Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1863-05-29

year cid; aid NAY, for aush: VIC know, DO
already replaced by mower style III the
prolific country ei tn birth, which ID always
like Africa, ",he mother Of Some now thing
| But assuredly, Oh its appearance, IL uio RAISE
| n GRAND storm in the reading world, ns every
PRODUCTION of its singular author hahltuaily
doss. n. Victor Hugo is, by temperament,
soq ressiye, audscious, elkdiatOriAl; he is for
| ever in high rage, and often foAms at tho
mouth, against whatsoever DO conceives to be
the current and accepted errors Of the time
| In this book, however, he declsres open war
sgainst oil society at larl Q, both of our PFC
cent age and Of every othor; and charges
upon universal human nature slorg the wso!e
| limo. In two words, he il q SIcisllht, dissp-
uoint,d in all his d,esms, but not yet awak-
sned, aad destined never TO awake In ms
world. A somnambullst no has llHe''; AID no
will walk asleep into his grave Yet his ut
te-sncss in that unqnist land Of d!eslns are
not without certain sub!imlty.
His short "Preiaco'' 10 Tho key to this
great book; great, wo mean, IN its dimen-
siora, for it is az lang and large as live Wa
ver,v novels; ard this "Fsntine" il but the
| arst OF fivo paris. Gers il tine Preface:
:, lorp rs there shall exist, by reason OF
lac and cpstoul. scclal DOM, Whca, IN the
fac, Of civilization, nitiAcia!Iy c:satta hollis
~, .ar,h Gistur,a divine destiny irtO hu-
usn fstali.y; 30 long as the three prnblains
Of tho ags-tna degradation OF Intn ~ The
srr,spe Of l.bor; tho forfeiture q! Tousn
llyue .a!ate by starvation, the dwtrnns OF
childhood by physical and spiritual night
a,e not solved So long, in certain Iesions,
social ph, x,a shall be possible; 10 other
! uords. and from yet more extended point
of yisw. 40 long All IehUrance and psupoTiSm
r,mnin oa earth; DO, Ks Ike his rsnnot br
useless.
In other words, aud from sill more ex-
tondcd point Ct viaw-so long as there is
Fall Of Mar-so long al the EchPtlo is
obliouo TO the Equator il viii BE- interesting
and important to shrisk ont that Man ought
no. to have fallen, or ought to ,iss Sgain OF
his cwn mere motion alas that tho Sun ought
to 20 straight round cid rcu the Earth
This WAY Of rnsndng matters il scarce = 1
practical way yet, III lis sfo.tm0nt, II ''ey
be made highly entertaining md sven lit'ct-
ing.
| Hare it may De pro2e, u remark tast ma
literary and political cass@r ct NJ. Victor
hugo, DOES not incline any reasonable person
to look for much wisdom Al hishtnd.; though
poetry enough may no exrfc ed, powerful
imagination, aud highly exaggerated language:
| lie hns rushed with constitutional ardor into
al kinds of associations for reppaling the
Fall of Man; WAS the principal figure in In"
famous " Peace Congress held nearly
twenty Yesis ago. for determining by Sc
RES of resolutions, that nations were no longer
| to 60 TO war that movement you'd not go.
lie stormed for long while against cspital
punishment; until his rldrI son, for an hlti-
Gle impeaching the c0u:ss Of Justice il ons
special case If capital punishment, WAS tried
unl sentenced To Imprisonment. OF course r
m.i Of this style OF mind is yebculenily eS-
citsd about negro slavery; unl accordingly,
with that exuDer.n;ly abusive pen OF hs, no
hiss written moie elnqutns denunciatl0n OF
tho people Of this OonfeGorscy than any
other living man, Charles Sumner cannot
come near him not for lack If yiciousness.
but from poverty Of vocabulary. uIs Amer
| lean hero ia Old J0hu Brown, and wherever
the soul Of that old bandit is 'tDarching o."
there lie in ready TO 60 too. IL would be
wholiyirnpossible for such writer I" c. npcse
40 lorga work as Lss Missrah]ss ~itnor: g. mo
fierce declaration upon American slavery
but il is satisfactory to id that the publishers
have judicionsly cut them all ont Of THE
translation. Whether this is sufficient. III
r:fcation for work proceeding from mind
40 essentially vitiated by sll SORTS f falsa
theories, need not here bu exs.n'naI: but IL
was the best that could bn done. if this now
eat and greatest Gargestl Of the writings Of
80 remarkable so author IVES to be psesont.d
to our people at all.
The story--if this he st"ry-opens with
An account Of good old bishop, 10 esces-
sively simple, unsuspec;ing and kind, that it
may safely be said no bishop like to NJ. Ny
REL ever trod this a,th. NJ. Fictor Hugo
can draw no picture without making it car
feature; and accordingly the original Of tho
picture, q certsiu lea! bishop oi Dign", in
the South of FranceO Vt ne we're alive, would
never know himself in tnis mirror. The
bishops trabqril homo is Visited one night
by Misunderstanding man, fatigued and
miserable: ono Jean Vsljssn, felon, escaped
from the gallsys a. Toulon, and then prowl-
ing over France. LIE demands foo and sbel-
ter; the bishop gives him both, lights him
politely TO bed wish silver caudlsstick
blsssss him, ie.rss him to rspo5e, and gees
out to take his usual wnll: amongst his cab
bagss ia the garden. Master Va isna wakes
at Two in tic morning, and hevirg slrp:
enough, snd peroeiving that he has silver
candles,ck in his room, pru1sntly surmseR
that there is more plate in the house. lie
produces his burClsrious Instruments, silently
forces doors, fluids tie plate basket Sod takes
hipself off with It.
The bishop awskes in tho morning; is tald
by his old houstkeerer that ho is robbed Of
bis silver; suddenly hethinks him thlt the
silver was not hig-it belonged, s. al his
other possessions did, to the poor; his alb
seconded guest was one Ct the poo;; he had
cn,y taken what WIS his own. Next, police
bring in the delioqusnt, who WAS caught
running eff with the plate, and present him,
all trembling, before tbs bishop. "oh you
are there" no said neekly, am glad to see
you; but I gave you The cand'essicks also,
hich arc silver ke the rest, AID would
bring tRo hnndr ed france. Why did you