The Deaf And Dumb Persons, On The
Contrary, Acquire At Once By This Method Of Instruction The Philosophy Of
Grammar; And Then It Is Far From Being The Dry Study That Many People
Suppose.
A German princess who was present exclaimed in a transport of
admiration at some of the specimens of definitions and inferences given by
the pupils; " Oh!
I wish that I were born deaf and dumb, were it only to
learn grammar properly!" Sir Sidney Smith was present at this lecture and
seemed inclined to make himself a little too conspicuous. For instance,
before the examination began, he seated himself close by the Abbe S[icard]
and pulling a paper out of his pocket said that he had found it on the
ground on his way hither; and that it was part of a leaf from an edition of
Cicero which contained a sentence so applicable to the character and
talents of his friend the Abbe, that he requested permission to read it
aloud and translate it into French for the benefit of those who did not
understand Latin. He then read the sentence. The Abbe, not to be out-done
in compliments, then rose and made a most flaming speech in eulogium of his
friend "the heroic defender of St John d'Acre" and pointed him out to the
audience as the first person who had foiled the arms of the "Usurper."
Now this word "Usurper" applied to Napoleon did not at all please the
audience, and it shewed a great deal of servility on the part of the Abbe
to insult fallen greatness, and in the person too of a man who had rendered
such vast services to science. In fact this episode was received coldly,
and somewhat impatiently by the audience; and many thought it was a thing
got up between the Admiral and the Abbe to flatter each other's vanity;
indeed my friend Mrs Wallis, next to whom I was placed, and who does not at
all agree with the gallant Admiral in politics, intimated this in a
whisper, loud enough to be heard by all the audience and added: "Such a
humbug is enough to make one sick." Sir Sidney Smith heard all this and
seemed a good deal abashed and disconcerted; he, however, had the good
sense to say nothing, and the examination began.
PARIS, May 5th.
I formed a party with some friends to visit the cemetery of Pere la Chaise.
We remarked in particular the places where poor Labedoyere and Marshal Ney
are buried. There is no tombstone on the former, but some shrubs have been
planted, and a black wooden cross fixed to denote the spot where he lies.
To Marshal Ney there is a stone sepulchre with this inscription: "Cy-git
le Marechal Ney, Prince de la Moskowa." This cemetery is most beautifully
laid out. The multitude of tombs, the variety of inscriptions in prose and
verse, some of which are very affecting, the yews, the willows, all render
this a delightful spot for contemplation; it commands an extensive view of
Paris and the surrounding country. Foreigners of distinction who die in
Paris are generally buried here; but it would require a volume to describe
to you in detail this interesting cemetery. I think the practice of
strewing flowers over the grave is very touching and classic; it reminded
me of the description of Marcellus's death in Virgil:
... Manibus date lilia plenis.
We however strewed over the tombs of Labedoyere and Ney not lilies, but
violets, for my friend Mrs W[allis], who was of our party, has a great
aversion to the lily.
We have just heard of Didier's capture and execution at Grenoble.[64] There
are continual reports of insurrections and plots, but it is now well known
that the most of them are got up by the Ultras to entrap the unwary. The
French people seem sunk in apathy and to wish for peace at any rate;
nothing but the most extreme provocation will induce them to take up arms;
but then, if they once do so, woe to the Chambre Introuvable, as the
present Chamber of Deputies is called; certainly such a set of venal,
merciless and ignorant bigots and blockheads never were collected in any
assembly. There have occurred several scandalous scenes at Nimes and other
places. The Protestants are openly insulted and threatened, and the
government is either too weak to prevent it, or, as is supposed, secretly
encourages those excesses. In fact in Paris there are two polices; the one,
that of the Government, the other, and by far the most troublesome, that of
Monsieur[65] and the violent Ultra party, or as they are collectively
called the Pavilion Marsan.[66] The priests are at work everywhere
trumping up old legends, forging communications from the Holy Ghost,
receiving letters dropped from heaven by Jesus Christ, and all this is done
with the idea of working on fanatical minds, to induce them to commit acts
of outrage and violence on those whom the priests designate as enemies to
the faith, and on weak ones, with the idea of frightening them into
restoring the lands and property which they have purchased or inherited and
which formerly belonged to emigrants or to the Church.
A lady of my acquaintance (to give you an idea of the arts of these holy
hypocrites) sent for a priest to confess and to receive absolution, not
from any faith in the efficacy of the business, but merely from a desire of
conforming to the ceremonies of the national worship. The priest arrived,
but began by apologizing to her that he was sorry he could not administer
to her the sacrament of absolution; she, surprized, asked the reason; he
answered that it was because her uncle had purchased Church lands, which
she inherited, and that unless she could resolve to restore them to the
church, he could not think of giving her absolution. The lady was at a loss
whether to be indignant at his impudence or to laugh outright at his folly.
She however assumed a becoming gravity and sang-froid, and told him that
he was very much mistaken if he thought he had got hold of a simpleton or a
bigot in her; that she had sent for him merely with the idea of conforming
to the national worship, and not with the most remote persuasion of the
necessity or efficacy of his or any other priest's absolution; she added:
"Your conduct has opened my eyes as to the views of all your cloth; I see
you are incurable.
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