, 1859-06-04

NEW PUBLICATIONS.
woREs OF MICHAEL DE; MoSTA10HE, oozugs4Lnx
is Ese3ys Jturueg Into 1tsly and Letters With Notes
a tsph a e Seo R 70 99a ane@
: ead eafxaily nsssd sdFioa: edssd 80. M wsas1;
VII Kesa. chiesS;. chiS; .' -. ''
: Thc publication of new and tasteful editions
Of our standard literature, like these volumes Of
Montaigne, is one Of the most gratifying evi-
dences Of the return Of solgency aud financial
easc. The panic Of 1851 caught the book trade
even before it devastated the dry goods. The
first elorta Of the pcoplein the way Of personal
economy were directed to their literary expens-
cs. New books could be dispensed with, while
bread and meat and clothing could not. The
trade-cams to full stop; md tho great pubiish-
ing houses in New York, with but single ex-
ccption, became the catliest and most sipnal
trophies Of the crisis. But the activity Of the
press as indicated BY the daily appearance of
new works, or old ones IN newer and more at
tractive form, is evidence that the public are
beginning to have money to buy books with and
time to read them in. This edition Of the rare
old Gascon essayist is a reproduction, with in-
portant changes and additions, Of Hazlitt's
ed;t;on vhrh ~, ;tse,f co,ract;on sna a.
,,roo,,sn, r. cot,on,. s.,a,,ant +r,r.,,t;on a..
nvh1;.h.d - rn.,,na i. 1cso rba o,;,;..,
M,r+ otoro In, H.. ,on,, ao,n .h-onoa . .,o-
.o.s;on ~ no.tor,x h.nas, .na ,re no,to -.
question of ,he nrsssnt ed;tor,. c,o;r Tint h;a
edition is "the most accurate hitherto published
whether in French or English"
Tho mo<t mt md rooco+ criticism ,,non the
cssavs of Nonto;cne nccord;nc tn our view il
+,at oivcn in rmerson's Renrcscntat;ye Men.
4cu. tbcsa worde and +hex uou1d b,eed tber
nore xascu,ar md al;ve - Montaione IL Mt the
s,ua t;ms ,he fret or modern essav;4t.-tha
frs, If ,b;1oson1,;cs1 writer's treating of ererv
d,v o-,a,;.nro e,c;,, oconorr and Tho ,-oct;.
c.i t,,;nos of 1;f.-;n mint of time md herond
.,n,no-;so, tba ,,ost borec, and +rrtbf;,, ~ al,
vbo ,,,rc avor wr;tten rbsre ia soma4b;nu
.ta.ccr;oo in TIM b1untness with vh;ch he ma.
Ives himself and the precision with which he
1,rs harc tbe motives of human oct;on Yet
there Is notb;po of the crn;c in h;s connno.it;on
Tbo,rb d;sscct;no human noturc fnrinc;na,lv
thronch the oedinm of },is ovn indir;dual na-
ture, be is engaged in no upgracious task. He
c5xes m na;n lie cabb1cs an from one tonic
n onotber with nerfect freedom. sincerity md
cood will. lie declares himself ful]y and per-
fectly in his preface "Thjs. reader. is a book
"without guile. II tells thee at the yery outset
"that had no other end in putting it together
"thap that which was strictly domestic and pri-
"yute. Had I proposed to court
"borrowcd hcantics. . Int twas mr. x;sb to he
"sccn in NV simple. natural and ordinary garb,
"vithuut study or atti1ce, for twas myself ]
"had to paint." This was written at Mon
ta;yne. June II. 1880. and the ESSAYS were pub-
lishcd at Bordeaux the same ycar.-since when
cjebty-thrcc editions of tic marvellous say
inrs Of Moutaicue, in various languages, have
zone forth to instruct mankind, Saws Ha1lan,.
in ,,is 1ntroduc,;on to the Literature of Europe
am nrose writer of the sixteenth century has
sheen so generally read. nor probably given 50
I. ,,,.b ds1;oh+ No conrcrsa nth Monta;ore
"or rather hear him talk. 1t is impossible to
"read lis Essays without thinking that be
"spcaks to us; and VIC see his cheerful brow,
this sparkling eye, his negligent but gentle
"n,an1v demeanor; We picture him in his arm
=. or,a;r n;t, H. f.r h.nts ,rornd t,o roon ..a
=. .u,...n.,. -. a.. ...,.y ,,....:.s,- -
~. .,,N-r ,,:, 0'
'N~ ~''o'0 ~ o"~o" ""'."
years later, bear tile imprint of the time in
which they were produced, but to their authors
respectively belongs the glory Of having broken
tic reign ofantiouity. which then rested as spell
.... III fox,.4.,n+ e t:..... =: f,t.:.t..