Alexandria Gazette & Advertiser

FRENCH FLATTERY.

The French court once carried its flattery so far, as to alter the gender of the substantive, in compliment to an infantine mistake of their Grand Monarque. The word carosse, a coach, was originally feminine; but when M. Menage published his Dictionnaire Etymologique, he gave it as avowedly masculine, but not without remarking, that it had been formerly feminine. This revolution as to the gender of a word, arose from a trivial grammatical error. Louis XIV. came to the throne in 1643, when he was about five years of age. A short time afterwards, on enquiring for his coach, he happened to confound the gender of it by calling out, "Ou est mon carosse."

This was sufficient to stamp the word carosse masculine, of which gender it has ever since continued. Such a puerile error is not to be wondered at : but that a whole nation should adopt a change in compliment to it, is an absurdity of no common magnitude.

In the reign of the same prince, a very alarming little revolution took place in the application of an epithet in the French language. It had become a ruling fashion to give every thing great the term gros, as "un gros plaisir ;" " une grosse qualite;" "une grosse beaute."—The King took occasion to express his dislike to these expressions, because, in fact, he was frightened lest he who had been some time styled Louis le Grand, should exchange it for that of a second Louis le Gros. M. Boileau, however, upon perceiving the King's alarm, had the address to observe, how impossible it was for the world to think of Louis le Gros in the reign of Louis le Grand. The royal mind was thus quieted, the fashion had its course, and that course was soon run.