But oh! that Country-man of thine, whose eye, loved Child, can see A pledge of endless bliss in acts of early piety, In verse, which to thy ear might come, would treat this simple theme, Nor leave untold our happy flight in that adventurous dream. As Wordsworth read very little French poetry in his old age, I think he here alludes to a poem of his admirer De la Morvonnais, who very likely sent him that _Thébaïde des Grèves_ (1838), in which Wordsworth was so highly praised. The passage alluded to is taken from “Solitude,” and reads thus-- Enfant, Il (Dieu) te promet le domaine de l’ange Si tu gardes l’amour et la foi des aïeux, Et sa mère, aujourd’hui loin de l’humaine fange, Que tu n’as pas connue et qui t’attend aux cieux. As a whole, De la Morvonnais, though he imitates Wordsworth, is very unlike him. Of course I do not mean to compare the two, but even in like subjects he differs from Wordsworth, owing to a sort of constitutional nervousness and brooding melancholy.[586] [582] Voir Maurice de Guérin, _Journal, Lettres et Poèmes_, publiés par J. S. Trébutien avec Préface de Sainte-Beuve (1860).--E.L. [583] In the above work--_Séjour de M. de Guérin en Bretagne; Impressions et Souvenirs de M. François du Breil de Marzan_, pp. 434-441.--E.L. [584] H. de la Morvonnais.--E.L. [585] A mistake: his admiration of Wordsworth began before 1832.--E.L. [586] In _Voyage historique et littéraire en Angleterre et en Écosse_, par Amédée Puchot, Lettre XXIV. there are numerous references to Wordsworth. It begins with a quotation from _Tintern Abbey_. In Lettre LXV. there is additional critical reference to Wordsworth and Coleridge. In the _Album poétique des jeunes personnes_, par Mme. Tastu, there is a “Sonnet imité de Wordsworth,” by St. Beuve, pp. 101, 102. C’est un beau soir, un soir paisible et solennel, A la fin du saint jour la nature en prière Le tait, comme Marie à genoux sur la pierre, etc.--ED. See also the _Nouveaux Lundis_ of St. Beuve, 21 and 22 Avril 1862, where there are “trois sonnets traduits en vers par l’Abbé Roussel” from Wordsworth. ERRATA AND ADDENDA LIST REFERRING TO VOLUMES I. TO VIII. 1. _Inistar omnium._--I wish to explain the accidental omission of Mr. T. Hutchinson’s name amongst those who helped me in Volumes I. and II. (see the prefatory note to this volume), and also that of Mr. Hill. It was due to my returning, “for press,” an uncorrected copy of my Preface. 2. Vol. ii. p. 106, _Ruth_, l. 54--The following extract from Bartram’s _Travels_, etc., illustrates Wordsworth’s debt to him:--