New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-06-01
FRANCE.
From Our own Correspondent
PARIS, Nay II, 1857.

tpr the entertainment Of Jour readers, and OF be-
neyoience for certain other persons, purpose de-
voting the first place in to-day's mlssve to Ameri-
cans in Paris The theme is large and varied, the
attempt TO exhaust it absurd; the gravest dlihcaiy
M the way of treating il at all il Fem6arTas a"
shoiu. That French locuton was impressed upon
INV mind ves.erlay BY NJ. Martin concierge and
tailor as he saw the confusion was IN al Vi
the twenty three patterns OF summer
stuTs he brought me; but TINS Is personal anu II
relevant. There is ali English proSefo '"a' luus'
"Imone the Romans, do as the Romans uo; !"
F,eneb souiyalent 10: II faat hHrler drte les toPS;
another French uroyerb says: tout stigaeuT tout
Aoruear. Guided, then, by the precepts oil pro-
verbal wisdom. begin my notes on Americans IN
Paris with the most officially eminent Of them
John Y. Mason--JOhnny Mason, as he was once
diseourteousy misprinted in the official N0H'eaT-
Iudoe Mason as bis Southern cOmpatr0ts and Ia
mibars invariably style him-Mnister Mason as ne
ia called BY Journalists mindful Of diplomatic ana hd-
tonal dgnities, offers few salient points Tor re-
mark He is plenipOtentiary and good as
at last advices Despite his friend Buchanan ull-
grateful forgetuness Of attentions PAID III Fdris ana
continued BY rail to Havre, WHITTIER on ms depart
ure Mr. Mason accompanied HIM as guide, cOun-
selor and friend-and Interpreter for what know
and despite the threatener appointment OF Mr..
Slidel as his successor (of whom all eminent farls
pIbLcst writes i'll pleased surprise: " lie speaks
French1-despite all this, cay, Mr. NJ. is as active
and ygilat as ever in the discharge OF his OlerOus
official functions " near the Court OF the Iueres.
At about an equal distance Of nearncss"-that is,
two or three Kilometres or less, but III the OPP
pOsite direction to wit, at the Cirque Napoleon
another Of our cOuntrymen, Mr.. HanlOn II rightly
remember the name, occupies nightly All elevated and
al IN ladder sugDpndpI
tally some fifty feet above the At this dis.
tingushed hight, and on so lDhTm platform, ne
twists, twines turns, gyrates evolutes, nyOlutes,
somersaults bangles, threatens TO drop but doesn't,
and comes up all right in way to excite the adml-
ration of all behoders politicians and Others among
whom has been the Emperor himself
Quite different from either of these representative
men, king the lymphahc amlablllty OF the Judge
&c trdre bon hOmme, as Minister Walewskl calls
him-and the graceful agility OF the gymnsst, but
lust for the moment tumbled into distinction, is
Master Francis p. COrbin (Of Virginia.. ApropOs
Of this subject want, as the Rev. Mr.. Reynolds
remarked when introducing to meeting OF COnnec-
teut diynes some observations on the weakness Of
human nature to say few words before say any
thing. That is, l want to advertise +. T. {. 20.
W TO the readers of The TRIBUNE. In the first
place this is needul TO their taking fit interest in
the subject for how can they care fig for Francis,
if they do not know who he is Then it will be an
act OF kindness On your part toward COrDln (oi
Vrgnia), who has a constant itching for n0tOriety.
In the last number of The TRIBUNE that has
reached me- notice that you have philanthroplcaly
celebrated the slave merchant "Screws," OF New
Orleans Why not then, do like friendly turn for
COrbin (of Virginia. OF course, neither Francis
nor myself can claim 80 large space IN your
columns complete justice 70 his biographical value
would require will then be brief, "oh-nand ana
sutOschediastic" pretending only to sop, not safe,
the curiosity of inquiring minds-only partially TO
NIT to ~.
the ordinary modest obscurty OF private HE out OF
which he annually struggles (as he has done this
week. into the transient twilight fame OF news
paper paragraph.
Francis (of virginia. as bis parenthetical, and
therefore las if of consequence in some sort u,
patriotic appendix to his nominal signature would
indicate was born in Nirgina-Of poor" but let
us hope respectable parents "a long while ago.
A reasonable time after that advent, 50 Interesting
to the void, and, may say, 50 peculiarly important
TO himself, he married most estimable lady and
large number Of negroes. Presently alter lhls last
mentioned event be returned to Europe (Whose
attractions he had tested and reished on previous
yist) and has for the last twenty or twenty-five
wears resided chiefly in Paris, making only occa-
SIGNAL trips 10 visit American "earth and see now
his farm got on" With the details OF the private
hie of the subject of this memoir" during the last
quarter Of century, it would be irrelevant mere 10
entertain the reader. / have only to do with So
much Of the subject as bears upon that publicity for
which he has betrayed 50 in genuOus an ambition,
and TO the furtherance of which, within duly bret
limits, cheerfuly contribute my modest mite.
Francis (of Virgins) his generic pruriency Ii for
notoriety; specially he itches for sort OF dplo'
matte fame This affection is strong in him that,
having no function imposed by the Federal Govern
ment, he does, despite his contempt, such as be-
comes all genteel and chivalrc descendants from the
penal colonists (Of Virginia., for newspapers and
newspaper writer's deliver himself about once per
annum of a paragraph two in the shape OF let
ter ON high international affairs, which he gets pub
hshed in Gdiignani or some other print. There
was striking specimen of Franciscan literature OF
this sort published some two years SINCE, which
began. "My dear Howden," and was addressed to
Lord Howden the English Embass0dor at Madrid.
The my dear Howden " reminded my Irish friend
Of Capt Hevess report of the familiar intercourse
he was permitted to enjoy with /" Ram Chowder al
Poop and Seidhtz Powders, mighty potentate III
"these parts" with whom Heyes cultivated Al IN
timacy while his ship was loading with pepper at
Whampos, and whom Helves always addressed er
short as L" Ram "a free-and-easy non-c0nSenton
ality which the Ram accepted by replying always
"Helves." But wander. l hear tac voices OF
900 900 readers rolling no from far Western Iowa
and remote California and the very islands OF the
sea, and swelling across the Atlantic, impatently
crying across the Atlantic, " Francis Francis
canon, anon, Srs ~ "Francls (of Nlrgmia)
Feeble what trade art thou, Feeble ~ Francis (Of
VirQnia) has no trade--as how should he being (Of
virginia. unless interested in the domestic slave
tradei But as | have intimatcd he is a sort of vol
unteer diplomat-pl enipoentiary (of Nirglnia) IN
partibus-dilettanti publicist.
Some two weeks ago twenty-One American COM
mercal residents Invited Mr.. Charles Sumner to
accept complimentary dinner But what has that
to do with +. L. c. 20. W. Anon, anon, Sirs