_History of Commerce_ (Vol. v., p. 276.).--As a learned and lucid
account of the early commercial intercourse between Europe and the
eastern countries, I believe there is no work comparable to that
entitled _Histoire du commerce entre le Levant et l'Europe depuis les
croisades jusqu'à la fondation des colonies d'Amérique_, par G. B.
Depping. Paris, 1830. 8vo. 2 vols. This subject was proposed in 1826, as
a prize essay, by the Académie royale des inscriptions et
belles-lettres, and M. Depping was the successful competitor. The prize,
a gold medal of the value of 1500 francs, was awarded in 1828. M. le
baron Silvestre de Sacy, whose profound acquaintance with oriental
history and literature enabled him to detect some slight errors in the
work, thus concludes his review of it in the _Journal des savants_:
"Mais ces légères critiques ne m'empêchent pas de rendre toute justice à
un travail véritablement estimable, et digne de l'honneur qu'il a obtenu
de l'Académie des belles-lettres."