644. 
fite fide of the room. The walls were co- 
vered with mahogany, relieved with gold 
borders, and now and then with gl-fs. 
“The whole in excellent tafte. The bath- 
ing cabinet, which adjoined, was equally 
luxurious. The bath, when not in ule, 
forms a fofa, covered with kerfeymere, 
edged with gold; and the whole of this_ 
cabinet is as pretty as the bed room. Be- 
yond this room is the bed-chamber of 
Monfieur,. plain, neat, and unaffected ; 
and on the other fide a little cloiet, co- 
vered with green filk, and oo-ning on the 
garden, in which Madame hts when fhe 
amules herfelf with drawing. To con- 
clude, I find ‘“* the loves’? which §£* Si- 
lence guards,’ and of which this Paphian 
feat is the witnefs, are thofe of January 
and May; for the wife is twenty, the 
greateft beauty in Paris (Madame Reca- 
mier!) and the hufband fomething lefs 
than fixty.”’ 
<¢ Letters from France, written by J. 
Kinc, izzhe Months of Auguft, Septem- 
ber, and O@ober, 1802, Gc. Ge.” 
This is of a different caft from. the 
works we have already mentioned: the 
Retrafpect of French Literature. —Hiftary. ~ 
author does not undertake a regular de- 
fcription of Paris, but chiefly employs 
himfelf in refle€tions on the pait fcenes of 
the Revolution, to which are added an- 
ticipations of future events. 
 Fournal of a Party of Pleafure to 
Paris, in the Month of Auguft, 1302.” 
A fhor: fketch, but by no means filled 
up fo wellas thofe we have enumerated. — 
The volume contains alfo thirteen ill- 
engraved views. a 
<6 A few Days in Paris; with Remarks 
characterijtic of feveral | diftinguijhed 
Perjonages.” 
This two-fhilling pamphlet fhews the 
author to be of a fuperior clafs: he is 
conjectured to be a military man, andcer- 
tainly of no inconfiderable talents.. His 
defcriptions are lively and diftin& : his 
reflections on the pictures at the Louvre 
bold and original. He is a man of tafte, 
aman of {pirit, and a patriot. 
After having trefpaffed thus long on the 
patience of our readers, we Will now re- 
leafe them ; omitting the notice of many 
an infignificant ef cetera, which always 
{well the catalogue of Miicellanies. 
HALF-YEARLY RETROSPECT OF FRENCH LITERATURE, 
HISTORY. 
¢ T EMOIRES Hiftoriques et Poli- 
i tiques, furla Republique de 
Venile, &c.?—Hiftorical and Political 
Memoirs relative to the Republic of 
Venice, drawn up 1n 1792, by LEOPOLD 
CurtTi1,and now revifed and correéted, 
with the addition of Notes, by himielf. 
2 vols. 8vo. 2d edition. 
Leopold Curti, a noble Venetian, 
who had been employed in the govern- 
ment of his native country, is the au- 
thor of thefe two volumes, which con- 
tain a variety of new and curious mat- 
ter. 
The Hiftory of this Republic has 
been frequently attempted before, par- 
ticularly by the Chevalier Nanni, the 
Abbé St. Real, the Cardinal Gafpard 
Contarini, Laugier and Amelot de la 
Houflaye. Montefquieu alfo has prefent- 
eda fketch of the government, but it 
was referved for the prefent author, 
alone, to. comprehend and to defcribe 
the myfteries of a ftate no lefs famous 
for the length of its exiftence, than the 
extraordinary conduct of its governors. 
The firft portion of this work is de- 
dicated exciufively to hiftory, and the 
fecond to politics. After defcribing 
SEE aay 
n 
the rife and progrefs of this fingular 
efiablifhment, Curti points out the va- 
rious caufes, which have contributed 
to its decadence. This, according to 
him, proceeded firfé from the impru- 
dent acquifitions made on the Terra 
Firma, which induced the citizens to 
neglect their maritime profeffions ; {e- 
condly, the conquefis of the. Turks, 
which interdiéted the paflage through 
the Dardanelles, and thirdly, the dif- 
covery of the Cape of Good Hope. He 
is fupported on this occafion by Houtf- 
faye, who expreffes himfelf in the fol- 
lowing manner on this fubject : 
‘¢ The fame thing has occurred to 
the Republic of Venice as to Sparta ; 
both were ruined in confequence of 
cbtaining more than they were able to 
preferve. Venice, in a fingle battle loft 
all the territories ufurped by her on the 
continent, merely becanfe the founda- 
tion was not fufficient to fupport the 
fuperftructure. If the Venetians,” adds 
he, “had followed the advice which 
Duke Thomas, Mocénigo gave them, 
to be content with the Sea, where they 
had conquered fo many beautiful and 
opulent ifles, the delights of the Terra 
2 Firma, 
