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"War of Ih Vendée. 
© Retrospect of French Literature—Mistory. 
fable to allthe world, A soldier who had 
a tial, besought him to plead his cause, 
aud the emperor promised to find him an 
advocate: ‘ I did not make use of.a 
proxy (replied the soldier), when I was 
required to fight fet you.’ On this , the 
emperor appeared for him inperson., 
“ We may consider as one of the 
greatest benefits conferred by Augustus, 
that of having shielded the provinces 
from the oppressions of their governors. 
The Romans loved shows, and, addicted 
to their original ferocity, they preferred 
sanguinary ones. Augustus fully satis- 
fied them in»this partiaity, and produced 
m the arena animals hituerto unknown 
in Europe, while he at the same time in- 
troduced such a numerous body of gla- 
diators, that these murderous spectacles 
resembled real combats. Not content 
vith possessing a great empire, he wish-_ 
ed it tv beillustrated by the glory of the 
arts. Phe citizens of Rome applauded 
the embellishments bestowed on the ca- 
pital, because it was the provinces that _ 
paid the expence. He built the temple 
of Mars the Avenger, that of Apollo, 
which he enricfed with a public library, 
the portico of Caius and Lucius, the the- 
atre of Marcellus, aud observed, while 
dying, ¢ that he had found Rome full of 
bricks, and leit it composed of marble.’ 
It wiil be seen, from the above quota- 
tions, that, in conformity with the present 
state of France, Augustus, and every 
enemy tu public liberty, is the hero of 
M. Levesque. rf 
“ La Guerre de la Vendée.”—The 
1 vol. 12mo0." 
This little work contains a history of 
the origin of the civil war, that desolated 
+= France during the time of the late re- 
public; and as the subject 1s interesting, 
we shall here present our readers with 
an.epitome :-— 
“The Vendean war, which for so long 
@ period spread terror and desolation 
throughout a large and fertile portion of 
France, constitutes one of the most ine- 
morable events of modern times, and re- 
quires to be fully developed. “The bloody 
theatre of this eventful insurrection was 
situate, we are told, between the Loire 
and the Charente: after being confined 
to a single departinent, it actually ap- 
peared infectious, and soon became ge- 
nerala Originating in the civil and reli- 
gious prejudices of the natives, the con- 
test_exhibited a variety of appearances, 
all of which were equally formidable. 
At one time it resembled a secret con- 
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spiracy, the roots of which spread through- 
out an immense extent of territory, while 
its branches were concealed in the 
clouds; at another, it might be com- 
pared to a volcano, which, by its sudden 
and terrible explosion, menaced every 
portion of the empire with ruin. 
The disturbances in the Vendean de- 
partments were nearly coeval with the 
revolution, and if, in consequence of that 
event, some of the finest provinces of 
France were snatched for a while from 
the course of events, to become their ex- © 
clusive patrimony. While the supersti- 
tions of Rome, and the prejudices of 
the middle ages in every other quarter, 
had lost'a portion, at least, of their pris- 
tine vigour, they were cherished there 
with an attachment bordering on fdo- 
latry; and after producing a long and 
terrible war, seemed to elude the un- — 
sparing sword of the conqueror; nay, 
even to survive the extermination of the 
natives. The mbhabitants of this portion 
of the empire, favoured by nature, and 
content with the fertility of their soil, diel 
not cultivate commerce. ‘They were 
destitute of cities and larze towns; their 
roads were nearly impracticable; they 
submitted, witheut scruple, to the un- 
founded dominion of the priesthood; 
they spokea language almost entirely dif- 
ferent from the rest of France; and they 
themselves may be considered as but a 
few degrees removed from the savage state. 
~Accustomed to a government entirely 
monarchical, and unacquainted with any 
other model, they did not dream of 
improvement; the great events which 
had agitated the rest of France, were in- 
distinctly, and often untruly related to 
them; and they knew but little of the 
proceedings of the national assembly, the 
capture of the Bastille, and the formation 
of a new constitution, but through the 
interested medium of the nobles, the 
priests, and the men of the law, who re- 
sided among them. 
It was in vain that some political mis« 
sionaries, under pretence of enlightening 
the people, preached the new doctrines 
relative to a redress of grievances, ang 
an equality of rights: they were im- 
moveably attached to their ancient cus- 
toms; and the heads of families, jealous 
of their own authority, contemplated ali 
modern innovations as hastile to that pa- 
triarchak 
ie 
