‘almoft identified mm. his butts: 
F104 
municative have pofieffed it, and are only - 
relieved by his dark piercing eye, which, 
though it wanders not with vagrant curi- 
ofity or idle fportfulnefs, by no means par- 
takes of the general unhealthinefs of his 
appearance. ‘he care-worn countenance 
of Bonaparte imprefles one with the idea 
‘that it has never known the {weet relax- 
ation of a fmile: of late probably it hes 
not; he is faid to keep his left hand in 
ignorance of what his right hand does, 
and to have no bofom-friend, but, like Ju- 
nius, to be the fole repofitory of his own 
fecrets. i 
When his hat is off, the Firft Conful is 
a. more 
living likenefs it is impoffible to imagine; 
his hair is dark, and fomewhat long, un- 
curled, unpowdered,—in fhort, you may 
fee Bonaparte in every fhop- window. 
But to the parade: Bonaparte was at- 
tended by a few general offiders—twelve 
or fifteen perhaps—mounted on chargers 
richly capariloned, and by a favourite Ma- 
meluke, whom he is faid to have brought 
with him from Egypt ; he was employed - 
during a confiderable time in prefenting 
with his own hand, mufkets, fwords, cut- 
laffes, &c. to non-commiffioned officers 
and foldiers, marks of high honour, well 
earned, no doubt, by meritorious fervice. 
Iam inclined to fufpe& a little affecta- 
tion in the conduct of this parade; the 
difcipline of the French troops in the field 
of battle is generally acknowledged, and 
the difcomfiture of almoft every Evro- 
ropean power has extorted a confeffion 
of their valour and perfeverance ; yet the 
parade was conducted in a manner very 
inferior to what may be feen aimoft every 
day in England : the foldiers did not march 
twenty paces, preferving themfelves in 
a firaight line; an Englith drill-fer- 
Reply to MN. on the National Debt. 
. held his levee in the room of audience. 
| March 1, 
ones ; they are powerful animals, and kept 
in high condition: their colour is black. 
As to thelight horfes, they are of all co- 
lours, and look as if they had been juf@ im- 
ported from the Highlands of Scotland: 
mean and unmartial as is their appearance, 
they are reputed to be capable of enduring 
very great fatigue; they are bred in Nor- 
mandy, and have the prime requifites of 
being fure-footed, fleet, and hardy. 
Aiter the parade was over, Bonaparte, 
attended as before, pafled through the ~ 
anti-chamber, receiving petitions, &c. and 
IT 
am juft returned, very highly gratified, as 
you cannot but perceive. Farewell for 
the prefent: to-morrow, if I have oppor= 
tunity, I will lengthen this long letter. 
(To be continued in our next.J 
a 
To the Editor of ihe Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
OUR financial correfpendent M. N. 
alter a preparation of nearly five 
months, has, at length, made fome remarks 
upon the letter which I fent to you laft 
Auguit.—The reply which it is neceffary 
for me to give, will be fhort; and hence 
I fhall at all evenis efcape ,the decorous 
charge of my opponent, who is extremely 
angry, that you fhould have allowed 
<¢ feven columns of your valuable Mifcel- 
lany to my very tedious paper.” 
In the beginning of M. N’s letter, Iam 
ironically complimented upon my modefty © 
inhaving declared, that “it wasmy iz- 
tention to fupply the public with a more 
correct fiatement of its prefent debt, than 
had appeared in any former publication.”? 
Would not any reader naturally fuppofe, 
that I had aétually ufed the words, which 
M. N. has thus placed between commas ? 
Left, therefore, any perfon fhould be led 
jeant would certainly have rapped fome ~into an error, juftice to myfelf induces me 
of their knuckles with his cane. In fhort, 
the difcipline appeared altogether very lax 
and unwarlike; fo little acculftomed, how- 
ever, am I to this fort of fight, and fo lit- 
tle converfant with the degree of ftrictnefs 
which is ufually preferved in the manage- 
ment of them, that 1 fhould fcarcely have 
ventured to givean opinion onthe prefentoc- 
cafion, if it had not beencorroborated by that 
of our friend ****, and by that of feveral 
Englifh who were in the Tuilleries. Confi- 
dent in the victorious march of the French - 
troops when in-aétual engagement, does 
the Firft Conful look down jwith contempt 
on that domeftic firictnefs in military ma- 
noeuvre which ail “* regular governments” 
think neceflary to preferve ? 
The heavy horfes feem to be very good 
t 
to requeft, that he will refer to the origi- 
nal, in which the paflage runs thas—<* I 
fhall exdeavour to fupply the public with 
a more correét ftatement of its prefent 
debt, than has appeared .in any former 
publication. Should I fail in the under= 
taking, you willfind me, Sir, moft willing 
to acknowledge and rectify my error.” 
Being aware of the difficulty of under- 
taking to afcertain the amount‘ef the na- 
tional debt, I {pcke of my letter to you, 
as no moré than an atrempf, which might 
prove unfuccefsful, and declared my rea- 
dinefs to correct any miftake, into whichI 
might happen to fall. Is this the lan- 
guage of a man, who feels confident in his’ 
abilities? ‘You may, perhaps, think Sir, - 
that there is more of the femblance of va- 
; aie i Foti 
