drew him instantly forward; and his first parliamentary essay was brilliant, and imposing. Hutchinson, who was at that time with the Court, replied to him, but with many compliments; and, as has been already observed, he was almost generally applauded, except by Primate Stone He was a consummate member of Parliament. Active, ardent, and persevering, his industry was without limits. In advancing, and, according to the parliamentary phrase, driving a question, he was unrivalled; as, for instance, his dissertations, for such they were, on the law of Poynings and similar topics. He was in himself an Opposition, and possessed the talent (in political warfare a most formidable one) of tormenting a minister, and every day adding to his disquietude. When attacked, he was always most successful; and, to form an accurate idea of his excellence, it was necessary to be present when he was engaged in such contests; for his introductory, or formal speeches, were often heavy and laboured, yet still replete with just argument; and through the whole were diffused a certain pathos, and apparent public care, with which a popular assembly is almost always in unison. His taste was not the most correct; and his studied manner was slow, harsh, and austere; the very reverse of Hamilton, whose trophies first pointed the way to Flood's genius, and whom he avowedly attempted to emulate. But in skirmishing, in returning with rapidity to the charge, though at first shaken, and nearly discomfited, his quickness, his address, his powers of retort and of insinuation, were never exceeded in Parliament." p. 143, 144.

Of Gerard Hamilton, Mr. Hardy gives us the following characteristic anecdotes :

"The uncommon splendour of his eloquence, which was succeeded by such inflexible taciturnity in St. Stephen's Chapel, became the subject, as might be supposed, of much, and idle speculation. The truth is, that all his speeches, whether delivered in London or Dublin, were not only prepared, but studied, with a minuteness and exactitude, of which those who are only used to the carelessness of modern debating, can scarcely form any idea. Lord Charlemont, who had been long and intimately acquainted with him, previous to his coming to Ireland, often mentioned that he was the only speaker, amongst the many he had heard, of whom he could say, with certainty, that all his speeches however long, were written and got by heart. A gentleman, well known to his Lordship and Hamilton, assured him, that he heard Hamilton repeat, no less than three times, an oration, which he afterwards spoke in the House of Commons, and lasted almost three hours. As a debater, therefore, he became as useless to his political patrons as Addison was to Lord Sunderland; and, if possible, he was more scrupulous in composition than even that eminent man. Addison would stop the press to correct the most trivial error in a large publication; and Hamilton, as I can assert, on indubitable authority, would recal the footman, if, on recollection, any word, in his opinion was misplaced or improper, in the slightest note to a familiar acquaintance." p. 60, 61.

No name is mentioned in these pages with higher or more uniform applause, than that of Henry Grattan. But that distinguished person still lives; and Mr. Hardy's delicacy has prevented him from attempting any delineation, either of his character or his eloquence. We respect his forbearance, and shall follow his example :-Yet we cannot deny ourselves the gratification of extracting one sentence from a letter of Lord Charlemont, in relation to that parliamentary grant, by which an honour was conferred on an individual patriot, without place or official situation of any kind, and merely for his personal merits and exertions, which has in other cases been held to be the peculiar and appropriate reward of triumphant generals and commanders. When the mild and equable temperament of Lord Charlemont's mind is recollected, as well as the caution with which all his opinions were expressed, we do not know that a wise ambition would wish for a prouder or more honourable testimony than is contained in the following short sentences.

"Respecting the grant, I know with certainty that Grattan, though he felt himself flattered by the intention, looked upon the act with the deepest concern, and did all in his power to deprecate it. As it was found impossible to defeat the design, all his friends, and I among others, were employed to lessen the sum. It was accordingly decreased by one half, and that principally by his positive declaration, through us, that, if the whole were insisted on, he would refuse all but a few hundreds, which he would retain as an honourable mark of the goodness of his country. By some, who look only into themselves for information concerning human nature, this conduct will probably be construed into hypocrisy. To such, the excellence and pre-eminency of virtue, and the character of Grattan, are as invisible and incomprehensible, as the brightness of the sun to a man born blind." p. 237.

SPIRIT OF MAGAZINES.

FROM LA BELLE ASSEMBLEE.

MEMOIRS OF THE LATTER YEARS OF THE RIGHT HONOURABLE CHARLES JAMES FOX.

BY HIS PRIVATE SECRETARY, MR. TROTTER.

[We lay before our readers some interesting extracts from this work, before it can get into general circulation. The first of which relates to Mr. Fox's visit to France, during the short interval of peace, and his interview with Buonaparte, then First Consul. We shall probably think it necessary to make some further quotations from the same Memoirs.]

"AS we visited the Museum as often as time could be spared to it, I recollect, one day, that all the company were attracted to the windows of the gallery of the Louvre, by a parade in the Palace de Carousel. The guards and some other French troops. were exercising. Mr. Fox, with the others, went to the window, but he instantly turned away on seeing the soldiers. This occurred some time before the levee; and on that day, as there was a grand parade, we remained in a private apartment of the Thuilleries till it was over. Buonaparte, mounted on a white charger, and accompanied by some general officers, reviewed the troops, amounting to about six thousand, with great rapidity. The consular troops made a fine appearance, and the whole was a brilliant and animating spectacle. Mr. Fox paid little or no attention to it, conversing chiefly, while it lasted, with Count Markoff, the Russian Ambassador. I observed Mr. Fox was disinclined not only to military, but to any pompous display of the power of the French Government. An enemy to all ostentation, he disliked it every where; but the parade of military troops in the heart of the metropolis, carrying with it more than vain pomp, must naturally have shocked, rather than entertained, such principles as those of Mr. Fox.

"On the day of the great levee, which was to collect so many representatives of nations, and noble strangers from every country, to pay their respects to the First Consul of France, now established as the sole head of government for life, several apartments, having the general name of the Salle des Ambassadeurs, were appropriated for the crowd of visitors at the levee, previous to their being admitted to the First Consul's presence. Lord Holland, Lord R. Spencer, Lord St. John, Mr. Adair, and myself, accompanied Mr. Fox there. I must acknowledge that the novel and imposing scene amused and interested me in a high degree. This grand masquerade of human life was inconceivably striking; the occasion of assembling; the old palace of the Bourbons; the astonishing attitude that France had assumed, affected the imagination, and almost overpowered the judgment. A latent smile was often to be caught on the countenances of different intelligent and enlightened men; it was said, very significantly, Can this be reality? Can so wonderful a fabric be permanent? "His toils were now approaching; there was a much greater number of English presented than of any other nation. Mr. Merry, the English Ambassador, appeared on the part of the British Government, to sanction and recognize the rank and government of the First Consul! Mr. Merry, whose nation had, under the blind auspices of an intemperate Minister, fatally interfered with the internal concerns of a great people, and had vainly attempted to counteract the success of their efforts. What a subject had he for a letter, in the style of Barillon, for the perusal of Mr. Pitt, or his friend Mr. Addington, then acting as Pitt's deputy, or locum tenens, in the Government! Mr. Merry! then acting under Lord Hawkesbury, the Quixotic marcher to Paris, which same Lord was now receiving a most magnificent present of service of China, of unrivalled beauty and elegance, from this same new Government and Buonaparte. It would have been an instructive lesson for Mr. Pitt himself, could he invisibly, with Minerva by his side, have contemplated the scene; he might then have studied history, and discovered that such interference and conduct in foreign powers, as that of his and the allied potentates, had made Cromwell a King or an Emperor, and fixed the succession in his family!

"What think you of all this?' said the Chevalier d'Azara, ambassador from Spain, addressing himself to Mr. Fox. The other gave an expressive smile. It is an astonishing time,' continued he; pictures-statues-I hear the Venus de Medicis is on her way what shall we see next?' A pleasant dialogue ensued; these enlightened statesmen diverting themselves, when scolding and anger could avail nothing.

"The Turkish Ambassador graced the splendid scene; a dimi

nutive figure, accompanied by a suite of fine and handsome men; he reposed on a sofa. The heat was excessive, and his crosslegged attitude but little relieved him; his companion spoke French with great ease, and some of them were fine Grecian figures.

"Count Markoff! covered with diamonds, of a most forbidding aspect of sound sense, however, malgre a face no lady would fall in love with, and an ungraceful air. The Marquis Lucchesina! the King of Prussia's Ambassador, who, from an obscure situation, by having become the reader to a Minister, was elevated to the corps diplomatique, gaudily dressed, always with several conspicuous colours. One thought of a foreign bird, on seeing him; and his physiognomy corroborated the idea-agreeable, however, pleasing in manners, easy in his temper, and enjoying rationally the amusing scenes around him.

"The Marquis de Gallo! the Neapolitan ambassador, an unmeaning nobleman of the old school; florid in manner, but calculated to produce effect in politics or conversation. Have I forgotten the Count Cobentzel! that sage and venerable negociator was there: a small emaciated figure, pale, and worn out with the intrigues of courts, he seemed to have been reserved to witness the sense before us, as a refutation of all his axioms and systems. With excellent good scene, he took all in good part: he was too wise to betray dissatisfaction, and too polite not to bend with the gale-The American Ambassador, Mr. Livingston; plain, simple in manners and in dress, representing his Republic with propriety and dignity. Of these I believe Mr. d'Azara held the first rank for intellect: he had all the appearance of a man of genius: he seemed very much to enjoy the society of Mr. Fox: he and Count Cobentzel are both since dead, as no doubt are many other of the actors in the grand drama of that day.

"The illustrious statesman of England, who that day attracted every eye, is himself withdrawn also from mortal scenes.

"A number of English noblemen and gentlemen, many Russians, Swedish officers with the white scarf on their arm, also crowded the rooms. The Cardinal Caprara, representing his Holiness the Pope, with his scarlet stockings and cap, was to me a novel sight. He was a polite and dignified ecclesiastic, and, but that I was imbued a little with the prejudices of English historians and other authors, I should have found nothing extraordinary in the respectable Cardinal. I am now ashamed that I did. "This grand assemblage was detained a considerable time in the Salle des Ambassadeurs, during which, several servants in splendid laced liveries handed round coffee, chocolate, the richest and finest wines and cake, upon china bearing the initial B. without