New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-11-28


the spirit of any line he penned; the last piece
in tie collection, an Adieu to France. doubtless
composed when he felt dea;h upon him, is marked
with that Characteristic accent Of patriotic emotion,
which, in him, wss of the nature of flial love:
"Adored mother sdieu L., thy sacred name
B. a ss1 l'' s1si my s s si' loved be.
Since have once committed the G. ime of prose
tarsaton on this Adieu. viii repest il on the last
naDzs of a charming little poem, an Adieu to Paris,
written at the time he was living in the valley OF
the Loire in which he depicts with the most grace
full rural imagery, his love Of independence aud
tranquility:
Tree. ard streams, birds and roses
amS.e py'slf With the .impe'. thing.
What do / want A little shade.
Afew poor to bless me-
Ard, for the long sleep ths; Is coming.
The graveyard Of me village.
Ard so echo repeats softly
Beranger's devotion to verse deprived France of
4 prose writer whose productions would have taken
rank, for style wit and good sense, in her highest
literature. Proof Of this appears In whatever pro<e
he ever published, but nowhere more strikngly than
in the lorg preface to this pOsthumOus vOume. To
use a modern phrase, sit defines tae position of
the writer; to use an older term, it presents the
apology" Of his life as literary man, political
man. and q private man. BE insists upon his rights
and tastes ia this latter quality with much earnest.
ness and humor. No author was ever more careful
to deserve OF high valued true literary fame
than he; but no man ever felt greater aversion TO
an osteI tatous celebrity; few men ever sacrificed
more for the sake OF personal independence or
guarded their personal dignity more jealousy. E1-
cep,Dg the ten new songs which he presented to his
friend and publisher NJ. Perrotn in lS47, be was
silent for the public after 1888. He says:
"SuIely, would not have suddenly Withdraw
from the literary career il 1t were possible Tor wter
| 1,,,;Ja his infn
the public, his person for himself. l would fam
have been able to soy, almost with Sosie,
one walks in the streets, when he sung and sp-
plauded; and the other me sees and hears him from
The window without being recognized or saluiea by
the passers BY But that is hardly possible, If one
presents hmsslf as the champion OF tho peoples
lite batialions in daily review, and axes it desirable
that soldiers as wen as leaders should know each
other. .
"Beside., a'general publicity is now the order OF
the day. With its great advantages there naturally
result sone inconveriences. Every one, for example.
assumes the right to print your letters without year
consent Your portrait y your Su'i MsSs Om n
shop windows TO the idle gaze Of the passers BY In
short il you count Q journalist among your friends,
be- discovering the material Of articles in you, cuts
You into columns and sells you at so much the line.
- What have most envied the great writers
Of the tim. Of Louis XIV next to their genius, i.
the sort Of obscurty in which they were permitted to
wrap their modest lives; not making Of the none OF
thtlr reputation constant necessity, they koew how
to pess their lives 10 that silence which, with "a, so
quickly follows loud applause. IL one Of them was
nusbaId father, he was not surprised that bis wife
and children were Ignorant OF the very titles OF bis
works So quiet the existence Of several Of these
grest men, that has been difficult to compose histor
cal notices of them more than twenty lires-to the
greet dscOnsn: Of trader n0Er;psy he To
the credit OF philosophy owe it simply TO my love OF
Independence. l. viii eIpsin the happiness felt il
ceasipg after 1898, occupy the public with myself
On this account and from the political point OF view,
some persons have ceEsured and even attacked me;
have beard my silence treated ss crime. | am not
sue that there we're not certain o0es who had been
unable TO get themselves bought, who went so far a.
BeraDger juatfes the silence Of his muse by rea-
sons erayely and humorously put, which must be
satisfactory to ell. More cOgent among these rea-
Sons than his love Of tranquility were true patr
oti.m, a simple modesty, and scrupalOus sense OF
Justice The nObleness Of this rare character and the
soundness a. well a. acuteness Of B6rangers pOiti-
cal views are admirably set forth in this part OF the
preface. Not wishing to remain Idle, and believing
be could no longer do the cCuntry some service BY
writing political songs, be medtated the compost.
ton of "a work in pTOse for the education of the
working classes, in order to put his old age TO
"uie." Unfortunately for the working classes and
for US oil, mode.t fear (Which the old patriot
more mOdestly designates as puerie vanity OF his
inability TO bring the work in point OF mere literary
art up to the exactng standard be proposed to him
SELF prevented its execution. He then UNDERTOOK
the Biography Of Contemporaries, and continued
for some time; but here the fear Of doing injustice
to otherA restrained him. and be destroyed the man
uscripu Another cause, that rarely influences
low. a.dsys tho writer's Of biographies, was tor
part in he repouncing Of this work. These brief
extracts cannot be better terminated than with the
statement Of it in bis OWE words:
"If there is pleasure IN reversing unjust vst'
issa he violent ACCUSE
tons low deep is the pain when, foI the SAKE %
truth II lie necessary TO detract from the iuster 81
noble fe which virtue or hgn intellect has not avsusd
il cosynced, as am, til at to dessy and recksssy
destroy the admiration Of the people for US great mso
Is TO labor at lite Generalization"
We have no other very marked new BOOK OF late
except l. In,ects by Michelet OF when 1 tneu
speak, with the praise it merits, before US
ton in book form. Certain classes OF pooes .ass
have appeared within the year are worthy Oh nouco
by classts, as indicating the movements Oh reucn
literature. 1t is not iDteuded by thus remNs,
question tie value Of the individual WORKS. tne mere
catalogue of which would alone gil this letter. Nexs
TO The yolumincus additions to the mass Oh te1cn
historical literature an unusually large hunoef VI
religious orhs haze been published this year, thso-
retical and practical, poemical, dldsctic and nara
tive, ard, meaning no disrespect, nisa IAeSe.c.
The majority of these are intended LOT ,As coenimns
Of readers in the Catholic Roman Ai1n' u -. ..
conyer.ion thereto, cOptrary-,imiar ffo'e'sao'
writings are also not wanting L..
After history and religion, political economy mas
been meet fertile theme. Under THIS snould NC IN
cluded the trea.ises plays, poems ana sermons on
Finance And here let me psJtlculArze La honuso
de IA Bsrque, by n. Paul Coz, treasse specially
interesting a. the moment from its sueIee'' and
highly SPOKEN Of by competent crlnes. .x..
The present i the ".ea.On" Of one class Of hse.
rature highly favored in France, and worthy Oh some
ait. ntion as fun nishing curous Huoy Oh popular