access to books and information which could easily have been procured had this work been compiled in Paris. While alluding to this difficulty, it is however but just to say, that it was greatly lessened by the kindness of the London Booksellers, to whom (even when a perfect stranger) I never applied for assistance which was not immediately granted, and who often proffered it unasked. I am indeed the more anxious to acknowledge this, as I know a strong prejudice exists, especially among literary men, against the liberality of Booksellers, and I feel desirous, as far as my own experience warrants, to bear witness to the liberality of a class of men who "Sate like a Cormorant once Fast by the tree of knowledge." To avoid omissions, however, every possible precaution has been taken, and an Appendix has been added, containing a few books, of which no mention had been made. If nevertheless, any should still be found, the indulgence of the reader is intreated, for a defect unavoidable in works of this nature, and which can only be removed as they proceed through future editions. Should a second one of this work be called for, no means will be left untried to render it as perfect as possible, and I shall feel obliged by any suggestion from the periodical press which may enable me to accomplish so desirable a purpose. Having thus stated the motives which led to the composition of this work, the manner in which the task has been accomplished, and its claims to the indulgence of the "Kind Reader," I have only, in concluding this lengthy Preface, to express my hope that it may answer the end for which it was intended, and by making the English more fully acquainted with the Literature of France, add to their stock of knowledge as well as of enjoyment, and obtain at the same time for the Writers of my own country, a higher degree of estimation than they have hitherto enjoyed in England. STAATS- SKETCH OF THE PROGRESS OF FRENCH LITERATURE. LITERATURE was first introduced into France, by the Normans, who inspired the Gauls with that love of the wonderful which is so peculiarly the characteristic of a warlike people, and will always be found most fully displayed in the compositions of a half-civilized nation. The rude spirit which these northern warriors infused into our early Literature soon gave place, however, to the gentler aspirations of the Troubadours; and the praise of beauty, as well as of valour, was the theme which occupied the early poets of France, from the thirteenth, to the end of the fifteenth, century. To the English reader the Language used by the writers of that period will appear almost unintelligible, but French had then already become so universal, that Brunetto Latini, a countryman and cotemporary of Dante, wrote in it, and gave as his rea son for doing so, that the French language was "delectable and more known than any other." Two powerful causes contributed to the composition of Romances during the Middle Ages; the love of chivalry on the one hand, and the imitation of Oriental Tales, on the other. To these two causes, the effect of which was still increased by the Crusades, we owe the numerous works of that description which then appeared, and as the most distinguished of which may be *The following few lines will give the reader an idea of the state of the French language at that early period. They form the commencement of a poem, entitled, "Le Combat de Trente Bretons contre Trente Anglais," which was written about the year 1350. A beautiful reprint of this interesting work was published by Crapelet, Paris, 1827. "Seigneurs, or faites paix, Chlrs (a) et barons, Bannerois, bachelers et trestoux (b) nobles hons, (c) Euesques et abbes, gens de religions, Heraulx, menestreelx (d) et tous bons compaignons, Gentilz hons et bourgois de toutes nacions, Combatirent un jour contre xxx Bretons, Et pour ce jen vueil dire le vray et les raisons, (a) Chevaliers, (b) vous tous, (c) hommes, (d) baladins, joueurs d'instrumens, (e) discours, sentences, (f) clercs, savans. mentioned the "Roman de la Rose " commenced by Lorris and continued by Jean de Meun. At this period lived also Froissart, whose fame as an historian has deprived him of that which he enjoyed as a poet; for while every body reads his excellent " Chronicles," few are aware, in this country at least, that he was one of the best among the early poets of France. Next to Froissart should be mentioned Joinville, who accompanied St. Louis into Palestine, and wrote an account of the reign and actions of his master. His "Mémoires" are a perfect representation of the time at which he lived, and nothing that can be compared to them appeared in France till those of Philippe de Commines, the most profound and most elegant of the historians of that period. Naiveté was the characteristic of Joinville; to please seems to have been the aim of Froissart, while a correct and sound judgment is the quality most prominent in the Memoirs of Philippe de Commines. During the period of which we have been speaking, a mighty change had taken place in the affairs of Europe, and had, as might naturally be expected, a great influence over its Literature. The fall of the Eastern Empire which had taken place, hastened the revival of |