THE USE OF THE "DE."
[To T HE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR.1 have often heard the statement made, as your reviewer puts it in his notice of Mr. Lucas's "A Wanderer in Paris" (Spectator, August 14th), that a Frenchman says " Monsieur de Goncourt" or "Goncourt," but not "do Goecourt," and have often also noticed the exceptions to the rule. It would be interesting to know how far it is accepted. It took me less than two minutes to find a breach of it on p. 307 of Baudelaire's " Lettres," where repeated mention is made of "De Broise."—I am, Sir, &c.,
P.
[ We have always understood that it was as barbarous to talk of "de Musset " or "von Bismarck" as it would be to say "of Chandos " instead of " Chandos " when you wished- to refer familiarly to the Duke of that name. Certainly French people are apt to chaff Englishmen for falling into this fault. Perhaps Bandelaire belonged to a body analogous to that in England which, considering it familiar to call ladies by their Christian names, insist that an Earl's daughter shall be Lady 'Pere de Vere instead of Lady Clara.—En. Spectator.'
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