% ..^.^^g *Wft; .jul a' tt^&ti&L'' *■ ' . / v. /. \ -*nf3" ^flC^iiiaaK' ■ V-'«. ':*.;...>;,. «**■ NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE Bethesda, Maryland '•>.. #W -«k > MICHAEL F. MILLS. MICHAEL F. MILLS. STUDIES NATURE. BY JAMES-HENRY-BERNARDIN DE SAINT-PIERRE. .MISERIS SUCCURRERE DISCO. TRANSLATED BY HENRY HUNTER, D. D. MINISTER OF THE SCOTS CHURCH, LONDON-WALL. WITH THE ADDITION OF NUMEROUS ORIGINAL NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS, BY BENJAMIN SMITH BARTON, M. D. President of the Philadelphia Linnean Society, and Professor of Materia Medica, Naturallftrtoru , and Botany, in the University of Pennsylvania. \^ IN THREE VOLUMES. VOL. III. PHILADELPHIA: PRINTED BY ABRAHAM SMALL, FOR BIRCH & SMALL, M. CAREY, C. & A. CONRAD &. CO. \V. W. WOODWARD. JACOB JOHNSON, AND KIMBERAND CONRAD, IN, PH ILADELPHIA ; THOMAS AND ANDREWS, BOSTON ; CAMPBELL AND HITCUELI, NEwAoRKf AND B ACK U S AND \VH I TI N C, ALU AX Y. 1808. J CONTENTS. Vol. m. PAUL AND VIRGINIA Fragment, by way of Preamble to the Arcadia Arcadia, Book I. Wishes of a Recluse Wishes for the King Wishes for the Clergy Wishes for the Nobility Wishes for the People Wishes for the Nation Wishes for a National Education Wishes for the Nations Sequel to the Wishes of a Recluse Of the Nobility and the National Guards Of the Clergy and the Municipalities The Cofl'ee-House of Surat The Indian Cottage » STUDIES OF NATURE. PAUL AND VIRGINIA. PREFACE. I HAVE proposed to myself an object of no mean impor- tance in composing this little Work. I have endeavoured to paint in it, a soil, and vegetables different from those of Europe. Our Poets have long enough composed their lovers to rest, on the banks of the rivulets, in the flowry meads, and under the foliage of the beech-tree. My wish is to seat mine on the shore of the Sea, at the foot of rocks, under the shade of cocoa- trees, bananas, and citrons in blossom. Nothing is wanting to the other hemisphere of the Globe, but a Theocritus, or a Virgil, in order to our having pictures at least as interesting as those of our own Country. I am aware that travellers, of exquisite taste, have presented us with enchanting descriptions of several of the islands of the South-Sea; but the manners of their inhabitants, and still more those of the Europeans which frequent them, frequently mar the landscapes. It was my desire to blend with the beauty of Na- ture between the Tropics, the moral beauty of a small Society. It was likewise my purpose, to place in a striking light certain truths of high moment, and this one in particular: That human happiness consists in living conformably to Nature and Virtue. It was not necessary for me however to compose a romance, in order to-exhibit a representation of happy families. I declare Vol. III. A # ii PREFACE. in the most solemn manner, that those which I am going to dis- play have actually existed, and that their History is strictly true, as to the principal events of it. They were authentically cer- tified to me by many respectable Planters with whom I was acquainted in the Isle of France. I have connected with them only a few indifferent circumstances ; but which, being personal to myself, have on that very account the same merit of reality. When I had formed, some years ago, a very imperfect sketch of this species of Pastoral, I besought a fine Lady, who lived very much in the Great World, and certain grave personages who mingle very little with it, to hear it read over, in order to acquire some pre-sentiment of the effect which it might produce on readers of a character so very different: I had the satisfaction of observing that it melted them all into tears. This was the only judgment which I could form on the matter, as indeed it was all that I wished to know. But as a great vice frequently walks in the train of mediocrity of talents, this success inspired me with the vanity of giving to my Work the title of, A Picture of Nature. Happily for me, I recollected to what a degree the nature of the climate in which I received my birth was strange to me; to what a degree, in countries wht re I have contemplat- ed the productions of Nature merely as a passenger, she is rich, various, lovely, magnificent, mysterious ; and to what a degree, I am destitute of sagacity, of taste, and of expression, to know and to paint her. On this I checked my vanity, and came to myself again. I have therefore comprehended this feeble essay under the name, and placed it in the train, of my Studies of Na- ture, to which the public has granted a reception so gracious; in order that this title, recalling to them my incapacity, may like- wise preserve an everlasting recollection of their own indulgence.' t PAUL AND VIRGINIA. ON the Eastern declivity of the mountain which rises be- hind Port-Louis, in the Isle of France, are still to be seen, on a spot of ground formerly cultivated, the ruins of two little cot-< tages. They are situated almost in the middle of a bason form- ed by enormous rocks, which has only one opening turned to- ward the North. From that opening, you perceive on the left, the mountain known by the name #f Mount-Discovery, from which signals are repeated of vessels steeringffor the island; and at the bottom of this mountain, the city of Port-Louis j to the right, the road which leads from-Port Louis to the quarter of Pamplemousses; afterwards the church of that nartf^, which rises with it'&avenues of .bamboos, in the middle of a great plain j and beyond it, a forest which extends to the farthest extremities of the island. You have in front, on the brink of the Sea, a view of Tombay: a little to the right Cape Misfortune, and be- yond that the boundless Ocean, in which appear, on a level with the water's edge, some uninhabited little isles, among others Mire-Point, which resembles a bastion in the midst of the waves. At the entrance of this bason from whence so many objects are distinguishable, the echoes of the mountain incessantly re- peat the noise of the winds which agitate the neighbouring for- ests, and the roaring of the billows, which break at a distance upon the shallows ; but at the very foot of the cottages, no noise is any longtr to be heard, and nothing to be seen around except great rocks, as steep as the wall of a house. Tufts of trees grow at their bases, in their clefts, and up to their very sum- mits, on which the clouds settle. The rains which are attract- ed by their peaks frequently paint the colours of the rainbow on their green and dusky sides, and constantly supply, at the 4 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OP NATURE. bottom, the sources of which the small river of the Lataniers is formed. A profound silence reigns through this inclosure, where all is peace; the air, the waters, and the light. Scarcely does the echo there repeat the murmuring sound of the palmists, which grow on their elevated stalks, and whose long arrow-form- ed branches are seen always balanced by the winds. A mild light illuminates the cavity of this bason, into which the rays of the Sun descend only at noon-day; but from the dawning of Au- rora, they strike upon the brim of it, the peaks of which, rising above the shadows of the mountain, present the appearance ot gold and purple on the azure of the Heavens. I took pleasure in retiring to this place, where you can enjoy at once an unbounded prospect, and a profound solitude. One day, as I was sitting by the platform ol these cottages, and con- templating their ruins, a man considerably advanced into the vale of veurs hsJppened to pass that way. He was dressed, con- formably to the custom of the ancLnt inhabitants, in a short jacket and long trovsers. He walked bare-footed, and support- ed himself on a staff of ebony wood. His hair was completely white, his physiognomy simple and majestic. I saluted him respectfully. He returned my salute, and having eyed me for a moment, he approached, and sat down on the hillock where I had taken my ftation. EncouragedSby this mark of confidence, I took the liberty of addressing him in these words: " Can you " inforn^jme, Father, to whom these two cottages belonged ?" " My son," replied he, " these ruins, and that now neglected " spot of ground, were inhabited about twenty years ago by two " families, which there found the means of true happiness. " Their history is affecting: but in this island, situated on the " road to India, what European will deign to take an interest in " the destiny of a few obscure individuals ? Nay, who would " submit to live here, though in happiness and content, if poor " and unknown ? Men are desirous of knowing onl*the history " of the Great? and of Kings, which is of no use to any one." " Father," replied I, " it is easy to discern from your air, and " your style of conversation, that you must have acquired very " extensive experience. If your leisure permits, have the good- cc ness to relate to mc, I beseech you, what you know of the an- # •"* PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 5 k- cient inhabitants of this desert; and be assured that there is " no man, however depraved by the prejudices of the World, 11 but who loves to hear of the felicity which Nature and Vir- " tue bestow." Upon this, like one who is trying to recollect certain particular circumstances, after having applied his hands for some time to his forehead, the old man related what follows. In the year 1 "35, a young man of Normandy, called De la Tour, after having to no purpose solicited employment in France, and looked for assistance from his family, determined to come to this island in the view of making his fortune. He brought along with him a young wife whom he passionately loved, and who returned his affection with mutual ardour. She was de- scended from an ancient and opulent family of her Province; but he had married her privately, and without a portion, because her relations opposed their union on account of the obscurity of his birth. He left her at Port-Louis, in this island, and em- barked for Madagascar in the hope of there purchasing some negroes, and of immediately returning hither, for the purpose of fixing his residence. He disembarked at Madagascar du- ring the dai^erous season, which commences about the middle of October, and soon after his arrival died of the pestilential fever, which rages there for six months of the year, and which always will prevent European Nations from forming settlements on that Island. The effects which he had carried with him were embezzled after his death, as generally happens to those who die in foreign countries. His wife, who had remained in the Isle of France, found herself a widow, pregnant, and destitute of every *arthl. resource except a negro woman, in a country where she was en- tirely unknown. Being unwilling to solicit assistance from am man, after the death of him who was the sole object of her af fection, her misfortunes gave her courage. She resolved to cul- tivate witn the help of her slave, a small spot of ground, in or- der to procure the means of subsistence. In an island almost a desert, the soil of which was unappro- priated, she did not choose the most fertile district of the coun- try, nor that which was the most favourable for commerce ; but looking about for some sequestered cove of the mountain, some hidden asylum, where she might live secluded and imknow.. » 6 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. she found her way from the city to these rocks, into which she slunk as into a nest. It is an instinct common to all beings pos- sessed of sensibility, under the pressure of calamity, to seek shelter in places the wildest and the most deserted ; as if rocks were bulwarks against misfortune, or as if the calmness of Na- ture could compose the troubles of the soul. But Providence, which comes to our relief when we aim only at necessary com- forts, had in store for Madame de la Tour a blessing which nei- ther riches nor grandeur can purchase ; and that blessing was a friend. In this place for a year past had resided a sprightly, good, and sensible woman, called Margart t. She was born in Brittany of a plain family of peasants, by whom she was beloved, and who would have rendered her happy, had she not been weak enough to repose confidence in the professions of love of a man of family in the neighbourhood, who had promised to marry her; but who, having gratified his passion, abandoned her, and even refused to secure to her the means of subsistence for the • child with which he had left her pregnant. She immediately resolved for ever to quit the village where she wa^Dorn, and to conceal her frailty in the Colonies, far from her country, where she had lost the only dowry of a poor and honest young"woman, reputation. An old black fellow, whom she had purchased with a poor borrowed purse, cultivated with her a small corner of this district. Madame de la Tour, attended by her black woman, found Margaret in this place, who was suckling her child. She was delighted to meet with a female, in a situation which she ac- counted somewhat similar to her own. She unfolded, in a few words, her former condition, and her present wants. Margaret, on hearing Madame de la Tour's story, was moved with com- passion, and wishing to merit her confidence rather than her es- teem, she confessed to her without reserve the imprudence of which she had been guilty : " For my part," said she, " I have " merited my destiny, but you, Madam............, virtuous and " unfortunate !" Here/with tears in her eyes, she tendered to the stranger the accommodations of her cottage, and her friend- ship. Madame de la Tour, deeply affected with a reception so vnder, folded her in her arm?, exclaiming, " I s<-e thm GOD ''4 PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 7 « is going to put an end to my sufferings, since he has inspired " you with sentiments of greater kindness to me, an entire " stranger, than I ever received from my own relations." I had the felicity of Margarets acquaintance ; and though I live at the distance of a league and a half from hence, in the woods, behind the long mountain, I looked upon myself as her neighbour. In the cities of Europe, a street, a simple partition, separates the members of the same family for years; but in the new Colonies, we consider as neighbours those who are only se- parated from us by woods and by mountains. At that time par- ticularlv, when this island had little commerce with India, neigh- bourhood alom- was a title to friendship, and hospitality to stran- gers was considered as a duty and a pleasure. As soon as I learnt that my neighbour had got a companion I went to see her, in order to offer to both all the assistance in my power. I found in Madame de la Tour a person of a very ,» interesting figure; majestic, and melancholy. She was then very near her time. I said to these two ladies, that it would be better, for the sake of the interests of their children^ and especially to prevent the Ws>tablishment of any other settler, to divide between them the territory of this bason, which contains about twenty acres. They entrusted me with the care of making this division; I formed it into two portions nearly equal. The one contained the upper part of that enclosure, from yonder point of the rock covered with clouds, from whence issues the source of the river of the Lataniers, to that steep opening which you see at the top of the mountain, and which is called the Embrasure, because it actually resembles the parapet of a battery. The bottom of this spot of jjround is so filled with rocks and gutters, that it is scarce- ly possible to walk along. It nevertheless produces large trees, and abounds with fountains and little rivulets. In the other por- tion, I comprized all the lower part of the enclosure,5 which ex- tends along the river of the Lataniers, to the opening where we now are, from whence that river begins toflow between two hills toward the Sea. You there see some stripes of meadow-ground, apd a soil tolerably smooth and level, but which is verv little better than the other; for in the rainy season it is marshy, and in drought stiff as lead. Wher> you wish in that case to open a trench, you are obliged to cut it with a hatchet. 8 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OT NATURE. After having made these two divisions, I persuaded the ladies to setde their respective possessions by casting lots. The upper part fell to the share of Madame de la Tour, and the lower to Margaret. They were both perfectly satisfied ; but requested me not to separate their habitations, " in order," said they to me, " that we may always have it in our power to see, to con- " verse with, and to assist each other." It was necessary how- ever that each of them should have a separate retreat. The cot- tage of Margaret was built in the middle of the bason, exactly upon the boundary of her own domain. I built close to it, upon that of Madame de la Tour, another cottage; so that these two friends were at once in the vicinity of each other, and on the property of their families. I myself cut palisadoes in the moun- tain, and brought the leaves of the Latanier from the sea-side, to construct these two cottages, which now no longer present either door or roof. Alas! there still remains but too much for my recollection. Time which destroys, with so much rapidity, the monuments of empires, seems to respect in these deserts those of friendship, in order to perpetuate my affliction to the last hour of my life. % Scarcely was the second of the cottages completed, when Ma- dame de la Tour was delivered of a daughter. I had been the god-father of Margaret's child, who was called Paid. Madame de la Tour begged me to name her daugher also, in conjunction with her friend, who gave her the name of Virginia. u She will " be virtuous," said she, " and she will be happy: I knew cala- " mity only in ceasing to be virtuous." When Madame de la Tour was recovered of her lying-in, these two little habitations began to wear the appearance of com- fort, with the assistance of the labour which I occasionally be- stowed upon them; but particularly by the assiduous labour of their slaves: that of Margaret, called Domingo? was an lolof Black, still robust though rather advanced in life. He possessed the advantage of experience and good natural sense. He culti- vated, without distinction, on the two districts, the soil which appeared to him the most fertile, and there he sowed the seeds which he thought would thrive the best in it. He sowed small millet and Indian corn in places where the soil was of an inferior quality, and a little wheat where the ground was good. In marshv PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 9 places he sowed rice, and at the foot of the rocks were raised' • giraumonts, gourds, and cucumbers, which delight in climbing up their sides: in dry places, he planted potatoes, which there acquire singular sweetness; cotton-trees on heights, sugar-canes on strong land; coffee plants on the hills, where their grains are small, but of an excellent quality; along the river, and around the cottages, he planted bananas, which all the year round pro- duce large supplies of fruit, and form a beautiful shelter; and finally, some plants of tobacco, to soothe his own cares and those ©f his good mistresses. He went to cut wood for fuel in the mountain, and broke down pieces of rock here and there- in the plantation, to smooth the roads. He performed all these labours with intelligence- and activity, because he performed them with zeal. He was very much attached to Margaret, and not much less so to Madame de la Tour, whose slave he had married at the birth of Virginia. He passionately loved his wife, whose name was Mary. She was a native of Madagascar, from whence she had brought seme degree of skill, particularly the art of mak- ing baskets, and stuffs called pagnte, with the grass which grows in the woods* She was clever, cleanly, and what was above all incorruptibly faithful. Her employment was to prepare the vic- tuals, to take care of sonic poultry, and to ,go occasionally to Port-Louis to sell the superfluity of the two plantations ; this however was very inconsiderable. If to these you add two goats, brought up with the children, and a great dog that watched the dwellings during the night, you will have an idea of all the pos- sessions, and of all the domestic economy, of these two little farms. As for the two friends, they spun cotton from morning till night, fhis employment was sufficient to maintain themselves # and their families ; but in other respects they were so ill pro- vided with foreign commodities, that they walked bare-footed * when at home, and never wore shoes except on Sundays when they went to mass early in the morning, to the church of Pam- plcmousses which you see in the bottom. It is nevertheless much farther than to Port Louis ; but they seldom visited the city, for fear of being treated with contempt, because they were dressed in the coarse blue linen cloth of Bengal which is worn by slaves. After all, is public respectability half so valuable Vol. HI. - B 10 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. as domestic felicity ? If these ladies were exposed to a little suffering when abroad, they returned home with so much more additional satisfaction. No sooner had Mary and Domingo perceived them from this eminence, on the road from Pample- mousses, than they flew to the bottom of the mountain, to assist them in re-ascending it. They read in the eyes of their slaves the joy which they felt at seeing them again. They found in their habitation cleanliness and freedom, blessings which they owed entirely to their own industry, and to servants animated with zeal and affection. As for themselves, united by the same wants, having experienced evils almost similar, giving to each other the tender names of friend, companibn and sister, they had but one will, one interest, one table. They had' every thing in common. And if it sometimes happened that former senti- ments, more ardent than those of friendship, we?ove respect to the World. M. de la Bourdonaye delivered her aunt's letter, which insinuated that she merited her condi- tion, for having married an adventurer, a libertine; that the passions always carried their punishment along with them ; that the untimely death of her husband was a just chastisemet of GOD; that she had done well to remain^tti the island, instead of dishonouring her family by returning to France; and that after all she was in an excellent country, where every body made fortunes, except the idle. After having thus reproached her, she concluded with making her own elogium ; to avoid, she said, the almost inevitable evils which attend matrimohy, she had always refused to marry : the truth was, that, being very ambi- tious, she had refused to unite herself to any except a man of rank ; but although she was very rich, and that at Court every thing is a matter of indifference, fortune excepted, yet no person was found willing to form an alliance with a woman homely to * PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 15 the last degree, and at the same time possessed of a most unfeel- ing heart. She added, by way of postscript, that everything considered, she had strongly recommended her to M. de la Bourdonaye: she had indeed recommended her, but, conformably to a custom but too prevalent at this day, which renders ^a protector more to be dreaded than a declared enemy, in order to justify to the Governor her severity to her niece, in feigning to pity she had calumniated her. Madame de la Tour, who could not be seen by the most in- different person without interest and respect, was received with the greatest coolness by M. de la Bourdonaye, thus prejudiced against her. To the account which she gave of her own situa- tion, and that of her daughter, he answered only by harsh mono- syllables ; " I shall enquire,"...." we shall see,"...." in time,".... " there are many unhappy people,"...." why offend so respect- " able an aunt ?"...." you are certainly to blame." Madame de la Tour returned to the plantation, her heart oppressed with grief, and full of bitterness ; on her arrival she sat down, threw her aunt's letter on the table, and said to her friend, " Behold the fruits of eleven years patience." But as no one of the society knew how to read except Madame de la Tour, she took up the letter again and read it to all the family, Scarcely had she concluded, when Margaret said to her with vivacity, " What need have we of thy relations ? Has GOD for- " saken us ? He only is our father ; have we not lived happily " until this day ? Why then should you afflict yourself ? You " have no fortitude." Perceiving that Madame,^? la Tour wa.c much affected, she threw herself on her bosom, folded her in her arms and exclaimed, " My dear friend, my dear friend !' her own sobs quite choaked her voice. At this sight, Virginia melting into tears, alternately pressed the hands of her mother, and of Margaret, to her lips, and to her heart; whilst Paul, his eyes inflamed with rage, exclaimed aloud, clenched his fists, stamped with his feet, not knowing how to vent his rage. At the noise which he made, Domingo and Mary ran in, and no- thing but exclamations of distress were heard in the cottage : " Ah, Madam !"....." My good mistress!"....." My dear mo- k ther !"...." Do npt distress yourself." Such tender marks of 16 SEQUT.T. TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. affection soon dissipated the anguish of Madame de la Tour : she embraced Paul and Virginia, and said to them with a look of satisfaction, " My dear children, you are the cause of my " tears, but you are also the source of all the happiness I enjoy : " Oh, my children, misfortune attacks me only from afar, feli- " city is ever around me." Paul and Virginia did not compre- hend what she said, but as soon as they saw that she was com- posed they smiled and caressed her. Thus was peace restored, and the past scene was only like a stormy cloud in the midst of Summer. The good dispositions of these children were unfolding them- selves from day to day. One Sunday about sun-rise, their mothers having gone to the first mass at the church of Pample- mousses, a fugitive negro-woman made her appearance, under the bananas which surrounded their plantation. She was as mea- gre as a skeleton, and without a bit of clothing except a shred of tattered canvas about her loins. She threw herself at Virginia's feet, who was preparing the family-breakfast, and thus addressed her: " My dear young lady, take pity on a miserable runaway " slave: for more than a month past I have been wandering " about these mountains, half-dead with famine, and frequently " pursued by the huntsmen and their dogs. I have fled from " my muster, who is a wealthy planter on the Black River: he " has treated me in the manner you see." In saying Jhese words, she shewed her body deeply furrowed by the strokes of the whip which she had received; she added, " I had thoughts of drowning myself, but knowing that you lived " here, I thus reflected; perhaps there are still some good .vhite wt people in this country, I must not die yet." Virginia, much af- fected, replied, "Take comfort, unfortunate creature! eat, tat." Upon which she gave her the breakfast which she had prepared for the family. The slave in a few moments devoured the whole of it. Virginia, seeing her refreshed, said to her: " Poor wretch! " I h#|ilaa great desire to go to your master and .implore your Lk pardon: at the sight of you he must be touched with compas- •*■ sion: will you conduct me to him r"—" Angel of GOD !" re- plied the ne.^rcss, " I will follow you whertver you lead me." Virginia called her brother, and entreated him to accompany tier: the fugitive slave conducted them by narrow paths to the PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 17 middle of the woods, across high mountains over which they scrambled with difficulty, and great rivers, which they forded. At length, toward noon, they arrived at the bottom of a moun- tain on the banks of the Black River. They there perceived a well-built house, considerable plantations, and a great number of slaves engaged in different occupations. The master was walk- ing in the midst of them, with a pipe in his mouth, and a ratan in his hand. He was a very tall, lean man, of an olive complexion, with his eyes sunk in his head, his eye-brows black and meeting each other. Virginia, quite petrified, holding Paul by the arm, approached the man, and entreated him for the love of GOD to pardon his slave, who was a few paces behind them. The mas- ter, at first, did not pay much attention to these two children, who were but meanly clad; when however he had remarked the elegant form of Virginia, her beautiful flaxen hair, which ap- peared from under a blue hood, and when he had heard the sweet tones of her voice, which trembled as well as her body while she implored his forgiveness, he took the pipe from his mouth, and raising his ratan toward Heaven, declared with a terrible oath that he would pardon his slave, not for the love of GOD, but for the love of her. Virginia immediately made a sign for the slave to advance toward her master, and then ran away, with Paul running after her. They scrambled together up the steep declivity of the moun- tain, by which they had descended in the morning, and having arrived at it's summit, they seated themselves under a tree, ex- hausted with fatigue, hunger and thirst. They had travelled from the rising of the Sun, more than five leagues without hav- ing tasted food : Paul addressed Virginia thus: " Sister, it is " past mid-day, you are hungry, you are thirsty; we shall find " no refreshment here, let us again descend the mountain, and " request the master of the slave to give us something to eat." —" Oh, no ! my friend," replied Virginia, " he has terrified me " too much already. Do you not remember what mum ma has " often said ; the bread of the xvicked fills theinoitfh with gra- " vel!'"—" What shall we do then:" said Paul, " these trees " produce only bad fruits: there is not so much as a tamarind, " or a lemon to refresh you."—" GOD will have pity on us," returned Virginia, " he hears the voice of the little birds which Vol. III." . C IS SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURL. " call to him for food." Scarcely had she pronounced these words when they heard the bubbling of a fountain which fell from a neighbouring rock: they immediately ran to it, and after having quenched their thirst with water more clear than the crystal, the y gathered and eat a few of the cresses which grew upon it's banks, as they were anxiously looking about from side to side, to see if they could not find some more substantial food, Virginia perceived among the trees of the forest a young palm-tree. The colewort which is inclosed in the leaves that grow on the top of this tree is very good to eat; but though it's trunk was not thick- er than a man's leg, it was more than sixty feet high. The wood of this tree indeed is only formed of a bundle of filaments, but it's pith is so hard that it resists the edge of the keenest hatchet, and Paul had not so much as a knife. The idea occurred to him of setting fire to the palm-tree, but here again ha was at a loss; lit had no steel; and besides in this island, so covered with rock, I do not believe that a single flint stone is to be found. Neces- sity produces industry, and the most useful inventions are fre- quently to be ascribed to the most miserable of mankind. Paul resolved to kindle a fire in the same manner that the blacks do. With the sharp point of a stone he bored a little hole in the branch of a tree that was very dry, which he mastered by press- ing it under his feet: he then, with the edge of this stone, made a point to another branch equally dry, but of a different species of wood. Afterwards he applied this piece of pointed wood to the little hole of the branch which was under his feet, and , spinning it round with great rapidity between his hands, as you trundle round the mill with which chocolate is frothed up, in a few moments he saw smoke and sparks issue from the point of contact. He then gathered together some dry herbage, and other branches of trees, and applied the fire to the root of the palm-tree, which presently fell with a terrible crash. This fire likewise assisted him in peeling off from the colewort it's long, ligneous and prickly leaves. Virginia and he ate a part of his cabbage raw, and the other part dressed upon the ashes, and found them equally savoury, They enjoyed this frugal repast with the highest satisfaction, from the recollection of the good action which they had performed in the moaning; but their joy was greatly damped, by the uneasiness which hev had not a doub< PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 19 their long absence must have occasioned to their parents. Virgi- nia recurred frequently to this subject, while Paul, who now felt his strength restored, assured her that it would not be long be- fore they got home to quiet the anxiety of their mothers. After dinner they found themselves much embarrassed, for they had no longer a guide to direct them homewards. Paul, who was disconcerted at nothing, said to Virginia, " Our cot- " tage looks toward the noon-day Sun, we must therefore pass " as we did this morning, over that mountain which you see be- " low with it's three peaks. Come, let us walk on, my friend." This mountain is called the Three Paps,* because it's'three peaks have that form. They descended then the gloomy declivity of the Black River toward the north, and arrived, after an hour's walking, at the banks of a considerable river which barred their progress. That large portion of the island, entirely covered with forests, is so little known even at this day, that many of it's ri- vers and mountains are still without a name. The river, upon the banks of which they were, flows impetuously over a bed of rocks. The noise of it's waters terrified Virginia; she durst not venture to put her feet into it for the purpose of fording over. Paul upon this took Virginia on his back; and thus laden passed over the slippery rocks of the river, in spite of the tumult of the waves. " Be not afraid," said he to her, " I feel mv strength " renewed, having the charge of you. If the planter of the Black " River had refused to your entreaties the pardon of his slave, " I should have fought with him." " How!" exclaimed Virgi- nia, " with that man, so large, and so wicked ? To what have I " exposed you? My God! how difficult a thing it is to act pro- " perly! Evil alone is performed with facility!" When Paul had arrived on the farther side he was desirous of continuing the journey, laden as he was with the weight of his sis - * There: are many mountains, the summits of which arc rounded into the form of a woman's breast, and bear that name in all languages. The} are in- deed real paps ; for from them issue multitudes of brooks and rivers, which diffuse abundance over the face of t,he Earth. They are the sources of the principal streams which water it, and furnish them with a constant supply, '>> continually attracting1 the clouds around the peak of the rock, which over- tops them at the centre, like a nipple. We have indicated those wonderful '.'revisions of Nature in the preceding Studies 20 SEOJJEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. ter, and he flattered himself that he should be able thus to ascend the mountain of the Three Paps, which he saw before him at the distance of a league and a half, under the same burden with which he had crossed the river j but his strength very soon failed, and he was obliged to set her on the ground, and repose himself by her side. Virginia then said to him, " Brother, the day is de- " dining fast, you have still some strength remaining, but mine " entirely fails; suffer me to remain here, and do you return alone to our cottage to restore tranquillity to our mothers." " Oh " no!" said Paul, " I will never hrave you. If the night should w surprize us in these roods I will light a fire, I will fell these " palm-trees, you shall eat the colewort, and I will make of it's " leaves an ajoupa to shelter you." Virginia however being a little revived, gathered from the trunk of an old tree which grew upon the edge of the river, long leaves of the scolopendra, which hung down from it's boughs. She made of these a spe- cies of sandals, which she put on her feet; for they were wounded to bleeding by the sharp stone which covered the road. In her eagerness to do good she had forgot to put on shoes. Feeling herself relieved by the freshness of these leaves, she broke off a branch of bamboo, and proceeded on her journey, resting one hand on this reed, and the other on her brother. They thus walked slowly on through the woods; but the height of the trees, and the thickness of their foliage, soon made them lose sight of the Three Paps, to which they were directing their course, and even of the Sun, which was near setting. After some time they strayed, without perceiving it, from the beaten path which they had hitherto pursued, and found themselves in u labyrinth of trees, of lianes, and of rocks which had no outlet. Paul made Virginia sit down, and ran about quite distracted, in quest of a road that might lead them out of this maze, but he fatigued himself in vain. He scrambled to the top of a large tree, with the hope of discovering at least the mountain of the Three Paps, but he could perceive nothing around f tm except the summits of trees, some of which were gilded by t;i last rays of the seating Sun. In the mean time the shadow of the moun- tains had already covered the forests in the valleys; the Avind was hushed, as it usually is at the setting of the Sun ; a profound si! -e reigned in these solitudes, and no other sound was to b» PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 21 heard but the braying of the deer, which came to seek a place of repose for the night in these wild retreats. Paul, in the hope lhat some huntsman might hear his voice, then called out with all his might; " Come, come to the relief of Virginia.-" but the only answer he received was from the solitary echoes of the for-. est, which repeated at intervals," Virginia! Virginia!" Paul at length descended from the tree, oppressed with fa- tigue and vexation ; he meditated on the means of passing the night in this place j but there was neither fountain nor palm-tree to'be found in it; nor even so much as branches of dry wood proper to kindle a fire. He then felt from experience the ineffi- cacy of his resources, and began to weep. Virginia said to him, " Do not distress yourself, my friend, if you would not wish to " see me overwhelmed with grief. It is I who am the cause of " all your sufferings, and of those which our mothers now en- " dure. We ought to do nothing without consulting our pa- " rents, no, not even what is right. Oh! I have been very im- " prudent!" Thus saying, she burst into tears. In the mean time she said to Paul, " Let us pray to GOD, my brother, and " he will take compassion on us." Scarcely had they finished their prayer when they heard a dog bark. " It is," said Paul, " the dog of some huntsman, who comes of an evening to kill " the deer in their retreat." A short time after the barking of the dog redoubled. " I have an idea," said Virginia, that it is " Fidele our cottage dog: yes, I recollect his voice : Is it pos- " sible that we should be so near our journey's end, and at the " foot of our own mountain r" In truth, a moment afterwards, Fidele was at their feet, barking, howling, groaning, and load- ing them w ith caresses. Before they had recovered from their surprize they perceived Domingo, who was running toward them. At the sight of this v, onhy negro, who wept with joy, they also shed tears, without Lv-I-.ig able to say one word. When Domingo had a little recovered himself: " Oh, my young mas- ters," said he to them, " what distress your mothers are in! " how :istoniahed they were at not finding you on their return " from mass, whither I had accompanied them! Mary, who was " at work in a comer of the plantation, could not tell whither u you were gone: I wandered about the grounds, not knowing " Blyself where to seek you: At length," I took the old clothe SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES ©P NATURE. " which you used to wear ;* I made Fidele smell to them ; and " as if the poor animal had understood me, he immediately set " off to trace your steps. He conducted me, always wagging " his tail, to the Black River. There I was informed by a plan- " ter that you had brought a fugitive slave back to him, and u that he pardoned her at your intercession. But what a par- " don! he showed her to me, fastened with a chain round her " foot to a log of wood, and an iron collar with three rings round " her neck. From thence, Fidele following the scent, conducted " me to the Mount of the Black River, where he again stopped, " and barked as loud as he waa able. It was on the brink of a " fountain near a palm-tree which had been levelled, and a fire " not quite extinguished ; at length he conducted me to this " place. We are at the foot of the mountain of the Three Paps, " and it is still four good leagues from our dwelling. Come on, " eat and recruit your strength." He then presented to them a cake, some fruit, and a large gourd bottle filled with a liquor compounded of water, wine, lemon-juice, sugar, and nutmeg, which their mothers had prepared to strengthen and revive them. Virginia sighed at the recollection of the poor slave, and at the distress of their mothers. She repeated several times, " Oh, how difficult it is to do good!" While Paul and she were refreshing themselves Domingo lighted a fire, and looking about among the rocks for a crooked billet, which we call round-wood, and which bums even in the sap, throwing out a very bright flame, he made a flambeau of it, and set it a-burning; for it was now quite dark. But he had to encounter a much greater difficulty. When all was ready for proceeding forward, Paul and Virginia were absolutely in- capable of walking any farther; their feet being swelled and raw all over. Domingo was completely puzzled ; he could not determine whether it would be more advisable for him to ram- ble about in quest of assistance, or to prepare for passing the night with them where they were. " Whither has the time ' fled," said he to them, " when I carried you both at once in a my arms ? But now you are increased in stature, and I am * This trait of sagacity in the black Domingo, and his dog Fidele, very mueh resembles that of the savage 'Veviemssa and his dog Oniha, mentioned by "I «.' Cvrvrzvr, in his humnrr- ""-v1;,, entiled. /,<'.'*•• < of an Jmrrican Farmer. PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 23 " old." While he was reduced to this state of perplexity, a company of run-away negroes appeared, about twenty paces dis- tant. The leader of the troop, approaching Paul and Virginia, thus addressed them: " Good little Whites, be not afraid: " we saw you this morning passing along in company with a " negress of the Black River; you were going to solicit her " pardon of a cruel master ; out of gratitude we will carry you " home upon our shoulders." Upon this he made a sign, and four of the stoutest black fellows immediately formed a litter with boughs of trees and lianes, placed Paul and Virginia upon it, hoisted them upon their shoulders, and, Domingo march mg before them with his flambeau, they took the road amidst the joyful acclamations of the whole comply, who loaded them with benedictions. Virginia, quite overcome, whispered to " Paul: Oh, my dear friend! GOD never permits a good ac- " tion to go unrewarded." About midnight they arrived at the bottom of their own mountain, the ridges of which were illumined with various fires. Scarcely had they got to the top, when they heard voices calling aloud : " Is it you, my children ?" The blacks and they replied together : " Yes, yes, here we are !" and presently the\ perceived their mothers and Mary coining to meet them with flaming torches. " Unhappy children!" exclaimed Madame de la Tour, " Whence come you.'' Into what agonies have vou " thrown us !" " We come," replied Virginia, " from the iilack " River, whither we went this morning to implore the pardon " of a poor fugitive negress, to whom I likewise gave the fami- " ly breakfast, for she was just perishing with hunger; and here, " the black run-aways have carried us home again." Madame de la Tour tenderly embraced her daughter, utterly deprived of the power of speech ; and Virginia, who felt her own face mois- tened with her mother's tears, said to her: " How you repay " me for all that I have suffered !" Margaret, transported with delight, locked Paul in her arms, saying : " And thou too, my " son, thou hast performed a good action!" Being arrived at their cottage with the children, they gave a plentiful supper to the black guides, who returned to the woods expressing a thou- sand good wishes for their prospentv. :i4 ^SEOJJEL TO TIIE STUDIES OF NATURE. Every succeeding day was to these families a day of happi- ness and tranquillity. They were strangers to the torments of j envy and of ambition. They coveted not, from abroad, that 1 vain reputation which is purchased by intrigue, and which the breath of calumny destroys. It was sufficient for them to be in the place of witness and of judge to each other. In this island where, as in all the European Colonies, no curiosity is expres- . sed except in hunting after malicious anecdotes, their virtues, M nay their very names, were unknown. Only, when a passenger ^ happened to ask on the road to Pamplemousses, of one of the |N| inhabitants of the plain : " Who lives in yonder cottages on the " top of the hill ?" the answer returned, without pretending to any fartherknowledgArf them, was: " They are good people." Thus the violets, fro^Punder the prickly shrubbery, exhale at a distance their fragrant perfume, though they remain unseen. They had banished from their conversation the practice of evil-speaking, which under an appearance of justice, necessarily disposes the heart to hatred or to falsehood ; for it is impossible to refrain from hating men if we believe them to be wicked ; or to live with the wicked unless you conceal your hatred of them under false appearances of benevolence. Evil-speaking, accordingly, lays us under the necessity of being upon bad terms ■vith others, or with ourselves. But without sitting in judg- ment on men, in particular, they entertained one another only ii devi-.ing the means of doing good to all in general; and raough they possessed not the power, they had an invariable disposition this way, which animated them with a benevolence at all times ready to extend itself in an outward direction. By iiving therefore in solitude, so far from degenerating into sava- ges, they had become more humane. If the scandalous history jf Society did not supply them with matter of conversation, that of Nature replenished their hearts with transports of won- der and delight. They contemplated with rapture the power of that Providence which, by their hands, had diffused amidst these barren rocks abundance, gracefulness, pleasures pure, sim- ple and perpetually renewing themselves. Paul, at the age of twelve, more vigorous and more intelligent than Europeans in general are at fifteen, had embellished what he Negro Dcmi;?go only cultivated. He went with him to tlv PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 25 adjoining woods, to take up by the roots the young plants of lemon and orange-trees, of the tamarinds, whose round head Is of such a beautiful green, and of the attier, whose fruit is stored with a sugary cream which emits the perfume of the orange-flower. He planted these trees, after they had attained a considerable stature, all around this enclosure. He had there sown the grains of such trees as, from the second year and up- ward, bear flowers or fruits, as the agathis, from which depend circularly, like the crystal pendants of lustre, long clusters o£. white flowers ; the Persian lilach which raises straight into the air it's gray, flaxen girandoles ; the papayer, whose branchless trunk, formed like a column, bristled all over with green melons. carries aloft a chapiter of broad leaves rejjembling those of the fig-tree. He had likewise planted in it the kernels and the nuts of the badamier, of the mango, of the avocatier, of the goyavier, of the jacqs, and of the jamrose. Most of these trees already yielded to their young master both shade and fruit. His industrious hand had diffused fecundity even over the most steril spofof the enclosure. Aloes of various kinds, the raquet, loaded with yellow flowers striped with red, the prickly tapera arose on the dusky summits of the rocks, and seemed desirous of mounting up to the lianes, garnished with blue or scarlet flowers, which hung down here and there along the precipices of the mountain. He had disposed these vegetables in such a manner that you could enjoy the sight of them by a single glance of the eye. He % had planted in the middle of the bason, the herbage, which grows to no great height, after that the shrubbery, then the trees of small stature, and last of all the great trees which garnished it's circumference; so that this vast enclosure appeared, from it's centre, like an amphitheatre of verdure, of fruits and flow- ers, containing pot-herbs, stripes of meadow-ground, and fields of rice and corn. But in subjecting thus th'e vegetable king- dom to his plan, he had not deviated from the plans of Nature. Directed by the indications which she vouchsafes to give, he had placed in elevated situations the plants whose seeds are vo- latile, and by the side of the waters those whose grains are adapted to floating. Thus each vegetable grew in it's propel site, and each sit*-received from it's vegetable it's natural dres°. Vol. III. D 2o SEOJJEL TO THlJ STUDIES OF NATURE. The streams, which descended from the summit of these rocks, formed below in the valley, here fountains, there broad and ca- pacious mirrors, which reflected in the midst of the verdure, the trees in bloom, the rocks, and the azure of the Heavens. Notwithstanding the great irregularity of the soil, these plan- tations were for the most part as accessible to the foot as to the eye. In truth, we all assisted him with our advice, and with our exertions, in order to accomplish his purpose. He had traced a path which winded round the bason, and of which se- veral ramifications converged from the circumference to meet at the centre. He had availed himself of the most rugged places of his domain, and united, by a harmony the most delicious, fa- cility of walking with the asperity of the soil, and domestic with forest trees. Of that enormous quantity of rolling stones, which now obstruct these roads as well as mar the greatest part of the surface of this island, he had formed in various places huge py- ramids, in the layxrs of which he had mixed with earth, and the roots of rose-trees, the poincillade and other shrubs, which take pleasure in the rocks. In a very short time, these gloomy and inanimate piles were covered with verdure, or with the da:'?"ing lustre of the most beautiful flowers. The cavities worn by the torrent in the sides of the mountain, bordered with aged trees inclined toward each other, formed arched subterraneans inaccessible to the heat, to which they retired for coolness dur ing the sultry ardor of the meridian Sun. A narrow path con- ducted into a thicket of wild trees, at the centre of which grew, sheltered from thq winds, a household-tree loaded with fruit. There was a cornfield whitening to the harvest; here an or- chard. Through this avenue you could see the houses ; through that the inaccessible summits of the mountain. Under a tufted grove of tatamaques, interlaced with lianes, no one object was distinguishable even in the brightness of noon-day. On the point of that great rock adjoining, which juts out of the moun- tain, you could discern all those contained within the enclosure, with the Sea at a distance, on which sometimes appeared a ves- sel arriving from Europe, or returning thither. On this rock it was that the two families assembled of an evening, and en joyed in silence the coolness of the air, the fragrance of the PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 2/ v Howers, the bubbling of the fountains, and the last harmonies of light and shade. Nothing could be more agreeable than the names imposed on the greatest part of the charming retreats of this labyrinth. The rock ofj^hich I have just now been speaking, from whence they couk! discern my approach at a considerable distaircfc, was cal- led FriendshIp's Discovery. Paul and Virginia, in their spor- tiveness, had planted a bamboo upon it, on the summit of which they hoisted a small white handkerchief, as a signal of my arri- val as soon as they perceived me ; in imitation of the flag which is displayed on the neighbouring mountain on seeing a vessel at Sea. I took a fancy to engrave an inscription on the stem of this reed. Whatever pleasure I may have enjoyed in the course of my travels, in contemplating a statue, or a monument of An- tiquity, I have enjoyed still more in perusing a well-conceived inscription. It seems to me, in that case, as if a human voice issued out of the stone, made itself audible through the mighty void of ages, and addressing itself to Man in the midst of de- serts, told him that he was not alone ; and that other m n, in these very places, had felt, thought, and suffered like himself. Should it happen to be the inscription of some ancient Nation, which subsists no longer, it conveys our soul into the regions of infinity, and communicates to it the sentiment of it's own im- mortality, by shewing that a thought has outlived the ruins even ®f an Empire. I inscribed then on the little mast which carried the flag of Paul and Virginia, these verses of Horace : .....Fratres Helenie, lucida sidera, Ventorumque regat Pater, Obstrictis aliis, prseter lapyga.* " May the brothers of Helen, stars radiant like yourselves, *' and may the Ruler of the winds direct your course ; binding :i up every ruder blast, and filling your sails oniv with the breath " of the Zephyr." * Thus imitated: May Helen's brothers, stars so blight, \nd JEolus guide your course aright, That, safe from every ruder gale, f Zephyrs alone may swett the sail. 28 rjEOJ/EL TO THE li'i'UDIES QY NATURE. I engraved the following line from Virgil, on the rind of a tatamaque, under the shade of which Paul sometimes sat down to contemplate from afar the agitated Ocean : Fortunatus & ille deos qui novit agrestcs ! " Happy too is he in knowing no deities but those who make t: the plains their care !" v And that over the door of Madame de la Tour's cottage, which was the place of general rendezvous : At secura quies,& nescia fallera vita. '' Peace undisturb'd, and hearts devoid of guile." But Virginia did not approve of my Latin ; she said that the inscription which I had placed below her weathercock, was too long and too learned. I should have rather preferred this, ad- ded she : always agitated, but ever constant. That de- vice, replied I, is still better adapted to virtue. My observation excited a blush in her cheek. These happy families extended their benevolent dispositions to all that surrounded them. They bestowed the most tender appellations on objects apparently the most indifferent. To an inclosure of orange-trees and bananas, planted in form of a circle round a portion of mossy ground, in the middle of which Paul and Virginia sometimes used to dance, they gave the name of The Concord. An ancient tree, under the shade of which Ma- dame de la Tour and Margaret related to each other their mis- fortunes, was called The Tears wiped away. They gave the names of Brittany and Normandy to small spots of ground where they had planted corn, strawberries, and pease. Domingo arid Mary, w ishing after the example of their mistresses, to call to remembrance the places of their birth in Africa, denominated two pieces of ground where that grass grew of which they made baskets, and v. here they had planted a great gourd, Angola and Foullepointe. Thus, by those productions of their own cli- mates, these exiled families cherished fond ideas of their native country, and soothed their sorrows in a foreign land. Alas! I have sLx-n the trees, the fountains, the rocks, of this spot, now so changed, animated bv a thousand charming appellations; but in PAUL AND VIRGINIA. their present state, like a Grecian plain, they only present to vie w ruins and heart-affecting inscriptions. Of the whole enclosure however no spot was more agreeable than that which went by the name of Virginia's Rest. At the foot of the rock named The Discovery of Friendship is a hollow place whence issues a fountain, which forms from it'; source a little lake, in the middle of a meadow of fine grass. When Margaret had brought Paul into the World, I made her a present of an Indian cocoa-nut which had been given me. She planted this fruit on the borders of the lake, intending that the tree which it should produce might serve one day as an epoch:' of her son's birth. Madame de la Tour, after her example, plant- ed another there likewise, with a similar intention, as soon as she was delivered of Virginia. From these nuts grew two cocoa-trees, which formed the whole archives of the two families; one was called the tree of Paul, the other that of Virginia. They both grew in the same proportion as their young master and mistress of a height rather unequal, but which surpassed at the end of twelve years that of the cottages. Already they interwove their branches, and dropped their young clusters of cocoas over the basor of the fountain. This plantation excepted, they had left the cavity of the rock just as nature had adorned it. On it's brown and humid sides radiated, in green and dusky stars, large plants of maiden hair; and tufts of the scolopendra, suspended like long ribands of greenish purple, waved at the pleasure of the winds. Near to that grew long stripes of the periwinkle, the flowers of which nearly resemble those of the white gilly-flower, and pimentos, whose blood-coloured husks are brighter than coral. , Round about these the plants of balm, with their leaves resembling a heart, and basilicons, with a carnation smell, exhaled the sweet- est of perfumes. From the summit of the rugged precipices of the mountain hung the Ham*, like floating drapery, which form- ed on the sides of the rocks large festoons of verdure. The sea-birds, attracted by these peaceful retreats, flocked thither to pass the night. At sun-set you might see the rook and the sea- lark fly along the shores of the Sea ; and high in air the black fiigar and the white bird of the tropics, which abandon, together »vith the orb of day, the solitudes of the Indian Ocean. >Q sequel to the studies of naiure. Virginia delighted to repose herself on the borders of this fountain, decorated with a pomp at once magnificent and wild. Thither did she often resort to wash the linen of the family, un- der the shade of the cocoa-trees : and sometimes she led her goats to pasture there. While she prepared cheeses of their miik, she took delight to see them browse on the maiden-hair which grew on the steep sides of the rock, and suspend them- selves in the air on one of it's cornices as on a pedestal. Paul, perceiving this to be the favourite retreat of Virginia, brought thither from the neighbouring forest the nests of all kinds of birds. The parents of these birds followed their young Ones, and established themselves in this new colony. Virginia scattered among them from time to time grains of rice, of maize and of millet. As soon as she appeared, the whistling black birds, the bengali whose warbling is so sweet, and the cardinal with his flame coloured plumage, left the bushes; the paroquets, as green as the emerald, descended from the neighbouring lata- niers ; the partridges ran nimbly along the grass : all hastened in variegated groups to her very feet, like little chickens, while Paul and she amused themselves with transport, at their play fulness, their appetites, and their loves. Amiable children, thus did you pass your early days, in per- fect innocence, and employing yourselves in acts of virtue! How many times, in that spot, did your mothers, folding you in their arms, give thanks to Heaven for the consolation which you were preparing for their old age, and at seeing you enter into life un- der auspicies so happy! How many times under the shadow of these rocks, have I partaken with them your rural repast, by which no animal was deprived of life! Gourds filled with milk, fresh eggs, cakes of rice served up on the leaves of the banana- tree, baskets filled with potatoes, mangoes, oranges, pomegran- ates, bananas, attes, and pine-apples, presented at once the most nourishing aliment, the gayest colours and the most agreeable juices. Their conversation was as sweet and as innocent as the repast. Paul frequently talked of the labours of the day past, and of those of to-morrow; he was always meditating something which would be subservient to the general good : here the paths were not com- modious ; there they were indifferently seated j these young bow- PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 31 ers did not give a sufficient shade; Virginia,would be more com- fortable in another place. In the rainy season, in the day-time, they assembled all toge- ther in one of the cottages, masters and servants, and employed themselves in weaving mats of the herbage, and baskets of bam- boo. You saw displayed, in the most perfect order, along the boards of the wall, rakes, hatchets, spades; and close by these instruments of agriculture, the productions which were the fruit of them, bags of rice, sheaves of corn, and rows of Bananas. Delicacy was there ever blended with abundance. Virginia as- sisted by the instructions of Margaret and her mother, amused herself with preparing sherbets and cordials, with the juice of the sugar-cane, of citrons, and of cedrats. When night arrived, they supped by the glimmering light of a lamp; after which Madame de la Tour, or Margaret, related the histories of travellers who had lost their way by night, in the forests of Europe infested by robbers; or of the shipwreck of some vessel driven by the tempest on the rocks of a desert isl- and. On hearing melancholy details of this kind the hearts of these sensible young folks caught fire. They implored of Hea- ven the grace to put in practice, one day, the duties of hospita- lity to unhappy persons in such circumstances. Afterwards the two families separated to enjoy the gift of sleep, but in the ardor of impatience to meet again next morning. Sometimes they were lulled to rest by the noise of the rain rushing down in torrents on the roof of their cottages; or by the roaring of the winds, conveying to their ears the distant murmuring of the billows which broke upon the shore. They united in giving thanks to GOD for their personal security, the sentiment of which was heightened by that of danger remote. Madame de la Tour from time to time read aloud to the com pany some interesting portion of the History of the Old or New Testament. They reasoned sparingly on the subject of those Sa cred Books; for their theology consisted wholly in sentiment, like that of Nature ; and their morality, wholly in active benevolence, like that of the Gospel. They had no days destined some to mirth others to melancholy. Every day was to them a season of fes- tivity, and every thing that surrounded them a divine Temple, in which they inccssandy admired an Intelligence infinite, om- nipotent and graciously disposed toward Man. This sentiment ■bZ dEOJTEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. of confidence in the Power Supreme filled them with consolation respecting the past, with fortitude for the present, and with hope for the time to come. Thus it was that those females, constrain- ed by calamity to fall back into Nature, had unfolded in them- selves, and in their children, those feelings which are the gift of Nature, to prevent our sinking under the pressure of calamity. But as there sometimes arise in the best regulated spirits clouds to disturb it's serenity, when any member of this society had the appearance of pensiveness, all the rest felt attracted toward that one, and dissipated the bitterness of thought rather by feelings than by reflections. Each exerted, to this effect, their particu- lar character: Margaret, sl lively gaiety; Madame de la Tour, a mild theology; Virginia, tender caresses ; Paul frankness and cordiality. Nay Mary and Domingo contributed their share of consolation. When they beheld affliction they were afflicted; when they saw tears shed they wept. Thus the feeble plants in- terlace their boughs, in order to resist the violence of the hur- ricane. When the weather was fine they went every Sunday to mass to the church of Pamplemousses, the tower of which you see below in the plain. The wealthy planters resorted thither in their palanquins; and made many efforts to form an acquain- tance with these happily united families, and invited them to partake of their parties of pleasure. But they uniformly declin- ed accepting such tenders, civilly and respectfully, under the conviction that persons of consequence court the obscure, only for the pleasure of having compliant hangers-on, and that it is impossible to be complaisant but by flattering the passions of another, whether they be good or bad. On the other hand they shunned, with no less circumspection, all intimacy with the lower settleib, who are for the most part jealous, back-biters, and vul- gar. They passed, at first, with one of those sets, for timid; :md with the other for haughty ; but their reserved behaviour was accompanied with marks of politeness so obliging, espe- ii.. to persons in distress, that they imperceptibly acquired the lespectof the rich, and the confidence of the poor. When mass was over, they were frequently sought unto, for the interposition of some gracious office or nu-jtuer. It was a person in perplexity who applied to them for their kind advice ; PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 33 or a child importuning them to visit a sick mother in one of the adjoining hamlets. They always carried about them some re- ceipts adapted to the diseases incident to the inhabitants, and they administered their prescriptions with that good grace which communicates such a value to small services. They succeeded particularly in curing the maladies of the mind, so oppressive in a state of solitude, and in an infirm state of body. Madame de la Tour spoke with so much confidence of the Deity, that the sick person, listening to her discourse, felt the impression of his presence. From these visits Virginia frequently returned with her eyes bathed in tears, but her heart overflowing with joy; for she had been blessed with an opportunity of doing good. She it was who prepared, beforehand, the medicines necessary to the sick, and who presented them with a grace ineffable. After those visits of humanity, they sometimes extended their walk by die valley of the long mountain, as far as my habitation, where I expected them to dinner, on the banks of the little river which flows in my neighbourhood. I provided myself for such occasions with some bottles of old wine, in order to enliven the gaiety of our Indian repasts by those pleasant and cordial pro- ductions of Europe. At other times wTe had our rendezvous on the shore of the Sea, at the mouth of some other small rivers, which in this part of the World can hardly be called any thing more than a larger kind of brook. Thither we carried from the plantation various kinds of vegetable provision which we added to the abundant supplies furnished by the Ocean. We fished along the shore for cabots, polypuses, lobsters, roaches, shrimps, crabs, urchins, oysters, and shell-fish of eveiy kind. Situations the most terrible frequently procured us pleasures the most tran- quillizing. Sometimes seated on a rock under the shade of a velvet-tree, we contemplated the billows from the main rolling on, and breaking under our feet with a tremendous roar. Paul, who, besides his other qualities could swim like a fish, now and then advanced upon the shallows to meet the surge, then, as it approached, fled toward the shore, pursued by it's vast, foaming and raging swell, a considerable way up the strand. But Vir- ginia, as often as she saw this, screamed aloud, and declared that such kind of amusement terrified her exceedingly. Vol. III. R $ 64, SEQUEL TO THE STUDIFS OF NATURE. Our meals were followed up by the singing and dancing of these too young people. Virginia chanted the felicity of a ru- ral life, and the wretchedness of sea-faring men, whom avarice prompts to encounter a furious element, rather than to cultivate the earth, which confers so many benefits in peace and tranquil- lit}-. Sometimes, after the manner of the negroes, Paul and she performed a pantomine. Pantomine is the first language of Man ; it is practised among all Nations. It is so natural and so expressive, that the children of the whites quickly-learn it, from seeing those of the blacks thus amuse themselves. Virginia, recollecting the histories which her mother used to read, those especially which had affected her the most, exhibited the prin- cipal events of them with much natural expression: Sometimes, to the sound of Domingo's tam-tam, she made her appearance on the downy stage, bearing a pitcher on her head. She advan- ced with timidity, to fill it with water at the source of a neigh- bouring fountain. Domingo and Mary, representing the shep-» herds of Midian, obstructing her passage, and feigned to repel her. Paul flew to her assistance, beat off the shepherds, filled the pitcher of Virginia, and placing it upon her head, at the same time bound around it a garland of the scarlet flowers of tie periwinkle, which heightened the fairness of her complexion. Then, taking a part in tin. ir innocent sports, 1 assumed the cha-* racier of Raguel and bestowed Paid my daughter Zipporah in marriage. At another time, she represented the unfortunate Ruth, who returns to her lamented husband's cOuntrv a widow, and in po- verty, where she finds herself treated as a stranger, after a long absence. Domingo and Mary acted the part of the reapers. Virginia appeared, gleaning up and dov. n after them, and pick- ing up the ears of corn. Paul, imitating the gravity of a Patri- arch, interrogated her ; she, trembling, replied to his questions. Moved with compassion, he immediately granted an asylum to innocence, and the rights of hospitality to misfortune. He fil- led Virginia's apron with provisions of every kind, and brought her before us, as before the elders of the city, declaring that he took her to wife, notwithstanding her extreme indigence. At this scene, Madame de la Tour, calling to remembrance the state of desertion in which she had been left by her own relar % PAUL AND VIRGINIA. S5 tions, her widowhood, the kind reception which Margaret had given her, now succeeded by the hope of a happy union between their children, could not refrain from tears ; and this blended recollection of good and evil, drew from the eyes of us all the tears of sorrow and of joy. These dramas were exhibited with such a truth of expres- sion, that we actually imagined ourselves transported to the plains of Syria or of Palestine. There was no want of decora- tions, of illuminations, and of orchestras, suitable to this spec- tacle. The place of the scene usually was at the cross-paths of a forest, the openings of which formed around us several ar- cades of foliage. W were at their centre sheltered from the heat, all the day long: but when the Sun had descended to the horizon, his rays, broken by the trunks of the trees, diverged into the shades of the forest in long luminous emanations, which produced the most majestic effect. Sometimes his complete disk appeared at the extremity of an avenue, and rendered it quite dazzling with a tide of light. The foliage of the trees, illumined on the under side with his saffron-coloured rays, sparkled with the fires of the topaz and of the emerald. Their mossy and brown trunks seemed to be transformed into columns of antique bronze, and the birds, already retired in silence un- der the dark foliage for the night, surprized by the sight of a new Aurora, saluted all at once the luminary of day, by a thou- sand and a thousand songs. The night very often surprized us regaling ourselves with these rural festivities ; but the purity of the air, and the mild- ness of the climate, permitted us to sleep under an ajoupa in the midst of the woods, free from all fear of thieves either at hand or at a distance. Every one returned next morning to his own cottage, and found it in the same state in which it had been left. There reigned at that time so much honesty and simplicity in this un-commercial island, that the doors of many houses did not fasten by a key, and a lock was an object of cu- riosity to many Creoles. But there were certain days of the year celebrated by Pen;.' and Virginia as seasons of peculiar rejoicing; these were the birth-days of their mothers. Virginia never failed, the ev ning u:fore, to bake and dress cakes of the flour of wheat, which she. ^6" SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. sent to the poor families of whites born in the island, who had never tasted the bread of Europe, and who, without any assis- tance from the blacks, reduced to live on maize in the midst of the woods, possessed, toward the support of poverty, neither the stupidity which is the concomitant of slavery, nor the cou- rage which education inspires. These cakes were the only presents which Virginia had it in her power to make, from the affluence of the plantation; but they were bestowed with a grace which greatly inhanced their value. First, Paul himself was desired to undertake the charge of presenting them to those families, and they were invited on receiving them, to come on the morrow and pass the day at the habitation of Madame de la Tour and Margaret. There arrived, accordingly, a mother with two or three miserable daughters, vellowj meagre, and so timid that they durst not lift up their eyes. Virginia presently set them all at their ease: she served them with a variety of refreshments, the goodness of which she heightened by some particular circumstances which, according to her, increased it's relish. That liquor had been prepared by Margaret; this by her mother; her brother himself had gather- ed that fruit on the summit of the tree. She prevailed on Paul to lead them out to dance. She never gave over till she saw them content and happy. It was her wish that they should be- come joyful in the joy of the family. " No one," said she, " can find happiness for himself but in promoting the happiness *' of another." On taking their leave to return home, she pres- sed them to carry away any thing which seemed to have given them peculiar satisfaction, veiling the necessity of accepting her presents, under the pretext of their novelty, or of their singu- larity. If she remarked their clothes to be excessively tattered, she, with the consent of her mother, selected some of her own and charged Paul to go by stealth and deposit them at the door of their cottages. Thus she did good, after the manner of the Deity ; concealing the benefactress and shewing the benefit. You gentlemen of Europe, whose minds are tainted from your earh- infancy by so many prejudices incompatible with happiness, you are unable to conceive how Nature can bestow so much illumination, and so many pleasures. Your souls, cir- umscribed v hhin a small sphere of human knowV/:£e, soon PAUL AND VIRGINIA. Z7 attain the term of their artificial enjoyments ; but nature and the heart are inexhaustible. Paul and Virginia had no time-pieces, nor almanacks, nor books of chronology, of history or of philo- sophy : the periods of their lives were regulated by those of Na- ture. They knew the hour of the day by the shadow of the trees; the seasons, by the times when they produce their flowers, or their fruits; and years, by the number of their harvests. These delightful images diffused the greatest charms oyer their conversation. " It is dinner-time," said Virginia to the family, " the shadows of the bananas are at their feet;" or else^'" night " approaches, for the tamarinds are closing their leaves." " When shall we see you ?" said some of her compJKns of the vicinity to her; " at the time of the sugar-canes,5Replied Vtr- " ginia, your visit will be still sweeter and more agreeable at " that time," returned these young people. When enquiries were made respecting her own age and that of Paul, " My bro- " ther," said she, " is of the same age with the great cocoa-tree " of the fountain, and I, with that of the small one. The man- " go-trees have yielded their fruit twelve times, and the orange " trees have opened their blossoms twenty four times, since I " came into the World." Like Fauns and Dryads their lives seemed to be attached to those of the trees. They knew no other historical epochs but the lives of their mothers; no other chronology but that of their orchards; and no other philosophy but universal benificence, and resignation to the will of GOD. After all, what occasion had these young creatures for such riches and knowledge as we have learnt to prize? Their igno ranee and their wants were even a farther addition to their hap- piness. Not a day passed in which they did not communicati to each other some assistance, or some information; I repeat it, information; and though it might be mingled with some error, yet man in a state of purity has no dangerous error to fear. Thus did these two children of Nature advance in life: hitherto no care had wrinkled their foreheads, no intemperance had cor rupted their blood, no unhappy passion had depraved their hearts; love, innocence, piety, were daily unfolding the beauties of their soul in graces ineffable, in their features, in their attitudes, and ii> the: Amotions. In the morning of life they had all the freshness nl \tr. like our first parents in the garden of Eden, when, proceed 38 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. ing from the hands of their Creator, they saw, approached, and conversed with each other, at first, like brother and sister. Vir- ginia gentle, modest and confident like Eve ; Paul like Adanu, w ith the stature of a man, and all the simplicity of a child. He has a thousand times told me, that sometimes being alone with her, on his return from labour, he had thus addressed her : " "When I am weary the sight of thee revives me; when from " the mountain's height I descry thee at the bottom of this val- " ley, thou appearest like a rose-bud in the midst of our orchards; '' when .thou walkest toward the dwelling of our mothers, the " partridge which trips along to it's young one's, has a chest less " beautiful, and a gait less nimble than thou hast. Although I H lose sight of thee through the trees, there is no occasion for " thy presence in order to find thee again ; something of thee, " which I am unable to express, remains for me in the air through " which thou hast passed, and on the grass upon which thou hast " been seated. When I approach thee all my senses are ra- " vished ; the azure of the Heavens is less radiant than the blue " of thine eyes ; the warbling of the bengali is less sweet than " the tone of thy voice ; if I touch thee only with the tip of my " finger, my whole body thrills with pleasure. Dost thou re- " member that day on which we passed across the pebbly bed " of the river of the mountain of the Three Paps ; when I arri- ct ved on it's banks I was very much fatigued, but as soon as I " had taken thee on my back, it seemed as if I had gotten wings " like a bird : Tell me, by what charm thou hast been able thus " to enchant me : Is it by thy understanding ? Our mothers have " more than either of us : Is it by thy caresses ? Our mothers " embrace me still oftener than thou dost: I believe it is by thy " benevolence ; I shall never forget that thou walkedst bare-foot " as far as the Black River, to solicit the pardon of a wretched " fugitive slave. Receive, my much loved Virginia, receive " this flowery branch of the lemon-tree, which I have gathered " for thee in the forest: place it at night by thy pillow: eat this " morsel of honey-comb, which I took for thee from the top of a " rock. First however repose thyself upon my bosom, and I a shall be again revived." Virginia replied, " Oh, my brother! the rays of the rising '-' Sun on the summits of these rocks afford me less delight than PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 39 " thy presence: I love my own mother dearly ; I love thine : " but when they call thee, Son, I love them still more. The " caresses which they bestow on thee are felt more sensibly by " me than those which I myself receive from them. Thou ask- " est me, Why thou lovest me ? But those that are reared to- " gether always love each other : behold our birds, brought up " in the same nest, they love like us, like us they are always to- " gether: hearken how they call and reply to each other from " bush to bush : in like manner, when the echoes bring to my " ear the airs which thou playest on thy flute from the moun- " tain-top, I repeat the words of them at the bottom of this val- " ley: thou art most dear to me, but above all, since that day on " which thou wert determined to fight the master of the slave " for my sake : since that period I have said to myself a thou- " sand times : Ah ! my brother has an excellent heart: but for " him I should have died with terror. I daily implore the bles- " sing of the Almighty on my own mother, and on thine, on u thyself, and on our poor domestics : but when I pronounce " thy name my devotion seems to glow, I so earnestly intreat " the Almighty that no evil may befal thee. Why dost thou " go so far off, and climb to such heights, to find me fruits and " flowers ? Have we not enough in the garden ? How fatigued, " and in what a heat thou art just now ?" Then with her little white handkerchief she wiped his forehead and his cheeks, and gave him a thousand kisses. Nevertheless for some time past Virginia had felt herself dis- turbed with an unknown m;tk:dv. Her fine blue eyes were tinged with black, her colour faded, and an universal languor weakened her body. Serenity no longer sat upon her forehead, nor smiles upon her lips : all at once might be seen in her, gaiety without joy, and sadness without sorrow. She withdrew her- self from her innocent amusements, from her sweet occupations, and from the society of her much-loved family. She wandered here and there in the most solitarv places of the plantation,seek- :ng rest and finding none. Sometimes, at the sight of Paul, she ran up to him'in a playful manner; when all of a sudden, as she was on the point of coming in contact with him, an unac- countable embarrassment seized her ; a lively red coloured her ;>ale cheeks, and her eyes no longer dared to fix themselves on 40 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. his. Paul thus addressed her: " These rocks are covered with " verdure, the birds warble when they see thee: all is gay a around thee, and thou alone art sad." Thus, with embraces, did he endeavour to re-animate her; but she, turning away her head, flew trembling to her mother. The unhappy girl felt herself discomposed by the caresses of her brother. Paul was quite ignorant of the cause of caprices so new and so strange. Misfortunes seldom come singly. One of those Summers which desolate from time to time the lands situated between the Tropics, happened to extend it's ravages here also. It was toward the end of December, when the Sun, in Capricorn, scorches with his vertical fires the whole Isle of France, for three weeks together : the south-east wind, which reigns there almost all the year round, now blew no longer. Huge whirl- winds of dust raised themselves from the high-ways, and hung suspended in the air. The earth was cleft asunder in all parts, and the grass entirely burnt up ; ardent exhalations issued from the sides of the mountains, and most of the rivulets were dried up. No cloud arose out of the sea ; during the day-time, only red vapours ascended above it's surface, and appeared at sun-set like the flames of a great conflagration. Even the night season diffused no coolness over the burning atmosphere. The bloody disk of the moon rose, of an enormous size, in the hazy horizon; the languid flocks, on the sides of the mountains, with their necks stretched out toward Heaven, and drawing in the air with difficulty, made the valleys resound with their mournful cries: even the cafre who conducted them lay along the ground, en- deavouring to cool himself in that position. Every where the soil was scorching hot, and the stifling air resounded with the buzzing of insects, which sought to quench their thirst with the blood of men and of animals. One of those parching nights Virginia felt all the symptoms of her malady redouble. She got up, she sat down, she return- ed to bed, but in no attitude could she find either sleep or re- pose. She rambled by the light of the moon toward the foun- tain ; she perceived it's source, which, in defiance of the drought, still flowed in silver fillets over the dusky sides of the rock. Without hesitation she plunged herself into it's bason; at first fhe freshness re-animated her; and a thousand agreeable re- PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 41 collections presented themselves to her mind. She remember- t d how, in the days of infancy, her mother and Margaret amus- ed themselves with bathing Paul and her in that very stream, and how Paul afterwards, appropriating this bath solely to her use, had deepened it's bed, covered the bottom with sand, and sowed aromatic herbs around it's brink. On her naked arms, and on her bosom, she perceived the reflexes of the two palm- trees, which had been planted at the birth of her brother and at her own, and which now interwove their green boughs, and their young cocoas, over her head. She called to remem- brance the friendship of Paul, sweeter than perfumes, purer than the water of the fountain, stronger than united palm-trees, and she heaved a sigh. She then reflected that it was the night sea- son, and that she was in solitude j a consuming fire enflamed her breast. Immediately she hastened in dismay, from these dangerous shades, and from waters more ardent than the suns of the Torrid Zone : she hurried to her mother to seek refuge from herself. A thousand times, wishing to disclose her an- guish, she pressed the maternal hands between her own: a thou- sand times she was on the point of pronouncing the name of Paul, but her heart was so full as to deprive her tongue of ut- terance, and. reclining her head on the bosom of her mother, she bedewed it with a shower of tears. Madame de la Tour plainly perceived the cause of her daugh- ter's disorder, but even she herself had not the courage to speak to her about it. " My child," said she to her, " address your- u self to the Almighty, who dispenses health and life according " to his good pleasure. He makes trial of your virtue to-day, " only in order to recompense you to-morrow; consider that ■' the chief end of our being placed on the Earth is to practise •' virtue." In the mean time, those excessive heats raised out of the bo- som of the Ocean an assemblage of vapours, which like, a vast parasol, covered the face of the island. The summits of the mountains collected these around them, and long furrows of flame from time to time issued out of their cloud-capt peaks. Presently after tremendous thunder-claps made the woods, the plains, and the valleys, reverberate the noise of their explosions. The rain in cataracts gushed down from the Heavens. Foam? Vol. III. K 4l<. SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. ing torrents precipitated themselves down the sides of this mountain; the bottom of the bason was transformed into a Sea; the platform on which the cottages were raised into a little isl- and ; and the entrance into the valley had become a sluice, out of which ruslud, with awful impetuosity, by the force of the roaring waters, the earth, the trees, and the rocks. The whole family, seized with trembling, addressed their prayer to GOD in Madame de la Tour's cottage, the roof of .. which cracked dreadfully by the fury of the tempest. Though the door and the outside window-shutters were closely barred, every object was clearly distinguishable within through the join- ing of the boards, so bright and so frequent were the flashes of lightening. The intrepid Paul, attended by Domingo, went from the one cottage to the other, notwithstanding the raging of the elements, here securing a wall by a cross beam, and there by driving in a stake; he went in only now and then, to comfort the family with the hope of the speedy return of fine weather. In reality, towards evening the rain ceased ; the Trade-wind from the South-east resumed it's usual current; the stormy clouds were driven to the North-west, and the setting Sun appeared in the horizon. The first wish which Virginia expressed was to revisit the place of her repose: Paul approached her with a timid air, and offered her his arm to assist her in walking thither. She ac- cepted it with a smile, and they set out together from the cot- tage : the air was cool and sonorous: clouds of white smoke arose on the ridges of the mountains, furrowed here and there by the foam of the torrents, which were now drying up on eve- ry side. As for the garden, it was entirely destroyed by deep gutters; most of the fruit trees were torn up by the roots; immense heaps of sand covered the stripes of meadow-ground, and completely choked up Virginia's bath : the two cocoa-trees however were still standing, and in full verdure : the bowers and the grassy turfs were no more, and the ear was no longer charm- ed with the warbling of the birds, except a few bengalis on the summit of the neighbouring rocks, which deplored with plain- tive notes the loss of their young. At sight of this desolation Virginia said to Paul, " You " brought the birds hither, and the hurricane has destroyed PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 4.3 " them; you planted this garden, and it is now no more: every " thing on earth perishes; Heaven alone is unchangeable." Paul replied: " Oh! then, that it were in my power to bestow " some gift of Heaven upon you! but alas ! I possess nothing " now, even on the Earth." Virginia with a blush, returned : " You have certainly the portrait of St. Paul, that you can call " your own." Scarcely had she pronounced these words, than Paul flew to his mother's cottage to seek for it. This portrait was a small miniature representing Paul the hermit. Margaret regarded it with singular devotion; while a girl she wore it long round her own neck ; but when she become a mother she sus- pended it round the neck of her child. It happened that when pregnant of him, and abandoned by all the World, from merely contemplating the image of this blessed Recluse, the fruit of her womb contracted a strong resemblance to it; this determined her to bestow the same name on him ; and likewise to give him for a patron, a Saint who had passed his life far from Man, by whom he had been first abused and then deserted. Virginia on receiving this small portrait from the hands of Paul, said, with much emotion: " My brother, while I live this shall nc- " ver be taken from me, and I shall always remember that you " gave me the only possession you had in the World." On hear- ing those tones of cordiality, on this unexpected return of fami- liarity and tenderness, Paul was going to clasp her in his arms ; but as nimbly as a bird she sprung away, leaving him quite con- founded, and totally unable to account for a conduct so extra- ordinary. Meanwhile. Margaret said to Madame de la Tour: « Why " should we not marry our children ? Their passion for each " other is extreme; my son, indeed, is not yet sensible of it;fc- " but when Nature shall have begun to speak to him, to no pur- " pose will we employ all our vigilance over them ; every thing * " is to be feared." Madame de la Tour, returned: " Tiiey are " too young, and too poor ; what anxiety would it cost us should a Virginia bring into the World unhappy children, whom per- " haps she would not have strength to rear. Domingo is very " much broken; Mary is infirm; I myself, my clear friend for " these last fourteen years feel my health very much impaired. " A person soon grows old in these hot countries, especially 44 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. " when that period is so greatly accelerated by sorrow. Paul is " our only hope; let us wait till age has strengthened his con- " stitution, and till he is able to support us by the labour of his u hands. At present you well know we have hardly any thing " more than a scanty supply from day to day* But if Ave send " Paul to India for a short space of time, commerce will supply " him with the means of purchasing some slaves. On his return " hither we will marry him to Virginia ; for I am well assured u that no one can make my beloved daughter so happy as your " son Paul. Let us mention the matter to our neighbour." These ladies accordingly cousulted me, and I approved of their plan. " The seas of India are delightful," said I to them ; u if we chuse a favourable season for going from hence to that '' country, the voyage outward is but six weeks at most, and as " long to return ; we will make up a smalt^Siortment of goods a for Paul; for I have some neighbours who are very fond of a him ; were we but to provide him with a parcel of raw cotton, " of which we can here make no use for want of mills to dress " it; some ebony wood which is so common here that we use " it for fuel; and several sorts of rosin, which go to waste in " these woods ; all of those commodities will find a market in " India, though they are of no value at all here." I took upon myself the charge of M. de la Bourdonaye's per- mission for this embarkation ; but I thought it necessary, be- forehand, to open the business to Paul. How was I astonished however when that young man said to me, with a good sense far above his years : " Why would you have me quit my family " for a visionary project of fortune ? Can there be a more ad- " vantageous commerce in the World than the cultivation of a .vi field, which sometimes yields fifty and a hundred fold ? If we " wish to engage in trade, can we not do so by carrying our su- . jp 'w perfluities from hence to the city, without the necessity of my u rambling to the Indies ? Our parents tell me that Domingo is , " old and worn out; but I am young, and daily acquiring fresh " vigour. What if any accident should befal them during my u absence, more especially to Virginia who even now suffers " very severely ? Ah ! no ! no ! I can never bring myself to the *' resolution of quitting them." PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 46 His answer greatly embarrassed me ; for Madame de la Tour had not concealed from me Virginia's condition, and the desire which she hersel&had of deferring their union till they were of a more mature age, by separating them from each other. I durst not as much as hint to Paul that such were her motives. Whilst these transactions were going on, a vessel newly ar- rived from France brought a letter to Madame de la Tour from her aunt. The fear of death, without which obdurate hearts would never soften, had appalled her. She had just recovered from a dangerous disorder, which produced a deep melancholy, and which age rendered incurable. She requested her niece to return to France : or if the state of her health were such as to prevent her taking so long a voyage, she enjoined her tb send Virginia thither, on \yhom she intended to bestow a good edu- cation, a place at Court, and a bequest of all her possessions : the return of her favour, she added, depended entirely on compli- ance with these injunctions. No sooner had this letter been read than it spread universal consternation in the family ; Domingo and Mary began to weep ; Paul, motionless with astonishment, seemed ready to burst with rage ; Virginia, her eyes stedfastly fixed on her mother, dared not to utter a syllable. " Can you bring yourself to the 1 trso- " lution of quitting us ?" said Margaret to Madame de la Tour. " No, my friend, no, my children," replied Madame de la Tour. " I will never leave you; with you I have lived, and with you " I mean to die : I never knew what happiness was till I expe- " rienced your friendship: if my health is impaired, ancient " sorrows are the cause: my heart has been pierced by the " harshness of my relations, and by the loss of my beloved hus- " band: but since that period I have enjoyed more consolation " and felicity with you, in these poor cottages, than ever the " riches of my family gave ine reason to expect, even in my na- u tive country." At these words tears of joy bedewed the cheeks of the whole household: Paul, folding Madame de la Tour in his arms, exclaimed: " And I will never, never quit " you, nor go from hence to the Indies ; you shall experience " no want, my dear mother, as long as we are able to work for u you." Of all the society, however, the person who testified the least joy, and who nevertheless felt it the most, was Virginia. $ 46 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. A gentle cheerfulness appeared in her the remainder of the day, and the return of her tranquillity redoubled the general satisfaction. Next morning at sun-rise, as they were offering up their ac- customed matin prayer which preceded breakfast, Domingo in- formed them that a gentleman on horseback was approaching the plantation, followed by two slaves. It was M. de la Bour- donaye. He entered the cottage where the whole family were at table : Virginia was serving up, according to the custom of the country, coffee and boiled rice; there were likewise hot potatoes and fresh bananas : the only dishes which they had were the halves of a gourd ; and all their table-linen consisted of the'leaves of the plantain. The Governor at first expressed some surprize at the meanness of their dwelling; then, addres- sing himself to Madame de la Tour, he said that his public situ- ation sometimes prevented him from paying attention to indi- viduals, but that she however had a title to claim his more im- mediate regard. " You have, madam," added he, " an aunt " at Paris, a lady of quality and very rich, who designs to be- " stow her fortune upon you, but at the same time expects that u you will attend her." Madame de la Tour replied, that her unsettled state of health would not permit her to undertake so ong a voyage. " Surely then," cried M. de la Bourdonaye, k' you cannot without injustice, deprive your young and beauti- ' ful daughter of so great an inheritance: I will not conceal •' from you, that your aunt has employed authority, to secure " your daughter's compliance with her wish. The minister has u written to me on the subject, authorizing me, if necessary, to ct exercise the hand of power; but my only aim in employing " that, is to promote the happiness of the inhabitants of this " colony; I expect therefore that you will, with cheerfulness, '•' submit to the sacrifice of a few years, on which depend the *' establishment of your daughter, and your own welfare for the u remainder of life. For what purpose do people resort to " these islands ? Is it not in the view of making a fortune ? wt Surely however it is far more agreeable to return, and obtain 11 one in our native country." As he said these words, he placed upon the table a large bag *f piastres, which on- of his slaves had brought. " This," ad- PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 47 ded he " is what your aunt has remitted, to make the necessary " preparations for the voyage of the young lady your daughter." He then concluded with gently reproaching Madame de la Tour for not having applied to him in her necessities : at the same time applauding the noble firmness which she had dis- played. Paul upon this broke silence, and thus addressed the Governor : " Sir, my mother did apply to you, and your recep- " tion was unkind to the last degree." " Have you then another u child ?" said M. de la Bourdonaye to Madame de la Tour: " No, Sir," replied she ; " this is the son of my friend ; but he " and Virginia are our common property, and equally beloved " by both." " Young man," said the Governor, addressing himself to Paul, " when you shall have acquired experience " of the World, you will learn to what distresses people in place " are exposed; you will discover how easy it is to prejudice " them, and how often intriguing vice obtains from them what, " in justice, should be bestowed on concealed merit." M. de la Bourdonaye*, on the invitation of Madame de la Tour, seated himself by her at the table. He breakfasted, as the Creoles do} upon coffee mixed with boiled rice. He was charmed with the order and neatness of the little cottage, with the union of the two happy families, and even with the zeal of their old domestics. " Here," said he " is no furniture but " what the woods supply, but I see countenances serene, and " hearts of gold." Paul, delighted with the familiarity of the new Governor, said to him : u I desire your friendship, for " you are an honest man." M. de la Bourdonaye received this mark of insular cordiality with pleasure. He embraced Paul, and pressing him by the hand, assured him that he might rely upon his friendship. After breakfast he took Madame de la% Tour apart, and infor- med her that a favourable opportunity just now offered of send- ing her daughter into France, by means of a vessel on the point of sailing; and that he would recommend her to the care of a lady, a relation of his own who was going passenger in it; re- presenting at the same time that it would be very wrong to sacrifice the prospect of an immense fortune, to the pleasure of her daughter's company for a few years. " Your aunt," added )ie, as he was departing, " cannot hold out more than two vean= 48 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. ""' longer; her friends have assured me of it: consider the matter wt therefore seriously, I pray you ; consult your own mind; surely *' every person of common sense must be of my opinion." Ma- dame de la Tour replied: " As I desire nothing henceforward " but the welfare of my daughter, the voyage to France shall " be left entirely to her own disposal." Madame de la Tour was not sorry at finding an opportunity of separating Paul and Virginia for a short time j but it was only in the view of securing their mutual happiness at a future period. She accordingly took her daughter aside, and said to her: " My dear child, our domestics are growing old ; Paul is " still very young ; age is stealing upon Margaret, and I myself " am already infirm : should I happen to die, what will become " of you in the midst of these deserts ? You will be leftjentirely " alone with no person to assist you, and you will be obliged to " procure yourself a livelihood by labouring incessantly in the " ground, like a hireling: such an idea overwhelms me with " grief." Virginia thus replied : " GOD has doomed us to " labour : you have taught me how to work, and to offer up daily " thanksgiving to Him. Hitherto He has not abandoned us, " nor will He abandon us now. His providence watches with " peculiar care over the unhappy ; you have told me so a thou- " sand times, my dear mother ! Oh, I shall never have resolution " to quit you." Madame de la Tour, much affected, returned, " I have no other intention than that of rendering you happy, '' and of uniting you one day to Paul, who is not your brother : u Consider likewise that his fortune now depends entirely on " you." A young girl m love thinks that every one is ignorant of it. She spreads the same veil over her eyes which she wears on her heart ; but when it is removed by the hand of a beloved friend, immediately the secret torments of her love transpire, as through an opened barrier, and the gentle expansions of confidence suc- ceed to the mysterious reserve in which she had enveloped her- self. Virginia, sensibly alive to the new testimonies of her mo- ther's kindness, freely related the many struggles which she had experienced within herself, and of which GOD alone had been the witness ; that she perceived the hand of his providence in die consolation administered by a tender mother, who approved PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 49 of her inclination, and who would direct her by wholesome coun- sel ; and that now, resting entirely on her support, every thing operated as an inducement to remain where she was, without uneasiness for the present, or anxiety for the future. Madame de la Tour, perceiving that her confidence had pro- duced an effect entirely different from what she had expected, said to her: " My dear child, I have no wish to constrain your " inclinations ; consider the matter at your leisure ; but conceal " your love from Paul: when the heart of a young woman is " gained, her lover has nothing more to ask of her." Toward the evening, while she was alone with Virginia, a tall man dressed in a blue cassock came in. He was an ecclesias- tical misajonary of the island, and confessor to Madame de la Tour anavirginia, and had been sent thither by the Governor. " My children," said he, as he entered, " there is wealth in " store for you now, thank Heaven! You have at length the " means of gratifying your benevolent feelings, by administering " assistance to the wretched. I well know what the Governor " has said to you, and also your reply. My good madam, the " state of your health obliges yoU to remain here; but as for lt you, young lady, you have no excuse. We must obey the " will of Providence, in respecting our aged relations, however " unjust they may have been to us. It is a sacrifice, I grant, " but it is the command of the Almighty. He devoted him- " self, for us, and it is our duty to devote ourselves for the wel- " fare of our kindred. Your voyage into France will finally " come to a happy issue : Can you possibly, my dear child, have " any objection to go thither r" Virginia, with her eyes cast down, and trembling as she spake, replied : " If it is the com- " mand of GOD that I should go-1 have nothing to say against " it; the will of GOD be done," said she, bursting into tears. The missionary took his departuir, and gave the Governor an account of the success of his embassy. Madame de la Tour however sent a message to me bv Domingo, intreating me to come over, and consult about Virginia, departure. It was my firm opinion that she ought not to be permitted to go. I main- tain, as infalliable principles of happiness, that the advantages of Nature ought always to be preferred before those of fortune; ;vod that we should never seek from abroad those blessings which Vol. III. G oO SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. we can find at home. I extend these maxims to all cases, with out a single exception. But of what avail could my moderate counsels prove, against the illusions of an immense fortune, and my natural reason against the prejudices of the world, and against an authority held sacred by Madame de la Tour ? This lady consulted me only out of politeness, for she no longer de- liberated in her own mind after the decision of her confessor. Even Margaret who, in spite- of the advantages which she thought her son might derive from Virginia fortune, had warmly opposed her departure, no longer made any objections. As for Paul, entirely ignorant of the resolutions which might be formed, and alarmed at the secret conversations of Madame de la Tour and her daughter, he abandoned himself to a gloomy sadness: " Surely," said he, " they are contriving some mis^ u chief against me, from the mysteriousness of their conduct " tow ard me." A report meanwhile being soon circulated in the island, that fortune had visited these solitudes, merchants of every descrip- tion might be seen scrambling up hither: they displayed, amidst these poor cottages, the richest stuffs of India; the superfine dimities of Goudelour; the handkerchiefs of Poulicat and Ma- zulipatam, and the muslins of Decca, plain, striped, embroider- ed, and transparent as the day; the baftas of Surat, so beauti- fully white, and chintzes of all colours, and of the rarest sort, with a sable ground and green Sprigs, They unrolled the mag- nificent silks of China; lampas pinked into transparency ; satiny- white damasks; some of a meadow-green, others of a dazzling red; rose-coloured taffetas, satins in whole bales, Pekins soft as wool, white and yellow nankeens, and even the stuffs of Mada- gascar. Madame dela Tour gave her daughter permission to purchase whatever pleased her, carefully examining however the quality of the goods and their prices, lest the merchants should impose upon her. Virginia made choice of what she thought would be agreeable to her mother, to Margaret, and to Paul. " This,". said she, " will be useful for furniture, that for Domingo and « Mary." In short, the bag of piastres was expended before she thought of her own wants. It became necessary to cull her por- PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 51 r tion out of the presents which she hadidistributed among the household. ^ Paul, overwhelmed with sorrow at the sight of these gifts of fortune, which presaged the departure of Virginia came to my house a few days afterwards; he said to me with a melancholy air: " My sister is going to leave us; preparations are already " made for her departure. Come over to our habitation I en- u treat you, and make use of your influence on the mindsjof her " mother and of mine." I accordingly yielded to his importu- nity, though well assured that my representations would be in- effectual. If Virginia had appeared beautiful to me in her dress of blue Bengal cloth, with a red handkerchief tied round her head, how was she infproved when I saw her habited like the ladies of this country! She was dressed in white muslin, lined with rose co- loured taffeta: her stays displayed to great advantage her ele- gant and majestic shape; and her beautiful flaxen hair, in long double tresses, adorned her virgin head : her fine blue eyes had assumed a cast of melancholy, and the agitation which her heart endured, by struggling with a smothered passion, gave a glow- ing tint to her complexion, and tones full of emotion to her voice. The very contrast of her elegant dress, which she seemed to wear against her will, rendered her languor still more affecting. No one could see or hear her without being moved. Paul's sadness was increased by it. Margaret, afflicted at her son's situation, took him apart, and thus addressed him: " Why, my " son, do you feed yourself with false hopes, which only serve " to render the disappointment of them more bitter? It is now " time to disclose to you the secret of your life, and of my own. " Mademoiselle de la Tour is related by her mother's side to a " person of immense wealth, and of high rank. As to yourself, u you are only the son of a poor low-born woman; and, what is " still worse, you are a bastard." The word bastard greatly surprized Paul; he had never heard it made use of before, and he asked his mother the meaning of it: she replied, " you had no legitimate father; when I was a " girl, love betrayed me into a folly, of which you are the fruit. " My frailty deprived you of the family of your father, and my 'l repentance of that of your mother. Unfortunate boy! I am 52 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. " the only relation you have in the World." She concluded By bursting into *a flood of tears. Paul, folding her in his arms, exclaimed: " Alas! my mother, since I have no other relation " but you, I will love you still the more: but what a secret have " you just divulged to me! I now plainly perceive the reason " why Mademoiselle de la Tourhas for these two months shun- " ned me, and which has at length determined her to take her " departure. Alas? without doubt she despises me!" However, the hour of supper came; each of the guests took a place at table, agitated w ith different passions ; they ate little, and did not utter a single syllable. Virginia retired first, and came and seated herself on the spot where we now are : Paul soon followed, and placed himself by her side : a profound si- lence ensued for some time. It was one of those* delightful nights, so common between the Tropics, and whose beauty baffles all description. The moon appeared in the middle of the firmament, enveloped with a cloudy curtain, which was gradually dissipated by her rays. Her light insensibly dif- fused itself over the mountains of the island, and over their peaks, which glittered with a silvery verdure. Not a breath of wind was to be heard. In the woods, at the bottom of the val- ley, and at the top of these rocks, the soft warblings and gentle murmurings of the birds, which were caressing each other in their nests, delighted with the beauty of the night, and the tran- quillity of the air, stole on the ear. All, even to the very in- sects, were humming along the grass ; the stars, twinkling in the Heavens, reflected their trembling images on the surface of the Ocean. As Virginia was surveying, with wandering eyes, the vast and gloomy horizon, distinguishable from the shores of the island by the red fires of the fishermen, she perceived, at the entrance of the port, a light fixed to a large dark body ; it was the lanthorn on the vessel in which she was to embark for Europe, and which, ready to set sail, only lay at anchor till the breeze should spring up. At this sight she was so deeply af- fected that she turned her head aside, lest Paul should perceive her tears. Madame de la Tour, Margaret and I, were seated a few paces from them, under the shade of the banana trees ; and, .owing to PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 53 the stillness of the night, we distinctly heard their cjamversation, which I shall never forget. Paul said to her : " I understand, madam, that you are to " take your departure hence in three days: have you no ap- ** prehension at the thought of exposing yourself to the dangers " of the Sea.....the Sea at which you used to be so terrified?'' " It is my duty, you know," replied Virginia, " to obey the " commands of my relations." " You are going, then," said Paul, " to quit our society for a female relation who lives far " from hence, and whom you have never seen !"—" Alas!" re- turned Virginia, " had I been permitted to follow my own in- " clination I should have remained here all my life long; but " my modier is of a contrary opinion, and my confessor has told u me it is the will of GOD that I should depart; that life is a " state of probation.....Alas! how severe that probation is !" " How," replied Paul, " so many reasons to determine thee " to leave us, and not one to induce thee to remain ! Ah! of the " former there is still one which you have not mentioned: the " attractions which wealth holds out are powerful. You will " soon find, in a world entirely new to you, another person on " whom to bestow the name of brother, by which you now no " longer address me: you will find this brother among your " equals, and such as have riches and high birth, which I can " never offer you. But, whither can you go to be more happy " than where you are ? On what land can you set your foot " dearer to you than that which gave you being ? Where can " you find a society more amiable than that one of which you " are entirely beloved ? How can you exist without the caresses " of your mother, to which you have been so long accustomed ? " What will become of your mother herself, already far ad- " vanced in life, when she no longer sees you by her side, at " her table, in the house, and in her walks, where you used to " be her support? To what a state will my parent be reduced, " who is as fondly attached to you as your own ? What can I " say to give them consolation, when I see them mourning your "absence? Cruel girl! I say nothing of myself; but, What " shall become of me, when in the morning I no longer enjoy " your company, and when night comes on, without bringing " us together again : and when I shall behold these palm-trees, 54 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. " planted at our birth, and which so long have been the witness* " es of our mutual affection. Ah! since a new destiny attracts " you; since you will seek other countries far from the spot " where you was born, and other possessions than those which " the labour of my hands has procured for you, allow me to ac- 44 company you in your voyage ; I will encourage you during 44 those tempests which caused such apprehensions in you while u on shore. Thy head shall repose upon my bosom ; I will 44 clasp thee to my breast; and, in France, whither thou art 44 going in quest of fortune and of greatness, I will follow thee 44 as thy slave ; in the palaces where I shall behold thee served 44 and adored, I will rejoice at thy happiness ; even then I shall 44 be rich enough to offer thee the greatest of sacrifices, by dy- 44 ing at thy feet." His voice was entirely stifled with sobbing ; we presently heard that of Virginia, who addressed him in these words, fre- quendy interrupted by sighs........" It is for thy sake that I go 44 away......for thee, whom I have daily seen bowed down to the 44 ground, labouring to support two infirm families. If I have 44 embraced this opportunity of acquiring wealth, it is only to 44 return a thousand fold the good which thou hast done to us 44 all. Can there be a fortune worthy of thy friendship ? Why 44 mention thy birth to me ? Ah! were it even possible that 44 another brother should be offered to me, could I choose any 44 but thee ? Oh, Paul! Paul I thou art far dearer to me than k4 a brother. What a struggle hath it cost me to keep thee at 44 a distance! I even wished thee to assist me in separating me 44 from myself, till Heaven could bless our union. But now, I 44 remain! I depart! I live ! I die ! Do what thou wilt with 44 me: Oh, irresolute girl that I am ! I had fortitude to repel 44 thy caresses, but thy sorrow quite overpowers me." At these words Paul took her in his arms, and holding her closely embraced, exclaimed with a terrible voice : 441 am re- 44 resolved to go with her, nor shall any thing shake my resolu- 44 tion." We immediately flew toward him, and Madame de la Tour addressed him in these words : " My son, should you 44 go away what is to become of us ?" He repeated these words, shuddering : My son, my son !..... ■4 Dost thou," cried he, '4 act the part of a mother, thou, who PAUL AND VIRGINIA. SS 44 separatest brother and sister ? We both were nourished by thy 44 milk ; we both were nursed upon thy knees ; from thee too " we learnt to love each other; we have said so to each other t4,a thousand times ; yet now you are going to remove her from 44 me ; you are not only sending her to Europe, that barbarous 44 country which denied thyself shelter, but even to those cruel 44 relations who abandoned you. You may say to me, You have 44 no authority over her, she is not your sister: Yes she is every 44 thing to me, my riches, my family, my birth, my all; I know 44 no other blessing; we were brought up under the same roof, 44 we reposed in the same cradle, and the same grave shall con- 44 tain us. If she goes, I am resolved to follow. The Governor 44 will prevent me ! Can he prevent me from throwing myself 44 into the Sea ? I will swim after her ; the Sea cannot be more 44 fatal to me than the dry land. As I cannot live near her, I 44 shall at least have the satisfaction of dying before her eyes, far, 44 far from thee. Barbarous mother! pitiless woman! Oh, may 44 that Ocean, to the perils of which thou art going to expose 44 her, never give her back to thy arms ! May these billows bear 44 my body back to thee, and casting it, together with her's, on 44 this rocky shore, cause an eternal melancholy to settle on thee, 44 by presenting to thy view the unhappy fate of thy two chil- 44 dren." While he spake I seized him in my arms, for I perceived that despair had overpowered his reason : his eyes sparkled ; large drops of sweat ran down his inflamed countenance ; his knees trembled, and I felt his heart beat with redoubled violence in his burning bosom. Virginia, terrified, said to him : 44 Oh, my friend, I swear, 44 by the pleasures of our early age, by thy misfortunes and 44 my own, and by all that ever could unite two unfortunate 44 wretches, that if I remain here I will only live for thee ; and 44 if I depart I will one day return to be thine. I call you to 44 witness, all ye who have watched over my infant stepf, you 44 who have the disposal of my life, and who now behold the tears 44 which I shed : I swear it, by high Heaven, which now hears 44 me ; by that Ocean which I am going to brave : by the air 44 which Inbreathe, and which hitherto I have never polluted ;t with a falsehood." 56 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. As the heat of the Sun dissolves and precipitates an icy rock from the summit of the Appenines, so did the impetuous rage of this young man subside at the voice of the beloved object. His lofty head drooped down, and a torrent of tears gushed from his eyes. His mother, mingling her own tears with his, held him locked in her arms, without the power of utterance. Madame de la Tour, quite distracted, said to me : 44 I can con- 44 tain myself no longer: my soul is torn with contending pas- 44 sions. This unfortunate voyage shall not take place. Do, my 44 dear neighbour, endeavour to persuade my son to accompany 44 you homewards : eight days have elapsed since any of us have 44 enjoyed a single moment of sleep." I accordingly said to Paul: My good friend, your sister shall 44 remain with us; to-morrow we will mention the matter to the 44 Governor; meanwhile leave your family to repose, and come 44 and pass the night at my habitation. It is late, it is midnight: 44 the cross of the South is directly over the horizon." He allowed me to conduct him in silence. After a very rest- less night he rose at day-break, and returned to his own home. But wherefore should I continue the recital of this melan- choly story to you any longer ? There is only one agreeable side to contemplate in human life. Like the Globe on which we revolve, our rapid career is only that of a day, and part of that day cannot receive illumination till the other be involved in darkness. 44 Father," said I to him, 4C I must entreat you to finish the 44 account of what you have begun in a manner so affecting. 44 Images of happiness delight the fancy, but the recital of mis- 44 fortunes conveys instruction to the mind. I am anxious to 44 learn what become of the unfortunate Paul" The first object which struck Paul, on his return to the plan- tation, was the negress Mary, who, mounted on a rock, had her eyes stedfastly fixed on the'main Ocean. The moment that he perceived her he exclaimed : 44 Where is Virgfgia ?" Mary turned her head toward her young master and burst into tears. Paul, in delirium, turned round, and flew to the port. He there learned that Virginia had embarked at day-break, that the ves- sel had set sail immediately, and was now no longej: in sight PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 57 He directed his steps back to his place of habitation, and walked up and down in profound silence. Although this enclosure of rocks appears almost perpendicu- lar behind us, those green flats which subdivide their heights are so many stages, by which you arrive, by means of some in- tricate paths, at the foot of that inclining and inaccessible cone of rocks, which is called the Thumb. At the bottom of this rock is an esplanade, covered with great trees, but so lofty and so steep that they appear like a large forest in the air, surround- ed with fearful precipices. The clouds which the summit of the Thumb attracts continually around it, incessantly feed se- veral cascades of water, which are precipitated to such a depth into the bottom ofthe valley, situated at the back of this moun- tain, that when you are at it's top you no longer hear the noise of their fall. From this place a great part of the island is per- ceptible, as well as the peaks of several of it's mountains; among others, those of Piterboth, and of the Three Paps, and their val- leys covered with forests ; then the open Sea, and the Island of Bourbon, which is forty leagues to the westward. From this elevation Paul perceived the vessel which bare away Virginia. He descried it at more than ten leagues distance, like a black speck in the middle of the vast Ocean. He spent a considera- ble part of the day in contemplating it, and though it had actu- ally disappeared from his sight, he still imagined that he per- ceived it; and when he had entirely lost it in the thick vapour of the horizon, he seated himself in this desolate spot, which is ► 1 always agitated by the winds wrhich blow incessantly on the tops of the palm-trees, and of the tatamaques. Their loud and hol- low murmurs resemble the deep tones of an organ, and inspire a profound melancholy. There I found Paid, his head leaning against the rock, and his eyes rivetted to the ground. I had been seeking him sine© sun-rise, and it was with much difficulty that I could prevail on him to descend, and re-visit his family. At length however I brought him back to his habitation ; but the moment he cast his eyes on Madame de la Tour, he began to reproach her bitterly for having so cruelly deceived him. She informed us, that a breeze having sprung up about three in the morning, and the vessel being hi full trim to depart, the Governor, attended bv his Vol. III. II A ■ 58 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. principal officers and the missionary, came with a palanquin to carry off firginia; and in spite of her expostulations, her tears arid those of Margaret, all of them exclaiming that it was for their interest, had hurried away her daughter, who was almost expiring. 44 Alas!" exclaimed Paul, 44 if I had only enjoyed 44 the satisfaction of bidding her farewel, I should now have 44 been happy. I would have said to her; Virginia, if during 44 the time that we have lived together, I have made use of any 44 one word which may have given you offence, tell me that I 44 have your forgiveness, before we part forever. I would have 44 said; Since Fate has decreed an eternal separation, adieu my 44 dear Virginia, adieu; may you live, far from hence, contented | 44 and happy." Perceiving Madame de la Tour and his mother weeping: " Go," said he to them, 44 go, and seek some other 44 hand than mine to wipe away your tears." He then hastened from them, sighing deeply, and wandered up and down through the plantation. He went over all those place* which had been the tnost favourite retreats of Virginia. He said to her goats, and to the kids, which followed him bleating: 44 What do you 44 ask of me ? Alas! you will never more see in my company u the person whose hand used to feed you." He then wander- ed to Virginia's Rest, and at sight of the birds which fluttered around him, he exclaimed: 4t Unhappy songsters! No longer 44 will you fly to meet her from whom you received your nou- 44 rishmcnt." Perceiving Fidele following the scent up and down, and ranging around, he sighed, and said to him : 44 Alas! Ki thou wilt never find her more j* At length he went and seat- ' % ed himself on the rock where he had spoken to her the evening before ; and, at sight of the Sea where he had perceived the ves- .^ sel disappear, he wept bitterly. We followed him however step by step, fearing lest the agi- tation of his mind should take some fatal turn. His mother and Madame de la Tour entreated him, by the most tender ap- pellations, not to aggravate their affliction by his ^espair. At length the latter calmed him in some degree, by lavishing upon him the names which were most calculated to revive his hopes. She called him her son, her dear son, her son-in-law, the only person on whom she intended to bestow her daughter. She at length persuaded him to return to the house and take some nou- PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 59 rishment. He seated himself at table with us, near the spot where the companion of his infancy used to place herself; and as if she had still occupied it, he addressed himself to her, and tendered that food which he knew was most agreeable to her; but, perceiving his error, he burst into tears. For some days following he collected every thing which she was accustomed to keep for her particular use ; the last nosegay which she had worn, and a cup made of the cocoa-nut out of which she usually drank : and as if these reliques of his friend had been the most precious treasures in the World, he kissed them, and put them in his bosom. The ambergris does not shed so sweet a per- fume as those things which have been touched by a beloved object. But Paul at length perceiving that his dejection only augmented that of his mother, and of Madame de la Tour, and likewise observing that the necessities of the family called for continual labour, he began with Domingo's help to repair the garden. In a short time this young man, before as indifferent as a Creole about what was passing in the World, entreated me to teach him to read and to write, that he might be able to keep up a corres- pondence with Virginia. He afterwards seemed eager to be instructed in geography, in order to form an idea of the country whither she was steering, and in history, that he might learn what were the manners of the people among whom she was go- ing to live. Thus did he attain to perfection in agriculture, and in the art of disposing in order the most irregular spot of ground, merely by the sentiment of love. Doubtless, it is to the delights of this ardent and restless passion, that men must ascribe the origin of the generality of arts and sciences ; and it is from it'9 privations, that the philosophy derives it's birth, which teaches us to console ourselves for every loss. Thus Nature, having made love the bond of union to all created beings, has rendered it the grand moving principle of Society, and the principal source of our illuminations and of our pleasures. Paul did not greatly relish the study of geography, which, in- stead of unfolding the nature of each country, only presents it's political divisions. History, and especially modern history, did not interest him much more. It only presented to his mind general and periodical misfortunes, the reason of which it w.fi 60 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. impossible for him to penetrate ; wars without a cause, and with no object in view ; contemptible intrigues ; nations desti- tute of character, and sovereigns without a principal of human- ity. He even preferred to such reading, that of romance, which having only in view the feelings and the interests of Man, sometimes displayed situations similar to his own. According- ly, no book delighted him so much as Telemachus, from the pictures which it delineates of a country life, and of the pas- sions which are natural to the human heart. He read to his mo- ther and to Madame de la Tour, those passages which affected him the most: at times, mournful recollections striking his mind, he lost the power of utterance, and tears gushed from his eyes. He thought he could trace the dignity and the wisdom of Antiope, together with the misfortunes and the tenderness of Eucharis in his beloved Virginia. On the other hand, he was quite shocked at reading our fashionable romances, so full of licentious maxims and manners ; and when he understood that these romances displayed a real picture of European nations, he feared, and not without reason, that Virginia might be there corrupted, and cast him from her remembrance. In truth near two years had elapsed before Madame de la Tour heard an}- intelligence of her aunt, or of her daughter: she had only been informed by the report of a stranger, that the latter had arrived safely in France. At length however she received, by a vessel on her way to India, a pacquet, toge- ther with a letter in Virginia's own hand-writing; and, not- withstanding the circumspection of her amiable and gentle daughter, she apprehended her to be very unhappy. This let- ter so well depicted her situation and her character, that I have retained it in my memory almost word for word: 44 My dear and much-loved Mother, 44 I have already written to you several letters, in my own ■4 hand ; but as I have received no answer, I must suspect that t4 they have never reached you. I hope this will be more for- 44 tunate, both from the precaution which I have taken to send '4 you news of myself, and to receive your's in return. • 4; Many tears have I shed since our separation, I, who scarce- ■' ly ever before wept, except at the misfortunes of another ! On PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 61 14 my arrival, my g and-aunt was much surprized when on ques- 44 tioningme cor-' dng my attainments, I informed her that I 44 could neither re d nor write. She aked me what I had been 44 dcing then since I came into the World ; and when I told her 44 that my whole st1 idy had been the care of a family, and obe- 44 dience to you, she replied, that I had received the education 44 of a menial servant. The day following, she placed me as a 44 boarder in a large convent near Paris, where I had masters 44 of every description: among other things, they instructed me 44 in history, in geography, in grammar, in mathematics, and in 44 horsemanship; but my inclination for all these sciences was 44 so faint, that I profited very little by the lessons of the gentle- 44 men who taught them. I feel that I am a poor creature, and 44 of little spirit, as they interpret the word here. My aunt's 44 kindness however does not diminish : she is continually giving 44 me new dresses, according to the season : I have two women 44 to attend me, who are habited as elegantly as ladies of quality. 44 She has likewise made me assume the title of Countess, but 44 has obliged me to relinquish the name of La Tour, which 44 was as dear to me as to yourself, from the troubles which you 44 have told me my poor father underwent, to obtain you in 44 marriage. She has substituted your family name in it's place, 44 which I likewise esteem, because it was your's when a girl. 44 As she has raised me to a situation so exalted, I entreated 44 her tp send you some supply: How can I repeat her answer ? 44 You however have always commanded me to speak the truth ; 44 this then Avas her reply, that a small matter would be of no 44 tree t#you; and that, in the simple style of life which you 44 lead, a great deal would only embarrass you. 44 At first I attempted to communicate to you tidings of nw 44 situation, by the hand of another as I was incapable of writ- 44 ing myself; but not being able to find, since my arrival here, 44 a single person on whose fidelity I could rely, I applied my- 44 self night and day to the means of learning how to read and 44 write ; and by the assistance of Heaven I accomplished this 44 in a very little time. I entrusted the ladies who attend me 44 with the dispatch of my former letters, but I have reason to 44 suspect that they delivered them to my grand-aunt. On the 44 present occasion, I have had recourse to one of my fri< nds, 62 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. 44 who is a fellow-boarder; and under her address, which I have 44 subjoined, I must beg you to convey an answer. My grand- k4 aunt has prohibited all foreign correspondence, which might, 44 as she alleges, oppose insurmountable obstacles to the splendid 44 views which she entertains with regard to me. The only per- 44 son, beside herself, who visits me at the grate, is an old noble- 44 man of her acquaintance, who she informs me has taken a 44 great liking to my person. To say truth, I have not the least 44 for him, even were it possible I should conceive a partiality 14 for any one whatever. 44 I live in the midst of gaudy wealth, and have not the dis- 44 posal of a single farthing. They tell me that if I had the 44 command of money, it might lead to dangerous consequences. 44 My very gowns are the property of my waiting-women, who 44 are disputing which shall have them even before I have left 44 them off myself. In the very bosom of riches I am much 44 poorer than when I was with you, for I have nothing to give 44 away. When I found that the many magnificent accomplish- 44 ments which I was destined to acquire, were not to procure 44 me the power of doing the smallest good, I had recourse to 44 my needle, in the use of which by good fortune, you had in- 44 structed me. I accordingly send you some pairs of stockings, of 44 my own manufacture, for yourself and my mamma Margaret; 44 a cap for Domingo, and one of my red handkerchiefs for Ma- 44 ry: I enclose you, likewise, in this pacquet, the kernels of the 44 fruits of which our deserts are composed, together with the 44 seeds of all kinds of trees, which I gathered during my hours 44 of recreation in the garden of the convent. To these I also 44 add the seeds of the violet, the daisy, the butter-Sower, the 44 poppy, the blue-bottle, and the scabious, which I have picked 44 up in the fields. In the meadows of this country the flowers 44 are far more beautiful than in ours, but no one pays any regard 44 to them. I am very well assured, that you and my mamma 44 Margaret will be much better pleased with this bag of seeds 44 than with the bag of piastres which was the cause of our separa- "4 tion, and of the tears which I have since shed. I shall feel the ■' greatest pleasure, if one day you have the satisfaction of seeing •• tipple-trees growing beside our bananas, and beech-trees mix- PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 60 44 ing their foliage with that of the cocoas: you will fancy your- 44 self in Normandy again, which you still love so much. 14 You enjoin me to communicate to you my joy and my sor- 44 rows: joy I can never experience when at a distance from 44 you; and as for my sorrows, I soothe them by reflecting that 44 I am in a situation where you thought proper to place me, in 44 obedience to the will of Heaven. My most cruel mortification 44 is that not a single person here mentions your name to me, and 44 that I am not allowed to talk of you to any one. My waiting- 44 women, or rather those of my grand-aunt, for they are her's 44 more than mine, tell me, when I attempt to converse about 44 those objects which are so dear to me: Madam, remember 44 that you are now a Frenchwoman, and that you must forget 44 the country of savages. Ah! I shall sooner forget myself 44 than forget the place where I was born, and where you still 44 live! It is the country where I am, which to me is the coun- 44 try of savages, for I live alone, without a single person to 44 whom I can communicate that love for you which I'shall car- 44 ry with me to the grave. 44 Dear and much*loved mother, I remain your obedient and 44 affectionate daughter. 44 Virginia de la Tour." 44 I recommend to your kindest regards Mary and Domingo, 44 who took such care of my infancy: stroke Fidele for me, whd me again when I was lost in the woods." -*• Paul wahmuch surprized that Virginia, had not made the least mention of him ; she who had not even forgotten the house- dog: he'was entirely ignorant that be the letter of a fe*ple a- long as it may, the fondest idea always comes in last. C In a postscript Virginia particularly recommended to Paul - two kinds of seeds, those of the violet and of the scabious. She gave him some information respecting the characters of these plants, and about the places in which it was most proper to sow them. The violet, she told him, produced a small flower of a deep purple hue, which delights to hide itself under the bushes, but is soon discovered by it's deUcious perfume. She desired him to plant it on the brink of the fountain, at the foot of her rocoa-tree. 44 The scabious," added she,44 bears a pretty flower 44 found 64 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. 44 of a pale blue, and it's bottom is black, interspersed with white 44 spots. One would think it to be in mourning: it is likewise 44 for this very reason called the widow's flower. It flourishes 44 best in places rugged and agitated by the winds." She re- quested him to sow it on the rock where she had talked with him by night, for the last time, and to give that rock, for her sake, the name of Rock-Farewel. She had inclosed these seeds in a little purse, the embroidery of which was very simple, but wrhich appeared inestimable to Paul, when he perceived a P and a V interwoven in it, and formed of hair, which he knew from it's beauty to be that of Virginia. The letter of this sensible and virtuous young lady drew tears from the whole family. Her mother replied in the name of the rest, desiring her either to remain or return as she thought best, but assuring her that they had all lost the greatest portion of their happiness since her departure, and that for herself in par- ticular she was quite inconsolable. Paid wrote her a very long letter, in which he assured her that he would render the garden worthy to receive her; and in like manner as she had interwoven their names in her purse, so would he mingle the plants of Europe with those of Africa. He sent her some of the fruit of the cocoa-trees of her fountain, which had now arrived to perfect maturity. He added^that he would not send her any of the other seeds of the island, that the desire of seeing it's productions once more might detfljmine h ing again become transparent, reflects, together with it's own banks, the verdure of the Earth and the light of the Heavens. Solitude restores the harmony of the body as well as that of the soul. It is among solitary classes of people that we find persons who live to the greatest age, as among the Bramins of India. In short, I believe it so necessary to happiness, even in the commerce of the World, that I conceive it impossible to taste a durable pleasure in it, be the sentiment what it may, or to regu- late our conduct by an established principle, unless we form an internal solitude, from which our own opinio^seldom tak^g it's departure, and into which that of another .^ver enters. ^^^Jo not however mean to assert that it is th«luty of man to entirely alone, for by his necessities he islnited to the human race ; he for that reason owes his lUbour to Ms but he owes himself likewise to the rest of Nal^^h As^OD has given to each of us organs exactly suited to th^CTements of the Globe on which we live, feet to the soil, lungs to the air, eyes to the light, without the power of interchanging the use of these senses : He, who is the author of life, has reserved for himself alone thg^art, which is it's principal organ'. I pass my days then remote from men, whom I have wished to serve, and who have repaid me with "persecution. After having travelled over a great part of Europe, and several re- gions of America and of Africa, I am now settled in this island, poorly inhabited as it is, seduced by the mildness of the air,^ PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 67 and by it's enchanting solitudes. A cottage, which I have built in the forest at the foot of a tree, a little field cleared for culti- vation by my own hands, and a river which flows before my door, are fully adequate to all my wants, and all my pleasures. I add to these enjoyments a few good books, which teach me to become better: they even make the World, which I have quitted, still contribute to my happiness, by presenting me with pictures of those passions which render it's inhabitants so mise- rable ; and by the comparison which I make between their con- dition and my own, they procure for me a negative felicity. Like a man saved from shipwreck, seated on a rock I contem- plate in my solitude, the storms which are raging in the rest of the World ; nay my tranquillity is increased by the fury of the distant tempest. Since men stand no longer in my way, and as I am no longer in theirs, I have ceased to Late, and now I pity them. If I meet with any unfortunate wretch, I try to assisjt him by my counsels: as one passing along the brink of a tor- rent stretches out his hand to an unhappy creature drowning in it. I however have found innocence alone attentive to my voice. Nature to no purpose allures to herself the rest of man- kind ; each one forms in his mind an image of her, which he invests with his own passions. He pursues, through the whole of life, the vain phantom which still misleads him ; and he then complains to Heaven of the illusion which he had practised upon himself; . Amongst a great number of unfortunate wretches iitfhom I have endear our ed to bring back to Nature, I have not fdpnd a single onelwho was not intoxicated with his own mise- ries. They listened to me at first with attention, in hopes that I was going to assist them in acquiring either glory or fortune, but perceiving that I only meant to teach them to do without such things, they looked upon me myself as a miserable wretch, because I did not pursue their wretched felicity: they con- demned the solitary style of life which I led, pretended that they alone were useful to Mankind, and endeavoured to draw me into their vortex. But though my heart is open to all the World, my opinions are biassed by no one. I frequently find enough within my own breast to make me server^ a lesson to myself. In my present calm I make a second passage through thr agitations of my own past life, which I once prized so high- 68 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. ly ; the protections, the fortune, the reputation, the pleasures and the opinions, which maintain a constant conflict all the World over. I compare those successive tribes of Men, whom I have seen contending with so much fury about mere chime- ras, and who are now no more, to the little waves of my rivu- let, which dash themselves foaming against the rocks of it's bed, and then disappear never more to return. For my own part, Lmiietly commit myself to the river of time, to be borne down toward the ocean of futurity, which is circumscribed with no shores, and by contemplating the actual harmonies of Na- ture I raise myself toward it's Author, and thus console my- self with the expectation of a destiny more happy, in the World to come. Although the multiplicity of objects which from this eleva- tion now strike our view, are not perceptible from my hermit- age, which is situated in the centre of a forest, still the harmo- nies of that spot are very interesting, especially for a man who like me prefers retiring into himself to ranging abroad. The river which flows before my door passes in a straight line across the woods, so that my eye is struck with a long canal, overshadowed with trees of variegated foliage ; tatamaques, the ebony-tree, and what is here called apple-wood, olive-wood, and the cinnamon; groves of palm trees here and there raise their long and naked columns more than a hundred feet high; on their tops clusters of palms grow, while they appearlikevone forest piled above another. There are likewise lI.an^l^of|dif- ferent coloured leaves, and which, shooting their branches' frOm one tree to another, form here arcades of ftowera, and/there long festoons of verdure. Aromatic odours issue from most of these trees and their perfumes attach themselves so strongly to the very clothes, that the smell adheres to a person who has crossed the forest for several hours afterwards. In the season when their flowers are in full bloom, you would think them half covered with snow. At the end of Summer several kinds of foreign birds come, by an unaccountable instinct, from unknown regions beyond the boundless Ocean, to pick up the seeds of the vegetables which this island produces, and oppose the brilliancy of their colours to the verdure of the trees, embrowned by the Sun. Among others, different kinds of parroquets, and blue PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 69 pigeons, which are here called the pigeons of Holland. Mon- keys, the domesticated inhabitants of these forests, amuse them- selves among the dusky branches, from which they detach them- selves by their gray and greenish hair, with their faces entirely black ; some suspend themselves by the tail, balancing them- selves in the air j others leap from branch to branch, carrying their young ones in their arms. Never has the murderous fu- sil scared these peaceful children of Nature. Here nothing is heard but sounds of joy, the unknown warblings and the chijjp- ing of some southern birds, which repeat the echoes of these forests from afar. The river, which flows bubbling over a rocky bed through the trees, reflects here and there in it's limpid stream, their venerable masses of verdure and of shade, as well as the gambols of the happy inhabitants : about a thousand pa- ces from hence, it precipitates itst-lf down different stories of the rock, and forms in it's fall a smooth sheet of water as clear as crystal, which rolling down, breaks itself amidst billows of foam. A thousand confused noises proceed from these tumul- tuous waters, and when dispersed by the winds of the forest, they sometimes fly to a distance, and sometimes they rush on the ear all at once, and produce a stunning sound like that of the bells of a cathedral. The air, continually refreshed by the motion of this stream, keeps up upon the banks of the river, notwithstanding the burning heats of Summer, a verdure and a coolness, which are seldom found in this island even on the mountain tops. At some distance from thence there is a rock, remote enough from the cascade to prevent your being deafened with the noise of it's waters, and yet sufficiently near for you to enjoy the sight of their fall, their freshness, and their murmuring. During the excessive heats, Madame de la Tour, Margaret, Virginia, Paul, and I, sometimes dined under the shade of this rock. As Vir- ginia always employed her minutest actions for the benefit of others, she never ate a fruit in the country without planting it's seed or it's kernel in the earth. " Trees," said she 44 will spring 44 from these, which may one day give their fruits to some tra- 44 veller, or at least to some bird." i\ ccordingly, once, when she had been eating part of a papaya at the foot of this rock, ."he planted the seeds of the fruit; there soon afterwards several ro SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE". papayas grew up, among which was a female plant, that is, one which bears fruit. This tree, at Virginia's departure, was not so high as her knee, but as it's growth is very rapid, it attained three years after to the height of twenty feet, and the higher part of it's trunk was surrounded with several rows of ripe fruit. Paul having by chance wandered to this place, was greatly delighted at beholding such a large tree, grown from a seed which he had seen planted by the hand of his friend; but at the same time he sunk into a profound melancholy, on ob- serving this testimony of her long absence. By objects which we habitually behold, we are unable to perceive with what rapi- dity our life passes away; they as well as ourselves grow old, with an imperceptible decay: but those which we suddenly see again after several years absence, admonishes us of the swiftness with which the stream of our days flows on. Paul was as much surprized, and as sorrowful, at the sight of this large papaya loaded with fruit, as a traveller is, who on his return to his na- tive country after a long absence, finds those who were his con- temporaries to be no more, and sees their children, whom he had left at the breast, themselves become fathers of families. Sometimes he was going to cut it down, as it made him too sensible of the length of time which had elapsed since Virginia's departure; at other times, considering it as a monument of her beneficence, he kissed it's trunk, and addressed to it these words, dictated by love and regret: 44 O tree, whose posterity still ex- 44 ists in our woods, I view thee with more concern ana venera- 44 tion than the triumphal arches of#he Romans ! May Nature, 44 which is daily destroying the monuments of the ambition of " Kings, multiply, in these forests, those of the beneficence of a 44 young and unfortunate girl." It was at the foot of this papaya-tree that I was certain of seeing Paul whenever he came to my habitation. I one day found him there plunged in melancholy, and I held a conversa- tion with him, which I will repeat to you, unless I tire you by my long digressions ; they however are pardonable in a person )f my age, and more so as they have a reference to my last friendship. I will relate it in form of a dialogue, that you may kidge of the excellent natural sense of this young man, and it PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 71 will be easy for you to discover who is the speaker, by the meaning of his questions and by my answers. He said to me: 44 I am very low spirited. Mademoiselle de la Tour has been 44 gone these three years and a half; and for a year and a half 44 past she has sent us no tidings of herself. She is rich, and I 44 am poor: she has certainly forgotten me. My inclination 44 prompts me strongly to embark for France; I will enter into 4,4 the service of the King; I will make a fortune, and the grand- 44 aunt of Mademoiselle de la Tour will give me her niece in 44 marriage when I shall have become a great Lord." Old Man.—u My good friend, have you not told me that 44 your birth is ignoble ?" Paul.—" So my mother has told me ; for my own part I do 44 not so much as know the meaning of the word Birth. I never 44 discovered that I was more deficient there than another, or 44 that any other person possessed it more than I do." Old Man.—44 Deficiency in point of birth will, in France, ef- 44 fectually exclude you from any distinguished employment, 44 what is more,*no corps of any distinction will admit you." Paul.—44 You have often informed me that one of the chief 44 causes of the present greatness of France was, that the lowest 44 subject might obtain the highest posts; and you have given 44 me many instances of celebrated men, who rising from a low 44 condition, had done honour to their country. Do you mean 44 to damp my courage ?" Old Man.—44 My son noWlng is farther from my intention : 44 I told you the truth, but it related to times past. The face of 44 affairs in France is at present greatly altered; every thing 44 there is now become venal; all is the hereditary property of 44 a small number of families, or is divided among incorporated 44 associations. The King is a luminary surrounded by the no- 44 bility, and by different corps, as by so many clouds, and it is 44 hardly possible that one of his rays should fall upon you. For- 44 merly, in an administration less complicated, such phenomena 44 were to be seen. Then talents and merit were disclosed on 44 every side, as the fresh grounds, which have just been clear 44 ed, are productive with all their rich juices. But great Kings, ■• who know Mankind, and how to make choice among them. 72 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. 44 are very rare. Kings in general allow themselves to be bias- 44 sed by the grandees, and by the associations which surround 44 them." Paul.—44 But probably I shall find one of those great men, 44 who will take me under his protection." Old Man.—44 The protection of the great is to be obtained 44 only by serving either their ambition or their pleasure. You 44 can never succeed with them, for your birth is mean, and your 44 probity is untainted." Paul.—44 But I will perform actions so daring, I will keep 44 my promises so inviolate, I will so punctually fulfil the duties 44 of my situation, I will be so zealous and so constant in my 44 friendships, as to merit adoption from some of them, which I 44 have seen frequently to be the case in those ancient histories 44 which you gave me to read." Old Man.—44 Ah, my good friend! among the Greeks and 44 Romans, even in their decline, the higher orders of men al- 44 ways paid respect to virtue; we have indeed a great number 44 of celebrated personages of all descriptions starting up from 44 among the common people, but I do not know of a single one 44 who has been adopted into a family of rank. Were it not 44 for our Kings, Virtue would in France be condemned to an 44 eternal Plebeianism. As I have often told you, they some- 44 times honour virtue when they perceive it; but in the present 44 day, the distinction which in justice it ought to obtain, is to 44 be purchased only with money." Paul.—44 In case then I do ndwprocure support from the 44 Great, I will endeavour to render myself useful to some 44 corps. I will adopt it's spirit and it's opinions entirely; I '' will make myself to be beloved." Old Man.—4t You will act then like other men ! you will sa- \4 crifice your integrity to purchase fortune:" Paul.—4C Oh, no ! the search of truth shall be my only aim." Old Man.—4C Instead of making yourself to be beloved, vou 4 will most probably expose yourself to hatred. Beside, incor- :4 porated associations interest themselves very little in the dis- u covery of truth. To the ambitious every opinion is indifferent, ' provided the}- domineer.'" PAUL AND VIRGINIA. re Paul*—" How unfortunate am I! I am discouraged on every 14 side. I am doomed to pass my life in labour and obscurity, 44 far from Virginia.'" And he heaved a deep sigh. Old Man.—44 Let the Almighty be your only patron, and the 44 human race your corps ; be firmly attached both to the one 44 and to the other. Families, Associations, Nations and Kings, 44 have their prejudices and their passions, and vice must often 44 be committed, in order to serve them as they desire. But to 44 serve GOD and the human race, we have occasion to exer- 44 cise virtue only. 44 But why do you wish to be distinguished from the rest of 44 Mankind ? It is an unnatural sentiment, for if it were uni- 44 versal every man would be at war with his neighbour. Sa- 44 tisfy yourself with fulfilling the duties of that station in which 44 Providence has placed you : rejoice in your destiny, which 44 allows you to maintain your integrity pure, and does not 14 oblige you, in imitation of the great, to place your happiness 44 in the opinion of the lower ranks ; nor, in imitation of the 44 lower, to cringe to superiors, in order to procure the means 44 of subsistence. You are in a country, and in a situation, 44 where you can find a living without any occasion to deceive, 44 to flatter, or to debase yourself, as the generality of those are 44 obliged to do who pursue fortune in Europe; in a situation, 44 where your condition does not prohibit your exercising any 14 virtue where you can with impunity be good, faithful, sin- 14 cere, intelligent, patient, temperate, chaste, indulgent, pious; 44 and where no malignant wieer will interpose to blast your 44 wisdom, which is still only in the bud. Heaven has bestow- 44 ed on you liberty, health, a good conscience, and friends: 44 Kings, whose favour you are so ambitious of obtaining, are 44 not near so happy." Paul.—44 Alas ! Virginia is still wanting to me: without 44 her I have nothing ; with her I should possess every thing. 44 She alone is my birth, my glory, and my fortune: but her u aunt must no doubt have bestowed her in marriage on a man 44 of high reputation ! By means of books and studv however* 44 men may become learned and celebrated: I will acquire 44 knowledge, by dint of intense application : I will render a 44 useful service to my country by my superior illumination, and Vol. III. K 74 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES 01 NATURE. 44 will neither offend any one, nor be dependent on him: my 44 fame will be illustrious, and the glory which I may obtain will 44 be entirely my own." Old Man.—44 My son, talents are still more rare than either 44 birth or riches; and doubtless they are the most invaluable 44 possessions, because nothing can deprive us of them, and be- 44 cause they universally conciliate public esteem. But they 44 cost a man dear; they are to be obtained only by privations 44 of every kind ; by an exquisite sensibility, which renders us 44 unhappy both at home and abroad, from the persecution of 44 our contemporaries. In France, the lawyer does not envy 44 the glory of the soldier, nor the soldier that of the sailor, but 44 every body will thwart you there, because every body piques 44 himself on his understanding. You will serve Mankind, you 44 say. But the person who produces them a single sheaf of 44 corn from the ground, does them a far more profitable ser- 44 vice than he who gives them a book." Paul.—44 Oh! she who planted this papaya has given the in- 44 habitants of these forests a much more useful and delightful 44 present, than if she had given them a library :" and as he spake he took the tree in his arms, and kissed it with transport. Old Man.—44 The best book that ever was written, which in- 44 culcates only the doctrines of friendship, equality, humanity 44 and concord, namely the Gospel, has served, for many ages 44 past, as a pretext for the ravages of European cruelty. How 14 many public and private tyrannies are daily practized on the 44 Earth in it's name! After that Who can flatter himself with the 44 hope of being useful to Mankind by a book ? Call to mind 4' what has been the fate of most of those Philosophers who 44 preached up wisdom to Man. Homer, who clothed it in ver 44 ses so beautiful, was reduced to beg his bread all his life long. 44 Socrates, who gave to the Athenians such excellent lessons of 44 it, both by his discourses and by his manners, was condemn- 44 ed to swallow poison, by the sentence of a court of justice. <4 His sublime disciple, Plato, was doomed to slavery by order 44 of the very Prince who protected him ; and before their time, 4fc Pythagoras, who extended his humanity even to the brute 44 creation, was burnt alive by the Crotonians. What do 1 say ? 64 The greatest part of these illustrious names have descended PAUL AND VIRGINIA. ' to us disfigured by some traits of satire which characterize k4 them ; for human ingratitude delights to lay hold on these: 44 if however among the crowd, the glory of any one hath reach- 44 ed our ears, pure and untainted, it must have been such as 44 have lived far from the society of their contemporaries ; like 44 those statues which are extracted entire out of the fields of 44 Greece and Italy, and which, by being buried in the bosom of *4 the earth, have escaped the fury of barbarians. 44 You see, then, that to acquire the tempestuous glory of li- 44 terary fame, it is necessary to exercise much virtue, and to 44 be ready to sacrifice life itself. Besides, do you imagine that 44 this glory interests wealthy people in France ? they greatly 44 caress literary men, whose learning does not raise them to 44 any dignity in their country, nor to any situation under go- 44 vernment, nor procure them admission at Court. Persecu- 41 tion is little practized in this age, so indifferent as it is to eve- 44 ry thing except fortune and pleasure ; but knowledge and 44 virtue seldom raise a person there to a distinguished rank, 41 because every thing in the state i% to be procured with money. k'4 Formerly these qualities were sure of meeting a recompense, 44 by places either in the church, in the magistracy, or in the 44 administration ; but at present they are only good for mak- 44 ing books. This fruit, however, so little prized by the men 44 of the World, is ever worthy of it's celestial origin. It is to 44 these very books that the honour is reserved, of bestowing 41 lustre on obscure virtue, of consoling the unfortunate, of en- 44 lightening Nations, and of fleclaring the truth even to Kings. 44 It is undoubtedly the most sacred office with which Heaven 44 can invest a mortal on this Earth. Where is the man who 44 has it not in his power to console himself for the injustice, or 44 the contempt, of those who have the disposal of fortune, when 44 he reflects that his work will be handed'down from age to age, 44 from nation to nation, and will serve as a barrier against er- •k ror and tyranny; and that, from the bosom of the obscurity 44 in which he has lived, a glory may issue which shall eclipse k4 that of the greatest part of Kings, whose monuments sink into 44 oblivion in spite of the flatterers who reared, and who extol - th-m ' 76 SEQUEL 10 THE STUDIES OF NATURE. Paul.—" Ah! I should covet this glory, only to diffu»e it's 44 lustre over Virginia, and to render her dear to all the World. 44 But you, who have so much experience, tell me whether we 44 shall ever marry. I wish to be a scholar, at least to know t4 what I am to expect in future." Old Man.—'4 Who would wish to live, my son, if he knew •4 what was to befal him hereafter? A single foreseen calamity 44 occasions a thousand vain anxieties: the certain prospect of a <4 heavy affliction would embitter all the days which might pre- 44 cede it. Indeed it is not proper to enquire too deeply even 44 into surrounding objects; Heaven, which bestows reflection 44 upon us that we may foresee our necessities, has also given us 44 necessities to set bounds to our reflection." Paul.—44 You tell me that in Europe, dignities and honours •4 are to be purchased with money. I will go and acquire wealth 44 in Bengal, and then direct my course toward Paris and es- *' pouse Virginia. I will go and embark immediately." Old Man.—44 How! will you leave her mother and your own ?r Paid.—" Why you yourself advised me to go to India." Old Man.—44 When I gave you that advice Virginia was 44 here but at present you are the only support of your mo- 44 thers." Paul.—44 Virginia will send them the means of subsistence *4 from the bounty of her rich relation," Old Ma)u—" Rich people assist those only who pay homage 44 to them in the World. They have relations much more to be 44 pitied than Madame de la Tour, and who for want of support t4'from them, sacrifice their liberty for the sake of bread, and 44 pass their lives shut up in a convent." Paul.—44 What a dreadful country Europe is! Oh! Virginia 44 must return hither. What occasion has she for a rich rela- 44 tion ? How happy she once was under these lowly roofs, how •' beautiful and how charming, when her head was adorned with 44 a red handkerchief, or a wreath of flowers! O, Virginia! re- 44 turn, leave thy palaces and thy greatness; return to these 44 rocks, to the shade of these woods, and to our cocoa-trees. 44 Alas ! perhaps at this very moment thou art miserable."---- Saying this, he burst into tears. 44 Father," cried he,44 conceal 44 nothing from me; if you are unable to tell mc whether I shall PAUL AND VIRGINIA, 11 44 ever marry Virginia, inform me at least whether she stil! 44 loves me, though surrounded by great men who talk to the 44 King, and who visit her ?" Old Man.—44 Yes, my friend, I am convinced by many rea- 44 sons that she loves you, but principally by this, that she is vir- 44 tuous." At these words he clasped me round the neck, trans- ported with joy. Paul.—44 But do you believe European women to be so incon- 144 stant as they are represented on the stage, and in those books u which you have lent me ?" Old Man—,4 In those countries where men tyrannize the wo- 44 men are always inconstant. Violence ever produces deceit." Paul.—44 How is it possible for a man to exercise tyranny 44 over a woman?" Old Man.—u By forcing women into a marriage without any 44 regard to their own inclinations; a young girl to an old man, 44 a woman of feeling to a man of insensibility." Paul.—44 Why do they not rather unite those together who 44 are more suitable to each other ; the young with the young, 44 and lovers with those on whom their affections are fixed?" Old Man.—44 The reason is, that in France the generality of 44 young men have not sufficient fortune to enable them to mar- 44 ry, and that they seldom acquire a competency till they are ad 44 vanced in years. In youth they seduce the wives of their neigh- 44 bours, and when old they are unable to secure the affections of 44 their own wives. When young they deceived others, and when 44 old, are in their turn themselves deceived. It is one of the 44 re-actions of that universal justice which governs the World : 44 one excess always balances another. Thus most Europeans 44 pass their lives in a twofold disorder, aud this disorder is in- 44 creased in a society proportionably as riches are accumulated 44 on a smaller number of individuals. The State resembles 44 a garden, in which small trees are unable to arrive Ht perfec- 44 tion if others too great overshadow them; but there is this 44 manifest difference, that the beauty of a garden may result 44 from a small number of large trees, but the prosperity of a 44 State ever depends on the multitude and equality of the sub- 4 jects, and not on a small number \\ ho monopolizes it's wealth.' Paul.—44 But why is want of monev a hindrance to marriage?" 78 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. Old Man.—" Because after a man has entered into that state, 44 he wishes to pass his days in abundance, without the necessity 44 of labouring." Paul.—" And why not labour? I myself work very hard." Old Man.—" The reason is, that in Europe manual labour is 44 deemed dishonourable: It is there called mechanical labour: u nay that of cultivating the ground is esteemed the most despi- 44 cable of all. There the artisan holds a far higher rank than the 44 peasant." Paul.—u How! the art which supplies man with food despi- 44 sed in Europe! I do not understand you." Old Man.—44 Oh! it is impossible for a man educated in a *4 state of Nature, to comprehend the depravity of a state of 44 Society. Though such a one is able to fornvin his own mind 44 an exact idea of order, he cannot form one of disorder. Beau- 44 ty, virtue and happiness have proportions : deformity vice and 44 misery have none." Paul.—44 The rich then are very happy ; no obstacle lies in 44 their way; and on the objects of their love they can bestow 44 pleasures without end." Old Man.—4t They are for the most part insensible to any 44 pleasure because the attainment of it costs them no trouble. 44 Does not experience teach you that the enjoyment of repose 44 is purchased by fatigue ; that of eating, by hunger; that of 44 drinking, by thirst ? In like manner, that of loving, and of be- 44 ing beloved, is only to be obtained by a multitude of priva- 44 tions and sacrifices. Their wealth deprives rich people of all 44 these pleasures, by outrunning their necessities. Add, besides, 4 44 to the disgust which always follows satiety, that pride which 44 springs from their opulence, and which the least privation ** wounds, even when the greatest enjoyments have ceased to 44 flatter it. The perfume of a thousand roses only pleases for a 44 single moment; but the pain inflicted by one of their thorns 44 lasts a long time after the wound is received.* To the rich, 44 one misfortune in the midst of many enjoyments is a thorn 44 surrounded by flowers; but, on the contrary, to the poor, one 44 pleasure in the middle of many calamities, is a flower sur- 44 rounded on every side by thorns. They find a poignant relish EQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF "NATURES Frequently on succeeding mornings Paul came to see me, overwhelmed with grief. He said to me, 44 Virginia has 44 not written to me: Had she left Europe she would cer» 44 tainly have informed us of it. Ah ! the reports which have 1,4 been circulated concerning her are but too well founded: 44 her aunt has certainly married her to some nobleman. The " love of wealth has corrupted her, as is the case with so many 44 others. In those books which so well describe the character 44 of the female sex, virtue is merely a subject for romance. Had 44 Virginia really possessed virtue she would not have quitted 44 her own mother and me. While I pass my life, with my 44 thoughts entirely fixed on her, she has cast me from her re- 44 membrance. I am tormenting myself, and she is lost in dis- 44 sipation. Ah! that thought plunges me into despair. All 44 labour disgusts me, and society becomes a burthen. Would 44 to GOD that war would break out in India, I would hasten C4 thither, and throw myself into the jaws of death." 44 My son," replied I, " that courage which makes us rush on 44 to meet death, is the courage of only a single moment. It is •4 often excited by the vain applause of man. There is a species 44 of courage more rare, and still more necessary, which enables 44 us daily to support the misfortunes of life, without a witness, '4 and without praise ; what I mean is patience. It rests not 4 on the opinion of another, nor on the impulse of our own pas- - *c sions, but on the will of GOD. Patience is the courage of 4 *.• <, •* virtue." 44 Ah then," cried he, 44 I have no virtue ! every thing over-r^ 4 whelms me and sinks mc into despair." 44 Virtue," replied' I, C4 always equal, constant, and invariable, is not the portion of •4 Mankind. In the conflict of so many passions by which we 4 are agitated, our reason is troubled and obscured ; but there ft are pharoses by which we can rekindle the flame; I mean * Letters. 44 Letters, my son, are an assistance sent to us from Heaven. u They are rays of that wisdom which governs the Universe, 4 and which Man, inspired by a celestial art, has learned to es- 1,4 tablish upon this Earth. Like the rays # the Sun, they en- 14 lighten, they comfort, they warm: it is a flame altogether di- * vine. Like fire, they direct all Nature to our use. By means PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 81 44 of them, we unite around us, men and things, times and places. 44 By them we feel ourselves recalled to the rules of human 44 life. They calm the passions ; they repress vice ; they rouse 44 virtue by the sacred example of those great men whom they 44 celebrate, and whose honoured images they habitually pre- 44 sent to us crowned with respect. They are the daughters of 44 Heaven, who descend to Earth to soothe the misfortunes of 44 the Human Race. The great Writers whom they inspire, 44 have always appeared in times the most difficult for human 44 Society to subsist, the times of barbarism and of depravity. 44 My dear son, letters have afforded consolation to an infinite 44 number of men, far more miserable than you are ; Xenophon, 44 banished from his country after having brought back to it ten 44 thousand Greeks ; Scipio Africanus, exhausted with the . re- 44 lentless calumny of the Roman people; Lucullus, sickened 44 with their cabals ; and Catinat, stung with the ingratitude of 44 a French Court. The ingenious Greeks assigned the several 44 governments of our various intellectual powers to the several 44 Muses, who preside over Letters: We ought therefore to 44 resign to them the government of our passions, that they 44 may direct and curb them. They ought, with regard to the 44 faculties of the soul, to perform the same functions, with the 44 Hours, which yoked and guided the horses of the Sun. 44 Apply yourself then, my son, to the study of books. Those 44 wise men who have written before us, are travellers who have 44 preceded us in the paths of calamity, who stretch out the 44 hand toward us, and invite us to join their society, when 44 every body else has abandoned us. A good book is a good 44 friend. 44 Ah!" cried Paul, 44 I had no occasion to know how to read " when Virginia was here: she had studied no more than I 44 had done, but when she looked upon me, calling me her friend, 44 it was impossible foiine to know what sorrow meant." 44 Doubtless," said I to him, 44 there can be no friend so 44 agreeable as a mistress who loves reciprocally. There is be- 44 sides in woman a lively gaiety, which dissipates the pensive- *4 ness of man. He^f graces make the dark phantoms of re- 44 flection to fly away. On her countenance are depicted the '4 gentle attraction of confidence. What joy is not heightened Vol. HI. L 82 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. 44 by her joy ? What forehead is not smoothed when she smiles ? 44 What wrath can repel her tears ? Virginia will return with 44 more philosophy than you possess ; She will be greatly sur- 44 prized at not finding the garden entirely restored, she, whose 44 thoughts are fixed on embellishing it, in spite of the perse- 44 cutions of her relation, while far from her mother, and far " from you." The idea of the approaching return of Virginia renovated the courage of Paul, and brought him back to his rural occupa- tions. Happy in the midst of his perturbation, in proposing to his exertions an end congenial to his predominant passion. One morning at day-break, it was the 24th of December, 1752, Paul on rising perceived a white flag hung out on Mount Discovery, This flag was the signal that a vessel was descried at sea. He immediately flew to the city, to learn if it brought any intelligence of Virginia. He remained there till the return of the pilot of the port, who, according to custom, had gone out to reconnoitre her. This man did not come back till the even- ing. He reported to the Governor, that the vessel which they had hailed was the Saint-Gerard, of about seven hundred tons burthen, commanded by a captain named M. Aubin; that she was four leagues distant at most, and that she could not come to her moorings off Port-Louis, till the next day in the after- noon, if the wind was fair. It was then a dead calm. The pi- lot then delivered to the Governor the letters which the vessel had brought from France. Among others there was one in Virginia's hand-writing for Madame de la Tour. Paid seized it immediately, and having kissed it with transport, he put it in .his bosom, and flew to the plantation. As soon as he could perceive the family from afar, who were waiting his return on Rock-Farewel, he raised the letter into the air, without the pow- er of uttering a syllable : immediately the whole family assem- bled round Madame de la Tour to hear it read. Virginia informed her mother that she had experienced very harsh treatment from her grand-aunt, who had attempted to force her into marriage, had afterwards disinherited her, and then turned her away, at a time which w^ld not permit her to arrive at the Isle of France till the hurricane season: that she had to no purpose endeavoured to soften her, by representing PAUL AND VIRGINIA. S3 what she owed to her mother, and to the connections of her early life; that she had been treated by her as a girl whose head was turned with reading romancesj that at present her only wish was once more to see and embrace her dear family, and that she would have gratified this ardent wish that very day, if the captain would have allowed her to embark in the pilot-boat, but that he had opposed her departure, on account of the dis- tance of the shore, and of a heavy swell at sea in the offing, not- withstanding the stillness of the wind. No sooner was this letter read, than the whole family trans- ported with joy, cried out: 44 Virginia is arrived." Masters and servants embraced each other by turns. Madame de la Tour said to Paul: 44 My son, go and inform our neighbour of Vir- 44 ginia's arrival." Domingo immediately lighted a flambeau of round-wood, and then in company with Paul directed his course toward my habitation. It might be about ten o'clock at night: I had just extinguish- ed my lamp, and had lain down to sleep, when I perceived through the pallisades of my cottage a light in the woods. Soon after I heard the voice of Paul calling me by name. I immedi- ately arose, and was scarcely dressed, when Paul, almost dis- tracted and breathless, clasped me round the neck, saying: 44 Come, come along, Virginia is arrived. Let us hasten to 44 the port, the vessel wiH anchor there by day-break." We immediately bent our course thitherward. As we were crossing the woods of the Long-Mountain, and already on the road which leads from Pamplemousses to the port, I heard the sound of some one walking behind us. It was a negro hurry- ing on with his utmost speed. As soon as he had overtaken us, I asked him whence he came, and whither he was going with such expedition : He replied : 44 I come from that quar- 44 ter of the island which is called Gold-Dust, and am dispatch- 44 ed to inform the Governor, that a vessel from France has just 1,4 cast anchor under Amber Island. She is firing guns in token 44 of distress, for die sea is very boisterous." The man, having thus spoken, immediately hastened forwards. I then said to Paid: 44 Let us go toward Gold-Dust, to meet 44 Virginia; it is only three leagues from hence." We accord- ingly directed our steps toward the northern part of the island. 84 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. The heat was stifling: the moon had just arisen ; three black circles surrounded her. A frightful darkness overspread the whole face of Heaven. By the frequent flashes of lightning we discovered long streamers of thick clouds, gloomy and, low- ering at no great height, piled one above another toward the middle of the island, which rushed from the sea with an amaz- ing rapidity, although on land not the least breath of wind was stirring. Hastening onwards, we thought we heard the roar- ing of thunder, but on listening more attentively we discovered it to be the report of cannon, reverberated by the echoes. The noise of the distant firing, joined to the tempestuous appearance of the Heavens, made me shudder. I had no doubt that it was a signal of distress from some vessel on the point of foun- dering. About half an hour afterwards the first ceased, and this silence struck me as much more awful than the mournful sounds which had preceded it. We quickened our pace without saying a word, not daring to communicate our uneasiness to each other. Toward mid- night we arrived in a violent heat on the sea-shore, at the quar- ter called Gold-Dust. The waves dashed themselves against it with a fearful noise. The foam, of a dazzling whiteness, and sparkling like fire, covered the rocks and shores. Notwith- standing the darkness, we could distinguish, by these phosphoric 1 ghts, the canoes of the fishermen, whfch they had long before drawn a great way up on the strand. At some distance from thence, at the entrance of the wood, we descried a fire, round which several of the planters were as- sembled. We went thither to rest ourselves, and to wait for the return of day. Whilst we sat by the fire, one of the plant- ers told us, that the preceding afternoon he had seen a vessel at sea, borne toward the island by the currents; that the shades of night had concealed her from his view, and that two hours after sun-set he had heard the firing of cannon, as a signal calling for assistance, but that the sea ran so high, no one could send out a boat to her relief: that soon after, he could perceive their lan- terns lighted up, and in that case he was afraid the vessel having -ome so near the shore, minfit have passed between the main land and the little Isle of Amber, mistaking the latter for Mire- Point, 11. • which the vessels arriving at Port-Louis are accus- PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 85 tomed to pass; that if it were so, which however he could not absolutely affirm, the vessel must be in the greatest danger. Another planter then spake, and told us that he had several timesi passed through the channel which separates the Isle of Amber from the coast; that he had sounded it, and found that the mooring and anchoring ground were excellent; and that the vessel would be as safe there as in the most secure harbour. 44 I 44 would risk my whole fortune in her," added he, u and could 44 sleep as soundly as if I were on dry land." A third person asserted that it was impossible for a vessel of that size to enter the channel, as even boats could with difficulty navigate it. He said that he had seen her anchor beyond the Isle of Amber, so that if the breeze sprung up in the morning, she would have it in her power either to put to sea again, or to gain the harbour. Other planters delivered various opinions. Whilst they were disputing among themselves, as is very cus- tomary with idle Creoles, Paul and I kept a profound silence. We remained there till peep of dawn, but then there was too little light in the Heavens to admit of our distinguishing any object at sea, which besides was covered with a thick fog; we could only descry to windward a dusky cloud, which they told us was the Isle of Amber, situated at a quarter of a league's distance from the coast. We perceived no object by this gloo- my light but the point of land where we were, and the peaks of some of the mountains of the interior of the island, appearing from time to time in the midst of the clouds which floated around them. About seven in the morning we heard the sound of drums in the woods; it was the Governor, M. de la Bourdonaye, who came on horseback, attended by a detachment of soldiers armed with muskets, -and by a great number of planters and negroes. He drew up the soldiers on the beach, and ordered them to fire a volley. Scarcely had they done so, when we perceived on the sea a flash of light, almost immediately succeeded by the report of a cannon. We concluded that the vessel was at no great dis- tance from us, and we all flew to that quarter w here we had seen her signal. We then discerned through the mist the hull and sail-yards of a large vessel. We were so close to her that not- withstanding the roaring of the sea, we distinctly heard thi 86 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. boatswain's whisde, and the voices of the sailors, who gave three cheers of Long live the King: for this is the exclamation of Frenchmen when in extreme danger, as well as amidst their greatest rejoicings; as if they meant to call their Prince to their assistance in perilous seasons, or as if they intended even then to declare, that they were ready to meet death for his sake. From the moment that the Saint-Gerard perceived we were within reach of giving her assistance, she went on firing a gun every three minutes. M. de la Bourdonaye ordered large fires to be kindled here and there along the strand, and sent to all the inhabitants of the neighbourhood in, quest of provisions, planks, cables, and empty casks. A multitude soon arrived, accompa- nied by their negroes, loaded with provisions and cordage, who came from the plantations of Gold-Dust, the quarter of the Marsh, and from Rampart River. One of the oldest of those planters approached the Governor, and thus addressed him: 44 Sir, deep sounds have all night long been heard in the moun-. 44 tain. In the woods the leaves are violently agitated, though 14 there is not a breath of wind stirring. The sea birds are flock- 44 ing in crowds to take refuge on the land; surely all these signs 44 announce the approach of a hurricane." 44 Well, my friend,''. replied the Governor,44 we are well prepared for it, and surely 44 the vessel is so likewise." In truth the whole appearance of Nature presaged an ap- proaching tempest. The clouds distinguishable in the zenith. were at their centre awfully black, and their edges of a copper colour. The air resounded with the screams of the paillencu, the frigat, the water-cutter, and a multitude of other fowls, which notwithstanding the gloom of the atmosphere flocked from all points of the horizon, to seek a shelter in the island. .* Toward nine o'clock in the morning, fearful noises were' heard from the sea, as if torrents of water, mingled with the roaring thunder, were rushing from the mountain-tops. The whole company exclaimed : 44 There's the hurricane !" and at the same moment, an awful whirlwind carried off the fog which overspread the Isle of Amber and it's channel. The Saint-Ge- rard was then plainly descried, her deck crowded with people, her yards and round-tops lowered, her flag hoisted, four cables on her forecastle, and one to keep her fast a-stern. She had an- PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 87 chored between the Isle of Amber and the main land, within the shclvy enclosure which surrounds the Isle of France, and which she had weathered through a channel that no vessel had ever passed before. She presented her bows to the billowrs, which rolled on from the main Ocean ; and at every surge which forced it's way into the channel, her prow was elevatedto such a height that her keel was perceptible in the air ; but by this motion her stern, plunging downward, disappeared from view to it's very carved work, as if it had been entirely swallowed up. In this situation, in which the winds and the waves were driving her toward the shore, it was equally impossible to re1 turn through the track by which she had entered, or by cutting her cables, to run a-ground upon the shore, from which she was separated by a deep bottom, sown thick with shelving rocks. Every billow which broke against the coast, rushed on roaring to the very bottom of the bay, and tossed the pebbles more than fifty feet up the shore ; then retiring backwards dis- covered a great part of it's bed, the stones of which were dash- ed backward and forward with a rough and horrible noise. The sea, swelled by the winds, increased every moment, and the whole channel between this island and the Isle of Amber, ap- peared to be an immense sheet of white foam, hollowed into deep and dusky waves. This foam collected itself at the bot- tom of the creeks to the height of more than six feet, and the winds, which brushed along it's surface, carried it beyond the steep cliffs of the shore more than half a league into the island. At sight of these innumerable white flakes, which were driven in a horizontal direction to the very foot of the mountains, you would have thought that hills of snow were rushing from the Sea. The horizon presented every symptom of a lengthened tempest: the Heavens and the Sea seemed to be confounded in it with each other. There were incessantly detached from it clouds of a fearful appearance, which flew along the zenith with the velocity of birds ; whilst others appeared in it immove- able like enormous rocks. Not a single spot of azure was per- ceptible in the whole firmament; a pale and olive-coloured glare was all that illuminated the objects on the Earth, on the Sea. and in the Heavens. gg SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. By the violent straining of the vessel, what we feared at length took place. The cables on her bows snapped ; and as she then rode by a single hawser, she was dashed upon the rocks half a cable's length from the shore. One scream of grief burst from every breast. Paul was hastening to throw himself into the sea, when I seized him by the arm. 44 My son," said I to him, 44 are you determined to destroy yourself ?" 44 Oh ! let me go 44 to her assistance," cried he, " or let me die !" As despair had overpowered his reason, Domingo and I, to prevent his destruction, tied round his middle a long cord, one of the ex- tremities of which we held fast. Paul then advanced toward the Saint-Gerard, sometimes swimming, sometimes walking on the shallows. Sometimes he had the hope of getting on board, for the sea, in these irregular movements, left the vessel nearly dry, so that you might almost wralk round and round her : but presently returning with renovated fury, it covered her with enormous arches of water, which carried away the whole fore- part of her bottom, and dashed the unhappy Paul a great way up the shore, his legs bleeding, his chest braised, and himself half-drowned. Scarcely had this young man recovered the use of his senses, when he got up again, and returned with redou- bled ardor toward the ship, which the sea meanwhile had torn asunder with unremitting attacks. Upon this, the whole crew, despairing of safety, threw themselves in crowds into the sea; some on masts, on planks, on hen-coops, on tables, "and on casks. Then appeared an object worthy of eternal regret; a young lady was seen on the stern-gallery of the Saint-Gerard, stretching out her arms toward him who was making so many fruitless efforts to join her. It was Virginia. She soon discov- ered her lover by his intrepidity. At sight of this amiable girl, exposed to perils so dreadful, we were overwhelmed with sor- row and despair. As for Virginia, with a noble and dignified air she waved her,,hand toward us, as if to bid us an eternal farewel. The sailors had all thrown themselves into the Ocean. One alone remained on the deck, who was entirely naked, and strong as a Hercules. He approached Virginia respectfully : we saw him throw himself at her knees, and even endeavour to persuade her to pull off her clothes ; but she, repelling him with dignity, turned her face the other way. The air resound- PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 89 ed with these redoubled cries of the spectators : 44 Save her ! 44 oh, save her ! do not, do not quit her !" But at the same moment, a mountain of water of an enormous size, engulphed itself between the Isle of Amber and the coast, and advanced roaring toward the vessel, which it menaced with it's dusky sides and foaming summits. At this awful spectacle, the sailor flung himself alone into the sea, and Virginia perceiving death inevitable, placed one hand on her clothes, and the other on her heart ; then raising her placid eyes toward Heaven, she seemed an angel going to take flight toward the celestial re- gions. • * Oh, day of horror! Alas: all was swallowed up. The surge dashed far up the shore a part of the spectators, whom an emo- tion of humanity had prompted to advance toward Virginia, as well as the sailor who had attempted to preserve her by swim- ming. This man, escaped from almost certain death, kneeled down upon the strand, saying: 44 Oh, my GOD, thou hast pre- 44 served my life ; but I would have sacrificed it willingly to 44 save that of the excellent young lady, who, with all my per- 44 suasion, would not be prevailed on to undress herself as I 44 did." Domingo and I drew out from the waves the unfortu- nate Paul, entirely deprived of recollection, whilst the blood gushed from his mouth and ears. The Governor put him under the care of surgeons, while he traversed the sea-shore to see whether the billows had not borne the body of Virginia thither; but the wind having suddenly changed, as is very customary irithe case q£ hurricanes, we had the mortification of reflectiapphat we shoJR not have it in our power to render to this unfortunateiyoung yfovtA-even the rites of sepulture* We hastened from the saM%rerwhelmed with sorrow, our minds entirely,engrossed vWH|e loss of one person, in a shipwreck where so many had pejflhecb; the greater part doubting, from an end so disastr«^is befalling a young woman of such exalted virtue, wrhether, a Providence existed at all; for there are cala- mities so dreadful, and so unmerited, that the confidence even of the wisest is frequently staggered. Meanwhile they had placed Pmul, who now began to recover the use of his senses, in an adjoin^ig hjpuse, till his situation permitted him to be carried to his cjipNiome. As for me, I was Vol. III. M f 90 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. "^ returning with Domingo, in order to prepare Virginia's mother, and her friend, for this calamitous event, when on our arrival at the entrance of the valley of the river of the Lataniers, some negroes informed us, that the sea was driving a great deal of the wreck of the vessel up the opposite bay. We descended thither, and one of the first objects which we descried upon the shore was the body of Virginia. It was half covered with sand, and in the very attitude in which we had seen her perish. There was no sensible alteration in her features. Her eyes were closed, but serenity sat upon her forehead ; only the pale violet of death blended itself upofi^.her cheeks with the rose of modesty. One of her hands lay upon her clothes; the other, which clung to her heart, was firmly closed and stiff. I disen- gaged from it, with much difficulty, a little casket; but how was I astonished when I perceived in it the portrait which Paul had given her, and which she had promised him never to part with while she lived. At this last token of the constancy and the love of this unhappy maid, I wept bitterly. Domingo, beating his breast, pierced the air with his mournful cries. We then carried the body to a fisherman's hut, where we gave it in charge to some poor Malabar women, who washed it carefully. Whilst they were performing this sad office we ascended trembling toward the plantation. We there found Madame de la Tour and Margaret at prayer, in expectation of news con- cerning the vessel. As soon as the former perceived me she exclaimed : 44 Where is my daughter? my beloved Virginia? 44 my child?" As my silence and mylars but too well inform- ed her of the calamity which had hapdEned, she wasjfcuddenly seized with a suffocation and ago^inj-spasms ; her vOicc could be distinguished only in sighs and sobbin*. Margaret exclaim- ed: "Where is my son? I do not'tapiiy son;" and fainted away. We hastened to her, and nav™ brought her to herself I assured her that Paul was alive, and that the Governor had taken proper care of him. She recovered the use of her senses only to devote her attention to the assistance of her friend, who from time to ime fell into long fainting fits. Madame de la Tour passed the night in these cruel paroxysms, and by the leigth of their dilation ^have j udged that nothing equals the sorrow of a mother. When she recovered her reason, she fixed \ \ PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 91 her mournful eyes steadfastly toward Heaven. In vain did Margaret and I press her hands between ours, in vain did we address her by the most tender appellations; to all these testi- monies of our ancient affection she appeared totally insensible, and nothing But deep groans proceeded from her oppressed bosom. The next morning they brought Paul home, stretched along in a palanquin. Reason has resumed it's empire, but his voice was entirely lost. His interview with his mother and Madame de la Tour, which at first I had been apprehensive of, produced a better effect than all the care which I had hitherto taken. A ray of comfort beamed on the countenances of these two unhap- py mothers. They both approached him, clasped him in their arms, kissed him ; and those tears which had been till then re- strained through excess of sorrow, now began to flow. Paul soon mingled his with theirs. Nature being thus disburdened in these three unhappy beings, a languid oppression succeeded to the convulsions of their grief, and procured for them a lethargic repose, which bore in truth a strong resemblance to death. Meanwhile M. de la Bourdonaye sent a messenger to me pri- • vately, informing me that the body of Virginia had by his or- der been conveyed to the city, and that from thence he meant to have it carried to the church of Pamplemousses. I immedi- ately went down to Port-Louis, where I found the inhabitants assembled from all parts to assist at the funeral, as if the islancL had lost the most precious treasure which it contained. In the] port, the ships had their sail-yards laid across, their flags half hoisted up, and they were firing minute guns. The grenadier company opened the funeral procession. They carried ^heir arms inverted. Their drums, covered with long pieces of * crape, emitted only sounds of woe: grief sat strongly depicted ^ on the countenances of those warriors, who had a thousand times braved death in the field with undaunted courage. Eight young ladies of the most considerable rank in the island, cloth- ed in white, and holding palm-boughs in their hands, bore the , body of their virtuous companion, strewed over with flowers. A choir of little children followed it chanting hymns: then af- ter them the officers of higher rank, and the principal inhabi * 92 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. tants of the island, and last of all the Governor himself, follow- ed by a crowd of the common people. Thus far had Government interposed, in ordering that some honours might be rendered to the virtues of Virginia. But when the body had arrived at the foot of this mountain, at the sight of those very huts the happiness of which she had so long constituted, and which her death had filled with sorrow, the whole funeral ceremony was deranged; the hymns and the chanting ceased ; nothing was now to be heard in the plain but sighs and sobs. Crowds of young girls, belonging to the neigh- bouring plantations, hastened to spread over the coffin of Vir- ginia handkerchiefs, chaplets, and wreaths of flowers, invoking her as if she had been a saint. Mothers prayed Heaven to be- stow on them daughters like her; the young men mistresses as constant; the poor a friend as affectionate, and the slaves a mis- tress as kind. When they had arrived at the place destined for her inter- I ment, the negresses of Madagascar, and the Cafres of Mosam- ji bique, placed baskets of fruit around her body, and suspended 1 pieces of stuff on the neighbouring trees, according to the cus- H torn of their country. The Indians of Bengal, and those of the coast of Malabar, brought cages of birds, which they set at li- berty over her corpse ; to such a degree does the loss of a be- loved object interest all Nations, and such a power does unfor- tunate virtue possess, seeing it attracts, and unites all religions around it's tomb. It was necessary to place a guard near her grave, to keep back some of the daughters of the poor inhabitants who were rushing to throw themselves into it, declaring that in this World their sorrow would admit of no consolation, and that nothing now re- mained for them but to die with her who had been their only- benefactress. She was interred near the church of Pample- - mousses, on it's western side, at the foot of a tuft of bamboos, * where in going to mass with her mother and Margaret, she de- lighted to repose, seated by the side of him whom she then used to call brother. On returning from the funeral ceremony, M. de la Bourdo- , ■wye ascended this mountain, followed by a part of his nume- ._._______________4t________________________________________________________ ____ PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 9o rous retinue. He tendered to Madame de la Tour and her friend all the assistance in his power. He expressed himself in few words, but with great indignation, against her unnatural relation: approaching Paul, he said every thing which he thought could have a tendency to console him. 44 I was anxious to con- 44 tribute to your happiness, and that of your family," said he; 44 Hefcven is witness of my sincerity. My friend, you must go 44 to France ; I will procure your employment there. During 44 your absence I will take as much care of your mother as if 14 she were my own." At the same time he held out his hand to him; but Paul drew back his, and turned his head aside that he might not see him. As for myself, I remained in the dwelling of my unfortu- nate friends, to administer to them, as well as to Paul, all the assistance I could. At the end of three weeks he was able to walk; but mental depression seemed to increase in proportion as his body grew stronger. He was insensible to every thing ; his looks were languid, and he did not answer a syllable to all the questions which were put to him. Madame de la Tour, who was in a dying condition, frequently said to him : " My 44 son, so long as I see you, I think I behold my dear Virgi- 44 nia" At the name of Virginia he started up and hastened from her, in spite of the entreaties of his mother, who called him back to her friend. He wandered alone to the garden, and seated himself at the foot of Virginia's cocoa-tree, with his eyes steadfastly fixed on her fountain. The Governor's surgeon who had taken the greatest care of him and of the ladies, told us, that in order to remove the gloomy melancholy which had settled on his mind, we ought to allow him to do every thing that he pleased, without contradicting him in any respect; for this was the only means of vanquishing that silence which he so obsti- nately preserved. I resolved to follow his advice. As soon as Paul felt his strength in some degree restored, the first use which he made of it was to retire from the plantation. As I did not wish to lose sight of him, I walked behind, and desired Domingo to bring some provisions, and to accompany us. In proportion as the young man descended from this mountain, his jov and his strength seemed to revive. He at first bent his course towanK 94 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATTJRE. Pamplemousses, and when he had arrived at the church, in the bamboo-allev, he went directly to the spot where he saw the earth had been newly dug up : there he kneeled down, and rai- sing his eyes to Heaven offered up a long prayer. This action appeared to me a happy presage of returning reason, as this mark of confidence in the Supreme Being was a proof that his soul began to resume it's natural functions. Domingo and I fell down on our knees after his example, and prayed with him. At length he arose and walked to the northern part of the island, without paying much attention to us. As I knew that he was entirely ignorant, not only where the body of Virginia was de- posited, but also whether or not it had been saved from the Sea, I asked him why he had been praying to GOD at the foot of the bamboos : he replied : 44 We have been there toge- t4 ther so often !" He continued his journey to the entrance of the forest, where night overtook us. There I persuaded him by my example to take some nourishment; we then reposed ourselves upon the ". grass at the foot of a tree. The next day I was in expectation * that he would direct his steps homewards again. In truth, he fixed his eyes for some time from the plain, on the church of Pamplemousses, with it's long rows of bamboos, and made some movements to return thither ; but he suddenly buried him- self in the forest, always directing his course toward the North. I penetrated his intention, and in vain endeavoured to dissuade him from it. We arrived about mid-day at Gold-Dust. He hastily descended to the sea-shore, exactly opposite to the place where the Saint-Gerard had perished. At sight of the Isle of Amber and it's channel, then as smooth as a mirror, he ex- claimed : 44 Virginia ! oh, my beloved Virginia /" and then fell down in a swoon. Domingo and I carried him to the interior of the forest, where we with much difficulty brought him to himself. When he had recovered his senses, he was preparing ! to return to the sea-shore; but I entreated him not to renew his \ own grief and ours by such cruel recollections, and he took ano- ther road. In short, for .eight days together he rambled to all those places which he was accustomed to frequent with the companion of his infancy. He wandered along the path through which <=he had gone to ask pardon for the slave of the Black PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 95 River : he then visited the borders of the river of the Three Paps, where she sat down when unable to walk any farther, and that part of the wood in which she had been lost. Every place- that recalled to his mind the inquietudes, the sports, the re- pasts, and the beneficence of his much-loved Virginia ; the ri- ver of the Long-Mountain, my little habitation, the neighbour- ing cascade, the papaya which she had planted, the mossy ground where she delighted to run, and the cross-paths of the forest where she loved to sing, each by turns caused his tears to flow: the very echoes which had so often repeated the sounds of their mutual joy, now resounded with nothing but these mournful cries: Virginia ! Oh, my beloved Virginia .'" In this wild and wandering way of life, his eyes grew hollow, his colour faded, and his health gradually, but perceptibly, de- clined. Being firmly persuaded that the sentiment of our mis- fortunes is redoubled by the remembrance of the pleasures which we once enjoyed, and that solitude only gives an edgef to the passions, I resolved to remove my unfortunate friend from the places which excited the recollection of his loss, and to con- vey him to some part of the island where there were objects to dissipate his melancholy. For this purpose I conducted him to the inhabited heights of William's-quarter, where he had never been before. Agriculture and commerce then spread much bustle and variety over this island. There were many- compa- nies of carpenters who squared the trees into logs, and others, who were sawing them into planks : carriages came and went along the roads: large flocks of oxen and horses fed in the ex- tensive pastures, and the fields were filled with habitations. The depth of the soil, in several places, admitted of the cultivation of many kinds of European vegetables. You might see here and there harvests of corn in the plain, beds of strawberries in the openings of the woods, and hedges of rose-trees along the highway. The coldness of the air, by giving tension to the nerves, was even favourable to the health of the whites. From these heights, situated in the middle of the island, and surrounded with thick woods, you can discover neither the Sea, nor Port-Louis, nor the church of Pamplemousses, nor any thing which could recal to Paul's mind the remembrance of Virginia. The very moun- 96 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. tains, which present different branches on the side of Port-Louis, offer nothing to view on the side of WilliamVPlain but a long promontory, in a straight and perpendicular line, out of which many lofty pyramids of rocks elevate themselves, and collect the clouds around their peaks. It was to these plains accordingly that I conducted Paul. I kept him continually in action, walking with him in sun-shine and in rain, by day and by night, leading him into the woods, and over the fresh ploughed ground and the fields, in order to amuse his mind by the fatigue of his body; and to deceive his reflections by ignorance of the place where we were, and of the road which we had left. But the mind of a lover finds every where traces of the beloved object. The night and the day, the calm of solitude and the noise of habitation, nay time itself, wlych erases so many recollections, brought no relief to his mind. Like the needle touched by the magnet, which is to no purpose agitated, for as soon as it recovers a state of rest, it points to the Pole which attracts it: so when I asked Paul, as we wandered about in William's-Plain, 4t Whither shall we go now?" he turned toward the North, and said: " These are our 44 mountains, let us return thither." I clearly perceived, that all the methods by which I had en- deavoured to divert his mind, were ineffectual, and that the only resource now left was to attack the passion in itself, by employing to this purpose the whole strength of my feeble rea- son. I accordingly replied : 44 Yes, these are the mountains 44 where you beloved Virginia once lived, arftl there is the por- 44 trait which you gave her, and which in death she pressed to •4 her heart, the last emotions of which were devoted to thee." I then presented to Paul the little portrait which he had given Virginia on the banks of the fountain of the cocoa-trees. At sight of this a gloomy joy overspread his countenance. He eagerly seized the portrait with his feeble hands, and pressed it to his lips. Immediately his breast became oppressed and to his blood shot-eyes the tears started, but were unable to flow. I said to him : 44 My son, attend to the words of one who is 44 your friend, who was so to Virginia, and who, in the ardor of 44 your expectations, has frequently endeavoured to fortify your 44 reason against the unforeseen calamities of human life. t PAUL AND VIRGINIA. fr 97 44 What is it yOu deplore with so much bitterness of soul ? Is it 44 the misfortune which has befallen yourself? Is it that which 44 has befallen Virginia ?" 44 The misfortune which has befallen yourself—yes, I grant 44 you it has been very severe. You have lost the most amiable 44 of young women, who would have made the most virtuous of 44 wives, she had sacrificed her own interests to your's, and pre- 44 ferred you to fortune, as the only recompense worthy of her 44 virtue. But how do you know whether the object, from 44 whom you expected happiness so pure, might not have prov- 44 ed to you the source of sorrows innumerable ? She Was dow- 44 erless and disinherited. You would have nothing in future 44 to share with her, but what the labour of your hands produ- 44 ced. Rendered more delicate by her education, and more 44 couragious by her very misfortunes, ou would have seen her 44 daily sinking under the weight of the fatigues which she ex**. 44 erted herself to divide with you. In the event of bringing 44 you children, her troubles and your own would have been 44 greatly increased, by the difficulty of supporting with "you 44 alone, your aged parents, and a growing family. 44 You may tell me the Governor would have assisted us: but 44 how do you know whether, in a colony which so often changes 44 it's rulers, you would have always found such men as M. de' 44 la Bourdonaye f Whether some Governor might not have 44 been sent hither, unpolished and unprincipled? Or whether, 44 your wife, to obtain some miserable pittance, might not have. 44 been obliged to cringe to such a man ? Either she would have 44 become frail, and yrou would have been an object of pity, or 44 she would have maintained her honour, and you must have 44 remained under the pressure of poverty : happy if, on account u of her beauty and virtue, you had not been persecuted by those 44 very persons from whom you solicited protection. 44 You may say, I might have enjoyed happiness independent 44 of fortune, by protecting the beloved object who was attached •' to me, in proportion to her very weakness; by consoling her ■4 with my own inquietudes," by making her rejoice even in my 44 dejection, and thus causing our love to increase by our mu- 44 tual sorrows. Doubtless virtue and love do delight in these 44 bitter pleasures. But she is now no more : there still remains Vol. III. N 98 Jk SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. 44 to vou however what next to yourself she loved most, namely 44 her own mother and your's, whom by your inconsolable afflic- 44 tion, you are bringing down to the grave. Make it your hap- 44 piness to succour them, as it was her's. My son, beneficence 44 is the happiness of virtue; there is none greater or more cer- 44 tain on the Earth. Projects of pleasures, of repose, of enjoy- 44 ments, of abundance, and of glory, are not made for feeble 44 Man, who is only a traveller and a passenger through this 44 World. Behold how a single step toward fortune has preci- 44 pitated us from one abyss into another? You opposed it, I 44 grant; but who of us did not believe, that the voyage of Vir- 44 ginia would terminate in her own happiness and in your's ? '•' The invitations of a rich and old relation; the advice of a 44 sensible Governor; the approbation of a whole colony; the 44 exhortations and the authority of an ecclesiastic, have all con- 44 cuned in deciding the fate of Virginia. Thus we rush on to 4* our own destruction, deceived by the very prudence of those ; 44 who govern us. It would doubtless have been better had we 44 not believed them, nor trusted to the opinions and the ex- 44 pectations of a deceitfu1. World. But after all, of so many 44 men whom we see thus busily employed in these plains; of ** so many others who go in quest of fortune to the Indies, or 44 m ho, without leaving their own homes, enjoy at their ease in 44 Europe the fruit of the labours of the people here, there is 44 not so much as one but who is destined to lose, some day, that 44 which he holds most dear; greatness, fortune, wife, children, 44 friends. Most of them have superadded to their loss the re- 44 flection of their own imprudence. But as for you, when you 44 retire within yourself, you find nothing to reproach yourself 44 with. You have maintained unshaken fidelity; in the flower 44 of \routh yTou have possessed the prudence of a sage in not 44 departing from the sentiment of Nature. Your views alone 44 were perfectly legitimate, because they were pure, simple and 44 disinterested, and because you had sacred rights over Vir- 44 ginia, which no fortune could compensate. You have lost 44 her, but it is not your imprudence, nor y our avarice, nor your 44 false wisdom, which occasioned that loss; it is GOD himself, 44 who has employed the passions of another to deprive you of 44 the object of your love ? that GOD from whom you receive PAUL AND VRGINIA. 99 44 every thing, who sees what is proper for you, and whose wis- 44 dom has not left you in any place for the repentance and des- 44 pair which ever follow in the train of those evils which we 44 have brought upon ourselves. 44 This is what you can say to yourself, under the pressure of 44 your affliction : I have not merited it. Is it then the misfor- 44 tune which hath befallen Virginia, her end, her present.con- 44 dition, that you deplore ? She has submitted to the decision 44 reserved for birth, for beauty, and even for empires them- 44 selves. The life of Man, with all it's projects, rears itself 44 like a little tower, to which death applies the finishing stroke. 44 The moment she was born she was condemned to die. Hap- 44 py in having resigned her life before her mother, before 44 yrour's, and before yourself; that is, in not having, suffered 44 many deaths before the final one. 44 Death, my son, is a blessing to all Mankind. It is the 44 evening of that restless day which we call life. It is in the 44 sleep of death that the diseases, the griefs, the vexations, and 44 the fears, which incessantly agitate unhappy mortals, repose 44 for ever. 44 Examine those men who appear the most happy, and you 44 will find that they have purchased their pretended enjoyments 44 very dearly; public respectability by domestic distresses ; 44 fortune by the loss of health ; the real pleasure of being be- 44 loved by continual sacrifices ; and, often, at the close of a life 44 devoted to the interests of another, they see nothing around 44 them but false friends, and ungrateful relations. But Virgin 44 nia was happy to the last moment of her's. She was so 44 whilst among us, by those blessings which Nature bestows; 44 at a distance from us by those of virtue : even in that dread- 44 lul moment when we saw her perish, she was still happy; for 44 whether she cast her eyes on a colony in which she was going 44 to cause universal desolation, or upon you, who rushed with 14 such intrepidity to her assistance, she clearly perceived how 44 dear she was to us all. She was prepared to meet the future, 44 by reflecting on the innocence of her past life, and she then 44 received the reward which Heaven reserves for virtue, a 44 courage superior to danger. She encountered death with a 4 serene countenance. 10O SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. 44 My son, the Almighty has decreed to virtue the power of 4 4 supporting all the events of human life, to let us see that it 44 alone can make the proper use of them, and find in them fe- 44 licity and glory. When He reserves for it an illustrious re-* 44 putation, he elevates it on a great theatre, and sets it a con- 44 flicting with death: then it's courage serves as an example, 44 and the remembrance of it's misfortunes receives a tribute of 44 tears from posterity which lasts for ever. This is the immor- 44 tal monument reserved for it, upon a globe where every thing 44 passes away, and where even the memory of the generality 44 of Kings is speedily buried in everlasting oblivion. 44 But Virginia exists still. Observe, my son, how every thing 44 on the Earth changes, and yet that nothing is lost: no hu- 44 man skill can annihilate the smallest particle of matter; and 44 could that which was rational, sensible, susceptible of love, 44 virtuous, religious, have perished, when the elements with 44 which it was invested are not liable to destruction: Ah! if • 44 Virginia enjoyed happiness once in our society, how much 44 more does she enjoy /low ! There is a GOD, my son; all Na- 44 ture announces it; there is no occasion to prove it to you. ' 44 Nothing but the wickedness of men could make them deny 44 a justice which the}- contemplate with terror. A sentiment of 44 Him is in your heart, just as his works are before your eyes. 44 Can vou believe then that He will leave Virginia without a 44 recompense ? Can you believe that the same Power which 44 clothed a soul so noble, in a form so beautiful, in which such 44 divine skill was clearly perceptible, was not able to have sav- > 44 ed her from the waves ? that He, who has arranged the ac- 41 tual happiness of Man by laws of which you are entirely ig- 44 norant, could not prepare another for Virginia, by laws equal- . 44 ly unknown to you ? Before we were created, if we had pos-^ 1 44 sessed the faculty of thinking, could we have formed any idea ' 44 of our future being ? And now that we are in this dark and t 44 fugitive existence, can we foresee what is beyond death, 44 through which we must make our transition from it ? Has •"4 the Almighty occasion, like Man, for this little globe of Earth, 44 to serve as the theatre of his wisdom and goodness, and is he 44 capable of propagating human life only in the plains of death ? 44 There is not a single drop of water in the Ocean but what h PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 101 44 filled with living creatures, which have all a reference to us; 44 and does nothing exist for us among all those stars which 44 revolve over our heads ! What, is there no supreme Intelli- 44 gence and divine Goodness in any spot but precisely that 4* where we are; and in those radiant and innumerable globes, 44 in those vast plains of light which surround them, and which 44 are never obscured by darkness or tempest, do you believe 44 there is nothing but empty space, and an eternal non-exis- 44 tence ! If we, who could give nothing to ourselves, durst set 44 bounds to that Power from whom we have received every 44 thing, we might believe ourselves to be stationed here upon 44 the limits of his empire, where life is ever struggling with 44 death, and innocence with tyranny. 44 Without doubt there is somewhere a place in which vir- 44 tue receives it's reward. Virginia now is happy. Ah ! if 44 from the abode of angels she could communicate to yrou her 44 thoughts, she would say^as shedid in her last farewel: Oh, 44 Paul, life is only a state of probation. I have been found 44 faithful to the laws of Nature, of love, and of virtue. I cros- 44 sed the season obedience to my relations ; I renounced riches 44 to preserve my fidelity; and I have preferred death to the 44 violation of modesty. Heaven has decreed that the career of 44 my earthly existence has been sufficiently filled up. I have 44 for ever made escape from poverty, from calumny, from tem- 44 pests, and from the painful spectacle of the woes of others. 44 None of those ills which terrify Mankind can ever in future 44 affect me ; and yet you still pity me ! I am pure, and unsus- 44 ceptible,of change, as a particle of light; and you wish to 44 recal me to the gloomy night of life ! Oh, Paul! Oh, my 44 friend! call to mind those days of happiness, when in the 44 morning we enjoyed the beauty of the Heavens, rising with 44 the Sun on the peaks of these rocks, and diffusing itself with 4 it's radiations over the bosom of our forests. We experienced 44 a felicity the cause of which we were unable to comprehend. 44 In our innocent desires, we wished to be all eye, in order to 44 enjoy the rich colours of Aurora; all smell, to inhale the 44 perfume of our flowers ; all ear, to listen to the warbling of 44 our birds; all gratitude, to acknowledge these blessings. 102 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. 44 Now at the source of beauty, whence flows all that is delight- 44 ful on the Earth, my soul immediately tastes, hears, touches, 44 what it could then perceive only through feeble organs. Ah ! 44 what language is capable of describing these regions of an 44 eternal morning which I inhabit for ever. Every thing that 44 Omnipotence and celestial Goodness could create, in order to 44 administer consolation to an unfortunate being; all the har- 44 mony which the friendship of an infinite number of beings 44 partaking of the same felicity, mingles in our common trans- 44 ports, I now ex^rience without alloy. Support thyself then 44 in thy state of probation, that thou mayest increase the hap- 44 piness of thy Virginia, by a love which knows no bounds, 44 and by a marriage the torches of which can never be extin- 44 guished. There, I will calm thy sorrows; there, I will wipe 44 away thy tears. Oh, my friend! my young husband ! ele- 44 vate thy soul toward infinity, in order to support the mise- 44 ries of a moment." ^ My own emotion entirely stifled my voice. As for Paul, regarding me stedfastly he exclaimed : 44 She is no more! she 44 *s no more !" A long languid oppression succeeded these mournful words; then, returning to himself, he said : 44 Since 44 death is a blessing, and Virginia is happy, I will die also that 44 I may again be united to her." Thus the consolation which I endeJfc'ourcd to administer, only served to aggravate his des- pair. I was like a person who wishes to save his friend when sinking to the bottom of a river, without his making any effort to swim. Sorrow had entirely overwhelmed hhn. Alas! the misfortunes of our early age prepare man for enteringfcjnto afe, and Paul had never experienced them. I conducted him back to his habitation, and I there found his mother and Madame de la Tour in a verydanguishing state,. which had greatly increased since I left them. Margaret was the most broken down. Lively characters, over whom slight troubles slide easily away, are the least able to withstand heavy :al amities. She said to me : ■■<" Oh, my kind neighbour ! I dreamt to- u night that I saw Virginia, clothed in white, in the midst of •* bowers and delicious gardens. She said to me : I enjoy a PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 103 u felicity greatly to be envied. Then she approached Paul with 44 a joyful air, and carried him away with her. As I was en- 44 deavouring to retain my son, I felt as if I was quitting the 44 Earth myself, and that I followed him with a pleasure inex- 44 pressible. Upon that I wished to bid farewel to my friend, 44 but I perceived ht-r criming after us, accompanied by Mary cc and Domingo. But what is still more singular, Madame de 44 la Tour has had this very night a dream attended with exact- 4 ly similar circumstances." I replied : 44 My friend, I believe that^ nothing happens in 44 the World without the permission of GOD. Dreams some- 44 times announce truth." Madame de la Tour related to me a dream entirely resem- bling this, which she had that same night. I never observed that these two ladies were in the least inclined to superstition. I was therefore struck with the coincidence of their dreams, and I had not the least doujjp in my own mind that they would soon be realized. The opinion, that truth is sometimes convey- ed to us in sleep, is universally propagated over all the Nations of the Earth. The greatest men of antiquity have adopted it; among others, Alexander, Cesar, the Scipios, the two Catos, and Brutus, who were none of them men of weak minds. The Old and New Testament have furnished us with many instances of dreams which were verified. For my own part, I have no oc- casion for any higher proof on the subject than my own expe- rience ; and I have found, oftener than once, that dreams are sometimes wakings, which give us information very interest- ing to ourselves. But if any person shall pretend to attack or defend by argument, things which transcend the powers of hu- man understanding, Ire undertakes an impossibility, however, .if the reason of Man^s only an image of that of the Almighty; since Man is capable of conveying his thoughts to the extremi- ties of the World by secret and concealed means, why should not that Intelligence which governs the World, employ similar methods of accomplishing the same purpose ? One friend con- soles another by a letter, which travels though a multitude ol kingdoms, which circulates amidst the hatred of Nations, and communicates joy and hope to one single individual; Why ther 104 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. may not the Sovereign Protector of innocence come, by some secret means, to the relief of a virtuous soul which reposes con- fidence in him alone ? Has he occasion to employ any exterior sign to execute his will; He who acts continually in all his works by an internal impulse ? Wherefore doubt of the intimations given in dreams ? Life, filled with so many vain and transitory projects, what is it but a dream! However that may be, those of my unfortunate friends were soon realized. Paw/flied two months after his beloved Virginia, whose name he incessantly repeated. Margaret expired eight days after her son, with a joy which it is bestowed only on vir- tue to taste. She took the most tender farewel of Madame de la Tour,44 in the hope," said she,44 of a sweet and eternal re- 44 union. Death is the greatest of blessings," added she,44 it is 44 highly desirable. If life be a punishment we ought to wish 44 for it's termination; if it be a state of probation, we ought to 44 wish it shortened." Government took care of Domingo and Mary, who were no longer in a condition for service, and who did not long survive their mistress. As for poor Fidele, he drooped to death near- ly about the same time with his master. I conducted Madame de la Tour to my habitation ; she sup- port^ herself, in the midst of losses so terrible, with a great- ness of soul altogether incredible. She administered consolation to Paul and Margaret to the very last moment, as if she had no ^ digress tut theirs to support. When they wer#no more, she spaxe^tb me of them every day, as if they had been beloved friends still in the neighbourhood. She survived them however only a month. With regard to her a^int, far from reproaching her with these misfortunes, she prayed GOD to forgive her, • and to appease the dreadful horrors of mind with which, we heard, she had been seized immediately after she had dismissed Virginia with so much barbarity. This unnatural relation soon met with the punishment due to her cruelty'. I heard, by the successive arrival of several ves- sels, that she was tormented by the vapours, which rendered iife end death equally insupportable. Sometimes she reproached t 4% PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 105 herself with the premature death of her grand-niece, and that of her mother which soon followed it. At other times she applaud- ed herself for having discarded two unhappy wretches who had disgraced her family by the meanness of their inclinations. Frequently flying into a passion at sight of the great number of miserable people, with which Paris is ^fUkd, she exclaimed: 44 Why do they not send these idle wretches to perish in our 44 Colonies ?" She added, that the ideas of virtue, of humanity, and of religion, adopted by all Nations, were nothing but the political inventions of their Princes. Then, suddenly plunging into the opposite extreme, she abandoned herself to superstitious terrors, which filled her with mortal apprehensions. She ran about, carrying with her vast sums, which she "Bestowed on the rich 'monks who were her ghostly directors, and entreated them to appease the Deity by the sacrifice of her fortune ; as if that wealth, which she had denied tothe miserable, could be accept- able to the Father of ManHind ! Her imagination was frequently haunted by deluges of fire, burning mountains, or hideous spec- tres wandering before her, and calling her by nanie, with hor- rible screams. She threw herself at the feet of her directors, and formed, in her own mind, the tortures and punishments which were preparing for her ; for Heaven, just Heaven, senda fearful visions to harrow up the souls of the unmerciful* Thus she passed several yrears, by turns an atheist aqft a de- votee, equally in horror of life and death. But what terminated an existence so deplorable was the very thing to which she had sacrificed the "sentiments of Nature. She had the mortific^ion to reflect, that her riches would, after her de^th, descend to relations whom she hated. In order to prevent this^he endea- voured to alienate qbe greatest part of her fortune ; but they^ availing themselves of the frequent paroxysms of spleen,to which she was subject, had her shut up as a lunatic, and her estates were put in trust for her heirs. Thus her very riches put the finish- ing stroke to her destruction ; and as they had hardened the heart of her who possessed them, so thev, in like manner, ex- tinguished natural affection in the breasts of" those.who coveted them. She accordingly died^; and Wrftuvfilled up the measure <*f her wo, with so murrmiseof her reason left, as to know Vol. III. * ^O . 6 * x 106 m SEQUET. TO THE oil DIES OF NlTURE. ^ *' that she had been plundered and despised by those very persons whose opinion had directed her all her life'long. By the 45de of Virginia, and at-the foot of the same bamboos, her friend Paul was laid ; around them, their tender mothers and their faithful servants. No marble raises itself over their humble graves ; no ejj^raved inscriptions, recording their vir- tues : but their memory will never be effaced from the hearts of thdSe whom they had laid under obligations to them. Their shadefs have no need of that lustre which they shunned all their life-time; but if they still interest themselves in what is passing on the Earth, theytioubtless take delight in wandering under the straw cove reel roofs, where industrious virtue resides; in consoling poverty discontented with it's lot; in encouraging m vouthful lovers a lasting flame, a relish for the blessings of Nature, a love of labour, and a dread of riches. ..'The voice of the people, which is silent respecting the monu- ments reared to the glory of Kings, has bestowed on several parts of this island names which still eternalize the loss of Vir- ginial You may see,, near the isle of Amber, in the middle of the shelves, a place called The Saint-Gerard's Pass, from the name of the vessel which perished there in returning from Europe. The extremity of that long point of land, which you see about three leagues from hence, half covered with the waves of the Sea~ which the Saint-Gerard could not double the even- ng of the hurricane, in order to make the harbour, is named * *£t jCLu'E Misfortune ; there, just before you, at the bottom of Tnis valley, isToMB-l ay, where the body of Virginia was found burted in the sand, as if the Sea had intended to bear her back to her family, and to render the last duties to her modesty, rpon the same shores which she had honoured with her inno- ence. . - $ ? Young people so tenderly united! Unfortunate mothers! Dearly beloved family ! These woods which gave vou shade, these fountains which flowed for you, those rocks upon which yovkreposed together, still lament your loss. No one after you has dared to cultivate this desolate spot, nor rear again these humble cottages. Yo%rg\lats have*become wild; your orchards ■•v-* destupved; vonr birds have flown away; nothing is now to * PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 10/ be heard but the cries of the hawk, flying around the top of this ttason of rocks./ For my part, since I behold you no lon- ger, I am like a friend stripped of his friends, like a father who has lost his children, like a traveller wandering through the Earth, where I remain in gloomy solitude. As he uttered these words, the good old man walked away, melting into tears, and mine had flowed* more than once du- ring this melancholy relation. ARCADIA. TO THE READER. AS there are Notes of considerable length to the two follow- ing Fragments, I have thought it advisable to transfer them to the end of their respective articles. The use of Notes, so common in modern Books, arises, on the one hand, from the unskilfulness of Authors, who feel themselves at a loss how to introduce into their Works observations which they conceive to be interesting ; and on the other, from the excessive delica- cy of Readers, who do not like to have their progress inter-: rupted by digressions. The Ancients, who wrote much better than we do, never sub- joined Notes to their text; but they stepped aside from it, to the right and to the left, according as occasion required. In this manner wrote the most celebrated Philosophers and His- torians of Antiquity, such as Herodotus, Plato, Xenophon, Taci- tus, the good Plutarch......Their digressions, if I may be per- mitted to judge, diffuse a very pleasing variety over their Works. They shew you a great deal of the country in a little V time; and conduct you by the lakes, over the mountains, through the forests ; but never fail to lead yrou to the mark, and that is no easy matter. This mode of travelling however does not suit the Authors, nor the Readers, of our times, who are disposed to find their way only through the plains. To save others, and especially myself, some part of the intricacies of the road, I have composed Notes, and separated them from die HO SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. Text. This arrangement presents a farther accommodation to the Reader ; he will be spared the trouble of perusing the Notes if he grows tired of the Text.* * I have taken the liberty, in this Edition, to insert the notes on the cor- responding pages of the text, to save the Reader the trouble of turning from one part of the book to another; but such is the veneration I have for my Author, that I could not think of suppressing even the above short notice, as it stands.—H. H. FRAGMENT, BY WAY OP PREAMBLE TO THE ARCADIA* ............ AS soon as they perceived that after an experi- ence of Mankind so vexatious my heart panted only for a life of solitude ; that I had embraced principles from which I could not depart; that my opinions respecting Nature were contrary to their systems ; that I was not a person disposed to be either their puffer, or to court their protection; and that, in a word, they had embroiled me with my patron, whom they frequently abused to me in the view of alienating me from him, and to whom they assiduously paid their court; they then became my enemies. A great many vices are imputed to the Great; but I have always found many more in the Little who study to please them. These last were too cunning to attack me openly with a Per- sonage to whom I had given, in the very height of my misfor- tunes, proofs of a friendship so disinterested. On the contrary, in presence of that gentleman, as well as before myself, they passed high encomiums on my principles, and on some very simple acts of moderation which had resulted from them; but they employed terms so artfully exaggerated, and appeared so uneasy about the opinion which the World would entertain of the matter, that it was easy to discern their great object was to induce me to renounce it, and that they commended my pa- tience so extravagantly only to make me lose it. Thus they calumniated me under the guise of panegyric, and destroyed ne in their turn. Thus I found by experience that in a selfish • FRAGMENT. 113 and corrupted age, our friends measure their consideration of us only by that which their own enemies entertain respecting us, and that they court us just in proportion as we can be useful, or render ourselves formidable to them. I have every where seen confederacies of various sorts, and I have always found in them the same species of men. They march it_is true under stan- dards of different colours; but they are always those of ambi- tion. They have but one and the same object in view, namely to domineer. Nevertheless, the interest of their corps except- ed, I never met with two of them whose opinions did not differ as much as their faces. What is a source of joy to the one sinks the other into despair: to the one, evidence appears to be ab- surdity ; to the other, downright absurdity is evidence. What do I say ? In the exact study which I have made of men, in the view of finding a comforter among them, I have seen persons the most renowned differ completely from themselves, accord- ing as it was morning or night, as it was before or after dinner, as they were in public or in private. Books, even those which are most eagerly cried up, abound with contradictions. Thus I was made sensible, that the diseases of the mind were no less reduced to systematic methods of cure than those of the body, and that I had acted very imprudently, in adding the unskil- fulness of the physicians to my own infirmities, as there are more patients of every description, killed by remedies than by diseases. While all this was going on, my calamities had not yet at- tained their final period. The ingratitude of men, of whom I had deserved better things; unexpected family mortifications; the total annihilation of my slender patrimony, scattered abroad to the four winds of Heaven in enterprtees undertaken for the service ofQhy Country ; the debts under which I lay oppressed by engagements of this kind; all my hopes of fortune bii .. d..... these combined calamities made dreadful inroads at once upon my health and my reason. I was attacked by a malady to which I had hitherto been a stranger. Fires, similar to those of lightning, affected the organs of vision. Every object pre- sented itself to me double, and in motion. L.k. Oc .'/pus I saw two Suns. My heart was not less disturbed than my head. In the finest day of Summer, I could not cross die Seine in a boat. Vol. LU. P 114 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATUKE. without undergoing anxieties unutterable; even I, who had preserved my soul in tranquillity amidst a tempest off the Cape of Good Hope, on board a vessel struck with lightning. If I happened to pass simply through a public garden, by the side of a bason full of water, I underwent spasmodic affections of ex- treme horror. There were particular moments, in which I imagined myrself bitten, without knowing how or when, by a mad-dog. Much worse than this had actually befallen me; I had been bitten by the tooth of calumny. One thing is absolutely certain, the paroxysms of this malady overtook me only when in the society' of men. I found it in- tolerable to continue in an apartment where there was company, especially if the doors were shut. I could not even cross an alley in a public garden, if several persons had got together in it. I derived no relief from the circumstance of their being unknown to me ; I recollected, that I had been calumniated by my own friends, and for the most honorable actions of my life. When I was alone, my malady subsided: I felt myself likewise at my ease in places where I saw children only. I frequently went for this purpose, and seated myself by the box of the horse- shoe in the Thuiiieries, to look at the children playing on the grassy parterre with the little dogs which frisked about them. T!r>sc were my spectacles and my tournaments. Their inno- cence reconciled me to the human species, much better than all the wit of our dramas, and than all the sentences of our philoso- phers. But at sight of any one walking up to the place where I was, I felt my whole frame agitated, and retired. I often said to myself: My sole studv has been to merit well of Mankind; Wherefore then am I shocked as often as I see them ? To no purpose did I call in ri&son to my aid: my reason cOgUld do no- thing against a malady which was enfeebling all it's ^powers.* * GOD has bestowed on me this distinguished mark of his favour, that whatever disorder my reason may have undergone, 1 have never lost the use of it, in my own apprehension, and especially in the eyes of other men. As soon as 1 felt the symptoms of myindisposition I retired into solitude. What was then that extraordinary raison, which intimated to me that my ordinary reason was disturbed ? I attempt',! to believe that there is in our soul an unchangeable focus of intellectual light, which no darkness is alile entirely to overpower. L is/I Fiducia cessit Quo tibi, Diva mei ? similis si cura fuisset, Turn quoque fas nobis Teucros armare fuisset. Nee pater omnipotens Trojam, nee fata vetabant Stare, decemque alios Priamum superesse per annos. Et nunc, si bellare paras, atque haec tibi mens est Quicquid in arte mea possum promittere curae, Nor urg'd my dear, dear consort to impart, For a lost empire his immortal art; Tho' Priam's royal offspring claim'd my care, Tho' much I sorrow'd for my godlike heir. Now as the Chief, by Jove's supreme command, Has reach'd at length the destin'd Latin land; To thee, my guardian power, for aid I run ! A Goddess begs ; a mother for a son. Oh ! guard the hero from these dire alarms, Forge, for the Chief, impenetrable arms. See, what proud cities every hand employ, To arm new hosts against the sons of Troy ; On me and all my people, from afar See what assembled nations pour to war ! Yet not in vain her sorrows Thetis shed, Nor the fair partner of Tit/wnus' bed, When they, of old, implor'd my Lord to grace With arms immortal, an inferior race. Hear then, nor let thy Queen in vain implore The gift those Goddesses obtain'd before. This said, her arms, that match the Winter snows-.. \ '■ Around her unresolving Lord she throws ; When lo ! more rapid than the lightning flies, That gilds with momentary beams the skies, The thrilling flames of love, without controul. Flew tin o' the sooty God, andfu'd his so'i'l. Vol. Ill S L38 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. Quod fieri fcrro, liquidove potest electro, Quantum ignes animaeque valent: absiste, precando. Viribus indubitare tuis. Ea verba locutus, Optatos dedit amplexus : placidumque petivit Conjugis infusus gremio, per membra soporem. £neid, B. viii. L. 369—406 " Night hastens on, and encircles the Earth with dusky "' wings. But Venus, whose maternal breast was agitated with " well-grounded apprehensions, alarmed at the threats of the " Laurentian Chief, and the dire preparations of approaching " war, addresses herself to Vulcan, and, reclined on her spouse's " golden bed, thus begins, while love celestial flowed from her " lips: All the time that the Grecian Princes were ravaging the " plains of ill-fated Troy, and assailing her lofty turrets, doomed " to fall by hostile fires, I claimed no assistance for that wretch- kt ed People; I asked no arms, the production of thyr matchless " skill; nor could I think, my dearly beloved husband, of em-' '' ploying thee in a fruitless labour, though I both lay under " manifold obligations to the family of Priam, and had frequent " occasion to shed tears over the perilous exertions of Eneas. With conscious joy her conquest she descryM ; When, by her charms subdu'd, her Lord reply'd : Why all these reasons urged, my mind to move ; When such your beauties, and so fierce my love ! Long since, at > our request, my ready care, In Troy's fam'd fields had armed your sons for war Nor did the high decrees of Jove and Fate Doom to so swift a fall the Dardan State. But ten years more old Priam might enjoy Th' imperial sceptre and the throne of Troy Vet, if our Queen is bent the war to wage, Her sacred cause shall all our art engage. The noblest arms our potent skill can frame, With breathing bellows or the forming flame, ' Or polished steel, refulgent to behold, Or mingled metals, damask'd o'er with gold, SY.lt grace the Chief: thy anxious fears give o'er ; And doubt thy interest in my love no more. He spoke : and fiVd with transport by her charms, Clasp'd the fair Goddess in his.eager arms ; Then, ph-cs'd, and panting on her bosom lay, Sunk in regpse, and all dissolv'd away. Pitt. FRAGMENT. 139 " Now, by Jove's supreme command, he has landed on the " Rutulian shore. In the same state of anxiety, I have now re- " course to thee as a suppliant, and implore a protection ever " sacred in my eyes. Armour I ask of thee, a mother for a son. " The daughter ofNereus, and the spouse of Tithonus, had the u art of prevailing on thee, by their tears, to grant a similar fa- " vour. Behold what Nations are combined, what cities have " shut their gates, and are whetting the sword for the destruc- " tion of me and mine. " She spake ; and, as he hesitated, she flung her snowy arms " around him, and cherished him in her soft embrace : he in- " stantly catches the well known flame, and the accustomed fire " penetrated his very marrow, and flew like lightning through " his melting frame: just as when a fiery stream issues from the " bosom of a thundery cloud, and skirts it's edge with tremu- " lous light. His fair spouse conscious of beauty's power, joy- " fully perceived the influence of her wily charms : and thus " the good-natured Parent of Arts, subdued by the irresistible - •*' magiupf mighty love, replies : Why go so far in quest of ar- " guments ? Whither, my Goddess, has thy confidence in me " fled ? Hadst thou expressed a similar anxiety before, I would " then have fabricated arms for thy favourite Trojans. Nei- " ther almighty yove, nor Fate, forbade Troy to stand, nor Pri- " am to survive for ten years more. Now, then, if for war thou " art preparing, and if such is thy resolve, whatever my skill " can perform I solemnly promise to effect; whatever can be " produced from iron, or liquid mixtures of the finer metals j as " far as the fiery element and the breathing bellows have power " to fashion: Cease, by continuing your entreaties, to express " a doubt of your empire over me. Having thus spoken he re- " turned to the expected caresses, and melted away in the .vfi " bosom of his fair consort, while gentle sleep stole upon every 41 limb." £* Virgil always employs conformities in the midst of contrasts. He ciiuses the night season for introducing Venus to practice her bewitching arts on Vulcan, because the power of Venus is greatest in the night. It was impossible.for me to convev, in a feeble prose version, all die graces of the language of che God- dess of Beauty. There is in her diction a delightful mixture of 140 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. elegance, of negligence, of address, and of timidity. I shall confine myself to only a few strokes of her character, which ap- pear to me capable of being most easily hit. At first, she lays great stress on the obligations which she was under to Priam's family. The chief, and I believe the only one, was the apple adjudged in her favour by Paris, one of the sons of Priam, in prejudice of yuno and Minerva. But that apple, which had de- clared her the most beautiful of the three, and which had more- over humbled her rivals, was every thing to Venus: she ac- cordingly calls it Plurima, and extends her gratitude on that ac- count not to Paris only, but to all the sons of Priam: V Quamvis et Priami deberem plurima natis. , As to Eneas, her son by Anchises, although he be here the grand object of her enterprize, she speaks only of the tears which she had shed over his calamities, and even these she dis- patches in a single line. She names him only once, and in the verse following describes him with so much ambiguity, that what she says of Eneas might be referred to Priam, y> fearful is she of repeating the name of the son of Anchises in presence of her husband! As to Vulcan, she flatters him, supplicates, im- plores, wheedles him. She calls his skill, " her sacred protec- " tion:" sanctum numen. But when she comes to her great point, the armour for Eneas, she expresses herself literally in four words ; " Arms I beg ; a mother for a son ;" Anna rogo : genetrix nato. She does not say, " For her son ;" but conveys her meaning in general terms, to avoid explanations of a nature too particular. As the ground was slippery, she supports her- self by the example of two faithful wives, that of Thetis and Au- rora, who had obtained from Vulcan armour for their sons ; the first for Achilles, the second for Memnon. The children of these Goddesses were indeed legitimate, but they were mortal like Eneas, which was sufficient for the moment. She next attempts to alarm her husband for her own personal safety. She sug- gests that she stood exposed to incredible danger. " Combined " Nations,'ysays she, " and forbidable cities whet the sword " against me." Vulcan is staggered, yet still hesitates; she fixes his determination by a master-stroke; she folds him in ?.er beautiful arms, and caresses him. Let who can render the FRAGMENT. 141 force of: Cunctantem amplexu molli fovet....sensit lata dolis.... and above all, forma: conscia, which defies all the powers of translation. Vulcan's reply presents perfect adaptations to the situation into which he had been thrown by the caresses of Venus. Virgil gives him, first, the title of Father : Turn Pater jeterno fatur devictus amorc. I have translated the word Pater, " Father of Arts," but improperly. That epithet belongs more justly to Apollo than to Vulcan : it here imports the good Vulcan. Virgil frequently employs the word, father, as synonimous with good. He often applies it to Eneas, and to Jupiter himself: Pater Eneas, Pater omnipotens. The principal character of a father being goodness, he qualifies, by this name, his hero, and the Sovereign of the Gods. The word, father, in this passage, signifies, in the most literal sense of the words, good man ; for Vulcan speaks and acts with singular goodness of disposition. But the word, father, £aken apart, is not sufficiently dignified in our language, in which it conveys the same meaning, in a trivial manner. The commonalty address it, in familiar discourse, to old men, anf to good-natured persons. Some commentators have observed, that in these words : Fiducia cessit quo tibi Diva mei, there is an inversion of grammatical construction ; and thc\ have thought proper to ascribe this to a poetical license. They have not perceived that the irregularity of Vulcan's diction pro- ceeds from the disorder of his head ; and that Virgil represents him not only as transgressing against the rules of grammar, but trespassing against the laws even of common sense, in making him say, that had Venus expressed a similar anxiety before, it would have been in his power to fabricate armour for the Tro- jans ; that Jupiter, and the Fates did not forbid Troy to stand, nor Priam to reign ten years longer : Similis #i cura fuisset ; Turn quoquc f:;s nobis Tcucros armare fuisset ; Nee Pater omnipotens Trojam, nee Fata vetabant Stare, decemque alios Priamum superesse per annos 142 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. It wa3 decidedly clear that Fate had destined Troy to fall in the eleventh year of the siege, and that this irrevocable decree had been declared by many oracles and prognostics ; among others, by the presage of a serpent which devoured ten little birds in the nest, with their mother. There is in Vulcan's discourse a great deal of swaggering, to say no worse of it, for he insinuates, that there were arms which he could have made, in complaisance to Venus, capable of counteracting the course of Fate, and the will of Jupiter himself, to whom he gives the epithet of omnipotent by way of defiance. Observe farther, by the way, the rhyme of these two verses, in which the same word is twice repeated successively without any apparent ne- cessity. ......si cura fuisset ......arm are fuisset. Vulcan, intoxicated with love, knows neither what he says nor what he does. He is completely deranged in his expres- sion, in his thoughts, and in his actions, for he forms the reso- lution of fabricating magnificent armour for the illegitimate son of his faithless spouse. It is true he avoids naming him. She has pronounced his name but once, out of discretion ; and he suppresses it altogether out of jealousy. To Venus alone the service is to be rendered. It appears as if he believed she was going personally to engage in combat: " If for war thou art " preparing," says he to her, " and if such is thy resolve :" ......Si bellare paras, atque hacc tibi mens est. The total disorder of his frame terminates that of his ad- Iress. Heated with the fire of love in the arms of Venus, he dissolves like metal in the furnace : Conjugis infusus gremio. Remark the accuracy of that metaphorical consonance, infu- sus, " dissolved," so perfectly adapted to the God of the forge- of Lemnos. At length, he becomes completely insensible. ...placidumque petivit ......per membra soporem. FRAGMENT. 143 Sopor means a great deal more than sleep. It farther pre- sents a consonance of the state of metals after their fusion, a total stagnation. But in orde"r to weaken the effect of what is licentious in this picture, and inconsistent with conjugal manners, the sage Vir- gil opposes immediately after to the Goddess of voluptuous- ness, requesting of her husband armour for her natural son, a matron chaste and poor, employed in the arts of Minerva to rear her young ones ; and he applies that affecting image to the self-same hours of the night, in the view of presenting a new contrast, of the different uses which vice and virtue make of the same time. ' Inde ubi prima quies medio jam noctis abactx Curriculo expulerat somnum ; cum foemina, primum Cui tolerare colo vitam tenuique Minerva Impositum cinercm et sopitos suscitat igncs, Noctem addens open, famulasquc ad lumina longo Kxcrcet penso ; eastum ut servare cubile Conjugis, et possit parvos educere natos. i£xi:iD, B. viii. L. 407—413. *' At the hour which terminates the first sleep, when the car 44 of Night had as yet performed but half it's course ; that sea- 44 son when first the careful housewife, accustomed to earn her " living by the labours of the distaff and the feeble industry of " the arts of Minerva, blows away the gathered ashes, and rou- " ses up the slumbering flame, making night itself contribute to 44 her thrift, and inures her maidens to lengthened tasks by a " glimmering light; to save herself from the temptation of in- 44 fidelity to her husband's bed, and to supply the means of 44 rearing her tender offspring.11 * But rose refresh'd impatient, from the bed, When half the silent hours of night were fled What time the poor, laborious, frugal dame. \\ ho plies the distaff, stirs the dying flame ; Employs her handmaids by the winking light, And lengthens out their task with half the night; Thus to her children she divides the bread, And guards the honours of her j • ' bed. V, . 144 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. Virgil goes on to deduce new and sublime contrasts from the humble occupations of this virtuous matron. He opposes, in elose succession, to her feeble industry, tenui Minerva, the in- genious Vulcan to her dying embers which she rekindles, sopitos ignes, the continually flaming crater of a volcano ; to her mai- dens, among whom she distributes balls of wool, longo exercet penso, the tremendous Cyclops forging a thunder-bolt for Jupi- ter, a car for Mars, an aegis for Minerva, and who, at the com- mand of their master, interrupt their celestial engagements to undertake a suit of armour for Eneas, on the buckler of which were to be engraved the principal events of the Roman History. * Haud secus Ignipotens, nee tempore segnior illo, Molibus e stratis opera ad fabrilia surgit. Insula Sicanium juxta latus JEoliamque firigitur Liparen, fumantibus ardua saxis : Quam subter specus et Cyclopum exesa caminis Antra JEtneo. tonant: validique incudibus ictus Auditi referunt gemitum, striduntque cavernis Stricturac Chalybum, et fornacibus ignis anhelat: Vulcani domus, et Vulcani nomine tellus, Hue tunc Ignipotens coelo descendit ab alto. Ferrum exercebant vasto Cyclopes in antro, Brontesque, Steropesque et nudus membra Pyracmon His informatum manibus, jam parte polita, Fulmen erat, toto Genitor que plurima coelo Dejicit in terras ; pars imperfecta manebat. Tres imbris torti radios, trcs nubis aquosae Addiderant: rutili tres ignis, et alitis Austri. Fulgores nunc terrificos, sonitumque, metumque Miscebant operi, flammisque sequacibus iras. Parte alia Marti currumque rotasque volucres Instabant, quibus ille viros, quibus ejeitat urbes ; JEgidaque horrificam, turbatae Palladis arma Certatim squamis serpentum auroque polibant ■ Connexosque angues, ipsamque in pectore diva Gorgon a, desecto vertentem lumina collo. ' So to his task, before the dawn, retires From soft repose, the father of the fires Amid th' Hesperian and Sicilian flood All black with smoke, a rocky island stood, The dark Vulcanian land, the region of the God. Here the grim Cyclops ply, in vaults profound. The huge Lilian forge that thunders round FRAGMENT. 14J Tollite cuncta, inquit, coeptosque auferte labores, JEtnei Cyclopes, et hue advertite mentem. Arma acri facienda viro .- nunc viribus usus, Nunc uianibus rapidis, omni nunc arte magistra Praecipitate moras. Nee plura effktus : at illi Ocius incubuere omnes, pariterque laborcm Sortiti: Fiuit aes rivis, aurique metallum : Vulnificusque chalybs vasta fornace liquescit. Ingentem clypeum informant, unum omnia contra Tela Latinorum : septenosque orbibus orbes Inipediunt: alii ventosis follibus auras Accipiunt, redduntque : alii stridentia tingunt JEra. lacu : gemit impositis incudibus antrum. Illi inter sese multa vi brachia tollunt In numerum, versantque tenaci forcipe massam. ^Eneid, B. viii. L. 447—45j. Th' eternal anvils ring the dungeon o'er*; From side to side the fiery caverns roar. Loud groans the mass beneath their pond'rous blows, Fierce burns the flame, and the full furnace glows. To this dark region, from the bright abode, With speed impetuous flew the flery G .d. Th' alternate blows the brawny brethren deal; Thick burst the sparkles from the tortur'd steel. Huge strokes rough Steropes and Brontes gave, And strong Pyracmon shook the gloomy cave : Before their Sovereign came, the Cyclops strove With eager speed, to forge a bolt for Jove. Such as by Heaven's almighty Lord are hurl'd, All charg'd with vengeance, on a guilty World. Beneath their hands tremendous to survey ! Half rought, half form'd, the dreadful engine lay : Three points of rain ; three forks of hail conspire ; Three arm'd with wind; and three were bar'd with fire The mass they temper'd thick with livid rays, Fear, Wrath, and Terror, and the lightning's blaze With equal speed a second train prepare The rapid chariot for the God of War; The thund'ring wheels and axles, that excite The madding nations to the rage of fight. Some, in a fringe, the burnish'd serpents roll'd Round the dread aegis, bright with scales of gold ; The horrid aegis, great .Vitiervii's shield, \\ hen, in her wrath, she takes the fatal field. All charg'd with curling snakes the boss they rais'd, And the grim Gorgon's head tremendous blaz'd Vol. III. T 146 SEOJJEL TO THE STUDIES «F NATURE. 44 Not less vigilant, nor less disposed to industry, at that 44 early hour the God who rules the fire uprose from his soft 44 couch, and addressed himself to his plastic labours. 44 Not far from the Sicilian shore and iEolian Lipari, an 44 island arises out of the deep, forming a huge mass of lofty 44 and ever-smoaking rocks: in the burning entrails of which, a 44 spacious cavern and the fire-consumed iEtnean vaults inces- 44 sandy thunder with the sultry labours of the Cyclopian bro- 44 thers: the anvels reverberate the thumping of their sturdy 44 strokes : the hammering of flaming steel resounds from cave 44 to cave, while streams of fire ascend from the foaming furna- 44 ces: such is the dread domain of Vulcan, and from his name 44 thp island has obtained the appellation of Vulcania. Hither it 44 was that the fiery God, from the heights of Olympus, now re- 44 paired. 44 The Cyclops there he found plying their irony labours in 44 the capacious cavern, Brontes and Steropes, and the naked- 44 limbed Pyracmon. They had in hand a dread thunderbolt, 44 one of those which father Jove so frequently hurls from flam- 44 ing Heaven upon the Earth : it was as yet but half reduced to w form, partly polished, and partly in a rude imperfect state, In agonizing pains the monster frown'd, And roll'd in death her fiery eyes around. Throw, throw your tasks aside, the Sovereign said; Arms for a godlike Hero must be made. Fly to the work before the dawn of day ; Your speed, your strength/and all your skill display. SaifL as the word (his orders to pursue,) To the black labours of the forge they flew; Vast heaps of steel in the deep furnace roll'd, And bubbling streams of brass, and floods of melted gold The brethren first a glorious shield prepare, Capacious of the whole Rutulian war. Some, orb in orb, the blazing buckler frame ; Some with huge bellows rouze the roaring flame ; Some in the stream the hissing metals drown'd, -j From vault to vault the thund'ring strokes rebound, C And the deep cave rebellows to the sound. 3 Exact in time each ponderous hammer plays ; -^ In time their arm the giant brethren raise, ( A.ncl turn the glowing mass a thousand ways. J Pi ri FRAGMENT, 147 " They had blended it in three rays of rain congealed into hail; 44 three of the watery clpud ; three of ruddy fire, and three of 44 the winged South-wind. They were now infusing into the 44 composition the terrific flash, and noise, and dismay, and an- 44 ger mingling with the rapid flame. In another forge, they 44 were adently finishing a warlike car, and swift-flying wheels 44 for Mars, in which he rouses hostile armies and cities to the 44 fierce combat. Others were employed in burnishing, with 44 emulous skill, a horrific aegis, the armour of Pallas when 44 moved to vengeance, with scaly serpents wrought in gold: 44 exhibiting the intertwisted snakes and the dire head of the " Gorgon herself, a covering for the breast of the Goddess, cut 44 off by the neck, and rolling about her deadly eyes. 44 Children of iEtna, says he, Cyclopian brothers, desist; re- 44 move these unfinished labours out of the way, and attend to 44 what I am going to give in charge. We have to fabricate 44 armour for a redoubted mortal: now exert your utmost 44 strength, now ply your busy hands, now call forth all your 44 masterly skill: let not a single instant be lost. He said no 44 more : they all, with the quickness of thought engaged in the " work, and assign to each his share in the mighty task by lot. 44 The golden and the brazen metals flow in rivulets ; and the 44 death-fraught steel dissolves in the enormous furnace. The 44 vast and ponderous shield they fashion, itself alone a bulwark 44 against all the weapons of the Latins; a seven fold texture of 44 impenetrable orb upon orb. Some draw in and expel the air 44 with the breathing bellows ; some temper the hissing brass in 44 the cooling surge ; the hollow cave rebellows with the strokes 44 thundering on innumerable anvils. They, in regular time and 44 order, elevate the brawny arm to the lusty blow, and turn 44 round and round the flaming mass with the tenacious tongs." You think you see those gigantic sons of iEtna at work, and hear the noise of their ponderous hammers: so imitative is the barmony of Virgil's versification. The composition of the thunder is well worthy of attention. It is replete with genius, that is with observations of Nature entirely new. Virgil introduces into it the four elements all at once, and places them in contrast; the earth and the water the fire and the air. 148 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. Tres imbris torti radios, tres nubis aquosx Addiderant, rutuli tre9 ignis, & alius Austri. There is indeed in the composition no earth properly so cal- led, but he gives solidity to the water to supply it's place; tres imbris torti radios, literally 44 three rays of crisped rain," to de- note hail. This metaphorical expression is ingenious: it sup- poses the Cyclops to have crisped the drops of the rain, in or- der to for n them into hail-stones. Remark, likewise the ap- propriate correspondence of the expression alitis Austri, 44 the 44 winged Auster." Auster is the Wind of the South, which almost always occasions thundery weather in Europe. The Poet has afterwards had the boldness to place metaphy- sical sensations on the anvil of the Cyclops: metum, 44 fear;" iras, 44 wrath." He amalgamates them with the thunder. Thus he shakes at once the physical system by the contrast of the elements ; and the moral system by the consonance of the soul, and the perspective of Deity. ............Flammisque sequacibus iras. He sets the thunder a-rolling, and shews Jupiter in the cloud. Virgil farther opposes to the head of Pallas, that of Medusa; but this is a contrast in common to him with all the Poets. But here is one peculiar to himself. Vulcan commands his Cyclo- pian workmen to lay aside their operations designed for the use of deities, and to give undivided attention to the armour of a mortal. Thus he puts in the same balance, on the one hand the thunder of Jupiter, the car of Mars, the asgis and cuirass of Pallas; and on the other the destinies of the Roman Empire, which were to be engraven on the buckler of a man. but if he gives the preference of this new work, it is wholly out of love to Venus, not from any regard to the glory of Eneas. Ob- serve, that the jealous God still avoids naming the son of An- chises, though he seems here reduced to the necessity of doing it. He satisfies himself with saying vaguely to the Cyclops : Arma acri facienda viro. The epithet, acer, is susceptible of both a favourable and an unfavourable sense. It may import Veen, wickedly severe, and can hardly with propriety be applied FRAGMENT. 1*9 to a person of so much sensibility as Eneas, to whom Virgil so frequently appropriates the character of the pious. Finally, Virgil, after the tumultuous picture of the iEolian forges, conveys us back, by a new contrast, to the peaceful ha- bitation of good King Evander, who is almost as early a riser as the good housewife, or as the God of fire. * Hxc pater JEoliis properat dum Lemnius oris, Evandrum ex humili tecto lux suscitat alma *"Et matutini volucrum sub culmine cantus. Consurgit senior, tunicaque inducitur artus, Et Tyrrhena pedum circumdat vincula plantis : Turn lateri atque humeris Tegeaeum subligat ensem, Demissa ab laeva pantherae terga retorquens. Necnon et gemini custodes limine ab alto Procedunt, gressumque canes comitantur herilcm. Hospitis yEncx sedem et secreta petebat, Sermonum memor et promissi muneris heros. Nee minus JEneas se matutinus agebat. Filius huic Pallas, olli comes ibat Achates. JEneid, B. viii L. 454—466 44 While the Lemnian God was dispatching this weighty bu- 44 siness on the shores of iEolia, the genial rays of returning 44 Aurora, and the matin song of the birds under his straw-clad 44 roof, summoned Evander from his lowly bed. The venerable 44 sire arose : he assumes the tunic, fitted to his ancient limbs, 44 and binds the Tuscan sandals upon his feet ; next he fits to 44 his shoulders and side the Arcadian swrord ; a panther's hide, 44 thrown carelessly backward, depended over his left arm. Two * These cares employ the father of the fires : Meantime Evander from his coucli retires, Call'd by the purple beams of morn away, And tuneful birds, that hail'd the dawning da}, First the warm tunic round his limbs he threw : Next on his feet the shining sandals drew. Around his shoulders flow'd the panthers hide, And the bright sword hung glittering at his side I wo mighty dogs, domestic at his board, (A faithful guard) attend their aged Lord. The promis'd aid revolving in his breast, The careful Monarch sought his godlike guest, \\ ho with Achates rose at dawn of day, Vnd jom'd the King and Pulhix on the way.— Pitt. 1 jl> SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. 44 faithful guardian dogs leave their station at the threshold, and, 44 well-pleased, attend their master's footsteps. The hero, well 44 recollecting the conversation of the night before, and the aid 44 which he had promised, was bending his course toward the 44 apartment and secret retreat of his respected guest. Eneas 44 too had been up with the dawn: they met; the one attended 44 by his vouthful heir, the other by his confidential friend A- 44 chates." Here is a very interesting moral contrast. The good King Evander, without any body guards except two dogs, v. hich likewise served to watch the house, walks forth at day-break to converse on business with his guest. And do not imagine that under his straw-covered roof mere trifles are negotiated. No less a subject is discussed than the re-estab- lishment of the Empire of Troy, in the person of Eneas, or ra- ther the foundation of the Roman Empire. The point in ques- tion is the dissolution of a formidable confederacy of Nations. To assist in effecting this, King Evander offers to Eneas a rein- forcement of four hundred cavaliers. They are indeed selected, and to be commanded by Pallas, his only son. I must here ob- serve one of those delicate correspondencies by which Virgil conveys important lessons of virtue to Kings, as well as to other men, in feigning actions apparently indifferent: I mean the con- fidence reposed by Evander in his son. Though this young Prince was as yet but in the blossom of life, his father admits him to a conference of the highest importance, as his companion: Comes ibat. He had given the name of Pallentium, in honour of his son, to the city which he himself had founded. Finally, of the four hundred cavaliers whom he promises to the Trojan Prince, to be under the command of Pallas, two hundred he himself is to select out of the Arcadian youth, and the other two hundred are to be furnished by his son in his own name. 1 Arcadas huic equites bis centum, robora pubis Lecta, dabo ; totidemque suo tibi nomioe Pallas. JEneid, B. viii. L. 518—519. " Beneath his standard rang'd, a chosen force I send, two hundred brave Arcadian horse ; And, to support the gathering war, my son •^hall lead an equal squadron of his own—Pitt 1 » FRAGMENT. 151 Instances of paternal confidence are rare among Sovereigns, who frequently consider their successors as their enemies. These traits strongly depict the candour and the simplicity of manners of the King of Arcadia. That good Prince might perhaps be censured for indifference about his only son, in removing him from his person, and ex- posing him to the dangers of war: but he acts thus for a reason diametrically opposite ; his object is to form the young man to virtue, by making him serve his first campaigns under a hero such as Eneas, * Hunc tibi praeterea, spes et solatia nostri Pallanta adjungam. Subte tolerare magistro. Militiam, et grave Martis opus, tua cernere facta ' Assuescat; primis et te miretur ab annis. JE n e i d, B. viii. L. 514—517. 44 I will likewise send my son Pallas himseff with thee ; Pal- 44 las my hope and my delight. Let him accustom himself to 44 endure the painful toils of war under such a master, form his 44 mind to glory by the sight of thy gallant deeds, and learn to 44 admire thee from his earliest years." The important part acted by this young Prince may be seen in the sequel of the iEneid. Virgil has extracted many exqui- site beauties out of it: such are, among others, the affecting leave which his father takes of him ; the regret expressed by the good old man that age permitted him not to accompany his son to the field ; after that, the imprudent valour of the young man, who forgetting the lesson conveyed by the two bridles of Anchises, ventured to attack the formidable Turnus, and receiv- ed from his hand the mortal blow; the high feats in arms per- formed by Eneas, to avenge the death of the son of his host and ally ; his profound sorrow at sight of the youthful Pallas, cut off in the flower of his age, and the very first day that he had • And ht my Pallas by thy side engage, Pal/as, the joy of my declining age. Beneath so great a master's forming care, Let the dear youth learn every work of war ; In every field thy matchless toils admire, And emulate thy deeds, and catch the glorious fire.—P i r j 152 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. engaged in the fight; finally, the honours conferred on the life- less body, when he sent it to the afflicted Father. Here it is we may remark one of those touching compari- sons,* by which Virgil, in imitation of Homer, diminishes the horror of his battle-pieces, and already heightens their effect, by establishing in them consonances with beings of another order. It is in representing the beauty of the young Pallas, the lustre of which death had not yet been able entirely to efface. f Qualem virgineo demessum pollice florem Seu mollis violae, scu languentis hyacinthi; * Those comparisons are beauties which seem appropriate to poetry. Bui I think painting might adopt them to advantage, and derive powerful effects from them. For example, when a painter is representing on the fore-ground « of a battle-piece, a young man of an interesting character, killed, and stretch- ed along the grass, he might introduce near him some beautiful wild plant, analogous to his character, with drooping flowers, and the stalks half cut down. If it were in the picture of a modern battle, he might mutilate, and if I may venture on the expression, kill in it, the vegetables of a higher or- der, such as a fruit-tree, or even an oak; for our cannon-bullets commit ra- vages of a very different kind in the plains, from those produced by the ar- rows and javelin of the Ancients. They plow up the turf of the hills, mow down the forests, cleave asunder the young trees, and tear off huge frag- ments from the trunks of the most venerable oaks. I do not recollect that I ever saw any of these effects represented in pictures of our modern battles. They are however very common in the real scenes of war, and re- double the impressions of terror which Painters intend to excite by the re- presentation of such subjects. The desolation of a country has a still more powerful expression than groups of the dead, and of the dying. It's groves levelled, the black furrows of k's up-town meadows, and it's rocks maimed, awfully display the effects of human fury, extending even to the ancient mo- numents of Nature. We discern in them the wrath of Kings, which is their final argument, and is accordingly inscribed on their cannon : Ultima ratio Rcgum. Nay there might be expressed through the whole extent of a battle- piece, the detonaUons. of the discharge of artillery, repeated by the valleys to several leagues distance, by representing, in the back grounds, the terri- fied shepherds driving off their charge, flocks of birds flying away toward the horizon, and the wild beasts abandoning the woods. Physical consonances heighten moral sensations, especially when there v a transition from one kingdom of N ature to another. •j There like a flower he lay, with beauty crown'd, Pluck'd by some lovely virgin from the ground . FRAGMENT. 153 Cuineque fulgor adhuc, nee dum sua forma rcccssit: Non jam mater alittellus, viresque ministrat. £nliu, B. xi. L. 68—71. 44 Like a tender violet or languishing hyacinth, cropped by u the fingers of a virgin ; which have not yet lost their beauty " and their radiance ; but their parent Earth sustains them no 44 more, no more supplies them with nourishment." Mark another consonance with the death of Pallas. In or- der to express the idea that these flowers have not suffered in being separated from the parent stem, Virgil represents them as gathered by a young maiden: Virgineo demessum pollice; literally, 44 reaped by a virgin finger," and from that gentle image there results a terrible contrast with the javelin of Tur- nus, which had nailed the buckler of Pallas to his breast, and killed him by a single blow. Finally, Virgil, after having represented the grief of Evander on beholding the dead body of his son, and the despair of that unhappy father imploring the vengeance of Eneas, derives from the very death of Pallas the termination of the. war, and the close of the iEneid; for Taurus overcome in single combat by Eneas, resigns to him the victory, the empire, the Princess Lavinia, and supplicates him to rest satisfied with sacrifices so ample j but the Trojan hero, on the point of granting him his life, per- ceiving the belt of Pallas, which Turnus had assumed, after having slain that young Prince, plunges his sword into his bodyr, as he pronounces these words ; Pallas te hoc vulnere, Pallas Iinmolat, et poenam scelerato ex sanguine sumit.* .F.neid, B. xii. L. 948—949. u It is Pallas, Pallas, who by this blow exacts atonement, and '4 takes vengeance on thy criminal blood." The root no more the mother earth supplies, Yet still th' unfaded colour charms the eye9i Pitt. * Tis Pallas, Pallas, gives the fatal blow, Thus is his ghost aton'd. Pitt. Vol. III. IT 154 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. Thus it is that the Arcadians have exercised an influence, in every possible respect, over the historical monuments, the reli- gious traditions, the earliest wars, and the political origin of the Roman Empire, It is evident that the age in which I exhibit the Arcadians is by no means an age of fiction. I collected therefore, respect- ing them and their country, the delicious images which the Po- ets have transmitted to us of these, together with the most au- thentic traditions of Historians, which I found in great num- bers in the Voyage of Pausanias into Greece, in the Works of Plutarch, and the Retreat of the ten thousand by Xenophon ; so that I collected, on the subject of Arcadia, all that Nature pre- sents most lovely in our climates, and History most probable in Antiquity. While I was engaged in those agreeable researches, I hadp the good fortune to form a* personal acquaintance with John James Rousseau. We very frequently went out a walking, in the Summer-time, in every direction round Paris. I derived inexpressible satisfaction from his society. He had nothing of the^ginity of most literary characters, who are continually dis* posed to draw the attention of other men to their ideas; and still less that of the men of the World, who imagine that a man of letters is good for nothing but to relieve their languor by prattling to them. He took his share of both the benefit and the burthen of conversation, talking in his turn, and attentively listening when others talked. Nay he left to those with whom he associated, the subject of the conversation, regulating him- self according to their standard, with so little arrogance of pre- tension, that among those who did not know him, persons of moderate discernment took him for an ordinary man, and those who .assumed the lead considered him as much inferior to them- selves ; for with them he spoke very little, or on very few sub- jects. He has been sometimes accused of pride on that account, by men of the fashionable world, who impute their own vices to persons who have not the advantage of fortune, but who pos* sess an independent spirit that scorns to bend the neck to their yoke. But among many other anecdotes which I could produce, in support of what I just now said, namely, that simple people FRAGMENT. 1 j o took him for an ordinary man, here is one which must convince the Reader of his habitual modesty. The very day that he went to look for a dinner with the her- mits of Mount Valerian, as I have formerly related in a note; on our return to Paris in the evenihg, we were caught in a shower, not far from the Bois de Bologtre, opposite to the Gate Maillot. We went in to take shelter under the great Chesnut- trees, which had now begun to put out leaves ; for it was during the Easter-hollidays. Under those trees we found a great deal of company, who like ourselves had crouded thither for covert. One of the Swiss's lads having perceived John-James, came running up to him in a transport of joy, and thus accosted him: " How now, my good man, whence do you come? It is an age " since we have had the pleasure of seeing you!" Rousseau mild- ly replied: 44 My wife has had a long fit of illness, and I myself 44 have been considerably out of order." 44 Oh! my poor good 44 man," replied the lad, 44 you are not comfortable here: come, 44 come ; I will find you a place within doors." In fact he exerted himself so zealously, that he procured us an apartment above stairs, where, notwithstanding the crowd, he contrived to accommodate us with chairs, a table, and some bread and wine. While he was shewing us the way, I said to John-James : 44 This young man seems to be very familiar with 44 you; surely he does not know who you are ?" 44 Oh! yes," replied he, 44 we have been acquainted these several years. My 44 wife and I used frequently to come hither in fine weather, 44 to eat a cutlet of an evening." The appellation of44 good man," so frankly bestowed on him by the tavern-boy, who had undoubtedly, long mistaken John- James for some honest mechanic ; the joy which he expressed at seeing him again, and the zeal with which he served' him, conveyed to me completely an idea of the good nature which the sublime Author of Emilius displayed in his most trivial actions. So far from seeking to shine in the eyes of any one whatever, he himself acknowledged, with a sentiment of humility not of- ten to be found, and in my opinion altogether unfounded, that he was not fit to take part in conversation of a superior style. 44 The least appearance of argument," said he to me one day. 156 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. 44 is sufficient to overset me. My understanding comes to my 44 assistance half an hour later than to other men. I know what 44 the reply ought to be precisely w hen it is out of time." That tardiness of reflection did not proceed from a maxillary- depression, as is alleged in the 44 Prospectus of a new Edition 44 of the Works of John-James," by a Writer in other respects highly estimable; but from his strong sense of natural equity, which permitted him not to give a decision on the most trifling subject till he had examined it; it proceeded from his genius, which turned it round and round to get a view of it in every di- rection ; r.nd finally-, from his modesty, which repressed in him the theatrical tone, and the oracular sententiousness* of our con- These are the personal reasons which he might have for talking sparingly in company : but I have no doubt that he had others much more weighty, arising from the character of our Societies themselves. 1 find those general reasons so happily detailed in the excellent Chapter o( Montaigne18 Essays, On the Art of Conversation, that I cannot repress my inclination to insert a short extract from it, in hope that the Reader may be induced to peruse the whole. " As the mind acquires new vigour from communication with vigorous and " a nd^Rrell-regulated minds, it is impossible to express how much it loses and " degenerates by the continual commerce and intimacy of grovelling and " puny characters. There is no contagion that spreads so rapidly as this, " I have paid very dear for my experience on this subject. I am fond of ar- " guing, and of discussion; but with few men, and in my own way : for to " serve as a show to the Great, and to make an emulous parade of wit and " prattle, I consider as a most degrading employment for a man of honour." So much for the active conversation of a gentleman among men of the World, and now, a few pages farther down, for the passive conversation. " The gravity, the robe, and the fortune of the person who speaks, frequent- " ty Sive currency to insipid and trifling tittle-tattle. It is presumable that " a Gentleman so followed, so awful, must possess within himself a fund very " superior to one of the herd; and that a person entrusted with so many cm- " ployments and commissions of importance, so disdainful and so self-suffi- " cient, must possess much greater ability than that other who salutes him " at such a respectful distance, and whom no one employs. Not only the " words, but the very grimaces of those consequential personages, attract " consideration, and turn to account, every one vying with another to put " some nattering and significant gloss upon them. If they let themselves " down so far as to converse with ordinary men, and meet with any tiling " from them except approbation ana reverence, you are sure to be levelled to " the dust by the authority of their experience. They have heard, they have " seen, they have done : you are quite overwhelmed by an accumulation of " instances." FRAGMENT. U7 vcrsations. He was in the midst of a company of wits, with his simplicity, what a young girl in the glow of natural colours is amidst women who put on artificial red and white. Still less What then would Montaigne have said, in an age when so many of the Lit- tle imagine themselves to be Great; when every one has two, three, four titles to set himself off; when those who have none, entrench themselves under the patronage of those who have ? The greater part in uoith begin with placing themselves on the knees of a man who is making a noise ; but they never rest till they get upon his shoulders. I do not speak of those self-important gen- tlemen, who taking possession of an Author that they may put on the air of seining him, interpose themselves between him and the sources of public fa- vour, in order to reduce him to a particular dependance on them, and who be- come his declared enemies, if he has the spirit to reject the infelicity of be- ing protected by them. The happy Montaigne had no need of fortune. But what would he have said of those unfeeling fellows, so common in all ranks, who, to get rid of their lethargy, court the acquaintance of a writer of repu- tation, and wait in silence for his letting off at every turn sentences newly coined, or sallies of wit; who have not so much as the sense to take them in, nor the faculty of retaining them, unless they are delivered in an imposing tone, or puffed off in tiie columns of a Journal; and who, in a word, if by chance they happen to be struck, have frequently the malignity to affix to them an indifferent or a dangerous meaning, in order to lower a reputation which gives them umbrage. Assuredly, had Montaigne himself appeared in our circles as nothing more than plain Michael, notwithstanding his exquisite judgment, an eloquence so natural, erudition so vast, and which he under- stood so happily to apply, he would have found himself every where reduced to silence, like John-James. I have been somewhat diffuse on this chapter, in honour of the two Authors, of Emilius, and of the Essays. They have both been accused of reserve, and of making no great figure in conversation ; and likewise of being both egotists in their writings, but with very little justice on cither score. It is Man whom they are ever describing in their own person : and I always find that when they talk of themselves, they talk likewise of me. To return to John -James; he was most sincere in denying himself to the gratification of vanity ; he referred his reputation not to his person, but to ** certain natural truths diffused over his writings; but in other respects set- ting no extraordinary value on himself. I told him, one day, that a young lady had said to me, she would think herself happy in attending bun as his servant. " Yes," replied he, " in order to hear me talk six or seven hour.-. " on the subject of the Emilius." I have oftener than once taken the liberty to combat some of his opinions ; so far from being offended, he with pleasure. acknowledged his mistake the moment that he was made sensible of it Of this I beg leave to quote one instance, which reflects some credit on my- self, though it may savour of vanity ; but, in sincerity, my sole intention in producing it is to vindicate his character from that charge. Wherefore, saiv! I to him, once that the subject happened to come in the way, have you., in 158 SEOJJEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURh- would he have submitted himself as a spectacle among the Great; but in a tete-a-tete, in the freedom of intimacy, and on subjects which were familiar to him, those especially in which the hap- your Emilius, represented the serpent in Poussin's Deluge as the principal object of that Painting ? It is not so, but the infant, which it's mother is straining to place on a rock. He meditated for a moment, and said to me : " Yes—yes, you are in the right: I was mistaken, ft is the child ; undoubt- " edly, it is the child ;" and he appeared to be perfectly. overjoyed that I had suggested the remark. But he stood in no need of my superficial observa- tions, to bring him to the acknowledgement of the little slips which had es- caped him. He said to me one day: " Were I to undertake a new Edition " of my Works, I would certainly'soften what I have written on the subject " of Physicians. There is no one profession which requires so much close " study and application as theirs. In all Counuies they are really the men " of the most cultivated understanding." Upon another occasion he said to me : " I mingled in my quarrel with Mr. Hume too strong an infusion of spleen. " But the dull climate of England, the state of my fortune, and the persecu- " tions which I had just bed* enduring in France, all contributed to plunge me " into melancholy." He has said to me oftener than once, " I am fond of "celebrity; I acknowledge it: but," added he, with a sigh, "God has " punished me in the point where I had offended." At the same time, persons of high respectability have censured him for acknowledging so much evil of himself in his Confessions. What would they have said then, if, like so many others, he had in these indirectly pronounced his own elogium ? The more humiliating that the failings are of which he there accuses himself, the more sublime is his candor in exposing them. There are, it must be admitted, some passages in which he is chargeable with indiscretion in speaking out too plainly, where another person is con- cerned ; particularly where he discloses the not over-delicate attachments of his inconstant benefactress, Madame de Warens : But I have reason to be- lieve that his posthumous Works have been falsified in more than one place. It is possible that he did not name her in his manuscript; and if he did men- tion her by name, he thought he might do this without hurting any one, be- cause she left no posterity. Besides, he speaks of her every where with a warmth of interest. He uniformly fixes the attention of the Reader, in the midst of her irregularities, on the qualities of her mind. In a word, he con- sidered it as his duty to tell the good and the bad of the personages of his History, after the example of the most celebrated Historians of Antiquity Tacitus says expressly, in the opening of his History, Book first, " I have no " reason either to love or to hate Otho, Galba, or Vitellius. It is true I owe " my fortune to Vespasian, as I owe the progress and preservation of it to his " children; but when a man is going to write History he ought to forget " benefits as well as injuries." In truth, Tacitus taxes Vespasian his bene- factor with avarice, and other faults. John-Jaw.;, who had assumed for his :n',Uo. litem impendere t.-to, (tr> de\^< life to M-ith) mav have v?Hcd him FRAGMENT. 159 piness of Mankind was interested, his soul soared aloft, his sen- timents became impressive, his ideas profound, his images sub- lime, and his spoken as ardent as his written expression. * But what I prized still more highly than even his genius was his probity. He was one of the few literary characters, tried in the furnace of affliction, to whom you might with perfect se- curity communicate your most secret thoughts. You had no- thing to fear from his malignity, if he deemed them to be wrong, nor from his perfidy, if they appeared to him to be right. One afternoon, then, that we were enjoying our repose in the Bois de Boulogne, I led the conversation to a subject which I have had much at heart ever since I came to the use of rea- son. We had just been speaking of Plutarch's lives of eminent men, of Amyot's Translation, a Work which he very highly prized, in which he had been taught to read when a child, and which, if I am not mistaken, has been the germ of his elo- quence, and of his antique virtues ; so much influence does the first education exercise over the rest of life! 1 said to him then: I could have wished very much to see a History of your composing. self as much on his love for truth in writing his own History, as Tacitus did in writing that of the Roman Emperors. Not that I by any means approve the unreserved frankness of John-James, in a state of Society like that in which we live, and that 1 have not reason to complain besides of the inequality of his temper, of inconclusivencss in his Writings, and of some errors in conduct, as he himself has.published these for the purpose of condemning them. But where is the man, where is the Writer, where is especially the unfortunate Author, who has no fault to re- proach himself with ? John-James has discussed questions so susceptible of being argued on either side ; he was conscious of possessing at once a mind ;ft so great, and of being subjected to a fortune so deplorable ; he had to en counter wants so pressing, and friends so perfidious, that he was frequently forced out of the common road. But even when he deviates, and becomes the victim of others, or of himself, you see him forever forgetting his ownmise^ ries, that he may devote his undivided attention to those of M.nkind. He is uniformly the defender of their rights, and the advocate of the miserable. 'I'here might be inscribed on his tomb those affecting words from a Book on which he pronounces an clogium so sublime, and of which he carried always about him some select passages, during the last years of his life : His Siys WHICH ARE MANY, ARE FO ' '. ) FRAGMENT 161 " as I figure it to myself, in the capacity of a private member ; " but on no consideration whatever would I have undertaken " any charge ; least of all that of ruler in chief. It is long since " I became sensible of my own incapacity : I was unfit for the u smallest employment." You would have found persons in abundance disposed to ex- ecute your ideas. " Oh ! I beseech you, let us call another subject." I have some thoughts of writing the History of the Nations of Arcadia. They are not indolent shepherds like those of the Lignon. His features softened into a smile. " Talking," says he to me, " of the shepherds of the Lignon, I once undertook a jour- " ney to Forez, for the express purpose of viewing the country " of Caledon and Astrea, of which Urfeius has presented us " with pictures so enchanting. Instead of amorous shepherds, " I saw, along the banks of the Lignon, nothing but smiths, " founders, and iron-mongers." How ! in a country so delightful! " It is a country merely of forges. It was this journey to Fo- '* rez which dissolved my illusion. Till then, never a year pas- " sed that I did not read the Astrea from end to end : I had " become quite familiarized with all the personages of it. Thus a Science robs us of our pleasures." Oh ! my Arcadians have no manner of resemblance to your blacksmiths, nor to the ideal shepherds of Urfeius, who passed the days and nights in no other occupation but that of making love, exposed internally to all the pernicious consequences of idleness, and from without to the invasions of surrounding Na- tions. Mine practise all the arts of rural life. There are among them shepherds, husbandmen, fishermen, vine-dressers. They have availed themselves of all the sites of their country, diver- sified as it is with mountains, plains, lakes and rocks. Their manners are patriarchal, as in the early ages of the World. There are in this Republic, no priests, no soldiers, no slaves ; for they are so religious, that every Head of a family is the pon- tiff of it ; so warlike, that every individual inh:':. .nt is at all times prepared to take up arms in defence of his Country, with- out the inducement of pay ; and in such a state of equality, there Vol. Ill • X 1G2 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. are not so much as domestic servants among them. The chil- dren are there brought up in the habit of serving their parents. The utmost care is taken to avoid inspiring them, under the name of emulation, with the poison of ambition, and no such lesson is taught as that of surpassing each other ; but, on the contrary, they are inured betimes to prevent one another, by good offices of every kind j to obey their parents ; to prefer their father, their mother, a friend, a mistress, to themselves ; and their Country to every thing. In this state of Society there is no quarrelling among the young people, unless it be some disputes among lovers, like those of the Devin du Village. But virtue there frequently convokes the citizens to national assem- blies, to concert together measures conducive to the general welfare. They elect, by a plurality of voices, their Magistrates, who govern the State as if it were one family, being entrusted at once with the functions of peace, of war, and of religion. From their union such a force results, that they have ever been enabled to repel all the Powers who presumed to encroach on their liberties. No useless, insolent, disgustful, or terrifying monument, is to be seen in their Country ; no colonnades, triumphal arches, hospitals, or prisons ; no frightful gibbets on the hills as you enter their towns : but a bridge over a torrent, a well in the midst of an arid plain, a grove of fruit-trees on an uncultivated mountain round a small temple, the peristyle of which serves as a place of shelter for travellers, announce, in situations the most deserted, the humanity of the inhabitants. Simple inscriptions on the bark of a beech-tree, or on a rude unpolished rock, per- petuate to posterity the memory of illustrious citizens, and of great actions. In the midst of manners so beneficent, Religion speaks to all hearts, in a language that knows no change. There is not a single mountain, nor a river, but what is consecrated to some God, and is called by his name ; not a fountain but what has it's Naiad ; not a flower, nor a bird, but what is the result of some ancient and affecting metamorphosis. The whole of Physics is there conveyed in religious sentiments, and all reli- gion in the monuments of Nature. Death itself, which empoi- sons so many pleasures, there presents perspectives only of con- solation. The tombs of ancestors are raised amidst groves of myrtle, of cypress, and of fir. Their descendants, to whom they FRAGMENT. 163 endeared themselves in life, resort thither in their hours of pleasure, or of pain, to decorate them with flowers, and to in- voke their shades, persuaded that they continually preside over their destinies. The past, the present, and the future, link to- gether all the members of this Society with the. bands of the Law of Nature, so that, there, to live and to die is equally an object of desire. Such was the vague idea which I gave of the Plan of my Work to John-James. He was delighted with it. We made it oftener than once, on our walking excursions, the subject of much pleasant conversation. He sometimes imagined incidents of a poignant simplicity, of which I availed myself. Nay, one day, he persuaded me to change my Plan entirely. " You " must," said he to me, " suppose a principal action in your " History, such as that of a man on his travels, to improve him- » t(i self in the knowledge of Mankind. Out of this will spring " up incidents varied and agreeable. Besides, it will be neces- " sary to oppose to the state of Nature of the Nations of Ar- " cadia, the state of corruption of some other People, in order " to give relief to your pictures by means of contrasts." This advice was to me a ray of light which produced ano- ther : namely, first of all, to oppose to these two pictures, that of the barbarism of a third people, in order to represent the three successive states through which most Nations pass; that of barbarism, that of Nature, and that of corruption. I thus had a complete harmony of three periods usual to human So- cieties. In the view of representing a state of barbarism, I made choice of Gaul, as a country, the commencements of which in every respect ought to interest us the most, because the first state of a People communicates an influence to all the periods of it's duration, and makes itself felt even in a state of decline, just as the education which a man receives on the breast ex- tends it's influence even to the age of decrepitude. Nay it seems as if at this last epocha the habits of infancy re-appeared with more force than those of the rest of life, as has been observed in the preceding Studies. The first impressions efface the last. The character of Nations is formed in the cradle, as well as that of M;;n. Rome in her decline preserved the spirit of turner nl domination, which she had from her origin. 164 SEOJJEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. I found the principal characters of the manners, and of the religion of the Gauls, completely traced in Cesar's Commenta- ries, in Plutarch, in Tacitus on the Manners of the Germans, and in several modern Treatises on the Mythology of the Na- tions of the North. I have taken up the state of the Gauls several ages prior to the time of Julius Cesar, in order to have an opportunity of painting a more marked character of barbarism, and approach- ing to that wrhich we have found among the savage tribes of North America. I fixed the commencement of the civiliza- tion of our Ancestors at the destruction of Troy ; which was likewise the epocha, and undoubtedly the cause, of several im- portant revolutions all over the Globe. The Nations of which the Human Risce is composed, however divided they may ap- pear to be in respect of language, of religion, of customs, and of climate, are in equilibrium among themselves, as the differ- ent Seas which compose the Ocean under different Latitudes. \To extraordinary movement can be excited in any one of those Seas, but what must communicate itself, more or less, to each of the others. They have all a tendency to find their level. A Nation is, farther, with respect to the Human Race, what a man is with respect to his own Nation. If that man dies in it, ano- ther is born there within the same compass of time. In like manner, if one State on the Globe is destroyed, another is re- generated at the same epocha : that is what we have seen hap- pen in our own times, when the greatest part of the Republic of Poland, having been dismembered in the North of Europe, to be confounded in the three adjoining States, Russia, Prussia, and Austria, very soon after the greatest part of the British Colo- nies of North-America, was disunited from the three States of England, Scotland, and Ireland, to form one Republic ; and as there was in Europe, a portion of Poland not dismembered, there was in like manner, in America, a portion of the Colonies that did not separate from Great-Britain. The same political re-actions are to be found in all Countries, and in all ages. When the Empire of the Greeks was sub- verted di the banks of the Euxine-Sea, in 1453, that of the Turks immediately replaced it; and when that of Troy was destroyed in Asia, under Priam, that of Rome received it'f birth in Italv. under Er.'-a-t. FRAGMENT. 165 But, from that total subversion of Troy, there ensued a great man)' revolutions of inferior moment in the rest of the Human Race, and especially in the Nations of Europe. I opposed to the state of barbarism of the Gauls, that of the corruption of Egypt, which was then at it's highest degree of civilization. To the epocha of the siege of Troy it is that ma- ny learned men have assigned the brilliant reign of Sesostris. Besides this opinion, being adopted by Fenelon in his Telema- chus, was a sufficient authority for my Work. I likewise se- lected my traveller from Egypt, by the advice of John-James, in as much as, in Antiquity, a great many political and religious establishments were communicated by reflux from Egypt, to Greece, to Italy, and even directly to the Gauls, as the History of many of our ancient usages sufficiently evinces. This too is a consequence of political re-actions. Whenever a State has attained it's highest degree of elevation, it is come to it's first stage of decay; because all human things begin to fade as soon as they have reached the point of perfection. Then it is that the Arts, the Sciences, Manners, Languages, begin to undergo a reflux from civilized to barbarous States, as is demonstrated by the age of Alexander among the Greeks, of Augustus among the Romans, and of Louis XIV. among ourselves. I had accordingly oppositions of character in the Gauls, the Arcadians, and the Egyptians. But Arcadia alone presented me with a great number of contrasts to the other parts of Greece, which were but then emerging out of barbarism ; be- tween the peaceful manners of it's industrious inhabitants, and the boisterous discordant characters of the heroes of Pylos, of Mycanie, and of Argos; between the gentle adventures of it's simple and innocent shepherdesses, and the awful catastrophes of Iphigenia, of Electra, and of Clytemnestra. I divided the materials of my Work into twelve Books, and constructed a kind of Epic Poem of them ; not conformably to the rules laid down by Aristotle, and to those of our modern Critics, who pretend after him, that an Epic Poem ought to exhibit only one principal action of the life of a hero ; but con- formably to the Laws of Nature, and after the manner of the Chinese, who frequently comprehend in it the whole life of a hero, which in my7 judgment is much more satisfactory. Be- 1,66 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. sides I have not in this deviated from the example of Homer; for, if I have not adopted the plan of his Iliad, I have nearly copied that of his Odyssey. But while I was devising plans for the happiness of Man- kind, my own was disturbed by new calamities. My state of health, and my experience, permitted me no longer to solicit in my native Country, the slender resources which I was on the point of losing there, nor to go abroad in quest of them. Besides, the nature of the labours in which I had engaged could not possibly interest any Minister in my fa- vour. I thought of presenting to public view such of them as I deemed most calculated to merit the protection of Government. I published my Studies of Nature. I have the consolation of believing that I have, in that Work, confuted sundry dange- rous errors, and demonstrated some important truths. Their success has procured for me, without solicitation, a great many compliments on the part of the Public, and some annual marks of favour from the Crown, but of so little solidity, that a slight revolution in an'administration has stripped me of most of them, and together with them, what is much more vexatious, some others of still higher consideration which I had enjoyed for fourteen years. Court favour had the semblance of doing mc good : the benevolence of the Public has given a more steady support to me and to my Work. To it I am indebted for a transient tranquillity and repose; and under these auspices I send into the World this first Book, entitled The Gauls, to serve as an introduction to the Arcadia. I have not enjoyed the satisfaction of talking on the subject of it to John-James. It was rather too rude for the placidness of our conversations. But rough and wild as it may be, it is an opening in the rocks, from whence there is a glimpse of the valley in which he some- times reposed. Nay when he set out, without bidding me farewel, for Ermenonville, where he closed his days, I tried to recal myself to him by the image of Arcadia, and by the recol- lection of our ancient intercourse, in concluding the letter which I wrote to him with these two verses from Virgil, chang- ing only a single word. Atque utinam ex vobis unus tecumquc fuisseni Aut custws gregis, aut matuxx vinitor uvsc' ARCADIA. BOOK FIRST. THE GAULS. A LITTLE before the autumnal Equinox, Tirteus, a shep- herd of Arcadia, was feeding his flock on one of the heights of Mount Lyceum, which projects along the gulph of Messenia. He was seated under the shade of some pine-trees at the foot of a rock, from whence he contemplated, at a distance, the Sea agitated by the winds of the South. It's olive-coloured waves were whitened with foam, which fell back in girandoles the whole length of the strand. The fishing-boats, appearing and disappearing alternately between the swelling surges, ventured. at the risk of running a-ground on the beach, to trust their safe- ty to their insignificance ; whereas large vessels, in full sail, un der the violent pressure of the winds, kept at a cautious distance, from the dread of being shipwrecked. At the bottom of thf gulph, crowds of women and children raised their hands to Hea- ven, and uttered the cries of solicitude at sight of the danger which threatened those poor mariners, and of the succession of billows which rolled from the Sea, and broke with a noise like thunder on the rocks of Steniclaros. The echoes of Mount Lyceum reverberated their hoarse and confused roarings from all quarters, with so much exactness that Tirteus at times turned round his head, imagining that the tempest was behind him, and that the Sea was breaking on the top of the mountain. But the cries of the coots and the sea-gulls, which came flapping their wings to seek refuge there, and the flashes of lightning which furrowed the Horizon, soon made him sensible that safe- ty was on the dry land, and that the tempest was still mov- dreadful at a distance than it appeared to his view. 168 SE0J/EL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. Tirteus compassionated the destiny of seamen, and pronoun- ced that of the shepherd to be blessed, as it in some degree re- sembled that of the Gods by placing tranquillity in his heart, and the tempest under his feet. While he was expressing his gratitude to Heaven, two men of a noble deportment appeared on the great road which winded below, toward the base of the mountain. One of them was in the full vigour of life, and the other still in the bloom of youth. They were walking with great speed, like travellers impatient to reach their object. As soon as they were within hearing, the elder of the two called to Tirteus, asking if they were not on the road to Argos. But the noise of the wind among the pines preventing his voice from being heard, the younger ascended to- ward the shepherd, and cried aloud to him : " Father, are we " not upon the road to Argos ?" " My son," replied Tirteus, " I do not know where Argos lies. You are in Arcadia, upon " the road to Tegeum, and these towers which you see before " you are the towers of Bellemine." While they were talking, a shagged dog, young and frolicsome, which accompanied the stranger, having perceived in the flock a she-goat entirely white, ran up to play with her ; but the goat, terrified at the sight of this animal, whose eyes were covered all over with hair; fled toward the top of the mountain, and the dog pursued her. The young man recalled his dog, which immediately returned to his feet, lowering his head, and wagging his tail. He then .slipped a leash round the dog's neck, and begging the shepherd, to hold him fast, he ran after the goat, which still continued to flee before him : his dog however seeing him ready to disappear gave so violent a jerk to Tirteus, that he made his escape with the leash about his neck, and ran with such speed, that in a short time, neither goat, traveller, nor dog, were to be seen. The traveller who had remained on the highway, was pre- paring to follow his companion, when the shepherd thus addres- sed him: " Sir, the weather is boisterous, night approaches, " the forest and the mountain are full of quagmires, in which •• you may be in danger of losing yourself. Come and repose " yourself a while in my cottage, which is not far from hence. ' I am perfectly sure that my goat, which is very tame, will »• return of herself, and bring back vour friend to us, provided ARCADIA. 169 " he does not lose sight of her." In saying these words he ap- plied his pipe to his mouth, and the flock immediately began to file off by a path toward the summit of the mountain. A large ram marched at the head of this little flock : he was followed by six she-goats, whose dugs almost touched the ground; twelve ewes accompanied by their lambs, which were already con- siderably grown, came next; a she-ass and her colt closed the procession. The stranger followed Tirteus in silence. They ascended about six hundred paces, along an open down planted here and there with broom and rosemary: as they were entering the forest of oaks, which covers the top of Mount Lyceum, they heard the barking of a dog4; soon after they descried the young man's shock running toward them, followed by his master, who carried the white goat on his shoulders. Tirteus said to him : " My son, though this goat is dearer to me than any other of " the whole flock, I would rather have lost her than that you " should have endured so much fatigue in recovering her; but " if you please, you shall this night repose in my cottage; and " to-morrow, if you are resolved to continue your journey, I " will conduct yTou to Tegeum, where you may be informed of " the road to Argos. Notwithstanding, Sirs, if 1 may be per- " mitted to advise, you will not depart from hence to-morrow. " It is the feast of Jupiter, celebrated on Mount Lyceum, and " people assemble here in multitudes from all Arcadia, and " from a great part of Greece. If you are so good as to ac- " company me thither, when I present myself at the altar of " Jupiter, I shall be rendered more acceptable by adoring him " in company with my guests." The young stranger replied: " Oh, good shepherd : we accept with cheerfulness your hos- " pitality for this night, but to-morrow with the dawn we must u pursue our journey toward Argos. . We have for a long time " been contending with the waves, in order to reach that city, *' so celebrated over the whole Earth, for it's temples, for it's " palaces, and from it's being the residence of the great Aga- " mcmnon." After he had thus spoken, they crossed a part of the forest of Mount Lyceum toward the East, and descended into a little valley sheltered from the winds. A fresh and downv herbage Vol. III. Y 170 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. covered the sides of it's hills. At the bottom flowed a rivulet called Achelous,* which falls into the river Alpheus, whose islands, covered with alder and linden-trees, are perceptible at a distance from the plain. The trunk of an old willow, laid low by the hand of time, served as a bridge to the Achelous: this bridge had no ledging, except some large reeds which grew on each side of it; but the brook, the bottom of which was paved with rocks, was so easily forded over, and so little use had been made of the bridge, that the convolvolus almost entirely cover- ed it with it's heart-shaped foliage, and with flowers resembling white spires. At a little distance from this bridge stood the dwelling of Tirteus. It was a small house covered with thatch, built in the middle of a mossy ground. Two poplars formed a shade for it to the West. On the South side, a vine surround&d the doors and windows with it's purple clusters, and with it's leaves already of the colour of fire. An old ivy sheltered it from the North, and covered, with it's ever-green foliage, a part of the staircase, which led on the outside to the upper story, * There were in Greece several rivers and rivulets wh ich bare this name. Care must be taken not to confound the brook which issued from Mount Ly- ceum, with the river of that name, which descended from Mount Pindus, and which separated Etolia from Acarnania. This River Achelous, as the fable goes, changed himself into a Bull, in order to dispute with Hercules the possession of Ddanira, daughter of 0,-neus King of Etolia. But Hercules hav- ing seized him by one of his horns, broke it off; and the disarmed River was obliged to replace the lost horn, by assuming one taken from the head of the goat Amulthea. The f-Jreeks were accustomed to veil natural truths under ingenious fictions. The meaning- of the fable in question is this : The Creeks gave the name of Achelous to several, rivers, from a word which signifies herd of oxen, either on account of the bellowing noise of their waters, or ra- ther because their heads usually separated, like those of oxen, into horns, or branches, which facilitate their confluence into each other, or into the Sea, as has been observed in the preceding Studies. Now the Achelous being liable to inundations, Hercules, the friend of Oeneus King of Etolia, formed a canal for receiving the superflux of that river, according to Strubo's account, wh'ch weakened one of it's streams, and gave birth to the fabulous idea, that Hercules had broken off one of his horns But as, on the other hand, there resulted from this canal a source of abundant fertility to the adjacent coun- try, the Greeks added that Achelous, in place of his bull's horn, had taken in exchange that of the goat Amulthea, which, as is well known, was the symbol of plenty ARCADIA. in As soon as the flock approached the house they began to bleat, according to custom. Immediately a young maiden ap- peared, descending the staircase, and carrying under her arm a vessel to receive the milk which she was going to draw. Her robe was of white wool; her chesnut locks were turned up un- der a hat formed of the rind of the linden tree ; her arms and feet were naked, and instead of shoes she wore socks, as is the fashion of the young women of Arcadia. From her shape you would have thought her one of the nymphs of Diana; from her vase, that she was the Naiad of the fountain ; but her timidity soon discovered her to be a shepherdess. As soon as she per- ceived the strangers, she cast down her eyes, and blushed. Tirteus said to her: " Cyanea, my daughter, make haste to " milk your goats, and to prepare something for supper, while " I warm some water to wash the feet of these travellers whom " Jupiter bas sent to us." In the mean while he entreated the strangers to repose themselves on a grass-plat, at the foot of the vine. Cyanea, having kneeled down on the turf, milked the goats which had assembled around her; and having finished, she led the flock into the sheep-fold, which stood at one end of the house. Tirtetls in the mean time warmed water, and washed the feet of his guests, after which he invited them to walk in. Night was already advanced ; but a lamp suspended from the ceiling, and the blaze of the hearth, which was placed after the manner of the Greeks, in the middle of the habitation, suffi- ciently illuminated the interior of it. There were seen hanging round the walls, flutes, shepherds' crooks, scrips, moulds for making cheese ; baskets of fruit and earthen pans full of milk stood upon shelves fastened to the joists. Over the door by which they had entered there was a small statue of the good Ceres, and over that of the sheep-fold a figure of the god Pan, formed from the root of an olive tree. ■ As soon as the strangers were introduced, Cyanea covered ilie table, and served up cabbages with bacon, some wheaten bread, a pot filled with wine, a cream cheese, fresh eggs, and some of the second figs of the y7ear, white and violet coloured. She placed by the board four seats made of oak. She covered that of her father with the skin of a wolf, which he himself hnd killed in hunting. Afterwards, having ascended to the upper t 172 SEOJJEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. story, she returned with the fleeces of two sheep ; but whilst she spread them on the seats of the travellers she burst into tears. Her father said to her: " My dear daughter, will you remain " for ever inconsolable about the loss of your mother ? And can " you never touch any thing which she was accustomed to use " without shedding tears.'" Cyanea made no reply, but turning her head toward the wall, she wiped her eyes. Tirteus ad- dressed a prayer, and offered a libation to Jupiter, the patron of hospitality; then having invited his guests to sit down, they all began to eat in profound silence. When the meal was finished, Tirteus said to the two travel- ' lers: " My dear guests, had you chanced to enter the habita- " tion of some other inhabitant of Arcadia, or had you passed u this way some years ago, you would have been much better " received. But the hand of Jupiter has smitten me. I once a possessed, upon the neighbouring hill, a garden which sup- ;' plied me at all seasons with pulse, and excellent fruit: It is •' swallowed up in the forest. This solitary valley once resound- if ed with the lowing of my oxen. Nothing was to be heard, iC from morn to eve, in my dwelling, but songs of mirth and " sounds of joy. I have seen around this table three sons and " four daughters. The youngest son was arrived at an age ca- " pable of tending a flock of sheep. My daughter Cyanea dres- " sed her little sisters, and already supplied the place of a mo- " ther to them. My wife, industrious, and still young, main- " tained all the y ear round gaiety, peace and abundance in my " habitation. But the loss of my eldest son has been followed u by that of almost my whole family. Like other young men, " he was desirous of shewing his agility by climbing up the *■' highest trees. His mother, to whom such exercises caused ' the greatest dread, had frequently entreated him to abstain " from amusements of this kind. I had often predicted that lC some misfortune would be the consequence. Alas! the Gods :i have punished my unwarrantable predictions by accomplish- 1' ing them. One Summer's day, in which my son was in the "• forest, keeping the flocks with his brothers, the youngest of q •l them took a fancy to eat some of the fruit of a wild cherry- " tree. The eldest immediately climbed it, in order to gather •• them; and when he had reached the summit, which was very ARCADIA. 173 " elevated, he perceived his mother at a little distance, who per- " ceiving him in her turn, uttered a loud scream and fainted. u At this sight, terror, or repentance, seized my unhappy son; " he fell. His mother, being brought to herself by the cries of " her children, ran toward him, but in vain attempted to reani- " mate him in her arms : the unfortunate youth turned his eyes " toward her, pronounced her name and mine, and expired. " The grief with which my wife was overwhelmed, carried her " in a few days to the grave. The most tender union reigned " amongst my children, and equalled their affection for their " mother. They however all died, through sorrow for her loss, " and for that of each other. How much anxiety has it cost me " to preserve this poor girl!".......Thus spake Tirteus, and in spite of his efforts the tears rushed to his eyes. Cyanea threw herself on the bosom of her father, and mixing her tears with his, she presspd him in her arms, unable to utter a syllable. Tir- teus said to her: " Cyanea, my dear daughter, my sole conso- " lation, cease to afflict thyself. We shall one day see them " again ; they are with the Gods." Thus he spake, and serenity once more appeared on his countenance, and on that of his daughter. With the greatest composure, she poured out some wine into each of the cups ; then taking a spindle, and a distaff furnished with wool, she seated herself by her father, and began to spin, looking at him, and supporting herself on his knees. The travellers in the mean time were melted into tears. At length the younger of the two, resuming the conversation, said to Tirteus : " Had we been received into the palace, and at the u table of Agamemnon, at that instant wrhen, covered with glory, " he was restored to his daughter Iphigenia, and to his wife " Clytemnestra, who had languished for his return so long, we " could neither have seen nor heard any thing so affect ng as " what we have just witnessed.—Oh ! my good shepherd! it " must be acknowledged that yTou have experienced severe tri- •' als ; but if Cephas, whom you see here, would relate to you u those which overwhelm men in every quarter of the Globe, " you would spend this whole night in listening to him, and in u blessing your own lot: how many sources of distress are uni- •' known to you in the midst of this peaceful retreat! You here 174 SEOJJEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURT". " live in perfect freedom; Nature supplies all your wants; pa " ternal love renders you happy, and a mild religion consoles " you under all your griefs." Cephas, taking up the conversation, said to his young friend : " My son, relate to us your own misfortunes : Tirteus will " listen to you with more interest than he would to me. In " mature age, virtue is generally the fruit of reason; in youth, " it is always that of feeling." Tirteus, addressing himself to the young stranger, said : " Persons of my age do not sleep much. If you are not over u oppressed with fatigue, I shall receive great pleasure from " hearing you. I have never quitted my own country, but I " love and honour travellers. They are under the protection of " Mercury and of Jupiter. Something useful may always be " gathered from them. As for yourself, you must certainly " have experienced great distress in your own country, having " at so early an age separated from your parents, with whom it " is so pleasant to live and to die." " Though it is difficult," replied the young man, " to speak " always of ourselves with sincerity, yet, as you have given us " so kind a reception, I shall candidly relate to you all my ad- " ventures both good and bad." My name is Amasis. I was born at Thebes in Egypt, the son of an opulent father. He had me educated by the priests of the Temple of Osiris. They instructed me in all the Sci- ences upon which Egypt values herself: the sacred language by which you may converse with ages past, and that of the Greeks, which enables us to hold converse with all the Nations of Eu- rope. But what is infinitely superior to Science and Language, they taught me to be just, to speak truth, to fear the Gods only, and to prefer before every thing else that glory which is ac- quired by virtue. This last sentiment increased in me as I grew up. Nothing had been spoken of in Egypt for some time past but the Trojan war. The names of Achilles, of Hector, and of other heroes, disturbed my sleep. I would have purchased a single day of their renown, by the sacrifice of my whole life. I thought the destiny cf my r.ountvyman Mc r.non was enviable, who had pe- ARCADIA. 175 rished on the walls of Troy, and in honour of whom a superb monument was reared at Thebes.* What do I say ?. I would willingly have given my body to be changed into the statue of • Memnon, the son of Tithonus and Aurora, was killed at the siege of Troy by Achilles. A magnificent tomb was erected to his memory at Thebes in Egvpt, the ruins of which still subsist on the banks of the Nile, in a place called by the Ancients Memnonium ,■ and in modern times, by the Arabians, Medinet Habou ,• that is, City of the Father. Here arc still to be seen colos- sal fragments of his statue, out of which in former times harmonious sounds issued at the rising of Aurora. I propose to make, in this place, some observations on the subject of the sound which that statue produced, because it is particularly interesting to the study of Nature. In the first place, it is impossible to call the fact in question. The English Traveller Richard Pocock, who, in the year 17J8, vi- sited the remains of the Memnonium, of which he has given a description as minute as the present state of things admits of, quotes, on the subject of the marvellous effect of Memnon's statue, several authorities of the Ancients, of which I here present an abridgment. Strabo tells us, that there were in the Memnonium, among other colossal figures, two statues at a small distance from each other ; that the upper part of one of them had been thrown down, and that there issued once a day from it's pedestal, a noise similar to that produced by striking upon a hard body. He himself heard the noise, having been on the spot with JElius G alius,- but he pretends not to affirm, whether it proceeded from the basis, or from the statue, or from the by-standers. Pliny the Naturalist, a man more scrupulously exact than is generally ima- gined, when ;m extraordinary fact is to be attested, satisfies himself with re- lating the one in question, on the public faith, employing such terms of doubt as these ; Narratur, ut put ant, dicunt, of which he makes such frequent use jn his Work. It is when he is mentioning the stone called basalte3, Hist. JVat. lib. 36. cap. 7. Invenit eadem Egyptus in Ethiopia quern vacant basalten,ferrei coloris atque duriti*..... .Vow absimilis illi narratur in Thebis, delubro Serapis ut putant, Mctntionitsta- tua dicatus ; quern quotidiano solis ortu contactum radiis crepare dicunt. " The Egyptians likewise found, in Ethiopia, a stone called basaltes, of the " colour and hardness of iron...... " One not unlike it is said to be the stone of which the statue of Memnon " is made, at Thebes, in the Temple of Serapis, from whence, as the report " goes, a sound issues every nunning on it's being struck with the rays of the rising Sun." Juvual so carefully on his guard against superstition, especially the super- stitions of Egypt, adopts this fact in his fifteenth Satire, which is levelled at these v<*ry superstitions. E^igies sacri nitet aurea cercopitheci D.midto magic* resonant ubi Memnone chordae, Atque v:tus Thebee centum juv. obntta portis I 7G SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. a hero, provided they had exposed me, on a pillar, to the ve- neration of Nations. I resolved then to tear myself from the delights of Egypt, and from the endearments of my paternal " There shines the gilded image of a consecrated monkey, where the ma- " gic chords resound from the mutilated statue of Memnon, and ancient The- " bes lies buried under the ruins of her hundred gates." Pausaniaa relates that it was Cumbyses who broke this statue ; that half of the trunk was fallen to tlie ground; that the other half emitted every day, at sun-rising, a sound similar to that of a bow-string snapping from over-tension. Philostratus speaks of it from his own knowledge. He says, in the life of Apoliunius of Tjana, that the Memnonium was not only a Temple, but a fo« rum ; that is a place of very considerable extent, containing it's public squares, it's private buildings, &c. For temples, in ancient times, had a great many exterior dependencies ; the groves which were consecrated to them, apart- ments for the priests, enclosures for the victims, and accommodations for the entertainment of strangers. Philostratus assures us that he saw the statue of Memmn entire, which supposes that the upper part of it had been repaired in his time. He represents it under the form of a young man sitting, with his eyes turned toward the rising Sun. It was of a black-coloured stone. Both feet were in a line, as was tlie case with all the ancient statues, up to the time of Dedalus, who was the first it is said thai made statues to advance, the one leg before the other. It's hands rested on the thighs, as if going to rise. On looking at the eyes and momh you would have thought it was going to speak. Philostratus and his travelling companions were not surprized at the attitude of this staiue, because they were ignorant of it's virtue: but when the rays of the rising S in first darted on it's head, they no sooner reached the mouth than it did actually speak, which appealed to them a prodigy. Here is, accordingly, a series of grave Authors, from Strabo, who lived under Augustus, down to Philostratus, who lived under the reigns of Cara- calla and Geta, that is, during a peiiod of two hundred years, who affirm that the statue of Memnon emitted a sound at the rising of Aurora. As to Richard Pocock, who saw only the half of it in 1738, he found it in the same state that Strabo had seen it, about 1738 years before, except that it emitted no sound. He sa) s it is of a particular sort of granite, hard and porous, such as he had never seen before, and which a good deal resembles the eagle-stone. At the distance of thirty feet from it, to the North, there is, as in the time of Strabo, another colossal statue entire, built of five layers of stones, the pedestal of which is 30 feet long and 17 broad. But the pedestal of the mutilated statue, which is that of Memnon, is 33 feet long by 19 broad. It consists of a single piece, though cleft about 10 feet behind the back of the statue. Pocock says nothing of the height of these pedestals, undoubt- edly because they are encumbered with sand ; or rather because the perpe- tual and insensible action of gravity must have made them sink into the Earth, rs may be remarked of all the ancient monuments which are not founded on ARCADIA. 177 mansion, in order to acquire an illustrious reputation. Every time that I presented myself before my father, " Send me to " the siege of Troy," said I to him, " that I may purchase for the solid rock. This effect is observable, in like manner, in the case of heavy cannon, and piles of balls, laid on the ground in our arsenals, which imperceptibly sink in the course of a few years, unless supported by strong platforms. As to the rest of the statue of Memnon, the following are the dimensions priven by Pocock. Feet. In. From the sole of the foot to the ankle-bone 2 6 From ditto to tlie instep......40 From ditto up to the top of the knee - - - - 19 0 The foot is 5 feet broad, and the leg 4 feet thick. Pocock apparently refers these measurements to the English standard, tvhlch reduces them nearly by the eleventh part. He found besides on the pedestal, on the legs and the feet of the statue, several inscriptions in un- known characters ; others of great antiquity, in Greek and Latin, very indif- ferently engTaved, which are the attestations of the persons who had heard the sound which it emitted. The remains of the Memnonium present all around, to a very great dis- tance, ruins of an immense and uncouth architecture, excavations in the solid rock which form part of a temple, prodigious fragments of walls tumbled down and reduced to rubbish, and others standing ; a pyramidical gate, avenues, square pillars, surmounted by statues with the head broken off, holding in one hand a lituus, and a whip in the other, as that of Osiris. At a still greater distance, fragments of gigantic figures lie scattered along the ground, heads of six feet diameter, and 11 feet in length, shoulders 21 feet broad, human ears three feet long and 16 inches broad ; other figures which seem to issue out of the earth, of which tlie Phrygian bonnets only are to be seen. All these gigantic productions are made of the most precious mate- rials, of black and white marble, of marble entirely black, of marble with red spots, of black granite, of yellow granite ; and they are, for the most part, loaded with hieroglyphics. What sentiments of respect and admira- tion must have been produced in the minds of those superstitious people, by such enormous and mysterious fabrics, especially when in their solemnly si- lent courts, plaintive sounds were heard issuing from a breast of stone, at the first rays of Aurora, and the colossal Memiwn sighing at sight of his mother. The fact is too well attested, and is of too long duration, to admit of be- ing called in question. Nevertheless many of the learned have thought pro- per to ascribe it to some exterior and momentaneous artifice of the priests of Thebes. Nay it appears that Strabo, who witnessed the noise made by the statue, bints this suspicion. We know in reality that ventriloquists are able, Vol. III. Z 178 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OE NATURE. a myself a name renowned among men. You have my elder " brother with you, who is sufficient to secure the continuance " of your posterity: If you always oppose ray inclinations, without moving the lips, to utter words and sounds which seem to come from a considerable distance, though they are produced close by your side. For my own part, however durable the marvellous effect of Memnon's statue mav be supposed, I can conceive it produced by the Aurora, and easily im- itable, without being under the necessity of renewing the artifice of it, till after the lapse of ages. It is well known that the priests of Egypt made a par- ticular study of Nature ; that they had formed of it a Science known by the name of Magic, the possession of which they reserved to themselves. They were not ignorant assuredly of the effect of the dilatation of metals, and among others of iron, which is contracted by cold and lengthened by heat Thev might have placed, in the great basis of Memnon's statue, a long iron rod in a spiral line, and susceptible, from it's extension, of contraction and dilatation, by the slightest action of cold and of heat. This medium was sufficient for extracting sound from some metallic com- position. Their colossal statues being partly hollow, as may be seen in the sphinx near the pyramids of Grand Cairo, they could dispose in them ma- chinery of every kind. The stone itself of the statue of Memnon being, ac- cording to Pliny, a basaltes, which possesses the hardness and the colour of iron, may very well have the power of contracting and of dilating itself, like this metal, of which it is apparently composed. It is certainly of a nature different from other stones, as Pocock, who had made observation of all sorts of these, affirms that he had never seen the like of it. He ascribes to it a particular character of hardness and porosity, which are in general attributes of ferruginous stones. It might therefore be susceptible of conU'action and dilatation, and thus possess within itself a principle of motion, especially at the rising of Aurora, when the contrast of tlie cold night and of the first rays of the rising San ha:> most action. This etfect must have been infallible under a sky like that of Upper Egypt, where it scarcely ever rains. The sounds emitted from the statue of Memnon, at the moment when the Sun appeared over the Horizon of Thebes, had therefore nothing more marvellous in it, than the explosion of tlie cannon of the Pai.tis Royal, and that of the mortar of the King's Garden, as the Sun passes over the meridian of Paris. With a burning glass, a bit of match, and some gunpowder, it would be easily possible to make a statue of Jupiter thunder in the midst of a desert, on such a day of tlie year, and even at such an hour of the day and of the night as might be resolved on. This would appear so much the more marvellous, that it would thunder only in clear weather, like the highly ominous thunder-claps among the Ancients. What prodigies are operated at this day on persons labouring under the prejudices of superstition, by means of electricity, which through the me- dium of a rod of iron, or of copper, strikes in an invisible manner, is capa- ble of killing a man at a single blow, calls down the thunder from the bosom ■y tlie cloud, and directs it at pleasure as it falls ? What effects might not V : ARCADIA. 179 " through the dread of losing me, know, that if I escape the " sword, I shall not escape the more painful death of chagrin." In truth, I was visibly declining; I avoided all society, and produced by means of aerostation, that art still in it's infancy, which through the medium of a globe of taffeta, glazed over with an elastic gum, and filled with a putrid air, eight or ten times lighter than that which we breathe, rai- ses several men at once above the clouds, where the winds transport them to incredible distances, at the rate of nine or ten leagues an hour, and with- out the least fatigue ? Our aerostats it is true are of no manner of use to us, because they are carried along at the mercy of the winds, as they have not yet discovered the means of conducting their machinery ; but I am persua- ded they will one day attain this point of perfection. There is, on the sub- ject of this invention, a very curious passage in the History of China, which proves that the Chinese were in ancient times acquainted with aerostation, and that they knew the method of conducting the machine which way they pleased, by night and by day. This need not excite surprize on the part of ft Nation which has invented before us the Art of Printing, the Mariner's Compass, and Gun-powder. I shall give this fart complete from the Chinese annals, in the view of ren- dering our incredulous Readers somewhat more reserved, when they treat as fabulous what they do not comprehend in the History of Antiquity ; and cre- dulous Readers not quite so easy of belief, when they ascribe to miracles, or to magic, effects which modern physics imitate publirly in our own days. It is on the subject of the Emperor Ki, according to Father le Comte, or Kieu, conformable to the pronunciation of Father Martini, who has given us a History of the earliest Emperors of China, after the annals of the Coun- try. This Prince, who reigned about three thousand six hundred \ ears ago, gave himself up to the commission of cruelties so barbarous, and to irregu- larities so abominable, that the name is to this day held in detestation all over China, and that when they mean to describe a man dishonoured by every species of criminality, they give him the appellation of Kieu. In order to enjoy the delights of a voluptuous life, without distraction, he retired, with his lady and favourites, into a magnificent palace, from which the light of the Sun was excluded on every side. He supplied it's place by an infinite number of superb lamps, the lustre of which seemed, to him, preferable to that of the Orb of Day, because it was ever uniform, and did not recal to his imagination, by the vicissitudes of day and night, the rapid course of human life. Thus, in the midst of splendid apartments always illuminated, he re- nounced the government of Empire, to put on the yoke of his own passions. Hut the Nations, whose interests he had abandoned, having revolted, chaced him from his infamous retreat, and sent him out a vagabond for his lili.-, hav- ing by his misconduct deprived his posterity of the succession to the Crown, which was transferred to another family, and leaving a memory loaded with such execrations, th: t the Chinese Historians never give him any other name but the Robber, without once bestowing on him the title of Emperor. SEOJJEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. was so recluse that they gave me the sirname of Moneros. To no purpose did my father attempt to combat a sentiment, which was the fruit of the education he had given me. " At the same time," says Father le Comte, " they destroyed his palace; " and in order to transmit to posterity tlie memory of worthlessness so emi- " nent, they suspended the lamps of it in all the quarters of the city. This " custom was repeated annually, and became from that time a remarkable fes- " tivity all over the Empire. It is celebrated at Yamt-Cheou with more mag- " nificence than any where else, and it is said that formerly the illuminations " on this occasion were so beautiful, that one Emperor, not daring avowedly " to quit his Court, and resort thither to enjoy the spectacle, put himself, the " Queen and several Princesses of the Blood, into the hands of a magician, " who engaged to convey them to it in a very short time. He made them " mount in the night-time on superb thrones, which were carried aloft by " swans, and which in a moment arrived at Yamt-Cheou. " The Emperor, wafted through the air on clouds which gradually de- " scended over the city, contemplated the whole festival at his leisure : he af- " terwards returned thence with the same velocity, and by the same vehicle, " without it's being perceived at Court that he had been at all absent. This " is not the only fable which the Chinese relate They have histories rela- t. " tive to every subject, for tliey are superstitious to an excess, and on the sub- " ject of magic in particular, whether feigned or real, there is not a People in " the World to be romparcd with them" JVimoira of the Present State of China, by Father le Comte. Letter VI. This Emperor, u ho was thus transported through the air, according to Fa- ther Magaillans Was called T,m, and this event took place two thousand years after the reign of Kieu ; that is about sixteen hundred years ago. Fa- ther Magaillana, who expresses no doubt respecting the truth of the event, though he supposes it to have been performed by magic, adds, after the Chi- nese, ihat the Emperor T,m caused a concert of vocal and instrumental mu- sic to be played by his band in the air over Yamt-Cheou, which greatly sur- prized the inhabitants of that city. It's distance from Nankin, where the Emperor might be then supposed to reside, is about eighteen leagues. How- ever, if he was at Pekin, as Magailluns gives us to understand, when he says that the Courier from Yamt-Cheou was a month on the road, in carrying him the news of that extraordinary music, which they ascribed to the inhabitants of Heaven, the aerial journey was 175 leagues in a straight line. But without departing from the fact as it stands, if Father le Comte had seen at noon-day, as was done by the whole inhabitants of Paris, of London, and of the other most considerable cities of Europe, Philosophers suspended by -;'V>bus above the clouds, carried 40, nay 50 leagues from the point of their departure, and one of thcrn crossing, through the air, the arm of the Seu which separates England from France, he would not so hastily have treated the Chi:; se tradition as a fable. I find besides a great analogy of forms be- tween "those >ni.;;r.f.eent thrones and those clouds -which gradually descended ARCADIA. 181 One day he introduced me to Cephas, exhorting me to follow his counsels. Though I had never seen Cephas before, a secret sympathy attached me to him, the moment I beheld him. This respectable friend did not endeavor to oppose my favorite pas- sion, but, in order to weaken it, he changed the object: " You " thirst after glory," said he to me " it is undoubtedly the most " desirable thing in the World, since the Gods reserve it for " themselves as their peculiar portion. But how can you reckon " upon obtaining it at the siege of Troy ? Which side would u you take ; that of the Greeks or of the Trojans ? Justice de- " clares for Greece ; compassion and duty for Troy. You are " an Asiatic ;* would you then combat in favour of Europe " ag-tinst Asia ? Would you bear arms against Priam, that fa- " ther, and that King so unfortunate, ready to sink, with his " family and empire, under the arms of Greece? On the other " hand, Would you undertake the defence of the ravisher Paris, (i and of the adulteress Helen against Menelaus her husband ? •ver the city of Yamt-Cheou, and our aerostatic globes, to which it is so easily possible to give those voluminous decorations. The conducting swans ah ne seem to present a difficulty in the management of this aerial navigation. But wherefore should it be deemed impossible for the Chinese to have trained swans to flight simply, herbivorous birds, so easily tamed to the purposes of domestic life, when it is considered that we have instructed the falcon, a bird of prey always wild, to pursue the game, and afterwards to return to the wrist of the fowler ? The Chinese, living under a much better police, more ancient and more pacific than we, have acquired an insight into Nature which our perpetual discords permitted us not to attain till a much later pe- riod : and, undoubtedly, it is this profound insight into Nature which Father le Comte, otherwise a man of understanding, considers as magic, pretended ov reat, in which he acknowledges the Chinese surpassed ail nations. For my own part, I, who am no magician, think I have a glimpse, conformably to some of the Works of Nature, of an easy method whereby aerostats mi\ di- rect their course even against the wind; but I would not publish it were I ever so certain of it's success. What miseries have not the perfecting of the compass, and of gun-powder brought upon the Human Race ! The desirable object of research is not, what is to render us more intelligent, but what is to render us better. Science in the hand of Wisdom is a torch which illumi- nates, but brandished by the hand of wickedness, it sets the World on fire. • Amasis was an Egyptian, and Egypt was in Africa ; but the Ancients as- signed this counu-y t.. Asia. The Nile served as a boundary to Asia on'lie West Consult Pliny, and the ancient Geographers. 182 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES- OF NATURE. " Inhere is no true glory independent of justice. But even " though a free man were able to ascertain, in the quarrels of " Kings, on which side justice lay, Do you conceive that in fol- " lowing it would consist the greatest possible glory that can be " acquired ? Whatever applauses conquerors may receive from " their compatriots, trust me, Mankind know well how to place " them, one day, in their proper situation. They have given " only the rank of heroes and of demigods to those who have " merely practised justice, such as Theseus, Hercules, Pirithous. " But they have raised to the supreme order of Deity, those u who have been beneficent ; such as Isis, who gave Laws to " men ; Osiris, who taught them the Arts, and Navigation ; A- " polio, music ; Mercury, Commerce ; Pan, the art of breeding " cattle ; Bacchus, the cultivation of the vine ; Ceres, that of " corn. I am a native of Gaul," continued Cephas ; " it is a " country naturally rich and fertile, but which, for want of civi- " lization, is destitute of the greater part of those things which " minister to happiness. Let us go and carry thither the arts, " and the useful plants of Egypt; a humane Religion and social " Laws : we may perhaps bring back some commodities useful " to your own Country. There does not exist a Nation, how- " ever savage it may be, that does not possess some ingenuity, " from which a polished People may derive benefit; some an- " cient tradition, some rare production, which is peculiar to it's " own climate. It is thus that Jupiter* the Father of Mankind, " was desirous of uniting, by a reciprocal interchange of benefits, w all the Nations of the Earth ; poor or rich, barbarian or civi- " lized. Even if we should be unable to find in Gaul any thing u that can be used in Egypt, or were we, by some accident, to " lose the fruit of our voyage, still there will remain for us one " thing of which neither death nor tempests can deprive us j I " mean the satisfaction of having done good." This discourse suddenly illuminated my mind with a ray of divine light. I embraced Cephas, with tears in my eyes: u Let " us depart," said I to him, " let us do good to Mankind, and " imitate the Gods!" My father approved of our project. When I took my leave of him, he folded me in his arms, saying: " My son, you are " going to undertake the most difficult task in the World; for ARCADIA. I8i " you are going to engage in labour for the benefit of Mankind. " But if you can by such means, promote your own happiness, " rest assured that you will render mine complete." After having taken leave of our friends, Cephas and I em- barked at Canopus, on board a Phenician vessel which was go- ing to Gaul for a cargo of furs, and for pewter, to the British Islands. We carried with us linen-cloths, models of waggons, of ploughs, and of various looms ; pitchers of wine, musical in- struments, and grains of different species ; among others those of hemp and flax. We caused to be fastened in chests, round the poop of the ship, on the deck, and even along the cordage, slips of the vine, which were in blossom, and fruit trees of various sorts. You might have taken our vessel, covered with vine branches and foliage, for that of Bacchus setting out on the con- quest of the Indies. We anchored, first, on the coast of the Island of Crete, to take in some plants which were suitable to the climate of Gaul. This island produces a greater quantity of vegetables than Egypt, in the vicinity of which it is situated, from the variety of it's temperatures, extending from the burning sands of it's shores, up to the snowy region of Mount Ida, the summit of which is Jost in the clouds. But what ought to render it still more valuable to it's inhabitants, is it's having been governed by the sage laws of Minos. A favourable wind afterwards drove us from Crete to the height of Melita.* This is a small island, the hills of which, being formed of white stone, appear at a distance on the Sea, like cloth spread out to bleach in the Sun. We cast anchor here, to lay in water, which is preserved in great purity, in cis- terns. In vain should we have sought, in this place, for any other species of supply : the island is destitute of every thing, though, from it's situation between Sicilly and Africa, and from the vast extent of it's port, which is divided into several arms, it ought to be the centre of commerce for all the Nations of Europe, of Africa, and even of Asia. It's inhabitants subsist entirely by plunder. We presented them with some seeds of • This i> the Island pgv called Malta. 184 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. the melon, and of the xylon.* This is an herb which thrives in the driest places, and the wool of which serves for the ma- nufacture of cloths extremely white and delicate. Though Melita, which is an entire rock, produces almost nothing fit for the subsistence of men and animals, yet there is taken annually, about the autumnal Equinox, a prodiD;oas quantity of quaiis,f which repose there, on their passage from Europe to Africa. It is an amusing spectacle to see them, fattened as they are, cross the Sea in quantities incredible. They wait till the wind blows from the North, when, raising one of th-.-ir wings in the air like a sail, and beating *vith the other like an oar, they graze along the waves, havi.g tlv.-ir rumps loaded with fat. When they arrive at this island, they are so fatigued that they might be caught with the hand. A man can gather more in one day than he can make use of in a year. From Melita, we were wafted by the gale as far as the Isles of Enosis4 which are situated at the southern extremity of Sardinia. There the winds became contrary and obliged us to * This is the cotton on a herb : it is originally a native of Egypt. They now manufacture at Malta very beautiful stuff of it, which is the principal source of support to the commonalty of that island, who are miserably indi- gent. There is a second species produced on a shrub which is cultivated in Asia and the West-India islands. Nay I believe there is a third species that grows in America on a tall prickly tree ; such care has Nature taken to diffuse a vegetable so useful over all the warm regions of the Globe ! This much is certain, that the Savages of the parts of America which are situated between the Tropics, made for themselves garments and hammocks of cotton when Columbus landed on that Continent. f The quails still take M alta in their way, and appear on a day named and marked in the almanacks of the country. The customs of the animal crea- tion do not vary ; but those of the human species have undergone consider- able changes in that island. Some Grand-Masters of the Order of St. John, to whom the island belongs, have there engaged in projects of public utility ; among others, they have conveyed the water of a rivulet into the very har- bour. Many other undertakings are still behind undoubtedly, which con- cern the Happiness of the Human Race. i These are at this time called the Islands of Saint Peter and of St. Anti- ochus. They are very small; but they have a great fishery for tunnies, and they manufacture great quantities of salt. ARCADIA. 185 anchor. These islands consist of sandy rocks, which produce nothing; but by a wonderful interposition of the providence of the Gods, who in places the most unproductive find the means of supporting Man in a thousand different ways; tunnies are given to these islands, as quails are to the rock of Melita. In Spring, the tunnies, which make their way from the Ocean into the Mediterranean, pass in such great quantities between Sar- dinia and the Islands of Enosis, that their inhabitants are oc- cupied, night and day, in fishing for them, in salting them, and in extracting their oil. I have seen upon their shores heaps of the burnt bones of these fishes, which were higher than this house. But this gift of Nature does not render the inhabi- tants affluent. They fish for the benefit of the inhabitants of Sardinia. Thus, we saw slaves only in the Island of Enosis, and tyrants alone at Melita. The wind becoming favourable, we departed, after having presented the inhabitants with some slips of the vine, and re- ceived from them some young plants of the chesnut-tree, which they import from Sardinia, where the fruit of these trees grows to a considerable size. During the voyage, Cephas pointed out to me the variegated aspects of the land, not one of which Nature has made similar to another, in quality and in form; in order that divers plants and animals may find, in the same climate, different tempera- tures. When nothing was to be perceived but the Heavens and the water, he called my attention to men. " Observe," said he to me, " these sea-faring people, how robust they are ! " you might take them for tritons. Bodily exercise is the ali- " ment of health.* It dissipates an infinite number of disea- " ses and passions, which spring out of the repose of cities. M The Gods have planted human life in the same manner as the " oaks of my country. The more they are buffetted by the * Certain Philosophers have carried matters much farther. They have pretended that bodily exercise was the aliment of tlie soul. Exercise of bo- dy is good only for the preservation of hc.dth ; the soul lias if s own up if! Nothing is more common than to see men of delicate hci.Uu possessed of ex- alted virtue, and robust prrsons very defective there. Yirtui is no more the result of physic.il qualities, than strenjujof body is the efif.-t o: moral quali- ties. All temperaments arc equally predisposed to vice and to virtue. Voi. III. A a 186 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. " winds, the more vigorous they become. The Sea," continued he, " is the school of every virtue: there, you live in priva- " tions, and in dangers of every sort. You are there under the *' necessity of being courageous, sober, chaste, prudent, patient, ^ vigilant, religious." But," answered I, " How comes it that u the greater part of the companions of our voyage possess none " of these qualities ? They are, almost all of them, intemperate, " violent, impious, commending and blaming without discern- a ment, wbite\er they see performed." " It is not the sea which has corrupted them," replied Cephas; " they h..ve brought with them the passions of the land. It is " the love or riches, idleness, and the desire of giving themselves " up to all manner of irregularities, when on shore which de^ " termines a grcr.t number of men to enter into the sea-service, " for the purpose of enriching themselves ; and as they cannot " acquire, without a great deal of trouble, the means of gratifU '* cation on this element, you always see them restless, sullen " and impatient, because there is nothing so discontented as " vice, when it finds itself in the road of virtue. A ship is the " crucible in which morals are put to the test. There the wicke4 " degenerate more and more, and the good become better. Vir- " tue, however, can derive advantage from every situation. " Profiting by their defects^'ou may here learn equally to des- »" pise abuse and idle applause ; to act so as to merit your own "► approbation, and to have no other witness of your actions but " the Gods. He who is desirous of doing good to Mankind, " must inure himself betimes to submit to unkind treatment from " thetp. It is by the labour of the body, and the injustice of " men, that you are enabled to fortify, at once, both your body " and your soul. It was by such means that Hercules acquired " that courage, and that invincible strength, which have raised <:* his glory to the stars. I followed then, as far as I was able, the advice of my friend, notwithstanding my extreme j outh. I exerted myself in raising the unwieldy sail-yards, and in managing the sails. But the least raillery from my companions, who ridiculed my inexperi- ence, entirely disconcerted me. It would have been easier for me to contend with the boisterous elements than with the con? ARCADIA. 187 •cmpt of men : such sensibility to the opinions of others had my education inspired. We passed the strait which separates Africa from Europe, and saw on the right and on the left, the two mountains, Calpe and Abila, which fortify the entrance. Our Phenician sailors did not fail to inform us, that their Nation was the first of all those of the Earth which had dared to penetrate into the vast Ocean, and coast along it's shores, even as far as the Frozen Zone. They placed their own reputation far above that of Her- cules, who erected, as they said, two pillars at this passage, with the inscription, Beyond this you cannot pass, as if the ter- mination of his labours v/ere also to be that of the researches of Mankind. Cephas, who neglected no opportunity of recalling men to a sense of justice, and of rendering homage to the me- mory of heroes, said to them : " I have always heard it said " that the ancients ought to be respected. The inventors of a " science are the most worthy of commendation, because they " open the career to other men. It is less difficult afterwards " for those who follow them to extend their progress. A child, " mounted on the shoulders of a tall man, sees farther than the " person who supports him." Cephas however spoke to them ' without effect ; they would not df ign to render the slightest homage to the son of Alcmena. As for ourselves, we revered the very shores of Spain, where he had killed the three-bodied Ger- yon. We crowned our heads with branches of poplar, and, in honour of him, poured out some wine of Thasos on the waves. We soon discovered the profound and verdant forests which cover Celtic Gaul. It was a son of Hercules, called Galatp, who * gave to it's inhabitants the sirname of Galatians, or Gauls. His mother, the daughter of one of the Kings of Celtes, was of a prodigious stature, sne scorned to take a husband from among her father's subjects'; but when Hercules passed through Gaul, after the defeat of Geryon, she could not refuse her ^teart and hand to the conqueror of a tyrant. We afterwards entered the channel which separates 1fcaul from the British Islands, and in a few days we reached the moflth of^the Seme, the green wa- ters of which may, at all times, be distinguished from the azure waves of the Sea. 188 SEOJJEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. jr . My joy was complete. We were upon the point of arriving. Our trees were fresh, and covered with leaves. Several of them, and among others the slips of the vine, were already loaded with ripe fruit: I pictured to myself the joyful reception which jg we were going to receive from a people destitute of the princi- pal gifts of Nature, when they should see us disembark upon their shores, with the delicate productions of Egypt and of Crete. » -% The labours of agriculture are alone sufficient to fix wandering and unsettled Nations, and to deprive them of the inclination of supporting by violence that life which Nature sustains with so many blessings. Nothing more than a grain of corn is re- quisite, said I to myself, in order to polish the whole. Gallic Na- tion, by those arts which spring from agriculture. This single grain of flax is sufficient, at some future period, to afford them clothing. The slip of the vine may serve to diffuse gaiety and joy over their festivals, to the latest posterity. I then felt how far superior the Works of Nature are to those of Man. These last begin to decay the moment that they appear ; the others, on the contrary, carry in themselves the spirit of life which pro- pagates them. Time, which destroys the monuments of art, serves only to multiply those of Nature. I perceived more , real benefits enclosed in a single grain of seed, than is to be found in Egypt in the treasuries of%er Kings. I gave myself up to these divine and humane speculations, and, in the transports of my joy, I embraqed Cephas, who had given me so jusfan idea of the lval wealth of Nations, and of true glory. My friend at the same time observed, that the pilot # was preparing to stem the current of trie Seine, at the entrance of which we now were. Night w%s approaching; the wind blew from the West, and the Horizon was overcast. Cephas &aid to the pilot: " I would advise you ncx^to enter into the ri- " ver, but rather to cast anchor in tha"t poripbeloved of Amphi- tc trite, which you see upon the left. Listen to what I have " heard related on this subject by^ our ancient seers. tC Seine, the daughter of BncchtW, and a nymph of Ceres, had " folio we cfinto Gaul the Godfess of Agriculture, at the time u when she was seeking her lost-daughter Proserpine* over the " whol* Earth. When Ceres had finished her career, Seine ask- ARCADIA. 189 " ed as a reward for her services those meadows which you see *' below. The Goddess consented, and granted besides to the " daughter of Bacchus, the power of making corn spring up " wherever she set her foot. She then left Seine upon her -*' shores, and gave her, for a companion and attendant, the " nymph Heva, who was charged to keep strict watch over her, " lest she should be carried off by some Sea-god, as her daugh- " ter Proserpine had been, by the Prince of the infernal re- " gions. One day, while Seine was amusing herself, by run- " ning along the sands to seek for shells, and as she fled, utter- " ing loud screams before the waves of the Sea, which some- " times wet the soles of her feet, and sometimes reached even " to her knees, her companion Heva perceived, under the bil- " lows, the hoary locks, the empurpled visage, and the azure " robe of Neptune. This (rod was returning from the Orcades, " after a terrible earthquake, and was surveying the shores of " the Ocean, with his trident, to examine whether their foun- " dations h.td not been convulsed. At sight of him, Heva ut- " tered a shriek, and warned Seine, who immediately tripped " toward the meadows. But the God of the Seas having per- " ceived the nymph of Ceres, and being struck with the grace- " fulness of her figure, and her agility, drove his sea-horses u along the strand in pursuit of her. He had almost overtaken " her, when she implored assistance from her father Bacchus, " and from Ceres her^nistress. They both listened to her pe- " tition. At the moment that Neptune was extending his arms " to catch her, the whole body of Seine melted into water; her " veil and her green robes, which the wind wafted before her, " became waves of an emerald colour. She was transformed " into a river of that hue, which still delights to ramble over the " places in which she delighted while a nymph. What renders u this more Yemarlfcjle is, that Neptune, notwithstanding her " metamorphosis, has not ceased to be enamoured of her, as it " is said the river Alphfeus in#Sicily still continues to be, of, the " fountain of Arethusa. But if the Sea-god has preserved his " affection for Seine, she still continues to retain her aversion " for him. Twice every day he pursues her, with a loud and " roaring noise, and as often Seine flies to the meadows, as- ** cending toward her source, contrary to the natural course of 190 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. " rivers. At all seasons she separates her green waves from " the azure billows of Neptune. " Heva died with regret for the loss of her mistress J but the " Nereids, as a reward to her fidelity, erected to her memory, " upon the shore, a monument composed of black and white u stones, which may be perceived at a very great distance. By " a skill divine, they'have even enclosed in it an echo, in order " that Heva, after her death, might warn mariners, both by the " eye and the ear, of the dangers of the land, as she had during " her life cautioned the nymph of Ceres against those of the Sea. " You see her tomb from hence. It is that steep mountain, " formed of dismal beds of black and white stones. It always " bears the name of Heva.* You perceive by those piles of " flint-stones with which it's basis is covered, the efforts used " by the enraged Neptune to undermine the foundation ; and " you may hear from hence, the roaring of the mountain, which " warns mariners to take care of themselves. As to Amphitrite, " deeply affected by the misfortune of Seine, and the infidelity " of Neptune, she intreated the Nereids to hollow out that little " bay which you see upon your left, at the mouth of the river; " and it was her intention that it should be at all times a secure " harbour against the fury of her husband. Enter into it then " at this time, if you will be ruled by me, while day-light ** remains. I can assure you that I have frequently seen the " God of the Seas pursue Seine far up the country, and over- " turn every thing which he encountered in his passage. Be on " your guard therefore against meeting a God whom love has " rendered furious." " You must surely," answered the Pjlot to Cephas, " take mc u for a very ignorant fellow, v hen you relate such stories to a " p£Bson of my age. It j.-; now forty years since I have foliow- " ed a sea-iife. I have anchored night anJBiay in The Thames, " which is full of sands, and in the Tagus, which flows with " such rapidity; I have seen the,cataracts of the Nile which * There h in fa^t at the mouth of the Seine, on it's left side bank, a mounUin formed of layers of black and wlute stones, which is c;.litd the Hove. It stives :.s a land-mark for mariners, arid there is a flag erected upon ic foi- giving signals to ships at S^a ARCADIA. 191 " mal^e a roaring so dreadful, but never have I seen or heard " any thing similar to what you have now been relating. I shall " hardly be simple enough to remain here at anchor, while the " wind is favourable for going up the river. I shall pass the " night in it's channel, and expect to sleep very soundly." He spoke, and in concert with the sailors raised a hooting, as ignorant and presumptuous men are accustomed to do, when ad- vice is given them which they do not understand. Cephas then approached me, and enquired if I knew how to swim. " No," answered I; "I have learnt in Egypt every " thing that could render me respectable among men, and al- " most nothing which could be useful to myself." He then said to me: " Let us not separate from each other; we will " keep close to this bench of the rowers, and repose all our trust " in the Gods." In the mean time the vessel, driven by the winds, and un- doubtedly by the vengeance of Hercules also, entered the river in full sail. We avoided, at first, three sand-banks which are situated at it's mouth ; afterwards, being fairly involved in the channel, we could see nothing around us but a vast forest, which extended down to the very banks of the river. The only evi- dence we had of a country inhabited, was some smoke, which appeared rising here and there above the trees. We proceeded in this manner till night prevented us from distinguishing any object; then the pilot thought proper to cast anchor. The vessel, driven on one side by a fresh breeze, and on the other by the current of the river, was forced into a cross position in the channel. But notwithstanding this dangerous situation, our sailors began to drink and make merry, believing them- selves secure from all danger, because they were surrounded with land on every side. They afterwards went to rest, and not a single man redfcined on deck to watch the motions of the ship. Cephas and I staid above, seated on one of the rowers1 benches. We banished sleep from our eyes, by conversing on the majestic appearance of the stars which rolled over our heads. Already had the constellation of the Bear reached the middle of it's course, when we heard, at a distance, a deep roaring noise, like that of a cataract. I imprudently rose up to see what it « 192 SEQLi-L TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. could be. I perceived, by the whiteness of it's foam, a moun- tain of water* which approached us from the.Sea, rolling itself over and over. It occupied the whole breadth of the river, and rushing above it's banks, to the right-hand and to the left, broke with a horrible crash among the trunks of the trees of the forest. In the same instant it came upon our vessel, and taking her side-ways, fairly overset her. This movement tos- sed me into the water. A movement afterwards, a second surge still more elevated than the former, turned the vessel keel up- ward. I recollect that I then heard issue from the inverted wreck, a multitude of hollow and stifled screamings : but being desirous of calling my friend to my assistance, my mouth filled with salt water ; I felt a murmuring noise in my ears ; I found m> self carried away with inconceivable rapidity, and soon after I lost all recollection. I am not sensible how long I might have remained in the ^jjfcter, but when I recovered my senses, I perceived toward the ' West the bow of Iris in the Heavens, and to the East the first fires of Aurora, which tinged the clouds with silver and ver- milion. A company of young girls extremely fair, half clad in skins, surrounded me : some of them presented me with li- quors in shells, others wiped me dry with mosses, and others supported my head with their hands. Their flaxen hair, their vermilion cheeks, their azure eyes, and that celestial some- what which compassion always portrays on the countenance of woman, made me believe that I was in Heaven, and that I was attended by the Hours, who open the gates of it day by day for the admission of unfortunate mortals. The first emotion of my heart was to look for you, and the second to enquire after \ ou. Oh, Cephas ! I could not have felt my happiness com- plete, even in Olympus, without your presence. But the illu- :.ion was soon over, when I heard a languMte barbarous and un- * This mountain of water is produced by the tides, which force their way from the Sea up the Seine, and make it to flow backward against it's course. It is heard coming from a very great distance, especially in the right-time. They call it the Bar, because it obstructs the whole course of the Seine. This Bar is usually followed by a second Bar still more elevated, which pur- sues it at the distance of about a hundred fathom. They run much fa.5'' than a h< >rsc at full speed. t» ARCADIA. 193 known to me, issue from the rosy lips of these young females. I then recollected by degrees the circumstances of my shipwreck. I arose: I wished to seek for you, but knew not where to find you again. I wandered about in the midst of the woods. I was ignorant whether the river, in which we had been ship- wrecked, was near, or at a distance, on my right hand, or on my left; and to increase my embarrassment, there was no per- son of whom I could enquire it's situation. After having reflected a short time, I observed that the grass was wet, and the foliage of the trees of a bright green, from which I concluded that it must have rained abundantly the pre- ceding night. I was confirmed in this idea by the sight of the water, which still flowed in yellow currents along the roads. I farther concluded that these waters must, of necessity, empty themselves into some brook, and this brook into the river. I was about to follow these indications, when some men, who came out of an adjoining cottage, compelled me with a threaten- ing tone to enter. I then perceived that I was free no longer, and that I had become the slave of a people, who, I once flat- tered myself, would have honoured me as a God. I call Jupiter to witness, oh, Cephas / that the affliction of having been shipwrecked in port, of seeing myself reduced to servitude by those for whose benefit I had travelled so far, of being relegated to a barbarous country where I could make myself understood by no person, far from the delightful country of Egypt, and from my relations, did not equal the distress which I felt in having lost you. I called to remembrance the wisdom of your counsels ; your confidence in the Gods, of whose providence you taught me to be sensible even in the midst of the greatest calamities; your observations on the Works of Nature, which replenished her to me with life and benevolence ; the tranquillity in which you so well knew how to maintain all my passions : and I felt, by the gloom which was gathering around my heart, that I had lost in you the first of blessings, and that a prudent friend is the most valuable gift which the bounty of the Gods can bestow upon Man. Thus, I thought of nothing but of the means of regaining you once more, and I flattered myself that I should succeed, bv making my escape in the middle o# the night, if I could onlv Vol. III. Bb 194 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. reach the sea-coast. I was persuaded that I could not be tar distant from it, but I was entirely ignorant on which side it lav. There was no eminence near me from whence I could discover it. Sometimes I mounted to the summit of the mos. lofty trees, but I could perceive nothing except the surface of the forest, which extended as far as the Horizon. Often did I watch the flight of the birds, to see if I could discover some sea- fowl coming on shore to build her nest in the forest; or some wild pigeon going to pilfer salt from the shores of the Ocean. I would a thousand times have preferred the sound of the pier- cing cries of the sea-thrush, when she comes during a tempest to shelter herself among the rocks, to the melodious voice of the red-breast, which already announced, in the yellow foliage of the woods, the termination of the fine weather. One night after I had retired to rest, I thought I heard at a distance the noise which the waves of the St.-a make, when they break upon it's chores ; that I could even distinguish the tumult of the waters of the Seine pursued by Neptune. Their roarings, which had formerly chilled me with horror, at that time transported ifit with joy. I arose : I went out of the cot- tage, and listened attentively ; but the sounds, which seemed to issue from various parts of the Horizon, soon perplexed my un- derst Hiding: I began to discover that it was the murmurings of the winds, which agitated at a distance the foliage of the oaks, and of the beech-trees, Sometimes I endeavoured to make the savages of my cottage comprehend that I had lost a friend. I applied my hand to my eyes, to my mouth, and to my heart; I pointed to the Hori- zon, I raised my hands clasped to Heaven, and shed tears. Th_y understood this dumb language, by which I expressed my affliction, for they wept with me ; but, by a contradiction for which I could not account, they redoubled their precautions to prevent me from making my escape. I applied myself therefore to leam their language, that I might inform them of my condition, and in order to interest them in it. They were themselves eagerly disposed to teach me the names of the objects which I pointed out to them. Slavery is very mild among these Nations. My life, liberty excepted, dif- fered in nothing from that of my masters. Every thing wa^ in ARCADIA. 195 common between us, provision, habitation, and the earth upon which we slept wrapped up in skins. They had even so much consideration for my youth, as to give me the easiest >part of their labours to perform. In a short time I was able to converse with them. This is what I learnt of their government and cha- racter. Gaul is peopled with a great number of petty Nations, some of which are governed by Kings, others by chiefs, called Iarles; but all subjected to the power of the Druids, who unite them all under the same religion, and govern them with so much the greater facility, that they are divided by a thousand different cus- toms. The Druids have persuaded these Nations that they are descended from Pluto, the God of the infernal Regions, whom they call Hxder, or the Blind. This is the reason that the Gauls reckon by nights and not by days, and that they reckon the hours of the day from the middle of the night, contrary to the practice of all other Nations. They adore several other* Gods as terrible as Hceder; such as Niorder, the master of the winds, who dashes vessels on their coasts, in order they say to procure them plunder. They accordingly believe, that every ship which is wrecked upon their shores is sent them by Nior- der. They have besides, Thor, or Theutates, the God of War, armed with a club, which he darts from the upper regions of the air; they give him gloves of iron, and a belt, which redoubles his fury when it is girded around him. Tir, equally cruel ; the silent Vidar, who wears shoes of considerable thickness, by mean3 of which he can walk through the air, and upon the wa- ter, without making any noise ; Hemdal, with the golden tooth, who sees day and night: he can hear the slightest sound, even that which the grass or the wool makes as they grow : Duller, the God of the Ice, shod with skates ; Loke, who had three chil- dren by the giantess Angherbodc, the messenger of grief, namely, the wolf Fenris, the serpent of Midgard, and the merciless Hela. Hela is death. They say that his palace is misery ; his table, famine ; his door, the precipice ; his porch, languor ; and his bed, consumption. They have besides several other Gods, whose ex- ploits are as ferocious as their names, Herian, Rtflindi, Svidur, Svidrer, Salsk ; which translated, mean the warrior, the thun- '!• -i(t, the destroyer, the incendiary, the father of carnage. Th:- 1 106 SEOJJEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. Druids honour these Divinities,* with funeral ceremonies, la- mentable ditties, and human sacrifices. This horrible mode of worship gives them so much power over the terrified spirits of the Gauls, that they preside in all their councils, and decide upon all their affairs. If any one presumes to oppose their judg- ment, he is excluded from the communion of their mysteries;! and from that moment he is abandoned by every one, not except- ing his own wife and children ; but it seldom happens that any one ventures to resist them ; for they arrogate to themselves, ex- clusively, the charge of educating youth, that they may impress upon their minds early in life, and in a manner never to be effa- ced, these horrible opinions. As for the Iarles, or Nobles, they have the power of life and death over their own vassals. Those who live under Kings pay them the half of the tribute which is levied upon the commonalty. Others govern them entirely to their own advantage. The rich- er sdrt give feasts to the poor of their own particular class, who accompany them to the wars, and make it a point of honour to die by their side. They are extremely brave. If in hunting they encounter a bear, the Chief amongst them lays aside his arrows, attacks the animal alone, and kills him with one stroke of his cutlass. If the fire catches their habitation, they never quit it till they see the burning joists ready to fall upon them. Others, on the brink of the Ocean, with lance or sword in hand, oppose themselves to the waves which dash upon the shore. They suppose valour to consist, not only in resisting their ene- mies of the human species, and ferocious animals, but even the elements themselves. Valour with them supplies the place of justice. They always decide their differences by force of arms, and consider reason as the resource of those only who are des- titute of courage. These two classes of citizens, one of which employs cunning, and the other force, to make themselves fear- ed, completely balance each other ; but they unite in tyrannizing * Respecting the manners and mythology of the ancient Nations of the North, Herodotus may be consulted, the Commentaries of Cesar, Suetonius, Ta- citus, the Eda of Mr. Mallet, and the Swedish Collections, translated by the Che\alier de Keralio. f Cesar says precisely tlie same thing in his Commentaries. / i ARCADIA. 197 over the people, whom they treat with sovereign contempt. Never can a plebeian among the Gauls arrive at the honour of filling any public station. It would appear that this Nation ex- ists only for it's Priests and it's Nobles. Instead of being con- soled by the one, and protected by the other, as justice requires, the Druids terrify them, only in order that the Iarles may op- press them. Notwithstanding all this, there is no race of men possessed /' of better qualities than the Gauls. They are very ingenious, and excel in several species of useful arts which are to be found no where else. They overlay plates of iron with tin,* so artfully, that it might pass for silver. They compact pieces of wood with so much exactness, that they form of them vases capable '•,*' of containing all sorts of liquors. What is still more wonderful, they have a method of boiling water in them without their be- ing consumed. They make flint stones red-hot, and throw them into the water contained in the wooden vasex till it acqukes the (degree of heat which they wish to give it. /They also know how to kindle fire without making use either of steel or of flint, by the friction of the wood of the ivy and of the laurel. The qua- lities of their heart are still superior to those of their under- standing. They are extremely hospitable. He who has little, divides that little cheerfully with him who has nothing. They are so passionately fond of their children that they never treat them unkindly. They are contented with bringing them back to a sense of their duty by remonstrance. The result from this cofiduct is, that at all times the most tender affection unites all the members of their families, and that the young people there listen, with the greatest respect, to the counsels of the aged. Nevertheless, this People would be speedily destroyed by the tyranny of it's Chieftains, did they not oppose their own pas- sions to themselves. Wh»i quarrels arise among the Nobility, • The Laplanders understand the art of wire-drawing tin to a very high degree of perfection. There is in general an extreme ingenuity distinguish- able in all the arts practised by savage Nations. The canoes and the ra- ijucttcs of the Kstminiuux ; the pros of the islanders of the Souths..; the nets, the lines, the hooks, the bows, the arrows, thc take up the question, we may allow the mythology of the Gauls to assign a reason for the beamy of their young women by a, iajjlc which the Greeks would not perhaps have rejected. "^VoLf IhT C c 202 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. said I to myself, " if I could perceive among so many plants, a " single one of those which I brought with me from Egypt! " were it only the humble flax, it would recal the memory of " my Country, during my whole life-time; in dying, I would *< select it for the pi ice of my grave : it would one day tell Cc- " phas where the bones of his friend repose, and inform the " Gauls of the name and of the travels of Amasis." One day, as I was endeavouring to dissipate my melancholy, by looking at the young girls dancing on the fresh grass, one of them quitted the dancers, and came and wept over me: then, on a sudden, she again joined her companions, and continued to dance, frisking about and amusing herself with them, I took the sudden transition from joy to grief, and from grief to joy, in this young girl, to be the effect of the natural levity of the people, and I did not give myself much trouble about it; when I saw an old man issue from the forest, with a red beard, cloth- ed inija robe made of the skins of weasels. He bore a branch of mistletoe in his hand, and at his girdle hung a knife of flint, He was followed by a company of young persons in the flower q[ their age, who had girdles of the same sort of skins, and holding in their hands empty gourds, pipes of iron, bullocks' horns, and other instruments of their barbarous music. As soon as this old man appeared the dancing ceased, every countenance became sad, and the whole company removed to a distance from me. Even mv master and his family retired to their cottage. The wicked old man then approached me, and fastened a leathern cord round my neck ; then his satellites forc- ing me to follow him, dragged me along in a state of stupefac- tion, in the same manner as wolves would carry off a sheep. They conducted me across the forest to the very borders of the Seine : Jiere the Chief sprinkled me with the water of the ri- ver ; he then made me enter into a large boat, constructed of the bark of the birch-tree, into which he likewise embarked with all his train. We sailed up the Seine for eight days together, during which every one observed a*J|rofound silence. On the ninth, we ar- rived at a little town built in the middle of an island. -They here made me disembark on the opposite shore, on the right- hand bank of the river, and they conducted me into a large hut ARCADIA- 203 Without windows, which was illuminated by torches of fir. They tied me to a stake in the middle of the hut, and those young men, who watched over me night and day armed with Ratchets of flint, never ceased to dance around me, blowing, with all their strength, through the bulls' horns and iron pipes* They accompanied this detestable music with these horrible words, which they sung in chorus. " Oh, Niorder! Oh, Rifiindi ! Oh, Svidrer! Oh, Hela! Oh, " Hela ! God of Carnage and of Storms, we bring thee flesh. " Receive the blood of this victim, of this child of death. Oh, " Niorder! Oh, Rifiindi! Oh, Svidrer ! Oh, Hela! Oh, Hela!" Whilst they pronounced these awful words, their eyes rolled about in their heads, and their mouths foamed. At length those fanatics, overwhelmed with fatigue, fell asleep, except one of them who was called Omfi. This name, in the Celtic tongue, signifies beneficent. Omfi, moved with compassion, approached me : " Unfortunate young man," said he, " a cruel war has " broken out between the Nations of Great-Britain and those " of Gaul. The Britons pretend to be the masters of the Sea " which separates their island from us* We have already been " defeated by them in two naval engagements. The College " of the Druids of Chartres has determined, that human victims " are necessary to render Mars favourable, whose temple is " j.ust by this place. The Chief of the Druids, who has spies " over all the Gauls, has discovered that the tempests had cast " you upon our coasts : he went himself to find you out. He " is old and pitiless. He bears the name of two of our most " formidable Deities. He is called Tor-Tir.* Repose thy " confidence then in the Gods of thy own Country, for those of: " Gaul demand thy blood." I was seized with such terror, that I was unable to make the least reply to Omfi: I only thanked him by an inclination of my head, and he immediately hastened from me, lest he should be perceived by any of his companions. At that moment I called to mind the reason which induced the Gauls, who had made me their slave, toliinderme from reniov- ' Perhaps it may be from the names of those two cruel Gods of the North, J>'t the word torture is derived. 201 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. ing from their habitation ; they were apprehensive that I might fall into the hands of the Druids ; but I had not the power of escaping my cruel destiny. My destruction now appeared so inevitable in my own eyes, that I did not believe Jupiter him-* self was able to deliver me from the jaws of those tigers, who were thirsting for my blood. I recollected no more, oh, Cephas! what you have so frequently told me, That the Gods never abandon innocence. I did not even remember their having saved me from shipwreck. Present danger totally obliterates past deliverance from the mind. Sometimes I imagined that they had preserved me from the waves, only to give me up to a death a thousand times more painful. Nevertheless I addressed my supplications to Jupiter, and I enjoyed a kind of repose, in relying entirely on that Providence which governs the World, when all of a sudden the doors of the cottage opened, and a numerous company of Priests enter- ed, with Tor-Tir at their head, always bearing in his hand a branch of mistletoe from the oak. Immediately the young bar- barians who surrounded me awoke, and began their funeral songs and dances. Tor-Tir approached me; he placed upon my head a crown of the yew-tree, and a handful of the meal of f beans ; afterwards he put a gag in my mouth, and having un- tied me from my stake, he fastened my hands behind my back. Then all his retinue began to march to the sound of their dole- ful instruments, and two Druids, supporting me by the arms, conducted me to the place of sacrifice. Here Tyrteus perceiving that the spindle fell from the hand^ of Cyanea, and that she turned pale, said to her : " My daugh- " ter, it is time for you to go to rest. Remember that you must " rise to-morrow before the dawn, to go to Mount Lyceum, " where you have to present, with your companions, the shep- " herd's offering on the altar of Jupiter." Cyanea, trembling all over, replied : " My father, ever) thing is ready against the " festival of to-morrow. The wreathes of flowers, the wheaten " cakes, the vessels of milk, are all prepared. But it is not " late : the moon has not as yet illuminated the bottom of the " valley, nor have the cocks yet crowed ; it is not midnight. " Allow me I entreat you to stay here till the end of this story. H My father, I am near you, and I shall apprehend no danger." ARCADIA. 205 Tyrteus looked at his daughter with a smile ; and having made an apology to Amasis for interrupting him, entreated he would proceed. He went out of the hut, replied Amasis, in the middle of a dark night, by the smoky light of fir-torches. We traversed at first a vast field of stones ; we saw here and there the skeletons of horses and of dogs, fixed upon stakes. From thence we ar- rived at the entrance of a large cavern, hollowed in the side, of a rock all over white.* The lumps of black clotted blood which had been shed around, exhaled an infectious smell, and announ- ced this to be the Temple of Mars. In the interior of this fright- ful de% along the walls, were ranged human heads and bones ; and in the middle of it, upon a piece of rock, a statue of iron reared itself to the summit of the cavern, representing the god Mars. It was so misshapen, that it had more resemblance to a block of rusty iron than to the God of war. We could dis- tinguish however his club, set thick with piercing points, his gloves studded with the heads of nails, and his horrible girdle, on which was portrayed the image of Death. At his feet was seated the King of the Country, having around him the princi- pal personages of his State. An immense crowd of people were collected within and without the cavern, who preserved a me- lancholy silence, impressed with respect, religion and terror. Tor-Tir, addressing himself to the whole assembly, said: " Oh King, and you larles assembled for the defence of the " Gauls, do not believe that you ever can triumph over your " enemies without the assistance of the God of Battles. Your •c losses have demonstrated what is the consequence of neglect- " ing his awful worship. Blood offered up to the Gods, saves " the effusion of that which mortals shed. The Gods ordain " men to be born, only that they may die. Oh ! how happy " are you, that the selection of the victim has not fallen upon • Montmartre is meant, Mons Martis. It is well known that this vising ground, dedicated to .Mars whose name it bears, is formed of a rock of plas- ter, Otliers it is t.iie derive the i.auic of Moiumartre from Mons Martyruvt. Tlu'se two etymologies may be very easily reconciled. If there were, in an- cient times, a gre. t many maitjrs ou th.s mountain, it was probably owing to it's being the residence of seme celebrated idol, to which they were there offered in sacriucc. 206 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. " one of yourselves! Whilst I was considering within myself, " whose life among us would be acceptable to the Gods, and " ready to offer up my own for the good of my Country, Nior- " der, the God of the Seas, appeared to me in the gloomy for- " ests of Chartres; he was dripping all over with sea-water. " He said to me in a voice thundering like the tempest: I send " to you, for the salvation of the Gauls, a stranger, without re- " krtions, and without friends. I myself dashed him upon the " western shores. His blood will be acceptable to the Gods of " the infernal regions. Thus spake Niorder. Niora%r loves " you, oh, ye children of Pluto !" Scarcely had Tor-Tir made an end of this terrible address, when a Gaul who was seated by the King, rushed toward me: it was Cephas. " Oh, Amasis ! oh, my dear Amasis .'" cried he. " Oh, my barbarous compatriots! are you going to sacri- " fice a man, who has come from the banks of the Nile to bring " you the most precious blessings of Greece and of Egypt? " You shall begin then with me, who first inspired him with " this desire, and who touched his heart with pity for the per- u sons so cruel to him." As he pronounced these words, he pressed me in his arms, and bathed me with his tears. For my part, I wept and sobbed, without the power of expressing to him, in any other way, the transports of my joy. Immedi- ately the cavern resounded with the voice of murmurs and of groans. The young Druids wept, and let fall from their hands the instruments of my sacrifice : for Religion becomes mute whenever Nature speaks. Nevertheless, no one in the assem- bly durst even now deliver me from the hands of the butcher- ing priests, when the women, rushing into the midst of the as- sembly, tore asunder my chains, and removed my gag and fu- neral crown. Thus, for the second time, did I owe my life to the women of Gaul. The King, taking me in his arms, said : " What, is it you, " unhappv stranger, whom Cephas has been incessantly regret- " ting! Oh, ye Gods, the enemies of my Country, do you send " benefactors hither only that they may be immolated!" Th^n, addressing himself to the Chiefs of the Nations, he spoke with so much energy of the rights of humanity, that with one accord they all swore, that they would never more reduce to shivery ARCADIA. 207 those whom the tempest might cast upon their shores ; never to sacrifice, in future, any one innocent man, and to offer to Mars only the b|ood of the criminal. Tor-Tir, in a rage, endeavour- ed in vain to oppose this law: he retired, menacing the King and all the Gauls with the approaching vengeance of the Gods, Nevertheless the King, accompanied by my friend, conduct- ed me amidst the acclamations of the People into his city, which was situated in the neighbouring island. Till the mo- ment of our arrival in this island, I had been so much discom- posed tl|at I was incapable of a single rational reflection. Every species of new representation of my misfortunes contracted my heart,und obscured my understanding. But as soon as I re- covered the use of my reasoning powers, and began to reflect on the extreme danger which I had just escaped, I fainted away. Oh, how weak is man in a paroxysm of joy! He is strong only to encounter woe. Cephas brought me to myself after the manner of the Gauls, by shaking about my head, and blowing on my face. When I had recovered my senses, he took my hands in his, and said to me : " Oh, my friend, how many tears you have cost " me! When the waves of the Ocean which overset our vessel, " had separated us, I found myself cast, I know not how, upon " the right-hand bank of the Seine. My first care was to seek " for you. I kindled fires upon the shore; I called you by il name; I employed several of my compatriots who had ga- " thered together on hearing my cries, to reconnoitre, in their " boats, the banks of the river, to see if they could not find " you; all our researches were ineffectual. The day re-appear- " ed, and presented to my view our vessel overturned, and hei " keel in the air, close to the shore where I was. It never oc- u curred to my thoughts that you might have landed on the op- " posite shore, in my own country Belgium. It was not till " the third day, that believing you had perished, I resolved to " pass over to it, to visit my relations. The greatest part of " them had paid the debt of Nature during my absence: those " who remained overwhelmed me with kindness ; but not even " a brother can compensate for the loss of a friend. I return " ed almost immediately to the other side of the river. There " they unloaded our unfortunate vessel, of which nothing had 208 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. " been lost but the men. I sought your body along the sea- " shore, and I repeated my demand of it evening, morning, and " in the middle of the night from the nymphs of the Ocean, " that I might rear you a monument near to that of Heva. I " should have passed all my life I believe in these vain resear- " ches, had not the King, who reigns on the banks of this river, " informed that a Phenician vessel was wrecked on his domains, " claimed the property, which according to the laws of the u Gauls belonged to him. I collected accordingly every thing " which we had brought from Egypt, even to the very trees, " which had not been damaged by the water ; and I presented " myself,, with these wretched fragments, before that Prince. " Let us bless then the providence of the Gods, which has united " us again, and which has rendered your misfortunes more use- " ful to my Country than even your presents. If you had not " made shipwreck on our coasts, the barbarous custom of con- " demning to slavery those who endure that calamity, would " not have been abolished ; and if you had not been condemned " to be sacrificed, I should most probably never have seen you " more, and the blood of the innocent would still have smoked " upon the altars of the God of War." Thus spake Cephas. As for the King, he omitted nothing which he thought would tend to make me lose the recollection of my misfortunes. He was called Bardus. He was already considerably advanced in years, and he wore, according to the custom of his people, his beard and hair very long. His palace was built of the trunks of firs, laid in rows one upon another. It had no other door* except large bullocks' hides, which closed up the apertures. No person was there on guard, for he had nothing to fear from his subjects ; but he had employed all his skill and industry to fortify his city against enemies from with- * Gates were a matter of very difficult construction to savage tribes, who did not understand the use of the saw, without which it was almost impossi- ble to reduce a tree into planks. Accordingly, when they abandoned a Coun- try, those who had gates carried them off with them. A Norwegian hero, whose name I do not at present recollect, he who discovered Greenland, threw his into the Sea, in order to discover where the Destinies intended to fix his residence ; and he made a settlement good on that part of Greenland to which they were wafted. Gates and their threshold were, and still are, sacred in the East. ARCADIA. 209 out. He had surrounded it with walls, formed of the trunks of trees, intermixed with sods of turf, with towers of stone at the angles and at the gates. Sentinels were stationed on the top of these towers, who watched day and night. King Bardus had received this island from the nymph Lutetia his mother, and it bore her name. It was at first discovered with nothing but trees, and Bardus had not a single subject. He employed him- self in twisting, upon the banks of the island, ropes of the bark of the lime-tree, and in hollowing alders to make boats. lie sold these productions of his own hands to the mariners who sailed up or down the Seine. While he worked, he sung the advantages of industry and of commerce, which unite togethei all mankind. The boatmen-frequently stopped to listen to his songs. The were repeated, and spread throughout all the Gauls, among whom they were known under the name of the verses of the Bards. Soon after a great number of people came to estab- lish themselves in this island to hear him sing, and to live in greater security. His riches accumulated with his subjects. The island was covered with habitations, the neighbouring for- ests were cleared, and in a short time numerous flocks covered both the adjacent shores. It was in this manner that the good King formed an empire without violence. But while as yet his island was not surrounded by walls, and while he was already planning to make it the centre of commerce for all the Nations of Gaul, war was on the point of exterminating all it's inha- bitants. One day, a great number of warriors who were sailing up the Seine, in canoes made of the bark of the elm, disembarked upon it's northern shore, direcdy opposite to Lutetia. They were under the command of the Iarle Car nut, third son of Tendal Prince of the North. Carnut was on his return from laying waste all the coasts of the Hvperborean Sea, over which he had spread horror and devastation. He was secretly favoured in Gaul by the Druids, who, like all weak men, take the side of those who have rendered themselves formidable. As soon as Carnut had landed, he went in search of King Bardus, and said : " Let us fight, thou and I, :\t the head of our warriors : the 1 weaker shall obey the strongest; for it is the first Law of N^- Voi. III. Dd 210 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. " ture that every thing should yield to force." King Bardus replied : " Oh, Carnut ! If the point in dispute were the ha- " zarding of my own life, for the defence of my people, I would " without hesitation expose it. But I will not expose the lives " of my people, were it even to save my own. It is goodness " and not force which ought to be the choice of Kings. It is " goodness only which governs the World, and it employs for " that purpose intelligence and strength, which are subordinate " to it, as are all the other Powers of the Universe. Valiant " son of Tendal, since thou wishest to govern men, let us try, " whether of the two, you or I, is the most capable of doing " them good. Behold these poor Gauls entirely naked. With- " out making offensive comparisons, I have several times clothed " and fed them, even to the denying myself clothes and food. il Let us see what provision thou wilt make for their wants." Carnut accepted the challenge. It was now Autumn. He went to the chace with his warriors ; he killed a great number of birds, stags, elks and wild boars. He afterwards, with the flesh of these animals, gave a great feast to the inhabitants of Lutetia, and clothed in their skins those who were naked. King Bardus said to him : " Son of Tendal, thou art a mighty hunts* " man: thou wilt be able to support the people during the hunt- " ing season ; but in Spring, and during Summer time, they " will perish with hunger. For my part, with my corn, the " fleeces of my sheep, and the milk of my flocks, I can maintain u them throughout the whole year." Carnut made no reply; but he remained encamped with his warriors upon the banks of the river, and refused to withdraw, Bardus perceiving his obstinacy went to seek him in his turn, and proposed a second challenge to him : " Valour," said he, " is the quality of a warlike Chief, but patience is still more ''necessary to Kings. Since thou wishest to reign, let us " try which of us can carry this ponderous log the longest." It was the trunk of an oak of thirty years old. Carnut took it on his back, but soon losing patience hastily threw it down again. Bardus laid it across his shoulders, and bore it without moving, till after sun-set, and even till the night was far advanced. Nevertheless Carnut and his warriors would uot depart. They thu:; passed the whole Winter employed in hunting. The ARCADIA. 211 Spring returned, and they threatened to destroy a rising city, whi«;h refused to do them homage ; and they became still great- er objects of terror, as they began to be in total want of food. Bardus did not know how to rid himself of them, for they were the most powerful. In vain did he consult the most aged of his people ; no one could give him advice. At last he laid his distress before his mother Lutetia, who was now very old, but who still possessed an excellent understanding. Lutetia said to him: " My son, you are acquainted with a " great number of ancient and curious histories, which I taught u you in your infancy; you excel in singing: Challenge the " son of Tendal to a competition in song with you." Bardus went and found out Carnut, and said: " Son of Ten- " dal, it is not sufficient for a King to maintain his subjects, and " to be firm and constant in his labours: he ought to know like- " wise how to banish from their minds those miseries of opinion " which render them unhappy: for it is opinion which exercise's " influence over Mankind, and renders them good or bad. Let " us see whether of the two, thou or I, can exert the greatest " power over their minds. It was not by fighting merely that " Hercules attracted followers in Gaul, but by divine songs, 11 which flowed from his mouth like chains of gold, charmed the " ears of those who listened, and constrained them to follow " him." Carnut with joy accepted this third challenge. He sung the combats of the Gods of the North on the icy mountains ; the tempests of Niorder upon the Seas ; the tricks of Vidar in the air ; the ravages of Thor on the Earth; and the empire of Har- der in the dark regions of Hell. To these he added the rehearsal of his own victories, and his tremendous strains transfused the emotions of fury into the heart of his warriors, who were on tiptoe to spread universal destruction. As to King Bardus, the following were his milder strains : " I sing the dawn of the morning; the earliest rays of Aurora 11 which have arisen on the Gauls, the empire of Pluto; the " blessings of Ceres, and the misfortune of the infant Lois. Lis- " ten to my songs, ye spirits of the rivers, and repeat them to 1 the spirits of the azure mountains. 212 SEQU£L TO THE STUDIES 01' NATURE. " Ceres came from seeking her daughter Proserpine over tlu u face of the whole Earth. She was on her return to Sicily, " where grateful myriads adored her. She traversed the sa- 'l vage Gauls, their trackless mountains, their desert vfclleys and " their gloomy forests, when she found her progress stopped by " the waters of Seine, her own nymph transformed into a river. " On the opposite bank of the Seine, there happened at that " time to be a beautiful boy with flaxen hair, named Lois, " bathing himself in the stream. He took delight to swim in " the transparent waters, and to run about naked on the solitary a verdant downs. The moment that he perceived a female, he "■ flew to hide himself amidst a tuft of reeds. u ?dy lovely child! cried Ceres to him with a sigh; come to " me, my lovely child! On hearing the voice of a woman in dis- " tress, Lois left his retreat among the reeds. He puts on, with '* blushes, his robe of lamb's skin which was suspended on a " willow. He crosses the Seine on a bank of sand, and present - " ing his hand to Ceres, shews her a path through the midst of " the waters. " Ceres having passed the river, gives the boy Lois a cake, " a sheaf of corn, and a kiss; she then informs him how bread " was made from the corn, and how corn grows in the fields. " Thanks* beautions stranger, returned Lois ; I will carry to my " mother thy lessons, and thy welcome presents. " The mother of Lois divides with her child and husband the " cake and the kiss. The enraptured father cultivates a field, " and sows the grain. By and by the Earth is clothed with a ' golden harvest, and a report is diffused over the Gauls, that u a Goddess had presented a celestial plant to their fortunate in- " habitants. " Near to that place lived a Druid. He was entrusted with lt the inspection of the forests. He measured out to the Gauls, *' for food, beech-mast and acorns from the oak. When he " beheld a field cultivated, and a rich harvest, What becomes of " my power, says he, if men learn to live on corn ? " He calls Lois. My pretty little friend, says he, Where " wert thou when thou beheldest the stranger who gave thee u the fine ears of corn. Lois, apprehending no evil, conducts " him to the banks of the Seine. I was savs he under that sil- ARCADIA. 213 " ver-leaved willow; I was running about over those snowy " daisies: I flew to hide myself under these reeds, because I " was naked. The treacherous Druid smiled: he seizes Lois, " and plunges him into the depths of the stream. " The mother of Lois saw her beloved child no more. Sh • " wanders through the woods, calling aloud: Lois! where art " thou ? my darling child, Lois ! The echoes alone repeat, Lois, " my darling child, Lois ! She runs like one distracted along " the banks of the Seine. She perceives something white by the " edge of the water: He cannot be far off, said she ; there are " his beloved flowers, there are his snowy daisies. Alas! it was " Lois, her darling child Lois ! " She weeps, she groans, she sighs ; she takes up in her trem- " bling arms the clay-cold body of Lois ; she fondly tries to re- " animate him in her bosom ; but the heart of the mother has " no longer the power of communicating warmth to the body of " the son ; and the clay-cold body of the son is already freez- u ing the heart of a mother: she is on the point of expiring. " The Druid, mounted on an adjoining rock, exults in his ven- " geance. " The Gods-do not always appear at the cry of the misera- " ble ; but the voice of a forlorn mother attracted the attention " of Ceres. The Goddess appeared. Lois, says she, Be thou " the most beautiful flower of the Gauls. Immediately the pale " cheeks of Lois expanded into a calix more white than the " snow : his flaxen hairs were transformed into filaments of " gold, and the sweetest of perfumes exhales from them. The " limber stem rises toward Heaven, but the head still droops on " the banks^f the river which he loved. Lois is changed intf ■ " a lily. * " The priest of Pluto beholds this prodigy unmoved. II, " raises to the superior Gods an inflamed countenance, and eyes " sparkling with rage. He blasphemes, he threatens Ceres : he " was going to assault her with an impious hand ; when she " cries to him aloud: Gloomy and cruel tyrant, Remain where " thou art. " At the voice of the Goddess he becomes immoveable. But " the rock feels the powerful command, it opens into a cleft; the " legs of the Druid ;'mk into it; his visage, bearded all over. 214 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. " and empurpled with rage, rises toward Heaven in divergent " crimson radiations, and the garment which covered his mur- " derous arms is bristled into prickles. The Druid is trans- " formed into a thistle. " Thou, said the Goddess of the Harvests, who would per- " severe in feeding men like beasts, become thyself food for " animals. Continue to be the enemy of the harvests after thy " death, as thou wert during thy life. As for thee, beautiful " flower of Lois, be thou the ornament of the Seine, and may " thy victorious flower, in the hand of her Kings, one day pre- u vail triumphantly over the mistletoe of the Druids. " Gallant followers of Carnut, come and dwell in my city. The " flower of Lois perfumes my gardens ; the virgins, night and " day, chant his adventure in my plains. Every one there en- '' gages in easy and cheerful labour : and my granaries, beloved " by Ceres, overflow with piles of grain." Scarcely had Bardus finished his song, when the warriors of the North, who were perishing with hunger, abandoned the son of Tendal, and fixed their residence in Lutetia. This good King frequently said to me : " Ah ! why have I not here some u illustrious bard of Greece, or of Egypt, to polish the minds of kt my subjects ? Nothing tends so much to humanize the heart *' as the melody of sweet songs. With the capacity of compos- " ing fine verses, and ingenious fictions, there is no need of a kt sceptre to maintain authority." He carried Cephas and me to visit the spot where he had planted the trees and the grains recovered from our shipwreck. It was on the declivity of a hill exposed to the South. I was transported with delight, when I saw the trees which we had imported, replenished with juices and vigor. I first distinguish- ed the quince-tree of Crete, from it's cottony and fragrant fruit; the Avalnut-tree of Jupiter, of a glossy green ; the filbert; the fig-tree ; the poplar ; the pear-tree of Mount Ida, with it's py- ramidical fruit. All these trees were from the island of Crete. There were besides the vines of Thasos, and young chesnut- trees of the island of Sardinia. I saw a vast country within the compass of a small garden. Among those plants appeared some which were my compatriots, such as the hemp and the flax. These were the vegetables which pleased the King most, be- ARCADIA. 215 cause of their utility. He had admired the stuffs into which they are manufactured in Egypt, more durable and more pliant than the skins in which most of the Gauls are habited. The King took delight in watering those plants with his own hand, and in clearing them of weeds. Already the hemp of a beauti- ful green, carried all it's heads equal to the stature of a Man, and the flax in blossom clothed the ground with a shade of azure. While Cephas and I were inwardly exulting in the reflection of having done good, information was received that the Britons elated with their recent success, not content to dispute with the Gauls the empire of the Sea which separates them, were prepar- ing to attack them by land, and to sail up the Seine, with an in- tention to carry steel and flame into the very bosom of the Country. They had taken their departure in boats innumera- ble, from a promontory of their island, separated from the Con- tinent by only a narrow strait. They coasted along the shore of the Gauls, and were ready to enter the Seine, the dangers of which they knew how to avoid, by running into the creeks which are sheltered from the rage of Neptune. The intended invasion of the Britons was noised abroad over all the Gauls, from the moment that they began to put it into execution ; for the Gauls kindle fires on the mountains, and by the number of these fires, and the thickness of their smoke, convey intelligence much more promptly than by the flight of a bird. On receiving news that the Britons had embarked, the con- federated troops of the Gauls began to march to defend the mouth of the Seine. They were ranged under the standard of their several Chieftains: these consisted of the skins of the wolf, the bea£, the vulture, the eagle, or of some other mischie- vous animal^suspended at the extremity of a long pole. That -' of King Bardus, and of his islsnd, presented the figure of a ship, J ,. the symbol of commerce. Cephas and I accompanied the King W on this expedition. In a few days all the united force of the w Gauls was collected on the shore of the Sea. Three opinions were started respecting the mode of defence. The first was to drive piles along the coast, to prevent the debarkation of the Britons ; a plan of easy execution, consider- ing that our numbers were inconceivable, and the forests at hand. The second was to give them battle the moment that 216 SEQUr.L. TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. they landed: the third, not to expose the troops to the open attack of the advancing enemy, but to assault them when landed, and after they were entangled in the woods and vallevs. No one of these* opinions was followed up ; for discord prevailed among the Chieftains of Gaul. Every one was tor command- * ing, while no one was disposed to obey. While they were wasting time in deliberation the enemy appeared, and disem- barked while we were settling the arrangement of our plan. But for Cephas we had been undone. Before the arrival of die Britons, he had advised King Bardus to divide his force into two, composed of the inhabitants of Lutetia, to place himself in ambush with the better part in the woods which covered the opposite side of the mountain of Heva ; while Cephas himself should engage the enemy with the other party, joined to the rest of the Gauls. I entreated Cephas to detach from his divi- sion the young soldiers, who panted like myself to come to close action, and to entrust me with the command. I have no fear of danger, said I. Through all the proofs which the Priests of Thebes prescribe to the initiated I have passed, and know not what fear is. Cephas hesitated a few moments. At last he committed the young men of his division to my charge, recom- ^ mending to them, as well as to me, not to separate too far from .« the main body. The enemy meanwhile had made good their landing. At .Vight of this, many of the Gauls advanced to attack them, rend- ing the air with loud cries ; but as they charged in small parties, they were easily repulsed; and it would have been impossible to rally a single man of them, had not our rear afforded them an opportunity of recovering from their confusitMtf We pre- sently perceived the Britons in full march to atrj^F us« The routhful band which I commanded was instantly in motion, and advanced toward the Britons, unconcerned whether we were supported by the rest of the Gallic force or not. When we got ^ within bow-shot, we saw that the enemy formed only one single column, long, broad, and closely embattled, advancing slowly upon us, while their barks were forcing their way up the river to get upon our rear. I was staggered, I confess, at sight of that multitude of half-naked barbarians, painted with red and blue, marching along in profound silence, and with the most ARCADIA. 217 Jr*" perfect order. But when all at once there issued from their noiseless phalanx, clouds of darts, of arrows, of pebbles and leaden balls, which brought down many of us, piercing some through and through, my surviving companions betook them- selves to flight. I myself was going to forget that it was my duty to set them an example of resolution, when I beheld Cephas by my side ; he was followed by the whole army. " Let us invoke " Hercules" cried he, " and advance to the charge." The pre- sence of my friend reanimated all my courage. I resumed my station, and we made the attack with our pikes levelled. The first enemy whom I encountered, was a native of the Hebrides, a man of Gigantic stature. The aspect of his arms inspired hor- ror : his head and shoulders were clad in the skin of a prickly thorn-back ; he wore around his neck a collar of human jaw- bones, and he bore for a lance the trunk of a young fir armed Vlith the tooth of a whale. " What demandest thou of Hercu- " les ?" said he to me, " here he is to attend the e." At the same time he aimed at me a stroke of his enormous lance, with so much fury, that if it had hid the mark I must have been nail- ed by' it to the ground, which it penetrated to a great depth. While he was struggling to disengage it, I picrcedhim through the throat with the spear which was in my hand : there imme- diately issued from the wound a stream of black and thick blood ; and down fell the stately Briton, biting the ground, and blasphe- ming the Gods. Meanwhile our troops, collected into one firm body, were closely engaged with the column of the enemy. Clubs clashed * with clubs, buckler pressed on buckler, lance crossed lance. Thus two fi^fee bulls dispute the empire of the meadows : their horns entwine : their foreheads rattle against each other : bellow- ing they press in opposite directions ; and whether they gain or lose ground, neither separates from his rival. Thus we main- tained the combat, body to body. Nevertheless that column which exceeded us in number, was bearing us down with supe- rior force, when King Bardus came up, and assaulted their rear with his troops, who came into action with a shout which rended the air. Upon this a panic terror seized thos' barbarians, who had been flushed with a hope of surrounding us, but were them- selves surrounded. They deserted their ranks in confusion, and Voi. III. E e 218 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. fled toward the shore of the Sea in the hope of regaining their barks, which had now considerably advanced up the stream. A dreadful carnage ensued, and many prisoners were taken. The combat being finished, I said to Cephas: The Gauls arc indebted for their victory to the counsel which you gave the King; for my part, to you I owe the preservation of my ho- nour. I had solicited a post which I knew not how to fill; I ought to have exhibited an example of valour, to those who were under my command ; but was incapable of doing it, when your presence re-kindled a sense of duty. I imagined that the initiations of Egypt had fortified me against all apprehension of danger; but it is easy to be brave amidst conflicts out of which you are sure of escaping. Cephas thus replied : " O Amasis! " there is more fortitude in confessing a fault, than there is " weakness in committing it. It is Hercules who has given " us the victory; but, after him, it was surprise which robbed " our enemies of courage, and which had shaken your's. Mili- " tury valour like every other virtue is to be acquired only by il exercise. . We ought on all occasions to be diffident of our- " selves. In vain do we trust to our own experience ; in the " aid cf Heaven alone our confidence should be placed. While " we are buckling on our armour to defend us before, fortune " strikes at us from behind. Confidence in the Gods alone is a " defence on every side." To Hercules we consecrated part of the spoils taken from the Britons, The Druids advised to burn the prisoners, because the Britons were in use to treat those whom they took in battle from the Gauls in this manner. Eat I presented myself in the assembly of the Gauls, and thus addressed themrf "^O ye Na- " tions! you see from my example, whether the «-JO SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. means of small levers, and those of Geometry, which can mea- sure distances the most inaccessible, they became perfecdy trans- ported. The wonders of chemistry and of magic, and the va- rious phenomena of physics hurried them from rapture to rap- ture. But when we predicted to them an eclipse of the Moon, which prior to our arrival, the)'- considered as an accidental fai- lure of that planet, and when they saw at the very moment which we had indicated, the orb of night become dark in the midst of a serene sky, they fell at our feet saying: " Assuredly, ,i ye are Gods!" Omfi, that young Druid who had discovered so much sensi- bility to my afflictions, attended all our lessons of instruction. ^ From your intelligence," said he to us, " and from your be- " neficence, I am tempted to believe you some of the supe- u rior Gods, but from the ills which you have endured I per- " ceive that you are only men like ourselves. You must un- " doubtedly have contrived the means of climbing up into Hea- *' ven; or the inhabitants of the celestial regions must have de- " scended into highly favoured Egypt, to communicate to you " so many benefits, and so much illumination. Your Arts and " Sciences surpass our understanding, and can be the effects " only of a power divine. You are the darling children of the " superior Gods : as for us we are abandoned of Jupiter to the u infernal deities. Our country is covered with unproductive " forests, inhabited by maleficent genii, who disseminate through " the whole of our existence discord, civil broils, terrors, igno- " ranee and mischievous opinions. Our lot is a thousand times " more deplorable than that of the beasts, which, clothed, lodg- " ed and fed by the hand of Nature, follow undeviatiugly their " instinct, without being tormented by the fears of Hell." " The Gods," replied Cephas, " have not been unjust to any " Country, nor to any one individual. Every Country possesses " blessings peculiar to itself, and which serve to keep up a com- " murueation among all Nations, by a reciprocal interchange of " commodities. Gaul contains the metals which Egypt wants; " her forests are more beautiful; her cattle yield milk in greater " abundance; and the fleeces of her sheep are greater in quan- " tity, and give a finer wool. But wheresoever the habitation u of Man is fixed, his portion is always far superior to that of ARCADIA. 2SJ3 " the beasts, because he is endowed with a reason which ex- " pands in proportion to the obstacles which it surmounts, and a because he alone of animals is capable of applying to his own ■' use means which nothing can resist, such as fire. Thus Jupi- •' ter has bestowed upon him empire over the Earth, by illumi- " nating his reason with the intelligence of Nature herself, and a by confiding in him alone that element which is her prime u moving principle." Cephas afterwards talked to Omfi, and to the Gauls, of the rewards prepared in the World to come, for virtue and benefi- cence, and the punishments laid up in store for vice and tyran- ny ; of the metempsychosis, and the other mysteries of the re- ligion of Egypt, as far as a stranger is permitted to be instruct- ed in them. The Gauls, consoled by his discourse, and enrich- ed by our presents, called us their benefactors, their fathers, the true interpreters of the Gods. King Bardus thus addressed us: " I will adore Jupiter alone. As Jupiter loves Mankind, he " must afford particular protection to Kings, to whom the feli- " city of whole Nations is entrusted. I will likewise pay ho- " mage to Jsis, who has brought down his benefits to the Earth, " that she may present the vows of my People to the Sovereign " of the Gods." At the same time he gave orders to rear a temple to Isis,* at some distance from the city, in the midst of the forest; to erect her statue in it, with the infant Orus in her arms, such as we had brought it with us in our vessel; to honour her with all the sacred ceremonies of Egypt; and that her pries- tesses, clothed in linen, should night and day adore her with songs, and by a life of purity which exalts Man to the Gods. He afterwards expressed a wish to be instructed in reading and tracing the Ionic characters. He was so struck with the utility of letters, that, transported with delight, he sung the fol- lowing strains: *„ " Behold the magic characters which have power to recall die " dead from the dark recesses of the tomb. They inform us u what our fathers thought a thousand years ago ; and a thou- " sand years hence, they will be instructing our children what * It is pretended that this is the ancient Church of Saint-Gencvieve, rear ed to /«», prior to the introduction of Christianity among the Gauls. 254 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. " we think at this day. There' is no arrow that flies so far, " neither is there any lance so strong. They can reach a man " though entrenched on the summit of a mountain ; thev p.-ne- " trate into the head though fortified with the helmet, and force ',' their way to the heart in defiance of the cuirass. Thev culm a seditions, they administer sage counsels, they conciliate affec- " tion, they comfort, they strengthen; but in the hands of a " wicked man they produce quite an opposite effect." " My son," said this good King to me one day, " Are the " moons of thy country more beautiful than ours ? Hast thou " remaining in Egypt any object of regret? Thou hast brought " to us from thence all the best of human blessings : plants, arts " and sciences. All Egypt ought to be here for thy sake. Con- " tinue to live with us. After my death thou shah reign over " the Gauls. I have no child, except an only daughter named " Gotha: to thee I will give her in marriage. A whole Peo- " pie, believe me, is of more value than one family, and a good 14 wife than the land of one's nativity. Gotha's residence is in " that island below, the trees of which are visible from this spot; " for it is proper that a young woman should be brought up re- " mote from men, and especially at a distance from the Courts " of Kings." The desire of making a Nation happy suspended in me the love of Country. I consulted Cephas on the subject, who adopt- ed the views of the King. I besought that Prince therefore to permit me to be conducted to the place of his daughter's habi- tation, that, in conformity to the custom of the Egyptians, I might endeavour to render myself agreeable to the person who was one day to be the partner of my pains and of my pleasures. The King gave orders to an aged female, who came every day to the palace for provisions to Gotha, to conduct me to her pre- sence. The ancient lady made me embark with her in a barge loaded with necessaries ; and committing ourselves to the course of the stream, we landed in a very little while on the island where the daughter of King Bardus resided. This island was called the Isle of Swans, because the birds of that name resorted thither in the Spring, to make their nests among the reeds that «.irround it's shores, and which at all seasons fed on the anserina ARCADIA. 225 m potent ilia,* produced there in great abundance. On our land- ing, we perceived the Princess seated under a clump of alder- trees, in the midst of a down yellowed all over with the flowers of the anserina. She was encompassed with Swans, which she called to her by scattering among them the grains of oats. Though she was under the shade of the tree, she surpassed those birds in whiteness, from the purity of her complexion, and the fairness of her ermine robe. Her hair was of the most beautiful black ; and she wore it encircled, as well as her robe, with a red-coloured riband. Two women, who attended her at some distance, advanced to meet us. Tiie one tied our barge to the branches of a willow; and the other, taking me by the hand, presented me to her mistress. The young Princess made me sit down by her on the grass ; after which she invited me to partake with her of some flower of millet boiled, of a duck roasted on the bark of the birch-tree, with goat milk in the horn of an elk. She then waited, in modest silence, till I should ex- plain to her the intention of my visit. Having tasted, in compliance with the custom, the dishes presented to me, I addressed her thus : u O beautiful Gotha, I " aspire to the honour of being son-in-law to the King your ta- " ther, and I visit you with his consent, to know whtther my " suit will be agreeable to you I" The daughter of King Bardus, with downcast looks, replied: " O stranger! I have been demanded in marriage by many " larles, who are from day to day making my father magnifi- " cent presents, in the hope of obtaining my hand ; but no one u of them possesses my affection. Fighting is the only art which " they understand. As for thee, I believe, if thou becomest * The anserina potentilla is found in gTeat abundance on the banks of the Seine, in the vicinity of Paris. It sometimes renders them completely yellow, toward the close of Summer, by the colour of n's flowers. This flower is [•'ise-formcd, about the size of a shilling, without rising upon a stem. It enamels the ground, as does likewise it's foliage, which spreads very far in form of net-work. Geese are very fond of this plant. It's leaves, in form of a goose-foot, adhering closely to the ground, admit of the water-fowl's walk- ing over them as upon a carpet, and the yellow colour of it's flowers forms a very beautiful contrast with the azure of the river, and the verdure of the trees ; but especially with the marbled colour of the geese, which are per- ceptible on this ground, at a great distance. Vol. III. Ff 226 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. ,' " my husband, thou wilt make my happiness thy study, since " thou already hast devoted thyself to the happiness of my Peo- " pie. Thou wilt instruct me in the arts of Egypt, and I shall " become like unto the good Jsis of thy Country, whose name " is mentioned with such profound respect all over Gaul." After she had thus spoken, she attentively considered the dif- ferent parts of my habit, admired the fineness of their texture, and made her women examine them, who lifted up their eyes to Heaven in astonishment. After a short pause, looking at me, she thus proceeded: " Though thou comest from a Country " replenished with every species of wealth, and every produc- " tion of ingenuity, do not imagine that I am in want of any " thing, and that I myself am destitute of intelligence. My fa- " ther has trained me up in the love of labour, and he causes " me to live in the greatest abundance of all things." At the same time she introduced me into her palace, where twenty of h^r women were employed in plucking river-fowls, to make for her ornaments and robes of their plumage. She shewed me baskets and mats of very delicate rushes, woven by her own hand ; vessels of fine pewter in great quantities ; a hun- dred skins of wolves, martens and foxes, with twenty bear- skins. " All this treasure," said she to me, " shall be thine, if 11 thou espousest me ; but upon these conditions, that tnou t;ikest " no other wife but me ; and thou shalt not oblige me to labour " the ground, or to go in quest of the skins of the deer an i of " the buffaloes which thou mayest kill in hunting in the forests; " for such tasks are imposed by husbands on their wives in " these countri-s, but which I do not at all like ; and that, if at " length thou becomest tired of living with me, thou shale re- *' place me in this isle, v, hither thou hast come to woo me, and " where my pleasure consists in feeding the Swans, and in chant- " jng the praises of Seine, the nymph of Ceres." I smiled within myself at the simplicity of the daughter of King Bardus, and at the sight of wh.it she denominated trea- sure ; but as the true riches cf a wife consist in the love of in- dustry, candour, frankness, gentleness, and tiu.t there is no d-;.w- ry once to be compared to these virtues, I replied to her : u O " beautiful Gotha, marriage among the Eg\ ptians is a legal " union, a mutual interchange of possessions and of sorrows; ARCADIA. 227 " thou shalt be dear to me as the better half of myself." I then made her a present of a skein of flax, which grew and was prepared in the gardens of the King her father. She received it with delight, and said to me: " My friend, I will spin this " flax, and have it weaved into a robe for the day of my espou- " sals." She presented me, in her turn with this little dog which you see, so covered over with hair that his eyes are scarcely discernible. She said to me : " The name of this dog " is Gallus; he is descended from a race remarkable for their " fidelity. He will follow thee wheresoever thou goest, over " the land, over the snow, and into the water. He will ac- " company thee in the chace, nay to the field of battle. He " will be to thee, at all seasons, a faithful companion, and a sym- u bol of my affection." As the day was drawing to a close she reminded me that it was time to retire, desiring me in future not to come down along the current of the river, but to travel by land on the banks till I came opposite to her island, where her women should be in waiting to ferry me over, and thus conceal our mutual felicity from jealous eyes. I took my leave of her, and returned to my home, forming in my own mind as I went on my way a thousand agreeable projects. One day as I was going to visit her, through a path cut out in the forest, in compliance with the advice which she had given me, I met one of the principal larles attended by a great num- ber of his vassals. They were armed as if they had been in a slate of war. For my part I wore no armour, like a man who was at peace with all the World, and whose mind was occu- pied only with the reveries of love. The Iarle advanced to- ward me with a haughty air, and thus afibsted me : " What u seekest thou in this country of warriors, with these woman- u ish arts of thine ? Meanest thou to teach us how to spin flax, "• and expectest thou to obtain the beauteous Gotha as thy re- " compense ? My name is Torstan. I was one of the compa- u nions of Carnut. I have been engaged in twenty-two battles " by Sea, and have come off victorious in thirty single combats. k' Thrice have I fought with Vittiking that renowned Plaice of "■ the North. I am going to carry thy hairy scalp and lay k at kt the feet of the god Mars, from whom thou madest thy u escape, and to quaff from thy skull the milk of thy flocks." .'28 * SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. After an address so brutal, I apprehended that the barbarian was about to assassinate me ; but uniting magnanimity to fe- rociousness, he took off his head-piece and cuirass, which were of bull's hide, and presenting to me two naked swords desired me to make my choice. It was useless to think of reasoning with a man under the in- fluence of jealousy and madness. I secretly invoked the aid of Jupiter, the protector of strangers; and having chosen the shorter but the lighter of the two swords, though I had scarce- ly strength to wield it, a dreadful combat ensued, while his vas- sals surrounded us as witnesses, expecting to see the earth red- dened either with the blood of their chieftain, or with that of their guest. My intention at first was to disarm the enemy, in the view of saving his life, but he did not leave this in my option. Rage transported him beyond all the bounds of prudence. The first blow which he aimed at me carried off a huge splinter from a neighbouring oak. I shunned the blow by stooping down my head. This movement redoubled his insolence. " Wert thou," exclaimed he, " to stoop down to hell thou shouldest not escape " me." Then taking his sword in both hands, he fell furiously upon me; but Jupiter preserving my senses in complete tran- quillity, I parried with the back of my sword the stroke with which he was going to fell me to the ground, and presenting to him the point he violently rushed upon it, and run himself through the breast. Two streams of blood issued at once from the wound and from his mouth; he fell backward, the sword dropped from his hands, he raised his eyes to Heaven and ex- pired. His vassals immediately encompassed his body, utter- ing loud and horrior cries. But they suffered me to depart without the least molestation; for generosity is a prominent character in those barbarians. 1 retired to the city sadly de- ploring my victory. I gave an account of what had happened to Cephas and to the King. " Those larles," said the King, u give me much unea- "■ sineSs. They tyrannize over my People. Every profligate " in the Country' on whom they can lay their hands, they take l< care to wheedle over to strenjthen their party. They some- " times render themselves formidable even to myself. But the ARCADIA. * 229 " Druids are still much more so. No one dares to do any u thing here without their consent. Which way shall I go to " work to enfeeble those two powers? I amagined that by in- " creasing the influence of the larles, I should raise a bulwark " to oppose to that of the Druids. But the contrary has taken " place. The power of the Druids is increased. It appears " as if there were an understanding between them for the pur- " pose of extending their oppression over the People, nay even " over my guests. O stranger," said he to me, " you have had " but too much experience of this !" Then, turning to Cephas, " O my friend," added he, " you who in the course of your " travels have acquired the knowledge necessary to the govern- " ment of Mankind, give some instruction, on this subject, to a " King who never was beyond the limits of his own Country. " Oh ! how sensible I am of the benefit which Kings might de- " rive from travelling." " I will unfold you, O King," replied Cephas, " some part " of the Policy and Philosophy of Egypt. One of the funda- " mental Laws of Nature is, that every thing must be governed " by contraries. From contraries the harmony of the Universe " results. The same thing holds good with respect to that of " Nations. The power of arms and that of Religion are at va- " riance in every Country. These two powers are necessary to " the preservation of the State. When the People are oppres- u sed by their Chieftains they flee for refuge to the Priests ; " and when oppressed by their Priests they seek refuge in the " Cheftains. The power of the Druids has increased therefore " with you, by that very increase of the power of the larles ; " for these two powers universally counterbalance each other. " If you wish then to diminish one of the two, so far from aug- a menting it's counterpoise, as you have done, you ought on " the contrary to reduce it. " Hut there is a method still more simple, and more infalli- k4 ble, of diminishing at once both the powers which are so of- wk fensive to you. It is to render your People happy ; for thev " will no longer ramble in quest of protection out of yourself, " and these two powers will be speedily annihilated, as the)- are " indebted for the whole of their influence only to the opinion *' of that very people. In this you will succeed, by furnishing 230 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. " the Gauls with ample means of subsistence, by the establish- " ment of the arts which sweeten human life, and especially by " honouring and encouraging agriculture, which is it's main u support. While the People thus live in the enjoyment of abun- " dance, the larles and the Druids will find themselves in the " same state. Whenever these two corps shall have learned to be " content with their condition, they will no longer think of dis- " turbing the repose of others ; they will no longer have at their " disposal that crowd of miserable wretches, half-starving with " cold and hunger, who for a morsel of bread are ever ready to " abet the violence of the one, or the superstition of the other. " The result of this humane policy will be, that your own pow- " er, supported by that of a People whom your exertions are " rendering happy, must completely absorb that of the larles " and of the Druids. In every well regulated Monarchy, the u power of the King is in the People, and that of the People in " the King. You will then reduce your nobility and the priest- " hood to their natural functions. The larles will defend the " Nation against foreign invasion, and will be no longer oppres- " sors at home : and the Druids will no longer govern the *' Gauls by terror, but will comfort them, and by their supe- " rior illumination and compassionate counsels, will assist them " in bearing the ills of life, as the ministers of every Religion " ought to do. u By such a policy it is that Egypt has attained a degree of " power, and of felicity, which renders her the centre of the " Nations, and that the wisdom of her priesthood commands so " much respect over the face of the whole Earth. Keep this " maxim therefore constantly in view: That ever)' excess of " power in a religious or military corps, arises out of the wretch- " edness of the People, because all power is derived from them. " There is no other way of curbing that excess but by rendering a the People happy. " When once your authority shall be completely established, " communicate a share of it to Magistrates selected from among " persons of the most distinguished goodness. Bend your chief " attention to the education of the children of the Iwnmonalty : ' " but take care not to entrust it to the first adventurer who may u be disposed to undertake it, and still less to any one particular ARCADIA. 231 *" corps, such as that of the Druids, the interests of which are " always different from those of the State. Consider the edu- " cation of the children of your People as the most valuable u part of your administration. It alone can form citizens. u Without it the best Laws are good for nothing. " While you wait for the means and-an opportunity of laying " a solid foundation whereon to rear the fabric of Gallic felici- " ty, oppose some barriers to the ills which they endure. Insti- " tute a variety of festivals to dissipate their thoughts by the " charm of music and dancing. Counterbalance the united in- " fluence of the larles and Druids by that of the women. Assist " these in emerging out of their domestic slavery. Let them " assist at the festive meetings and assemblies, nay at the reli- " gious feasts. Their natural genUeness will gradually soften " the ferocity of both manners and religion. " Your observations," replied the King to Cephas, " are re- " plete with truth, and your maxims with wisdom. I mean to " profit by them. It is my determination to render this city " illustrious for it's industry. In the mean while, my People " ask for nothing better than to sing and make merry ; I my- " self will compose songs for their use, as for the women I am " fully persuaded that their aid will be of high importance to u me. By their means I shall begin the work of rendering my " People happy; at least by the influence of Manners, if I can- u not by that of Laws." While this good King was speaking, we perceived on the op- posite bank of the Seine the body of Torstan. It was stripped naiad, and appeared on the grass like a hillock of snow. His friends and vassals moved solemnly around it, and from time to time rent the air with fearful cries. One of his kindred crossed the river in a boat, and addressed the King in these words: " Blood calls for blood ; the Egyptian must be put to death !" The King made no reply to this person ; but as soon as he had retired accosted me in these words: " Your defence of your- " self was perfectly warrantable and legal; but were this my " personal quarrel I should be under the necessity of withdraw- " ing from the consequences. If you remain here, you will be " obliged, by the Laws, to iUdn one after another with all the '' kindred of Torstan, who are very numerous, and sooner or 23» SEQUEL TO TITT. STUDIES OF NATURE. u later fall you must. On the other hand, if I defend you " against them as I mean to do, this rising city must be involv- 41 ed in your destruction ; for the relations, the friends and the " vassals of Torstan, will assuredly come and lay siege to it; " and they will be joined by multitudes of the Gauls whom the " Druids, irritated as they are against you, are already exciting " to vengeance. Nevertheless be confident of this, you will here " find men determined not to abandon you, be the danger ever " so threatening." He immediately issued his orders to provide for the security of the city ; and instantly the inhabitants were seen in motion along the ramparts, resolved to a man to stand a siege in my de- fence. Here they collected a huge pile of flint-stones; there they planted prodigious cross-bows, and long beams armed with prongs of iron. Meanwhile we perceived innumerable tribes of men marching along the banks of the Seine in martial array. They were the friends, the kinsmen, the vassals of Tor- stan 'A ith their slaves ; the partisans of the Druids; such as were Kalous of the King's establishment, and those who from levity of mind affect novelties. Some floated down the river in boats ; others crossed the forest in lengthened columns. They took their station as one man on the banks adjoining to Lutetia, and their number surpassed the powers of reckoning. It was absolutely impossible I ever should escape them. In vain would it have been to make the attempt under favour of the darkness ; for as soon as night set in, the besiegers kindled innumerable fires, with which the river was illuminated to the very bottom of it's channel. Reduced to this perplexity, I formed in my own mind a re- solution which was well-pleasing to Jupiter. As I no longer expected any thing good at the hands of men, I resolved to throw myself into the arms of Virtue, and to save this infant city by a voluntary surrender of myself to the enemv. Scarcely had I reposed my confidence in the Gods, when they appeared for my deliverance. Omfi presented himself before us, holding in his hand an oaken bough on which had grown a sprig of the mistletoe. At sight of this little shrub, which had almost proved so fatal to me, I shuddered with horror; but I was not aware that we arc fre- ARCADIA. quently indebted for safety to that which menaced us with de- struction, as we likewise frequently meet destruction in what promised us safety. "O King!" said Omfi, "O Cephas! be " composed; I bear in my hand the means of saving your " friend. Young stranger," said he to me, " were all the r&- " tions of Gaul combined against thee, armed with this thou " mayest pass through the thickest of their hosts, while not one " of thy numerous foes durst so much as look thee in the face. " It is a sprig of the mistletoe, which grew on this oaken branch. " Permit me to inform you from whence proceeds the power of " this plant, equally formidable to the Gods and to the men of " this country.* Balder one day informed his mother Friga, " that he had dreamed he was going to die. Friga conjured " the fire, the metals, the stones, diseases, the water, animals, " serpents, that they would not hurt her son ; and the incanta- " tions of Friga were so powerful that nothing could resist " them. Balder mingled therefore in the combats of the Gods, " undaunted amidst showers of arrows. Loke his enemy was " eagerly desirous of discovering the cause of it. He assumed " the form of an old woman, and threw himself in the way of " Friga. Flights of arrows and showers of massy rock, said he " to her, fall upon thy son Balder, but hurt him not. I know it " -well, said Friga; all these things have pledged unto me theit " oath. Nothing in Nature has the power of doing him harm. " This grace have I obtained of every being possessed of power. " Of one little shrub alone I asked it not, because it appeared to " me too feeble to excite apprehension. It adhered to the bark of " an oak; and scarcely had the advantage of a roof. It lived " xuithAtt earth. The name of it is Mistletein. Thus spake " Frigah Loke went instantly in quest of this little shrub ; and " mixing in the hosts of the Gods while they were engaged in " combat with the invulnerable Balder, for battles are their * Sec the Volospa of the Irish. This history of B.Jd.T has a singular re- semblance to that of Ac'illrn plunged by h.s mother j"'. tis in the river S'.yx as far as the heel, in order to render him invulnera1 U-. and i.flcr all kjJcd by a wound in that part of the body which had not been dipped, fror.i an ar- row discharged.by the hAtd of the effeminate Paris. These two fictions of the Greeks, anaof ut^Savfcgc Nations of the North, convey a uoial meaiim" founded in trutil^ namely, that the powerful ought never to despise th.. focblc. Voi. III. G <- 234 s skqulj. to the studii.s of nature. " sports, he approached the blind Hcedcv. Wherefore, said he " to him, levellest thou not likewise weapons against Balder! 1 " am blind, replied Ha-der, neither am I provided with arms. " Loke presented to him the mistletoe of the oak, and said: "' Balder is just before thee. The blind Ha-der let fly the fatal " shaft: Balder falls transfixed and lifeless. Thus the invul- " nerable son of a Goddess was slain by a twig of mistletoe, " launched from the hnnd of one blind. This is the origin of 'c the respect paid in the Gauls to this shrub. " Compassionate, O stranger : a People governed by terror, " because the voice of reason is not heard among them. I flat- u tered myself on th)- arrival with the hope that thou wert des- " tined to found, and to extend her empire, by introducing the '■ Arts of Egypt; and that I should behold the accomplishment " of an ancient oracle universally received among us, by which u a destiny the most sublime is assigned to this city ; that it's u temples shall rear their heads above the tops of the forests ; " that it sh. 11 assemble within it's precincts the men of all Na- " tions ; that the ignorant should resort hither for instruction, " the miserable for consolation ; and that there the Gods should " communicate themselves to men, as in highly favoured Egypt. " But, ah, these happy times are still removed to an awful dis- • tance." The King thus addressed Cephas and myself: " O my friends, ' avail yourselves without a moment's delay, of the succour ki which Omfi brings you." At the same time he gave orders to prepare a barge for us, provided with excellent rowers. He presented us with two ashen half-pikes, mounted with steel by his own hand, and two ingots of gold the first fruits of bis com- merce. He next employed some of his confidential servants to conduct us to the territory of the Veneti. " They are," said he to us, " the best navigators of all the Gauls. They will fur- ,; nish you with the means of returning into your own Country, " for their vessels traffic up the Mediterranean. They are be- "• sides a People of singular goodness. As for you, O my " Friends ! your names shall be ever held in hoapur all over the " Gauls. Cephas and Amasis shall be the burthen of my songs; " and so long as I live their names shall frequently resound " along these shores." ARCADIA. 235 W'e accordingly took leave of this good King, and of Omfi my deliverer. They accompanied us to the brink of the Seine, dis- solved into tears, as we ourselves likewise v> ere. As we passed through the city, crowds of people followed us exhibiting the tenderest marks of affection. The women carried their infants aloft in their arms, and upon their shoulders, displaying to us with tears in their eyes the linen garments in which they were clothed. We bid adieu to King Bardus and Omfi, who could hardly summon up sufficient resolution to meet the moment of separation. We perceived them for a long time on the most ele- vated pinnacle of the city, waving their hands in token of saying farewell. Scarcely had we put off from the island, when the friends of Torstan crowded into boats innumerable, and rushed out to at- tack us with tremendous shouts. But at sight of the hallowed shrub which I carried in my hands, and which I raised into the air, they fell prostrate on the bottom of their barges, as if they had been struck with a power divine ; such is the force of superstition over minds enslaved. We accordingly passed through the midst of them without sustaining the slightest injury. We forced our way up the river during the course of a day. Afr.tr this, having gone ashore, we bent our course toward the West across forests almost impracticable. Their soil was here and there.covered with trees, laid low by the hand of Time. It iiad throughout a carpeting of moss thick and spongy, into which we sometimes sunk up to the knees. The roads which divide those forests, and which servcyas boundaries to different Nations of the Gauls, were so little frequented, that trees of con- siderable size had shot up in the midst of them. The trihes which inhabited them were still more savage than their Country. They had no other temples except some thunder-struck yew- tree, or an aged oak in the branches of which some Druid had planted an ox-head with the horns. When in the night-time the foliage of those trees was agitated by the Winds, and illumined by the light of the Moon, they imagined that they saw the Spirits and the Gods of their forests. Upon this, seized with a religious horror, they prostrated themselves to the ground, and adored with trembling those vain phantoms of their o^n imagi- 236 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. nation. Our guides themselves never durst have traversed those awful regions, which religion had rendered formidable in their eves, had not their confidence been supported much more by the branch of mistletoe with which I was armed, than by all our reasonings. We did not find in the course of our progress through the Gauls any appearance of a rational worship of the Deity, ex- cepting that one evening, on our arrival at the summit of a snow-covered mountain, we perceived there a fire, in the midst of a grove of beech-trees and firs. A moss-grown rock, hewn out in form of an altar, served as a hearth to it. It was sur- rounded with large piles of dry wood, and with a large assort- ment of bear and wolf-skins, suspended on the boughs of the neighbouring trees. In every other respect there was not per- ceptible all around this solitude, through the whole extent of the Horizon, any one trace of human habitation. Our guides in- fo; med us, that this spot was consecrated to the God who pre- sides over travellers. The word consecrated made me shudder. " Ltt us remove hence," said I to Cephas. " Every altar in " the Gauls excites a thousand suspicions in my breast. I will " henceforward pay homage to the Deity only in the temples " oi' Egypt." Cephas replied : " Reject every religion which sub- " jects one man to another in the name of the Divinity, were it " even in Epypt ; but in everyplace where the good of Man is " studied GOD is acceptably worshipped, were it even in Gaul. >' In ever) place the happiness of Men constitutes the Glory of " God. For my part, I sacrifice at even altar where the mise- " ries of the Human Race are relieved." As he said these wo; Is, he prc.straL.-ci himself and put up his prayer: "he then threw into the fire a log of fir, and some branches of the juni- per-tree, which perfumed the air as the sparks with a crackling noise ascended upward. I imitated his example; after which we went and seated ourselves at the foot of the rock, in a place carpeted over with moss, and sheltered iioivi the North-wind ; and having covered ourselves with the skins which were sus- pended on the trees, notwithstanding the severity of the cold we passed the night in a comfortable degree of warmth. On the return of the morning, our guides informed us that we.bad to march all the daylong over similar heights, without|fiiv.!i!u: ARCADIA. 237 wood, or fire, or habitation. We presented our acknowledg- ments a second time to Providence, for the asylum so seasona- bly afforded us; we replaced the skins on the trees with a reli- gious exactness ; we threw fresh wood upon the fire ; and be- fore we proceeded on our way, I engraved the following words on the bark of a beech-tree : cephas and amasis, in this PLACE PRESENTED ADORATION TO THE DEITY WHO PRESIDES OVER TRAVELLERS. We passed successively through the territories of the Carnu- tes,* the Cenomanes,the Diablintes, the Redons, the Curiosolites, the inhabitants of Dariorigum, and at length we arrived on the Western extremity of Gaul, among the Veneti. The Veneti are the most expert navigators of those Seas. They have even founded a colony which bears their name, at the bottom of the Adriatic Gulf. As soon as they were informed of our being the friends of King Bardus, they loaded us with innumerable demonstrations of kindness. They proffered to carry us di- rectly to Egypt, as far as which they have extended their com- merce ; but as they likewise trade to Greece, Cephas said to me : " Let us visit Greece ; we shall there find frequent opportuni- " ties of returning into thy Country. The Greeks are the friends " of the Egyptians. To Egypt they are indebted for the most " illustrious of the founders of their cities. Cecrops it was who " gave Laws to Athens, and Inachus to Argos. At Argos it " is that Agamemnon reigns, whose renown is diffused over the " face of the whole Earth. There shall we behold him crowned " with glory, in the bosom of his family, and encon|passed with • " Kings and Heroes. If he is still engaged in the siege of Troy, " his ships will easily convey us to thy Country. Thou hast " seen the most refined state of civilization in Egvpt, and the " grossest barbarism in the Gauls ; thou wilt find in Greece a " politeness and an elegance which will charm thee. Thou * The Camutes were the inhabitants §f the Pays Chartrain, Cenomanes, those of Mans, and the Diablintes, those of the adjacent country. The lie- dons, who inhabited the city of Rennes, had the Curiosolites in their vicinity ; and the tribes of Dariorigum were neighbours to the Veneti, who inhabited Valines in Britanny. It is alleged that the Venetians of the Adriatic Gulf, who bear the same name in Lain, derive tlieir origin from them. Consult C'c*wr, Strabo, and Danville's Geography. iiSS SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. '* wilt thus have had the spectacle of the three periods through u which most Nations pass. In the first, they are below Na- " ture ; they come up to her in the second ; and in the third they " go beyond her." The views of Cephas were too congenial with my passion for glory, to admit of my neglecting an opportunity of forming an acquaintance with men so illustrious as the Greeks, and especi- ally one so renouned as Agamemnon. I waited with impatience for the return of a season favourable to navigation, for we had reached the Veneti in Winter. We passed that season in an incessant round of feasting, conformably to the custom of those nations. As soon as Spring returned we prepared to emb -k for Argos. Before we took our departure from the Gauls, we learn- ed that our disappearing from Lutetia had restored tranquillity to-the States of King Bardus ; but that his daughter, the h> du- tiful Gotha, had retired with her women into the Temple of Lis, to whom she had consecrated herself ; and that night and day she made the forest resound with her melodious songs. I sensibly felt the mortification of this excellent Prince, who lost his daughter from the very circumstance of our arrival in his Country, an event which was one day to crown him with im- mortal honour ; and I myself experienced the truth of the an- cient maxim, That public consideration is to be acquired only at the expense of domestic felicity. After a navigation somewhat tedious Ave passed the Straits of Hercules. I felt myself transported with joy at the sight of the sky of Africa, which recalled to my thoughts the climate of my native Country. We descried the lofty mountains of Mau- ritania, Abila situated in the mouth of the Strait of Hercules, and those which are called the Seven Brothers, because they are of the same elevation. Thev are covered from their sum- mit down to the very water's edge, with palm-trees loaded with dates. We discovered the fertile hills of Ps umidia, which clothe themselves twice a year with harvests that rise under the shade of the olive-tree ; while studs of magnificent coursers pasture at all seasons in the ever-green vallies. We coasted along the shores of Syrtis, where the delicious fruit of the Lotus is produ- ced, which as we are told make strangers who eat it to forget their Country. We soon came in sight of the sands of Lybia, ARCADIA. 239 in the midst of which are situated the enchanted gardens of the Hesperides ; as if Nature took delight in making Countries the most unproductive to exhibit a contrast with the most fertile. We heard by night the roaring of tigers and lions, which came to bathe themselves in the Sea j and by the dawning light of Aurora we could perceive them retiring toward the mountains. f5ut the ferocity of those animals comes not up to that of the men who inhabit this region of the Globe. Some of them im- molate their children to Saturn ; others bury their women alive in the tombs of their husbands. There are some who, on the death of their Kings, cut the throats of all who served them when alive. Others endeavour to allure strangers to their shores, that they may devour them. We had one day nearly fallen a prey to those abominable men-eaters; for while we were ashore, and peaceably exchanging with them some tin and iron for different sorts of the excellent fruits which their Coun- try produces, they had contrived an ambush to intercept our getting on board, which with no small difficulty we escaped. After running such a dreadful risk, we durst not venture again to disembark on such inhospitable shores, which Nature has to no purpose placed under a sky so serene. I was so irritated at the cross accidents of an expedition un- dertaken for the service of Mankind, and especially at this last instance of perfidy, that I said to Cephas: " The whole Earth I " believe, Egypt excepted, is peopled with barbarians. I am " persuaded that absurd opinions, inhuman religions, and fero- " cious manners, are the natural portion of all Nations ; and it u is undoubtedly the will of Jupiter, that they should be for " ever abandoned to these ; for he has subdivided them bv so " many different languages, that the most beneficent of Man- " kind, so far from having it in his power to reform them, is " not capable of so much as making himself understood by " them." Cephas thus replied: " Let us not accuse Jupiter of the ills " which infest Mankind. The human mind is so contracted, " that though we sometimes feel ourselves much incommoded, " it is impossible for us to imagine how we could mend our " condition. If we remove a single one of the natural evils of " which we so bitterly complain, we should behold starting up 240 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. " out of it's absence a thousand other evils of much more dan- " gerous consequence. Nations do not understand each other ; " this you allege is an evil: but if all spake the same language, " the impostures, the errors, the prejudices, the cruel opinions " peculiar to each Nation, would be diffused all over the Earth. " The general confusion which is now in the words, would in " that case be in the thoughts." He pointed to a bunch of grapes: " Jupiter" said he, " has divided the Human Race into va- " rious languages, as he has divided that cluster into various " berries containing a great number of seeds, that if one part " of these seeds should become a prey to corruption, the other " might be preserved.* " Jupiter has divided the languages of men only for this end, " that they might always be enabled to understand that of Na- " ture. Nature universally speaks to their heart, illumines rea- " son, and discloses happiness to them in a mutual commerce of " kind offices. The passions of Mankind, on the contrary, as " universally corrupt their hearts, darken their understanding, " generate hatreds, wars, discords and superstitions, by disclos- " ing happiness to them only in their personal interest, and in " the depression of another. " The division of languages prevents those particular evils " from becoming universal; and if they are permanent in a " Nation, it is because there are ambitious corps who make an u advantage of them ; for error and vice are foreign to Man. " It is the office of virtue to destroy those evils. Were it not " for vice there would be little room for the exercise of virtue " on the Earth. You are on your way to visit the Greeks. If " what is said of them be true, you will find in their manners a u politeness and an elegance which will delight you. Nothing * Most fruits which contain an aggregation of seeds, as pomegranates, apples, pears, oranges, and even the productions of the gramineous plants, such as the ear of corn, bear them divided by smooth skins, under frail capsules ; but the fruits which contain only a single seed, or rarely two, as the walnut, the hasel-nut, the almond, the chestnut, the cocoa, and all the kernel fruits, such as the cherry, the plum, the apricot, the peach, hear it enveloped in very hard capsules, of wood, of stone, or of leather, cons meted with admirable art. Nature has secured the preservation of aggregated seeds, by multiplying their little cells, and that of solitary seeds, by fortify- ing their cases ARCADIA. 241 " should be comparable to the virtue of their heroes, having " passed through the test of long and severe calamities." All that I had hitherto experienced of the barbarism of Na- tions, stimulated the ardour which I felt to reach Argos, and to see the mighty Agamemnon happy in the midst of his family. By this time we descried the Cape of Tenarus, and had almost doubled it, when a furious gale of wind, blowing from the coast of Africa, drove us upon the Strophadt-s. We perceived the Sea breaking against the rocks which surround those Islands. Sometimes as the billows retired, we had a view of their caver- nous foundations: anon, swelling again the surge covered them tremendously roaring with a vast sheet of foam. Nevertheless our mariners persevered in defiance of the tempest, in attempt- ing to make Cape Tenarus, when a violent gust of wind tore our sails to pieces. Upon this we were reduced to the neces- sity of stopping short at Steniclaros. From this port we took the road, resolving to travel to Ar- gos by land. It was on our way to this residence of the King of Kings, my good shepherd, that we had the good fortune to meet with you. At present we feel an inclination to accompany you to Mount Lyceum, for the purpose of beholding the assem- bly of a People whose shepherds display manners so hospitable and polite. As he pronounced these last words Amasis looked at Cephas, who expressed his approbation of them by an inclina- tion of the-head. Tirteus said to Amasis: " My son, your relation has deeply " affected us ; of this you have had a proof in the tears which " we have shed. The Arcadians once were more miserable " than the Gauls.* We shall never forget the reign of Lycaon, * It would appear that the first state of Nations is the state of barbarism. We are almost tempted to believe it, from the example of the Greeks, prior to Orpheus; of the Arcadians, under Lycaon; of the Gauls, under the Druids : of the Uomans, prior to .Vuma ,• and of almost all the savage tribes of America. I am persuaded that barbarism is a malady incident to the infancy of Na- tions, and that it is foreign to the Nature of Man. It is frequently a re-action merely of the ills which rising Nations endure on the part of their enemies. These ills inspire them with a vengeance so much the more fierce, in propor- tion as the Constitution of their state is more liable to subversion. Accord- ii-l\,the small savage hordes of the New World, reciprocallv eat the pri- Vol. III. H h 242 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. " formerly changed into a wolf as a punishment of his cruelty. " But this subject would, circumstanced as we now are, carry " us too far. I give thanks to Jupiter for having disposed soners taken in war, though the families of the same clan live together in the most perfect union. For a similar reason it is that the feebler animals are much more vindictive than the powerful. The bee darts her sting into the hand of any one who com%s near her hive ; but the elephant sees tlie arrow of the huntsman fly close to him without turning aside out of his road. Barbarism is sometimes introduced into a growing State by the individuals wh^o join the association. Such was, in it's first beginnings, that of the Ro- man People, partly formed of the banditti collected by Romulus, and who did not begin to civilize till the times of JVuma. In other cases, it communicates itself, like the pestilence, to a People already under regular government, merely from their coming into contact with their neighbours Such was that of the Jews, who notwithstanding the severity of their Laws sacrificed their children to idols, after the example of the Canaanites. It most frequently incorporates itself with the legislation of a People, through the tyranny of a despot, as in Arcadia, under Lycaon, and still more dangerously, through the influence of an aristocratical corps, which perpetuates- it in favour of their own authority, even through the ages of civilization. Such are in our own days the ferocious prejudices of Religion instilled into the Indians, in other respects so gentle, by their Bramins ; and those of honour instilled into the Japanese so polished, by their Nobles. I repeat it, for the consolation of the Human Race : moral evil is foreign to Man, as well as physical evil. Both the one and the other spring out of deviations from the Law of Nature. Nature has made Man good. Had she made him wicked, she, who is so uniformly consequential in her Works, would have furnished him with claws, with fangs, with poison, with some offensive weapon, as she has done to those of the beasts whose character is designed to be ferocious. She has not so much as provided him with defensive armour like other animals ; but has created him the most naked and the most miser- able, undoubtedly in the view of constraining him to have constant recourse to the humanity of his fellow-creatures, and to extend it to them in his turn. Nature no more makes whole Nations of men jealous, envious, malignant, eager to surpass each other, ambitious, conquerors, cannibals, than she foi'ms Nations continually labouring under the leprosy, the purples, the fever, the small-pox. If you meet even an individual, subject to tht se physical evils, impute them without hesitation to some unwholesome aliment on which he Feeds, or to a putrid ah* which infests the neighbourhood. In like manner, when you find barbarism in a rising Nation, refer it solely to the errors of it's policy, or to the influence of it's neighbours, just as you would the mischiev- ousness of a child, to the vices of his education, or to bad example. The course of the life of a People is similar to the course of the life of a man, as the port of a u*ee resembles that of it's branches. I h.id devoted my attention, in the text, to the moral progress of political societies, barbarism, civilization, and corruption I had in this note cast a ARCADIA. 243 cl you, as well as your friend, to pass the approaching day with " us on Mount Lyceum. You will there behold no palace, no u imperial city ; but still less will you see Savages and Druids : " you will behold enamelled verdure, groves, brooks, and shep- " herds vying with each other in giving you a cordial welcome. " May Heaven incline you to make a longer abode among us! *' You will meet to-morrow, at the feast of Jupiter, multitudes " of men from all parts of Greece, and Arcadians much better w informed than I am, who are undoubtedly acquainted with " the city of Argos. For my own part, I frankly acknowledge " I never heard mention made either of the siege of Troy, nor " of the glory of Agamemnon* celebrated as you tell me over all " the Earth. I have employed myself wholly in promoting the " happiness of my family, and that of my neighbours. I have " no knowledge except of meadows and flocks. I never ex- " tended my curiosity beyond the limits of my own Country. " Your's, which has carried you so early in life into the heart of " foreign Nations, is worthy of a God, or at least of a King." Upon this Tirteus turning to his daughter, said : " Cyanea, " bring hither the cup of Hercules." Cyanea immediately rose, hastened to fetch it, and with a smile presented it to her father. Tirteus replenished it with wine ; then addressing himself to the two strangers, said : " Hercules, like you, my dear guests, " was a great traveller. Into this hut he deigned to enter; here " he reposed, while he was pursuing for a year together the " brazen-footed hind of Mount Erimanthus. Out of this cup " he drank : you are worthy of drinking from it after him. I " use it only on high festivals, and never present it to any but u my friends. No stranger ever drank from it before you." He said, and tendered the cup to Cephas. It was made of the glance, no less important, on tlie natural progress of Man ; childhood, youth, maturity, old-age ; but these approximations have been extended far beyond the proper bounds of a simple note. Besides, in order to enlarge his horizon a man must scramble up moun- • tains, which are but too frequently involved in stormy clouds. Let us re-de- scend into the peaceful valleys. Let us repose between the declivities of Mount Lyceum, on the banks of the Achelous. If Time, the Muses, and tlie Header, shall be propitious to these new Studies, it will be sufficient for my pencil, and for my ambition, to have painted tlte mradows, the groves and the shepherdesses of blest Arcadia 244 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. wood of the beech-tree, and held a cyathus of wine. Herculct emptied it at a single draught; But Cephas, Amasis and Tirteus could hardly master it, by drinking twice round. Tirteus afterwards conducted his guests to an adjoining cham- ber. It was lighted by a window shut by a texture of rushes, through the interstices of which might be perceived, by the lus- tre of the Moon, in the plain below, the islands of the Alpheus. There were in this chamber two excellent beds with coverlets of a warm and light wool. Then Tirteus took leave of his guests, wishing that Morpheus might pour the balm of his gentlest pop- py upon their eye-lids. As soon as Amasis was left nWr with Cephas, he spake with transports of delight of the tranquillity of this valley, of the good- ness of the shepherd, of the sensibility and the graces of his youthful daughter, to whom he had never seen any thing once to be compared, and of the pleasure which he promised himself the next day at the feast of Jupiter, in beholding a whole Peo- ple as happy as this sequestered family. Conversation so de- lightful might have sweetened the remainder of the night, to both the one and the other, fatigued as they were with travel- ling, without the aid of sleep, had they not been invited to re- pose by the mild light of the Moon, shining through the win- dow, by the murmuring of the wind in the foliage of the pop- lars, and by the distant noise of the Achelous, the source of which precipitates itself roaring from the summit of Mount Lyceum. THE WISHES OF A RECLUSE. PREAMBLE. IN my Studies of Nature, published for the first time in December, 1784, I formed most of the Wishes which I this day present to the Public, in September 1789. I must undoubt- edly have fallen into frequent repetitions: but the objects of these Wishes, which since the assemblings of the Estates-Gene- ral, have become interesting to the whole Nation, are so impor- tant that they cannot be presented too often, ana so^extcnsive that it is always possible to add something new. I am well aware that the illustrious Members of our National Assembly are pursuing them with signal success. I possess not their talents.; but, like them, I love my Country. Notwith- standing my incapacity, had health permitted, I would have as- pired after the glory of defending with them the cause of Pub- lic Liberty: but I have a sentiment of personal liberty so ex- quisite and so tormenting, that it is absolutely impossible for me to remain in an assembly, if the doors are shut, and unless the avenues are so clear as to admit of my going away the instant I desire it. This impulse to exercise my liberty never fails to seize me the moment I think I have lost it, and becomes so impetuous, that it throws me into both a physical and moral malady which. I am incapable of supporting. It extends far- ther than to the' walls of an apartment. During the commo- tions at Paris, (which commenced on the departure of Mr. Necker, July 13th, the same day of the month which in the preceding year had desolated the kingdom by a hail-storm), when they were burning the buildings at the barriers round the city, when the air resounded through every street with the alarming noise of the tocsin ringing night and day from all the ;i4o SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. church towers at once, and with the clamours of the multitude crying aloud that the hussars were already in the suburbs com- ing to put all to the fire and sword, God, in whom I had reposed my confidence, graciously preserved my mind in tranquillity. I composed myself for the event be what it might, though soli- tary in a lone house and in a detached street, at the extremity of one of the Fauxbourgs. But when the day after, on the cap- ture of the Bastile, the withdrawing of the foreign troops whose vicinity had excited such dreadful apprehensions, and the esta- blishment of citizens, I was informed that the gates of Paris were shut, and that no one was permitted to pass, I was instant- ly seized with a violent inclination to get out myself. While all it's inhabitants were congratulating themselves on the reco- very of their liberty, I considered myself as having lost mine ; I reckoned myself a prisoner in that vast capital; I felt myself in confinement. ]VIy>itnagination could not regain it's former calmness, till Tfbund, as I was walking on the boulevard of the Hospital, a grated iron gate, the lock and bars of which had beenburst open, and which was not yet guarded : in a moment I flew into the fields, and made a hundred steps forward to as- sure myself that I had not lost my natural rights, and that I was at liberty to go wherever I pleased. Having thus ascer- tained my freedom, I found myself perfectly tranquil, and qui- etly returned to my tumultuous neighbourhood without feeling the least anxiety afterwards to go out again. Some days after, when heads cut off at the Place de Greve without any form of process, and lists placarded proscribing a great many more, filled all thinking persons with apprehension that wicked men were going to employ popular vengeance in gratifying their private animosities, and that Paris, abandoned to anarchy, was on the point of becoming a theatre of carnage and horror ; certain friends offered me peaceful and agreeable rural retreats, both within the limits of the kingdom and beyond them, where I might enjoy the repose so necessary to the pro- secution of my studies ; I begged to be excused. I chose rather to remain in that great vessel of the capital, battered on every side by the tempest, though totally useless in conducting the ma- noeuvres, but in the hope of contributing to the general tranquil- litv. I endeavoured accordingly to compose perturbed spirits, PREAMBLE. 1247 or to animate the dejected, as opportunity served; to co-operate in person or by my purse to the support of guards so necessary to the preservation of the police ; to assist from time to time at the Committee of my District, one of the smallest and the most intelligent in Paris, to throw in my word when I could; and es- pecially to arrange these Wishes for the public felicity, which have employed me for six months past. I have relinquished, in favour of this darling object, labours more easy, more agreeable, and more conducive to my private fortune ; I have kept in view only that of the State. In an undertaking so far above my ability, I have frequently trodden in the footsteps of the National Assembly, and some- times I have deviated: but if I had in every instance adopted their ideas it would have been totally unnecessary to publish mine. They pursue the public good marching along the high roads like an embodied army, the columns of which afford mutual assistance, and sometimes unfortunately oppose each other; while I, remote from the crowd, without support, but without interruption, proceed through by-paths which lead to the same destination. They reap, and I glean. I carry then to the common heap a few ears picked behind their steps, and some out of their track, in the hope that they will condescend to bind them up among their sheaves. I have, however, to justify myself in having presumed to de- viate from the route of the National Assembly, and even from their modes of expression. They admit, for example, only two primitive powers in the Monarchy, the Legislative and the Ex- ecutive. They assign the former to the Nation and the latter to the King. But I conceive in Monarchy, as well as in even other species of Government, a third power necessary to the support of it's harmony, which I call the moderating. With res- pect to this power, which I consider as essential to Monarchy, by it alone I conceive the King has the sanctioning of the Laws ; for the Executive Power seems to me to comport only with the veto, which at this moment excites remonstrances so violent. The veto is so closely attached to the Executive Power, that it is vested even in a militarv Commander in Chief, restricted as he is to the execution of inhuman orders, or in a tribunal 248 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. charged with the promulgation of unjust edicts. Turenne had the right of refusing obedience to the mandate of Louis XIV. when commanded to burn the Palatinate; and every Magis- trate, under Charles IX. of publishing the edict of the massa- cre of St. Bartholomew, as every Frenchman of executing it. Every man possesses the right of refusing to execute a political law, when it flies in the face of a Law of Nature. Now the King, intrusted with the power of executing laws which he has not sanctioned, has a right to employ, as well as a subject, the veto in cases where some of those laws may appear to him con- trary to the public good, which is the natural law of a State. " The National Assembly," I shall be told, " has decided '* what was requisite to the happiness of the Nation, and it " alone can know what is requisite." But is it not possible for an Assembly to be misled? Whole nations have been led astray. Look into the history of our own nation; consult that of the world". I acknowledge at the same time that the royal veto has some- thing extremely harsh in it; and although in England, the King, to soften it, may say; " I will take it into consideration," le Roi s'avisera, the words plainly amount to u I will not." It is undoubtedly alarming for a nation to reflect that a law condu- cive to their interests, passed after much discussion by a plurality of voices, in an assembly of their deputies brought together not without much difficulty, should be all at once reduced to a state of non-existence by the veto of the Sovereign, under the influ- ence of the opposition party, which will look to this as a last re- source. Thus the interests of a whole people may be sacrificed to those of a single association, and frequently of a few cour- tiers, who have more immediate access to the Prince ; and all national efforts, for ages together, may be arrested in an in- stant by the simple inert force of the Crown. I am not in the least surprised that the apprehension merely of the royal veto should have excited in the Palais-Royal a plebeian veto, at least equally formidable. It is precisely in the view of preventing the veto of the execu- tive power in the Sovereign, that I assign to him the sanction of die moderating power. These two effects differ as much as the causes which produce them, of which I have demonstrated in PREAMBLE. 249 this Work both the difference and the necessity. The veto is a negative power which appertains to a slave who feels the autho- rity of conscience, as to a despot who has no such feeling: but sanction is an approbative power which appertains only to the Monarch. A General possesses his veto, because he will not sanction the orders which he has received : a King, as Chief of the State, possesses the right of sanction, because he cannot op- pose the veto to laws of which he is supposed to have acknow- ledged the utility and the necessity. Should the King withhold his sanction to a new Law, it must be because he believes it to be injurious to the State; in that case he will of course point out the mischief likely to ensue ; and it will be amended and modi- fied. Sanction is the quiet discussion of a point between a father and his children. " But," it will be replied, " should the King withhold his u sanction, or the Assembly tlieir amendments, the law will be " rendered null and void : refusal to approve a law is to op- " pose the execution of it; the sanction accordingly involves w the same difficulties as the veto." To this I reply, that the law will not in this case be annulled, as it would be by the veto, but it would remain unsanctioned. " Here then is a new source of contention between the Peo- u pie and their Sovereign, strengthened by the party in Oppusi- u tion." I admit it, but every thing in the World is in a state of mutual opposition: elements to elements, opinions to opi- nions. From their collision all harmony is produced. Every virtue is suspended in equilibrio between two contraries. Let us maintain then a just medium, as justice is the point in ques- tion. Let us be on our guard lest in shunning despotism we rush into anarchy. If the chariot inclines too much to one side, let us not overset it altogether on the other ; let us resettle it on its monarchical axis and it's plebeian wheels, in order to restore both it's equilibrium and the power of motion. Let it not be imagined that that the Roval sanction itself could leave, like the veto, legislative questions not susceptible- of solution. It cannot happen but that sooner or later the King should give way to the reasons which determined the judgment of the As- sembly, or the Assembly to those which directed the King as the onlv object of both is the public interest. The thing which Vol. III. I i 250 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. perpetuates law-suits among men is pertinacious adherence to individual interests. They agree instantly where a common interest is concerned. Now, the public interest being com- mon to the deputies of the Nation and to the Monarch, the dis- cussion which the Royal sanction may produce cannot but con- duce to the benefit of the legislation. But in this balance of opinions respecting the same interest, see that the probabilities be found in favour of the decisions of the Assembly. Is it probable, in the first place, that a few aris- tocrats, after having consented to submit their interests to the majority of voices in the National Assembly, which has in like manner submitted their own to a similar issue, will go to in- trigue with the King, to prevent the effect of the national deli- berations, because these were unfavourable to them ? Is it pro- bable that the King, out of regard to the interests of those aris- tocrats, faithless to their engagements, will refuse to sanction laws beneficial to the Nation, called for by a majority of it's Deputies, and by a whole united people, capable, in support of them, of raising a general insurrection? liesides, the King be- ing to give his assent to the laws before the Asstmby consents to the taxes, should he withhold his sanction from laws voted by a majority of the Assembly, is it not more than probable that this majority will in their turn withhold from him their sanc- tion of the taxes ? I consider with pain, as a civilian, in com- mon with the Assembly itself, the effects of the Royal sanction, as those of a law-suit between the Monarch and the Nation ; the event of it may be doubtful; but it will not be so provided the people, in securing it to their Prince, shall have been just and loyal toward him. The people may have done very well in confiding the discussion of it's laws to the aristocratical powers, hitherto the opposers of their interest; why might they not con- fide the power of sanction to a friendly power, now that these laws are favourable to them ? There is no occasion for the peo- ple to be distrustful of their King. Their interests are invari- ably the same. In a word, the National Assembly having pro- claimed Louis XVI. the Restorer of 1 rench Liberty, could it refuse to him the power of sanctioning those very laws which ensure that liberty ? PREAMBLE. 251 The Royal sanction is necessary to all the powers of the State. 1. It is a matter of right, as far as the King is concerned in his personal capacity. If the King were not permitted to sanction the laws, he would have a more circumscribed prerogative than the meanest of his subjects : for every individual has the right not only of giving his vote for the establishment of a law, by his deputies ; if he finds them bear hard upon him, it is in his power to renounce them altogether by abandoning his country, with- out waiting for the consent of any one whatever 5 but this the King cannot do without the consent of the Nation, because his absence may involve the ruin of the State. 2. The sanction is a matter of justice, relatively to the King as Monarch. The King being intrusted with the execution of the laws, he is sup- posed, as I have already said, to acknowledge, in sanctioning them, their utility and necessity. 3. The royal sanction is ne- cessary to the tranquillity of the Monarchy. Many aristocrats delegated to express the wishes of their body, and members of the National Assembly, having declared from it's first opening, that they would acknowledge no other authority but that of the King, and being now constrained, by a majority of voices of their Assembly and the declared sense of the Nation, to sacrifice their privileges, might allege that the law which obliges them to this is not monarchical, and under that pretext* refuse sub- mission to it, which might become the source of many future troubles. 4. The Royal sanction is necessary to the perma- nency of the laws, and to the respect which is due them, especi- ally on the part of the people. This merits very serious consi- deration. Though nothing be more respectable in the eves of a Monarch himself than the decrees of a Nation assembled in the persons of it's Deputies, the people however scarcely see any thing more than men like themselves in their own representa- tives, and enemies in those of the superior orders. Beskl-. s< on account of their periodical rotation, they will soon cease to see their legislators in their delegates. A river which renovates it's waters is always the same river, because the form of it's banks undergoes no change j but an Assembly which from time to time renews it's members, is no longer the same Assembly, because the greatest part of the men who compose it may en- tertain different opinions, and pursue by and by new plans. The 232 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. people rest their attention and their respc t onlv on immovable projects, or what they deem to be such, and which have an im- posing influence upon them, from their magnitude or their dis- tance. Major e longinquo reverentia; reverence increases as the object becomes remote. It is necessary therefore to fix the respect of the people on the Throne, to which they have not a near access, as on a centre permanent and worthy of all their ho- mage. Republican nations have given to their laws the name of a single legislator; such were those of Zaieucns among the Locrians, of Lycurgus at Sparta, of Solon at thens ; and mo- narchical States, the name of the Monarch who had promul- gated theirs, and consequently sanctioned them; such were those of Cyrus in Persia ; of Zoroaster, king of the i-actrians in Asia; of Moses, the leader of the Hebrews ; of Numa and after- wards Justinian at Rome ; of Charlemagne in the Western Em- pire ; of Saint Louis in France ; of Peter the Great in Russia; of Frederick II. in Prussia: such are the laws of England, first promulgated in 1040 under the title of the Laws of King Ed- ward, and afterwards established by the Nation in 1215, under the name of the Great Charter. The ancients were so sensible of the importance of an august sanction, to render the laws ve- nerable in the eyes of the people, that they frequendy derived their sanction from the Divinity himself. Thus those of Numa were sanctioned by the nymph Egeria; those of Zaleucusby Mi- nerva; those of Mahomet by GOD himself, through the medi- ation of ngels: but those legislators, aiming at the acquisition of great advantage to themselves, fell into very considerable in- conveniencies ; for every species of deception carries it's pun- ishment in it's bosom* When those laws came to be inapplica- ble to the condition of a people, or when it was expedient to apply them to other countries, they could not be changed, be- cause the Deity who had sanctioned them was immutable. For this reason the Turks abstained from effecting the conquest of several countries, because they contained no running waters for their legal ablutions. The case was still worse when nations, on becoming enlightened, came to know that the Divinity had not interfered in their legislation ; the transition was then easy from contempt of the legislator who had imposed upon them, to con- tempt of the law itself. This has befallen several States and Re- PREAMBLE. 253 ligions, the ruin of which can be ascribed to no other cause. Laws sanctioned by a Monarch are not exposed to the same danger, for he changes them in concert with his people, as oc- casion requires, and renders them permanent simply by demon- strating their utility, ^ut as no political law can be good, un- less it is founded on the Laws of Nature, and as nothing is per- manent without the support of it's Author, it is necessary that the King should sanction our code of laws by a religious invo- cation, which may consecrate it for ever to the feelings of the heart as well as to the light of the understanding. The terra sanction itself is evidendy derived from sanctus, sacred. This solemn preamble, which would call for the style of an Orpheus or of a Plato, ought to precede, like an antique peristyle, the august temple of our laws, reared for the felicity of Man, and dedicated to the Eternal, by the Monarch officiating in charac- ter of High-priest. This is what my conscience obliges me to say respecting the interests of the King, which I consider as inseparable from those of the People. With regard to the People, toward them all my wishes are directed, because I look on them as the principal part of the State. Perhaps the affection which I bear them in this point of view may have led me to practise illusion on my- self. I shall be perhaps reproached w ith having reckoned too confidently on their moderation or their steadiness. It will un- doubtedly be objected to me, that their Representatives, whose number 1 would wish to have increased in the National Assem- bly, are already but too powerful, seeing they have effected in the State a revolution so great and so important. I have spoken of that revolution, which has just taken place, as a necessary consequence of the insufficiency of the people's Representatives; and 1 am persuaded that had they balanced, by their number, the weight of those of the other two orders, no popular insur- rection would have taken place. Their despair produced it. It is besides a question still to be resolved, whether of the two, the army which was called in to overawe the capital, or the peo- ple shut up in it, first disturbed the equilibrium of powers among the Deputies of the three Orders. It would be a farther question of difficult discussion, whether the Clergy and Nobilitv would not have departed more widely from the spirit of mode- 254 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. ration than the People, if, like them, they had possessed the plenitude of power. The war of the line and that of the Fronde (the country party, in opposition to the court) which had nothing in view but the interests of privileged Orders or of Princes have wasted incomparably more blood, and in a manner much more illegal, than the insurrection of the people which has the public interest for it's object. It would be unjust to charge to their account the commotions excited by the dearth of corn, or the highway robberies committed in several of the provinces. Most of those disturbances have been stirred up by their ene- mies, in the view of dividing them, and of arming them against each other. One thing is certain, they have every where, with all their might, opposed those disorders. Now that the People of France have recovered their liberty by their courage, they must shew themselves worthy of it by their wisdom. They ought to reject with horror those illegal proscriptions which would precipitate themselves into the crimes of high-treason which they mean to punish : they ought to be on their guard against the zeal which transports them, and for the sake of their own interest call in the prudence of the Laws ; for nothing more is wanting than a calumny infused by an enemy into their minds, inspired by the love of the public good, to in- duce them with their own hands to lay low the head of the most valuable citizen. O People of Paris, who serve as an example to the inhabitants of the Provinces ; People ingenious, easy, good, generous, who draw into your bosom the men of all nations by the urbanity of your manners, reflect that to this urbanity you have at all times been indebted for your moral liberty, preferred by republicans to their civil liberty itself. You have just burst asunder the chains of despotism ; take care that you forge not for yourselves others still more insupportable, those of anarchy. The former gall only on one side, the latter in every direction at once. It is your union which has constituted your force, which nothing could resist. But it is not to force that GOD gives a durable empire, it is to harmony. By their harmony little things adhere ;>nd become great; and it is frequently by means of their force that great things separate, clash, break in pieces, and become small. Whence arise so many pretensions of individuals, of PREAMBLE. 255 associations, of districts, of motions and emotions ? Would you make threescore cities of one city ; and after your example will not the provinces make threescore republics in the kingdom ? What in that case would become of the Capital ? Commons of Paris, in multiplying your laws, you will multiply your bonds ; by dividing you will enfeeble yourselves ; by running every one to liberty in his own way, you may fall one after another into slavery, or, what is still worse, into tyranny. What have you at this day to fear, yourselves excepted '. Your principal enemies are dispersed; your great Minister of the Finances has been restored to your wishes, and together with him co-operate in perfect concert the other Ministers of the Crown, animated with the same zeal to promote your happiness; the two first orders of the State have made you sacrifices even beyond your desires ; the royal troops have taken the oath of fidelity to you, and you have national troops entirely under your own com- mand ; your King merits your complete confidence, not only as having directed or prepared these dispositions, but as having unreservedly given himself up to your disposal, in coming with- out guards, and without protection, into the midst of your Ca- pital when in a state of confusion, to implore the return of your affection, as a father who had never withdrawn his from you, and who, beholding you armed with hostile weapons of every sort, might well doubt whether he were again to find in you the children whom he sought, For the love of harmony, without which there is no salvation for a people, repose the care of your interests on the vigilance of your districts, composed of your committees ; let your districts, on Uieir part, rely, for the unity of their operations, on the wisdom of your Municipal Assem- bly, formed of your Deputies, whose foresight, zeal and cou- rage, so well directed by the tv/o virtuous Chiefs whom you have yourselves chosen, have preserved you from the pillage and famine with which you were threatened. Let your Muni- cipal Assembly confide, in it's turn, in the intelligence and jus- tice of the National Assembly, which you have, conjointly with the other Communes of the Kingdom, entrusted with the re- dress of your grievances, and invested with legisLuve power. On this august Assembly above all you ought to establish your security, for it's sublime employment is to promote the happi- 256 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. ness of the kingdom at large, by connecting with your interests those of Associations, of Provinces and of Nations, by a Con- stitution sanctioned by the King, the august and essential Chief of the Monarchy. Finally, you ought to repose entire confi- dence in the Providence of the Author of Nature, who frequent- ly paves the way, through the midst of calamity, to the attain- ment of great national felicity, as the fecundity of Autumn is prepared by the rigours of Winter; and, who, in bestowing on you, after a year singularly calamitous, the most abundant har- vest ever known, is already pouring down his benediction on a Constitution to be founded on his Laws. Happy if from the bo- som of my solitude, and the storms which have disturbed it, I could furnish toward this vessel to which our destiny is commit- ted, already on the stocks, and on the point of launching for a voyage of ages, I presume not to say a sail or a mast, but the simplest utensil that the ship needs. WISHES OF A RECLUSE. ON the first of May of this year 1789, I went down at Sun- rise into my garden, to see in what state it was after such a dreadful Winter, in which the Thermometer fell, December 31st, to 19 degrees under the freezing point. I called to re- membrance, as I descended, the destructive hail-storm of July 13th, which had spread over the whole Kingdom, but which through the kindness of Providence had passed over the suburb where I reside, without doing any mischief. I said to myself: " This time nothing in my little garden can have escaped a " Winter severe as those of Petersburg." As I entered no cole-wort was to be seen, no artichoke, no white-jasmine, no narcissus : almost all my pinks and hyacinths had perished ; my fig-trees were dead, as well as my sweet- scented laurels, which used to flower in the month of January. As to my young ivies, the branches of most of them were dried up, and their foliage of the colour of rust. The rest of my plants however were in good health, though their vegetation was retarded more than three weeks. My beds of strawberries, violets, thymes, primroses, were all over dia- pered with green, white, blue and crimson; and my hedges of honey-suckles, raspberries, gooseberries, rose-bushes and iiiachs, were all verdant with leaves and flower-buds. My alleys of vines, apple-trees, pears, peaches, plums, cherries and apricots, were all in blossom. The vines indeed were only beginning to shew the parts of fructification, but the fruit of the apricot-tree was already formed. ^ At this sight I thus reflected : « Calamity is good for some- 1 thing. The disasters which befal one Country may prove be- u ncfits to another. If all the plants of southern Europe are un- " able to stand the Winters of France, it is evident that manv ^ 0L« HI- K k 258 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. " of the fruit-trees of France are able to resist the Winters of " the North. In the gardens of Petersburg it is possible to " cultivate the cherry, the early peach, the green-gage, the apri- " cot, the apricot-peach, and all the fruits capable of ripening in " the course of a Summer; for the Summer is still warmer there " than at Paris." This reflection afforded me so much the more pleasure, that I had seen at Petersburg, in 1765, no other trees but the pine, the service, the maple, and the birch. Though I have on the face of the Globe no other landed pro- perty except a small house, with the little garden of the eighth part of an acre belonging to it, in the Fauxbourg-Saint-Mar- ceau, I take pleasure in employing my thoughts there about the interests of the Human Race ; for Mankind has at all seasons, and in all places, paid attention to mine. It is certain that my cherry-trees came originally from the Kingdom of Pontus, whence Lucullus transported them to Rome after the defeat of Mithridates. I have no doubt that my apricot-trees, the fruit of which is called in Latin malum armeniacum, are descended graft after graft, from a tree of that species brought by the Romans from Armenia. If the testimony of Pliny is to be relied on, my vines derive their origin from the Archipelago, my pear- trees from Mount Ida, and my peaches from Persia, after those countries had been subjugated by the Romans, whose custom it was to carry not only the Kings but the trees of their enemies in triumph into their own Country. As to the articles which I more habitually use, I certainly am indebted for my tobacco, my sugar and my coffee, to the poor negroes of Africa, who cultivate them in America, under the whips of Europeans. My muslin ruffles come from the banks of the Ganges, which our wars have so frequently desolated. With respect to my books, my most delicious enjoyment, I lie under obligation for them to the men of all Nations, and undoubtedly likewise to their mis- fortunes. I am bound therefore to interest myself in all man- kind, seeing they are labouring for me, all over the Earth, and as I have reason to hope that those who preceded me may have ! contributed to my felicity principally by their own miseries, I in like manner may contribute by mine toward the happiness of those who are to survive me. WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 259 It cannot be made a question that I owe the first expressions of my gratitude to the persons to whom I stand indebted for the first great supplies of life, such as those who prepare for me my bread and my wine, who spin and weave my linen and other clothing, who defend my possessions, &c......I mean the men of my own Nation. In meditating therefore on the revolutions of Nature which had desolated France last year, I turned my thoughts to those of the State which had accompanied them, as if every human calamity were following in a train. I call to memory the imprudent Edict which had permitted the exportation of grain, at a time when we had not made sufficient provision for home consumption; that public bankruptcy which had hung lowering over our fortunes, while the tremendous hail-cloud was ravaging our plains ; the total exhaustion of our finances, which had given a death-wound to many branches of our Com- merce, as that dreadful Winter had to many of our fruit-trees; finally, that infinite number of poor workmen whom the con- currence of so many disasters must have destroyed by cold, by famine, and every other species of wretchedness, but for the re- lief administered by their compatriots. The Minister of the Finances then occurred to my mind, whose return has re-established the Public Credit, and has proved to us like that of the morning-star after a stormy night: from him my thoughts turned to the States-General, who were going with the Spring to renovate the face of things, and I said to myself: " Kingdoms have their seasons, as the Plains have theirs; " they have their Winter and their Summer, their hail-storms " and their refreshing dews : the Winter of France is past, her u Spring is returning." On this, animated with hope, I sat down at the extremity of my garden, on a little bank of turf and trefoil, under the shade of an apple-tree in blossom, op- posite to a hive, the bees of which were fluttering about on all sides with a humming noise. At sight of those bees so industrious, whose hive had no other shelter during the Winter but the hollow of a rock, I re- collected that they had not swarmed in the month of June, and that thi6 had been the case with most of those of the kingdom, • 260 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. as if they had foreseen that they would have need to be assem- bled in great numbers, in order to keep themselves warm dur- ing the rigour of an extraordinary Winter. On the other hand, as I had withdrawn from mine no part of their honey, and as they never export any themselves, they had passed in an abun- dance of provisions a season in which multitudes of my coun- trymen had been pinched with want. On observing that the instinct of those little animals had surpassed the intelligence of man, I said within myself: " Happy were it for the Societies " of the Human Race, did they possess the wisdom of those of " bees !" and I began to form Wishes in behalf of my Country. I represented to myself the twenty-four millions of men which are said to constitute the population of France, not as the sage bees which come into the World in full possession of all their instinct, but as a simple individual, who has existed for more than three thousand years past, and who, as being Man, acquires experience only by passing through a long series of woes, of errors and of infirmities. At first a child during the time of the ancient Gauls, he was for many ages in swaddling clothes, begirt by the Druids with the bands of superstition ; then a stripling under the Romans, who subdued and polished him, he acquired the knowledge, under the heavy yoke of his masters, of the Arts, of the Sci- ences, of the Language and of the Laws which continue to go- vern him to this day : afterwards, become a young man under the undisciplined Franks, who confounded themselves with him, he abandoned himself, during their anarchy, to all the vio- lence of youth, and passed a great many years in the madness of civil war. Finally, from the days of Charlemagne, illumi- nated with some rays of light, by the revival of letters which began to be naturalized under Francis I. like a young man who is forming himself for the commerce of the world, he pursued the pleasures of love and glory. His taste for gallantry and heroism refined under Henry IV. and arrived at perfection under Louis XIV. At this last era, the love of advantageous conquest seemed principally to engage his attention ; he became ambitious like a man with whom the fervor of youth is over, and who is looking about for a solid establishment. But soon convinced by experience that a man cannot find his own happi- « WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 261 ness by doing mischief to another, he began to apply himself to the pursuit of his true interests, to his Agriculture, his Manu- factures, his Commerce, his High Roads, his Colonial Estab- lishments, &c...He then found the necessity of shaking off the prejudices of infancy, the false views of childhood, the vani- ties of youth, and thus entered into the age of maturity. His reason made new progress from year to year. He is become sensible at this day, under Louis XVI. that the glory of his Kings consists only in his felicity. For his own part, he is more concerned about the means of leading a calm than a splen- did, a comfortable than a vain-glorious life. One might pursue through every age the periods of his cha- racter in those of his manners and dress. In the time of the an- cient Gauls, almost naked like an infant, and without any covering to his head but the hair, he wore only a girdle. Under the Ro- mans, he dressed himself in a gown and short vest like a student. Continually in armour under the Franks, he clad himself in arm-pieces, thigh-pieces, a coat of mail and a helmet. From Francis I. to Henry IV. and even to Louis XIV. he arrayed himself in a trimmed doublet, in ruffs, in feathers, in trunk- hose, in, ribands, without however laying aside his sword, like a young man who is making love. Under Louis XIV. become more grave, he added to his dress large rolling stockings, and an enormous periwig. At present, like a man arrived at the staid period of life who studies his convenience, he prefers a hat upon his head to one under his arm, a cane to a sword, and a cloke to a suit of armour. Whilst the French Nation was disposing itself by manner:- and philosophy for a life of greater happiness, and for a national consolidation, Administration, subjected to ancient forms, always followed it's ancient course. On every revolution of the public mind, it had adopted new laws without abrogating the old, hau incurred the pressure of new wants without retrenching super- fluities, and bestowed more attention on the fortune of courtiers than on that of subjects. Thus, from incoherency to incoheren- ce, from impost to impost, from debt to debt, Government found itself without money and without credit, with a people destitute of means. It then felt itself under the necessity of assembling the States-General, to preserve from universal ruin the nation 262 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. at large, of which the People is every where the fundamental basis. This People, nevertheless, arrived at majority through so many ages of experience and of misfortune, still drags after it the leading strings of childhood. Different corps have present- ed themselves, alleging that the charge of the public pupillage was committed to them, and have pretended to bring it back to the ancient forms of the monarchy, that is, to replace it, with it's illumination, it's extent, and it's power, in the same cradle in which it was so long feeble, imposed upon and miserable. But what corps of the monarchy could at this day be brought back to it's ancient forms ? To begin with him who is the au- gust chief of it, Could the King be brought back to the time when the People in conjunction with the army elected him in the field of Mars, raising him aloft on a buckler ? And suppos- ing Louis XVI. himself were disposed to descend from the throne in order to re-establish the People in their ancient rights, must he not throw himself at their feet, to beseech them not to drive him into the horrors of those civil wars which polluted with blood the early ages of the Monarchy, in settling the elec- tion of their Kings ? Would the Clergy be disposed to return to the ancient times when they preached the Gospel to the Gauls, in the attire of Apostles, bare-footed, in a simple robe, with a traveller's staff in their hand, become through the munificence of that very People a pontifical crosier ? Would the Nobility wish to see those ancient times return, when they put themselves into the service of the great for the sake of protection and bread, ready at all times to shed their blood in quarrels that did not concern them ? Let them form a judgment of the state of their ancestors under the feudal Government, by that of the Polish Nobility of modern times. In a word, would the Par- liament itself wish to return to those times, not so very ancient, when the greatest part of it's members were merely the secre- taries and agents of the Grandees, who then could not so much as write, and valued themselves upon it ? Feeble Man is universally searching for repose. If he wants laws, he rests the care of his legislation on a Legislator. If he needs instruction, he casts the care of it on a Teacher. Even' -< ii<:re he is establishing a basis whereon to support his weak- WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 263 ness ; but Nature every where subverts it, and forces him, after hci own example, to get up and combat. She herself has com- posed this Globe and it's inhabitants only of contraries, which are maintaining an incessant struggle. Our soil is formed of c art a and water ; our temperament of hot and cold; our day of light and darkness ; the existence of vegetables and animals of thtir youth and of their old age, of their loves and of their strifes, of their life and of their death. The equilibrium of be- ings is established only on their collisions. Nothing is durable but their lapse, nothing immutable but their mobility, nothing permanent but their combination; and Nature, who is every instant varying their forms, has no constant laws but those of their happiness. As for ourselves, already so far removed from the ancient Laws of Nature, by the very laws of our social union, in which the ancient rights of man are misunderstood, our opinions, our manners, our usages are varying from year to year. Ages car- ry us along, and change our form to the worse without inter- ruption, by hurrying us forward to futurity. To recall to the ancient forms of it's original a People illuminated, powerful, im- mense, is like forcing back an oak into the acorn from which it sprung. How is it possible then that our Kings should wish to recall the People of France to their ancient forms, that is, to their an- cient errors and their ancient ignorance ? Is it not to what they have produced in later ages, in other words, to the last fruits of their industry, that our Kings, who formerly drank from an elk's horn, wandered up and down through the forests of the Gauls, traversing from time to time their unpaved capital in a car drawn by oxen, that they are indebted at this day for the elegant de- lights of their chateaux and the magnificence of their equipages ? Is it not by the tardy lessons of their experience, that they are no longer under apprehension of being dethroned by the Mayors of their Palaces, and that they and their successors owe their firm establishment on the throne, conformably to laws unchange- able as the love of that enlightened People!—O Henry IV! What must have become of your rights, attacked at once by Rome, by Spain, and by the ambitious Grandees of your own Kingdom, without the love of your Pee-ple, who, in face of the 264 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. ancient forms which would have placed you in opposition k> yourself, called upon you to deliver them from their t\ rants ? How could the Clergy, the Ministers of a Religion breathing good-will to Mankind, wish to subject to the ancient forms of Druidism, the French nation under the reign of Louis XVI ? It is that same people who, ranging themselves in crowds around the first Missionaries of the Gauls, made their barbarous Chiefs to bend under the yoke of Christianity. It was the People who, by the all-powerful influence of their opinions elevated the abbey in opposition to the castle, and the steeple to the tower. They opposed the crosier to the lance, the btll to the trumpet, and the legends of the Saints to the archives of the liarons ; monument against monument, bronze against bronze, tradition against tradition. How could the Nobility of our days look upon the People as blighted from the earliest antiquity by the feudal power of their ancestors, when they themselves reckon in their own order so few families which count pedigree beyond the fourteenth century ? But were it true that their ancestors had of old time reduced the people to servitude, how durst they at this day exercise their ancient privileges upon that same people, not for having formerly defended or protected them, as the No- bles of every Nation ought to do, but for having conquered and oppressed them; not for having served but enslayed them ; not as the descendants of their Patricians, but of their Tyrants? Were these the titles which gave distinction in their eyes to the Bayards, the Duguesclins, the Crillons, the Montmorencis, who performed so many gallant actions for the sake of living in their memory down to the present day ? What do I say ! Could our Noblesse, now so replete with humanity, and with real honour, in an enlightened age, despise that multitude of good and peace- able men who devote themselves to minister to their pleasures, after having provided for all their necessities, and from the mass of which issue those brave grenadiers, who, after having opened to them the path which leads to honours at the price of their own blood, return to their plough, to serve in obscurity that same Country which dispenses her rewards with such partiality ? Fi- nally, How could the Parliament reduce to the ancient forms of servitude, a people which has conferred upon them in some sort WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 265 (he tribunitial power, and from whose bosom they themselves have sprung ? Is it really true, after all, that the People of France have been always under the feudal tutelage of their Chiefs ? Certain wri- ters have advanced that they were originally slaves. But whe- ther their origin be referred to the time of the Gauls, of the Romans, or of the Franks, which are the three grand epochs of their history, it will be found that they were always free. The Gauls, who under Brennus invaded Italy, and burned the city of Rome, had a great resemblance to the Savages of America, who certainly do not make war as slaves. Slavery fixes itself only among rich and policed Nations, as those of Asia, and it is the fruit of their despotism which is ever in pro- portion to their riches. Poor and Savage Nations are always free, and when they make prisoners of war, they incorporate them with themselves, unless they sell them, eat them, or offer them in sacrifice to their Gods. Opulence makes of the same citizens both despots and slaves ; but poverty renders them all equal. We see examples of it in the state of society among our- selves. The domestics of a rich man, and even his friends, when they are poor, come no farther than the antechamber, and never appear in his presence but with profound respect; but the domestics of our peasants are familiar with their masters ; sit down at table with them, and even obtain their daughters in marriage. When the Gauls began to become civilized, and to hunt after fortune, they enlisted in the Roman armies as free men. Nay, I believe it is a remark of Cesar's, that there were no armies which did not consist in part of Gaulish soldiers. We see from Herodotus and Xenophon, that the Greeks, so enamoured of their liberty, entered into the service even of the Kings of Persia, though the natural enemies of their country. We find a similar practice prevailing among the modern Swiss. Such customs are common to every free people, and they have no existence in Nations governed by a despotism, or even by an aristocracy. You will not see in the pay of anv of the Powers of Europe re- giments formed of Russians, of Polanders, or of Venetians. The political constitution of the Gauls, it is admitted, grant- ed several unjust prerogatives to the Gaulish Chieftains, and Vol. III. L 1 266 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. to their Druids, as has been remarked by Cesar ; and it was undoubtedly owing to it's anti-popular defects, that it was easily subverted by that of the Romans. This much is certain, that the Gauls adopted from the Romans, their religion, their laws, their customs, nay their very dress. We are partly gov- erned at this day by the Jus Romanian, and our Magistrates, as well as the Professors in our Universities continue to wear the Roman toga. The French language is derived from the Latin. These revolutions are by no means the natural effects of conquest and of the power of conquering Nations, but proofs that the conquered are discontent with their ancient constitu- tion. The Romans were jealous of power, but indifferent to every other object. The Greeks preserved, under their empire, their own Language, their Religion, their Laws and their Man- ners, of which we still perceive some traces under the empire of the Turks. In a word, a conquered People remains attached to it's Constitution, provided they are satisfied with it, to such a degree, that they sometimes make their conquerors submit to it. This appears from the instance of the Tartars, who have always adopted the laws and the customs of China, after having made themselves masters of that Empire. On the other hand, these moral revolutions do not take place in Nations which are enslaved. It is very remarkable that the Western Nations of Asia have adopted nothing from the Greeks or from the Ro- mans who reduced them ua ler the yoke, not even the language. The People of Asia speak neither Greek nor Latin. An ensla- ved People cleave to their constitution from a spirit oi servi- tude, as a free People from the sentiment of liberty, but these last change it when it ceases to give satisfaction. Whatever be in this, the Romans granted the rights of Ro- man Citizens to the inhabitants of several Cities and even of some Provinces of the Gauls; which they never would have done had they been peopled with slaves. Great numbers of Romans afterwards settled in the GauK The Emperor Julian loved to reside at Paris, " on account," as he said, " of the " grave character cf it's inhabitants, which had a resemblance " to his own." The Parisian character has greatly changed since the clays of Julian, though the climate of Paris remains the same. But it is not climate which forms the character of a People, as r:o many Authors after Montesquieu have affirmed; WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 26/ it is the Political Constitution. The Gauls, simple and feroci- ous under the Druids, were serious under the grave Romans always governed by Law, and gay under the Franks, the pas- sionate admirers of independence, because, having never en- joyed a good Constitution, they changed it at these three epochs. Independently of the gaiety of the Gauls, which is to be dated no higher than the Francs, and which is a moral proof of their liberty, I find another no less conclusive in this, that the two Nations no longer bare different names, which is never the case when the conquering Nation does not become confounded with the conquered: witness, in modern times, the Turks and the Greeks, the Moguls and the Nations of Indostan, the Spa- niards and the Indians of A merica and Peru, the English and the Indians of the East, the inhabitants of our Colonies and the Negroes. The Tartars on the contrary who have conquered China, confounded themselves with the Chinese, and now form only one Nation with them, as well as the Nations of the North and of the East, such as the Vandals, the Goths, the Normans and others, who amalgamated themselves with the Nations of Europe whom they invaded. Besides it is proved by history that the Gaulish tribes were free under the first race of the Franc Kings, for they elected them in conjunction with the Army. At the time of Charlemagne there were great numbers of free- men in France. Could it have been with slaves necessarily condemned to ignorance in an age of barbarism, that this great Prince was enabled to form his Schools, his Academies and his Courts of Justice, the members of which, on the other hand, could not possibly issue from that military Noblesse which then valued nothing but the glory of arms ? An evident proof of the existence of those freemen is, that Charlemagne convoked them by name to the Assemblies of his States-General, together with the Barons and Bishops. Nay more ; in the Assembly of 806, in which, a few years before his death, he divided his domains among his three children, by a will confirmed by the great Lords of France, and by Pope Leo, " He leaves to his People u the liberty of choosing their own Master after the death of " the Princes, provided he were of the blood Royal;" a libertv which the President Ilenault' deems worthy of being remarked. 268 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. A part of the country people, it is granted, was subjected to bondage with the soil which they cultivated, by Chieftains who usurped rights that belonged not to them. Hear what the President Henault says, on the subject in his particular remarks on the Kings of France of the second race : " The lands possessed by the Francs, from their irruption " into the Gauls, may be distinguished into salique lands and " military benefices. " The salique lands wrere those which fell to them by rightpf " conquest, and these were hereditary. The military benefices, " instituted by the Romans prior to the conquest of the Francs, " were a grant from the Prince, and this grant was only for life: " it has communicated it's name to the benefices conferred on " Ecclesiastics. The Gauls on their part, united under the "^same denomination, continued to enjoy, as in the time of the " Romans, their possessions in full and perfect liberty, the sa- " lique lands excepted, of which the French had taken posses- " sion but these must have been inconsiderable, considering " how few in number the French were, and the Monarchy how " extensive. Both the one and the other, whatever their birth " might be, had a right to aspire after employments and Go- " vernments, and were actually employed in War, under the " authority of the Prince who governed him. The Constitution " of France is so excellent, that it never has excluded, and ne- " ver will exclude Citizens born of the meanest parentage, from " dignities the most exalted." ('Matharel, reply to Hotman's ".book entitled Franco-Gallia.) " Toward the termination of the second race, a new species " of possession established itself under the denomination of " Fiefs. The Dukes or Governors of Provinces, the Counts or " Governors of Cities, the officers of an inferior order, availing " themselves of the diminution of the Royal authority, render- " ed hereditary in their families the titles which till then they " had possessed only for life, and having usurped equally both " the lands and the rights, erected themselves into seignorial " proprietors of the places where they were only the magistrates, " v hether military or civil, or both at once. By this was intro- " dttced a new kind of authority into the State, to which was WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 269 " given the name of Suzerainete, Sovereignty, a word, says Loi- " scan, as strange, as this species of superiority is absurd. " Nobility, unknown in France till the time of Fiefs, began u with this new kind of Lordship ; so that it was the possession " of the lands which made the Nobles, because it conveyed to " them a species of subjects denominated vassals, which were " transferred in their turn by sub-infeudations ; and this right " of seigniory was such, that the vassals were obliged, in certain " cases, to attend them in War even against the king himself." These facts are so well known that they have been quoted in a Work published in favour of the Liberty of the People, by a Deputy himself of the Noblesse of Vivarais to the States-Ge- neral now sitting. I have stated them for the purpose of ma- king two reflections of high importance : the first is, that men loaded with marks of Royal favour, constituting themselves in- to an aristocratical Association, were able to oblige the King's subjects to attend them in War against himself: the second, that nothing is so easy and so common as for aristocratical con- federacies to encroach on the Rights of a People who have no representative with their Prince, and on the interests of a Prince who has no connexion with the People. France has no need to go back to the usurpations of the Dukes, Counts and their surrogates during the times of the second race of our Kings; we have seen usurpation still more gross in our own day. The Gauls, under the Francs their conquerors, could rise to the first dignities of the State, be their birth what it might; but an ordon- nance of the War-department declared, May 22, 1781, under a King who loves his People, that no person not noble could be- come a military Officer, and this has excluded twenty-four mil- lions of subjects from the honour of attaining so much as the rank of a Lieutenant in the Militia. What becomes then at this day of Matharel's axiom on the excellence of our Constitution, " which never has excluded, and " never will exclude Citizens born of the meanest parentage, " from dignities the most exalted." Nevertheless no one of the corps who pretend to have it in trust to support our ancient Con- stitution, and who wish to bring us back to it, remonstrated against this last act of injustice, because it affected only the an- cient Rights of the People, and the People have never been able 270 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF N'ATURL. to defend their rights, because they have no representatives with their Sovereign. Be it as it may, what noble family of our days could prove it's descent from the usurpers of Nobility toward tlie termination of the second race of our Kings, and what conclusion could be deduced from it to militate against the liberty of the People ? A family of national Princes of the times of the Gauls, may have been reduced to slavery under the Romans; and a family of slaves under the Romans risen to Nobility under the Francs; for conquering Nations, in the view of keeping down the Peo- ple they have subdued, frequently adopt the policy of abasing that which is exalted, and of exalting that which is low. Where is the man capable of proving at this day so much as whether he is descended from the Gauls, the Romans, or the Francs ? Certain political speculators have imagined that they could re- cognize the Gauls in our peasantry, the Romans, in our bur- gesses, and the Francs in the nobility. But the Goths, the Alains, the Normans, did not they break into the country with incursion on incursion, conquest on conquest, and again con- found these three orders of Citizens ? Have not the English done as much, when they made themselves masters of the greatest part of the kingdom ? To the overturnings of war suc- ceeded those of commerce. Swarms of Italians, Spaniards, Germans, English, settled in our country, and are still every day carrying on their establishments. All these Nations have blended themselves, by alliances, with every class of our coun- trymen, the races of whom have been besides crossed, from the most illustrious down to the most humble, by marriages of fi- nance : Our people is formed of the ruins of all those nations, just as the soil which produces our harvests is composed of the wreck of the oaks and firs of our ancient forests. There may be perhaps some miserable carman rolling all the year round from the bottom of Auvergne up to Paris, and from Paris down to the bottom of Auvergne, whose forefathers gave festivals to the Roman People, and figured in the Circus in chariots drawn by four horses ; and some poor boy who scrambles up our chimneys to sweep them, is descended perhaps from those haughty Gauls who set Rome on fire, and scaled the Capital. We extract with avidity out of the bosom of the earth mutilated WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 271 urns, effaced inscriptions, bronzes corroded by verdigrise, to trace on them the names of those ancient families ; but their de- scendants are still in life, and we should present living medals of them, did we know how to decipher the impressions. One city of Italy values itself on knowing them, and while the whole of that country carries on a commerce in it's monuments of stone, Milan furnishes for a very little money letters of nobility, and ancient armorial bearings, to the most obscure families of Eu- rope, on no other foundation than their names. But to what purpose this vanity ? Our Nobility no less than our plebeians is the work of time which dissolves and re-composes every thing with the same elements. If the sands on the sea-shore are a wreck of the rocks, these rocks in their turn are only an amal- gama of the sands. Not only is the People composed originally of the same fami- lies with their Clergy and Nobility, but it is the people which in particular constitutes the alone cause of the splendour of these two bodies; from it's bosom it is that the men issue who are entrusted with their education, and with the sacred trust of in- spiring them with sentiments of honour and virtue. The Peo- ple is the principal source of intelligence, of industry and power, even military power: the People alone makes agriculture and commerce flourish. What do I say ? the People is all; it is the national body, of which the two other orders are nothing more than accessary members : it can exist without them, but without it they are nothing. Never was there seen a Nation formed entirely of Priests or of Nobles, but there have been many flourishing Nations formed simply of the People. The Romans subsisted long without a clerical order. Their Magis- trates were their Pontiffs. The greatest part of the Grecian Republics, with the same Government, had no body of Nobili- ty ; and though certain Writers may have advanced that No- bility is the firmest support of Monarchy, it is most undoubted- ly certain that the most ancient Monarchy in the world, nameh China, never knew what the word Gentleman meant. No one in China is noble except the family of Confucius ; and their Nobility is founded, not on the subjugation of his fellow-citi- zens to Confucius by force of arms, by intrigue orlby'monev. but on his having illuminated them by his talents and virtue?. 272 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. His descendants, distinguished by certain honours, have in no other respect any right to the employments and dignities of the empire ; to these they rise like other subjects by personal merit only. There is no Nobility in the despotic States of Turkey and Persia, where the absolute power of their Monarchs has need however of the support of men devoted to them. The People on the contrary is to such a degree the basis of public power, even in Monarchies, that the State is ruined as soon as the Clergy and Nobility have separated their interests from those of the people. This is proved by the lower Empire of the Greeks, in which these two orders have engrossed every thing, under weak Princes, the People, destitute of patriotism and of property, permitted the Turks to subvert the Throne. We behold at this day a similar example in the Mogul Empire, where the People, separated from it's Bramins and it's Nairs, sees with indifference handfuls of Europeans seize the Govern- ment and the Country. We ought to recollect ourselves, or ra- ther we ought for ever to forget who the persons were that kin- dled the civil wars which so long desolated our Monarchy, and who did their utmost to subvert it, by inviting even foreign troops into it's bosom: assuredly it was not the people. But nothing is such a striking proof of the fact, as the events which have recently taken place in Poland. In the first place the aris- tocratical Noblesse of that Country has in all ages undergone an uninterrupted series of misfortune, merely from being disunited from their Commonalty; and if in former times they gained some advantages over the Russians, the Prussians, and the States of Austria, it was because the Feudal Governments of those Countries was then worse than that of Poland. But when tlie Nobility of those Nations was constrained to approach to- ward their Commonalty, not by raising them to their own level by equitable Laws, but by sinking themselves to the level of the People under the pressure of a despotic Government, which renders all subjects equal, they formed in conjunction a national whole, which the Polish Noblesse, abandoned to itself, was una- ble to resist. These last then have seen within these few years their Monarchy divided among the three neighbouring Powers, who employed against their Patrician Diets, only a very few regiments of Plebeian soldiers; and notwithstanding the favoura- WISHES OF A RECLUSE. ble circumstances of the moirtent, from the Turkish War in which Russia and Austria are embroiled, and from the particu- lar kind disposition of the King of Prussia, they make fruitless efforts to recover their independence, because they do not call the People of their Country to liberty. The People then is all in all, even under Monarchies. " The " People are not made for Kings, but Kings are made for the " People" says Fenelon, after the laws of universal justice ; by a still greater force of reasoning, the Clergy and the Nobility are. so. To the People every thing ought ultimately to be re- ferred, Priests, Nobles, Officers, Soldiers, Magistral s, Minis- ters, Kings ; as the feet, the hands, the head, and all the senses are referable to the trunk in the human body. The felicity of the people is the supreme Law, said the Ancients: Salus po- puli suprema, lex esto. From the time of the three Persian Potentates, Othanes, Me- gabyses and Darius, who reduced to the Democratic, Aristo- cratic and Monarchic State, the forms of Government which each of them wished to establish in Persia, the question has been frequently agitated, which of the three is best; as if it were impossible for any other to exist. For my own part, con- sidering how many different forms of Government have since that time been settled in every country, not comprehended in this enumeration, I believe that a Nation may subsist under every kind of form, provided the People be happy, just as a man may live any where, under every species of regimen, provided his body be in perfect health. In fact, the manners of Nations are not less varied than those of individuals. There are nations which live in an erratic state in deserts, such as the Arabians and Tartars ; and others who never go out of their own country, as the Chinese: there are some whq disperse themselves over the whole earth, as the Jews and Armenians; and others who keep up no intercourse with any stranger, as the Japanese: some collect in swarms and inhabit cities, as is the case of policed nations; and others scat- ter themselves about in solitary families and live in hippas, as the Islanders of New Zealand. The Governments of men are no less different than their man- ners. To begin with the state of Monarch}-, if there be anv Vol. HI. Mm 274 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES Ol NATURE. Countries governed by one Prince only, some have existed in a very flourishing condition where there were two at once, as at Lacedemon: nay I believe it would not be impossible to find some who may have been excellently governed by a triumvirate. As to the nature of monarchies, some are hereditary in the male line, from father to son, as our own; others are so in favour of females, and from uncle to nephew, as in certain kingdoms of Africa and of /i.sia; in others the Sovereign can nominate his successor in his own family, as in Turkey, in China and in Rus- sia ; others are elective in a corps of Nobility, by the Nobles alone, as in Poland; others are balanced by a Senate of Priests as among the Jews, or by a corps of soldiery, as at Algiers. With respect to Aristocracies, there are some who have chosen their Rulers in a corps of Religious Nobles and Warriors, as at Mal- ta ; others in a corps of enslaved soldiers, as the twelve Beys of Egypt, chosen from among the Mamelucs; others in a Se- nate of Civilians as at Genoa and Venice. As to Democracies, they elect their Chiefs in corps of Merchants, as in Holl, nd; or of husbandmen as in Switzerland; or from among strangers who happen to pass by, as the small Republic of Saint-Marin. Others have been composed of a mixture of Aristocracy and Democracy, as the Republic of Rome; others of the three Go- vernments at once, as in England. I observe that all these Governments have equally had feeble originals; that those which have never attained increase, or which lost it after being acquired, have had no other object in view but the power of a single corps : such have been those of Poland, of Genoa, of Venice, of Malta, which have sacrificed the interests of their Commonalty to those of their Noblesse. I remark, on the contrary, that those which have prospered are such as have proposed as their only object the power or the happiness of the People: thus Lacedemon gave laws to Greece and to a part of Asia. She would have, like Rome, given law to the universe, had she comprehended in the number of her citizens her husbandmen, the Helotes. It is from the influence of the People that Turkey has obtained celebrity by her con- quests, China by her duration, Holland by her commerce, Eng- land by her maritime power and her superior illumination, and Switzerland, still mpre happy, by her liberty and her repose, WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 2T5 I farther remark two things of material importance toward the prosperity of Nations : 1. That all those which have flourished are such as were go- verned by two opposite powers ; and that those which crumbled into ruins have been governed by one only ; because Nature forms harmonies only by means of contraries. 2. That there has existed no one Government, of what na- ture soever, but what has had a Chief, under the denomination of Doge, of Bey, of King, of Pope, of Sultan, of Emir, of Dai- ri, of Emperor, of Stadtholder, of Grand-Master, of Consul, of Avoyer, &c. because every society stands in need of a mo- derator. At Lacedemon, the power of the Ephori was opposed to that of the two Kings: but for this counterpoise, the two Kings would have destroyed themselves from the jealousy of the Go- vernment, as wras the case in the decline of the Roman Empire, when two Emperors on the Throne at once accelerated it's ruin. Among the Chinese, the Sovereign is despotic only by the Law of the Empire which he causes to be put in execution; but his individual will is so balanced and circumscribed by the tribu- nals constituted as conservators of the ancient rites, that with- out their concurrence he cannot change the most trivial custom, even to the fashion of a garment. On the other hand, respect for those tribunals is inspired into the people from the tender- est infancy, with such a religious awe, that each of them might become master of the Empire, did they not balance one another, and unless they had the Emperor as Moderator. The case is nearly the same among the Turks, with whom the power of the Mufti always balances that of the Sultan; no one military edict, no sentence of death, can be promulgated by command of the Sultan without a religious fetsa, or permission of the Mufti. Among the Romans, the power of the Tribunes was opposed to that of the Consuls: but as these two powers which repre- sented, the one that of the People, the other that of the No- blesse, had no Moderator to maintain the equilibrium between them, the State was incessantly agitated by their contentions. The Romans perceived so sensibly, from the earliest periods of their Republic, the necessity of calling in a moderating power, hat in critical siinations thev created a Dictator. The Dicta- 276 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. tor was a despot of a moment, who reduced every tiling to ol- der. He frequently saved the Republic when threatened onh by foreign wars, but destroyed it when civil war broke out. In truth, it was possible to choose him only in one of the two contrary powers, and then they terminated in disturbing the equilibrium between them instead of re-establishing it. This was verified in the horrible proscriptions of Sylla and of Ma- rius. Sylla, at the head of the party of the Nobility, rendered himself omnipotent by the Dictatorship. Montesquieu cele- brates him for having abdicated it, as displaying a wonderful effort of courage : he represents him as confounded in the mul- titude ; like a simple individual whom any one citizen could call to account for the blood which he had shed. As the judg- ment of Montesquieu is of high authority, I must take the liber- ty to refute it, because it gives currency to a very gross mis- take. We cannot be too much on our guard against the pre- ponderancy of great names. Sylla did not abdicate his office from greatness of mind but from weakness, that he might not present in his own person a central point to the public vengeance. To whom could a Roman citizen have addressed himself to obtain justice of Sylla brought back to the level of a simple in- dividual ? Were not the Senate, the Consuls, the Tribunes, the Soldiery, the whole Magistracy of Rome the creatures of Syl- la, accomplices in his proscriptions, and interested in quashing all prosecution on that account ? What do I say ? Sylla, a simple individual, exercised his tyranny up to the very moment of his death ; and we are furnished with the proof of it in his history. " The day previous to that on which he died, being informed " that Granius, who was in debt to the Public Treasury, defer- •; red payment in expectation of his death, he sent for him, and " had him introduced into his chamber, where the moment he " entered, he gave orders to his ministers to seize him and to " strangle him in his presence, but by the exertion of his voice ;i and the heat into which he threw himself, he burst the in- li ward imposthume which was preying on his life, and dis- u charged a great quantity of blood ; by which he was so ex- " hauted that after passing the night in great agony, he expir- " ed next morning." (Plutarch..') Wlio then would have dar- J to call Svlla to an account, v ho exacted one so rigorously the WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 277 very last day of his life ? Finally his credit was still so great, even after his death, that the Roman ladies, to do honour to his fu- neral obsequies, expended sums far beyond what had ever been done before, or has been done since from respect to any one Roman. " Among other things," says Plutarch, " they con- " tributed such an enormous quantity of rich spicery and per- " fumes, that besides those which were carried in two hundred " and ten vessels, there was sufficient to form a large image re- " sembling Sylla himself, and another of a Lictor bearing the " fasces before him, consisting entirely of the most exquisite in- '* cense and cinnamon." Thus the power of the People was oppressed by that of the Nobility, reinforced by Sylla with that of the Dictatorship. But when Cesar, invested likewise with the office of Dictator, threw himself into the scale of the People, then the party of the Nobility was oppressed in it's turn. At last, when the Empe- rors his successors, instead of being moderators of the Empire, had united in their own persons both the consular and tribuni- tial power, the Empire fell, because the two powers which ser- ved to balance each other, fixed at their centre, produced motion no longer. Thus it is that the functions of the human body are reduced to a paralytic state, when the blood, instead of circula- ting through the members, stagnates at the region of the heart. We fall therefore into a very great error, when we attempt, from the sentiment of our weakness, to give immoveable foun- dations to a government which is perpetually in motion. Na- ture derives constant harmonies only from moveable powers. The type of societies, like that of justice, may be represented by a balance, the use of which consists entirely in the counter- poise of it's two beams : the rest of bodies in motion is in their equilibrium. I conclude therefore that every Government is flourishing and durable, when it is formed of two powers which balance each other, when it has a head to act as Moderator, and has for it's centre the happiness of the People. These are, in my opinion, the only means and the only end which confer prosperity and duration on States, whether they be monarchical, aristocratic or republican : and this is demonstrated by the history of every 278 SEQUEL TO,THE JMUDIES OF NATURE. Country in the World ; for it is not sufficient to produce instan- ces of certain brilliant periods of a Country, to justify political principles thrown out at random, as most writers have done ; it is necessary to see a whole State flourish and last a long time together, in order to form a judgment of the goodness of it's Constitution, as we judge of that of a man, not from some par- ticular exertion of strength, but from a sound and uniform state of health. There may be started as an objection the case of certain soci- eties of men, living according to the Laws of Nature, who have subsisted without those internal convulsions, and without a Chief, disposed to promote the happiness of their State, like bees to the labours of their hive, by the sentiment of their com- mon interest. But if their political counterpoises were not in their society, they were from without. I doubt whether even the bees, whose instinct is so sage, would take so much pains to amass provisions, to deposit them in the trunks of trees, to build their houses of wax, and to live together in unity, unless they had to contend with the winds, with the rain, the winter, and many other different enemies : external wars ensure their in- ternal concord. What is very remarkable, each swarm has a Moderator in their Queen. The same thing takes place in the habitations of ants, and I believe of all animals which live in Republics. Happy would it be for human societies, if they had to encounter in like manner only the obstacles presented by the hand of Nature ! Their enjoyments would extend over the face of the whole Earth, the productions of which they are destined to reap ; the human race would form but one family, whereof even individual would stand in need of no other Moderator but GOD and his own conscience. But in our badly constituted States, we find all valuable property of every kind accumulated on a small number of individuals ; thus, unable to demand them at the hand of Nature, we are obliged to dispute possession with men, and to direct our powers against ourselves. These principles being laid down, I find our French Govern- ment constituted like all those which, from their origin, have deviated from the Laws of Nature. It is divided into two powers which serve as a mutual counterbalance. The one ron- * WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 279 sists of the Clerical Order and that of the Nobility, who have for several ages past united their interests ; the other, of the order of the People, who are beginning to acquire illumination respecting their own. But they are very far from being coun- terbalanced. Some of our Kings have indeed attempted to estab- lish the equilibrium, by throwing some weight into the scale of the People, from the erection of Communes, of Municipal Offi- ces, and of Parliaments; but the members of these bodies having most of them a tendency toward the privileges of the Nobility, and the benefices of the Clergy, the interests of the People have remained without a defender. A few isolated writers alone, who, animated with zeal for those of Mankind, have been the only Representatives of the People, and have set up secret tribunes for them even in the conscience of the great. The King, how- ever, is as much interested as the People, in the maintenance of the political equilibrium, as he is the Moderator of it, and as one of the powers which ought to be balanced cannot exceed the other, without his finding himself deranged, and rendered incapable of putting any one in motion. Not only ought all the members of the political body to be in equilibrium for the interest of the People; but to the People also, and to them alone, ought to be referred every particular interest. But the Clergy and Nobility are precisely the contra- ry of what they ought to be, and from what they originally have been ; for they are formed into a coalition of particular inte- rests entirely separated from the cause of the People. When the King, the Clergy and the Nobility of a State form one body with their People, they resemble the branches of a great tree which, notwithstanding the violence of the tempest, are restored to their equilibrium by the trunk which bears and unites them. Put when these powers have centres different from the People, they are like those trees which grow by chance on tin summit of an old tower : they for some time decorate it's battlements ; but with the lapse of ages, their roots force a pas- sage between the layers of stones, separate their joinings, and terminate in the subversion of the monument which once sup- ported them. The Kin^-, the Clergy and the Nobility have a relation so nc- 280 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. cessary with the People, that it is by means of it alone they have themselves common relations with each other. But for the Peo- ple they would be separated in interests as in functions. They resemble the branches of a tree which all have a tendency to di- verge, and which have no principle of union among themselves except the trunk which combines them. Though this compari- son may be very proper to render intelligible the popular inter- connexions to which I wish to lead our political powers, • et as these mutual connexions have hitherto no existence among us, and as we must distinguish into corps which have separate cen- tres, the members of the same whole, I shall employ an image better adapted to represent the existing whole of our Estates- General, and to flatter the pretensions of the superior Orders. I consider then the King as the sun, the emblem of which is that of his illustrious ancestors ; the Clergy and Nobility as two planetary bodies revolving round the sun, and reflecting his light; and the People as the obscure globe of the earth which we trample under our feet, but which nevertheless supports and feeds us. Let the powers of the Nation consider themselves therefore as powers of Heaven, which in some other respects they pretend to be ; but let them recollect at the same time, that notwithstanding the privileges which they enjoy of moving in their particular sphere, and of approaching that of the sun, they are not the less on that account adapted to the sphere of the People, seeing the sun himself, with all his splendour, exists in the Heavens only for the harmonies of the Earth and of the smallest plants on her surface. I shall put up prayers therefore for the harmony of the foiir Orders which at this day compose the Nation, beginning with him who is the prime mover in it. WISHES FOR THE KING. MANY writers of high reputation consider the national power in a Monarchy, as divided into two ; into a legislative power and an executive power; they assign the former to the Nation, and the latter to the King. WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 281 i his division appears to me defective, for it omits a third power essential to every good Government, the moderating power, which in Monarchy belongs exclusively to the Sovereign. Here the King is not the simple Commissioner of the Nation merely, a Doge or a Stadtholder; he is a Monarch invested with the charge of directing the public operations. The Clergy, the Nobility, and even the People, only see and regulate each, one in particular, detached parts of the Monarchy, of which they are members only ; the King is the heart of it, and is alone capable -of knowing and of putting in motion the combined whole. The three bodies of which Monarchy is composed are continually re-acting one against another, so that left to them- selves it would speedily come to pass that one of them must op- press the other two, or be oppressed by them, without it's be- ing possible for the King, who would have the executive power only, to do any thing else but become the agent of the strongest party, that is of oppression. The Sovereign must therefore have besides the moderating power, that is to say, the power of main- taining the equilibrium, not only between tliose bodies, but to unite their force externally in opposition to foreign powers, whose entcrprizes he alone is in a condition to know. It is the moderating power which constitutes the Monarch. The writers to whom I alluded, have had a perception of the necessity of this power in the King, and have made it a ques- tion whether it ought to consist in a simple veto, as h\England, or in a certain number of deliberate voices, to be reserved to him as his royal prerogative. The veto is an inert power capable of defeating the best con- certed projects. The King on the contrary ought to be vested with a power of activity capable of giving them energy and suc- cess. The heart, in the human frame, is never in a state of in- action : the same ought to be the case of the Sovereign in a Monarchy. As to deliberative voices to be reserved to the King, it is ex- tremely difficult to determine their number. I will take the liberty to suggest a few reflections on the subject. The num- ber of voices in the National Assemblv is about twelve hundred, of which six hundred belong to the Clergy and Nobility, and tix hundred to the Commonalty. Now, if the six hundred votes Vol. III. Nn 282 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. of the two first Orders were equal in weight to the six hundred of the Commons, as they are in number, there would be an ex- act equilibrium between them, and nothing more would be ne- cessary to the Sovereign but his own single voice to make the balance incline which way he pleased: What do I say ? The voice of the King which disposes of all employments, possesses of its own Nature such a preponderancy, that it alone would bear down all the rest, as happens in despotic States, unless it too had a counterbalance. It is useless therefore to multiply the voice of the King in the National Assembly, in order to give him weight; it is sufficient that it be reserved to him : but it is highly necessary to reform the national balance itself, to render it susceptible of equilibrium. Though it's arms may be equal in length, it's scales are by no means so in respect of weight. It maybe affirmed that the scale of the Clergy and Nobility is of gold, whereas that of the Peo- ple is of straw. The former is so filled with mitres, ribands, dignities, governments, magistracies, survivancies already given away, though they originally belong to the Royal authority or even to the People, that the balance has always leaned to that side, in defiance of the efforts made by some of our Kings to re-adjust it. This scale accordingly preponderates not only by it's proper weight, but by that of the royal power, which it has attracted to itself; so that in order to restore the scale of the People to an equilibrium, it would be necessary that the King should either render it heavier by transferring to it a certain proportion of dignities and employments, or by increasing the length of it's arm, in multiplying the voices of the Representa- tives of the People in the National Assemblies. The plebeian lever thus becoming the longer of the two, it will require very little effort on the part of the Prince to give it inclination, and the moderating power will act in the Monarchy in the same manner as the moveable weight along the greater lever of the Roman balance. It was only by the number of their own voices that the People of Rome balanced the weight of the senatorial voices. In the British Parliament, the number of the members of the Upper House does not exceed two hundred and forty- five, whereas that of the members of the House of Commons amounts to five hundred and fifty-eight, that is to more than WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 283 double. Without an equivalent proportion, the plebeian scale will never be able to acquire it's equilibrium, till the six hun- dred voices which compose it shall be supported by the voices of the twenty-four millions of men whom they represent: in that case, though it's scale may be light, it's arm becoming in- finitely long, it's re-action will be rendered infinitely powerful. This moment of revolution will be the proper one for the King to resume his moderating power, in order to the re-establish- ment of the monarchical balance. The royal influence will then resemble that of the Sun, who balances in the Heavens the Globes which revolve around him. I have oftener than once expressed a desire that the King would make a progress once every year over the estates of his Kingdom from one extremity to the other, as the Sun visits by turns every year the two poles of the world. My wishes seem to be on the point of accomplishment. The movement will in- deed be different, but the effect will be the same. It will not be the motion of the King toward the People; but that of the People toward their King. This political system is simplified like the astronomical, in which it is supposed, with a high de- gree of probability, that it is not the Sun which revolves round the Earth, but the Earth which revolves on her axis and in her orbit round the Sun, presenting to him by turns her icy poles. This order seems to me still better adapted to the functions of a King, who after all is only a man, and who ought not only to diffuse his light over his People, but who in his turn stands in need of receiving illumination fron# them. The King will accordingly derive information from the National Assembly, of what is passing in the provincial assemblies, of what is transact- ing in the assemblies of the cities ; and from those of the cities, of what is going on in the villages. The men like the affairs of the State will circulate under his eyes; for the meanest peasant may be eligible as deputy from the assembly of his village to that of the city in whose district it is situated, from the assembly of such city to that of the pro- vince, and from that of the province to the National Assembly. Thus by this mode of rotation, the Deputies of the National As- sembly mav exhibit to the Sovereign all his subjects in purees- 284 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURK. sion, just as the Earth presents to the Sun all the parts of her circumference. I here proceed on the supposition that the assemblies of the villages, of the cities and of the provinces, shall take place all over the kingdom, that they shall be at once permanent and pe- riodical, in other words, that they shall be every year renovated in a third part of their members, and that the same rule shall be applied to the National Assembly, which ought to be the cen- tre of all those assemblies ; for there should exist complete har- mony in all the parts of the State. To grant permanency to the assemblies of villages, of cities and provinces, and to with- hold it from the National Assembly, would be the same thing as in a watch whose minute, middling and great wheels are all in motion, to withdraw the main spring. From this permanency of the National Assembly the result will be, that no one Aristocratical body will have it in it's power henceforward to interpose itself between the King and the Na- tion ; and that from the periodical rotation of it's members, it will not be possible for itself to degenerate into an aristocratic junto. As the King possesses of right the executive power, no law could pass in it but what had received the sanction of his authority; and as he has likewise the moderating power, this assembly being composed of two powers which have oppo- site interests, he will always possess the power of maintaining the equilibrium of it. Neither therefore by it's operations, nor by it's duration, would it be able to make any encroachment whatever on the Royal authority. It may be farther alleged, that it alone can facilitate the ope- rations of a good Government; and by it alone the interests of the King and of the People, which are one and the same, can be found in perfect union. The King, in committing to the Depu- ties of the Commons the power of defending the interests of the People, commits to them at the same time that of defending the interests of royalty, which differ in nothing from the pros- perity of the People themselves, and should there happen, as in times past, any disorder in Administration, the People could not accuse the King of it, who has given them the perpetual power of watching it's motions, and of proposing to him the proper remedies. WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 285 May this order so simple, so natural and so just, be admitted into all the Governments in the World, for the happiness of the Nations and of their Princes ! The tastes, the manners, the fashions, the discords and the wars of one kingdom communi- cate themselves to another: Wherefore might there not be a mutual intercommunication of concord and good Laws ? May Louis XVI. then receive for ever the applause which he shall merit for it from his own People ! May he obtain it from the gratitude of all Nations, and fulfil the glorious device transmit- ted to him from his ancestors, but which he alone shall have deserved to wear ; a Sun illuminating various Worlds, with this inscription : " Sufficient for many." Nee pluribus impar. WISHES FOR THE CLERGY. IT were most devoutly to be wished that the Clergy had never separated their interests from those of the People. How- ever well endowed the Clergy of a State may be, the ruin of the People speedily involves theirs likewise. The example of the Greeks of Constantinople is a proof of this, whose Patriarchs intermeddled in the functions of the Emperors, and the Empe- rors in those of the Patriarchs. The People, drained by their Clergy and by their Princes, who have seized every species of property, even that of opinion, lost all sense of patriotism : What do I say ? During the siege which terminated in giving the Turks possession of Constantinople, this was the general cry, " We would rather see Turbans among us than a cardi- " nal's hat." I must here observe that the religion of a State is not always it's firmest support, as has been so frequently ad- vanced ; for the Greek Empire of Constantinople fell, and it's Religion remained. The same thing happened to the Kingdom of Jerusalem. On the other hand, many religions have changed in different States, the Governments of which have continued to subsist : Such were the ancienf religions of several King- doms of Europe, of Asia and of Africa, to which have succeed- ed the Christian and Mahometan Religions, whereas many of thus. States have not so much as changed a dynasty. The hap- piness of the People is the only immovable basis of the happi 286 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. ness of Empires; it is likewise that of the happiness of their Clergy. The Greek Clergy of Constantinople is reduced, un- der the Turks, to live on alms, in the very places where they once had the power, under their national Princes, to rear the superb Temples in which at this day the religion of an enemy triumphs. An ambitious Clergy impoverishes it's People, and an impoverished People sooner or later renders it's Clergy mi- serable. Not only is th$ Clergyman united to the People by the bond of interest, but by that of duty. He is the national advocate of the miserable, and obliged to relieve them out of his own super- fluity. Most part of the property of the Church has been be- queathed expressly under those conditions. I could have wish- ed therefore that the superior Clergy had been at the head of their flocks to defend their interests, as in the ancient times of our Mo- narchy, during which the People themselves elected their own Pastors expressly for this purpose. But since those ancient forms so respectable in themselves have changed, even in a body of men so tenacious of their conservation, I wish at least that the Clergy would instil into the National Assembly the evangelical maxims which it is their business to announce in our Churches. I do not speak of the penny paid to Cesar by St. Peter, in obedience to Jesus Christ himself; for I will observe on this occasion, from the question put by Jesus to Peter, and his answer, that it was not customary among the Romans to exact tribute of ci- tizens but of strangers. It is clear indeed from History that the Roman People, so far from paying imposts, was frequently supported by largesses of corn, and the tribute of the conquer- ed Provinces. Among the Turks, the carach or tribute is paid only by the Greeks. This custom appears to me to have been generally prevalent over Asia. Jesus Christ seems to extend it to all the Kingdoms of the World, as founded on natural jus- tice. The question after all perhaps referred to personal, and not to territorial imposts. Be this as it may, seeing that from one abuse to another the financial Government has with us succeeded to the feudal, it is now impossible to meet the exi- gences of the State without levying contributions on all it's members. The greatest part of our Clergy has sacrificed in this respect their ancient prerogatives in a very generous man- WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 287 ner: nevertheless the interest of truth obliges me to add, that they have likewise in this only done an act of justice, as.a great deal of property was formerly conferred on them by the State, as well as on the Nobility, to the burthening of even the mili- tary service. But the People at this day demands of them other contribu- tions, to a considerable extent, of property bequeathed to them by individuals, for the benefit of the still more sacred service, that of the miserable. In this undoubtedly must be compre- hended many of the rich Ecclesiastical Commendams, once destined to the relief of the leprous, and of wretches shut up in Hospitals. Let the Clergy then transfuse themselves into this Law of Nature, which is the basis, and the ultimate object of the Gospel; of that Law which is the source of every virtue, of justice, charity, humanity, patriotism, concord, beneficence, politeness, and of every thing which renders man amiable, even in the eyes of the men of the World : " Do not to another what u you would not another should do unto you." Let them con- sider that tins People, who in times past so liberally endowed them, is now sinking under a load of impositions ; that the vices against which they have been so long preaching are not infused into Man by Nature, but that they are the necessary results of our political Institutions ; that they spring out of the extreme opulence of a small number of citizens who have swallowed up every thing, and out of the absolute indigence of an inconceivable number of others who no longer possess any thing; that on the one part, opulence produces voluptuousness, avarice, monopolies, ambition, which of themselves occasion so many woes to mankind ; and that on the other, poverty re- duces young women to the necessity of prostituting themselves, mothers to expose their own children, and that it generates se- dition, theft, quackery, superstition, and that innumerable mul- titude of miserable beings, who, stripped of every thing by the first, are reduced to the necessity of finding a livelihood at their expense. I could wish therefore that the Clergy would step forth te. the relief of the wretched, and first of all make provision for me necessities of the poor members of their own body; tha' 288 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. there may not be a single Ecclesiastic destitute of the decent means of support. Not a simple village Vicar ought to be without the actual necessaries of life so long as his Bishop en- joyed a superfluity. It accordingly appears reasonable to me, that the National Assembly should employ the revenues of the rich Abbeys, founded of old by the Nation, in distributions, diffused over the whole Kingdom, by the provincial Assemblies, to the indigent of all countries, and of every communion, known and unknown, after the example of the good Samaritan ; for the charity of the Gospel should extend to men of every Reli- gion, and French hospitality to the men of all Nations. It is of essential importance that the Clergy should abolish in their own order those strange and shameful establishments, to- tally unknown to the Greeks, the Romans, and even to the Bar- barians ; I mean Convents, which in France are merely houses of confinement and correction. Those dolorous abodes, in which Monks undertake, for pay, the infliction of domestic and public vindictive punishment, are scattered in such numbers over the Kingdom, and have become so detestable as to tarnish the very names of the Saints whom they have presumed to adopt as pa- trons. In some of them are still to be seen cages of iron, the cruel invention of Louis XL Most of them labour under a reputation so disgraceful, from the penances which they inflict, that a young man, or young woman, derives more infamy from having been an inmate, than from having been shut up in a com- mon prison. Hence Monks and Nuns refuse to blush at execut- ing the abominable functions of gaolers and executioners for the sake of a paltry emolument. Is it not wonderfully strange that persons consecrated to GOD, who professionally preach up hu- manity, consolation, and the forgiveness of injuries, should have suffered themselves to be made the instruments of cruelty, of infamy and of vengeance, to acquire a little wealth I and that on the other hand, the people should have seen the creation of such houses, more cruel and more degrading than the Bastille, without perceiving the manifest contradiction between the doc- trine and the practice of the persons who established them ? It belongs to the State, and not the Monks, to punish offender* against the State. WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 289 I could farther wish that the Clergy, having contributed from their superfluity a supply for indigence, the source of so many private vices, would thunder their eloquence against ambition, that fertile source of public and private vice: that they would proscribe the first lessons of it in our schools, into which it has found admission under the name of emulation, and from infancy arms fellow-citizens against each other, by instilling into every child this pernicious maxim, " Be the first:" let the preachers of the Gospel inveigh vehemently, in the name of GOD, against the ambition of the Potentates of Europe, which results from ^ the ambitious education they procure for their subjects^ and which, after having brought an accumulation of misery on their own people, communicates that misery to the Human Race : let those sacred Ministers of Peace attack the sacrilegious Laws of War ; let themselves desist from the practice of decorating our Temples dedicated to Charity, with banners won by shedding the blood of Nations ; let them strenuously oppose the slavery of the Negroes, who are our brethren by the Laws of Nature and of Religion ; let them withhold their benediction from ves- sels employed in this infamous traffic, as well as from the stand- ards around which our sanguinary soldiers assemble ; let them refuse their ministrations to every one who contributes toward the increase of human wretchedness ; let them make the reply to the Powers who could engage them to consecrate the instru- ments of their politics, which the priestess Theano made to the People of Athens when they tried to persuade her to pronounce a malediction upon Alcibiades, though convicted of having pro- faned the mysteries of Ceres: " I am a Priestess to offer up u prayers and implore blessings, not to execrate and devote to " destruction." Let our Priests then say to ambitious Potentates : " We are " not sent to excite men to the furies of war, but to concord, " love and peace; not to pronounce a blessing on ships of war, " on vessels engaged in the Slave-trade, on regiments ; but, af- " ter the example of the blessed Jesus, on little children, on " marriages and on harmless festivity." Thus the French Clergy, by taking a lively interest in the condition of suffering humanity, will render themselves dear to the men of all Nations. Th^y will have the satisfaction of be- Vol. III. O o 290 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. holding their religious Empire revive in the hearts of the Peo- ple, as in the early ages when the Gospel was first preached, and when, speaking in the name of the GOD of Peace, they made tyrants tremble. WISHES FOR THE NOBILITY. MAY that Nobility, who in barbarous ages presented to the People models of heroism in times of war, and of urbanity in times of Peace, exhibit to them a pattern of every patriotic vir- tue in an age of illumination! It is my earnest wish that they should not only march, as heretofore, at the head of their war- riors, to defend them against external enemies, or to protect the weaker of them from the oppression of domestic foes, as in the days of ancient chivalry, but that, rising to the patrician great- ness of old Rome, they would adopt into their bosom the ple- beian families who may render themselves illustrious by virtue. Thus were the Catos and the Scipios adopted into noble families. May they farther, after the example of the Roman Nobility, ally themselves with the people by the bonds of marriage ! Au- gustus, in the zenith of his glory, gave his only daughter Julia in marriage to the plebeian Agrippa ; and Tiberius on the throne, married his grand-daughter Drusilla, and daughter of Germanicus, to Lucius Cassias, " of an ancient and honourable " plebeian extraction," to use the expression of Tacitus. Our own Kings themselves have often contracted similar marriages. Henry IV. who valued himself on bein;j the first Gentleman in his kingdom, took to wife Mary de Medicis, who descended from a family who were once merchants at Florence. The No- bility in our days, it is true, are coming nearer to the people by forming plebeian alliances, but if they were more frequent, and had not fortune merely for their object, we should not see so many females of noble birth languishing in a state of celibacy. Wherever the People is despised the Nobility is unhappy. It is the resentment of the People which fosters among the higher orders the spirit of civil war, and of duelling. Look at the eter- nal discords of the Polish Nobility : look at the ancient feuds of the Barons of England, before liberty had raised the people near- WISilES OF A RECLUSE. 291 er to their level; and at those of our own Princes and Dukes prior to Louis XIV. who by the exercise of his despotism reduc- ed all his subjects to nearly the same standard. Wherever the People is undervalued, the Nobility is of infe- rior consideration. Where the former is in a state of vassalage the latter sinks into a menial condition. Look at Poland, where the lackeys and domestics of the meanest station in great houses are of the Order of Nobility. What Frenchman of noble birth would not at this day prefer the service of the People in our Monarchical Government, to the service of a grandee, as in the^- time of the feudal despotism ? Who would not a thousand times rather be a Peer of Great Britain, living with his farmers, and balancing in the House of Lords, or even in that of Commons, the interests of his Country and the destiny of the Globe, than an Indian Nair, whom one of the commonalty dares not so much as touch, under pain of death, but who is himself obliged to sa- crifice his conscience and his life to the caprices of the despot who keeps him in pay ? O ye Nobles, would you wish to exalt your own order, raise the order of the People ! It was the greatness of the Roman people which constituted the Majesty of the Roman Senate. The higher a pedestal is, the loftier is the column reared upon it; the closer the union between the column and it's pedestal, the greater is it's solidity. It is very remarkable that the Romans conferred the most il- lustrious marks of distinction only on those of their citizens who had merited well of the People. " The Civic Crown," says Pliny, " was deemed more honourable, and communicated " higher privileges than the Mural, the Obsidional and Naval " Crowns, because there is more glory in saving a single citi- " zen than in storming cities and gaining battles." Those marks of distinction, kept in reserve for the servants of the people alone, were, in the times of the Republic, the real causes of the grandeur of the Roman Senate, because a people is to be served by virtues alone, but they became the causes of her decline, when, under the Emperors, they were bestowed on those only who had deserved well of the Court, because Cour- tiers are to be served onlv bv vices. 292 SEQUEL TO Tii> STUDIES 01 NATURE. As we live in an age in which the members of the political body are still "sound parts, under a chief resembling Marcus Aurelius, I feel myself drawn into a train of wishing that wc might in some measure acquire a resemblance to the ancient Romans. I could wish then, in order to unite the Nobility with the People, and the People with the Nobility, that an or- der of Chivalry might be instituted, in imitation of the Civic Crown. This order should be conferred on every citizen who might have deserved well of the People, be the service of what- ever nature it may. It should communicate honourable privi- leges, such as the rights of sitting in the Assemblies of the Vil- lages, of the Cities, of the Provinces, and even in the National Assembly. The persons raised to this distinction should, on certain days of the year, have the privilege of admission to the King's presence, and at all seasons to his Majesty's Ministers, with the right of presenting requests for all men who by their virtues had rendered themselves worthy of the attention of Go- vernment. The badge of the order might be a crown of oak embroidered on the breast, with this motto: For the People. The National Assembly alone should have the power of pre- senting to the Sovereign, citizens whom they reckoned worthy of this distinction, and it should be granted and conferred only by his Majesty himself in person. This order of the People should be personal Nobility to men not noble by birth ; for in future there ought to be no hereditary ennoblement, the experience of all ages and of all countries hav- ing assured us that virtue and vice are not transmissive through blood. With respect to persons originally noble, they would preserve for their posterity the ancient prerogatives of rank: but they would acquire, by means of this new distinctive order, the pow- er of adopting a plebeian decorated with it; and in this case only nobility should become hereditary in the person adopted. Thus the Nobility would be rendered dear to the People, from find- ing in them the only means of giving perpetuity to their own ele- vation ; and the People would become dear to the Nobility from finding in them the means of illustrating and supporting great names threatened with extinction. If to these are added alii- WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 293 auces contracted by marriage, our patricians and plebeians would feel an approximation, not produced by bonds of silver and gold, but by those of Nature and Virtue. Such are the wishes I form, that People may rise toward the Nobility without pride, and that the Nobility may descend toward the People without suffering degradation. On the other hand, as this very Nobility has relatives innu- merable whom poverty confounds with the lowest classes of the People, as I have frequendy seen in our Provinces, particularly in Brittany, it is necessary to provide the means of subsistence for them. I am persuaded that in this view was dictated a few * vears ago that article of the ordinance of the Military Depart- ment which reserves to Men of Family, exclusively the rank of Officers in the army. But Gentlemen born and brought up in the bosom of indigence, are never capable of discharging the functions of an Officer; for this rank requires with us, especially in these times, an education and a degree of intelligence not to be attained without the advantage of fortune. I recollect ray having seen one day in Lower Normandy a poor man of birth who earned his livelihood by making lions of clay. Those lions, to say the truth, had no great resemblance to lions ; but they at least indicated a noble sentiment in the manu- facturer, which poverty had not been able to extinguish. Nav. this sentiment propagated itself extensively through the medium of the manufacture. When a Country Gentleman a little at his ease had placed a pair of those lions on two pilasters of earth and flint on the right and left of his avenue, he could, in imita- tion of Princes, call his Court-yard a Court of Honour. I love to see a man, and particularly a man of family, find in himself resources against the injustice of fortune, and like a fir on a rock maintain an erect position in spite of the buffetings of the tempest. An art, however insignificant, is in a state of opulence a re- fuge from the tyranny of the passions and from languor; but in a state of indigence it is a resource against want. Religion among the Turks imposes it as a duty, even on the Sultans, to learn a trade, and to practise it. I know well that it is not in- consistent with the character of a Gentleman to practise a liberal art, but why not a mechanical one ? A liberal art ministers 294 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. chiefly to luxury, and requires talents which are the progeny of the passions ; a mechanical art is necessary to the demands of human life, and calls only for the exercise of patience, the inse- parable companion of virtue. A man of birth it is true may with us manufacture glass without discredit to his rank ; but why not pottery ? This, as far as I can judge, is the reason : as we have been long accustomed to respect fortune only, we have ennobled every condition that leads to it or which is subservient only to luxury: now as glass was originally very scarce, it was 4m enjoyment confined entirely to the rich: a Gentleman might therefore consistently be a dealer in glass. For the same rea- son likewise it is competent for him to have a share in the East- India Company, to be a Farmer-general, an Opera Performer, as if a Gentleman in wooden shoes could attain those brilliant situations ! He is at liberty I grant to place his children in the military school; but that institution of Louis XV. destined ex- clusively to the relief of decayed Nobility, is now hardly a re- source for persons of this description, because it is frequently intercepted by the rich families of their own order, or even of the commonalty, and is besides insufficient. It seems to me then necessary to permit to poor men of birth the exercise of all professions whatever; for if Nobility con- sists in a man's being useful to his Country, every profession, especially the most ordinary, promotes this object. A man cannot suffer degradation by practising an art, or carrying on a trade, but by vice only. Every age has produced characters rendered illustrious by patriotic virtues from all conditions of life. Agathocles, the conqueror of Sicily, was the son of a pot- ter ; the Chancellor Olivier, of a Physician ; the Mareschal Fa- ber, of a Bookseller; Franklin, the asserter of American liber- ty, of a Printer, and himself a Printer. Christopher Columbus, before embarking on the discovery of the new World, earned his bread by constructing geographical charts. There is no con- dition so mean as to be incapable of producing a great man. By permitting the Nobility without derogating from their dignity, to exercise all the arts of peace, a Kingdom will not be suffered to fall into a lethargy through the idleness of it's Nobles, when they are rich, as is the case at this day in Spain, Portugal and Italy ; nor into violent convulsions from their mi- WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 295 litary spirit, when they are poor, as formerly was the case with ourselves as well as with most of the Nations of Europe. Historians never discern any thing but the results of our cala- mities, because they ascribe them solely to political causes ; the moral causes which occasion them always escape their atten- tion : because, concerned only in the fortune of Kings, the in- terests of mankind are a matter of indifference to them. They impute the perpetual Wars which ravage Europe to the ambi- tion of it's Princes, and they are in the right; but it is of high. importance to remark that the ambition of Princes, and ifl Wars both foreign and domestic which are the effects of it, ori- ginate, in every state, in the ambition of the Nobility, who being many in number, and having no other means of subsistence but the military profession, instigate their Sovereigns to War and Conquest, for the sake of getting to themselves commissions, pensions and governments. The opinion of Kings is formed entirely on the opinions of their Courtiers. Thus in countries where the Clergy is numerous and poor, there have arisen, from the spirit of controversy, spiritual Wars without end, equally ruinous to the Nations, but which procured for the persons who fomented and maintained them, doctors' square-caps, benefices, bishoprics and cardinals' hats. In our days, when the Poten- tates of Europe, illumined to the discernment of their pecuni- ary interests, direct their ambition toward commerce, it is not the Clergy or Nobility who involve us in National quarrels, but commercial associations. How many wars have been kindled and propagated to the extremities of the earth, by the European trading Companies, the East-India, the Assiento, the Molucca, the Philippine, the Guinea, the Senegal, the South-Sea, the Hudson's-bay, &c. The last War which embroiled England, France, Spain, Portugal, Holland, the Cape of Good Hope, the East Indies, the two Americas, and which terminated in the ruin of our finances, and bears hard to this day upon the Estates- General of the kingdom, originated in the English India-Com- pany, who wanted to extort a tax upon tea from the inhabitants of Boston. Thus the late storms which desolated the whole Globe, issued from a tea-warehouse. What renders us Europeans so fickle and inconstant is the formation of association whos** ambition blends itself with S.'h- SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. that of our education. By the selfishness of corps Countries are ruined by referring Country exclusively" to themselves, and by depriving the People of their natural relations. That which stifles the Sciences in any Countiy is the interposition of com- panies of Doctors between the People and light, as has hap- pened in Spain, in Italy, and among ourselves. That which ru- ins Agriculture and Commerce is the intervention of monopo- lizing companies between the People and the crops or the ma- nufactures. What destroys the Finances is the intervention of companies of Stock-jobbers between the People and the Public Treasury. What ruins a Monarchy is a corps of Nobility in- terposing between a People and their Prince, as in Poland. WTiat ruins a Religion is a corps of Priests thrusting them- selves between the People and God, as among the Greeks of the Lower Empire and elsewhere. Finally, that which in- volves the Human race in destruction, is when a Country it- self intolerant, like the corps which compose it, interposes be- tween other Countries, and attempts to appropriate to itself ex- clusively the Science, the Commerce, the Power and the Reason of the whole Universe. It is absolutely necessary therefore to unite with the interests of the People the interests of Associations which ought to be only members of it, as they involve general ruin when they pursue separate interests, and instead of being public vehicles transform themselves into barriers. It is no less necessary to reform the Public Education, as corps entirely owe their am- bitious spirit to the European mode of Education, which says to every man from infancy upward : " Be the first;" and to every corps : " Be master." The means of acquiring distinction and Nobility being hence- forward reserved for such citizens only as shall have deserved well of the People, the Noblesse and the People will feel them- selves united by the bonds of mutual benevolence, which ought to bring all men into contact, those especially of the same Na- tion. Mcnenius Agrippa reconciled the Roman People and their Senate by the allegory of the members which fell into decay by refusing to labour for the stomach: but what would he have ?aid if the Roman Senate had itself formed a separation from WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 297 tire People, and refused to have any thing in common with them ? In his ingenious apologue, the Senate which governed the Empire might be compared to the precordial parts of the human body ; but with us the authority being monarchical, the Nobility can in many respects be considered only as the armed hands of the Nation. The people, from whose bosom issues the soldiery, share this service with them, and by their labours, their art and industry, ought to consider themselves besides as the working hands of the body politic ; they are likewise it's eyes, the voice and the head, because from them proceed the greatest part of the men of letters, of the orators and philoso- phers who illuminate as well as of the magistrates who govern it; in a word, they constitute the body properly so called, as other bodies owe their existence wholly to it, exist not them- selves but for it, and are, relatively to it, only what the mem- bers are relatively to the human body. In our monarchic/il state it is not the Nobility which is to be compared to the heart and the stomach of the body politic, it is Royalty which pos- sesses this station. The judicious La Fontaine was abundantly sensible of this, in applying to us the apologue of Menenius. This is the manner in which he depicts the Royal functions and those of the People, in his Fable of the iielly and the Mem- bers. " With Royalty my work should have commenced ; taken in " a certain point of view it is typified by Monsieur Gaster:* if " he feels any want the whole body has a fellow-feeling. The " members however growing tired of labouring for his benefit, u resolved every one to live like a gentleman, that is in idleness, " pleading the example of Gaster himself. liut for us, said " they, he must live on air : we sweat, we toil like beasts of " burden; and for whom ? for him only, without any profit to " ourselves. The end of all our exertions is forsooth to find " him a dinner. Let us make holiday, it is a lesson which he " himself has taught us. No sooner said than done : the hands " and arms cease from their functions ; the legs and feet refuse " to stir ; with one voice they told Mr. Gaster he might look * The Greek word signifying belly. The adject'n v gastric is derived from it ; gastric moisture, that is nutritious. Vol. III. P p 298 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. " out for himself. Of this error however they had speedily " cause to repent; the poor creatures fell into a state of Ian- " guor : no new blood now circulated round the heart; every " member suffered, and lost all strength. The mutineers be- il came sensible that he whom they had accused of idleness, " contributed more to the general welfare than any one of them. " This fiction is applicable to the Royal dignity. It receives " and gives, and the benefit is mutual. For it every one la- ^ bours, and every one in return derives aliment from it. The >' artisan by it draws subsistence from the sweat of his brow ; " it enriches the merchant, supports the magistrate, maintains " the husbandman, pays the soldier, diffuses it's sovereign be- *' neficence in a thousand different channels, and alone preserves " the whole State in health and vigour. It was a happy inven- " tion of Menenius. The Commonalty was on the point of " coming to a rupture with the Senate ; the malcontents alleged " that the Patricians had engrossed the whole power of the em- " pire, it's treasures, honours, dignities, while the whole bur- " den lay on their shoulders, tributes, taxes, the fatigues and " dangers of war. The people had already deserted the city, u disposed to go in quest of another country, when Menenius " unfolded to them their mistake by the fable of the Belly and " Members, and thereby brought them back to their duty." I who possess not La Fontaine's talent of putting into simple iind charming verses the profound lessons of politics, shall con- tent myself with presenting in plain prose an Indian Fable, bet- ter adapted still than the Roman Apologue to exhibit the rela- tions which our Nobiljty and even our Clergy have with the People. i THE BRANCHES AXD TRUNK OF THE PALM-TREE. The palm, loftiest of fruit trees, formerly bare, like other trees, it's fruit on it's boughs. One day the branches, proud of their elevation and of their riches, said to their trunk : " Our " fruits are the delight of the desert, and our ever verdant foli- u age the glory of it. It is by us that caravans in the plains, '' and ships along the shores regulate their courses. We rise " to such a height that the Sun illuminates us before the dawn- WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 299 " ing of Aurora, and after he is sunk in the ocean. We are the " daughters of Heaven ; by day we are fed with it's light, and " by night with it's refreshing dews. As for you, dark child " of earth, you drink of waters under the earth, and breathe un- " der the shade which we supply; your foot is for ever con- " cealed in the sand ; your stem is clothed with a coarse bark " only, and if your head can pretend to any honour it is that of " bearing us aloft." The trunk replied: " Ungrateful daugh- " ters, it is I who gave you birth, and it is from the bosom of " the sands that my sap nourishes you, generates your fruits to, " re-produce them, and exalts you to the Heavens to preserve " them ; it is my strength which supports at that height your u weakness against the fury of the winds." Scarcely had he spoken, when a hurricane issuing from the Indian Ocean spread devastation over the country. The palm-branches are tossed down to the ground, are tossed upward again, are dashed against each other, and stripped by the noisy tempest of their fruits. The trunk meanwhile maintains it's ground; "not one of it's roots but what attracts and sustains from the bosom of the earth, the branches agitated in the higher region of the air. Tran- quillity being restored, the branches reduced to a fruitless foli- age, offered to their trunk to place their fruits henceforth as a common deposit on his head,, and to preserve them to their ut- most by covering them with their leaves. To this the palm-tree consented, and ever since this agreement, the stately plant bears aloft on it's stem it's long rows of fruit up to the regions of the winds, without fearing the violence of the storm : it's trunk is become the symbol of strength, and it's branches that of glory and virtue. The palm-tree is the State ; it's trunk and fruits are the Peo- ple and their productive labours ; the hurricanes are it's ene- mies ; the palm-braches of the State are the Nairs and the Bra- mins, when transformed into the friends of the People. 300 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. WISHES FOR THE PEOPLE. THE term Tiers-Etat (Third Estate) is a very strange one, the appellation given in France to the People, that is to more than twenty millions of men, by the Clergy and Nobility, who taken together do not constitute at most the fortieth part of the Nation. I do not believe that such a denomination exists in flfcny other country of the world. What would the Roman peo- ple have said, a Nation divided like ours into three orders un- der the Emperors, had their Senators and Knights presumed to give them the name of Tiers-Etat ? What would the People of England say if such a definition were given of them by the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of the Upper House of Parlia- ment ? Is the French People less respectable in the eyes of the orders which they support as the means of promoting national prosperity and glory ? In every country the People is all in all: but if it is consider- ed as an isolated body, relatively to the other bodies which in conjunction with it constitute the State, it is, as has been de- monstrated, the first in point of antiquity, of utility, in number and power, as the power of the other bodies emanates from them, and exists only for them. It seems to me reasonable therefore that the body of the Peo- ple should preserve it's proper name, as the bodies of the Cler- gy and Nobility have done, and that it should be denominated the order of the People. In place of the name of Tiers-Etat might be substituted if you will that of Commons, as is the case in England, and which has frequently been adopted among our- selves. This term commons characterizes in particular the peo- ple of every Province of the Kingdom, in all ages denomi- nated by the appellation of the communes of Dauphine, of Brit- tany, of Normandy, &c. who united form the communes of the Kingdom. This name of Commons has never been given to any but the People, as might be proved by the authority of Writers who best understood the meaning of expressions, especially that of La Fontaine. In truth, the interests of the People are com- mon not only to each Province, but to the other orders of the WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 301 Nation, because their felicity constitutes the general felicity. This does not hold good as to the interests of the other orders, which are peculiar to themselves. On the other hand, the name of Tiers-Etat given to the People, supposes, as J. J. Rousseau has very well remarked, that it's interest is only the third, though it be in it's own nature the first. Now as men form at the long- run their ideas, not on things, but on words, justice demands that the surname of Tiers-Etat, imposed on the People for some ages past by the privileged bodies, because it reminded them of their privileges, should be replaced by that of the commons, * which it has at all times enjoyed, that it may remind all of the common interest. Salus populi suprema lex esto : Let the safe- ty of the People be the supreme Law. Well-meaning patriots, commiserating the wretched condition of the country people, have proposed to form them into a body different from those of the cities; but this must be guarded a- gainst with extreme caution. Division into corps involves di- vision of interests. The peasantry ought to be sulficiendy re- presented in the Provincial Assemblies, and in the National As- sembly ; their demands ought in these to have a preferable con- sideration : but it appears to me extremely dangerous to make any distinction in the Assemblies between the commons of the Country and those of the Cities, for their interests are insepara- ble. The commerce of the Cities can prosper only by the la- bours of agriculture, and the labours of agriculture only by the commerce of the Cities. The power of a Nation depends entirely on the union of it's parts. The higher branches of a tree may diverge, but not the fibres of it's trunk, which ought to be compacted under the same bark. Were it possible to divide the trunk of a tree into branch- es, an oak would be reduced to a bush ; but were all the branch- es of a bush compacted into a single trunk, of a bush you might form an oak. This presents a very lively image of what has ac- tually taken place in several States. How many Kingdoms have been reduced to bushes in a vast extent of territory, because their trunk ramified only into Nobles and Priests ! Look at Spain and Italy. How many Monarchies and Republics have risen into oaks, cedars and palm-trees in small territories, be- cause the Nobility and Clergy are conglomerated into one mass 302 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. with the People, and have but one common interest with them! Look at England and Holland. Call to remembrance the force of the Roman Empire, in which the Nobles knew no glory but that of the People. The power of a Nation, I repeat it, depends entirely on the union of it's parts. The miseries of our own People have ari- sen from this, that the Clergy and Nobility have among us formed two orders separated from their interests; those mise- ries never began to diminish till despotism, manners, and above all philosophy, brought them to a state of approximation. It is no less true that counter-balancing powers are as necessary to the harmony of a State as they are to that of Europe, but there will ever be but too many interests to divide men in the same Society, were there no other but those of fortune. The corps of the Nobility and Clergy in our political order, ought to be the reverse of what they are: instead of uniting together against the People, they ought to struggle against each other in favour of the popular interest, as the Nations of Europe contend for the freedom of their commerce, of their navigation, of their fisheries, or for any other pretext which may interest the natu- ral rights of mankind: it is this right which they incessantly in- voke. The commons of France ought to govern themselves, at least as to form, by the same laws which regulate the communi- ty of the Human Race. In pointing out the means of bringing the Clergy and Nobi- lity into contact with the People, I have likewise indicated those of drawing the People closer to these two orders, not by the sentiment of ambition, which is calculated only to separate the members of a State, but that of virtue which unites them. Our people have a propensity but too powerful to rise ; education and example are continually pushing them upward. They ought to be invited neither to mount nor to descend, but to keep in their place: it suits them neither to be a tyrant nor a slave ; let it suffice them to be free. Virtue in every case keeps the middle station; there likewise is to be found security, tran- quillity, happiness. I could wish therefore that no Burgher should ever desire to get out of the order of the People ; but -hould he feel the resiles stimulus of glory, let him still remain WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 303 in his station ; for there is no condition of life but what presents a career capable of gratifying even the most unbounded am- bition. O Plebeian, who discernest no glory comparable to that which high birth bestows, and who blushest at being a man be- cause thou art not noble, Art thou a lawyer ? Be the defender of virtue and the terror of the guilty. Like another Dupaty, res- cue from our barbarous codes their innocent victims ; declare war against our Verreses and our Catilines; undertake and plead the cause of Nations; consider how Cicero with the thunders of eloquence, protected Kings, and Demosthenes made them tremble. Art thou but a simple tradesman ? It is commerce which vivifies Empires; to Commerce the two wealthiest States of Europe, England and Holland, are indebted for their power; it is by means of Commerce that their Merchants behold in their pay, not only Gentlemen innumerable, but Princes and Sovereigns. Commerce exalts even to the Throne. Call to mind those ancient traders of Florence who have swayed the sceptre in their own Country, and given two Queens to your's. Art thou only a wretched mariner, wandering like Ulysses from sea to sea, far remote from thy native shores ? Thou art the agent of nations : thou providest not only a supply for their necessities, but communicatest to them what is most precious among mankind, next to virtue, Arts, Sciences, Knowledge. By men of your condition it was that islands were made known to islands, nations to nations, and the two worlds to each other: but for them the Globe, with it's rarest productions, would be un- known to us. Reflect on the glory of Christopher Columbus, to which no glory, even that of Royalty, is once to be compared, as he alone, by the discovery of America, has effected a change in the wants, the enjoyments, the empires, the religions, and the destiny of the greatest part of the inhabitants of the globe. Art thou, on the contrary, an artist continually sedentary, as Theseus in the regions below? O how many paths are open to thee, from the bosom of repose, that lead to a glory sullied by no guilt! How many of these are presented to you in painting, sculpture, engraving, music, the productions of which transport with admiration and delight? Nay how many artists are there, whose names shall be renowned to all generarons, though their J04 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. works no longer exist; so eager are men to pursue the celestial traces of their genius, and to pick up the minutest particles of gold which the brilliant current of their reputation rolls down the tide of ages! Is there a Nobleman in all Europe whose name is to endure, and to be celebrated, like those of the Phi- diases and the Apelleses, who have for two thousand years en- joyed the homage of posterity, and who reckoned the Alexan- ders of their day in the number of their courtiers ? Art thou a philosopher simply, to whom no one pays court ? Consider that you in your turn pay court to no one. The Nobility depend on Kings, the Philosopher holds of GOD only : the Nobility live as Gentlemen, thou livest as a Man, which is far more dignified. But for Philosophers, the Nations, misled by vain illusions, would know neither the laws nor the combinations of Nature. They are the original sources of the Arts, the Commerce and the Wealth of Nations. Call to remembrance the wonderful discoveries of Galileo, who first found out the gravity of the Air, and demonstrated the motion of the Earth round the Sun; and that multitude of illustrious men who have enlarged the sphere of the human mind, in Astronomy, Chemistry, Botany, otc. They are the most memorable epochs of ages, and their glory will last as long as that of Nature, whose children they are. Art thou a man of letters ? The distribution of glory to other men is in thy hands. Illustrious Authors! Like the Ve- nus of Lucretius, without you nothing agreeable is produced in the sphere of intelligence, and nothing is permanent in the fields of memory. Whether your attention is directed to Poetry, to Philosophy, or to History, you are the firmest supports of Virtue. By your means Nations unite themselves in bonds of interest and of friendship, from one extremity of the Earth to the other, and ages past with ages yet to come. But for you, kings and the tribes which they governed would pass away with- out leaving a trace of their existence. Whatever is renowned among men owes to you it's celebrity, and your own names sur- pass in splendour the names of those whom you have rendered illustrious. What glory ever equalled that of Homer, whose poesy served to regulate the ancient Republics of Greece, and whose genius, after a lapse of twenty-six centuries, still conti- WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 305 nues to preside among us over Literature, over the fine Arts, over Theatres and over Academies. Art thou, after all, but an obscure peasant doomed to the cul- ture of the ground ? O ! reflect that thou exercisest the most noble, the most lovely, the most necessary, the most sacred of all Arts, seeing it is the Art of GOD himself. But if that poi- son of glory, instilled from infancy into all conditions of men among us by the principle of emulation, is fermenting in thy veins ; if the vain applause of men is necessary to thee, in the midst of thy peaceful orchards ; meditate on the endless suc- cession of woes which follow in the train of glory, the envy of the little, the jealousy of equals, the perfidy of the great, the in- tolerance of corps, the neglect and indifference of Kings. Me- ditate on the fate of those men whom I have produced as instances of persons who have merited the best of their country and of posterity ; on the head of Cicero, cut off by his own client Popinius Lena, and nailed to that very pulpit which he had dig- nified by his eloquence ; on Demosthenes, pursued by order of the Athenians whom he had defended against Philip, as far as the temple of Neptune in the island of Calauria, and hastening to swallow poison, to find in death a refuge more certain than al- tars could afford. Think on the poniard which stabbed to death one of the Medicis in that very City which they had loaded with benefits ; on the irons which bound Christopher Columbus on re- turning from his second voyage to the New World, and which in his dying moments he ordered to be put into the tomb with him as a monument of the ingratitude of the Princes to whom he had rendered a service so magnificent; on Galileo in the pri- sons of the inquisition, obliged to retract on his kaees the sub- lime truth which he had demonstrated; on Homer, biind and a mendicant, singing from door to door his sublime Poems, among those very Greeks who were one day to trace up to them the origin of their Laws, and of their most illustrious Republics. Look at Poussin in his country, France, crowned with glory all over Europe, his own country excepted, forced to seek in a fo- reign land consideration and bread ; at Descartes a fugitive in Sweden, after having illumintd his Country with the first rays of Philosophy ; at Fenelon exiled into his Diocese, for ha- ving loved GOD more than his Ministers, and Nations more Vol. III. Qq 306 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURL. than Kings. In a word, represent to thyself that innumerable multitude of illustrious and unfortunate men who, torn in secret by the very calumnies of their own professed friends, languished in poverty and contempt, and without having so much as the consolation to be pitied, had the mortification of beholding the honours and rewards due to themselves bestowed on most un- worthy rivals. Then thou wilt bless thy obscurity which per- mitteth thee at last to reap the fruit of thy labours with the esteem of the vicinity; to rear a guiltless offspring under the shade ot thy orchards, and to attain, in a life so tempestuous, the only portion of happiness which Nature has allotted to Man. While the storm breaks in pieces the cedar on the summit of the mountain, the herbage escapes the fury of the winds, and flourishes in peace at the bottom of the valley. WISHES FOR THE NATION. THE Nation is formed of the harmony of the three Orders, of the Clergy, of the Nobility and of the People, under the in- fluence of the King, who is the Moderator of it. The depu- ties of these three orders are now met in the National Assem- bly, in the proportion nearly of 300 for the Clergy, of 300 for the Nobility, and of 600 for the People. As the two first Orders hatfe for several ages united their in- terests, they may be considered as forming a single body which balances that of the People: from this therefore result two powers which re-act against each other, and whose counterpoise is necessary-, as has been said, to the harmony of every modern Government. The King then is enabled to hold the monarchi- cal balance in equilibrium, by casting his power into the popular scale, in case the Clergy and Nobility should discover a tenden- cy toward Aristocracy; or into that of the two first Orders, should the People incline toward Democracy. On this hypo- thesis, I have compared the State to a Roman balance ; the two powers, to two levers of unequal magnitude ; and Royalty to the moveable weight on the longer lever, for the purpose of as- certaining the quantity weighed. WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 307 We have considered the People, from superiority in point of number, as representing the longer arm of the balance, and the Clergy with the Nobility the shorter; but this small arm pos- sesses a weight so powerful, that the effect of the greater is re- duced to nothing, unless the King press on that side. On the side of the Clergy and Nobility are the ecclesiastical and mili- tary dignities and benefices, the better pan of the lands of the kingdom, the disposal of all employments, and even the influence of Parliaments, those ancient fathers of the people, as well as the inclinations of multitudes of plebeians, who aspire after ap- proximation to the first by the acquisition of Nobility, or who suffer themselves to be enthralled by the hope of protection, and by the respect simply which high birth commands. If the power of the People, whose number is at least forty times as considerable as that of the Clergy and Nobility, has been diminishing from age to age, so as to lose all it's preroga- tives, and it's equilibrium against their united power, I con- clude that the Deputies of the People are not sufficiently nume- rous in the National Assembly, in which they are only equal in number to those of the other Orders. It is indeed computed that in the body of the Clergy, the pa- rochial incumbents will incline towards the Deputies of the Com- mons, from the ties of blood; but will they not rather be dis- posed to incline toward their Bishops, from the ties of inter- est ? Does not the spirit of corps generally absorb that of fa- mily ? The Deputies of the Commons then have nothing to oppose to the Deputies of the two first Orders, except the mi- sery of twenty millions of men, or the despair which results from it. They can balance the sentiment of interest in those corps on- ly by the sentiment of the interest of the People, on which the public safety depends. Thus whether they vote as an order or individually, the struggle is unequal on their part; for they have reason to fear on the part of the other two Orders, the loss of votes from the attractions of fortune, whereas they have no hopes of gaining any but by those of virtue. We have compared the State to a tree, of which the particu- lar corps diverged into branches, and of which the People con- stituted the trunk. We have seen that the more the branches 308 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. are multiplied, the more the trunk is enfeebled: but if, by a monstrosity of which Nature exhibits no example, the branches were more powerful than the trunk itself, the fall of that tree must be very easily effected. In order to render still more sensible the harmony necessary to the different members of the State, I shall employ an image now of very ancient standing. The Nation may be represent- ed s a ship ; the People, with their labours, their arts and their commerce, is the hull of it, loaded with the naval stores, the pr.<- isions and the merchandize, of which the cargo constitutes the object of the voyage. To the hull must be proportioned all the other parts of the ship. The Nobility may be considered as the batteries which defend it; the Uergy as the masts and sails which put and keep it in motion ; the opinions political, moral and religious, as the winds which drive it, sometimes to the right, sometimes to the left; Administration as the cor- dage and pulleys which vary the several manoeuvres ; Royalty as the helm which regulates it's course, and the King as the pi- lot. To the interests of the People therefore the King is bound principally to attend, as a pilot pays his chief attention to the hull of the vessel; for if the upper parts are overloaded by masts too lofty, or by an artillery too ponderous, the vessel runs a risk of being overset. She is equally in danger of sink- ing, if the worms silently corrode her bottom, and open a pas- sage for admitting the water. In following out this allegory, the power of the People ought to exceed in ponderosity that of the other two bodies, that the vessel of the state may be always brought back to it's equili- brium. Now it happens with the lapse of time in a State, as in the course of a voyage, in a vessel whose hull becomes light- er and lighter from the consumption of provisions and ship's- stores, which are removed from the lower parts of the ship to the higher. Thus the People has a constant tendency to rise towards the clerical and noble orders, by the attraction of be- nefices and patents of Nobility. The King therefore ought to oppose the power of the helm, to the united preponderating force of the Clergy and Nobility, in favour of that of the P o- ple, which needs the counterpoise of the Royal power to keep the balance even. Hence results the necessity then of increas- WISHES OF A RECLUSK. 30D ing the number of the Deputies of the Commons in the National Assembly, in order to give the King himself the facility of ex- ercising his proper power, which consists entirely in maintaining the political equilibrium. It is the preponderancy in number of the Representatives of the Commons over those of the Up- per House, which secures in England the Constitution of the State. This is the reason that in their political contentions it is very easily restored to an equilibrium, because the interest of the People, which is the national interest, ever predominates there from the superior number of their Representatives. We may on the contrary compare several States of Europe, singu- larly remarkable for their feebleness, because the Clergy, or the Nobility, or both in concert, domineer without the concurrence of the People, to vessels overset, from being top-heavy, which are totally incapable of manoeuvring, but still keep floating, be- cause the surrounding sea is in a state of tranquillity, but which, the moment the storm arises, are in danger of going to the bottom. In the mean time, till experience shall have instructed us in what proportion the Clergy and Noblesse on one part, and the Commons on the other, ought to have Deputies in the National Assembly, to preserve in it an equilibrium of power, it seems to me necessary to regulate it conformably to certain principles, without which it is impossible to frame any sage project, still more to execute it. 1. The first principle which ought to be laid down is, That no proposition be there received or rejected by acclamation, but that at least one day be allowed for every Deputy to deliberate upon it at leisure ; his opinion ought to be delivered in writing, that he may be enabled to preserve, by examination, the liberty of his judgment, and by scrutiny, that of his suffrage. One of the irregularities which have given me most offence in the conduct of our Assemblies even the gravest, is the hastiness of their judgments, and the tardiness of my own. I have never heard any one question proposed in them, but it has been driven to a decision before I had time so much as to look into it. Nor am I the only one who has been placed in this auk ward situa- tion. A celebrated Navigator, who made the tour of the Globe, found himself at first very much embarrassed on his return to 310 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. Paris. His compatriots and friends, men of intelligence, ques- tioned him all in a breath about what he had seen in foreign countries. He was at a loss how to satisfy them ; but soon found himself very much at his ease, for he perceived that the ques- tioners on his right hand immediately replied, and definitively, to those on his left, and those on his left to the enquiries of those on his right, so that all he had to do was to hold his tongue. For my own part, I acknowledge, I am incapable of deciding at the moment whether I should accept a simple in- vitation to dine in the country, of which I am very fond, till I have turned it over in my mind for some time, and by myself. I must first consider, not what kind of weather it is likelv to be, but the character of the master and mistress of the house, that of their friends, of their cousins, of their wits, of their hangers-on, of their interlopers ; lest instead of going to a party of pleasure, I should fall into a party of an opposite description, as has frequently happened to me, for want of having exercised a little reflection. To return to our public Assemblies, What member of them would choose to decide instantly on a proposition which affect- ed his private fortune ? How much more powerful reasons has he to act with deliberation when the fortune of the Nation is at stake ? It is fit then that each of them should have an opportu- nity of examining at leisure what he is going to determine for the whole community, and irrevocably ; it is farther proper that he should deliver his decision not viva voce, after the French manner, but in writing, after the manner of the Romans. No- thing can be more inconsistent with the gravity and wisdom of a deliberative assembly than acclamation. If the person who brings forward a motion has a commanding voice, a good stock of impudence and partisans to support him, as all the ambitious have, he carries the multitude along with him, who are seldom much disposed to resist those who make a great deal of noise ; he will on the spur of the moment induce a whole Assembly to adopt projects the most dangerous, and immediately bind it down by the obligation of an oath, and thereby deprive it even of the miserable resource of repentance. A man of sense who foresees the consequences, will not have the courage singly to brave a powerful party, for fear of creating to himself personal WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 311 enemies, or he will himself require time to digest his own opi- nion in private; or he may be deficient in facility of expression to deliver it in public. Besides, where are the means of leading persons to form a judgment of their own who never exist but in the opinion of another, and of engaging a multitude to retract a measure of which they have expressed their approbation by an applause so boisterous ? Deliberate judgments formed in retire- ment, and declared in writing, are liable to none of these incon- veniencies ; and if proofs of this were requisite, we should find them in the Assemblies of all intelligent Nations, ancient and modern. In the National Assembly, ought the votes to be collected by orders or individually ? This question, which has been the sub- ject of much discussion, seems to me to carry it's solution in it's bosom. As every particular Deputy is a member of the Na- tional Assembly, he ought to lose sight in it of the interest of his order, and devote his whole attention to that of the Nation. He ought therefore to vote as an individual, like a citizen who has no other object but the public interest, and not by his order, because every order has a particular interest. Certain patriots have proposed to admit voting by poll when the question con- cerned the national interest, and by orders when the particular interest of an order was under discussion. But when a motion which particularly interests any order is introduced into the National Assembly, it must be because it is likewise interesting to the Nation at large, otherwise it would not be proposed there. Do not the greatest part of public abuses affect some one order in particular ? To permit them to be decided by others, of which each has it's veto, is the same thing as leaving them undecided. Voting by poll has likewise it's inconveniencies ; but, I repeat it, they are such only to the People ; for, in order to the main- tenance of their equilibrium, they must reckon on the virtue of their Deputies, exposed at it is to very dangerous seduction, and on the still greater virtue of the Deputies of the other two or- ders, of whom the Nation demands a sacrifice of many privi- leges no less seductive. Other political Writers have proposed to submit certain diffi- cult cases to the judgment of a Committee formed of the mem- 312 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. bers of all the three orders. When Rome and Alba wished fi nally to terminate their contentions, Rome committed the ma- nagement of her cause to the three Horatii, and Alba of bier's to the three Curiatii: but I am persuaded, that had the decision been left to the pen, as in many other cases, it would never have come to a termination. The sword cut it short, because the con- tending parties were two hostile cities : but the corps which compose our Assembly are members of the same Nation; they ought to have a constant tendency to unite, and never to fight. Many Deputies of the Clergy and Nobility have exhibited, by submitting to sacrifices of every kind, the most respectable proofs of generosity and patriotism. In order to heighten the sentiment in all the three orders, and to establish mutual confi- dence among them, I could wish that any one order, in embar- rassing cases, instead of appointing champions of their interests from among their own members, would choose them on the con- trary from among those whom they esteemed persons of the greatest worth in the opposite order. By simply changing the interests of the parties, very difficult cases have sometimes been resolved. Let us recollect, as La Fontaine has given it, the testament explained by Esop. " A certain man had three daughters, all of them of a cha- a racter extremely different, a tippler, a coquet, a complete mi- kt ser. By his will, conformably to the municipal laws, he left " them his whole property in equal proportions, giving so much " to their mother, payable when each of the daughters should " no longer possess the portion allotted to her." The Court of Areopagus at first divided the inheritance a- greeably to their several inclinations. " Three lots were made up : the one containing drinking " country-seats, buffets well stored under verdant arbours, plate, " bottle-cisterns, wine-flagons, cellars filled with malmsey, all a the apparatus of the kitchen, in a word, the whole provoca- 1,4 tives to sensual conviviality. The second contained all the a supplies of coquetry, the towni-house elegantly furnished, va- " lets de chambre, hair-dressers, embroiderers, silks and satins, " jewels ; and the third lot comprehended the farms, the stock, " the cattle, the arable, the pasture, the men and the beasts of •' agriculture." WISHES OF A RECLUSE. .)lo But on this allotment, each daughter satisfied with the por- tion assigned to her, the old lady soon found herself pennyless ; because she was entitled to nothing till each of her daughters " should no longer possess the portion allotted to her." Esop distributed their lots very differently from the decision of the Areopagites. He gave, " To the coquet, the instruments " of loose and luxurious dissipation ; to the tippling lady the " farm-yard, and the economist got the frippery." Upon this each of the young ladies, dissatisfied with her legacy, presently disposed of it, and the mother got her dowery. The three sisters, without making invidious applications, are our three orders ; and their mother is the Nation, who reclaims her dower out of their part of the inheritance when the)- have disposed of it. If a permutation of interest simply may sometimes accommo- date matters, I imagine that a permutation of the interested might likewise bring the parties to agree, which is still more difficult. Of this at least I am certain, that every thing is to be obtained of a Frenchman by applying to the sentiment of ho- nour. The Clergy and Nobility have sacrificed their pecuniary privileges, and have resisted the deprivation of their honorary rights only. But if some of those rights lay heavy on agricul- ture, and if the people, in order to oppose to them those of hu- manity, were to choose their advocates from among the most respectable of the Clergy and Nobility, I have no doubt that they would be abolished. On the other hand, I am equally con- vinced that if the Clergy and Nobility were to select from the House of Commons the champions of the honorary rights grant- ed to the dignity of their places, or to the virtue of their ances- tors, those rights would be preserved to them ; and that if they were found to be incompatible with the dignity of man and with national liberty, thev would receive a magnificent indemnifica- tion, such as by those of adoptions, which would render them in future the alone sources of hereditary Nobility : besides, Could twenty millions of men possiblv be destitute of the means of conferring honour upon their Nobles, when those Nobles made a voluntary approximation towards them i I should imagine therefore that a committee of confidence, formed reciprocally of arbiters selected in each order, by the or- Vol. III. R r ^14 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. der opposite to it in point of interest, would substitute in place of political intrigue, which embarrasses the simplest affairs, the frankness of generosity, which simplifies the most embarrassed. Would the orders of our National Assembly have less magna- nimity than the ancient Gauls our ancestors, and would they have less confidence in each other than foreign Nations have mutually expressed ? When Annibal passed through the Gauls, the People of that Country stipulated with him, that if they should have any ground of complaint against the Carthaginians, they would refer it to the decision of the Carthaginian Chiefs , but that if the Carthaginians in turn should have any reason to complain of the Gauls, the women of the People last named should decide on the justness of such complaints. These two nations must have lived in perfectly good understanding with each other, thus mutually to confide in the principle of generosi- ty, and to choose the umpires of their differences in that which was most worthy of respect and confidence in the opposite party. There is reason to believe that in certain cases reference might have been safely made to the justice of Annibal himself, equally interested to give satisfaction to both parties ; and who, among other great talents, had the art of conciliating the affections of the various nations of which his army was composed. Where- fore should not the three orders of our Nation repose equal con- fidence in the equity of the King, who is their natural Mediator, and who has so often sacrificed his personal to the public in- terest ? 2. The second principle on which the future Constitution of ^the State ought to rest, is the permanency of the National As- sembly, and the periodical rotation of it's Members. By means of the permanency of the Assembly, there will be a unity of all the parts of the Administration already constituted in a great part of the Kingdom, in Assemblies of Villages, of Cities and of Provinces. The National Assembly which forms their centre, ought to place continually under the King's eye the men and the.affairs of the Nation, and establish between him and the lowest of his subjects a perpetual communication of intelli- gence, of services, of protection and of support, which it shall not be in the power of any intermediate body to intercept; which U 1SHES OF A RECLUSE. 315 Would not fail to happen, were the National Assembly only pe- riodical, as some had proposed. On the other hand, by means of the periodical rotation of the Members of the National Assembly, no one of them will be al- lowed time to identify himself with his place, and to become an agent of despotism, by suffering himself to be corrupted by ministerial influence, or that of aristocracy, still more danger- ous than despotism. It appears to me that the Members of this Assembly ought to be renewed every three, or every five years, as may be found most expedient, but not all at once, as in England, but only the third or fifth part every year, that the major part of it's mem- bers may be always in the habit of transacting public business. It will never be in the power of the National Assembly to en- croach on the prerogatives of the Crown, because it's Members will be undergoing an incessant change, because it will be com- posed of two powers which balance each other under the influ- ence of Royalty, and because it will be a fundamental law of the future Constitution, as it is of the Monarchy, that no proposi- tion shall receive under it the force of a law, till sanctioned by the King. 3. A third principle essential to the future Constitution of France, and to the unity of it's parts, is the establishment of As- semblies at once permanent and periodical in all the Villages, Cities and Provinces of the Kingdom, after the model of the National Assembly, with which they ought to correspond. Such Assemblies ought to be formed in every quarter of Pa- ris, and from them should be selected Deputies to compose the Municipal Assembly, that this immense City with it's quarters, may be assimilated to a Province with it's districts. These dispositions ought to be extended to our Colonies; but if it be a matter of justice to admit their white Deputies in- to the National Assembly, it is no less so to call into it their black Deputies, in the class of free blacks ; as being employed in the culture and the defence of our colonies, they are not less interested than other citizens to deliberate on the interests of the Mother Country. Farther, the introduction of free blacks into the National Assembly will pave the way for the abolition of slavery in the Colonies, just as the admission of freemen into 316 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. our ancient States-General prepared the way for the abolition of feudal servitude which had invaded a part of the Gauls. Fi- nallv, those men born under another sky, repelled by their own country, and partaking in the blessings of ours, will add to the majesty of an Assembly which takes all the unfortunate under it's protection, and they will concur perhaps in securing one day to it's humanity, a glory which conquerors never derived from their victories, that of seeing in it's bosom the Deputies of all Nations voting the prosperity of France. As to the qualifications necessary to an Elector in the Rural, Municipal, Provincial and National Assemblies, it appears to me essential to possess a portion of arable land, as in England, in order to put respect on agriculture and to prevent the plu- rality of Electors from being composed of indigent persons, whom necessity might compel to sell their votes; but on the other hand I deem it useless and unjust to require, as in Eng- land, a territorial property still greater of each Deputy of the National Assembly; for it is certain that the Electors being above absolute want, will never be exposed to the danger of corruption by Deputies without fortune, and that Deputies without fortune, chosen by Electors whom they had not the means of corrupting, must possess personal qualifications high- ly respectable. It is possible without doubt, in that class of men of all descriptions so very numerous, who have no proper- ty, there may be found citizens superiorly enlightened and truly patriotic, whose very poverty is to be ascribed to their virtues ; a Socrates, an Aristides, an Epaminondas, a Belisarius, a John James Rousseau. The Deputies ought to have all their expenses honourably defrayed. On this subject I have heard some persons maintain a false point of honour, under a pretence that the Deputies of their country ought to serve her gratuitously. But as all those who serve her in corps which are not always engaged in the public service, receive payment from her, from Cardinals down to Vergers, from Marshals of France down to Sentinels, and from the Chancellor down to the petty Clerk, wherefore should it not be so likewise w ith the members of the National Assem- bly ? It is as just that those who directly serve their Country should live by their Country, as that those who minister at the WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 317 Altar should live by the Altar. It is besides the only means of opening the doors of those Assemblies to men of merit who happen to be poor. Every Deputy of the National Assembly ought therefore to receive an honourable maintenance, not from the Order of the Province which he represents, but from the Nation, for the express purpose of impressing upon his mind that he has ceased to be the Deputy of his Order and of his Province, that he may become a Member of the Nation. This maintenance ought to be equal for the Deputies of all the Or- ders, because their services are equal: and however slender it may be, it ooght to be considered by each of them as equally ho- nourable with that which Kings grant to their Ambassadors, as they receive it from the People, whose pensioners Kings them- selves are. These general dispositions being made or rectified on the best plans, there is no species of abuse but what, in time, the permanent and periodical Assemblies of Villages, of Cities and of Provinces, might reform, and no species of good but what they might effect. Most certainly in places where they are es- tablished, it has not been perceived that they have trenched upon the liberty of the People, or on the Royal Authority, both of which they elucidate and support: it will apply equally to the National Assembly, which ought to be their centre. This being laid down, the Assembly thus constituted under the eyes of the King, as the Nation itself which it represents, ever permanent, and incessantly renovating itself, will devote it's attention to the abolition of evil, prior to making efforts to do good. It will begin with abolishing every thing that bears hard on agriculture, that nursing mother of the State, such as captainries, game-laws, gabels, corvees, militia-draughts, and tollage; those burdens which oppress commerce, such as excessive and dispro- portionate duties, tolls on the navigation of rivers, the tax on wines on entering into cities, which ought to pay in proportion to their value ; those which distress the body politic, such as the sale of employments, reversions, unmerited pensions ; final- ly those which attack the liberty of Man in his opinions, in his conscience, and even in his person, such as the servitude of the inhabitants of Mount Jura, and the slavery of the Negroes in 318 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. our Colonies. It will proceed to reform our Code of Civil and Criminal Justice; our mode of Education, without which no plan of Legislation can be lasting; and after having remedied the evils in which our posterity is interested, the Assembly will extend it's views to those which respect other Nations, and communicate themselves to us by means of the corresponden- cies which Nature has established among all the families of the human race. The provincial reports shew that most of these objects have actually been taken into consideration ; but I question whether the National Assembly, with whom the work of reformation lies, have the power of providing for them by precise and inva- riable Laws ; for, as has been said, men can lay hold only of harmonies, that is, of those truths which are always between two contraries : hence it comes to pass that the Laws in every Country are variable, and change with manners and the lapse of time. From these must be excepted the Laws of Nature, which never vary, because they are the bases of the general har- mony, which alone is steadfast. By these all the others must be regulated. It belongs therefore to the wisdom of the National Assembly to lay hold, on every point of Legislation, of a harmo- nic medium, and to support it; this renders the permanency of the Assembly a matter of necessity, as has been oftener than once repeated. As to what remains, many excellent memori- als having appeared on most of those subjects, I shall only sug- gest a few considerations which may perhaps have been over- looked, but which I deem to be of high importance, because they affect the People, whose interest is the interest of the Nation. The King has already declared his paternal intentions on the subject of his captainries, which destroy, for the sake of the game, the crops of the peasants, and send to the galleys the pea- sants who destroy the game. We may flatter ourselves with the hope that, after his Majesty's example, the great Lords will of themselves regulate and restrict their rights of chase, which are likewise petty captainries. The gabel, that other nursery of galley-birds, has likewise attracted the paternal regards of the King: there is reason to hope that this impost will be done away ; that the farms of our WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 319 plains will enjoy in abundance the use of salt, an article so ne- cessary to the cattle ; and that the sea, the fourth element, will be rendered as free to Frenchmen, as the other three elements of the globe. May his Majesty, to draw down the benediction of Heaven on the operations of his National Assembly, liberate from pri- sons and from galleys those of his subjects who are the victims of disastrous Laws, of captainries and of gabels ! The peasantry ought farther to be relieved of the burden of service on the highways, or of the money which they pay to redeem it, by levying a contribution for their repair, not only on the abbeys and castles of their districts, but on the trading towns to whose benefit the great roads are principally subser- vient, as well as on travellers who injure them by riding on horseback or in carriages. There ought to be established, for this purpose, from post to post, gates and tolls, as in England, in Holland, and over a considerable part of Germany. As to the Militia, the Nobility seems to be afraid of bearing the burden of it, whether in person, or in money : the defence of the State however appears to devolve principally on them, seeing that this order has hitherto been altogether military. On this consideration alone were their titles in former times conferred, with their fiefs and their prerogatives, which they contrived to render hereditary. They have reserved the bene- fit to themselves, and left the burden of it on the People. But my wish being to ease the peasantry of the heavy load of the Militia Service, and, which is worse to Frenchmen, from it's stigma, for it is become a mark of villanage, it must undoubtedly be my desire to have it laid on the Nobility. Far from wish- ing to degrade Nobility to a state of villanage, my object is to raise meanness of birth into Nobility, or rather my object is to ennoble virtue, and that vice only should be deemed a degra- dation. We ought therefore to rescue from every dishonour- able stain Agriculture, the most noble of all arts, and the only one, all whose functions are compatible with virtue. It is likewise devoutly to be wished that the industry, the commerce, the urbanity and the opulence of our cities, might be diffused over our plains, the inhabitants of which are so poor and so miserable. It is a certain fact that the greater part o< 320 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. our burghers concentrate themselves in cities merely to evade the payment of the rustic impost of tallage, and to prevent the draughting of their children into the Militia. On the other hand, though our peasants, who have not the same ideas of ho- nour respecting the moral nature of impositions, are sensible only to their fiscal pressure, nothing has hitherto been able to reconcile them to the scourge of the Militia, because it attacks the sweetest feelings of Nature, by depriving them of their children. It is the terror of the Militia which induces them to send off their children into the Cities, preferring to make lackeys of them rather than soldiers. From the tallage therefore, and the Militia-draughts, this evil results, that the Country is de- populated, and our Cities overstocked with inhabitants. As the fiscal impost of tallage will be supplied by a territorial as- sessment, to be levied equally on proprietors of every rank, here will be at once one great obstacle removed out of the way of agriculture. As to the personal impost of the Militia, it does not appear so easy to find a substitute. It seems very strange that with us it should be esteemed an honour to serve the King in a military capacity, and a species of disgrace to be draughted into the Militia. I perceive two reasons for this contradiction: the first is that the Militia Service is imposed by force ; the se- cond, as 1 have already suggested, because it is a proof of .vil- lanage, for persons of birth are not draughted into it. The for- mer of these reasons operates most powerfully on freemen ; the second is no less forcible with trades-people, whose children are trained to ambition by the public education ; thus the Militia is not less contrary to national prejudices, than to the sentiments of Nature. The fear of the Militia is likewise one of the great reasons which render it an object of aversion to our young peasantry. The human heart is so jealous of it's liberi", that though the rank of Officer be honourable, and the pay liberal, I am con- vinced that not a single man of family would submit to accept it, were it to be forced upon him. Keep the gate of a public gar- den continually open, and very few will find themselves disposed to exercise the privilege of walking in it: place soldiers at the entry to force passengers in, and everv body will flee far from it: keep it close locked, barred and bolted, with a guard to keep WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 321 the curious at a distance, and every one will make an effort to get in, and eagerly produce his ticket of admission. In order to infuse into our village young men a taste for the service, I would begin with forbidding it to them. So far from making the condition of a militia-man a subject of terror, of shame, and sometimes of punishment, I would make it one of hope, of honour and of reward. I would begin with instruct- ing our young rustics, that it is only on the courage of it's most virtuous subjects, that our Country rests it's defence, and I would allow only to the most respectable among them the privi- lege of handling arms on holidays, of shooting at a mark, of learning the military exercise, and the like. We should then speedily perceive among them as much zeal to get into the Mi- litia, as they now discover reluctance. Should war take place, they would always be ready to march, not under the command of our simple Country Gentlemen, or of our purse-proud City Burgesses, like our Provincial Militias, but under that of Offi- cers grown gray in the service, who would find in such em- ployment a retreat more agreeable than the Hotel des Invalides. It would be necessary likewise to ameliorate the condition of our soldiery, whose pay is only five sols (2 l-2d) a day. In the time of Henry IV. it was likewise five sols ; but the five sols of that period amount to more than twenty sols of to-day, the price of provisions being taken into the account. All that is re- quisite to have as many men as you please is to increase the pay of our soldiery, as in the case of every other profession. This increase of pay might be granted them, by employing them in the labours of the high-ways, of the sea-ports, of the public mo- numents, &c. just as the Roman soldiers were employed. On the other hand, the military funds will find a pecuniary increase produced by the Imposts on the high-roads ; by a part of the sums expended on the Royal edifices, by the rents of fiefs both noble and ecclesiastic, formerly burthened with military service, by contributions to be still furnished by the Corporations of Ci- ties, in a word by savings to be made on the pensions, by far too numerous and too considerable, of the staff of the Army. These resources seem to mc sufficient for the maintenance, and to keep alive the emulation, of our soldiers, especially if they have the farther encouragement, as retreats and expectancies, of Vol. III. Ss 322 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. becoming city-guards, highway patrols, not to mention a great number of petty civil employments, as in Prussia ; and if there be presented to them in the service itself, a clear road to the at- tainment of every military rank, as is the case in all the coun- tries of the World. Military servitude being removed from the necks of our rus- tics, the rivers and sea-ports must be purged of nautic bondage. No seamen should be forced to serve on board his Majesty's ships of war, though the provision made for mariners in the Na- v\ is more liberal than that of our soldiery. We must take care how we imitate the English, who, in order to obtain seamen to man the Navy in time of war, press them into the service, a practice still more unjust than that of our Militia-draughts. How comes it that our merchant ships find more hands than they have occasion for ? It is because they give good pay. Wherefore then should the State be less equitable towards sea- men than merchants are ? It possesses means incomparably more abundant. It may increase the revenue of the Marine, by em- ploy ing in time of peace both it's ships and men in the carrying trade, and in a variety of nautical services : it can hold out to the seamen retreats innumerable in our arsenals, in our ports, on our rivers, and even in our Colonies. Every Frenchman ought to have besides the hope of rising, by merit, to the very highest rank in the line of his profession, without birth, without money and without intrigue. To this li- berty, and to those prospects it is that France owed her great- ness under despotism itself, and particularly under that of Lou- is XIV. the most absolute of all our despots. It is observable that since the days of this Prince, talents have made a less shi- ning figure in France, precisely in the parts of Administration the corps of which have become aristocratic. It is infinitely bet- ter assuredly that the State should be honoured, enriched, saved by the son of a peasant, than disgraced, impoverished, ruined by the son of a Prince. Thus, as from what the past has pro- duced, a man in the ranks shall have it in his power to become Mareschal of France ; a common Sailor, Commodore, and even Admiral; a private Tutor in a College, Grand Almoner ; and Advocate, Chancellor : that we may see revived among us the Fabers, the John Barts, the Amiots, the I'Hopitals of other WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 323 limes. Rome was indebted, at all periods, for her unity, her power and her duration, only to her granting to all her Citizens the capability of rising to every thing. Modern Rome, as an- cient Rome, has held out to all dignities, triumphs, empire, nay deification itself. The civil liberty of rising in France to her highest employ- ments, ought therefore to be extended to all her Citizens, because it is a Frenchman's right. As to individual or personal Liber- ty, it appertains to natural right: every Frenchman has the right of quitting his City, his Province, and the Kingdom, just as he goes when he pleases out of his own house. This liberty can be restrained by passports only in times of trouble. It is the safety of the People which ought to be the rule of the exceptions made, as it ought to be that of every political law whatever. Liberty of thought has been a subject of much discussion. It is self-evident that no Government can deprive any person of it. I may be, in my own mind, as republican as a Spartan, at Constantinople, or a Jew at Goa. Conscience is accountable to GOD only : it is a state out of the jurisdiction of every ty- rant. It is penetrable by persuasion alone, and not by force. It is a flower which expands to the rays of the Sun, but which shuts itself against the stormy blast. Thus passive liberty of thought is a right derived from Nature. As to active Liberty, or that of publishing a man's thoughts, it is reduced to liberty of speech: now liberty of speech ought to be regulated in a State, as the liberty of action. Most certainly permission can- not be given to any person to act in a manner that is injurious to society, or to it's members, neither therefore ought it to be allowed to publish thoughts which have this tendency. I am even of opinion that the National Assembly ought to enact laws more rigorous than any yet existing, against calumniators, the most detestable of all mankind, as the mischief done by their words is greater and more lasting than that which highwaymen commit by their actions. The liberty of publishing one's thoughts, or the Liberty of the Press, ought therefore to be re- gulated by the liberty of acting, and as this last ought not to be subjected to any constraint when the public happiness is con- ta rned, public good ought to be the rule of the Liberty of the Press. 324 CLQLEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. Religious liberty, or liberty of conscience properly so called, is, like liberty of thought, not only a branch of natural right, but of the Law of Nations: it flows from that maxim of universal justice : " Do not to another what you would not wish done to u yourself." Now as we demand in foreign Countries the li- berty of exercising our Religion, we ought to grant strangers, in our turn, the same liberty in our Country'. Most of the Na- tions of Asia grant this to men of every description, with even the liberty of preaching in their own way. Without this mutual toleration there could be no communication of intelligence, nor even of commerce, among mankind. All nations of men would be sequestrated from each other as the Japanese are from Eu- ropeans. If by means of intolerance the door is shut in States against error, it is likewise shut against truth; the Nation is deprived of the natural right of which our ancestors availed themselves, when they freely received the Religion which we profess, and they besides withhold the liberty of diffusing it among other Nations to whom we do not grant reciprocal rights. In order to entitle Europeans to arrogate to themselves the pre- rogative of sending Missionaries to Japan, the Japanese should likewise have perfect liberty to send Missionaries to Europe. Nevertheless, as the glory of GOD and the good of Mankind ought to be the basis of all Legislation, it is proper not to tole- rate superstitious religions, which subject Man to Man, and not Man to GOD, or such as are themselves intolerant, which dis- turb the communication between Man and Man, which damn each other, without any mutual knowledge of what they are, which teach them to torment their fellow-creatures, or them- selves, in the view of pleasing GOD, who is notwithstanding the father and the friend of Mankind. # As it is not reasonable that the Frenchman who wishes him- self to be free in France should be a tyrant in other parts of the World, it is necessary to abolish the slavery of the Negroes, in our African and American Colonies; here is committed not only the interest of the Nation, but that of the Human Race. Maladies physical and moral without number flow from this violation of the Law of Nature. To say nothing of the wars originating in the Slave-Trade, and which, like all those of En rope, extend to the extremities of the Earth, the physical mala WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 325 dies of the climate of Negroes, such as the fevers on the Guinea- coast, have carried off multitudes of our seamen and soldiers : others, such as the venereal, have become naturalized in our Colonies. But moral maladies are more dangerous, more du- rable, and more expansive. It were possible to prove that most of the opinions which at different times have embroiled Europe, are an importation from distant Countries. Jansenism, for example, appears to have been introduced from the East by the Croisades, together with the Plague and the Leprosy: we find at least the maxims of Jansenism in the Mahometan Theologians quoted by Chardin. The Plague and the Leprosy subsist no longer among us, but Jansenism maintains it's ground and is making way, it is said, even in Spain. It cannot be doubted that our opinions in their turn may have troubled the repose of other Nations, witness our religious quarrels, which have put the people of China on their guard against us, and have procured our expulsion from Japan. The Inquisition, which commenced at Rome in 1204, during the first Croisades, spread at first over part of Italy, and thence over Spain and Portugal; it laid waste, by the general inter- communication with these Nations, a part of the Coasts of Asia and Africa, and more than the half of America. In 1566, it constrained the Dutch to shake off the Spanish yoke. About the same time nearly, it obliged the Nations of the North of Europe to separate from the Church of Rome ; and those to the South who remained Catholics, to oppose the most powerful barriers to it; afterwards, like a ferocious wild beast, turning upon it's keepers for want of other prey, it ceased not to diffuse terror over the countries which had given it birth ; it being the will of GOD, by an act of his universal justice, that intolerant Nations should find their punishment in the very tribunals of their intolerance. The slavery of the Negroes, which we have established in our Colonies, in imitation of the Portuguese and Spaniards, has produced re-actions nearly similar; for the inhabitants of the Colonies forming now-a-days, by means of their wealth, alli- ances with our high Nobility, accustom them insensibly to con- sider the whole people who nourish them in France, as destined to slavery, as well as the blacks who cultivate their possessions 326 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. in America. It is to the influence of this tyrannical spirit, which has infected even our Administration, that we are to impute the strange ordonnance of the War Department already quoted, by which it was some years ago declared, that no person under the rank of Nobility could serve his Majesty in the rank of an offi- cer in the army ; an ordonnance highly injurious to the French Nation, and of which I do not believe there is an example to be found in any Nation on the face of the Earth, and at no period of the History of our Monarchy previous to that of the estab- lishment of slavery in the Colonies. The motive indeed is ex- cusable, and I have made the apology, namely, the necessity of reserving honourable employments for poor men of family: but the Nobility cannot be honoured when the People is debased; for the highest degree of distinction to which Nobility itself can rise, is to be like that of ancient Rome, at the head of a distin- guished People. Regulations similar to that of the War Department have in- sinuated themselves into every other corps. The Clergy must have no Bishops but such as are of noble extraction; they have forgotten that the Apostles were simple fishermen. What do I say ? The greatest part of our Ecclesiastics, though of ignoble birth, pay little respect to their Chiefs, unless they are actually men of family. For some years past, the Parliaments make a point of having several degrees of Nobility as a qualification for being counsellor of the first Bench, and thus detach their inte- rests from those of the People, wdiose children they are by birth, and whose fathers they ought to be by their functions. The same thing takes place in our municipal, financial and trading companies, wdio reserve their posts of honour for the Nobility. In a word, down to our corps of literati, men of science and ar- tists, they elect, when they can, their Chiefs from the body of the Nobility, sometimes men wholly illiterate, though these bodies, being professedly Republics, ought to regulate their places of distinction by no standard but that of merit. Louis XIV. did not think in this manner, when a Cardinal, under pretence of the gout, having requested the indulgence of an easy chair at the sittings of the French Academy, of which he was a Mem- ber, the King, instead of one easy chair, sent forty to the Acade- my, that no one of it's members, whatever were his qualifica- WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 327 tions in other respects, might arrogate to himself any other dis- tinction besides that which genius confers. Now I believe that this servile spirit, which the people of all conditions at this day voluntarily imbibe, originally infected us from the establishment of slavery in the Colonies ; for prior to that I find nothing simi- lar in our History. From this era likewise we may date the multiplicity of tides, financial, literary, and other qualifications, with which every one now affects to lengthen out his name, for want of the addition which counties, baronies and marquisates bestow ; whereas formerly men of the very highest quality made no addition to their family name, but that which was given them in baptism. We find examples still more striking and more numerous of this abuse of titles, among the Portuguese and Spaniards, because they preceded us in the establishment of slavery in the Indies, and in expressing contempt for the People at home. Those tyrannical opinions, already so widely diffused over France, take their birth in the slavery of our American islands, as in a continually existing focus of servitude, and propagating itself to Europe through the channel of their commerce, just as the pestilence conveys itself from Egypt with the other produc- tions of the Country. Now as we have not hitherto established on the Coasts of France a quarantine for men coming from beyond Seas, under the infection, by birth, by habit and by interest, of the spirit of slavery, and as the depravation of minds is still more contagious than any bodily distemper, it is a matter of ab- solute necessity that the slavery of the Negroes should be abo- lished in our Colonies, for fear that one day it should extend itself, through the influence of the opinion of some opulent in- dividuals, over the white but poor People of the Mother Coun- try. The English, who take the lead of us in maturity and in wisdom, have already taken into consideration this cause of the Human Race ; it is going to be pleaded in their Parliament as it ought to have been in the court of Areopagus. There is form- ed at Paris as at London a Society, the declared friends and patrons of the poor black slaves, at least as worthy of the public esteem as that of la Mcrci. It belongs to this respectable So- ciety to carry the grievances of those unfortunate h ings before the National Assembly, 323 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. But as we must not go to ruin the men whom we wish to re- form, I observe, in favour of the inhabitants of our Colonies, that it will be proper to proceed gradually toward the abolition of the servitude of their black slaves; otherwise it will be an unspeakable calamity to the Negroes as well as their Masters. Political revolutions should be periodical like those of Nature. The first step to be taken, is to dry up the source of slavery in the islands, by prohibiting the Slave Trade on the coast of Af- rica ; afterwards the personal servitude of the Negroes may be reduced to that of the glebe ; then that of the glebe to enfran- chisement, which may be made to depend on their good con- duct toward their Masters, that to them in part they may be laid under obligation for the recovery of their liberty. It is the more easy to effect these changes, that the cultiva- tion of the islands is much less painful and expensive than that of a European soil. There is no occasion for heavy ploughs, nor harrows, nor horse harness, nor triple tillings, to plant the manioc, the maize, the potato, the coffee, the sugar-cane, the indigo, the cocoa-nut, the cotton-plant, as there is for our corns, our vines, our flaxes and our hemps. The fields of our islands are cultivated like our gardens at home, with the spade, tho pick-axe, the hoe. The women and children are sufficient to raise most of their crops. The manufacture of sugars, it is true, requires expensive buildings, and the concurrence of many operators. The parti- sans of slavery have pretended from this to conclude the ne- cessity of employing troops of black slaves in the islands. This consequence so very feebly supported is, however, the most powerful argument they have to adduce against the liberty of the blacks. But there is no need in Europe of workshops crowded with slaves, to erect and carry on the manufactures of tannery, of tapestry, of paper, of arms, of pins, &c. which re- quire a greater concourse of workmen, and more unity of opera- rion than those of sugar-making. Besides a planter who has got a sugar-mill, has no more occasion to raise all the canes of his canton, to engross the whole produce to himself, than the proprietor of a wine-press in Burgundy has occasion to engross all the vineyards on his hill. Those who with us weave the cloth do not raise the flax and the hemp, nor does the paper- WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 329 maker go through the streets picking up the rags, nor do prin- ters and book-makers engage in the manufacture of paper. It is to the subdivision of labour and arts, in the hands of free- men, that their perfection in Europe is to be ascribed. Small properties in the hands of artisans are necessary to the pro- gress of industry, as those of land are to the progress of ag- riculture. Were the manufacturer of sugar in the Colonies to confine himself entirely to manufacturing, and the plan- ter to raising the canes, it would be unnecessary to refine the sugar of the islands after it came to Europe. They might spin there, as in India, the tow of the cocoa-nut case, the threads of the banana and the cotton, and work them into cordage and stuffs. The vast plantations of Saint Domingo and of the An- tilles, divided into small properties, and restored to freedom, would become likewise a scene of industry, and I will venture to say more agreeable, from the facility of culture, and the tem- perature of their climate, than the farms and the messuages of France, where the winters are so severe. They would afford a multitude of employments and jobs to numbers of our poor pea- sants and artificers, who are out of work in France; and the Planters in our Colonies would find themselves richer, happier, and more distinguished, when instead of foreign slaves they would have farmers of their own countrymen, and signiories in- stead of plantations. I have no need to be diffuse on the abolition of the mortmain servitude of the inhabitants of Mount Jura. It is passing strange that this servitude should have been kept up, to the pre- sent hour, in a corner of the Kingdom, by the Canons of Saint Claude, in defiance of the caresses of Louis XVI. of the prero- gatives of France, of the rights of Nature and the laws of the Gospel. The duration of this abuse demonstrates the power and the tyranny of corps. The Canons of Saint Claude will un- doubtedly resolve voluntarily to restore liberty to French pea- sants, after the example of tlieir virtuous Eishop, without being forced to it by the National Assembly, which has the right of redressing every injury done to the Nation. Ye Chiefs of the People of every rank ! I repeat it, in the ramc of Him who has united the destinies of all mankind, your happiness depends on that of the People: if you hate them, Vol. III. Tt 330 SEQUEL TO HIE STUDIES OF NATURE. they will hate you; they will repay^you a hundred fold tlie mischief you do them : but if you love them, they will love you ; if you protect them, they will protect you: you will be strong in their strength, aUyou are weak in their weakness. Do you wish yourselves to live in freedom ? make no attempt upon their liberty: would you wish to acquire illumination? de not blind them with prejudice ; in order to tranquillize your own souls, do not disturb their spirits; to maintain your own greatness, devise the means of their elevation: remember that you are the summit of the tree of which they are the stem. The National Assembly ought to devote particular atten- tion to the reform of the code of civil and criminal justice, which in it's present state is a monument of the ages of bar- barism, when the stronger oppressed the feebler. They will reform, for instance, that unnatural Law by which the testi- mony of a woman is declared to be valid to establish a crimi- nal charge, and of no avail toward attesting the simple taking possession of a benefice. They will abolish that other law which gives two-thirds of landed property to the eldest son of the fa- mily, the other third to the younger brothers taken together, were there a dozen of them, and simply a younger child's por- tion to be divided among all the sisters,'were they as many in number as the sons; so that joining the expression of French gallantry to an inhuman disposition, it declares that a father may marry his daughter with a chaplet of roses, that is, with an empty pocket. This Law, which exists among the Nobility of a great part of the Kingdom, appears to be an importation from the barbarians of the North, in as much as it is in full vigour among even the peasantry of that part of Normandy called the Pais de Caux, where the Norman Dukes first settled. It is not known at Paris and it's vicinity, where brothers divide share and share alike with their sisters. This Capital of the King- dom would never have attained the point of opulence, of urba- nity, of intelligence and of splendour, which render it in some measure the Capital of Europe, had that feudal Law existed there. For my own part, in meditating on the causes which render a City illustrious, and which make it the Centre of Nations, I perceive that it is not the magnificence of the public monu - ments, nor the privileges granted to commerce, nor the mild ^ WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 331 ness of climate, nor even the fecundity of soil, but the felicity which the more amiable portion of the human species there en- joys. There are upon the Globe Cities more happily situated than Paris, and which are far less-renowned and far less popu- lous. Naples is in a delicious climate ; modern Rome is a re- pository of august monuments ; Constantinople is on the limits of three parts of the World, Europe, Asia and Africa ; other Cities, such as the Capitals of Peru and Mexico, are situated on the brink of the vast Ocean, in a soil teeming with gold, with silver and precious stones, and under a temperate sky which knows neither the burning heat of Summer nor the se- verity of Winter : others, such as Ceylon, Amboyna, Java, are in fortunate islands, amidst forests of cinnamon trees, of cloves and nutmegs. Nevertheless no one of those Cities is once to be compared with Paris, because in them the Women are re- duced to a civil or moral slavery. There are even in France Cities which present advantages superior to those of her Capi- tal, from being under a climate more genial, or nearer the cen- tre of the kingdom to become the seat of Government, or on the shore of the sea to maintain a communication with all Na- tions. Rouen, for example, the capital of the Pais de Caux, a very considerable sea-port so far back as the times of Julius Cesar, ought, from the fertility of the adjacent country, from the industry of it's inhabitants, and from it's situation on the Seine near it's influx into the Ocean, to have risen to the same degree of power as the Capital of England, which by it's Dukes it once subdued. But if London herself is become the rival of Paris, it is undoubtedly from the same causes. Paris owes it's flourishing condition to that which it confers on it's female inhabitants. Wherever women are happy, there you behold taste, elegance, commerce, and liberty abounding. The miser- able of all countries, who every where reckon on their sensi- bility, carry thither their arts, their industry and their hopes. Human beings flock thither, because there tyrants dare not to appear. The most renowned cities of antiquity are those in which women were held in highest consideration; such was Athens among the Greeks ; such was a great part of Greece, where they reigned by the Empire of the Graces, of Innocence, and of Love, and which has left a remembrance of itself so de- 332 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. , • licious, the blest Arcadia. Warlike Rome herself owed to them, from the privileges which she granted them, the greatest part of her power over barbarous nations who tyrannized over their women. It is easy to subdue enemies when we have their female companions for friends. Ovid observes that Venus had more temples at Rome than in any other place of the world. If to this sex we refer all those who bore the various appellations of Fortune, of Juno, of Vesta, of Cybele, of Minerva, of Diana, of Ceres, of Proserpine, of Muses, of Nymphs, of Flora, &c. we shall find that the Goddesses were there held in still higher honour than the Gods. At Paris, the female saints are in higher estimation than the male. That capital of France owes it's pre- rogatives over all the other cities of the kingdom, and it's in- fluence over Europe, to the elegance of the arts, to the variety of the modes and to the politeness of manners which result from the empire of the women. Women are at Paris the law- givers of the moral code, which is much more powerful than the legal. If they are still oppressed there by the laws which subject them to their husbands and to their grown children, they are still protected by manners, which reserve to them in all places the post of honour, as invested with a natural magis- tracy which renders them through the whole course of our life the legislatrixes of our tastes, of our usages, and even of our opinions. They are, from our infancy, our first Apostles : from them we learn, when infants, to make with the same hand the sign of the cross, and a reverence to the ladies; to honour at once the altar and their sex, as if they sought in our young hearts a protection to be afforded in riper years, and to inspire us on their bosom widi religions and tender affections which are in a future period to serve as a safe-guard against the barba- rism of our institutions. The laws ought therefore to come with manners to the support of their weakness, by inviting them all over France to an equal participation of our fortunes and of our rights, as Nature has called them to be partakers of our pleasures and our pains. The National Assembly ought farther to devote attention to the establishment of the same laws all over the kingdom, as well as the same weights and measures, for the purpose of settling among citizens the union of sentiment and conduct so necessary to public prosperity. WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 333 They will likewise effect a reform in the code of Criminal Justice, which presents not fewer abuses than the Civil Code. The humanity of our magistrates, supported by the will of the Nation and the sanction of Majesty, will penetrate into the in- tricate labyrinth of law, already unravelled by the Servans and the Dupatys, in order to strip vice of it's refuges, and to pre- vent innocence from going astray. In directing their own con- duct they will never lose sight of that law which Nature has inscribed, not on columns of marble or tablets of brass ; not on parchments in Egyptian, Hebrew or Latin characters ; but which she has impressed with characters of feeling, that language of all ages, on the conscience of every man, to be there the eternal basis of the justice and the felicity of Human Society : " Do not to another what you would not have done to yourself." The consequence will be that rewards must become common and personal to all Frenchmen, for the same virtues, as punish- ment for the same vices. These are the only means of destroy- ing the prejudice which confers honour on the whole posterity of a family, in compliment to the glory of one of it's members, or which disgraces it for the crime of an individual. At the same time all chastisements which are infamous and cruel ought to be abolished. Nay it appears to me reasonable to substitute, without corporal stigma, after the example of the Romans, the punishment of exile out of the kingdom, in place of that of perpetual imprisonment and of the galleys. A man, after having committed a bad action in his own country, where he has been tempted by indigence, seduced by example, or hurried on by passion, frequently reforms himself in a foreign country where he is more happy, and especially where he is unknown. Frequently, on the contrary, his depravation is completed, abandoned to himself in a prison, or blasted in the society of citizens by public opinion, which pursues him for ever even in his children. The punishment of death ought likewise to be very rarely inflicted ; it should take place only in cases of premeditated assassination, as in the law of Talio among the Hebrews. The punishment of death has been abo- lished in Rin'.bia in every case, high-treason excepted, and crimes are much rarer in that country than formerly, when this punishment was very common. We ought to imitate the hu- 334 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. manity of the English, who send most of their convicts to new- ly discovered countries. It would likewise be advisable to adopt their practice of decision by the judgment of Peers and the ver- dict of Juries. This last mode of determination may serve equal- ly to ascertain the performance of worthy actions in the view of rewarding them, and the commission of crimes in order to punish them. It is not just that the laws should always be in- flicting punishment, and never bestowing rewards ; that a man should be sent to the galleys or to a dungeon for having attack- ed the fortune or the life of a fellow-citizen, and receive no mark of public favour for having preserved peace in his neigh- bourhood, and administered consolation to the afflicted. Our code of justice employs but one sword ; it knows only to smite : it's balance serves only to weigh offences, but never virtues. It is to be desired therefore that our tribunals should have it in their power to decree recompenses as well as punishments, and to erect altars as well as scaffolds. Then the stones of our cross-streets continually covered with the the awards of brand- ing or of death, will cease to be, as at Genoa, stones of infamy ; they will acquire to themselves honour by becoming the records of virtue. The avenues into our cities, instead of terrifying travellers by exhibiting gibbets, will invite them there to seek an asvlum by triumphal arches reared, as in China, to the me- mory of meritorious citizens. Such are the principal abuses which in my opinion call for re- formation. I now proceed to make some reflections on territo- rial impost which must supply the place of tallage, towards dis- charging the debts of the State, and which ought to be paid by every landed proprietor without exception. It appears to me that in order to equalize a territorial tax on persons, it ought to be laid equally on fortunes ; that is to say, it ought to increase in proportion to the extent of each landed property: thus the quantity of land necessary to the maintenance of a family being determined, that quantity should pay more in proportion as it might increase in the hands of each proprietor. The Romans, in the earlier ages of their Republic, limited to seven acres the portion of land necessary to the subsistence of one family. As we are not so temperate as the ancient Romans ; as our climate, colder than that of" Italy, requires larger sup- WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 335 plies ; as our soil is less fertile ; as we pay tithes and various other imposts unknown to them ; and as they participated, on the contrary, in the tributes imposed on conquered Nations, to the relief of the Roman People themselves, we may in France fix at twenty acres, the quantity of land necessary to support one family. This being laid down, and the acre being assessed to a territorial impost, to be paid in produce not in money, each property exceeding twenty acres could bear a light tax which might be denominated the surplus-rate. This rate ought to be paid by those who may possess two properties consisting of twenty acres each ; it should be doubled on those who have three, quadrupled on those who have four, and so on. Thus while individual properties advanced in arithmetical progression, I, 2, 3, 4, the surplus rate would increase in a geometrical ratio, 1, 4, 8, &c. so that it would be equal, for a possession of a thousand acres, to the territorial impost on those same thousand acres ; it should be double on one of two thousand, quadruple on one of three thousand ; octuple on one of four thousand. This surplus-rate should increase with the extent of proper- ties, as the tariff of diamonds and crystals, luxuries besides far less dangerous than that of overgrown land possessions which infallibly involve the ruin of a State, as has been observed by Plutarch and Pliny, and applied to Africa, Greece, and the Ro- man Empire. To these instances may be added, in the same ages, Sicily and part of Asia, and, in modern times, Poland, Spain, and Italy. It is to be presumed therefore that this sur- plus-rate would in France give a check to the accumulation of vast territorial property, much better than the prohibitoiy laws promulgated to no purpose at Rome under the f^mperors, who fixed the extent of the greatest individual landed property at 500 acres. It is always easy to infringe a prohibitory law, wdien the prohibition does not pursue the transgression of it close on the heels. Cupidity, like the other passions, resembles a car- riage going down hill; unless vou lock the wheel before you reach the declivity, it will not be possible to stop it half way down. The surplus-rate proposed seems tome in every view found- ed injustice; for if twenty acres belonging to one family, pay one half less than twenty acres of the thousand which might fall vioO SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. into the hands of a single proprietor, on the other hand, these twenty acres of the small proprietor, produce in proportion a much greater increase in provisions and men. An estate of a thousand acres, under a single proprietor, contains, one year with another, a full third in fallow, and is cultivated by at most ten families of domestics of five persons each, that is fifty per- sons in all, including wives and children; whereas these thou- sand acres, parcelled out among fifty proprietors of twenty acres each, would be cultivated throughout, and maintain fifty free and industrious families, consisting of two hundred and fifty citizens. Now, abundance of provisions and of men, especially of free men, is the first wealth of Nations. There would be this result from the impost of surplus territo- rial rate, that great proprietors paying more, and producing less, would become rarer, and that small proprietors paying less and producing more would become more common. The former would be less eagerly coveted by the rich, especially when strip- ped of right to the game, and other privileges injurious to agri- culture ; and the latter would be a much more desirable object to tradesmen of moderate fortune, when no longer oppressed and stigmatized by high-road service, militia-draughts and tallage : thus the surplus-rate would become a bulwark against the ex- treme of opulence and indigence, which are the two sources of national vice. It might be extended to all great properties in employments, in houses, and in money, without touching how- ever any one of the great properties already existing, even such as are territorial. These Wishes which I form for the public felicity, respect futurity only, and ought not to occasion present distress to any individual great proprietor. Having thrown out these hints on the subject of landed pro- perty, I proceed to make a few observations on corn, the most important production of land, and which is from it's nature a national property. The freedom of commerce in grain, has pro- duced a variety of treatises on both sides of the question: but :s, from the effect of our ambitious education, no question is li.icussed but with a view to shine, it has happened that this among the rest, simple as it is, has been rendered extremeh problematical, because the more that a wit handles truth, the more he perplexes it. WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 337 It is certain that there is no family tolerably at it's ease, but what has a provision of money secured, whereon to live at least one year: it is very strange that the great family of the State should not have it's provision of corn laid up to subsist on for at least that space of time. For want of magazines of grain, the liberty of commerce in that article has frequently exhausted the Kingdom of it. Popular commotions scarcely ever have any other source but dearth of corn. Our enemies, both domestic and foreign, seize the moment when the ports are open for exportation, and earn' off all that is to be sold, at whatever price, in the full assurance that within three months they will be able to re-sell it to us with an advance of a hundred per cent, thus we resemble the Sa- vages who sell their bed of a morning, and are obliged to re- purchase it at night. It is necessary therefore that the State, before the exportation of grain is permitted, should have laid up a provision for at least one year over and above the crop on the ground; and for this purpose, it ought to have public magazines. In order to decide this question, there is no need of ministerial memoir or of academical dissertation, common sense is suffi- cient. If example is of any weight, look at Geneva, Switzer- land, and Holland, whose inhabitants, with a soil unproductive or insufficient, live in assured abundance, by means of their pub- lic magazines; whereas the peasants frequently want bread in Poland and Sicily, the granaries of all Europe. Monopolies, we are told, will be the consequence of having magazines. Did they depend on private individuals, the objection would be of some weight: private magazines are the immediate cause of public scarcity : but nothing of this sort is to be apprehended, if the granaries belong to the Nation, the administration of them be vested in the Provincial Assemblies. The Provincial As- semblies could in truth reserve them entirely for the consump- tion of their respective provinces, which would enjoy plenty while their neighbours might be in want; but this never can be the case under the inspection and correspondence of the Na- tional Assembly, who, informed of the super-abundance of grain in one Canton, and it's scarcity in another, would procure the interposition of Royal Authority towards maintaining through the whole Kingdom the equilibrium of the first-rate support of Vol. III. U u 338 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. human life. This is one reason among a thousand, to evince the necessity of that Assembly's permanency, and of the period- ical change of it's members. Our political Treatises, to gratify the leaders of Administra- tion, are much employed in devising the means of increasing the Wealth of Nations. It seems that a State can never have too much wine, too much corn, too much cattle, and especially too much money, for to this all the rest ultimately point. But how comes it about that we have always a superfluity of that first Wealth of Empires, I mean the human species, seeing almost all over Europe it is so wretched, and it's cities swarming with inhabitants which they know not how to dispose of? A shep- herd does not feel himself encumbered with the number of hia sheep ; he does not expose at the corner of his village the little lamb newly dropped from the mother; but fathers and mothers every day abandon their new-born infants in the squares of our Cities and at the gates of our Hospitals. The number of Found- lings in Paris amounts yearly to from five to six thousand, a full third of those who are born there. In this City so opulent and so indigent, the most miserable refuse is of some value; we see persons picking up at the corner of the streets, bones, broken bottles, ashes, old rags ; an old cat fhere has her price, were it but for her skin ; but no one there sets any value on a misera- ble human being. That inhabitant of the fortunate kingdom of France, that child of GOD and of the Church, that King of Na- ture goes about soliciting from door to door the indulgence granted to the house-dog, that of demanding with a lamentable voice, from a being of his own species, of his own nation and of his own religion, a morsel of bread, whieh is frequently refused. It is much worse at the gate of a Nobleman's hotel, where a Swiss will not so much as let him shew himself. It is worse still in his garret, from which he is driven by famine, when shame, whose bite is keener than the tooth of a dog, and more repulsive than a Swiss, forbids him to quit it. But beggary itself is no longer the resource of indigence, for they put mendicants in prison. It is therefore my wish, in or- der to meet the demands of the People, that every man in health out of employment, should have the right of demanding it of the assembly d his Village or of his District, Should it have WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 339 none to give him, his demand will be transmitted to the Assem- bly of the Ctiy with which it is connected ; this last, supposing the case equal, will carry it to the Provincial Assembly, which will take care to transmit it to the National Assembly, should it be in the same state of impotency. The National Assembly would thus have in the last resort the state of all the indigent families in the Kingdom, as it would have that of all their wants, and of their resources: it would accordingly employ it's good offices with the King for the estab- lishment of his indigent families in the Provinces where labour- ers might be wanted, or in our colonies and in countries re- cently discovered, under a Government similar to that of the future Constitution, in order always to unite those Frenchmen to their Country, and to extend over the whole Earth the po- pulation, the power, and the felicity of their parent land. These daily provisions are additional reasons to evince the necessity of rendering the National Assembly permanent. Thus Brittany and Bourdeaux with their heaths ; Normandy with it's muds which the Sea inundates and leaves twice eveiy day ; Rochelle and Rochefort with their stagnant marshes ; Pro- vence with it's rocks and it's plains of flint; Corsica with it's mountains and woods, the American Islands with their soli- tudes, and so many other lands conveyed by grant from the Crown, such as those of Corsica, given away in great lots of ten thousand acres at a stroke, and which remain uncultivated in the hands of their great moneyless proprietors, would find themselves raised into value by being parcelled out into small allotments, and would furnish openings without number for the overflowings of our hospitals, especially for those of the Found- ling Hospital. Indigence, cut close by the root, would cease to produce mendicity, theft and prostitution, which are the natu- ral fruits of it. As to persons poor and infirm, they would be relieved at their own home, or in houses of mercy, from the funds raised arid administered by the Assemblies of each dis- trict ; to this purpose might be employed the revenues of hos- pitals, those vast focuses of misery and epidemic disease. Be sides, as there would be no longer any healthy poor in the king- dom, the number of sick poor would be greatly reduced. 340 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. Farther, by assigning to the petitions of the indigent, a period for transmission from Assembly to Assembly, it was not my in- tention to clap fetters on their liberty; but I wished to suggest assured means of relief not only to them, but to the villages, to the cities, to the provinces, and to the State itself. If indivi- duals sometimes have need of work, whole societies have fre- quently need of workmen. Michael Montaigne expressed a wish to have an Advertising Office established at Paris, to which persons in want, or superabounding, might mutually ap- ply for information, whatever the case might be. His idea has been partly executed by means of hand-bills and newspapers; but these are hardly employed to any objects but those of luxu- rv, such as furniture, coaches, horses, houses, lands, but very rarely to advertise for men. The establishment should extend to the demands of the plains, of the cities, of the provinces, and of the State itself. Now a permanent National Assembly alone is capable of embracing at once all public and private necessities. It is besides an act of justice; for if the State has a right to ex- act from the People militia service, that of the royal navy and of the high-ways in cases of urgent pressure, the People have like- wise, under the pressure of want, a right to demand of the State the means of subsistence. Add to this, that every French- man has a right to address himself directly to the National As- sembly ; and if he chooses to pursue his fortunes out of the kingdom, he should be at perfect liberty to quit it, as every stranger ought to have that of coming into it and of settling, with the free exercise of his religion, in order to fix among us, by the equity of our laws, the men whom we attract by the ur- banity of our manners. Confidence being restored between the three orders, the in- terests of the two first harmonized with those of the People, and balanced by that of the King; the Rural, Municipal, Provin- cial, and National Assemblies, rendered permanent in their to- tality, periodical in their members, and harmonious in their de- liberations ; Agriculture delivered from all it's shackles, cap- tainries, gabels, militia-draughts ; individual liberty made sure to every Citizen in his fortune, his person, and his conscience ; slavery abolished in the Colonies and on Mount Jura; the code of civil and criminal justice reformed : the territorial impost WISHES OF A RECLUSE- 341 assessed proportionably to the extent of landed property, and to the exigencies of the State and of the National Debt; the means of subsistence multiplied, and secured to the People by the bul- warks opposed to the excessive accumulation of property: there will be reared, with respect to all those objects, a Constitution sanctioned by the King, the execution of which will be commit- ted to the proper tribunals, to be henceforward considered as the national Code of Law. The Assembly has no occasion to make an attempt to com- prise, in this Constitution, every possible case ; the}' are innu- merable, and there are some which it would be melancholy to foresee, and dangerous to publish. As the Assembly ought to be permanent, it will make provision for them as they happen to arise. It will have trouble sufficient in rectifying the past, and regulating the present, without taking fruitless pains in enacting laws for an unknown futurity. Whatever wisdom may preside over the digesting of tbis Code, it is not to be imagined that it's laws are to possess im- mutabilitv. Nothing is immutable, the Laws of Nature except- ed, because their Author alone, from his infinite wisdom, knows the exigencies of all beings at all times : the legislators of Na- tions on the contrary being but men, scarcely know the exigen- cies of the moment, and can have no foresight of those which futurity is preparing for them. Political laws therefore ought to be variable, because they in- terest families only, bodies of men, countries which are them- selves subject to change : and the Laws of Nature must be per manent because they are the laws of man, and of the human species, whose rights are invariable. Now I do not know one State in Europe but what has rendered the political laws per- manent, and those of Nature so variable, that scarcely at the pre- sent day is it possible to perceive the traces of them. The hereditary right of Nobility, for example, which was not originally transmissive, is a political law rendered perma- nent all over Europe : it ought nevertheless to vary according to the exigencies of States ; for it must be foreseen that noble families will multiply themselves more than others, because they have greater credit, and consequently more ample means of subsisting ; and because families of opulent tradesmen will 342 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. have a constant tendency to incorporate with them, by obtaining letters of nobility; so that the number of persons who do nothing being continually on the increase, and that of the laborious con- tinually diminishing, the State, at the expiration of some ages, may feel itself enfeebled by it's own Constitution. This in fact has actually taken place in Spain and other coun- tries. Spain has been weakened neither by wars nor by emi- grations to America, as so many politicians have alleged; but on the contrary by peace, and the excessive multiplication of noble families which has resulted from it. The long and bloody wars of the League cut off great numbers of men of family in France ; but France, so far from being weakened, increased in population and riches up to the time of Louis XIV. The emi- grations from England, a country much smaller than Spain, have formed in America colonies much more flourishing and more populous than the Spanish ; and so far from dimin- ishing the strength of England, they would have increased it, had they been more closely united to the Mother-country, from which they separated merely in consequence of their strength. It is because in England the interests of the Nobility are linked to those of the People, and because, like them, they ap- ply to Agriculture, to commercial Navigation, and Trade. Fi- nally, several States in Italy which, as Genoa, Venice, Naples; and in Sicily, &c. have had neither wars to support nor colonies to supply, are reduced to a state of weakness which is constantly increasing, without the possibility of ascribing it to any other cause but the inheritance of Nobility, and fresh patents which are continually multiplying the class of idle Noblemen, at the expense of the laborious classes of the People. If the ancient Episcopal Law, which in Europe enjoined tes- tators to leave by Will, under pain of having their testaments declared null and void, bequests in favour of the Church, with deprivation of Christian burial to those who died intestate, had not been abrogated, as well as the permission to the mortmain gentry to acquire landed property, it is undoubtedly certain that all our lands would have been long ago at the command of the Clergy, as all our dignities are at the disposal of the Nobility. It is farther certain, that if the custom wdiich permits gentlemen of finance to job in the Public Funds, be not abolished, all our WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 343 specie will find it's way into the pocket of brokers. The case is the same with privileged companies of every kind. Thus a Nation may, merely by the permanency of laws and customs, which perhaps formerly contributed to it's prosperity, find itself stripped at length of it's honour, of it's lands, of it's com- merce, and of it's liberty. A Nation, on the contrary, by rendering variable, for the in- terest of certain bodies of men, the Laws of Nature which ought to be permanent, abolishes at the long-run most of the rights of Man : sometimes they are those of marriage, sometimes those of personal liberty, as on Mount Jura, and in our Colo- nies, &c. It must therefore be a fundamental law of our future Con- stitution, that the Laws of Nature alone shall be permanent, and that every political Law may be changed and amended by the National Assembly as often as the good of the Nation may require, as the happiness of a Nation is itself a consequence of that Law of Nature which she constantly proposes to herself, in the variable harmony of her works, the felicity of all man- kind. But as the Laws of Nature themselves disappear in societies, from the prejudices merely which are instilled into infancy, to such a degree that men come in time to believe what is natural to them is foreign, and what is foreign natural, it is necessary to rest the basis of our future Constitution, on a national education, in order that, should reason fail, it may become agreeable to our posterity at least by the allurement of habit. WISHES FOR A NATIONAL EDUCATION. PREVIOUS to the establishment of a school for the citi- zens at large, there must be formed a school for teachers. It fills me with astonishment to think that the acquisition of every art requires the serving of an apprenticeship, the most difficult of all excepted, the art of forming men. Nor is this all. The occupation of instructing youth is usually the resource of per- sons who possess no particular talent. The National Assembly ought to pay special attention to so necessary an establishment., 544 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. They will make choice of men proper to execute the office of instructors, not from among doctors and caballers, as the custom has been, but among respectable fathers of families who may have themselves educated their own children properly. I do not mean such as have made their young people scholars and wits, but those who have rendered them pious, modest, ingenu- ous, gentle, obliging and happy, that is, who have left them nearly such as Nature had formed them. There will be no oc- casion, in order to fill those places, either for diplomas of A. M. or D. D., but the production of beautiful and well-disposed children; and as we form a judgment of the workman from his work, that man should be deemed capable of instructing the fa- milies of the State, who has educated his own family wisely and well. Those instructors ought to enjoy personal Nobility, in conside- ration of the dignity of their functions. They must be under the immediate inspection of the National Assembly, and have under their superintendance all the masters of sciences, lan- guages, arts and exercises. They must be spread over the prin- cipal subdivisions of Paris, and through all the Cities of the Kingdom, to establish National Schools in them ; and not even a village schoolmaster should be permitted to teach but by their appointment. They will apply themselves, first of all, to the reformation of the whole system of our gothic and barbarous education, of the age of Charlemagne. It is unnecessary to say that they will ban- ish from it languor, sadness, tears, corporal chastisements ; that they will train up young ones to love and not to fear; and make Citizens of them, not Slaves. Being themselves fathers of hap- py children, Nature must have taught them much more than they could learn from me, a useless bachelor: but as they are Frenchmen, they ought to be no less on their guard against the methods which exalt the soul too high, than against those which degrade it. They will therefore banish emulation from their schools. Emulation, we are told, is a stimulant: for this reason precisely it ought to be reprobated. Men without art and without arti- fice, leave strong spiceries to those whose taste is weakened; present not to the children of vour Country any aliments but WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 345 such as are gentle and simple like themselves and like you. The fever must not be thrown into their blood in order to make it circulate : permit it to flow in it's natural course ; Nature has made sufficient provision to this effect at an age of such restless- ness and activity. The disquietude of adolescence, the passions of youth, the anxieties of manhood, will one day excite an in- flammation but too violent to admit of being cooled by all your efforts. Emulation is a stimulant of a singular species. We do not serve ourselves of it; but it moves and directs us at pleasure. While we propose to subdue a rival, emulation makes a con- quest of us. Like the man who bridled and mounted the horse at his own request, to avenge him of the stag, once in the sad- dle on our mind, it forces us to go where we have no occasion, and to run after every one who goes faster than ourselves. It fills the whole career of life with solicitude, uneasiness and vain desires, and when old-age has slackened all our movements, it continues to stimulate us by unprofitable regret. Post equitem sedet atracura. Gloomy care mounts behind the horseman. Had I any occasion in infancy to surpass my companions in drinking, in eating, in walking, in order to find pleasure in these ? Wherefore should it be necessary for me to learn to outstrip them in my studies, in order to acquire a relish for learning ? Have I not acquired the faculty of speaking and of reasoning without emulation ? Are not the functions of the soul as natural and as agreeable as those of the body ? If they sadden our chil- dren, it is the fault of our mode of education, and not that of science. It is not from want of appetite on their part. Behold what imitators they are of every thing which they see done, and of every thing which they hear said ? Do you wish then to at- tract children to your exercises ? Act as Nature does in recom- mending hers : draw them with cords of love, and they will run without a spur. Emulation is the cause of most of the ills of human life. It is the root of ambition; for emulation produces th~ desire of being tlie first; and the desire of being the first is the essence of ambition, which ramifies itself, conformablv to positions and Vol. III. X x 346 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. characters, into negative and positive ambitions, from which issue almost all the miseries of society. Positive ambition generates the love of applause, of personal and exclusive prerogatives for a man's self or for his corps, of immense property in dignities, in lands and in employments; in a word it produces avarice, that calm ambition of gold, in which all the ambitious finish their course. But avarice alone drags in it's train an infinite number of evils, by depriving multitudes of other citizens of the means of subsistence, and produces, by a necessary re-action, robberies, prostitutions, quackery, super- stition. Negative ambition generates in it's turn jealousy, evil-speak- ing, calumnies, quarrels, litigation, duels, intolerance. Of all these particular ambitions a national ambition is composed, which manifests itself in a People by the love of conquest, and in their Prince by the love of despotism : from national ambition flow imposts, slavery, tyrannies and war, a sufficient scourge of itself for the human race. I was long under the conviction that ambition must be natu- ral to man; but now I consider it as a simple result from our education. We are involved so early in the prejudices of so many whose interest is concerned to communicate them to us, that it becomes extremely difficult to distinguish through the rest of life, what is natural to us and what artificial. In order to form a judgment of the institutions of our societies, we must withdraw to a distance from them; but to form a judgment of the sentiments of our own heart, we must retire into it. As to myself, who have been long driven back into myself by the pub- lic manners, and who withdraw myself more and more from the world by my habits, it seems to me that man has no natural self-impulse either to raise himself above his fellows, or to sink below them, but to live with them as their equal. This senti- ment is common to all animals the individuals and species of which have not reduced each other to subjection ; for a more powerful reason it ought to be universal among men, who stand in need of mutual assistance. The love of ambition, therefore, is more natural to the human heart than the love of servitude. The love of equality is the medium point between these two extremes, like virtue from which it does not differ: it is the WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 347 universal justice : it is between two contraries, like the harmony which governs the world. It is that which Confucius calls " the " golden mean," which he considers as the cause of all that is good, and which he denominates by way of excellence, " the " virtue of the heart." He makes the principle of it to consist in piety, that is in the love of all men in general. He frequent- ly recommends in his writings, " not to make another suffer " what you yourself would be loth to suffer." On this natural basis it is that he has reared the immovable fabrick of China, the most ancient Empire in the universe. In China children and young people are not stimulated to surpass each other. They comprehend not, says the philosopher La Barbinais, either our theses or our college disputations. They simply in dergo an examination on the subject of morals, before Commissioners appointed by the Court. These Commissioners select such of them as discover the greatest capacity without the least regard to their condition, to raise them, through successive degrees, to the rank of Mandarin, from which a man may rise to the of- fice of prime Minister of State. The emulation with which we inspire our children, if I may venture to speak out, is a fortified ambition ; for the ambitious man wishes at most to get up to the first place; but the emu- lous wishes besides to raise himself at the expense of a rival. It is not sufficient for him to get to the summit of the mountain; he must have the farther satisfaction of beholding all his com- petitors tumbling down. Emulation is a cruel deity, who, un- satisfied with a temple and incense, must have victims likewise. It is remarkable that the emulation infused into infant minds, produces a more pernicious effect in us Frenchmen, and ren- ders us more vain than any other Nation of Europe. Many reasons for this are to be found in our manners ; but without going farther than our education, I discover a particular cause of the vain-glorious ambition of our children, in that of our pro- fessors. In Switzerland, in Holland, in England, in Germany, in Italy, in Russia, and I believe in all the Universities of Eu- rope, professorships lead to Magistracies, to the rank of Aulic- councellor, or to other employments which connect them with the administration of the State : this was the case formerly among ourselves, before every thing came to be bought and 348 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. sold. Those Professors in other Countries therefore direct the attention of their pupils, in part, toward the object which they themselves have in view, that is toward public affairs. But our French regents, obliged to circumscribe all their ambition within the precincts of a College, can gratify it only by com- municating it to the youth committed to their charge, without foreseeing the consequences to the communitv. They estab- lish among them Empires in miniature, the crowns and digni- ties of which they distribute, but together with them the jea- lousies and hatred which every where accompany emulation. They have nevertheless examples in abundance of it's fatal ef- fects both in ancient and modern Nations. In return for some talents to how many vices does it give birth ! Besides, if emu- lation has raised up some great men in certain Republics, it was because the Citizen could there aspire at every thing. But among us, with whom mere merit no longer leads to any thing, with whom it is impossible to rise to the smallest posts without money, to great situations without birth, and to no one what- ever without intrigue, the crowd of ambitious pretenders is wholly occupied in levelling all who attempt to rise. A travel- ler, a man of superior merit, said to me some time ago : " I this " day find sunk into contempt the men whom I left here, last " year, in full possession of the highest degree of public esteem. " If they deserved it not, why did they obtain it ? And where- " fore have they lost it, if it is their due ? There is in France an '' agio of reputation which I never saw in any other country." The emulation of children is with us the original cause of the inconstancy of men : as it inspires, with it's crosses, it's medals, it's books, it's prizes, it's theses, it's competitions, into each one in particular, " Be foremost," it trains them to want of subordi- nation to their superiors, to jealousy of their equals, and to con- tempt of their inferiors. But as extremes closely approximate, this ambitious education is at the same time servile to the last degree. As it operates only by the love of applause or the dread of censure, it places men all their life long at the discre- tion of flatterers, who for the most part understand the art of maligning fully as well as that of praising. The suffrages of others, which they are eager to captivate, recaptivate them in their turn widi such foice, that it is sufficient for them to be en- WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 349 circled with detractors of the most evident truth, to ensure their rejection of it; or with puffers of the most absurd opinion in order to their at length admitting it. Their own judgment bending under the load of this tyranny, the yoke of which they have been accustomed to bear from their youth upward, their conscience forms only the versatile opinion of another, which becomes to them the only standard of good and evil. Our education disposes us no less to obstinacy than to incon- stancy. It is from the vanity and the weakness which it inspires, that the spirit of party has so much influence, and that it is suf- ficient for the ambitious man to say to such of his partisans as might be hesitating whether they should support his opinions, " You have no courage," to bring them back instantly to his standard. There is notwithstanding no great courage but much weakness in suffering ones-self to be carried along by the pas- sions of a man, of his corps, or even of his country. It is because that on one hand we have not the boldness to resist, and on the other are surrounded with powers which sustain us, that a man believes himself strong. Were he of the opposite party, he would be of the contrary opinion from the same weakness. When I see two men engaged in an eager dispute, I frequently say to myself: Each of these gentlemen would maintain an opposite opinion, had he been born a hundred leagues hence. What do I say ? It is sufficient to have the breadth of a single sheet in- tervening to be for ever the sworn enemy of an opinion, of which a man would have been the most zealous partisan, if he had been educated in the opposite house. Change a man's edu- cation, and you change his manner of life, his dress, his philoso- phy, his morality, his religion, his patriotism, his every thing. The African will think like the European, and the European like the African : the Republican will hold the sentiments of the despot, and the despot those of the republican. In truth, it is a most humiliating consideration to man, and capable of with- drawing us from the investigation of truth, when we see that not only our acquired knowledge, but that our feelings, which have the appearance of being innate, depend almost entirely on our education. We are under the necessity therefore, if we love truth and our fellow creatures, of coming back to the Laws of Nature. 350 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. seeing those of society fill us with prejudices from our child- hood, and frequently render us enemies to each other. Now in order to dispose children this way, the spirit of moderation must be instilled into them. That spirit, which enthusiasts, fanatics, and the ambitious of every description consider as an infirmity, is the true courage ; for it alone dares to resist oppo- site parties. It is the royalty of the soul which, like that of Nature, holds the balance between extremes, and maintains the harmony of beings. Virtue's station is the middle; Stat in me- dio Virtus. Children must be trained then never to lose the sentiment of conscience, and to rest it upon that of Deity, which is no less natural to man. This sentiment will expand in them by simply reading the Gospel: thus instead of teaching them to prefer themselves to others, from an emulation which is to others and to them a perpetual source of vexation, they will be left at first to seek contentment in themselves, that retiring thither during the storms of discordant society, they may there at least find repose and peace. They will soon be instructed to prefer others to themselves, from the knowledge of their own wants, for which they are incapable of making provision alone. Hence will flow the love of their fathers, of their mothers, of their relations, of their friends, of their country, of all mankind, as well as the ex- ercise of all the virtues which constitute the happiness of socie- ty. They will be instructed in all the sciences which correspond to these principles. From their education accordingly will be retrenched a part of the years now devoted to the unprofitable study of the Latin language, which may be learnt by use, a shorter, a surer and a more agreeable method than that of our grammars ; with this may be combined the use of the Greek tongue, the study of which is by far too much neglected among us. The education of all Europe at this day bears upon these two dead languages, which are in no respect subservient to our ne- cessities. Nevertheless I cannot, for the honour of letters, re- frain from making one reflection in this place; it is, that the glory of Empires rests on men of letters, and on them alone. If Greek and Latin are at this day universally studied; if the whole of European education, from the age of Charlemagnr WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 351 downward, is founded on this study; if we talk so frequently of Greece and Italy, and of their ancient inhabitants, it is be- cause those countries have produced a dozen of writers, such as Homer, Plato, Hippocrates; Plutarch, Xenophon, Demosthenes, Cicero, Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Tacitus, Pliny, he. It is there- fore for the sake of a dozen men of genius of antiquity, or two dozen at most, that our universities are founded, so that if those men had never existed, we should have no public education, and no person in Europe would any more take the trouble to learn Greek and Latin, than to learn the Arabic and Tartar langua- ges. Greece and Rome have in truth produced many illustri- ous men of various descriptions : but the same thing is true of many other countries, China for instance, of whom no mention is made in Colleges, because we are unacquainted with the in- genious authors who may have celebrated them. Besides, the persons who have made us acquainted with the Greeks and Ro- mans, had no occasion either for their Great men, or for their cities, to leave us superb monuments ; their own genius sup- plied them. It was that of Homer which gave existence to the wanderings of Ulysses, and which created the Gods and the Heroes of the Iliad. That of Virgil, in order to reach us, and to descend to latest posterity, had occasion only for his shep- herds and shepherdesses. The banks of the little rills on which he reposes delight us more than those of the Ganges, and the labours of his bees interest us as deeply as the foundation of the Roman Empire. The others have in like manner their particular talents. Assuredly they well deserve, every one of them, to have a few years of early life devoted to the formation of an acquaintance with them, and many years of life to enjoy- that acquaintance ; but they themselves had too much good sense not to disapprove, had they lived among us, of making an European education rest entirely on the study of their works. They themselves did not pass the whole prime of youth in learn- ing foreign languages, but in studying Nature, of which they have left us pictures so enchanting. A stranger having arrived at Prague, desired his landlord to procure him a plan of the City, in order he said to acquire a knowledge of it. " The plan " of Prague is at Vienna," replied the landlord, " we have no a need of it here ; we have the City." We may hold a similar 352 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. language respecting the Works of the Ancients, even the most perfect of them : " We have no need of the Georgics ; we have " Nature." The Ancients have indeed left behind them much interesting information concerning the affairs and the men of their own times; but we have compatriots of our own whom we are bound to illumine and to render more happy. If the sciences and letters exercise an influence on the pros- perity of a Nation, of which no doubt can be entertained, it would be perhaps proper for the Nation to elect the members of her Academies, as she does those of her other Assemblies. Illumination ought to be in common, as well as the other riches of the State. When Academies elect their own members, they degenerate into Aristocracies extremely injurious to the repub- lic of letters and science. As admission is to be obtained only bv paying court to their Chiefs, the candidate is obliged to tie himself up to their systems. Errors support themselves by the credit of Associations, whereas isolated truth finds no partisans. Thus it was that Universities opposed barriers so pertinaciously defended to the progress of the natural sciences, by maintaining the philosophy of Aristotle in the face of progressive illumina- tion. Kepler complains bitterly of the Colleges of his time. That restorer of astronomy had discovered and demonstrated that Comets are planetary bodies, and not simple meteors, as the Universities, after Aristotle, pretended. He tells us in one of his letters, that his books, which contained a truth so new, and so evident, were entirely disregarded, while those which con- tained contrary opinions were cried up and universally diffus- ed, from the credit which Universities had with the Booksellers. what would he have said of their influence over public opinion, if, like the Academies of our days, they had had all the jour- nals at their disposal ? Let us call to remembrance the persecu- tions which Galileo underwent from the corps of Theologians, for having demonstrated the motion of the Earth. Behold at this day in what a stupor letters and science are kept by the Academies of Italy. It would perhaps be proper that they should be assimilated with us to the National Assemblies; in other words, that being themselves permanent, their members might be periodical, and that they might be elected or kept in office by the Nation, so long as they discharged the duties of WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 353 their station with propriety. At any rate, as the public schools would be under no control but that of the National Assembly, there could be no room for apprehension that the tyranny of an Aristocratical Government would be introduced into them. We should substitute then in the room of part of our gram- matical studies of antiquity, those of the sciences which bring us near unto God, and render us useful to our fellow men, such as the knowledge of the Globe, of it's climates, of it's vegeta- bles, of the different Nations which inhabit it, of the relations in which they stand to us by means of commerce, and above all the study of the new constitutional code, which ought to be a code of patriotism and of morality. To the exercises of the understanding, which are to form the heart and mind of children, must be joined those which strengthen the body, and qualify them for the service of their Country, such as swimming, running, the military evolutions in use among the ancients, which we study so long in theory, and to so little purpose in practice. Every one will be instructed in an art congenial to his taste, that he may find in himself re- sources against the revolutions of fortune. The children will be brought up to a vegetable regimen, as being most natural to man. The Nations which subsist on ve- getable diet are of all men the handsomest, the most robust, the least exposed to diseases and violent passions, and who attain the greatest longevity. Such are in Europe a great proportion of the Swiss. Most of the peasantry, who are in all countries the healthiest and most vigorous part of the community, eat very little flesh. The Russians observe the season of Lent and other days of abstinence innumerable, from which even the soldiery is not exempted ; they are nevertheless capable of enduring every species and degree of fatigue. The Negroes, who in our Colo- nies are doomed to labour so severe, live entirely on manioc, potatoes and maize. The Bramins of India, who frequently live beyond a century, eat nothing but vegetables. From the Pythagorean school it was that Epaminondas issued forth, a man so renowned for his virtues, Archytas celebrated for his skill in mechanics, Milo of Crotona for his strength, and Pythagoras himself, the finest man of his day, and beyond the power of con- tradiction the most enlightened, for he was the father of philo- Voe. III. Yy iJ4 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURT. sophy among the Greeks. As vegetable diet has a necessary connexion with many virtues, and excludes no one, it must be of importance to accustom young people to it, seeing it's influ- ence is so considerable and so happy on beauty of person and tranquillity of soul. This regimen prolongs infancy, and of consequence the duration of human life. I have seen an instance of it in an English youth of fifteen, who had not the appearance of being so much as twelve. He was a most interesting figure, possessed of health the most vigorous, and of a disposition the most gentle: he performed the longest journeys on foot, and never lost temper whatever befel him. His father, whose name was Pigot, told me that he had brought him up entirely under the Pythagoric regimen, the good effects of which he had learn- ed by his own experience. He had formed the project of em- ploying part of his fortune, which was considerable, in the estab- lishment, in some part of British America, of a Society of Py- thagoreans, who should employ themselves in training, under the same regimen, the children of the American colonists, in the practice of all the arts connected with agriculture. May Heaven prosper such a plan of education, worthy of the most glorious periods of antiquity ! It is no less adapted to a warlike than to an agricultural Nation. The children of the Persians, in the time of Cyrus, and by his orders, were fed with bread, water and cresses: they elected leaders among themselves, to whom they yielded prompt obedience ; they formed Assemblies in which, as in those of their fathers, were discussed ail the ques- tions which concerned the public good. With these children it was, after they had become men, that Cyrus effected the con- quest of Asia. I observe that Lycurgus introduced a conside- rable part of the physical and moral regimen of the children of the Persians, into the education of those of Lacedemon. It is at least indispensably necessary to teach our children what they are bound to practise when they are grown men, and to prepare the rising generation for relishing our new Constitu- tion, for fear lest one day, out of emulation with respect to their fathers, as we have frequently done respecting ours, they should think of subverting all our Laws, merely to gratify the vanity of substituting others in their place. From a national education^ connected with our future legislation, there will result a Consti.- WISHES OF A RECLUSE. % 355 tution appropriate to our occasions and to those of our posterity. The effect of this will be, that the greatest part of men of supe- rior minds, being no longer repelled from public employments, by their venality, will not henceforward seclude themselves in Academies and Universities, to devote their whole attention to the affairs of Greece and Rome, in which they oblige us to ad- mire their powers of thought, though they are scarcely ever em- ployed in the service of their Country ; like those antique vases which give us pleasure from the beauty of their forms, but serve no purpose except to make a show in our cabinets, because they were not fabricated for use. Having made provision for the felicity of the French Nation, by all the means capable of perpetuating the duration of it with- in the Kingdom, it would be worthy of the National Assembly to direct it's attention to those which may secure it externally, by proper arrangements with foreign Nations. WISHES FOR THE NATIONS. THE same policy which, for their common happiness, unites all the families of a Nation among themselves, ought to unite all the nations of the Globe to each other, for they are the fami- lies of the human race. All men mutually communicate, even without any doubt on the subject, their calamities and their bene- fits, from one extremity of the Earth to the other. The greatest part of our wars, of our epidemic disorders, of our prejudices, of our errors, have come to us from without. The same thing is true as to our arts, our sciences, and our laws. But without going farther than to the blessings of Nature, let us cast an eye on our plains. We are indebted for almost all the vegetables with which they are enriched, to the Egyptians, to the Greeks, to the Romans, to the Americans, to savage Nations. Our flax comes from the banks of the Nile, the vine from the Archipe- lago, the corn-plant from Sicily, the walnut-tree from Crete, the pear-tree from Mount Ida, the lucern from Media, the potato from America, the cherry-tree from the Kingdom of Pont us, and so of the rest. What a delightful harmony is this day formed of the assemblage of those foreign vegetables all over the 356 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. mountains and plains of France! It looks as if Nature, like a King, were there assembling her Estates-General. WTe there distinguish different orders, as among the men of the country. Here are the humble grassy plants, which like the peasantry produce useful harvests : out of their bosom rise the fruit trees. whose productions though less necessary are more agreeable, but which require the operation of grafting, and a culture more assiduous, like our burghers. On the high grounds are the oaks, the firs, and the other powers of the forests, who like the No- bility shelter'the low-lands from the winds, or like the Clergy raise themselves to Heaven to catch it's refreshing dews. In the corner of a valley are nursery grounds like schools in which are reared the youth of the orchards and of the woods. No one of their vegetables injures another; all enjoy the benefits of the soil and of the Sun ; all contribute mutual assistance, and lend to each other mutual graces. The weakest serve as orna- ments to the most robust, and the more robust as a support to the feeble. The ever-green ivy mantles round the rugged bark of the oak ; the gilded mistletoe glitters through the dusky foli- age of the alder; the trunk of the maple encircles itself with garlands of honey-suckle, and the pyramidical poplar of Italy raises toward Heaven the empurpled clusters of the vine. Each class of vegetables has it's proper bird for its orator: the lark warbles as he soars above the swelling harvest; the turtle mur- murs and sighs from the summit of an elm ; the nightingale utters her plaintive strain from the bosom of a thorny brake. At the different seasons of the year, tribes of swallows, of quails, of plovers, of loriots, of red-breasts, arrive from the North or from the South, build their nests in our plains, and go to rest in the caravanseras which Nature had prepared for them. Each of them addresses his petitions to the Sun, as to a King, and implores the diffusion of his blessings over the district which he inhabits. They sojourn in our fields, our fallows and our groves, only because they recognize in them the plants of their own country, and find among us the means of living in abun- dance. Man alone finds no asylum in the possessions of Man, it he has the misfortune to be a stranger. In vain does the Italian sigh at sight of the fig-tree which shaded his infancy; in vain does the Englishman admire in our French plains the WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 357 farming of his own country: both the one and the other may perish with hunger in the midst of our exuberant crops, unless they have money, and perhaps in prison, if they have no pass- port, or belong to a Nation at war with us. It was not by this indifference about strangers that the Na- tions of the East attained the point of grandeur which has ren- dered them the centre of the Nations. They never visit the countries of Europe, but they attract to themselves the men of all countries by establishments replete with humanity. The most meritorious object of their religion to the Princes, and the opulent Citizens,-is to construct, for the accommodation of tra- vellers, bridges over rivers, reservoirs of fresh water in dis- places, and caravanseras in the cities and upon the high roads. The tomb of the founder frequendy rises close by the monu- ment of his beneficence, and provisions are there distributed on certain days to passengers of every description. The traveller pronounces blessings on the hand which prepares for him an unexpected siapply in the midst of a desert, and preserves to his last breath the recollection of that land of hospitality. The Orientalists permit to all Nations the free exercise of their Re- ligion ; and if they receive their Ambassadors, they keep them clear of all expense during their residence. Such are, with respect to strangers, the manners of the Turks, of the Persians, of the Indians, of the Chinese ; of those Nations which we have the insolence to brand w ith the name of barbarians. The study of Nature alone can diffuse illumination relative to the rights of Mankind, and to our own intolerant associations have usurped them in Europe, during ages really barbarous. They monopolized, to their private emolument, our homage, our riches, our illumination, and our duties ; but in assuming the empire of opinion, they were unable to make themselves masters of that of Nature. It was the revival of learning which brought us back to her laws. The study of her harmonies first appeared among nations of delicate sensibility, and that of her eLments among nations given to reflection. Italy produced poets and painters ; Germany naturalits ; and England philo- sophers. Light quickly extended it's irradiation from the fos- sil to the vegetable kingdom ; Tournefort arose in France, and Linnceus in Sweden. The study of the. vegetable world had 358 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. made, toward the commencement of the present century, a very considerable progress in England. The friends of Mankind and of Nature, transplanted into their gardens the wild plants of our plains, and naturalized in our plains the foreign plants which they* cultivated in their gardens. A man reposed him- self near his house, on the herbage of the meadows at the foot of the trees of the forests, and travelled through the champaign of Europe under the shade of the great chestnut of India and , the acacia of America. Certain philosophers, among others Buffon, attempted to naturalize at home the animals of foreign countries; but from want of considering that the animal king- dom is necessarily allied to the vegetable, those attempts were attended with scarcely any success. The rein-deer, and the rigon of Peru, refused to live in our climates, where they found not the plants of their own country which serve them for food. Nevertheless, animals of the warmest climates, shut up in our menageries, produced young ones. We have seen with sur- prise the titiris and the makis of Madagascar, and the paroquets of Guinea propagated in France. The parents, undoubtedly, surrounded by plantains, yucas, aloes, thought themselves to be in the forests of Africa, and the sentiment of Country, re- kindled in them that of Love. There can be no doubt that each of them would make his nest in the midst of our fields, did the vegetable which is to feed his brood there produce it's fruit. O ! how worthy it would be of an enlightened, rich and ge- nerous Nation, to naturalize in it's bosom the men of foreign lands, and to behold families of Asiatics, of Africans, of Ame- ricans multiplying themselves amidst the very plants for which we stand indebted to them ! Our Princes rear in their manage - ries, in the vicinity of their castles, tigers, hyenas, white bears, lions, and the ferocious animals of every quarter of the Globe, as marks of grandeur; it would be much more glorious for them to make provision around their Palaces for the unfortunate of all Nations, as so many testimonies of their humanity. Political interest is in truth beginning to diffuse this senti- ment over Europe, and the North has set the example of it. Russia values herself on having in dependence upon her men of all Nations and of all Religions. At the time of the coronation of the Empress Catharine II. at Moscow, her first painter hav- WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 359 ing done me the honour to ask my opinion respecting the com- position of the picture which he was called upon to produce on that occasion, I advised him to introduce into it the deputies of all the Nations which are subject to the Empire of Russia, Tar- tars, Finlanders, Cosaques, Samoiedes, Livonians, Kamtscha- dales, Laplanders, Siberians, Chinese, &c. bringing every one as a present some peculiar production of his own country. The phisiognomies, the appropriate dresses and the offerings of so many different tribes would have, in my judgment, figured much better in that august ceremony, than the diamonds and all the gaudy tapestry of the crown. But whether it was that this sim- ple and popular idea did not meet those of a Court Painter, or that the execution of it appeared to him to be too difficult, he substituted in it's room the unintelligible common-place fictions of allegory. There were in my own time in the service of Rus- sia, Frenchmen, Englishmen, Dutchmen, Germans, Danes, Swedes, Polanders, Spaniards, Italians, Greeks, Persians....... Russia owes these enlarged views to Peter the great. That Prince admitted even Negroes into his military service. He raised to the rank of Lieutenant-General a coast of Guinea Black, named Annibal, whom he had ordered to be instructed from a child, and who had attended him in all his campaigns. He honoured this African wdth his confidence to such a degree as to confer on him the place of Director-General of Artillery ; a fact which it gives me pleasure to relate, as it exposes the presumption of those who do not suppose black people capable of a certain degree of intelligence. I have seen at Petersburg, in 1765, the son of this Negro General, who was Colonel of a regiment, and universally esteemed, though a Mulatto. Wherefore have not we Frenchmen, who look upon ourselves us much more polished than Russians, hitherto rendered a si- milar tribute of justice to the Nations ? I have seen indeed Turks in the King's service ; but it was on board the galleys. Being at Toulon in 1763, on the point of embarking for Malta, then threatened with a siege on the part of the Turks, a man with a long beard, in a turban and robe, who was sitting with his legs under him at the door of the Marine Coffee-house, em- braced my knees as I came out, and spake in an unknown lan- guage something which I did not comprehend. A naval officer 360 SEQUEE TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. who understood what he had said, told me that this person was a Turkish slave, who knowing that I was on my way to Malta and entertaining no doubt that his Sultan would take that Island, and reduce to slavery every one he found there, expressed his concern at my falling so early in life into a destiny similar to his own. I thanked the good Mussulman for the interest he took in me, and asked the Officer why this Turk himself was a slave in France, seeing we were at peace with the Turks, nay more, their Allies. He said to me, " That this man had been '•'- taken on board a vessel belonging to the Barbary Coast, but u that it was merely from regard to the etiquette and dignity of " his Majesty's service that he was detained in slavery, as well " as some others of his compatriots ; that they had for keeping " up this custom, now of long standing, a particular galley called " the Turkish ; that those on board were treated with the ut- - most kindness, and permitted to do almost whatever they " pleased, only great care was taken to prevent their writing to " Constantinople, for fear of their being reclaimed by the Porte." The term dignity has frequently recurred to my mind, without my being able to comprehend what it meant. What relation can there be between the dignity of our Kings and the slavery of a handful of Turks who never did them any harm ? It is undoubt- edly for the sake of maintaining this same dignity, that men are represented in chains at the feet of their statues. But since our Kings must have Turks, as the Princes of Asia have elephants, it appears to me that it would be much more becoming their dignity to place them in a good refectory than on board a galley. The Princes of Europe, it is true, keep up foreign regiments in their pay, and maintain Consuls, Residents and Ambassadors at Foreign Courts : but these Ministers of their politics are fre- quently the cause of our quarrels. Nations ought to unite them- selves to each other, not by treaties of peace and commerce, but by benefits; not by the interests of pride or avarice, but by those of humanity and virtue. Of this our own Country ought to set the example to the Na- tions. We are of all the States of Europe that which possesses most philanthropy, and we owe it to our corrupt institutions. Philanthropy is natural to the human heart, but Nature has di- vided it into different degrees, that we may serve an apprentice- WISHES OF A RECLUSE. S61 ship to it, by passing through the different ages of life. We pass in succession through the love of our family, of our tribe, of our country, before we are instructed to love Mankind. In infancy we learn to love our parents, who have given us birth and education ; in youth, the tribe that secures to us a situation in which we can subsist, and furnishes a companion for re-pro- ducing ourselves ; in mature age, the countiy which associates us to it's employments, and supplies the means of establishing our family ; finally, in the decline of life, delivered from the dominion of most of our passions, we extend our affections to all Mankind. But these successive stages through which Na- ture obliges us to travel in the career of human life, in order to extend the enjoyment with the progress, are destroyed by social habits. The love of family is extinguished, from the days of infancy, by the nursing and boarding of children at a distance from the paternal roof; that of tribe, by the spirit of finance, which con- founds every distinction of rank ; that of country, because we can rise to nothing in it without money: nothing then remains but t6 love Mankind, of whom we have no room to complain. Besides, this philanthropic disposition is what Nature demands of us at all times ; for she has formed men to love and to suc- cour each other all over the Globe. Nay it is very remarkable that most of the Nations which have rendered themselves il- lustrious in the first degree of philanthropy, have stopped short there, and never attained the last. The Chinese, whose patri- archal Government is founded on paternal affection, have se- questered themselves from the rest of mankind still more by their laws than by their great wall. The Indians and the Jews, so attached to their casts or tribes, have despised other Nations to such a degree as never to contract intermarriages with them. The Greeks and Romans, so celebrated for their patriotism, considered the other Nations of the Earth, as barbarians ; thev bestowed no other name upon them, and made the whole of their own glory consist in effecting the conquest of their coun- tries. In must be acknowledged however in praise of the Ro- mans, that they frequently incorporated the conquered Nations with themselves, by communicating to them the privileges of Roman citizens ; and this humane policv was the real cause of Vol. III. Z z 362 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. their rapid successes, and the source of their greatness. Let the French Nation devote it's exertions to promote the felicity of all other Nations ; it is an infallible method to make sure of the coviquest of the Globe. The Tartars over-ran part by dint of numbers; the Greeks, under Alexander, by means of dis- cipline ; the Romans by patriotism ; the Turks by religion ; all of them by terror : let us conquer it by love. Their Empire has passed away ;, ours will be permanent. We have already subjugated Europe by our arts, our modes, and our language ; we already reign over the minds of men, let us likewise estab- lish a dominion over their hearts. Let us exhibit to all the Nations of the Universe a legislation which ensures our own happiness. Let us invite them, by our example, to re-establish in their respective countries the Laws of Nature; and in the mean time let us raise them to the enjoyment of their first rights, by offering them an asylum in our bosom. For the accomplishment of an object so interesting, I could wish to have destined to it a vast space in the vicinity of Paris, on the banks of the Seine in it's progress toward the Sea. The place selected ought to consist of a variegated surface, formed of mountains, rocks, brooks, heaths, meadows. It might be sown with all the exotic plants already naturalized in our climate, 01 such as may be so ; the large vetches of Siberia with blue and white blossoms, which produce a copious pasturage ; the trefoil of the same country', which is no less prolific; the hemp of China, which rises like a tree to the height of fifteen feet; the different millets, the gum of Mingrelia, the corn of Turkey, the rhubarb of Tartary, the madder, and so on. Care would be taken to plant it in groups with all the foreign trees and shrubs which in our gardens stood the severity of last Winter, the acacias, the thuyas, the trees of Judea and of Sante-Lucie, the sumach, the sorb apple, the prelea, the lilach, the androme- da, the liquidambar, the cypress, the ebony, the amelancier, the tulip-tree of Virginia, the cedar of Lebanon, the pop- lars of Italy and Holland, the plane-trees of Asia and of America, Sec. Every vegetable would, there be in the soil, and the exposition most suitable to it. There we might have con- trasted the moveable and gay foliage of the birch, with the py- ramidical and solemn fir; the cata'pa, with broad heart-formed WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 363 leaves, which raises toward Heaven it's stiff branches like those of a chandelier, with the Babylonish willow, whose boughs droop down to the ground like a long head of hair ; the acacia, whose light-shades play in the rays of the Sun, with the thick-leaved mulberry-tree of China which completely obstructs their trans- mission ; the thuya, whose flattened boughs resemble the slices of a rock, with the larch which has it's garnished with pencils like tufts of silk. Those groves might be peopled with pheasants, Manilla ducks, India hens, peacocks, deer, roe-bucks, and all the innocent animals which are able to bear our climate. We should see in their purlieus the nimble stag bound by the creeping tor- toise ; and under their umbrage the shining wood-pecker clam- bering along the bark of the fir-tree, or the Siberian squirrel, of the silvery pearl-gray, springing from branch to branch. On the bosom of a brook the swan would steer his peaceful course close by the beaver, busied in building his lodge on it's brink. Many birds would be attracted thither by the vegetables of their country, and would be naturalized like them, when the terror of the fowler was no more. This territory might be divided into small portions sufficient for the amusement of a family, and the property of them com- pletelv transferred to the unfortunate of all Nations, to serve them as a retreat. Habitations might likewise be built in them adapted to the demands of Nature, and provision made for them of food and clothing corresponding to their native fashions. What spectacle more magnificent, more lovely, more affect- ing, than to behold upon the mountains and in the valleys of France, the animals of all climates, and the wretched families of all Nations, pursuing at perfect liberty their natural tastes, and brought back to happiness by our hospitality. Under the shade of the olive-tree of Bohemia, or rather of Syria, the odour of which is grateful to the people of the East, a silent and reserv- ed Turk, escaped from the bow-string of the Seraglio, would gravels smoke his pipe; while in his vicinity, a Greek of the Archipelago, delighted at finding himself no longer under the rod of a Turkish master, would cultivate, singing as he laboured, the plant whi-.h produces the laudanum. An Indian of Mexico would strip off the leaves of the cocoa, without fear of being forced by a Spanish tyrant to v,o and drink it in the mines of 04 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. Peru; and close by him, the pensive Spaniard would read every book which might minister to his instruction, free from the terror of the Inquisition. There the Paria would not be de- voted to infamy by the Bramin, and the Bramin in return would not there be oppressed by the European. Justice and humani- ty would extend even to the brute creation. The savage of Canada would not in such a place form a design of stripping the ingenious beaver of his skin, and no enemy would wish in his turn to carry off the scalp of the savage. Harmless men and animals would there find at all seasons a secure asylum. An Englishman, in a little island sown with rye-grass, employing himself in rearing a breed of coursers, or in the construction of barks still fleeter for the course, would think himself in his own country; while a Jew, who no longer has a Country, would call to remembrance that of his fore-fathers, and sing the songs of Zion, on the banks of the Seine, at the foot of a willow of Ba- bylon. A boat made fast to a linden-tree would serve as a home to the family of a Dutchman, ready at all times to navi- gate up and down the river to accommodate the demands of the Colony; and a tent fixed on wheels, drawn by camels, would lodge that of a wandering Tartar, whose care at every season is the discovery of a situation that suits him best. The Laplander, on the highest mountain, would in Summer lead his herd of rein-deer to pasture under a forest of firs, near a glaciere, while at the bottom of the valley, to the South, in the most rigorous Winter, a Negro of Senegal would cultivate in a hot-house the nopal loaded with the cochineal. A great many plants and animals which resist our method of culture, would take pleasure' to reproduce themselves in the hands of their compatriots; and many foreign families which pine and die with regret out of their own country, would become naturalized in ours, amidst their native plants and animals. There would be in this spot of every Nation but one single family, which should represent it, not by it's luxury which ex- cites cupidity, but by the attraction of misfortune, which in all men excites a lively interest. These retreats would be granted not to birth, nor money, nor intrigue, but to calamity. Among claimants of the same country, the preference would be given to the man who had been made to drink most deeply from the cup WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 365 of affliction, and who should seem to have merited it the least. The choice would be left to the other inhabitants of the place, who, having passed through the same ordeal of experience, must be their natural peers and judges. Such an establishment would cost the state a very small mat- ter. Every Province of France might found within itself an asylum for a family of the Nation with which it is most closely connected by its Commerce. A similar exertion might be made by those of our Grandees, who having merited well of their own vassals, feel themselves worthy of being the protectors of a Nation. Finally, foreign powers should be admitted to the honour of establishing similar refuges in our Country, for a fa- mily of their unfortunate subjects. Those powers would not be slack to imitate our example at home. Most of them have, like us, foreign soldiers in their pay, and National Ambassadors at Foreign Courts, all to display their glory, that is, frequently to scatter misery over the World. It would cost them much less to do for the interest of humanity, what they have been doing so long, and to so little purpose, for the promotion of their political views. The most unspeakable benefits would result from it in favour of our Manufactures and Trade. We should find in those fa- milies an accession of new industry for the improvement of arts and agriculture ; of observations to assist scholars and philoso- phers ; of interpreters for all languages; and of centres of cor- respondence for every part of the Globe. Thus, as at Amster- dam, every pillar of the Exchange, inscribed with the name of a foreign City, is the centre of the Commerce of Holland with that City, every family, escaped from calamity would be, in this sanctuary, the centre of the hospitality of France with re- spect to a foreign Nation. A Frenchman would no longer have occasion to travel from home, in order to acquire the knowledge of Nature and of Mankind: he might see in the spot I have been describing all that is most interesting over the face of the Karth ; the most useful plants and animals; and, what is of all other things the most affecting to the heart of man, unfortunate beings who have ceased to be such. Uy bringing all these fa- milies into contact, we should extinguish among them the pre- 36G SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. judices and the animosities which inflame their respective i\a tions, and occasion the greatest part of the miseries which they endure. In the midst of their habitations there should be an uninha- bited grove, formed of all the foreign trees which have been naturalized by time and culture in our country, and of those which grow spontaneously in our forests, such as the elm, the poplar, the oak, and the like.....In the centre of this grove there should be plantations of all our fruit trees, walnuts, vines, ap- ples, pears, chestnuts, apricots, peaches, cherries, interspersed amidst fields of corn, strawberries, and pot-herbs which serve for food to man. Amidst this scene of cultivation, terminated by a brook with banks sufficiently steep to serve as a fence to the animals, should be a vast down for the continual pasturage of herds of cows, flocks of sheep, of goats, and of all the animals which minister to the comfort of man by their milk, their wool, or their services. Toward the centre of this down should be reared a spacious Temple in form of a rotundo, open to the four cardinal points of the Globe, without figures, without orna- ments, without inscriptions and without gates, like those which in the early ages of the world were consecrated to the Author of Nature. On every day of the year, each family would resort hither in it's turn at' the rising and setting of the sun, there to recite in the language of their fathers, the prayer of the GospeL which being addressed to God as the Father of Mankind, is adapted to men of all nations. Accordingly, as most religions have set apart to God a particular day of every week ; the Turks, Friday ; the Jews, Saturday; Christians, Sunday ; the Nations of Nigritia, Tuesday; and other Nations undoubtedly, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, the Deity would be ap- proached in this Temple with solemn religious worship every day of the week, and in a different language all the days of the year. As happy animals gather round the habitations of men with- out fear, in like manner, happy men would assemble without the spirit of intolerance around the Temple of the Divinity. A sense of gratitude to God, and to men, would there gradually draw to approximation the languages, the customs, and the worship WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 367 which separate the inhabitants of all the Earth. Nature would there triumph over political distinction. The inhabitants of this Colony would there present God in common the fruits with which he sustains human life in our climates. As the year is a perpetual circle of his benefits, and as every Moon brings new foliage, or fruits, or pot-herbs every new Moon would be the epocha of their crops, of their offerings, and of their principal festivals. On these hallowed days all the families might assem- ble round the Temple, there to partake in common of a harm- less repast, consisting of the roots of the plants, the fruits of the trees, the corn of the grasses, and the milk of the flocks. Love would bring them still nearer to each other. The young peo- ple of both sexes would there dance upon the down to the sound of the different instruments of their own Country. The female Indian of the Ganges, with a tambour in her hand, brown and lively like a daughter of Aurora, would behold with smiles a son of the Thames, smitten with her charms, laying at her feet the rich muslins of which Calcutta strips her country. The bles- sings of love would there compensate the rapine of war. The timid Indian girl of Peru would there permit her eyes to re- pose on those of a young Spaniard, become her lover and her protector. The Negress of the Guinea coast, with her neck- lace of coral and teeth of Ivory, would smile on the son of the European who formerly led her fathers in chains of iron, and would desire no other revenge than to lock the son, in her turn, in her arms of ebony. Love and marriage would there unite lovers of all Nations, Tartars and women of Mexico, the Siamese and Laponian, the Russian and the Algonkine, the Persian and the Moresco, the Kamtschadale and the female Georgian. Felicity would at- tract thither all men to the practice of toleration. The French- woman during the dance would with one hand place a garland of flowers on the head of a German, and with the other pour out wine into the cup of a Turk. She would animate by her frank- ness and decent graces, those hospitable feasts given in her country to all the tribes of the universe, and when the setting Sun should lengthen on the downs the shadow of the groves, and gild their summits with his departing beams, ail the choirs ol the dance collected round the Temple, would sing in concert to 368 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. the Author of Nature a hymn of gratitude, repeated by the echoes from distance to distance. Ah ! why should I not one day see in this Asylum for the misery of the Human Race, some of the wretched beings whom I have met far from their native country, without any one to take an interest in them! One day in the Isle of France, a weakly white Slave, whose shoulders were flead by carrying stones, threw himself at my feet, and besought me to intercede for his liberty, of which, for several years past, he had been de- prived by Europeans, in violation of the Law of Nations, for he was a Chinese. I represented his case to the intendant of the island, who having been in China, knew him to be Chinese, and sent him home to his country. But what purpose does it serve to be delivered from slavery, if a man must continue to struggle with poverty, neglect and old-age ? At Paris, on a time, an old Negro quite emaciated, smoking on a post the stump of a pipe, and almost naked in the midst of winter, said to me in a dying tone of voice : " Take pity on a miserable Ne- " gro." Unfortunate creature, said I to myself, What good can the pity of such a man as myself do to thee ? Not only thou, but thy whole Nation stands in need of pity from the powers of Europe ! How many times have children, women, old-men, who did not speak French, presented themselves to me in the streets, unable to explain their distresses and their wants but by tears. Not for their sakes, but for their Sovereign's, the Ambassadors of their Nations reside at Paris. Were there but a single fami- ly maintained there by the State, some one at least might be found with whom to weep. Why may it not be permitted me one day to behold in the Asylum which I wish to provide for them, some of the men of the Nations who have honoured my- self with their hospitality and their fears ! I have found such in Holland, in Russia, in Prussia, who said to me : " Forget a " Country which repels you, and pass your days with us." Some of them have said, what perhaps a rich man of my own Country never said to one that was poor : " Accept the hand of my sis- " ter, and be my brother." But how could I have accepted a hand which would have given me a companion for life and a brother ; when, at a distance from my Country, I could no longer dispose of my heart ? No, it is not climate nor language WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 369 by which men are disunited ; but intolerant corps and treache- rous Courts ; for I have every where found man at once good and unfortunate. Oh ! with what glory would' France clothe herself, were she to open in her bosom a retreat for the wretch- ed of all Nations ! Happy, could I consecrate to this hallowed establishment the scanty fruits of my labours ! Happy ! could I but finish my days, were it but in a hut, on some rugged cliff of a mountain under the fir and the juniper, but beholding at a distance, on the hills and in the valleys, men formerly disjoined by language, government, religion, reunited in the bosom of abundance and liberty by the hospitality of France ! To you, O Louis XVI! I address these wishes, wrho in con- voking the States-general of the Kingdom, have invited me to form and express them, by summoning every subject to the foot of the Throne. To your attention I recommend them, ye Mi- nisters of a Religion which breathes goodwill to men; to you I call, generous Nobles, who have an immortal glory for the ob- ject of your ambition ; ye defenders of the People whose voice must make itself heard by posterity : you of every description, who by virtue, birth, fortune or talents, constitute powers in the august Assembly of the Nation. I nominate you as my repre- sentatives in it, ye women oppressed by the laws, children ren- dered miserable by an injudicious education, a peasantry oppres- sed by imposts, citizens forced into celibacy, the feudal slaves of Mount Jura, the Negroes of our Colonies, ye unfortunate of all Nations ; could your sorrows and your tears make them- selves heard in the midst of that Assembly of upright and en lightened citizens, the wishes which I form in your behalf should speedily be transformed into so many laws. May these wishes at length be accomplished ! At sight of a church-spire or nobleman's castle, rising above exuberant har- vests, may the solitary Widow pursuing her journey on foot, and the still more unfortunate Mother surrounded by perishing infants, secretly rejoice as at the sight of a place of refuge des- tined to protect them, to comfort and to nourish them ! Or ra- ther, O France ! through thy rich and extensive plains may no indigent person henceforward be seen ; may property of mode- rate extent diffuse over thy surface, to the very heaths, industry, abundance and joy ; in thy meanest hamlets may every young Vol. III. 3 A 370 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. woman find a lover, and every lover a faithful wife ; may thy mothers behold their crops multiply with their families; mav thy children be for ever preserved from that fatal ambition which produces all the evils which befal mankind ; may they learn from the heart of a mother to live only to love, and to love only to propagate life; and may thy old men, the fellow-workers in promoting thy future felicity, close their days in hope and tran- quillity, which are the gift of Heaven to those only who love God and men. O France ! may thy Monarch walk about unguarded through the midst of his children, and see them in return deposit at his feet the cheerful tribute of affection aud gratitude! May the Na- tions of Europe there assemble their States-general, and form with us but one family of which he may be the head ! In a word, may all the Nations of the World, whose unfortunate subjects we shall have succoured, send their Deputies thither in process of time, to bless God in every language of the habitable Globe, and to contribute to the relief of Man in all the exigen- cies of human life ! SEQUEL TO THE WISHES OF A RECLUSE. CERTAIN persons have expressed surprise that after hav- ing spoken, in my Studies of Nature, of the causes which were likely to produce the revolution, I should have declined to ac- cept any employment in it. To this I shall make the reply already stated: it is that for more than twenty years past the state of my health has not permitted me to mix in any assembly, political, literary, religious, or even convivial, if there be a crowd, and the doors shut. Some of my friends allege that the desire of getting out, and the spasmodic agitations which I then undergo, arise from an over exquisite sentiment of liberty: it may be so ; but God forbid I should endeavour to make my infirmities pass for virtues! My maladies are real maladies ; they are produced by a derangement of my nervous system, the effect of the rude shocks to which my life has been exposed.* * This malady is much more ancient than is generally imagined. I find the following passage on the subject toward the beginning of the 54th Epis- tle of Seneca to Lucilius : Longum mihi commeatum dederat mala valetudo ; repentc me invasit. Quo genere, inquis ? Prorsus merito me interrogas : adco nullum mihi igno- tum est. Unl tamen morbo quasi assignatus sum, quern quare Grseco nomine apcllc-m, nescio. Satis enim apte dici suspirium potest. Brevis autem valde k proce'Uz similis est. Intra horam fere desinit. Qais enim dicu expirat! Omnia corporis aut hicommoda aut pericula per me transicrunt: nullum mihi videtur inolcstius : Q.udni ? Aliud enim quidquid est egrotare est, hoc est, iiimnam a«rere. Itaque medici hanc meditationem mortis vocant. ' \1\ indisposition had given me a considerably long respite ; but attacked •' mc all of a sudden Of what nature is it, you will ask ? Good reason you 372 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. Independently of the physical causes which forbid my mixing with assemblies, I had other reasons of a moral nature. I had acquired an experience so long and so discouraging of mankind, that for some time past I formed the resolution of expecting no portion whatever of my happiness from them. I had conse- quently retired for several years into one of the least frequented suburbs of Paris. There I tried to comfort myself with the re- collection of the vain efforts which-1 had formerly made to serve my Country in reality, by amusing myself about it's prosperitv in speculation. I imagined in my retirement that I had suffi- ciently acquitted myself of my duty as a Citizen, by daring, under the old Government, to publish the disorders which wen going to produce the Revolution, and the means which I deemed necessary to prevent it, by suggesting a remedy for our calami- ties. I have attacked in my Studies of Nature, published for the first time in 1784, the abuse which has pervaded the Finan- ces, great territorial Properties, the Nobility, the Clergy, Aca- demies, Universities, Education, &c.....without health, without reputation, without corporation-interest, without patronage, and without fortune, which is of itself, in the present state of the world, equivalent to every other resource. I have to say far- ther, that I had no means of subsistence except a moderate an- nual gratuity, which was entirely at the disposal of the depart- " have for putting the question : to such a degree have I felt every existing " species of malady. I am however delivered up as it were to one distemper, " which I can see no reason for calling by a Greek name ; for it may with " sufficient propriety be denominated the sighing illness. The paroxysm is " very short, and resembles the violence of a tempest. It generally spends " itself within the hour; for who can remain long in giving up the ghost> All " the disorders and dangers to which the human body is exposed have passed " through mine, but I know no one more insupportable. How so ? Every " other disorder, of whatever kind, is only to be sick, but this is actually dy- " ing. Physicians, on this account, call it meditation of death." This malady, if 1 am not mistaken, has a perfect resemblance to the nervous disorder. It was perhaps to Seneca the source of his philosophy, which in return alleviated disease : it instructed him how to support it as well as the atrocities of J\'ero. Philosophy then i3 necessary to all men, as one may be as violently tormented, in the calmest retreat, by a sigh, as by the most in- human tyrant. The Epistles of Seneca to Lucilius are, in my opinion, his best production. He composed them in his old age, after having passed through a long and severe ordeal of affliction. WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 373 ment whose power and irregularity I had chiefly combatted, that of the Finances. The benefit which I derived from it was so casual, that it depended from year to year on the good pleasure of the upper Clerk, and afterwards on that of the Minister, himself so dependent on the will of another, that there were ten successively in the course of two years. I cannot conceive the possibility of any Writer's finding himself in my situation, even among those who have devoted themselves most strenuously to the public cause. John-James was personally connected with Grandees who were fond of his works; with Ministers who fa- voured the publication of them, even by confiscating them ; with women of beauty and fashion who defended them against the world ; but what is of still more importance, his musical talents alone were sufficient to procure him an absolute independence on all the world. For my own part, it was a matter of great dubiety, whether I should have any thing of the kind, but it was not totally for want of puffers : for I had embroiled myself, from the very principles which I had laid down, with philosophers who had at their absolute disposal most of the daily journals, those trumpeters of reputation. A judgment may be formed of the difficulties which I had to surmount, bv those which I have actually encountered in pro- curing permission to print and publish my Studies of Nature. I had at first composed the greater part of that Work, in fur- nished lodgings in the rue de la Madeleine, and I arranged my materials in a little turret in the rue neuve St. Etienne du-Mont, where I had lived four years amidst disquietudes physical and domestic of a singular nature. There likewise it was that I enjoyed the most delicious pleasures of my life, amidst a pro- found solitude, and an enchanting horizon. I should perhaps have been there still, had I not been obliged by the caprice of the proprietor to quit it, as he took a fancy to pull it down ; here I put the last hand to my Studies of Nature, and here it was I published them. My first business was to apply to Chan- cery to have my manuscript inspected ; but a kind of Secretary of the Press-department insisted on my leaving it in his cus- tody. As it was filled with ideas peculiar to myself, it would have been very improper to trust my Work to the indiscretion or carelessness of a Public Office. After repeated solicitations 374 .iLQtr.L TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. I prevailed so far as to have it submitted to the inspection of a Censor. He was a very distinguished literary character: it received his entire approbation; but, conformably to the regu- lations, he was under the necessity of referring me to a Theo- logian, because it contained matter of a moral kind. This Gentleman was very much offended that I had not applied to him in the first instance. He disputed every page of my manu- script with me. He imputed dangerous ideas to words the most innocent; he found fault, for example, with my having said that Louis XVI. had called the British Americans to liber- ty ; he wished me to retrench the word liberty, condemned, as he alleged, by the Keeper of the Great Seal, as being the ral- lying term among Philosophers. It cost me no little pains to make him comprehend that I did not mean the liberty of thought of the Anglo-Americans, but their political liberty, to- ward effecting which Louis XVI. had contributed, as all the world knows. He did not choose that I should expose the abuses of corps, those of the University however excepted, be- cause he was Professor in the Royal College, the rival seminary for education. I was astonished to find how many disputes I had to sustain with a Theologian on the subject of my best proofs of a superintending Providence. Frequently was I on the point of withdrawing my papers, telling him I would make my complaint to the Chancellor and demand another Censor. 13ut the remedy would have been worse than the disease. The more you change your Censors the more difficult they become. The last named, from the spirit of corps, or to make a merit of their exactness as well as the first, go on depreciating more and more the Work under examination, just as clothes-brokers, who observe a retrograde progress in their offers, all under the price which the first comer had fixed upon a coat. I was under the necessity therefore, whether I would or not, to consent to some retrenchments, particularly on the subject of the Clergy. I suppressed one article in my own opinion of very high impor- tance. I proposed in it, as a study equally conducive to the in- rerest of Humanity and of Religion, to oblige young Ecclesi- astics, destined to become Ministers of Charity, to spend a part of their probationary time and labour in Prisons and Hos- pitals, in order to their learning how to cure the maladies of WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 375 the mind, just as students in medicine are taught in the same places how to remedy those of the body. By means of agree- ing to make some other sacrifices, my theological Censor sent me my manuscript a.t the end of three months. He affixed noW' a syllable of approbation to it except his signature ; but he shew- ed me at the same time one of a dozen lines, containing a gross- ly fulsome elogium, with these words : "• Such is the approba- " tion I bestow on Works which give me satisfaction;" it was prefixed to a new translation of Homer's Odyssey, which no- body reads. I recovered then my Studies of Nature from this inquisition. But I had not yet reached the period of my troubles ; the next point was to get them printed. It was likewise extremely rea- sonable that, situated as I was, I should derive some pecuniary emolument from my long and painful labours. I applied ac- cordingly to a bookseller, a widow lady connected with the Court, whom one of my friends, who held considerable em- ployments under Government, had cried up to me as a person of strict integrity, and to whom he had given me a recommen- dation. She received me at first very coolly, on the proposal I made that she should advance th^cost of printing my book, and afterwards reimburse herself out of the sales ; but as soon as I mentioned my name and that of my friend, she assumed a smil- ing air, and congratulated herself on his having thought of her, to procure for her the offer of Works of character. I shewed her my manuscript, and requested she would inform me what the expense of the impression would amount to. She reckoned it would make six small volumes in duodecimo, and that I might venture on printing 1500 copies. She then gave me a memorandum of the expense of composing, of press-work, o! paper, of gathering, of warehouse rent, of stitching, of the al- lowance on the sale to country booksellers. I took down the particulars as she dictated them, and having examined them at home, I found that I should still remain somewhat in her debt, even supposing the impression to go off rapidly. I then enter- tained thoughts of publishing at my own risk in three volumes, to diminish one half of the expense of stitching and of the abate- ment to the trade, calculated in my memorandum at 15 sols (7 l-2d.) a volume; which amounted on the whole sale to thir- 376 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. ty-four per cent. All the money 1 had in the world was 600 livres (25/.) I found means, with some difficulty, to borrow 1200 more from certain opulent friends, and I Jmd no doubt that with such a stock of ready money, which now amounted to more than a third of the expense, I might enter directly into treaty with a printer, and the rather, that I would give up the whole edition to him till he was completely indemnified. These conditions were still more ad\ aniageous than those on which booksellers deal, who generally settle with the stationer and printer by giving in payment notes at twelve and even eigh- teen months; but I forgot that I was only an Author. I went thea to one of the most noted printers in Paris, in the belief that I should have less difficulty to encounter with a wealthy and enlightened tradesman. He received me at first with pro- found respect, and shewed me copies of all his finest editions, imagining I came to be a purchaser ; but no sooner had 1 open- ed my business, and enquired at what rate he performed print- ing, than he changed countenance. He deigned not to answer my question, but told me he printed only on his own account, and that his press was entirely devoted to works whose merit and success were already decided. A friend pointed out to me another printer, who had received a favourable impression of me, and who wished for nothing more than to enter into treaty on the subject. This printer acceded to every condition I proposed, and requested that I would put my manuscript into his hands, in order, as he said, to calculate how many sheets of letter-press it would make. He sent it back after a few days, with an intimation that he could not engage in it, because he was overtaken with a great press of business. I met with simi- lar treatment three or four times successively from printers of not the least celebrity in Paris. After having received my ma- nuscript they delayed putting it to the press under various pre- texts ; sometimes it was a wish to raise the price of it, sometimes that of the paper, and when I had agreed to all their demands, they restored it with infoimation that my Work was not adapt- ed to the taste in fashion, that they had communicated it to connoisseurs, that it never could succeed. When they saw it take with the Public, they thought proper to calumniate mc, alleging that I had not treated them with sufficient confidence. WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 377 These different obstacles, the detail of which I have curtail- ed, retarded the publication for three months longer. At length determined to confide no more in reputations so false, and to recommendations which have always involved me in distress, I cast myself on that Providence which never deceived me. From an impulse of my own mind, I applied to a printing-of- fice, and having the felicity to address myself to a man of cha- racter, M. Bailly, I immediately struck a bargain with him and with the superintendant of his business, M. Didot the younger, in whom I met with an accommodation and a probity which I have every reason to celebrate. My Work being printed, I experienced new difficulties in getting it announced. I sent copies to the most popular periodi- cal publications, but as they wait, according to custom, for the decision of the public judgment, that they may conform their own to it, the very first among them gave no account whatever of it till four months had elapsed. They began with inserting certain anonymous satirical strictures upon it, and they rejected every commendatory criticism addressed to them; they after- wards maintained perfect silence on the subjects which had given offence to Academies, and bestowed praise only on the style, to which they ascribed the whole success. It was far greater than I durst have expected. Piratical impressions were dispersed all over the country. I was informed from Marseilles that all the provinces were filled with those counterfeits, but surprise was expressed that not a single copy of the genuine edition could be got. It appeared that not only all die country booksellers had conspired toward effecting the ruin of an Au- thor wdio durst presume to have his Work printed at his own cost, but that the Inspectors, and even the Supreme Regulator of the Press gave their countenance to it. The inspector of the Press at Lyons having several times received orders to look af- ter certain well-known pirates, so far from disturbing them in their illicit trade, pitied them on the contrary, because my book- seller refused to make them the allowance which they expected. It is certain, notwithstanding that a multitude of those counter- feits of my Studies were in circulation among the booksellers of that City, and that one of them whom I have elsewhere named, had carried his assurance so far as to have them advertised for Vol. III. 3 B 378 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. sale at his shop in the catalogue of Leipsic Fair. All my requi- sitions on the subject have been fruitless. To whom could I ap- ply for redress ? One of the principal booksellers of Marseilles, imported into that city a large bale of pirated copies of my Work which was seized; the Chancery ordered it to be confis- cated in favour of the book-trade of Marseilles, that is of the very pirates. I was well aware that an unconnected man had no chance of obtaining justice against one who belonged to a corps. I dreamed therefore of opposing the corps of literati to that of booksellers, but vanity disunites the former, and interest cements the latter. A young poet, member of several Lyceums and Academies, having come to pay me a visit, I talked to him of the benefit which might accrue to men of letters diffused in reputable associations all over the kingdom, if they would mu- tually watch over each other's interests, by setting their faces against piratical publications. This son of Apollo treated my idea with sovereign contempt. It was not in my power to make him comprehend that to live on the fruits of a man's own labour must be more honourable than to cringe to the great for a pension, and to confer benefits on booksellers more creditable than to receive them from such hands. Nevertheless from amidst so many thorns, I picked up many flowers and some fruit. Letters of congratulation crowded in upon me from every quarter. My ancient services, brought into view by popular favour, procured for me a small annual gratification, which the King from an impulse of his own bene- volence bestowed on me. These first fruits of fortune, joined with some others which had an appearance of solidity, and es- pecially the profits of two editions of my book, prompted me to realize a desire which I had long entertained. It was to go and prosecute my Studies of Nature in the bosom of Nature. I wished to make myself master of a little spot of ground, where, remote from men unjust and jealous, I could go on to amuse mvself with determining the causes of the Tides, and of the Currents of the Ocean, which alternately flow from the ices of each Pole by means of the half-yearly action of the Sun. I had raised the evidence of that important truth up to demon- stration; but I vas astonished at the indifference of our Marine Boards, and of our Academies, respecting an object so deeply WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 379 interesting to Navigation, and to the mutual commerce of mankind ; associations which have formed so many enterprises dreadfully expensive, and frequently useless to the Nation and to mankind. I wished farther to collect some new harmonies in the delicious study of plants, and, above all, to continue the Arcadia, the first book of which I had published. To these ideas of public felicity projects of personal happiness attached. v The sentiment of this had all the sweetness of restoration to health. I was on the point of reducing all this to reality when the Revolution took place. Solicited with importunity by the people of the quarter where I resided, who entertained a high opinion of me because I had written a book, I made an effort on my health to.assist at the first Assembly of our district. I there learned by experience that my Studies had neither diminished my infirmities, nor the Revolution inspired the citizens with wisdom. They all spake at once. I ventured to bring forward three propositions : The first, That no object should be publicly deliberated upon till three days after it had been proposed, that every one might pre- serve his liberty of judging; The second, That votes should not be given viva voce, but by ballot, in order to preserve liber- ty of suffrage ; The third, That the National Assembly should be permanent, and it's members removable every three years, by taking in one-third of new members every year. They would not so much as take the trouble to discuss my proposi- tions except the master of a boarding-house, who combated the permanency of the Assembly, and who was afterwards named Elector. They had already conferred the same honour on me, but I gave in my resignation next day on account of the state of my health, both moral and physical. I had just experienced what I knew well enough before, that the People desire the public good, but that Corps aim only at private emolument. Besides, supposing my indispositions had permitted me to act, I should have been gready at a loss what part to take. I was attached to the People from a sense of duty, and from a prin- ciple of gratitude to the King, on whose bounty 1 bad subsisted for twelve years past. I had opposed aristocratic despotism, and I could not flatter popular anarchy. 1 perceiv d among the leaders of the People men who had most amply profited by 380 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. Court favour, and in the Court-party some who had most gross ly flattered the People. I knew them on both sides %to be ac- tuated by ambition, that is, according to my doctrine, men of the most dangerous character. They know nothing of friend- ship or of equality, though the wrords are incessantly in their mouth: if you presume to walk by their side you become their enemy, and if behind them, their slave. One is obliged in tlu-ii society to be a hypocrite, or professedly wicked. I did not wish to make myself a worse man, by labouring to make others bet- ter. There were likewise, in truth, at the head of the Revolu- tion men virtuous, disinterested, sage, enlightened, who, through the whole course of their life, had never deviated from their avowed principles ; but it was not easy to guess into what a train this new order of things, whose plan as yet had no exist- ence,, would lead even them. All these changes produced no more illusion on my mind than that of the Theatre, where the same performers only change dresses and names. I found again in our new political order our ancient citizens, just as in our new geography of France her ancient limits. Men succeed each other like running waters, but they no more change their passions than the river does it's channel; the same ambitions always displayed themselves, with this difference, that those of the little had surpassed those of the great; all had struggled without respect for the laws, ancient and modern. I have myself been the victim of this more ways than one, first on occasion of a burying-ground adjoining to my garden, interdicted as a nuisance eight years ago, and seized by the Commune, who have made it a focus of putrescence by daily interments : afterwards on the subject of my Works, become a pixy to pirates. To no purpose did I present my complaints to the Justice of Peace, to the Section, to the Municipality, to the Department ; what is still worse, an appearance of giving me redress was assumed, and the abuses were permitted to remain unreformed, though they directly attack the municipal laws, and the rights of personal property. The Law may appear deaf to the remonstrances of an individual, because it may be suppo- sed taken up with objects of greater importance ; but when once it has listened to them, found them just, and yet gives no redress, it falls into contempt from a belief of it's impotency. I have WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 381 myself contributed towards covering it's weakness, by not laying my grievances before the Public. I considered the Law in the light of a wretched mother amidst ungrateful and disobedient children. But how could I have increased the number of them ? Whatever employment I had undertaken, I must have adopted the interests of a party, promised and deceived, observed abu- ses and overlooked them, and obeyed the People in every thing, in order to have the appearance of governing them. With so many reasons for keeping at a distance from our tumultuous Assemblies, I had at least as many for renouncing my intention of total retirement. Our plains were in a state of still greater agitation than our cities. A man ought never to reckon on hap- piness out of himself, and if there be for him an inviolable asy- lum, it can be no where but in his own conscience. I had been offered agreeable and peaceful retreats out of the Kingdom, but I could not have stood the reproaches of my own mind had I abandoned my Country in her state of crisis. Though it was not in my power to calm the spirit of anarchy which was sub- verting every thing, I could exercise some small influence over the minds of individuals, by tempering the ardor of one, by sti- mulating another, by consoling a third. We assign a value too high to public, and too low to the private virtues. In a storm no less skill is requisite to manage a gondola than the Bucen- taur. We must not form a judgment of the goodness of ma- chines from the magnitude of their movements : if the great pro- duce a greater effect than the small, it is only because their le- vers are longer. The same thing holds as to the virtues. It is unquestionably certain that if, at a critical period, every Citizen would re-establish order in his own house only, general order would speedily result from the prevalence of universal domestic order. I comfort myself therefore, remaining in my physical and moral solitude, with the persuasion that not having adopted the interest of a party, I was more in a condition to discover the national interest, and that if I was capable of promoting it, I could do so in a manner more lasting through the medium of the Press, which I had attempted successfully, than by means of speech which I had not much practised. In consequence of this, though my Studies of Nature had to me a charm inexpressible, I suspended them to engage in thos" 382 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. of society. I wrote the Wishes of a Recluse. Of all my Works it is that on which I have bestowed most labour, and with which I am the least satisfied. My object in this undertaking was to reconcile the interests of a Prince who had laid me under obli- gations ; of a Clergy who had expressed for me something more than indifference, because I had refused to solicit benefits at their hand ; of the Great who had repelled me ; of Ministers who had deceived me; of their flatterers who had calumniated me ; of Academies which had thwarted me. The time of pub- lic vengeance was come, and I could have blended my own with it, but faithful to my motto, I would not so much as re- store in my Wishes the articles which the Censor had retrenched in my Studies. The men of whom I had reason to complain were too miserable ; I chose rather to suppress some objects of national interest than gratify my private resentments! I pro- posed then to myself to preserve the ancient community of my Country, only by pruning it's great trees, to admit the air and the sun to the smaller. My wishes have been far exceeded. We have had lopping off by the head, plucking up by the root, and re-planting on a very fine plan no doubt ; but the trees are always the same. The old are incapable of taking root again, because they are old; the young will be choked for want of be- ing properly disposed ; there is no hope therefore but from the nursery-grounds. A solid Constitution can be reared on no other foundation but that of a national education. Notwithstanding my ancient labours, I dared to undertake this, by following out the chain of natural laws, of which I had pointed out some links in my Studies. The Rights of Man are merely results from them. This great work requires time, repose, health and talents ; all of them blessings which are not at my disposal; but at least I have endeavoured to fulfil the duties of a Citizen. I have not even lost sight of transient circumstances which I thought might prove of some utility. When after the King's return from the frontiers the Kingdom divided into two parties, the one of which wanted to change France into a Republic, and the other to pre- serve Monarchy, and every thing wore the appearance of civil and foreign War, I hastened to recal the People to a sense of the ancient obligations which thev lay under to their Monarch, WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 383 and the Monarch to a sense of what he owed to his People. I sent my observations, supported by a powerful recommendation, to the Editor of the Mercury and of the Monitor, but he did not think proper to publish them.* They met with no better * I did not then know that this Editor had any influence over those Jour- nals, as he has since avowed. He has at the same time published, in a Pe- tition to the Electors of Paris, that he had a great deal over men of letters, and that he had even M. de Buffon in his pay In that same little Work he has the goodness to sympathize with me as the victim of the piracies of booksellers, whose douceurs it is true I never would receive. But what appeared to me very strange in it, is a proposition he brings forward of making the fortune of Authors, by securing to them the property of their Works for fourteen years : " on condition that at the ter- " ruination of such period any bookseller might be at liberty to print them." He had done me the honour previously to communicate this proposal to me in conversation. 1 said to him : " It is just as if the gardeners of Boulogne de- " manded that the fine gardens which you have there should fall into their " common stock, because you have enjoyed them for more than fourteen years " past. The property of a literary work is still more sacred than that of a " garden." He replied, " That such a Law existed in England, and that he " meant to apply for one of a similar nature, in the National Assembly." I do not know whether such a Law actually exists, but on the supposition that it does, we ought to go to our neighbours in quest of good laws and not of abuses. The English, shut up in an island, have undoubtedly more abundant means of preventing the introduction of counterfeits, but this does not hold as to France. It is certain that our ancient Administration, with their spies, their guards, their inspectors, and the whole of their despotism, never could prevent the practice. How then could the new one carry the point, when liberty was enthroned, as at this day, when cities have no gates, no barriers, no custom-house officers ? Thus then an Author, after having been for four- teen years a prey to pirates must terminate his course by falling into the jaws of booksellers.. A merchant, accordingly, a husbandman, a manufacturer, shall be able to acquire, by their labour, a property transmissible for ever to their children, and a literary man, who has frequently deserved better of his Country, must be excluded from the same rights : he would see himself strip- ped of the property of his Works at the end of fourteen years ; the pursuits of his youth would no longer belong to him in his old age : in defiance of the laws, a parcel of scoundrels would gulp up the first fruits of them, and under the protection of law, opulent booksellers would finish the plunder by giving splendid editions of his Works. The Assembly is too wise not to reject tlie infamous proposition whose injustice I have just demonstrated; it ought on the contrary to thunder it's indignation against those who employ so many artificcs to plunder literary men of the slowly productive fruits of their tedi- ous labours. The leaders of Administration have hitherto pretended that they possessed not the means of preventing piracies. There is one method, and :i very simple one, punish the sellers of them. Booksellers ought not to be 384 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. reception from another Journal of very extensive circulation. I then experienced what I knew beforehand, that there are very few public papers at the service of a man who does not belong to any particular corps. Having, however, addressed my ob- servations to the Compiler of the Paris Advertiser, they were published in time sufficient to produce a good effect even in the National Assembly. I have since inserted them toward the be- ginning of the Advertisement prefixed to my Studies of Nature. They contain nothing very remarkable, except the circumstance to which I had destined them, and the authority of Fenelon and of the ancient Laws of Minos respecting the duties of Kings, perfectly conformable to the decrees of the Constituent National Assembly. Since that epocha, I have employed myself in digesting some ideas relative to our Constitution ; they are a natural sequel to the Wishes of a Recluse. I have been so much the more en- couraged to produce the second, that many of the first have been realized by the Assembly. Nay, others of them appear to have been neglected merely on account of embarrassing circumstances which attached to particular cases. Such is that of the impost of surplus rate, on great territorial estates, which would have become an obstacle to the sale of the national property. This object merits all the attention of the present Legislature, if it means to give opposition to the progress of an aristocracy which formerly subverted Greece and the Roman Empire. When my Wishes of a Recluse appeared, they pleased but a very small proportion of Readers. They were by no means agreeable to the Clergy and Nobilitv, because I seemed to them to have extended much too far the rights of the People. They would have been acceptable to the People whose rights I main- tained, if, at that time employed in overcoming the resistance of the corps which oppressed them, they had not learned to extend them as far as their power. The Constituent Assembly, sup- ported by popular favour, has in it's decrees gone much farther than I did in my Wishes. Those who then thought them too bold, have since found them very moderate. On the other hand, allowed the plea of ignorance : every man in the trade shotdd be capable of distinguishing a spurious from a genuine edition of a book, as every gold- vnith ought to know tlte distinction between copper and gold. WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 385 our Legislators were placed in a most embarrassing "situation. They were, relatively to the State, tumbling into ruin, like ar- chitects surveying a crazy building which it is proposed to re- pair. The hammer once applied to the walls, it is found neces- sary to pull down the fabric to the foundation. It would have been desirable, no doubt, that a single architect had by himself traced the whole plan of re-construction, for the sake of greater unity of design. Notwithstanding the different views of our Legislators, and the difficulties of every kind which they had to encounter, there are parts of our Constitution so excellent, that it may be affirmed to be the most conducive to the happiness of the People at large, that has hitherto appeared in Europe. It is with the first plans of Empires as with those of our an- cient Cities ; most of the streets assume a winding direction. I have never even seen any high-road in the open country drawn in a straight line, from the bias which is natural to man : they all proceed in a serpentine progression. This demonstrates, that it is not easy to advance straight forwards, even for those who mean to do so, and that to draw his path by the line a man has need of invariable points in his horizon. Those of the earth are to be met with only in the Heavens, as they know who have made the tour of the Globe. There is reason to believe that our new Constitution will be durable, because it is in a great measure founded on the Rights of Man, which are themselves derived from the celestial and immutable Laws of Nature. All the miseries with which the State was overwhelmed arose solely from the private ambition of corps. The monied men had got hold of her finances ; the Parliaments, of her justice ; the Nobility, of her honour ; the Clergy, of her conscience ; the Academies, of her understanding. All of them held the national body fast bound, without the power of making the slightest movement but for their particular interests. Happily for the Public they did not harmonize. While they were a-quarrelling the Nation disengaged her hands, and in part bunt asunder her chains. The princpal remaining fetter to be shaken off is that of gold; gold alone giving now-a- J. tys the mc :ms of gratifying every species of ambition, ambition of every aperies resolves itself into that of having goM. It is in order t-i Vor. ril. , ;i ( 386 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURL. get gold that the plough and the ship are put in motion, that a man becomes an Artist, a Magistrate, a Priest, a Soldier, a Doctor, that Nations make Peace and War, and our Estates- General themselves assembled. Gold is the prime mover of the body social, just as the Sun, whose emblem and perhaps whose production it is, constitutes that of the Universe. But as the Sun itself would destroy the world did not Divine Wisdom re- gulate it's effects, so gold would destroy society did not a sound policy direct it's influence. By policy I mean not the modern art of deceiving mankind, which is a great vice, but, according to the etymology of the word, the antique art of governing them, which is a great virtue, and is an emanation from Sove- reign wisdom. The greatest mischief which gold can produce in a State is when it accumulates in a small number of hands ; it is as if the rays of the Sun were to fix in the Torrid Zone, and abandon Lhe rest of the Globe to darkness and ice. It is necessary there- fore to keep a watchful eye over men who possess the means of attracting to themselves all the gold of the kingdom. These are Ministers of State, men of overgrown capitals, the Nobility and Clergy: Ministers, by means of the Royal influence ; ca- pitalists by that of their money ; the Nobility, by that of arms ; the Clergy, by that of conscience. We have to oppose to Mi- nisters, the National Assembly; to monied men, the depart- ments ; to the Nobility, the national guards ; to the Clergy, the municipalities. It is undoubtedly in the view of balancing the forty-four thousand Signiories and church preferments in the Kingdom, which were at the head of the military and spirit tual power of France, that the fortyrfour thousand municipali- ties were created. The day will undoubtedly come when the ancient and modern powers shall amalgamate, and have no ob- ject but one, the felicity of Man; but, in expectation of the period when all resentments shall be extinguished, and the na- tional interest shall have taken place of the separate interests of corps, we are going to suggest some considerations respecting the dangers we have to apprehend, and the remedies with which we are provided against them. They are consequences of the very decrees of the Constituent A^embly, which did not si; WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 387 long enough to provide for every case. The more abundant it's harvest has been, the more has been left us to glean. Of Ministers and of the National Assembly. One of the most judicious decrees of the Constituent Na- tional Assembly, is that which declares the person of the King inviolable, and Ministers alone responsible for his mistakes. I shall not here repeat what I have said elsewhere respecting the personal character of the King: it is sufficient to hint that he was the prime mover of our liberty. He well deserved therefore, on more accounts than one, the honourable preroga- tive which renders his person sacred as the law itself with the execution of which he is intrusted. But1 it belonged to him besides in quality of King; Kings are deceived only by those who surround them. Nero himself would have been constrain- ed to act virtuously, had the Roman Senate punished his crimes in his Ministers. Ministers alone then have the means of maintaining a struggle with the Assembly, by opposing to it part of the national force, of which the principal nerve is money. 1. By a dangerous ap- plication of the revenues of the civil list, which amount to thir- ty millions a year, (1,230,000/.) 2. By the distribution of ma- ny lucrative employments, which may procure for them crea- tures innumerable both without and within the Kingdom. 3. Because the period of their administration not being limited, they possess a great advantage over the members of the As- sembly, who are changed every two years. Thus they have over the National Assembly a preponderancy of money, of cre- dit, and of time, which alone operates many revolutions. It is necessary therefore, I. That the National Assembly should look out sharply over the disbursements of the civil list, in cases where it might be employed to corrupt it's own mem- bers, or even those of the department Assemblies, municipal or primary. This offence is the crime of high-treason against the State ; a corrupting Minister ought to be declared still more culpable than a corrupted Representative. [I. The National Assembly ought likewise to pay particular attention to the patriotic charart r of ;v: <■: rs emplMVird by Mi- 388 SEQUEL TO THL STUDIES OF NATURE. nistry as servants of the public. It ought especially to be ob- served, conformably to the Constitution, that in the choice of such persons regard be had to ability and not to birth. If this is not vigilantly looked after, it may shortly happen that most of those employed in the functions of the State, Officers in the Army and Navy, as well as Consuls, foreign Ministers and Ambassadors, selected by ill-intentioned Ministers, may find themselves in a condition to effect a counter-revolution, by ope- ration conducted in concert both within and without the king- dom. It would be easy for them to render this a desirable ob- ject to the People, by contriving to produce a scarcity of corn, by encouraging highway robberies and religious quarrels ; for the People, fatigued with the recent concussions of the Revolu- tion, and beholding their calamities increase, would not fail to impute them to the National Assembly which they have in- trusted with the care of remedying them. They would-be dis- posed this way so much the more violently, that they are natu- rally given to change, and that living, especially in the capital, on the luxury of the great who have there fixed their habita- tion, they are with respect to these in a state of natural depen- dence, arising from the opulence of the one and the necessities of the other, a relation which does not hold between these last and the poor and transient members of the National Assembly. This disposition to general mutability and discontent may be farther powerfully stimulated by factious and mercenary jour- nalists. Before the Constitution was completed, every writer undoubtedly had a right to discuss it; but now that it is sanc- tioned by the King, received by the Nation, confirmed by the second Assembly of it's Deputies freely elected, no farther dis- cussion ought to be permitted, except with a view to ameliora- tion. Finally, the Constitution may be subverted by a multi- tude of unprincipled indigent wretches, most of whom would sell their share of public liberty for a crown-piece : they might be made so much the more easily the principal instruments of a counter-revolution, that they recollect their having been pow- erfully efficient in producing the first. All these considerations must appear of serious importance to the Assembly. They will prevent these evils by stopping up the source. It ought to be decreed, that Ministers shall be responsible for the conduct of WISHES OF A RECLUSE. * 389 the public servants whom they • nominate, as they are for the orders of the Sovereign. They should be made to answer at once for the emanation of those orders and for their execution. III. It appears to me that our Deputies remain too short time in place. I could have wished that instead of two years, three at least had been the term of their service. Many of them in fact relinquish-substantial and .lucrative situations for the sake of a transitory benefit which scarcely indemnifies them for the sacrifices which they have made. Such are, among others, Gen- tlemen of the Law who have supplied so many assertors of pub- lic liberty. I could likewise have wished that a third part of the Assembly had been renovated every three years. Appre- hension was entertained, we are told, of their forming them- selves into a perpetual aristocracy. But may not their total re- volution involve that of the Constitution? A new Assembly loses a great deal of time, before it gets into the train of doing business. In troublous times a total renovation may become extremely dangerous. The vessel of the State, by changing her crew in stormy weather, may be overset under sail, or driven out of her course. Every movement is an object of apprehen- sion in critical seasons. Would a State make a complete reno- vation of her army in presence of the enemy, to replace it with inexperienced troops ? How then dares she, in presence of so many enemies to her best interests, substitute in room of an As- sembly who has defended them, one entirely new, most of whose members know only those of the departments which have elected them ? Many months must elapse before they can enter into ideas of public business, and put it in to a regular train. It is possible, in my opinion, to avoid the danger of a perma- nent aristocracy on the one hand, and of a sudden and total re- volution on the other, in renovating the members of the Assem- bly by a third part every year, in other words, each department should every year turn out a third of it's old Deputies, and elect a new third to supply their place. There would thence result two great benefits to the Nation ; it would be able to ex- clude such of the Deputies as might lie under suspicion of be- ing corrupted, without inflicting a stigma upon them, as their dismission would be a result of the very law under which they had been elected, and it would preserve perpetually the right of 390 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. watching over the National Representatives, and of keeping- alive public spirit in the Assembly. The duration of the As- sembly might even be lengthened out to five years, by renewing the fifth part of it every year. Such are the precautions which I deem necessary to the du- ration of the Constitution, and to give to the National Assembly a preponderancy which may render it respectable in the eyes of the People, and enable it to maintain a struggle with advantage against Ministers of State. It is to be hoped however that the) will one day become superfluous. Many of our Ministers ap- pointed by the King, are animated by his patriotic spirit, and feel that their glory, like his, consists in the national felicity. There is one method, in my apprehension, to direct their love of glory. Various decrees have been made as a guard against their ill-intentions, but not one in favour of their good offices. This is pointing them out to the Nation as enemies, and tempt- ing them to become so. They are too much to be pitied in having every thing to fear from a Nation that mistrusts them, and very little to hope from a King who has no longer blue rib- ands and dukedoms to give away. I could wish therefore that the Nation would assume the prerogative of rewarding them in a manner worthy of herself. Thus, after ten years service, the Assembly might take a review of their conduct, and in the event of it's being found constitutional and irreproachable, de- cree them the honour of a statue. It might be placed at the basis of the King's, raised under the cupola of a temple sacred to Memory and decreed in the same manner. Then, instead of seeing our Kings on horseback, elevated on a pedestal, flanked by Nations enchained, or by allegorical figures of the virtues, we should behold them on foot, surrounded by their good Mi- nisters, of whom one might hold Neptune's trident, another the caduces of Mercury, a third the thunder of Jupiter, or, what k still better, his horn of plenty. To these symbols might be ad- ded inscriptions and bas-reliefs, representing the principal acts of their administration. This monument, accessible on every side, would figure wonderfully well in the centre of a public square, or on the banks of the Seine, according to the predominant in- clination of the Prince. The People form a tolerably accurate judgment of the character of several of their Kings from the WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 391 situations in which their statues are placed: they believe that Louis XV. was fond only of hunting, because he is out of the City: Louis XIV. of magnificence, because he is surrounded by the grand Hotels of the Place de Vendome and that of Victory; Louis XIII. of the Nobility, because he is in the Place Royale, in the Marais the ancient residence of the Court; Henry IV. of the People, because he is in the centre of that popular walk, the Pont-Neuf. I should however deem Henry much more re- spectable, did we see at the four angles of his pedestal, instead of so many slaves in chains, the sage Duplessis Mornay, the up- right Sully, the virtuous La Noue, and some others of the King's. friends who, like himself, loved the People. Our capital is by no means deficient in respect of new situations. It's market- places will present some that are very interesting, to such of our Monarchs as shall place their delight in the midst of the plente- ousness of their subjects. Of Monied Men and the Departments. Gold is the sole mover of our politics ; in order to have it, Powers forget the very first principles of morality and justice. However difficult it may be in these times to refute errors sanc- tioned by public opinion and reduced to practice, I shall begin this paragraph by suggesting some reflections which may serve to guard us against them at least for the future. The subject which I mean to treat is the invitation which the Minister of Finance addressed to the Citizens, to advance the fourth of their revenue as a patriotic contribution. 1. This invitation wassub- leptitious, because that was made a civil obligation which bore the name of an offer purely voluntary. 2. The Law promul- gated on that occasion is impolitic, because men ought never tc be tempted to balance between interest and conscience ; and it in fact produced a great number of false declarations. The As- sembly acted very wisely in not permitting the farther aggrava- tion of false oaths. 3. This Law is inquisitorial; it obliges Citizens publicly to disclose the secrets of their fortunes, after the Exchequer has for so many ages abused their confidence, and when it still continues the abuse by making an obligator-, duty of an act of good will; it reduces such of them as appa S92 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. rently are living at their ease, but in reality are not in a condi- tion to contribute, to the cruel alternative of publishing their in- digence, or of passing for bad Citizens. These considerations, so moral in their nature, induced Louis XIV. to prevent the execution of a similar project. With all his despotism, he durst not penetrate into the secrets of families. He had his qualms of conscience, says the Duke of Saint-Simon. 4. This Law is inequitable, for it does not proportion the contribution to the fortune of the persons assessed. A man who lives in superfluity is more in a condition to pay the fourth of his in- come than one who has barely what is necessary. Nay more, he who possesses a revenue of a thousand livres of ground rent, is as rich again as he who is only a life annuitant to that amount, and he again is still more so than one who derives the like in- come from an employment which he may lose immediately after having paid his contribution. All the three nevertheless, though of very unequal fortune, contribute equally, which is contrary to the very spirit of the Law. 5. Finally, from all these inco- herencies this has resulted, that the wealthiest capitalists who keep the greatest part of their fortune concealed in their port- folios, have contributed the least, if a judgment is to be formed from their declarations. It was however, in part, to clear the interest of their claims upon the State, that a patriotic contri- bution has been demanded. There can be no doubt that the natriot Minister who proposed the measure, and the Assembly which voted it, were actuated by the best motives: but amidst the troubles which pressed upon them, they were incapable of foreseeing hazardous consequences. They could have settled it on the same basis as those of municipal imposts. God forbid that I should suggest to bad consciences the means of eluding the Law; every good Citizen is bound to support the Laws, even when unjust. My only wish was that our faults past might serve as lessons for the time to come. The Constituent Assem- bly has been oftener than once hurried on by the influence of the monied interest. Such was that which obliged every Citi- zen to pay the direct impost of a mark in silver, as a qualifica- tion to be elected one of it's members. By abolishing it, the Assembly has demonstrated that it h;id a very different standard from that of money, for appreciating merit, and that there were WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 393 J wanting to it's Constitution other moving principles besides those of fortune. Now that capitalists are deprived of the means of turning their capital to account, by the suppression of venal employ- ments, of public loans, and by and by of the agio of the great assignats by the issuing of small ones, there is reason to appre- hend that their avidity may gulp up all the lands of the king- dom. I know no other method of prevention but the imposition of a surplus rate which shall increase in proportion to the accu- mulation of territorial property. 1 have proposed that mode in the first part of this Work, and it has given umbrage to the rich, though it go to the promotion of even their private in- terest, but the safety of the State depends upon it. I have de- monstrated in several passages of my Studies themselves, that excessive acquisition of territorial property had occasioned the ruin of Greece, of the Roman Empire, and of several kingdoms of Africa, if the testimony of Pliny and Plutarch is to be be- lieved. I have there observed, that they had contributed in a great measure to that of Poland, and I have pointed out the miseries which they had produced in France. These miseries will continue to increase, now that a great many persons who were already rich in land, acquire national property by the re- imbursement of the employments which they had purchased^ The abolition of the rights of seniority will indeed one day sub- divide large inheritances into equal portions among the kindred, but the families will not be the less rich for that, and their aris- tocracy is as dangerous as that of corps. Among the Romans, inheritances were equally divided, but they were not the less on that account ruined by vast territorial possessions. There is, on the subject of the sale of national property, an- other great abuse to be reformed ; it is that of monopolizing capitalists, who purchase in wholesale to sell in detail. They frequently make a profit of from 15 to 20 per cent., without un- tying their purse-strings, as I have heard one of them boast. The departments, I am well aware, tolerate this species of abuse in the view of facilitating the sale of extensive landed estates; but they would accomplish the same object by subdividing them into small lots of twenty or thirty acres. They would obtain more purchasers, and would obtain a better price for the benefit Vol. III. 3D 394 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES ©F NATURE. of the Nation. Monopolists would infallibly be deterred from bidding by laving on the surplus rate, which would increase progressively, according as small properties accumulated in die hands of a single individual. It is the avidity of great landed proprietors which first in- troduced, and has so long kept up over Europe, slavery in agri- culture. Where in truth are we to expect to find free men dis- posed to cultivate the earth entirely for the benefit of another ? In Russia, lands derive their whole value from the number of peasants on them. There are, in that Country, proprietors pos- sessed of domains as extensive as Provinces, and from which the) draw no profit whatever for want of slaves; To great pro- prietors we are indebted for the introduction of the slavery of the Negroes into .merica. The first Spaniards who made the conquest of the Antilles, of Mexico and Peru, divided the lands among themselves, and reduced their inhabitants to slavery to cultivate tlum, but especially for the purpose of working their mines of gold and silver. Notwithstanding the political modi- fications of die King of Spain in favour of the wretched Indians, his soldiers served them as he himself had^served their Princes. They plundered and destroyed them for the most part; they afterwards made good the deficiency by slaves dragged from the Coast of r\ frica. The French did not employ them in the An- tilles till the year 1635, after the re-estabiishment of the India Company. Thus the Spaniards lie under the reproach of hav- ing been the first Europeans who shed the blood of Americans, and who introduced the slavery of the Negroes into America. One crime always produces another. Tinee descriptions of miserable beings have been produced by this wicked policy, the subjugated Indians, the enslaved Negroes, the tyrannical Whites, Of these undoubtedly the whites are the most miserable : by a very remarkable re-action of Divine justice, they have found their punishment in that very gold which they so eagerly covet- ed. They live, in the first place, amidst their brethren, copper- coloured and black, in a state of perpetual terror of their uniting to plunder and exterminate them. Then they are under the necessity of rivetting their chains by all the horrors of super- stition, but they themselves have the yoke rivetted round their own neck. They are tyrannized oyer by Monks, whose thirst WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 395 for gold is as insatiable as their own, and who strip them of it by scaring them with the terror of the satellites of the Inquisi- tion in this world, and of devils in the next. Gold and silver, watered with human tears, issue from their mines only to enrich Monasteries. On the other hand, the sabres of Buccaneers are no less for- midable to them than the legends of Missionaries. A handful of adventurers, allured by that same gold, has frequently diffu- sed dismay over those rich countries whose wretched inhabi- tants are destitute of patriotism. Our colonies do not suffer ca- lamities so oppressive, because they are poorer. The National Assembly has made their happiness an object of attention, by restoring to Mulattoes and free Negroes the admission into Co- lonial Assemblies, which Louis XVI. had granted them, and which belonged to them as a Natural right. Is it not reasona- ble then, that free men who cultivate the ground, who pay the taxes levied upon it, and who defend it in time of war, should have some share in it's Administration ? Be their colour what it may, are they not Citizens ? The white settlers had stripped them of the prerogatives of citizenship, in consequence un- doubtedly of their proud alliances with our noble families, but they subsisted in the Portuguese colonies. I have seen men of colour in the full enjoyment of them in our own Island of Bour- bon, whose first inhabitants married the negresses of Madagas- car, for want of white women, and left to their mulatto children their property, together with all the rights of citizens. The French families which have since settled there, and among which there are several of noble extraction, disdained not to form alliances with them. It is very common to see there ne- phews and nieces, cousins of both sexes, brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, of different colours. Nothing appeared to me more interesting than this diversity. 1 have distinguished in it the power of love, which brings into contact what oceans and the zones of the world had separated. Those families at once white, mixed and black, united by the ties of blood, re- presented to me the union of Europe and of Africa much bet- ter than those fortunate lands where the fir and the palm-tree blend their shades. It is much to be regretted that, under the influence of groundless apprehension, the Constituent Assembly 2 j6 sequel to the studies of nature. should have abolished, by it's decree of September 1791, the justice which it had done to persons of colour in the Antilles, and have granted to white men only the right of constituting themselves: it was looking upon them as in some measure ali- ens to the Kingdom. They will one day perceive the necessity of forming an intimate union with them, from the impossibility of, in any respect, a self-sufficient independence of them ; but before every thing else, they ought to attract persons of colour to unite with them : in this their security and their prosperity are at once concerned. It is necessary, for the same reason, that thev mitigate the hardships of their miserable slaves, till the time come when national wisdom itself shall devise prudent means to restore them to liberty. I have indicated some of them : this grand revolution is not to be effected at once, but gradually, and by giving a proper indemnification to the propri- etors of slaves. But it is not sufficient to people our islands with free and happy blacks ; we must introduce into them white labourers, who are more industrious. This affects equally the interests of our Colonies and of the Mother Country. This is not all; the introduction of white labourers into America is a necessary con- sequence of our new Constitution. Agriculture and Commerce having been in France set free from fetters, it follows that po- pulation must considerably increase at home. On the other hand, the gulphs which absorbed it being filled up, such as the unmarried communities both male and female, and the continual wars excited by the ambition of the Nobility and Monarchy, whose prejudices are going to be extinguished, it is a matter of absolute necessity that population should rapidly increase ; so much the more that love has there an unbounded empire, from the temperature of the climate, from the fertility of the soil, from public spectacles, from the use of wine, and from the at- tractions of the female sex. To these ancient and modern sour- ces of population must be added that of the influx of foreigners who are already coming to settle among us, from the attraction of our newr Constitution, which grants full security for liberty of conscience. It is therefore a matter of urgent importance to find a vent for the superflux, out of the Kingdom, and there is no one more commodious, or more within our reach, than our Co- WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 397 lonies. We must therefore introduce into them the agricultu- ral labour of white men: for if this method is not employed, France, before the expiration of half a century, will not be able to support her inhabitants. We shall see among ourselves, as in China, circumscribed by her laws, mothers exposing their chil- dren, and all the other crimes which flow from the excess of an indigent population. The abolition of the slavery of Negroes, and the introduction of the agricultural labour of whites in A- merica, flow therefore from the interest of whites in France, were they not consequences of the Rights of Man, which are the basis of our Constitution. Certain ill-intentioned men have pretended to allege that Eu- ropeans are incapable of cultivating the burning soil of the American Islands. A reply from matter of fact is the most ir- resistible. The good Spaniard, Bartholomew de Las Casas, had brought to St. Domingo itself labourers from the Mother Coun- try, who would have done very well there, had they not been destroyed by the Caraibs, provoked by the pillage of the Span- ish soldiers, who made a conquest of the island, only to ravage it. We see every day, on the ports of our Colonies, where the heat is much more powerful than up the Country, our carpen- ters, our stone-cutters, employed in labours much more severe than those of the culture of coffee, of cotton, and of the cocoa, which women and children are brought up to. I have seen in the Isle of France white men level parts of forests with their own hands, and clear away the ground. They had not however been brought up to employments so laborious, and some of them had even been officers in the service of the India Company. The climate of St. Domingo is I grant much warmer, but the ancient pirates and buccaneers of that Island were white; not- withstanding their excessive fatigues they enjoyed good health, and lived to a great age. Instead of our slaves, they had young articled or apprenticed white servants, sometimes of good fami- ly, who engaged to serve them for the term of thirty-six months, a circumstance which procured them a corresponding name. These young people supported labours incomparably more op- pressive than those of our slaves, of which we have full assur-. ance from authentic relations still existing. The ancient In- dians who cultivated the Antilles, as well as the lands of Peru 398 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. and Mexico, were of a temperament much more feeble than the Europeans who exterminated them. Finally, do we not see, by a just re-action of Divine vengeance, Europeans support in Morocco a slavery more cruel than that of the Negroes, un- der the sky of Africa, still more intolerably scorching than that of America ? I have composed on this subject a little Drama in the view of bringing back to humanity, by means of feeling, men whom cupidity prevents from returning to it in the track of reason ; but I am convinced it would be easier for me to get it represented at Morocco than at Paris. It is our interest then, nay that of the Creoles, to introduce into our islands white agricultural labourers, in order to furnish, in the first place, the means of subsistence to our compatriots, and afterwards of spreading themselves over the vast solitudes of America which are in the vicinity. I know well that seve- ral European Powers have taken possession of them. I shall not examine whether that possession be lawful, and whether the same right which they assumed as their authority for robbing the ancient proprietors of their inheritance, might not serve in it's turn to strip them of their usurpations. Bad principles ought not to be founded on bad examples. But, however re- spected the right of conquest may be in Europe, it is certain that the right of Nature is more ancient. In order to an Eu- ropean Prince's taking possession of a foreign country, where men devoid of mistrust received his ships with kindness and hospitality, it is not sufficient for him to get a plate with his name engraved on it, buried clandestinely, or to have a cross erected, emblazoned with his coat of arms, by a missionary priest, who worships it in chanting a Te Deum, and persuading the honest savages who stand expressing their astonishment at the ceremony, that this cross will preserve them from every kind of evil. Neither is it sufficient for him to construct along a coast, for fifty leagues together, a battery of cannon, surround- ed with ditches and palisadoes, to tell the World: All the Con- tinent is mine. The Earth1 belongs not to him who takes for- cible possession, but to him who cultivates it. The Laws of Nature are founded on truth in general as in detail. I saw one day without the gate de Chaillot, a peasant sowing pease on a spot of ground which had lain long uncultivated; I asked if it WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 399 belonged to him: " No," said he ; " but every one is at liberty " to sow land which has remained without cultivation for more " than three years." I cannot tell whether this usage is found- ed on the Civil or Roman Law ; but it undoubtedly is a natural right. GOD formed the Earth expressly to be cultivated: every man, therefore, has a right to settle on a desert. Besides, the interest of the Kings of Spain and Portugal is concerned to invite into their immense and solitary American Domains, the overflowing inhabitants of Europe, to increase the number of their subjects. If they do not now allure them thither in the capacity of husbandmen, they will one day behold them land in the form of conquerors. Till the period arrive when the People of France shall find a vent for her future population in her Colonies and the Conti- nent beyond them, the Colonies themselves must be prevented from intercepting the means of subsistence to the People of France. They draw at this day from the American Islands a great many articles of their daily consumption ; the principal of which are sugar, coffee, tobacco and cottor* There is scarcely a laundress but what lays out on these different commodities at least the half of her earnings. The monied men monopolize them on their arrival in our ports, and thereby enhance the price. The Departments ought to keep a vigilant eye over such abuses, and if possible to destroy the causes of them. It is a great error in politics to place the Mother Country in a state of dependence on her Colonies. The Departments ought therefore to encourage the culture of bees, for the purpose of replacing the use of sugar by that of honey, so highly valued by the ancients for it's salutary qua- lities, but rejected by the moderns from a prejudice under which they labour that it has a medicinal flavour. It is the quintessence of flowers. From the consumption of it an inun- dation of wealth would cover our plains, where so many plants produce their ethereal oils in vain. Our peasants would em- ploy themselves in the easy and harmless management of bees, who in workshops wlu re freedom ever reigns, are never forced, in order to make sugar, to labour under the lash of the whip. like the wretched Negroes 400 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. Coffee likewise might perhaps be replaced by some vegetable substance of our own climates. I have frequently wondered that the berry of a species of jasmine, dry, coriaceous, of a very bitter savour, which no insect will touch, which remained lost for ages in the forests of Arabia, should have become, by the operation of roasting, and it's combination with sugar and wa- ter, a beverage of such universal use in Europe, that without it whole Nations, up to the very extremities of the North, could not believe it possible to breakfast or to digest their dinner; that for it's consumption there should have been fitted up in every City an infinite number of apartments, where the Citizens as- semble, and decide, as they drink it, the fate of Empires ; that great Cities should flourish by the sale of it, and populous Colo- nies by it's culture. Of a truth, the grateful States of Greece would have dedicated a temple to the Dervise who first disco- vered the use of it, as they had done to Ceres, to Bacchus and to Minerva, who had taught them how to extract flour from a grass, wine from the fruit of the vine, and sweet oil from the bitter olive. There may be perhaps such a berry lost in our woods, despised even of the animal tribes, which in process of time shall administer an additional comfort to human life. It is the business of the Departments to encourage, by premiums, experiments on such as might supply the place of coffee. This fruit of luxury having become a necessary aliment to the Peo- ple, it would be of importance at least to find an equivalent more substantial in their own territory. When a young man has wasted his time and fortune by pursuing a mistress, he is brought back to economy and his family by marrying him to a woman of character. But nations are always sufficiently young to run after novelties, and they are frequently too old to renounce in- veterate habits. Of these one of the strangest, and the most difficult to be eradicated, is the use of tobacco. There is no one so univer- sally diffused over the globe. Tobacco comes originally from America, and savages first taught us to smoke it; but it is smoked at this day from Norway to China, and from Archan- gel to the land of the Hottentots. In Europe great quantities of it are consumed in snuff. It was gold dust to our capitalists of France, who had got the farming of it. They sold it for WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 401 more money an ounce than the pound had cost them in the leaf. I have seen a poor labourer expend every day in tobacco the fourth part of his wages. Since the Revolution it's commerce and culture are become free in France, where it grows of an excellent quality: it will accordingly fall in price, and the con- sumption will prove a farther benefit to Agriculture. It were to be wished that we could in like manner naturalize the sugar- cane and the coffee plant. Sicily and some parts of Italy might admit of this, but the climate of France forbids it. I have re- marked in my Studies, that Nature had rendered the whole Earth capable of producing universally the same substances, with this difference, that she varies the vegetables which bear them according to difference of latitude. The savages of Ca- nada make sugar with the sap of the maple, and the blacks of Africa produce wine from the juice of their palm-trees. The taste of the Haselnut is perceptible in the great nut of the cocoa- tree, and the smell of many aromatic herbs of our own plains in the spice-bearing trees of the Moluccas. Nature, in general, places the consonances of the trees of the Torrid Zone, in the shrubbery and herbage of the temperate Zones, and even in the mosses and mushrooms of the icy regions. She has, toward the South, sheltered the fruits from the heat by raising them aloft on trees ; and #s we advance toward the North, she has shelter- ed them from the cold, by lowering them on herbs and grasses, which besides, being intended to live one Summer only, have no fear of Winter. It is therefore in the humble classes of our annual and spontaneous plants that we shall be able to find pro- ductions equivalent to those of the magnificent vegetables of the South. Cotton, the use of which is so extensively diffused among the people, furnishes anew proof of these compensations of Nat \re. It grows in the forests of the torrid regions of Africa and Ame- rica, on tall thorny trees; in India on lofty shrubbery; and in Malta and the islands of the Archipelago, on a herbaceous plant. We can supply the want of it by employing flax, an an- nual herb which comes originally from Egypt. It has long suf- ficed, together with the wool of our flocks, to clothe us even to luxurv. Our women are still more dexterous in spinning it, than the females of India in drawing out threads of cotton. It Vol. III. 3 E 402 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. is worked into cloth which far surpasses muslin in fineness. A considerable wager was laid on this subject in Bengal, between two agents of the English and Dutch East-India Companies. The Dutchman undertook to prove the affirmative, and the Eng- lishman denied it. The latter produced in support of his bet, a piece of muslin delicately fine ; but the other carried it. He obtained from his own Country a piece of cambric which, in the square inch contained more threads than a similar space of muslin. Threads of flax in our laces are much finer than those of the most curious muslins. It is possible to work it into cloths damasked, sattined, transparent, capable of receiving every manner of colour. Nevertheless women rich and poor give the preference to cottons. Rich women injure the industry of our own manufacturers, by the importation of cottons from India; and the poorer women, who ape the other, injure themselves by drawing from a foreign country the raw material of their clothing. Government at the outset thought of favouring the culture of cotton in our Colonies as well as it's importation into France. Our monied men soon derived such profits from it by the estab- lishment of innumerable manufactures, that most of the women of lower rank, as well as their children, habitually wore stuffs of this sort. The use of them is far from being wholesome. They are wonderfully well adapted to the winters of countries whose inhabitants go almost naked the rest of the year; but they are too warm for our Summers, and too cold for our Win- ters. Their use especially is very dangerous in Winter. They catch fire very easily ; they are one of the most frequent causes of our conflagrations, which often commence on a spark falling on a stuffed counterpane, or on a curtain of cotton. The fire in such cases is propagated with amazing vapidity. To my know- ledge several children and oid people have been burnt alive, from having fallen asleep by their own fire-side in clothing of this sort. The whole world knows that Stanislaus, the cud King of Poland, perished in this manner. Wool is liable to none oi these inconveniencies: very light stuffs may be made of it for Summer wear. The Grecian and Roman ladies, who dressed so gracefully, wore robes of it fit all seasons. I could wihi that the Revolution, which has produced so many changes in our WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 403 laws, might produce some in our manners, and even in our dress. That of men, among us, is open on all sides, and cut short. There is nothing on the contrary at once so warm and so light, so commodious and so dignified as that of the ancients. If our females wish to engage the men to adopt it, they have only themselves to adopt the appropriate habit of the Grecian women, who never dressed but in linen and woollen. There will result from it much benefit to health, and to the respectable appearance of a whole Nation. Our Agriculture, our Com- merce and our Manufactures will derive an immediate advan- tage from it. .Linen rags will multiply, and contribute to the support of the paper-manufactory, the first material of which begins to grow scarce. It is impossible to supply it's place by cotton rags, though the Indians indeed make very beautiful pa- per of them, if the cloth has not been dyed. I shall not exa- mine how far the Mother Country is a gainer on the balance of her commerce with the Colonies ; but I see it entirely in their favour. We supply them with wine, with corn, with flour and salted provisions ; but we receive from them coffee, sugar, in- digo, tobacco, cotton, cocoa-nuts, the consumption of which is incomparably greater ; besides, they will not admit either our modes, or our liberal arts. The creolian women have their par- ticular style of dress, and send to India for the greatest part of their stuffs. I never saw in the Isle of France a single house which contained a picture, or so much as a print; neither did I find books there except in the hands of some Europeans, and in a very small number. Arts and Literature nevertheless fur- nish enjoyments to the rich, and consolations to the poor. Na- ture teaches them to Man, and they bring Man back to Na- ture. Our colonies have no object but one, to amass wealth ; and it is evident that they draw from us a prodigious quantity, from the enormous fortunes so rapidly made in them. Let them keep their money! The happiness of a people is not to be esti- mated by the piastres of their traders, but by the means they possess of feeding and clothing themselves. Now, I repeat it, there is a political error of the first magnitude committed, in permitting the raw material of the apparel of the people of France to issue, as at this day, from her Colonies in the islands of America, as well as the sugar and coffee on which they break • 404 SEQUEL 10 THE STUDIES OF NATURE. fast, and the tobacco which they are consuming every hour of the day. Nothing more is now wanting but to raise our corn there to reduce us to a state of complete dependence. We have accordingly seen, by the violent remonstrances of our traders in favour of the inhuman slave-traffic, in the face of the decrees of our National Assembly, that our commercial sea-ports had ceased to be French, and were transformed into Americans. Let us save at least the sound part of the Nation, by raising a bulwark between the principal article of it's subsistence and the avidity of overgrown capitalists. The sole cause of popular insurrections is scarcity of bread, even in political and religious quarrels. The People never intermeddle with the conduct of the Gods but when they are abandoned by Ceres. There is but one method to keep them quiet, it is to give them a constant supply of bread at the same price, and to establish for this effect, in each Municipality, magazines of corn which should contain enough for the consumption of at least two years ; it will then be easy for every Department to institute a commerce of that commodity, by selling to their neighbours, or even exporting, the surplus of this provision. The People will see the circula- tion without the least uneasiness, from an assurance that a supply is laid up for their own necessities. I have already brought forward this proposition, but I cannot help pressing it in this place, from a conviction of it's importance ; it is the only means of preventing seditions. Bread is as necessary to the People as the air they breathe. What would the rich say, if the air they respire were sometimes on the point of being totally sup- pressed to them ? In what mortal inquietude would they live, were there naturalists who, with pneumatic machinery, could condense or rarify it at pleasure ? Would they not consider such persons as the most dangerous of tyrants, to keep them inces- santly in dreadful suspense between life and death ? In this light the People view those who are engaged in the commerce of grain. In vain you tell them of the distress of the neighbouring Pro- \ inces, of the scarcity that is felt in the Capital: Will they take a greater interest in these than in the necessities of their own children ? Besides they are no longer the dupes of that preten- ded humanity, which ha*, so often served as a pretext for the WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 405 dangerous commerce of corn. When they see it exported from their markets, they suspect, and with too much reason, that it is for the purpose of raising the price. It is a very cul- pable negligence therefore on the part of Administration, du- ring several centuries, not to have established magazines of grain in the Provinces, and reduced bread to a fixed price. Their object was to dispose of the Peoples' food, in order to govern them by famine, as well as of their fortune by imposts; of their life by foreign wars, and of their conscience by religious opi- nions. Such have long been the abuses of our odious system of politics; it is high time to set about a reformation of the most glaring of them. I f there be a motive to induce the Peo- ple to effect a counter-revolution, it is the dearness of bread; it was this alone which produced the Revolution, in defiance of the very persons who stupidly believed they could prevent it, by starving the People. I shall here subjoin a few reflections respecting the use of bread, become of such absolute necessity all over Europe. Who would believe that it is an aliment of luxury ? Of all those which are served up on the table of man, though it be the most com- mon, and even when markets are at the lowest, there is no one which costs so dear. The grain of which it is made, is of all vegetable productions that which demands most culture, ma- chinery and handling. Before it is cast into the ground, there must be ploughs to till the ground, harrows to break the clods, dung-hills to manure it. When it begins to grow, it must be weeded : when come to maturity, the sickle must be employed to cut it down; flails, fanners, bags, barns to thresh it out, to winnow it and to store it up ; mills to reduce it to flour, to bolt it and to sift it; bakehouses where it must be kneaded, leaven- ed, baked and converted into bread. Verily, Man never could have existed on the Earth, had he been under the necessity of deriving his first nutriment from the corn plant. It is no where found indigenous. Nay, it's grain, from the form and size, ap- pears much better adapted to the beak of granivorous birds than to the mouth of man. Not so much as the twentieth part of mankind eats bread. Almost all the people of Asia live on rice, more prolific than the corn plant, and which needs no other preparation but to be stripped of it's pellicle, and boiled. Africa 406 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. lives on millet; America on manioc, potatoes and other roots. Even these substances were not the primitive aliment of Man. Nature presented to him at first his food already dressed in the fruits of trees ; she placed principally for this purpose, between the Tropics, the banana and the bread-fruit; in the Temperate Zones, the ever-green oak, and especially the chestnut tree ; and perhaps in the Frigid Zone, the pine, whose kernels are eatable. But without quitting our own climates, the chestnut tree seems to merit the particular attention of our cultivators. It produces, without giving any farther trouble, a great deal more substan- tial fruit than a field of corn of the same extent as it's branches ; it affords besides, in it's incorruptible timber for carpenter's work, the means of building durable habitations. Our depart- ments ought therefore to multiply a tree at once so beautiful and so useful, on the commons, on heaths, and by the high-roads ; they ought likewise to promote in the same places, the culture of every species of tree which produces alimentary fruit, as well as that of pot-herbs of the best sorts. For this purpose it would be necessary that every Department should have a public gar- den, in which attempts might be made to naturalize all the fo- reign vegetables, capable of furnishing new means of subsistence or of industry, in order to supply all gardeners with the seeds and plants of them for nothing. There is no occasion to recommend to the Departments the interests of the poor. Most of the ecclesiastical endowments have been bequeathed in their favour. They possess still more rights in these than the capitalists. It is to be wished that the whole of these were not to be sold out, and that some parcels of them were to be reserved in each Municipality, and under it's direction, to form in their favour useful establishments upon Utem. It is not sufficient to provide for the physical necessities of the inhabitants of our plains, their manners must be likewise softened. Our peasants are frequently barbarous, and their education is the only cause of it; they frequendy beat without mercy their asses, their horses, their dogs, and sometimes their wives, because they themselves were treated so in their infancy. Fathers and mothers, under the deception of certain pretended religious maxims, powerfully recommend to schoolmasters the WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 407 correction of their children, in other words, to bring them up as they themselves have been: thus they mistake their vices for virtues. It is therefore essentially necessary to banish from the schools of children the infliction of corporal chastisement, as well as the superstition which devised it, and which, not satisfied with torturing their bodies, stings their innocent souls with the scorpions of hell; it propagates among the children of shepherds the first principles of that terror which is one day to cover the children of Kings with it's awful shade. It is in the simple minds of the peasantry that dexterous Monks have scattered abroad so many legends, which have procured them, from the fears of this world and the next, so much riches over the coun- try, and so much power around thrones. The reason of peasants ought to be illumined because they are men. Let them be in- structed in the knowledge of a God intelligent, provident, most bountiful, most gracious, most affectionate, and alone worthy of being loved above all things in nature which is his workman- ship, rather than in stones, wood, paper, without motion, with- out life, the work of men's hands, and but too frequently the monuments of their tyranny. Their manners ought to be polish- ed, by introducing among them a taste for music, for dancing and rural festivity, so well calculated to recreate them after their painful toil, and to make them in love with labour. Thus they will be induced to renounce their barbarous sports, the fruit of their cruel education. There is one, among others, which strikes me as detestable ) it is that in which they take a live goose, sus- pend her by the neck, and contend who shall first bring her down, by alternately throwing a stick at their victim. During this long agony, which lasts for hours together, the wretched animal tosses about her feet in the air, to the great satisfaction of her executioners, till at length one of them, a better marks- man than the rest, by completing a separation of the vertebra, brings to the ground the bruised and palpitating carcass ; he than carries itoff in triumph, and devours it with his companions. Thus they transmit into their own blood the substance of a dead animal tortured into madness. These ferocious and silly diver- sions are frequently celebrated in the avenues leading to the cas ties of the Nobility, or in the vicinity of churches, without the least interruption from the Lord or the parish Priest; this last 408 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. often forbids the young girls to dance, and permits the youn^ men to torment innocent birds to death. It is that in our Cities, the Priests hunt from the churches women who present them- selves there in hats; but they respectfully salute men who come dressed in swords. Many of them consider it as a heinous of- fence to go to the Opera, and with delectation contemplate at a bull-baiting, that companion of the husbandman, torn in pieces by a pack of hounds. Every where, wo to the weakest! Every where barbarism is a virtue with those in whose estimation the graces are crimes. The cruelty practised on animals is only an apprenticeship to the science of tormenting men. I have endeavoured to find out the origin of the atrocious custom among our peasantry of tor- turing to death the goose, a harmless and useful bird, and which sometimes renders them the service of the dog, being like him susceptible of attachment, and capable of exercising vigilance. It appears to me that we must refer it to the first Gauls, who, after having made themselves masters of Rome, failed in their attempt to scale the Capitol, because the sacred geese of Juno, which could not sleep there for want of food, by their cackling roused the guards, who were lulled to rest by watching and fa- tigue. Thus the geese saved the Roman Empire, and defeated the enterprize of the Gauls. Plutarch relates that in his time, under Trajan, the Romans continued to celebrate the deliverance of the Capitol by an anniversary festival, on which they carried through the streets of Rome a dog hanged, because their dogs slept during the escalade of the Gauls, and a goose placed on a rich cushion, in commemoration of die vigilance of those birds, to which they were indebted for their safety. It is not unlikely that the Gauls, on returning to their own country, adopted the contrary practice, and every year hanged up French geese, out of resentment at the Roman geese, without reflecting that they might themselves expect from them similar good offices in simi- lar circumstances. But man frequently condemns in his enemy what he would ppprove in his friend. Another custom is in- troduced to support the first: it is that practised by our peasants of kindling great bonfires about Saint John's day, perhaps in memory of the burning of Rome, which happened at this sea- son, according to Plutarch, that is about the summer solstice. I WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 409 am well aware that religion had in some measure consecrated the fires of Saint John, but I believe thev are of antiquity more remote than the Christian iEra, as well as many other usages which Christians have adopted. Whatever be in this, the Departments ought to abolish from among our peasants those inhuman pastimes, and»substitute in their room such as exercise both body and mind, like those in use among the Greeks. Such are wrestling, running, swimming, the use of fire-arms, dancing, and above all, music, which has such power toward polishing the human mind. But we hope to treat these subjects more profoundly, when we engage in a plan of national education. Our men of capital may powerfully second this moral revo- lution in rural life, by combining their means with the illumina- tion of the Departments. Instead of monopolizing the money and the bread of the People, whose curses they draw down upon themselves, and sometimes their vengeance, it is easy for them to lay out their money on undoubted security, with profit, ho- nour, and pleasure. They could establish countiy banks, for the purpose of lending, at a moderate interest, small sums to the far- mer, who, for want of a little ready money, frequently sees his property go to ruin. They could themselves drain marshes, clear waste lands, multiply flocks, establish manufactures, render small rivers navigable ; instead of acquiring immense tracts of landed property producing a small revenue while in the hands of their great farmers, because the half must be every year left in fallow, they ought to divide them into small portions of four, of six, of ten acres, which will yieitf a perpetual produce, be- cause a single family can cultivate them. They may plant them out into orchards, enclose them with quickset hedges, less ex- pensive, more durable, more agreeable and more beneficial to agriculture, than the long and gloomy stone wralls of parks; they may rear on them little smiling and commodious mansions, or even simple cottages, and sell or let them to tradesmen who may come thither in quest of health and repose. The simple tastes of the country will thus be introduced into the cities, and the urbanity of cities will communicate itself to the country. Our capitalists might extend their patriotic establishments beyond seas, open new channels to commerce and fisheries, discover Vol. III. 3 F 410 SEQUhL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURL. new islands under the fortunate climate of the tropical regions, and there plant colonies exempted from slavery. The greatest of islands in the bosom of the Ocean, if after all it be only an island, New-Holland, invites them to complete the discovery of it's coasts, and to penetrate into it's immense solitudes, where the foot of European never yet travelled. They may, with French liberty and industry, found on it's shores a new Batavia, which shall attract to itself the riches of two worlds ; or rather like new Lycurguses, may they banish money from it, and, in it's place, introduce the reign of innocence, concord and hap- piness ! Of the Nobility and the National Guards. The ambition of the Nobility had acquired entire possession of honours ecclesiastical, military, parliamentary, financial, mu- nicipal, and even of those pertaining to men of letters and art- ists. Letters of Nobility were requisite to a man's being a Bi- shop, a Colonel, or even a Subaltern Officer, in the Army, a Privy Counsellor, the Mayor of a Corporation ; they were ob- tained as a qualification for filling the place of Sheriff of Paris ; they would soon have become necessary towards obtaining a seat in our Academies, which had all of them Noblemen, or pre- tenders to Nobility, at their head. M. le Clerc had become M. le Comte de Buffon, and Voltaire, M. le Comte de Ferney: others limited their ambition to the riband of St. Michael; all our no- ted literary characters aimed at present or future Nobility. Poor John-James alone v&3tcontented to remain a man. Be- sides, he had not the honour of belonging to any one Academy. A Nation consisting of Nobles only, would quickly terminate it's career in the loss of it's Religion, it's Armies, it's Justice, it's Finances, it's Agriculture, it's Commerce, it's Arts and it's Illumination: and would substitute in place of these, Ceremo- nies, Titles, Imposts, Lotteries, Academies and Inquisitions. Look at Spain and a part of Italy, particularly Rome, Naples and Venice. The French National Assembly has laid open the * path of honour to every Frenchman ; but in order to keep in it, he must run the race himself. Liberty is nothing but a perpe- tual exercise of virtue. It is by reposing on corps that citizen- WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 411 lose the habit, and very soon the rewards of it. If so many Bi- shops and Colonels have been so easily stripped of their credit and their places, it was because they transferred the discharge of their duties from themselves to their subalterns. It was the habit of administering their alms by the hands of the Clergy which impoverished the People, and enriched so manv religious houses. It was by getting themselves replaced in the military service by soldiers that the Citizens themselves.had destroyed the Executive Power, and that the regiments had seized it, for the profit of the Nobility. It was by discharging this duty in person that the Spartans maintained their liberty, and by the devolution of it on mercenary soldiers that Athens lost hers. It It is necessary therefore that the French Citizens should them- selves serve. I have proposed, in my Wishes, the means of ea- sily keeping up in France a very formidable army, which shall not cost the Country a single farthing in time of peace. It is by instituting in the cities and villages military exercises, a- musements, and prizes among the young people. Thus they will be formed to subordination, without which it is impossible to have either Army or Citizens. Nothing but obedience to the laws can give security to public liberty; it is the office of virtue and not of ambition to train men to it. It was the ambition of the Nobility which had engrossed every thing, and which scorned to give up a single point, that had brought the State to the brink of ruin, and has issued in their own destruction. In vain have they assembled on our northern frontier, and flatter themselves with the hope of forc- ing their way back into Fiance in the enjoyment of their ex- clusive privileges, by the assistance of foreign powers. It is not probable that any one of them imagines it has a right to prevent the French Nation from framing for herself whatever Constitution she likes best. All Europe has regarded with ad- miration Peter the Great polishing his barbarous Empire, and reforming his Clergy and Boyards, who had seized all authori- ty. Would our admiration of him have been diminished, had he brought back a corrupted people towards nature, and had he destroyed the corps which opposed his plans of reform, he, who broke his own guards, and, like another Brutus, inflicted the punishment of death on his own only son, for having conspired 412 SEQ.ULL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. against the Laws which he had given to his Country ? What a Prince has done, assuredly a Nation is able to do. The sove- reignty of a Nation resides in itself, and not in the Prince, who is only it's sub-delegate. It is impossible too frequently to re- peat that fundamental maxim of the rights of mankind: " Kings," says Fenelon, " are made for the People, and not the People for " Kings." The same thing holds good of Priests and Nobles. All the orders of a Nation are subordinate to it, just as the branches of a tree are, notwithstanding their elevation, to the stem which supports them. The French Nation has accord- ingly been able to suppress the order of Nobility, and it's ec- clesiastical orders which dared to shew a spirit refractory to the Laws, without putting it in the power of neighbouring nations to say a word on the subject. In a storm a vessel moored on a dangerous coast, cuts her cables when she cannot get up her anchors. Thus the Nation, to save the national body has cut asunder the yoke of prejudice which was dragging her to de- struction, and which she had neither skill nor leisure to disen- tangle. How many great Princes have attempted to do as much, and durst not, not being seconded by the popular power! The Em- peror Joseph II. attempted similar reforms in Brabant, and failed. Can our emigrated Nobility believe that his august successor, the sage Leopold, that new Marcus Aurelius, that friend of mankind, who in his Tuscan dominions had opened every road to merit; that a King of Prussia, who has himself passed through every military rank when Prince Royal; that the Empress of Russia herself, that rival of Peter the Great who stripped his Nobility of the prerogatives of their birth, and ex- hibited the example of it, by relinquishing that of the Throne, and by sinking himself into a drummer and a carpenter ; can they believe, I say, that all these Sovereigns are to coalesce for the purpose of forcing the French to re-establish their ancient abuses, and to give, as in times past, all employments to venali- tv, to intrigue and to birth ? It is absolutely impossible. It neighbouring Princes keep up considerable armies on their frontiers,- it is simply to prevent the French Revolution from penetrating too rapidly into their dominions, in order to shun the disorders which have accompanied it. If the Empress of WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 413 Russia is making to our emigrated Nobility particular tenders of service, and is supplying them with money, it appears ex- tremely probable that she wishes rather to allure them to settle in her States, than that she means herself to make an impression upon ours. In truth the French Noblemen, instructed by cala- mity, would contribute not a little to the civilization of her Country, just as the Swedish officers, did who were transported into Siberia after the battle of Pultowa. But the homage which I owe to truth, and the pity which I feel for the unfortunate, constrain me here to warn our exiled nobless, that most of them would be objects of great compas- sion in Russia; first, from their peculiar mode of education, which, arming them from infancy against each other, would not afford them among their compatriots themselves that support which the unfortunate of the same Nation might expect, espe- cially when expatriated. I had the experience of this oftener than once. The greatest enemies which Frenchmen have in foreign countries, are Frenchmen ; their jealousy is a result from their ambitious education, which, from childhood, says to each of them, but especially to men of noble birth, Be foremost. It is true the necessity of living with men, and especially with women, spreads a varnish of politeness over this maleficent in- stinct, and obliges a Frenchman of family, who is inwardly burning with a desire to domineer, to appear continually ani- mated with a desire of pleasing ; but his brilliant talents only excite against him the jealousy of foreigners, whose vices shew themselves undisguised. They detest equally his gallantry and his point of honour, his dancing and his duelling. It is there- fore a melancholy prospect for a Gentleman to pass his life in a strange land, an object of jealousy to his compatriots, and of hatred to the natives. I say nothing of the rigor of the mili- tary service in Russia, where subordination is such, that a Lieu- tenant must not sit down in presence of his Captain without permission; nor of the mediocrity of the appointments, in a climate where civilized man has so many wants. These incon- veniences, which I myself have experienced, are so insupport- able, that most of the Officers whom I have seen pass into that country, of noble extraction or not, have been reduced to the situation of Ochitels, or governors to children in the families of 414 .SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE, Russian Noblemen. It is of a truth one of the least wretched resources of that country: but can it be palatable to a man of noble birth, who left his Country merely because he could not domineer over his compatriots at home ? Must he imitate Dio- mjsius the tyrant of Syracuse, who, stripped of his sovereignty, assumed the employment of school-master at Corinth, and hav- ing lost his Empire over men contrived to acquire one over children. Neither shall I say any thing respecting the severity of the climate in Russia, for it is a consideration of no weight with the ambitious : to live at St. Petersburg or in St. Domingo, to serve under Russians or to tyrannize over Negroes, is all one to most men, provided they are in the road to fortune. It deceives us frequently in these countries as in others. But when a man, to indemnify himself for the injustice of fortune, wishes to throw himself into the arms of Nature, it must be peculiarly hard upon a Frenchman expatriated in Russia, to compare Winters of six tedious months, during which the whole face of the Earth is covered with snow and dusky fir trees, with the mild climate of France, and her fertile plains clothed with orchards, vineyards and meadows. It is painful, on seeing enslaved peasants driven to labour by the rod, to call to remembrance the gaiety and the liberty of his compatriots; to talk of love to shepherdesses who understand not what you say, and whose hearts feel no recipro- cal emotion. It is a gloomy reflection that his own posterity will one day be blasted by the same slavery, and that he himself must never more see the places where he learnt to feel and to love. I have seen Frenchmen in Russia, of a superior rank in the army, so struck with recollections of this kind, that they said to me : " I would rather be a common soldier in France " than Colonel of a regiment here." Not that civilized countries are exempted from suffering, and this of the most painful sort. Philosophy undoubtedly is able to dwell any where, and, if good laws are wanting, may enjoy more happiness in the very marshes of Kamtschatka, in the midst of a dog-kennel, than in the bosom of cities become a prey to anarchy. But, noble Frenchmen, wherefore add to the evils which'men may occasion, those which Nature has not inflicted upon you \ WISHES OF A RECLUSE. 415 The Nation, you say, has been guilty of injustice to you : Why punish yourselves for this ? She has deprived you of your pre- rogatives, but she has not taken away from you her climate,her productions, her arts, her illumination, nor any one of her most valuable possessions. You mean to avenge yourselves for the injuries you have sustained ; your country-seats have been burnt to the ground: Will the burning of villages re-build them for you ? Men of family have been massacred ; Will the slaughter of citizens restore them to life ? Believe no longer the false pro- mises of your orators. Your hostilities will only serve to ag- gravate your distresses, just as your resistance has done. A corps cannot successfully oppose a whole Nation. Do not ima- gine it is in your power to excite civil war in France : there are abundance of patriotic Nobles in the Kingdom to combat the aristocratic Nobility. Are you going besides to take up arms against that Royalty from which your privileges are derived, and against a King who, in compliance with the general wish of France, has sanctioned the Constitution to which you refuse submission ? The second National Assembly has proved the lawfulness of the first. You owe more to your Nation than to your Order; the maxim of the sage Fenelon is not a factious sophism : " A man owes more to his Country than to his Fa- " mily." Will you call in the powers of Europe to attack yours ? They will not espouse your quarrel. First, they do nothing for nothing, and you are without money and without credit. Will you promise them to dismember France in their favour, where you had not the power of maintaining your own ground ? They would be much more afraid of seeing their own subjects adopt- ing the French laws, than they could hope to see France sub- mitting to those of Germany or of Russia. The Revolution would penetrate into their Dominions by means of the very sol- diery employed to subvert it. What temptation could be held out to induce them to enter France r The plunder of Paris. But the frontiers of the Kingdom are hedged round with fortresses, defended by a multitude of regiments and of national guards, »ind there are in the interior a million of armed citizens readv to re-place them. Would those Powers say to their troops, as an inducement to fight in support of foreigners who never did any thing for them : " Go and re-establish the It4 tic village, under the shade of some cocoa-trees, where men Vol. llf. 3 K 442 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. " of different countries were enjoying their repose. A blind 44 man came and joined the company : he had lost his sight by 44 too close a contemplation of the Sun. He had been actuated 44 by the wild ambition of comprehending the nature of that 44 luminary, in order to appropriate his light to himself. He had 44 tried all the methods which optics, chemistry, and even ne- 44 cromancy can supply, to shut updone of his rays in a bottle ; 44 not being able to succeed, he said : The light of the Sun is not 44 a fluid, for it cannot be agitated by the -wind; it is not a solid, '"''for the parts of it cannot be separated; it is not fire, for it is 44 not extinguishable in water; it is not a spirit, as it is visible; " it is not a body, for we cannot handle it; it is not even a moving 44 power, for it agitates not the lightest bodies : it is therefore 44 nothing at all. Finally, by persevering efforts, in contempla- 44 ting the Sun, and reasoning on his light, he at length lost his 44 eye-sight, and what is worse, his reason. He believed that it 44 was not his vision, but the Sun which had no existence in the 44 Universe. He had a negro to lead him about, who having 44 seated his master under the shade of a cocoa-tree, picked up 44 one of it's nuts that lay on the ground, and set.about making 44 a lamp of the shell, a wick of the outer husk, and squeezed a il little oil from the kernel to put into his lamp. While the ; " black man was thus employing himself, his blind master said 44 to him with a sigh : Is there then no such thing as light in 44 the xvorld P Tes, that of the Sun, replied the Negro. What is 44 it you call the Sun, resumed the blind man ? / cannot tell, an- 44 swered the African, all I know is, that his rising is the com- 44 mencement of my labours, and his setting the termiimtion of 14 them. His light interests me less than that of my lamp, 44 -which illuminates my cottage ; without it I should not be able £ " to serve you during the night. Then, holding out his little co- 44 coa-shell, said : There is my Sun. At this part of the conver- 44 sation a man of the village, who walked on crutches, fell a 44 laughing; and believing that the blind man had been so from 44 his birth, said to him : Know that the Sun is a globe of fire 1,4 which rises every day out of the Ocean, and sets every night 44 toward the West, in the mountains of Sumatra. Tou would u see this yourself, as we all do, had you the blessing of sight. ►4 Here a fisherman interposed, and said to the cripple : It is THE COFFEE-HOUSE OF SURAT. 443 ' easy to perceive that you have never travelled far beyond the li- " mits of your village. If you had legs, and could have made the " tour of Sumatra, you must have known that the Sun does not " set in it's mountains : but he issues every morning out of the " Sea, and dips into it again every evening to cool himself; this is 44 what I see every day along the coasts of the island. An inhabi- 44 tant of the Peninsula of India then said to the fisherman: How 44 is it possible for a man of common sense to believe that the Sun is* " a globe of fire, and that he every day issues from the Ocean, and 44 plunges into it at night without extinguishing himself? Learn 44 then that the Sun is a Denta or Divinity of my Country, that 44 he rides every day through the Heavens in a chariot^ turning 44 round the golden mountain of Merowa ; that when he under- " goes an eclipse, it is owing to his being swallowed up by the 44 serpents Ragon and Ketou,from xvhich he is delivered only ky 44 the prayers of the Indians on the banks of the Ganges. It is a 14 very ridiculous ambition for an inhabitant of Sumatra to pre- 44 tend that he shines only on the horizon of his Island; it could 44 have entered into the head only of a man whose navigation has "-been limited to the paddling of a canoe. A Lascar, the mas- 44 ter of a trading vessel that lay at anchor, then spoke to this 14 purpose: It is an ambition still more ridiculous to imagine, 44 that the Sun prefers India to all the countries of the world. J 44 have navigated through the Red Sea, along the Coasts of Ara- 44 bia, to Madagascar, to the Moluccas, and to the Philippim 14 Islands; the Sun enlightens all those countries as well us In- 44 dia. He does not turn round a mountain ; but rises in the 44 Islands of Japan, which are for that reason called Jepon, a 44 Ge-puen, birth of the Sun, and he sets very far to the West, be- 44 hind the Islands of England. I am very sure of it, for I have 44 heard it related by my grandfather, when I was a child, and 44 he had sailed to the very extremities of the Ocean. He was 44 going to proceed, when an English seaman of our ship's com- k4 pany interrupted him thus : There is no country where the 44 course of the Sun is better known than in England: be assured u then that he no where rises or sets. He is incessantly making '■ the circuit of the Globe; and I am perfectly sure of it, fir we 14 have just performed the same round, and have met him where- k4 ever we went. Then taking a ratan from the hand of one. of 444 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. 44 his auditors, he traced a circle on the sand, endeavouring to 44 explain to them the course of the Sun from tropic to tropic; 44 but not being able to make it out, he appealed to the testimo- 44 ny of the pilot of his ship, for the truth of every thing he 44 would have said. This pilot was a wise man, who had heard 44 the whole dispute without interposing a single word ; but 44 when he perceived that all the company kept silence to hear 44 him, he spoke to this effect: Each of you is trying to mislead 44 others, and is himself misled. The Sun does not. turn round tin 44 Earth; it is the Earth which turns round him, presenting in 44 succession, every twenty-four hours, the Islands of Japan, the 44 Philippines, the Moluccas, Sumatra, Africa, Europe, England, 44 and a great many other countries. The Sun shines not for one 44 Mountain only, one Island, one Horizon, one Sea, nor even 44 for one Globe; but he is at the centre of the Universe, from 44 whence he illuminates, together with the Earth, five other Pla- 44 nets which likewise revolve around him, and of which some are 44 much greater than our Globe, and at a much greater distance 44 than it is from the Sun. Such is, among others, Saturn, of 44 30,000 leagues diameter, and at the distance of 2 u 5,000,000 of 44 leagues from the Sun. I say nothing of the Moons which re- 44 fiect on Planets remote from the Sun his light, and are not few 44 in number. Every one of you zvould have an idea of these 44 truths, if he only turned his eyes in the night toward the Hea- 44 vens, and if he had not the ambition of believing that the Sun 44 shines for his oxvn Country only. Thus spake, to the great 44 astonishment of his hearers, the pilot who had steered a ship 44 round the World, and observed the starry Heavens. 44 It is equally true of GOD, continued the disciple of Con- 44fiucius, as of the Sun: every man believes he possesses him 44 exclusively, in his own Chapel, or at least in his own Coun- 44 try. The People of every Nation believe they have enclosed 44 in their temples Him whom the visible Universe cannot con- 44 tain. Is there, however, a Temple once to be compared with 44 that which GOD himself has reared for collecting all mankind 44 into one and the same communion ? All the temples in the 44 World are made only in imitation of that of Nature. We >v find in most of them lavers, holy-water cisterns, columns, 44 arches, lamps, statues, inscriptions, books of the law, sacrifices. THE COFFEE-HOUSE OF SURAT. 445 '" altars and priests. But what Temple contains a cistern so " vast as the Ocean, which is not to be contracted to a shell ? 44 Where do we find columns so beautiful as the trees of the 44 forest, or those of the orchard loaded with fruits ? Where an 44 arch so lofty as the vault of Heaven, and a lamp so bright as 44 the Sun ? Where shall we behold statues so interesting as a 44 multitude of human beings who love each other, assist each 44 other, talk one to another ? Where inscriptions so intelligible, 44 and more religious than the bounties of Nature herself? A 44 book of the Law so universal as the love of GOD founded on 44 a sense of gratitude, and as the love of our fellow-creatures 44 founded on our own interest? What sacrifices more affecting 44 than those of our praises to Him who has given us all things, 44 and of our passions, for the sake of those with whom we are 44 bound to share all that we have? Where, finally, shall we. 44 look for an altar so sacred as the heart of the good man, whose 44 High-Priest is GOD himself? Thus, the farther that man ex- 44 tends the power of Deity, the more nearly will he approach 44 to the knowledge of Him ; and the greater indulgence he 44 shews to men, the more closely will he imitate the Divine 44 goodness. Let him therefore who enjoys the light of GOD 44 diffused over the whole Universe, beware of despising the poor 44 superstitious creature, who perceives only a little ray of it in 44 his idol; or even the Atheist who is totally destitute of it, 44 lest as a punishment of his pride, he should be made to par- 44 take of the fate of that Philosopher, who, attempting to appro- 44 priate to himself the light of the Sun, became blind, and felt 44 himself reduced, in order to find his way, to employ the lamp 44 of a Negro." Thus spake the disciple of Confucius, and all the company in the Coffee-house who had been contending for the excellency of their several Religions^ maintained a profound silence. ADVERTISEMENT TO THE INDIAN COTTAGE. HERE is a little Indian Tale which contains more truths than many volumes of History. I first intended it as a Supple- ment to the relation of a Voyage to the Isle of France, publish- ed in 1773, and which I propose to have reprinted with addi- tions. As I speak there of the Indians which are on that Island, I had formerly the design of annexing to it a picture of* the manners of those of India, from notes abundantly interesting which I had procured for the purpose. I had therefore worked them into an Episode, interwoven with an historical Anecdote, which forms the commencement of it. This took it's rise from an association of English Literati, sent, about thirty years ago, to different parts of the World, to collect information respecting various objects of Science. I have mentioned one of them in particular who came to India to prosecute the research of truth ; but as that Episode formed a digression too disproportionate to the size of my Work, I thought proper to publish it separately. I solemnly declare that I never meant to throw ridicule on Academies, though I have much reason to complain of them, not for any personal offence given me, but from regard to the interests of truth,* which they frequently persecute when it * Science, that Common of the human understanding, is likewise subject- ed to it's aristocracies ; these are the Academies. Of this a judgment may be formed from the conduct of one of their principal members, relatively to my Theory of the Tides. He began by running it down with all his eloquence in private circles; he prohibited the Journals over which the Academies extend their influence, at least those of most diffusive circulation, to admit of any extracts frpm it: Ut: lias even amused himself, I have been told, in his confidential parties. 448 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. happens to clash with their systems. I am besides under too many obligations to several learned Englishmen, who, without knowing me, and purely from a love of Sciences, have honour- ed my Studies of Nature with the most flattering marks of ap- with raising a laugh at my Christian names prefixed to my Studies of Nature, because I have not the honour which he enjoys, of subjoining to my family name, a long list of academical titles. As, in tin. time of tlie old Covern- ment, his name figured in every newspaper, and his person in every great man's ante-chamber, it was easy for him to treat as he pleased a Recluse en- tirely devoted to the Study of Nature; but judging, since the Revolution, that all his supports of credit might no longer furnish mutual aid, and find- ing my labours, notwithstanding all the obstacles which he could throw in the way, graduallv rising in public estimation, he thought proper to alter his conduct with respect to me. He came to pay me a visit last Summer in the country, whither I had gone to pass a few days. He had previously circu- lated a report over the neighbourhood, that I was one of his good and ancient friends. The truth is that I had never spoken to him, and that, with all his celebrity, I did not recollect so much as ever having seen him. He came to the house where I was, and we had a private conversation, from which 1 shall here retrench every thing but what relates to my Theory of the Tides, the secret object of his visit. After a complimentary introduction ; " It is a great pity, Sir," says he, " that you should have advanced, in your Studies of Nature, that the fusion " of the Polar Ices is the cause of the Tides. It is an opinion not to be main- " tained, contrary to that of all the A, aucmies in Europe, and palpably er- " rone"ous."—" You ought, Sir," replied I, " to have refuted it."—" Refute " what, when you have adduced no proofs in support of your Theory ?"— " There are twice as many as Astronomers have adduced in support of " theirs. I could fill \uiumes in quarto were I to collect those only which " 1 have marked in the relations of navigators. Af.er all, I am not without " my proselytes."—" Oh ! no dependence is to be placed on what is said by " certain Journalists, who know nothing of the matter." 1 suspected then that he was going to mention the extract from the English papers, which had been inserted in the Moniteur. " Were there nothing else in my "Theory," said I, "than my geometrical objection to the Academicians, " who, walking in the steps of Newton, huvc fallen into an error, concluding " from tlie magnitude of degrees toward the poles that the Earth was flat- " tened at them, you ought to have replied to it."—" What do you under- " stand by a degree ?" replied he with great warmth.—" That which all " Geometricians understand by it, the 360th part of a circle."—" You have " fallen into the same mistake with Yl. de la Hire, about 130 \ears ago. It " is not by the arch of a circle that a degree is to be measured, but by it's per- " pendicular." A; the same time, in order to demonstrate it to me, he pul- led a bit of chalk from his pocket, and began to trace on the door, a circle, two radii, a chord, tlie sinus, &c. I stopped him, saying :—" You wander " from the question. It is not from tiic perpendicular of the degree of T< r- ADVERTISEMENT 44al, because it is the work of Man only. Truth is beneficial to all men ; error is profitable only to a few, and is injurious to the generality, because individual interest is inimical to the ge- neral, when they come to separate. i Care must be taken not to confound fable with error. Fable is the veil of truth, and error is it's phantom. It was frequently in the view of dissipating this phantom that Fable presented itself to the imagination: nevertheless, however innocent it may be in it's principle, it becomes dangerous when it assumes the principal character of error, that is, when it turns to the pri- vate advantage of certain individuals. For example, it was of little importance that, in the days of old, they converted the Moon, under the name of Diana, into a goddess ever an imma- culate virgin, who presided over hunting. This allegory signi- fied that the light of the Moon was favourable to huntsmen, for spreading their toils to entrap the game, and that the sports of the field were unfavourable to the passion of love. There was no great harm done when they dedicated to her the pine-tree* in tbe forests; that tree became a rendezvous for the followers of the chase. The mischief was not even yet become formida- * The oak was in like manner dedicated to Jupiter, the olive-tree to Miner- va, the pine to Pan, the laurel to Apollo, the myrtle to Venus, &c........Trees were likewise consecrated to demi-gods and heroes : the poplar was the tree of Hercules. Finally, nymphs, shepherds, shepherdesses, shared what was left of the vegetable creation : the jealous Clytia gave her yellowness and attitude to the sun-flower ; Adonis stained with his blooel the flower which bears his name ; and so of the rest. Plants, and especially trees, were the earliest monuments of mankind. I have accordingly made two cocoa-trees, to serve, in the Isle of France, as monuments of the birth of Paul and Virginia, without taking that idea from a celebrated modern poet, who has complain- ed of it without reason ; he is sufficiently rich in ideas of his own to admit of one's borrowing from him ; but if that idea were not in Nature, I could like him have found it in the ancients, his models. It is very common among botanists, who determine by new plants tlie epochs of friendship and gratitude, by giving them the names of their patrons and favourites. In a word, astro- nomers have extended this sentiment to the stars ; and navigators to the countries, rivers, and islands which they discover, and on which they impose the names of the saints, the kings, the commanders, the events, the conquests and the massacres of which they mean to preserve the recollection. While most of tlie objects of the Barth anelof the He-avens serve as monuments to the passions of men, and frequently to their frenzies, why might not 1 be indulged the thought of consecrating two trees in a wilderness to innocence and ma ■?rn:d affection' 456 SEQUEL TO THL STUDIES OF NATURE. ble, when a huntsman, to secure the protection of Diaiuz, sus- pended on her tree the head of a wolf. But when the whole skin was displayed on it, persons appeared who had sufficient ingenuity to turn it to some good account; they built a chapel for the Goddess, where they offered not only a wolf's skin, but sheep likewise, as a security to the rest of the flock from the jaws of the wolf. Offerings multiplied when the head of some tremen- dous wild boar was exhibited in triumph, which had been ra- vaging the vineyards, and collected at his heels all the dogs and the youth of the vicinity. The huntsmen attracted pilgrims to the spot, and the pilgrims allured merchants. A town was speedily formed around the chapel, which, resorted to by so many credulous persons, did not remain long without it's ora- cles. As victories were predicted there, Kings sent thither magnificent presents ; then the Chapel grew into a Church, and the Town into a City, which had it's Pontiffs, it's Magistrates, it's Domains. By and by imposts were levied on the People, for building superb Temples like that of Ephesus; and as fear has still greater power over the human mind than confidence, in order to clothe the worship of Diana with terror, human sacrifi- ces were offered up to her in Tauris. Thus contributed to the misery of the human race an allegory imagined to promote the happiness of Man, because it was perverted to the particular pro- fit of a City or of a Temple. Truth itself is fatal to mankind when it becomes the patrimo- ny of one tribe. There is undoubtedly an inconceivable dis- tance between the tolerance of the Gospel and the intolerance of the Inquisition ; between the precept given by Jesus Christ to his Apostles, to shake the dust off their feet before houses which refused to admit them, and between the displeasure which he expressed when solicited to call down fire from Heaven ; the extermination of the ancient Indians of America, or the burning piles of an Autojjja-fc. There is in the gallery of the Thuilleries, on the right as you enter the gardens, an Ionic column, which the celebrated Blon- del, Professor of Architecture, pointed out to his pupils as a per- fect model; he made them observe that all those which follow- ed it, progressively diminished in beauty. The first, said he, is the production of a famous sculptor, and the others have been ADVERTISEMENT. 45' ^uccessively copied by artists who deviated from his graces and proportions in the ratio of the distance. The person who has attempted the second, made a tolerable imitation of the first, but he who produced the third, copied the second only: thus, from copy to copy, the last falls very far below the original. I have many a time compared the Gospel to that beautiful pillar of the Thuilleries, and the works of ancient Commentators, to those of the other columns of the gallery. But were we to pur- sue the series down to the Commentators of our own days, what formless columns would their volumes present! And who, amidst the storms which assail human life, durst venture to lean upon them ! As truth is a ray of heavenly light, it will always shine for all mankind, provided a tax is not laid on their windows; but, in every department, how many corps founded expressly to pro- pagate it, from the very circumstance of it's being perverted into a private benefit, substitute in it's place the light of their own tapers or lanterns ! They quickly go so far, when they have powers, as to persecute those who find it; and when they have not, oppose to them an inert power which disables them to dif- fuse it: this is the reason that those who love the truth fre- quently retire from men and cities. Such is the truth which I mean to exhibit in the following little Work. Happy if I shall be able to contribute, in my own Country, to the happiness of a single unfortunate wretch, by painting that of an Indian Paria in his cottage. It belongs to you only, august Assembly of the Representa- tives of France, to do good to all mankind, by levelling the bar- riers which obstruct the progress of truth, as it is the source of every blessing, and is diffused over the face of the whole Earth. Rome and Athens defended only their liberty. Modern Na- tions have aimed at the extension merely of their Religion and their Commerce. All have oppressed the Universe ; you alone have defended it's rights by sacrificing your own privileges: Mankind will one day take an interest in your felicity, as you bave interested yourselves in their destiny. May the virtuous Monarch who has called you together, and sanctioned your im- portant labours, ever partake of the glory of them! His name Vol. III. 3 M 458 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. will be immortal as your laws. Ancient nations fixed then principal epocha from some circumstance that materially affected their pleasures, their power, or their liberty. The Greeks, so fond of festivity, from their Olympiads ; the Romans so patri- otic, from the building of Rome ; oppressed people dated from the era of their religion : but the nations whom you are recall- ing to the felicity destined for them by Nature, will date the Rights of Man, as old as the creation, from the reign of Louis XVI. THE INDIAN COTTAGE. A SOCIETY of intelligent Englishmen was formed at London about thirty years ago, the object of which was to pro- secute scientific research, in various parts of the World, for the purpose of promoting the illumination and the happiness of mankind. The expense was to be defrayed by subscription, and the list presented persons of every description in the Na- tion, Merchants, Lords, Bishops, Universities, and the Royal Family of England ; to which several of the sovereigns of Nor- thern Europe likewise added their names. The ingenious tra- vellers engaged in this service were twenty in number, and the Royal Society of London had given to each of them a volume containing a statement of the questions, the solution of which was to be the end kept in view. These questions amounted to the number 3500. Though they all differed relatively to each of the learned men employed, and were adapted to the countries through which each was to travel, they all had a mutual relation, so that the light diffused over one must necessarily tend to the elucidation of all the others. The President of the Royal Society, who, with the aid of his associates, had digested them, felt com- pletely that the solution of one difficulty frequently depends on the successful investigation of another, and this last on one which preceded it; which, in an inquiry after truth, carries us much farther than is generally imagined. In a word, to avail myself of the expressions employed by the President himself, in deli- vering his instructions, it was the most superb encyclopedical structure ever reared by any Nation to the progress of human knowledge ; a full proof, added he, of the necessity of academic associations, in order to reduce to system the truths dispersed over the face of the whole Earth. 460 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. Each of these learned travellers had besides his volume oi questions to be resolved, a commission to purchase, in the course of his progress, the most ancient copies of the Bible, and the most curious manuscripts of every description, or at least to spare no cost in procuring good copies of them. For this pur- pose the subscribers had furnished all of them with letters of recommendation to the Consuls, Ministers and Ambassadors of Great Britain, with whom they might come in contact; and what is still better, with good bills of exchange, endorsed by the . most eminent Bankers of London. The Doctor of the highest reputation for learning, who un- derstood Hebrew, Arabic, and the Hindoo Language, was sent over land to the East Indies, the cradle of all the Arts and Sciences. He began his tour by crossing over into Holland, and visited successively the Synagogue at Amsterdam, and the Synod of Dort; in France, the Sorbonne and Academy of Sci- ences at Paris ; in Italy, a variety of Academies, Museums and Libraries, among others, the Museum of Florence, the Library of Saint Mark at Venice, and that of the Vatican at Rome. Being in this last City, he hesitated whether, before he direct- ed his course Eastward, he should go into Spain to consult the famous University of Salamanca ; but, under terror of the In- quisition, he thought proper to embark directly for Turkey. He arrived accordingly at Constantinople, where, by dint of money, he prevailed with an Essendi to grant him access to consult even all the books of the Mosque of Sainte-Sophia. From thence he passed into Egypt to converse with the Cophts ; he then visited the Maronites of Mount Lebanon, the Monks of Mount Cassin; thence to Sana in Arabia ; afterwards to Ispa- han, to Kandabar, Delhi, Agra : Finally, after a peregrination of three years, he arrived on the banks of the Ganges at Be- nares, the Athens of India, where he held frequent conferences with the Bramins. His collection of ancient editions of origi- nal books, of rare manuscripts, of copies, of extracts and an- notations on every subject, was now much larger than ever had been made by any one individual. Let it suffice to say, that it composed fourscore and ten bales, weighing together nine thousand five hundred and forty pounds troy weight. He was on the point of embarking for London with this precious cargo THE INDIAN COTTAGE. 461 "t illumination, transported with joy at the thought of having surpassed the expectation of the Royal Society, when a very simple reflection occurred, and overwhelmed him with vex- ation. He considered that, after having conferred with Jewish Rab- bins, Protestant Ministers, Supc 1intendants of Lutheran Church- es, Catholic Doctors, the Academicians of Paris, of La Crusca, of the Arcadi, and of the other twenty-four celebrated Acade- mies of Italy, the Greek Papas, the Turkish Molhas, the Ar- menian Verbiests, the Persian Seydres and Casis, the Arabian Scheiks, the ancient Parsis, the Indian Pandects, far from hav- ing elucidated any one of the 3500 questions proposed by the Royal Society, he had contributed only to multiply doubts on the several subjects ; and as they were all linked together, it followed, directly contrary to what the illustrious President had suggested, that the obscurity of one solution perplexed the evi- dence of another, that the clearest truths had been rendered al- together problematical, and that it was even impossible to dis- entangle any one out of that vast labyrinth of •contradictory an- swers and authorities. The Doctor caught this at a single glance. Among those questions, two hundred referred to the theology of the He- brews ; four hundred and fourscore to the different Commu- nions of the Greek and Roman Churches ; three hundred and twelve to the ancient Religion of the Bramins ; five hundred and eight to the Schanscrit or Sacred Language ; three to the existing state of the People of India ; two hundred and eleven to the Trade of the English with the East-Indies ; seven hun- dred and twenty-nine to the ancient Monuments of the Islands of Elephanta and Salsette, in the vicinity of Bombay ; five to the Antiquity of the World ; six hundred and seventy-three to the Origin of Ambergrise, and the properties of the different spe- cies of Bczoards ; one to the hitherto unexplored cause of the Current of the Indian Ocean, which flows for six months to- ward the East and six toward the West; and three hundred and seventy-eight to the Sources and the periodical Inundations of the Ganges. This furnished the Doctor with an opportuni- ty of collecting, by the way, all the information he could, re- specting the Sources and the Inundations of the Nile, a subject 462 SEQUEL TO THE STUmr.S OF NATURE. which has for so many ages engaged the researches of the Eu- ropean literati. But he looked on this as already sufficiendy discussed, and at the same time as foreign to his mission. Now, on each of the questions proposed by the Royal Society, he pro- cured, one with another, five different solutions, which, for the whole 3500, amounted to 17500 answers: and on the supposi- tion that each of his nineteen colleagues should produce a like number, it followed, that the Royal Society would have about 350,000 difficulties to solve before they were able to establish any one truth on a solid foundation. Thus the aggregate of their collections, so far from directing every particular proposi- tion toward a common centre, conformably to the instructions given, on the contrary produced a divergence, which excluded all possibility of approximation. Another reflection gave the learned Gentleman still greater uneasiness: namely this, That though he had employed, in his laborious researches, all the phlegm of his Country, and a politeness peculiar to himself, he had made implacable enemies in most of the Doctors with whom he had argued. " What then," said he, " will become " of the tranquil expectations of my countrymen, when I have " brought back to them, in my fourscore and ten bales, instead " of truth, new subjects of doubt and disputation ?" He was on the point of embarkation for England, oppressed with perplexity and chagrin, when the Bramins of Benares in- formed him that the superior Bramin of the famous Pagoda.of Jagrenat, or Jagernat situated on the Coast of Orixa, by the sea-shore, near one of the mouths of the Ganges, was the only person capable of resolving all the questions stated by the Roy- al Society of London. He was universally acknowledged to be the most accomplished Pandect, or Doctor, ever heard of: he was resorted to for advice from every region of India, and from many kingdoms of Asia. The learned Englishman immediately set out for Calcutta, and addressed himself to the Governor-General under the Eng- lish East-India Company, who, for the honour of his Nation, and the glory of the Sciences, provided him, for his journey to Jagrenat, with a Palanquin shaded by an awning of crimson silk with gold tassels, with two relays of stout couli.s, eff bearers, of four men each; two porters; a water-carrier ; another with gar- THE INDIAN COTTAGE. 463 goulette to refresh him ; a pipe-bearer; a parasol-holder, to screen him from the Sun by day; a masalchi, or torch-bearer, for the night; a wood hewer; two cooks ; two camels,and their drivers, to carry his provisions and baggage ; two pious, or running footmen, to announce his approach ; four sepoys, or reispoutos, mounted on Persian horses, to escort him ; and a standard-bearer displaying a flag emblazoned with the arms of England. The Doctor, with this splendid retinue, might have passed for a Writer to the East-India Company. There was however this difference between them, that the Doctor, instead of going in quest of presents, was entrusted with the distribution of some. As no one appears in India empty handed before per- sons of consequence, the Governor had him given, at the ex- pense of the Nation, a fine telescope, and a Persian carpet for the Chief of the Bramins ; some magnificent shawls for his wife ; and three pieces of Chinese taffeta, red, white and yellow, to* make scarfs for his disciples. The presents being put up among the other furniture of the camels, the Doctor set out in his palanquin with the book of the Royal Society in his hand. As he travelled along, he meditated how he should open the conference with the Chief of the Bramins of Jagrenat; whether he ought to begin with one of the 378 questions which related to the Sources of the Inundations of the Ganges ; or with that which led to the discussion of the alternate and half-yearly cur- rent of the seas of India, which might serve toward a discovery of the sources and periodical movements of the Ocean ail over the Globe: but though this question affected the Science of Ph) - sics, infinitely more than all those which had undergone discus- sion during so many ages, respecting the sources and tlie over- flowing of the Nile, it had not yet attracted the attention of the European Literati. He gave the preference therefore, in the order of consulting the Bramin, to the question relative to the universality of the deluge, which has excited such violent con- tention; or, retiring to a still more remote antiquity, the inqui- ry into the truth of the Sun's having several times changed hir course, rising in theA^est, and setting toward the East; con- formably to the tr^Hbns of the Egyptian Priests, detailed by Herodotus ; and evWn respecting the epoch of the Creation of the Earth, to which the Indians ascribe an antiquity of several 464 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURL. millions of years. Sometimes he thought it would be more to the purpose to obtain his opinion concerning the best form of Government which a Nation could adopt, and even concerning the Rights of Man, of which there is no Code any where exist- ing ; but these last questions were not in his book. Meanwhile, said the Doctor, before every thing else, I think it would be proper to demand of the Indian Pandect, by what means truth is to be found ; for if it be by the exercise of rea- son, the mode which I have hitherto employed, reason varies all the world over : I must likewise demand where truth is to be sought for ; because if we are referred to books, they are all full of mutual contradictions ; and, finally, whether truth ought to be communicated to mankind ; for no sooner have we made it known to men than we find ourselves embroiled with them. Here then are three preliminary questions which did not occur to our illustrious President. If the Bramin of Jagrenat can give me the solution of these, I shall have the key of all the Sciences, and, wha^ is still better, I shall live in peace with all the world. Such were the Doctor's private meditations. After travel- ling ten days he arrived on the Coast of the Gulf of Bengal; he met, as he proceeded, great numbers of people returning from Jagrenat, quite enchanted with the wisdom of the Chief of the Pandects, whom they had been consulting. On the eleventh day, at Sun, rising, he perceived the famous Pagoda of Jagre- nat, built on the shore of the Sea, over which it seemed to ex- ercise dominion, with it's enormous red walls and galleries, it's clomps and it's turrets of white marble. It rose in the centre of nine avenues of ever-green trees, diverging toward the like num- ber of Kingdoms. Each of these avenues is formed of a dif- ferent species of tree; of the arec-bearing palm, of the teak- wood tree, the cocoa, the manguier, the latanier, the camphire, the bamboo, the badamier, the sandal; and they lead toward Ceylon, Golconda, Arabia, Persia, Thibet, China, the King- dom of Ava, of Siam, and the islarkls. of the Indian Ocean. The doctor reached the Pagoda by th^avenue of bamboos, which skirts the Ganges and the deliciotiHfcts which decorate it's flux into the Sea. This edifice, thougTi reared in the mid- He of a plain, is so lofty,"that though he came within sight Of THE INDIAN COTTAGE. 465 it at the dawn of the morning, it was almost night before he got within the precincts. He was struck with admiration, on taking a nearer view of it's magnificence and magnitude. The gates of brass reflected with a dazzling lustre the rays of the setting Sun ; and the eagles hovered round it's summit, which was lost in the clouds. It was surrounded by vast basons of white marble, which from the bottom of their transparent wa- ters sent back to the delighted eye, it's domes, it's galleries, and it's gates: these were again enclosed by immense courts, and gardens embellished with superb structures for the accommo- dation of the Bramins on duty in the Temple. The Doctor's pions hastened to announce his approach, and immediately a company of young bayaderes issued from one of the gardens, and advanced to meet him singing and dancing to the music of the tabour. Their necks were adorned with fes- toons of the mougris-dower, and their waists with girdles com- posed of wreaths of the frangipanier. The Doctor, encircled by their perfumes, their dances, and their music, proceeded up to the gate of the Pagoda, at the farther extremity of which he perceived by the light of many lamps of gold and silver the statue of Jagrenat, the seventh incarnation of Brama, in form of a pyramid, without feet and hands, which he had lost in attempt- ing to carry the World, in order to save it.* In his presence lay prostrated, with their faces to the earth, a number of peni- tents, some of whom promised aloud to have themselves hook- ed by the shoulders to his car, on the anniversary of his festival, and others, to crush themselves under it's wheels. Though the sight of those fanatics, who uttered deep groanings as they pronounced their horrible vows, inspired a degree of terror, the Doctor was preparing to enter the Pagoda, when an aged Bra- min who guarded the door, stopped him short and commanded him to declare the intention of his visit. Being informed, he said to the Doctor: " That considering his quality of frangui, " or impure, he could not be presented either before Jagrenat or " his High-priest, till he had washed thrice in one of the lavers " of the Temple, and till he was stripped of every thing which " had ever belonged to any animal; but especially of cow's-hair, * Consult Aircfier. Vol. III. 3 N 466 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. " because she is an object of adoration to the : ramins ; and of ^ swine's hair, because she is an abomination to them." " What " is to be done then," replied the Doctor ? " I bring as a pre- " sent to the Chief of the B ramins, a Persian carpet, made of '* the goats-hair of Angora, and Chinese stuffs which are of " silk." " All things," resumed the Bramin, " offered in the '* temple of Jagrenat, or presented to his High-Priest, are puri- a fled by the gift itself; but the same thing cannot be admitted " as to your clothes." The Doctor was under the necessity, therefore of parting with his coat of English wool, his goat-skin pumps, and his beaver hat; after which he underwent the cere- mony of ablution three times, by the hands of the old Bramin, who then dressed him in cotton, of the colour of sandal-wood, and conducted him to the door of the apartment of the principal Bramin. The Doctor was going to step in, having under his arm the book of questions prepared by the Royal Society, when his Master of the Ceremonies demanded, what the covering of that book was made of. " It is bound in calf," answered the Doctor. "How!" exclaimed the iiramin, in a transport of wrath, " Did not I warn you that the heifer is worshipped by " the bramins ? and darest thou present thyself before their " Chief with a book bound in calf-skin!" The Doctor would have been obliged to undergo a purification in the Ganges, had he not smoothed the difficulty, by administering a few pagodas, or pieces of gold, to his introducer. He left then the book of questions in his palanquin ; consoling himself with this reflec- tion : l' When all is done, I have only three questions to put to " this Indian Doctor. I shall be perfectly satisfied if he inform " me, by what means truth is to be discovered; where it is to be u found ; and whether it ought to be communicated to man- " kind:" The old Bramin then introduced the English Doctor, array- ed in sandal-coloured calico, bare-headed and bare-footed, to the High-priest of Jagrenat, into a vast saloon supported by co- lumns of sandal wood. The walls of it were green, being lined with stucco mixed with cow-dung, so smooth and brought to such a polish that you might see your face reflected. The floor was covered with very fine mats, six feet long, and as many broad. At the extremity of the hall was an alcove, enclosed^ THE INDIAN COTTAGE, 467 with a balustrade of ebony; in this recess, on a gentle elevation, you had a half view, through a lattice of Indian cane of a red- dish varnish, of the venerable Chief of the Pandects, with his white beard, and three threads of cotton passed over his shoul- der like a belt, after the manner of the Bramins. He was seat- ed. on a yellow carpet, with his legs crossed, in a state so com- pletely immovable that his very eyes seemed motionless. Some of his disciples were driving away the flies which disturbed him, with fans composed of the feathers of the peacock's tail; others were burning in censers of silver, perfumes of the wood of aloes ; and others were playing a most exquisite music on the dulcimer: the rest, to a very great number, among whom were faquirs, joguis and santons, were arranged in several row3 on both sides of the hall, in profound silence, with eyes fixed on the ground, and arms crossed on the breast. The Doctor was going, without farther ceremony, to advance up to the chief of the Pandects, to deliver his complimentary address ; but his conductor kept him*£>ack nine mats off; telling him that the Omrahs, or great Lords of India, were not permit- led a nearer approach ; that the Rajahs, or Sovereigns, went no farther than to the sixth mat; the Princes, the sons of the Mo- gul Emperor, to the third ; and that no one, the grand Mogul himself excepted, was allowed the honour of coming into con- tact with the venerable Chief, to kiss his feet. Several Bramins, meanwhile, carried up to the bottom of the alcove, the telescope, the shawls, the pieces of silk and tapestry, which the Doctor's attendants had deposited at the door of the saloon; and the old Bramin having cast his eyes over them, without expressing the slightest mark of approbation, they were removed into the interior of the apartments. The English Doctor prepared to utter a fine florid harangue in the Hindoo language; when his guide prevented him by say- ing he must wait till the High-priest thought proper to open the conference. He accordingly made him sit down on his heels, with legs across like a tailor, according to the fashion of the country. The Doctor murmured within himself at so many formalities; but what will a man not undergo for the sake of finding truth, after brtving travelled to India in quest of it! 468 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. As soon as the Doctor was seated, the music ceased ; and af- ter some moments of profound silence, the Chief of the Pan- dects caused this question to be proposed : " What has brought " you to Jagrenat.'" Though the High-priest of Jagrenat had expressed himself with sufficient distinctness in the Hindoo tongue, so as to be heard by part of the Assembly, his words were transmitted by a faquir, who conveyed them to a second, and this second to a third, who delivered them to the Doctor. His reply was given in the same language ; and to this effect : " That he had come " to Jagrenat to consult the Chief of the Bramins, on the faith " of his high reputation, respecting the best means of acquiring " the knowledge of truth." The Doctor's answer was conveyed through the medium of the same speakers who had been charged with the question ; and the remainder of the dialogue was conducted in like man- ner. The ancient Chief of the Pandects, after a short pause of re- collection, replied : " Truth is to be known only through the " medium of the Bramins." On this the whole Assembly bowed the head, in admiration of the answer given by their Chief. " Where is truth to be sought," retorted the English Doctor with considerable vivacity ? " All truth," answered the aged Indian Doctor, " Is comprized in the four Beths, written a hun- " dred and twenty thousand years ago in the Schanscrit lan- " guage» which the Bramins alone understand." On his pronouncing these words, the hall resounded with bursts of applause. The Doctor then recovering his temper, said to the High- priest of Jagrenat: " As God has shut up all truth in books " known only to the Bramins, it must follow then, that God has " excluded from this knowledge the greatest part of mankind, " who donot know that such a being as a Bramin exists: now, u were it so, God would be unjust." " Such is the will of Brama," replied the High-priest. " No " resistance can be made to the will of brama." The shouts of applause redoubled. When the noise ceased, the Englishman proposed his third question: " Ought truth to be communicated ;< to mankind r" THE INDIAN COTTAGE. 469 " In many cases," said the old Pandect, " prudence requires " it to be concealed from the rest of mankind, but it is an in- " dispensable duty to disclose it to the Bramins." " What!" exclaimed the English Doctor, in a rage, " Must " the truth be disclosed to Bramins who never disclose it to any " one ? Verily the Bramins are guilty of the grossest injustice." No sooner had he uttered these words than a dreadful flame kindled in the Assembly. They had heard, without one ex- pression of displeasure, God taxed with injustice ; but the case was very different when that censure pointed to themselves. The Pandects, the Faquirs, the Santons, the Joguis, the Bra- mins and their pupils were going to argue all in a breath with the English Doctor: but the High-priest of Jagrenat put an end to the tumult, by clapping his hands together, and saying in a very distinct voice : " Bramins enter into no disputation, " like the Doctors of Europe." Then rising up he retired, amidst the acclamations of the whole multitude, who murmur- ed aloud against the Doctor, and would perhaps have handled him roughly, had it not been for fear of the English, whose in- fluence is irresistible on the banks of the Ganges. The Doctor having withdrawn from the saloon, his conductor said to him : " Our venerable father would have given orders to present you " with sherbet, betel and perfumes, according to custom ; but " you have offended him." " I am the person injured," replied the Doctor, " to have travelled so far for no purpose whatever! " But of what, pray, does your chief pretend to complain?" " How !" replied his guide, " you presume to dispute with him! " know you not that he is the Oracle of India, and that every " word he speaks is a ray of intellectual light ?" " It is impos- " sible to entertain the slightest doubt of it," said the Doctor, resuming his coat, shoes and hat. The weather had become boisterous, and night was coming on ; he requested permission to pass it in one of the apartments of the Pagoda : but was told he could not sleep there, as being a Frangui. The ceremony having fatigued him very much, he begged to have something to drink. They brought him a little water in an earthen vessel, which was broken to pieces the moment he had finished his draught, because, being a Frangui, he had polluted it by his touch. Upon this the Doctor, extremely nettled, called for hi« ITU SEQUEL TO THE STlTnTF.fr OF NATURE. attendants, who lay prostrate in adoration on the steps of the Pagoda; and springing into his palanquin, took the road again through the avenue of bamboos, along the shore of the Sea, as night was setting in, and under a lowering sky. He said within himself, while he trudged on: " The Indian proverb is founded in " truth : Every European coming to India learns patience if he l( has it not, and loses it if he has. For my part,' I have lost " mine. What, shall I never be able to discover by what means " truth is to be found, where it is to be sought, and whether it " ought to be communicated to mankind! Man is condemned, " then, all the world over to error and strife : I have succeeded " wonderfully in travelling to India to consult the Bramins!" While the Doctor thus mused in his palanquin, he was over- taken by one of those tempests which in India they call a typhon. The wind blew from the Sea, and driving the waters of the Ganges furiously up it's channel, dashed the foaming billow3 over the islands which guard it's entrance. It raised along their shores columns of sand, and from their forests clouds of leaves, which it hurled across the river and over the plains, to the ut- most height of the atmosphere. At intervals it attacked the alley of bamboos, and though these Indian reeds are as tall as the loftiest trees, tossed them ;:bout like the grass of the meadow- Through a tempest of dust and leaves appeared the lengthening avenue in a state of undulation, on one side levelled to the ground, on the other raised aloft with a hollow murmuring noise. The Doctor's retinue, under mortal apprehension of being swept away by the storm, or swallowed up by the waves of the Ganges^ which already overflowed it's banks, directed their course across the fields, as chance led the way, toward the neighbouring heights. They were at length involved in the shades of night, and travelled on for three hours in profound darkness, not knowing whither they went, when a flash of lightning bursting from the clouds, and illuminating the whole horizon, discover- ed at a considerable distance on the right, the Pagoda of Jagre- nat, the islands of the Ganges, the enraged Ocean, and close by in front, a narrow valley and a wood between two little hills. Thither they fled for shelter, and now the thunder was roaring tremendously, when they reached the entrance of the valley. It was skirted by rocks, and filled with aged troes of a prodigious THE INDIAN COTTAGE. 471 size. Though the tempest tore their summits with a fearful noise, their enormous trunks remained immovable as the rocks which surrounded them. This ancient forest appeared to be the destined asylum of languid Nature, but it was no easy mat- ter to penetrate into it. Ratans winding along it's skirts cover- ed the roots of those trees, and liannes interwoven from trunk to trunk, presented on every side a rampart of foliage through which caverns of verdure were visible, but which discovered no outlet. The Reispoutes however having opened a passage with their sabres, the whole suit entered with the palanquin. Thev imagined they should here be under cover from the storm, but the rain which fell in torrents formed a thousand cascades around them. In this perplexity, they perceived under the trees, in th? narrowest part of the valley, a light and a cottage. The masal- chi ran thither to light his flambeau ; but returned hastily a few moments after, panting for breath and calling aloud: " Come " not this way; here is a Paria." Immediately the terrified company joined in the cry of " a Paria! a Paria!" The Doc- tor, supposing it to be some ferocious beast of prey, laid hold of his pistols. " What is a Paria ?" says he to his torch-bearer. " A man,'" replied the other, " faithless and lawless." tk He '* is an Indian," added the Chief of the Reispoutes, " of a cast " so/infamous, that you are at liberty to kill him if he so much " as touches you. Should we enter his habitation, we durst not " for nine Moons set foot in any Pagoda ; and in order to be " cleansed from the pollution we must bathe nine times in the " Ganges, and have ourselves washed as often from head to foot '* with cow's urine by the hand of a Bramin." All the Indians exclaimed together : " We will not enter the abode of a Paria." " How did you know," said the Doctor to his torch-bearer, " that your countryman was a Paria, in other words, a wretch " faithless and lawless ?" " Because," replied the torch-bearer, " when I opened the door of his hut, I saw him squatted close " by his dog on the same mat with his wife, to whom he was " presenting drink in a cow's horn." All the persons of the Doctor's retinue repeated aloud : " We will not enter the door " of a Paria." " Remain where you are, if you will," said the Englishman ; " for my part, all the castes of India are the same " thing to me, when shelter from foul weather is the object/1 472 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE- In pronouncing these words he sprung from his palanquin, and taking his book of questions and night-bag under his arm, and his pistols and pipe in his hand, he advanced alone to the door of the cottage. Scarcely had he knocked, when a man of a very gentle physiognomy opened it to him, and instant- ly retreated, saying, " Noble Sir, I am only a wretched Paria, " unworthy to receive such a guest; but if you will condescend " to take shelter under my roof, I shall consider myself as very " highly honoured." " Brother," replied the Englishman, " I " accept your hospitable offer with much thankfulness." The Paria at the same instant went out with a lighted torch in his hand, a load of dry wood on his back, and a basket filled with cocoa-nuts and bananas under his arm ; he approached the per- sons who composed the Doctor's train, who were at some dis- tance under a tree, and said to them : " As you will not do me " the honour of entering my habitation, here is some fruit in " the outer case, which you may eat without being defiled, and " here is firing to dry your clothes and guard you from the ti- " gers. May God watch over you !" He immediately return- ed to his hut, and thus addressed the Doctor : u Permit me to " repeat, Sir, that I am only a miserable Paria; but as I " perceive, from your fair complexion and your dress, that you " are not an Indian, I flatter myself you will feel no reluctance " to partake of the humble fare which your poor servant has " to set before you." At the same time he placed on the ground upon a mat, mangoes, cream-apples, yams, potatoes roasted on the embers, grilled bananas, and a pot of rice dressed with su- gar and the milk of the cocoa-nut ; he then retired to his own mat and sat down by his wife and their child, who lay fast a- sleep in a cradle by her side. " Virtuous man," said the Eng- lishman, " you are greatly my superior, seeing you do good to " them who despise you. Unless you honour me with your " company on the same mat which I occupy, I must conclude " that you consider me as a bad man, and I shall instantly leave " your cottage, were I sure of being drowned by the rain or " devoured by tigers." The Paria sat down on the same mat with his guest, and both began to eat. The Doctor had the additional pleasure of find- ing himself completely sheltered and secure in the midst of a THE INDIAN COTTAQE. 473 storm. The cottage was unassailable: besides it's being situ- ated in the narrowest part of the vallev, it was bul't under a xuaar tree, or banyan fig, the branches of which striking bunches of roots from their extremities, form so many arcades which support the principal trunk. The foliage of this tree was so thick that not a single drop of rain could penetrate it ;• and though the tempest was heard roaring, with frequent loud peals of thunder, neither the smoke ascending from the hearth, and escaping through an aperture in the roof, nor the flame of the lamp, were disturbed in the least. The Doctor contemplated with admiration the composure of the Ind'n.n and of his wife, still more placid than elementary tranquillity. The infant, black % # and polished like ebony, was asleep in his cradle : the mother rocked it with her foot, while she amused herself in making him a necklace of red and black Angola pease. The father cast looks expressive of tenderness alternately on the one and on the other. In a word, all, down to the very dog, participated in the common felicity; stretched along with the cat by the fire-side, he from time to time half-opened his eyes, sighing as he looked at his master. As soon as the Englishman had finished his meal, the Paria presented him with a live coal to light his pipe, and having like- wise lighted his own, he made a sign to his wife, who placed on ' * the mat two cups made of cocoa-nut shell, and a large calabash full of punch, which she had mingled during the repast, of wa- ter, arrack, lemon juice, and that of the sugar-cane. As they smoked and drank by turns, the Doctor said to the Indian: " I believe you to be one of the happiest men I ever a met with, and consequently one of the wisest. Permit me " to ask you a few questions. How can you command such " perfect calmness in the midst of a storm so tremendous? You ;t are nevertheless under covert only of a tree, and trees attract " the thunder." " Thunder," replied the Paria, " never yet " fell on a banyan fig-tree." " That is something very extra- " ordinary," said the Doctor, " the tree then must undoubted- " ly possess a negative electricity like the laurel." " I do not " comprehend your meaning," answered the Paria, " but my " wife believes it is because the God Brama took shelter one u day under it's leaves; for my own part, I think that GOD, Vol. III. 3 O 474 SLQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURL. " in these tempestuous climates^ having bestowed on the ban- " yan fig-tree a very thick foliage, .and arcades to serve as a u shelter to men from the storm, has likewise been pleased to " render it thunder-proof." " Your reply is a very religious " one," said the Doctor. " It is your confidence, in God then " that tranquillizes your mind. Conscience inspires fortitude " far better than science can. Tell me, I pray, of what sect you " are ; it is impossible you should be of any of those of India, " as no Indian will hold any communication with you. In the " list of intelligent castes whom I was to consult in my pro- " gress, I find no mention made of the Parias. In what nation " of India is vour Pagoda?" u Every where," replied the Pa- ria : " Nature is ray Pagoda. I adore her Author at the rising # , " of the Sun, and pour out my heart in gratitude when he " sets. Instructed by calamity, I never refuse assistance to " one more wretched than myself. I endeavour to render " my wife and child happy, nay my very cat and dog. I look " forward to death at the close of life, as to a gentle sleep when " the labour of the day is over." " From what book," de- manded the Doctor, " have you imbibed these principles ?" il From that of Nature," answered the Paria ; " I know no % " other." " A grand volume indeed!" said the Englishman: " but who taught you to read in it?" " Calamity," replied the Paria: " being of a caste reputed infamous in my own country, * " incapable of attaining the rank of Indian, I made an effort to " become a man ; repelled by society, I took refuge in Nature." *' But you must have had at least a few books to relieve your u solitude," said the Doctor. " Not one ;" returned the Paria, ■' I cannot even read or write." " You have saved yourself *c many a doubt," said the Doctor, rubbing his forehead : " for my *' own part, I have been sent from England, my native country^ " to search for truth among the intelligent of many nations, in u the view of promoting the illumination and the happiness of " mankind; but after many a vain research, and many a serious " disputation, I have been forced to conclude that the investiga- a tion of truth is a folly, because, supposing it found, a man " does not know to whom he should tell it, without stirring up a a host of foes against himself. Tell me sincerely, do not you '* think as I do ?" " Though I be but a poor ignorant creature,'1 l HE INDIAN COTTAGE, 475 answered the Paria, " since ycJL condescend to ask my opinion, " I consider every man as laid under an obligation to search af- " ter truth, for the sake of his individual happiness; other- " wise, he will be a miser, ambitious, superstitious, mischiev- " ous, nay a cannibal, according to the prejudices or the inter- " ests of the persons who may have brought him up." The Doctor, who never lost sight of the three questions which he had proposed to the Chief of the Pandects, was de- lighted with the Paria's reply. " Since you believe," said he to him, " that every man is bound to search after truth, tell " me then, first of all, what means are to be employed in order'' " to find it; for our senses deceive us, and our reason misleads " us still more. Reason differs among almost every division of " mankind, and I believe it is nothing more at bottom than the " particular interest of each of them : this is the cause that it is " so variable all the world over. There are no two religions, no " two nations, no two tribes ; What do I say ? there are no two " men, whose sentiments perfectly coincide. With what sense " then ought a man to investigate truth if that of his intellect " be insufficient ?" " I think," replied the Paria, " he should " do it with a single heart. The senses and the understanding " may be misled; but a single heart, granting it might be de- " ceived, never deceives." " Your answer is profound," said the Doctor. " We ought " to investigate truth first with the heart and not with the intel- " lect. Men all feel in the same manner, and they reason " differently, because the principles of truth are in Nature, and " the consequences which they deduce from them are dictated u by their interests. With singleness of heart therefore we u should pursue our researches after truth ; for a single h-i-trt li never feigned to comprehend what it did not comprehend, " and to believe what it did not believe. It lends no assis- " tance to self-deception, and afterwards to the deception of " others ; thus a single heart, far from being weak, like those, of u most men seduced by their interests, is strong, and such as is " requisite for investigating truth, and for maintaining it." " You have unfolded my idea much better than I could hive a done," said the. Paria: " Truth is like the dew of Hea- en ; 476 SEQ¥EL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. " in order to preserve it pure, it must be collected in a pure " vessel." " Charmingly expressed, thou man of sincerity!" exclaimed the Englishman: " but the most difficult enquiry is behind. u Where are we to go in quest of truth? Singleness of heart M depends upon ourselves, but truth depends on other men. " Where shall we find it, if those who surround us are seduced " by their prejudices, or corrupted by their interests, as is ge- " nerally the case ? I have travelled over many countries ; I have " ransacked their libraries ; I have consulted their Doctors, and " I have every where found contradictions only, doubts and " opinions a thousand times more various than their languages. " If theft truth is not to be found in the most celebrated repo- " sitories of human knowledge, whither are we to go in search u of it? What would singleness of heart avail among men " whose heart is depraved, and their understanding perverted ?" " Truth would come to me in a very suspicious form," replied the Paria, " if it were transmitted only through the medium of " men : it is not among them we are to search for it, but in " Nature. Nature is the source of every thing that exists; her " language is not unintelligible and variable like that of men " and of their books. Men made books, but Nature makes " things. To found truth upon a book, is much the same with " founding it on a picture, or on a statue, which is capable of " interesting one country only, and which the hand of time is " impairing every day. Every book is the art of a man, but " Nature is the art of God." 11 You are perfectly right," resumed the Doctor, " Nature is " the source of natural truths; but where is, for instance, the " source of historical truth, except in books ? Where is the " possibility then of ascertaining, at this day, the truth of a " fact which happened two thousand years ago ? Were the per- " sons who have transmitted it to us free from prejudice, free " from the spirit of party? Did they possess singleness of " heart ? Besides, the books too, which are the medium of " transmission, do they not need to be copied, printed, com- " mented on, translated; and in passing through so many " hands, is not truth less or more liable to alteration ? As you THE INDIAN COTTAGE. 477 " very well expressed it, a book is nothing more than the art of " man. We must therefore renounce all historical truth, as it " can reach us only through the intervention of men liable to " error." " Of what importance to our happiness," said the Indian, «« is the history of things past ? The history of what is, " is the history of what has been, and of that which shall be." " Very well," says the Englishman; " but you must admit " that moral truths are necessary to the felicity of the human " race. How then are we to find them in Nature ? Animals " in that state wage war, kill and devour each other; the very " elements contend with elements ; wiil men act the same part " toward one another ?" " Oh! no," replied the good Paria, " but every man will find the rule of his conduct in his own " heart, provided his heart be single. Nature has inscribed " this law upon it: Do not to others what you would not wish " others should do to you." " It is true," answered the Doctor; " she has regulated the interests of mankind by the standard of " our own : but as to religious truths, How shall we discover " them amidst the multitude of traditions and modes of worship " which divide the Nations of the earth ?" " In Nature her- " self," returned the Paria; "if we consider her with single - " ness of heart, we shall behold in her, Deity in his power, in " his intelligence, in his goodness ; and as we are weak, igno- " rant and miserable, here is enough to engage us to adore him, " to pray to him, and to love him all the days of our life, with- " out disputing. " Most excellently said!" " cried the Englishman. " But " now tell me, supposing we have discovered a truth, Ought we " to communicate it to other men ? If you publish it, you will be " persecuted by multitudes who live in the opposite error, in- " sisting that this very error is the truth, and that every thing " which has a tendency to subvert it is itself an error." *• The " truth," replied the Paria, " must be told to men of a single " heart; that is to the good, who are in search of it, and not to " the wicked who reject it. Truth is a fine Pearl, and the " wicked man a crocodile, who cannot put it in his ear, for he " has none. If you throw a pearl to a crocodile, instead of " decking himself with it, he will try to devour it, at the risk of 478 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. " breaking his teeth with the effort, and will then fly upon you " in a rage." " There is only one objection I have to make," said the Englishman; " from what you have said it must follow that " men are condemned to error, though truth be necessary to " them; for, as they persecute those who tell it, Where is the " teacher bold enough to undertake the task of instructing " them ?" " A teacher," replied the Paria, " who himself perse- " cutes men to force the knowledge of truth upon them ; Ca- " lamity." " Oh! for once, Man of Nature," cried the Eng- lishman, " I believe you must be mistaken. Calamity plunges " men into superstition ; it degrades both the heart and the un- " derstanding. The more wretched that men are, the more M contemptible, credulous and grovelling they become." It is " because they are not sufficiently wretched," replied the Paria. " Calamity resembles the black mountain of Bember, at the ex- " tremity of the burning kingdom of Lahor: as long as you are " upon the ascent, you see nothing before you but barren rocks; " but when you get to the summit, you perceive the Heavens over " your head, and the kingdom of Cachemire under your feet." " Delightful and just comparison!" exclaimed the Doctor: " every one has, in truth, through the progress of life, his own kl mountain to scramble up. Yours, virtuous recluse, must have u been a very rough one, for you have risen higher than ever I " knew man do. Have you been then very wretched ? But tell u me first of all, Wherefore is your caste so vilely degraded in " India, and that of the Bramins so highly respected ? I am just '*■ on my return from a visit to the Superior of the Pagoda of " Jagrenat, who has no more sense than his idol, and who ne- " vertheless exacts the adoration due to GOD." " The reason " is," replied the Paria, " that the Bramins allege they origi- " nally issued out of the head of the God Brama, and that the " Parias sprung from his feet; they farther pretend, that Bra- " ma one day, being on a journey, asked a Paria to give him " something to eat, and that the Paria presented him with hu- " man flesh ; in consequence of this tradition their caste is vene- " rated, and ours held in execration all over India. We are " not permitted to approach a City; and every Nair or Reis- THE INDIAN COTTAGE. 479 " poute may put us to death, if we come within reach of breath ■ " ing on them." " By St. George" cried the Englishman, "it " is ridiculously absurd, and detestably unjust! How have the " Bramins been able to persuade the Nations of India to adopt " a foHy so very gross r" " By inculcating it upon them from " infancy," said the Paria, "and by incessantly repeating it: " men are taught like parrots." " Unfortunate man !" said the Englishman, " How did you contrive to escape from that abyss " of infamy into which the Bramins had thrown you from your " birth ? I consider nothing to be so oppressive to a man, as to " be rendered vile in his own eyes ; it is to rob him of the first " of human consolations : for the most assured of all, is that " which he finds on retiring within himself." " I said to myself first of all," replied the Paria, " Can the " history of the God Brama be founded in truth ? It is related " only by the Bramins, who have an interest to serve in claiming " a celestial origin. They have undoubtedly feigned the story " of a Paria's attempt to render Brama a cannibal, to avenge " themselves of the Parias, who were slow to admit their pre- " tensions to superior sanctity. I proceeded to reason within "myself: Supposing the fact to have a foundation in truth; u GOD is just; it is impossible for him to impute to a whole " caste the culpability of one of it's members, and in which the " community has had no concern. But on the supposition that " the whole caste of Parias had been involved in that crimi- u nality, their posterity could not have been accomplices. GOD " no,more punishes on children the sins of their forefathers u whom they never saw, than he would punish on grandfathers " the sins of their grandchildren who had not yet come into the " world. But let us go on to suppose that I am this day in " volved in the punishment of a Paria perfidious to his God u many thousand years ago, without being at all accessory to his " crime ; Where is the possibility of any thing subsisting under " the displeasure of GOD, without being instantly destroyed? "Were I under the curse of GOD nothing that I planted would <*grow. Finally, said I to myself: supposing I lie under the u' displeasure of GOD, who is continually doing me good; I ■'• Wiirendeavour to render myself acceptable to him, by follow 480 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. " ing his example, in doing good to those whom I ought t* " liate." " But," asked the Englishman, " How did you contrive to " live, thus become an outcast from society r" " First," says the Indian, " I argued thus with myself: If the whole world is " thine enemy, be thine own friend. Thy calamity surpasses " not the patience and fortitude of a man. Be the rain ever so " heavy, a little bird feels but a single drop at once. I went " into the woods and along the banks of rivers in quest of food; " but all I could do was now and then to pick up some wild " fruits, and all the while under the terror of falling a prey to " ferocious animals. Hence I discovered that Nature had " scarcely done any thing for solitary man, and that she had at- " tached my existence to that very society which spurned me " from it's bosom. On this I began to frequent abandoned re- ec gions, which abound in India, and I always found in them " some alimentary plant which had survived the ruin of him " who cultivated it. I travelled thus from Province to Pro- ll vince, assured of finding every where the means of subsistence u in the refuse of agriculture. When I found the seeds of any " useful vegetable, I resowed them, saying, If not to myself, " this may prove beneficial to others. T found myself less mi- " serable, seeing it was in my power to do some good. I con- 14 ceived a violent inclination for one thing, namely, to see the " interior of some great City. I had admired at a distance their " ramparts and their towers, the prodigious concourse of barges " on their rivers and of caravans on their great roads, loaded "• with merchandise to be delivered there from every point of " the horizon; troops of soldiers on their march thithur to " mount guard, from the remotest Provinces ; Ambassadors u with their numerous and splendid retinues arriving from fo- u reign Kingdoms, to announce prosperous events, or to form " new alliances. I approached the avenues which led to them " as near as I durst, contemplating with astonishment the length- " cned columns of dust raised by such multitudes of travellers, " and my heart thrilled with desire at hearing the confrfseTl " noise which issues out of great Cities, and which in the adja- " cent fields resembles the murmuring of the billows when the) THE INDIAN COTTAGE* 4 si u break on the shore of the sea. I said within myself; A vast " assemblage of men of so many different conditions, contribut- " ing toward the common stock their industry, their riches /nd " their joys, must render a City the habitation of delight, but " I must not enter it by the light of day; What hinders my " stealing in under the cloud of night ? A feeble mouse who has ,N* " so many enemies, goes and comes whithersoever she lists, un- " der the covert of darkness ; she passes from the hut of the " poor man to the palace of Kings. She finds the light of the " stars sufficient to conduct her to the enjoyment of life ; where- " fore should that of the Sun be necessary to me ?" " I was in the vicinity of Delhi when these reflections pas- " sed through my mind; they emboldened me to such a de- " gree that I ventured to enter the City as night was setting in : " the track I pursued was by the gate of Lahor. At first I tra- " versed a long solitary street, formed, to the right and left, of u houses skirted by terraces, supported by arcades, containing " the shops of tradesmen. From interval to interval I encoun- " tered magnificent caravansaries carefully shut up, and vast ba- " zars or markets, in which the most profound silence reigned. " As I penetrated into the heart of the City, I pervaded the " superb quarter of the Omrahs, consisting of palaces and gar- " dens situated along the banks of the Gemna. Here the air " re-echoed with the sound of instruments of music, and of the " songs of the Bayaderes, who were dancing on the river's side " by torch-light. I drew nigh the gate of a garden to enjoy a " spectacle so delicious ; but was driven back by the slaves, " who put the miserable to flight by dint of blows. As I with- " drew from the quarter of the great, I passed close by several u of the Pagodas consecrated to my religion, where crowds of "■ miserable wretches, prostrated on the ground, were crying " bitterly. I hastened away from the sight of those monuments " of superstition and terror. Farther on, the shrill voices of the " Molhahs, announcing from on high the hours of the night, u informed me that I was under the turrets of a Mosque. Clesc " by were the factories of the Europeans distinguished by th ip k' several flags, with watchmen incessantly calling aloud: kabcr ^ " dar ! Take care ! I afterwards encompassed a very large 11 building, which I perceived to be a prison by the clanking of Vol. III. 3 P 483 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. " chains and the groans of the inhabitants. I soon after heard " the shrieks of pain issuing from an immense hospital, which " yas vomiting forth whole cart-loads of dead bodies. As I ''proceeded I met parties of thieves fleeing along the streets, *■• and patrols of guards in close pursuit of them; groups of beg- " gars who, regardless of the strokes of the ratan, were solicit- " ing, at the gates of Palaces, for some of the fragments of " their feasts; and at every corner women prostituting them- " selves publicly for bread. At last, after a tedious walk along " the same street, I arrived at a prodigious square, which sur- " rounds the fortress inhabited by the great Mogul. It was fil- " led with the tents of the Rajahs, or Nabobs of his guard, " and of their squadrons, distinguished from each other by " flambeaus, standards, and tall canes terminated by the cow- " tails of Thibet. A broad ditch full of water, and fortified " with artillery, enclosed, as well as the square, the royal for- " tress on every side. I surveyed, by the help of the guards' " fire lights, the towers of the Castle, which pierced the clouds, " and the length of it's ramparts, which lost themselves in the (t horizon. I felt a strong inclination to get to the inside ; " but large korahs, or whips, suspended from stakes, soon cu- '* red me of all desire of so much as entering the square. I " stopped short therefore at one of it's extremities, close bv " some negro slaves, who permitted me to rest myself near a ft fire round which they were sitting. I thence contemplated, ** with admiration, the Imperial Palace : This then, said I to " myself, is the habitation of the happiest of mankind ! To en- *< sure subjection to his authority so many Religious preach ; " to promote his glory so many Ambassadors arrive ; to fill his u treasures so many Provinces are exhausted ; to minister to " his pleasure so many Caravans travel; and to preserve his " security it is that so many armed men keep watch in silence !" " While I was engaged in making these reflections, loud " shouts of joy filled the square, and I saw eight camels pass, " decorated with streamers, I found they were loaded with *' the heads of rebels which the Mogul's Generals had sent him '' from the Province of Decan, where one of his own sons, " whom he had appointed Governor of it, waged war against *' him for three years past. Soon after arrived, at full speed, THE INDIAN COTTAGE. 483 u a courier mounted on a dromedary; he came with news of " the loss of a frontier City of India, through the treachery of *' one of his Commanders, who had given it up to the King " of Persia. Scarcely had this messenger gone by, when " another dispatched by the Governor of Bengal, brought in- " telligence t hat certain Europeans, to whom the Emperor, *' for the extension of commerce, granted permission to esta- " blish a factory at the mouth of the Ganges, had erected a " fort on the spot, which commanded the navigation of the ri- " ver. A few moments after the arrival of these two couriers, an " officer appeared, coming out of the Castle at the head of a de- " tachment of the guards. The Mogul had given him orders to •* repair to the quarter of the Omrahs, and to bring to him three " of the highest rank in irons, to answer a charge of carrying " on a secret intelligence with the enemies of the State. He '' had commanded a Molhnh tn he arrested the evening before, " for having in one of his sermons pronounced an eulogium " on the King of Persia, and for having declared openly that " the Emperor of the Indies was an infidel, because, in viola- " tion of the Law of Mahomet, he drank wine. Finally, it was 11 confidently affirmed, that one of his wives had just been stran- " gled and thrown into the Gemna, with two Captains of his " guard, convicted of being accessory to the rebellion of his " son." " While I was meditating on these tragical events, a long co- " lumn of fire suddenly burst from the kitchens of the Seraglio : " a vast stream of smoke arose and mingled with the clouds, " and the ruddy glare illuminated the towers of the fortress, it's " fosses, the square, the spires of the City, and extended to the " boundaries of the horizon. Immediately the huge copper " tymbals, and the karnas, or great hautboys of the guard, sound- " ed the alarm with a fearful noise: squadrons of cavalry gal- " lopped over the City, breaking open the doors of the houses " adjoining to the Castle, and driving their inhabitants, with " reiterated strokes of the korah, to assist in extinguishing the " flames. I myself had proof how dangerous the vicinity of " the great is to the little. The great are like the fire, which " burns even those who throw incense into it, if they approach " too nigh. I wished to make my escape, but all the avenue? 484 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. " of the square were obstructed. It would have been impos- " sible for me to get away, unless, by the Providence of GOD, " the side on which I took my station had been that of the Se- " raglio. As the eunuchs were removing the women on ele- " phants, they facilitated my elopement. For while the guards " on all sides were whipping the people to hasten them to assist " at the Castle, the elephants, by dealing about strokes of their " probosces, obliged them to retreat. Thus, sometimes pursued " by the one, sometimes driven back by the other, I at length " got clear of this frightful chaos: and by the light of the con- " flag-ration, I reached the farther extremity of the suburb, " where, under huts, and far removed from the great, the people " were resting quietly from their labours. There I began to " recover breath. I said within myself: " Well then, I have " seen a City ! I have seen the abode of the Lords of the Na- " tions ! Oh! of how many masters are not they themselves " the slaves ! They obey, even at the season of repose, the ty- " rants of voluptuousness, of ambition, of superstition, of ava- " rke : they are exposed, even in sleep, to a multitude of mi- " serable and malefic beings who surround them, robbers, men- " dicants, courtezans, incendiaries, to say nothing of their sol- " diers, their grandees, and their priests. What must a City " be in the day-time, if it be thus disturbed in the night ? The " calamities of man increase with his enjoyments. How much " is the Emperor to be pitied, in whom they all centre ? He has " danger to apprehend from wars foreign and domestic, nay " from the very objects which are his consolation and defence, u his generals, his guards, his malhas, his wives and his chil- " dren. The ditches which encompass his Castle are unable to " exclude the phantoms of superstition, and his elephants, so " curiously disciplined, unable to keep gloomy care at a dis- u tance from him. For my own part I am haunted with no " such terrors : no tyrant exercises dominion over either my " body or my mind. I have it in my power to serve GOD ac- " cording to my conscience, and I have nothing to fear from " Man, unless I choose to become a self-tormentor : of a truth '• a Paria is less miserable than an Emperor. On uttering these " words the tears rushed to my eyes ; and falling on my knees, " I offered up thanks to Heaven for having, to teach mc how to THE INDIAN COTTAGE. 485 u support my own distresses, shewn me wretchedness far more " intolerable than mine. " From that time forward I confined my rambles towards " Delhi to the suburbs ; from thence I beheld the stars illumine " the habitations of men, and mingle with their fires, as if the " Heavens and the City had formed but one domain. When " the Moon appeared to enlighten that landscape, I percei- " ved colours diffused over it varying from the tints of day. " I admired the towers, the houses and the trees, at once silver- " ed over and clad in sable, softly reflected at a distance from " the smooth surface of the Gemna. I traversed in perfect " liberty the vast solitary and silent quarters that surround the " capital, and then it was I considered the whole City as my " own. Humanity, nevertheless, would have refused me a " handful of rice in it, in such a detestable light had Religion " placed me. Unable therefore to find subsistence among the " living, I went in quest of it among the dead : I frequented " the cemetries, and ate the food deposited by pious affection " on the tombs of departed relations. In places such as these " I delighted to muse. I said to myself: This is the City of " peace; here power and pride are seen no more; innocence " and virtue are in complete security: here lie dead all the " terrors which haunted life, even that of dying: this is the " inn where the carman has for ever unyoked his team, and " where the Paria finds repose. In meditating thus, death ap- " peared to me an object, of desire, and I began to look down " upon the world. I turned my eyes toward the East, out of " which every moment arose a multitude of stars. Though " their destination was unknown to me, I felt that their destiny " was allied to that of Man, and that Nature who has accommo- " dated to his necessities so many objects which he sees not, "■ had at least rendered visible objects a matter of importance to " him. My soul then ascended into the firmament with the " stars, and when Aurora returned to blend with their gentle " and unchanging lustre, her own rosy tints, I thought myself " at the gates of Heaven. But as soon as the dawn, brightened " into the fire of day, gilded the Pagados, I disappeared like a " shadow : I withdrew, far from the haunts of men, to rest 486 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OP NATURE. " myself in the fields at the foot of a -tr.ee, where I was lulled " to sleep by the music of the grove." " Sensible and unfortunate mortal!" said the Englishman, " Your story is wonderfully affecting : most Cities, believe me, " can bear to be viewed only in the night. After all, Nature u arrays herself in nocturnal beauties, .which are not the least " attractive ; an eminent Poet of my country has celebrated no " other. But, tell me ; how did you at last contrive to render " yourself happy by the light of day ?" " It was a great point gained," replied the Indian, " to be " happy in the night. Nature resembles a beautiful woman, " who in the day-time exhibits the charms of her face only, to " the vulgar eye, and unveils more hidden beauties to her lover " when it is night. But if solitude has it's peculiar enjoyments, " it is likewise subjected to it's privations : it appears to the " child of misfortune as a quiet harbour from whence he beholds " the tide of other mens' passions roll on, without being him- " self hurried along by the current; but, while he congratulates " himself on being immovable, time is insensibly carrying him " down the stream. There is no such thing as casting anchor " in the river of human life ; it sweeps away together the man " who struggles against it's flux, and him who voluntarily goes " with it; the wise man and the fool, and both reach the termi- " nation of life, the one after having abused it, and the other " without having enjoyed it. I did not pretend to be wiser than " Nature, nor to find my happiness without the sphere of those " laws which she has prescribed to Man. I longed above all " things for a friend to whom I could communicate my plea- " sures and my pains. I sought him long among my equals, lf but found no one who was not under the dominion of envy. I " nevertheless at length lighted on one possessing sensibility, " susceptible of gratitude, faithful, and inaccessible to prejudice: " he was not indeed of my own species, but one of the brute " creation ; the very dog you see there. He had been exposed " while quite a whelp at the corner of a street, where he lay u perishing with hunger. My compassion was excited ; I lifted' " him up: he conceived an attachment to me, and I made him " my inseparable companion. This was not yet sufficient; I stood " in need of a friend still more wretched than a dog; one who THE INDIAN COTTAGE. 487 " knew all the evils of human society, and who could assist me " in supporting them ; one who desired only the blessings which " Nature bestows, and with whom I could enjoy them. It is u only by interlacing their branches that two feeble shrubs are " capable of resisting the storm. Providence gratified my de- " sire to the uttermost in giving me a good wife. It was at the fi very source of wo that I found the fountain of bliss. One " night being at the burial place of the Bramins, I perceived by " moon-light, a young woman of that caste, half covered with " her yellow veil. At sight of a female of the blood of my ty- " rants, I recoiled with horror, but felt myself attracted towards " her by compassion on seeing the occupation in which she was " engaged. She came to deposit victuals on a little hillock " which covered the ashes of her mother, who had lately been " burnt alive with the body of her father, conformably to the " practice of her caste ; and she was now burning incense over " it as an invocation of the departed spirit. Tears started to " my eyes at sight of one more unfortunate than myself. I " thus meditated : Alas ! I am bound in fetters of infamy, but " thou in those of glory: I live at least in tranquillity at the " bottom of my precipice ; and thou art always trembling on '■' the brink of thine. The same destiny which has robbed thee " of thy mother, likewise threatens to rob thee one day of thy " own life. Thou hast received but a single life and art doom- " ed to die two deaths: if thy own carry thee not to the tomb, " that of thy husband will drag thee thither while yet alive. I " wept, and so did she : our eyes, suffused with tears, met, and " spoke to each other the language of the unfortunate : she " turned away hers, dropped her veil, and withdrew. " The night following I repaired to the same place. This " time she had placed a more ample provision on her mother's " tomb; she took it for granted that I might stand in need of " some ; and as the Bramins frequently poison those funereal " messes, to prevent their being devoured by the Parias, " that I might have full confidence in the wholcsomeness of " hers, she had brought nothing but fruit. I was deeply affected " by this display of humanity ; and by way of expressing to her " the respect which I entertained for her filial oblation, instead " of taking her fruits, I added flowers to them. They wer^ • 488 SEQUEL TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. " poppies, significant of the interest which I took in her sorrow. " Next night I saw, with joy, that my homage had been accept- " able to her; the poppies had been watered, and she had put a " new basket of fruits at a little distance from the tomb. Pity " and gratitude emboldened me. Not daring to speak to her " as a Paria, for fear of lowering her dignity, I attempted as a " man to express to her all the affections which she had excited " in my bosom. According to the custom of India \ borrowed " the language of flowers to convey my meaning ; I added ma- " rigolds to poppies. The night after I found my poppies and " my marigolds copiously besprinkled with water. Next night " I waxed bolder; to the poppies and marigolds I added a " flower of foulsapatte, employed by shoemakers to dye their " leather black, as the expression of an humble and unfortunate kt love. I flew to the tomb with the first dawn of the morning; " but had the mortification to see the foulsapatte withered, be- " cause it had not been watered. The following night I planted, " with a trembling hand, a tulip whose red petals and black heart " represented the flame which preyed upon me. In the morn- " ing I found my tulip in the same state with five foulsapatte. I " was overwhelmed with grief; nevertheless the day after I " brought to the place a rose-bud with the thorns upon it, the " symbol of my hopes, blended with mortal apprehension. But " who can describe my despair, when I saw, by the first rays of " Aurora, my rose-bud removed entirely from the tomb! I " thought I should have gone distracted. Let what would be " the consequence, I resolved to speak to her. The night fol- " lowing, as soon as she appeared, I threw myself at her feet, " but without the power of utterance, presenting my rose to her. " She broke silence, and said: Unfortunate man! thou talkest :f to me of love, and in a little while I shall be no more. I must, " like my mother, accompany my husband to the funeral pile. " He is just dead. He was an old man, I was married to him " while a child: farewell; retire, and forget me ; in three days " I shall be reduced to a handful of ashes. She uttered these " words with a sigh. Penetrated with grief, I said to her : 1,1 Wretched Bramine, Nature has burst asunder the ties which " Society had imposed upon thee ; finish the work by breaking « off those of superstition. It is now in your power, in accepting THE INDIAN COTTAGE. 48lurion, the mango, the jacauier, the banana, and many other vegetables, dressed in flowers or loaded with fruits. Their very trunks were covered with them ; the betel winded round the arecqua palm-tree, and the pepper plant along the sugar-cane. The air was impregnated with their perfumes. Though most of the trees were still in the shade, the first rays of Aurora already il- luminated their summits ; there were to be seen fluttering about the colibris, sparkling with the glowing tints of the ruby and the topaz, while the bengali and the sensa-soules, or five hun- dred voices, concealed under the humid foliage, emitted their delicious notes in concert from their nests. The Doctor was walking under these enchanting shades, totally disengaged from scientific and ambitious ideas, when the Paria came out to call him to breakfast. " Your garden is delightful," said the Englishman ; " I find no fault with it but that it is too small: " had I been in your place I should have enclosed a spot for a " bowling-green, and borrowed a little more from the forest." " Sir," replied the Paria, " the less room one occupies, the " more easily is he sheltered: a single leaf serves for a nest to " the humming-bird." While he spake they entered the cottage, where they found the Paria's wife in a corner suckling her in- fant : she had served up breakfast. After a silent repast, the Doctor preparing to take his leave, the Indian said to him: " My much respected guest, the plains are still inundated with " the rains of the night; the roads are unpassable ; spend tlii " day with us." " It is not in my power," said the Doctor, " My retinue is too numerous." " I see how it i9," answered the Paria, " you are in haste to quit the country of the Bramins, " and to return to that of Christians, whose religion teaches all " men to live together as brothers." The Doctor rose from his place with a sigh ; on which the Paria made a sign to his wife, who, with downcast eyes, and without uttering a word, presented the Doctor with a basket of flowers and fruit. The Paria, supplying her want of speech, said to the Englishman: " Sir, have the goodness to excuse our poverty: we have neither tl ambergrise nor aloes wood to perfume our guests, alter the " r.kut.cr if India ; vre have only flowers rtnd fruits; but I hop< • J 49'2 SEQUT.L TO THE STUDIES OF NATURE. " you will npt disdain to accept this little basket filled by the " hands of my wife: it contains neither poppies nor marigolds, tl but jasmin, some mougris and bergamot, the symbol, from u the duration of their perfumes, of the affection which we £t bear you, and of which the recollection will remain with us " when we shall see you no more." The Doctor took the bas- ket, and said to the Paria : " I want language to express the " grateful sense I have of your hospitality, and to convey an " idea of the esteem I bear you : please to accept of this gold 11 watch ; it is one of Graham's, the most eminent artist in Lon- " don ; it needs winding up only once a year." " Sir," replied the Paria, " we have no occasion for a watch: there is one " provided for us whose motion is perpetual, and which is ne- " ver out of order: I mean the Sun." " My watch strikes the " hours," subjoined the Doctor. " Our birds sing them," an- swered the Paria/ " Accept at least," said the Doctor, " of u these strings of coral to make red necklaces for your wife and " child." " My wife and child," replied the Indian, " can ne- " ver want red necklaces so long as our garden shall produce " the peas of angola." " Take then," said the Doctor, " these " pistols to defend you from thieves in this solitud^." " Pover- " ty," said the Paria, " is a bulwark which keeps all thieves at u a distance ; the silver mounting of your pistols would be a " temptation to attack us. In the name of the God who pro- " tects us, and from whom we expect our reward, do not seek " to rob us of the price of our hospitality." " I could wish " however," replied the Englishman, " to leave some token of " remembrance behind me." " Well, my honoured guest," said the Paria, " since you insist upon it, may I presume to " propose an exchange ? Give me your pipe, and accept of mine: " as often as I smoke from yours, I shall gratefully recollect " that a European Pandect did not think himself dishonoured 4 " in accepting the hospitality of a poor Paria." On this the Doctor presented to him his pipe of English leather-manufac- ture, the mouth of which was of yellow amber, and received that of the Paria in return, whose tube was a bamboo, and the bowl of baked earth. He then summoned his attendants, who were quite stupified >v:rii the comfortless night which they had passed ; and, having • THE INDIAN COTTAGE. ' 493 embraced the Paria, mounted his palanquin. The Paria's wife, in tears, stopped at the threshold of the cottage, with her infant in her arms ; but the husband accompanied the Doctor to the outlet of the wood, pouring out his heart in blessings upon him. " May God reward you," said he, for your goodness to the " miserable ! May He accept me as a sacrifice in your stead! '.' May He grant you a prosperous voyage to England, that land " of learned men and friends, who range over the whole Globe " in quest of truth, to promote the happiness of mankind !" The Doctor replied; " I have visited half the Globe, and " found, wherever I went, error and discord only: never did " I meet with truth and happiness till I entered^your cottage." As he pronounced those words they separated from each other, not without shedding tears. The Doctor had made a consider- able progress over the plain while he still perceived the good Paria at the foot of a tree, waving his hands in token of bid- ding him a last adieu. The Doctor, on his return to Calcutta, embarked for Chan- dernagore, and thence set sail/dr England. Being arrived at London, he sent his fourscore and ten bales of manuscripts to the President of the Royal Society, who deposited them in the British Museum, where the literati and journalists continue to employ themselves to this day in making translations of them, concordances, panegyrics, dissertations, criticisms and pam- phlets. As to the Doctor himself, he was satisfied with retaining the Paria's three answers relative to truth. He frequently smoked from his pipe ; and when interrogated respecting the most use- ful discoveries he had made on his travels, he replied: " Truth " must be sought for with singleness of heart; it is to be found " only in Nature; it is to be told only to the good :" to which he added : " A man is hifffpy only with a good wife." THE END. P DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER FOR PLACING THE PLATES. VOL. I. Frontispiece to face the Title. Plate II. - - .... VOL. II. 104 I'LATE III......." '^ Plate IV. - - ' Plate V 10.' %£ \KJ2- \t.3 «•■■'