48 



Account of Arlstidt Dt Thouurs. 



[Feb. J, 



for general biography must ever affor<l 

 satisfaction to a numerous class of 

 readers. 



We shall proceed to notice the pro- 

 gress of Tliouars, whose ripening facul- 

 ties gradually won the confidence and 

 affection of his tutnis, and his subse- 

 quent conduct contributed to establish 

 it. About a year after his release, he 

 proceeded to the militaiy school of 

 Paris ; the certificate from his college, 

 described him iis " a youth of extreme 

 vivacity, but much cliangcd for the bet- 

 ter ; much seldonier in fault, with man- 

 ners and a disposition that no longer 

 gave trouble, full of wit and sprightli- 

 ness, agreeable, and of an upright, sin- 

 cere charactei'.'" 



At Paris, Thouars applied to what- 

 ever his masters tasked him with, (who 

 were veiy gentle in their treatment) 

 but he was still the prey of an ardent 

 imagination which he could not repress. 



The French navy being then in a 

 reduced state, Tliouars could not be 

 made an aspirant, but his uncle pro- 

 cured for him the place of gentleman 

 cadet, in the infantry regiment of Poi- 

 tou ; he was afterwards made sul)-lieu- 

 tenant. Still indulging the Impes of 



Sassing into the marine, he prosecuted 

 is mathematical studies witii jR'Culiar 

 ardour, though without a master, ex- 

 cluding himself from the socicly of his 

 companions, and all the amusements of 

 his age. 



When Capt.Cook was setting'out on his 

 third voyage, the head of Thenars turned 

 giddy, (according to his own confes- 

 sion) and with au officer of the regiment 

 of Royal Champagne, who was equally 

 keen' foi such au enferprize, he must 

 needs request of the English navigator 

 the situation of the lowest cabin-boy on 

 board his vessel ; but he fotmd it, he 

 says, as difficult to descend, on certain 

 occasions, as to ascend. This project 

 failed from the time protracted in for- 

 malities. 



At length, Thouars was enabled to 

 realize the object of his wishes. A war 

 impending between France and En- 

 gland, he wrote to M. de Sartines, to re- 

 quest his translation into the corps of 

 the marine ; his uncle seconded his so- 

 licitations, and Aristide soon after was 

 ordered to repair to Rochefort, to vin- 

 deigo an examination. This he went 

 through with success, though he had 

 studied alone and without a master. — 

 His nomination was dated March I, 

 1778 ; he was then 17i years old. He 



wrote afterwards:—" 1 tiiought myself 

 a iifiirshal of France, when appointed 

 a midshipman."' 



Soon after, being sent to Brest, he 

 embarked on board Le Fendant, coni- 

 manded by, the Marquis du Vaudreuil, 

 but this vessel not being ready for sail- 

 ing, Thouars obtained leave toexcliaAge 

 for a time, into La Gloire, commanded 

 byM. du Couedic, On returning from 

 his criiize, he wrote to his uncle that 

 tliey had taken two cutters — hs paints 

 his rage at not having been on hoard 

 La Belle Poule, in her combat with the 

 Arethusa, and evinces penetration in his 

 remark that tlie English admiralty had 

 found it necessary to re-touch Ad; Kep- 

 pel's relation of it. He adds, queje suis 

 heureux, &c. — How happy am I to be in 

 the navy ! Je vole li la glnirc. — I fly 

 to glory, &c. 



Entered again on board the Fendant, 

 he served under M. de Vaudreuil, iu 

 the action oft" Ushant, and at the taking 

 of Senegal. From Senegal, he pro- 

 ceeded to America, under the same 

 commander, and was present in various 

 actions in those seas, till the conclusion 

 of a peace with England ; among others 

 in that of the 12th of April, 1782. 



There is a letter of his, dated on 

 board the Amazone, July 20, 17S2, 

 wliich gives a brief notice of Cnrar-oa : 

 '• A town peopled with Jews and usurers, 

 standing on an arid desert spot ; a 

 country that avarice alone could render 

 habitable, where the thirst of gold alone 

 can be quenchf^d, unless you dig in the 

 sand for a briny, insalubrious water. 

 These were our ideas of Cura^oa, and 

 wliat hastened our departure from it.'' 

 He goes on to say : — " We shun Cha- 

 rybdis to strike ou Scylla. Porto Cabel- 

 lo, our next rendezvous, forms an as- 

 semblage of human miseries in 50 

 wretched hovels. The country round 

 has its occasional inhabitants in the fu. 



{jitive Indians that have escaped the 

 )arbarity of their first conquerors. — 

 The Spanish domination in the New 

 World is an immense Colossus, near its 

 downfall ; its ruin threatens to crush 

 the power that raised it, if not prevent- 

 ed. Insurrections become more fre- 

 qxient than ever ; that of Santa Fe, 

 creates still so much uneasiness, that it 

 is a crime even to speak of it. 



Porto Cabello is part of the kingdom 

 of Caraccas, famous for its cocoa. The 

 tree is of t!ie shiub kind, and only at- 

 tains its growth undm- the shade of very 

 large trees that screen it from the Ileal. 



There 



