formation with regard to his books. Petrarch, who gives the story at length in his First Epistle, Book XV., Rerum Senilium, notwithstanding all his inquiries, never could recover the books. If we may believe Paulus Manucius, in his Commentary on the Twenty-Seventh Epistle of Book XV. of Cicero to Atticus, the manuscript of the Treatise De Gloria was in the library of a noble Venetian, named Bernardo Justiniano, who died towards the close of the fifteenth century. The title was given in the Catalogue, but the library having been bequeathed to the Monks, the book, when sought for, could not be found. This gave rise to a suspicion, that Pietro Alcionio, physician to the convent, a person not particularly scrupulous, and to whom they had allowed the use of their library, might have carried off the manuscript, particularly as in his two Dialogues, De Exilio, some passages appeared which were obviously above his powers.

XXXV. PROCOPIUS AND QUINCTILIAN.

Leonard Aretin was one of the most distinguished scholars about the time of the revival of letters, but he was guilty of one action of a dishonourable nature. He found a Greek manuscript of Procopius, De Bello Gothico. He translated it into Latin, and passed off the work as his own; but afterwards, other copies of the work of Procopius were found, and the imposture of Aretin was discovered. Machiavel managed matters more

*

*This is not strictly correct, for Aretin's is not exactly a translation. He made considerable changes on the work of Procopius. The story of Machiavel is also a mistake. The Apothegms of Plutarch were well known long before they were introduced by Machiavel in his Life of Castruccio. Machiavel has merely done what Manso has done in his Life of Tasso

adroitly in a similar affair. A manuscript of Plutarch's Apothegms of the Ancients having fallen into his hands, he selected those parts he liked best; but thinking that a mere translation would do him but little credit, and at the same time an xious to avoid the clumsy and inartificial imposture of Aretin, he adopted a more refined, but scarcely more conscientious expedient. He wrote a Life of Castruccio Castracani, and introduced into the mouth of his hero the greater part of Plutarch's good things of the Ancients.

Quinctilian was redeemed from the hands of a parchment-maker at Basle, during the sitting of the Council there. And it is the only manuscript of the original which has yet been seen.* The governor of the late Marquis de Ronville, playing at rackets near Saumur, happened to read what was written on the parchment of his rackets, and perceived that it was a part of the Second Decade of Livy. He immediately ran to the shop of the maker, who informed him that he had just used the last sheet of the manuscript.

XXXVI. FORTUNATE IMPOSSIBILITY.

An Italian, who was very poor, and very much addicted to play, used to apostrophise Fortune thus: "Treacherous goddess! Thou canst make me lose, but thou canst not make me pay."

XXXVII. MARY DE MEdicis.

At an audience which Mary de Medicis gave to the Swiss ambassadors, after the speaker had concluded his address, the Queen asked of Melson,

* Menage must have forgot himself; for, in his AntiBaillet, ch. xii. Vol. I. he shows clearly that the MS. of Quinctilian was found during the sitting of the Council of Constance, by Poggio, in an old tower of the Monastery of St Gall.

of which I have been tried, is not that of the sergeant. The real corpse of the sergeant will be found in a certain part of my garden, along with that of his dog." The judges immediately instituted a search within the garden of the curé, and everything was found to be as he had described.

XV. THE RETORT COURTEOUS.

M. le Comte de was, like many others who take the name of Count, without the property. In a company where I was present, he once endeavoured to turn into ridicule an abbé, who, according to custom, had assumed the name, without possessing a benefice. "It is strange," said he, "that we should have known each other so long, and yet that I don't know whereabouts your abbey lies." "What!" said the abbé, " don't you know? It is within your county."

XVI. AN AGREEABLE ANTAGONIST.

We are never so well pleased with an antagonist, as when he makes an objection to which we are provided with a good answer.

XVII. CASAUBON.

Casaubon being present during the discussion of a thesis in the Sorbonne, listened to a very long and stubborn dispute, which was carried on in a style so barbarous and unintelligible to him, that he could not help remarking, as he left the hall, "I never listened to so much Latin before without understanding it!"

XVIII. M. DE L'ESTANG AND MAROLLES.

M. de l'Estang is the author of the Portroyal Règles de bien Traduire. He has selected all his specimens of good translation from the works of Dablancourt or Portroyal, and those of bad translation from the writings of Marolles, who, in

truth, thought rather of making many volumes than good ones. M. de Marolles was greatly enraged at this, and complained of it loudly. M. de l'Estang, anxious to conciliate him, chose for this purpose Easter-day, when M. de Marolles was about to receive the sacrament; and placing himself, as he knelt, beside him, "Sir," said he, " you are offended with me, and not without reason; but this is a time for mercy, and I entreat your pardon." “Under such circumstances,” replied Marolles, "it is impossible for me to refuse it. Go, sir, I pardon you." Meeting him some days after, Marolles said to him, "Do you think, sir, that we are quit? You have cheated me out of a pardon which I had no intention of granting to you."

XIX. M. DE BAUTRU.

M. de Bautru had been often pressed by the Queen to show her his wife. At last she told him plainly, that she was determined to be presented to her. Bautru, who had resisted as long as he possibly could, promised to bring her with him after dinner; "but, please your Majesty," added he, "she is terribly deaf." "O, no matter," said the Queen, "I will talk loud." He immediately went home to prepare his wife for the interview, and warned her to speak as loud as possible, as the Queen would be unable otherwise to understand her. He brought her to the Louvre in the evening, and the Queen immediately opened the conference by bawling as loudly as possible, while Madame de Bautru answered her in the same tone. The King, who had been apprised of the whole by Bautru, laughed with all his heart at the scene. At last the Queen, who perceived it, said to Madame de Bautru, "Is it not the case that Bautru has made you believe that

I am deaf?" Madame de Bautru admitted that it was so. "Ah, the villain!" continued the Queen, " he told me the same of you."

XX. M. DE BAUTRU.

M. de Bautru told me one day, that during his embassy to Spain he went one day to visit the library in the Escurial, and saw at once, from the conversation which he had with the librarian, that he was an extremely ill-informed, and incompetent person for the situation. He was afterwards introduced to the King, with whom he talked of the beauties of the palace, and of the choice which he had made of a librarian. He told him he had immediately perceived that he was no common person, and that, in his opinion, his Majesty would do well to make him superintendant of his finances. Why so?" said the King. "Sire," said Bautru, "as he has taken so little from your books, it is probable he may take as little from your finances."

66

XXI. M. DE BAUTRU.

Bautru disliked Angely, who was very fond of amusing himself at his expense. One day that Angely was at a party where he was playing the fool in every possible way, Bautru entered. As soon as Angely perceived him, "You are just come in time," said he, "to assist me. I was beginning to feel tired of being alone." It is inconceivable how much Bautru was annoyed by the remark.

XXII. INTENTIONAL ERRATA.
Besides the ordinary mistakes which take place

• Brantome, in his Life of the Marechal de Strozzi, relates the same story of the wife of Brusquet and Catharine of Medici.