VOLTAIRE. "'We are here for liberty and property! [parody of some old Speech in Parliament, let us guess,--liberty and property, my Lords!] This Gentleman--whom let me present to Monsieur Sherlock--is a Jesuit [old Pere Adam, whom I keep for playing Chess, in his old, unsheltered days]; he wears his hat: I am a poor invalid,--I wear my nightcap.'... "I do not now recollect why he quoted these verses, also in English, by Rochester, on CHARLES SECOND:-- 'Here lies the mutton-eating King, Who never said a foolish thing, Nor ever did a wise one.' But speaking of Racine, he quoted this Couplet (of Roscomman's ESSAY ON TRANSLATED VERSE):-- 'The weighty bullion of one sterling line Drawn to French wire would through whole pages shine. SHERLOCK. "'The English prefer Corneille to Racine.' VOLTAIRE. "'That is because the English are not sufficiently acquainted with the French tongue to feel the beauties of Racine's style, or the harmony of his versification. Corneille ought to please them more because he is more striking; but Racine pleases the French because he has more softness and tenderness.' SHERLOCK. "'How did you find [LIKE] the English fare (LA CHERE ANGLAISE?'--which Voltaire mischievously takes for 'the dear Englishwoman'). VOLTAIRE. "'I found her very fresh and white,'--truly! [It should be remembered, that when he made this pun upon Women he was in his eighty-third year.] SHERLOCK. "'Their language?' VOLTAIRE. "'Energetic, precise and barbarous; they are the only Nation that pronounce their A as E.... [And some time afterwards] Though I cannot perfectly pronounce English, my ear is sensible of the harmony of your language and of your versification. Pope and Dryden have the most harmony in Poetry; Addison in Prose.' [Takes now the interrogating side.] VOLTAIRE. "'How have you liked (AVEX-VOUS TROUVE) the French?' SHERLOCK. "'Amiable and witty. I only find one fault with them: they imitate the English too much.' VOLTAIRE. "'How! Do you think us worthy to be originals ourselves?' SHERLOCK. "'Yes, Sir.' VOLTAIRE. "'So do I too:--but it is of your Government that we are envious.' SHERLOCK. "'I have found the French freer than I expected.' VOLTAIRE. "'Yes, as to walking, or eating whatever he pleases, or lolling in his elbow-chair, a Frenchman is free enough; but as to taxes--Ah, Monsieur, you are a lucky Nation; you can do what you like; poor we are born in slavery: we cannot even die as we will; we must have a Priest [can't get buried otherwise; am often thinking of that!]... Well, if the English do sell themselves, it is a proof that they are worth something: we French don't sell ourselves, probably because we are worth nothing.' SHERLOCK. "'What is your opinion of the ELOISE' [Rousseau's immortal Work]? VOLTAIRE. "'That it will not be read twenty years hence.' SHERLOCK. "'Mademoiselle de l'Enclos wrote some good LETTERS?'