New-York daily tribune., 1859-12-24
LTTERATCRE IN FRANCE.
From Our Own Correspondent.
PARIS, Dec. 2, 1859.

The press has been busy du,ng the past FIVE
weeks. II is the publishing season. SO many
new books deserving mentiOn have been pabIished
af late that can only clear the list By speaking
very briefly Of any one To begin with the last: La
Femme by Michelet, is the complement Of l. Amosr,
BY the same author The lastnamed work being
familiar, through Palmers TRANSLATION, ia many Of
your readers, they VIII understand me when say
that this is written in the same spirit, and in con-
unustion of the same subject. That spirit is one of
the most sincere and profound respect for woman
not for her weakness, that requires protection,
and fatters, by comparison, the strength of the
protector; not for her beauty, that gratihes the
eye; nor her refinement, that gratifies the tastel
nor her misfortune, that excites compassion-nOt
for any accidental quality, but for the essential
woman 1t is this spirit that gives harmony aad
unity to the book, whose outward forms, at 6rst
sight, seem broken, discursiye. AS road its
pages, marked passages that impressed me fore
iby having in mind to translate them to this letter.
and thus indicate more particularly tho quality and
character of the book. On looking back, end
that somewhere about One-quarter OF the volume is
marked for e1tracts-say page and hall OF IHH
TRIBUNE. There is room here for but two or
three-nOt enough to characterize the book, but
quoted for their independent noteworthiness. The
first chapter of the introduction is headed " Pour.
gaoi ron ne Sc marie pas" and begins thus:
. There is no one who d0es not the capital fact
20 of our time. BY singular conconrse OF social.
4" religious, economical circumstances, men and
" women live separate" Speaking of the various
ana comphcate causes that not only prevent mar
riage bat keep men out Of female society, he says:
The first, ncOntestably is the growing destitution
4" of poor girls, which puts them at the mercy Of
" the first comer-the. facility of possessing these
victims of want"
"Vrtue means, for poor girl, to sit fourteen
hours a day, making the same stitch with the
head down and the stomach bent"
NJ. Michelet speaks, of course, only of French
poor girls After the Introduction comes the First
Part, which treats of education, wherein little or
nothing said ofthe of the globes, music, modern
languages; this is nevertheless, the most remark
able probably the most Immediately practicable and
valuable portion of that book We used to hear of
books without which no family library was complete.
venture to say that thu thoughtful reading OF this
by fathers and mothers would help to make their
families more complete NJ. Micaelet's notion Of
education is that it begins the day Of the ohild's
BIRTH the first tea ,hers engaged being the sun and
fresh air; the brain cannot deyelope without Light
From that point he goes leading her on, bringing
her up through all phases to finished womanhood.
fitness for wifehood. He nourshes all parts OF her
nature body, intellect emotions instead of stu ling
part and starving part rcnderingthe whole sickly and
dispropOrtOnate The Second Part treats of woman
in the family, and the Third OF woman in society.
The whole is book to be read in families-most OF
it aloud 1t il eminently moral and moralizng
reading, though here and there is passage that
dirty minded folks would find indecent, that right
minded persons will find not inde,icate. Proper or
improper there is less of what is to be passed over
with silent reading in La Femme than in L Amour.
Here is another new book added to the m any that
have been published in the few years past on the
woman Question" Les Femmes, ieRr pass<, ksr
present ct leRT arenir Women thcir past, presont
and future). know nothing Of it, except that it is
preceded Oy "belutiful letter" addressed to the
authoress by Lamartine.
Sourenirs ct Refsz,oas pol,gues dun journalist is
q volume chiefly made ui OF selection from the
political articles contributed during twenty years TO
the Journal des Dkbats BY one OF lts most distin-
part comprises the few years proceeding the reyolu
ton Of July, when tbs Detats was an opposition
journal; the second comprises the period from 1880
TO 1873 during which it was the ablest defender in
all the French press of Louis PhiHppe's Govern
ment. Not because it was Louis Phiippe's, but
because it was constitutional. And so these poti-
cal articles not mere cuttings from old newspa-
pers; for though the several questions of which
they treat, have lost their palpitatng interest as
questions OF the day. they only different forms
defending permanent principles. They are
mostly preceded by explanatory notes, relating the
circumstances under which they were written-the
piniOns and feelings of the author, then and now.
In these notes he frankly and gracefully confesses
TO changes of opinion, and to considerable changes
of feelings-the cooling influence of time. But
these are only changes OF detail In this examina-
ton of his own conduct a political contr0ver-
sialst during so long period, which no conducts
with the mpartality OF o magistrate, no displays
sincerity and manly respect for himself and for old
opponents, that inspire the reader with o sincere
respect for him. With it all il mingled kindly,
generous spirit that tinges ones respect with afec-
ton. In the dedicatory preface addressed to
brother editor DE Sacy there is something almost
of pathos but ofthe dgned, not Of the whining SORT
Ii old and close friends, felow-laborers IN good
work have died away; ii we are fallen on dark
days, yet the work remains, the principles remain
Speaking Of this review of his editorial course. OF
this examination of his political conscience he
saws: ~ have been glad TO see that l have not
"changed my convictions; trust that l shall die
Z" in the opinions of my youth-triumpbant or de
"ieated, that matters little to me. That, In fact
/" is question of fortune. not of conscience"
The third part of the volume contains, under tho
general title Mirabeau, Louis XVI, Marie An
toinstts, a very able exposition and defense OF the
authors views on constitutional monarchy in France.
History teaches him that this is not only possible,
but the best possible the only permanently practic
able, form OF government for his county-a repre-
sentative monarchy. AS to the soundness Of these
views 10 :king space, time, and competence, do
not purpose here to speak. But would draw at
tention to them, as another of the instances con-
stanty recurring and already so often pointed out
of late years in this cOrrespOndence) in the best,
highest current literature of the oppostionof
French intelligence to the present regime. Not one