New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1860-08-31

stantlv and fully persuaded that the cause 81 tDe
order was 10 be looked for in the satirica verses
upon the demOralizDg effects OF the love Vi money
and power referred to above. l have osen 'Oia,
do not know how truly, that imlDoIta'ely on heai-
ing of the decision of Minister you'd, who, by the
vay. assisted" at the fata, fourth performance
M. Ponsard sought redress from the Emperor in
b. that as il may: after few days suspension
the play was reanrolnced on the bills of the Vau.
0evile and has been played nightly ever since to
crowded appldusye audiences have not seen it
since IFS resurrection, but am assured by those
who have that no alterations have been made IN
the supposedly offensive political passages of the
second act. That in them lay the real reason OF
(he censor's opposition 10 and FOud's condemna-
ton of the comedy, am in perfect agreement OF
opinion with the overwhelming majority OF Parisians
1t would seem that the Emperor has overndden
Fould and his subordinates. number OF similar
eases have occurred within the past ten years. But
to keep up appearances. the Administration has
pretended as an explanation of its opposition to the
play-what do you think Why of all things, It's
immortality, which has been discovered IN the crude
realism of the third act 1t cannot be denied that
NJ Ponsards prose, in the third act does not hesl-
tate to call q spade spade. III is not dllncul u
conceive purified stage to which Its pam repre-
sentation of facts would be properly refused adu6e-
sion, But here and now in Paris, 1860! Why
not TO amde to an emnently successful farce played
lately at one of its most frequeRted theaters, which
even the feuiletonsts found so indecent as to DEFY
all their wordy skill at describing by even vailed al
nsion-there il at this very time, begun before &c
oui plou aur fnmes and likely to outlast the vogue
Of NJ Pcnsard's piece, farce playing at the faais
Rayale. entitled Les Memoirs dc Mimi Bdmboche,
which-the less said about it in directly descrlp
five way the better Enough to say that it is sEg-
oested by the Memories de RigOlbOche. Rigolb0che
Is one of the g hirls of Paris degradation OF the
Lorettes in respect of whose lves-though heaven
and the other place know they make no mystery OF
! them-Parisan curiosity seems 10 be lnsataDle
Relating TO her aud her like there is whole cloa
! cine literature which, to be just, is not whit
! lower morally and very little lower artlstlcally
| than four-ffths of the rOmances OF the s0-caned
| realistic school, of which last Fanny" lauded by
Jules Janin and ST. BenOse, is model speclmen-as
wearisome happily to English readers as II Is DIS
! gushing The immense sale of the Memories de RI
eodboche has provoked the rapid production of nu-
/ merOus books similar in subjects. looked INTO the
pages of one of these at bookseller Legras the other
day 1t purported TO be the lives or what not OF Ces
danes MaIakof, and half dozen Others, the rivals
! in infamy of the envied RigOlboche. Facing the
tite.page is photographed groupe OF three excess
! lively ugly creatures Of whom Malak0f ls the
| chief i could get through with but three brief
pages of the book; it was more dull than indecent.
But Nj. Legras tells me that be has sold. IN week
more copies of il than he has sold OF La LeSende des
Sitcles since the publication OF victor Hugos last
work.
And while there is not one play IN them performed
! in q Paris theater that a respectable Engshman
would take his son Il say nothing OF his daugh-
! teri TO sit through; while the Rigoldebauchery is
unrestraned in print, NJ. POnsards play ofends the
moral sensibhty of the dramatic censors and Acmlle
Fould If there were any legal difficulties IN the
I .pffh n cta and ba
press were but the necessary evil flowing from
free press free stage fair play and no favor, 1t
| would be- however painful and deplOrable, no far
ground of accusation against the Government. But
these denominations have uninterrupted course under
| regime which claims legally, and exercises prac-
ticaly, the right of forbiddng the circulation of
bibles. of biographies of Garibadi, and ultramOn-
tame pamphlets-whch suppresses first and prose-
cutes afterward. ProudhOns sincere blasphemy,
and Larroque's profound philosophy, and AbOut's
sparkling persifage; Victor HugOs imprisoned
protests in favor of humanity, Montaembert's
fervid argument and Veuillot's bitter polemics--
a regime which sets itself up as the responsible
editor of all French printed matter
Conscious of this immense editorial responsibility
Minister Billaut of the Interior sent forth month
OF more ago circular TO the projects, the drift Of
| which was to commend and enforce the correction
and suppression, in the interest of public morality,
1 of the corrupting rOm0n:f6utAeton. The roman
feuileon il the lower part Of the columns OF most
/ French political newspapers, where s printed in
daily portions novel-in nine cases out of ten q
/ poor novel, whether it be Judged by an immoral
| literary critic, or by an unGterary moral critic
which in more than four cases out of five is in
tradction with the teachings Of the superior editOr
al columns. Beside the roman.fcuitietOn of the
regular political journals, to which it is attached
burnt almond, gratis, for the sake of attracting
subscribers there are large number of non-poEti-
cal journals whose chief attraction is in the ro-
mances they publish, and the most of whose pub
hshed rOmances are less distinguished by any
literary merit than by one of the two surest ele-
meDts of popular success--gross realism and
ubrcity OF mad pling up of stirring incidents and
lIbrcity. There are published in Paris more than
thirty weekly and semi-weekly journals, mainly de-
pending for their success on this kind OF literature.
Among them are honorable exceptions, Ike the
Journal pour TOus the Journal de DmGnche, and
one or two others. They are sold for and two
sous the number. Several of them q am glad to
soy the best of them) have circulation of than
1O0,0C0 copies per number. The fact that one sou
| journal needs to have sale per number OF about
Is, 900 copies to pay its expenses and that two
sous journal needs yet larger circulation (they are
| all " illustrated" with more or less original and
| meritoriOus wood cuts) and that so many of them
exist indicates all that / would wish To state in
reference to the appOsiteness of NJ. Blaults circu-
lar to the projects. The circular was issued the lst
of July lust past. A highly cOmmendable cir
cuar, so far as the moral spirit Of il is concerned
the political spirit Of it being left out Of sight.
Practically there is proof that anything good has
vet come of it. AS mere fact, more or less clear
il was but bare justice to mention its existence in
! connection with what had to say of M, P0nsards
! play and the cloacine literature of the day.
|
SCIENCE, INDUSTRY, AND INVENTION.