Retrospect of French Literature— History. — 
Et que n’en pouvant plus souffrir le voisinage, 
En mort de qualité, je lui tins ce langage: 
Retire-toi, coquin, va pourrir loin d’ici, 
Jl ne tappartient pas de m’approcher ainsi. 
Coquin! ce me dit-il, d’une arrogance ex- 
treme, 
Va chercher tes coquins ailleurs; coquin toi- 
méme ; 
Ici, tous sont égaux , je nete dois plus rien: 
Je suis sur mon fumier comme toi sur le tien,” 
Here were recited the lines that follow, 
by Tristam. 
** Ebloui de léclat de la grandeur mondaine, 
Je me flattai toujours dune espérance vaine, 
Faisant le chien couchant appres d’un grand 
seigneur, 
Je me vis toujours pauvre; et tachai de pa- 
raitre, 
Je vécu, dans la peine, attendant le bonheur, 
Et mourus sur yn coffre en attendant mon 
maitre.” 
We shall conclude with four lines by 
Scudery, relative to Job, and an epi- 
grammatic sonnet, by Sarrasin, on Eve: 
‘* Te vous le dis en yérité, 
Le destin de Job est étrange, 
D’étre toujours persécuté, 
Tantot par un démon et tantdt par un ange.” 
6¢ Lorsqu’Adam vit cette jeune beauté 
Faite pour lui @une main immortelle; 
S'il Vaima fort; elle, de son coté, 
Dont bien nous prit, ne lui fut pas cruelle. 
Cher Charleyal, alors, en yérité, 
Je crois qu’il fut une femme fidelle ; 
Mais, comme quoi ne l’aurait-elle été? 
Elle n’avait qu’un seul homme avec elle. 
Or, en cela, nous nous trompons tous deux ; 
Car, bien qu’Adam fit jeune et vigoureux ; 
Bien fait de corps, et d’esprit agréable ; 
Elle aima mieux, pour s’en faire contery 
Préter Voreille aux fleurettes du Diable, 
Que d’étre femme et ne pas coqueter.” 
“ Histoire Générale de Belyique, de- 
puis la Conquéte de César; par M. Dr- 
wez."—A general History of Belgium 
posterior to the Conquest of Cesar; by 
M. Dewez, 4 vols. 
This work, is divided into epochs, 
under each of which we are pre- 
sented with some interesting period of the 
Belgic history. It would affurd the gene- 
rality of our readers but little pleasure, 
to trace the uninteresting feuds of a bar- 
barous people; we shall therefore recur 
to a portion of this work, when the na- 
tion in question began to exhibit the ap- 
earance of order and stability. 
The seventh epoch, comprehends the 
house of Louvain. Godefroy called Je 
Barbu, the seventh in the general sueces- 
sion of the Dukes of Lower Lorraine, and 
the first in the dynasty of the Counts d 
657 
Louvain, was a brave and generous chief, 
After being deprived of his dignity by the 
emperor Lothaire, he possessed sufficient 
courage to struggle against an unjust ex- 
ertion of power, and he was enabled to 
preserve his authority over a portion of 
his dominions, until Conrad had ascen- 
ded the imperial throne. 
“That prince immediately restored 
him a'title, which he ought never to have 
been deprived of. An anecdote of hita 
is here quoted, that. surpasses all eulo- 
gium, if we but recollect the barbarity of 
the age, during which this noble example 
occurred, . 
“ The wife of Henri de Limbourg, 
against whom he made war, had fallen 
into his hands. The magnanimous vic- 
tor not only respected her misfortunes 
and her honor, but sent her back to the 
husband. What could be more noble, or 
more heroic, in the vaunted continence 
of the first of the Scipios in Spain, or the 
delicate attention of Alexander towards 
the consort and the daughters of Darius, 
at the period they were his captives? 
Alas, it is too true, that in the distribu- 
tion of praise, history, like private indivi- 
duals, sacrifices but too much to the 
spleadour of conquests, and the captiva- 
tion of renown.” 
There was nothing remarkable, either 
in the administration of Godefroy II. or 
Godefroy III. We cannot however for- 
bear to admire the ferocious firmness of 
the latter of these, when at the age of 
nineteen, bemg unable to persuade 
Thierri, Count of Flanders, ofthe injustice 
of his claim to superiority, he drew his 
sword, and after candidly allowing that 
his tutors had promised he should become 
his vassal, he placed the weapon in the 
hands of the latter, addressing him 
at the same time as follows: “ I am 
ready and willing to permit you to pierce 
my heart with this sword; but I can ne- 
ver consent to pay homage to a count 
for so illustrious a Duchy !” 
Henry I. rendered himself “ horribly 
famous,” after the engagement at Neu- 
ville-sur-Mehaigne, where he was over- 
come by Baudouin count de Hainault and 
Flanders, by the sacking of Liege, which 
he abandoned during a whole day to all 
the miseries of pillage and of massacre. 
The people of Liege, in their turn, cut the 
Brabanters to pieces in the plaines de 
Steppes, and cruelly abused their victory 
by immolating all the fugitives that fell 
into their hands. Equally uncertain, and 
cowardly in his politics, the Duke for- 
s$ook Philip Augustus, king of France, his 
father- 
