, 1877-12-30
PARIS.
Victor Hugo and His contempo-
raries--The Hermann
Banquet.
Political, Musical, and Dramatic Gossip
--Salviui as "0thelio.''
4 New Italian Opera, ''Zilia "-.-Bcr-
lioz's g Damnati0n dc Faust "..-
G0nn0d- Weldon.


| Sptctat Correspondence o. The Tribune.
| PARIS, France, dee. 13.-Teu have heard oi
| the Tower Of Nlontl'hcry. 4 lofty ruin, rising.
full six-scorc feet from the brow Of Il yoodly
| hill, and commanding all immense, immcasur1-
bic plain. Behind it ncstles the yassa1 hamlet,
houses and novels sloping almost to its very
feet. and suddenly ccasing, as though they
feared to trouble the lonely magniticence oi
their lord and master. On clear morning you
may perceive Paris glittcring white in tue dis
| tancc, mud on another side dimly make out The
thin, dark line of foliage which marks tho boun-
! dairy of Fontaincbleau Forcst,-the only feature
| in the wide landscape that cau vic with it
| in impressive grandeur. Even that the distance
hides from all but the eye OF faithful memory.
When you stand, Us stood lately, upon that
| grim fragment of fcudality, q sense Of almost
| painful isolation will perhaps steal over you,
| and you may feel u sort OF pity mingling with
your admiration Of the ancicnttowcT. 1t shares
the fate Of genius, and is alone. What is there
in the humble village worthy to be called
society for so much crumbling great
ness? In the vast, dreary plain all objects
seen from the hight seem evenly insignificant.
Look round upon the sad prospect, old Tower:
and you who visit it, answer its silent question.
sSister Annc Sister Anne, do you sce nothing?'
Alas nothing worthy to succeed thee when
| thou failcst, Tower of Montl'hcry. I see many
small houses, and creeping things which may
be men, but, like to thyself see only the scat
tered fragments OF thine own past lying about
thy base.
HEADING VICTOR HUGO
is like standing upon the Tower. I wonder
what the world will do wien tho great poet is
taken: Who can replace him today in the King
dom Of Intellect! Not one. Half-a-century ard
three generations have acknowledged his
sway. Such undfsputed rule has perhaps fallen
to tho lot OF 10 other writer Of modern times.
For all Ills works tell to the contrary, another
generation yet may bow to him. His genius
seems to have no whit dcgeneratcd. his energy
is still perfect, his imagination unriyalcl. and
his graphic power as unique as ever. Ills - Her
mani" fills the House OF Moiere each night it
is given; the ''liistory Of Crime" sells by
hundreds of thousands; crowds gather together
to listen to him when he speaks at public gath
eriugs; Kings, Presidents, and Emperors an~
dicatc to obtain an audience Of him
Goethe aud Byron were as great, but they shonc
together. Victor Hugo has long had no star OF
equal brliancy to rival him. Lie stands. as
poet at least, alone, like the rul"ca Tower OF
,1ontl'hery, ''set upon hill where he cannot
be hld.''
This was thrust forcibly upon us at
THE BANQUET
which the Master gave the other night in honor
Of the success OF 'Hernari." 4 hundred and
fifty Of the chief writer's, thinkers, poets, and
and he dwarfed them all. Yet there
were men present like Theodore
de Banville, Augustc Vacqueric, Worms, Mali
bant, aud Mounet-Sully, women like Sarah
Bernhard: all of rare ta4ent, though OF no
r Ator,o H}n
according to Swinburnc, has a spark OF the
divine lame i'll him, lad, till he wasted it on
newspapers. Thrice fortunate Hugo! Mr..
Shandy would have found weighty argument
fiucncc OF names on dcstinies. It is some
cold comfort to the pismlcs to think
jacques, OF Hcuri. Had they but called YOU
Anatole, who knows whether we should have
had ''Notrc Dame" and ''The Legend OF the
Agcs;!
WE HAD 4 DISAPPOINTMENT
on the I'd of December. This date was fixed, as
every one knows, for the appearance Of Volume
ever, been pcrforce delayed till the 18th Of jan
uary, the pressing and serious calls made upon
him by politics having prevented Victor Hugo
from completing the work as soon as
he had intended Until IT. it. appsa1, the most
ers are likely to be the briGhtly-bound
volumes Of jules Verne, Alayne Reid, and their
countless inlitators The political and CONNER
cial crisis certainly does not seem to affect the
aspect Of the sllop-windows, which are all
ablazc with cay etrenncs,-Christnlas and New
YEARS. gifts. And, nevertheless, the distress l
here and throughout France is terrible. The
people patient anu very proud They suffer 1
in silence; but at niglltfall, it you stroll down
quiet streets, you will find that tue misery is
deep aud real It makes the very heart sick to
be appealed to for charity BY such people as I
hare had accost me, lately. Respectable
artisans, little used to beg relief, hon
II might say ladics,-all with the same sad
story: "Tinles are hart, mon bon -nousicstr!
we MUST LIVE"
Why does not n. De MacMaflon, who apes the
despot, initiate that ilustrious tyrant, HaEoun-
al-Kasyiiu! He would learn strange Thugs
little palatablc may be to his Presidential van
ity, but OF 4 nature to touch his pity and relax
his obstinacy. Madame la Marcchalc too, might
10 worse than follow his example. She passes
soup-kitchcns, Dorcas funds, Catholic Relief. |
Associations, and good deal more; yet. if ru- |
NOR do not belle heFloully, she has as much
to brug us to our present strait rs any three |
How the struggle between President and People
will be settled, remains doubtful. the Marshal |
changes his mind ha1t-a-tlozcn times in day. |
At one moment, We are told that NJ. Dufaurc
has been iutrusted with the formation of |
Cabinet. and NIL takes roseatc tint. The |
next, ". Dufaure is ignoninousIy discarded, |
and VIC are cast into outer darkness again.
Within the short space o. forty-eisht hours, |
more Ministries have been made and u,,- |
made-on papcr-than would suffice in |
England to manage the affairs Of |
generation. Just now the motto ut the |
Elysco is "Batbic and Resistance" with a
pleasant programme including second lisso- |
luton, the proclamation of the state Of siege, |
aud, eventually, the government Of Military |
Dictator. Tomorrow it may be " Dufaurc ami |
Reconciliation. In fact, from the Marshal |
downwards, nobody can forecast the future.
Despite tile prevailing confusion, |
TIE THEATRES AND CoScEKr-Rooxs |
till as usual. Tie merry ''Clochcs DC Corue- |
y1lc u tiuglc as prcttilY, Us ever at the Foles-
%r iar osc wness egte csnoy hayS g
Celine Chaumont {thc little witch j draw crowds
still to the Varieties: and the Sunday Classical
Concerts attract the same constant thousands |
Tlcatrically speaking, indeed, the season which
has just opened is entirely satisfactory. We |
have had Kubinstcin at the concerts, ana We
have now the Incompatible Salrini at the /
Jta};ens He has riven six ncrfurtnaurrs with