The daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1848-1851, 1848-08-16
From the New York Tribune.
Chateaubriaud. q

From the New York Tribune
Chateaubriand q
Another of the great men of France has departed.
The mind of Chaleaubriand, so long a living and
active portion of her glory, is now but memory
Of the past. Born even before the reign of media
val principles had wholly passed away, 1t was his
rare lot 10 witness the complete breaking up OF old
systems, and to Outve more than one OF those ter
rib!e commissions which, up to this time tollng
to lay the foundation of a better era. The record
Of his life when it is givento the world, in accord
ance with his desires, will contain an experience
varied and eventful than often falls TO the lot
OF a man of genius. 1t will be to France legacy
of the same priceless value as we await in the me-
mors of John Quincy Adams-necessary TO the
completeness of her history and pershing only with
her name and renown. We have compiled from
authentic sources the following brief biographical
sketch of this distinguished man.
Francois Auguste de Chateaubriand was born at
COmbourg, in Brittany, in the year 1863. he was
a nephew of the celebrated Malesherbes, whose
travels On foot and in disguise through France and
Switzerland may have supplied the inspiration OF
his own. The name of his father, who was enga-
ged in the Goldfish trade at St Mao, was originally
LeDretre, but changed to Chateaubriand from his
having purchased the possessions of an extinct
family of that name. The son, when in his seven
teenh year, served for time in the regiment of
Navarro, and soon atterward, in consequence OF
the Revolution, sailed for America, where he lived
for some time the banks of Southern Mississippi.
Here, in the luXuriant solitude of prmeval forests,
and in the bark tents of the friendly NatcheZ, he
seems 10 have learned that intense sympathy with
Nature and enthusiastic spirit of devotion, which
left their trace on all his after writings The
charming rOmanCps of Alfalfa " and Les Nat
chez" had sufficient truth and fidelity to his own
experience, TO give them novel and enchanting
freshness at the time they were written, while
they lacked nothing Of the grace and sentiment
required by the taste of the same period. Chateau
BRAND returned to France in 1872, and was
wounded at the seige of ThiOnville.
We next find him in London, where he spent
several years in exile, supporting himself wholly by
his literary iabOrs. During this time he wrote his
g Essay on Revolutions" After the 18th of Bru-
MARE, he was allowed to live in Paris, where, in
conjunction with La Harps and others, he estab-
lished the Wercure de France and Journal deS De-
bats. lie was at tins time BOnapartIst, and de-
cIared in of his publications, that the Emperor
was one of those men whom the Divinity, when
he is weary of furnishing, sends'upon the world in
token of eXpatiOn." The Genius OF Chris
tanity, perhaps the most celebrated and generally
read Of all his reflective works, appeared in 1902,
in London, at period admirably adapted to It's sue
cess. Bonaparte wished to restore the Church, and
a book which, twenty years before, would have
IondHew to defend it, now attained an immense
popularity The sincere religious feeling which
Eervades it, mounting at times into the lofty atmos-
phere of poetry, found its way to the heart OF the
public, then recovering from the fatal extreme to
WHICH IL Ildu Dee DuTTlbu. 4llS I6Ab year,
his residence in Rome as Secretary of the Embassy
under Cardinal Fesch, he wrote . The Martyrs,
and in the same year was appointed on mission to
the Vaais which station he resigned after the death
of Duke d Enghien. In 1906 he travelled to Jeru-
salem. by way of Cyprus and Rhodes, returning
through Egypt Tunis and Spain. His " Itineraire"
is of the finest specimens of descriptive writing
in the French language. 1t combines the fancy OF
a poet with the enthusiasm of a religious pilgrim
Less brilliant than Lamartines Voyage en-
Orient, it is simple and sincere, and contains
the elements of more general popularity At this
date the fame of Chateaubriand had become Euro
peau and he was recognized as one of the first
living authors of France.
In 1911 he was elected Member of the French
Institute, in place of Chenier. After the Danish
ment of Napoleon, he published a pamphlet, en-
titled ." BOnaparte and the Bourbons, which LOUIS
XVIII was accustomed to say was worth more to
him than an army This decided his position as a
RoVast which political view he held during the
remainder of his life He remained in Client
during Napoleons second brief reign, as Minister to
Louis XVIII and after the final restoration OF this
monarch, was made ViscOunt and Peer OF France.
From this time until 1929 he held several impor-
tant positions under the Government besides SER
wing as Minister to Berlin, Extraordinary Ambas-
sador to London and to the Congress OF Verona,
and Minister to Rome. The most important of his
literary productions, in addition to his talented edi
torals in the journal deS D6bats ,were his Notes
on Greece" and very popular essay on the abO-
iOn of the Censorship, in which he affirmed that
without Freedom of the Press a Representative
Government was worth nothing. His complete
works were published in 1899 III thirty volumes,
the publishers, LAvocat and LIE Fefevre having
offered him the enormous sum Of $4,000 francs for
the copyright
When the July revolution took place, he advo-
Gated the claims of the Duke of Bordeaux, and
refused giving the oath Of loyalty to Louis Philippe
which obliged him to resign his title of Peer. For
] 1 L., 1taIh 1raIC mi
pally to literature, producing among other works.
his translation of Milton, for whose poetry he pro-
fessed an mbOunded admiration, and his : Essay
on English Literature" During the latter years of
his life he lived in seClusiOn, occupying himself
with his own history, under the title of Memories
doutre-t0mbe-(M Memoirs after the Tomb These
"reminiscences which are the property of the jour
nal La PreSSe, will probably be first published in
its columns They comprise ten volumes, in adj
dtion to the other fifty volumes of his selected
works. A modern critic gives the following con-
else view of Chaeaubriand's genius:
9 His style is glowing, rich in images, full OF
soul and not without strength; his descriptions,
especially, are admirably drawn, but his ideas are
sometimes wanting i'll depth and connection Al
though his power Of representation gives him DIS
tingushed place among the authors of France, none
Of his works, sngy, can be called classical IN ie
sense belonging to free and lofty mind, IN WIlch
fertility of ideas is tremendously combined win
! depth and energy"
A COOP UNA correspondent OF the Nashville
Banner tells the following shocking story
HIS and Misunderstanding Affair Three
! 1Ten St,,cE h, T;g5t,riug-I have Just heard of
shocking affair which occurred in an adjoining
county last week. Whilst communication were
passing along on the telegraph wire it broke neara
blacksmith. shop. A person standing near by ran
/ 70 the sboD and the smith hurried off to repair
| Ja,oages. Whilst thus engaged, the electricity
came along. and so affected his nerves as TO pre-
- l.. lrnn reIeasina his hold nnnn the wire.