Frenchman, (added he,) than a Fenelon; and more a man than a Frenchman."-The Chevalier Ramsay,* author of the Travels of Cyrus. The true reason of the archbishop's being banished from the court, was the honesty he showed in not advising Louis the Fourteenth to own his marriage with Madame de Maintenon.—“ It is certain then that they were married?” -"Oh, unquestionably, sir.-The king had asked Bossuet, Bishop of Meaux, his opinion in that affair; who spoke much in praise of the lady, and advised what he saw would best please the king: but added, that if his majesty had the opinion of the Archbishop of Cambray on his side, it would be of much more weight and use than any one's else. On this the king consulted the archbishop; who (as his enemy had foreseen) was not courtier enough to say anything to encourage such a declaration; and on the contrary gave some hints of the prejudice it might be of to his majesty's affairs, in their then situation. This soured the king so much against him, as he expected it would: and after Madame de Maintenon and her creatures, insinuated it into the king, that Monsieur Fenelon had had the insolence of designing to represent his majesty under the character of Idomeneus in his Telemachus; and both him and the lady (in part) under those of Pigmalion and Astarbé: and this finished his disgrace."-R. 66 and The Duke of Burgundy continued still fond of him; mindful of the precepts he had given him. They have taken away my Telemachus from me," said the prince, "but 'tis no matter, here I have it, and it shall ever remain in my heart.”—R. * Ramsay was several years secretary to Fenelon. The archbishop asked Mr. Ramsay once, "What the English said of Locke." Ramsay told him that his acquaintance from England commended Locke extremely for a clear head and a fine way of reasoning; they said he saw the surfaces of a vast number of things very plainly; but that he did not pierce deep into any of them : "In short, my lord," says Ramsay, "I take him, by their account, to be pretty much like the Bishop of Meaux." The archbishop stopped him short; told him that he was not sufficiently acquainted with the talents of the Bishop of Meaux; and then run out into a panegyric of that prelate, in all the particulars where his character would bear it. It was thus that he revenged himself on his enemies.-R. There was a spy sent into the Archbishop of Cambray's family, by the contrivance of his most capital enemies. The man lived there as a domestic, for three years; and though so great a villain, was at length so far moved and converted by that great man's behaviour, that he one day begged to be admitted into his apartment; fell down on his knees, and confessed the whole affair. The archbishop forgave him; thanked him for the discovery, and only bid him take care of those that sent him; for they might do him some mischief, for being honest at last.-R. When Louis the Fourteenth found that all his persecutions of the Protestants were ineffectual, as to the recovering any number of them to the church, he sent for the archbishop (who had always thought persecution for religion impolitic, as well as unchristian), complained to him of the obstinacy of those heretics; and said he would have him go down and try whether he could convert them with his preaching. "That I will with all my heart, sire," replied the archbishop, "if you will be so good as to call off your dragoons; for 'tis they that drive them so much farther from us."-R. The archbishop, when most in favour, used to say; "I would rather see the king lose half his dominions, than occasion one unnecessary battle, in which the lives of so many citizens were to be thrown away." [The archbishop's diocese lay part in the German, part in the French dominions. At the same time that he was entirely ravaged by the French soldiers, the Duke of Marlborough and the confederate army spared everything that belonged to him on their side of the country. The Duke of Marlborough had a vast esteem for his character: he wrote several letters to him: and in one of them in particular he tells him that "if he was sorry he had not taken Cambray, it was not for the honour of such a conquest, so much as to have had the pleasure of seeing so great a man."-R.*] The archbishop used to rise by four in the morning; think for about two hours; and then write. His time was chiefly spent in study, performing the duties of his function, and amusements of charity. As for the latter, it was very usual with him whenever he went into the country to take the air, to call at the houses of poor people, where he would eat and drink, and enter into familiar conversation with them. He would inquire how they lived, and what family they had; advised with them what they should do with such and such a child: and often would apprentice out their sons, or give portions with their daughters. It is inconceivable with what pleasure the people expected him * Addition from MS. B. where he used to pay these little visits; or how much they regarded him wherever he passed. They all loved him, and looked upon him as their common father.—R. “He had all that was good in his heart, and all that was fine in his head; and never made use of the latter but to advance the former."* This character was given of the archbishop by a very sensible Swiss; and no one ever deserved so high a character better.-R. Lord Peterborough, after a visit to the archbishop, said, "He was cast in a particular mould, that was never used for anybody else: he is a delicious creature! but I was forced to get away from him as soon as I possibly could for else he would have made me pious."-R. Cardinal Alberoni used to say of Telemachus, "that it was a well written book; but a very dangerous one for princes to read."-R. The archbishop was void of all formality, and full of the truest politeness; that of making everybody easy about him. One day there were two German noblemen at his table, who, when they were to drink to the archbishop, to show their respect to him, rose out of their seats; and stood all the while they were drinking to him, according to the custom of their own country. Some young French * I find this character given to Fenelon by the Abbé de Monville in his preface to the Life of Mignard, printed at Paris in 1730. "M. de Fenelon étoit un beau genie, les sentimens de son ame et les graces de son imagination lui ont donné un stile unique, qui charme, qui enchante; il avoit le beau dans l'esprit, le bon dans le cœur ; et ne montroit jamais l'un, que pour faire aimer l'autre."At the end of this book are two dialogues on painting by Fenelon, well worthy the attention of the reader of taste; they were printed in a separate form by the present writer a few years since for the gratification of a few friends.-Editor. officers, who were at the table at the same time, could scarcely contain themselves from bursting out into a laugh. at such a novelty. The archbishop gave them a gentle reprimand by his look; called for wine; and stood up and drank to the Germans in the same manner that they had done to him. The officers afterwards owned, how much they were ashamed of themselves; and that they immediately felt, how greatly the archbishop's humanity was preferable to that customary sort of politeness, of which alone they had had any idea until that time.-R. In one of the Duke of Marlborough's campaigns in Flanders, when the French forces were a good deal distressed, the archbishop opened his granaries at Cambray for their use. This was in the height of his disgrace, and ill usage from the court. When the king heard of it, he sighed and said: "he could expect no less from his generous soul." The king ordered him to be reimbursed, but he never was.-R. [Ramsay has a noble collection of M. Fenelon's from the ancients on the rò xanóv." The archbishop does not teach that the love of God ought to be the sole motive?""No, sir; only the principal."-Ramsay. The use of the other motives and sanctions may be to bring us to this. -Hooke. (His distinction between gingerbread love, and mathematic love.)" But after all there is not one in a thousand can act by this motive?”—R.—“ True, sir; but those that can will act best: you can't reach the moon if you aim at her; but yet will shoot higher than if you aimed at a bush."—H.-The great point is to get rid of self; and to look upon ourselves as chiefly concerned in the interest of the whole.-R.-They were mighty angry with Fenelon |