thofe games, my fortune has not received any injury." At the beginning of 1639, M. de Campion repaired to court. and was well received by the king, who conferred on him the place of a gentleman in waiting, and at the fame time promised the firft vacant company. After this he repaired to the army, and served in Roufillon, under the command of the Prince de Conde, and Marshal de Schomberg. At the fiege of Salees, our lieutenant diftinguifhed himfelf greatly, and foon after received a wound during an attack on the Spaniards. In one of thefe actions, the body of a lady who commanded a regiment, was found among the dead, and claimed by the enemy. In 1641, the king having refufed to fulfil his promife to M. de Campion,by conferring a company on him, merely becaufe his elder brother was attached to the count deSoiffons, he determined to refign his commiffion, and fell his place at court; but his Majefty would not grant permission. This, however, was at length obtained, fome time after, and his brother Alexander, who was now in the fervice of the duke de Vendome, having procured him a fituation about the perfon of the duke de Beaufort his fon, he immediately undertook that office, which was that of gentleman to his highness, Meanwhile the duke de Beaufort having entered into a plot against cardinal Richelieu, received orders to repair inftantly to court. With a view of gaining time, this nobleman immediately feigned indifpofition, and perceiving at length that it was dangerous to repair to Paris, he determined to leave France. A perfon was accordingly dispatched to Normandy, and a vefiel having been hired, we anchored at the mouth of the Seine, near to Havre. M. de Campion being entrusted with the management of the details, he fet out before, procured relays of horses, and having embarked at Iport, near Fecamp, the fugitives arrived lafe at Rye, in Suffex. Soon after this, uke de they fell in with the Vendome, the duke d'Epernon, the Marquis de la Vieuville, the Couné de Montrefor, the Count d'Aubijoux, Meffrs. de Fontervilles, and de varicaville, all of whom had retired for the exprefs purpofe of fheltering themfelves from the hatred of the cardinal. "We spent fix months in England," fays he, "enjoying all manner of diverfions, and during this period Charles I, who together with his queen had left their capital fome time before, after having besa forced to fign the death warrant of the Earl of Strafford, his favourite, affenbled a body of troops, and gave battle to the Earl of Effex, the Parliament's general. In this engagement, his majefty had rather the advantage, for he constrained his enemies to retire to London and approached fo near that city himfelf, that the rebels were greatly terrified. Thefe difputes did not prevent us from paffing our time very agreeably. As for myself, I gained a great deal of money at play, and was to rich that on the duke de Beaufort's fpeaking once about a penfion, I replied, "when his own for tune was re-established, it would be time enough to think of mine, and until then I would not trouble him for any thing. "Amidst the contests of the Eaglifh, which at length led to a change in the form of government and the decapitation of their king, by an unampled act of cruelty: we received advice that the cardinal de Richelieu was confined to his bed, and a short time after that he had died.* while at the very heighth of his fortune and December 4, 1642. (To be Continued.) ACCOUNT OF THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN IN CHINA. (From the Abbe Grozier. p. 281.) ACCORDING to the book of Ceremonies, the education of a child should commence at the very moment of its birth. It may be eafily perceived, that it must be then purely phyfical. This book allows of nurfes, but it ftrictly enjoins mothers to use the greatest precaution in choosing them. A nurfe must be modeft in her external deportment and manners; fhe muft fpeak little, adhere ftri&t. ly to truth, have a mild temper,, and behave with affability to her equals, and with refpect to her fuperiors. Much is here required, and nurses of this description must be uncommon; but the manners and education of the Chinese renders this choice lefs difficult than what people of other nations might imagine. Thefe maxims, dictated with confidence and a certain kind of en thufiafm, might in other countries, appear truths, equally new and useful; they are useful, without doubt, but it is certain alfo, that they are not new. As foon as the child can put its hand to its mouth, it is weaned and taught to use its right. At the age of fix, if it be a male, he is made acquainted with the num bers most in ufe, and with the names of the principal parts of the world. At feven he is feparated from h's fifters, after which he is no longer fuffered to eat with them nor to fit down in their prefence. is required when he goes out, and what is to be obferved when he is in company with people who have attained to maturity, or who are advanced in life. The calendar becomes his study at nine. At ten he is fent to a public fchool, where he learns to read, write, and caft accompts. From thirteen to fif teen he is taught mufic, and every thing he fings confifts of moral precepts. A time was when the Chinese youths chanted their leffons which were all in verfe. By this method they were inftilled into the minds of the pupils with more eafe, and with leis difguft on their part; it was at the fame time a kind of play proper for their age. Study at prefent is become much more laborious and fatiguing, Tehu-i, one of the most celebrated of the Chinese doctors greatly laments that this is the cafe. 'It feems at firft fight,' fays he that this expedient was nothing, but 'nevertheless it was attended with the happieft confequences. We have changed our method, but • does education fucceed any bet⚫ter.' When boys attain to the age of fifteen, they apply to bodily exercifes, they are then taught to handle a bow and arrow, and to mount on horfeback. At twenty they receive the firft cap, if they are judged to deferve it, and they are permitted to wear filk dreffs; ornamented with furs; before that period they have no sight to wear any thing but cotton. At eight he is intructed in the rules of good breeding and politenefs; he is taught what he must do when he enters a house, what 3 U The Chinese have also another method of facilitating knowledge children. They felect fome hun. dreds of characters which exprefs the commoneft objects, or those at leaft which fall ofteneft under the perception of their fenfes, fuck as man, fome domeftic animal, ordinary plants, the most useful furniture of a houfe, the fun, the moon, and even the heavens. I hefe different objects are engraved or painted feparately on fome kind of fubftance, and under each is put the name of the thing reprefented, which points out to the children the meaning of the word. A play much like this has been lately invented for them in France, and it is not the only thing which we have borrowed from the Chinefe without being candid enough to own it. It is much to be lamented that the Chinese have no proper alphabet, and their children are above all to be pitied, who must be under the neceffity of ftudying fo ma ny thousands of characters, each of which has a diftinct and feparate fignification. The book firft put into their hands is an abridgment, which points out what a child ought to learn, and the manner in which he fhould be taught. This volume is a collection of thort sentences, confitting of three or four veries each, all of which rhime. They are obliged to give an acCount in the evening of what they have learned in the day. Manual correction is ufed in China as among us. When a scholar neglects his ftudies, or has been feveral times negleЯful of his duty, he is obliged to get upon a fmall narrow bench, where he ftretches himtelf out on his belly, and eight or ten blows of a flat stick, fomething like a fmall larh, are applied over his drawers. The rod in Evrope and the lath of the Chinese, are perhaps too fevere; but the Chinese, however admit of a pair of drawers. Youth in China, have no other relaxation from the feverity of their ftudies, but a month's vacancy on the commencement of the new year, and five or fix days about midfummer. After this elementary treatife, they put into their hands the four books which contain the doctrines of Confucius and Mencius. The fenfe and meaning of the work is never explained to them, until they know by heart all the characters, that is to fay, the wo ds, a method very difgufting to them, and undoubtedly to us inconceivable. It is true, that while they are learning these letters, they are taught alfo to form them with a pe ci. The double expedient which they employ for this pur pofe is as follows: they first give them large leaves of paper on which are written or imprinted with red ink very big characters, and all they are required to do, is to cover thefe red characters with black ink, and to follow exactly their fhape and figure, which infenfibly accuftoms them to form the different ftrokes. After this they are made to trace other characters placed under the paper on which they write; thefe are black, and much Some idea may be formed of the difficulty that attends the study of the Chinese language, from what F. Martini tells us in the preface ro his HISTORIA SI He affures us, that he was under the neceffity of learning fixty thousand different characters before he could read the Chinese authors with tolerable cafe. NICA. much fmaller than the former. The latter method is known in France, but why not know the other? It is a great advantage to the Chinese literati to be able to paint characters well, and on this account they beftow particular pains in forming the hands of the young people. A neatnefs in characters is of the utmost confequence in thofe examinations, which students are obliged to undergo before they can be admitted to the first degree. A deficiency in this refpect often occafions them to be rejected. Of this F. Du Halde gives a very remarkable inftance. A candidate for degrees,' fays he, having contrary to order, made u'e of an abbreviation in writing the character, ma, which fignifies horse, had the mortification of feeing his compofition, though in other refpects excellent, rejected merely on that account, befides being feverely rallied by the mandaria, who told him that a horfe could not walk, unless he had all • his legs.? When a fcholar has made himfelf mafter of a fifficient number of characters, he is then permitted to compofe. That kind of compofition, for which rules are given, greatly refemble thofe amplifications which our students are obliged to make before they enter upon rhetoric; but our profeffors generally give fome theme to write upon, whereas thofe of China point out the fubject by one word only. Competition is eftablished in China. Twenty or thirty families who are all of the fame name, and who confequently have only one ball for the manes of their anceffors, agree among themselves to fend their children to this hall twice a month in order to compose. Each head of a family in turn gives the fubject of this literary conteft, and adjudges the prize but this privilege lays him under the neceffity of being at the expence of a dinner, which by his order is carried to the hall of competition. A fine of about ten pence fterling, is impofed on the parent of each fcholar, who abfents himself from this exercite; and ten pence is accounted money in China, but feldom is there occafion for recurring to fuch an expedient. Competitions of this kind are however private, and have no concern whatever with the rules of public education; but every ftudent is obliged to compete, at leaft twice a year, under the infpection of an inferior mandarin of letters, ftyled HIO-KOUAN; and this practice is general throughout all the provinces of the empire, once in fpring, and again in winter. It often happens alfo that the mandarins of letters order thefe ftudents to be brought befo e them, to examine into the progrefs they have made in their fiudies, and to excite a fpirit of emulation among then, without which it would be impoffible for any of them ever to to rife to eminence. Even the governors of cities do no not think it below their dignity to take this care upon themtelves. They order all thofe ftudents, who are not far diftant from their refidence, to appear at their tribunal once a month. The author of the best compofition is honoured with a prize, and the governor treats all the candidates on the day of competition at his own expence. The Europeans can fcarcely conceive conceive how far the fovereigns of China have carried their attention, in order to promote and encourage letters. Louis the XIV. from whom they received fo much fupport among us, will be found, in this refpect, much inferior to thefe monarchs, even to thofe of them who before inhabited the wild deferts of Tartary. In every city, in every town, and almoft in every village, there are mafters who keep fchool for the purpose of teaching the fciences; that is to fay, thofe which the Chinese are able to teach. Parents poffeffed of a certain fortune, provide preceptors for their children, to attend and inftruct them, to form their minds to virtue, to initiate them in the rules of good breeding and the accustomed ceremonies, and if their age will admit, to make them acquainted with the laws, and with history. Some preceptors in France might undertake all thefe offices, and acquit themselves of them properly, but they would be far from enjoying the fame advantages which their feeble rivals poff.fs in China. The latter, for the most part, have attained to one or two degrees among the literati. They continue their literary perfuits, and fubmit to the different examinations, and the pupil is not aftonished to fee his preceptor become his viceroy. The building where thefe examinations are held has always fomething to diftingu fh it, even in the fmallett cities; but in those that are capitals, it is a realpalace. When the competition begins, the ftudents are all thut up, each in a fmall chamber, about four feet and an half in length, and three and an half in breadth. The number of thele chambers amounts fome times to fix thousand. The candidates are strictly fearched, as foon as they arrive, to difcover whether they have not fome book or manufcript concealed about them. They are forbid und rpain of being expelled, feverely punished, and excluded for ever from all pretenfions to literary degrees, to carry any thing else with them but pencils and ink. From that moment, they are allowed to have no communication with any perfon whatever. A feal is affixed to their cell, and fome officers be longing to the tribunal are fiationed to watch that they may have no opportunity of fpeaking to any cre through the door. No fuch precautions are used at competions in our universities; but, thefe excepted, there is great resemblance between them and those of China: the Chinese colleges had nothing to borrow from our univerfities; but, have not the latter borrowed fome things from them? The ftudents who, in thefe ex aminations, have been judged ca pable of undergoing that of the mandarins, have arrived at that point which terminates the educa tion of infancy; but if they attain to the different degrees without rifing to the first offices of ftate, their education continues almot as long as their lives. We ball fay very little of the education of the Chinese females. It is confined to giving them a tafte for folitude, and accuffoming them to modefty, and even to filence. If their parents are rich, they are alfo inftructed in such ac complishments as may render chem agreeable and pleasing. |