volume one

XVm BIOGEAPHICAL ^'OTICE.
a century, are only acceptable to him who may be writing
the history of the time. In this latter vein we may, however,
suppose him to have excelled ; mixed up from an early
possessed of a lively ima-
age with politics and journalism ;
gination and great facility of expression ; constantly in the
world, and deeply interested in its movements ; we can fancy
his vers de societe, of vvhich so much is said, to have been
piquant and sparkling. AYe subjoin a specimen, written
upon Buonaparte's expedition to Egypt ;
—
Que de lauriers tombes dans I'eau,
Et que de fortunes perdues !
Que d'hommes coutent au torabeau,
Pour porter Bonaparte aux nues !
Ce heros vaut son pesant d'or
En France, personne n'en doute ;
Mais il vaudrait bien plus encore,
S'il valoit tout ce qu'il nous coute.
What laurels in the waters fall,
What fortunes sink no more to rise !
What men lie shrouded in death's pall,
That Bonaparte may gain the skies !
This hero 's worth his weight in gold ;
In France of that there's no one doubts ;
But greater far his worth, if sold
At what he costs—or thereabouts !
As a conversationalist his reputation stands even higher
than that of our Coleridge ; for the stream was quite as
constant and abundant, and at the same time much more
pellucid. One of our English biographical dictionaries says
he was censor of the press under Louis XVIIL, but this we
believe is not correct ; indeed it was an office scarcely suitable
for the editor and proprietor of such a journal as the
Quotidienne. He was a member of the Academy and of the
Institute, a knight of St. John of Jerusalem and of the
Holy Sepulchre, and for a short time representative of the
department of the Ain. These were his temporary honours
—much more durable and brilliant ones belong to him as
the author of the work before us.
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