The inhabitants of Chamouni still retain a considerable share of that peculiarity in their manners, for which they have long been noted. The men are solely employed in hunting the wild-goat, in searching for crystals, and in acting as guides to strangers while all other work, domestic and agricultural, is left to the women. Since the valley of Chamouni has attracted so many travellers, the inhabitants of Prieusé affect genteel expressions in conversation, which form a glaring contrast with their natural rusticity. They load the stranger with civilities; and it is surprising to hear those rough mountaineers make use of the politest language. About half a century has elapsed since the famous Pocock first visited the valley of Chamouni:the inhabitants were then wild and rough as the mountains surrounding them, but purity of manners and innocence graced their unfrequented huts :-now, gold and vice have found their way to them.

At Rolle our author met with the celebrated traveller Mr. Chandler; on whose information, good-nature, and politeness, he bestows the highest encomiums. This gentleman, it seems, was somewhat surprised to find, in that place, a person who had heard of his tour through Greece:-for, says M. MATTHISSON, in the pays de Vaud, none but Be-f-ds are able to render themselves famous by squandering their money in the most extravagant manner; while the immortal name of Gibbon is seldom mentioned, except it be to remark that he pronounced French better than his countrymen generally do; and that he knew how to make his conversation agreeable to the ladies.-Not doubting that our readers will be curious to know what this sensible traveller thought of Mr. Gibbon, we shall lay before them the passage concerning that justly distinguished historian:

I yesterday (says the author) waited on Mr. Gibbon. His figure is very striking. He is tall, of athletic make, and rather aukward when he moves. His face forms one of the most singular physiognomical phænomena, owing to the irregular proportion of the parts to the whole. The eyes are so little as peculiarly to contrast with his high and finely arched forehead; while the nose, inclining to flatness, almost vanishes between the cheeks, which project exceedingly. The double chin hanging down very low renders the elliptic shape of his long face still more remarkable: yet, in spite of these irregularities, Mr. Gibbon's countenance has an uncommon expression of dignity, which, at first sight, bespeaks the profound and acute reasoner. thing exceeds the glowing animation of his eyes. In his conversation and manner, he is quite the polite gentleman; civil, but cold. He

No

*For an account of Mr. Chandler's Travels, consult our General Index.

speaks

speaks French with elegance; and, which is truly surprising in an Englishman, pronounces it nearly like a Parisian man of letters. He listens to his own accents with great complacency, and talks slowly, as if carefully examining each phrase before he gives it utterance. With the same composed countenance, he speaks on agreeable and on disagreeable subjects, on joyful and on melancholy events. During the whole of our conversation, the muscles of his face remained unaltered; though a very ludicrous incident, which he had occasion to relate, might naturally have drawn a smile from him. In his house, the strictest punctuality and order prevail; and his domestics must expect to be dismissed if they perform not their business almost at the stated moment. Of this exactness, he sets them the example himself. His day is divided like that of king Alfred. As the clock strikes, he goes to business, to dinner, or sees company; always taking the utmost care not to spend one minute beyond the time set apart for the occasion. A hair-dresser was discarded for coming a few minutes past seven o'clock. His successor, thinking to make sure of the punctual customer, called a little before seven, and met the same fate. The third, who stepped into the house as the clock was striking, was retained.

Mr. Gibbon is now engaged in taking a catalogue of his library, which abounds in valuable works, especially in good editions of the classics, and which is generally considered as one of the most excellent collections of books, that ever was in the possession of any literary man. The first performance, by which he ushered himself into the republic of letters, appeared in French, at a very early period of his life. He told me that this little treatise, though consisting but of a few sheets, had lately, at a public sale, been knocked down for the extravagant price of two guineas. It was in the ruins of the Capitol that he conceived the first idea of writing on the decline and fall of the Roman empire; and he has, with manly perseverance, travelled over one of the most rugged roads that ever author ventured to explore.

From antient English literature, in which he appears to be exceedingly well read, the conversation soon turned to the state of letters in Germany. Mr. Gibbon, although one of the best scholars of the age, whom nothing has escaped that England, France, Italy, and Spain, have produced, in almost every branch of learning, seemed to be but superficially informed with respect to our language and literature. That the Germans actually copy antient metres is a fact that had never come to his ears. He cited Algarotti, who, in his treatise on rhime, takes notice of the Germans, but only enumerates the unsuccessful attempts at pure hexameters made by the English, French, and Italians. This induced me to give him a succinct history of the German language, and of its rapid improvement, which I concluded with informing him of a German Odyssey, in which the translator had preserved not only the same metre and number of lines, but in many hexameters even the feet of the original. My memory being faithful enough to furnish me with the two following lines on Sisyphus rolling up the stone [from the xith book of the Odyssey], I recited them, both in Greek and German :

Λααν βασιάζολα πελώριον ἀμφιλέρησιν:

Einen schweren Marmor mit grosser Gewalt forthebend.

Αὐλις ἔπειτα πέδονδε κυλίνδετο λίας αναιδής.

Hurtig mit Donnergepolter entrollte der tückische Marmor.

Though uuacquainted with the German idiom, and judging merely from the impression which these hexameters made on his ear, he admitted the masterly fabric of them. He indeed made me repeat them several times, and I am unable sufficiently to express his astonishment. He immediately conceived such an high opinion of the improvement of our language, and of the "gigantic steps of our literature," as he ́expressed himself, that he resolved to learn German, as soon as he' should enjoy a greater portion of leisure than he then possessed.'

Vestris, the celebrated dancer, whose profeffional excellence is not unknown in this country, was at Lyons when M. MATTHISSON saw him. His unassuming manner (says our author) is singularly contrasted with the arrogance and vanity of his father; who, when Voltaire visited Paris for the last time, said, in company, "There are but three great men now living in the world, Vestris, Voltaire, and Frederic of Prussia." Sometimes, he would offer his foot to his son, then a boy, with the following apostrophe: "Kiss this immortal foot, which enchants heaven and earth!"

On mount St. Gothard, the author observed a curiosity which is not generally known;-a rock, of considerable magnitude, so perfectly even, smooth, and polished, on one side, as to reflect the objects placed opposite to it, in the manner of a looking glass; whence, also, it is called in the language of the country the mirror-rock. No inquirer, it should seem, has hitherto attempted to account for this extraordinary phæno

menon.

Of that most unfortunate class of human beings, the Cretins, the writer mentions one whose circumstances made us shudder. At Martinach, lives a Cretin who is apparently destitute of animal instinct, to such a degree as not even to be able to feed alone. His wen is enormous, and his eyes are excessively small. In fine weather, he is exposed to the sun, and lies immoveable till carried back. Another Cretin, placed lower still in the scale of human kind, had no other opening in his whole body than his mouth.—It is a most remarkable circumstance that women from other parts, after having spent but a few weeks of their pregnancy in Wallis, are likewise brought to bed of Cretins.

We have already observed that M. MATTHISSON is an able Botanist; and we suppose, therefore, that his testimony with respect to the following character is worthy of reliance.-Not

willing

willing to miss any of the indigenous Alpine plants that were to be found near the road which he had chosen, he took a guide at Blonay, named Thomas, a farmer and village judge of Fernelay, near Bex. This man has such a tenacious memory that he literally knows by rote the whole Flora Alpina. The great Haller himself, whose recollective powers were very uncommon, was often astonished at him when employed in collecting the plants described in his Historia Stirpium Helvetia indigenarum; and he gratefully mentions him in the preface to that excellent work. Thomas has, indeed, never applied himself to the Philosophy of Botany, and is therefore to be reckoned, according to Rousseau's just distinction, among the Herbalists rather than the Botanists: but his memory is so comprehensive and faithful, and his eye is so exercised and penetrating, as to recognize every Alpine plant, even at a considerable distance, and to state its class, order, genus, and species. On any mountain pointed out to him, either in Wallis or the vernment of Aigle, he will minutely describe the spot on which any particular plant may be found, in what month it blows, whether in the shade, in the sun, in the woods, or in plains, &c. M. MATTHISSON once made in his company a botanical excursion to the Azindas, and happened to ask him whether the campanula thyrsoidea was growing thereabouts: on which, Thomas, with his usual composure, by way of reply, pointed with his crab-stick to a ridge of rocks, about half an hour's walk distant from the road. They went thither. Thomas stopt before a perpendicular rock, saying, "up there it must be;" and, climbing on a projecting part of the rock, he put his hand on a kind of cornice, formed by nature, and, as if taking something from a well-known shelf, he brought down the above flower, having found it at the first attempt. Besides the Linnæan names of the plants, he also perfectly recollects those that were given to them by Haller. He carries on a considerable trade with flowers and shrubs to France and England. He pretends to have discovered a new species of Gentian, which he wishes to denominate Gentiana elegantissima. It resembles most the Gentiana punctata; of which, after all, it may be only a variety.

Many of our readers may recollect that Voltaire was very par tial to the ingenious Huber of Geneva. Respecting the latter, the present writer relates a curious circumstance. Huber had acquired an astonishing skill in cutting landscapes out of paper, (with scissars,) in which the correctness and sharpness of outline, the richness and propriety of arrangement, the delicacy and airiness of the trees, and especially the striking resemblance of portraits which he contrived to introduce, excited the astonish.

ment

ment of every beholder. He learnt to model Voltaire's head with such facility, that, at last, he was able not only to cut it out with his hands held behind him, but so adroitly to turn a piece of bread between the teeth of a greyhound, as to give to it the contour of this philosopher's profile. The peculiar method of producing the same outlines on snow is well-known.

Not far from Magdeburg, the author saw a guillotine, erected by a gentleman for the humane and convenient purpose of killing the poultry for his table.

These various little extracts will enable the reader to judge of the kind of entertainment and information which these letters furnish; and we shall only add that they are well written, and have not in any respect disappointed the expect ation which M. MATTHISSON's character had led us to form concerning them.-A translation, we hear, is preparing.

ART. VIII. Memoires pour servir à l'Histoire du Jacobinisme; i. e. Memoirs illustrating the History of Jacobinism. By the Abbé BARRUEL. 8vo. Parts I. and II. London. De Boffe, &c, 1797.

TH

HE French Revolution, in extent and importance of effect, is unquestionably the most momentous event that has hap pened since the religious revolutions in Europe, at the beginning of the 16th century. It is natural, therefore, to endea vour to trace its causes: but, though much has been written on this subject, a cool and profound discussion of it has not yet appeared.

Most revolutions have been produced in consequence of the views and exertions of a particular set of men: but the revo lution in France was the result of the wish of every rank and every description of persons in that kingdom, that a material alteration should take place in its government and laws; from the firm persuasion of each individual, that the class of the community to which he belonged did not hold, in the state, the rank and importance to which, in his estimation, it was entitled. The peasantry considered themselves as the despised portion of the nation, on whom all the burdens of the state ultimately fell, and on whom the higher orders might trample with impunity: the artisan thought himself in a situation of oppression and contempt still less justifiable; the merchant felt strongly that, in the opinion of the nobility, he was degraded by his commerce; the country gentleman was enraged at the insolence of the nobles about the court; while the latter saw with indignation that all the splendor and influence, which they might expect to derive from their birth, their offices,