New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-02-17

should not be fully treated of in the French prea
your knowledge Of the law that rules the French
press will explain 70 you. Perhaps the inpalss
that the English bourgeois revolution has receysl
within the past few months il as yet the mos, H.
teresiing, definite and satisfactory Of all the "a
suits Of the Eastern War. Ii this impulse CON.
pletes its tendency, il will bring about not mere
" a reorgsnization OF the English War Depsr,.
ment. which is bad. but reform in the system a.
official promotion in the army, which Is much
worse. should this reform 60 80 far as to opea
20 mere merit free access to high grades in tie
army. il will be a progress hardly too dear,
bought az the price OF the humiliating horrors Of
the Crimea. Hardy too dearly bought as price,
go in the worlds history; for horrors and blood
seem always 10 have been the price that monarch,
and aristoeraces demand for the sacrifice Of their
privileges. And il il mutt be paid, better that |,
be paid in foreign land. 70 foreign enemy, thaa
in civil war AZ home. II the middle classes sOi
yeomanry once have free way 10 the Upper ranks
of the army. they will drive the sristocracy cut
Younger sons aud Legitimate sons and cousins
will then crowd more than ever TO the church
their last sanctuary Let bat sound reform reach
that corruption, and younger sons will themselves
become natural and effective enemies OF primo
geni;ure-the last support Of tottering noblesse
In the train of the bourgeois will come the PEG
pie and democracy. This upward train Is on,
long route and goes slowly enough-but IL Coca
II is odd 10 see TIE London T,mcs actng as COZ
ductor and crying out TO put on more steam
oute unconscious that it's middle-clsss wagon
titehed fast 70 all sorts of "cars of revolution
But ;his is not Paris news. Prince Napoleon h
NOT either. He arrived here in reduced state lssf
Saturday: but his presence is not made eyldeat
by any printed matter beyond single sentence
of announcement, or by general talk. The order
seems to have issued from high quarters that he
l.. L. .h..Ne H.
hear that he has presented himself 10 the Emper.
or or received visit from hiu
The literary world has been deepymoyed by the
lameutabe death of one OF its ustrious aud mes,
loved citizens Gerard de Neryal. He was found
dead the other morning, hanging BY the meek
from the outside window bar of one of the wretch
I'd houses in the rre IieiHe LantcrHe, one of tie
wretchedest streets in Paris. Some Of his iriesis
have tried 10 raise doubt of his being suicide
This is only the passionate defense OF sunerHx
en- lotion against rational proof writings-excepS
some pieces for the thcater-haye appeared from
time 10 time for the last wv, nty wears in the feuile
tons Of leading Partisan Journals, and the pagesd
the first literary periodicals of Paris. More or
less tlinly vailed scenes from his own life, crIh
cisms sketches of travel, poems--they are married
by purity Of style, by kindness OF feeling, oitel
vergng on melancholy, by deicacy oi fancy md
ecc.ntricity Of imagination, often yerginG on ~r
ery and almost uuintelligble mistiness, by wit not
of the French, cracking, sparkling SORT but ofka
verqing on gentle lambent humor that remlnas
YOU of Elias Essays. When but boy OF eighties,
he made translation of Faust, the only satlsns'
tory one in the French upon which Goethe COO
graduated himself and complmented the autssr
repeatedly Nerva's lite-especlally IN his ~
ter years-was of the most eccentric sort, 40
often a mystery to his most intimate friends. Ne
seems to have lived in the enjoyment oil worIdd
dreams and fancies quite apart from ana regard
less of the other world about him. with which he
came in contact at only two ponts-art and friepd-
ship. He has been known, on receiving the price
of an article in The Rerue des M0Rdes, to spend IL
Immediately in some work of art that he would
present to friend or stow away IN garnet
chamber filled 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-oiten The
worst paved streets of the city II he slept u
was in a hired chamber, generally OF dirt, cheap
lodging. house-now in this quarter, now IN mei
for restessness seemed the essence of his life, ~
he never held more than a week or two IN ~
place. Friends like Theophile Gautler and Arsss
Houssaye, tried to make him comfortable. h
latter always kept chamber OF hrs own apN
ment at his service. Sometimes Ncryal work
come and accept the hospltabie rest with gratiIHf
and apparent eontentment-but would disappear
in n few DAYS to resume his nomadic exlstence
Mad in the practical conduct of ordinary life, n
was methodic within his own world CT thought sM
revery. One of his most remarkable writings 60.
titled Aurelie; or La Tie t lie R6re-what | viz
call if YOU will excuse the pedantry, an autoee
prslhical-psy Geological sketch-as one, wk
knew the author intimately, Gays, " shows
"cool reason sitting by the pillow of burning
" fever; halucination analysing itself by asaprsas
" phiosophic effort" This strange prodachon
has appeared in part in the Rerue de Paris. A
continuation of It in MS, but not completed ~
found on his person after death. What is rsreb
literary man-above all, literary man at Para
in whose world Of letters uncivil war is alwtp
waging: be had and deserved warm loving frlWA
and no enemies in the adverse camps.
In looking over the table of contents of X
three first literary periodicals, an Americans ~
ity is gratifed to see SO many articles devotob
American literature. Thus, within the past yer
five successive numbers Of the Rerae des DIM
komdes have each critical essay on produc1sN
of American authors AsyOu may suppose, thsse
articles have quite another purpose than that
gratifying our yabity-although l may say en
that they are written in a spirit OF fairness ~
generally in laudatory tone. The most extrs't
CANT adrnirer of LOngfeow could hardly say nsn
in his praise-few could SO skillfully mingle -
Greet appearances Of criticism with their adlem
ton, than Arthur Dudley has done in the h"x
des DeuI Mondes. The Lamplghter, which her
has drawn more attention TO its pages than nI
other American work since Mrs. Stoves master
piece, was analysed and largely extracted iron
the same review, not long since. 1t received mes
critical and extended notice in the Rerne Cos1rs'
poraire for Nov -. This notice is preiacedw
some general remarks on American works Of I'D
agination, which are worth the attention Of oar
readers and authors, and regret not having rssa
for their translation to my letter. The FreDs
critic finds in our fictitious literature what ~