“The Victim of Magical Delusion” (serialized novel)
Original: _Geschichte eines Geistersehers: Aus den Papieren des Mannes
mit der eisernen Larve_ (i.e. “the man in the iron mask”), 1790, by
Cajetan Tschink (1763-1813): 3vols. octavo
English Translation: Peter Will, published in 1795 as _The victim of
magical delusion: or, The mystery of the revolution of P--l:
a magico-political tale, founded on historical facts_. Editions
include London (3 vols.) and Dublin (2 vols). Only the London
edition includes the final “Address of the Translator”.
The serial began in no. 22 of the New-York Weekly; the first 31 of
its 74 segments are in Volume I.
Volume breaks from both editions come at the _middle_ of New-York
Weekly installments (coincidentally at page breaks).
Dublin, Vol. 2 begins: As soon as the Countess was gone to bed...
London, Vol. 3 begins: I felt like one who is suddenly roused...
Background: The dramatic date is 1640-41, around the break-up of the
Iberian Union, formed in 1580. The main character is the historical
Miguel Luís de Menezes (1614-1641), Duke of Caminha or Camiña, who
was executed for treason for supporting a Spanish claimant to the
Portuguese throne. He outranks his father because the title was
inherited from his maternal uncle, also Miguel Luís de Menezes
(1565-1637); the title later passed to Miguel’s sister.
The “Queen of Fr**ce” was Anne of Austria who, as her name indicates,
was Spanish. During most of 1640--when she appears in this
novel--she would have been pregnant with her second child.
Links for Dublin edition:
Vol. 1: http://www.archive.org/details/victimmagicalde02tschgoog
Vol. 2: http://www.archive.org/details/victimmagicalde01tschgoog
Link for London edition:
http://www.archive.org/details/victimmagicalde00tschgoog
“Interesting history of the Princess de Ponthieu”
Original: “A Story of Beyond the Sea” (Estoire d’Outremer), formerly
attributed to Marie de France, probably dating to the 13th century.
Modern (French) text: either a _nouvelle_ from 1723 or 1725 or
possibly 1723 by Commandeur de Vignacourt, or a _roman_ of about
the same period by Madame de Gomez. Both were called _La Comtesse
de Ponthieu_.
The immediate English source has not been identified.
Links:
https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/11417/pg11417-images.html#XVI
https://www.gutenberg.org/etext/30794
“Interesting History of the Baron de Lovzinski”
Original: _The life and adventures of the chevalier de Faublas_, 1787,
by Jean-Baptiste Louvet de Couvray. The Lovzinski episode covers
chapters VIII-XIV (to the end of the first volume in the 4-volume
edition, or about 3/4 through the first in the 3-volume edition).
English translation: Exact source unknown. The serialized text is
identical to the 1811 edition, except for the spelling of the name
Pulaski--Pulauski in the book--and the “translator’s afterword” in
the serial.
Notes: The passages with dots and asterisks seem to be decorative,
since they also occur in an early French edition.
The novel ends differently than what is implied in the magazine. The
daughter of Lovzinski and Lodoiska appears later in the book as a
secondary character.
Links:
Volume 1 of 1811 edition:
http://www.archive.org/details/lifeandadventur01couvgoog
Volume 1 of an “unexpurgated” later translation:
http://www.archive.org/details/amoursofchevalie01louv
The 1821 French edition:
http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/
Background: A footnote in the novel says
* The Translator thinks that he can venture to pronounce M. P----
to be the nobleman who was formerly called Count Poniatowski,
and who at present so worthily fills the throne of Poland.
Poniatowski abdicated in 1795, after the novel and its translation
were published, but before the New-York Weekly serialization. He
was kidnapped by the Bar Confederates in 1771, during the dramatic
period of the novel. The story conflates two Pulaskis, the father
Joseph and the son Casimir (“the” Pulaski to Americans).
“The History of Mrs. Mordaunt”
The source of this serial has not been identified, but there is no
reason to think it was written for the New-York Weekly.
Quotations:
“Gently the moon...” opening stanza of “The Bard”, anon., 1784 in
The Hibernian Magazine
“and sober evening had taken ‘her wonted station in the middle air.’”
Thomson, “Seasons”, Summer
“All the lowly children of the vale.” James Grahame, British Georgics,
October
“Shoulder’d his crutch, & shew’d how fields were won.” Goldsmith,
The Deserted Village
“Hope, sweetest child of fancy born” etc. J. Duncombe, Farewell to
Hope, first stanza.
“Then crown’d again” etc.: Paradise Lost, as attributed.
“The Adventures of Alphonso and Marina”
Original: Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian (1755-1794), “Célestine,
nouvelle Espagnole”, 1784 or earlier. The author’s mother was
Spanish.
Translations: The Lady’s Magazine (London, Vol. XXII, September 1791,
p. 457ff) as “The Constant Lovers” by The Chevalier de Florian,
using the names Celestina and Don Pedro; _Tales of an Evening
“Founded on Facts”_ ed. Francis Murphy 1815 (Norristown PA) as
“The Beautiful Alcade of Gadara”, using the names Celestina and
Don Pedro; Walker’s Hibernian Magazine (Sept 1787, 480ff) as
“The Adventures of Alphonso and Marina”. This is probably the
New-York Weekly’s direct source.
Notes:
English text:
While thus mournfully ruminating, Marina, on a sudden, heard the
sound of a rustic flute. Attentively listening, she soon heard an
harmonious voice, deploring, in plaintive strains, the infidelity
of his mistress, and the miseries of disappointed love.
French text:
Comme elle disait ces mots, elle entendit au bas de la grotte le
son d’une flûte champêtre; elle écoute; et bientôt une voix douce,
mais sans culture, chante sur un air rustique ces paroles:
Plaisir d’amour ne dure qu’un moment...
This is the original source of the song. The melody is by Jean-Paul
Égide Martini (1741-1816).
Links:
http://books.google.com/books?id=T7oRAAAAYAAJ
http://lesmontsdureuil.fr/plaisir_d%27amour.php