ley's speech, at the Bristol election, when he was returned with Mr. Burke, should be printed, for the use and adoption of poodles on either side of the House."

"What was it?"

"At the close of the election, Burke, in one of his most splendid speeches, on returning thanks, made an ample profession of the principles by which his conduct should be guided in Parliament. As he concluded, rapturous applause ensued, which only yielded to the public curiosity to listen to the harangue of his colleague, Mr. Bayley. The latter, however, was as little of an orator as Lord Cochrane himself; but, like him, spoke to the purpose, in exclaiming laconically, and in mercantile mode, 'Gentlemen, I say Ditto-Ditto to Mr. Burke, gentlemen!""

"Do you remember Burke?"

"No, he was before my time; but Pitt and Fox are present to my memory, particularly the latter. The first time I beheld him was in 1805, and I was much disappointed in the expression of his countenance, which had been represented as indicative of openness, candour, and generosity; but time had, probably, operated in rendering such qualities less distinguishable than at an earlier period of life they might have been. Had I met him on the Royal Exchange, I should almost have set him down as a member of the Jewish nation, from the peculiar mould and darkness of his features, his impending brow, the keenness of the eye beneath, and the remarkable shrewdness evinced in the contracted but expressive lines of his forehead; yet his face had nothing repulsive in its character, and the marks of thought and genius were decisively impressed upon it. When peculiarly animated in debate, his ideas seemed to flow too rapidly for his words; and the too impassioned expression of his features, the violence of his gesture, and the occasional indistinctness of his utterance, greatly marred, in my opinion, the force of his eloquence. His action was far from being either graceful or agreeable; yet it was effective in being true, energetic, and decided. The recourse he had to his handkerchief, when he spoke vehemently and at length, and its frequent application to his forehead, was not pleasing."

"Is it not singular, Ashley, that one whose education had been so carefully attended to-that one who had long travelled upon the Continent, and frequented its best society-and one whose avocations, it were to be presumed, must at all times have brought him into contact with foreigners, should have been so deficient in his knowledge of the French language as Bonaparte has (and undoubtedly with truth) represented him? Otez cela de votre tête, Premier Consul,' is a remarkable instance of literal adherence to the translation of an English phrase, and of ignorance of the language in which he spoke."

"I have heard Fox was excessively fond of novel-reading; and when he had exhausted every recent production of any merit, did not disdain to recur for amusement to inferior works, which he seldom failed to get through."

"I remember on occasion of the duel fought between him and Mr. Adam, (the present Chief Commissioner of the Civil Jury Court in Scotland,) wherein Fox was wounded, a caricature appeared under

which was written, And God gave Adam power over all the beasts of the field!"

"It was customary, in his time, for the Opposition (of which he was the leader) to meet, previous to the opening of Parliament, to concert upon the Amendment to be moved to the Address. Some difficulty occurred as to who should propose it, until casting his eye upon the late Duke of Norfolk, at that time only Earl of Surrey, Fox exclaimed, 'Saddle black Surrey for the field to-morrow!'-alluding to Richard's preparation for the battle of Bosworth, and the any thing but candid features of his noble friend."

"You have seen Pitt, you say?"

"Yes; and, in the first and only instance, shortly previous to his death. I was in the Court of Exchequer, as he passed through it to join the other ministers and judges in the Exchequer Chamber, whence they were to proceed to the ancient ceremony of pricking for sheriffs. The appearance of national affairs was then most gloomy, and the public mind greatly disturbed. A crowd had assembled for the purpose of beholding him, and it was with difficulty that the officers in attendance could preserve a passage for the Premier. He entered alone, hat in hand; but no sooner were his ears assailed with the cries of disapprobation, which broke forth from the mob on his appearance, than, with somewhat of an air of defiance and of scorn, he placed it on his head, and firmly regarding those who on either side of him manifested their displeasure, calmly and slowly pursued his way. His face I thought singularly inexpressive of the high talent he possessed,-not like his great father's. At times, and only at times, a few and not deeplymarked lines between the eye-brows, gave sign, and (if considered) strong and effective sign, of powerful genius and deep reflection. Haughtiness appeared to me the prevalent character of his features, mingled with the spirit of high resolve,' of firmness and endurance. In proceeding through St. James's Park to his office in Downing-street one day on foot, he was recognised by the crowd, which had from some other cause been attracted thither, and he was accompanied with all the honours of mobility to the place of his destination; but vain were the efforts of popular fury and clamour to arouse his indignation. He went upon his way unmoved; and gradually the noise subsided, until, as he reached his house, there was sufficient silence to enable him to be heard ;-there, bowing to the populace with ironical courtesy and respect, he begged leave to return them his thanks for the honour of the public escort which they had condescended to afford him.'

"His late Majesty having asked him if he had never thought of marriage; I have never yet had time, Sire,' was the characteristic and laconic reply of the minister.

"The minute attention Mr. Pitt bestowed on every subject that demanded it, and the force of his memory, was particularly exemplified at the time that a tax was proposed to be levied on watches, or on the materials of which they were composed. A deputation of persons most eminent in the trade waited upon the Minister, to remonstrate with him on the subject; and Mr. Miles Brockbanck, of Cowper's-court, Cornhill, has been heard to say, that after they had explained, as distinctly as it was possible, the various and complex parts of the mechanism of a watch, with the operations necessary to complete the works, the

Minister replied to them in observing in detail on every point of their statement, and evincing a knowledge of the minutiae of their art which perfectly astonished every one present.

"A Frenchman, M. le Comte Cornet, in his Souvenirs Senatoriaux,' published at Paris in 1824, reports of Mr. Pitt that, in speaking of the French nation, he observed, Ŝi on la laissait faire elle convertirait tous les metaux en or;** on which the Count, with much complacency remarks, 'Cet éloge sorti d'une bouche ennemie ou rivale, devait flatter notre vanité.'t It is but to be regretted that Monsieur le Comte, in coming to this grateful conclusion, had not first attended to (what is however certainly not a French requisite) the establishment of the accuracy of his premises.

"If Mr. Fox's ignorance of French be calculated to surprise, any incorrectness of his illustrious rival in his native language, must excite greater astonishment. Yet, if I remember well, the expression of the last will of the great statesman, concise as it was, was far more intelligible than grammatical; and his speeches, made for royalty on opening Parliament, have been much commented upon.

"The late Duchess of Gordon having sent a card to Mr. Pitt to meet a party at dinner, on Thursday at nine o'clock in the evening, received a note in reply, alleging his sorrow at not being able to avail himself of her Grace's invitation, as he was engaged to sup with the Bishop of Lincoln at the same hour.'

"I have heard it also stated, that her Grace's desire of hearing Mr. Pitt speak, in the House of Commons, was so ardent, that she was at length induced to adopt the expedient of entering the gallery habited as a man. The Duchess had not, unfortunately, made a secret of her design; and scarcely was she comfortably seated, in expectation of the Minister's speech, when Mr. Sergeant-at-arms appeared, and very politely whispered her Grace, that her sex was discovered, and that there existed a standing order of the House against the admission of any female into the gallery. Pray inform me, Sir,' inquired the Duchess, whether there exists any standing order for turning a female out who has once got in?' a question that so effectually posed Mr. Coleman, that he effected his retreat, leaving the adventurous lady in quiet enjoyment of her place."

"It is reported that her Grace was eminently useful at times to the Minister, in a political point of view?"

"It is said so. One thing is certain, that, so far back as the commencement of the French Revolution, the Duchess was reputed, at the Court of France, to be possessed of no ordinary influence with the Government of this country; and when the Princesse de Lamballe visited England, to supplicate the intervention of the King and ministry in behalf of the family of her mistress, she was, on the advice of her best friends, recommended by Marie Antoinette to the Duchess of Gordon as the person most capable of forwarding her suit."

"It is equally singular, that but for the interference of an English

If not prevented, it would convert all other metals into gold.
+ This eulogium from an enemy or rival should flatter our vanity.

nobleman, the hapless Queen of France might have been denied the consolation of that fidelity and friendship which the Princess subsequently evinced under the most fearful circumstances. It was in the year 1778 that the Princess had determined to retire wholly from the Court, in consequence of a dispute which she had with her Majesty; and her purpose was on the very point of being carried into execution, if the then Duke of Dorset had not been induced to use his exertions to reconcile the parties, which, after some time, and with no little difficulty, was ultimately effected.

"The widow of the same Duke of Dorset afterwards appeared at the Court of France, (when it was far differently constituted) as the lady of the British ambassador, Lord Whitworth; and it is said that her Grace deemed herself as much superior to those she met at the drawing-room of the First Consul, as her lord was in size to Bonaparte himself, who, on his part, was farther annoyed by the little anxiety evinced by her Grace to acknowledge the extraordinary attentions which Bonaparte undoubtedly manifested. With our ambassador, and in the discussion of political subjects, his manner was far different; and whatever doubt he and others have endeavoured to cast on the accuracy of Lord W.'s statements of the frequent forgetfulness of decorum on the part of the First Consul when particularly animated, no one who knew his lordship, and listened to his account of the scenes he witnessed, would be disposed to question the fact. He has been heard to state that, in the violence of debate, Bonaparte on one occasion raised his arm in a manner so equivocal, that although the gesture might have been caused by the energy of his feelings, had it come in contact with the ambassador, the consequences were not easy to be foreseen."

"Was Talleyrand favourable to his Lordship's mission?"

"There is no doubt of it; and the ex-Bishop of Autun, after having been excommunicated by the Holy See, burnt in effigy at Rome, wandering in the wilds of America, was well disposed to repose and rest, although probably not prepared to obtain them in the manner suggested by one of his female friends."

"What was that?'

"It was when Bonaparte was Emperor, that a lady of rank, greatly inimical to his cause, rather sillily inquired of Talleyrand, Why, during the many nightly and secret conferences he had with the Emperor, he had never thought of taking his life?'-'Je suis si paresseux, ma chère,' was the fit reply of the minister. On another occasion, dinner had been kept waiting at Talleyrand's by General Rapp, who, arriving late, apologised by saying he had been detained by affairs with a set of pekins. Pekins! who are they?' inquired his host. Oh! we term all, who are not military, pekins.'— Ah, I understand,' observed Talleyrand, and we term militaires all those who are not civiles.' When it was announced to him that Maret had been created Duke of Bassano, he coldly observed, 'I know no greater ass than Maret, if it be not now the Duke of Bassano.'"

6

"Who was Madame Talleyrand?"

* I am so lazy, my dear.

"It would be more difficult probably to say who she was not. I have heard it reported that she was born at Tranquebar, and became the wife of an Englishman of rank at Calcutta ; but that her conduct soon produced a separation, and she proceeded to her family in France, where after her marriage with Talleyrand, in company with him, she met her former husband at table at Fouché's, during the short peace of Amiens, and all parties were upon the most cordial terms. It was there she was asked, I believe, 'Whether she was a native of France?' as her colonial accent rendered it questionable. 'Non, Monsieur,' she replied, je suis d'Inde.'* Robinson and Friday we have all heard about, but that was not so bad as her orthographical error in writing to her milliner, that she had need of a 'robe de catin.""+

LETTERS FROM THE LEVANT, NO. VI.
Philadelphia, Sardis, &c.

LEAVING Laodicea on the right, we recrossed the tributary streams of the Lycus, and returning, for a short distance, in the same direction by which we had approached the ruins, regained the bank of the Mæander, the turbulent current of which now dashed impetuously along its shallow channel, swollen by the recent tempest. We passed the river and took the road to Bullada, through a romantic valley which wound between the towering heights of Messogis. The storm had ceased, and the dark curtain of gloomy clouds rolled back from hill to hill, save a few filmy vapours which hung motionless in the upper sky, apparently beyond the influence of a sharp wind which rushed impetuously from the recesses of the mountain.

Our time did not permit us to visit the remains of Hierapolis, though at a very few miles distance from our route, but we had a distinct view of the celebrated petrified cliff; its snowy whiteness contrasted vividly with the dark brown hills around it, and it now forms the main attraction of what was once the "bath" of Asia; the town, however, is still interesting on account of architectural as well as picturesque remains; but necessity combined with fatigue obliged us to hurry onwards. Leaving the ruins of Tripolis, in the distance on our right, and passing through numerous hamlets scattered amongst the hills, we arrived late in the evening at Bullada, a Turkish town of considerable extent, and built like almost all through which we had passed, on

* Turkey.

+ For "satin" probably. Catin is a female of unequivocal character.

Of this singular phenomenon, which is either a stalactytic deposit, or is formed by the precipitation of the salts contained in the streams of the mountain, Dr. Chandler gives the following description: "Our tent stood on a green dry spot beneath the cliff. The view before us was so marvellous, that a description of it, to bear even a faint resemblance, ought to appear romantic. The vast slope, which at a distance we had taken for chalk, was now beheld with wonder, it seeming an immense frozen cascade, the surface wavy as of water, at once fixed, or in its headlong course suddenly petrified. The hot waters of Hierapolis have produced this most extraordinary phenomenon, which is one extire encrustation."-Vide pp. 229, 230, Chand. Tr. Asia Min.