10. Pise, Pisa. 14. Brigues, a small town in the 154. Rhone valley in Switzerland, at the foot of the Simplon pass. 16. Gênes, Genoa. 17. Vevay, a town on Lake Geneva. 19. Lido, an island between Venice and the sea, a favorite resort of the inhabitants of the city. Musset calls it affreux, because with it he associated his quarrel with George Sand. 159. STANCES À LA MALIBRAN. October, 1836. II. Maria Felicità, daughter and pupil of Manuel Garcia, afterwards Madame Malibran, by which name she is remembered, was a remarkable singer (1808–1836). 24. Parthénon: the Parthenon, completed in 438 B.C., was built under the direction of Phidias, who was also the sculptor of the colossal statue of Athena within the temple. The most famous work of Praxiteles was the statue of Aphrodite of Cnidus, not extant, but represented in the Venus of the Capitol and the Venus de Medicis. 26. Corilla, a character in one of Rossini's operas. 160. 27. Rosina, heroine of Rossini's Il Barbiere di Seviglia (1816). 29. le Saule, the song of "The Willow" in Rossini's Otello (1816); cf. Shakspere's Othello, iv, 3. 9. Londre, usually spelled Londres; the s is omitted 161. here for the metre. 21. Géricault, an important French painter (1790-1824); his most famous picture is Le Radeau de la Méduse, now in the Louvre. Cuvier, a great French naturalist (1769-1832). 3. Robert, Léopold (1794-1835), a French painter of 162. merit. Bellini. Vincenzo (1802-1835), an Italian composer of operas; among his works are La Somnambula (1831), Norma (1831), and I Puritani (1835). 5. Carrel, Armand (1800-1836), a French publicist, fatally wounded in a duel with Émile de Girardin. 163. 18. La Pasta; Giuditta Pasta (1798–1865) was one of the famous sopranos of her day; for her Bellini wrote La Somnambula and Norma. CHANSON DE BARBERINE. 164. From the comedy Bar berine (1836). 165. CHANSON DE FORTUNIO. From le Chandelier (1836), where it is sung by a character named Fortunio. 25. ma mie, instead of m'amie; this is a remnant of what was the regular practice in the earliest period of French, the use of the feminine forms, ma, ta, sa, with elision of the vowel, before nouns beginning with a vowel; the substitution of the masculine forms in such cases begins in the twelfth century. 166. TRISTESSE. June 14, 1840. "RAPPELLE-TOI." 1842. SOUVENIR. February, 1841. This poem is of the 167. same order of thought as le Lac of Lamartine and the Tristesse d'Olympio of Victor Hugo; see note on the latter poem. 17. Dante, pourquoi dis-tu; the passage referred to 169. is in the Inferno, canto v, 1. 121; Francesca da Rimini (in French Françoise) begins the short and immortal story of her love for Paolo with these words: 170. "There is no greater sorrow Than to be mindful of the happy time In misery." 24. pié, an old spelling of pied, used here to satisfy the rules of rhyme. Cf. following page, 1. 26. 17. ma seule amie. George Sand. The latest reve172. lations from the correspondence of George Sand and Musset give us a more favorable view of her part in their unhappy affair and fail to justify the terms in which he refers to her here. See the volume of Vicomte de Spoelberch de Lovenjoul cited among the works for reference. Sur une morte. October, 1842; the lady referred to 174. was the Princess Belgiojoso (1808-1871), who after the unsuccessful movement for Italian liberty in 1831 left Italy and resided in Paris, where Musset came often to her salon. 1. la Nuit, one of the famous allegorical statues made by Michaelangelo for the tombs of Giuliano and Lorenzo de Medici. A M. VICTOR HUGO. April. 26, 1843. CHANSON. 175. 66 THEOPHILE GAUTIER. 1811-1872. One of the most important poets of the century, though he can not be called in any large sense one of the greatest. His importance is due to the emphasis that he placed on the element of form both by his precept and by his practice. The directness and sincerity of the emotional cry are lost sight of in the pursuit of exquisite and perfect workmanship in the representation of outward beauty. L'Art, p. 190, sums up his poetic art. Later poetry has been profoundly influenced by this doctrine. His natural gifts adapted him perfectly to the rôle that he played, for, while he was without great intellectual depth or emotional intensity, he had a rare power of seeing the forms and colors of things. Works: Poésies, 1830; Albertus, 1833; la Comédie de la mort, 1838; the preceding were republished in one volume with additions in 1845; Émaux et Camées, 1852; Poésies nouvelles, 1863; in the edition of his Œuvres complètes the Poésies complètes make two volumes, Émaux et Camées, one. For reference: E. Bergerat, Théophile Gautier, 1879; M. Du Camp, Théophile Gautier, 1890; Vicomte Spoelberch de Lovenjoul, Histoire des œuvres de Th. Gautier, 2 vols., 1887; Sainte-Beuve, Premiers lundis, ii; Portraits contemporains, ii, v; Nouveaux lundis, vi; E. Faguet, XIXe siècle, 1887; Brunetière, Évolution de la poésie lyrique, vol. ii. VOYAGE. From the Poésies of 1830. The line of 177. the motto from La Fontaine is from the one-act comedy Clymène, line 35. Catullus '87-47 B. C.) was a Latin poet whose lyrics show intensity of feeling and rare grace of expression. The lines here quoted are from the Carmina, xlvi. The idea of the poem is quite characteristic of Gautier, who delighted especially in the picturesque aspects of travel, as his famous descriptions of foreign lands show (Voyage en Espagne, Voyage en Russie, Voyage en Italie, etc.). 178. 17. enraye, puts on the brakes. Of the other poems of Gautier here given all but CHOC DE CAVALIERS, LES COLOMBES, LAMENTO, TRISTESSE, and LA CARAVANE are from Émaux et Camées; these five will be found in vol. i of the Poésies complètes under the title Poésies diverses. 186. 188. 189. PREMIER SOURIRE DU PRINTEMPS. 15. houppe de L'AVEUGLE. 1. les puits de Venise; the dungeons of LE MERLE. 18. The Arve joins the Rhone just after the latter issues from Lake Geneva. The water of the Rhone is very clear and blue, while that of the Arve, especially when swollen by rain and melted snow, is muddy and grayish-yellow. 190. 4. mettre en demeure, to summon by legal process. L'ART. I. carrare, paros, marbles especially fine 191. and white and adapted for statuary, the former from Carrara, Italy, the latter from Paros, an island in the Ægean Sea. 21. nimbe trilobe; the Virgin was often represented in early paintings with a halo of three rounded lobes, in the shape of a trefoil, symbolizing the Trinity. VICTOR DE LAPRADE. 1812-1883. A poet of elevation and purity, whose worth is rather greater than his reputation, which has been somewhat eclipsed by that of his greater contemporaries. Works: Psyché, 1840; Odes et Poèmes, 1844; Poèmes évan géliques, 1852; Symphonies, 1855; Idylles héroïques, 1858; Pernette, 1868; Poèmes civiques, 1873; le Livre d'un père, 1878; collected edition, Euvres poétiques, 4 vols., 1886–89. For reference: E. Biré, Victor de Laprade, sa vie et se. œuvres, 1886; Sainte-Beuve, Nouveaux lundis, vol. i; E. Caro, Poètes et romanciers, 1888. 193. 197. A UN GRAND ARBRE. 1840 from Odes et Poèmes. 5. LE DROIT D'AÎNESSE. 1875; from le Livre d'un MME. ACKERMANN. 1813-1890. Louise-Victorine Choquet, who became Mme. Paui Ackermann by her marriage in 1844 and was left a widow in 1846, lived a life of great retirement and seclusion. Her work, the fruit of long solitude, bears the impress of a strong, reflective mind. It is deeply tinged with pes simism. Works: Contes et poésies, 1863; Poésies philosophiques, 1874; collected in one volume, Poésies, 1877. For reference: Comte d'Haussonville, Mme. Ackermann, d'après des lettres et des papiers inédits, 1891. CHARLES-MARIE LECONTE DE LISLE. 1818-1894. Born on the island of Bourbon, the tropical landscape that was familiar to his boyhood recurs constantly in his poems. Coming to France to complete his studies and to reside, he became the master spirit among the poets of the middle of the century and the recognized leader of the |