ART. XVII. Fragmens de Lettres originales de Mademoiselle Charlotte Elizabeth de Bavière, veuve de Monfieur, Frere unique de Louis XIV. ecri'es à S.A. S. Monfeigneur le Duc Antoine Ulric de B.... .... et à S. A. R. Madame la Princeffe de Galles Caroline, ou Princesse d'Anfpach. De 1715 à 1720. ART. XVII. Fragments of original Letters of Madame Charlotte Elizabeth of Bavaria, Widow of Monfieur, only Brother Lewis XIV. written to his Serene Highness Duke Anthony Ulric of B.... W....., and to her Royal Highness Caroline of Anspach, Princess of Wales. Between the Years 1715 and 1720. 12mo. 2 vols. Paris, 1788.. HESE fragments are faid to be tranflated from the original German, and bear every mark of authenticity; they have in particular that naiveté which it is as difficult to imitate as to defcribe. Almoft every fragment contains an anecdote, either of the principal perfonages of the court and family of Lewis the Fourteenth, or of fome other diftinguifhed character. They are not only very entertaining, but ferve to rectify feveral hif torical mistakes, and to exhibit the follies and meanness of the great vulgar. Here we detect the man behind the mafk of greatnefs, and fee that thofe elevated perfons, whom the generality of the world look upon with eyes of awe and envy, are neither wifer nor happier than their inferiors. That our reader may be able to judge of the nature of the work, we shall give him two or three of the firft fragments as a fpecimen: 1. Moft terrible libels were written on the Cardinal de Mazarin, who pretended to be highly incenfed, but in reality cared little about the matter. One day he ordered all the copies that could poffibly be found to be brought to him, under the pretence of burning them. A great number accordingly was feized; but as foon as he had them in his poffeffion he ordered them to be fold privately, by which means he raifed ten thoufand crowns. He laughed heartily at the success of his schemes The French, faid he frequently, are a very amiable people; I' let them write and laugh, and they let me do what I please. 2. Frederick the Fourth, King of Denmark, appeared to me to be rather an abfent man. During his stay here he took it in his head to fall in love with my daughter; and one day, when he was dancing with her, turned up his eyes, and fqueezed her hand with great fervour, Having begun his minuet in one * The next brother of the King of France is called Monfieur by way of eminence. corner corner of the room, he went directly to the oppofite end, and coming back to the middle of the apartment, ftood there like a ftatue. I believe he would have been ftanding there still if I had not taken pity of him, and, rifing from my feat, led him to à chair close to my own. The good prince was fo difconcerted that he neither knew what he faid nor did. 6. The great aunt of Lord Huntley, Mrs. Gordon, was my tire-woman (dame d'atour) for a great number of years. She was a fingular character, and for ever in a reverie. One day, intending to feal a letter in bed, fhe put the burning wax upon her thigh, and preffing the feal upon it, at last discovered her mistake, and cried out moft terribly. Very often at playing with. dice in bed, the fpit upon the fheets, and threw the dice upon the floor.. ... In the evening, when he brought me my headdrefs to go to court, fhe frequently put her gloves upon my head, and her hands in my cap. She had alfo an unusual cuftom of unbuttoning the waistcoats of gentlemen to whom she was speaking. Monfieur, my husband, fent her one day to carry a meffage to the Chevalier de Behvron, the captain of his guards, a man remarkably tall. As fhe was a very little woman, she could not reach his waistcoat, and was obliged to unbutton his other small clothes. The captain ftarted back with astonishment; for heaven's fake, Madam, said he, what are you about? All those who were in the hall at St. Cloud, were highly diverted at the scene. In fome of her anecdotes the princefs lays afide the refinement of the court of France, and speaks with true German bluntness. She does not, indeed, abfolutely call a fpade a fpade; but there is a freedom in her ftyle that will now and then shock the delicacy of this fentimental age. A few of the anecdotes are trifling, but the work, upon the whole, is very interesting. It does not appear, by the preface, that it has ever been printed in German. ART. XVIII. Les Faftes de la Marine Françoife; ou les Actions les plus memorables des Officiers de ce Corps, dont la Vie ne fe trouve pas dans celles des plus celebres Marine. Vol. II. ART. XVIII. Memorable Actions of the French Navy, &c. Vol. II. 12mo. Paris, 1788. "THE HE creature's at his dirty work again."-The fame reafon that caufed us to notice the firft volume of this author's work in our Review for March, induced us to caft our eyes over the second, left he should again have "fet down aught in malice." We find in it, according to our expectation, much fulfome praise of the author's countrymen; many invidious reflections ENG, REV. VOL. XII. JULY 1788. E 1 reflections on the English; drawn battles magnified into victories; and captures of coal and butter veffels fcrupulously noted. As M. Richer declares upon his word that the French navy is manned with heroes, and confidering the eafy rate at which he bestows the title, the marvels he relates are not astonishing; and we expect to fee many future volumes of this wonderful history. ART. XIX. Erminie; Poeme in Trois Chants. Par M. de ART. XIX. Erminia; a Poem, in Three Cantos. By M. de Pages. Paris, 1788. TH 12mo. 272 HIS poem is partly tranflated, and partly imitated from the epifode of Erminia in Taffo's "Jerufalem delivered.” Though the verfification has, upon the whole, more harmony than the productions of moft modern French poets, yet we do not think that the author has been very happy, either when he has altered, or when he has followed his original. In the fingle fight between Tancred and Argante, after the latter's recovery from the penfive mood into which his reflections on the approaching conqueft of Jerufalem had thrown him, M. de Lantier renews his dudgeon by an apparition of death; a repetition, in our opinion, both lame and tirefome. That the learned reader may judge for himself of the author's success in the parts he has tranflated, we beg him to compare the following stanza of Taffo with the French verfion : 6 Egli, la fua porgendo alla mia mano; Che ferpendomi poi per l'alma vaga, Non fo come, divenne incendio e piaga. Thefe eight lines are thus "drawn to French wire." Tancrede alors, qui ne connoit Tancrede ! M'offrant la main avec ferenité, Me dit; calmez l'effroi qui vous poffede: Malgre la guerre, et fa ferocité, Nous refpectons le rang et la beauté. A ce difcours, à cette voix touchante, J'ofai fur lui lever mes triftes yeux; Et quel amour! qu'il m'a couté de pleurs?' What a difference between this abundance of idle words, and the noble fimplicity, the foare e piano of Taffo. M. de Lantier, however, is not more defective than most other French tranflators, who have never been able to transplant the beauties of foreign poets into their language. Pope's "Eloifa to Abelard" by Cotardeau, and "De Lilles Georgicks," are perhaps the only good tranflations in verse in the French tongue. The poem, which makes but a small part of the work, is followed by two moral tales. In the firft, every one of the few incidents is trite. The anecdote of Antiochus; Soter and Stratonice, which has been borrowed by Boccace in his tale entitled Il conte d'Angverfa, &c. has been again borrowed by M. de Lantier. The other has more merit and originality, and is, upon the whole, both sprightly and interesting. ART. XX. Examen des Ouvrages de M. de Voltaire, confidéré comme Poete, comme Profateur, comme Philofophe. Par M. Linguet. ART. XX. Review of the Works of M. de Voltaire, confidered as Poet, Profe Writer, and Philofopher. By M. Linguet. 8vo. 204 Pages. Bruffels, 1788. IF F we remember right, the greater part, if not the whole, of this work, appeared fome years ago in the literary annals of M. Linguet. In thefe ftrictures the author afferts that the Henriade has nothing epic but the name; gives much mingled praise and cenfure to Voltaire's dramatic works; general commendation to his tales; and an unqualified eulogium of his fugitive pieces. He also enters into a pretty long difcuffion of his philofophical tenets, which, upon the whole, he condemns. The reader will find in M. Linguet's book fhrewd remarks, and much found criticism; but, in our opinion, he will also find fome fuperficial arguments, and paradoxical opinions; nay, what is hardly pardonable in a man who is criticifing the works of another, he will find very material defects in his language. A Jonorous E 2 fonorous fcaffolding (échaffandage fonore) is a mixture of ideas that true tafte muft condemn; and the nobility of Europe knocked on the head by the excrements of the Afiatic populace (affommée par les excremens de la populace Afiatique), is not only offenfive to taste but to delicacy alfo. We had till now thought that deifm and atheism were two words of as oppofite fignification as with and without; but M. Linguet calls the former a flight foftening down (leger adouciffement) of the latter. ART. XXI. Literary News from Paris. By a Correfpondent. THO HOUGH the English newfpapers affert that the king has forbidden Monfieur Neckar to answer the last work of M. de Calonne, I know, from good authority, that his answer is in the prefs. I am not able to learn that Madame de Sillery (heretofore Genlis) is preparing any thing for publication; but am told that fhe is entirely taken up with the ftudy of botany, chymifery, and phyfics. M. de Sutieres-Sarcey, formerly captain in the regiment of Bretagne infantry, is publishing a courfe of lectures on agriculture, at the rate of two numbers every month; and four have already appeared. The subscription at Paris for the year is twenty-four livres. This gentleman, though a man of family and fortune, has devoted twentyfive years to the ftudy of practical husbandry; has lived as fervant with a variety of farmers; and has difdained no office, however fervile or laborious, that could afford him information in his favourite fcience. I am not able to give an account of a work of this nature; but I have read his first number, and have reason to believe that his course will contain many novelties in rural economy. He condemns the practice of pruning moft fruit trees, and propofes a new method, which he affirms will make them more productive. MONTHLY |