like creatures. With Lady Flora I am quite in love. She exactly comes up to my idea of what a wife ought to be,—a tall, blue-eyed, high-born English lady, perfectly English with all her knowledge of the world, and having the charming ease of high rank without its haughtiness. I received, yesterday, a letter from mother. Adieu. H. S. L. Mr. Legaré to Henry Middleton, Esq. BRUSSELS, 25TH MARCH, 1835. My dear Harry,—I arrived here in thirty-three hours after I left Paris, this day a week ago, at 10 o'clock, P. M.,-safe and sound. And now all my thoughts are about getting away again as speedily as possible. In a few days I shall set about packing up and sending off my traps, as the English call them, to America, whither I shall follow them in person somewhere between July and October, according to circumstances. Lady Hastings has sent me two pressing invitations to go and see her at Loudoun Castle in Scotland, some time before I embark, the which, as at present advised, I shall not fail to do, for, entre nous, I am charmed with at least two of her daughters,―one of whom, Lady Flora, (not Corah,) is the creature in the shape of woman I most admire of all I ever saw, albeit neither pretty nor graceful, but such a head, such a heart, such a soul, and such English virtues unsophisticated, and such a spirit of a high-born ladye, for, you must know, they are of the best blood in England, and daughters of the Plantagenet without dispute. But, although aristocratic in descent, they have more sense than any other women I ever saw, and less of the folly and meanness of all the vanity of this world. Meanwhile, let us talk of the present and paullopost future. I think of leaving Brussels, in my own carriage, (that is, one hired for the nonce,) about the 8th-12th of April, and making or taking a course in Germany of about four or five weeks. I shall travel over a great deal of ground, but very rapidly,-I shall go often all night. My objects are Dresden, (a week); Leipsic, (some days); Munich, (ditto); Berlin, (ditto); and perhaps Vi-enna, (a week); Nuremberg, (a day or so); Augsburg and Frankfort, perhaps Heidelberg; then down the Rhine and back to Brussels, to take my formal leave, on or about the 1st of June. Have you no wish to accompany me? There will be a place for you in my carriage, and all you would have to pay would be your own living and one horse. If you have a mind to join me let me know immediately, (for I have no time to lose,) and say nothing about it, for your American friends at Paris are great blabs, (by-the-bye, I found the story of the dentist that called on me, quite répandue there, and dare say it will meet me at Philippi,--that is, at some election in America). If you can't join me, either on account of your health, which, I trust, will no longer be an impediment to your change either of place or condition, or for any other reason, then we must think of the summer. One can, it seems, go from Vienna to Constantinople by steam, and I am thinking of making a tremendous tour, from June to Sept.,-nothing less than to the Hellespont, the Ægean, and the Jordan,-thence to Italy, back to France and England. Rouse up and accompany me. Pray give my best compliments to our sweet little friend. Don't neglect the Arconati's,-and I wish you to overcome the obstacle between you and You are giving way too much to the indolence that possesses us all every where, but especially when we are at Paris. Some of my greatest regrets are for what I sacrificed to the far niente disposition at Paris, when I was younger, and ought to have seen and learnt, instead of lounging and trifling away my time. Ever yours, H. S. L. The same to the same. BRUSSELS, 12TH JUNE, 1836. My dear Harry, I have just received your letter of the 9th, which is the second I am indebted to you for,--rather a singular circumstance in my correspondence, for I am generally very exact in answering letters. This time I was waiting to be able to speak with some positiveness as to the day of my departure hence, which is now at last fixed. I take leave of the king today at one o'clock, (Sunday,)-stay here to-morrow to pay p. p. c. calls, and dine with some of my colleagues and friends at a diner d'adieu at the Brazilian minister's, and set off the next morning early for Antwerp, where I expect to embark at twelve o'clock on Wednesday for London, bag and baggage. I am advised, and probably shall conclude to go by a London instead of a Liverpool packet, but I am not quite decided as to the moment of this final embarkation, or rather, I should say, great embarkation, for I had forgotten the steam-boat from New-York or Norfolk to Charleston. You shall hear from me probably at London, some time or other before I set out for America. I have an idea of taking a trip to Edinbro' by steam, and thence, travelling by land, through Glasgow and Liverpool, etc., back to London,all in a fortnight, for I have no time to lose, and I am anxious about the state of things on the south-western frontier. A new era is evidently begun in our politics, and, to judge from their speeches, our public men do not seem to be sufficiently aware of it. We have at last a neighbor,—that is, a natural enemy,-in the empire of Mexico; and we must be prepared at all times to resist the secret machinations and open attacks of that power,but especially the former. She happens to have the heel of the Achilles (since you like to be upon that foot with me) turned towards her, and may make him writhe, at least, if nothing more, with a bare bodkin. Vous comprenez. As for waltzing, I am decidedly of the Bishop's way of thinking in the matter, though not for the reasons you mischievously attribute to him. All importations of foreign usages are bad, for albeit a thing be not impure in itself, yet it defileth him that thinketh it impure. In short, our notions, and those of the English too, of pudeur, modesty, propriety, are all different from these foreign ones that are now supplanting them, and thank God they are. If you like my sermon, profit by it,-if not, remember I preach in self-defence, or by retaliation upon you; and as it happens, it is Sunday and church time. Amen! You do not speak of your own purposes in regard to travelling this summer. I saw all old bachelors denounced as unfit to hold any office of honor or trust under the government of the United States, in a speech of one Mr. Wise (not Mr. Wise-one) in Congress, the other day. It is very provoking to have been twice in the future in rus, and find oneself, for all that, getting fast into the plus quam perfect past. Apropos, I had a housefull here the other day,-three nice girls, simple, naive, pretty, and not un-clever. Our country-woman, Lady Stafford, (late Miss Caton of Baltimore,) is here. I like her excessively. Lord S. called, and made me dine with them immediately en famille. She has a daughter-in-law, Bella Jerningham. "O Jeptha, judge of Israel, what a treasure," etc. I shall never get her eyes out of my heart. Yours, forever, H. S. L. Mr. Legaré to Thos. C. Reynolds, Esq. WASHINGTON, DEC. 4, 1838. Dear Sir, I send you the passports, and some letters of introduction, for Brussels and Bonn. Try, by all means, to become acquainted with Count Arrivabene, who resides at the former place, (or did so until very recently,) but is often at the latter, where some friends of ours, of high rank, are or were in the habit of passing many months every year. The Count speaks English pretty well. At Bonn, pray ask Weber the bookseller when he will let me have the 4th vol. of Aristotle, (Bekker's edition,) for which I paid him in advance the last time I was there. There is an edition of Schiller's works, which was coming out at Stuttgard or Tubingen, (Cotta's,) when I left Europe. There were nine volumes already published, and three still due. I want these three to complete my set. The booksellers, Mayer and Summerhausen, Rue de la Madeleine, at Brussels, sold them to me and promised to send the others. I wish, if it come in your way, you would enquire there (it is the principal business street in Brussels) whether they are to be had, and let me know by letter. I shall always be glad to hear from and of you, and now bid you adieu, with my best good wishes and the assurances of my esteem. Truly yours, H. S. L. [Enclosed in the above were letters of introduction to Virgil Maxcy, American Chargé at Brussels; Hon. Henry Wheaton, American Minister at Berlin; M. le Chevalier Auguste Guil laume de Schlegel, (Aug. William Schlegel),-at Bonn; and M. le Comte Arrivabene, at Brussels. Of these I delivered those to Mr. Wheaton and to M. de Schlegel, and have no copies: the latter (as the former) was written in a style which indicated familiar acquaintance with the person addressed. That to Mr. Maxcy I have mislaid: but it was short and merely a letter of introduction. The following is a copy of the one to Count Arrivabene, an intimate friend of Mr. Legaré. He was exiled from Lombardy, his native country, for some share in the conspiracy of Confalonieri, and resided, as did also his friend, the Marquis Arconati, at Brussels. He has written some works, which have attracted some attention, (there is one mentioned in the catalogue of Mr. Legaré's library,) and has now, I believe, returned to his native land. I never had it in my power to deliver this letter. T. C. R.] WASHINGTON, Xbre 4, '38. Je vous écris un mot, mon cher Comte, pour vous accuser réception de votre aimable lettre, et en même temps pour vous recommander deux jeunes gens de mon pays (Charleston, Caroline du Sud,) qui vont à Bonn, pour y faire leurs études universitaires. Ils se nomment Thomas Reynolds et George Guerard. Veuillez, je vous prie, vous interesser à ces pauvres enfans qui vont si loin de leur parens et de leur patrie, dans un but aussi louable. Hélas! qui fait mieux que vous la désolation du pauvre exilé, et combien il est doux et touchant de trouver des amis là où on n'ose espérer de rencontrer que des etrangers. Si nos amis, les Arconatis, conservent toujours leur habitude d'aller passer quelques mois à Bonn, je vous serai bien recon naissant si vous vouliez les intéresser aussi à ces jeunes Américains. M. Reynolds vous donnera de mes nouvelles. J'ai eu le malheur ou bien le bonheur (qui sait?) de perdre mon élection à Charleston à cause de ma propre insouciance, de sorte qu'après le 4 Mars prochein je ne serai plus membre du Congrès. Tout et toujours à vous. H. S. LEGARÉ Mr. Legaré to Mr T. C. Reynolds, at Berlin. CHARLESTON, JUNE 7, '39. Dear Sir, I am very glad to find, by the letter with which you favor me from Berlin, that you are established there to your satisfaction. You will, no doubt, by this time, have become acquainted with most of the distinguished men of the University, especially with M. de Savigny. There is a work of that great man's, which I sent out to America, and expected to find among my books when I came home, but have not been able to lay my hands on. Its title is Der Beruf unserer Zeit zur Gesetzgebung, or something like that, in which the author developes the doctrines of what is called the "Historical School" of Germany. I have sent for it again, but am so anxious to get it that I have a mind to ask you to send it to me. But there is a work that I must positively have, as soon as I can. It is one of the great critic, M. Bekker, on Demosthenes. The title is "Demosthenes als Staatsman und Redner." You will really do me a very great favor by sending it to me. I should be glad, at the same time, to get the common octavo school edition of Bekker's Thucydides. The larger work I would very much desire, but I have already two editions (expensive ones) of the same historian. You will learn the value of that scholar's labors in philology before you leave Berlin. We are getting on here much as usual. The city becomes. more and more pretty, every day, as the rebuilding goes on.* As to politics, I know nothing about them. They have been pleased to express great regrets at what they have done, but it is too late. My determination to go to the bar, and let public affairs alone, is fixed. Pray make my compliments to your young fellow-traveller, Mr. Guerard. He, like myself, is a descendant of the Huguenots, and will find many of the same race at Berlin. M. de Savigny, I believe, is one of them. This was written one year after the great fire of '38 in Charleston. |