New-York daily tribune., 1862-04-25
FRENCH LITERATURE.
From Or Own COrrsspcnder!

PARIS, Aprll ii, ioh%'
Post-Of6cs regulations interrupted last Fridays
letter. ius as had come 10 the Ii ersry event Of the
day-the publication Of Fautine, the fret OF The se-
re. of novels, or better, the first OF Victor Hngos
fveo,d novel, LES Misera6les. IL is sociaist work
~ are tbe works of Dickens and Kingsley, as are
Sarior ResQr.us, and Uncle Toms Cabin, and Aurora
Leigh. ia degradation de ibomme par lie proleta'
rai; la declesnce de Ia femme par la faim; TaiTo'
ptie de refaut Per Ia nuItthese may be cal'oS tie
three general declarations, esch including e irany
minor counts presented against the Social Body by
Il il advocate OF its suffering members. But his to
oneucc il pOt yiru.nt, ia lers indignant even than
so~towlu slowing The fearful wrong doue rather
than iuy.igbing sgaiust the un onsclous wrong
ders; persuasive vi reform, hot exciting 10 revolt
war,iog not n,ensciDgi appealing to tbe scsies not
The Sword, Of Justice.
" N"tre Ddme de Pans was the resurrection OF
the Middle Ages; LES N S'r06rs IL the Lie oi tne
/ Nineteenth tsntury." Between The dates OF pno-
cation OF these two works ie thirty years OF ine
/ potts Ife--a period during which the worlds
"Ime-feld" llss been, as II were, plowed through
md subtoiad BY all rOrts OF revolutions, p0itieai
aud sos ia literary and morel, and has bronghl IOI,n
in rank fertility fruits and no"ers snd Weeusi
Wrench Ii erty tees that setln TO have wlIheitu,
/ N,rolonn family trees that eeem 10 honnsh, John
Brown yallo,ys tIess that seem to bear oltief ius
! for the Planters, Lomberdy poplsrs tnaI sesui ~
take on the glIse and Ough heart OF ChHr'cr oah'
j ef,i6cial flowers and leaves Of shIin G1e'lsii
I Ii er4tnre IlucBcd away, vigorous hut eNuheHint'
! pni,immed shaggy romantiGtm taking ~ iacei
ihen DO, uar grizzlies hat never eAlsed' tahigt
tLce Of courtly shepheTdessts, that never eAisleu
/ Il lasily the iusl reaction Of fshe cliss'c ava
mau,ic forms aud idealism has snik to sn equaiy
III. teaii M y rral,ln OF dungli III aud tebpO"i.
MetnIi ne te s, eular tree Of knowledge OF good a.
vii sureadiug out ils 5ranches, and Nttor Hugo tit
ijn1 under its Auufrcked erpds, pIucking aid eat
ipc growing wser and saddcg, thst s, stronger ana
geiiller, these tLiIiy yehra.
/ K,usrded from the literary side, this a'cst 10
iuGce from ibis frat ftb psrls lise 20 be the great
est birth of this ,ecund poet. Ia oil qnsl!es,
uuers we except bOldress Of imaglDAllOn, j. easily
equal-in some Respects superof-to lIh onIS uai
eerous rival and younger sister, N0l" DG~e de
/ P0r5s Since s f,st cOncepiVn in that pregnant
mind the nine liora,ian years have been almost
twice iulflledWLile there Is proof on al ira'I one
Of i,s ranes, that they were ARRESTED Tor eueuoa-
ton and addition, on tier pattage lMousn
tie press. Tie best OF reali,n, The Yeiy
living pIesent, is married into one WIN
the best Of dea-m, Iupe and agI iraiiOn.
Pictures, ,tudied iom life, oolcied by feeling, IL
pored by geuins, an historical series Of our tine
French in q cir accidents, but essentially WORLDLY
human. Sh,kesreare- Hamlet Prince OF Denmark
lie a whole Of which MTs. Stoves LVuislanian ~
Clairis All essen.iai part. AgamemDon AHA Old Put
, CheyRler Bayard and Gen. LaGder, Cprtlus, Who
leaptd into the gull, and that "quartef gunner v
who saved orr Ke,ublie's gunbOst Valley City ~
putting lis sitIDg part hewc cen IT pnd ne lmninen;
explosion into sD.itbsreeDs, aro al OF the sanie
human family.
In tbis as in all bis previous works in literary
prose and poetry, or ~ pencil and crayop ae IN
! N0kYe Dune and in Les Siecles, in bis John
Brown, aud other less known but equally renlaT6
atle drawings and sketche., Victor Hugos
method - 10 pradnre his ehects by COZ
tra.,s of light and shsde. lie is shs
literary analogue Of Rembmudt fn painting, oi
Uure in engraving. Ia N0tre Dane dc Pdrts IL
uapy Of his later icons, az 10 many Of Lie earlier
drsuas this effect was sought 81 sDy coet-snd OF
tainrd-a powerful, indeed but 0ftcn viOlent and,
i'll sOTt, e1trayagant an'ag 'nisin OF black ana
white. In tie present wok, the same method
! il pursued; the good lirhOp, MOn-eignrUr
Bienvenu, tor example be Vicar Of Wakefield
L. Michsel Augei'), contrasttg with wretch de-
graded by nineteen years inprlsOl ment 10 tie b1gUrs
OF IouiOn; fauiius happy aid eHuiaDt OF he
con,ra,ting with fsu,ioe wretched und dyi' x; Ju<
lice b bded by formal regulation baudage- coptri-t
ny with the jurl,e oi sleepiess eons0el &c IN the
con- t-room at Arras Blu; here is TO BE- obseFvtd the
remarkable change Gnd sris ic progress Of Victor
Hugo yhe cOniIHsts being us strong ~ ever, are 10
lol9er yioienI--lhey are harmOuiled, without he.
iug weakened by tie pefvaoIng tone OF Catholic
Judgment uf human sympathy.
Bu il dore Dot lie in your correspondence purpose
or coml 10 HDaly, 10 explain y,t lcss, II poe
sDle, 10 pre,ume 10 c.hCi Is &c c0tsedTa tis last
piece OF grea, masier lie begs 10 note bow
T. III lhtflIk 10 the IttOIu " OtitE bpOhF, Just
this tna Hugo lehens The sadDtss tf his tbenio by
fishing Wit and lanbent lumor; and that, ilat
wAtefsd with tears aid summed by smiles, hope
grows out OF Ills sad preseDt INTO faiIn IN better fa
tufc- willing aud nt0n'aged 10 VIII and 10 DO.
Fautine il 10 IL dramatic, q, ard will probably
lie the great piece Of tie season next year at
the Porte Sr. Martin. Vsequefie, the poets sou-
in-lsw, has jus, bad a comedy received for iead-
/ ing at The Frzucas. II has been saii that Victor
nejour and hotquud, tie EmperOr's private Secrv-
frsf.
Of the EwJerors Lite OF Cesar. Mocqu4rd, who
VIE hte,oteur be ore being high official s drama.
tizing Lie own novel, Jeesie. Count de MOrby, too
/ IL the author Of several very clever vaudevIes ana
oOmedielt9s. The two laet productions in this kiud
Of NJ. De 81. Remy lde Counts hOm dc giHD,el Wtrs
performed by sciors Of the Gymnase aud Of tie
/ palAis Royal at bis residence tbs other night,
most Of the embers Of the COTps Legislaiif
u tking part of the audience. President d.
MoFuy hss zen In The dramatic work OF the
| Coup d'Etat, vigorous ectOr. II would seem
thai, here in Europe, literary, scientific, AID
artistic culture s stIel gbeDing Of practical slaJes
mansbip. Let alone Caesar aid his cOtempOary hi.
ugrspher both Of letters, and the first Nap roleon
whore overwhelming fame ~ Captain and Governor
will draws from the attention Of most Of Us his
claims 70 we'll put by Assene Houssaye 10 the "4l,i
armchair" of the Academy-we have Thiers and
GuIzut Chat -onbriaud, Louis EgbtceDth, Canning
BrOughanl, ID Israeli the novelist, Sir G.. &. Lewis
who has Just written an aCmira'le work on astrCU-
Omy; Glgst as fine All HelleDlst be Is sound
and ingenious Finance Minister.
But 10 cone back 10 our books Here are two in.
teres ing vo umes, Memories sur la We Pubtique Il
pyp6e dc FOuYut, by A. Chernel. Very gorgeous and
exp nsive wus the public lite OF Nicholas fOuqu-t In-
tendant of Finance in the early part of Louis XIVs
reign from 1853 10 1862. In those few gears lie
quiied "A Morganstic fortune, at the cost Of the
Stae, Of nilons. Ills chateau nt Vau1 was the
autialaton vi tersailles; lie plans by Le Vuu, It's
painliuss ly Le Brun, The grounds lad out by lie
No,re Molitre furnishing plays for iIs theater, La