t him the wrong way. I
have heard, their domestic symphony was liable to furious flaws,--let
us hope at great distances apart:--that 'plates' in presence of the
lackeys, actual crockery or metal, have been known to fly from end to
end of the dinner-table; nay they mention 'knives' (though only in the
way of oratorical action); and Voltaire has been heard to exclaim, the
sombre and majestic voice of him risen to a very high pitch: _'Ne me
regardez tant de ces yeux hagards et louches,_ Don't fix those haggard
sidelong eyes on me in that way!'--mere shrillness of pale rage
presiding over the scene. But we hope it was only once in the quarter,
or seldomer: after which the element would be clearer for some time. A
lonesome literary man, who has got a Brood Phoenix to preside over him,
and fly at the face of gods and men for him in that manner, ought to be
grateful.

"Perhaps we shall one day glance, personally, as it were, into Cirey
with our readers;"--Not with this Editor or his!--"It will turn out beyond
the reader's expectation. Tolerable illicit resting-place, so far as the
illicit can be tolerable, for a lonesome Man of Letters, who goes into
the illicit. Helpfulness, affection, or the flattering image of such,
are by no means wanting: squalls of infirm temper are not more frequent
than in the most licit establishments of a similar sort. Madame, about
this time, has a swift Palfrey, 'ROSSIGNOL (Nightingale)' the name of
him; and gallops fairy-like through the winding valleys; being an
ardent rider, and well-looking on horseback. Voltaire's study is inlaid
with--the Grafigny knows all what:--mere china tiles, gilt sculptures,
marble slabs, and the supreme of taste and expense: study fit for the
Phoebus Apollo of France, so far as Madame could contrive it. Takes
coffee with Madame, in the Gallery, about noon. And his bedroom, I
expressly discern, [_Letters of Voltaire._] looks out upon a running
brook, the murmur of which is pleasant to one."

Enough, enough. We can perceive what kind of Voltaire it was to whom the
Crown-Prince now addressed himself; and how luminous an object, shining
afar out of the solitudes of Champagne upon the ardent young man, still
so capable of admiration. Model Epic, HENRIADE; model History, CHARLES
DOUZE; sublime Tragedies, CISAR, ALZIRE and others, which readers still
know though with less enthusiasm, are blooming fresh in Friedrich's
memory and heart; such Literature as man never saw before