Of Molière I had already seen the _Avare_, the _Femmes savantes_ and the _Fourberies de Scapin_. Since these I have seen the _Tartuffe_ and _George Dandin_ both inimitably performed; how I enjoyed the scene of the _Pauvre homme!_ in the _Tartuffe_ and the lecture given to George Dandin by M. and Mme de Sotenville wherein they recount the virtues and merits of their respective ancestors. Of Molière indeed there is but one opinion throughout Europe; in the comic line he bears away the palm unrivalled and here I fully agree with the "general." I must not quit the subject of French theatricals without speaking of the _Opéra comique_ at the _Théâtre Faydeau_. It is to the sort of light pieces that are given here, that the French music is peculiarly appropriate, and it is here that you seize and feel the beauty and melody of the national music; these little _chansons_, _romances_ and _ariettas_ are so pleasing to the ear that they imprint themselves durably on the memory, which is no equivocal proof of their merit. I cannot say as much for the tragic singing in the _Opéra seria_ at the Grand French Opera, which to my ear sounds a perfect psalmody. There is but one language in the world for tragic recitative and that is Italian. On the other hand, in the _genre_ of the _Opéra comique_, the French stage is far superior to the Italian. In the French comedy everything is graceful and natural; the Italians cannot catch this happy medium, so that their comedies and comic operas are mostly _outré_, and degenerate into downright farce and buffoonery. [42] Major James Grant, of the 18th Light Dragoons, was made a Brevet Lieutenant Colonel on 18th June, 1815.--ED. [43] A phrase in prose, often quoted as a verse, from Voltaire's preface to the _Enfant Prodigue: Tous les genres sont bons, hors le genre ennuyeux_.--ED. [44] A tragedy often acted by Talma, the work of Antoine d'Aubigny de Lafosse (1653-1708).--ED. [45] Thomas Otway's once celebrated tragedy, 1682.--ED. [46] _The Tragedy of Douglas_, by John Home (1722-1808).--ED. CHAPTER V From Paris to Milan through Dijon, Chalon-sur-Saône, Lyons, Geneva and the Simplon--Auxerre--Dijon--Napoleon at Chalon-sur-Saône--The army of the Loire--Mâcon--French _grisettes_--Lyons--Monuments and theatricals-- Geneva--Character and opinions of the Genevois--Voltaire's chateau at Ferney--The chevalier Zadera--From Geneva to Milan--Crossing the Simplon--Arona--The theatres in Milan--Rossini--Monuments in Milan--Art encouraged by the French--Mr Eustace's bigotry--Return to Switzerland-- Clarens and Vevey--Lausanne--Society in Lausanne--Return to Paris--The Louvre stripped--Death of Marshal Ney.