Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Female Literature In France In The Seventeenth Century.
pension granted to her hy Charles IL , and continued until the close of her life by Philip V . ; Avhile the subject of the present sketch became the Avife of Francois cle la Mothe , Count d'Auluoy . HaA'ing accompanied her mother and step-father to Spain , Mademoiselle de Barneville , being pledged to communicate to a favoxuite cousin the incidents of her journey , became
involuntarily an author ; her letters ( nine in number ) haA'ing proved so captivating , both in style and subject , as to induce their publication ; and thus it Avas that the "Account of my Journey to Spain " became the first Avork of the subsequently prolific Avriter under notice . The book obtained a great and Avell-merited popularity ; it is sketchily but gracefully written ; there is no
straining after effect ; no elaborately-rounded periods ; but a fei'A'id gushing out of youthful feeling , a singular acuteness of observation , and a marvellous poAver of detail , minute Avithout monotony , Avhich is singularly attractive , from the first page to the last . We will give one specimen . She was about to cross the river Adour , betAveen Bayonne and St . Sebastian : —
" Our little boats were ornamented with several painted and gilded streamers , and plied by young girls with an ability and a rustic grace that were quite charming : there were three of them in each , two AA'ho rowed , ancl one who held the judder . " These girls are tall , their figure is fine ; they are of dark complexion , with magnificent teeth , and hair as black and bright as jet , which they plait , and allow to fall upon their shoulders , with a few ribbons attached
to it ; they wore upon their 'heads a sort of little veil of musliu , embroidered with flowers in silk and gold , which floats in the wind , and covers their bosom ; they have ear-rings of gold and pearls , and necklaces of coral . Their jackets aro like those of our Bohemians , with very tight sleeves . I assure you thafc they charmed me . I am told that these girls swim like fish ; and that they do not suffer among them tho intrusion either of man or woman . It is a species of pigmy republic , to Avhich they flock from all directions , and AA'here their parents send them when they are quite
young . " When they desire to marry , they attend the mass at Eontarabia , which is the nearest city to the place that they inhabit : it is there that the young men assemble to choose a wife according to their taste ; and each who wishes to commit matrimony goes to the relatives of his chosen mistress to declare his sentiments , and to make all necessary arrangements : this done , the girl is informed of the fact ; when , if she is satisfied Avith her suitor , she returns to her parents , and the marriage takes place .
"I never saw anything more gay than the expression of their faces ; they haA'e little cottages all along the bank of the river ; and they are under the guardianship of certain old maids , whom they obey as they ivould do a mother . They communicated all those details to us in their own language , and we listened to them with pleasure . " This fascinating book of travel Avas succeeded b y the celebrated Fairy Tales , to which I shall not further allude ; but , regarding them merely as a playful episode in a life of miAvearied literary labour , proceed to state that , encouraged by the success of her
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Female Literature In France In The Seventeenth Century.
pension granted to her hy Charles IL , and continued until the close of her life by Philip V . ; Avhile the subject of the present sketch became the Avife of Francois cle la Mothe , Count d'Auluoy . HaA'ing accompanied her mother and step-father to Spain , Mademoiselle de Barneville , being pledged to communicate to a favoxuite cousin the incidents of her journey , became
involuntarily an author ; her letters ( nine in number ) haA'ing proved so captivating , both in style and subject , as to induce their publication ; and thus it Avas that the "Account of my Journey to Spain " became the first Avork of the subsequently prolific Avriter under notice . The book obtained a great and Avell-merited popularity ; it is sketchily but gracefully written ; there is no
straining after effect ; no elaborately-rounded periods ; but a fei'A'id gushing out of youthful feeling , a singular acuteness of observation , and a marvellous poAver of detail , minute Avithout monotony , Avhich is singularly attractive , from the first page to the last . We will give one specimen . She was about to cross the river Adour , betAveen Bayonne and St . Sebastian : —
" Our little boats were ornamented with several painted and gilded streamers , and plied by young girls with an ability and a rustic grace that were quite charming : there were three of them in each , two AA'ho rowed , ancl one who held the judder . " These girls are tall , their figure is fine ; they are of dark complexion , with magnificent teeth , and hair as black and bright as jet , which they plait , and allow to fall upon their shoulders , with a few ribbons attached
to it ; they wore upon their 'heads a sort of little veil of musliu , embroidered with flowers in silk and gold , which floats in the wind , and covers their bosom ; they have ear-rings of gold and pearls , and necklaces of coral . Their jackets aro like those of our Bohemians , with very tight sleeves . I assure you thafc they charmed me . I am told that these girls swim like fish ; and that they do not suffer among them tho intrusion either of man or woman . It is a species of pigmy republic , to Avhich they flock from all directions , and AA'here their parents send them when they are quite
young . " When they desire to marry , they attend the mass at Eontarabia , which is the nearest city to the place that they inhabit : it is there that the young men assemble to choose a wife according to their taste ; and each who wishes to commit matrimony goes to the relatives of his chosen mistress to declare his sentiments , and to make all necessary arrangements : this done , the girl is informed of the fact ; when , if she is satisfied Avith her suitor , she returns to her parents , and the marriage takes place .
"I never saw anything more gay than the expression of their faces ; they haA'e little cottages all along the bank of the river ; and they are under the guardianship of certain old maids , whom they obey as they ivould do a mother . They communicated all those details to us in their own language , and we listened to them with pleasure . " This fascinating book of travel Avas succeeded b y the celebrated Fairy Tales , to which I shall not further allude ; but , regarding them merely as a playful episode in a life of miAvearied literary labour , proceed to state that , encouraged by the success of her