INTRODUCTION. XXXlll 



time of Legiiat's death,' that our centenarian, who 

 had preserved to the last his great freedom of mind 

 and body, was indeed the very author of tlie book 

 in question. " For besides," he writes, " what 

 credence can be placed in this Freschot, the very 

 same who is so abused in the preface of Leguat, 

 a nd who, without furnishin any proof, tells us that 

 neither the preface nor the work are written by that 

 traveller ? " Had he not some interest in attri- 

 buting this preface to Maximilien Misson, who, 

 in 1691, had published, like himself, a work 

 upon Italy : Nouveau Voyage en Italie ? As 

 to the note inserted in the . Catalogue of the 

 Marine Library, M. Sauzier is under the impres- 

 sion that it is merely a reproduction of what 

 Freschot said. " The son of a merchant of Metz, 

 Benelle was one of the seven adventurers, the Com- 

 panions in misfortune of Leguat, the only one whom 

 he, from some motive of which we are not informed, 

 has designated by initials (see page 6). Benelle 

 returned into Holland in 1698 with Leguat and 

 Jacques de la Caze. The last proceeded to settle in 

 America ; Leguat proceeded to England, and 

 Benelle lived at Amsterdam, where he died in 1746. 

 Jean Beckmann, in his Histoire littcraire des 

 Voyages, published at Gottingen in 1808-10, 

 writes : — 



apparance que ce Journal aura uu heureux succes : les Auteurs 

 sont Gensde Merite, & qui entendent tous parfaitement I'Anglois : 

 Messieurs Stahlin, Bernard, le Missy, le Mr. Duval, & le Savant 

 Mr. Darmigcaux, aussi M. Blanfort." 



C 



