New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1856-09-16

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AFFAIRS IN FRANCE.
From Our Special Correspondent.
PARIS, Sept. |, 1856.
The first anniversary OF Madame Emile de Gil
rardin's death was observed the other day bya
commemorative service in one of the churches,
which brought around it all the literary and social
celebrities of Paris According to all accounts, the
tomb has seldom opened to receive person who
united in herself So many shining mental and moral
endowments. little volume has just been pub.
lshed, embracing the various tioges which her
death called forth from all the distinguished literary
men and critics Of the capital: and you cannothelp
feeling that a more than ordinary sincerity of al.
miration sanctifes them all. But I like best some
familiar gossip of George Sands about her, recently
published in the Presse She is contributing to that
paper series of articles under the title of Round
The Table (purporting to be the conversation of
country family gathered in the evening around the
table about books about art, about creeds, and so
forth). in which all her old witchery of style reap
pears adorned with tender and even religious grace
From one of these | translate the following pas
sages:
"Tbey asked of me, as having known Madame de
Girard in her latter years, what thought OF her
religious beliefs Inc only tnnt ever WIFI
her upon the subject. replied, about five weeks
before her death. had never seen her so beautiful
and so fe-like. How little did foresee that then
embraced her for the last fine! She died erect as it
were full of courage and in all the radiance of her
physical and moral beauty. II seemed to me in this
last interview that this beauty of hers both of soul
and body had been sufficiently celebrated: the
reason perhaps was that it had never before been
complete. BY strange effect of the illness which in
terorly consumed her, her figure her face aud her
hands had lost all trace Of the ravages OF time. She
was slender and pale it is true, but she showed sign
of years. 1t not the roseate freshness of youth
that had come back to her, it was the transp parent
whiteness and the clear pure glance of immortality.
1t the finest and most impressive remembrance
she could bequcath TO the soul of her friends. One
might almost fancy that she felt this herself and strove
to put heart and mind in unison with that ideal for
never before in my hearing had she scared to such ec
waited nights, doing it moreover, spontaneously and
with that frank simplicity which often formed in hera
powerful contrast with her ardent and charming exuber
ance of wit Il do not believe she said to me,
in any mystery miracle got up explained by men,
An is mystery and all is miracle in his bare Jact Of
Hfc and Of death. Tablcurning is of small account
il is only an instrument ohedient to the thought. find
myself happy with God And she addod-'what will
remind you Of the distinction just now drew between
faith as an exercise of the intellect and truS sem
tment of the heart emotional nature Ii have
not faith, have its equivalent, trust You have read
all tho sc tributes to her literary genius; of
here will dream Of disputing them SO will coniinc
myself TO that side of her soul which was sast visible
sonal to myself, led me TO appreciate. aludc to her
ardent sensblity and that tenderness of heart which
Der life in the world hid behind veil of discretion and
che, rfuness 1t has been truly said of her. that she
had the gt and the charm of alw ays remaining
Rut she was more than woman she was also mother in
heart and instincts, even while she had been herself
deprived of TIE joys and pains of maternity. She
knew and felt them in Others. Her beaut-
fl and holy tears flowed in torrents over
orr own great loss She was there sustaining con.
song paraking the despair of others, feeling it, seek
ing it. wishing to bear her share of it, loving what we
had loved and showing without ever thinking OF doing
So what mother she herself would have been. 1t
was OF then pure fancy on her pars, or mere III
e,ary revel that adorable drama Of hers, Joy Pro
duccs Fear. She dew tins idea from her own proper
bosom; she had the right to make mother speak,
and that in fact the apogce OF her inspiration. 1t
was ekIish subject for her. childcss woman, and
had he treated it only from the intellect every mother
would have said 10 her, Tell said to Gessler An
mn hare ncter had children But as it was, her
Touch was so profound and true that she made all the
on such subject, dissolved all the in tears
Already, in LAZY Iarty6c, she had painted the
mother happily and truly. And with this type she had
evoked al extraordinary talent in another woman of
heart and meiitMadane Allan artist of ravishing
spirit and grace, who, with her and by her, mounted to
the region of the passionate drama. Alas the same
destiny the disease carried off, six months apart,
tbese Two women so remarkable for intelligence and
Characteristic one distinguished by genius, the other
by talent but both alike by The love Of the beautiful
and the true. At the commencement of acquaint
auce with Madame g. she caused slight perturba-
ton, and expressed the feeling to Madame Allan,
who sympathized with it, and said, like you, feared
that She bad too much wit, but have since found out
that she is quite equally endowed with heart
repeated this, subsequently, to Madame Girarlin
Iherer she excain ed, that is the agreeable
eulogy that could possibly be made of Inc.
Madame Girardin's conjugal life was very happy.
Eugene de Mericourt, in his biography of her has
band whom certainly he does not love- describes
him. nevertheless as possessing the dey Oted affec-
ton Of his wife, "a woman, moreover, who must
have a clear discernment OF manly worth" He
saws: Madame g. takes her husband for
apostle. and believes in him as believes in Deity.
In the worst days of 1913 she said to Gen. Lauris-
ton and several others who were making evening
visit: Everything goes from bad to worse; France
seems rushing to destruction; none but he atof
there can save us All reverenty bowed their
heads in acquescence, supposing that she spoke Of
Providence. But she spoke of her husband, whose
study happened to be directly overhead
The French papers, in conceding the ability Of Mr..
Marcy's reply to Mr.. Sartgeo, do not applaud his
conclusions The Presse has given series of crit-
cisms upon it, designed to prove that his reasoning
on the subject of prvateers, though plausibIy put,
iseyeryway faacous behind the age while at the
the same time it allows that his proposal TO place
private property beyond the risks Of war on
on land does honor to the country, and must be
sustained until it becomes definitely recognized in
the international code. In the mean time, the critic
(who is an able One) thinks that if the United
STATES persist in taking their view of privatecrs the
p,rtes to the Treaty of Paris will only have to
amend their declaration in so far rs To make pri-
watering piracy, when unquestlonably it will be-
abandoned bv the United States. Such step on
the part of the European powers would, he admits,
be- one of the highest gravity, but he thinks it is
their nuauestonable right to do so in support OF
apJ. and AZ for the IfI6tpd Statps