294 



TABLE-TALK AND VARIETIES. 



bond and compact of 

 violated till one of them, Malle- 

 ville, secretary of Marshal Bassom- 

 piere, being anxious that liis friend 

 Faret, who had just printed his 

 EHonnete Homme, which he had 

 drawn from the famous II Cortigi- 

 ano of Castiglione, should profit by 

 all their opinions, procured his ad- 

 mission to one of their conferences. 

 Faret presented them with his book, 

 heard a great deal concerning the 

 nature of his work, was charmed 

 by their literary communications, 

 and returned home ready to burst 

 with the secret. Could the society 

 hope that others would be more 

 faithful than they had been to them- 

 selves ? Faret happened to be one 

 of those light-hearted men who are 

 communicative in the degree in 

 which they are grateful, and he 

 whispered the secret to Des Marets 

 and to Boisrobert. The first, as 

 soon as he heard of such a literary 

 senate, used every effort to appear 

 before them and read the first 

 volume of his Ariane. Boisrobert, 

 a man of distinction, and a common 

 friend to them all, could not be re- 

 fused an admission ; he admired the 

 frankness of their mutual criticisms. 

 The society, besides, was a new ob- 

 ject ; and his daily business was to 

 furnish an amusing story to his 

 patron Richelieu. The cardinal- 

 minister was very literary, and apt 

 to be so hipped in his hours of re- 

 tirement, that the physician de- 

 clared, that " all his drugs were of 

 no avail, unless his patient mixed 

 with them a drachm of Boisrobert." 

 In one of those fortunate moments 

 when the cardinal was "in the 

 vein," Boisrobert painted, with the 

 warmest hues, this region of literary 

 felicity, of a small, happy society 

 formed of critics and authors. The 

 minister, who was ever considering 

 things in that particular aspect 

 which might tend to his own glory, 

 instantly asked Boisrobert whether 

 this private meeting would not like 



friendship to be constituted a public body, 



, and 



establish itself by letters patent, 

 offering them his protection. The 

 flatterer of the minister was over- 

 joyed, and executed the important 

 mission ; but not one of the mem- 

 bers shared in the rapture, while 

 some regretted an honour which 

 would only disturb the sweetness 

 and familiarity of their intercourse. 

 Malleville, whose master was a pri- 

 soner in the Bastile, and Serisay, 

 the intendant of the Duke of Roche- 

 foucauld, who was in disgrace at 

 court, loudly protested, in the style 

 of an opposition party, against the 

 protection of the minister ; but 

 Chapelain, who was known to have 

 no party interests, argued.so clearly, 

 that he left them to infer that Ri- 

 chelieu's offer was a command; that 

 the cardinal was a minister who 

 willed not things by halves ; and 

 was one of those very great men 

 who avenge any contempt shown 

 to them, even on such little men as 

 themselves. In a word, the dogs 

 bowed their necks to the golden 

 collar. However, the appearance, 

 if not the reality, of freedom was 

 left to them ; and the minister 

 allowed them to frame their own 

 constitution, and elect their own 

 magistrates and .citizens in this 

 infant and illustrious republic of 

 literature. The history of the fur- 

 ther establishment of the French. 

 Academy is elegantly narrated by 

 Pelisson. The usual difficulty oc- 

 curred of fixing on a title ; and they 

 appear to have changed it so often, 

 that the academy was at first ad- 

 dressed by more than one title : 

 Academic des beaux Esprits; Aca- 

 clemie de P Eloquence ; Academic? 

 Eminente, in allusion to the quality 

 of the cardinal, its protector. De- 

 sirous of avoiding the extravagant 

 and mystifying titles of the Italian 

 academies, they fixed on the most 

 unaffected, L'Acadcmie Frangaise; 

 but though the national genius may 

 disguise itself for a moment, it can- 



