Retrospect of French Literature—Miscellaneous. 
System which his precursor applied to 
the ancient, ones alone, but he has been 
repaid with complete success. 
“ Lydie, ou les Marriages Manqués, 
Conte Moral.”—Lydia, or Marriage 
Disappointments, a moral tale, by Ma- 
dame J. Srmons Conpercye, author of 
Catherine, ou la Belle Fermiere. Paris, 
2vols. 12mo, 
Lydia de St. Hilaire, was young and 
charming, and a mother who ‘idolised 
her, had, of course, completely spoiled 
_ her. On her first leaving the domestic 
asylum where a fond parent resided, she 
repaired to the Castle of Mordeck, inha- 
bited by her aunt, This lady had assem- 
bled around her a select society, and 
the young Alphonso de Bellegarde became 
amorous of our heroine, at the very first 
sight of her! The relations charmed 
with the prospect of a match so suitable 
for both parties, in every point of view, 
already began to arrange every thing for 
the intended marriage, when Adhemar 
de Mulsam, took offence at what was 
about to be done. This personage, we 
are told, was not in love with Lydia; no, 
he loved himself too weil for this, and, 
as the fair author observes with some 
humour, such an event would have been 
considered by him as an infidelity! But 
he was incited by the glory of achieving 
so great a conquest, and interest per- 
haps, in addition to this, made him re- 
solve to recur to all the seductive arts in 
his power. - 
An absence of eight days, on the part 
of Alphonso, left sufficient time for Ad- 
hemar, to make sume progress in the 
affections of Lydia; billets, sighs, feigned 
absence of mind, were all employed by 
turns. He thus, at length, found means 
687 
to draw her into a solitary place, on 
purpose to give to their interview, all the 
appearance of an assignation: he, in 
short, seized this opportunity to ruin her 
reputation, and accident was not a little 
favourable to his projects, by sending 
old Bellegarde and his son thither, in 
consequence of her screams, after which 
they immediately took their departure. 
But an unhappy event unmasked Ad- 
hemar in the midst of his triumphs, for 
a fire having consumed the castle .of 
Mordyk, and together with it a large 
portion of the fortune of Lydia, he fled 
from the scene of ruin like acoward, and 
a paltroon. The life of Lydia was 'on 
this vecasion saved by Valmont, the 
friend of her father, a man at once amiae 
ble, virtuous, and rich; and who culti- 
vated paioting from his love of the art, 
Gratitude attached her to him, who had 
consecrated his furtune to repair the 
losses of her parent; but her character, 
which was both imperious and irregular, 
soon invited new misfortunes, She 
thought that the eagerness of her new 
lover to obtain her hand, was nothing 
more than an anticipated air of authority, 
and soon broke off the negociation for a 
marriage. Soon after this, M. de Préval, a 
gentleman whom she believed to love 
her, and in favour of whom she deigned 
to pronounce, declined the connexion, 
and Lydia now ready to die in conse» 
quence of an illness occasioned by chag- 
rin, lost all her beauty. On this in her 
turn, she adores Valmont, who, on the 
other band, refuses to espouse her, and 
tells her that’ he will content himself 
with remaining the most zealous of hey 
friends, 
a 
N.B. The total Interruption of Communication with Germany, renders it ime 
practicable to continue, for the present, our Retrospect af German Literatur¢. 
GENERAL 
