yet the difplays both wit and fentiment, and has erected an elegant monument to her own memory.

In our Appendix, published in July laft, we had an opportunity of mentioning and commending her work; and on the prefent occafion we cannot refift the temptation of laying before our Readers an additional fpecimen of it.

The following extract, though a little tinctured with the ludicrous, has fomething in it extremely characteristic of Lewis XIV. and of Madame de Montefpan.

The King had always a ftrong fenfe of religion, which would frequently manifeft itself even in the midft of his exceffes of gallantry-for this was his only foible. He had been born with an excellent understanding, and was fo regular in his conduct that he never omitted hearing mafs every day of his life, except twice, when he happened to be with the army. The great feftivals used to excite his remorfe more particularly; equally troubled not to pay his devotions, or to perform them. unworthily.

Madame de Montefpan had fo far the fame turn of mind, that it was by no means in compliance with the King that she manifefted it. She had been carefully educated by a mother of exemplary piety, who had fown the feeds of religion in her mind fo early, that they were never to be eradicated afterwards.. This was fo apparent in her, at all times, that even while fhe held on her criminal intercourfe with the King, fhe kept herLents fo ftrictly, that the ufed to have her bread weighed out to her. The Duchefs d'Uzès, aftonifhed at her fcruples, could not avoid dropping a hint of her inconfiftency, one day, beforeher: And what, Madam, replied Madame de Montefpan, becaufe I happen to be guilty of one crime, muft I be culpable of all. the rift?

But to return to our jubilée *. The two lovers, admo-> nifhed by their confciences, parted with mutual confent, and determined purpose never to renew their commerce more at leaft fo they thought at that time. Madame de Montefpan retired to Paris, vifited the churches, fafted, prayed, and wept for her tranfgreffions. The King alfo, on his part, performed likewife every duty of a good Chriftian.

The jubilée being over, it became a divided queftion, whether Madame de Montefpan fhould return to court any more. Why not? faid her relations and friends, even the most fcrupulous of them. She has a right to appear there, both from. ber birth, and her poft; and furely he may continue to be as good a Chriftian there as any where elfe. The Bifhop of Meaux, too, was of the fame opinion.

A feafon of penitence and prayer.

• There

There remained, however, one difficulty ftill in the cafe. Madame de Montefpan, faid they, ought not to appear again before the King without fome preparation on both fides. It was thought proper that they should meet together, at fome third place, before hand, in order to prevent the fudden effects of an unexpected interview.

Upon this confideration it was settled that the King should pay a visit to Madame de Montefpan, at her own apartments; but, to leave no room for further scandal, it was agreed on that fome ladies of the most respectable rank and unblemished characters of the court, fhould be present at this meeting, and that the King should not fee Madame de Montefpan except in their company.

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This rendezvous being appointed, the King appeared there at the time, and on the terms specified. But they happened infenfibly to withdraw together to a window, whispered a good while, wept, and faid fuch things to one another as one may fuppofe to be natural in fuch a fituation; till at length they made a profound obeisance to these venerable matrons, and retired into an inward apartment. The Duchefs of Orleans, and afterwards the Count de Toulouse, brought teftimony into the world with them of the mutual fympathy which thenceforward fubfifted between them.

I cannot refift the temptation of mentioning a thought which has often occurred to me upon this fubject. There actually seems obvious to me, from the character, the cast of features, and throughout the whole air and perfon of the Duchefs of Orleans, the appearance of that conflict which one may suppose to have arifen, on this renewed tete à tete, between love and the jubilée.'

The mention of the theatrical exhibitions at St. Cyr, leads our Author to fpeak of Racine, and of the two fine pieces which he composed to be performed by the young penfioners of this convent. Madame de Maintenon, fearing for the virtue of her bufkined virgins, defired him to compofe for them an hiftorical dramatic poem that should have nothing of love in it, and in which he was not to confider his reputation as a Writer to be in any fort concerned, as it fhould ever remain buried at St. Cyr.

This requifition, fays Madame de Caylus, threw poor Racine into the utmoft agitation of mind. He would be glad to oblige Madame de Maintenon; the refufal was impoffible to a courtier, but the compliance hazardous for one who had fo great a reputation to fuftain, and who, though he had at that time left off writing for the ftage, would, however, have been. extremely mortified at fuffering the character (which his former compofitions had fo highly established) to fink in the opinion.

of

of the public, by such an imperfect effay as was then exacted from him.

• Monfieur Boileau (whom he went to confult about this matter) declared at once for the negative; but Racine had not strength of mind enough to follow his advice, which the world has had good reafon to be pleafed at fince; for after fome reflection upon the matter, he found, in 'the fubject of Efther, every thing he could wish for, to enable him to comply with Madame de Maintenon's commands. Boileau himself was fo ftruck with the idea, that he fpirited him up to the execution of it with as much earneftnefs as he had before expreffed to prevent his undertaking it.

Racine was not long before he carried to Madame de Maintenon, not only the sketch, ftiled the Skeleton of his piece (for he used always to write them fcene by scene in profe, before he turned them into verfe) but he brought her alfo the first act compleated. She was extremely charmed with the whole of the defign, nor did her modefty prevent her from finding, in the character of his heroine, and in other circumftances of the fubject, fome things which complimented her extremely. The character of Vashti had its applications; and Haman its lines of resemblance; but, independent of thefe particulars, the ftory of Efther alone afforded an artful hint enough for a reprefentation at St. Cyr.

The choruffes that Racine, in imitation of the Grecian" ftage, had always a view of restoring to the theatre, appeared to fall naturally enough into this fpecies of writing, which confifted not only of action, but didaction; and he felt himself happy in this opportunity of introducing, and giving the public a tafte for them.

The perfonage of Vafhti was faid to have alluded to Madame de Montefpan; but I cannot fee any resemblance between them, except in her being fupplanted by Madame de Maintenon. The late Queen appears a fitter parallel, as they were both forfaken conforts, and equally fhy of appearing before their husbands. Monfieur de Louvois' perfecution of the Huguenots was faid to have been glanced at under the characterof Haman.

• In fine, I think that if one was to confider the place, the time, and the circumftances of this representation, they mustagree with me that Monfieur Racine did not fhew lefs ingenuity, upon this occafion, than in any of his other works, however excellent in themselves.

• Efther was exhibited about a year after Madame de Maintenon had interdicted the performance of any prophane piece at St. Cyr; and it received fuch vaft applaufe, that the memory of it remains ftill fresh in our minds to this inftant,

• I was

I was then very young, and not thought capable of reprefenting any part in this performance; but happening to have been préfent at the recitals that M. Racine ufed to make of every fene as he finished them, I had got moft of the lines by heart, and repeating them one day before him, he was fo pleafed with my rehearsing, that he requested Madame de Maintenon to fuffer me to exhibit myfelf in fome part of the drama.

This fhe confented to; but I declined the taking any of the parts from thofe who had been appointed to them already; fo that in compliment to my fcruple he contrived to accommodate me by giving me a prologue to fpeak on the occafion, which he wrote fpecially for this purpose.

However, by being conftantly prefent at the performance," I had got the whole piece fo perfectly by heart, that I played many of the parts fucceffively, afterwards occafionally, as any of the girls happened to be indifpofed, during the winter, throughout the whole of which it was exhibited; and this piece, which was defigned to have been confined within the walls of St. Cyr, at length broke loofe from the cloifter, and was feveral times reprefented before the King and the whole court, and ever with the fame applaufe.

The great fuccefs of this modern ancient manner of compofition infpired the Author with fuch a tafle for it, that he immediately after undertook another work of the fame kind, and fixed on the ftory of Athaliah; that is, the death of that Queen, and the reftoration of Joas, as the fitteft fubject for his pur-' pose of any in Holy Writ. He loft no time in this bufinefs, and laboured at it fo affiduously, that the winter following the piece was made ready for reprefentation.

But Madame de Maintenon received on all fides fo many hints of difapprobation, fuch remonftrances from devotées, and fuch oppofition from the poets jealous of Racine's fame, who not only procured their friends to speak to her on this fubject, but wrote feveral anonymous ftrictures against the exhibition alfo themselves, that it finally put a stop to the performance of Athaliah at St. Cyr.'

The tranflation of this little work is executed with a lefs degree of taste and care than might, in our apprenfion, have been expected from the pen of the ingenious Mrs. Griffith; fo that we can perceive but few traces of that naïveté, which marks and recommends the manner of Madame de Caylus. We muft farther obferve too, that our Tranflatrefs may not, perhaps, meet with univerfal approbation for the liberty the hath (avowedly) taken, of fuppreffing fome paffages, and of rectifying others which the imagined to be defective: a freedom for

which the hath indeed affigned her reafons: these the Reader, will find toward the close of the fecond volume. st:

*

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It may not be improper that, on this occafion, we take notice of a practice, very common of late with our tranflators from the French. By an affectation, which it is impoffible to juftify, they leave many particular words and phrafes untranflated; and fancy, perhaps, that, by this means, they enrich our language. But their endeavours, however well they may be intended, neither add to its ftrength nor its beauty; and would, if attended with fuccefs, convert it into a mere jargon. In the present work, for example, rôle is more than once left as it flood in the original. The fingular role performed by Madame de la Valiere,' p. 48. Every thing confpired to prepare that high role for Madame de Maintenon which we have all feen her fince perform,' p. 88. It would have been better, furely, to have told the English reader (for whose use this translation is published) in words which he could have underftood, that one of the above-mentioned ladies had "a fingular, the other an high part to act?" Thus, too, fcarce one of our numerous tribe of novel-writers will deign to use fuch an expreffion as the passion of love, in their invaluable productions: no, it is eternally penchant-penchant-penchant,-till the offended ear of the unfrenchified reader fickens at the found, and is almost ready to loath the very idea itself, on account of the uncouth term by which it is expreffed.

The foregoing remark will probably be thought a very unfashionable one, by the more fashionable part of our readers.With all our hearts. As fuch let it pass, with this fincere acknowledgment in addition to it, that the Monthly Reviewers hope to be found among the last of their countrymen who fhall manifeft a preference of either the principles, the manners, or the language of France, to thofe of plain, downright, honeft OLD ENGLAND. G.

ART. XV. Lettres d'une Anglois, ecrites a une de fes Amies. Letters of an English Lady, written to one of her Female Friends. 8vo. 3s. 6d. fewed. Printed at Brentford for Robinson and Roberts. 1769.

HE editor of these letters, for they are faid not to be

Henly; becaufe, among other things, his birth and education give him a right to encourage a language which has been heard in every part of the world, and is become the language of meditation.' We think, in the first place, that the French language has fufficient encouragement among us already; and, in the next place, that, to whatever countries it may have reached, it has no pretenfions to be confidered as the language REV. Jan. 1771. F of