better, it seemed, than the boyhood of our brother academician, to
verify the oft-repeated theory, touching the influence of imitation on
the development of our faculties. Here, the result, attentively
examined, would not by a great deal agree with the old hypothesis. I
know not but, every thing considered, whether it would rather furnish
powerful weapons to whoever would wish to maintain that, in its early
habits, childhood rather seeks for contrasts.

James Bailly had an idle and light character; whilst young Sylvain from
the beginning showed strong reasoning powers, and a passion for study.

The grown man felt in his own element while in noisy gayety.

But the boy loved retirement.

To the father, solitude would have been fatal; for to him life consisted
in motion, sallies, witty conversations, free and easy parties, the
little gay suppers of those days.

The son, on the contrary, would remain alone and quite silent for whole
days. His mind sufficed to itself; he never sought the fellowship of
companions of his own age. Extreme steadiness was at once his habit and
his taste.

The warder of the king's pictures drew remarkably well, but did not
appear to have troubled himself much with the principles of art.

His son Sylvain studied those principles deeply, and to some purpose; he
became a theoretic artist of the first class, but he never could either
draw or paint even moderately well.