is not strange that Parisians adore
him, for he was the father of comedy as well as tragedy. It was his
plays that caused the erection of commodious theaters. His plays have
continued to hold their place in the affections of the nation, and he is
reverenced more to-day than he was while living. The foreigner cannot
understand fully the character of modern French dramatists, and that of
their works, without knowing something of Corneille, nor can he wander
long among the streets of Paris, without becoming aware of the
estimation in which he is held at the present time by the intelligent
classes.

THE GREAT JESTER

Rabelais was born in 1483. He was a learned scholar, a physician, and a
philosopher. He was called "the great jester of France," by Lord Bacon.
Many buffooneries are ascribed to him unjustly, and he was a greater man
than certain modern writers make him out to be.

His place of birth was Chinon, a little town of Touraine. His father was
a man of humble means. He received his early education in a convent near
his home. His progress was very slow and he was removed to another. He
promised poorly for future distinction, but at the second convent he was
fortunate in making the acquaintance of Du Ballay who afterward became a
bishop and cardinal, and whose friendship he retained to the day of his
death.

He was again removed to another convent, where he applied himself to the
cultivation of his talents. There was, however, no library in the place.
Rabelais soon took to preaching, and with the money he was paid for it,
he purchased books. His brother monks hated him for his eloquence in
preaching, and for his evident learning. He was persecuted by these men
and suffered a great deal, principally because he knew Greek. For some
alleged slight offered against the rules of the convent, they wreaked
their vengeance upon him by condemning him to the prison cell, and to a
diet of bread and water. They also applied their hempen cords
thoroughly, and this course of treatment soon reduced Rabelais to a very
weak condition. His friends were by this time powerful and they obtained
his release, and a license from the Pope for him to pass from this
convent to another. But he was thoroughly disgusted with convent life,
and fled from it, wandering over the provinces as a secular priest. He
next gave up this employment altogether, and took to the study of
medicine. He went through the different steps of promotion and was