humour, gaiety, and a great desire of pleasing; preferring affability to etiquette, and the manners of the nation to which she had come, to those of that which she had left; and forming a bond of union between the two, which promised a termination to long rivalship, and a commencement of mutual support and prosperity. Those circumstances certainly had a tendency to remove the impressions which the conduct of Lewis XV might have made, and to revive the languishing loyalty of the nation. At this time, however, the spirit of philosophical discussion prevailed very much in France. The English writers on the subject of government were more read and relished than they had ever been before. The works of Montesquieu, Rousseau, Raynal, were universally admired. Many old prejudices, hurtful to society, though supported by the self-interest of a few, and the ignorance of the multitude, were combated by the authors above mentioned, and others. The writings of Voltaire, distinguished for wit, and a happiness of expression which baffles imitation, contributed more than all the rest to form the taste and bias the opinions of the age. They were more universally read than the works of any other author; because, to borrow the words of one who knew him well, they possessed' le précieux avantage d'être toujours clair et simple, sans jamais être insipide, et d'être lu avec un égal plaisir, et par le peuple des lectures et par l'elite des philosophes.'* While the edge of his ridicule is turned against persecution and hypocrisy, the most virtuous applaud: but Voltaire was not a believer in Christianity-that was his misfortune; but it cannot excuse his attempts to turn into ridicule the established religion of his country. One among many peculiarities of this author is, that he treats Christianity with becoming respect in his dramas, and * The precious advantage of being always clear and simple, without ever being insipid, and of being read with equal pleasure by a person of plain common sense and by a philosopher. that some of his plays are at once the most moral and religious of his works. The Encyclopædia, that great monument of universal science, was finished about this period. The avowed ob ject of this work was the promotion of general knowledge, and men distinguished in every branch of science had been employed in it; but what some of the principal undertakers are supposed to have had chiefly in view, was to promulgate certain free notions on the subjects of government and religion, in which there is no doubt they succeeded, not only in France but in other countries of Europe. As by these means, and the increasing commerce of the nation, literature and riches became more diffused among the middle and inferior orders of society, many ancient prejudices were weakened and effaced. That haughty superiority, which the meanest of the noblesse assumed over their fellow-citizens, became more intolerable to the bourgeoisie than before: what had been submitted to by men when poor and ignorant, was not so easily brooked by the same class when they found themselves richer, and thought themselves wiser, than many of those who were ranked their superiors. That Russian, Polish, and Bohemian peasants, who are attached to the lands, and have no means of improv ing either their minds or fortunes, should continue to bear insult and oppression from those whom they look up to as superior beings, is not wonderful: neither is it sur prising that the Turks continue slaves, because what knowledge exists among them belongs to their rulers; but if a gradual progression of industry and knowledge takes place in that part of any nation which is most oppressed, while dissipation and effeminacy prevail in that part which is most privileged, a speedy revolution in such a nation may with certainty be predicted. This alteration had, in a great measure, taken place in France. The better sort of the bourgeoisie had gained what a great portion of the noblesse had lost; and that elevation of mind, sense of honour, and spirit of enterprise, which in the days of yore belonged exclusively to the latter, was now extended, in a great degree, to the former. A claim of superiority is irksome to many people, even when they are conscious that the claimant excels them in natural qualities and attainments. A considerable degree of deference, however, will be spontaneously paid to these, by the best part of mankind, and will be greatly increased, wherever to such attainments the circumstance of high birth is added; but a continued assumption of superiority in those who are inferior in every praiseworthy quality except that of birth, is always felt with indignation and treated, with contempt, when the open display of that sentiment is not restrained by interested motives. In ancient times, the power of the state and the whole spirit of the French armies depended on the noblesse, as gallant a class of men as the world ever produced. The Greek and Roman histories exhibit not brighter examples of generous intrepidity than the annals of France. The noblesse therefore were at once respected by the sovereign and by the people. But because a race of men, distinguished for the virtues of the age in which they lived, who were always foremost in the ranks of battle, their sons fighting by their sides, were respected and admired, and had privileges granted to them, does it follow, it was asked, that the same are due to men bred in effeminate luxury, dis tinguished for their follies and debasing amusements, who, childishly fond of the trappings of a soldier and the pomp of war, shrink from its real dangers, and are equally devoid of the hardihood of ancient times, and of taste for the elegance of modern refinement? The following is the description which Montesquieu gives of that part of the nobility of France which formed the court. • L'ambition dans l'oisivité, la bassesse dans l'orgueil, le desir de s'enricher sans travail, l'aversion pour la verité, la flatterie, la trahison, la perfidie, l'abandon de tous ses engagemens, le mépris des devoirs du citoyen, la crainte de la vertu du prince, l'esperance de ses foiblesses, et, plus que tout cela, le ridicule perpetuel jetté sur la vertu, forment, je crois, le caractere du plus grand nombre des courtisans.' * The general alteration of manners which Europe has sustained of late, produced, in the opinion of many of their countrymen, a most striking alteration in the character of the noblesse of France. The opportunities of distinguishing themselves in the field more rarely occurred; and when they did, it was generally in distant climates, to which those of the higher rank seldom like to go, and therefore are not sent. Riches and promotion at home were obtained by court intrigue more than military merit, or merit of any kind; and the favours of the crown, being too often distributed by the princes, by their minions and their mistresses, occasioned much indignation. Many of the noblesse, who came from the distant provinces, were treated so superciliously by the assiduous and favoured courtiers at Versailles, that they were greatly disgusted with the present system, and as ardently desired a change in it as any roturier in the nation. Many officers of the army, after having long served abroad, when they came to Versailles, found their services. forgotten; and the neglect which they experienced was rendered more poignant by the attention which they saw paid to courtiers, such as Montesquieu describes. This accounts for the cold support which, at the beginning of the revolution, the king and the court party received from some of the nobility, and a considerable number of the officers of the army. • Ambition with indolence; meanness with pride; desire of enriching themselves without labour; aversion for truth; flattery, perfidy; contempt for the duty of a citizen; fear of the virtues of their sovereign, and hope from his foibles; and, above all, a continual attempt to turn virtue into ridicule, form the character of the majority of courtiers. At the same time the conduct and deportment of the queen were different from what long-established forms dictated. So far from wishing to impress a continual recollection of the distance between herself and the courtiers, that distance was to her irksome. Her natural impressions as a woman had more influence on her conduct, than the artificial deportment dictated to her as a queen. She loved to descend from the throne, that she might enjoy the comfort of society. However necessary the pomp of etiquette and the frigidity of reserve may be to high born dulness and insipid vanity, they were tasteless and fatiguing to a beautiful and lively woman, inspired with the desire, and conscious of the power, of pleasing. Her heart delighted in the confidences of friendship, and preferred that style of society where there was at least an appearance of equality. She gradually introduced, therefore, a familiarity of intercourse between the king and subject, unknown before at the court of Versailles. There are people however in every court who, being conscious that they can derive importance or attention from no source but that of birth, are infinitely observant of the degrees of rank, and anxious that each individual should receive the precise portion of respect to which birth gives him a claim; but while the various gradations and shades of heraldry were distinctly perceived by many persons of this description, the daughter of Maria Theresa was by birth raised so high above them all, that to her they all seemed on a level. She distinguished people by a different criterion-as they seemed to be more or less accomplished or agreeable; and by this means mortally offended many illustrious persons of both sexes, who had no pretensions of that nature. The king and queen not only gave frequent private entertainments, but accepted of them from the princes and other persons of the court; and each of them had occasionally parties, without the other being invited. The queen, who was much fonder of such entertainments than her husband, had often private suppers, with dancing, |