ABBÉ DE LA RUE
Ætat. LXXIV.
Among the men whose moral character and literary reputation throw a sort of lustre upon Caen, there is no one perhaps that stands upon quite so lofty an eminence as the ABBÉ DE LA RUE; at this time occupied in publishing a History of Caen.[122] As an archaeologist, he has no superior among his countrymen; while his essays upon the Bayeux Tapestry and the Anglo-Norman Poets, published in our Archæologia, prove that there are few, even among ourselves, who could have treated those interesting subjects with more dexterity or better success. The Abbé is, in short, the great archaeological oracle of Normandy. He was pleased to pay me a Visit at Lagouelle's. He is fast advancing towards his seventieth year. His figure is rather stout, and above the mean height: his complexion is healthful, his eye brilliant, and a plentiful quantity of waving white hair adds much to the expression of his countenance.[123] He enquired kindly after our mutual friend Mr. Douce; of whose talents and character he spoke in a manner which did equal honour to both. But he was inexorable, as to--not dining with me; observing that his Order was forbidden to dine in taverns. He gave me a list of places which I ought to visit in my further progress through Normandy, and took leave of me more abruptly than I could have wished. He rarely visits Caen, although a great portion of his library is kept there: his abode being chiefly in the country, at the residence of a nobleman to whose son he was tutor. It is delightful to see a man, of his venerable aspect and widely extended reputation, enjoying, in the evening of life, (after braving such a tempest, in the noon-day of it, as that of the Revolution) the calm, unimpaired possession of his faculties, and the respect of the virtuous and the wise.
The study of Natural History obtains pretty generally at Caen; indeed they have an Academy in which this branch of learning is expressly taught--and of which MONSIEUR LAMOUROUX[124] is at once the chief ornament and instructor. This gentleman (to whom our friend Mr. Dawson Turner furnished me with a letter of introduction) has the most unaffected manners, and a countenance particularly open and winning. He is "a very dragon" in his pursuit. On my second call, I found him busied in unpacking some baskets of seaweed, yet reeking with the briny moisture; and which he handled and separated and classed with equal eagerness and facility. The library of M. Lamouroux is quite a workman-like library: filled with sensible, solid, and instructive books--and if he had only accepted a repeated and strongly-pressed invitation to dine with me at Lagouelle's, to meet his learned brother PIERRE-AIMÉ LAIR, nothing would have been wanting to the completion of his character!
You have just heard the name of Pierre-Aimé Lair. Prepare to receive a sketch of the character to which that name appertains. This gentleman is not only the life and soul of the society--but of the very town--in which he moves. I walked with him, arm in arm, more than once, through very many streets, passages, and courts, which were distinguished for any relic of architectural antiquity. He was recognised and saluted by nearly one person out of three, in our progress. "Je vous salue"--"vous voilà avec Monsieur l'Anglois"--"bon jour,"--"comment ca va-t-il:"--The activity of Pierre-Aimé Lair is only equalled by his goodness of heart and friendliness of disposition. He is all kindness. Call when you will, and ask for what you please, the object solicited is sure to be granted. He never seems to rise (and he is a very early riser) with spleen, ill-humour, or untoward propensities. With him, the sun seems always to shine, and the lark to tune her carol. And this cheerfulness of feeling is carried by him into every abode however gloomy, and every society however dull.
But more substantial praise belongs to this amiable man. Not only is Pierre-Aimé Lair a lover and collector of tangible antiquities--such as glazed tiles, broken busts, old pictures, and fractured capitals--all seen in "long array", up the windings of his staircase--but he is a critic, and a patron of the literary antiquities of his country. Caen (as I told you in my last despatch) is the birth-place of MALHERBE; and, in the character now under discussion, it has found a perpetuator of the name and merits of the father of French verse. In the year 1806 our worthy antiquary put forth a project for a general subscription "for a medal in honour of Malherbe,"[125] which project was in due time rewarded by the names of fifteen hundred efficient subscribers, at five francs a piece. The proposal was doubtless flattering to the literary pride of the French; and luckily the execution of it surpassed the expectations of the subscribers. The head is undoubtedly of the most perfect execution. Not only, however, did this head of Malherbe succeed--but a feeling was expressed that it might be followed up by a Series of Heads of the most illustrious, of both sexes, in literature and the fine arts. The very hint was enough for Lair: though I am not sure whether he be not the father of the latter design also. Accordingly, there has appeared, periodically, a set of heads of this description, in bronze or other metal, as the purchaser pleases--which has reflected infinite credit not only on the name of the projector of this scheme, but on the present state of the fine arts in France.
Yet another word about Pierre-Aimé Lair. He is not so inexorable as M. Lamouroux: for he has dined with me, and quaffed the burgundy and champagne of Lagouelle, commander in chief of this house. Better wines cannot be quaffed; and Malherbe and the Duke of Wellington formed the alternate subjects of discourse and praise. In return, I have dined with our guest. He had prepared an abundant dinner, and a very select society: but although there was no wand, as in the case of Sancho Panza, to charm away the dishes, &c. or to interdict the tasting of them, yet it was scarcely possible to partake of one in four... so unmercifully were they steeped and buried in butter! The principal topic of discourse, were the merits of the poets of the respective countries of France and England, from which I have reason to think that Pope, Thomson, and Young, are among the greatest favourites with the French. The white brandy of Pierre-Aimé Lair, introduced after dinner, is hardly to be described for its strength and pungency. "Vous n'avez rien comme ca chez vous?" "Je le crois bien, (I replied) c'est la liquéfaction même du feu." We broke up before eight; each retiring to his respective avocations--but did not dine till five. I borrowed, however, "an hour or twain" of the evening, after the departure of the company, to enjoy the more particular conversation of our host; and the more I saw and conversed with him; the greater was my gratification. At parting, he loaded me with a pile of pamphlets, of all sizes, of his own publication; and I ventured to predict to him that he would terminate his multifarious labours by settling into consolidated BIBLIOMANIACISM. "On peut faire pire!"--was his reply--on shaking hands with me, and telling me he should certainly meet me again at Bayeux, in my progress through Normandy.[126] My acquaintance with this amiable man seemed to be my security from insults in the streets.
Education here commences early, and with incitements as alluring as at Rouen. POISSON in the Rue Froide is the principal, and indeed a very excellent, printer; but BONNESERRE, in the same street, has put forth a vastly pretty manual of infantine devotion, in a brochure of eight pages, of which I send you the first, and which you may compare with the specimen transmitted in a former letter.[127]
Chapolin, in the Rue-Froide-Rue, has recently published a most curious little manual, in the cursive secretary gothic, entitled "La Civilité honnête pour les enfans qui commence par la maniere d'apprendre et bien lire, prononcer et écrire." I call it "curious," because the very first initial letter of the text, representing C, introduces us to the bizarrerie of the early part of the XVIth century in treatises of a similar character. Take this first letter, with a specimen also of those to which it appertains.
