New-York tribune., 1874-11-10
LITERARY NOTES FROM PARIS.

LITERARY NOTES FROM PARKS.
H. pu CAMPS ARTICLES ON PARIS AND PARIS LIE
A. GuIZoT's HISTORY OF FRANCE TOLD io ~
GRANpCHIIDREN'-How FAR IT WILL hAl.
PROM AN OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT OF THE rhiDo 80
p,,,s Oct I'm Maxine du Camp has
,ust completed in the R<pue de France his mas,"
on paris and Paris life In the latter han Oh 'ne N
,eenth century, In this last and perhaps most i''.
ing installment, NJ du Camp, after haV'ns "oooi ~
the most noteworthy institutions IN 'ne eny' "e".' "
the Parisians themselves their reNoiuhons' auu va"
,,,,a dreams which led TO those revolutions lie gives
an account OF the classes Into when 'no Two
xo,,,ons OF human beings who inhabit not only the
1arses, but by the most Important city on Sic con
Dent OF Europe be- divided As regards the oreign
origin OF very largo proportion of its nhahitan's fas
may well be compared with New-York, which is, per-
haps only great city in the world SURPRISING tne
French capital In the cosmopolitan character OF lis
populaon 1t is not known with certainty what is the
number foreigners In the ordinary sense OF the word
who Paris but the population be divided into
Parisans Paris, that is. citizens born in Paris and
nhabtants OF Paris that persons who were born in
the provinces and have migrated TO the capital out OF
total population OF 9972 persons only 62 S are pure
Parisians, born in the capital Thus two-thirds OF
the population Parsians in NJ du Camps sense
of the word ALL From these figures he infers that
the Parsans naturally have very little to do with
revolutions NJ du Camp so far as to say that
than fve per cent OF the insurgents OF the
Commune were Parisans. Now, even II we accept NJ
du Camps definition or "Parsian" as @ term only ap
pcable persons born in the capital 1t is surely ev
that this exceedingly low estimate OF tfe part
taken by the Parlsans ia the Commune IRIS Is only
recuscitaton another form Of the old story that
was foreigners who were the main authors OF these
troubles Americans and Engishmen were eaid to be
very the insugent ranks and even so grave
q person as Prince Bismarck talked in the Rechstag
about there being thousands of Irish refugees in
Tha
20 all simply that there has never been an Amer
ican an Englishman, Irishman, much as tried
for participation in the Commune by the French courts
Lord Lyons officially reported to his Government, soon
after the fall Of the Commune that there were only Is
British subjects in prison. None of these were ever
brought to trial. there being evidence against them
II we are to believe III. du Camp. the bourgeois Of
Paris the industrious and thrifty OF beings. NJ
du Camp fOrgets-wilfily suspect-to point out the
most crying defects OF the Frepch bourgeois his selfish
ness his political apathy, and above OIL his abominab]e
trick OF nstgatinS the workmen 10 overburh all estab
Hshed government, and then declining 10 risk much
broken head in the defense of the in Its
stead. Every one over met who IN Paris when
the Commune dominant as OF opinion thatit might
easily have been suppressed by few determioed men,
Sheridan said that he would undertake. with
a thousand Americans or Englishmen, to crush the
movement NJ. du Camp, in referring TO those workmen
classed by the police under the generic name OF La
Gcuape isays they the worst Of all that is vile in
Paris There are he calculates about 1900 of these
1t not necessary to describe them. They have
their cOunerpart in all great capitals There are GER
fainly In London than in Paris and probably more
IN Newly than in London. Yet there no Com
London NewYork, the collective garrisons
OF which do not certainly exceed-I much doubt If they
equal-the police force alone of Paris. But in New
York or London every respectable man would be
ashamed of himself If he did not aid in a very active
and positive indeed putting down any up
sing nf bis dana cia du Gam lOoke
the future with gloomy eyes; prophesies IN the
planest terms that before long (he hints after
with Germany there will be a Commune
whose deeds Will throw those of 1871 into the shade
Petroleum used by the last to destroy the |
public monuments of Paris; next time nitro-gyoerine
and dynamite will be used iD order destroy whole
quarters of the city at once
Here is some good news for readers Of what has |
already appeared of the late NJ Guizops admirable |
"HistOry of France told to my Grandchildren" 1t |
AT first feared when the great historian died, that his
admirable work would be finished at the end of the |
reign OF Louis XIV UP TO which point it was known
that he had completed his manuscript. But IL seems
that there every prospect OF the history being carried
until the outbreak of the great Revolution In 1889
For many years NJ GuzO had been in the habit OF
assembling his grandchildren every day in the library
at vaRcher and there explaining In simple but noble
language the history of period in the national
annals As his hearers all young, he was, of
anxious above all 10 interest them and by inter
esting instruct them. More especially, therefore,
early part of French history he careful 10
group events 10 give them clear idea OF each reign
and each epoch Very often be read translating at
sight into tie language lie knew well how TO use,
passages from some of the old chronicers Then he
added his comments and explanations. While his
grandchildren listened aud learned, his daughters
stenographed his words and thus collected the results
of each sitting in their notebooks In later years, when
NJ Guzot determined 60 publish these family lectures
It from these notebooks that be drew the first ele
meBts OF his history ana often he did than
make changes Of form in certain parts and sup
press the spoken passages which might be familiar
style. The notebooks only end the beginning Of
the Revolution, and they will probably be published |
with few changes as possible