POETRY, NOVELS, &c. ANDRIEUX (M.) Le Trésor, comédie en vers. "The character of this comedy partakes of the exuberance and gaiety of Collin d'Harleville, and of the playfulness and humour of Regnard. The chief characters of this Comedy, consisting of two brothers of opposite dispositions, the one learned, good-tempered and disinterested; the other ignorant and avaricious, remind us both in matter and manner, of a contrast of the same description to be found in Terence."-Rapports de l'Institut, p. 84 (Classe de la Langue et de la Littérature &c.) ARLINCOURT (M. le Vicomte de). Le Renégat. Paris, 1822, 2 vols. 8vo. "Le Renégat evidently belongs to the Romantic school; the sentiments are pure; the style, we consider, betrays too much affectation of the sublime, and aims too much at originality." -Revue Ency. vol. 13, p. 448. -Ismalie, ou la Mort et l'Amour. Paris, 1828, 2 vols. 8vo. "M d'Arlincourt is not very well known in England, although he has had the honours of Translation; and, in the present state of literary intercourse between the two countries, we may * fairly assume, from this circumstance, that he has not as yet deserved to be so. * There can be no general standard of taste however, or surely countries approaching so nearly to each other in knowledge and civilization, as France and England, would have found it out; and M. D'Arlincourt, who is scarcely read at all in the latter, has attained to considerable popularity in the former. This popularity has been procured by his novels of 'Le Renégat,' 'Le Solitaire,' and 'Ipsoboe.' -Foreign Quarterly Review, No. 3, p. 355. AULNOY (Madame d') Histoire d'Hypolite, Comte de Douglas. Paris, 1726,2 vols. 18mo. This is a Chef d'Euvre of its kind. It cannot be read without exciting the deepest interest. It inculcates the love of virtue, and a hatred of vice. BAILLY (M. Le). Fables, quatrième édition. Paris, 1823, 1 vol. 8vo. "These fables of M. Bailly have received considerable approbation, and have been favorably judged by the Critics, at different intervals."-Revue Ency. vol. 17, p. 385. BAOUR-LORMIAN (M.) Veillées poétiques et morales. Paris, 1 vol. 12mo. Omasis en Egypte. Paris, 1806, 8vo. "The tragedy of Omasis, by M. Baour Lormian, was first acted in 1806. The subject is the History of Joseph. It is replete with interest; it contains many fine sentiments, and some of its situations are very dramatic. The style is in strict unison with the subject, elegant and harmonious; but it is deficient in design. The most interesting part of its action is taken from the Old Testament. Upon the whole, however, it has more the character of a Pastoral than ofa Tragedy."-Rapports de l'Institut, p. 15. (Classe de la langue, et de la Littérature, &c.) "The Omasis en Egypte' of M. Lormian, has obtained distinction for the extreme beauty of its style. His odes on the battles of Bonaparte, are now less popular than they once were. His translation of the Jerusalem', and the ‘Aminta', are said to have considerable merit. He has also imitated 'Young's Night Thoughts,' in his Veillées Poétiques' with success."-Lady Morgan's France, vol. 2, p. 34. BÉRANGER (P. J. de). Chansons, nouvelle édition. Paris, 1825, 3 vols. 18mo. "In tenui labor, at tenuis non gloria; this motto was never more applicable than to M. Béranger. With some fugitive pieces, Anacreon and Catullus obtained immortality; and with two small volumes of songs, Béranger has established his claim to be ranked among the first Poets of France. His reputation has been rendered the more lasting, inasmuch as his productions are eminently French."-Revue Ency. vol. 30, p. 381. Béranger has since added another to the above volumes. BERNARD (M.) L'Art d'Aimer; et Poésies diverses. Paris, 1803, 1 vol. 8vo. "The character of his light pieces, and particularly his Art d'Aimer, procured for him the appellation of the Gentil Bernard. His Epistle to Claudine, and the Song of the Rose are greatly admired. The opera of Castor et Pollux, played for the first time in 1737, is his master-piece. Voltaire being commissioned by Madame de la Valière, to invite Bernard to supper, worded his invitation as follows Au nom du Pinde et de Cythère, Venir souper chez l'Art de Plaire." -Craufurd's Essais &c. vol. 2, p. 58. BOILEAU, see Euvres Complètes. BOUTIGNY (Le Vayer de). Tarsis et Zélie. Paris, 1667, 3 vols. 8vo. "The novel of Tarsis et Zélie, equally known and esteemed, appeared for the first time in 1669, under the name of the Sieur le Revay (le Vayer.) This production unites all the qualities of romantic writing; the heroic, the pastoral, the tragic, the amorous, and even the humourous. It is, in fact, the history of the human heart, written in a manner the most instructive, and containing many interesting episodes."-Barbier's Bibl. vol. 5, p. 77. BRUMOY (Le Père). Le Théâtre des Grecs, seconde édition complète, revue, corrigée, et augmentée d'un choix de fragmens des poètes grees, tragiques et comiques, par M. Raoul-Rochette. Paris, 1822, 15 vols. 8vo. "Father Brumoy rendered literature an important service when he published, at the commencement of the last century, a translation of the Greek Drama. Unfortunately he had rather the merit of commencing than that of accomplishing, this under taking. Indeed, his translation is far from being complete. Only extracts are given of many plays; and although as a translator he generally shews a sound taste, his style is sometimes wanting in elegance. The edition mentioned above, has the advantage of being complete, that is, it contains the whole of the Greek plays known to us. To these have also been added, translated fragments from comic and tragic Greek writers. The pieces themselves are better arranged, and those of different authors are not, as in the former edition, mixed together. The present edition also contains an impartial review of each piece, the poetical imitations that have been made by modern authors, and observations on the Drama." Revue Ency. vol. 15, p. 185. CHÉNIER (André). - Euvres complètes d'André Chénier. Paris, 1819, 8vo. "The Poems of André Chenier, frequently highly original, are replete with those singular traits which leave the mind of the Critic undetermined, whether most to reprove the author's negligence, or to admire his force. Few modern Poets are so much distinguished for the use of what Boileau calls, des expressions trouvées."-Revue Ency. vol. 4, p. 90. |