New-York daily tribune., 1858-04-03

~ o,borites 10 remit The latter halt of the pen
AZ, and on hs liberation he Went ~ England,
where berg well educated and OF exceien: nan
pefs and address, he soon found employment; and
here be lived an rreproachabie life for some thirty
wears when be found himself IN prospect OF com
Portable and independent old age. He had become
rcspectably connected by marriage, and Lad "A
family of several children. But BE- was French
man at heart, and was always tGrmcDtcd by 'he
deeire 10 return finally to France and establish there
business which he might bequeath 10 hls children.
At last be came, settling IN city not tar distant
from Pars, where he bas lived for the last twenty
or thirty Year,, bOnOred and prosperous, with 40
evidence that any human beng Guessed .: the
stigma uIOD hs youth, and l4tterinc hu,-
self that the bitter secret Of hia bosom wOH0d
descend with him 20 the grave. Poor soul
" be reckoBed," as We say without his host, that
host beng oil the while the sharpe@t-sIghted devil
that walks the earth, the devil OF Respectabiitt,
WHO has become pretty nearly The Sole residnry
inspiration of our redhot morality aud whose scent
for every thing that Is cOnvenlOBaIy OdiOus IN the
lie Of Lis vOiarics-wh0sc memory for whatsoever
publicly shames and dehles and crushes nlan--' a.
ketn as death and remOrselcss as The grave.
1t so happened that the eldest son of thu per-On
had contracted q marriage engagement with the
daughter OF neghborlnC merchants, and the eve Of
the nuptIals was at hand, when, on sl,tmg down D
diuncr one day, the hitherto tOO-happy father re-
ceived the following letter from the father of his
sons intended:
"My dear Monsieur D: The e en- years Of
busi,s ss n,e.co1r,e / hsve bad with yoa, conv nee
Of your perfect probty. ] esteem you, aud shall
alwsys extend you friendly grGsp OF the hand bif-
forgive LIE il thus awaken painful 70 Te1cmJfa1oe-
chance hes mace me acquainted with yolr past ID
not fear ths sha ever dvulge your ret; bat you
will reaoily Gndentaud thar ! mu-t hencelorth r..
DOaIce your son as my daughters husband. BE tran
Cu1, and leave to me the sssIgnmeI: oi pansi0ie
motiS for this rupture. Receive, with ny rcgre's
the assurance OF my friendship. -.
The blow, so wholly unlocked for and descending
upon so innocent and SO beloved head, was bcwil-
derlDg. The startled family saw their aged sire
he was 20 years Old-Open the letter, grow deadly
pale as be read it, risc walk to the window as if 10
throw il out, and the next instant they heard the
sound Of hs bleeding body upon the pavement be-
meath, where it sought aud found q tendercr mercy
than it had found ID the breast OF lts ielow-man.
To think that there should not have been virtue
enough in man to save that hoary head from shame,
and smooth It's few remaining steps toward the
tomb
What first Of al strikes one in this viIanous
history is, ! repeat it, the intensely dabOlic charac-
ter of our existing social surgery. Look at
the original incident. A mere yOu,h, inexperienced
in the WAYS OF the world il separated from the
restraints of home, and lei loose upon the tempta
tons of Paris. He is wholly unprovided, either 10y
LHt mercy Oh SDuICH, II! Inc NIsuoii vi lho
University, or the power of the State, with the
honest and honorable qualification of his natural
appettes and passions and is, therefore, alnOs5
iniably sure 10 fall easy prey t0 the first vul-
ture in human shape which fixes her rayeuOus beak
upon him. Wen: he defrauds his friend ard
employer WHAT docs society thcreupOn do Does
il institute Oh inquiry into the ply siOlosy of t5e
case, to learn under what Oycrposcring incitc-
ments the foolish youth acted; that, by remOy-
ing or qualifying their influence, It may, while
dealing Justly yet humanely with him, al The same
time exempt itself from similar liabilities IN future
Does il, in other words, like wise and tender ply
sician seek 10 cure disease in its own body, by
eliminating its known causes by drying up Its pate mt
and perennial sources Far from il. 1t seeks only
TO save itself bv process of brutal surgery; that
is by socially eXtirpatiHe the offending member, or
sending him to the galleys. "iut surgery IS good
some one may say; 1T often saves life" Doubt
less; bu, at the expense of making the patient Imp
horribly al bis days. II is the devils method OF
dealing with dscasc-the method of tie knife and
cautcry the method Of fOrceand has nothing OF
divinity about il but the Providence which directsit
to good ends instead OF evil. For my individual
part, l would vastly rather die al once, and go
among the generous angels, than suffer DR.. Mot:
DR.. Parker skluy 10 mutilate me, only that |
might enjoy a protracted existence under To Nino
or Louis Napoleon. IN Ike manner, II sexiremely
questionable whether Society finds her account IN
keeping M Ter present nckety aud hmpng cNst-
rnce II is tolerable for Il transition, 10 doubt.
Viewed as leading to something better IN the future
to state of man in which he VII be Jr'ty good, tie
existing social organization can be patiently
endured. But viewed according to lis own
pretensions that il, as a Divine fnality upon
earth, the ecclesiastical aud political organ
zatiOn of Europe must be heartily execrated
by every lover of bis kind. When the European
Church presents herself before you with her mltrcd
rod h, t.lr llstr
leeions of backccats and cOnfesses that all these
are unable to make or TO keep one woman sincerely
thaste; when the European State presents herself
before lou with her crowned and mbccile royalties,
backed by her countless cohorts OF red-coats, aud
conicsscs that all these are incapable Of making or
keeping one man sincerely loyal; when both alike
tell YOU that their united power, with all the wealth
of the world at It's service, and the prestige
of an accredited divinity 10 enforce If, can
vet do no more than keep their votares within
the limits of conventional or prudential decency;
when they tel YOU that, do what you VIII, corrup-
ton grows apsce, that prostitution abounds, thal
the secret violation of the marriage vow Is almost
universal, that property becomes evermore lnse-
cure that authority of all sorts is derded aud revO-
luton ready at every moment ~ open It's devourlng
laws and swallow Europe whole: what can rea-
sonatlc man do but cry out upon them both, as, by
their own conicssiOu arch and b0t0nless mpos
tors, whom every perfection Of God is bound al
every hazard inccntinently 10 sweep from the
earth
Look az another feature Of this airOciOus ease:
This poor wretch had borne tie penalty due 10 hls
ofensc. He had expiated the wIong he had dom
Society in the very way Society itself had prescribed
Is society thereupon sObcitOus or even able t0 re-
store him 10 his apsed statas By no means. IL
never dreams of such a thing. On the coItrdry it
cuts off all hope of that issue by heating It's murder
GUS irons in advance and burning in upon the naked