New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-05-26
LIFE IN PARIS.

AND TuR CHINESE IN NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
AND GILDRD rAUNCHKs-THR VASE OF FoRrUNf
AND THE VASE OF CLovIs-Two WEDDINGS
Mr.. wAsHBURNE's QUADRIiLE
nRoM A REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE rRrBUSE'l
PARIS April 1s.-France. at this moment. is more
occupied with heaven than with earth. Two aerial
nayigators NM. Croce Spinelh and Sivel, have just
paid with their lives for their attempt against the
unknown. They wished to ascend beyond 5000
meters, but it appears that the Kingdom of Heaven
Is reserved TO the gods, and forbidden to man hence
Two more noble victims of science.
This time we have marked the limits of aerial geo.
Eraphy. A voyage in the clouds is decidedly more
dangerous than one at sea- The Academiaans will
not fail 10 compare the two intrepid explorers to
Lcarus jealous of Phebus.
Three started Happily of the three returned
10 write his impressions of the journey. This is NJ
1issandier the chemist who wanted TO pass the sky
through his crucible lie noted minute by minute
The variations of the atmosphere. AT 5000 meters
everything went well. At $500 meters they
breathed with some oppression their hands were
almost frozen. Arriving at about 1000 meters they
were compelled to breathe oxygen. Siyel and CrOce
closed their eyes, half dead with cold but they be-
came accustomed 10 it at last. Even in their dis
tress the three companions gay. The last word
Of Croce. who was looking at Tissandier and trying
to smile. was, " You blow like porpoise"
Tissander at least had strength enough 10 blow
He still wrote his impressions: We are at 1000
meters. Siyel appears lethargic. Sivel and Croce
pale. pale pale; $500 meters, svel is throwing
out ballast" At this terrible moment neither of
the three passengers retained his liberty of action
asphyxia had begun. 1t is by miracle that Tissander
recovered from il. There many who come back
to us from a distance but none who come from such
o hight. But think there is no danger of a crowd
of imitaoGs presenting themselves to scale heaven.
There Is prospect % colonization everywhere, except
in the clouds.
Victor Hugo is wiser. lie attempts every research
OF the human spirit with other balloon and no
other ship than his Imagination, and for all that he
arrives at the zenith. He has however, recently
ventured on a strip Of ocean. He has made trip to
Guernsey. There are days when he asks himself
whether Paris is not an exile for him, for his house
at Guernsey has retained 4 good part of his heart
II is there that ne has written haf Of his beautiful
books. 1t Is there that he has enjoyed the fullest
communion with God and nature, with the sky and
sea. lie calls Guernsey his Rock of Saint Helena
which is rather ambitious. His friend Dumas once
said 10 him, There IS something good on this rock
Dumas was looking at Jnliette the Egcra of Victor
hugo; Here Is a Hudson Lowe with Chains of
roses"
The old are always the Young in France. Victor
Hugo works with the fire of twenty years at the
second series of the Legends of the Ages" Theirs
never rests for hour. His TepOse is simply to pass
from one work To another. / went yesterday to
make M compliment upon his 10Th birthday BE
was radiant III his circle Of friends. Nobody could
talk but himself. He once said of Janin, He has
such habit Of writing his feuilletOn without think
ing about it, that he viii still do it when he is dead"
One might say of If. Theirs, " lie will still be an
admirable tazcr, after having given up the ghost"
The Count Apponyi, ambassador of Austria, came
in. Perhaps you may think that they talked
politics. Everybody listened hoping to pick
.r,+Nr
view at Venice, where the Emperor
of Austria went to embrace the King of Italy in that
city which was the finest diamond Of his crown. But
Count ApD0nyi and " Theirs too diplomatic to
toncb that burning question. Can you guess
what they talked about About China, Chinese art
and Chinese women. Count Apponyl maintained
that Chinese painters were finished wOrkmen rather
than artists NJ Theirs took up their defense with
all his witty logic. I'VE must not" he said place
ourselves at the aesthetic point of view of the
Greeks The Chinese resemble the Greeks IN
nothing neither in lines color. 1t is perfectly
natural therefore that their ideal should not be the
same Nature there has an entirely different aspect
from European nature In China, the trees have
foliage which artificial in its outlines. The
Chinese palaces have no resemblance to the Parth-
enon This is why an alien art appears false to us
while it may be true, making due allowance Tor
fancy Fancy is merely the accent of art"
They next spoke of the slenderness of Chinese
women and the corpulence of Chinese men. Why
this contrast II is because the Chinese have sngu-
iar IDEAS of the beautiful They Ike their women
slim and slender while they think that men ought to
occupy GOOD deal of space in the world, with far
round belly the gilded pauncE" of our ancient
Farmers General. Their women, therefore, keep
themselves through spirit OF coquetry,
in a condition of poetic Ieanness,
while the men eat desperately to give
themselves an exOTbitant volume. They cannot
get enough of venisOn steaks of sharks fins, OF
bears feet and swallows nests The mandarns Gull
tivate letters but they cultivate still more assid-
uously their stOmacl5. 1t is therefore inevitable
that the grammar of art in China should represent
only slender women and Falstafhan men. and nat
urally ;I,1 the painters have made their gods ac-
cor,ling TO the image OF Their Nnfo Is repre-
scented sit ting on one Of his heels like the balloons
and The orang-outangs, with a dropSlcal clrcnmter-
ence Who was il SAID that man was made in the
image Of God Ii is man that makes God III
his own image.
NJ Timers asked with his malicious smile, if it
were possible that such mOnsrOsites could be agree
able TO their women, "How do those unhappy wo-
men, condemned TO eternal isolation, regard these
sunerhuman corporositiesl Doubtless the Chinaman
saws TO his ChinawOman, 1t is thus that prove my
pobil;tv, But what would the Chnawoman say if
she could meet a European graceful as Apollo OF
Adonis' Who knOwsi Perhaps she might find him
frichtfuIy lank So true is it that nothing Is abso-
3ute Let us therefore respect this venerable paunch,
since IL gains such consideration among the fair OF
China
The Chinese Venus was the Empress Takia She
set the fashion Of little feet and spindle forms. The
fashion became a law. All women wanted TO resem-