382 NEW SCHOOL OF HISTORY IN 1 -'RANGE. 



and speculative vagueness, but by giving himself the best example 

 of historical induction, connected with imaginative talent, that his 

 successors need follow. 



The author of the " History of the Dukes of Burgundy/' while of- 

 fering to the public a work full of original and laborious research, 

 had no intention of setting up himself as a legislator of national 

 taste, and he certainly had no idea of ever being entitled the founder 

 of a particular school of history ; but, be that as it may, the model 

 that he has furnished is one that will form an epoch in an unsettled 

 age of literature. In every page of his work we recognize the ad- 

 mirable tact with which the author combines the ingenuousness of 

 the bon-homme with the simplicity of the chronicler a combination 

 of good qualities that seemed to be for ever lost. M. de Barante 

 wrote only as he was impelled by the inspirations of his genius ; 

 " scribiter ad narrandum, non ad probandum :'' he intended only to 

 give narrations, but in every case he has furnished proofs. 



Far be it from us in this eulogy of M. de Barante to extend our 

 laudatory remarks to all the historical romances of France, respect- 

 ing which we may observe generally that whatever influence they 

 have gained over the more sober style of history is mainly attribu- 

 table to those official, perhaps pensioned, writers who have made 

 history the mere stalking-horse for their extravagant and anti-chris- 

 tian speculations, acting perhaps on the principle 



L'homme est de glace aux verites 



II est de feu pour les monsonges. La Fontaine. 



These lines, it would appear, have been the motto of all those French 

 writers whose chief object has been to please the public, even by the 

 sacrifice of truth. We doubt not, however, that with the progress of 

 knowledge this maxim will be reversed, and be applied with more 

 propriety. Indeed, as information has already progressed, historical 

 romances have, to a certain degree, adhered more closely to histori- 

 cal truth; but generally (some, perhaps, may be excepted) in these 

 works the historic portion consists of a few obsolete disinterred forms 

 of speech, and of shreds of costumes, belonging to different ages, 

 wherewithal the hero is dressed, not en chevalier, but enpersonnage 

 de carnaval ; all which produces in 1 reality puerile effect quite dif- 

 ferent from that intended by the author, namely, that of making him 

 a child or a dotard. 



This pretended historical costume wherewith fashion has chosen 

 to 'deck the heroes of romance, and the unintelligible and disused 

 language in which it seemed indispensable that they should converse 

 a language which unlearned moderns can only acquire by thumb- 

 ing the glossaries of Du Cange and Roquefort all these circum- 

 stances tend to prove that in France, at the present day, there pre- 

 dominates a love of historical study, which would already have pro- 

 duced the best effects on the national character, if it had not been 

 perverted by those litterateurs who have produced a large stock of 

 romances and professedly historical memoirs, eminently calculated'to 

 destroy the public taste.* Let us hope, however, that the excessive sup- 

 ply of these works will itself have the desirable effect of destroying 

 their evil influence; and how much would this happy consummation 



