,5*^ Account of Aristkte De Thoiiort 



men, lacccl velvet robes covering so 



many petticoafs and drawers behind, 



as made them look like the base of the 



pyramids at Grand Cairo : their head- 



ilress in the tiara form ; the dance was 



the Roinela. He who led it was in 



sky-bine, () la Franpaise, with a cotton 



bonnet that shewed a want of soap in 



the island ; his handkerchief stuffed 



with snuff, served for his garland of 



flowers : in his capers he snapped his 



fingers with an agreeable air. The 



chamber was small, the orchestra not 



very numerous but loud enough ; a 



crowd of sjiectafors not dancing but 



enjoying the same benefits of perspira- 

 tion as M. Peugalo, The consul's 



Tiejihew had mustacliios six times larger 



than mine ; lie was bcotrd and dressed 



in a grecwffifjuine Mhich he had in the 



llussian servi( e &c. &c." 



There is a letter to his uncle, dated 



in the Sea of Marmora : " You must 



have seen plans of Constantinople, but 

 will they dovelope the beauty of this 

 port? It is really the most magni- 

 ficent ami commodious in the world; 



15 and 20 fathoms water; quays Avhicli 

 nature alone has been at the charge of, 

 so that art can make little improve- 

 ment. 



" Here seems to be a combination of 

 advantages that might inspire the 

 possessors of this superb local with 

 a relish for commerce and the marine. 

 How came it that the si:ccessors of 

 Constaniiue, embroiled in theological 

 quarrels, imbued with ]?omau pre- 

 judices against trade, paid no at- 

 tention to it ? — that the Osmanlis 

 who rul(! over so many coasts and 

 islands, should neglect the resources 

 of a puissant marine? — Nothing can 

 be more contemptible than the fleet of 

 the Crescent. 



'• The mad Turks have strangled the 

 captain Abeo — who alcnewas capable 

 of effecting salutary reforms : they have 

 drowned his wife, who called heaven 

 and earth (o testify the innocence 

 of her husband, and deuouncetl ana- 

 themas on his murderers. Tliey would 

 not suffer Truguet, coi imander of the 

 Tarletou, their teacher in tactics, to 

 embark with them, and prevent the 

 faults they committed at the attack of 

 Kinburn. 



" We have with us an officer of ar- 

 tillery who is to take charge of eight 

 maiiues that our ambassador has 

 demanded for his guard. This officer 

 M'as of a jiarty employed by Ihem, in 

 the last war : he has very lately, been 



[Feb. 1, 



instructing l.'iOO artillery-men that 

 have set out for tlie armies. They shew 

 high respect for his abilities, and 

 esteem his personal character, but do 

 not seem to relish his coming among 

 them, to give them lessons as pupils. 

 Others have observed before me, that 

 their obstin.icy and restive character 

 render fruitless all attempts to dispel 

 their ignorance and improve their in- 

 telligence. 



" The people here nevertheless are 

 not wholly destitute of energy, patri- 

 otism and valour ; they ai'c a com- 

 pound of Arabians, Parthians, Scy- 

 thians and Samaritans ; there is yet 

 vigour in the system, and it will re- 

 quire some time ere it be completely 

 degenerated. 



" The Porte has lately had good sm- 

 eess against the Imperialists; all tiie talk 

 here is about heads and sacks full of 

 ears. I will not say there is exagge- 

 ration in (he Turkish recitals, but this 

 I dare aver, that they evince unbounded 

 confidence against these new enemies, 

 and they haie procured double the 

 number of soldiers they had at first. 

 They do not look for equal success 

 against the Russians, whose manner of 

 making war and treating their pri- 

 soners does not, they say, suit them.'" 



The following letter composed in 

 1788 (addressed to his brother, an officer 

 of engineers) details, with plainness, 

 an interesting occurrence. •' M. Fauvcl, 

 the painter of M. de Choiseul, is a man 

 ejiactly fittculi for the respectable curi- 

 osity of our ambassador. Last year, 

 he passed a length of time, suspended 

 on the cornices of the temple of 

 Minerva at Athens, taking moulds of 

 the bas-reliefs, which he afterwards 

 had cast in plaster, with all the fidelity 

 possible." 



At the close of his naval campaign, 

 in 1788, this well informed and ex- 

 perienced officer retui-ned into Anjou, 

 to an indivisible estate which he 

 had in common with his brothers 

 and sisters. It consisted of an island 

 in the river Loire, and a farm situated 

 in the valhey of Anjou. Here, with a 

 small canoe which he constructed, six 

 feet long, and one and a half broad, 

 he explored the small rivers of the . 

 province to (heir sources ; it had wheels 

 to render it moveable by land. This 

 was the idea of a more perfect model 

 which he had in contemplation, for 

 use in certain maritime circumstances. 

 Though .ifHicted with a slow fever, 

 AiJstide was infiamt^d with an ardent 



zeal 



