with whom you will settle 16 your disbursement in this business. We have yet remaining a cargo of the same nature 17 to forward to you in a few weeks, and we request of you in due time 18 to take the trouble of having it likewise insured in your town. We remain, Gentlemen,

Your very obedient servants,

William Thompson and Co.

Answer.

Havre, 20th June, 1844.

Messrs. William Thompson and Co., Liverpool.

We have been favoured with yours of the 18th inst., containing a bill of lading for twenty bales of cotton, which you have placed to the account of Messrs. Bourdillon of Rouen, on board the ship L'Espérance, Captain Jean Bart, and the insurance whereof you leave to us 1o. We have lately effected this insurance, and shall immediately acquaint our said friends at Rouen with it, informing them at the same time of the premium we have paid. We shall follow the same course' with what remains to be transmitted; and the moment we receive advice from you, we will attend to it with equal

care.

In the meantime, we remain,

Your most obedient servants,

20

Philippe Baudouin and Comp.

£350 10s. 6d.

London, 14th May, 1845.

Two months after date, please to pay Messieurs Bainbridge and Co. or order, the sum of three hundred and fifty pounds ten shillings and sixpence, and place the same to the account of

To William Baker, Esq.,
Calais.

£1577s. 11d.

Richard Jones.

Bristol, 27th September, 1843.

Three months after date we promise to pay to the order of M. Jean Caillard the sum of one hundred and fifty-seven pounds seven shillings and elevenpence for value received. Hingray and Lawson.

Payable at the Bristol Bank.

392

VERSIONS OR FREE EXERCISES

To be translated into French.

Biographical sketches.

CORNEILLE. He was the first dramatic author of eminence1 among the French. To many defects he joins beauties of the first order; and although he did not possess the pure and delicate taste of Racine, being inferior to the latter in painting the softer passions, he possesses more fire and more majesty. The flights of his imagination are sublime; the heroes whose pictures he delineates are truly great; and his masterpiece, the "Cid,” will ever remain on the French stage a fine monument of his genius.

RACINE. He studied early and with care the Greek tragic poets, and perfected his taste after1 that reading. This poet is remarkable for the elegance of his style, and for the art with which he delineates the softer passions. His poetry is highly harmonious, correct and graceful. He is reproached with too much sameness in the intrigue of his plays, and in the character of his heroes; but the beauties he displays are so far superior to his defects that he is allowed the first rank among the French tragic poets, which is, however, contested by Voltaire. Racine's son has supported the glory of his father; his poem on9 Religion contains passages of the greatest beauty; his Odes are much esteemed, and some of them 10 worthy of J.-B. Rousseau.

MOLIÈRE.—It is a received opinion that Molière's comedies surpass the best performances1 of that kind among the Ancients; and Voltaire calls him the best comic poet that ever existed. The fertility of his genius is astonishing: he spent the greater part of his life in writing comedies, both3 in prose and verse, which were much applauded. His talents were not confined to composition only, for he was also an eminent actor. His last comedy was the Hypochondriac, or Le Malade imaginaire. Whilst Molière was performing the principal character of that play, and pretending to be dead, he was seized with an illness, of which he died the next day.

LA FONTAINE. As a fabulist he has surpassed every other writer, and the name of "the inimitable La Fontaine " has been given him by common consent1. His fables are perfectly natural, without the least affectation, and replete with2 wit. He was a man of extreme simplicity of manners; full of candour and probity; but in society always absent and thoughtful, so much so that he often spoke to his friends without knowing them. Madame de Sévigné, herself a distinguished writer of his time, used to say that his fables resembled

a pottle of strawberries, of which we commence by picking out the best and finish by eating them all.

BOILEAU DESPRÉaux.—A (275.) member of the French Academy, and one of the most celebrated poets of the age of Louis XIV. He is the Juvenal of the French, and in his satires far superior to the Roman writer in point of1 delicacy and chasteness of style. His productions gained him great reputation, particularly his "Art of Poetry," his " Epistles," and his "Lutrin." No French poet has been so correct in his style, and few equal him in strength and harmony. He has written some "Odes," but they are inferior to those of J.-B. Rousseau. It has been said of him, that his verses will be read even when the language is obsolete3, and will be the last ruins of it.

CRÉBILLON.-Although inferior to his great dramatic rivals Corneille, Racine, and Voltaire, he opened a new path1, in which he succeeded well. Corneille had astonished the mind by the sublimity of his thoughts, Racine had moved the heart, and Crébillon struck it with terror. When Crébillon was received at the French Academy, they applauded, in his discourse on the occasion, the truth of the following line:

"Aucun fiel n'a jamais empoisonné ma plume."

MADAME DESHOULIÈRES.-Three French poets have distinguished themselves in pastoral poetry; Deshoulières, Segrais, and Fontenelle. The last-mentioned, however, did not possess the simplicity so natural to that style; and Segrais, with more poetical talent, had not so pure a diction as Madame Deshoulières. Among her "Idyls," there are some of the greatest merit.

DESTOUCHES. This dramatic writer ranks far below1 the favourite of Thalia, the keen2 and witty Molière; yet one of his comedies, "Le Glorieux," would do honour to that great writer himself, and is looked upon3 as one of the best plays in the French language.

ROLLIN.-Rector of the University of Paris, he caused letters to flourish under his administration, and revived the study of the Greek. His principal works are, "A Treatise on the manner of studying and teaching the Belles-lettres," and an "Ancient History." They have obtained universal approbation, and are translated into several languages.

Marmontel.—Secretary to the French Academy, well known by the variety of his literary productions, and adınired for the vigour and delicacy of his genius. He wrote the "Literary Observer," the "Charms of Study," the "Elements of Literature," a French translation of Lucan's Pharsalia1, and several tragedies; but his fame rests principally upon his "Moral Tales" and "Belisarius." Never has wisdom appeared more amiable than in these charming productions. Marmontel died in the year 1799. Three years before his death,

being nominated to the Legislature, he went to the Electoral Assembly, and, thanking his fellow-citizens for this mark of respect, he said to them, "You behold, my friends, a body enfeebled by age, but the heart of an honest man never grows old3.

THOMAS.-A (275.) member of the French Academy: he is known by various works, but more particularly by his Eulogies, the subject of which is taken from all nations. His "Eulogy of Marshal Saxe was crowned by the French Academy. His style has been much criticised, but among his productions there are some of the greatest merit.

LA HARPE. He was an author of varied talents, an (273.) orator, critic, poet, and dramatic writer. His dramatic pieces have considerable merit; his poems gained1 several prizes from different Academies his Eulogies of Fénelon, Racine, and Charles the Fifth have been much admired; but his principal work is a Complete Course

of Literature."

2

VOLTAIRE. This author is considered the most extraordinary genius that France ever produced; he has written, both in verse and prose, on almost every subject, and generally with great success. From his earliest youth he showed1 proofs of the acuteness of his wit and brilliant imagination; such was the precocity of his genius, that at twelve years of age his poetical essays would have done honour to his riper age3. His tragedies are masterpieces: although below Molière in the comic style, his comedies are replete with wit. His histories of Charles XII. and Peter the Great are models of historical composition. His "Henriade" is a fine epic poem, in which all the characters are well supported, the passions skilfully laid open*, the descriptions striking, and accompanied with all the enthusiasm of fine poetry: the subject, however, was ill chosen, being too near our age; it shackled his creative imagination, and destroyed the illusion we indulge in when reading Tasso, Ariosto, Homer, and Virgil'. The most perfect of his writings is his fugitive poetry, in which he has no rival.

BARTHÉLEMY.-He is the author of the "Travels of Anacharsis" in Greece, a (275.) classical work, in which he has displayed vast erudition; it is the fruit of thirty years' labour, and will immortalize his memory. He was a (273) member of many distinguished academies, and he united to profound learning, modesty, simplicity and amiability of temper.

LA BRUYÈRE. He has displayed1 the follies of mankind and the manners of his age in his Caractères, after the manner of Theophrastus3. Their success was very great when they appeared, these characters being not always imaginary, but drawn after nature, and from known persons. They will always be read with pleasure.

FENELON. He preached with success from the age of nineteen, and wrote many works which are admired for their beauty of style;

but that which has gained him1 the greatest reputation is his "Telemachus," where he has displayed all the riches of the French language; it is written in a lively2, simple, natural and elegant manner. No work had ever a greater reputation; its fictions are well imagined, the moral sublime, and the political maxims it contains all tend to the happiness of mankind.

FLORIAN. Although this author is principally known by his novels, his style is so elegant, and the moral in his writings so pure, that we do not hesitate in recommending their perusal. He has written some comedies with a great deal of success; his fables are inferior only to those of La Fontaine; his "Estelle" is a pastoral equal to "Galatea"; and his "Gonzalvo of Cordova" and "Numa Pompilius" are highly esteemed.

MASSILLON.-This divine is justly considered one of the best and most eloquent of French preachers. Louis XIV. once said to him, "When I hear other orators I am pleased with them; but after having heard you I am displeased with myself." It is impossible to read his sermons without becoming better. His style is mild and elegant, and the eloquence of his declamation was irresistible.

MONTESQUIEU. His first literary production is entitled "Persian Letters," and gave proofs of a fine genius. His greatest work, the Spirit of Laws," was much criticised, but has placed its author in the first rank among political writers. Montesquieu has examined his subject with so much clearness and judgment, that his book ought rather to have been named1 the Code of the Laws of Nations. His "Considerations on the Causes of the Rise and Fall of the Romans" is an excellent work.

BERQUIN. This author should be particularly recommended to youth. In his "Ami des enfants" he offers the most important lessons under the most attractive form. His works have been translated into all the languages of the civilized world.

Thoughts, Maxims, and other miscellaneous selections. Love God who made thee with all thy strength.

Do good to all, that thou mayst keep thy friends and gain thy

enemies.

It is right to be content with what we have, not with what we are : the exact reverse is the case with most men.

What cannot courage and power do when guided by wisdom? An honest man is the noblest work of God.

Ostentation and taste are irreconcilable enemies.

Life is a heavy burden for every man who does not know how to employ himself.

Judgment and imagination are rarely united.

In the path of life, we have the brilliant meteor of hope to dazzle us, and behind us truth.