tor of Saxony had diftributed, caufed a double election, in which this German prince was chofen. Both pretending to the crown, they both arrived to fupport their party, and continued to employ the means which had, at firft, been fuccefsful; but thofe of the elector were more effectual and folid. He had money and even troops; the prince of Conti, on the contrary, after having received kingly honours at the court of France, went on board a French veffel at Dantzick, where he ftayed fix weeks, but without any other means of proving the legality, of his election, than the good face and eloquence of the abbé de Polignac. These resources were foon exhausted; the prince of Conti, and even the abbé, were obliged to return to France.

Although the court of France was too juft and well informed not to perceive that it was not the fault of the ambaffador if his miffion was not crowned with a more brilliant fuccefs, he was, notwithstanding, exiled from Verfailles for four years. He employed this time ufefully, to encrease his mafs of knowledge, which was already very great. Finally, in 1702, he was fent to Rome in quality of auditor of the Rota.* He now found new opportunities of diftinguifhing himfelf, and gaining admiration, for which he was recompenfed by a no

mination to the cardinalship, by James, king of England.

He was upon the point of enjoying the honour of his new rank, when he was recalled to France on account of fome very critical circumftances. He was obliged, in 1710, to go with the marshal d'Huxelles to Gertrudenberg, charged by Lewis XIV. to propole to the enemies of this monarch, his fubmiffion to the most humiliating conditions, in order to terminate the war. Unhappily all the wit and eloquence of the future cardinal was there ineffectual. At length, after two years were elapfed, he was named plenipotentiary to the famous congrefs of Utrecht; it must be remarked that he was at that time named, at Rome, cardinal in petto, and, though all the people knew who he was, he did not appear as an ecclefiaftic, either in drefs or title: his drefs was fecular, and he was called the Compte de Polignac. It was in this fituation of an incognito, that he was prefent at all the negociations of Utrecht, to the moment of figning the treaty; he then declared it was not poffible for him to fign the exclufion of a monarch from his throne, to whom he was indebted for the cardinal's hat; he withdrew, and came to enjoy, at the court of France, the honours of the cardi nalship.

The

The new political fyftem which was adopted, after the death of Lewis XIV. exiled him to his abby of Anchin, in Flanders. Thefe good Flemish monks trembled to fee him arrive in their monaftery; but they were afflicted even to defpair when he left them, after the death of the cardinal Dubois and of the regent. They were not capable of appreciating his wit, nor of understanding his erudition; but they had found him mild and amiable, and to far from plundering them, he embellifhed their church, and re-established their houfe.

He was obliged to return to Rome at the death of Clement XI. and he affisted at the conclaves wherein Innocent XIII. Benoit XIII. and Clement XII. were elected. During the two firft pontificates he was charged with the affairs of France at that court. This city was ever the finest theatre of his glory: one would have thought its ancient grandeur entered with him into the capital. On his part, when he returned, he appeared charged with the fpoils of Rome, fubdued by his wit and eloquence; and it may literally be faid, that, in his laft journey, he tranfported a part of ancient Rome to Paris, by placing in his hotel a collection of antique ftatues and monuments taken from the palaces of the firft emperors.

I cannot fee the cardinal de Polignac without recollecting all he has done and learned for fixty years paft; I remain as it were in ecftafy, when near him, and in the greatest admiration of every thing he says. It is obferved that his manner is become old as well as his perfon; it is true that his tone has outlived the mode. But it is not becaufe we have abfolutely loft the habitude of

hearing the language of science and erudition, that the cardinal begins to be tiresome to us? for, otherwise, nobody treats thefe matters with lefs pedantry than he does: if he quotes, it is always a-propos, becaufe, having a prodigious memory, it furnishes him with what is neceffary to fupport converfation in every point, let the fubject be what it may. For my part, who have fi nifhed my ftudies, but who have yet a great deal to learn, I declare I never received more agreeable leffons than thofe he gives in converfation.

Being a good deal taken up about the cardinal, I have juft read his difcourfe of admission at the Academy Françoife, in 1704. Nothing can be more elegant and noble; and this immenfe collection, begun almost a hundred years ago, contains no difcourfe equal to his: it is the most perfect model for those who have a like talk to fulfil, obferving always that the academician, whom they fucceed, and the circumftances in which this kingdom is, at the time they speak, may infinitely increase the difficulties of it. The abbé de Polignac had difficulties to encounter, but he got over them in fuch a manner as gained him univerfal applaufe; and, had it been customary at that time, the academy would have rung with their plaudits.

The cardinal has a pupil and friend, thirty years younger than himfelf, who, confequently, cannot be reproached with having manners different from the fashion: this is the abbé de Rothelin. He has a good deal of wit, a ftrong memory, and much knowledge, but not fo extenfive as that of the cardinal; he fpent with him feveral years at Rome,

and

and has been twice his conclavift. There he faw what honour erudition conferred on the cardinal; he endeavoured to tread in his fieps, and is become, like him, a member of the Academy Françoife, and honorary of that, des Infcriptions, and des Belles Lettres. But his eloquence is neither to natural or noble, as that of his mafter. He has more vivacity in converfation, which fparkles with more firoks of wit; he has, perhaps, received more from nature than the cardinal, but he does not know how to employ fa well what was acquired from others, nor to reap the fruit of his ftudies.

The cardinal has undertaken a Latin poem, which he intitles Anti-Lucretius, and is a refutation of the fyftem of materialifts. He recites paffages from it to perfons whom he thinks capable of judging of their merit; and his eminence has done me the honour to repeat feveral of them.

They are admirable paintings and deferiptions. If one knows the Latin ever so little, and remembers the authors of the Auguftan age, he, would imagine that he read them over again by hearing thefe paffages. But a poem againft Lucretius, of equal length with the original, and divided into nine books, requires the life of a man to carry it to perfection. The cardinal began too late, and cannot flatter himfelf with the hope of living to finish it. It is faid he means to charge the abbé de Rothelin with this task, who, from vanity, will not refufe it, and will think it an honour to put the work of his refpectable friend in a flate to appear before the public. But, to this end, the aid of feme able profeffor of the univerity will be neceflary; the abbe will never accomplish it of

himself. Moreover, when the Anti-Lucretius appears, it will undoubtedly do honour to the cardinal's abilities, as well as the abbé's, and even thofe perfons who fhall have aflifted him in finishing it. But who, at prefent, will read a Latin poem entirely philofophical, of five or fix thoufand lines? Scarce ly would a tranflation of it, in profe or verfe, be turned over. Greek is entirely forgotten; it is to be feared the Latin will foon be fo, and that the cardinal de Polignac, the abbé de Rothelin, and a certain M. le Beau, coming up in the univerfity, will be called the lat of the Romans. Even the Jefuits begin to neglect Latin; they find it more eafy to write in French; this gains them more honour and profit.

The figure of the cardinal and that of the abbé are still more different than their turn of mind. That of the first is elegant and noble, and announces what he is, and has been. If we were to paint from idea a great prelate, a learned cardinal, a wife and worthy ambafiador, a famous Roman orator, we fhould feize the features of the cardinal de Polignac. The abbé de Rothelin has, on the contrary, a fine and fenfible countenance, but appears to have delicate lungs; his figure is agreeable, but quite modern; that of the cardinal is, at prefent, a beautiful and precious antique."

"

Character of Fontenelle, Montef quieu, and Henault.-From the fame.

IF I have received fome re proaches upon my pretended indifference for people with whom

I live habitually, three of them deferve many more, and I do not efteem them lefs on this account-their names are well known in the world, fince the first is M. de Fontenelle, the fecond the president de Montefquieu, and the third, the prefident Henault. The firft is charged with and convicted of a kind of apathy, perhaps blameable with refpect to others, but excelient for his own prefervation; being taken up with himself only, and amiable enough to make others concerned for his welfare, he has by managing his weak and delicate conftitution, always indulging his eafe, puthed his career to eighty years of age, with the pleafing hope of feeing the whole revolution of the century. Each year gives him a new degree of merit, and adds to the intereft his friends have in his exiftence. They look upon him as one of those mafter-pieces of art, carefully and delicately wrought, and precioufly preferved, because it is impoffible to make their equal. He, makes us not only recollect the brilliant age of Lewis XIV. the end of which fome of us faw, but also the wit of Buiferade, Saint-Evremont, Scudery, and the tone of the hotel de Rambouillet, the air of which we may believe he has breathed upon the pot. He has this tone, but foftened, improved, and adapted to the prefent age, lefs obfcure and pedantic than that of the BeauxElprits, which founded the Academy; lefs finical than that of Julie d'Augennes, and his mother. His converfation is highly agreeable, mixed with fentiments leis refined than striking, and with pleafing anecdotes, without being fatirical, because they never relate but to literature or gallantry, and fociety.

It feems to me that the eulogium of an academician, fhould be the extract or crayon only of his academical works. It may be objected to this, that there are academicians whofe works and talents furnith not matter of great eulogium: but on one hand, even the barrennefs or refufal of eulogiums, is one means of preventing the Academy from admitting fubjects incapable of doing it much honour: on the other, the protection which those who are honorary members only, have granted to the sciences, the favours they have procured for the learned, may be advantageously fpoken of in their behalf, and at leaft their zeal applauded.-It muft, however, be agreed, that Fontenelle in artfully paffing over the drynels of matters to which those who were the fubjects of his encomium applied themfelves, fays generally what is neceflary. It is

te

"her exiftence."

The prefident de Montefquieu is not fo old as Fontenelle, but has full as much wit, although of quite another kind-it feems as if more ought to be expected in fociety from the prefident, because he is more lively, even appears more active, more fufceptible of enthufiafm. At bottom, these two minds are tempercd alike; Montefquieu never makes himfelf unealy for any body, he has no ambition on his own account; le reads, travels, and gathers knowledge; at length he writes, and folely for his pleasure. Being a man of great fenfe, he makes an agreeable ufe of what he knows, but there is more wit in his books than in his converfation, because he is never anxious to fhine in it. He has preferved the Gafcon accent, which he has from his country (Bourdeaux) and thinks it in fome

measure beneath him to strive to get rid of it. He is careless in his ftyle, which is more ingenious and fometimes more nervous than pure; there is no order nor method in his works, which are, for this reason, more brilliant than inftructive. He had an early tafte for a kind of bold philofophy, which he has cumbined with French gaiety and levity, and which has made his Lettres Perfannes truly a delightful work. But if, on one hand, this book has been much admired, it has, on the other, been juftly complained of; there are pallages which a man of wit may eafily conceive, but fuch as a prudent mah ought never to let appear in print: these paflages have, notwithstanding, eftablifhed the reputation of the book and the author. He would not have been of the academy without this work, which ought to have excluded him from it.

The cardinal de Fleury, fo prudent in other refpects, fhewed, on this occafion, a pufillanimity which may be attended with great confequences. The prefident refigned his employment, that his non-refidence at Paris might not be an objection to his being received a member of the academy. His pretext was, that he was going to apply himself to a great work upon the spirit of laws. The prefident Henault, on quitting his employ, gave the fame reafon. Thele gentlemen were rallied by their friends, who told them, "They quitted "their profeffions in order to learn " it."

The fact is, Montefquieu wifhed to travel, to make philofophical remarks upon men and nations, already known by his Lettres Perfannies: he was warmly received in Germany, England, and Italy. We