ver, Mrs S., with whom at one time Washington Irving also wished to
collaborate, declined the offer; and _Mademoiselle Virginie_ was
ultimately published in the _New Monthly_ under the title of _Valerie_.
The first eleven chapters appeared in the magazine 1846, 1847, and the
remaining pages were added--according to _The Life and Letters of
Captain Marryat_--by another hand, when it came out in book form.

There are two special features in _Valerie_, beyond its actual merits,
that inevitably excite our attention. It is Marryat's last work, and
the only one in which the interest centres entirely on women. For this
reason, and from the eighteenth century flavour in some of its
characters, the book inevitably recalls Miss Burney and her little-read
_The Wanderer_, in which, as in _Valerie_, a proud and sensitive girl is
thrown on the world, and discovers--by bitter experience as governess,
companion, and music mistress--the sneer that lurks beneath the smile of
fashion and prosperity.

The subject is well handled, on the old familiar lines, and supplies the
groundwork of an eminently readable story, peopled by many life-like
"humours" and an attractive, spirited heroine. The adventures of
_Valerie_ are various and well-sustained; her bearing throughout secures
the reader's sympathy, and he is conscious of a genuine pleasure in her
ultimate prosperity and happiness.

_Valerie, an autobiography_, is here reprinted from the first edition in
two volumes. Henry Colburn, 1849.

R.B.J.

After Marryat's death a fragment of a story for the "Juvenile Library"
was found in his desk, and has been published in the _Life and Letters_
by Florence Marryat. It describes the experience of a man who, like
Marryat himself, was compelled by the failure of speculations to live in
the country and manage his own estate. It was projected "because few
young people have any knowledge of farming, and there are no books
written by which any knowledge of it may be imparted to children."
Marryat himself was not a very successful farmer, but probably his
theory was in advance of his practice.

CHAPTER ONE.

I have titled these pages with nothing more than my baptismal name. If
the reader finds sufficient interest in them to read to the end, he will
discover the position that I am in, after an eventful life. I shall,
however, not trespass upon his time by making many introductory remarks;
but commence at once with my birth, parentage, a