Even the levity of the French character yields to this terrible despotism, and nothing is observed but weariness, silence, and sorrow: "O triste loisir, poids affreux du tems."

Wandering by the beautiful banks of the river, along its green meadows, in a woody recess, I observed the following lines beneath an urn, cut in the rock on which it rested: Consacrer dans l'obscurité, Ses loisirs à l'étude, à l'amitié sa vie, Sont des plaisirs dignes d'envie; Etre chéri vaut mieux qu'être vanté!