MALLET

mallet, paul henri (1730-1807), swiss writer, was born on the 20th of august 1730, in geneva. after having been educated there, he became tutor in the family of the count of calenberg in saxony. in 1752 he was appointed professor of _belles lettres_ to the academy at copenhagen. he was naturally attracted to the study of the ancient literature and history of his adopted country, and in 1755 he published the first fruits of his researches, under the title _introduction a l'histoire du danemarck ou l'on traite de la religion, des moeurs, des lois, et des usages des anciens danois_. a second part, more particularly relating to the ancient literature of the country, _monuments de la mythologie et de la poesie des celtes, et particulierement des anciens scandinaves_, was issued in 1756, and was also translated into danish. a translation into english, with notes and preface, by bishop percy, was issued in 1770 under the title of _northern antiquities_ (republished with additions in 1847). the book had a wide circulation, and attracted much attention on account of its being the first (though a very defective) translation into french of the _edda_. the king of denmark showed his appreciation by choosing mallet to be preceptor of the crown prince. in 1760 he returned to geneva, and became professor of history in his native city. while there he was requested by the czarina to undertake the education of the heir-apparent of russia (afterwards the czar paul i.), but declined the honour. an invitation more congenial to his tastes led to his accompanying lord mountstuart in his travels through italy and thence to england, where he was presented at court and commissioned to write the history of the house of brunswick. he had previously received a similar commission from the landgrave of hesse-cassel for the preparation of a history of the house of hesse, and both works were completed in 1785. the quietude of a literary life was rudely broken by the shock of the revolution, to which he was openly hostile. his leanings to the unpopular side were so obnoxious to his fellow-citizens that he was obliged to quit his native country in 1792, and remained in exile till 1801. he died at geneva, on the 8th of february 1807. a memoir of his life and writings, by sismondi, was published at geneva in 1807. besides the _introduction to the history of denmark_, his principal works are: _histoire du danemarck_ (3 vols., copenhagen, 1758-1777); _histoire de la maison de hesse_ (4 vols., 1767-1785); _histoire de la maison de brunswick_ (4 vols., 1767-1785); _histoire de la maison et des etats du mecklenbourg_ (1796); _histoire des suisses ou helvetiens_ (4 vols., geneva, 1803) (mainly an abridgment of j. von muller's great history); _histoire de la ligue hanseatique_ (1805).