Current:

Leader (1850-1860), 26th July 1856, Edition 1 of 2, Page 714, Untitled Article

Page 714
Page 18
18 of 24

On this page

  • Text (2)

      Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

    • Untitled Article

      Untitled Article

    • Untitled Article

      Untitled Article

  • Transcript

    • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

      Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

      Untitled Article

      «» ffht as " » reU hxve written * panegyric as this pale featureless biography . 'We showM however , have had Irtfle stress on this deficiency , seeing how ^ geijeral It is in biographical works , had M . de Lomenie attended to the easier * tit equally necessary condition of ' prosaic explicitness in statement . Noihinor can be more sketchy , fragmentary , and tantalizing than the style in which he glides over the important details wherewith the career of Beauuiar-¦ chais might have been traced . On one page we read of Beauroarchais losing all fce possessed ; on the next we find him -with large sums at his . disposal , and no hint of how he lived when ruined , nor whence came the money which he now flings about . No romancist was ever less explicit touching the ways and means of his hero than M . de Lomenie . And the same want « f clear statement utterly destroys the biographic value of the work , ^ g iving it ifce appearance of , what originally it was , a series of magazine ^ articles .

      With this restriction we < xaa . cordially commend the work ; and as the . reader probably cares less about Beaumarchais than about his tiaves , the objection will not be felt as serious . Carious indeed is the picture of society Jtere painted . STo one can contemplate it , and marvel at the French Revolution ; and if any one , aghast at the excesses of that outbreak , or despairing at the apparent relapse into a social condition from which the Revolution strove to escape , should be disposed to question the good effected , let him read these volumes . T / bis may be said to be the moral running through the < work . Of . another Jrind . is the interest one cannot help feeling in Beaumar-¦ cbais , whose life was wore adventurous than that of a iDumas hero . He plays many parts , and all with -considerable success and vivacity . He begins as a watchmaker , then emerges as a courtier , a song-writer , a dramatist , a . speculator , timan of fashion , a popular idol , a secret agent , a shipowner , a contractor , a pamphleteer , a man always at law , always quarrelling with . ¦ somebody , always " en evidence : "—

      Almost at the same moment "we see him , after being condemned to civic degradation *> y the Manpeou Parliament , bring about the overthrow of his judges , produce the * 'Barber of Seville , " correspond secretly from London with Louis XVI-., and though aaotyet recovered from , the effect of the judicial sentence which still presses upon him , 3 us credit exhausted , his goods seized , we see him obtain from the king himself a million francs , " ¦ with which he originates and fosters the intervention of France in the . quarrel between England and her American colonies . A short time . afterwards , still composing songs , comedies , . and operas , and always having two or three lawsuits on diand , Beanmtucohais trades in the four quarters of the globe ; he has forty vessels of Jus . own on the -sea ; his navy fighta aide by side with that . of the state at the battle of ^ Gcrenada , his officers -are decorated , he discusses the expenses of the war with the king , ^ nd treats with the United . States as one power would do with another .

      Powerful enough to -do all tbis , powerful enough to get " Figaro" produced on the ¦ stage in spite of Louis XVI ., . and to get the first general edition of Voltaire printed ia Tspite of the clergy and the magistracy , Beaumarchais was not even able to insure respect / or his own person and to flavehiiiieelf in the midst of all bis splendour , at the . age of . fifty-three , from being arrested one fine morning , without rhyme or reason , and . aunt up for , several days in a house of . correction like some young scapegrace . Xet at the same time he appeared as the patron of men of letters , whose interests he Advocated with . the ministers ; was in continual communication , as financier , and even . as special agent and -coancjllpr , ^ i& Mot . 4 © rSart » nee , de Maurepaa , de Vergennes , ^ eTSecfeer , and de-Calonne ; was courted by the nobles , -who borrowed money from iMm , and frequentl y . forgot to xetum it ; interceded on behalf even of princes with the Archbishop of Paris , and was contributing powerfully , but involuntarily , as will be seen , to the destruction of the monarchy . aristocrat fter hib imied for

      Persecuted under the Republic as an , a avng een prson * is opposition under iihe royalty , the ex-agent of Louis XVI . became all the same , . sand in spite of himself , the agent and commissary of the Committee of Public Safety . His . appointment as commissary , instead of placing him beyond peril , endangered his life and gave the last blow to his fortune . Originally poor , after having made his ( fortune and lost it again two or three times , he now saw all his property seized upon , and after having possessed en income of 150 , 000 fr ., Beaumarchais in bis old age proscribed , concealed under a false name in a garret at Hamburg , was reduced for a time to such a degree of want that he was obliged , as he Bays , to economize his matches ^ ao as to "be able to use each of them twice . On Ms ^ return , to Iris native land , at the age of fifty-five , in HI health , deaf , but Btill indefatigable , JBaaanmrcbais , while with more than the energy of youth he was mixing himself up with all the affairs of the day , at the same time superintended the production of his laut drama , the " Guilty Mother , " collected courageously the remains of Juis "fortune , and recommenced , with one foot in the grave , all the labours of his life ; defended iamaelf -against a legion of creditors , prosecuted a legion of debtors , and died , with , lawauite pending both against the Frenoh Republic and the Republic of ± he United States .

      M . de Lome ' nie has sketched each of these episodes with sufficient fulness of detail , aided by valuable unpublished material . Here is " a capital story , -which we select for its brevity , illustrating the life of the Princesses of France : — Now ¦*• Mesdamefl , " Mke all other women , especially princesses , had the most varied fancies , whidh it -was necessary to gratify at once . The correspondence of Madame < du Defiant contains . a very curious story , of a box of preserved Orleans quinces , which were desired so impatiently by Madame Victoire , that the king , her father , sent a messenger flying to M , de Choiseul , the prime minister , who forwarded a despatch with equal haste to the Bishop of Orleans , -who was waked at three in the morning ± o receive , to lie , greAt alarm , , a missive from Louis XV-, couched in the following terms : — " Monsieur TEveque ffOrldans , my daughters wish for some colignac ; they want very small boxes : send some . If you have none , I beg you will . "

      In this part of the letter there was a drawing of . a sedan-chair , and underneath tho chair , 41 send immediately into your episcopal town to get some : lot the boxen bo very < small ; and , Monsieur l'Evenue d'OrWans , may God have you in his holy keeping . " Loom . " Lower d < mr »/ wjui flu * postscript : " Xhe ^ edoachair does not mean anything ; it was drawn by my daughter on this ¦ sheet of paper , which I happened to . find near mo . " A courier Wm at once despatched 4 o Orleans . Tho cotignac , says Madame du Defknft , * rrtved the following day ; they no longer cared for it . Hi often happened to Bgnmrmrchtrip -to receive comtnieaioiiB which somewhat rocal « Jh *« t <> rr * if « k « * cbttynac , -with « M » difference , that « he voting und needy niuyie-master tudiM *« lir « f 8—Ukeitbe Bithapof OitoMH-a courier at Ms disposition . Sews id aao * fc * r-story , very pretty as It seems to us , and showing

      Beaumarchais in an amiable light . He was in prison for the crime of having been insulted and nearly murdered by a duke and peer . M . de Loni 6 nie reminds us that Beaumarchais had been on very intimate terms with M . Lenormant D'Etioles , the husband of Madame do Pompadour , who , aftor the death . of his first wife , had married again , and who had a charming child she yeara and a half old . This little boy , who was named Constant , was very fond of Beaumarchais , and on hearing that his friend was in prison , he wrote to him , of his own accord , the following letter : — " Neirilly , March 2 , 1778 . " Sin , —I send you my parse , because people in prison are always poor . I ani very sorry you are in prison . Every morning and every evening I say auAve JIaria for you . " I have the honour to be , Sir , " Your very humble and very obedient servant , " Constant . " Beaumarchais replied immediately to the mother and child by two letters , in which all his good nature and delicacy of feeling are shown . Here is , first of all , his letter to Madame Lenormant : —

      " I thank you very sincerely , madame , for having conveyed to me the letter and purse of my little friend Constant . These are the first promptings of benevolence on the part of a young nature , from -which excellent things may be expected . Do not give him back his own purse , so that he may not conclude that all sacrifices bring with them this species of reward . It will be very gratifying to him one day to see it in your hands , as a memorial of the affectionate kindness of his generous heart . Compensate him In a manner which will give him a just idea of the nature of his action , without allowing himself to become proud of having done it . J 3 ut I do not know what I am saying when I make these observations . Your care has originated and developed in him so great a quality as that of beneficence at an age when all morality consists in referring things to one's own interest . Receive my thanks and

      compliments . Allow M . 1 'Abbe Leroux to share them ; he is not contented with teaching his pupils to decline the word virtue , he also teaches them to love it ; he is full of merit , and more fitted than any other man to second your views . This letter and this purse have produced quite a child ' s delight in myself . Happy parents ! you have a son six years of age capable of such an action . And I also had a son ; but he is no more ! And yours already gives you such pleasures . ' I share them with all my heart , and I beg that you "will continue to have a little affection for him who has been the cause of this charming trait on the part of our little Constant . Nothing can be added to the respectful attachment , of him who makes it his honour to be , Madame , &c . "At fojr-1 'Eveque , March 4 , 1773 . " Now comes the answer to little Constant : —

      "My little Friend Constant , —I have received with much gratitude your letter and the purse you added to it : I have made a just division of what they contained , according to the different wants of my fellow prisoners and myself , keeping the best portion for your friend Beaumarchais , I mean the prayers , the Aves , of which 1 have certainly great need , and distributing to poor people , who were in distress , all tie money your purse contained . Thus , while intending to oblige one man only , yea have earned the . gratitude of many . Tbis is the ordinary fruit of actions like yours . Good-by , my little friend Constant . " Beaumaeciiais . " On the whole , this work deserves a place on the lighter shelves of every library , for although its defects as a biography are great , its positive value as a collection of sketches of society is undeniable .

      Untitled Article

      THE ROMANCE OF JAUFKY . Jmifry the KniglU and the Fair JBrunissende . A Tola qf the Time of Kiny Arthur . Translated from the Trench Version of Marie Lafon . By Alfred Ehves . " With Twenty Engravings- Atldey and Co Javfry was originall y composed in the Provencal dialect , by a minstrel who heard the tale at the Court of Aragon , and by a modest poet , who , concealing his own name , finished the rhymed romance of the troubadour . It had lain in library dust for six hundred years when Marie Lafon undertook its translation into Parisian prose . The octosyllabic narrative thus modified has been turned into English , carefully and successfully , with a alight restoration of the metrical movement , by Mr . Alfred Ehves .

      As an example of cliivalresque romance JaujTry is perfect . It brings the balm and glitter of the East into a story of Britain . It is one of the links connecting two great bodies of literature . From the fable of Arabia the troubadour took the roc , the wishes , and the tent of the Fairy i ' aribanou . JPj * om the troubadour , Cervantes took his episodes of Alic galley slavey the cavalier in green , the braying of the regidors , the Princess Micomicomn , and the enchanted bead . Jaufry is typicul , indeed , of tbe condemned books in the collection of La Mancha . It is an impossible history , carried on l > v

      impossible agencies , in a world of giants , dwarfs , sprites , and enchanted damsels , such as moved the satirist of Alcala to write his epic of mockery ; but it is a tale to be read with delight , especially by those who would trace the affinities of the European and Oriental literatures . For it id in tins direction that our researches must be carried on . We huve notyul travelled far into tho fairyland of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries—for fairy laud it is , a region of chivalry and magic . The bright lady—mistress of enelumtment—vrao succours the knight , is tho goddess who arena and defends the pngan hero . Tho maidens who bestow sweet courtesies on Sir Jtvulry are the damsels who tend the couch of Ilnliin Tai . There is an -identity ol in

      conception in tho xomancists of an early period , whether they write Greek , or Persian , or Provencal . Tho world of mediaeval fancy , however , is unique . It abounds in symbolism , ingenuous simplicities of suggestion , wondrously bold pictures , and tenderness of sentiment . It is a rcnliu ot cloudy mountains , of vast castles , of queens , knights , pages , and maidens of stately gjrnce , alwayn iu contrast with grotesque dvvariH , mirisLupeu croiies , and gigantic evil-doore , who give cmplovment to tho lords of chiyiuryi utf boars , lions , and Bea-monsters , employed the clussic heroes—the duliveianeo of dauiselfl , or the pure exhibition of prowess , being tho general object . I « castles are barbaric structures , based on kindred rocks , tower a ^ ° T tower . Tho knights liavo shoulders two -cubits broad , with golden nwr , -ruddy oomplexions , and clear , bricrht eyes ; tlicy wear violet silk , and gnriiin , than

      Hire tbe Grecian cfeiefs . The ladles are tall , « more purely white »» u » that Res upon the frosted dew , "" dad in exquisite attire , and wear >> *^ monted crowns of gold . Tho stylo is that of fantastic but not rude or r << -

      Untitled Article

      573 , 4 THE LEADER . [ No . 331 , Saturday

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), July 26, 1856, page 714, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2151/page/18/