the bleffings conferred upon the French, by their late political philofophy.

From this place I proceeded to the ci-devant convent of the Jefuits, built by one of the munificent dukes de Bourbon. It is a magnificent oblong ftone building. In the centre of the court was a tree of liberty, which, like almost all the other trees, dedicated to that goddefs, which I faw, looked blighted, and fickly. I mention it as a fact, without alluding to any political fentiment whatever. It is a remark in frequent ufe in France, that the caps of liberty are without heads, and the trees of liberty without root. The poplar has been selected from all the other trees of the foreft, for this diftinguished honor, from a whimfical fynonymy of its name with that of the people. In French, the poplar is called peuplier and the word peuple fignifies people. This fine building is now converted into an univerfity of learning, and the fine arts. From the the number of the ftudents, I fhould fuppofe the fashionable fervor of study had not as yet reached Rouen.

The profeffor of philofophy, with great politeness fent a young man to fhow me the mufeum of pictures, for which purpose the church of the Jefuits, is at prefent ufed. There are feveral paintings in it, the only fine one, was a dying Jefus by Vandyke, which was exquifite. Upon my expreffing my admiration, a young ftudent near me faid "qui mon

fieur c'est très jolie." This mifapplied remark, from. an eafy and natural combination of found, could not fail of feeming a little fingular as applied to fuch a fubject, but every thing that pleases in France is très jolie. From this painting, I was, by importunity, led to view the other parts of the collection, which were compofed of large pictures, by French masters; and fo natural is local prejudice, every where, that I was almost held down, before the works of the best artists` of Rouen, upon which, as I am at liberty here, I fhall beg to make no comment.

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In the ftudents' room, below, were fome paintings curious, and valuable only, from their great antiquity, and a few good copies by the pupils. A picture was pointed out to me as a very fine thing, the fubject was a fat little cherub, with a full flowing wig, fiddling to St. Francis, who from his gloomy appearance feemed not to poffefs half the mufical genius of a dancing bear.

Upon my return through the market place, I beheld the miferable wretch, at whofe trial I was prefent in the morning, led out to execution. He was feated upon the bottom of a cart, ftripped above to his shirt, which was folded back, his arms were pinioned clofe behind, and his hair was closely cropped, to prevent the ftroke of the fatal knife from being impeded. A prieft was feated in a chair befide him. As the object of my excurfion was to contemplate the manners of the people, I fummoned refolution to view this

gloomy and painful fpectacle, which feemed to excite but little fenfation in the market place, where s petty traffic and concerns proceed with their accustomed activity, and the women at their stalls, which extended to the foot of the fcaffold, appeared to be impreffed only with the folicitude of felling their vegetables to the highest bidder. A small body of the national guards, and a few boys and idlers furrounded the fatal spot. The guillotine, painted red, was placed upon a scaffold, of about five feet high. As foon as the criminal afcended the upper ftep which led to it he mounted, by the direction of the executioner, a little board, like a fhutter, raised upright to receive him, to which he was strapped, turned down flat, and run into a small ring of iron half opened and made to admit the neck, the top part of which was then closed upon it, a black leather curtain was placed before the head, from which a valve depended, which communicated to a tub, placed under the scaffold to receive the blood, the executioner then touched a long thin iron rod, connected with the top of the inftruments, and in a moment the axe defcended, which was in the form of a fquare, cut diagonally, heavily charged with lead. The executioner and his affiftants placed the body in a fhell, half filled with faw duft, which was almost completely ftained over with the brown blood of former executions; they then picked up the head, from a bag into which it had fallen, within the curtain, and having placed it in the

fame gloomy depofitory, lowered the whole down to the fextons, who covering it with a pall bore it off to the place of burial.

The velocity of this mode of execution can alone recommend it. The pangs of death are paffed almoft in the fame moment, which presents to the terrified eye of the fufferer the frightful apparatus of his disgraceful diffolution. It is a dreary fubject to difcufs; but furely it is a matter of deep regret, that in England, criminals doomed to die, from the uncer tain and lingering nature of their annihilation, are feen writhing in the convulfions of death during a period dreadful to think of. It is faid, that at the late memorable execution of an African governor for murder, the miserable delinquent was beheld for fifteen minutes struggling with the torments of his untimely fate! The guillotine is far preferable to the favage mode, formerly used in France, of breaking the criminal on the wheel, and leaving him afterwards to perish in the most poignant agonies.

As I have alluded to the fate of governor W-, I will conclude this chapter by relating an anecdote of the terror and infatuation of guilt, difplayed in the conduct of this wretched man, in the prefence of a friend of mine, from whom I received it-A few years before he fuffered, fatigued with life, and purfued by poverty, and the frightful remembrance of his offences, then almost forgotten by the world, he left the fouth of France for Calais, with an intention of

paffing over to England, to offer himfelf up to its laws, not without the cherished hope that a lapfe of twenty years had fwept away all evidence of his guilt.

At the time of his arrival at this port town, the hotel in which Madame H was waiting for a packet to Dover was very crowded-the landlord requefted of her, that fhe would be pleased to perAmit two gentlemen, who were going to England, to take some refreshment in her room; thefe

perfons proved to be the unfortunate Brooks, a king's meffenger, charged with important difpatches to his court, and governor W. The latter was dreffed like a decayed gentleman, and bore about him all the indications of his extreme condition. They had not been feated at the table long, before the latter informed the former, with evident marks of perturbation, that his name was W, that having been charged in England with offences, which, if true, fubjected him to heavy punishment, he was anxious to place himself at the difpofal of its laws, and requested of him, as he was an English messenger, that he would confider him as his prifoner, and take charge of him.

The meffenger, who was much furprised by the application told him, that he would not upon fuch a reprefentation take him into cuftody, unlefs he had an order from the duke of Portland's office to that effect, and that in order to obtain it, it would be prop

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