On the Cliffs at Havre.—Stories of French Authors.—Again on the Sea.
On the Cliffs at Havre.—Stories of French Authors.—Again on the Sea.
ONLY three days more remain to us in France,” said Master Lewis, after spending two days in Nantes. “We will now return to Paris by rail, stopping a few hours in Orleans, and from Paris will go directly to Havre, whence we will take the steamer for home.”
“It seems to me,” said Wyllys Wynn, “that, after what we have seen, I shall like no reading so well as history.”
“It has been my aim,” said Master Lewis, “to take you to those places where the principal great events of the histories of England and France have occurred. I stopped at Carlisle to give you a lesson in the early history of Britain,—the periods of the Druids and the Romans. I took you to Glastonbury to give you a view of the history of the early English Church. I went with you to Aix-la-Chapelle that you might receive an impression of the dominion of Charlemagne. Normandy is the common ground of old English and French history. I was glad to select it for you as the direct object of our visit, although it has formed a small part of our journey. I, like Tommy, have had a secret which I have kept for the Club; it has been to interest you in the places and events which would lead you, on your return, to become more careful readers of the best books. I hope the journey will leave an historic outline in your minds that future reading will fill. Character is as much determined by the books one reads as bythe company one keeps. Show me a boy’s selection of books, and I will tell you what he is and what he is likely to become.”
“Master Lewis,” said Wyllys, “says he has aimed to take us to such historic places as would give us, at the end of the journey, a connected picture of English and of French history. Let us try to associate the places we have seen with historic events. As I think of our Scottish and English journey, I connect,—
“Carlisle with the Druids and Romans.
“Glastonbury with Early Christianity and the Boy Kings.
“Normandy with William the Conqueror and his sons.
“Nottingham with Robin Hood and the Norman and Plantagenet Kings.
“Boscobel with King Charles.
“Edinburgh with Mary, the Edwards, and the Douglases.
“Kenilworth with Elizabeth.
“Oxford with Canute and Alfred.
“London with the Tudors, the Commonwealth, the Georges, and Victoria.”
“In our journey on the continent,” said Frank, “I associate,—
“Brussels with Waterloo and Napoleon.
“Aix-la-Chapelle with Charlemagne.
“Ghent and Bruges with the Dukes of Flanders and Burgundy.
“Calais with Mary Tudor and Edward III. of England.
“Rouen with Charles VII. and Joan of Arc.
“Paris with Charles IX., the Bourbons, and Napoleon.
“Nantes with the Huguenots and the Revolution.”
“We have also had views of the homes and haunts of great authors,” said Ernest. “I have made a scrap-book of leaves and flowers from the homes and graves of men of letters, and it includes souvenirs of nearly all the most eminent names in English literature.”
Havre is really a port of Paris, and is one of the most thriving maritime towns of France. Like most port towns it is more businesslikethan picturesque. The Class made but two visits here, outside of the hotel. One of these was to the birthplace of Bernardin de St. Pierre in Rue de la Cordesis, and the other to the cliffs on which the great French light-houses are erected at a height of three hundred feet.
A head-and-shoulders portrait
MOLIÈRE.
It was in the bright twilight of a late day in August that the Class mounted the cliffs and overlooked the sea, whose waves still reflected the vermilion of the sky. The boys were sober at the thought that this was their last day in Europe, and that they were now to return to the set tasks of the school-room.
The author reads his work to the people in the salon
THE READING OF “PAUL AND VIRGINIA.”
“These cliffs,” said Master Lewis, “were the favorite haunts of the author of ‘Paul and Virginia.’ He was a mere theorist, a daydreamer; and here he loved to gaze on the bright sea, and planexpeditions of republican colonists to such lands as he paints in his novels. His expeditions ended in the air. But he himself went to Mauritius, where he lived three years. On his return to Paris, while the brightness of tropical scenery still haunted him, he wrote ‘Paul and Virginia.’”
A head-and-shoulders portrait
RACINE.
“When Corneille, the great Corneille, as the popular dramatist came to be called, read his masterpiece,Polyeucte, to a party of fashionable literary people in Paris, it was coolly received on account of the fine Christian sentiments it contained. The criticism was that the religion of the stage should be that, not of God, but of the gods. Even a bishop present took this view.
“Bernardin de St. Pierre was as sharply criticised when he first read in public his beautiful romance of ‘Paul and Virginia.’ It wasat a party given by Madame Necker. ‘At first,’ says a writer, ‘every one listened in silence; then the company began to whisper, then to yawn. Monsieur de Buffon ordered his carriage, and slipped out of the nearest door. The ladies who listened were ridiculed when tears at last gathered in their eyes.’
The king and some courtiers listen to the reading in a garden
RACINE READING TO LOUIS XIV.
“Polyeuctestill lives in French literature, and the wits who condemned it are forgotten; ‘Paul and Virginia’ charmed France; fifty imitations of it were published in a single year, and it was rapidly translated into all European tongues. It remains a classic, but the critics in Madame Necker’s parlors are recollected only for their mistake.”
“We must read the works of these French authors on our return,” said Wyllys, “or at least the best selections from them. I shall wish to read ‘Pascal’s Provincial Letters’ and the Letters of Madame de Sévigné, after what you have said of them.”
“You should also read some of the best selections from the works of Boileau, Molière, and Racine. I have only time to allude to them briefly here.
“These authors were friends. They all lived in the time of the Grand Monarch, as Louis XIV. was called. La Fontaine, some of whose fables you have read, belongs to the same period, which is the greatest in French literature.
“Louis XIV. appreciated nearly all the great writers of the time; he seems to have felt that great authors, like great palaces, would add lustre to his reign.”
“I think that we might better change our society on our return into a reading-club,” said Tommy Toby.
“It seems to me your proposal is a very good one,” said Master Lewis. “We may be able to travel again. If we should visit Germany or the Latin lands together another year, a reading-club would be an excellent preparation for the journey.”
“Very much better than a Secret Society,” said Frank. “Suppose you give the Class the secret you devised for our first meetings, Tommy.”
“Oh,” said Tommy, soberly, “that, like most of my other plans, was justnothing, after all.”
Away from busy Havre the next morning, under the French and American flags, moved a little ocean world; and on the decks, looking back to the fading shores of old Normandy, and cherishing delightful memories of their zigzag journeys in historic lands, were the teacher and the lads whose winding ways we have followed.
University Press: John Wilson & Son, Cambridge.
Map of France and Belgium
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Back cover - Master Lewis and the boys
Transcriber's NoteMinor punctuation errors have been repaired. Hyphenation and use of accents has been made consistent.Use of quote marks is inconsistent, particularly around poetry and for continuing quotations, but is preserved as printed.The illustration caption, 'THE BLACK DOUGLAS SURPRISING AN ENEMY' on page100was omitted from the List of Illustrations. It has been added in this e-text.The uncaptioned sketch of thread from the Bayeux Tapestry, on page164, is not included in the List of Illustrations. This may have been deliberate, as it is supposed to be a sketch by one of the class, and so has not been added by the transcriber.The List of Illustrations had the image on page187as 'OLD HAMPTON COURT', while the caption under the illustration read 'WHITEHALL'. The Transcriber has confirmed that the illustration is a picture of the old Whitehall Palace (see paintingThe Old Palace of Whitehall, by Hendrik Danckerts for comparison), and has amended the text in the List of Illustrations to match the caption in the text.Page166includes the word 'flustrated'. This may be a typographic error for 'frustrated', or it may be deliberate on the part of the author, perhaps a combination of 'flustered' and 'frustrated'. As there is no way to be sure which is the case, it is preserved as printed.The following amendments have been made—Pagevii—Falise amended to Falaise—"Statue of William the Conqueror at Falaise"Pagevii—the word 'At' deleted and the amended to The, to match the caption in the main text—"The Death-bed of Francis II."Page57—Ingraciate amended to Ingratiate—"... one onIngratiate(in grey she ate); ..."Page173—Wyatt amended to Wyat—"... The Tower.—Sir Henry Wyat and His Cat.—Madame Tussaud’s Wax Works...."Page220—der amended to de—"All the Foresters of Flanders,—mighty Baldwin Bras de Fer, ..."The frontispiece illustration has been moved to follow the title page. Other illustrations have been moved where necessary so that they are not in the middle of a paragraph.Omitted page numbers were unnumbered illustration or blank pages in the original.
Transcriber's Note
Minor punctuation errors have been repaired. Hyphenation and use of accents has been made consistent.
Use of quote marks is inconsistent, particularly around poetry and for continuing quotations, but is preserved as printed.
The illustration caption, 'THE BLACK DOUGLAS SURPRISING AN ENEMY' on page100was omitted from the List of Illustrations. It has been added in this e-text.
The uncaptioned sketch of thread from the Bayeux Tapestry, on page164, is not included in the List of Illustrations. This may have been deliberate, as it is supposed to be a sketch by one of the class, and so has not been added by the transcriber.
The List of Illustrations had the image on page187as 'OLD HAMPTON COURT', while the caption under the illustration read 'WHITEHALL'. The Transcriber has confirmed that the illustration is a picture of the old Whitehall Palace (see paintingThe Old Palace of Whitehall, by Hendrik Danckerts for comparison), and has amended the text in the List of Illustrations to match the caption in the text.
Page166includes the word 'flustrated'. This may be a typographic error for 'frustrated', or it may be deliberate on the part of the author, perhaps a combination of 'flustered' and 'frustrated'. As there is no way to be sure which is the case, it is preserved as printed.
The following amendments have been made—
Pagevii—Falise amended to Falaise—"Statue of William the Conqueror at Falaise"Pagevii—the word 'At' deleted and the amended to The, to match the caption in the main text—"The Death-bed of Francis II."Page57—Ingraciate amended to Ingratiate—"... one onIngratiate(in grey she ate); ..."Page173—Wyatt amended to Wyat—"... The Tower.—Sir Henry Wyat and His Cat.—Madame Tussaud’s Wax Works...."Page220—der amended to de—"All the Foresters of Flanders,—mighty Baldwin Bras de Fer, ..."
Pagevii—Falise amended to Falaise—"Statue of William the Conqueror at Falaise"
Pagevii—the word 'At' deleted and the amended to The, to match the caption in the main text—"The Death-bed of Francis II."
Page57—Ingraciate amended to Ingratiate—"... one onIngratiate(in grey she ate); ..."
Page173—Wyatt amended to Wyat—"... The Tower.—Sir Henry Wyat and His Cat.—Madame Tussaud’s Wax Works...."
Page220—der amended to de—"All the Foresters of Flanders,—mighty Baldwin Bras de Fer, ..."
The frontispiece illustration has been moved to follow the title page. Other illustrations have been moved where necessary so that they are not in the middle of a paragraph.
Omitted page numbers were unnumbered illustration or blank pages in the original.