Nor did he neglect science while devoting himself to art and literature. He applied himself so successfully to the study of chemistry that he was able to communicate several valuable “Mémoires” to the Academy of Turin, of which he was a member. Xavier de Maistre died (1852) at an advanced age in his adopted country, where he had married, and which he only quitted once, for a brief season. * * * * * Some apology for publishing this translation is perhaps necessary. Although in France the “Voyage” retains the high esteem in which it has been held for half a century, it is hardly known in England, except by those who are familiar with the French language and literature. During the last twenty years the proportion of educated persons in this country who are unable to enjoy a French book in the original has greatly decreased. Still, there are some to whom a translation of this delightful work may be acceptable. To them I offer the pleasant labor of a few leisure hours; but not without assuring them that, in endeavoring to reproduce faithfully the author’s ideas, I have felt at every paragraph how true it is that “_le style ne se traduit pas_,”--“style is untranslatable.” * * * * * The _headings_ of the chapters are not De Maistre’s. They appear in Tardieu’s pretty little edition of the “Voyage.” The miniatures, by M. Veyssier, are from the same source. H. A. Barnes, Surrey. _Autumn, 1871._ CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE PREFACE iii I. A BOOK OF DISCOVERIES (_Vignette._) 1 II. EULOGY OF THE JOURNEY 4 III. LAWS AND CUSTOMS 7 IV. LATITUDE AND TOPOGRAPHY 11 V. THE BED 14 VI. FOR METAPHYSICIANS 17 VII. THE SOUL 21 VIII. THE ANIMAL 24 IX. PHILOSOPHY 26 X. THE PORTRAIT 29 XI. ROSE AND WHITE 33 XII. THE HILLOCK (_Vignette_.) 36 XIII. A HALT 37 XIV. JOANNETTI 38 XV. A DIFFICULTY 42 XVI. SOLUTION (_Vignette_) 45 XVII. ROSE 49 XVIII. RESERVE 52