23 6 
Stephensiana. — No. /. 
[Oct 1, 
EAR-RINGS. 
The late Duke of Orleans wore plain 
bods. The revolution banished gold 
rings. I saw the late Duke of Orleans 
with them—the present Duke has none 
—only old men wear them in France 
now. In England Charles I. had them 
of pearl in his ears when executed. 
NAPOLEON. 
The court of Bonaparte was the most 
splendid in Europe. Marshals, ambas¬ 
sadors, princes, sovereigns, surrounded 
his throne, and obeyed his mandates. 
DUTCH AND FRENCH. 
The Dutch are clean in their houses 
and dirty in their persons. The French 
exactly the reverse—clean in their per¬ 
sons, but dirty in their houses. 
LEGION OF HONOUR. 
Bonaparte, like Burke, had an eye 
to “the cheap defence of nations,” after 
beating down all the republican forms 
and usages, he endeavoured to make he¬ 
roes, by means of the milliner and the 
toy-shop—half-a-yard of scarlet ribbon, 
and a little badge of gold. These were 
sent, not to warriors alone, but to men 
of Ltters and men of science, and he 
himself holding a solemn court at the 
Tuilleries, in 1804, from a golden vase 
first bestowed these insignia on the com¬ 
manders of the legion. 
The Legion of Honour possessed a 
palace and considerable revenues. The 
sons were educated at the expence of the 
nation, and the daughters were bred up 
without cost to their parents. 
EDUCATION IN FRANCE. 
The ancient mode of education is 
deemed obsolete, hut the College of 
Louis le Grand subsists with regular 
degrees under the name of a Lyceum. 
In the primary, which answer to our 
parochial schools, the Lycees Pryta- 
neum, or central schools, are a kind of 
college in which Latin and Greek are 
taught, together with mathematics, me¬ 
chanics, astronomy, geography, and 
chemistry. In the Prytaneum of Paris, 
about 300 pupils are educated at the 
expence of government, and the re¬ 
mainder paid for at the trifling expence 
of about 1000 francs a year. Education 
under the late government assumed a 
martial air, and every pupil was fitted 
to become a soldier after the manner of 
antiquity. Genius was encouraged 
by means of appropriate progress, and 
still more by solemnly proclaiming the 
names of those who excelled, in the 
same manner with those of the victors 
at the Olympic games. 
AERIAL GARDENS. 
The Swedes lay earth ou the Birch 
bark, with which they cover their 
houses, and thus possess aerial gardens. 
GEN. LEE. 
The late Dr. Huck, who, I believe, 
was surgeon in the same regiment, was 
accustomed to tell, that the celebrated 
Gen, Lee, having been crossed and 
jostled by the Scotch, many of whom 
were put over his head, was accustom¬ 
ed to teach a kind of catechism, to cer¬ 
tain young English officers. Accord¬ 
ingly, after dinner at the mess, he 
would ask : Which is the best country 
for the Scotch ? Ans. England. How 
do they rise ? Ans. By wooing, cring¬ 
ing, and fawning! What are their 
merits ? Ans. Servile obedience and 
complaisance, &c. Being one day asked 
to dine with a Scotch Major, he accept¬ 
ed the invitation, but at the same time 
apologized for a peculiarity he had, 
41 which was that of abusing his coun¬ 
trymen when a littled fuddled!” 44 I 
excuse you with all my heart,” rejoins^ 
the wily Caledonian, 44 for I myself 
have a similar ill propensity, that is, 
on all such occasions, to heat those who 
abuse my country!” Both parties met 
at table, and there was neither abuse 
nor kicking. 
WILTON, 
Wilton, three miles distant from 
Salisbury, possesses an invaluable col¬ 
lection of antiquities. In the court be¬ 
fore the grand frontof the house, stands 
a column of white Egyptian marble 
from the Arundelian collection; the 
statue of Venus on the top has been 
greatly admired. On each side of the 
entrance arch, Egyptian statues, and 
in the porch, built by Inigo Jones, is 
the bust of Hannibal. In the vesti¬ 
bule are the busts of Theophrastus, 
Caligula, Julia, &c.; there also are two 
columns of the Povonazzo, or peacock 
marble. The apartments generally 
shewn are t^e great hall, the old bil¬ 
liard room, the white marble table 
room, the new dining room, the hunt¬ 
ing room, the cube room, the colonnade 
room, the stone hall, and the bugle 
room. 
DR. SMOLLETT 
lived in two different houses in Chelsea, 
and practised his profession there. A 
very respectable apothecary, Mr. North, 
when he was learning his business with 
Mr. Reid of that place, recollects that 
Dr. S. attended a young gentleman at 
the great school towards the end of 
Church 
