652 IteU*ofpect of French Literature — Mijcdlahies. 



la Fnyetto, de Teiiciii, Ninon, AVlVe, du 

 Maine, de SiinianCv dc Moutpcnher, de 

 IVlottcvillc, dc Montiuoieucy, Dupre, 

 and do Lnmbci't. 



In lefi.ttt to the prcfcnt collcftion, 

 moll iiftlif autliuis lj;uf alreitdv iippi"<ir- 

 fd bufoio the puhlic, u.s Maclimoillllc 

 Moutpfiu'ifi- lia.s piililillied llif. Memoirs 

 of licT own J.itc-, wliJle Madunie de ^Mot- 

 tcvillc has diiiv\n up an Account of 

 Anne of Auliria. Madame de Laniljcrt, 

 on the otlur liand, iias conipofed fe\crai 

 •>\eollent tieaiirtb on education; and 

 J\]aiietnoirelle Dupre lias dillingnilhed 

 liciiilt' by lier vri iVs. In fliort, Madaiiic 

 dc Montinoicncy is the only one uIjo 

 }jad liitliorto aelnevcd nothing iti tiie itn- 

 Dul.s of literature. 



Mile. Montjjeniicr informs us, in a 

 pailiige in her own Memoirs, of the oc- 

 caflon which i:ave birth to her ct)rrcfp(jn- 

 detice witli Madame i!e Mottevillc. 



" One day," i'ays llie, " I happened 

 to be lookin;; through a window ni llie 

 a[)artnients appertaining to M. Ic Cardi- 

 nal, uhence one -ditcovcrs the river and 

 tlic Pyrenees ; for the c(;urt was then ai 

 St. Jean de Lnz. Madan^c de Motte- 

 villc, who was prefent, utlbrded an op- 

 portunity to converfe relative to the 

 charms of the country ; and we bc<;an to 

 nioralife on the liappy life wliich we 

 inJirht lead tliere, when dil'embarrailtd 

 from the fatigues of the court, and fu- 

 perior to the injultice which is but loo 

 Irequcnlly expentnci-d amoiia; ihe i^reai. 

 In Ihort, we ai^ecd that fohtude would 

 enable us to live for ouifahcs alone. 



" Tills converfution opened a wide 

 field of morals, &c. ; and the c|neen liav- 

 ing i;;one to the comedy, after accom- 

 . panyingherinnjcfty to the i>:ue, Irfc])ai)(!d 

 to tiie borders of ttie fea, where 1 wallad 

 for aconhdcrable time, aird contemplated 

 on the plan ijf the retired life which uc 

 had been converhng about. I wilhed to 

 be furrouudcd by perfons who had not 

 been difmilVcd from the court; and as I 

 had conceived a fcheiiic wliich appeared 

 at once cxtraotdinary ^nd pleafanl in 

 the jjrattice, I retired inliantly to my 

 apartments, and feizing ]jen and ink, J 

 vrote ft letter of two or three |kiiios, 

 which 1 addrelled to IMadame dc Motte- 

 villc. 



" That lady fent me an anfwer, which 

 oblitied nie to write anotliiT letter ; and, 

 as both were amufcd, we kept up a cor- 

 refpondence together, during one or two 

 years: in lliort, were all the letters to 

 be coUetted, they would form a very 

 large volume* 



We felect thf followhii!; lines from oni* 

 of tiie letters of Mile. Dupre, partly iit 

 verfe, and partly in prole, relative to 

 James II. the abdicated kin<4 of I-'in;- 

 laud, " dethroned by his own daniiLter 

 and his fou-in-law." The reference is 

 to tilt; rrincels of Oranire: 



" Eile a dc la bonte, de I'cfpr't, du favoir, 

 Et toutes Ics vertus enftmblci 

 Mais L)iea vous [jieftrvc d'avoir 

 Uiic fiUe qui lui reli'enible !" 



As it was laid that tlie entcr])rif« 

 aptainft James II. had been fiii,'s;efiid 

 fulcly by a defire to prcfcrvc the I'ro- 

 telhmt religion, the lair author makes 

 the following reflections : 



" A I'cgard dc I'intciition 

 Au iui;ement de Diru tin chreticns'ahaftdonnfj 

 Mais foutfrcz que I'lionime foupyonne 

 I'n a£te de religion 

 Qui 8'cnipare d'une couronnc." 



" Nouveaux Elemens de la Science do 

 i'lloinme, ^cc." — New IJenicnts of the 

 Noicnce of Mini, by J'. J. Hauuilz, 

 i'hylician to the KmpcroraiKJ King. 



The author oolinnences his work wit?i 

 a preliminary difcullion, in the conrfc of 

 whidi he prcftnts the reader with a ge- 

 neral view of the principles of life and 

 motion. He divides the powers of life 

 into two kinds, and then proceeds tp an 

 hillorical account ijf the ()})ininns of phi- 

 lofopbers, bolli ancient and modern, 

 rclpi cting its nHiiirc. lie, at the fame 

 time, traces a gradual hale of motions, 

 beginning w'itn the moft hmple, and end- 

 ing with the moft complex. 



inftead of explaining the caufcs of 

 death, he refei-s that grand and univerfal 

 law t(* the primordial rules which govern 

 man ; and he is of opinion, that it is 

 not in goiicnd accompanici by painful 

 Icnfations. Nay, he goes llill further, 

 and taking into coDllderation the feeblfc- 

 Dcfs which ufually precedes it, he is al- 

 moit ready to believu that there may be 

 iomf.\s\\nX. pUiifunt in it, as in llecp ! 



" Traite do Gcodefie, <Src."— A Trca- 

 life on Geoda^ia; or, an Explanation of 

 the Trigonometrical and AltronomicaJ 

 ]\Iethotls which have bi'en applied to the 

 adijicafurement of the Karth. By L. 

 I'tJtssANT, i'rofelVor of Mathematics in 

 the lm[)erial Military rSchool, 4to. 



The conteiUs of this bulky work do not 

 correfpond with its title. A portion of 

 it is dedicated to trigonometry, and thofe 

 elementary Itudies which lead to the 

 higher branches of matiiematics. Much 

 nfeful intbrrnation is, hoi\ ever, contained 

 in It; tor ia book ii. wc find an Riialy- 



ticui 



