New-York daily tribune., 1856-08-26
AMERICAN OBSERrATIONS ~ EUROPE'
From o,r srsciS Cre'pondent
P,fJs Wednesday, Aug. 8, 1856

|
aid red rs the beef upon which it has dined, the
ut1t as pale and pacific q, mutton, keeps iseli 10
perpetual simmer Of ptrPle1'y about ""ur
cousins" scrCss the water And The inns pitches
the tune cf msny cher journals. a prevailing
regret and dLstrust of American tendencies, Ameri
can politics, and American incidents generally,
chsrac'erizes the luost OF them. Toe EogAsh
newspaper scribes, though in scholastic e'siln'
ton the best Of th'm vastly superior r'a's t"
cur own, are deplorsbly destitute Of IDEAS, as
We say az home it being the apparent condition OF
their engagement that they shall drop NO word 70
loosen hair of the Archbishop of Cauterburys
Wig or shock any other established prop-iety 10
Church or State. The London Leader ofcn ex.
bibits Wholesome feeling Of the popular eIigeu
! scs end puts forth nov and then some telling
criticisms bur- on the whole, the London perioii-
Gals, daily and weekly, ale dsmally discreet srd
proper, End the elegant shcpticism which they
affect on all topics above the fine arts or the
weather does not tide, bat makes rather plaaer
to the discerning eye, their Inherent insinccrty
ard validlty.
The Fretch journalists are manlier race but
political discussion is nterdicted to them The
writer's in the Dtta, de Sacy, Vieman, father
and sOn, st. MsIc Grsrdin, Cuvillier Feury, and
oihers) instead of venting any longer their chtonc
Parliamei tary faith and hope, have sutk into mere
Sc xtons and uDjertak.rs Of literature, di.nerring
every resonant old bone from Plato down to Fene
len, and burying it afresh with all the pomP and
clite of the statellest jUnerea art. The Sttoe
keeps up sparkling cannoLade against the Cni.
r,rs, aid the trr,ts IN its tuTn lets fly its foolish
matutlna fist in the face Of all the world. What
DO you thiLk Of a rev paper printed IN the l'Eh
century in what pbiloopbic cabman the osher
day dtnouinatcd ''the center OF civilizaton'-
50 Paris is q charming city, sad my friend to the
coehr, by way of being sOciable. " Mas oui,
Monsieur was the reply, "ceSt tten le centre ds
la crM-dtiOn i ]-grayely maintaining that proies-
soBal beggary is a yirtuOus and holy calling, and
al unquestonsble means of gracs But your
psrched soul will be refreshed by an extract:
"At this very moment" says the UHirers, the
Church is investigating, with a view to canonl-
za.on, the case of the venerable servant Of God,
&" Benedict Labre, who was never anything
9 else but beggar, and beggar, moreover, with
- all the ieDominious circumstances which revolt
the wisdom of the 10Th century, that is to say,
voluntary beqgar lusty, young. able TO do far
other things than beg his bread, for he
:" belonged to a respectable family, aud had
received an honorable education, but he
"obstinately refused to work, and addicted him
selfe1clusiycly to stretching forth the palm. May
we pot discern special Providence in the raising
the close of the 18th century this greaservant
"of God so admirable in his rags, and so fitted by
his life of extraordinary humiliation to contradict
"sll the wisdom all the teaching, all the preju-
oices of the 10Th century, which delights IN
"weolih, in luxury, and in comfort; and will not
prov deuce doubtless soon ordain pub cworsbip
:" 10 tbs holy beggar -
Ii is very unsafe to anticipate the DEGREES OF
Providence, but my own distinct impression is that
Providence, operating through established in'trd-
mentaitiss, will be much more likely to ordaln al
terpatc doses of townpump and curry comb tor the
lit xt holy beggar who may be tempted by the
canonzation of Benedict Labre to expose his lazi-
ness to the sunshine. But was there ever such an
esr, grcus specimen Of the Rip Van Wnklc order
as this same editor of the UnirerS
The Prose- is ordinarily The most vivid ilustla-
tion Of Parisan OurDalism. But the Presse also is
silent, save in literary way. Eugene Palletan,
however, is capable of an enormous political
squint, even while be ia locking at literature; and
it is pleasant to see, on the whole, how much
wholesome truth gets insinuated in spite OF the cen
sorship. T. has just finished vigorous series Of
letters to Lamartine, which contain some very nice
bits of thoughtful writing. He considers Lamar
tine os who has given OUT, or tdmbled down
under the burden and heat of the day. and rallies
HIM 20 Lis old allegiance in the most ylyacious
way Lamartine only yawns in reply Hels what
our friend AlcOt calls unar-relected style Of
mon He has been unfortunate in politics aud
purse and be o. once sets to whining and Wal n
perng over the vabity of human hopes in a msnner
TO raysh the orthodox qu'd"uneS. lie betrays
of course the and selhshOess OF his own
aims al d illustrates afresh the heartless and shall
low pbiosopby which unders all despair. But
be has furnished bis opponent ew occasion To ylu'
dicate the il stincts of Freedom and Progress -
tha, the good cause gains by bis detection. Emile
de Giraidin is busy with scheme o. Insurance,
which amounts to a very practical and practicable
Socishm. He would have company like the
Credi. Mobilier, for example, insure against all the
risks 10 which is subject, sickness, death, fire,
famine, nuLdatOn, loss Of work, everything In
short that makes ones lot precarlous and uncom'
Portable here below, so that not merely the proper
" holder but every ore IN the community would
be interested in supporting it. the scheEe has
,hoimt US proportloIs is philosophicaly conceived,
s fairly launched upon the wings of DISCUSSION,
tas many advocates, ard is surmstd TO look in
tie same direction with the higher powers.
For you must kLow that vast numbers Of