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 I 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 I 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 ofthe existence ofthe letters. As the grear:st collector of manuscripts in England was the late Sir Thomias 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

PT mer PS DV