2»d S. No 31., Aug. 2. '66.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



83 



M. DE CALONNE, " HIS ANGLO-FRENCH VIEWS, AND 

 EULOGIUM ON THE ENGLISH NATION." 



The following article, which occurs in the 

 Political Magazine, reports an interesting extract 

 from M. de Calonne's reply to M. Necker, the 

 French Minister of Finance. As the prayer of 

 an eminent statesman of the last century, it will 

 not perhaps be denied a little space in the columns 

 of'N. &Q.": 



" An Address to the English and Fiench Nations, 

 " M. de Calonne, after saying that he wishes to be able 

 to preserve in future an eternal silence, and that he shall 

 wait tranquilly, and with resignation, the events which 

 fortune has in store for him, being desirous to devote his 

 attention to science, to letters, and the arts ; and after 

 declaring that he shall never cease to remember the con- 

 fidence reposed in him by his king, or lose the regrets 

 which naturally belong to his native country, concludes 

 as follows : — 



" Shall it be a crime, in the mean time, to enjoy the 

 consolation I feel in the reception of a nation, which 

 every day makes me experience its kindness, and more 

 acquainted with its virtues; of a free and considerate 

 nation, where their thoughts rise above conditions, 

 where disgrace is no stain, and where honourable senti- 

 ments have more credit than an appearance of being in 

 favour. I am seen with indulgence, anticipated with 

 affability, and even treated with more distinction than I 

 desire. I find well-informed men of every description ; 

 I may make useful observations on the arts, on industry, 

 and on commerce, which I can communicate again 

 without violating the laws of hospitality : I can even 

 hope for true friends. Let this eulogium, frank as the 

 country is in which I write, occasion neither surprise nor 

 offence. Having never dissimulated, shall I now stifle a 

 truth connected with gratitude? This sentiment exists, 

 and always will exist, without displacing from my bosom 

 those which my birth, my duty, and the indelible love of 

 my country, have engraved there. Wh}- should not 

 these feelings sympathise? Oh! that their accord may 

 become more natural by the most desirable of unions : by 

 the accomplishment of that wish, which, according to 

 some historians, was formed by the most beloved monarch ; 

 that wish, which humanity dictates, and which an intel- 

 ligent policy seems equally to suggest to two nations, the 

 most worthy of each other's regard, and the least in- 

 terested to injure each other. Must a fatal rivalship 

 always disunite, and too often arm against each other, 

 two people, whose natural position offers no subject of 

 dispute ; and who, owing to their reciprocal advantages, 

 have nothing for which to envy each other ? As their 

 division is the support of the hostilities of others, their 

 alliance would be the seal of universal peace. They alone 

 are in a condition to furnish the expences of a long war ; 

 and when discord springs up, by the quarrels of the other 

 princes, they alone, if they are dupes enough to take 

 part, sacrifice commerce, treasure, and prosperity. O 

 nations, without contradiction the most enlightened of 

 all upon the globe, be better acquainted with your true 

 interests ! As enemies, you can only mutually exhaust 

 your strength, and vainly drench the earth with your 

 blood ; as friends, you can impose on the earth the mild con- 

 dition of general tranquillity. When can there be a more 

 favourable conjuncture for forming the hope of seeing 

 you partaking in, or rather exercising together, this truly 

 divine function, than when each has the happiness to be 

 governed by a moderate, pacific, and virtuous king ? " 



F. Phillott. 



FOLK LORE. 



Stag Beetle. — The late Mr. George Samouelle, 

 of the British Museum, used to relate a story con- 

 cerning the above insect, of which I should like 

 to know if it obtains in many parts of England. 

 During one of his excursions to or in the New 

 Forest, he saw a number of countrymen assembled 

 at the foot of a tree stoning something to death. 

 On approaching he found a poor stag-beetle the 

 subject of attack. Causing them to desist, he 

 picked up the poor thing and put it into a box, 

 asking at the same time why it was to be stoned 

 to death. He was told it was the devil's imp, 

 and was sent to do some evil to the corn, which 

 I have forgotten. Whether Mr. S. was considered 

 the identical gentleman-in-black or not it is im- 

 possible to say ; but I know he used to laugh at 

 the stupid staring wonder of the countrymen, and 

 the trouble he had to elicit a reply to his own 

 ignorance. Avon Lea. 



Railway Custom. — While passing from Ghent 

 to Antwerp, in 1855, through the Pays de Waes, I 

 observed a singular custom, of which I could not 

 obtain any explanation. When the railway train 

 was in motion, the labourers, both men and wo- 

 men, engaged in the fields, joined hands, formed 

 themselves in line ; and either turning their backs 

 on the carriages, or at right angles with them, 

 bent, and in some cases knelt down, preserving 

 this attitude until the train had passed. It is 

 worth noting, that only such as were engaged on 

 a piece of ground where there were crops growing 

 acted in this way ; those standing on the road, or 

 on ploughed land, taking no notice of the train at 

 all, nor Indeed did any do so save while it was 

 actually moving. I have never seen or heard of 

 this custom elsewhere. R. F. L. 



Dublin. 



Fairies. — While on the subject of folk-lore I 

 may mention the following from the same county 

 (Hertfordshire). Near St. Albans (my grand- 

 father used to relate) lived a farmer who was 

 beloved by fairies. It mattered not how bad his 

 crop of wheat was in the autumn, he always had 

 corn in his barn as long as there was any in the 

 district. Of this his neighbours were jealous; in- 

 deed, so much so, that some of them inwardly 

 believed he augmented his corn while they were 

 asleep ; but though they often set a watch he was 

 never caught in the act. One night his dogs were 

 uneasy, and he, arising, saw a man creeping away 

 from the homestead. He peeped into his barn to 

 see if all were safe, when what should he behold 

 but the fairies at work augmenting his stores. 

 There was a loud buzz in the place, and hearing a 

 little fairy say to another, " How I do tweat ! " 

 he answered " Ye must sweat most darnably with 

 one ear." Immediately the whole company took 



