Retrofpect of French Literature— ^lifcdtamesv 651 



kU the gi-eat men in France. But Bona- 

 parte, in 1S5U3, chol'e to effect a total 

 ci)ajit;;c in this once celebrated eitabhlh- 

 uicut ; and b_v a lins^le dalh of his |ien 

 he expunged ihi- chds of I\loral and I'o- 

 liticiJ Sciencx's, by uhicli lie at once got 

 rid of -fnbjccts and" of aliociatcs that ex- 

 cited pain and apprehenfinn. 



We ihail iiere irive u flight ftctch of 

 the principal fuljjecti treated of on the 

 prefeut occalion. 



AI. Camis 2i\es an hiftorical acco^nnt 

 'of tlicproccedingsof tlic ciafs of literatGre 

 and the arts. While mentioning tlK> cele- 

 brated citifs of HerculancuHi and Pom- 

 peii, he attempts to prose that the learn- 

 ed world has been .hitherto nnilaken in 

 I'uppohng them to have been completely 

 overwJiclmed by mi eruption of Monnt 

 Vefuvius in die iint year of Titus, v\ hich 

 correfponds to the 79tli year of the 

 Chriltian era. He maintains, by a refer- 

 ence to authorities, that ihey fiill enjoj- 

 ed a certain degree oi fplenduur m the 

 time of Adiinn. 



TheAu/ii-.'SiCAfiD, the celebrated pre- 

 ceptor of the deaf ami dumb, has pro- 

 pofed a new theory of conjunctions, by 

 means of wiiicli he endeavours to lim- 

 plify thisfubjeci. lie h;ii alfo prefented 

 u Iketch of the Life of the late M. de 

 Wailly. 



M^ViLLARs, not content with the for- 

 mer i-outes. acrofa the Alps alligned to 

 Hannibal, Jjas p(/iated out a new one, 

 acrofs iMont'St. Bcinard, wliicii he liip- 

 pofci was adopted by the Carthaginian 

 general. 



iVI. Dupuis, in a memoir which ap- 

 pears to have coll him much pains, lias 

 treated on " tlie Influence which the 

 Inhabitants of the Ifles of the Perfian 

 Gulph, and the .Southern L'oalt of iV-rlia, 

 have had on Europe and Alia IVIiuor." 



This is folloucd by a report made to 

 tliC clafs of Literature and Arts, relative 

 to the " Panorama." In this we do not 

 find any thing new, as it is merely ob- 

 Icrvcd that the difcovery of this Ityle of 

 painting is likoly to give additional inllu- 

 enc to the arts, and furiiilh frelh incen- 

 tives to genius. 



In the " Report made on a Work in- 

 titled LleJnenti of Practical Perfpective, 

 for the Ule of ArtilU, by P. H. V'alkn- 

 tii'.NXES, a painter," we are toid that 

 the Undents are generally avcric from 

 this ftudy, on account of their ignoraiice 

 of geometry. 



JVJ. MoNCEZ, one of the raoft cele- 

 brated men of the piefcnt day, and who 

 bus rilt;a from uLicuiity tu be onv of ths 



principal members of the Inllitnte, has 

 mlerted a " Memoir on the Harangues 

 afcribed to Orators by Ancient Authors, 

 and on the Means fuppofcd to have beeu 

 recurred to ijy the Actors, for the pur- 

 polc of being heard by the more dillant 

 .'5pectator>." The author here treats 

 with comcm[)t tiie fuppoic^d intervention 

 of mechanical aids to aiilll the human 

 voice. He maintains, by a reference tu 

 facts, that it was capable of itfelf to lill 

 the theatres of the aiici«nts ; and lui 

 rjuotes autlioritics to prove, that it was 

 cuiiomary to alVeiiible the peojile there 

 wiicnevcr an oration was to be deli- 

 vered. 



This ci-divant Abbe has alfo publidied 

 a " iMemcjir on the ancient Statue lately 

 appertaming to tlie Villa de Medicis, 

 which luis been ulually known by the 

 dciiguation of ' Silence." It is the au- 

 thor's opnnon, that this figure is the 

 emblem of a fubjugated eoutitry (pei- 

 liaps Juilea), and interwled to adorn a 

 triumphal arch. He |)roves, at Icalt, that 

 the drefs is barbarian, and that both 

 the polture and attitude denote forrow. 



iM. Francois de Xeuickateau iia3 

 here pubhlhed a poetical rhapfody on 

 Death ; and a traallution uito Frencii \'ei'i^ 

 of the E.^cpedition of the Argonauts, by 

 \'alerius ll:w.cii-. 



M. Dlcis, a bar:l of fome note in 

 Paris, has prefented the Imtitute with a 

 cliiirming little poem, entitled " Solitude 

 and Love." 



^l. Camus, in a pretty long and mi- 

 nute llcport, has continued the hillory of 

 the liereofrpic art to the prefent time. 

 He has alio pnblilhed notes relative to 

 the public exhibition of articles of French 

 mdiiltry, in which he raprcfeiits the ad- 

 vantages arlhng out of this new prac- 

 tice. 



In a JVIemoir on the heft maimer (jf 

 executing geographical charts by means 

 of moveable characters, Mr. C. inhlts 

 on tiie advantages refulting from this 

 method. 



" Lettres de Mademoifelle do Moiit-i 

 peiiher, Meldames de MotteviUe, &c," 

 — Letters of Mademoifelle tie Montpen- 

 lier, Mefdauits de MotteviUe and de 

 Montmorency, of .Mademoifelle Dupr6, 

 and Madame the Murchionels de Lam- 

 bert, ific. 1 vol. 12mo. 



France Ii.as of late exliibitcd an cxtra- 

 ovdiiiary degree of cnriolity r<3tative to 

 the letters of celebrated females. In 

 the courfe of the lalt nine months have 

 ajuveared thotie of iVieldiiiiies and Mei- 

 deuioilelle.5 dc N'iUars,' de Cou]aiJi;cs, de 



Lt 



