Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1855-03-16
Gerard dc Neryal.

The literary world has been deeply moved by
the lamentabe death Of one of its ilhistrious and
most loved citizens, Gerard de Nerval. He was
found dead, the other morning. hanging by the
neck from the outside window-bar Of one Of the
wretched houses in the Rue Vielle Lanterne, one
Of the wretchedest streets in Paris. Some Of his
friends have tried TO raise doubt of his being Q
suicide. This is only the passionate defence Of suf
fsring emotion against rational proof His writings
except some pieces for the theatre, have appeared
from time to time for the last twenty years. In the
fc,illetons of leading Partisan journals, and the
pages of the first literary periodicals OF Paris. More
or less thinly yelled scenes from his own life, crti
cisms, sketches Of travel poems--they are mark
cd by purity of STYLE by kindness of feeling often
verging on melancholy; by delicacy Of fancy and
eccentricity of imagination often verging on rev.
ery and almost unintelligible mistness by w.t.
not Of the French, cracking sparkling sort, but
often verging on gentle, lambert humor, that
reminds you Of Elias Essays.
When but boy of eighteen, he made a transla-
ton Of Faust, the only satisfactory one in the
French, upon which Goethe congratulated himself,
and complimented the author repeatedly. Nervaps
Gfe-especialy In his latter years-was Of the
most eccentric sort and often mystery 70 his
most intimate friends. He seems to have lived in
the enjoyment Of a world Of dreams and fancies
quite apart FROM and regardless Of the other world
about him, with which he came in contact at only
two polnts--art and friendship. He has been
known, on receiving the price Of article in the
Rer,H des Aondes, to spend Il Immediately in some
work of art, that he would present to friend, or
stow away in a garrett chamber filed with similar
objects, and which he only visited when bringing
some new purchase to add TO the stock. When or
how he lived, was not accurately known. A large
part Of the night he spent in roaming through the
streets-ofen the worst paved streets Of the city.
II he slept, 1t was In hired chamber, generally Of
dirty, cheap lodging house--now in this quarter,
now in that for restlessncss seemed the essence
OF his life, and he never held more than week or
two in one place.
Friends like Theophile Gautier and Arsene Hous-
saye tried to make him comfortable. The latter
always kept chamber Of his own. apartment at his
service Sometimes Nerval would come and ac-
cept the hospitable rest with gratitude and APP
parent contentmcnt but would disappear In few
days TO resume his nomadic existence. Madin the
practical conduct Of ordinary life, he was methodic
with his own world Of thought and revery. One
OF his most remarkable writings, entitled Aareiis
or, La TIE ct 10 Repe--what win call, II you vii
excuse the pedantry, an photographer, psyche
logical sketch--as one who knew the author init
mately says, shows us cool reason sitting by th,
pillow Of burning fever; hallucination analysing
itself BY a supreme philosophic effort Thil
Revue de Paris A continuation of Il In manu-
script but not completed, was found on his person
after death. What Is rare for n literary man
above all, literary man at Paris, In whose work
Of letters uncivil war is always waging-he had
and deserved, warm, loving friends, and no enc
mics in the adverse camps