The Sun.
London, England, 1847-05-31 00:00:00

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of modern Franc([, In the row translations at presel
under notice, the , utmost exactitude and faithfulnas
are apparent, butt bis advantage is accompanied by a
peculiar elegance k snd felicity of language. The
books read more like original works than transcripts
from a foreign tongue. They are accompanied, more-
over, by judicious and . sometimes elaborate explana-
tory notes ; with biogcaphie.,s prefixed, and these
biographies are enlivenet by beautifully engraved
portraits. Thus, for example, irr /he first of the four
volumes there is a characteristic roltiqlSe m'edallit'a
of Cervantes, with- his sashed doublet, his fluted
frill, his soldierly beard, and hooked nose. In the
second there is the cadaverous and saturnine 'visage
of Michelet, with his oblique head, his prolonged
chin, and his bloodless and callous lips. In the third
is a melancholy representation of that eloquent blind
man and paralytic cripple, Augustin' Thierry, with
a physiognotny of which his biographer passionatel.is
exclaims—" the nobi!,:st blind face that can be con-.
ceived!" In the fourth is a picture which we take to
be a very uncomplimentat:y likeness of Count Alfred
de Vigny, with a capaciusis forehead, but by no
means a " noble and melancholy" countenance, such
as he is described as possessing. .irom the celebrated
" Geschichte des neueren Poesie und Beremsamkrit "
of Bouterwek, the translator (Thonstssina Ross) has
selected the portion descriptive of the "History of
Spanish Literature," with an inciderrtal preliminary
mention of the author, Frederick Bouteewek, who was
born on the 15th of April, 1766, and died n the 9th of
August, 1828. The work is an invaluable summary
of the progress and development of a very' fruitful
and very glorious literature Michelet's ".History
of the Roman Republic," as it is among his tsarliest
productions, so it is among his best—before his iwagi-
nation had become deranged and his judgment dis-
torted. Of the magnificent " History of the Nortian
Conquest of England,"
by Thierry—noble, wonder-
ful, unfortunate Augustin Thierry!—what shall
he said ? No praise could scarcely be excessive.
The work has been placed among the phenomena
Hof historical compositions by the acclamatiors
not merely of France but of Europe and of the
wised. May the applause from so many countries in
honour of Thierry carry consolation to him in the
depths* of his bodily woe ! may the light of his fame
which is now burninOmigliagi:and cannot be extin-
uished but with the extinction of his language,
compensate his great heart for the darkness of his
solemn eyes ! Those who can sympathise with
genius in calamity will assuredly be fain to weep
over the subjoined description of the great French
historian as he now lives, and breathes, and suffers is
the valley of Montmorency. The biographer describes
his making a pilgrimage to the cottage of Thierry
for the purpose of seeing that sublime spectacle, " a
great soul struggling with physical pain." He
arrives there, with some friends ; they are seated
ogether in the parlour with the historian's wife, and
his brother M. Amedee Thierry, "in whose melan-
choly countenance we may read the depression of his
t'satsrnal heart." The writer cannot join in the con-
versation : he is impatient for the advent of the illus-
trious man he had come to see :
" At length I heard the sound of approaching steps; a
loor on my right opened, and a domestic appeared, car-
rying on his back a man, blind, paralyzed, incapable of
,novement. We all arose : my h: art was penetrated '
vith emotion, of a being so powerful in intellect, so
powerless in body; the domestic in his every motion
exhibited a respectful solicitude that sensibly affected
me; he seemed thoroughly to appreciate the value of him
he bore. Re bent gently towards an arm chair, in which
he deposited his charge, enveloping the lower part of the
,notionless frame with a wrapper. This done, in an in-
stant the scene changed. and I at once recalled a
)assage in the Essai sur la literature des Anglaise,
whero M. de Chateaubriand describes the visit of
a contemporary to Milton. " The author of
• Paradise Lost,' attired in a black doublet, reclined
tn an arm-chair ; his head was uncovered, his silver hair
ell upn his shoulders, and his fine dark eyes shone
bright in their blindness upon his pallid face.' It was
the same head, with the exception of the white hair, that
I now saw before me ; the same face, more youthful and
vigorous, the noblest blind face that can be conceived
The head was firmly set upon broad shoulders ; glossy
hair, of the deepest black, carefully parted over an ex-
pansive forehead, fell in curls be,ide each temple ; be-
neath their arched brows opened the dark eyes ; but for
the vagueness of their direction, I should have imagined
them animated with sight ; the nose was of the purest
Greek form ; the mouth, with lips fine, delicate, and ex-
pressive, seemed endowed with all the sensibility of
.which the eyes had been deprived ; the finely turned
chin had a slight dimple at its extremity ; there was in
the contour of the face, and in the general expression
of the physiognomy, a remarkable combination of energy,
subtleness, and sedate tranquillity; the tones of his voice
were clear, well poised, and distinct, though, from his
feeble health, not sonorous; his bearing was, in the
highest degree, elegant; the lower portion of the frame,
as I have said, was paralyzed, but the movement of the
oast and of the arms was free; the hands, of which only
the forefinger and thumb appeared capable of action,
were gloved.

" \Vhen the name of the lady who had introduced us
was announced to him, the handsome blind man smiled,
and like the smile of Chactus in Rene, " that smile of
fhe mouth. unaccompanied by the smile of the eyes, par-
took of the mysterious and of the celestial." The lady
approached him, and Thierry kissed, with a chivalrous
Lir, the fair hand placed in his own.

"Conversation once fairly begun, that fine bead seemed
is it were radiant in the light of the intellect still finer
within. I have been in the company of many persons
who have the reputation of good talkers, and who do talk
admirably, but I have perhaps never heard any-
thing comparable with the colloquial language
r)f M. Augustin Thierry, in facility, perspicuity,
elegance. It is, doubtless, the habit of dictation,
that has given so much of style to his conversa-
tion; but whatever the canse, it may indeed be said of
!:im, that viithout any effort, without any affectation
whatever, he really 'speaks like a bi ok.'
" One of our party, M. Ami ere, was preparing to de-
part for the East; he had no sooner mentioned the cir-
cumstance, than M. Augustin Thierry discoursed to us
of the East, in what, for thought and language, was au
absolute poem; this blind man knows everything, recol-
lects everything; that which be has not seen with the
~yes of the body, he pas seen with the eyes of the spirit.
Like Milton, he is acquainted with nearly all the Euro-
pean languages. One of his friends told me, that he has
sometimes heard him in the evening, seated in his gar-
den, beneath the pale ray of the setting sua, singing,
with his feeble voice, a love song in modern Greek; and
at such moments, added my informant, ' he seemed to
me finer than Homer, or than the unknown Klepbt, who,
himself, perhaps also blind, had composed the verses he
was reciting.
" Throughout the conversation, to whic.n. I vrs a silent
and attentive lister:er, I could detect in M.-4ugustin
Thierry not the slightest trace of selfishness, -;and the
least self-reference ; on the contrary, on the contrary,
he who had been so cruelly tried by fate, spoke of the
sufferings and infirmities of others with the most un-
affected'and touching commiseration. And thus, from
day to day, does this martyr to science intrepidly pursue
the task he has imposed upon himself ; at times only,
when his pains are most racking, be is heard to murmer :
' Oh, that I were only blind !' Except in such moments
of depression, which are short and far between, and
discernable only by his
emaneneoeesretavdiononuctitesi
nervous, noble
ate associates,.
y
Au-
gustin Thierry seems more a stranger to. his ownto
him.
con-
dition than are those who surround and 1_
e -isteennces of his
science, history, poetry,
all other the
diction ; ever
sameyouth—he
fu
full,
rich,applies
e elegant,
ntth,
shade of thought is reflected on ois lips. At times,
when an idea of a more peculiar grave and lofty cha-
racter arises in his mind, you can discern a movement in
the muscles of the eye ; those blind eyes, the dark pupil
of which stands out in bold relief frost the corners, open
wide ; the thought within seems essaying to make its
way through the opacity of the ball, and, after vain
efforts to effect this, returns within, descends to the
lips, which receiving it, give it forth, not only in lan-
guage, but with the expression of the look ; from time
to time, the blind man passes his poor weak hand over
those, in every sense, so speaking lips, as if cherishing
the precious organ, enriched for him with all the facili-

ties that the other organs have lost.
spent with him seemed not a moment."
Alfred de Vigny's historical romance is too well
known, and too generally appreciated, to require any
detailed expressions of approbation. The European
Library will be a treasury of knowledge and enter-
tainment.

The two hours we

We have no alteration to re-
LEICESTER
foofreign orders
re-
port.the demand
received ; andbe,ng the heard
certaindecreaseofany more
We have not
for the home market in the autumn, if the high prices of
corn continue, induces great caution on the part of the
manufacturers. It being holiday week, the mills are
closed, and some of them are not expected to resume
working at full time. Wools and yarns are but little
affected, and it is thought no material alteration will
take place in them. The number of workmen out of
employment is very great.—Leicestershire Mercury.
MANCHESTER, FRIDAY, MAY 28.—Since Tuesday,
the holidays have put almost an entire stop to business;
but we understand that the few sales made have appeared
to indicate a rather better feeling in the market than has
been experienced for some time previously.—Manchester
Guardian.
Trade operations have been nearly suspended this
week, partly, no doubt, in consequence of the holidays;
thou,2:ll we fear had not these occurred, very little busi-
ness would have been transacted. Our proppectas
ap-
pear a little more clacering; provisions arde Eevetrng way
price, the weather is very propitious,
every probability of a good harvest.improvement.—/Vot-
fore, shortly to see indications of and
hope, there-

tinahani
REPRESENTATION OF LEEDS.—The Liberal elec-
tors of Loeds are still in correspondence with Joseph
Sturge, Esq,, who has taken time to deliberate on the
proposal made to him. The hope is entertained, that in
about a week Mr. Sturge may visit the town for the pur-
pose of addressing the inhabitants.— Leeds Mercury.
REMAUKABI:E.
CIRCUMSTANCE.--As the children of
a gentleman residing in Lame were playing along the beach
_near that town their attention was attracted to the neck of a
bottle projecting out of the sand • and, upon its being un-
corked, a document was found inside, of which the following
is a verbatim copy;--" September 1, 1843.—L William
Carson, was born in a small fishing village in Cornwall.
When 15 I went to sea, contrary to the wishes of my parents.
Whilst making Otaheite, we ran upon a coral reef. The
boats were staved, and I alone escaped to land. Let those
who find this short account try, for God's sake, to free a poor
wretch who has now been in banishment three years."...
Cornwall Gazette.