rose a large gilt scollop shell convexing aft, and in the concavity of which stood the helmsman; on the top or arch of the scollop stood a gilt female figure representing Victory, with arms extended, holding a silk flag, and the eagle on the dome caught the fly of it in his beak. On the bow stood Fame, another gilt figure as large as life; she was in a vaulting attitude, and held in her hands two trumps with their mouths erected to the skies.

This vessel was rowed by sixteen oarsmen, in rich dresses of white satin, trimmed with broad gold lace, and gold laced hats; their oars were covered with silver leaf, and glittered in the water like lightning.

The Emperour was accompanied by the King and Prince of Bavaria, the Vice King of Italy, the grand Duke of Berg, &c.— These were seated round in the Pavilion, but the Emperour himself stood up, and with his hat off bowed very civilly on each side as he passed along, whilst the balconies rung with shouts of joy and peals of viva l'Emperadore.

A numerous train of dressed boats followed, as well as preceded the Emperour, and the line was closed by the Orca de Marine, and Gondolas without number.

This splendid procession entered the grand canal at its western extremity, where, in the middle of the canal, was erected a triumphal arch in honour of the Emperour under which he passed, and where he was met by the magistrates of the city, with the ceremony of delivering the keys, &c. Thence they proceeded along the whole length of the canal, through the city, and landed him at an open square from St. Mark's place to the quay, on the bay; from the place of his landing he was escorted to the palace of the Procuratore in St. Mark's square, which had been fitted up for his reception.

The next day the Emperour visited the islands in the harbour, and went into the arsenal; and on the second of December the entertainment was given at the theatre. The same day also, there was a frigate launched in the arsenal, when he and the other royal and princely guests attended. On this occasion there was a number of ladies in company; the Emperour appeared to be pleased, and was very civil and attentive to the ladies; one of which he took under his arm when he returned out of the arsenal, and was so gallant as to walk with his hat in his hand all the while he accompanied her.

On the evening of the second of December, as mentioned above, an exhibition in honour of the Emperour, was given at the theatre, at which his imperial majesty was present. It being the anniversary of his coronation, they made choice of this particular time with the view of making the compliment the more flattering to the royal visitor. The theatre, upon this occasion, was fitted up in the most superb style; silk, and gold, and purple, were the rich ornaments which decorated all parts of the house; and as the boxes filled with the proud dames of Venice, whose elegant dresses displayed a profusion of taste and wealth,

the whole scene was uncommonly beautiful and splendid. In the centre of the boxes, fronting the stage, a rich and magnificent pavilion was erected for the sovereign; it was covered with purple velvet, and very richly ornamented with gold fringe, over the front of it the crown, and on the top the imperial eagle.

As the company who was to have the honour of being present at this exhibition was to be select, it was necessary to have considerable interest to procure a place; we had a pleasing instance of the influence which our friend had in court matters, in his obtaining tickets for us, so we had only the additional expense of getting a costly court dress, (without which no person was admitted) and our desire of seeing this splendid entertainment was gratified.

The company was all assembled, and the house was completely filled an hour before the Emperour arrived, and when he came suddenly into the elegant lodge erected for him, the theatre resounded with acclamations, and the boxes waved with white handkerchiefs, and sparkled with the diamonds upon the fair hands that displayed them. The Emperour bowed and the acclamations were continued, he bowed again and they were renewed; these mutual compliments continued some time, at length he seated himself, and took up the piece to be performed which lay upon the front of the box, before him; after having run his eye cursorily over it, he laid it down, and the curtain was drawn up. The stage decorations were equally beautiful with those of the other part of the theatre, and the first scene was elegant indeed. The piece performed was composed for this particular occasion, was a fulsome piece of flattery, and as far as my knowledge of the Italian language would enable me to judge, was entitled to as little merit for its composition as for the justness of its adulation. The subject was a dispute between Valour and Clemency, which were entitled to pre-eminence. They were to be heard in a publick assembly of the gods, and Jove was to decide the question. The first scene presented Olympus, with a splendid convocation of deities, with their appropriate ornaments and emblems. Jove sat enthroned on high and awed the senate. Clemency with graceful step and female softness first came for ward and enumerated her claims to preference; and then came Valour, who, in warlike guise and haughty air, despised her claims, and declared his right. To make short work of it and end the dispute, Jove says, they shall be united; but say the gods, where shall we find mortal, or immortal, in whom can combine these two exalted virtues ;-why to be sure it is difficult, and this dispute has long been agitated without finding a subject to end it; but go to the shores of the Adriatick, there shall you find the exalted hero who is worthy of their union. Who! who! Napoleon the Great! Such was the fable, plot, and moral of the piece.

If Louis XIV. was accused of uncommon vanity, when, in a performance composed for his entertainment, he suffered himself to be called the greatest monarch on earth, what must we think of the subject of this ridiculous and constrained adulation.

After this exhibition at the theatre, the next amusement was a Regatta, which was followed by fire works and an illumination. The Regatta is a race performed by boats, in which the skill and dexterity of the Venetian boatmen is finely exhibited. It is an entertainment that is usually given to any illustrious stranger, and upon which occasion the spectacle on the water is always highly pleasing and beautiful.

The next evening there was a ball given, for which we were offered tickets, but as we had already spent more time here than we expected to have done, we could not think of prolonging our stay.

1

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Accordingly on Thursday the fourth of December, about two o'clock, we left Venice, after having dined and paid an enormous reckoning. However, as we had had the satisfaction of seeing the great Napoleon, as well as this singular and celebrated city, and being present at all the splendid scenes which had been devised for his reception and amusement, we did not much repine at paying three or four dollars a day for entertainment. engaged a Gondola, in the morning, to call at our lodgings at half past one o'clock, to take us over to Mestre, and it was at the door at the time; so we stepped into her and were off; not however without being surrounded by a host of domesticks, half of whom we had never seen before, and the other half had rendered us no services, yet they all expected presents, and by their clamorous wishes of bon voyage, Iddio voi conserve, extorted from us ten or twelve livres after we had calculated our expenses at an end.

We passed through two or three small canals, and then entered the grand canal, proceeded on this a considerable way through the city, and then struck off into another which led us to the bay, over which we had to cross to Mestre.

On our way over this bay we met the Emperour and his suite, who had been reconnoitring the coast, and amusing himself on the water. He was in a rich barge, rowed by eighteen men in elegant uniform: the barge was painted with a clear white bottom, above which was a bright red streak, then a wider streak of sky blue, and on this blue ground was the waves of the sea in bas relief, gilt, extending quite round the boat, with a variety of emblems, as Neptunes, Tritons, Mermaids, sea nymphs, gallies, &c. also in gilt bas relief. This chain of emblems formed the lower edge of the blue streak, and on the upper edge was a gilt moulding; above this another narrow red streak and a gold moulding forming the gunwale; the rowlocks were in this streak, and ornamented with gilt edges. The bow of the barge turned forward in a large gilt scroll, on which stood a gold eagle with wings raised, and holding in his beak a medallion of the Emperour. The looms of the oars were fluted, the recesses of the flutes gilt, and the prominent parts blue; the blades were silvered, with a gilt sea nymph on each side. Over the stern was erected a superb canopy of rich purple velvet festooned at the

sides, and fringed with gold; the canopy was supported by gilt standards, and under it was the Emperour and King Napoleon the great.

When we arrived at Mestre, we landed at the post-house, where we left our carriage; and here we learned that all the horses were in requisition for the Emperour, and that it was impossible to get a horse of any kind, either private or post. We had some reason to fear this, knowing that the Emperour was to take his route for Udine, when he leaves Venice, but as we understood he would not start till Sunday, we were in hopes to have got on before this requisition of horses took place; here we were however, under the shed of the post-house, reduced to the alternative of seeking some house of entertainment in Mestre, or returning to Venice to wait his majesty's movements. It rained very hard, the street was muddy, and it was a mile, they told us, to the Albergo. We waited some time under the miserable shelter we had taken, and as we were very impatient to get back to Trieste, the idea of being detained three or four days did not console us in our unpleasant situation. These delays and disappointments frequently occur to travellers, and he gets on best in the world who meets them with cheerfulness, and without repining. We did not long brood over our misfortunes, but as soon as the shower abated took up our march and waded through the mud and water to the tavern; here we were introduced to a neat and cleanly apartment, with one large bed and other decent furniture, where we are to content ourselves until the sovereign shall have gone on, and left the horses at liberty for others.

"NO man," says Doctor Johnson, concluding his remarks on Milton's answer, published in 1651, to Salmasius's Defensio Regis, "forgets his original trade; the rights of nations and of kings sink into questions of grammar, if grammarians discuss them." This observation Doctor Johnson has ventured to adopt, and laboured to enforce as a maxim, without acknowledging his obligation to Butler, who has the same thought upon the same subject. The great author of Hudibras in the fragments of his intended second part of the Satire upon the imperfection and abuse of human learning, referring to the controversy between Salmasius and Milton has the following lines:

I doubt whether the death of any sovereign has been lamented in strains more simple and affecting, than are employed in the opening of a poem in honour of queen Elizabeth, entitled England's Mourning Garment, written above two centuries ago. Colin, thou look'st as lagging as the day,

When the sun, setting towards his western bed,
Shews that, like him, all glory must decay,
And frolick life with murky clouds c'erspread
Shall leave all earthly beauty 'mongst the dead:
Such is the habit of thy new array.

Why art thou not prepar❜d to welcome May,
In whose clear moon thy younglings shall be fed
With night's sweet dews and open flowers of day?

M. HENNET.

A Poetique Anglaise was published by this gentleman at Paris, in three volumes, 8vo. in 1806. It is a work of considerable merit, and contains a short account of most of the English poets, and copious extracts from those who are most celebrated, with literal translations into French at the bottom of the page. In the list there are some names almost unknown, while some of considerable celebrity of the present age, such as Cowper, &c. are not mentioned. He is a great enthusiast for English poetry, and what is very rare for a Frenchman, appears to understand it perfectly; he has even given one or two translations of French poetry to imitate the different styles of Thomson and Pope, in which he has succeeded, particularly in the latter. He quotes some of the criticisms of Doctor Johnson with much admiration of his ta lents and works. He seems even to have entered so much into the spirit of the poets, that he takes an interest in their political opinions, and shews some bias towards those who were tories, as he avows indeed his dislike to the party of the whigs. His