des
of thought and their religious and political aspirations. At
the same time it brings vividly before us the great crises of
their history. M. Henri Bordier has done a service not easily
estimated at its full worth, by the publication of a
considerable collection of the popular songs of the
Protestants, under the title, "Le Chansonnier Huguenot du XVIe
Siecle" (Paris, 1871). These songs are grouped in four
divisions: religious songs, polemic and satirical songs, songs
of war, and songs of martyrdom.

The three oldest Huguenot songs known to exist belong to the
first two divisions, and have been saved from destruction by
the enemies of their authors, in the very attempt to secure
their suppression. They have recently been found upon the
records of the Parliament of Paris, where they obtained a
place, thanks to the zeal of the "lieutenant general" of Meaux
in endeavoring to ferret out the composers of anti-papal
ballads. They were entered, without regard to metre, as so
much prose. A stanza or two of the song entitled _Chanson
nouvelle sur le chant: "N'allez plus au bois jouer,"_ and
evidently adapted to the tune of a popular ballad of the day,
may suffice to indicate the character of the most vigorous of
these compositions. It is addressed to Michel d'Arande, a
friend of Farel, whom Bishop Briconnet had invited to preach
the Gospel in his diocese of Meaux, and begins:

Ne preschez plus la verite,
Maistre Michel!
Contenue en l'Evangille,
Il y a trop grand danger
D'estre mene
Dans la Conciergerie.
Lire, lire, lironfa.

Il y a trop grand danger
D'estre mene
Dans la Conciergerie
Devant les chapperons fourrez
Mal informez
Par gens plains de menterie.
Lire, lire, lironfa.

The "chants religieux," of which M. Bordier's collection
reproduces twenty-five, are partly poetical paraphrases of the
Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, etc., and partly original
compositions on a variety of themes, such as patient endurance
of insult, etc. They display great familiarity with the Holy
Scriptures, and sometimes not a little poetic fire.

The "chants polemiques" treat of a number of subjects,
prominent among which are the monks and nuns, and the
doctrines of the papal church. In one the exp