New-York daily tribune., 1856-01-16

i
I He buys grand house and sets up grand es
! tablshment; he has grand picture-gallery; his
wife is obliged TO give grand balls his daughter
must give up her clerk.lover and be welded to 8
Count; his son becomes uncommon fast, keeps
blood horses and another mans mistress. IL is an
unhappy family. But things take turn. The
credit Of the banking house is shaken ruin is i'm
minent. Luckily the Count who was to have been
welded to Ma'mselle Picard is dead just before
this. Two millions Of his property are in Picard's
hands, by his will he leaves them to his friend An
atole, Picards son. The ruin is avoided. Madame
Picard whose death is fixed st an early date in
the future throughout the first part OF the work
by the family doctor, now gets long lease OF life
frsm three ether doctors. Anatoe reforms.
Msdanoiselle marries the clerk. Ii is a happy
family again.
The success of the book is in large part due 10
puff direct in other part 10 its being in some de-
gree what it pretends TO be-a curious pie
I" ture of the financial manners of the present
" time" If the doctor had cOntented himself
with the character of simple chrOnlcler, and SIM
ply recorded those facts which must have come
under bis observation of this financial world, he
would have done better service. To such work
he is competent. A toleraby correct daguerrsO-
type was within his fasulty. His picture is not
exactly daub, but pale, poor imitation OF Bal
zac, resembling the works OF the great master snly
Just enough to provoke odious comparison. But
the doctor is determined to be man of letters.
He has already another roman de mGurs in press.
And as the Parisians dearly love to read anything
written about themselves especially about the
worst part of themselves the Lorettes the rogues,
the debauchees, it too will be for a while sue
cessful.
/ mention new edition of the Memories dun
Bourgeois de Poris, reduced in price 10 its true
value of five francs instead Of thirty, tor the sake
of nuotinp from IL the following letter
"PALAcE or THE TUILERIEs, March E, 1855.
my DEAR MoSsIEUR NRROS: | have receive
with pleasure your Memories dWR Bourgeois d. Paris,
and shall read especially the Last two volumes with the
more interest that they Resume the faithful recollec-
tions of man who has seen much, Judged >oundly
and narrated without prejudice. BE assured that
will be very agreeable or me 10 fluid ia the winter co.,
ecting useful materials for the history of our epoch
the same man whose disinterested sympathy gave me-
in trying times the important support OF of the
first organs of the Press Accept my sincere thanks
and believe in my sentiments. NAPOLEON"
A rather ambiguous testimony to the veridic
character of those |" last two volumes" Up to the
time of reading this letter, had thought, and so
wrote to THE TRIBUNE, that they were much the
best worth Of the six.
A real and noteworthy addition to French polite
literature is Beaumarchais d son Temps (Beau-
marchais and his Times), by NJ. dc Lomenie.
There is no other work nearly AS complete as this
on one of the most remarkable men OF France in
the eighteenth century. He may rank next 10
Rousseau and Noltaire as promoter OF the Revo-
luton Versatile, witty, ambitious, bold, rest
less enterprising, he was TOhaUe IA action.
Tradesman, cOurtier, musician, fnancier, specu
lator, an opponent of high magistrates, an Oppo-
nent. and finally successful One of the King him.
self. he was a mcrOcosm of the ReyOlutlon-the
original of his own Figar0-the personlhcaton OF
the tiers tfdt
.The Goezman suit showed Beaumarchais in light
entirely in France that is rs an orator VINO oe-
longed neither to the bar to the pulpit the only
two kinds of eoquence then known.
Thus by him broad way was opened for the orators
WHO at o later day. were TO overthrow old France,
which az vet bore the appearance OF strength although
it was ready fall into ruin. 1t great discovery
made by that man the day when, TO reach public opn-
ion which already began to be ~ &queen of that epoch,
Beaumarchas found his true title in that society which
knew not, as yet why il was 20 interested in Beau
marchais. Il am a Citizen said lie, i am citl-
zen, that is to say am not courter, nor an abbe
NOR n gent,ih0mne, nor tnancier, nor II iavonte,
nor ANYTHING which is called power nowadays.
Il am a citizen, that is TO say something quite new,
something unknown, something unheard of in France.
am a citizen, that is to say what you should have
been any time these two hundred years past what
you will be in twenty years perhaps This was IN
l77i. About the time that on the other side OF the
Atlantic who had always acted az citizens under
the name of subjects were preparing to conquer the
rights and title of soyeregns. French society heard
tlis title, novel in l774 and remained silent but
attentive. II was understOo that Beaumarchais
plaving game that one had yet played. The
France of thGt day could recall the time when she
had seen princes of the blood raise the standard OF
revolt pariaments oppose themselves to the decrees
of kings Je.uits contound the States with illc and
blood; but what France had then never seen was
single man, single individual from the crowd,
poor devil without ancestors without connections.
without protection suddenly stand erect raise himself
to the level of the Parliament, speak to it face to
face aloud and as to an equal. No. France had never
seen such spectacle; and it is a noble country
that respects courage in all kinds, II appauded the
Courage of this worm which would not consent to
be crushed by the Councillor toezmaD. ltiecognlzed
this title of citizen that Beaumarchals assumed.
Like that MontmGency who was called the iust
Christian Baron, BcaumalchGis was the first
French cHi<fHl aud when the Pdriemem MdHpsOa
trembling before this new power of which Il had no
comprehension, rendered that decision which put
everybody in the wrong, the public annuIied the de-
csion of the Parliament
spoke little while ago Of the completeness OF
de Lomenies book. 1t is the history OF Beau
marchais the man Of letters and of Beaumarchals
the man 1t is not simply portrait Of the re-
markable man, but all the accessories OF his time
are SO introduced and arranged upon the canvas as
to make il fine historical picture, OF which he Is
always the prominent central figure. NJ. de 10
menie has enjoyed one peculiar advantage over
any other writer who has treated this interesting
subject. His work is enriched with extracts from
a mass Of manuscript documents hitherto unknown
to the public. They were placed at his disposition
by the son-in-law and grandson of the author OF
the Marriage Of Figaro" The story of the un-
earthing, or rather of the ungarreting OF this
room full of dust-covered musty papers is not the
least entertaining part of the book. Another ad-
vantage possessed by NJ. de Lomenie as biographer
in this case lies in the character OF his ordinary
pursuits. lie made for himself a desirable repu-
taon some years since as the author OF a series OF
contemporary biographies" an H0mme de
Rien"-and has long approved himself the worthy