tunity of
cultivating his mind and of increasing his stock of knowledge. He is,
indeed, a worthy descendant of his great ancestor, who might well be
proud of such a scion to the ancient stock. Devoted to the arduous
duties of his profession, he studies every amelioration in it _con
amore_; and, if a long life be granted to him, will prove one of its
brightest ornaments.

The Marquis and Marquise de B---- spent last evening here, and several
people dropped in. Among them was the pretty Madame de la H----, as
piquant and lively as ever, as content with herself (and she has reason
to be so, being very good-looking and amusing) and as careless of the
suffrages of others. I like the young and the gay of my own sex, though
I am no longer either.

Prince Paul Lieven and Captain Cadogan[8] dined here yesterday. The
first is as _spirituel_ and clever as formerly, and the second is as
frank, high-spirited, and well-bred--the very _beau ideal_ of a son of
the sea, possessing all the attributes of that generous race, joined to
all those said to be peculiar to the high-born and well-educated.

I like the conversation of such men--men who, nursed in the lap of
luxury, are sent from the noble dwellings of their sires to be
"cabined, cribbed, confined," in (to my thinking) the most unbearable
of all prisons--a ship; pass months and years exposed to hardships,
privations, and dangers, from the endurance of which even the poor and
lowly born often shrink, and bring back to society the high breeding
and urbanity not to be surpassed in those whose lots have been exempt
from such trials; and, what is still more precious, the experience and
reflection acquired in their perilous profession, and in the many hours
of solitude and anxiety that appertain to it.

Sat a considerable time with the Duchesse de Guiche today. How amiable
and kind-hearted she is, and how unspoilt by all the brilliancy of her
position! While I was there the mother and son of a young page, for
whom the Duc and Duchesse have obtained that office at court, came to
thank her. The boy is a very fine youth, and the mother and sister seem
to dote on him. They reminded me of the mother and sister that a
sentimental writer would have created for the occasion, being
exceedingly interesting in their appearance and manner. The boy was
evidently as fond and proud of them as they were of him, and the group
formed a charming picture.

The warmth and gentleness of the manners of t