A Bibliographical, Antiquarian and Picturesque Tour in France and Germany, Volume One | Page 4

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 _Variétés,
Notices et Raretés Bibliographiques_, Paris, 1822: it being a
supplement to his previous Work of _Curiosités 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 où nous avons rendu compte des traductions
partielles du voyage de M.D., nous avons partagé l'opinion des deux
estimable traducteurs, sur quelques erreurs et quelques inconvenances
échappées a l'auteur anglais, nous sommes bien éloigné d'envelopper
dans le même blame, tout ce qui est sorté de sa plume; car il y auroit
injustice a lui refuser des connaissances très étendues en histoire
littéraire, et en bibliographie: nous le disons franchement, il faudroit

fermer les yeux à la lumière, ou être d'une partialité revoltante, pour ne
pas convenir que, juste appréciateur de tous les trésors bibliographiques
qu'il a le bonheur d'avoir sous la main, M. Dibdin en a fait connoitre en
détail toute la richesse dans de nombreux d'ouvrages, ou très souvent le
luxe d'érudition se trouve en harmonie avec le luxe typographique qu'il
y a étalé.
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