9 made a shift to, trouva moyen de. 10 personne. 11 it was in vain that he promised to, il eut beau promettre de. 12 no single creature, 13 till he was at last obliged to, tant qu'il dut à la fin.

personne.

14 ce même.

15 le métier.

A famine* (f.) overspread the land; the tailor made a shift to live, because his customers could not be without clothes; but the poor conjurer, with all his hundred tricks, could find none 10 that had money to throw away: it was in vain that he promised to 11 eat fire, or to vomit pins; no single creature 12 would (pas. d.) relieve him, till he was at last obliged to 13 beg from the very 14 tailor whose (132.) calling 15 he had formerly despised.-O. GOLDSMITH.*

28. CHARLEMAGNE AS A LEGISLATOR.

(See CHARLEMAGNE in "French Studies," p. 225.) CHARLEMAGNE LÉGISLATEUR.-1 à cause. 2 franc, "French ClassBook," p. 116, Note 4. 3 administrateur. 4 succéda à (672.) 5 le Bref. 6 Occident. 7 le jour de Noël de. 8 la Haute. 9 une partie. 10 during the, &c., sous. 11 sont loin d'être. 12 (p. 126, No. 121.)

*

(CHARLES* the FIRST, surnamed CHARLEMAGNE on account 1 of his great actions*, was (p. d.) the most illustrious prince * of the Frankish 2 monarchy. He deserved (p. ind.) the name of GREAT both as a statesman 3 and a conqueror. He succeeded his father Pepin the Short 5 in 768, was proclaimed emperor of the West 6 in (264.) Rome * on (822.) Christmas-day in the year 800, and died in 814 at Aix-la-Chapelle, the capital of his vast empire* (m.) That empire included (imp.) France* (406.), Belgium, Germany, Upper 8 Italy, and part of Spain (407.). That mighty monarchy was dismembered during the reigns of 10 the feeble successors of Charlemagne*.)

*

9

The exploits and conquests of this great monarch are by no means 11 his only titles to admiration* and respect *. That 12 which raises him above all the sovereigns of his age

13 c'est (p. 284, No. 555.) d'. 16 qui différaient d'.

17

14 à l'. 15 bound, &c., fit un seul peuple

20 he

'par (p. 249, No. 400.) 18 rémédier aux abus. 19 who were, &c., qui devaient lui rendre compte de. made it, &c., il se faisait un devoir de s'informer de.

is 13 the wisdom of his legislation, whereby he substituted order for 14 anarchy; and bound together, as one people 15, a multitude (f.) of races* (f.) differing in 16 origin, language, manners, customs, and religion *.

*

Twice a 17 year he convoked a kind of parliament or national assembly, consisting of bishops, abbots, and lay representatives, to remedy abuses 18, and deliberate upon his laws, called CAPITULARIES †.

In order to make his laws respected (inf.), he divided his whole empire* (m.) into districts *, confiding the authority of each district* to three or four magistrates or envoys, who were expected to report to him 19 everything of moment. And such was (imp.) his diligence, that he made it his business to become acquainted with 20 every political movement of his whole empire* (m.).—Dr C. BREWER'S History of France.

29. RACINE. (1639-1699.)

(V. HAVET'S "French Studies," p. 293.)

RACINE.-1 bien. 2 He wanted, &c., Il n'avait ni la . . . ni la . . .

RACINE, as a tragic poet, is much superior to CORNELLLE (p. 36). He wanted the2 copiousness and grandeur*

+CAPITULARIES, from the Latin CAPITULUM, a chapter. The laws of the Frankish kings are so called because they were divided into CHAPTERS or sections.

3 style (m.) 4 la langue poétique. 5 to have managed, &c., avoir fait de la rime l'usage le plus heureux. 6 Racine's Athalie to be, que l'A. de R. est.

(f.) of CORNEILLE's imagination*; but he is free from bombast, and excels him greatly in tenderness. Few (291.) poets are more tender and (more) moving than RACINE. His "Phoedra," his "Andromaque*," his "Athalie," and his "Mithridate*," are excellent dramatic performances, and do no small honour to the French stage. His language and versification * (f.) are uncommonly beautiful. Of all the French authors, he appears to me to (685.) have excelled in poetical style; to have managed their rhyme with the greatest advantage and facility, and to have given it the most complete harmony. VOLTAIRE has again and again pronounced RACINE'S "Athalie*" to be the master-piece of the French stage.— Dr BLAIR'S Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres.

6

GRANDS

30. CALAMITIES OF GENIUS.

was a beggar, mendiait. 4 Boèce. 5 fit. 6 and yet

HOMMES MALHEUREUX. — 1 2 Plaute. 3 la roue d'un moulin. starved with them all, ce qui ne l'empêcha pas de mourir de faim. 7 often distressed, souvent dans la détresse.

(I.) HOMER was a beggar1; Plautus 2 turned (imp.) a mill3; Terence was a slave; Boethius died (p. d.) in gaol; Paul Borghese had fourteen trades, and yet starved with them all6; Tasso† was often distressed for

+ In imitation of the Italians, the French use the article with the following names: le Tasse, l'Arioste, le Tintoret, le Corrége, le Carrache, &c. 1. Le siècle du Tasse. 2. Je donne la préférence au Tintoret.

:

8 was refused admittance, ne put parvenir à être admis. 9 Camoëns.

10 les Lusiades.

1

(II.) 1 lived a life of meanness, vécut dans le dénûment. 2 through neglect. . . . . derangement, de l'abandon complet où il se trouvait, abandon qui déjà lui avait dérangé le cerveau. 3 échéances. 4prematurely and through hunger, de faim et prématurément. 5 lived a life of perfect warfare, vécut en guerre perpétuelle. 6 soustraire. 7 'from the gripe, aux griffes. 8 without a stone to mark the spot, sans une pierre sur sa tombe. Iwas confined, avait été mis. 10 destroyed himself, se donna la mort.

9

a few (586.) shillings; Bentivoglio* was refused admittances into an hospital (which) he had himself erected; Cervantes died of hunger; Camoens, the celebrated writer of the "Lusiad "10, ended his days in an almshouse, and Vaugelas* left his body to the surgeons, to (267.) pay his debts.

(II.) In our country, Bacon lived a life of meanness1 and distress; Walter Raleigh died on the scaffold; Spenser, the charming Spenser, died forsaken and in want; and the death of Collins came through neglect, first causing mental derangement2; Milton sold his copyright of "Paradise Lost" for fifteen pounds, at three payments, and finished his life in obscurity; Dryden lived in poverty and distress; Otway died prematurely, and through hunger1; Lee died in the streets (sing.); Steele lived a life of perfect warfare 5 with bailiffs; Goldsmith's "Vicar of Wakefield" was sold for a trifle to save him from the gripe of the law; Fielding lies in the buryingground of the English factory at Lisbon, without a stone to mark the spots; Savage died in prison* at Bristol, where he was confined for a debt of eight pounds; Butler lived in penury, and died poor; Chatterton, the child of genius and misfortune, destroyed himself 10-ANONYMOUS.

31, A (383.) LETTER FROM LORD BYRON TO (393.) DR PIGOT.

LETTRE DE LORD BYRON AU DOCTEUR PIGOT.-1 I am on my way from town, je viens de Londres. 2 she was in little pain, &c., elle a peu souffert et qu'elle ne connaissait pas le danger. 3 Peace be with her! Qu'elle repose en paix! 4 for, de. 5 on, pour. 6 I may extend to, je pousserai peut-être jusqu'à. 7 to hear from you, de recevoir de vos nouvelles. 8 East, Orient.

NEWPORT PAGNELL, August 2, 1811.

MY DEAR DOCTOR,-My poor mother died (709.) yesterday! and I am on my way from town1 to attend her to the family vault. I heard (p. ind.) one day of her illness, and the next of her death. Thank God, her last moments were (p. ind.) tranquil. I am told (that) she was in little pain, and not aware 2 of her situation. now feel the truth of Mr Gray's observation*, That we can only have one mother." Peace be with her 3!

I

I have to thank you for your expressions of regard; and as in six weeks I shall be in Lancashire † on 5 business, I may extend to Chester*,—at least I shall endeavour. I shall remain at Newstead the greater part of this month, where I shall be happy to hear from you7 after my two years' absence in the East 8.—I am, dear Pigot, yours very truly,

BYRON.

+ L'article s'emploie en français devant les noms de comtés :

1. Devonshire is delightful.

2. He scattered the Celts of Connaught,

(MACAULAY.)

1. Le Devonshire est (un pays) char

mant.

2. Il dispersa les Celtes du Connaught.