ch he had founded, the actors whom he had formed,
survived the loss of their master; and, recent from Paris, I attended
with pleasure at the representation of several tragedies and comedies.
I shall not descend to specify particular names and characters; but I
cannot forget a private institution, which will display the innocent
freedom of Swiss manners. My favourite society had assumed, from the
age of its members, the proud denomination of the spring (la society du
printems). It consisted of fifteen or twenty young unmarried ladies, of
genteel, though not of the very first families; the eldest perhaps about
twenty, all agreeable, several handsome, and two or three of exquisite
beauty. At each other's houses they assembled almost every day, without
the controul, or even the presence, of a mother or an aunt; they were
trusted to their own prudence, among a crowd of young men of every
nation in Europe. They laughed, they sung, they danced, they played at
cards, they acted comedies; but in the midst of this careless gaiety,
they respected themselves, and were respected by the men; the invisible
line between liberty and licentiousness was never transgressed by a
gesture, a word, or a look, and their virgin chastity was never
sullied by the breath of scandal or suspicion. A singular institution,
expressive of the innocent simplicity of Swiss manners. After having
tasted the luxury of England and Paris, I could not have returned with
satisfaction to the coarse and homely table of Madame Pavilliard; nor
was her husband offended that I now entered myself as a pensionaire, or
boarder, in the elegant house of Mr. De Mesery, which may be entitled
to a short remembrance, as it has stood above twenty years, perhaps,
without a parallel in Europe. The house in which we lodged was spacious
and convenient, in the best street, and commanding, from behind, a
noble prospect over the country and the Lake. Our table was served with
neatness and plenty; the boarders were select; we had the liberty of
inviting any guests at a stated price; and in the summer the scene
was occasionally transferred to a pleasant villa, about a league from
Lausanne. The characters of Master and Mistress were happily suited to
each other, and to their situation. At the age of seventy-five, Madame
de Mesery, who has survived her husband, is still a graceful, I had
almost said, a handsome woman. She was alike qualified to preside in her
kitchen and her drawing-room; an