y's family, for James used sometimes to
say to his friends or to his servants, "Do not mention this peccadillo
to my son. Sylvain is worth more than I am; his morals are very strict.
Under the most respectful exterior, I should perceive in his manner a
censure which would grieve me. I wish to avoid his tacit reproaches,
even when he does not say a word."

The two characters resembled each other only in one point--in their
taste for poetry, or perhaps we ought to say versification, but even
here we shall perceive differences.

The father composed songs, little interludes, and farces that were acted
at the _Italian Comedy_; but the son commenced at the age of sixteen by
a serious work of time,--a tragedy.

This tragedy was entitled _Clothaire_. The subject, drawn from the early
centuries of the French History, had led Bailly by a curious and
touching coincidence to relate the tortures inflicted on a Mayor of
Paris by a deluded and barbarous multitude. The work was modestly
submitted to the actor Lanoue, who, although he bestowed flattering
encouragement on Bailly, dissuaded him frankly from exposing _Clothaire_
to the risk of a public representation. On the advice of the
comedian-author, the young poet took _Iphygenia in Tauris_ for the
subject of his second composition. Such was his ardour, that by the end
of three months, he had already written the last line of the fifth act
of his new tragedy, and hastened to Passy, to solicit the opinion of the
author of _Mahomet II_. This time Lanoue thought he perceived that his
confiding young friend was not intended by nature for the drama, and he
declared it to him without disguise. Bailly heard the fatal sentence
with more resignation than could have been expected from a youth whose
budding self-esteem received so violent a shock. He even threw his two
tragedies immediately into the fire. Under similar circumstances,
Fontenelle showed less docility in his youth. If the tragedy of _Aspar_
also disappeared in the flames, it was not only in consequence of the
criticism of a friend; for the author went so far as to call forth the
noisy judgment of the pit.

Certainly no astronomer will regret that any opinions either off-hand or
well digested, on the first literary productions of Bailly, contributed
to throw him into the pursuit of science. Still, for the sake of
principle, it seems just to protest against the praises given to the
foresight of Lanoue, to the sureness of his judg