The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1874-06-28
IA jolly Account Of Jules Janin, the Boz
hemian Of Genilses.
[From the New York Post.


Jules Janin was one Of those old men who
are no longer frequently to be met with in
France. and who represent the virtues and
vices of Frenchmen of half century ago.
Unlimited variety, combined with unlimited
! Ignorance We're his defects: while an ANNA
ting amount of wit and good humOr, and all
those peculiarities which are commonly known
as attributes of French Bohemianism We're
his qualities. OF all the literary men Of the
present day, Janin was probably the one who
wrote most, and if any Of the Parish pub
fishers shall now undertake to collect his pro-
auctions, the world will be astonished by
the number of the volumes. He worked
for more than fifty years, frequently
both day and night. on all ina ginable subjects,
never knowing anything thoroughly about any
| Of them, vet always contriving to write some
thing readable He was born in 1904 in the
Department of the Loire and was the son OF
a poor lawyer he died several times million
aire and was known under the name OF the
Prince Of the Critics, which, by the way,
he gave to himself Not only did he amass
considerable fortune by his own efforts and
through his marriage, but a short time ago his
mother-in-aw died, leaving him two millions
more. His health was, however, in SO preca-
rious condition that neither the sad news of his
losing relative, nor the pleasant news OF his
IL lhISt ootlu III '''eoi D
opinion be safely communicated to him.
The father of jules Janin, poor though he
was, managed to place his son at the College
Of st. Etienne, whence he was transferred to
the College of Louis lie Grand in reward for
his proficiency in his studies. At the age OF
eighteen we find him an orphan, taken care of
by an old aunt, and living in a poor garnet
and giving private lessons. Two years later
he made his first literary appearance in petty
theatrical paper. As all the literary men were
at that time in France, lit was at period ap-
preaching 1880, and the overthrow OF the
Bourbons,) Janin was then fierce Repub-
Iican, and great adherent to the religious
views Of Voltaire, whose works he had proba-
bly, never read; and as is also the case with
the majority of French journalists, the fact
that he had devoted himself to theatrical crit
cism did not prevent him from interfering
also in politics.
Whenever he got chance to print polit
teal article he always took good care to do so,
writing something very violent so far as views
went and very brilliant so far as style was con-
cerned In this way he soon made himself
known, and the Figaro, with which almost
every brilliant French writer had been at one
time or another connected in some way, picked
him up This was his real start into journals
tic celebrity.
Jules Janin not only opposed everything con-
nected with the old priestly Bourbon reign,
but tiercely attacked the Orleans Princes. His
associates were then thoroughly Republicans,
Victor Hugo and Felix Pyat being among his
most intimate friends.
By and by, however, his views completely
changed, and he became an adherent OF Louis
Philippes politics, broke off his connection
with the French Republicans, was appointed
te,,iAetoniste Of the Journal des Debdts, and at
terward became supreme arbiter in every
branch of art. Before his accession to the
Debats however, he passed through several
other periodicals. He was at one time, in ut
ter disregard of his former Republican and
atheistic views, sub-editor Of the ultra le-
gitimist and clerical Quotidinae; he estab
lished, in partnership with Veron, the Revue
he Paris and the journal des Lefonts and
wrote in nearly every newspaper OF conse-
quence in France. The quantity of 'copy
he was at all times capable of turning out was
amazing He wrote anywhere and anyhow;
in cabs, in the cafes, amid the hubbub of the
green room of every theatre, pinching and
kissing ballet girls between the beginning and
end of sentence.
The imprudence and wit of his scribbling
soon made him immensely popular with the
bulk of French people, and he took the best
advantage Of this popularity. All the pub
fishers, being afraid Of his criticism, became
anxious to form business connections with
him: and then Janin set at once to write
books. He wrote novels, books art and
books of travel in countries he had never
visited: made TRANSACTIONS from the English
and the Latin, without knowing either Ian
guage: and had the assurance to bring himself
forward in 1865 for an election to the Aca
deny, as rival of Prevost-Plradol. Almost
every illustrated French book published twen-
ty or thirty years ago bears Janin's name in its
pages. When. the keepsake editions first
came into fashion in France, the publishers,
purchasing woodcuts or steel plates from an
artist, invariably engaged Janin's ready and
popular pen for the text; and the writer never
hesitated to undertake the job, however little
he was acquainted with the subject
DREAMS.