of distinguished personages executed by him in bas-relief thereupon. We give the reader the benefit of these verses, though we can discover no particular inspiration therein :— STANCES SUR LA MORT DU GÉNÉRAL FOY. Pleurez, Français, pleurez! la patrie est en deuil; Vous ne l'entendrez plus, l'orateur redouté Le ciel, lui décernant la sainte récompense, Son bras libérateur dans la tombe est esclave; Son front pur s'est glacé sous le laurier vainqueur, Ne sent plus palpiter son cœur. Hier, quand de ses jours la source fut tarie, C'est la première fois qu'il n'a pas répondu ! The Duchesse de Duras, anxious to turn to the benefit of her young favorite the sensation created by this popular effusion, generously brought her influence to bear on her behalf, by writing to M. de Lourdoueix-then Director of Belles-lettres under the Minister of the Interior-to solicit for "a young girl full of grace, wit, and talents, the author of the episode of St. Camilla, crowned by the Academy, and now engaged in writing another poem, a sort of French Messiade, in which the most touching religious sentiments are rendered with a great power of expression, and a degree of poetic talent far superior to anything yet seen in a woman, a small pension; which to one in her position," added the Duchess, "would be a most valuable assistance." What the kind-hearted pleader understood by a "French Messiade" it is not very easy to determine, though it may probably have been some glorification, à la Française, of the "civilizing mission" which our neighbors are so fond of attributing to themselves, and of whose nature, instruments, and aim, they occasionally startle the rest of the world with such very uncomfortable indications. However this may be, it does not appear that the Director of Belles-lettres was moved to the granting of the Duchess's prayer. But other and less judicious admirers had sounded the praises of Delphine's charms and talents within the precincts of the Court, and in the ears of the monarch; and had officiously suggested the idea of a morganatic marriage between the brilliant young beauty and the King's brother, the Comte d'Artois; or, according to another version of the Court-gossip of the time, a still more irregular liaison with the King himself. The latter at length consented to allow the fair songstress to be presented to him; but, so far from giving his sanction to the intrigues of his courtiers-intrigues which were apparently quite unsuspected by their object-terminated the brief reception accorded to her, by thus addressing her : "Mademoiselle, you possess true poetic talent. I grant to you, from my privy purse, an annual pension of five hundred crowns. Take my advice; seek for new inspiration in foreign travel. Paris is, for you, a more dangerous place than you imagine.” As kingly "advice" is not to be neglected by those on whom it is bestowed, Madame Gay set out at once with her daughter on a tour through Switzerland and Italy. The fame of the young traveller had preceded her. Wherever Delphine stopped, her grace and beauty created a sensation which was often fully as embarrassing as flattering; and she was received in Italy as a second "Corinne." At Rome, she was conducted in triumph to the Pantheon, where, in the presence of an immense crowd, composed of the most illustrious inhabitants of the Eternal City, she recited her "Hymn to St. Genevieve," written for the occasion, and was crowned with flowers, and overwhelmed with showers of wreaths and bouquets, amidst the enthusiastic applause of the auditory, after which she was elected a member of the Academy of the Tiber. During her stay in Italy, Delphine composed several other poems, the pricipal of which was "The Last Day of Pompeii," written at the foot of Vesuvius. She also finished, at Rome, the "Magdeleine," the most important of her poetical productions, and one on which she had been at work for five years. While on this tour, she made many valuable acquaintances; the charms of her person and her brilliant conversational powers exciting, as usual, the admiration of all who approached her. M. de Lamartine, in his "Cours Familier de Literature," has recounted the impression made upon him by the sight of his young countrywoman, whom he fell in with at the Falls of Terni, and whose image seems to have remained ever afterwards associated in his mind with the magnificence of rock, water, and sky with which she was then surrounded. Not a few of her Italian adorers would fain have kept the fair traveller in their own land; but Delphine's affection for France amounted to a species of idolatry, and she steadily refused the most brilliant matrimonial offers, from a patriotic determination to accord her hand to none but a Frenchman. Whatever interested her, at this period of her life, became at once a subject for the exercise of her rhyming powers; and this determination accordingly furnished her with a motif for a new poem, which she addressed to her sister, the Countess O'Donnell. We select two which appear to us among the most beautiful of the shorter pieces, and which will give the reader a fair idea of her powers. LA NOCE D'ELVIRE. ÉLÉGIE. "Jeune fille, où vas-tu si tard? Pourquoi les égarer dans cette sombre allée ? -Quoi! vous n'entendez pas le son du chalumeau? J'étais là....je l'ai vue....O douloureux moments! Mon regard, mon langage, en moi tout lui plaisait. "Laisse une infortunée à sa douleur en proie; Va trouver les vieillards rassemblés sous l'ormeau ; Célébrer par leurs chants joyeux, Parmi les doux objets qui frapperont tes yeux Comme un beau lis tu la verras paraître; "Pour la parer en ce jour solennel, Sur sa bouche a bientôt rappelé le sourire. Adieu; sur mes malheurs, bon vieillard, prends courage; VOL. VI. De mes maux t'apprendront la fin.” C Elle dit; et l'écho fidèle Le vieillard aperçut une tombe nouvelle "Grand Dieu! s'écria-t-il, ta bonté paternelle A pris pitié d'un sort si rigoureux!" Elle n'est plus... Pourtant, à la même heure, Répète encore des accents douloureux; Mais la voix a changée... C'est Elvire qui pleure. LE PETIT FRÈRE. De ma sainte patrie Mes sœurs, pourquoi pleurer? Dans les cieux je suis ange, Ma souffrance est passée, Mon cœur d'ange vous aime, J'ai la même figure Qui charmait tant vos yeux; Le ciel est ma demeure, Les anges de mon âge Le soir, quand la nuit tombe, Oh! cessez votre plainte, Tout sera pardonné ! The return of Delphine Gay to her native land was followed by a series of ovations even more flattering to her pride of country than the honors which had been paid to her in Rome. Baron Gros had just completed the frescoes of the Pantheon; and on the opening of that building to the public on their termination, the "Muse de la Patrie," led by the painter to a place of honor prepared for her beneath the dome, read some verses which she had written for the occasion, in the midst of an assembly composed of the most distinguished representatives of the aristocracies of birth, of art, of letters, and of finance. Bouquets and crowns were showered in profusion at her feet; and the immense building resounded with the plaudits of her audience. On another occasion, when the young poetess took her seat in one of the front boxes of the Opera, wearing a sky-blue scarf thrown lightly over her white shoulders, and her hair falling round her like a golden mist, such was the electrifying effect of her presence that the entire audience rose spontaneously, and saluted the beautiful vision with a triple salute of applause! Her life appears, indeed, at this period, to have consisted of a succession of ovations, fêtes, |