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an;

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which he had lately explained, and by which he has shown that Princess to have been the wife of the Emperor Æmili but he dared not part with it without the consent of the King. I asked the Duke of Ossuna to speak to the minister, Tanucci, who replied with a despotic importance, "if the " medal in question has a duplicate in the cabinet of Count ❝ Pianura, he may dispose of one of them, if it is single, will not permit it to go out of his dominions."

At Rome I was acquainted with Father Paciaudi, a Theatine; with Father Corsini, général des ecoles pies; with the Fathers Iacquier and le Seur, with Father Boscowitz, a Jesuit; Mess. Bottari and Asemanni, prefects of the library of the Vatican; the Marquis Lucatelli, guardian of this library; the Abbé Venuti, the Chevalier Vettori, with the Cardinals Passionei, Albani, and Spinelli, to whom I dedicated my explanation of the Mosaic of Palestine.

At Florence with Mess. Stosch and Gori; at Pesaro with M. Passeri and Annibal Olivieri, to whom since my return to France I addressed a letter about some Phenician monuments.

At the end of January 1757 the Ambassador returned to Paris. Appointed shortly after Ambassador to Vienna, he wrote to me to engage me to return with the Ambassadress. On our arrival he informed me of the arrangement, he had made for me with the new minister, M. de Saint Florentin. I should have accompanied them to Vienna; thence I should have gone at the expense of the king to visit Greece and the islands of the Archipelago, and should have returned by Marseilles. But, however attracting this project might have been for me, I was obliged to renounce it, because after so long an absence I could not leave the cabinet of medals any longer closed.

My life has been so connected with that of M. and Madame de Choiseul, they have had such an influence upon all the events of it, that it is impossible for me to speak of myself without speaking of them. No astonishment then must be excited, if they are constantly mentioned in these memoirs.

Lettera al reverendissimo Padre D. Gian Francesco Baldini, generale della congregazione de clerici regolari di Somasca Napoli 1751.

At the close of the year 1758 M. de Stainville, afterwards Duke de Choiseul, was recalled from Vienna, and made minister of foreign affairs. The first moment I saw him, he told me it was the duty of himself and his wife to occupy themselves about my fortune, and mine to instruct them in my views. I did not expect so much goodness; and forced to explain myself I answered, that a pension of six thousand livres upon a benefice, joined to my salary, as guardian of the medals, would be sufficient for me to bring up two nephews, whom I had at college, and a third, whom I intended soon to place there. I blushed immediately at my indiscretion; he smiled, and encouraged me.

I protest here, that this was the only favor, I ever demanded of M. and Madame de Choiseul. I acknowledge at the same time, that solicitation was not necessary with them ; and, if any one should ask to what I owed a fortune so considerable for a man of letters, I should answer, to that strong disposition, which they had to contribute to the happiness of others, to that profound sensibility, which did not permit them to forget attentions to them, to that noble and generous character, which persuaded them, as regards sentiment, that nothing is done, when every thing is not done, that can be done. Notwithstanding as such noble dispositions are almost always dangerous in those, with whom power is depos ited, when they are not careful in watching them, I ought to observe after examples without number, that M. and Madame de Choiseul would never have consented to do the least injustice to serve their friends. I can never repay all, that I owe them; the only thing, which now remains, is to perpetuate in my family the recollection of so many benefactions, In 1759 M. de Choiseul, having obtained for the Bishop of Evreaux, his brother, the Archbishopric of Alby, gave me a pension of four thousand livres upon this benefice.

There appeared in 1760 a virulent parody of a scene in Cinna against the Duke d' Aumont and M. d' Argental. The parents and relations excited all the court against M. Marmontel, suspected of being the author of this satire, because

They

he committed the indiscretion to read it at supper. exerted themselves in consequence to take away the privilege of the Mercury and subscriptions, to which he had greatly augmented. To injure him more effectually they repreresented to Madame de Choiseul, that the Mercury produ ced, all expenses paid, twenty thousand livres,; that it only exacted a slight inspection on the part of the author, because the labor was done by clerks; and that in procuring me this journal it would no longer be necessary to solicit the Bishop of Orleans in my favor, who was at last resolved to reserve exclusively for the nobility the Abbeys and benefices of some value. Madame de Choiseul communicated this project to Madame de Gramont as well, as to M. de Gontout, and all three spoke to Madame de Pompadour, declaring positively, that they did not pretend to influence in any manner the judgment of M. Marmontel. The Duke de Choiseul

would not meddle in the affair.

I only knew M. Marmontel by having seen him two or three times at the house of Madame de Boccage; but I felt an extreme repugnance to live by the spoils of a man of merit. I explained myself more than once to Madame de Choiseul in conversation as well, as in writing; but being persuaded by all her acquaintances, that M. Marmontel was guilty, and that he could not retain the Mercury, she could not conceive the motives of my resistance. I begged M. de Gontaut to explain them to Madame de Pompadour, who approved them the more, as she did not wish to injure M. Marmontel.

I was placed in a painful situation. I was affected by the lively interest, which Madame de Choiseul openly discovered for me, and I risqued something by an obstinate refusal to condemn her proceedings, and to have them considered, as a piece of despotic beneficence. On the other side, if the court was against M. Marmontel, Paris was for him; every man of letters by an esprit du corps swore an eternal hatred to him, who should dare to take his place.

The public seemed to grow calm for some days, and I

thought myself out of danger, when suddenly M. d' Aumont produced a letter, which M. Marmontel had written him to exhort him to let the affair subside. This letter had a very bad effect, and reanimated M. d' Aumont and his partizans in the pursuit. It was then decided, that the privilege of the Mercury should be given to me, and on my refusal should be bestowed on M. de la Place. I then committed an essential fault; I thought if it came into the hands of the last, it would not go out of them again; that, if I accepted it, they would permit me after the necessary prejudices were dissipated to restore it to M. Marmontel. I wrote to Madame de Choiseul, and explained to her the reasons, which determined me at length to take charge of this journal. The privilege was expedited, and my eyes were opened. Foreseeing the succession of complaints, vexations, and dangers, to which I was exposed, I trembled at the error of my good intentions. Happily I received with the privilege a letter from M. de Choiseul, which calmed a little my inquietude. He came to Paris the same evening; I saw him; he advised me to go directly to M. d' Aumont to present him the privilege of the Mercury, to beg of him to restore it directly to M. Marmontel, representing to him, that he could not revenge himself in a manner more noble and more worthy himself. I flew to M. d' Aumont, I conjured him, I urged him, I had such an interest in persuading him; but I treated with a man obstinate, like all little minds, implacable, like all ignoble hearts. I thought at one moment he was go ing to cede; he appeared shaken, but he stopt of a sudden, saying to me, that it was not in his power, that he must have `a regard to his family.

I came back very sad to render an account of my mission to M. de Choiseul, who carried me the same day to Ver sailles. On arriving he returned the privilege to M. de Saint Florentin, retaining for me upon this journal a pension of five thousand livres, which I thought too much. M. de la Place had the Mercury, the subscriptions to which very soon di minished so much, that the pensioners were greatly alarmed.

Not to augment them I permitted M. Lutton, charged with the receipts and expenditures, to take from my pension the benefactions, given to the authors, who furnished pieces for the Mercury; in fine, some years after I was fortunate enough to be able to renounce that pension entirely. It has been since known, that the parody was by M. Curi, and that M. Marmontel preferred sacrificing his fortune to betraying his friend.*

Several places became vacant successively in the French academy. The philosophers declared with reason for M. Marmontel; the opposite party were always successful in opposing him. At one time, when his hopes appeared well founded, M. d' Argental, who played such a ridiculous part in the parody of Cinna, intrigued more strongly than ever with the academicians, who had any friendship for me. They urged me again to present myself, and again I rejected the proposition. I obtained even M. Gontaut to represent in the circle of Madame de Pompadour to those, who opposed the reception of M. Marmontel, how cruel it was, after having ruined a man of merit, to pursue him with such inveteracy.

Some philosophers never pardoned me for the momentary acceptance of the privilege of the Mercury, and still less the protection of M. and Madame de Choiseul.

I have seen in a collection of manuscript letters, that M. d'Alembert wrote from Berlin to Mademoiselle l'Espinasse, how much this prejudice had rendered him unjust. He had probably been informed, that I intended to dispute with M. Marmontel a vacant place at the academy, which was absolutely false. He answered, that one Marmontel was worth a thousand Barthelemies. I am well convinced, that M.

* This affair seems to have caused the Abbè Barthelemy much inquietude. It was a common thing in those days to satirize any courtier by parodying some celebrated passages in their tragedies. Such a satire, read in one society, was soon circulated, and produced great effects, as ridicule was more feared, than any other species of disgrace. Many unlucky wits have been lodged in the Bastile for similar offences. Some idea may be formed of th prodigious circulation of the Mercury, when the editor received four thou sand dollars yearly, besides paying many salaries to authors and others.

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