A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W X Z

Paris As It Was and As It Is

F >> Francis W. Blagdon >> Paris As It Was and As It Is




At the upper end of the hall is the chair of the President, and on
each side below him are seated the two Secretaries. A little on one
side again is the tribune, from which the members who speak address
the assembly, after having asked leave of the President, who never
quits the chair during the whole meeting. The space appropriated to
the members is inclosed by a railing, between which and the walls,
the hall is surrounded by benches for the spectators, among whom
there are generally many of the fair sex.

The library of the Institute consists of three spacious apartments,
which are said to contain about sixteen thousand volumes. On one side
of the hall is an apartment, destined for the communications of
correspondents. There is also an apartment for the secretary and his
deputies, and a large room containing a collection of machines and
models, (among which are several of shipping), as well as every
apparatus necessary for chemical and physical experiments.

Although I have several times attended the private meetings of the
three classes, I have thought that the printed accounts of their
proceedings, which I subjoin, would be more satisfactory than a hasty
sketch from my pen. However, as I promised to describe to you one of
the public sittings of the Institute, I shall now inform you of what
passed at that held yesterday, the 15th of Nivôse, year X, (5th of
January, 1802), at which I was present.

On this occasion, BIGOT-PRÉAMENEU, one of the members of the class of
Moral and Political Sciences, was the President. The sitting was
opened by proclaiming the nomination of three foreign associates,
elected by the Institute in its general sitting of the 5th of Nivôse;
namely, Mr. JEFFERSON, Sir JOSEPH BANKS, and HAYDN, the celebrated
musical composer. A prize was then awarded to Citizen Framery, a
literary character residing in Paris, for having solved the following
question proposed by the class of Literature and Fine Arts. "To
analyze the relations existing between music and declamation, and
determine the means of applying declamation to music, without
detracting from the charms of melody."

DELAMBRE read an account of the life and works of Cousin.

DÉGÉRANDO, an account of the education which the young savage of
Aveyron receives from Itard, physician to the Institution of the Deaf
and Dumb.

PRONY, the result of observations made with a French instrument and
an English one, for the purpose of determining the relation between
the French metre and the English foot.

Next were heard notes, by CAMUS, on the public exhibitions of the
productions of French Industry, which took place in the years VI and
IX of the Republic.

Then, the report of the restoration of the famous picture known by
the name of the _Madonna di Foligno_, which I have already
communicated to you.

BUACHE, the celebrated geographer, read some observations on the
ancient map of the Romans, commonly called Peutinger's map, as well
as on the geography of the anonymous writer of Ravenna. The sitting
was terminated by an account of the life and works of Dumoustier,
read by COLIN D'HARLEVILLE.

The members of the Institute have a full-dress and a half-dress. The
former consists of a suit of black, embroidered in dark green silk,
with a cocked hat. The latter is the same, but the embroidery is
confined to the collar and cuffs of the coat, which is trimmed with a
cord edging,

P.S. Yesterday evening was married Mademoiselle Beauharnois,
daughter-in-law of the First Consul, to Louis Bonaparte, one of his
younger brothers.

[Footnote 1: At the end of this volume will be found the new
organization of the Institute, conformably to a decree of the
government, dated the 3d of Pluviôse, year XI.]



LETTER XLVI.

_Paris, January 7, 1802._

Knowing you to be an amateur of Italian music, I am persuaded that
you will wish to be made acquainted with the theatre where you may
enjoy it in full perfection. It is distinguished by the appellation
of

OPÉRA BUFFA.

This establishment is not new in the French metropolis. In 1788,
Paris was in possession of an excellent company of Italian comedians,
who then performed in the _Théâtre de Monsieur_, in the palace of the
_Tuileries_, which is now converted into a hall for the sittings of
the Council of State. The success of this company had a rapid
influence on the taste of the discerning part of the French public.
This was the less extraordinary as, perhaps, no Italian sovereign had
ever assembled one composed of so many capital performers. In Italy,
there are seldom more than two of that degree of merit in a company;
the rest are not attended to, because they are not worth the trouble:
but here every department was complete, and filled by persons
deservedly enjoying a high reputation in their own country; such as
MANDINI, RAFFANELLI, SIMONI, MENGOZZI, VIGANONI, ROVEDINO, and
Signoras MORICHELLI and BALETTI.

The events of 1792 banished from Paris this admired assemblage. A new
company of Italian comedians has been formed here within these few
months: they at first occupied a charming little theatre constructed
for the use of a society, called _La Loge Olympique_; but are lately
removed to the _Théâtre Favart_, on the Boulevard. Before the
revolution, this was called _le Théâtre Italien_. The façade is
decorated with eight very large Ionic pillars. The house is of an
oval form, and the interior distribution deserving of praise, in as
much as it is far more commodious than that of any other theatre in
Paris. The audience here too is generally of a more select
description. Among the female amateurs, Madame Tallien is one of its
most constant visiters, and, in point of grace and beauty, one of its
greatest ornaments.

At the head of this new company, may be placed RAFFANELLI, the same
whom I have just mentioned. He is a consummate comedian, and more to
be commended in that point of view than as a singer. RAFFANELLI has a
countenance to which he gives any cast he pleases: his features, from
their wonderful pliability, receive every impression: his eye is
quick; his delivery, natural and correct; and his action, easy.
Sometimes he carries his buffooneries too far, merely to excite
laughter; but as he never fails in his object, this defect may be
overlooked. His best characters are _Taddeo_ in _Il Rè Theodora_, _il
Governatore_ in _La Molinara_, the Father in _Furberia e Puntiglio_,
and the Deaf Man in _Il Matrimonio Secreto_. It is necessary to see
him in these different operas to form a just idea of the truth and
humour with which he represents them. Although he is but an
indifferent singer, his method is good, and he seizes the spirit of
the composer with perfect discrimination. In _morceaux d'ensemble_,
he is quite at home, and when he dialogues with the orchestra, he
shews much energy and feeling. Independently of these gifts, Nature
has granted to RAFFANELLI another most valuable privilege. She seems
to have exempted him from the impression of time. In 1788 and 89, I
saw him frequently, both on and off the stage; after a lapse of
upwards of twelve years, he appears again to my eyes exactly the same
man. I cannot perceive in him the smallest change.

The tenor of the new company is LAZZARINI. His method too is very
good; he sings with taste, expression, and feeling; but his voice is
extremely weak: his powers appear exhausted; and it is only by dint
of painful efforts that he succeeds in giving to his singing those
embellishments which his taste suggests, but which lose their grace
and charm when they are laboured. In short, LAZZARINI communicates to
the audience an unpleasant sensation in proving that he has real
talents.

Neither the same reproaches nor the same praises can be bestowed on
PARLAMAGNI. He is a good counter-tenor, but has a harshness in the
high tones, which he does not always reach with perfect justness. He
is also deficient in ease and grace. PARLAMAGNI, however, having an
advantageous person, and the air of a Frenchman, is a great favourite
with the Parisian _dilettanti_. He is a tolerably good comedian, and
in some scenes of buffoonery, his acting is natural, and his manner
free and unaffected.

The _prima donna_ of the Italian company is Signora STRINA-SACCHI.
She possesses a fine voice, and no small share of taste, joined to
great confidence and a perfect acquaintance with the stage. Sometimes
she is rather apt to fatigue the ear by sounds too shrill, and thus
breaks the charm produced by her singing. As for her acting, it is as
extraordinary as can well be imagined; for her vivacity knows no
bounds; and her passion, no restraint. She appears to conceive
justly, to feel very warmly, and she plays in the same manner. In
her, Nature commands every thing; Art, nothing. The parts in which
she shines most, are _La Molinara_ and _Gianina_; in these, she
literally follows the impulse given her by her situation, without
concerning herself in the least, whether it is _secundum artem_; but
certain that it is natural and conformable to the character and
habits of the personage she represents. _Anima in voce_ is the
characteristic of her singing: the same epithet may be applied to her
recitative and her acting: in these she displays no less spirit and
animation.

After Signora SACCHI, comes Signora PARLAMAGNI. She is a young, and
rather pretty woman, not unlike a French actress in her manner. Her
voice is free and clear, and her method by no means to be disdained.
She wants habit and confidence. This is evident in her performance of
a part new to her; for it is only after a few representations that
she feels herself at her ease. Then the public appreciate her powers,
which she exhibits to advantage; and her exertions are rewarded by
reiterated marks of their satisfaction.

Unfortunately it is the nature of an Italian opera-house to have its
shelf poorly furnished. It cannot, however, be denied that the
managers of the _Opera Buffa_ take every pains to vary and increase
their stock. The following are the pieces which I have seen at this
theatre.

_Furberia e Puntiglio_, which is a second-hand imitation of GOLDONI.
The music, by Signor MARCELLO DI CAPUA, is agreeable, particularly a
quartetto and a cavatina. RAFFANELLI shines in this piece as a
first-rate actor.

_Il Matrimonio Secreto_, the chef-d'oeuvre of CIMAROSA, and of its
kind, perhaps, the most charming opera extant. Throughout it, the
composer has lavished beauties; there is not to be found in it an air
of inferior merit, or which, of itself alone, would not sustain the
reputation of a piece. What then can be said of a work in which they
are all united? Nothing can surpass the variety, spirit, grace, and
originality of the duos, terzettos, quartettos, &c. with which this
opera abounds. CIMAROSA has here combined the strength of German
harmony with the grace which constitutes the charm of Italian melody.
He is particularly famous for the brilliancy of his ideas, the
fecundity of his genius, the richness of his style, and, above all,
for the finish of his pictures.

The certain effect of such a production is to eclipse every thing put
in competition with it. This effect is particularly conspicuous at
the representation of other pieces, the music of which is by the same
composer.

_Gianina e Bernadone_, another of CIMAROSA'S productions, makes less
impression, though it is in the graceful style, what _Il Matrimonio
Secreto_ is in the serio-comic.

_La Molinara_, however, upholds the reputation of that celebrated
composer, PAËSIELLO. This opera requires no eulogium. Selections from
it are daily repeated in the public and private concerts in Paris.
_Il Matrimonio Secreto_ is a masterpiece of spirit and originality,
while _La Molinara_ is a model of grace, melody, and simplicity.

To the great regret of the lovers of Italian music, CIMAROSA died not
long since, just as he was preparing to visit Paris. But his fame
will long survive, as his works bear the stamp of true genius,
combined with taste and judgment. His _Italiana in Londra_ is just
announced for representation.

_Il Matrimonio Inaspettato_, a composition of PAËSIELLO, is likewise
in rehearsal, as well as _Le Nozze di Dorina_, by SARTI, and _La
Vilanella Rapita_, by BIANCHI. MOZART too will soon enter the lists;
his _Dom Giovanni_ is to be speedily brought forward.

The orchestra of the _Opéra Buffa_, though far from numerous, is
extremely well-composed. It accompanies the singers with an
_ensemble_, a grace, and precision deserving of the highest encomium.
BRUNI, a distinguished Italian composer, is the leader of the band,
and PARENTI, a professor, known also by several admired productions,
presides at the piano-forte.

NEUVILLE, the manager of this theatre, is gone to Italy for the
purpose of completing the company by the addition of some eminent
performers.[1] In its present state, the _Opéra Buffa_ maintains its
ground. It is thought that the French government will assist it in
case of necessity, and even make it a national establishment; a
commissary or agent having been appointed to superintend its
proceedings.

[Footnote 1: The _Opéra Buffa_, the constant object of the jealousy
of the other lyric theatres, because it constitutes the delight of
real amateurs of music, has, during the year 1802, acquired several
new performers. Two of these only, Madame BOLLA and MARTINELLI,
deserve particular mention. Madame BOLLA is a good figure on the
stage, and though her features are not regular, yet they are
susceptible of the most varied expression. Her voice, which is a
species of feminine _tenore_, astonishes by the purity and firmness
of its grave tones; while her brilliant and sure method easily
conceals its small extent in the higher notes. MARTINELLI is a
species of counter-tenor. His voice has already lost much of its
strength, and has not that clearness which serves as an excuse for
every thing; but connoisseurs find that he takes care to calculate
its effects so as to make amends, by the art of transitions, for that
firmness in which it is deficient. He is much applauded in the
_cantabile_, which he sings with uncommon precision, and he
particularly shines in the counter-parts which charm in the Italian
_finales_. As an actor, MARTINELLI, though inferior to RAFFANELLI, is
also remarkable. His manner is easy and natural, and his countenance
capable of assuming the most comic expression.]



LETTER XLVII.

_Paris, January 9, 1802._

The exaggerated accounts of the interior state of France which have
reached us, through various channels, during the late obstinate
struggle, have diffused so many contradictions, that it is by no
means surprising we still continue so ill-informed in England on many
points most intimately connected with the morals of the French
nation. Respecting none of these, have we been more essentially
mistaken than the

PRESENT STATE OF PUBLIC WORSHIP.

I am given to understand, from unquestionable authority, that there
are at this moment, and have been for the last four years, no less
than from thirty-five to forty thousand churches where divine service
has been regularly performed throughout the different departments of
the Republic. It is therefore a gross error to suppose that the
christian religion was extinguished in France. The recent
arrangements made between the French government and the See of Rome
will consolidate that religion, which was, in a great measure,
re-established long before his Holiness occupied the papal chair. I
shall illustrate this truth by a summary of the proceedings of the
constitutional clergy.

The last general assembly of the clergy of France, held in 1789, the
account of which has never been printed, already presented facts
which announced that the necessity of reforming abuses was felt, and
the epoch when that reform would take place was foreseen. In this
assembly several bishops spoke with much force on the subject.

The disastrous state of the finances, brought about by the shameful
dilapidations of the court, occasioned a deficit which it was
necessary to make good. This consideration, joined to the spirit of
cupidity, jealous of the estates of the clergy, immediately caused
every eye to turn towards that mortmain property, in order to employ
it in the liquidation of the national debt.

In the _Moniteur_, and other journals of the time, may be seen what
successive steps gradually led to the abolition of tythes, and the
decision which placed the estates of the clergy at the disposal of
the nation.

The civil constitution of the clergy was a severe check given to the
many existing abuses. It really brought back the Gallican church to
the discipline of the first ages. It snatched from the Pope the power
of giving the canonical institution to bishops. Those who have
thought proper to tax with novelty this constitution, have only to
look into history. They will see that, during twelve hundred years,
bishops received the canonical institution from the metropolitans,
and not from the Pope. Thus to tax with intrusion the constitutional
bishops, and condemn them because they have received that institution
from the metropolitans, is to condemn the first twelve centuries of
christianity.

This civil constitution served as a pretext to the dignified clergy,
irritated at the loss of their estates, for concerting a combined
resistance to the new laws, in the hope that this resistance would
lead to a subversion which would restore to them their riches. Thence
the refusal of the oath "to be faithful to the nation, to the law,
and to the king, to guide faithfully the flock intrusted to their
care, and to maintain with all their power the constitution decreed
by the assembly, and sanctioned by the king." Thence the line of
division between the clergy who had taken the oath and those who had
not.

The Constituent Assembly, who had decreed the above oath, declared,
that the refusal of giving this pledge of fidelity should be
considered as a voluntary resignation. The royal sanction had
rendered the above decree a law of the State. Almost the whole of the
bishops, a great number of rectors, and other ecclesiastics, refused
to take this oath, already taken by several among them who were
deputies to the assembly.

They were, in consequence, declared to have resigned; and measures
were taken for supplying their place. The people proceeded to effect
this by electors authorized by law. A respectable number of
ecclesiastics, who had already submitted to the law, accepted the
elections. These priests thought that obedience to the national
authority which respected and protected religion, was a catholic
dogma. What resistance could be made to legitimate power, which
neither attacked the dogma, nor morality, nor the interior and
essential discipline of the church? It was, say they, resisting God
himself. They thought that the pastor was chosen, and sent solely for
the care of the flock intrusted to him; that, when difficult
circumstances, flight, for instance, voluntary or forced, the
prohibition from all functions, pronounced by the civil power,
rendered the holy ministry impossible, or that the pastor could not
exericise it, without declaring himself in open insurrection, the
pretended unremoveable rights then ceased with the sacred duties
which they could not discharge, without being accused of rebellion.

The dissentient bishops drew many priests into their party. Most of
them spread themselves over Europe, where they calumniated at their
ease the patriotic clergy. Those of their adherents who had remained
in the interior of this country, kindled a civil war, tormented
people's consciences, and disturbed the peace of families, &c. This
conduct, which engendered the horrible scenes in La Vendée, provoked
repressive measures, emanated from legislative authority.

Enemies without and within, say the constitutional clergy, wished to
create a disgust to liberty, by substituting to it licentiousness.
And, indeed, the partisans of the dissentient clergy were seen to
coalesce with the unbelievers, in order to produce the sacrilegious
disorders which broke out every where in the year 1793.

The clergy who had taken the oath had organized the dioceses; the
bishops, in general, had bestowed great pains in spreading in every
parish the word of the gospel; for they preached themselves, and this
was more than was done by their predecessors, who, engaged only in
spending, frequently in a shameful manner, immense revenues, seldom
or never visited their dioceses. The constitutional clergy followed a
plan more conformable to the gospel, which gained them the affection
of the well-disposed part of the nation.

These priests were of opinion that the storm which threatened
religion, required imperiously the immediate presence of the pastor,
and that, in the day of battle, it was necessary to be in person at
the breach. They were of opinion that the omission or impossibility
of fulfilling minute and empty formalities, imposed by a Concordat,
rejected from the beginning by all the public bodies and the church
of France, and annihilated at the moment by the will of the
representatives of the nation, sanctioned by royal authority, could
not exempt them from accepting holy functions presented by all the
constituted authorities, and on which evidently depended the
preservation of religion, the salvation of the faithful, and the
peace of the State.

But, when persecution manifested itself, the clergy who had taken the
oath, became equally the victims of persecuting rage. Some failed in
this conjuncture; but the greater number remained intrepid in their
principles. Accordingly several constitutional bishops and priests
were dragged to the scaffold. If, on the one hand, the dastardly
GOBEL was guillotined, the same fate attended the respectable
EXPILLY, bishop of Quimper, AMOURETTE, bishop of Lyons, and GOUTTES,
bishop of Autun, &c.

The dissentient clergy reproach some constitutional priests with
having married, and even with having apostatized; but they say not
that, among the dissentient, there are some who; have done the same.
If the number of the latter is smaller, it is because the greater
part of them were out of France; but what would they have done, if,
like the constitutional clergy, they had either had the axe suspended
over their head, or the guillotine accompanying all their steps?

In England, where the French priests were not thus exposed, there are
some who have likewise married, and even some who have apostatized.

It is well known that, amidst the terrors of impiety, GRÉGOIRE,
bishop of Blois, declared that he braved them, and remained attached
to his principles and duties, as a christian and bishop. He firmly
believed that, in doing so, he was pronouncing his sentence of death,
and, for eighteen months, he was in expectation of ascending the
scaffold. The same courage animated the majority of the
constitutional bishops and priests. They exercised secretly their
ministry, and consoled the faithful. As soon as the rage for
persecution began to abate, GRÉGOIRE and some other bishops, who had
kept up a private correspondence with the clergy of various dioceses
for the purpose of encouraging them, concerted together in order to
reorganize worship. In Nivôse year III (January 1795), GRÉGOIRE
demanded this liberty of worship of the National Convention. He was
very sure of meeting with outrages, and he experienced some; but to
speak in the tribune, was speaking to France and to all Europe, and,
in the then state of things, he was almost certain of staggering
public opinion, which would force the Convention to grant the free
exercise of religion. Accordingly, some time after having refused the
liberty of worship on the demand of GRÉGOIRE, that assembly granted
it, though with evident reluctance, on a Report of BOISSY D'ANGLAS,
which insulted every species of worship.

The constitutional bishops had already anticipated this moment by
their writings and their pastoral letters, &c. They then compiled two
works, entitled _Lettres Encycliques_, to which the bishops and
priests of the various dioceses adhered. The object of these works,
which are monuments of wisdom, piety, and courage, was to reorganize
public worship in all the dioceses, according to the principles of
the primitive church. They pronounced a formal exclusion from
ecclesiastical functions against all prevaricating priests or married
ones, as well as all those who had the cowardice to deliver up their
authority for preaching, and abdicate their functions. Some
interested persons thought this too severe. Those bishops persisted
in their decision, and, by way of answer, they reprinted a
translation of the celebrated treatise of St. Cyprian de Lapsis. On
all sides, they reanimated religions zeal, caused pastors for the
various sees to be elected by the people, and consecrated by the
metropolitan bishops. They held synods, the arts of which form a
valuable collection, equally honourable to their zeal and knowledge.
They did more.

For a long time past the custom of holding councils had fallen into
disuse. They convoked a national council, notwithstanding the
unfavourableness of a silent persecution; and, in spite of the penury
which afflicted the pastors, the latter had the courage to expose
themselves in order to concur in it. This council was opened with the
greatest solemnity on the 15th of August, 1797, the day of the
Assumption of the Virgin. It sat for three months. The canons and
decrees of this assembly, which have been translated into Italian and
German, have been printed in one volume.

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