jettent leurs armes, et viennent à lui comme déserteurs. Ils mettent un genouil à terre dans la posture des supplians; ils le saisissent, et s'élancent de la platforme.-Cortez s'en débarasse, et se retient à la balustrade. Les deux jeunes nobles perissent sans avoir executé leur généreuse entreprise. Raynal Hist. Phil. et Pol. liv. vi. serve the awkward effect of a the present tense in English. "Mexicans of noble birth throw away their Let us ob similar use of "Two young arms, and come to him as deserters. They "kneel in the posture of suppliants; they "seize him, and throw themselves from the "platform. Cortez disengages himself "from their grasp, and keeps hold of the "ballustrade. The noble Mexicans perish "without accomplishing their generous de sign." In like manner, the use of the present for the past tense is very common in Greek, and we frequently remark the same impropriety in English translations from that language. "After the death of Darius, and the accession of Artaxerxes, Tissaphernes accuses Cyrus to his brother "of treason: Artaxerxes gives credit to 66 "the accusation, and orders Cyrus to be apprehended, with a design to put him "to death; but his mother having saved "him by her intercession, sends him back "to his government." Spelman's Xenophon. In the original, these verbs are put in the present tense, διαβαλλει, πείθεται, συλλαμβανει, αποπέμπει But this use of the present tense in narrative is contrary to the genius of the English language. The poets have assu med it and in them it is allowable, be cause it is their object to paint scenes as present to the eye; ut pictura poesis; but all that a prose narrrative can pretend to, is an animated description of things past: if it goes any farther, it encroaches on the department of poetry In one way, however, this use of the present tense is found in the best English historians, namely, in the sum mary heads, or content of chapters. "Lambert Simnel in"vades England,-Perkin Warbeck is avowed by the Duchess " of Burgundy-he returns to Scotland-lie is taken pri"soner and executed," Hume. But it is by an ellipsis that the present tense comes to be thus used. The sentence at large would stand thus: "This chapter relates how Lam"bert Simnel invades England, how Perkin Warbeck is "avowed by the Duchess of Burgundy," &c. 2. THE following error relative to a general idiom, is one of which we may find examples, even in translations of great merit. The French, in familiar conversation, with an equal or inferior, use the personal pronoun tu and te or toi, in the singular number instead of the plural vous; (Ils se tutoyent). This usage is always indicative of ease and familiarity, and often of endearment. But it is idiomatic, or peculiar to the French language; the English does not admit that mode of speech in familiar discourse. None but a Quaker uses thee and thou, with the corresponding employment of the verb in the singular number. Such use, therefore, in the English, produces a quite contrary effect to that which it produces in the French; and instead of ease, familiarity or endearment, is necessarily attended with stiffness, formality and precision. The translation of Gil Blas by Smollett, is a work of great merit. The English author is true to the sense, manner, and spirit of his original, and is often extremely happy in the interchange of particular idioms. But he has uniformly erred with regard to that genera! idiomatic use of the pronoun tu, te, and toi; and has thus thrown an air of stillness and formality on those parts, which in the original are most distinguished for their ease and spirit. A single example will illustraté these remarks: "Fabrice ne pût même s'empêcher de me dire un jour : En vérité, Gil Blas, je ne te reconnois plus. Avant que "tu fusses à la cour, tu avois toujours l'esprit "tranquille: à présent je te vois sans cesse 66 66 agité. Tu formes projet sur projet pour "t'enricher, et plus tu amasses de bien, plus 66 tu veux en amasser. Outre cela, te le di"rai-je? Tu n'as plus avec moi ces épanchemens de cœur, ces manieres libres qui font "le charme des liaisons. Tout au contraire, 66 tu t'enveloppes, et me caches le fonds de "ton ame. Je remarque même de la contrainte "dans les honnêtetés que tu me fais. En 66 66 46 fin Gil Blas n'est plus ce même Gil Blas que j'ai connu. Tu plaisantes sans doute, "lui respondis-je, d'un air assez froid. Je n'apperçois en moi aucun changement.-Ce " n'est point à tes yeux, repliqua-t-il, qu'on "doit s'en rapporter. Ils sont fascinés. R " "Crois-moi, ta metamorphose n'est que trop "véritable." Fabricio one day could not help saying, Truly, Gil Blas, thou art grown out of my knowledge: before thy coming to Court, thou wast always easy " and tranquil at present thou art inces"santly agitated with project after project "to enrich thyself; and the more wealth "thou hast got, the more wouldst thou amass. Besides, let me tell thee, thou no "longer treatest me with that effusion of "the heart, and freedom of behaviour which " are the soul of friendship: on the contra 66 ry, thou wrappest thyself up, and con"cealest from me thy secret views: nay, I 66 can perceive constraint in all thy civilities "towards me. In short, Gil Blas is no long"er the same Gil Blas whom I formerly "knew. You joke, sure, (said I, with an "air of indifference), I can't perceive any "change in myself.-Thy own eyes are no judges, (answered he), they are bewitch"ed: believe me, the metamorphosis is "but too true."-The contrasted effect of the ease of the original with the stiffness of the translation, must be apparent to every |