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“Oh how that little god has alarmed me?” faid the recoiling fair one, whofe youthful countenance furprife had imbued with new beauties; "but yet," faid the, recovering herself, he does not hurt.” This litthe fally may be confidered as a fpecimen of that play. . ful fprightlinefs which is fo much the characteristic of the French female. BASE

In the centre of another room, dedicated to optics, as we entered, we faw a beautiful nofegay in a vafe, which appeared to be compofed of the rareft flowers. Fapproached it with an intention of inhaling its frag rance, when, lo! my hand paffed through it. It was an exquifite optical illufion. Ah!" faid my elegant and moralising companion, Madame S, smiling, "of fuch flowers has Happiness compofed her wreath: "it is thus the gladdens with it the eye of Hope; "but the hand of Expectation can never grafp it."2 The graceful moral deferves a more lafting record than it will find in thefe few and perishable pages.

In the other rooms are all forts of apparatus for trying experiments in the various branches of that department of science, over which Mons. Cfo ably prefides.& ༣ སྨཱ འབན

The merit of Mons. C has no rival bat in his. modefty. Confidering the rank and eftimation which he bears in the republic, his external appearance is fingularly unaffuming. I have been with him in the gardens of the Thuilleries, when they were thronged with the fashion and gaiety of Paris, where he has Zig Zankollar]

appeared in a fuit of plain brown cloth, an old round hat with a little national cockade in it, under which he prefented a countenance full of character, talent and animation. In this homely puritan garb, he excited more respectful curiofity, wherever he moved, than fome generals who paraded before us in dreffes upon. which the tailor and embroiderer had long labored, and who added to their ftature by laced hats entirely filled with gaudy buoyant plumes.

From Mons. Charles we went to the church of St. Rocque, in the Rue St. Honoré. As we entered, the effect of a fine painting of our Saviour crucified, upon which the fun was fhining with great glory, placed at the extremity of the church, and feen through feveral leffening arches of faint, increafing fhade, was very grand. This church has been more than once the fcene of revolutionary carnage. Its elegant front is much disfigured, and the doors are perforated, in a great number of places, by the ball of cannon and the fhot of mufketry. Mass was performing in the church; but we faw only few wor fhippers, and thofe were chiefly old women and lit tle girls.

From St. Rocque we proceeded to the Hotel des Invalides, the chapel and dome of which are, so just ly celebrated. The front is inferior to the military hofpital at Chelfea, to which it bears fome resem blance. The chapel is converted into the Hall of Victory, in which, with great tafte are fufpended,,

under deferiptive medallions, the banners of the enemies of the republic, which have been taken during war, the numbers of which are immenfe. The fame decoration adorns the pilafters and gallery of the vaft, magnificent dome at the end of the ball.

My eye was naturally occupied, immediately after we had entered, in fearching amongst the most battered of the banners, for the British colors: at laft I difcovered the jack and enfign of an English man of war, pierced with fhot-holes, and blackened with fmoke, looking very fulky, and indignantly, amongst the finery, and tawdry tatters of Italian and Turkish ftandards.

In the course of this purfuit, I caught the intelligent eye of Madame S She immediately affigned to my fearch the proper motive."Ah!" faid the, laughingly, and patting me on the arm with her fan, "we are, as you fee, my dear Englishman,

very vain; and you are very proud."marg

Aftranger to the late calamitous war, unable to marthal in his mind the enemies of the republic, might here, with a glance of his eye, whilst contemplating this poor refult of devaftation, enumerate the foes of France, and appreciate the facilities or difficulties of the victory.com

In obferving, amidst this gaudy fhow of captive colors, only two hard-won banners of their rival endmy, he would draw a conclufion too flattering and familiar to an English ear, to render it neceffary to be recorded here.

190

THE STRANGER [CHAP. XVI.
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Upon the fhattered ftandards of Auftria he would confer the meed of merited applaufe for heroic, ak though unprevailing bravery.sann) well ob vzal

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To the banners of Pruffia he would say, “ I know "not whether principle, or policy, or treachery, of "corruption, deterred you from the field Your "looks exhibit no proofs of fincere refiftance"However, you never belonged to cowards."

The Neapolitan enfign might excite fuch fentiments as these : « You appear for a fhort time to "have faced the battle-You were unfortunate, and "foon retired."

To the gaudy drapeaus of the Italian and Turkish legions, which every where prefent the appearance of belonging to the wardrobe of a pantomimic hero, he would obferve, "The fcent of the battle has not per"fumed you; its fmoke has not fullied your fhining "filky fides. Ye appear in numbers, but difplay no "marks of having waved before a brave, united and "energetic band."

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In this manner might he trace the various fate of the war. Upon feveral of the staffs only two of threes fhreds of colors are to be feen adhering. These are, chiefly Auftrian. On each fide of the chapel are large, and fome of them valuable paintings, by the French mafters, reprefenting the conquests of thes French armies at different eras.

It is a matter not unworthy of observation, that alm though the revolution with a keen, and favage eyes

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explored too fuccessfully, almost every vestige of a royal tendency, the beautiful pavement under the dome of the invalides has escaped destruction. The fleur de lis, furmounted by the crown of France, ftill retains its original place, in this elegant and coftly marble flooring. The ftatutes of the faints have been removed; and their places are fupplied by the new order of revolutionary deities; but the names of the ancient figures have not been erafed from the pedestals of the new ones; to which omiffion the spectator is indebted for a fmile when contemplating the ftatute of Equality, he reads, immediately below his feet,

"St. Louis."

3

There is 1 here a coftly monument erected to the memory of the brave marfhal Turenne, who was killed by a cannon ball in 1675. In my humble opinion, it is too much in the falfe tafte of French ftatuary. A group of weeping angels furround the recumbent hero, in the attitudes of operatic figurantes, in whofe faces, and forms, the artift has attempted, too laboriously and artificially, to delineate the expreffions of graceful grief. On each fide of the vast arch which divides the dome from the chapel, are raised the tablets of military honor, on which, incharacters of gold, the names of thofe foldiers are recorded who have diftingushed themfelvs for their achievements in the late war. As we were contemplating a painting upon a very large fcale, in which amongst other figures, is an uncovered whole length of a warrior, a prudish-looking lady, who seemed to have

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