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word can sway — how a jest could rule them. His owntemper was vivacious and irritable. He never snaredan enemy. While accusing Boileau and Moliere forholding up the poetasters of their day to ridicule, didany of the literati attack him, he defended himself withacrimonious sarcasm and pertinacious abuse. Hespared no epithet of contempt, no vehemence of con-demnation, nor any artful manoeuvre, so to obtain theadvantage. While he thus sought to annihilate hisfoes, and to secure himself, the gates of the Bastilleyawned in view, and by the tremour which the sightinspired, added that bitterness to his sensations whichthe fear of disaster inspires. These were the causes ofthe virulence of his diatribes — of the sting of hisepigrams in which he devotes Piron and others to ever-lasting ridicule. It was on this account that he soughtto be a member of the academy.
The moment he began to canvass for the vacant seatin the academy, a violent cabal was formed to opposehim. Maurepas, secretary of state, an excellent man,but narrow-minded, was the moving spring of theopposition. He put forward a Theatin monk, namedBoyer, as his agent. This man declared that the de-ceased cardinal's empty chair could only be filled pro-perly by a bishop. He found some difficulty in findinga prelate who chose to undertake the invidious part ;one was at last found, and Voltaire lost his election.Thie same scene was renewed when another vacancyrecurred, during the following year. In some degreethe poet was consoled by the success of the tragedy of“ Merope.” The audience were transported by enthu-siaism ; they perceived the author in a box — theyinsisted on his coming forward. The young and beau-tiful duchess de Villars was with him. She was calledup<on to embrace the poet ; at first she was embarrassedby the singular part she was called on to act, but, reco-vering herself, obeyed the call of the pit with thegraice that distinguished a high-born Frenchwoman.Voltaire might well desire to achieve success with an