, 
Retrospect of French Literature—Biography. 
heads; and out of 389 different articles 
composed by this eloquent writer, he 
Bi selected the flowers. He begins, 
. With God; 2. Providence; 3. Man; 
b the Soul; 8. the Conscience; 6. Truth; 
7. Religion; 8. the Gospel, &e. The 
subject fentitled De la Liberte, is such 
as might have been expected from a 
courtier in lawn, during the despotism 
of Louis XIV. The same may be said 
of L’Egalite Naturelle. He talks of 
war, however, with great boldness, in 
the presence of a prince but too much 
attached to it; and we cannot but give 
him credit for the detestation “ of a 
thing so horrible, that the very name is 
calculated to inspire disgust.” “ Tam 
indignant,” adds the prelate, “at the 
extreme brutality of the ancients, who 
made a divinity of war; for a spirit oc- | 
cupied with arms, is notagod, but rather 
a tury; and were a man, “from some 1n- 
accessible portion of the earth, but to 
contemplate those frightful machines, 
which are collected for the purposes of 
human vengeance, he would shudder at 
the idea, that they were destined for the 
spilling of human blood !’ 
Memoiresdu Marquis D’ Argens, ‘Chane 
bellan de Frederic le Grand, Roi de 
Prusse, §c.” Memoirs. of the Marquis 
D’Argens, Chamberlain to Frederic the 
Great, ken ig of Prussia, and Director of 
the Royal Academy of Berlin; contain- 
ing the Recital of the Adventures of his 
Bs outh ; ; Anecdotes, and Observations re- 
lative to, several Events in the Reign of 
Louis XY., and a variety of Persons of- 
his time. A new edition, preceded by 
an Historical Notice concerning the Life 
of the Author; his residence at the Court 
of Frederic iL: ; his Connexions with that 
Prince, as also with several Persons 
mentioned in the above Work. To which 
are added, Letters from the same Author 
on different Subjects. Paris. 1 vol. 8vo. 
Imported by J.De Bofle,N assau-st. Soho. 
In the Monthly Magazine (vol. 27, 
p- 574) will be found, “ “An Account of 
the late Marquis D’Arvens, containing 
a variety of particulars selected from 
an interesting Memoir* by ‘Phebault.” 
We shall therefore, on the present occa- 
sion, confine ourselves to such events and 
circumstancesas are hotmentioned there. 
It was not until after a variety of 1is- 
fortunes, including, among others, his 
disinheritance, that the marquis, in 1740, 
repaired to Prussia, on the express in- 
' vitation of the new king, “. Ne-erdignez, 
Ne ———————E———eEE 
* This is termed “ Souvenirs.” 
“captions enongh to 
687 
plus les battailons de gardes, mon cher 
marquis! venez les. bruve jusque dans 
Potsdam.” On this he accompanied the - 
Duchess-dowager of Wirtemberg, who 
was desirous of seeing at the same ‘times 
both Frederic and Berlin. | D’Argens 
was then a tall handsome man, thirty 
six years of age, very lively, and ellis 
calculated to seduce the affections of the 
ladies. The princess in question, . it 
seems, was in love with him, “ and this 
circumstance rendered Kin very uneasy, 
for she was related to the king. He ac- 
cordingly took care to make a hasty re-’ 
treat one evening, when her highness. 
appeared more tender than ordinar y— 
for she was ugly, and not very young! 
Frederic, who knew this 
laughed heartily, and was so little 
alarmed at the consequences of such an 
alfair, that he wished the marquis to re- 
enter the service of the princess, and 
even return with her to her own resi- 
dence, after which he might revisit his 
capital.” 
After obtaining a pension, and a plate 
at the monarch’s table, the subject of 
this memoir, who was more dependent 
perhaps, and from the facility of his 
temper, ‘could better béar with the king’s: 
caprices than Alearotti, Voltaire, or even 
the Baron de Polinitz, becatae a great’ 
favourite, and derived many solid bene- 
fits from the protection of the kine. 
This prince, who affected, as it were, to 
uncrown himself aft times, in order to 
allow these celebrated men the hberty 
of opening their minds without restramt,. 
was, however, still a king, rather than a 
philosopher. Although he desived them 
not only “to speak, butto think aloud,” 
yet when they took this liberty, he was 
“claim, “°° Paia; 
pare, messicurs ! prenez garde voila fe 
rol qui arrive.” As to the marquis, we 
find him lazy and aE but at the 
same time placab ble. ““One day that 
the Baron de Poth ee was to dine. with 
Frederic, who sat down. precisely -at 
noon, he re; paired to the apartments of 
the Marquis ! LP Areens at eleven o'clock. 
Being surprised to tind his friend still in - 
bed, ‘be asked if he w as ill? and-on being 
assured that he was in good health, im- 
mediately communicated the hover. | On 
this the marquis, ina great hurry, rung 
‘for his valet, who was called La’ Pierre ey 
and reproached kim with his forgetfulness. 
‘Good Heavens? eried the servant, 
“why did you not look at your watch! 
As for me, I was busy in your service, 
and did not attend to the time of day. I 
thought 
psu 
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