| Description | According to Robert Day, the manuyscript is an original translation from Cavallier's French version, in his own hand. This may not be so, but it appears to be the fair copy from which the published book was first printed in Dublin in 1726.
Manuscript notes on the inside front cover and fly-leaf, by Robert Day, give a brief account of Cavallier and of Captain John Rouvire, Day's great-grandfather, who also came from Languedoc, lived in Ireland, and held a commission in the British Army. |
| AdminHistory | Jean Cavallier or Cavalier, 1681-1740, the son of a Languedoc peasant, distinguished himself greatly as a military commander in the guerilla war carried out by Protestants in the Cevennes against French troops in 1702-1704. He later commanded a regiment against the French in Spain and was severely wounded at Almanza. He spent much of the latter part of his life in Ireland, with the Huguenot community founded in Portarlington, became Lieutenant-Governor of Jersey in 1738, and a major-general in the British Army in 1739. |
| CustodialHistory | The manuscript was in the possession of Rev Beaver Henry Blacker (an antiquary in Dublin and later in Gloucestershire) who under his pseudonym 'ABHBA' asked in 'Notes and queries: a medium of inter-communication for literary men, artists, antiquaries, genealogists, etc.' (London) 14 December 1861, for information on its author.
In 1904, the MS and a copy of the printed version were bought in Dublin by Robert Day, FSA. Both volumes have Day's bookplate, and his arms have been stamped in gold on the covers. There is a later bookplate of R M Chirnside, but the two books were finally acquired by Susan Minet. |