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GIRALDUS CAMBRENSIS. 



GIRARDON, FRANCOIS. 



it 



ration iu this, but Giovio was greatly deficient both in clerical 

 modesty and piety. On withdrawing to his native Como, he built 

 himself a deligbtful country residence, which he fancied, though 

 erroneously, to be on the site of one of Pliny's villas. Here he 

 collected a museum and a gallery of portraits of the most distinguished 

 men of his own and former ages. He spent his time partly at his 

 villa and partly in visiting various courts of Italy, in which he was 

 received with marked attention. He was himself a courtier by 

 temper and habit; his conversation was humorous, and ho had 

 always some flattery ready for the great Berni, in his 'Orlando,' 

 has pourtrayed Giovio under the name of Feradotto, at the court of 

 King Gradasso. In one of his visits to Florence Giovio was seized 

 with a violent fit of the gout, of which he died in December 1552, and 

 was buried in the church of St. Lorenzo, where a statue was raised to 

 his memory. He died rich, for he enjoyed several ecclesiastical bene- 

 fices, besides pensions and presents from various princes. 



Giovio left the following works : 1, ' Historic sui Temporis,' 2 

 vols. fol., 1550. This history, like the rest of Giovio's works, is not to 

 be trusted implicitly, for the author's pen was always at the service of 

 his patrons and friends. 2, ' Illustrium Virorum Vitse," foL 1551: a 

 work superior both for truth and eloquence to the first. In it the 

 author draws the portraits of Leo X., Adrian VI., Cardinal Prospero 

 Colonna. the Marquis Pescaia, Gonsalvo of Cordova, and Duke 

 Alfonso I. of Ferrara. 3, 'Libellus de Piscibus Romania.' He wrote 

 in Italian: 4, ' Cornmentario delle Cose dei Turclu.' 5, 'Dialogo 

 delle Imprese,' which i.s a treatise on the devices or symbols adopted 

 by the knights in the times of chivalry, and which were the origin of 

 our coats of arms or heraldic signs. A collection of Letters of Giovio 

 wag published after his death, ' Lettere Volgari,' 8vo, Venice, 1560. 

 Some of his facetious epistles are found in the collection of Atanagi, 

 Venice, 1561. His letters contain much literary and historical infor- 

 mation concerning that age, and are worthy of perusal. One of his 

 descendants, who died in our time, Count Giovan Battista Giovio, has 

 written a copious panegyrical notice of Paolo Giovio. 



GIRALDUS CAMBRENSIS. [BABRI, GIBALDOS DE.] 



* GIKARDIN, EXILE DE, the natural SOD of a gentleman of rank 

 of the same name, was born in Paris in 1 803. His early education, 

 by his own account, was neglected, but hard study afterwards enabled 

 him to make up for the lost time. In 1323 he was placed iu the 

 cabinet of M. de Senonnes, where he acquired those rules of office, and 

 that knowledge of business, so manifest in all his subsequent enterprises. 

 Like other utilitarians in his own country, he made his dt s but with a 

 romance, having published in 1827, under the title of ' Euiile,' a kind 

 of autobiography. It was written iu that clear trenchant style now so 

 well known, and the critic, Jules Janin, noticed it iu the ' Figaro ' as 

 a masterpiece. In 1828 he started ' Le Voleur,' a literary periodical, 

 compiled with much tact from other men's writings. All books and 

 journals at that period bore a high price, 10 that the size and 

 quantity of this literary venture startled the public : it was in fact 

 the first successful cheap publication produced in France. This year, 

 M. de Girardin was appointed Inspector of the Fine Arts, one of the 

 minor offices connected with the Ministere de I'lnterieur, or Home 

 Department. He began to publish ' La Mode,' a fashionable paper, which 

 advocated the cause of the sinking monarchy. It has been said by 

 Mictuud, in his ' Faux Apdtre Udvoild,' a pamphlet written to expose 

 the versatility of M. de Girardin, that this journal was established with 

 fundi furnished by the Duchess de Herri. Others pretend, with more 

 apparent reason, that ' La Mode,' which supported the throne, suggested 

 the idea of ' Le National,' which assailed and partly overturned it. In 

 1831, having married Mademoiselle Delphine Gay, Emile de Girardin 

 became joint editor and shareholder of the ' Courier des Electeurs ;' 

 and in the same year, in emulation of the Libraries of Useful and 

 Entertaining Knowledge, he founded the 'Journal des Connaissances 

 Utili- V one of his happiest undertakings. For, about this time, and 

 for many years afterwards, the rapid diffusion of cheap and sound 

 literature in England had caught the observation, and fixed the 

 attention, of the more intelligent French enterprisers in the same walk, 

 and the custom obtained of founding the current literature of their 

 country upon that of ours. 



He afterwards published the ' Journal des Instituteurs Primaires,' 

 and the ' Miuce del Families.' At length, in 1836, he founded the 

 popular daily newspaper, ' La Presse,' which, being published at fifteen 

 sous, or half the price of most of the journals of that period, was 

 assailed with much bitterness by the other newspaper proprietors, and 

 led to the duel between M. de Girardin and Aruiand Carrel, and the 

 lamentable death of Carrel. ' La Pmse ' was not only started on the 

 principles of free trade it became, and has continued, the strenuous 

 advocate of those opinions ; the best articles on the science of political 

 economy being written and signed by Emile de Girardin himself, who 

 has done as much as any public writer in France to spread more en- 

 lightened views on the subject over the continent The circulation of 

 ' La Presse ' has been the largest obtained by any Paris newspaper 

 for the last ten years, notwithstanding the reduction of price to which 

 they all submitted, after the success of Girardin's experiment had been 

 made obvious According to a statistical table in Didut's pamphlet 

 on the ' Fabrication of Paper,' the daily circulation of ' La I'ressc,' in 

 January 1855 was 40,000 copies ; that of ' Le Siocle,' 35,000 ; ' Le Con- 

 stitutionnd,' 25,000; 'Lo Moniteur,' 24,000; ' La Patric,' 1 8,000 ; ' Le 



nioo. DIY. VOL. in. 



Pays,' 14,000; and 'Les De"bats,' 9000. Much obloquy has been excited 

 against Girardin by the changes of opinion which he is alleged to have 

 made at different stages of his career. The pamphlet already referred 

 to, published in 1848, and containing copious extracts from his writ- 

 ings, has contributed to establish this belief. But absolute consistency 

 is seldom found even in the most admired public men; and since 

 M. de Girardin has maintained his present principles unaltered, during 

 a course of twenty years, allowance ought to be made for his less 

 mature age. 



His other publications of note are ' La Presse Periodique au 

 19" Siecle,' published in 1837; his pamphlet' Del' Instruction Publique,' 

 in 1838; ' L' Instruction Publique en France,' in 1840; ' La Libertd 

 du Commerce et la Protection de 1'Industrie,' in 1846. Some of these 

 writings are reprints from his journal ' La Presse.' 



M. de Girardin had been elected several times one of the represen- 

 tatives of the Chamber of Deputies ; and it was at his urgent entreaty 

 that Louis Philippe wrote and signed his Act of Abdication on the 

 24th of February 1848. 



MADAME DELPHINE DE GIRABDIN, the wife of Emile Girardin, and 

 daughter of Sophie Gay, a literary Fady of considerable talents, was 

 born in 1805, at Aix-la-Chapelle. She was what is called a precocious 

 genius, and at the age of fourteen was noted for her remarkable beauty. 

 In 1822 a poetical eulogy of hers, containing all the illustrious names 

 of the day, was honourably mentioned by the French Academy. On 

 the 26th of April 1827, she was received with great pomp in the 

 Capitol of Rome by the Acadc'mie du Tibre, as ona of their members. 

 She received a more flattering ovation in Paris, on her return. The 

 artist Legros, who had recently completed the new frescoes of the 

 Pantheon, conducted Madlle. Delphine Gay to a place of honour 

 beneath the dome, whence she recited some of her own poems in the 

 presence of a brilliant assembly. As soon as she finished a shower of 

 wreaths and bouquets were thrown at her feet. King Charles X. 

 awarded her a pension of 1500 francs from his privy purse. Shortly 

 after she met with M. Emile de Girardin, to whom she was married in 

 1831. 



Immediately after this union Madame de Girardin engaged in a 

 variety of literary undertakings, producing novels, romances, and 

 fugitive poems for the booksellers ; tragedies, comedies, and vaudevilles 

 for the theatres ; and feuilletons for the newspapers. Her charming 

 ' Lettres Parisiennes ' appeared in the journal ' La Prease,' under the 

 name of Vicomte C. de Launay. The small hotel she occupied with her 

 husband at Chaillot was the resort of all the cdebritea iu art and lite- 

 rature, as well as of the Mite of the Beau Monde. Every intelligent 

 foreigner desirous of seeing the eminent and distinguished persons, 

 whom he already knew by name, hastened to this house, built on the 

 model of the Greek temples. 



This clever authoress died on the 29th of June 1855, and on the 

 2nd of July she was followed to the grave by an immense crowJ. The 

 chief funeral oration was delivered by Jules Janin. 



The catalogue of her works is very long ; but the following are her 

 most esteemed productions : ' La Pe'le'rine,' published in 182S ; ' Le 

 Lorgnou," a romance, 1832; 'Qu'on est heureux d'etre Curd,' a pastoral, 

 1833 ; 'Contes d'une Vieille Fille,' 1S34 ; ' La Canne de M. de Balzac,' 

 1838; 'L'Ecole des Journalistes,' a five-act copnedy, 1840; 'Judith,' a 

 tragedy, 1843; ' CWopatre,' a tragedy, 1847; 'Lady Tartuffe,' a comedy 

 which produced much sensation, 1852 ; and ' La Joie fait Peur,'1854. 



GIRARDON, FRANCOIS, a distinguished French sculptor, was 

 born at Troyes in 1628. His father, Nicolas Girardon, a bronze- 

 founder, designed him for the law, and he was accordingly placed 

 with a procureur; but quickly disgusted with that profession, he 

 devoted himself entirely to sculpture. At first he had no other 

 assistance than thu hints he derived from studying some works exe- 

 cuted by Primaticcio's pupils, till happening to attract the notice of 

 the Chancellor Se'guier, ho was enabled to obtain proper instruction, 

 and afterwards to visit Italy, his patron having procured him a 

 travelling pension from Louis XIV. On his return he was much 

 employed by that monarch ; yet instead of trusting to his own merit 

 and abilities, he constantly paid his court to the painter Le Brun (who 

 stood high in the royal favour) with more servility than became a man 

 of talents. Through that artist's influence he obtained some dis- 

 tinction in the Academy of Painting, where he rose through various 

 grades of office; but it was at the price of complying too far with the 

 taste of Le Brun and his followers. Neither was this policy without 

 its other disadvantages ; for when Louvois succeeded Colbert as 

 minister he took Mansard into favour, and turned his back upon La 

 Brun and his adherents. After the death of Le Brun however Girar- 

 dou was appointed curator of the sculpture at the royal palaces. 

 Girardon married Catharine Duchemin, a lady who obtained some 

 reputation as a flower-painter. He died September 1, 1715, on the 

 same day as Louis XIV. 



As an artist, his works had, if less expression, generally more 

 elegance than those of his rival Puget With some allowance for the 

 false taste of the time, there is in them much beauty of composition, 

 together with correctness of forms and proportions. Their execution 

 however is very unequal, which is to be attributed to his leaving many 

 of his designs to be wrought either entirely or nearly so by his pupils 

 and assistants. Among those on which he bettowcd the most pains, 

 and which aro considered his chefs -d'cnuvro, arc the Mausoleum of 



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