From A Bibliography of Alexandre Dumas père by Frank Wild Reed: A somewhat inferior story, which Dumas borrowed, at least in part, from a German tale by Auguste Lafontaine, "Nouveaux Tableaux de Famille, ou La Vie d'un Pauvre Ministre de Village et de ses Enfans," as the French translation by De Montolieu renders it.
By far the most interesting part to-day is the Epilogue, in which Dumas describes his visit to England in 1850. It is upon this occasion that he claims to have obtained his story, the setting of which he has transposed from its original seat "across the Rhine" to Derbyshire.
Original edition : Paris, Cadot, 8 vols., 8vo., 1853.
It now forms two volumes in the standard Calmann-Lévy edition, and one in their "Musée Littéraire."
In Le Vasseur's "Alexandre Dumas Illustré" it forms part of Vol. XIV
References :—- Glinel: "Alex. Dumas et Son Œuvre," page 431. Parran: "Bibliographie d'Alex. Dumas," pp. 61-62.
English Translation :—
This work has never been rendered into English, but Mrs. Andrew Lang (and Mr. R. S. Garnett) issued a long article upon it. entitled "With Dumas in Derbyshire," in the "British Review" for February and March, 1914.
From A Bibliography of Alexandre Dumas père by Frank Wild Reed: (CLXXXI.) Chapter XXIII., a translation of Gray's "Elegy," 30 four-line stanzas, rhyming alternately.
In the spring of 1927 Messrs. Maggs Bros. offered the " original manuscript" in Dumas' hand and signed by him, a very fine piece of caligraphy, for .£21, three and a half pages folio. It is there entitled "Le Cimetière de Village. Imitation de Gray."
In the Epilogue to "Le Pasteur d'Ashbourne" are the following translations, all save the last from Byron,
(CLXXXII.) 34 alexandrines from "The Deformed Transformed."
(CL XXXIII.) Eight stanzas of four and five lines alternately, rhyming respectively a, b, a, b, and a, b, a, a, b. From "On Leaving Newstead Abbey."
(CLXXXIV.) Three eight-line stanzas, rhyming a, b, a, b, c, d, c, d. From "Lachin y Gair."
(CLXXXV.) 28 stanzas from "Don Juan," each of six lines, rhyming a, a, b, c, c, b.
(CLXXXVI.) Six four-line stanzas, rhyming a, b, a, b. From "Lines inscribed on a Cup formed from a Skull."
(CLXXXVII.) Translation of a Scotch poet's lines on Miss Gordon of Gight, the poet's mother. Three eight-line stanzas, rhyming a, b, a, b, c, d, c, d.
