of these eminent men on these occasions, put the Reminiscent in mind of a remark of Bossuet on

Talleyrand into favour, or of his slights of the Vendeans? What an unhappy imitation of the worst part of the character of Charles the second!

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It is known that Buonaparte ascribed the atrocious execution of the duke d'Enghien to Talleyrand. In a conversation, which the ex-emperor held at Elba, with a friend of the Reminiscent, he mentioned the circumstance with regret: "J'en étais faché ; ç'était un brave jeune homme; c'était la faute de Talleyrand." The whole conversation to which the Reminiscent has referred is highly interesting; he apprehends that his readers will be pleased with the following account of an important portion of it. "I most willingly comply with your request, in giving you an account of some parts of the conversation I had the good "fortune to have with the emperor Napoleon.-After con"versing, for about a quarter of an hour, on various subjects, "relative mostly to the opinions entertained of him in France, "he suddenly asked me, if I had not been educated in that country; to which I replied that I had; and that a person, "on whom his imperial majesty had conferred great honours, was at the same college, and at the same time :-he asked me "who he was; I told him the duke of Treviso, marshal Mortier. "Have you seen him in Paris,' said the emperor; and what "does he say of me?'. I answered, That I had not, because "he was not at his country seat; but that, if I might be per"mitted, I would state to his majesty an anecdote of his con"duct, after the battle of Talavera.' He warmly replied, "I shall be delighted to hear it.'-I then observed, that, "after the battle, he found he had some English officers, as prisoners, in his possession. He told them that the fortune "of war might make prisoners of the bravest;' he observed, "that officers, thus situated, were frequently distressed for "want of money; he therefore hoped that he might be permit"ted to put into each of their hands twenty napoleons, which, "at their convenience, they would replace to his credit at "their bankers in London.' The emperor instantly, and with "warmth, exclaimed, Je suis charmé de l'entendre; çela me

Fénélon,-" Fénélon," he said, "has great talents; "much greater than mine: it is his misfortune to

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"fait grand plaisir; mais çela ne me surprend pas, c'est digne "de lui.' He then said, 'If you were educated in France, you are, perhaps, a catholic.' I said I was. Je le suis "aussi,' replied his majesty; and added, on ne quitte jamais "la réligion de ses parens.'-This led him on to a long discus"sion of what is called the catholic question, and of the law, "which he denominated la loi du texte,' meaning our test "act. He became very animated, and with evident pride to himself, contrasted his mode of governing to that pursued in "Great Britain; laughed at men being frightened, in this enlightened age, at popes or priests; and observed, with great "emphasis, that his rule of conduct had been to extinguish all "religious animosities, by giving to all, an identity of interests, " and thus to consolidate public opinion to his government. "He added, 'I gave to the protestants and to the catholics pecuniary establishments, and equal civil rights; and I found, "to the last hour of my reign, the protestants warmly attached "to me. The jews also participated in all civil rights; and I "found them, not only in France, but in the many difficulties " in which I was engaged, in my campaigns in Poland, warmly "attached to me. The conversation then turned on various

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points, his opinion of our regent, and other sovereigns of "Europe, and on several other topics, until it came to the "developement of his opinions on the many great benefits he "had conferred on the French empire. The greatest of these "he evidently considered the Code Napoléon, which, he said, happen what would to him, would carry his fame down to posterity *. He mentioned the ecclesiastical establishments " he had given to France, together with the increase and stimu"lus he has given to her internal trade; these he classed among "his most salutary acts of civil legislation. He said that he pretended not to have more religion than other men; but

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* It certainly will:- this, the Reminiscent has heard some royalist and even ultra-royalist magistrates of the ancien régime unequivocally acknowledge.

"have brought himself into a situation, in which all "his talents are necessary for his defence."

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"that he had always entertained an opinion that an ecclesias"tical establishment was necessary for a people. On that principle he had acted, and had formed a concordat with the 66 pope. He then entered at large on the situation of France, "when he became consul; and stated, among other things, "that, when he entered upon its government, he found "perty without security, a people without spiritual ministers, "churches turned into temples of reason, and anarchy and "confusion in the country. That, in forming the ecclesiastical "establishment, he considered that the priesthood should not “be too rich, and, at the same time, that they should be independent; but, to consolidate the church with the state, he "made both the treasury and the land-owners pay towards the "maintenance of the priesthood. After dwelling on various "particulars, he entered slightly on the subject of education, "which, he said, it was his intention to have greatly improved. “He asked me, if I had noticed any of the institutions of the "Brothers of the Christian Doctrine; I answered that I had "visited very minutely two of their establishments. On this "he observed, that it was his intention to have very much in"creased them, as he believed them to be good practical insti"tutions for the education of the lower classes of the people; "that he had endowed several, and that the prefects had re"ported, generally, very well of them. The conversation shortly "after turned upon England. He said, that, for several years, "England had been at the zenith of her glory; that she might, "for some time, remain there;-but, that such must be the pressure on her, from her immense national debt, and such "the necessary decrease of her trade, from the great stimulus "he had given to the commerce of continental nations, that "her descent into the rank of secondary nations was nearer at "hand than was probably generally imagined.

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"These are the very words of some parts of the conversation "I had the honour to hold with this most extraordinary man; a conversation which to the hour of my death I shall never "forget."

On two occasions, Mr. Pitt and Mr. Fox may be thought to have brought into the field, something like an equality of force. of force. When the attack was made on the coalition, Mr. Pitt had the king,Mr. Fox, a great majority of the members of the house of commons, on his side: when the regency was debated, Mr. Pitt had the same majority in the house, Mr. Fox had the heir-apparent :-the tug of war was great but may it not be said, that, on each occasion, Mr. Fox facilitated by his imprudence the victory of his adversary. "Give me," said the cardinal de Retz, to a person who had tauntingly observed to him the superiority of cardinal Mazarin over him," Give me the king but for one day, "and you'll see which has the real superiority."Mr. Fox never had the king with him, even for an hour.

The most astonishing display of talent by Mr. Pitt, witnessed by the Reminiscent, was, when the catholic-bill was first agitated after his return to office. Narrow and short, was the only plank on which he could stand; but there he placed himself a plomb; and he defended himself upon it with such ease and adroitness, that he was seldom touched by his adversaries, and often had the posture of a successful assailant.

The short duration of Mr. Fox's administration makes any comparison of the ministerial talents of the illustrious rivals impossible. The warmest admirer of Mr. Pitt* will scarcely compare him with

* Mr. Pitt's claims to praise for great talents, wisdom, and personal amiableness and respectability, are concisely and ably

cardinal Ximénes, cardinal Richélieu, or cardinal Mazarin each of these distinguished personages formed the boldest and most extensive projects, and succeeded in all that he projected. Mr. Pitt may be more properly compared with the noble earl who now directs the councils of the empire. If we consider the condition in which each received the nation, when the government of it was placed in his hands; and that, under the steerage of lord Liverpool, the vessel of the state, overladen and strained as she was by his predecessor, still moves on, and will assuredly if lightened of a due proportion of the load, with which he charged her,-again occupy the port, and again prove equal to the highest destinies,-all must admit that his lordship does not suffer in the comparison.

XII. 4.

Mr. Burke.

GREATLY inferior to both of these extraordinary men, if we are to judge of him by his speeches, as he delivered them, but greatly superior to both, if we are to judge of him by his speeches, as he published them,-Edmund Burke will always hold an eminent rank among the most elevated

advocated by the late Mr. Rose in his "Brief Examination into "the Increase of the Revenue, Commerce, and Navigation of "Great Britain, during the Administration of the Right hon. "Wm. Pitt, with allusions to some of the principal Events "which occurred in that period, and a Sketch of Mr. Pitt's "character." Oct. 1806.