Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
A Charge, Delivered In St. George's Lodge At Taunton, In The County Of Somerset, On The Feast Of St. John The Baptist,
you all a constant attendance in this place , a due obedience to the laivs of our institution , and a respectful submission to the directions of your officers , that you may prove to mankind the ^ propriety of your election , and secure the establishment of this society to latest posterity .
Anecdotes.
ANECDOTES .
OF THE LATE MR . GIBBON .
IT is Avell knoAvn , that this celebrated Historian wrote a " Life" of Himself . It is just published . We give the following curious extract from it , by which it appears , that he at one time was on the 1 eve of marrying the celebrated Madame Neckar : " I hesitate , from the apprehension of ridicule , when I approach the delicate subject of my early love . By this word I do not mean the polite attentionthe gallantry without hope or designwhich has
, , originated in the spirit of chivalry , and is interwoven with the texture of French manners . I understand by this passion the union of desire , friendship , and tenderness , which is inflamed by a single female , which prefers her to the rest of her sex , and Avhich seeks possession as the supreme or the sole happiness of our being . I need not blush at recollecting the object of my choice ; and though my love was dis ^
appointed of success , I am rather proud thai I was once capable of feeling such a pure and exalted sentiment . The personal attractions of Mad . Susan Curchod were embellished by the virtues and talents of the mind . Her fortune AA'as humble , but her family Avas respect- ' able . Her mother , a native of France , had preferred her religion to her country . The profession of her father did not extinguish the
moderation and philosophy of his temper , and he lived content with . a small salary and laborious duty , in the obscure lot of Minister of Grassy , in the mountains that separate the Pays de Vaud from the Country of Burgundy . In the solitude of a sequestered village he bestoAA'ed a liberal and even learned education on his onl y daughter . She surpassed his hopes , by her proficiency in the sciences and
languages ; and in her short visits to some relations at Lausanne , the wit , the beauty , and erudition of Mademoiselle Curchod , were the theme of universal applause . The report of such a prodigy awakened my curiosity . I saAV and loved . I found her learned without pedantiy , livel y in coiiA'ersation , pure in sentiment , and ' elegant in manners ; and the first sudden emotion AA'as fortified by the habits and knowled ge of a more familiar acquaintance . She permitted me to make her two or three visits at her father ' s house , I passed some happy
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
A Charge, Delivered In St. George's Lodge At Taunton, In The County Of Somerset, On The Feast Of St. John The Baptist,
you all a constant attendance in this place , a due obedience to the laivs of our institution , and a respectful submission to the directions of your officers , that you may prove to mankind the ^ propriety of your election , and secure the establishment of this society to latest posterity .
Anecdotes.
ANECDOTES .
OF THE LATE MR . GIBBON .
IT is Avell knoAvn , that this celebrated Historian wrote a " Life" of Himself . It is just published . We give the following curious extract from it , by which it appears , that he at one time was on the 1 eve of marrying the celebrated Madame Neckar : " I hesitate , from the apprehension of ridicule , when I approach the delicate subject of my early love . By this word I do not mean the polite attentionthe gallantry without hope or designwhich has
, , originated in the spirit of chivalry , and is interwoven with the texture of French manners . I understand by this passion the union of desire , friendship , and tenderness , which is inflamed by a single female , which prefers her to the rest of her sex , and Avhich seeks possession as the supreme or the sole happiness of our being . I need not blush at recollecting the object of my choice ; and though my love was dis ^
appointed of success , I am rather proud thai I was once capable of feeling such a pure and exalted sentiment . The personal attractions of Mad . Susan Curchod were embellished by the virtues and talents of the mind . Her fortune AA'as humble , but her family Avas respect- ' able . Her mother , a native of France , had preferred her religion to her country . The profession of her father did not extinguish the
moderation and philosophy of his temper , and he lived content with . a small salary and laborious duty , in the obscure lot of Minister of Grassy , in the mountains that separate the Pays de Vaud from the Country of Burgundy . In the solitude of a sequestered village he bestoAA'ed a liberal and even learned education on his onl y daughter . She surpassed his hopes , by her proficiency in the sciences and
languages ; and in her short visits to some relations at Lausanne , the wit , the beauty , and erudition of Mademoiselle Curchod , were the theme of universal applause . The report of such a prodigy awakened my curiosity . I saAV and loved . I found her learned without pedantiy , livel y in coiiA'ersation , pure in sentiment , and ' elegant in manners ; and the first sudden emotion AA'as fortified by the habits and knowled ge of a more familiar acquaintance . She permitted me to make her two or three visits at her father ' s house , I passed some happy