_Paris, December 1, 1801_.
I was highly gratified the other day on finding myself in company
with some of those men whom (to borrow Lord Thurlow's expression, in
speaking of Warren Hastings,) I have known only as I know Alexander,
by the greatness of their exploits; men whose names will be
transmitted to posterity, and shine with distinguished lustre in the
military annals of France.
General A----y had already invited me to dine with him, in order to
meet General B----r; but, on the day fixed, the latter, as minister
for the war department, being under the necessity of entertaining
Lord Cornwallis, the party was postponed till the 8th of Frimaire,
(20th of November), when, in addition to General B----r, General
A----y had assembled at his table several men of note. Among others,
were General M----rd, who commanded the right wing of the army of
Naples under Macdonald, in which he distinguished himself as a brave
soldier; and D----ttes, physician in chief to the army of the East.
This officer of health, as medical men are here denominated, is
lately returned from Egypt, where his skill and attention to his
professional duties gained him universal admiration.
In society so agreeable, time passed away rapidly till General B----r
arrived. It was late, that is about seven o'clock, though the
invitation expressed five precisely, as the hour of dinner. But, in
Paris, a minister is always supposed to be detained on official
business of a nature paramount to every other consideraton. On my
being introduced to General B----r, he immediately entered into
conversation with me concerning Lord Cornwallis, whom he had known in
the American war, having served in the staff of Rochambeau at the
siege of Yorktown. As far back as that period B----r signalized
himself by his skill in military science. It was impossible to
contemplate these distinguished officers without calling to mind how
greatly their country was indebted to the exertion of their talents
on various important occasions. These recollections led me to admire
that wisdom which had placed them in stations for which they had
proved themselves so eminently qualified. In England, places are
generally sought for men; in France, men are sought for places.
At seven, dinner was announced, and an excellent one it was, both in
quality and quantity. _Presto_ was the word, and all the guests
seemed habituated to expedition. The difference between the duration
of such a repast at this day, and what it was before the revolution,
shews how constantly men become the slaves of fashion. Had BONAPARTE
resembled Lucullus in being addicted to the pleasures of the festive
board, I make no doubt that it would have been the height of _ton_ to
sit quietly two or three hours after dinner. But the Chief Consul is
said to be temperate, almost to abstemiousness; he rises from table
in less than half an hour; and that mode is now almost universal in
Paris, especially among the great men in office. Two elegant courses
and a desert were presently dispatched; the whole time employed in
eating I know not how many good dishes, and drinking a variety of
choice wines, not exceeding thirty-five minutes. At the end of the
repast, coffee was presented to the company in an adjoining room,
after which the opera of _Tarare_ was the attraction of the evening.
I have already mentioned to you that General A----y had put into my
hand _L'Histoire du Canal du Midi_, written by himself. From a
perusal of this interesting work, it appears that one of his
ancestors[1] was the first who conceived the idea of that canal,
which was not only planned by him, but entirely completed under his
immediate direction. Having communicated his plan to Riquet, the
latter submited it to Colbert, and, on its being approved by Lewis
XIV, became _contractor_ for all the works of that celebrated
undertaking, which he did not live to see finished. Riquet, however,
not content with having derived from the undertaking every advantage
of honour and emolument, greedily snatched from the original
projector the meed of fame, so dearly earned by the unremitting
labour of thirty successive years. These facts are set forth in the
clearest light in the above-mentioned work, in which I was carefully
examining General A----y's plans for the improvement of this famous
canal, when I was most agreeably interrupted.
I had expressed to the General a wish to know the nature of the
establishment of which he is the director, at the same time apprizing
him that this wish did not extend to any thing that could not with
propriety be made public. He obligingly promised that I should be
gratified, and this morning I received ftom him a very friendly
letter, accompanied by the following account of the