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CLEVER IMITATORS.

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persons to attend him.1 He died notwithstanding their care," as his ancestors for several generations had done, in3 the field of battle. Pescara ordered his body to be embalmed, and sent to his relations; and such was the respect paid to 7 military merit in that age, that the Duke of Savoy 10 commanded it to be 11 received with royal honours12 in all the cities of his dominions. In 13 Dauphiny, Bayard's native country, the people of all ranks 14 came out in a solemn 15 procession to meet

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ROBERTSON," History of Charles V."

CLEVER IMITATORS.

There have been found occasionally 17 some artists who could so perfectly imitate the spirit, the taste, the character, and the peculiarities 18 of 19 great masters, that they have not unfrequently 20 deceived the most skilful

1 And appointed, etc... .him, et y laissa des gens chargés de prendre soin de lui-2 for......had done, étaient morts, depuis..... 3 "on"— literally: "made to embalm his body" (see note ', p. 38) 5 sent, "he sent it"-6 relations, famille-7 paid to, que l'on portait au- _8 in that age, à cette époque-9 no capital-10 Savoie 11 commanded it to be, ordonna que ses restes fussent-12 royal honours, les honneurs réservés aux rois-13 in, dans le14 the people of all ranks, toutes les classes de la population—15 came out in a solemn, allèrent en grande-16 to meet it, à la rencontre du cortège.

17 There have been found occasionally, il s'est rencontré parfois18 and "even" the peculiarities, et jusqu'aux traits distinctifs— 19" of the❞—20 not unfrequently, souvent.

a Care in the singular, meaning kind attention, anxious watching, should be rendered by the plural soins; whilst the plural cares, being altogether a different word, is to be translated by souci, tourment (sing. or plur., as the case may require).

siege of Rome in 1527, and with him the elder branch of the House of Bourbon became extinct. This House is descended from Robert, Count of Clermont, sixth son of St. Louis.

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connoisseurs. Michael Angelo 1* having sculptured a sleeping Cupid broke off an arm, and buried the statue in a place where he knew it would soon be found. The critics were never tired of admiring it, as one of the most precious relics of antiquity. It was sold to the Cardinal of St. George, to whom Michael Angelo discovered the whole7 mystery, by 8 joining to the Cupid the arm which he had reserved.

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An anecdote of Peter Mignardt is more singular. This great artist painted 10 a Magdalen," on a canvass fabricated at Rome. A broker,12 in concert 13 with Mignard, went to the Chevalier de Clairville, and told him as a secret that he was to receive from Italy a Magdalen of Guido, 14 and 15 his masterpiece. The Chevalier caught the bait,16 begged the preference, and purchased the picture at a very high price.

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He was informed 17 that he had been imposed upon,' and that the Magdalen was painted by 19 Mignard.

1 Michael Angelo, Michel-Ange (pronounced Mikel-Ange)-2 a sleeping Cupid, un Amour endormi- broke off an, lui cassa unknew, imperfect-5 found, découverte-6 were never tired, ne se fatiguèrent point-7 the whole, "all the"-8 by, en- "still more"

10 painted, avait peint-" Magdalen, Madeleine-12 broker, here, marchand de tableaux-13 in concert, qui s'était entendu-14 Guido, le Guide-15 and, to be left out-16 caught the bait, mordit à l'hameçon -17 he was informed, on lui fit bientôt savoir-18 imposed upon, dupé-19 was painted by, était de.

a To go to somebody, "aller trouver quelqu'un."-To come to somebody, "venir trouver quelqu'un."

The verb to be, followed by another verb in the infinitive, is translated in French by the verb devoir, which in that case generally implies a simple future.

*Michael Angelo Buonarotti, a painter, sculptor, and architect of the highest order, was born near Arezzo, in Tuscany, in 1474, and died in 1564.

+ Peter Mignard, a celebrated French painter, was born at Troyes in 1610, and died in 1695.

Guido Reni, one of the most eminent Italian painters, was born at Bologna in 1575, and died in 1642.

CLEVER IMITATORS.

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Mignard himself caused the alarm to be given,' but the amateur would not believe it; all the connoisseurs agreed it was a Guido, and the famous Le Brun corroborated this opinion.

"Some persons

"Mine! 5

The Chevalier came to Mignard: assure me that my Magdalen is your work!" they do me great honour. I am sure that Le Brun is not of this opinion." "Le Brun swears that it is no other than a Guido. You shall dine with me, and meet 7 several of the first connoisseurs."

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On the day of meeting, the picture was again more closely inspected. Mignard hinted his doubts. whether the piece was 10 the work of that great master; he insinuated that it was possible to be deceived; and added, that if it was Guido's,11 he did not think it in his best manner.12 "It is a Guido, sir, and in his very 13 best manner," replied Le Brun, with warmth; and all the other critics were unanimous.14 Mignard then

1 "Made to give the alarm" (see note, p. 38)-2 would not, ne voulut pas (see note ", p. 1)-3 agreed, furent d'avis— - see note ", p. 40—5 mine, mon œuvre !-6 it is no other than, que ce n'est pas autre chose que 7 you shall dine with me and meet, il faut venir dîner avec moi; vous trouverez là—8 on, to be left out more closely, de plus près-10 hinted his doubts whether the piece was, donna à entendre qu'il doutait que cette toile fût- Guido's, un Guide-12 he did not think it in, il ne pensait pas que ce fût de-13 very, to be left out-14 unanimous, "of the same opinion."

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a It was possible to be deceived, il était (not: c'était) possible qu'on se trompât. It is, it was, etc., before an adjective, must be expressed by "c'est," "c'était," "ce fut," etc., when the adjective is not followed by de or by que, as in "c'est inutile,” c'était facile à voir." But when de or que follows the adjective, "it" must be rendered by "il." Ex.: "Il est inutile que vous lui en parliez.” “Il était facile de s'en assurer."

*Charles Le Brun, the painter, was born at Paris in 1619, and died in 1690.

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spoke, in a firm tone of voice:2 "And I, gentlemen, will wager a three hundred louis that it is not a Guido." The dispute now became violent: Le Brun was desirous of accepting the wager. In a word, the affair became such that it could add nothing more 5 to the glory of Mignard. "No, sir," replied the latter," "I am too honest to bet when I am certain to win. Monsieur le Chevalier, this piece7 cost you two thousand crowns: the money must be returned, the painting is mine." Le Brun would not believe it. proof," Mignard continued,10 "is 11 easy. vass, which is a Roman one, 12 was the Cardinal; I will show you his cap." did not know which of the rival artists to credit.14 The proposition alarmed 15 him. "He who 16 painted 17 the picture shall repair it," said Mignard. He took a pencil dipped in 18 oil, and rubbing the hair of the Magdalen, discovered 19 the cap of the Cardinal. The

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"The On this canportrait of a → 13 The Chevalier

1 In, "of" tone of voice, ton-3 now became, devenait-4 was desirous of, voulait-5 the affair, etc......more, la chose en vint à un tel point que rien n'aurait pu ajouter 6 the latter, celui-ci- piece, tableau. -8 the painting is mine, c'est moi qui l'ai peint-9 would not, ne voulait pas (see note ", p. 1); or se refusait à-10 M. continued, poursuivit M.-" is, en est12 is a Roman one, 66 comes from Rome". 13 cap, calotte-14 which...... to credit, lequel croire......- 15 imperf.-16 he who (see note ", p. 38) -17 painted (see note ", p. 32)-18 dipped in, imbibé d'—19 discovered, il mit à nu.

a And I, gentlemen, will wager, eh bien, moi, messieurs, je gage. Notice this double pronoun of the same person, disjunctive and conjunctive, which frequently occurs in French, for the sake of emphasis or contradistinction.

Je vais vous montrer; literally: "I am going to show you" (and not: je vous montrerai). This construction is usual, instead of the future tense, when the action is about to take place immediately.

e Did not know, ne savait.

With savoir, as also with cesser, oser,

and pouvoir, the negation is elegantly expressed, as a general rule, by ne alone, instead of ne pas or ne point.

COLUMBUS BEFORE HIS JUDGES.

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honour of the ingenious painter could no longer be disputed. Le Brun, vexed, sarcastically exclaimed, "Always paint Guido, but never Mignard." 4

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ISAAC DISRAELI, "Curiosities of Literature."

COLUMBUS 5* BEFORE HIS JUDGES AT SALAMANCA.6 (A.D. 1486.)

The King of Spain ordered Fernando de Talavera, the prior of Prado, to assemble the most learned astronomers and cosmographers of the kingdom, to hold a conference with Columbus. They were to examine him upon the grounds of his theory, and afterwards to consult 10 together, and report their opinion as to its merits.11 Columbus now 12 considered the day of success at hand ;13 he had been deceived by courtiers, and scoffed at 14 as a visionary by the vulgar and 15 ignorant; but he was now to 16 appear before a body 17 of the most learned and enlightened men, elevated, as he supposed,18 above all 19 narrow prejudice and 20 selfish interest, and capable

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1 Could no longer, ne pouvait plus-2 sarcastically, “in (de) a sarcastic tone”. see note, p. 3—4 Guido......Mignard, du Guide......du Mignard.

5 Christophe Colomb, or simply, Colomb-6 Salamanque—7 to hold a, pour tenir-8 they were to (see note, p. 40)—9 grounds, fondements-10 to consult, délibérer- report......as to its merits, faire connaître......sur son mérite-12 now, dès ce moment-13 at hand, comme très prochain-14 scoffed at, bafoué-15 by the...... and, par le......et les-16 he was now to, il allait maintenant-17 body, assemblée-18" as he supposed it" (see note ", p. 17)-19 above all, au-dessus de tout-20 and, et de tout.

a The verb to appear is expressed in three different ways in French. To appear, in the sense of "to seem," "to have the appearance of being," or "to show one's self," is paraître.-To appear all at once, to make one's appearance unexpectedly, is apparaître.— To appear by virtue of a summons before a tribunal, is comparaître.

* Christopher Columbus was born at or near Genoa, in 1437, and died at Valladolid, in Spain, in 1506.

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