The Press.
London, England, 1858-10-23 00:00:00

23, 1858.

appears, the members of what is called the Privy
Council, who are to act as a regency in the event of
the Emperor being cut off suddenly. They are not
more, if my memory does not deceive me, than six
or eight, and Count de Persigny is one of them,
Count de Morny, President of the Legislative Body
another, M. Troplong, the learned Chief Judge of
the Court of Cassation, a third, and the respected
ex-barrister, M. Baroche, Vice-President of the
Council of State, a fourth. Marshal Pelissier also
belongs to the Privy Council, but he is a duke
already. Counts are to be created from amongst
Ministers, marshals, and ambassadors, and barons
from amongst Councillors of State and other high
public functionaries. In re-establishing an aris-
tocracy, the Emperor will not only cast eclat on his
throne,bnt *ill render a service of immense importance
to the country—the complete destruction of the order
of nobility as a political institution, in the great re-
volution of 1789, having shaken Frc.nch society to
its very centre, and been one of the great causes of
the numerous revolutions that have since occurred.
But is his Majesty quite right in transforming into
nobles men who, though possessing great talent un-
doubtedly, are after all only high placemen, and have
no fortunes, except what they have been able to
amiss from the savings of their salaries or from suc-
cessful business speculations ? The late King Louis
XVIII., of gastronomic memory, used to say, "1f
you want to make bashed hare, take a bare !" and,
in virtue of the same homely principle, most Eng.
lishinen, if they bad the privilege of speaking on
the subject to the Emperor, would respectfully re-
mark, " Sire, if you want to found an order of nobles,
begin with men of gentle birth and territorial pos-
sessions." . _

Off to Compiegne go the Emperor and Court on
Sunday, and in the extensive forest of that place
stags are to be hunted with much of the pomp of
the olden time, whilst in its palace there are to be
high rejoicings. People are be invited by a score
or a dozen at a time to visit the Imperial Majesty;
and everybody, male and female, who is admitted to
the Imperial presence is in a flutter of anxiety as
to whether he or she will receive an invitation. And
yet it is no small thing to the moderately•fortuned and
economical French to be bidden to the palace and
the bunts of Compeigne ; fur the ladies are expected
to figure in at least one new dress daily, whilst the
men are required to don the Imperial hunting cos-
tume of green embellished with gold lace, and
cocked hat also laced, and high-mounting patent-
leather boots, and pendant from the waist a sort of
short sword, with which to give the coup de grace to
the stag.

My last paragraph is exclusively for ladies :
It was said soma time ago that when the Queen
and the Empress met at Cherbourg their Majesties
had a solemn deliberation on the grave question
whether or not the doom of crinoline should be
sealed, and that the august personages came to the
conclusion that at the end of the winter it should be.
Whether this on dit were true or false, 1 cannot take
on myself to affirm ; but I have beard on excellent
authority that the Empress and some of her ;allies
have lately been engaged in making all manner of
experiments on dress, as regards form, and develop-
ment, and colour; and that the result is that they
have determined before long to inaugurate a violent
reaction to the present style,—that is to say, to have
dresses short enough to display the foot and ankle,
instead of trailing on the ground ; to diminish im-
mensely their prodigious development; and in place
of colours more or less staid to have the brightest
and gayest hues imaginable.

THE PROROGATION OF PARLIAMENT took place On
Tuesday with the accustomed formalities which are
imposed by strict constitutional rule, but without any
of the interest with which that event is ordinarily
associated in the public mind at the close of a leng-
thened and laborious session. The Royal Commis-
sioners were the Lord Chancellor, who was accom-
panied by the Marquis of Salisbury, Lord President
of the Council, and the Earl of Ilardwicke, Lord
Privy Seal. The Royal Commission having been
read by Sir J. G. Lefevre, K.C.8., Clerk of the Par-
liaments, the Lord Chancellor further prorogued
Parliament to the 19th of November next, and, as
the significant words " for the despatch of divers
urgent and important affairs " were not added, the
mewing of Parliament on that day will again be of a
purely formal character.
Tim SOCTAL SCIENCE CONFERENCE Was brought
to it successful termination on Saturdayi last. A
grand banquet took place on Friday ght,
when
several sprightly speeches, chiefly of a oomplimentary
character, were delivered. On Saturday morning
Lord John Russell read the paper on jurisprudence
which the Lord Chancellor of Ireland would have
read himself, as the president of that section, had he
atAnoll,llll 9tteea's permission to 3esvo, Roland
•

I ittraturt.

I. La Maison de Penarvan. Par Jules Sandeau
London : Jeffs.
2. Le Roman d'un Jeune Homme Pauvre. Par
Octave Feuillet. London : Jeffs.
Iv is a mistake to imagine that the Index Expur-
gatorius is exclusively a Roman Catholic institu-
tion. There exists in this privileged island no
inconsiderable party of orthodox Protestants who
have got up a little thinf of the kind for their
own special use and edihcation ; and who apply
it with a rigour perhaps even greater than that
displayed by the Congregazione of the Eternal
City. In one important particular, indeed, this
latter authority is decidedly more liberal than
its English prototype. It never condemns un-
read. The heretical leaven is actually sifted out,
weighed, and analyzed, before the terrible sen-
tence is pronounced ; and a loophole for recon-
ciliation is always left to the repentant and
retracting sinner. Not so with the Index Expur-
gatorius of these realms. Here the anathema,
once fulminated, is irrevocable and absolute—
prospective and retrospective. And not only
does this hopeless curse involve individual writers
and their literary seed for ever—it extends its
dread influence occasionally over whole catego-
ries, entire departments of intellectual produce,
without any reference to the real, probable, or
possible character of their multiform compo-
nents. French novels are, we believe, especially
and peculiarly the object of this kind of maledic-
tion en masse. The perusal of French levels is
regarded by many as quite one of the worst
forms of libertinage, and only exempted by chro-
nological accident from insertion in the commi-
nation of sins. Now, while admitting and de-
ploring the laxity of tone that mars not a few
of these brilliant productions, we must protest
against a procedure like this, which bundles good
and bad indiscriminately together, and pitchforks
the whole lot into the abyss of Tartarus. We
protest against it, not only in the name of fair
play, of abstract justice, and all that sort of
thing, but also in the names of MM. Jules San-
deau and Octave Feuillet, whose latest produc-
tions lie at this moment before us.
"La Maison de Penarvan " and "Le Roman
dun Jeune Ilomme Pauvre " are, indeed, as en-
tirely free from "the objectionable," either in
plot, tone, or sentiment, as the most rigid mo-
ralist could require. At the same time, they are
both interesting and amusing qualities not
always found in very correct people. But the

fact ,is, the French are essem iy an artistic
nation. In whatever they do, there is a certain
finish and lightness--a certain fitness of propor-
tions and harmony of detail—which always in-
sure pleasing effects, even where the materials
are meagre and unpromising. "La Maison de
Penarvan" is not a bad illustration of this. Its

plot is singularly poor in incident and originality.
The few characters brought upon the stage are
either grossly exaggerated, or too faintly sketched
in to evoke any deep sympathy with their fate.
The heroine, spite of youth and beauty, is
actually repulsive ; and we only detect ourselves
waxing tender towards her when she has already
become—a grandmother. As for the hero, M.
Jules Sandeau has chosen to make him such a con-
centrated noodle that the partial regret awakened
by his early death must be considered as no
doubtful test of the talent of the author. And
yet, in spite of these serious defects, " La Maison
de Penarvan "is not merely readable—it is in-
teresting, and even, as our neighbours happily
express it, entrainant. The style of the writer is
so easy and flowing, all the ingredients of his
work—description, reflection, action, dialogue—
are so accurately blended, the proportions are so
just, the details so skilfully adapted, the whole
picture, in short, so artistically harmonized in all
t 8 parts, that we forget, as we its discon-
gruity with the human models wcizcei: all roman-
cists profess to imitate, and lend to its artificial
Creations that momentary faith which we have
caught ourselves occasionally bestowing on the
marionettes of an Italian fair.
A specimen of style and characters may not be
unacceptable. Renee de Penarvan, the last scion
of the elder branch of an ancient and haughty
Breton family, has married her cousin Paul, who
represents the younger branch of the same house.