f by a cane. A wit, who knew what had
passed, whispered the affair to the queen. She, dissembling, asked him
if he had the gout? "Yes, madam," replied our lame satirist, "and
therefore I make use of a cane." "Not so," interrupted the malignant
Bautru, "Benserade in this imitates those holy martyrs who are always
represented with the instrument which occasioned their sufferings."

ROMANCES.

Romance has been elegantly defined as the offspring of FICTION and LOVE.
Men of learning have amused themselves with tracing the epocha of
romances; but the erudition is desperate which would fix on the inventor
of the first romance: for what originates in nature, who shall hope to
detect the shadowy outlines of its beginnings? The Theagenes and
Chariclea of Heliodorus appeared in the fourth century; and this elegant
prelate was the Grecian Fenelon. It has been prettily said, that
posterior romances seem to be the children of the marriage of Theagenes
and Chariclea. The Romance of "The Golden Ass," by Apuleius, which
contains the beautiful tale of "Cupid and Psyche," remains unrivalled;
while the "Daephne and Chloe" of Longus, in the old version of Amyot, is
inexpressibly delicate, simple, and inartificial, but sometimes offends
us, for nature there "plays her virgin fancies."

Beautiful as these compositions are, when the imagination of the writer
is sufficiently stored with accurate observations on human nature, in
their birth, like many of the fine arts, the zealots of an ascetic
religion opposed their progress. However Heliodorus may have delighted
those who were not insensible to the felicities of a fine imagination,
and to the enchanting elegancies of style, he raised himself, among his
brother ecclesiastics, enemies, who at length so far prevailed, that, in
a synod, it was declared that his performance was dangerous to young
persons, and that if the author did not suppress it, he must resign his
bishopric. We are told he preferred his romance to his bishopric. Even
so late as in Racine's time it was held a crime to peruse these
unhallowed pages. He informs us that the first effusions of his muse
were in consequence of studying that ancient romance, which, his tutor
observing him to devour with the keenness of a famished man, snatched
from his hands and flung it in the fire. A second copy experienced the
same fate. What could Racine do? He bought a third, and took the
precaution of devouring it secretly till he got it