Page:A Sheaf Gleaned in French Fields.djvu/406

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he chanted nature, and the heroes of his mountains. What has become of these chants? Nobody can say. The author has chosen, it is said, the life of shadow and humility,—he is devoted to an earnest and a great work, and thinks very little of these pastimes of his earlier days.

Page 318.

Nice. Madame Ackermann is the widow of a great 'savant,' formerly tutor to the nephews of the King of Prussia. She is a scholar of the first order herself, and is acquainted not only with all the modern languages, but with Latin and Greek, Hebrew and Sanscrit, and even (so it is reported) Chinese. No English authoress, not even Mrs. Browning, is her equal in point of erudition. On the death of her beloved husband, whom she assisted greatly in his literary undertakings, she retired to Nice, where she leads a life of great seclusion. The scenes of her principal stories are laid in India, and she says in one of her poems,

'L'Inde me plaît, non pas que j'aie encore
De mes yeux vu ce rivage enchanteur;
Mais on sait lire, et même, sauf erreur,
On a du lieu déchiffré maint auteur.'

'Ind pleases me, not that I've seen as yet
With my own eyes, its shores renowned in story,
But I can read, appreciate, and have met
Its bards in spirit, with their brows of glory.'

Page 319.

My Village. The name of the author is Gensoûl. The piece will be found in a little book entitled 'Nos Souvenirs.'

Page 321.

The Emigration of Pleasure. This piece will be found in Gustave Masson's 'La Lyre Française.'

Page 323.

An Epitaph. This epitaph is in M. Gustave Masson's book, 'La Lyre Française.'

Page 324.

Colinette. Very sweet in the original. Author unknown. The piece will be found in Gustave Masson's 'La Lyre Française.'

Page 326.

Love's Catechism. This piece is in Gustave Masson's 'La Lyre Française.' Author unknown.