PAISIELLO, GIOVANNI. 



PAIXHANS, HENRI-JOSEPH. 



631 



His " political and religious admirers" iu America erected iu 1839 a 

 showy monument, with a medallion portrait, over his empty grave. 

 Paine bequeathed his estate and the chief part of the rest of his pro- 

 perty to Madame Bonneville, conjointly with her husband and her 

 two eons. 



Paine, from his first starting in public life, was a republican, uni- 

 formly consistent and apparently sincere. His style is vigorous and 

 clear, but somewhat coarse ; though simple, it is enlivened with 

 comparisons and illustrations which renders it very popular and 

 attractive. He saw clearly the weak points of any object againat 

 which he directed his attack, and accordingly he was a vigorous 

 assailant ; but he was not qualified, either by competent knowledge 

 or by habits of i atient investigation, for examining any subject in all 

 its bearings. His merits may be briefly summed up : he was a bold 

 original thinker, who exercised a very considerable influence on the 

 political and religious opinions of his day, and that influence is not yet 

 entirely gone. V> hat he saw and ftlt he expressed clearly and forcibly. 

 In his ' Age of Reason ' he shocked the religious feeling of all Christians 

 by the grossucss and scurrility of his language, without always con- 

 vincing those who were well inclined to listen to his arguments. Such 

 common difficulties as really exist in the gospel history could not 

 escape hia acuteness, but for want of sound knowledge he frequently 

 exposes himself when he thinks that he is exposing the sacred writers. 

 This work alienated from him his friends in America as well as in 

 England, excited feelings of the deepest disgust and abhorrence in the 

 whole Christian community of both countries, and with bis coarseness 

 of spec ch, intemperance, and licentiousness of conduct, exposed him 

 to hatred and calumny to such a degree as to embitter the latter years 

 of his life. 



TAISIELLO, GIOVANNI, was born at Tarento in 1711, and 

 entered at an early age in the Jesuits' College of that city, where he 

 manifested so strong a disposition for music, that his father, an 

 eminent veterinary surgeon in the service of Charles III., was pre- 

 vailed on to place his son hi the Conservatorio St. Onofrio at Naples, 

 in which institution he was admitted in 1754, and during the following 

 five years pursued Ids studies under the celebrated Durante. He there 

 produced among other compositions a comic interlude, which at length 

 became known in Italy, and in 1763 procured for him an order to 

 compose an opera for the Teatro di Marsigli at Bologna. From that 

 period the comrm ncement of his professional career is to be dated, and 

 it continued with undeviating success till, warned by approaching age, 

 ho wisely determined to relinquish his most active occupations, and 

 enjoy in comparative ease his well-earned honours and moderate 

 independence. 



Paisiellu's reputation was speedily established, and he soon accepted 

 engagements to compose operas for every great city in Italy ; in con- 

 sequence of which he produced nearly fifty iu the short space of 

 thirteen yearn, the majority of which of course only enjoyed a short- 

 lived triumph. In 1778 he entered into the service of Catherine II. 

 He continued in Russia nine years, and composed several operas, 

 among which was his 'Barbiere di Siviglia;' also an oratorio, 'II 

 Passione,' and many sonata?, &c. He afterwards produced at Vienna, 

 at the desire of Joseph II., ' II Teodoro,' and ' La Molinara ;' ftnd for 

 the same monarch wrote twelve symphonies. 



On his return to Naples the king appointed him his Maestro di 

 Cnpella, and settled on him a pension of liOO ducats. The King of 

 Prussia now wished him to visit Berlin, and the Empress of Russia 

 wag desirous of his return to St. Petersburg. He declined both 

 engagements, as well as an Invitation to London ; but he composed 

 for the King's Theatre ' La Locanda,' which opera was subsequently 

 performed at Naples under the title of ' II Fanatico in Berlina." On 

 the death of the French general Hoche he produced a funeral 

 symphony, for which he received a handsome present from Bonaparte ; 

 and about the same time brought out his ' Zingari in Fiera.' 



The revolution at Naples in 1799 gave to that country a republican 

 government, under which Paisiello accepted the office of ' National 

 Director of Music;' for this at the restoration of the royal family he 

 was suspended from all his public functions, but in about two years 

 he was reinstated. Shortly after this he accepted an invitation from 

 Bonaparte, then First Consul of France, to visit Paris, and was received 

 in the most distinguished manner: a salary of 12,000 francs was 

 assigned to him, and 18,000 more were added for his travelling and 

 incidental expenses; be ides which he was offered various high and 

 profitable appointments, but declined them all except that of Mattre 

 de Chapelle to the head of the government. In Paris he produced 

 thirteen masses, motets, Ac. ; a ' Te Deum' for Napoleon's coronation; 

 and an opera, ' Proserpine,' for the Academic- de Musique. The air of 

 France not agreeing with bis wife's health, Paisiello returned in about 

 two years and a half to Naples, but never failed to transmit to the 

 French emperor a sacred composition for the anniversary of his birth. 



A second revolution at Naples now placed Joseph Bonaparte on the 

 throne of that kingdom, who confirmed Paisiello who seems to have 

 been very accommodating in his politics in all his appointments, with 

 a liberal augmentation of his salary ; and the French emperor made 

 him a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, with a stipend of 1000 franc?. 

 Other honours were showered on the composer, some of them not 

 mere distinctions ; and, to crown the whole, he was elected an associate 

 of the French Institute. He died at Naples in 1810. The city ren- 



dered him funeral honours, and his ' Nina ' was given at the great 

 theatre on the evening of his interment, the king and the whole court 

 attending the performance. 



" Paisiello," says the Chevalier Le Sueur, " was not only a great 

 musician ; he possessed a large fund of information, was well versed 

 in the dead languages, and conversant in all the branches of literature. 

 . . . . Endowed with a noble mind, he was above all mean passions ; 

 he knew neither envy nor the feeling of rivalry." To which we may 

 add, that his compositions afford the most indisputable proofs of an 

 accomplished and elegant mind. If they do not exhibit the energy of 

 the school of Germany, they are never deficient in pathos ; they 

 abound in tenderness, and are invariably characterised by truth of 

 expression by the admirable judgment with which the sentiments of 

 the poet are illustrated ; and as a melodist, he is yet without a superior 

 witness, among a multitude of instances that might be cited, his 

 * Nel cor piu non mi sento,' and ' lo son' Lindoro ' (or, ' Hope told a 

 flattering Tale,' and 'For Tenderness form'd'), which are known, and 

 will probably contiuue to be known, in every corner of the world where 

 European arts are cultivated. And though his operas, ' Elfrida,' 

 'Pirro,"Il Barbiere di Saviglia,' ' La Molinara,' ' Nina,' c., are eclipsed 

 by the grander and more complete instrumentation of that school of 

 which Mozart is the model, yet, with additional accompaniments and 

 skilful management, they might now be brought out successfully ; and, 

 thus renovated, would be admitted to have lost few of those charms 

 which beautiful air must always possess, and by which the last age 

 was captivated. 



PAIXHANS, HENRI-JOSEPH, General of Artillery iu the French 

 Army, was born January 22, 1783, at Metz, in the French department 

 of Moselle. He received instruction in the ficole Polytechnique, and 

 having entered the artillery, rose by successive gradations to the rank 

 of Colonel, and ultimately of General. He was also elected a member 

 of the French Chamber of Deputies, and spoke occasionally on subjects 

 connected with the army and navy. Several of his speeches in the 

 chamber have been published, as well as the valuable works quoted 

 hereafter. General Paixhans died August 19, 1854, on his domain of 

 Jouy-aux-Arches, near Metz. 



General Paixhans made important improvements in the construction 

 of heavy ordnance, and also in the projectiles, in the carriages, and 

 in the mode of working the guns. The Paixhaus-guns are especially 

 adapted for the projection of shells and hollow shot, and were first 

 adopted in France about the year 1824. Similar pieces of ordnance 

 have since been introduced into the British service. They are suitable 

 either for ships of war, or for fortresses which defend coasts. The 

 original Paixhans-guu was 9 feet 4 inches long, and weighed nearly 

 74 cwts. The bore was 22 centimetres (8 inches nearly). By 

 judicious distribution of the metal it was so much strengthened about 

 the chixmber, or place of charge, that it could bear firing with solid 

 shot weighing from 86 to 88 IDS., or with hollow shot weighing about 

 GOlbs. The charge varied from lOlbs. 12 on. to 181bs. of powder. 

 General Paixhaus was one of the first to recommend cylindro-couical 

 projectiles, as having the advantage of encountering leas resistance 

 from the air than round balls, having a more direct flight, and striking 

 the object aimed at with much greater force, when discharged from a 

 piece of equal calibre, whether musket or great gun. As large ships 

 of war, particularly three-decked ships, offer a mark which can hardly 

 be missed, even at considerable distances, and as their wooden walls 

 are so thick and strong that a shell projected horizontally could not 

 pass through them, an explosion taking place would produce the 

 destructive effects of springing a mine, and far exceeding those of a 

 shell projected vertically, and acting by concussion or percussion. In 

 accordance with these views, General Paixhans recommended the use 

 of smaller ships carrying heavier guns suitable for projecting shells 

 and hollow shot ; and advised his government to avoid the construction 

 of large ships, and the equipment of any ship for shell-firing to such 

 an extent as to expose her to the great risk of being blown up by her 

 own masses of ammunition. Paixhans-guns were used in the Russian 

 ships of war which attacked the Turkish fleet in the roadstead of 

 Sinope, and their powerful effects were made manifest by the utter 

 destruction of the Turkish forts as well as the ships. 



General Paixhans suggested several other improvements in the French 

 army as well as in the navy, as is shown by the following list of his 

 principal works : -'Considerations sur 1'^tat Actuel de 1'Artillerie des 

 Places, et sur les Ameliorations dont elle parait susceptible,' 4to, 1815 ; 

 ' Nouvelle Force Maritime, ou Expose' des Moyens d'anmiler la Force 

 des Marines Aotuelles de Haut-Bord, et de dormer b, des Navires tr6s- 

 petits asscz de Pursuance pour de'truire les plus grands Vaisseaux de 

 Guerre,' 8vo, Paris, 1821, forming the First Book of the next work, 

 ' Nouvelle Force Maritime, ou Application de cette Force a quelques 

 Parties du Service de I'Arrne'e de Terre : ou, Essai sur 1'Ktat Actuel 

 des Moyens de la Force Maritime ; sur une Esp&ce Nouvelle d'ArtilK-rie 

 de Mer qui dcJtruirait promptement les Vaisseaux de Haut-Bord; sur 

 la Construction des Navires a Voile a Vapeur de Grandeur moderee, 

 qui, Brine's de cette Artillerie, donneraient uno Marine moms codtcuse 

 et plus puissante que celles existantes ; et sur la Force que la Systome 

 do Bouches a Feu propose" offrirait a Teri'c, pour les Batteries de 

 Siege, de Cotes, et de Campagne,' 8vo, Paris, 1822; 'Experiences faites 

 par le Marine Franchise sur uue Arrne Nouvelle ; Changomens qui 

 paraisseut devoir resulter dans le Syst6mo Naval, ot Exameu des 



