Thomas Frognall Dibdin - A Bibliographical, Antiquarian and Picturesque Tour in France and Germany, Volume One

T >> Thomas Frognall Dibdin >> A Bibliographical, Antiquarian and Picturesque Tour in France and Germany, Volume One

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BIBLIOGRAPHICAL Antiquarian AND PICTURESQUE TOUR.

PRINTED BY WILLIAM NICOL, AT THE

Shakespeare Press.

[Illustration: T. F. DIBDIN, D.D.

Engraved by James Thomson from the
Original Painting by T. Phillips Esq. R.A.

London. Published June 1829 by R. Jennings, Poultry.]

A
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL
Antiquarian
AND
PICTURESQUE TOUR
IN
FRANCE AND GERMANY.

BY THE REVEREND THOMAS FROGNALL DIBDIN, D.D.

MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY AT ROUEN, AND OF THE ACADEMY OF UTRECHT.

SECOND EDITION.

VOLUME I.

LONDON:
PUBLISHED BY ROBERT JENNINGS, AND JOHN MAJOR.
1829.

TO THE REVEREND JOHN LODGE, M.A.
FELLOW OF MAGDALEN COLLEGE, AND
LIBRARIAN TO THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE.

MY DEAR FRIEND,

Most grateful it is to me, at all times, to bear in remembrance those
pleasant discussions in which we were wont so frequently to indulge,
relating to the LIBRARIES upon the Continent:--but more than ordinarily
gratifying to me was _that_ moment, when you told me, that, on crossing the
Rhine, you took the third volume of my Tour under your arm, and on reaching
the Monasteries of Moelk and Goettwic, gave an off-hand translation to the
venerable Benedictine Inmates of what I had recorded concerning their MSS.
and Printed Books, and their hospitable reception of the Author. I
studiously concealed from You, at the time, the whole of the gratification
which that intelligence imparted; resolving however that, should this work
be deemed worthy of a second edition, to dedicate that republication to
YOURSELF. Accordingly, it now comes forth in its present form, much
enhanced, in the estimation of its Author, by the respectability of the
name prefixed to this Dedication; and wishing you many years enjoyment of
the honourable public situation with which you have been recently, and so
deservedly, invested, allow me to subscribe myself,

Your affectionate
and obliged Friend,

T.F. DIBDIN.

Wyndham Place,
June 30, 1829.

CONTENTS OF VOLUME I.

CONTENTS.

VOLUME I.

LETTER I.

_Passage to Dieppe_

LETTER II.

DIEPPE. _Fisheries. Streets. Churches of St. Jacques and St. Remy. Divine
Worship. Military Mass_

LETTER III.

_Village and Castle of Arques. Sabbath Amusements. Manners and Customs.
Boulevards_

LETTER IV.

ROUEN. _Approach. Boulevards. Population. Street-Scenery_

LETTER V.

_Ecclesiastical Architecture. Cathedral. Monuments. Religious Ceremonies.
The Abbey of St. Ouen. The Churches of St. Maclou, St. Vincent, St. Vivien,
St. Gervais, and St. Paul_

LETTER VI.

_Halles de Commerce. Place de la Pucelle d'Orleans. (Jeanne d'Arc).
Basso-Rilievo of the Champ de Drap d'Or. Palace and Courts of Justice_

LETTER VII.

ROUEN. _The Quays. Bridge of Boats. Rue du Bac. Rue de Robec. Eaux de Robec
et d'Aubette. Mont Ste. Catherine. Hospices--Generale et d'Humanite_,

LETTER VIII.

_Early Typography at Rouen. Modern Printers. Chap Books. Booksellers. Book
Collectors_

LETTER IX.

_Departure from Rouen. St. George de Boscherville. Duclair. Marivaux. The
Abbey of Jumieges. Arrival at Caudebec_,

LETTER X.

_Caudebec. Lillebonne. Bolbec. Tankarville. Montmorenci Castle. Havre de
Grace_

LETTER XI.

_Havre de Grace. Honfleur. Journey to Caen_

LETTER XII.

CAEN. _Soil. Society. Education. A Duel. Old houses. The Abbey of St.
Stephen. Church of St. Pierre de Darnetal. Abbe de la Sainte Trinite. Other
Public Edifices_

LETTER XIII.

CAEN. _Literary Society. Abbe de la Rue. Messrs. Pierre-Aime. Lair and
Lamouroux. Medal of Malherbe. Booksellers. Memoir of the late M. Moysant,
Public Librarian. Courts of Justice_

LETTER XIV.

BAYEUX. _Cathedral. Ordination of Priests and Deacons. Crypt of the
Cathedral_

LETTER XV.

BAYEUX. _Visit near St. Loup. M. Pluquet, Apothecary and Book-Vendor. Visit
to the Bishop. The Chapter Library. Description of the Bayeux Tapestry.
Trade and Manufacture_

LETTER XVI.

_Bayeux to Coutances. St. Lo. The Cathedral of Coutances. Environs.
Aqueduct. Market-Day. Public Library. Establishment for the Clergy_

LETTER XVII.

_Journey to Granville. Granville. Ville Dieu. St. Sever. Town and Castle
of_ VIRE

LETTER XVIII.

VIRE. _Bibliography. Monsieur Adam. Monsieur de la Renaudiere. Olivier
Basselin. M. Seguin. The Public Library_

LETTER XIX.

_Departure from Vire. Conde. Pont Ouilly. Arrival at_ FALAISE. _Hotel of
the Grand Turc. Castle of Falaise. Bibliomaniacal Interview_

LETTER XX.

_Mons. Mouton. Church of Ste. Trinite, Comte de la Fresnaye. Guibray
Church. Supposed head of William the Conqueror. M. Langevin, Historian of
Falaise. Printing Offices_

LETTER XXI.

_Journey to Paris. Dreux. Houdan. Versailles. Entrance into Paris_

LIST OF PLATES.

VOL. I.

Portrait of the Author
Fille de Chambre, Caen
Portrait of the Abbe de la Rue

VOL. II.

Anne of Brittany
Medal of Louis XII
Pisani
Denon
Comte de Brienne
Stone Pulpit, Strasbourg Cathedral

VOL. III.

Fille de Chambre, Manheim
Monastery of Saints Ulric and Afra
Prater, Vienna

LIST OF AUTOGRAPHS.
Vol. Page.

Artaria, Dom. Manheim iii. 470
Barbier, Antoine Alexandre; Paris ii. 204
Bartsch, Adam de; Vienna iii. 394
Beyschlag, Recteur; Augsbourg iii. 104
Brial, Dom; Paris ii. 254
Brunet, Libraire; Paris ii. 235
Bure, De, Freres; Paris ii. 220
Chateaugiron, Marquis de; Paris i. xxxviii
Dannecker; Stuttgart iii. 54
Denon; Paris ii. 293
Gaertner, Corbinian; Salzburg iii. 201
Gail; Paris ii. 259
Hartenschneider, Udalricus; Chremsminster
Monastery iii. 229
Henri II. ii. 151
Hess, C.E.; Munich iii. 165
Lamouroux; Caen i. 137
Lancon, Durand de; Paris i. xxxviii
Langevin; Falaise i. 341
Langles, L.; Paris ii. 268
Larenaudiere, De; Vire i. 309
Lebret, F.C.; Stuttgart iii. 56
May, Jean Gottlob; Augsbourg iii. 104
Millin, A.L.; Paris ii. 264
Pallas, Joachim; Moelk Monastery iii. 254
Peignot, Gabriel; Dijon i. xxvii
Poitiers, Diane de ii. 151
Renouard, Ant. Aug.; Paris ii. 227
Schlichtegroll, Frederic; Munich iii. 161
Schweighaeuser, Fils; Strasbourg ii. 426
Van Praet; Paris ii. 278
Veesenmeyer, G.; Ulm iii. 71
Willemin; Paris ii. 320
Young,.T.; Vienna iii. 390

PREFACE.

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.

If I had chosen to introduce myself to the greatest possible advantage to
the reader, in this Preface to a Second Edition of the "_Bibliographical,
Antiquarian, and Picturesque Tour_," I could not have done better than have
borrowed the language of those Foreigners, who, by a translation of the
Work (however occasionally vituperative their criticisms) have, in fact,
conferred an honour upon its Author. In the midst of censure, sometimes
dictated by spite, and sometimes sharpened by acrimony of feeling, it were
in my power to select passages of commendation, which would not less
surprise the Reader than they have done myself: while the history of this
performance may be said to exhibit the singular phenomenon, of a traveller,
usually lauding the countries through which he passes, receiving in return
the reluctant approbation of those whose institutions, manners, and
customs, have been praised by him. It is admitted, by the most sedulous and
systematic of my opponents--M. CRAPELET--that "considering the quantity and
quality of the ornaments and engravings of this Tour, one is surprised that
its cost is so moderate."[1]

"Few books (says the Bibliographer of Dijon) have been executed with
greater luxury. It is said that the expenses of printing and engraving
amounted to 6000 l.--to nearly 140,000 franks of our money. It must be
admitted that England is the only country in which such an undertaking
could be carried into effect. Who in France would dare to risk such a
sum--especially for three, volumes in octavo? He would be ruined, if he
did."[2] I quote these passages simply to shew under what extraordinary
obliquity of feeling those gentlemen must have set down to the task of
translation and abuse--of THAT VERY WORK, which is here admitted to contain
such splendid representations of the "bibliographical, antiquarian, and
picturesque" beauties of their country.

A brief account of this foreign _travail_ may be acceptable to the curious
in literary history. MONS. LICQUET, the successor of M. Gourdin, as Chief
Librarian to the Public Library at Rouen, led the way in the work of
warfare. He translated the ninth Letter relating to that Public Library; of
which translation especial mention is made at p. 99, post. This version was
printed in 1821, for private, distribution; and only 100 copies were struck
off. M. Crapelet, in whose office it was printed, felt the embers of
discontent rekindled in his bosom as it passed through his press; and in
the following year HE also stepped forward to discharge an arrow at the
Traveller. Like his predecessor, he printed but a limited number; and as I
have more particularly remarked upon the spirit of that version by way of
"Introduction" to the original letter, in vol. ii. 209, &c. I shall not
waste the time of the Reader by any notice of it in the present place.
These two partial translators united their forces, about two years
afterwards, and published the whole of the Tour, as it related to FRANCE,
in four octavo volumes, in 1825. The ordinary copies were sold for 48
francs, the large paper for 112 francs per copy. The wood-cuts only were
republished by them. Of this conjoint, and more enlarged production,
presently.

Encouraged by the examples of Messrs. Licquet and Crapelet, a Bookbinder of
the name of LESNE (whose poem upon his "Craft," published in 1820, had been
copiously quoted and _commended_ by me in the previous edition) chose to
plant his foot within this arena of controversy; and to address a letter to
me; to which his model, M. Crapelet, was too happy to give circulation
through the medium of his press.[3] To that letter the following metrical
lines are prefixed; which the Reader would scarcely forgive me if I failed
to amuse him by their introduction in this place. "_Lesne, Relieur
Francais, a Mons. T.F. Dibdin, Ministre de la Religion, &c._"

Avec un ris moqueur, je crois vous voir d'ici,
Dedaigneusement dire: Eh, que veut celui-ci?
Qu'ai-je donc de commun avec un vil artiste?
Un ouvrier francais, un _Bibliopegiste_?
Ose-t-on ravaler un Ministre a ce point?
Que me veut ce _Lesne_? Je ne le connais point.
Je crois me souvenir qu'a mon voyage en France,
Avec ses pauvres vers je nouai connaissance.
Mais c'est si peu de chose un poete a Paris!
Savez-vous bien, Monsieur, pourquoi je vous ecris?
C'est que je crois avoir le droit de vous ecrire.
Fussiez-vous cent fois plus qu'on ne saurait le dire,
Je vois dans un Ministre un homme tel que moi;
Devant Dieu je crois meme etre l'egal d'un roi.

The Letter however is in prose, with some very few exceptions; and it is
just possible that the indulgent Reader may endure a specimen or two of the
prose of M. Lesne, as readily as he has that of his poetry. These specimens
are equally delectable, of their kind. Immediately after the preceding
poetical burst, the French Bibliopegist continues thus:

D'apres cet exorde, vous pensez sans doute que, bien convaincu de ma
dignite d'homme, je me crois en droit de vous dire franchement ma
facon de penser; je vous la dirai, Monsieur. Si vous dirigiez un
journal bibliographique; que vous fissiez, en un mot, le metier de
journaliste, je serai peu surpris de voir dans votre Trentieme Lettre,
une foule de choses hasardees, de mauvais calembourgs, de
grossieretes, que nous ne rencontrons meme pas chez nos journalistes
du dernier ordre, en ce qu'ils savent mieux leur monde, et que s'ils
lancent une epigramme, fut-elle fausse, elle est au moins finement
tournee. Mais vous etes ANGLAIS, et par cela seul dispense sans doute
de cette politesse qui distingue si heureusement notre nation de la
votre, et que vos compatriotes n'acquierent pour la plupart qu'apres
un long sejour en France." p. 6.

Towards the latter part of this most formidable "Tentamen Criticum," the
irritable author breaks out thus--"C'est une maladie Francaise de vouloir
toujours imiter les Anglais; ceux-ci, a leur tour, commencent a en etre
atteints." p. 19. A little farther it is thus: "Enfin c'est _en imitant_
qu'on reussit presque toujours mal; vous en etes encore, une preuve
evidente. J'ai vu en beaucoup d'endroits de votre Lettre, que vous avez
voulu imiter _Sterne_;[4] qu'est-il arrive? Vous etes reste au-dessous de
lui, comme tous les Imitateurs de notre bon La Fontaine sont restes en deca
de l'immortel Fabuliste." p. 20. But most especially does the sensitive M.
Lesne betray his surprise and apprehension, on a gratuitous
supposition--thrown out by me, by way of pleasantry--that "Mr. Charles
Lewis was going over to Paris, to establish there a modern School of
Bookbinding." M. Lesne thus wrathfully dilates upon this supposition:

"Je me garderai bien de passer sous silence la derniere partie de
votre Lettre; _un bruit assez etrange est venu jusqu'a vous_; et
Charles Lewis doit vous quitter pour quelque temps pour etablir en
France une ecole de reliure d'apres les principes du gout anglais;
mais vous croyez, dites-vous, que ce projet est surement chimerique,
ou que, si on le tentait, il serait de courte duree.

Pour cette fois, Monsieur, votre pronostic serait tres juste; cette
demarche serait une folie: il faudrait s'abuser sur l'engouement des
amateurs francais, et ceux qui sont atteints de cette maladie ne sont
pas en assez grand nombre pour soutenir un pareil etablissement. Oui,
l'on aime votre genre de reliure; mais on aime les reliures, facon
anglaise, faites par les Francais. Pensez-vous done, ou Charles Lewis
pense-t-il, qu'il n'y ait plus d'esprit national en France?

Allez, le sang Francaise coule encore dans nos veines;
Nous pourrons eprouver des malheurs et des peines,
Que nous devrons peut etre a vous autres Anglais;
Mais nous voulons rester, nous resterons, Francais!

Ainsi, que Charles Lewis ne se derange pas; qu'il cesse, s'il les a
commences, les preparatifs de sa descente; qu'il ne prive pas ses
compatriotes d'un artiste soi-disant inimitable. Nous en avons ici qui
le valent, et qui se feront un plaisir de perpeteur parmi nous le bon
gout, l'elegance, et la noble simplicite. p. 25.[5]

So much for M. Lesne. I have briefly noticed M. Peignot, the Bibliographer
of Dijon. That worthy wight has made the versions of my Ninth and Thirtieth
Letters (First Edition) by M.M. Licquet and Crapelet, the substratum of his
first brochure entitled _Varietes, Notices et Raretes Bibliographiques_,
_Paris_, 1822: it being a supplement to his previous Work of _Curiosites
Bibliographiques_."[6] It is not always agreeable for an Author to have his
Works reflected through the medium of a translation; especially where the
Translator suffers a portion, however small, of his _own_ atrabiliousness,
to be mixed up with the work translated: nor is it always safe for a third
person to judge of the merits of the original through such a medium. Much
allowance must therefore be made for M. Peignot; who, to say the truth, at
the conclusion of his labours, seems to think that he has waded through a
great deal of _dirt_ of some kind or other, which might have been better
avoided; and that, in consequence, some general declaration, by way of
_wiping, off_ a portion of the adhering mud, is due to the original Author.
Accordingly, at the end of his analysis of M. Licquet's version, (which
forms the second Letter in the brochure) he does me the honour to devote
seven pages to the notice of my humble lucubrations:--and he prefaces this
"_Notice des Ouvrages de M. Dibdin"_, by the following very handsome
tribute to their worth:

Si, dans les deux Lettres ou nous avons rendu compte des traductions
partielles du voyage de M.D., nous avons partage l'opinion des deux
estimable traducteurs, sur quelques erreurs et quelques inconvenances
echappees a l'auteur anglais, nous sommes bien eloigne d'envelopper
dans le meme blame, tout ce qui est sorte de sa plume; car il y auroit
injustice a lui refuser des connaissances tres etendues en histoire
litteraire, et en bibliographie: nous le disons franchement, il
faudroit fermer les yeux a la lumiere, ou etre d'une partialite
revoltante, pour ne pas convenir que, juste appreciateur de tous les
tresors bibliographiques qu'il a le bonheur d'avoir sous la main, M.
Dibdin en a fait connoitre en detail toute la richesse dans de
nombreux d'ouvrages, ou tres souvent le luxe d'erudition se trouve en
harmonie avec le luxe typographique qu'il y a etale.

At the risk of incurring the imputation of vanity, I annex the preceding
extract; because I am persuaded that the candid Reader will appreciate it
in its proper light. I might, had I chosen to do so, have lengthened the
extract by a yet more complimentary passage: but enough of M. Peignot--who,
so far from suffering ill will or acerbity to predominate over a kind
disposition, hath been pleased, since his publication, to write to me a
very courteous Letter,[7] and to solicit a "continuance of my favours."

Agreeably to the intimation expressed in a preceding page, I am now, in due
order, to notice the labours of my translators M.M. LICQUET and CRAPELET.
Their united version appeared in 1825, in four octavo volumes, of which the
small paper was but indifferently well printed.[8] The preface to the first
two volumes is by M. Licquet: and it is not divested of point and merit. It
begins by attacking the _Quarterly Review_, (June 1821, p. 147.) for its
severity of animadversion on the supposed listlessness and want of
curiosity of the French in exploring the architectural antiquities of their
country; and that, in consequence of such supineness, the English,
considering them as their own property, have described them accordingly.
"The decision (says the French translator) is severe; happily it is without
foundation." After having devoted several pages to observations by way of
reply to that critical Journal, M. Licquet continues thus:--unless I have
unintentionally misrepresented him.

The Englishman who travels in Normandy, meets, at every step, with
reminiscences of his kings, his ancestors, his institutions, and his
customs. Churches yet standing, after the lapse of seven centuries;
majestic ruins; tombs--even to the very sound of the clock--all unite
in affecting, here, the heart of a British subject: every thing seems
to tell him that, in former times, HERE was his country; here the
residence of his sovereigns; and here the cradle of his manners. This
was more than sufficient to enflame the lively imagination of Mr. D.
and to decide him to visit, in person, a country already explored by a
great number of his countrymen; but he conceived that his narrative
should embody other topics than those which ordinarily appeared in the
text of his predecessors.

"His work then is not only a description of castles, towns, churches,
public monuments of every kind:--it is not only a representation of
the general aspect of the country, as to its picturesque
appearances--but it is an extended, minute, though occasionally
inexact, account of public and private libraries; with reflections
upon certain customs of the country, and upon the character of those
who inhabit it. It is in short the personal history of the author,
throughout the whole length of his journey. Not the smallest incident,
however indifferent, but what has a place in the letters of the
Bibliographer. Thus, he mentions every Inn where he stops: recommends
or scolds the landlord--according to his civility or exaction. Has the
author passed a bad night? the reader is sure to know it on the
following morning. On the other hand, has he had a good night's rest
in a comfortable bed? [dans un lit _comfortable_?] We are as sure to
know this also, as soon as he awakes:--and thus far we are relieved
from anxiety about the health of the traveller. Cold and heat--fine
weather and bad weather--every variation of atmosphere is scrupulously
recorded.

What immediately follows, is unworthy of M. Licquet; because it not only
implies a charge of a heinous description--accusing me of an insidious
intrusion into domestic circles, a violation of confidence, and a
systematic derision of persons and things--but because the French
translator, exercising that sense and shrewdness which usually distinguish
him, MUST have known that such a charge _could_ not have been founded in
FACT. He must have known that any gentleman, leaving England with those
letters which brought me in contact with some of the first circles on the
Continent, MUST have left it without leaving his character _behind_ him;
and that such a character could not, in the natural order of things--seen
even through the sensitive medium of a French critic--have been guilty of
the grossness and improprieties imputed to me by M. Licquet. I treat
therefore this "damnation in wholesale" with scorn and contempt: and hasten
to impress the reader with a more favourable opinion of my Norman
translator. He _will_ have it that

"the English Traveller's imagination is lively and ardent--and his
spirit, that of raillery and lightness. He examines as he runs along;
that is to say, he does not give himself time to examine; he examines
ill; he deceives himself; and he subjects his readers to be deceived
with him. He traverses, at a hard trot, one of the most ancient towns
in France; puts his head out of his carriage window--and boldly
decides that the town is of the time of Francis I."![9] p. xviij.

There is pleasantry, and perhaps some little truth, in this vein of
observation; and it had been better, perhaps, for the credit of the good
taste and gentleman-like feeling of Mons. Licquet, if he had uniformly
maintained his character in these respects. I have however, in the
subsequent pages,[10] occasionally grappled with my annotator in proving
the fallacy, or the want of charity, of many of his animadversions: and the
reader probably may not be displeased, if, by way of "avant propos," I
indulge him here with a specimen of them--taken from his preface. M.
Licquet says, that I "create scenes; arrange a drama; trace characters;
imagine a dialogue, frequently in French--and in what French--gracious
God!--in assigning to postilions a ridiculous language, and to men of the
world the language of postilions." These be sharp words:[11] but what does
the Reader imagine may be the probable "result" of the English Traveller's
inadvertencies?... A result, ("gracious Heaven!") very little anticipated
by the author. Let him ponder well upon the awful language which ensues.
"What (says M. Licquet) will quickly be the result, with us, of such
indiscretions as those of which M. Dibdin is guilty? The necessity of
SHUTTING OUR PORTS, or at least of placing a GUARD UPON OUR LIPS!" There is
some consolation however left for me, in balancing this tremendous
denunciation by M. Licquet's eulogy of my good qualities--which a natural
diffidence impels me to quote in the original words of their author.

"A Dieu ne plaise, toutefois, que j'accuse ici LE COEUR de M. Dibdin.
Je n'ai jamais eu l'honneur de le voir: je ne le connais que par ses
ecrits; principalement par son _Splendid Tour_, et je ne balance pas a
declarer que l'auteur doit etre doue d'une ame honnete, et de ces
qualites fondamentales qui constituent l'homme de bien. Il prefere sa
croyance; mais il respecte la croyance des autres; son erudition
parait....[12] variee. Son amour pour les antiquites est immense; et
par antiquites j'entends ici tout ce qui est _antique_ ou seulement
_ancien_, quellesque soient d'ailleurs la nature et la forme des
objets." Pref. p. xv. xvij.

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