Miejour, or the Land of the Felibre. By Duncan Craig.
(Nisbet and Co.)—A winter spent in the South of France seems to have suggested this book to Mr. Craig. Along with descriptions of scenery, and notices of Cannes, Mentone, Nice, and multifarious gossip about monks, Spanish pedlars, French pastors, Roman quarries, country-houses, orange- flowers, scorpions and insects, we have a good many reflections on the prospects of Evangelical Protestantism in France, especially in its southern districts. These, it appears, are, in Mr. Craig's opinion, encouraging, and the Provencal mind is, on the whole, disposed to welcome a purer faith than that of the Roman Church. It is the Provencal language and literature which have a special attraction for Mr. Craig, and the present century has, he says, witnessed a wonderful revival of Provencal song, which was in its glory in the twelfth century. The Felibre, we ought to explain, is the modern troubadour, who is now represented by some very popular and touching poets. They deal, it seems, with homely rural topics, and give us bedutiful pictures of patriarchal simplicity. Some of their poems may be described as pastoral epics, as " Mirelle," for example, recently translated by Mr. Crichton. They are devout and religious in their tone, and give one a favourable impression of the people who read and enjoy them. Mr. Craig appears to be thoroughly in love with the Provencal language and literature. The first, he says, presents a wide field for philological research. He notes the presence of a Greek element, banded down from the Greeks who colonised Marseilles (Massilia) about 600 B.C. We must not expect a very learned treatment of this subject from Mr. Craig,—it is, we suspect, rather beyond him. But this book is not meant for learned readers. Its sketches of life and scenery in the South of France will interest many who have no time for philology, or any abstruse study.
Previous page
