The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-12-30
BALM LIE SAVAGE.

The recent publication of Mr.. Tennyson's
Arthurlan poems has excited an unusual
interest in that class of literature and the
following, from the London AthenGUD1, on
the discovery of the long-lost 'Booll of Balm
le Savage, will be appreciated by those who
delight in the old romances:-
English Arthurians may rejoice for not
only is Mr.. Tennyson about to give them at
once a second series of his ''Idyls of the
King, and that from thee best part of the
Arthur story-''The Qeust of the Holy Grail
but the long-lost and long-sought book of
Balm le Savage, which Mallory used in his
immortal 'Morte d'Arthur.' This book,
which neither Southey nor any other editor
or student Of Arthur romances could find, has
not only been found in Paris, but
secured for England by the generosity
of that princely commoner to whom
we already owe the publication of the
unique collection of ballads from the Hell
mingham Library formed by the late Mr..
George Daniel. Unlike the notorious Lord
Dog-in-the- Manger, who buys MSS. to lock
them up, and neither uses them himself in
the service of literature, nor allows any one
else to print them for use, the distinguished
connoisseur we have alluded to, like so many
other owners (titled and untitled) Of MSS.
and rare books in England, freely throws his
collection open to the use of all real workers.
And especially he does not like the hound
we have named, suggest to the owners of the
priceless Auchinleck MS, that they should
sell him their treasure, now free to all to use,
so that he may make it free to none.
The first in order of the Arthur Romances
is the 'Joseph Of Arimathea," and the second
the Merlin" OF the former of these, two
versions were known before the discovery of
the Huth MS.:-1. A short French verse one,
printed from a unique MS. by NJ. Francisque
.1,o1 int in AIr
wallis ''Seynt Graal," for the Roxburghe Club,
1862; ,. A very long French prose version,
the History of the Seynt Graal, last named.
The Huth MS. contains an early prose rem
dering of the first short-verse version, or at
least of its story 1t has several small varia-
tions from the verse-text, and especially one
interesting passage on leaf 81, of Merlin di-
recting Blase to amalgamate his book of
merlin" with the existing 'Joseph of Ari-
mathea," and SO make one book of the two.
| The Huth MS. enables us also to fill up gap
of leaf in the verse-text. And the writer
of it mentions Ellie de Boron as his fellow
worker, which the text does not.
OF the verse-text of ''AIerlin," we had,
before the discovery of the Huth MS, only a
| fragment at the end of the verse ''Joseph. y
| This did not enable us to tell whether it diff
fered from the standard prose version in the
known and very long MSS, of which fif-
| IGGlIu-CSubuIy
been edited by Mr.. II. b. Wheatley, fol
the Early English Text Society. But the
| Huth MS, by great good luck, not only con
tains the whole of the story of the early-verse
''Merlin, wanted for the completion of M
Michels text, but also proves to be Ms
of the same type as our famous old Mallory
used. 1t contains the ''Book of Balm Il
Savage" and several other of Malory's Incl
dents that are not in the standard version Of
Al L - -
Southey and all other students hunting fol
their origin In this branch of Arthur litera
ture the discovery of the MS. we are de
scribing is the most important that has beer
made for many years. We owe ii to NJ
Paulin Paris, who was examining the MS
for the representatives of the late Comte d.
Corbiere, and who reported the existence o.
the new type Of MS. to Mr.. Furnivall. TIL
latter at once recognized it as Mallory
original, begged that search might be mad
for the Book Of Balm and Balan, and tn
answer was, that that book followed
in the MS. the massacre of the in
nocents by Arthur's order, just a
in Malory's book i, chapter %. w
are now, therefore, able to point out exactl
Maiorys originals up to the middle of chapte
xvi of his fourth Book The IIuth MS, fror
leaf Sc back to leaf Is, is Malory's sourc
from his Book I, ch. j, to the first half of hi
Gu. " ne IuSu lullS lu6 mum MO, uu
takes his next chapters, up to the end c
chapter xvi, from the standard Merlin u
! to page III of Mr.. Wheatleys edition
Mallory then goes back to the Huth MS. q
the point at which he left it, takes it u
again, and runs on with it $50 far as on
hasty examination shows) to its end, in tn
middle Of chapter xvi Of Book ~ of Caxton
t Mallory
We are heartily glad that this importar
MS. has been secured for Malory's land, an
: are very grateful to the generous securer of
> for us. He has, We believe, declared his il
tention either to print it himself, or to let a
: Arthurian editor print it; and we can on
A say, the sooner the better. We may add th
: q very useful SKETCH in modern French,
4 certain late versions of all the chief o.
e French R0ndnS dc Ch6calelie has lately bee
r published in four large volumes, at five franc
a volume, by M. Bachelin, of GaETick stree
Messrs. Macmillan have At press a muc
. needed index of names, places, and events
d Malory's ''Morte d'Arthur, made by Mr.
" A. Dalziel for their Globe edition