De Beranger* 249 



attendant upon it, was succeeded by a depression and hopelessness 

 from which our poet was happily relieved by the benevolence, 

 equally noble and unexpected, of Lucien Bonaparte, whose generous 

 protection Beranger gratefully records in the dedication of his last 

 series of " Chansons." In this dedication, which equally does honour 

 to both parties, it appears that Lucien strongly urges his protege to 

 pursue those higher walks of poetry which he had formerly contem- 

 plated, &c., &c. Literary glory was the constant object of Beranger's 

 ardent imagination, and the influence of M. de Chateaubriand's 

 works on our young aspirant had been sudden and powerful. His 

 youthful patriotism had not abandoned him ; but it was with reserve 

 and hesitation that his feelings turned towards Napoleon, who had 

 now grasped the empire. His admiration of Chateaubriand suffered 

 no change ; and the religious inspirations of that impassioned genius 

 revived in De Beranger some of the feelings of which his good aunt 

 of Peronne had sown the seeds. The author of the u Genie du 

 Christianisme" made our young poet acquainted with the simple and 

 severe grandeur of the antique taste and the sublime beauties of the 

 Bible. Forty Alexandrine verses, entitled "Meditation," which our 

 author composed in 1802, are marked by a strong religious impres- 

 sion, and with great pleasure we cite, in proof, a short extract from 

 them. 



MEDITATION. 



1802. 



Nos grandeurs, nos revers ne sont point notre ouvrage, 

 Dieu seul mne a son gre notre aveugle courage, 

 Sans honte succombez, triomphez sans orgueil, 

 Vous, mortels qu'il placa sur un pompeux e'cueil. 

 Des hommes etaient nes pour le trone du monde, 

 Huit sibcles 1'assuraient a leur race feconde: 

 Dieu dit ; soudain aux yeux de son peuples surpris 

 Et ce trone et ces rois confondent leurs debris ; 

 Les uns sont egorges, les autres en partage 

 Portent au lieu de sceptre un baton de voyage, 

 Exiles, et contraints, sous le poids des rebuts, 

 D'errer dans 1'univers qui ne les connait plus. &c. 



The taste of De Beranger for truth and simplicity, was farther 

 displayed in a short poem of four parts, called " Le Pelerinage," in 

 which he endeavours to unite pastoral manners with Christian prin- 

 ciples and morals. The epoch chosen was the sixteenth century, 

 and all mythological imagery is carefully excluded. Without affirm- 

 ing that the author has succeeded in producing a work of much 

 novelty or interest, we cannot but do justice to his general intention, 

 and to the successful manner in which the details are occasionally 

 wrought out. We may be permitted to quote some lines from the 

 concluding part, in which the expression is at least just and poetical. 

 The feeling of regret which De Beranger has suffered to escape, is 

 simple and affecting. The poet, who at twenty-two years of age 

 has so much distrust of his own powers, and so happily expresses 

 that sentiment, need not surely despair of the future. 



