The Sun.
London, England, 1850-09-07 00:00:00

LITERATURE
VIETV OF TIIE FRE CH RE VOLU-
-2'-V OP 1848. 2 ruis
E.N. Capain Cl,a-
tAcc, riling to the ( pinion expressed by Alexandre_;,
4141 ui en G - ‘• De la Dc em-
the au • - s pin
the I' teen" one word bovr(d on thz, pen of
ant. during its composition and
wo,e—
theteee e" ea.,.
_Co estiniato in a romew hat simiiar manner
-"ettilifig of the volumes now under cur consideri.
shuuld say that one sentiment lucked in the
CacoBe-eie.f the author from its commencement to its
t,,",sl°", and that sentiment one of dejection.
Chamier avows himself at the outset to be a
-eYli t
s- and a hater of revolutions. Consequentloy.
_a 4tvver he may say respecting republican forms
cunt
gg ver„e°l;lit must in common prudence be taken c.outs
tollittelL s°is9. Aware that his very obvious prejudices
0/.1.10 ter to depreciate the apparent trustworthiness
prey narrative narrative the gallant beokman tells us in his
.TO-
- that he 'believes there is no word in as
le
saeri which he cannot prove (prove being. I.
most 41 italics), or which Le cannot satistin P the
incredulous to have been derived yfrom
authenticat 't sources. Doubtless. We would never fcr
ant insinuate that Captain Chamier has been
Prey 7`.°' fraudulent statements, has garbled facts, has
sI, has shuffled has distorted, suppressed,
at-tilaed
trre!,—none of these things should we dream of
task
ce'ng against him if we proposed to ourselves the
feat to accusation. What, however, must be tiiaonnie-
abh,rathe least astute judgment it; this—that any
Plaieji"ng democratic explosions, as Captain Chamier
tetZi_e(•nftsses he does, must be liable to view themnla e
-..‘g4 no impartial mediutn, but rather through on.
tipawahlich every olject appears jaundiced by
hinidaers
Ite I. Such a predisposition to abominate re
colarlidee°r°3' to deprecate and contemn inevitable. 'We
ley . ourselves justified, therefore, without doing
the I::,3,ll'tice whatsoever to the writer, to regard
voleti""le of his lucubrations upon the re-
ittspi,,-;narY outbreak of 1848 with an ever-present
Iles; -ent.. Nor does an examination of the work.bn
thelin;unaitted to our criticism tend to conete.ine.
1)414-,1 so doing we are acting in any respecb.sitn.
title 'll% On the contrary, the tone of the
etipt'.°pr, rather we should say of the chronicle:6llo:
digea-eatnier shrinks from arrogating to himself t
teaa of the annalist) is so perpetually carping, so
regard to derisive, so pertinaciously captious, in
the t° everything and every person connected. w
titardeernocratic movement, that the necessity of
kola against such stupendous prejudices becomes
Pertialu Mere manifest the further we proceed thati
in
the Still we must perforce acknowledge
tartly'', With all its blemishes, is entitled to serious.e
st 141°Y rein
all those who are solicitous to arrive
tot :set estimate of the last tremendous revolution,.
e nee "'utiles are, be it remembered, the effusions
tails, tehiel..nd eminently exact in regard to dates and
be
tiejal,4owever it may at the same time be clouded d
sebie7Predilections. Besides which it is always a enid-
eetslintexarnine the narratives of such important.a n
119 differs '3' events as they may happen to he given
tin erent classes of spectators—for bso doing wef
these elle obtain the full and completes mpressiort ofis
ses• they were viewed in all directions.
stern( hal indeed to balance the accounts of nds and
atilev% lf the prejudiced and the impartial, in order.
!ste a correct estimate of the Revolution, as
Just „end the red, the blue, and the yellow rays in
t
laieC°Portions, so as to create a pure white beam of
)A4 It must be visible, consequently, from what
to diniv.e observed, that our intention is in no measure
oeinisti any idea that may have been entertained
fret 4 ,r,reeders as to the value of this last emanation
vbeeliaiitt zetutities of Captain Chamier. We will not
enough to hint that his skill as a no-
happily to his aid as a chronicler—recog-
er leril as we unquestionebly do throughout the whole
Itrieteisundiced views of French Republicanism, the
I_l3l/Serve4td honesty of narration. It should likewise be
47fOre -.4
48 an additional attraction to the volumes
eis ell°, that their author never once quitted Paris
tsar of ,ale day during the whole of the memorable
114th 4,848, or at least from the explosion of the
,_4.resia-e•Zebruttry down to the election of the first
Lute to ""e‘ cm the 10th of December. It is satisfec-
40g 41- 'now that throughout events of such surprisb-
esp, ittegnitude there was present in the Frenc
Jotting
IT intelligent Englishman like our author,
Joten; ,°° serving every incident as it transpired, and
teevele "evvn, from day to day, as the revolutionary
1344 ent developed itself, his own personal cour-
t.
tet% annotations. Every scene attracted him
deelhonBsetr.l.ll!°Y"--be asssted at every fete and every
•ateee. to use his
Days and days,"
of thezeression, fee passed in the gallery.
v• e National Assembly, observing with
the Igilent
shifting phases of
t evolution, eye the s 1
lesk-geriptilt is inevitable, therefore,g that his
ts takYe Powers when employed upon proceedings
h'ittlee lheg Place immediate( under his own obser-
iltillsud'illd derive from that circumstance an
tie
1 past elld peculiar vividness. In reading some of
isll:tsat,ge,st cons( quently, we can almost for the
fancy ourselves spectators. In this
hmeted ti;"snuer it is that Captain Chamier has
etolec e various incidents which inaugurated the
rethtee lon, whether those incidents took place in the
(lee " in the
ek - of it Parliatnent, in the streets or in the
segtlabee r. The last moments of the
teri,ie °f escapee
in particular are depicted with
Stteteirß exactitude. So also are the insurrectionary
tirmthe tea;de against the Republic during the s
er,,ev'si°llal Government the bloody civil war
t- the e,ged towards the close of the reign
dietat -r'secut*
ietrileue 17e
Commission ;. and the politi-
the Ittorsei s which multiplied . under the
sit cause P of Cavai nac's administration. Hating
or -,* t'f democra gy
he does with all the inten-
Llser: royalist, Captain s Chamier cannot help being
ithe s carried away on the wings of republican
°ltitt'inl' happens thus
.when he listens to the
p°ll4,,6actress, Mademoiselleßachel, singing.
ingto,,t the Ilfarseillaise at one of the theatres of
a4l)'eek4ll3- presence of the Provisional Government.
or 'he ' of this he observes •
ttsklite teVe'lllvas to revive some excitement in favour
*fie tteeie °, and as novelty is ever charming, the
40044'
wsetress came forth to sing the
/11ursez . e
ate ?' te erne have never witnessed any exhibition more
eq.alfeled w forth a momentary applause than the un-
th,tue,rgY of this gre at performer. We cannot
a:4if 6"
is a republican, but when she wrapped
f!ordei tahre.ttri-coloured tleg, and knelt as she sang
gsamt ou,;ne most spirit-stirring song evert penned,
sue i'et"ves borne away by the universa.e.nthu-
et, of 11,,; urgOt all the miseries of the republic in the
, eeek,;
Ote Isterß, "°n we experienced. Neither were we,—
att.,--the atalinching royalists as we arc, and have ever
Or t 1,40 Tailic4i'y victims of Rachel's power • b our aide
etii,ae (1,8 ea ambassador, and he, the representative
hit
01:431'sto, could not refrain from joining in tne
04sect , Pelause. It was what is vulgarly called
.2
, ta„ ,
(sibov_er snout of Vzve la Republique'
.the 1 rovi-
m(ot, represented by Limattine, Ledru
etZod ,a ?wit, Louis Blanc, Marrast, and Careca
.tan eered)ue Chevaliers do Lustre (as the cloqueu, s
4 tls „ roared of course, 'rive le Gouvernnient
•
tide!, 48 a tek
ttee-hl elte„,, en of the new interest imparted to inn:
aliegee the i`o?, described so fiequently, we may_.la.
of the 'sawing account given by Captain un n
kit,4the
'Sth of attaer in which M. de Lateartine, o
t. hot was saved from a threatened Eases-
a tare'
*us ethe pete,°ow endeavoured to obtain a heafiog;
litecrt et, t s Popularity had considerably fade,. I.t
the to tr eaturical display the mob wanted; they dc-
the tchet,ia:P at the Power, and be themselves in reality
tit:iblitie",Pe°Pl Lamartine in his passage toe atri s
lat,4e,ere roa'Allais saluted by many who gave,
apparently,
fntlie
tribe' bat Lam of esteem in the friendly shake
NI 4, _ arfire was not allowed to ascen'tl'
held
dr:" tti, 7as surrounded by the insurgents, and 1
ecesed in :11, 'mated conversation with a young man
tamblouse, and wearing a black cravat. As the
11[4 Lsorte;i!nereased, the position of Lamartine he
ttati et equivocal; the crowd began to press
ft4,„eas a 9rue violent words escaped, and there was a
1/411t4.4d p4ltatin which excited alarm .for the once-
leh ett heextricated from his unpleasant
ord y as
Nte„tilieet iklanng man who, being avtare that one
hit plto.''''e a single spark, ignite a magazine,
Nt4q etattethi;ed his way through the crowd, and
11,1,?4t jest_ n bY the coat, said—' Citizen, youl must
11dat,,414
dat,,414 tly, your wife is taken seriously .
104 eda'a succeeded, every Frenchman knows then
%lett! State 4,,band, and a woman has a prior claim elt.e
ahl1,141) 1.0 1; not w soul saw the danger of allowing La.
thi, -eaten re the Chamber; on the contrary, the
reaching
- -a sad to the young man who accompanied
TheW%
ere is Madame Larnartine
i,l`l4Bwer was,
I do not know.' iiiitt;Not ti'lehe is
not ill?' continued the poet.
`l,B att. know of,' r,-
81113bte$ in the world that I
%tr. itilk..."ger,
4111Ret 'vne ___
""w at once the object, and asked the
I w1:1 "°, nlay you be?'
ti tea rtsol;:iplied the young man, the citizen Ilirshler.;
rep "?s‘l ate' t° save you from your unpleasse t
Bp ow free,—act:
4the t4yleit'f,reette,' replied Lamartine, that I trust
5Le libras tur a moment,' and ho directed his steps
lik,t"itasmi3: where he found General Court,,is, eho,
The were lett?, s°tltht a refuge, and there two person-
the 4rpNc.N,iitit.letneas
Of tame of the scene sketching in
eeea:eite f
ft:assembly is really admirahir.
el, 'toe Nil °is may be afforded by referring to the
tebilih,trtlteier,,,n,%civ'enr,teornaltyhe 13th of June, IV. Jules Favre
spoke of Louis Napoleon as the
Nez‘dtra „„--ii_,hereupon, like an electric shock, the
back° iolaritaintluiguation poured down upon him from
vela Our author writes_
te, ware* Pavre sxplained,—M. Ledru Rollin rolled
BPirit ; forwards in his seat, like a Quaker when
aboutthle4estieUlat to move him. M. Flocm, who always
laweettnEttilvee_°" gesticulated more furiously; Lamar-
114tal, to ;'otimsuiv_,eured
Peri; Marie appeared, like a
sea w-4• Arago
seem
the words as part of a client's case;
Oft hal amusing hied to turn a deaf ear to any remark,
e 1,144406 ulauelf by reading a paper.,,
° aisPlaYed by the prince-Ftesident