The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-09-27 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

A .ootltsE .itelltsca CONVER,ATION.
U NiiE bill • 14TtRNIt fly Professor VCtault,
tiontiate (ilachelor) of Law, Paris: Liver-
pool: William Gilling, 38, liorth .tilm-street h, and
the mill-104'68y rit'st aildf..4ceorid
Serkg:

qaagtirs, no 'Small degree of merit: on the part of any
one who professes to teach the French language,---.-and
the faculty of writing and speaking that langus,ge fluently,
euolineicg,capnaretnle4yeaalnngd correctly,—to fn: able. to hit upon an
entirely new method orimparting instruction in these,
has
ar
to ali, Or hest tot,
branches
oobfvikonaosiwylescelgeiel ;obit s
0"
that niethtrd is
ones, the author :of 'the syste,ni
i‘ar r noticei N. al as to piloae
`ll, to A VT
:Liecr;:tg:On!ttelitit'e work, or " Course of French Conversation,
Correspondence, and Literlture," now before us, of
which the first and second series have just been pub-
lished, is the compilation of one who is well known in
Liverpool `and the locality as an accomplished gentle-
man, an elegant scholar, and a good man of business.
single glance at its Contents end arratgethefit, add
an accurate appreciation Qf the plan on which it is
founded, mast satisfy e'Vely intelligent pupil and student
or" the Pretteli lailgaage,as well as all persons who are
oharatcl with the duty of its instruction, that M.
lOtault has at length,devised the me a; of overcoming
the great obstacle which stands in the way of, the
learner's progress beyond the ordinary point at which
his acquaintance with the French is, in the general
case, arrested: How few persons there ttre.Ni7lo, 116W-
ever 'zealouSly they apply themselYes to the acquisition
of the French langnaga, advance beyond the mere
knowledge of how to render trench , into English,
se. as to be able to read a French litcrarY work. The
pci.wer of cOnversing 'in French, and the advantage of
being able to understand and to be understood, in that
sneaking and writing of that langiuge, as. respects
matters connected with bitsiness intercourse, and the
transactions' of daily life, Were I:tqty attainable under
previons systems of instiaiction, excepting by those per-
sons who were so fortunate as to, be able to spend some
portion' of their time in France. This fact was generally
taken- for ha-anted; and; in too many cases, a course- of
training in French was imparted on principles very little
diffeYentirom thoAe on which the pipit was taught his
Greek and his Latin. , •
We believe we would not be farayrong in stating that,
as a general rule, anything like poetical instr Action in
French conversation and in the- p6-ner of 'corresponding
in that language, is'.Winnite(t to "Ladies' schools,"
where Latin and Greek nova-days mast with.a very
chilly reception' indeed.
boes anyone, for example, kaa,,v any one .YOLIng
lady , of his acquintanee, who, like . Margaret
More, the daughter'', 'of. the .". Upright ChitivellOt,"
can write elegant Latin at fourteen', or *WO', .I..fore her
education is finished, eau *rite end siKak in the lan-
guages of Greete te Ana yet history, tellS us
that these advaitti,geA Were possessed by evt'ry one of Sir
Thomas Mere'sllir`ce daughters, who were also proficient&
in inatia and other elegant iiecomplishments. Why,
therefera,..should there he any possible reason for boys
and men, not being able to learn how to speak and to
write •arliving language without, going o(it
country ? None,' certainly; especiMly in the case of
those who 'follow' the system Tree laid down by, Professor
vetaalt..- That sygtoS.,. folloWed out With ordinary
'diligence and 'i--are by. -tutor and studerit, eannot fail
lead' to the attainment of 'la familiar and,
.Complete knowledge.of conversational French, as welt a&
-to familiarise the :learner with the physical arid social
Tecpliarities of 'France, her institutions, rind every .day
customs, and the habits and manners of the inhabitants,
'without which; knowledge the .most; 'aceort. plishea mere
literary student of the langrtage,, Mitst eNrCi reinaill
foreigner, •
But let as atoW-the Ica'reied author to speak fnr him-
self. The 'following is a translation of the chief portion
of his preface-40r address to his pupils .
"1 place this course under
m,t.lliteietliluslpitteetispoef Ihey :vuilplilbse-
I sha)l not be less
,grateful towards thosl ladies and
pleased to al'asecrotrilde tP,oattmhe.lisePwritten lessons, than I am
for the approval with Which they have pernscd my tral

ones.-
In like manner with thozei -inethod which
I now propose has i!tiTitriatly l'Or: :its foundation
a conversation impi'etas,f:i\ 1 say'.' ithfi?:nvisee, in
order to avoid the„ Confusion • residting from tii;
idea- which is t:kttertsined by so many students that
the -reading of a dialog,ne a conversation. It can-
not be too often repeated that it is a
Thus, the pupil to whom his tutor says bo,k in hand,
It is is viccrter pCisr four,' and Om replies, ,11 "e
quaqe helves, et quat'ic,' does an exercise, and learns
only to translate. In Order to learn to sirak, one must.
iinpovise, as, whm nrio ropes to the' question,-' Queue
hcrerc cat it ?' on looking at the hands of a watch. In
the reading of a seehe an a comedy, the conversation
commences only at the moment when the book is shut,
inorder to. put the question, 'What have you read
• "This distinction is fundamental one"may be a good
translator, but one can never acquire the aptitude of
combining .words with the truly-mcchanicid 'rapidity
which the idea requires. Thousands of foreigners, who
are persuaded that they knew French, bat who, on
.heir arrival in France, make.,the discovcrY that they
can. neither understand nor be understood, .have been
exercised only in.:themes. A similar disappointment
never attends on those who have been taught by con-

versation. •
The greater part of the persons to whom • I have •
the honour of addressing myself have always aPPre-
,Oitted the advantages of illustrations which catch , the
eye and the understanding. I am:persuaded that all my
innovations will meet with equal approval. Some tend
to supply elenientS-4 improvisation, much irAnre effica-
cious than:those which have up to this time been intro-
duced; others haVe, for their object to prenarc, by ideasin continual use, work for pupils who wish to
combine
the practice of French with certain studies upon• France;
fur example, with that of the Cede de. Commerce.'
The first number 'of the series i aceernpauie4. by
examples of the different coins and measures m..u.se.
111
France, which are.employed. as the means of imparting
instruction,
.combined with . information in the Mode
alluded to ; and the second series, which describes
an outline of French geography, is accompanied
by a map of France,, which is made available by the
teacher fora isimilar purpose, Uszful and pracaal
objects, therefore, are alike intrOduccd to the attention of
the learner, who, as he advances in.the knowledge of the
language, advances also in the knoWledge of useful
things, thus combining utilitv with- instruction, and
making the former the handmaid of the latter.
We must not omit to add that the author mentions in
a note to his preface, with reference to the " Code do
Commerce," that he has prepared a manual, which will
be found greatly to facilitate the study of that branch of
the laws of
,France. He adds that the vast field which
the " Cobden Treaty': has opened,up to business trans-
actions with France, imparts to that treatise an indispu-
table character of utility, and he solici.ts, all persons
who are interested in ,the
.study: of ;such ruatters to
peruse a request which we cordially endorse.