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    Critical Notices.—Miscellaneous. 855

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    General Literature. Art.V.—Antholog' Ie ...

    ftainafole , and if attained , not very useful . No matter 5 nous avous change" ttout ^ ceia —a trip to Paris is part of the materiel de la vie , and Freuch must be spoken . Be it so . Must it also be read ? Is there any reasonable proportion between the knowledge of the language and an acquaintance with its best authors ?

    Generally speaking , assuredly not . The mathematician is familiar , as meeds he must , with French mathematics , andl the man of physiological science with Cuvier , hut in the higher walks which are open to all , we are content , for the most part , to gather no fruit . A few of the best plays are read , perhaps with a master , a little Voltaire and a little Rousseau , and

    a satire of Boileau ' s and Sevigne's letters , and a sermon of JVIassillon , Bossuet , Bourdaloue , or Saurin , and so much for the Augustan age ! Of the olden time before it , we know as much as we do of Confucius ; and of the time after , as much as the Chinese know of us . The very names of Lamartine , Campenon , and Demoustier are unknown amongst us 5 and if JMoncrif , the pensive and tender

    Moncnf , does not share tthe same fate * , it is only because lie has been heard of as a poet . We hare now to thank Mr . Thurgar for introducing these and many other French poetical writers to the English public His Anthology Is calculated for juvenile students , and to them it will be useful as a selection of pieces ; to others as a collection of specimens . The Editor has not confined himself to

    the highest order of poetry , which is already well-known , aud which , in many cases , 'would be injured by being torn from its original position ; he has sought for variety , and presented us with many a wild flower from the less frequented 1 ) aunts of Parnassus , aud for tlje . se we thank him . The following lines on a leaf are unpretending and sweet , touching even , if they are taken ( as they were assuredly meant ] in an allegorical sense :

    " La Feuille . ** De ta tige detach ee , Pauvre feuille dessexhee , Ou vas-tu ? Jen' en sais Hen : L ' orage a brise le clique < Qui seul 6 tait 111011 soutien . De son inconstante halenne , Le z « 6 phir , ou l ' aquilon Depuis ce jour me proimehie De la foret a la plaine , De la mo 11 tagne an vallon . Je vais ou le . vent me rnene , Sans me plaindre ou in' effrayer ; Je vais ou va fcoute chose , Git va la feu i lie de rose ., El la feuille de laurier . " Arnault .

    General Literature. Art.V.—Antholog' Ie ...

    These lines are simple ,, and simplicity is ail that is wanting to the French Mose , or the French national character . The spirit of poetry has always existed in France ., and if her children fail of embodying it in words , it must be owing to the incurable constraint of their language or to 6 i rules self-imposed , " and a love

    of the epigrammatic . Not even a Frenchman can be a petit-maltre aud a poet at the same time , and the mightiest minds have failed in the attempt . Let us hope that in this also , the Ancien Regime is about to be improved . There is spirit and originality in the following description of the departure of the French frigate La Se-rieuse ( so called , we suppose , by anticipation ) for Egypt :

    " Quand la belle Serieuse Pour l'Egypte , appareilla , Sa figure gracieuse Avant le jour s ' eveilla ; A la lueur des etoiles Elle deploya ses voiles , Leuirs cordages et leurs toilesy Comme de larges reseaux , Avec ce long bruit qui tremble Qui se prolonge , et ressenible Au bruit des ailes qu ' ensemble Ouvre une troupe d ' oiseaux .

    Voila toute la fannille Qu' en moil temps il me fallalt ; INI a fregate etait ma fille : Va 2 lui disais-je ; elle allait , S ' eiancait dans la carriere , Laissant l ' ecueil en arri & re , Comme un cheval sa barriere , " & e . M . le Co ;? ite Alfred de Vigny . In a higher strain is the opening of Campcuoii ' s " Jeutie fille Maladc : "

    i & L'huile sainte a touche ies pieds de la mourante , L ' arret fatale est prononc (* : L ' art n ' a point de secours pour cette rime souffranite Le monde pour elle a cesse . '

    One of the finest things in the collection is a ballad of Moncrif ' s , in the antiquated style which is so well suited to a simple story , and rich in touches of pathos , in which he always excels . It is too long for quotation * aud we must refer to the volume itself for the rest of

    itts treasures . We are happy to find fronn Mr . Thurgar ' s weBl-written French Preface , that he proposes ( and we hope shortly ) to publislh a second volume off the Anthologie , and also a selection off pieces , " a la port £ e des comsnen ^ ans . " We ought not to omit , that the present ! work is remarkably correct aisd clear in its typography , which in a foreign lan-

    Critical Notices.—Miscellaneous. 855

    Critical Notices . —Miscellaneous . 855

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Dec. 2, 1830, page 855, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/mrp_02121830/page/55/