Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-07-20 00:00:00

SPAIN.

MADRID, Juty 13.

The hot weather has closed the Madrid theatres, but
the Cortes still sit; and lovers of butlesque and low
comedy have no need to complain. In spite of the pitiless
sun and elevated temperature, her Majesty's servants
continue their comical capers in the congress. Don
Ramon Narvaez is great as the Pere noble, who, bewigged
and sonorous, propounds high principles of morality,
legality, and conciliation. Senor Nocedal, as befits
his tender years, affects more juvenile parts, and
almost. brings down the house as the naughty gamin
de Madrid, who, while committing some diabolical
piece of mischief, can hardly restrain a grimace of
malicious delight. Mr. Peter Pidal is the cross-grained
uncle, testy and violent, whose habitual attitude is one of
repose, but who occasionally bursts out with a vigour and
venom that have a most telling effect upon his audience.
Senor Moyano is great la the part of Doust erswivel, and
has lately discovered some mines of phosphate of lime.
which are to pay off the whole debt of Spain, and has intro -

duced a law declaring them national property. The law,
of course, passed the Cortes, but is protested against by a
few individuals to whom the mines belong. As for the
rest of the company they are mere walking gentle-
men, who follow their leaders and pick up crumbs. Some
mention ought, however, to be made of M. Gonzalez
Bravo, who, although not a regular member of the troop,
has made himself very useful during the season, always
ready to act as doubiure, or do any sort of odd job, bet
who complains of having been shabbily rewarded, thinks
be ought to have been taken into partnership, and does
not much like the ilea of returning to London fogs, not-
withstanding the profound respect and admiration with
which, as his friends assure us, everybody in that capital
regards him.

DEATH OF BERANGER.

A telegraphic despatch from Paris, dated Thursday

night, announced the death of the great French lyric poet,
Beranger.
It will not be an easy task for France to replace the
loss of her greatest living poet. The immortal Beranger,
who is now no more, held in the world of French literature,
a position in some respects analogous to that of our o wn
Dibdin, whilst in other points he more nearly approached
the character of Burns or Thomas Moore. In all that he
wrote, there was a heartiness and fixedness of purpose,
and a depth of genuine patriotism which has been seldom
equalled, and never surpassed. The " glory of France,"
the honour of a splendid "career" and " a name that shall
be handed down to posterity"—these, and such as these,
are the chief subjects on 'which he loved to dwell in those
songs and ballads by which his name has been made for
this half•century past, a " household word" in France.
John Peter Beranger was born in Paris about the year
1780. His father, though descended from a very ancient
family, was in humb,Le circumstances, which he did not
improve by his careless and wayward habits. The child,
in consequence, was brought up by his grandfather, a
tailor in the French metropolis, who, after leaving him to
tonAniapt ten 'Fars of his life in running wild about
residing at Peronne. Here he was apprenticed to a
printer, in whose office, whilst engaged setting up the
types, he met with some of the poetry of Andre Chenier-
He caught the inspiration of his genius, and resolved to
become a poet himself. His first efforts at poetry were
far from successful, and wearied out with disappointment,
he thought of enlisting for a soldier, and joining the
forces of the Consul Napoleon, in Egypt. A slight event,
however, which has been variously narrated, altered
the plan of his life ; he re-considered his determina-
tion, and returned to the study of the Muses.
Though his songs were strongly tinged with re-
publican sentiments, he found a patron in Lucien
Buonaparte, the Emperor's brother, through whose
iufiuence• he obtained some employment. Having
assisted in editing Landon's "Annals of the Musee Royale,"
he was appeinted to a clerkship in the University of
France, which he held for several years. He now became
a member of the celebrated society of the Caveau, and in
1815, published a collected edition of his scattered songs,
which had appeared at intervals. Of these, his Rio
d'lvetot, his Chien* de Quceite, and his Censeur, are the best
and widest known ; the first mentioned having conquered

the gravity and stirred the merriment even of the great
Napoleon. The republican spirit evinced in a second
volume of a similar kind, published in 1821, brought on
Beranger a criminal prosecution, and, what is more, en-
tailed on him the loss of his civil post : and for his third
series, which was published in 1828, and contained some
severe satires on the existing government, he was sentenced

to a nine months' term of imprisonment, besides a heavy
fine. The latter was paid by his friends, and his prison
straightway became the resort of all the learned in
Paris—historians, philosophers, and poets. The writings
sent out by him from behind the bars of his prison con-
tributed very largely to the downfall of the Bourbon
dynasty, at the Revolution of July, 1830. The poet,
however, steadily refused to derive either personal profit
or political prefermmt for the line which he had abopted :
he retired from Paris, and in his little garden at Plassy,
or at Fontainebleau, he spent the greater part of the time
during which Louis Philippe sat upon the throne of
France.
After the Revolution of 1848, Beranger returned to
Paris and took his seat as a member of the Assembly,
though he resigned his office a few months subsequently.
Since that time he has resided chiefly in the French

metropolis, enjoying the society of his literary and
philosophic friends, and occupying his leisure time partly
in giving to the world a fourth and fifth edition of his
songs, and partly also in compiling a 4. Biogrcrphie des
Contemporains, which hereafter will, in all probability be
published. It is sure to be of interest, and is said to con.
tain many unpublished facts concerning many of the
" modern celebrities " of Parisian society.

The songs of Beranger have deservedly attained a high
reputation, not only in France, but throughout all Europe.
One especial charm is their ❑ationality. What Tyrtfeus
was to Sparta, anl what Dibdin was to the British
" tars," that was Berarger to France as a nation. The
delicate wit, the subtle satire, the indignant denunciation,
the correct and vivid picture of life, the exquisite
comicality of his situations, plots, and expression—
these are all truly and exclusively French, and so,
perhaps, also are his faults, though on these we need not
dwell. His command of language is truly marvellous, and
in the most difficult of rhythms his words always seem to
drop naturally into their proper places ; but his finished
style is understood to have been the result of great and
incessant labour. A true poet and a keen satirist, his

weapon of offence has been remarkably clean from perso-
nal attack, and it may be averred with justice that few
literary men of any time or any country have been more
universally beloved.
The funeral of the poet, the expenses of which it has
been decided by the Emperor shall be defrayed out of the
civil list, took place on Friday at noon. Only those who
were specially invited were allowed to follow the remains
to the grave. From the residence of the deceased to the
Cemetery of Pere la Chasse, where Beranger now lies
sepulchred alongside with the tomb of Manna], the funeral
cortege was escorted by the Imperial troops ; the Bove-
ror's carriage followed in the train,: and among the
mourners-wereisoml of the most eminent representat'ves
of French literature. Vast crowds accompanied the
melancholy procession, but perfect order reigned.