AVERTISSEMENT

Les lettres de Bourlamaque à Lévis qui forment la première partie de ce volume, ont une importance historique qui n’échappera à personne. Grâce à l’obligeance de M. Parkman, de Boston, j'ai pu y ajouter un complément qui leur donne une bien plus grande valeur; je veux dire la correspondance de Montcalm avec Bourlamaque. La notice suivante, écrite par M. Parkman, fera connaître comment le savant historien a obtenu la copie de cette correspondance.

‘ Many years ago [ was told that an important collection of autograph letters of the Marquis de Montcalm was in the hands of some person in Paris ; but I was unable to gain the slightest clue to the name or address of the fortunate possessor. At length [ heard that the collection was sold to a foreigner, who, my informant had been told, was an Englishman. I inquired of the representatives of the Montcalm family, but they could give no information, though they had heard of the existence of the letters. As the greatest collector of manuscripts in England was the late Sir Thomas Philipps, I thought it likely that he might have been the purchaser, and examined the printed catalogue of his vast collection, without finding what I sought.

“It was about fifteen years since I had heard of the letters, and all my attempts to trace them had failed, when a gentleman connected with the British Museum kindly offered to