638 
during which he infinuated that it was on 
thofe critical occafions he could beft diftin- 
guifh fuch as poffefled a real affe&tion for 
his fervice. 
In his. conduct in refpe& to the Alge- 
rines, he truly merited the gratitude of 
his fubjeéts ; for befides concluding the 
moft advantageous treaty that had ever 
been negociated with that barbarous na- 
tion, he found means to redeem no lefs 
than three thoufand Frenchmen at one 
time, from the moft deplorable. ftate of 
captivity. His attention to commerce 
was not a little praife-worthy. Col- 
bert, with his permiffion, eftablifhed two 
companies, one of merchant-adventurers 
to the Weft, and the other to the Eaft In- 
dies. The manufacture of glafs was alfo 
introduced by him into France, for ante- 
rior to this period that elegant commodity 
was brought from Venice, at a very con- 
fiderable expence. Printed linens were 
finifhed at home, and tapeftry was firft 
wrought at the Gobelins, a place al- 
ready famous for the art of dying fcarlet 
wool. In addition to this, Louis XIV. 
caufed the town of Rochefort to be built, 
and the port of the fame name to be con- 
ftru&ted at the mouth of the Charente. 
Five marine arfenals were alfo eftablifhed 
by him at Breft, Toulon, Dunkirk, Roche- 
fort, and Havre de Grace. 
«* But (lays his Majefty) I conceived 
at this period a ftill more fingular, as 
well as important deign, which was to 
join the two feas together, and this enter- 
ptife appeared fo much the more glorious 
to me, as it had been many times medi- 
tated in paft ages, but never carried into 
effect.” Tt appears that the canal of Lan- 
guedoc, here alluded to, had been com- 
menced in 1664. This canal, which 
communicates between the ocean and the 
Mediterranean, is thirty feet in breadth, 
and fixty-four French leagues in length. 
One hundred and four fluices retain and 
diftribute the waters as occafion requires, 
fo that, being always full, merchandize of 
all forts may be thus eafily conveyed from 
one fea toanother, in the (pace of eleven 
days, the immenfe expence of land-car- 
riage being thus avoided. This monu- 
ment of human art will at once :mmorta- 
lize the memory of M. de Riquet, its 
author, and M. Colbert, who -deve- 
Joped the advantages arifing out of fuch 
a noble and extenfive plan tothe King. 
In Part IT. under the title of ** Varian- 
fes,”’ and the date of 1667, we are pre- 
fented with fome very fingular commani- 
cations from this monarch to his fen. He 
begins by oebferving, that as he was de- 
Retrofpe of French Literature —=Mifcellanies, 
termined to vifit the army, and would 
confequently be expofed to many perils, 
he had thought proper to tranfmit an edict 
to the Parliament, by which the eltate of 
Veaujours was created a Duchy by him, 
in favour of M, L*****; he alfo ad. 
ded, that at the’ fame time he had recog- 
nized adaughter by thatlady. ‘I might 
(‘ays he) have omitted to mention this at- 
tachment, the example of which is mot 
worthy of being imitated; but after hav- 
ing deduced a variety of inftruétions from 
the errors of others, I did not with to de- 
prive you of thofe which might arife out 
of myown conduét. I fha!l therefore ob- 
ferve to you, in the firft place, that as a 
Prince ought always to be a perfect mo- 
del of virtue, it is proper for him to 
avoid thofe foibles common to the reft of 
men, more efpecially as he may be affured 
that they can only remain concealed during 
avery fhort time. 
«¢ And yet, notwithftanding this, it fo 
happens, that we often, in foite of our- 
felves, fall into fome of thofe follies. It 
may be neceflary, therefore, with a view 
of diminifhing the bad effets of them, to 
adopt two precautions which I have al- 
ways practifed, and derived great benefit 
from. The firtt is, that the time we 
fpend jn our amours fhould never be al- 
lowed to be prejudicial to our affairs, be- 
caufe our fir object ought always to be 
the prefervation of our glory and ourau- 
thority, whica can alone be maintained 
by toil and affiduity. For, whatever 
may be our tranfports, we ought not to 
forget (and that too for the proper inte- 
reft of our paffion), that in diminifhing 
our credit with the public we alfo dimi- 
nifh our efteem in the eyes of the perfon 
to whom we are attached. But the fe- 
cond confideration, which isthe more de- 
licate, as wellas more difficult one, is, 
that in abandoning our heart, we ought 
to remain matters of our will; that we 
feparaie the tendernefs of the lover from 
the refolves of the fovereign; and that 
the beauty who conftitutes our pleafures 
may never be allowed to take the liberty 
of foeaking either on public bufinefs, or 
relative to the perfons, who conduét it. 
The heart of a Prince is exactly in the 
fame predicament as a fortified place; 
for the firft care is to attack all the poitsby 
which it may be approached. 
_ * An adroit female takes care to banifh 
all who are not in her interefts; the fows 
fufpicions relative to fome, and fcatters 
doubts about cthers, until, at length, fhe 
alone, and her friends, are favourably 
heard ; and if we are not on our guard 
again 
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