was only productive of a fingle exploit. This kind of desertion, of which the caufe was unknown, has been afcribed to his paífion for Madame de Montefpan, his new miftrefs, whofe power over him was now in full force, and occafioned a public murmur.

He had not, however, wholly abandoned La Valliere, but vifited her from the remains of habit, and on account of her children. She perceived the defection; but that love, which fhe could not yet wholly tear from her breaft, made her patiently fupport, at firft the equality, and afterward the preference, which was granted to her rival, even under her own eyes. She was lefs hurt by the triumph of Madame de Montefpan, than pleased at the king's happiness; and even carried her refignation and goodness fo far, as to help to adorn her person with her own hands. Lewis, extremely affiduous in his attentions to his new mistress, knowing that the other only fubmitted to these complaifances in order to be near him, could have no doubt of the affliction they caufed her. A remark which escaped her, to a perfon, who, like herself, was witnefs of their mutual tenderness, is a plain indication of what fhe felt: If I fbaula ever be difcontented, fays fhe, at the Carmelites, I shall call to mind what these people have made me fuffer here.

The time was now come for her to bury herself and all her forrows in a convent. It was no fudden resolution: yet, at the moment of execution, she was greatly embarrassed by a diverfity of opinions. By the devout people of the court, of which number was the D. de Beauvilliers, the was exhorted to this great exemplary act. Others, lefs fevere, advised her to retire quietly into fome community, like Mademoiselle de la Motte, one of the king's early favourites, to spend her life in piety, but not to take the veil. Her own family was defirous that the fhould keep her rank in the world, and have her children educated under her own eyes; but the king doubted of her being able to fave his daughter from the dangers which had been fatal to herfelf; and the thought the fafeft way for both, was to bind herself by indiffoluble ties to virtue. In taking the veil, though he was defired to chufe an order in which the might arrive at fuch dignities as are compatible with the cloifter, the modeftly replied, that as she had been unable to condull herfelf, fhe ought not to think of guiding the steps of others. Several perfons were propofed to her in marriage; but M. de St. Simon fufpected the pride of Lewis to be fuch, as to think that, after belonging to HIM, he ought to devote herself to none but God; and, as if a new paffion had hardened his heart with refpect to the paft, he pronounced her facrifice; and the devoted herfelf with entire refignation.

April 19th, 1674, the plunged into the convent of the Carmelites, at the age of 30; and was profeffed in June 1675,

מן

Is

in prefence of the Queen and all the court, by the name of Sifter Louife de la Mifericorde. She lived 36 years after this period, in the most rigorous and painful exercifes of a religious life; of which, however, the had the confolations. Madame de Montefpan went fometimes thither to seek them. it true, fays fhe to the pious fifter, that you are as pleafed with your prefent fituation as people pretend?-I am not pleased, anfwered the gentle Carmelite, but I am content. A proof that, even through the calmness of a good confcience, there were fome remains of regret.

Mad. de la Valliere left a daughter, Mademoiselle de Blois, afterward married to the prince de Conti; and a fon, Louis de Bourbon, Comte de Vermandois, whofe hiftory is short, and romance long. After the retreat of his mother, being improperly educated, he became fo proud, prefumptuous, and debauched, that the king banished him from his prefence. He began, however, to be reftored to favour, when it was faid that at the fiege of Courtrai, in 1683, he was carried off by an acute fever. This is the history. The romance fays, that about this time, in a difpute with the Dauphin, of nearly his own age, he forgot himself fo far as to give that prince a blow.

The privy council affembled on the occafion, and condemned him to death; but the king, from his paternal goodness, mitigated the punishment to perpetual imprisonment. In confequence of this fentence, it was reported that he had died of a contagious diftemper before Courtrai, though he had been conducted alive with the utmoft fecrecy to the ifle of St. Marguerite; whence he was removed to the Baftile, where he lived till 1703, under the myfterious title of the Man with the Iron Mak. M. Bonnet, who was appointed to inform his mother of his death, in 1683, related that, proftrating herself before her crucifix, the humble penitent cried, Alas! must 1, O my God, weep for his death, before I have fufficiently repented of his birth?

We have been feduced by the interefting circumstances in the ftory of this unfortunate Lady, to connect the fcattered particulars of it, and to allow it more space than we intended.

After the retreat of La Valliere, though Mad. de Montefpan feemed alone to occupy the King's attention, till Mad. de Maintenon, brought to court by Mad. de Montespan herself, to affift in the education of her natural children, began, at near 40 years of age, to attract the notice of his Majefty; yet, previous to this epoch, innumerable infidelities on the part of the royal libertine, were known, and others fufpected; concerning which, M. ANQUETIL has furnished us with many curious and entertaining anecdotes.

We

We dare not enter here on the hiftory of Mad. de Maintenon; which the author has minutely detailed, and enlivened with fo many interefting and characteristic circumftances, that, to do it justice, we fhould too much exceed our limits. We fhall, therefore, for the prefent, take our leave of this very entertaining work.

ART. XVIII.

Differtatio Academica, &c. i. e. Inaugural Differtation, attempting to prove that the Changes obfervable in the Fluids of all organized Bodies, proceed from the vital Influence feated in their Vessels. By JULIUS V. COULON. 8vo. pp. 97. Leyden. 1789.

THE

HE many experiments and obfervations made by modern naturalifts, prove, without a doubt, that feveral plants poffefs the principles of irritability. As this principle was obviously communicated to them either for their own preservation, or in order to the propagation of their fpecies, the argument, from analogy, feems to authorize the conclufion, that it is a principle common to the whole vegetable tribe; although it has not, as yet, been difcovered in every fpecies: which defect may proceed, either from the difficulties attending the investigation, or from their being irritable to particular ftimulants alone. This fact having established a clofe analogy between the animal and vegetable kingdoms, the ingenious author of this differtation. conjectures that both the circulation of the fluids, and the changes to which these fluids are fubjected, proceed from a vital influence operating in a manner fimilar to the vital power in animated natures.

The pofition relative to the circulation of fluids, has been frequently advanced, and ftrenuously supported by feveral philofophers; and we believe it is now generally admitted. But the following experiments, made by M. CoULON, by the advice, and under the infpection, of Profeffor BRUGMANS, feem to confirm, beyond a doubt, a fact fo important to the accurate knowlege of the phyfiology and pathology of plants. In the first experiment, M. COULON having cut a branch of the plant Euphorbia tranfverfely, and obferving that the acrid fluid continued to be difcharged from it in every pofition, concludes that this could only proceed from the fpontaneous contraction of the veffels; as the quantity discharged far exceeded the capacity of the veffels and utriculæ adjacent to the wound. This conclufion is further authorized by the appearance of the orifices of the veffels, when viewed through a magnifying glafs; and allo by comparing the fluid firft emitted with that which afterward iffued from the veffels. The firft was opaque and pinguidenous; but both colour and opacity gradually diminishing, the fluid

became

became pellucid and watery. This procefs, he obferves, is fimilar to that which takes place in wounds inflicted on animals.

But as it may be objected, that this contraction proceeded from the exficcation of the orifices of the veffels expofed to the open air, in a fecond experiment, M. COULON divided, by an horizontal fection, two branches of the Euphorb. Lathym. perfectly fimilar in age, thicknefs, and number of leaves. The difcharge from each was copious. He left the one to itself: to the other, he applied a thin piece of fpunge that had imbibed fome diftilled water. From the firft, the lacteous matter continued to flow more than half an hour; from the laft, fcarcely a drop of the aqueous was perceived in the space of fifteen minutes. From this experiment, M. COULON maintains, that in the former inftance, the exficcation of the orifices could not have ftopt the difcharge, fince it was checked the fooneft, where they were kept moift; and he confiders this phenomenon as an additional argument for the irritability of the vafcular fyftem in vegetables, from the analogy obfervable with animal nature. The water contained in the fpunge, was a præternatural stimulus applied; which fometimes increafes the contraction of a part very confiderably. The lacteous fluid is in itself more acrid than water, and fhould feem to be a more powerful ftimulant; but although it does ftimulate thefe organs, yet we find that a milder fluid produces the effect much more powerfully.'

Without litigating his grand principle, we think that the truth of this conclufion may be doubted. It is rather extravagant to imagine, that the fluid with which vegetables moft abound, and which is amongft the mildeft, fhould act as the moft powerful ftyptic. Is it not more probable, that the diftilled water contained in the fpunge, by infinuating itfelf into the veffels, rendered their natural stimulus more mild, and ' the veffels themselves lefs fufceptible of its action; and thus, by mitigating the irritation, checked the difcharge? Although it be acknowleged that the action of a ftimulus is not always in proportion to the degrees of its acridity, in the animal fyftem, yet there is but one inftance in which the aqueous fluid acts as a violent ftimulant; and that is when admitted into the trachea arteria. But this cafe is much too fingular to admit of any conclufion from analogy. It may be deemed an exception from a general rule, for the most obvious purposes; and is not to be 'ooked for in those cafes where fuch purposes have no place. Neither is the conclufion confonant with the general doctrine which he wishes to eftablifh, viz. the clofe analogy exifting between the action of ftimulants on the principle of irritability, both in the vegetable and animal kingdoms, which it is the object of the very next experiment to demonftrate, Three branches of

the

the Euphorbia Myrfinites, equal in fize, were divided by an horizontal fection. The discharge from each was very copious. To the one, a weak folution of burnt alum was immediately applied; and to the other, a fimilar solution of the vitriol. marti; while the fuperficies of the third was only wiped gently with the fpunge. The wound to which the solution of alum was applied, ceafed to discharge its fluid in a very short time: that moiftened with the vit. martis, became dry foon after: while from the last a very plentiful discharge continued for feveral hours. This difference (the ingenious candidate remarks) cannot be attributed to the mechanic action of these fubftances, fince the folutions were too much diluted to produce the effect on a body deftitute of life; or even on any other parts of the living vegetable, than those which may be fuppofed to poffefs a confiderable degree of irritability.' Thefe effects being perfectly correspondent with the influence of the fame fubftances on the living animal, he naturally afcribed them to a fimilar cause.

M. COULON proceeds to confider the mechanic doctrines; to fhew that the phenomena of the abforption and propulfios of the fluids, cannot be explained by the mere action of capillary tubes; and that neither the theory of Ray, who fuppofes that the fluids enter the vessels in a state of vapour, and that they are afterward condenfed; nor that of Muftel, which is very fimilar, can be admitted. He advances, in oppofition to these theories, ift, That no circulation can be regularly carried on without the living principle. 2dly, That when this is languid, the functions become languid alfo. This, he fays, is demonftrated by the natural languor obfervable in all plants, during the winter feafon-that induced by the privation of light-that induced by the diminution of heat; and the languor induced by age. He enlarges on each of these caufes of languor. From two experiments made to ascertain the influence of light, he concludes that it promotes abforption to a confiderable degree. Two branches of the common alder, as fimilar to each other as poffible, were inclosed in a glass tube filled with water. One was expofed to the light, and the other was deprived of light; and he found that, in the fpace of eight hours, the firft had absorbed of water, and the other only. He next attempts to establish the inverse of the above propofition; and to prove, that whatever incites the vital power, increases abforption. For the truth of this doctrine, he refers us to the custom of adding a small quantity of nitre to the water in which the fibrille of the bulbous roots of plants are placed, and by which their growth is confiderably accelerated. He further confirms it by the following experiment: Two glass tubes were filled with water fimply; one with a folution of fal ammoniac, and another with a folution of nitre: a branch of alder was placed in each. In the space of 24 hours, that in

the