miserable individuals of all conditions, who were imprisoned by lettres de cachet, and guarded by a company of invalids. Of these unhappy victims of an arbitrary government, M. Bernard was at once the jailor and the judge, the arbiter of their treatment and their destiny. He could confine them where he pleased, in a room, or a dungeon, he could indulge them with liberty, or keep them in chains; and the portion of light and air which they enjoyed was regulated by his caprice. The keepers of these prisons, of which there were many in France, were subject to no inspection or controul !!!

The following anecdote is no uninteresting specimen of the state of manners in France at the time M. Guibert

wrote.

As I was going to sleep,' says he, a gun was discharged just under my window. A great shriek was raised, in which could clearly be distinguished the cry of a person who had been wounded. It was really so, but happily he had received only a few shots in his arm. It was not a lover assassinated by a jealous husband; it was a poor husband whose assassination was attempted by the paramour of his wife. Fifteen days before, he had attempted to poison him without success. On this occasion, there was no proof, nor any evidence. The man in his agony only knew from what quarter the gun was fired. He repeated without ceasing, "It is that beggarly rascal who lives with my wife. I surprised him with her the other day, and he told me in a rage that I should never surprize him a second time.'

In the south of France love often produces such tragedies as these! We shall now take our leave of M. Guibert, whose travels, though they may now appear rather antiquated, are far from being devoid of interest, aud may be read both with pleasure and instruction.

ART. III.-Coup d'il repide sur Vienne, &c.

A rapid View of Vienna, accompanied by a Letter from an Officer of Rank in the grand Army, containing a Detail of the Military Operations, in consequence of which that Capital fell into the Hands of the French. sco. Paris. 1806. Imported by Dulau.

THIS is one of the most recent accounts of Vienna which have been published, and contains in a small compass a sufficiently copious account of the present state of that capital. The late important events which have occurred on the continent, have contributed to render this renowned city an object of

more than ordinary attention; and the present interesting little work will, in some measure, gratify the public curiosity. We shall therefore make no apology for presenting the reader with a larger and more detailed exposition of the contents, than the size of the work would otherwise justify.

› Vienna,' says the author, is one of the least beautiful capitals in Europe. There are no exterior embellishments to captivate

attention. The streets, which cross each other here and there in the most disorderly manner, are neither even nor parallel; they are dirty, and bordered by footpaths, which, not being raised above the level of the carriage-way, serve only to render it slippery. In many of the streets, the concourse of people is hardly loss than in those which are contiguous to the Pont-Neuf at Paris; but the view which they present is much more fantastically varied. We discriminate a motley assemblage of Turks, Russians, Poles, Hunga rians, Croats, Cossacks, Kalmucks, with a conflux of natives, who move along with an aspect of phlegmatic tranquillity, which is singularly striking. Not far from the centre, there is a street which is carried like a bridge over another street (called the Deep Diten), so that the carriages, which pass into the first, are sometimes exactly over the head of some other vehicle in the second; a spectacle which always arrests the attention and excites the curiosity of the traveller, There is hardly more than one street in this metropolis which can be reputed very handsome; and that is formed by a regular succession of magnificent palaces, and is accordingly called Noble street.

The town being fortified, the houses are unusually straitened for room. A whole house is seldom occupied by a single proprietor, for the second story of the greater number belongs to the Emperor. This was occasioned by a concession on the part of the inhabitants, who purchased at this price the favour of having the sovereign reside among them. These second stories are allotted by the court to its agents and domestics. This constitutes a part of their salary, and serves to make a real addition to the revenue of the state.'

The temperature of Vienna is represented not to be so warm as might be expected from the latitude in which it is placed (48th degree 12 min.). Surrounded by mountains or high hills, which are covered with accumulations of snow or ice of a long continuance, it experiences no scorching fe vours except during a couple of months, while the winters are piercing cold. The inhabitants endeavour to folify themselves against the rigours of the climate by the warath of their clothing; on the first commencement of the cold son, they wrap themselves up in a pelisse, and their roo are heated by stoves of such a size and such a quality as not to permit the slightest degree of cold to be felt

The health of the inhabitants is much affected by the m petuosity of the winds, which, besides the catarrh and rheu

matisms which they produce, rapidly dry and pulverise the chalky soil, the particles of which insinuating themselves into the chest, are thought to have a deleterious effect upon the lungs, and to deposit the germ of consumption. This inveterate malady, for which no adequate remedy has yet been found, and which prevails so much in all great towns, is supposed to be no where so fatally operative as at Vienna, The number of pulmonary patients who perish annually within its walls, is awfully great.

Yet the pharmaceutical art is said to be better cultivated at Vienna, than in all the other towns in Germany, and the numerous sons of Esculapius who are found here, are said in many cases to contend most successfully with the great enemy of mankind; and to snatch from an untimely grave multitudes of the devotees to an excessive sensuality with which the town abounds. The syphilitic disease, that terrible chastiser of intemperance and lust, is believed to be more general at Vienna than even at Paris, that degenerate mart of an almost promiscuous prostitution!

The small pox in 1795, carried off 1,098 persons; but vaccination has been since introduced, from which the most signal benefits will no doubt be derived. The whole population of Vienna in 1795 amounted to 231,105 inhabitants, of whom 1051 were ecclesiastics,3,253 nobles, 4,256 public functionaries, and 7,353 burgesses or chiefs of the corpora tion.

Vienna is not without several charitable institutions. There are hospitals for the sick, for lying-in women, for insane persons, for the military, and even for the Jews, all of which are distinguished by the propriety of their management. The suburbs are divided into eight districts; and a physician, a surgeon, and a midwife, are allotted to each; who are paid by the government, and whose business it is to attend the poor at their own houses. In 1795, they had 19,820 sick under their care, of whom 464 died, and 629 were sent to the hospital. The city has since been made to participate in the benefits of this salutary institution. The government seems to have paid great attention to the health of the inhabitants; for we are informed that no new house is suffered to be inhabited till the physician of the district has certified that the walls are sufficiently dry.

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Provisions are to be had at a moderats price. Abundant supplies of meat, corn, and wine are brought from Hungary. Austria furnishes fuel, which is transported on the Danube and about 150 gardeners in the suburbs raise immense qua,

tities of vegetables, which are to be had at a very low rate. The government takes every pains to prevent mendicity. The asylum for orphans contained, in 1797, 1479 of these unfortunate persons; and there is an establishment for the relief of old men, and of fathers of families who are past the period of toil.

There is no town where signs of taverns and public houses are more frequently seen; and yet by ten at night a more profound tranquillity and a more sombre silence prevail in the streets than in any other city of the same size. In the Leopolstadt suburbs, there is a coffee-house which is almost entirely frequented by Greeks (who are very numerous at Vienna), and while we hear nothing but their language, and see nothing but their dress, we imagine ourselves transported in to the midst of Greece; an illusion very agreeable to those who have early been taught to admire the erudition of that celebrated people.

The inhabitants of Vienna are in no small degree renowned for their hospitality. Besides a variety of open tables, there are many houses where you may freely go at any hour of the day, or even in the middle of the night; and partake of whatever is served up to the company, as well as join in the conversation. In winter, as the stoves diffuse an equa ble warmth over the whole apartment, the company do not all crowd around the chinney, but are seen dispersed in groups about the room; while huge menials in variegated liveries.carry round ices, lemonade, orgeat, and pastry. There are besides stalls kept in the middle of the hall, where those who have nothing to say may amuse themselves, or pur chase articles for twice as much as they are worth.

Music is in high request; as is likely to be the case in a country which produced a Gluck and a Mozart; and which still possesses a Haydn and other composers. A taste for this fine art is diffused even among the lower orders: so much attention is paid to it as often to tire the patience of foreigners; and there are some circles where they never meet without a concert. Literature does not flourish much at Vienna; the press is shackled with restrictions; freedom of research or of dispute is dangerous; and there are hardly more books prohibited at Petersburgh or Rome than at Vienna. The English language is a good deal studied; and the imita tion of English fashions and the desire for English manurac tures are very general. All the English, of whatever rank they may be, enjoy the privilege of being presented at court by their ambassador; and this has given rise to many singular occurrences and ludicrous adventures. But the pre

dominant passion at Vienna is a taste for good living. They eat largely and they drink in proportion.

The palace of Schoenbrunn, which was lately for a short t'me the imperial residence of Bonaparte, is embellished with a superb collection of paintings, of which Joseph 11. stripped the churches in Brabant. At this palace there are no less than fourteen large green-houses besides smaller ones. The former, which resemble vast galleries, fronting the south, contain à multiplicity of plants the most rare and the most precious which the four quarters of the world can furnish; and which serve at the same time as a receptacle for birds, the most captivating by their plumage or their notes. They roam at liberty in these spacious galleries,and are seen perching on the same trees under which they would have retired for shelter in other climates. Great numbers bere breed and perpetuate their kind. The palace of Augarten was thrown open to the people by the Emperor Joseph; at the principal entrance we behold a vast edifice, composed of great galleries, highly decorated, where cating is practised from morning to night. Before this edifice, there is a circular area surrounded by large chesnut trees, under which are tables where you may take tea, coffee, ice, &c. The wild and romantic part of the gardens is formed by the forest of Brigit, of a league in extent; which is traversed by the Da-. nube from one end to the other; and whose banks afford a delicious promenade. At the entrance of the wood, we meet with a number of eating houses; here, particularly on a holiday, multitudes repair, and the pleasures seem to make this spot their favourite abode. Though the grosser indulgences of sense seem to be sought with most avidity, yet musical instruments are played among the trees; sounds of mirth are every where heard, and indications of delight every where

seen.

The forest of Prater is also near Vienna; and is one of the most favourite and fashionable resorts of the inhabitants. The way to it is by a beautiful road which runs through the forest. Here are Turkish, Chinese, Italian, English, coffeehouses, ball-rooms, billiard-rooms; and, instead of shepherds and rural swains, we behold retailers of coffee, lemonade, pastry, traiteurs, musicians, jugglers, &c. Here the promenade displays all that is great or little, beautiful or ugly, elegant or slatternly, wanton or demure in the precincts of Vienna. Here princes, burgesses, prostitutes, monks, and soldiers, are mingled in a sort of popular mass. In the evening this is the scene where the fair come to display all their charms, their blandishments, and wiles. But the Viennese seem to have anc