“MEMOIRS OF A CAVALIER.” 41

 

claim to the faculty of
second-sight, and was un-
doubtedly a man of great
natural talents.

In the same year De
Foe produced his second
great novel—in some re-
spects superior to ‘“‘ Rob-
inson Crusoe ”’ itself, but
inferior in plot, scenery,
and motive. I refer to
the book which imposed
on the great Earl of Chat-

———.

Serious Reflections
DURING THE

[e-  b E

And Surprifing

ADVENTURES
OF

RospiNnsON CRUSOE:

   

 

 

 

ham as an authentic his- WITH HIS

torical narrative : * ‘“ Me-

moirs of a Cavalier; or, a V ] S I O N
Military Journal of the OF THE

Wars in Germany, and

the Wars in England ; Angelick W O R L D.
from the year 1682 to the ae
year 1648, Written,” con-

tinues De Foe, who was

partial to lengthy title-

pages, “ Threescore Years

ago by an English Gentle-

man, who served first in

the Army of Gustavus 7 : :

Adolphus, the glorious |
King of Sweden, till his LONDON: Printed for W. Tavzon, at the Ship
death ; and after that, in | and Black spain LAS i
thos Rovaliden! goes iGine sl omic See een ee
Charles the First, from the REDUCED FAC-SIMILE OF TITLE PAGE TO VOL. III. OF
Beginning of the Rebellion THE FIRST EDITION OF “‘ ROBINSON CRUSOE.”

to the End of that War.”

These “ Memoirs ” furnish the reader with one of the most spirited Nar-
ratives of the Great Civil War which our language possesses. It exhibits
all De Foe’s characteristic excellences, and few of his defects ; and its sub-
ject lifts it out of that low atmosphere of thieves and harlots in which too
many of his secondary fictions are plunged. Its chief and most obvious
deficiency is in its style. De Foe does not write as a well-bred and well-
born Cavalier would have written. Nevertheless, it is full of fire and spirit,

* Mr. Lee is of opinion that it was actually founded ona genuine manuscript memoir;
but in this he is opposed to our ablest critics. His reasons in support of its authenticity
would equally well apply to the authenticity of ‘‘ Robinson Crusoe.”