man, with a pompous manner, and a solemn tone of voice, said, addressing himself to me, "Is it true, sir, that there are Englishmen, so blinded by national prejudice, as to prefer votre bizarre Shakspeare, to our divine Racine?" Endeavouring to avoid a discussion, which I knew the answer I was inclined to give would create, I con tented myself with observing, that Shakspeare and Racine were such different authors, that it was absurd to compare them. "As well," said I, "might you draw a resemblance between the beauties of Switzerland, and those of Versailles.” "The proper simile," retorted the first speaker," would be between Versailles and a barren heath, on which some few beautiful plants may have been accidentally scattered, by the capricious hand of nature." The whole circle joined in the triumph, which my antagonist supposed he had gained, and I in vain attempted to recapitulate, and to translate some of the striking passages of Shakspeare. Though all condemned our "heaven-inspired poet," I soon perceived, that few had ever read, and none understood the sublime work which they presumed to criticise.

"Speaking of English authors," cried the member of the 'cidevant académie Française,' "makes one think of English orators. I see, by Chateau-Brian's account of England, that the cause of Mr. Fox's retirement from parliament, has been at last discovered; and that it arose from his mental powers having been weakened by the effect of excessive drinking. To this I suppose one must attribute his late unwarrantable attack on the house of Bourbon."

Astonished at this extraordinary assertion, I took the liberty of assuring the gentleman, that Mr. Fox's talents were as perfect as ever, and that his last speech was one of the finest efforts of human reasoning. "Pardonnez," cried the academician, "Mr. Fox could never reason. He was indeed once a fine declaimer, but as to the powers of argument, he never possessed them," I was ridiculous enough to combat this absurd opinion, and to assure him, that there was not an Englishman, whatever his political sentiments might be) who would not willingly bear testimony to the wonderful argumentative talents of the extraordinary man in question.

I talked in vain, the whole company joined with the academician, who pour toute réponse, said, "C'est Mr. Pitt, qui sait raisonner, mais pour Mr. Fox il déclame joliment, voilà tout son talent. Vous me permetterez de savoir!" assuming a look of great dignity, parceque c'est moi qui ai traduit ses discours." So saying, he turned away, and soon after the company dispersed,

Can I give you a stronger instance of the taste and justice, with which the French pronounce on the merits of our authors, and public characters ?

If Shakspeare is not a poet, nor Mr. Fox an orator, where are we to look for examples of perfection?

• Thus it is on every subject in this country. The French suppose, that they understand English books, and English politics, much bet ter than we do; and this is not the first lesson which I have received. I have often been contradicted on constitutional, as well as literary questions; and I have always found, that the company supported not the opinion of the native, whose local knowledge deserved some little credit, but the bold assertion of their countryman, who was generally

believed and applauded, in proportion to the extravagance and singe larity of the doctrine which he laid down.

I forgot to mention, that great offence being taken at Mr. Fox's remarks on the old government, a gentleman took great pains to persuade me, that l'ancien régime was the freest constitution under the sun. You will not be surprised to hear, that he did not make me a convert to his opinion, and that I assured him, if such was a free government, I hoped it would be long, very long, before England should possess it. unfa

This evening's entertainment gave me altogether but a very vourable opinion, both of French society, French taste, and French gallantry. There was no mirth, no general conversation, and scarcely any intercourse between the men and women. As to Mrs. ——, she was left to the uninterrupted enjoyment of her own thoughts, for no person took the trouble of addressing her. Her English dress, however, did not escape the criticism of the ladies; and my pronunciation was equally a source of amusement to the gentlemen. I shall only add, that if this be a specimen of French society, I may obtain much information at Paris; yet I shall certainly receive but little pleasure from my journey.' r. 74.

Our author's description of Bonaparte's person is not very different from what has been generally given; much of the singularity attributed to it undoubtedly is in the mind of the impatient spectator, who goes to see something very extraordinary, and does not wish to return disappointed. The following account of the orators of the tribunate is amusing; --such orators can be found in no other part of the world.

Five or six members had put their names down, as intending to speak, and each was heard in his turn. Nothing could be duller than these speeches; every one of which was read from a written paper. A very ridiculous circumstance arose from this manner of speaking. As each of the discourses had been previously prepared, there was no reference to the arguments used in the debate; and the advocates and opposers of the measure, equally disregarded, and left unanswered, the remarks of those who happened to precede them in the debate.' P. 89. The dress of the ladies at a public subscription-ball very naturally attracted the attention of our author.

Never shall I forget my surprise, when, looking round me, I perceived the dress, or rather the nakedness of the ladies. I had heard much of the indecency, of which some females were guilty, in respect to costume at Paris, and I had already seen specimens of the thinness of their apparel; but till this evening, I thought it only the failing of a few. I now saw at least two hundred women, of different ages, and different situations in life, all displaying, without reserve or disguise, the beauties, which they had either received from nature, imitated by art, or believed themselves by the aid of flattering fancy to possess. The young and the old, the handsome and the ugly, the fair and the brown, all prodigally dragged into common view, those charms, which a virtuous woman conceals from motives of modesty,

and a sensualist from those of discretion. The buxom girl of sixteen, the newly married woman, and the superannuated mother of a numerous family, were all equally exposed. Naked necks, naked backs, and their form, scarcely concealed by a transparent petticoat, left nothing to the powers of fancy.

You will think, perhaps, that I am drawing an exaggerated picture; but I can assure you, on the honour of a man of truth, that such was the costume of at least two thirds of the ladies present at this ball. P. 93.

The profligate pleasures of the Palais Royal are briefly touched upon; but they have been more amply described by former tourists. The account of the various theatres will, to a certain class of readers, appear more interesting. In letter XVI we have another party at a fournisseur's, or army: contractor's, which in many respects forms a contrast to the tea-party we have already described; but, for this, and the ball at a ci-devant noble's, we must refer to the work itself, with the exception of a remark on dancing in general, which illustrates the present manners of the Parisians.

⚫ Dancing is, indeed, more a science than an entertainment, at Pa ris; and while those who were engaged seemed to study every step, and to make all their motions by rule, the by-standers looked on, and criticised with the same professional attention. There was little or no conversation: the loud laugh, involuntary tribute of joy, was not heard; nor the innocent prattle of unsuspecting, happy youth. I know not whether this total change of character is to be attributed to the heavy misfortunes which the higher classes have experienced, or to some other cause; but certainly nothing is more obsolete than French vivacity. I have now passed more than three months in Paris; and have not yet seen among its inhabitants, one instance of unbounded mirth. When it happens to me to be in English, American, or other foreign companies, I am always surprised at the fun and jollity of the persons around me.' P. 144.

So copious is the information conveyed in this volume, and for the most part so new, that we might multiply our extracts without the trouble of selection; but the present ar-: ticle has already exceeded our usual bounds.

Upon the whole, the view given of Parisian manners and customs, by this intelligent writer, may be alike recom mended for its fidelity, and read for the various amusement it affords. It is a mass of useful materials for the philosopher and the moralist; and they will not be unproductive of lasting advantage, if we continue to prefer the good sense, the industry, and the virtues, of an English public, to the frivolity and sensual delights which seem at present to con stitute the whole of happiness in the extraordinary nation which is the subject of this volume.

CRIT. REV. Vol. 38. May, 1803.

H

ART. XV.-Authentic Official Documents relative to the Negotiation with France. Copied from the Original, as laid before both Houses of Parliament. 8vo. 35. Hurst.

1803.

WE notice this collection of papers, because of their importance to every Englishman, and not with any idea of communicating intelligence, since we trust they are known, either in substance or detail, to every man in this country, who has eyes to read, or ears to attend. Divested, or at least endeavouring to be divested, of every prejudice and partiality, we have perused them for ourselves; and, although we have no hesitation in asserting it as our own opinion, that the negotiation has not been conducted with all the cunning of diplomacy, or even with masterly dexterity, on the part of our own cabinet-who appear to have been too timid, or, perhaps, too tardy at first, and too precipitate at last the character of Bonaparte, his views, his vanity, his ambition, his littleness, his infatuation, exhibit him in a light so infinitely more degrading, that we forget the deficiencies of the former, while contemplating the. enormities of the latter. He has certainly partaken of the Circean cup of prosperity, till it has intoxicated him; and there is not even the shadow remaining of those brilliant talents, that keen penetration, and correct judgement, which he formerly exhibited.-O quantum mutatus ab illo!-As to his vanity, nothing can exceed that which seduced him into a belief that he could control the British press, and, in some degree, re-model the British constitution; and we cannot but be surprised at his total ignorance of the relation between the government and the people of England, upon which such vanity was founded. Here, however, he seems soon to have perceived his blunder; and, notwithstanding the mortification which he must necessarily have felt upon the occasion, to have relinquished his pretensions. As to Iris ambition, so vast and chimerical has it been, that he projected, at the same time, the conquest of Great-Britain, of all Asia, and America; and yet, such was the folly combined with this Utopian project, that, in the first instance,' he has acknowledged, that, should the whole of his enormous power be concentrated and directed to this express purpose, it would be as a hundred chances to one that he should not succeed, as a hundred chances to one that himself and his armada would be sent to the bottom of the sea; while, in the second, he has been compelled to relinquish, to a power he has uniformly despised, the very tract of country he had wrested from Spain, for the express purpose of ac

complishing his visionary system; and, in the third, has involved himself in a war, without being prepared for it; and has, in all probability, permanently fixed in the hands of his enemy the very key which was to have given an opening to his Oriental career.-We condemn not too severely his mission of Sebastiani, upon which so much accusation has been cast; and regard his private interview with lord Whitworth, as one of the most manly and liberal parts of his conduct. Under the Valois, the Bourbons, and the Bonapartes, Egypt has uniformly been panted after by the French government; and, notwithstanding the first consul's guarantee of the integrity of the Turkish empire, no man, in the least acquainted with history, can be such a dunce in politics, no man can be so ignorant of the little meaning of such kind of convenient stipulations, and so forgetful of what has already happened, as not to know that he was determined to take the first opportunity of executing his design, at the moment of acceding to the guarantee. But surely nothing can be more inconsistent with true political wisdom, or evince a narrower comprehension, than to unfold the vast circle of this ambitious system at the same moment-to publish the report of Sebastiani in the eye of the whole world, after it had been privately presented to him--and to communicate confidentially his entire plan to the English cabinet, through the medium of the resident ambassador. If Malta be of that importance to his future arrangements, which both governments now seem to admit, what ought to have been his conduct, had he been still discreet, and possessed of a tenth part of the shrewdness he has formerly manifested?-unquestionably to have given every facility to the fulfilment of that article in the treaty of Amiens, which stipulates its surrender; but, as though he were driven on by fate, to oppose his own interest, and destroy the very purpose he was aiming to accomplish, he suffers the order of St. John-to whom alone it was to be surrendered to be annihilated, instead of supporting its existence, which he might have done with the utmost ease: he withholds all application from the powers who were to become the guarantees of the independency of the island, and merely upon whose accession the island was to be relinquished; and he irritates, by insults upon the English ambassador, by attacks upon the English constitution, and by injuries upon English merchant-ships, the very power who was in possession of the island, and was to resign it in his favour.-We mean not, as we have already said, to acquit our own ministry of every degree of diplomatic imprudence and imbecillity: but we cannot consent to enter into a severe examination of these points, at a moment when it is of so much importance to rise supe