own glory. From the fame motives, he ordered the preface to a fine history of all his own medals to be cancelled, becaufe, the writer had complimented the engravers and other artits employed in the work. That book,' faid Louis, fhall contain the praife of nobody but myfelf.' Yet Frenchmen for this laft century have been fo much at a lots for fomething to below their loyalty upon, that they have been reduced to the abject necefiity of calling. this man great! It is high time their eyes fhould be opened, and it must le confeffed they are now no longer in the dark on this fubject. Happy will it be if they know how to value a well-meaning king, and can make his virtues beneficial to the ftate *. WIDOW of J. J. ROUSSEAU, we went to DR. Smith's defcription of Ermenonville, the feat and gardens of M. de Gerardin, (the scene of Rouffeau's death and interment) agrees, in every particular, with our account of it, in our 93d volume, page 321. · From Ermenonville,' fays he, Pleffis de Belle Vue, a village at about two miles diftance in the way to Paris, in order to pay a vifit to the widow of Jean Jacques, his celebrated Therefa. We had doubts about vifiting her, fearing left we might fee fomething about her to leffen our veneration for her husband. The event, however, was far otherwife. Her coun We found her in a neat cottage, in a linen drefs like that of her neighbours, and the wo wore a fmall gold crofs on her breast. Her perfon appeared rather low, not much refembling her portrait in the French print of her husband's laft moments. tenance was fenfible and ftriking; her manners thofe of a gentlewoman, and which exprofied a inind fcarcely unworthy to be the companion of Rouffeau.. She is accustomed to fee vifit ors of curiosity, and her reception of us was polite and easy. She received our expreffions of cfteem for her hufband in the moit becoming and ens It will eafily be perceived at what time this paffage was written, now alas but 100 vain ! gaging manner, and answered with the boafted efforts of wits and fceptics against the fuperintendance of a beneficent Providence. Yet this good man has been injudiciously held up as a model of piety; and thus the world are made to believe, that all who pretend to any devotion are as contracted and uncomfortable in their notions as he was in his. Some late writers have introduced the fame kind of fournefs into politics, to the great injury of their cause. Mrs. Rouleau fhewed us a plafter buft of her husband, caft from his face a few hours after death, and which fhe thinks gives a perfect idea of him, This is by far the moft pleafing portrait of Rouffeau I ever faw. The fenfibility, and yet tranquility of the countenance is charming; and the mouth one of the most expreffive I ever faw. I fhould think it as difficult to draw as that famous ftatue fo admired by Michael Angelo, the muf cles of which, when accurately studied, feem in motion. We were told at Ermenonville, that the widow of Rouffeau has a pension of fifty pounds a year from the king of Great Britain; an anecdote I have not heard confirmed, and for the truth of which I cannot vouch. She appears to have been younger than her hufband, and feems likely ftill to live many years. We learned, on our return to Paris, that her notions of delicacy not being always fo romantic as his, they were once very near parting, for a caufe of dispute not the mot ufual between man and wife. It is well known this celebrated man had always a violent averfion to receiving prelents, except from very fele&t friends, even when in the greatest want; and this conduct occafioned him to be reckoned a madman by the bulk of mankind, at the fame time that it raifed him up a great number of most inveterate enemies, among those who believed him perfectly in his fenfes. His wife, lefs fcrupulous, thought there was no harm in receiving a morfel of bread from any body, when they were both just itarving; and, 1 and, left her husband's feelings fhould fuffer, she did not let him know from whence their fupport came. Unluckily however for both, he discovered the deception, and confidered it as a dreadful confpiracy against his honour. CHARACTER of ROUSSEAU. DR. Smith thus expreffes his opinion respecting the much controverted character of Rouffeau: I have found his character improve on a near examination. Every one who knew him fpeaks of him with the moft affectionate esteem, as the most friendly, unaffected and modeft of men, and the moft unaffuming in converfation. Enthufiaftically fond of the study of nature, and of Linnæus, as the best interpreter of her works, he was always warmly attached to thofe who agreed with him in this tafte. The amiable and accomplished lady to whom his letters on botany were addrefied, concurs in this account, and holds his memory in the highest veneration. I have ventured to ask her opinion upon fome unaccountable actions in his life, and efpecially about thofe milanthropic horrors and fufpicions which embittered his latter days. She feemed to think the laft not entirely groundlefs; but ftill, for the most part, to be attributed to a fomething not quite right in his mind, for which he was to be pitied, not cenfured. Her charming daughter fhewed me a collection of dried plants made and prefented to her by Rouffeau, neatly pafted on finall writing paper, and accompanied with their Linnæan names and other particulars. Botany feems to have been his moft favourite amufement in the latter part of life; and his feelings, with refpect to this purfuit, are expreffed with that energy and grace fo peculiarly his own, in his letter to Linnæus, published in the Journal de Paris; the original of which I preferve as an ineftimable relic. I need offer no apology to the can did and well-informed reader for this minuteness of anecedote concerning fo celebrated a character. Thofe who have only partial notions of Rousseau, may perhaps wonder to hear that his memory is cherished by any welldifpofed minds. To fuch I beg leave to oblerve, that I hold in a very fubordinate light that beauty of style and language, thofe golden paffages, which will ever immortalize his writings; and a faint refemblance of which is the only merit of fome of his enemies. I refpect him as a writer eminently favourable on the whole to the interefts of humanity, reason, and religion. Wherever he goes counter to any of thefe, I as freely diffent from him; but do not on that account throw all his works into the fire. As the best and most religious people of my acquaintance are among his warmeft admirers, I may perhaps be biaffed in my judgment; but it is certainly more amiable to be misled by the fair parts of a character, than to make its imperfections a pretence for not admiring cr profiting by is beauties. Nor can any defects or inconfiftencies in the private character of Rouffeau, depreciate the refined moral and religious principles with which his works abound. Truth is truth wherever it comes from. No imperfections of humanity can difcredit a noble caufe; and it would be madnefs to reject Chriftianity, for inftance, either becaufe Peter denied Chrift, or Judas betrayed him. It will be hard to meet with a more edifying or more confolatory lecture on religion than the death-bed of Julia. Her character is evidently intended as a model in this refpect. By that then we fhould judge of its author, and not by fretful doubts and petulant expreffions, the fad fruits of unjuft perfecution, and of good intentions mifconftrued. Nor would it be difficult to produce, from the works of Rouffeau, a vast majority of paffages directly in fupport of Chriftianity itself, compared with what are fuppofed to be hoftile to it. It is notorious that he incurred the ridicule of Voltaire, for exalting the character and death of of Jefus above that of Socrates. But he was infidious, and he difbelieved miracles,' fay his opponents. If he believed Christianity without the affiftance of miracles to fupport his faith, is it a proof of his infidelity? If he was infidious, that is his own concern. I have nothing to do with hidden meanings or myitical explanations of any book, certainly not of the writings of fo ingenuous and perfpicuous an author as Rouffeau. Unfortunately for him, the whole tenour of thofe writings has been too hoftile to the prevailing opinions, or at least to the darling interests of thofe in authority among whom he lived; for Scribes and Pharifees are never wanting to deprefs every attempt at improving or inftructing the world, and the greatest herely and most unpardonable offence is always that of being in the right. For this caufe, having had the honour of feeling the vengeance of all ranks of tyrants and bigots, from a king or bishop of France, to a paltry magiftrate of Berne, or a Swifs paftor, he was obliged to take refuge, in England. Here he was received with open arms, being justly confidered as the martyr of that fpirit of inveftigation and liberty which is the bafis of our conftitution, and on which alone our reformed religion depends. He was careffed and entertained by the best and most accomplished people, and experienced in a particular man. ner the bounty of our prefent amiable fovereign. One cannot but lament, that one of the moft eminent, and 1 believe virtuous, public characters of that day, fhould of late have vainly enough attempted to compliment the fame fovereign, by telling him he came to the crown in contempt of his people, fhould have held up a Meffaina for public veneration, and become the calumniator of Rouffeau ! It is, indeed, true that a certain morbid degree of fenfibility and delicacy, added to the inequalities of a temper broken down by perfecution and ill health, made Rouleau often receive apparently well-meant atten 5 tions with a very bad grace. Yet from molt of the complaints of this kind which I have heard from the parties immediately concerned, I very much fufpect he was not unfrequently in the right. But, fuppofing him to have been to blame in all thefe inftances, they occurred pofterior to his molt celebrated publications. Was it not very unjuft, therefore, for those who had patronifed and extolled him for thofe publications, to vent their animofity against them for any thing in his conduct afterward? Far be it from me, however, to attempt a full justification of his writings. I only contend for the generally good intention of their author. The works themfelves must be judged by impartial pofterity. I merely offer my own fentiments; but I offer them freely, fcorning to diguife my opinion, either becaufe infidels have preffed Rouffeau into their fervice, or becaufe the uncandid and the dishoneft have traduced him falicly, not daring to declare the real caufe of their avertion- his virtuous fincerity. HENRY IV, of FRANCE. THE affemblies of the Academies of Sciences at Paris,' were held on Wednesdays and Saturdays at the illurious body by Louis XIV, their Louvre, in apartments granted to that founder. One of thefe rooms was the of the bed, railed off, stands the bust bed-chamber of Henry IV. In place of that prince. Here his bleeding body was left for many hours in abfolute neglect; fo much d d the intrigues concerning the regency occupy every Ainli,' fays one about the court, Mezeri, il n'y avoit qu'un moment entre les adorations et l'oubli.' ences.' But it must be confidered that this article is ufed by moft women, even of worth and character, in Paris; and the innocence of its compofition is therefore an object of public importance. YOUNG'S NARCISSA. SPEAKING of the Botanical garden at Montpellier, Dr. Smith fays, Mr. Bannal, whole family for feveral generations has had the care of this garden, fhewed us the fpot where the celebrated author of the NightThoughts interred his daughter-inlaw with his own hands. It is in a low retired part of the garden (deftined for plants that require much fhade) under an arch. Mr. Bannal's father was prefent, and by his friendship the afhes of poor Narciffa obtained this afylum, which, I am forry to hear, has been violated fince I was there. The Intendant of the province, in the intention of erecting a monument here, had the precife place of interment fought for. The bones were found, but the convulfions of the late revolut on occurring juft at the time, the monument was never executed, and feveral of the bones were difperfed, being preferved by many people as a kind of relic. A few years ago two Italian abbés vifited this place, and left with the gardener a Latin infcript on, which they requested to have placed over the grave; but this was neglected. Young is of all our poets one of the most admired abroad, especially in Italy. My fellow-traveller was often welcomed with enthusiasm, on account of the fimilarity of his name to that of this fa vourite author. ORIGIN of the UNIVERSITY of LEYDEN. I CANNOT take leave of Leyden without mentioning that glorious period of its hiftory the ever-memorable fiege it fultained when Holland was about to faake off the Spanish yoke: an event upon which its inha bitants ftill dwell with pleafure in relating the particulars of w... I have feveral times feen the glow of a generous enthufiafm illuminate the moft inanimate countenance.-it is fcarcely necessary to enter into the detail of an event which fo many hiftorians have delighted to relate. The people having been reduced to eat the leaves of trees, as well as horses, mal fubitance within their reach, a dogs, leather, and every other anipeltilence carried off more than half the inhabitants. In this dreadful exigency the befiegers calling on the townfmen to furrender, the latter appeared on the walls, and declared his left arm for provifion, and fight they would each of them firft cut off with his right. The governor wrote to the prince of Orange, that without could not refift two days longer. At help from him or from heaven they this crifis, providentially furely, the wind changed, and blew in fuch a direction that the Spanish army, fearing a flood, made a precipitate rethan the wind returned to the fame treat. They were no fooner gone point as before, the waters retired, and there was an easy access to the town for the people with provifions who flocked in on every fide. The churches were crowded with famished wretches who, just faved from the jaws of death, one moment greedily devoured the welcome food, and another with fobs and inarticulate exclamations returned heaven thanks for their deliverance; infomuch that no regular fervice could be performed. And here a new diftrefs occurred. Many of the poor creatures, too eager in gratifying their craving appetites, fell down dead on the fpot, so that the magistrates were obliged for fome time to regulate the quantity of food for each perfon. The day after this fignal deliverance, the prince of Orange went to Leyden to express his admiration of the inhabitants behaviour. What an interview muit that have been! He gave them their option, whether to |