n journalism, in the furnishing of miscellaneous
articles, prefaces, and so forth, to the booksellers, and finally in
theatrical criticism, where he reigned supreme for many years. None of
his later novels need remark. With Janin may be mentioned M. Alphonse
Karr, who however has been more of a journalist than of a novelist. His
abundant and lively work has not perhaps the qualities of permanence.
But his _Voyage autour de mon Jardin_, his _Sous les Tilleuls_, and the
satirical publication known as _Les Guepes_, deserve at least to be
named. Here too may be noticed M. Barbey d'Aurevilly whose works
critical and fictitious (the chief being probably _L'Ensorcelee_)
display a very remarkable faculty of style, perhaps too deliberately
eccentric, but full of distinction and vigour.

Under the Empire, a fresh group of novelists of incident sprang up. MM.
Erckmann and Chatrian produced in collaboration a large number of tales,
chiefly dealing with the events of the Revolution and the First Empire
in the north-eastern provinces of France. Criminal and legal subjects
were great favourites with the late Emile Gaboriau, who naturalised in
France the detective novel. His chief follower is M. Fortune du
Boisgobey.

[Sidenote: Charles de Bernard.]

The best novelists of the generation of 1830, outside the list of
masters, have yet to be noticed. These are Charles de Bernard and Jules
Sandeau. Charles de Bernard was at one time Balzac's secretary, but his
fashion of work is entirely different from that of his employer. He
divides himself for the most part between the representation of the
Parisian life of good society and that of country-house manners. His
shorter tales are perhaps his best, and many of them, such as
_L'Ecueil_, _La Quarantaine_, _Le Paratonnerre_, _Le Gendre_, etc., are
admirable examples of a class in which Frenchmen have always excelled.
But his longer works, _Gerfaut_, _Les Ailes d'Icare_, _Un Homme
Serieux_, etc., are not inferior to them in wit, in accurate knowledge
and skilful portraiture of character, in good breeding, and in satiric
touches which are always good-humoured.

[Sidenote: Jules Sandeau.]

Jules Sandeau was a novelist of no very different class, but with less
wit, with much less satiric intention, and with a greater infusion of
sentiment, not to say tragedy. His best novels, _Catherine_,
_Mademoiselle de Penarvan_, _Mademoiselle de la Seigliere_, _Le Docteur
Herbeau_, are drawn from provinci