CHAPTER IV

THE FRENCH TEACHING PROFESSION AND METHODS OF STUDYING THE LANGUAGE 319

Vogue of French romances in England--Dorothy Osborne--Pepys on French literature--His French books--French text-books and the _précieux_ spirit--William Herbert--His criticism of the French teaching profession--Rivalry among teachers--Need for protection--Herbert's later works--His early career in England--Quarrels with a minister of the French church--English gentry at the French church--Pepys a regular attender--French teachers encourage the practice--The method of 'grammar and rote'--French 'by rote'--Examples of how French was studied--Latin by grammar--Calls for reform--The case against grammar--French taught on the 'right method'--Attempts to teach Latin on the same lines as French--Contrast between the learning of Latin in England 'by grammar' and of French in France 'by rote.'