ANECDOTES RELATING TO THE HISTORY OF
BOSSUET.

[From Butler's Account of his Life and Writings.]

JAMES BENIGNE BOSSUET descended from an ancient and noble family in Burgundy. He was born on the 27th of September, 1627. An ardor for study was discovered in him in his earliest years, and the bible having accidentally engaged his attention when he was a mere boy, he perused it with exquisite delight; his attachment to the sacred pages increased with his years; and he was generally supposed to know their whole contents by heart.

"Soon after the education of the dauphin was finished, Lewis the fourteenth nominated Bossuet to the bishopric of Meaux. He was appointed successively, almoner to the dauphiness, superior of the college of Navarre, warden of the university of Sorbonne,-counsellor of state, and first almoner of the duchess of Burgundy. When that princess came from Bavaria into France, for her marriage, Lewis XIV. appointed several persons of distinction at his court, with Madame de Maintenon and Bossuet at their head, to meet her. 'This' Madame de Sevigné wrote to her daughter is a great distinction. If the dauphiness thinks all the men and women in France resemble the two, which have been sent her, she will be greatly disappointed.'

"All the biographers of Bossuet mention, that, in the early part of his studies, he acquired a perfect knowledge of the Greek and Latin languages; that he had repeatedly perused the works of the principal poets, historians, and orators of antiquity, and that Homer and Demosthenes, among the Greeks, and Virgil among the Latins, were his favorite authors. His acquaintance with them gave him that chaste and nervous style, which is so seldom attained by persons who have not formed themselves on those models. In the works of such writers, brilliant, pathetic, and even sublime passages are often found; but that, which constitutes the perfection of style, and alone enables it to engage attention,

when it is not excited by asentiment, an image, or a turn of phrase particularly striking, the indescribable charm of the proper word in the proper place, is learned nowhere, but in the Greek and Roman school. With how much difficulty it is attained, Bossuet himself is a striking example. The Benedictine editors of his works inform us, that his manuscripts are so much disfigured by obliterations, insertions, and corrections of every sort, as to be almost illegible. This is the case of almost all writers, whose works reach a future age. It was particularly the case of a celebrated orator and author of our times. Nothing seems more flowing or more easy than the style of the late Mr. Edmund Burke; it has all the appearance of an effusion of unpremeditated eloquence. But we are informed, that almost every period in his writings was written over three times, at least, before it satisfied its author; and that, even in that state, the work was printed with a large margin, for the purpose of a still further revi sion; and was, even then, once more corrected before it was submitted to the public eye.-Such is the toilsome drudgery to which every writer must submit, who aspires to be numbered among the classical writers of his country.-Yet, after all the labor we have mentioned, the writings of Bossuet, those even which he polished with the greatest care, are not wholly free from sins against syntax and grammar.

"Through life, Bossuet was a very early riser: and if, while he was in bed, his sleep was delayed or interrupted, he availed himself of it, to write his letters, or to commit to paper an interesting thought which occurred to him; he also frequently gave this time to prayer. No portion of time, he used to say, was so favorable to devotion as the stillness of the night; none, when the Holy Spirit was more propitious to those who invoke him.

"He had no regular hours for his meals; visits of cere'mony, which the most imperious etiquette did not prescribe, he neither received nor paid; but it appears that he was easy of access, and affable in conversation.He was so covetous of his time, as to deny himself the blameless recreation of a

walk in his garden, Once, however, he fell into conversation with his gardener; and remarked that his garden had few of his visits. That is very true,' said the gardener; but, if the trees bore Chryscstoms, or Austins, or Ambroses, you would be devouring their fruit from morning to night."

One of the most esteemed of Bossuet's controversial works was his Exposition of the Doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, which Mr. Butler informs us was the means of converting Marshal Turenne from the Protestant to the Catholic faith. However we may lament that this great warrior was drawn from what we conceive to be the truth, we cannot but admire his disinterested conduct on the occasion.

"His majesty," he said to Bossuet, "has, more than once, intimated to me his intention of conferring on me the dignity of high constable of France, when I should abjure the Huguenot religion. Say from me, that I abjure the Huguenot, and embrace the Roman Catholic religion from conviction. But I rely on his majesty's kindness to me, that he will never mention to me the dignity of high constable."

Bossuet had a long conference with M. Claude on some points of the most important of all the articles in dispute between Roman Catholics and Protestants, the authority by which Jesus Christ directed Christians to be governed in the disputes which he foresaw would arise on his doctrine. The conference was held at the request of Mademoiselle de Duras, a niece of the great Turenne. Several Huguenots of distinction assisted at it; the Countess de Lorges, a sister of Mademoiselle de Duras, was the only Catholic present.

"Both Bossuet and M. Claude published accounts of it; and, as it generally happens in such cases, their accounts disagreed. On this circumstance, Bossuet expresses himself with great good temper and moderation. It is not my intention,' he says, to accuse M. Claude of wilful misrepresentation. It is difficult to remember, with precision, the things which have been said, or the order in which they were spoken; the mind often confounds things that were spoken, with things that occurred afterwards; and thus, without the

slightest intentional aberration from it, truth is often disfigured. All I say of M. Claude, he has my leave to say of me.' This is the language of a Christian and a gentleman. Violence ever injures the cause which it is intended to support, and often refutes the accusation, in aid of which it is used."

The most celebrated of his works are his Funeral Orations and Sermons, which were distinguished for their eloquence. He wrote several other devotional works; the most important of them are his Elevations and Meditations. Among the miscellaneons writings of Bossuet, one of the most valuble is his Introduction to Universal History, written for the use of the dauphin, for whom he also wrote, by the desire of Lewis XIV. a short course of anatomy. His last work was a commentary on the 22d Psalm, written during painful disorder, in the intervals of ease.

Bossuet died on the 12th of April, 1704, in the 76th year of his age. British Review.

BON MOTS AND ANECDOTES.

DURING the time that persons of all trades and professions returned public thanksgiving in the various churches of Paris, for the re-establishment of the king's health, Monsieur de Benserade, in an address on this subject, recited at the academy, said : "The merchant quits his business to throw himself at the foot of the altar; the artisan quits his work; the physician quits his patient, and the patient is so much the better for it."

Some one observing, that Tom Dibdin had said he would never write another play, a by-stander immediately remarked, That is the best thing Tom Dibdin ever said!'

Richard B. Sheridan lately made his appearance in a new pair of boots, which attracting the notice of his friends, he said Now guess how I came by these boots.' They guess

ed many very probable guesses, but- No,' said old Sherry, 'you've not hit it-nor you never will; therefore I may as well tell you-I bought 'em and paid for 'em.'

The wife of M. de L. instituted a process before the parliament of Paris, complaining of impotence in her husband. At the same time an action was brought against M. de L. in a court below, for seducing a young lady, and getting her with child. It seemed as if he must succeed in one casehe failed in both!

Definition of Competency.

A clever young lady defined Competency to be A little

more than we have !

1

On the Re-establishment of the kingdom of Poland.

'Tis now in vain Napoleon to oppose ;

He scorns all opposition or control;

The bane of friends, e'en more than scourge of foes,
His iron sway extends from Pole to Pole.

National Gratitude.

A lately imported Irish militia-man, under orders to march with his regiment towards the disturbed districts, was met by a countryman in St. Giles's, when the subsequent conversation ensued

Paddy, my boy.! what has brought you to England ?'
By my soul! I've come over to pay the national debt,

man !'

How the d- −1, man, can you pay the debt, when you're not worth a shilling in the worid ?'

Oh! by St. Patrick, that's no matter when there was a bit of a row in Ireland, you know how they cut us up: and now, when there's a bit of a bother in England, you see we are brought here to pay off the national debt.”