RAYONS ET REFLETS

Faisaut suite aux "Beautés de la Poésie Anglaise."

1 Vol. in %vo, 438 pages, Introduction xxx pages. Piix 1 25.

RoLANDi, No. 20, Bemers Street. W.

" The book before us bas evidently been a labour of love. As a happy spécimen we quote some stanzas from the graceful translation of Mrs. Browning's ' Wisdom Misapplied.'"— T^e Sun, 20th June, 1863.

" The writer of thèse ' Rays and Réflexes ' bas had

considérable expérience in translating English works of eminence into French. He has had, moreover, much success. His mastery over our language is évident in his rendering of old Chaucer — a mastery, we imagine, which raany English scholars might be proud to command. In like manner the Chevalier's translation of ' Macbeth ' may be noticed. To attempt a translation of this mighty work with its dreamy épisode, and to succeed in it, évinces intellectual power of no ordinary order. In the présent volume Châtelain is not so daring ; he is certainly more varied. He présents his readers with over two hundred examples of poetry from Mrs. Barbauld, Mrs. Kartholomew, &c., to Alfred Tennyson and other popular writers. The work of Le Chevalier de Châtelain is justly entitled to eulogy : it is the production of an accomplished Frenchman." — The Morning Advertiser, 2bth June, 1863.

" In clothing some of our most popular poets in a French dress, the translator has, for the most part, executed his task with fidelity, and, at the same time, preserved much of the spirit and vigour of the originals ; for instance, Tennyson's melodious lines from ' In Memoriam,' ' Ring out, wild bells,' Kingsley's ' Three Fishers,' and Longfellow's ' Excelsior,' are rendered with felicity and rhythmical power." — The Era, 2Sth June, 1863.

"The translator has been singularly happy in his version of Mrs. Browning. The antique quaintness of her 'Wisdom lU-applied,' and the tenderness of the ' Mournful Motlier ' of the dead blind are both good spécimens." — The Globe, 9th Jtily, 1863.

" Among the most daring of M. de Chatelain's versions are Biinis' * What can a young lassie do wi' an auld man,' and the Laureatc's ' Ring out, wild boUs,' both rendered with wondcrful précision and the genuine 'ring.'"--^/*^? Sicansea ami Glamorgan Herald, 20th July, 1863.

. . . . " Tins, as well as many of the rcst of the short pièces, being accurate reHection.? of the meaning of tlie original, thus fulfil the object of tlie translator- that of familiarising the French people with the varions

characters of the genius of English poetry. — an object which, assidously and raeritoriously executed by the Chevalier de Châtelain, has, while securing the applause, entitled him to the thanks of both countries, as the chief interpréter of English poetic genius to the French people." — The Nation, Dublin, 21th June, 1863.

'* The Chevalier de Châtelain is evidently at once an admirer and a master of the English language. The spirit, nay, often the very words of the poems translated by him, are rcproduced with a fidelity and beauty alike admirable. The type is most graceful to the eye, and the quantity of raatter contained in 'Rayons et Reflets' fully equals that of three ordinary octavo volumes. Should there be any of our readers who may wish at once to improve themselves in the French language, and to inhale the very essence of Hyblsean poetry, we wouid say to them — Get 'Rayons et Reflets,' and then ' Nocturna versate manu, versate diurna.'' " — Saunders's News Letter, Dublin.

" The Chevalier de Châtelain, as yet unsatisfied with the laurels which he has earned during a literary career extending over more than forty years, cornes forwards once more from his English home to ask the suffrages of French and English readers with a new volume of translations from English and American poets into French verse. He brings solid qualifications to his task. An élégant and accomplished scholar, and himself a poet, he is well fitted to place the masterpieces of our poets before the eyes of his fellow-countrymen, as well from his own peculiar turn of mind as from his lengthened résidence amongst us, and his intimate acquaintance with our language and literature. This is by no means, however, his first attempt at translation. Some years ago he essayed the extremely diflEicult task of translating Chaucer, and the still more difiicult undertaking of rendering ' Macbeth ' into French verse, and overcame the enormous obstacles in a manner which strikingly displayed the versatility and range of his powers. His translation of ' Gay's Fables ' also exliibits merit of a high order, and his former sélections, published a few years ago under the name of ' Beauties of the Englisli Poets,' were so successful as to reach a second édition. His présent work bears the pretty title of ' Rayons et Reflets,' and he takes as his motto the noble sentiment of Voltaire, 'C'est rendre service à sa patrie que de faire passer dans sa langue les beautés d'une langue étrangère.' He by no means confines liunself to the greater luminaries of our poetical world. and we candidly confess that the Chevalier lias introduced us to some names which were previously unknown to us. It must be very gratifying to young and obscure poets to find themselves placed side by side with the great masters of song, and the helping hand thus held out to them cannot fail to stimulate them in their arduous ascent of the rugged sides of the Parnassian hill. It would be impossible to enumerate even the chief authors, sélections from whose writings are comjirised in the volume before us ; but we may mention, as among the Chevalier's most successful Httempts, his rendering of CJoldsmith's ' Swect Auburn,' — by far his best, in our opinion, — Coleridge's 'Geneviève,' Campbell's ' Ilohcnlinden,' Longfellow's ' Beleaguered City' and 'God's Acre,' and Charles Kingsley's 'Three Fisliers.' The Chevalier displays much skill in his clioice of subjects and variety of mètres, and is on many occasions very happy in his sélection of corresponding mètres in his translation." — T/ie Literary Tirnes, \Kt Aurjust, 1803.

" The Chevalier, in the handsomc volume before us, has not only shown hift good taste in the sélection of the numerous pièces, but has displayed the perfect mastery which he possesses over both languagcs. The book may be callcd the third vohune of ' Les Beautés de la Poësie Anglaise.'

Among the poems will be fouucl entire, Goldsmith's ' Deserted Village,' Charles Swain's ' xMind,' R. H. Horne's 'The Noble Heart,' andnumerous other pièces of a shorter kind : in fact, every name with which we are at ail familiar in the poetic scroll is hère represented, We especially award our raeed of praise to ' The Deserted Village,' in the rendering of which the Chevalier lias been exceedingly happy. We are sure that both French and English readers owe the translator a debt of gratitude for this beautiful book, which is printed and got up in a style that would grâce a royal library, or lordly table ; such typography is only to be met with at a few of our best London publishers. The book contains 460 close-printed pages." — Retford^ Worksop, Isle of Axholme and Gainshorough Advertiseï', Hth August, 1863.

" J'ai toujours grandement admiré le courage et la patience des littérateurs qui entreprenaient de traduire en vers un poëme écrit dans une langue étrangère. Il m'a toujours semblé que l'adaptation d'un certain rythme à tel autre rythme qui lui est tout à fait dissemblable, en conservant d'ailleurs intacte la pensée première, était une oeuvre des plus ardues. Cela est vrai surtout quand la traduction doit être faite en vers français, cil les exigences de la rime présentent à chaque pas des obstacles que je serais tenté de considérer comme insurmontables.

La raison dit ceci, mais la rime cela.

"Si Boileau trouvait déjà une grande difficulté^dans cette maudite rime, quand le poëte n'avait qu'à laisser vagabonder la folle du logis, qu'eût il dit s'il se fût agi de mettre l'imagination au pas, de lui imposer une allure réglée, de l'assujétir même, pour ainsi dire, au régime cellulaire !

" C'est cependant à ce travail impitoyable que M. de Châtelain a consacré ses plus vaillants efforts. Depuis dix ans et plus, il traduit en vers français poètes anglais, allemands et même orientaux. Son bagage déjà paru dépasse cent mille vers —je ne parle que des traductions. Devant un pareil labeur je m'arrête éperdu.

" Le nouveau volume de traductions que nous donne aujourd'hui M. de Châtelain, ' Rayons et Reflets,' est, en quelque sorte, une suite aux ' Beautés de la Poésie Anglaise;' il a continué à puiser dans cette mine qui semble inépuisable. Les Français doivent être bien étonnés d'apprendre que l'Angleterre a produit dans les temps passés, et nourrit encore à cette heure-ci, un si grand nombre de poètes. Eien que dans ce dernier ouvrage, M de Châtelain n'en a pas traduit devant le public moins de deux cents — dont plusieurs anonymes.

" Le lecteur des ' Beautés ' retrouvera là, d'ailleurs, grand nombre de noms de connaissance: Ainsworth, Burns, Byron, T. Campbell, Chatterton, Coleridge, Cowper, Dryden, Goldsmith, Gray, Longfellow, T. Moore, Pope, W. Scott, Shakespeare, Southey, pour ne citer que les plus illustres. Il est bien difficile de se décider au milieu des morceaux choisis par M, de Châtelain; et s'il faut absolument signaler quelque chose, je nommerai ' le Village abandonné,' d'Oliver Goldsmith ; ' la Vieille horloge de l'escalier,' de Longfellow; ' le Fauteuil vide,' du Rev. John Anderson ; * Différences,' de C. Mackay ; ' Quelque chose cloche quelc^ue j)art,' et ' le Tisserand ({\n ne chôme pas,' d'auteurs anonymes. Lord Ravensworth, l'élégant traducteur d' 'Horace,' et dont le 'Courrier de l'Europe' a publié une pièce, il y a (jnelque mois, rigure dans la liste avec une jolie ballade sur les ' Deux Roses.' L'élément féminin abonde dans les citations de ce volume : j'ai distingué, au milieu de ces fleurs, deux charmants morceaux, l'un de Mrs. Osgood, ' l'Enfant gâté de la Fantaisie,' l'autre de Mrs, F. P. Fellows, * l'Hôte non invité; ' puis les noms de Miss E. Braddon, d'Eliza Cook, &c.

" C'est un véritable service que M. de Châtelain a rendu aux littérateurs français, que de leur donner ainsi l'occasion de faire connaissance avec les divers membres du Parnasse anglais — membres qui, sans lui, seraient pour la plupart exposés à rester complètement inconnus en France. Il a employé la forme qui pouvait le mieux faire ressortir les qualités des poètes qu'il nous présente, en rendant de la poésie par de la poésie. Pour lui, d'ailleurs, ce travail qui me semble, à moi, si colossal, est aujourd'hui jeu d'enfant. Il déploie, en effet, une facilité très grande dans l'exécution, sans exclusion d'élégance et d'énergie, là où ces qualités doivent se produire." — E. R., Courrier de VEurope, Sth Août, 1863.

Pvhlié le 1er Janvier, 1863.