in these latter times, of being mademoiselle Falconieri's father to the ill humour of his subjects, and to his blind partiality for her after she became his niece,

"During the time that he was treasurer of the Apostolical Chamber, that is to say, from 1766 to 1773, he was remarkable for bis constant application to business, for bis contempt of worldly pleasures, and for the regularity of his conduet; which procured him general esteem. He did not forfeit this cha racter during his cardinalate, which lasted only two years; and when he was seated in St. Peter's chair, excepting indeed the duplicity of which he was suspected, and which the embarrassment of circumstances seemed to render excusable, he was free from all serious reproach. Since his elevation to the papacy, his defects, which he had either conceal ed, or had no opportunity of deve: loping, have excited a great deal of batred, but calumny, which has not spared him, has scarcely ever attacked him upon the score of his morals. Gorani, is, perhaps, the only one who treats him as ill in that respect as in every other. He throws suspicions upon the motives of the affection which cardinal Ruffo manifested for him in his youth; he pretends that it was not ambition alone that led to his connexion with madame Falconieri; and he even insinuates, that gallantry was one of the principal means of his elevation to the papal throne. It is in fact of no great consequence whether these charges be founded or not. The salvation of Pius VI. may be much concerned; but his glory is very little interested in his having faithfully practised one of the first Christian virtues. It is a duty, buwever, that we owe to truth, to affirm, that those who have

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known him long, and well, never perceived any thing that could give rise to the smallest doubt as to the purity of his morals, at least from the time in which he was appointed treasurer, to the end of his pon tificate. If the amorous connexions of a temporal sovereign cannot es cape the vigilance of his numerous attendants, how can a pupe, all whose steps and movements are counted, conceal himself from the nice observation of the conscien tious, or from the keen eye of malig nity, and cover his secret intrigues with an impenetrable veil ? Pious VI. divided all his time between his religious duties, his closet, and the library of the Vatican. He went out very seldom, and never without company. He had no taste for a country residence, nor even for those innocent amusements which the gravest men allow themselves as a relaxation after their labours. He passed the summer season at the Quirinal palace, and the rest of the year at the Vatican. His only recreation was the visit which he paid almost every year to the Pontine marshes. Constantly taken up with serious occupations, or the du ties of his office, he avoided, instead of seeking, the society of women.

"As pope, he could not then lead a more exemplary life; but as a man, and as a sovereign, he no doubt exposed himself to many and serious reproaches. An erroneous opinion had been formed of him in many respects. When rendered more conspicuous by his eminent station, he soon discovered a great ignorance of worldly affairs, particularly of politics; an obstinacy which ne ver yielded to a direct attack; and an invincible attachment to certain prejudices, inseparable perhaps from his profession, but of which he neither suspected the inconvenience

nor

nor the danger. This we should have frequent opportunity of observing in the course of these memoirs. He entertained the most favourable idea of his own capacity Rather headstrong than firm, he was constantly undoing what he had done; and this mixture of vanity and weakness was attended with too serious inconveniences. What was no more than inconsistency, and want of resolution, was taken for duplicity. Coldly affable, he never felt a real affection for any one; nor ever knew what it was completely to unbosom himself, unless when fear rendered him communicative.

"Out of the five cardinals, who were successively his secretaries of state, there was not one who could flatter himself with having enjoyed his entire confidence. He granted it, but still under certain restrictions, to Gerdyl and Anto nelli, two other cardinals; consult ing them solely about matters in which he thought he could derive advantage from their talents.

Hasty, impetuous, and sometimes even passionate, he required to be curbed by fear, or soothed by

affectionate language, which indicated an attachment to his interest, without hurting his pride. Cardinal de Bernis said of him, towards the end of the year 1777, I watch over him incessantly, as over a child of an excellent disposition; but too full of spirits, and capable of throwing itself out of the window if left a moment alone'.

"That excellent disposition was afterwards in a great measure spoiled by adulation, the possessor of power, and the want of somebody bold enough to tell him the truth, or inclined to take the trouble. Faults gradually manifested themselves that the most clear-sighted had not even suspected. His long pontificate was, besides a grievance which neither the cardinals nor the people of Rome could pardon him. In short, a concurrence of unlucky circumstances, to which he knew not how to accommodate himself, added to his improvidence and to his vanity, the principal source of his prodigality, and of his taste for brilliant, but expensive enterprises, rendered him in the end more odious than many princes who have been really wicked."

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the concurring testimony of all who knew him in his youth, was handsome, graceful, and elegant,. Such, count Poniatowski, doubeless appeared in the eyes of Catharine the Second, when he first arrived at Petersburg. But the graces of that period of his life are fed; and

within the last three or four years he is become too lusty, though it would be unjust to say even now that he is at all corpulent. He is of a middle stature, well proportioned, and of a manly figure. His face is open, pleasing, and interesting; the features bold and strong ly marked, particularly his nose and chin. Stanislaus's complexion is pale, and he wears his own hair, which is of a deep colour, approaching to black. There is said to be in his cast of countenance something pensive and melancholy. At first sight, I confess, this expression did not strike me; but the of tener I have had opportunities of seeing and studying him, the more visible it becomes; in profile it is particularly apparent. I believe, however, that it is more the result of his actual situation, his past ca Jamities, and his future prospects, than natural and congenial to him. In fact, whether he casts his view backwards, or directs it forward to the final destiny that awaits him, how vast a train of awful and pain ful reflexions must necessarily open upon his mind! I have sometimes seen him stand in a thoughtful attade, musing, silent, and, as I could fancy, occupied in considering his future fate. It is impossible not to feel for him, at such moments, a more than common interest.

"The king of Poland does not particularly excel in any of the exercises of the body; and though he rides pretty well, he scarcely ever hunts. He still dances the Poloneze dances, but he has left off every other kind, above two years. In music he has no taste, nor does he possess even a moderate ear. A cir-, cumstance more singular is, that he never plays at cards. Neither his majesty, bor any of the Poniatowski family were ever able to learn the

common games of cards, so as to attain in them a tolerable degree of perfection. He is a lover and a patron of all the fine arts; bot in paintings he has great judgment, and has collected some few valuable pieces of the first masters. No prince was ever more gracious, easy, and affable in his manners, and address, which is the result of natural disposition, not the effect of artifice. His conversation is pleasing, and frequently displays, without the smallest affectation, extensive reading. Few individuals speak so fluently or gracefully the principal European languages. Scarcely any sovereign has travelled so much as Stanislaus: those who have known him in the different characters of a private gentleman and a king, are universally attached to him; and his elevation to a throne has not deprived him of the friends, whom he had acquired when count Poniatowski.

"If, after considering him as a man, we view him as a monarch, he appears to sink in our estimation; he is amiable, not great; engaging, but not imposing. Defici ent in the strong powers of discernment, as well as in the vigour of mind which his situation demanded, he is not calculated to stem, and still less to direct the storm by which be has been assailed. He may be said rather to possess a lively and pleasing, than'a solemn and pene rating understanding The facility of his nature exposes him to deception; and the flexibility of his tem per is abused by favourites, who acquire and retain an ascendercy over him. Adulation under every form, finds too easy an access; pe culiarly when, aided by female aftractions, it assumes the mask of affectation. The persons who round him, availing themselves of

sur

They continue to retain too great an ascendant over him, and they bave completed the destruction of his finances. He still nourishes the wish to be beloved, and women are not wanting to avail themselves of his weakness. Under professions of disinterested passion, they obtain from him more than they could gain by the sale of their beauty. Yet his Polish majesty is approaching fast to the age when men cease to be objects of real attachment, and are usually the dupes of interested love. Perhaps the king does not sufficiently attend to this law of nature, from which he is not more exempt than others.

"On the subject of his amours, which have been numerous and almost indiscriminate, I shall say little: for many reasons they are better consigned to oblivion. But Stanislaus, though naturally inconstant and changeable, is yet capable of a lasting passion. After his election to the crown, he became attached to the princess C-a, one of the most beautiful and accomplished ladies of Poland. Their attachment was so far from being private or mysterious, that on the contrary all Warsaw witnessed it. During a considerable time she reigned in his heart without a rival; till, confiding implicitly in her fondness, he ventured at length to treat her with neglect. Indignant at such usage, in a moment of resentment, when he least expected it, she broke with him, and attached herself to prince Repnin, the Russian embassador. It was in vain that Stanislaus attempted to mollify her, or to awaken her former passion: she shut her door against him, refused to admit him to her presence, and would never listen to any overtures of reconciliation. He was inconsolable for

long time, and even abandoned

himself, when in private, to the most immoderate transports of grief or dejection.

"The king has no natural children avowed as such, nor has he any, male or female, since his elevation to the throne; but when count Poniatowski, be had two by a woman of very inferior condition. They are both absolutely disowned, and educated in obscurity. He con tinues to lead however a life which may be termed libertine and disso lute, more especially at forty-six years of age, when youth can be no longer pleaded in extenuation. Two females divide his time, and occupy his heart at this moment: the first, madam T-s, an Italian, though now in her wane, is extremely beautiful. The other, the countess G-a, is more elegant, feminine, and pleasing. In return for the favours which they bestow on him, they drain his purse; and contribute neither to render him more respectable, nor probably in fact more happy.

"His Polish majesty has two brothers, and as many sisters alive, prince Casimir Poniatowski, the eldest, who is near eleven years older than the king, unfortunately resem bles him in the parts of character which are by no means models for imitation. His dissipations and his profusions have reduced him to the necessity of alienating the high post of Great Chamberlain of the Crown,' and have rendered him dependent on the king for his prin cipal support. Prince Poniatowski has one son, named Stanislaus, who is at this time near five-and-twenty and who at least cannot be accused of following the example either of his father or his uncle: extravagance is by no means his fault, or his characteristic. Should the crown of Poland be continued in the fa