1816.] 



Cornucopia : — Napoleon and JVieland. 



length, al)0ut midnight, 1 began to feel 

 incoiiveriioiice ftoin sfaiuliiig so long, 

 aiul took the liberty of icqiiestinp; iiis 

 Majesty's peiiiiissioii to witliiiiinv. 



* Allez done,' said he, in a very friendly 

 lone, ' hon soir.' " 



" The more remarkable traits of our 

 interview were these: — 'J'he previous 

 play having drawn our conversation 

 upon Julius Ciesar, Napoleon observed, 



* that he was one of the greatest cjja- 

 racters in universal history; and in- 

 deed,' added he, ' would have been, 

 w ithout exception, the greatest, but for 

 cue blunder.' I was about to enquire 

 to what anecdote he alluded, wJiea he 

 seemed to read the question in my eye, 

 and continued : ' Ca3sar knew the men 

 who wanted to get rid of him, and he 

 ought to have been rid of them first.' 

 If Napoleon conid have read all that 

 passed in my inner mind, lie would 

 have perceived me saying — Such a 

 blunder will never be laid to yoiu- 

 ciiargc. 



" iVoni Capsar our conversation turned 

 to the Romans ; he praised warmly their 

 military and their political sjstcm. 

 The Greeks, on the contrary, seemed to 

 stand low in his opinion. ' The ct«'rnal 

 sculflc between their little Republics 

 was not formed (he said,) to evolve any 

 thing gnat. But the Romans were 

 always intent on grand purposes, and 

 thus created tlic mighty Colossus which his alms dishes, fragments of his hotise. 



423 

 dcrs enow. If I had to make a reJigion 

 for philosophers, it should be just the 

 reverse.' In this tone the conversation 

 went on for some time, and Bonaparte 

 profc;;sed so much sce|)tieism, as to 

 question whetiier Jesus Christ had ever 

 existed. This (adds Wieland,) is very 

 quotidian scepticism ; and in his free- 

 thinking I saw notliing to admire, but 

 the opcimess with which he exposed it." 

 Bonaparte sent siiortly afterwards to 

 Wiehuid a brevet of admission into 

 his legion of honor. 



LE DF.SPENCER. 



Hugh Lord Le Despencer, who had 

 the title of Earl of Gloucester, and was 

 executed for high treason, at his deatb 

 was possessed of no less tiian 59 lord- 

 siiips, in sundry counties; 28,000 slieep; 

 1000 oxen and steers; 1,200 kiiie, with 

 their calves; 40 mates, with their colts 

 of two years ; 100 drawing jjorscs ; 2000 

 hogs; 3000 bullocks; 40 tuns of wine; 

 600 bacons; 80 carcase: of ^Tartirnnas 

 beef; and GOO ir.ullons: in his lardor 

 were 10 tuns of c^der; he also left ar- 

 mour, plate, jewels, and ready nionev, 

 better than 10.0001.; 36 sacks'of wool, 

 and a library of books. 



ANCIENT HOSPITALITY. 



Richard de Berry, Bishop of Dur- 

 ham, in the reign of Edward III. had 

 every week eigiit quarters of whent 

 made into bread for the poor, bc.iidcs" 



bestrode the world.' I pleaded for the 

 art and literature of tlic Greeks; he 

 t^ekteil both with contempt, and said, 

 * they only served to dispute about.' 

 He preferred Ossian to Homer, in poe- 

 try, he professed to value only the 



and great sinns of money bestowed by 

 him ill his journejs. AYest, Bishop «if 

 EI3', in 15.')2, daily fed 200 poor people 

 at his gates, and the Jjord Cromwell 

 usually the same number. Edward, 

 Earl of Derby, led upwards of sixty 



snbliinc and energetic and pathetic aged poor, besides all comers, thrice a 



Writers, especially t!ie tragic poets ; but, 

 «f Ariosto, he spoke in some such terms 

 as Cardinal llippolito of Este did ; not 

 aware, however, I tliink, that in this he 

 wa!< giving nle a box on the ear. For 



week; and furnished on Good I'nday 

 2,700 people witii meat, drink, and 

 money; others were equally liberal. 



Robert W'inchelsca gave every Fri- 

 day anil Saturday, unto every beggar 



any thing Imlnoious, he seemed to have tiiat came to his door, a loaf of bread, of 



no liking; and, notuithstanding the rt_/rtr?/f/v(n/))v'ce; (Stowe says, a loaf of 



flattering friendliness of his apparent bread sufiicient for the day ;) in time of 



manner, he repeatedly struck mc as if dearth there were usually r>0()0, in a 



cist (rOin bronze. plentiful time 4000, loaves distributed. 



"At length, howevor, he had put me The dole now distributed at Lambetlw 



sd much at my ease, that I asked him gate, c<)nsi:its of fifteen quartern loaves. 



how it came about that tiie public wor- 

 ship, which ho had reformed in France, 

 had Hot been rciidtir-d more pliilosophic 

 and more on par with tiie s[)irit ot the 

 times. ' ]\Iy dear Wieland, (he replied,) 'i'hursday, among thirty jioor paiisli- 



nine stone of bi'cf, and five shillings 

 worth of iialf])cnce. 'I'iiese are divided 

 into three equal portions, and distri- 

 buted everv Sunday, TucMlay, and 



worship is nrit made fni philosophtis; 

 they neither believe ill me not ?ny priest- 

 hood. As for those who do believe, you 

 cannot give them, or leave theiy, wou- 



ioners at Lanibelh. Tiie b'cf is made 

 into broth, 1hickonc<l with oatmeal, 

 divide<l into ten equal shares, and is 

 di:Uiibutcd with half a loaf, a pilclier of 



broth, 



