46 
With refpect fuitable to the occafiony 
This book is inicribed to 
EDMUND BURKE; 
A man moft peculiarly diftinguifhed 
By learning, alike elegant and extenfive 5 
By thoie nobler energies of mind, 
Atute to invent, prompt to explain 
Fruitful to adorn : 
Who has confiftently and conftantly deferved 
from fcience, 
That meed which alone he himfelf has found 
: To defy every viciffitude 
Of place and time ; 
From the fenate, 
Which, when menaced by danger, confidered 
him 
Its pride and its fupport ; 
Latly, from this our country 
(To its moft affe&tionate citizens, 
Alas! not always generous or juft) 
All that can be conferred 
Qf honour or of gratitude. 
->- 
+ 
Anecdotes of Perfans coniedted with 
the French Revolution. 


Henry LARIVIERE, 
T this time Prefident of the Council 
of Five Hundred, was born at Fa- 
laife, in Normandy, now in the depart- 
ment of Calvados. His father died when 
he was about fifteen years of age, and 
left a wife and four children, with a 
very fmall fortune. Madame Lariviere, 
however, continued to carry on the bufi- 
nefs of her hufband, who had kept the 
inn of Larrigale in one of the fuburbs of 
Falaife, not far from the famous tower 
where William the Conqueror was born.. 
Although the was left with a very fmall 
income, which did not exceed four hun- 
dred livres.(17/. 103.) a year, fhe ufed 
her utmof endeavours in procuring 4 
liberal education for her fon. Henry 
Lariviére fo well anfwered his mother’s 
expectations, that he was a ftudent in lo- 
eic before he had attained his fixteenth 
ear. 
I knew him at that time, and having 
many. opportunities of feeing and con- 
verfng with him, witnefled more than 
once the flafhes which his early genius 
fent ‘orth. He wasthen a fine handfome 
youth, with a beautiful face and lively 
com piexion. 
As well as I can remember, it was 
in 1779 that he commenced his ftudies in 
philofophy at a feminary in the: city 
of Falaife. As he did not board in the 
houfe, he was every day obliged to attend 
the exercifes of the college. He was af- 
Original AnecdoteswemLavivisre. 
Calys: 
fiduous enough in attending the JeCtures | 
on philofophy, but feemed to fhow great. 
reluétance to the pious exercifes, fuch’ 
as going to mafs, to prayers, and learn-. 
ing the catechifin by heart, which occa-: 
fioned him to be feveral times reprimand- 
ed and feverely punifhed by the priefis 
who at that time governed the feminmary., 
Icannot afcerrain whether he ever en- 
tered into holy orders; I know ex- 
tremely well that he had no propenfity 
that way, and that he often repeated- 
what we have read of Chamfort, “I 
love girls and liberty too well to belong 
te the church :”’ for in thefe countries’ 
every one who had fhown any difpofition- 
for the fciences was jane deftined for the’ 
church by his parents and relations ; but 
if the parents had early known the ob- 
jections of their children to the church, 
not ten out of a hundred who were fent 
to the public fchoois, would ever have been 
allowed to learn to read or write ; and- 
fach was the general folly and ignorance at 
that time, that asfoon as a boy was taught 
Latin, he was inevitably to become a” 
clergyman, and we have more than one 
example of five and fix brothers being al! 
priefts, the fathers being always pretiing. 
on. this head.+.) atten ae ae “4 
Whatever may have been the reafon, 
Henry Larivi¢re remained only one year. 
at Falaife, and was fent to Caen, a well- 
known academy in France. He there, 
applied himfelf to philofophy, and was: 
foon diftinguifhed for his extraordinary 
talents ; he ftudied law; and when. he, 
returned home, he entered into that pro- 
fefion. He became a counfellor, but-al- 
though he then bore a great reputation, 
on account of his literary talents, had 
very little practice... 9 ay 
He was always diftinguifhed by his 
mildnefs and moderation, but particu- 
larly fo at the beginning of the revolu- 
tion, when his enemies were inclinéd to 
fufpeé&t him of being in the party of 
thofe who were then called arifocrats; 
but when deputed to the convention by 
the eleétoral body of Calvados, his cruz/me; 
although moderate, was fo pure and fo 
enlightened, that he was foon diftin- 
guithed by the founders of the republic, 
who were then the only true republicans. 
| in France :—we allude to the Girondifts. 
Lariviére was one of the warmeft op- 
pofers of the infamous decrees of the 
31ft of May, and of the 1ft and 2d of 
June, 1793; he protefted againft them 
on the 6th and goth of June, together 
with Lanjunais, Louvet, Lefage, Hardy, 
&c. This oppofition was afterwards 
i imputed 
