Mr. Bagot,[125] the English minister to this government, appears to be about thirty-five years of age. He is tall, elegant, and rather graceful in his person, with a countenance open and ingenuous, an English complexion, and eyes mild though dark. He has ingratiated himself with the Americans, by the real or affected simplicity of his manners, and by assimilating himself to their usages and customs. He has thrown aside the reserve and hauteur of the English character, as not at all suited to the meridian of this country, and attends to all with equal courtesy and politeness. I can say nothing of the powers of his mind, but they do not appear to be more than ordinary. It has always seemed to me very strange policy on the part of the British cabinet, to appoint ministers to this country of inferior capacity and inconsiderable reputation, while the Americans send to our court only their most prominent and leading men, who have distinguished themselves by their ability and their eloquence.
The French minister, M. Hyde de Neuville,[126] is a "fat, portly gentleman," with a broad chest, big head, and short neck, which he seems almost incapable of turning _ad libitum_. He is full of { 377} Bourbon importance and French vivacity; has petits soupers every Saturday evening during the winter, and spends his summer at the springs, or his country residence, in extolling the virtues of his beloved Louis _le desiré_. I do not think that M. Neuville, though an amiable, and, I understand, a benevolent man, has that kind of talent which would qualify him for the station he holds, or that, in the event of any difficulty arising between this country and France, he could counteract the intrigues of diplomatic ingenuity, or benefit his nation, by inducing the American cabinet, though I believe he is highly esteemed, to adopt any measure not manifestly advantageous to the United States. He has been many years a resident of this country, and was driven from France by the persecutions of Buonaparte. He is said to have evinced for his exiled countrymen much feeling and interest, and to have given them, while strangers and unknown in a foreign land, all the aid he could afford. His acts of benevolence certainly redound to the credit of his heart, and I should be sorry to say any thing that would disparage the qualities of his head. He is too much occupied with his own, or other people's concerns, to attend to the little or the complicated intrigues of courts, and though he resides here as a representative, yet he now represents a cypher.