New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-07-04
PARTISAN TOPICS.


rruEYcE NOW DETERMINES WHAT IS MEmToRr
Gus IN ART.
lFnoM TIE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT or THE TRIBUNE
PARIS June 1S.-Challemel- Laconr's appointment
TO London is not a good one and it would be diff
cult to indOrse the euogiums heaped upon the new
Ambassador to the Court of st. James by the Lib
eral press of England. Gambetta himself wonld not
countersgn the half of them. Chalemel-Lacours
disposition is unamiable and self-seeklng. When
he went TO Berne he found that his dignity would
not support living in /" fiat" with which his pre-
decessors had been very well satisfied The first
ling he did was 10 ask for 800 900 francs TO buy
house and 30 900 francs to fit il up Whenever he
has subordinates be makes them feel that he is
n hard and exactng taskmaster HIS
disregard for the Seventh Commandment
is TOO notorious. talented writer and lecturer he
certainly is But his style in writing and speaking
is cold, sometimes hollow and It wants at all times
communicative warmth. The Rappet, In taking his
part against Mr. OD0nnel, twts Challeme-Lacour
with laxlty of principle. He went, 1t Is lnslnuated
by NJ. Vacqueric. from 1859. when he was amnes-
tied. TO 1868 the way of the Orlcanists. with whom
be was closely allied, and the two years following
he endeayored to make his peace with the Empire ny
cutting up in his theatrical criticisms plays brought
ont by Republican dramatists
Challemel-LacOur is clever III conversations out
he must make an effort, and "A strong one Wheh he
desires to please, to keep his native churIlshhess
under. There is great acerblty in his temper. lie
is ambitious in ordinary degree, ana MS amDitlon
hnneered for nineteen years eight of which were
passed in exile. Gambetta's genial temper was
often tried by fellowship with Challemel, who had
however. the intelligence to play second fiddle to
hun.
Among Continental Romanists in Europe there is
a strong distinction drawn between Satan and the
Devil Satan is the acrid, keen, prosecuting anger
of the human race. He is the enemy the procura-
tor revealed in the opening chapters of JOB, OF ST.
Matthew's Gospel aud of the Epistles. In short, no
expresses the Oriental conception OF the principle OF
evil. and is a being with deal of head a deal OF
venom in his biting tooth, and not a particle of
heart The traditional Devil as distinguished
IN ON the Scriptural Satan of the Church
Is derived from the Pagan satyr. He Is rakish,
good-naturcd ne'er-dO-wee, who is sure. but With
out malignant intent to drag those who let him III
upon them into scrapes. Well, the late Bishop of
Orleans Monsignor DupanOuD), who often had
dealings in committees of the Versailles Assembly,
with Challemel-Lpcour and Gambetta, used to call
the former Satan" and the latter the
Devil.D There was good deal in the
a rich and generous nature. and throws off
hatred as ducks back casts off water. lie is not
Jealous man lis ambition, If crossed, does not de-
voiop bile, whereas in Chalemel it does, he being
rancorous and dsagreeabe unless he has an i'm
mediate personal motive TO be the contrary.
HIS PERSONAL APPEARANCE AND ANTECEDENTs.
At a dinner party, or q jolly supper. at which
clever talk is kept up the new Ambassador TO Lon
don would, unless his stomach were positively out
of order and tormenting him. shine as a wit He is
not much over fifty, but looks great
deal older. The figure is thin and
the stature short, but the shoulders are wide and
square His complexion inclines to be scorbutic
As to the physiognomv, it expresses faithfully the
mans disposition and intellectual capacities and
his hair and short, scant, pointed beard are, and
have been for many years, as white as snow. lie Is
a native of Avranches. in West Normandy, and was
not brought up to drink joy-inspring wine, but the
sharp cider of the country. NJ. Paul de Cassagnae
establishes in attacking his ancestors, that he had
great-grandfather who notary. This
limb of the law broke down fence which a Seig
neur was erecting III order to surround common
and annex it TO his estate, and severely pun
ished by Norman tribunal. Surely this is an oc-
cason quoting the celebrated of Corneille
Cest e crime qui fat la hOnte ct pas PechGtaud"
The notary's son was condemned to penal servitude
for twenty years for forging a bill, and his sons
son the Ambassadors father. who changed
his name from Challeme Rocoux to Chal-
lemel Lacour, was fraudulent bank
rupt For his well-established dishonesty
he was kept under the surveillance of the police
BY trade he was grocer He sent the present man
to Clerical seminary until he won a bourse in
Iyceum, for which the fathers carefully prepared
him. NJ. Paul de Cassagnac slurs over the fact that
the boy early did for himself, and in a manner that
was honorable to him. Challemel-LacOur was
exiled by Louis Napoleon for his Republican opn-
ions.
THE CHARGE MADE BY THE IRISH MEMBER.
am afraid that Sir Charles bikes memory was
at fault in defending the new French Ambassador
in the House of Commons. The Figaro to-day has
the testimony of NJ. Caroyon LatOur in support of
Mr.. O'Donnell and perfectly well remember that
General Bressolles, when the charge repeated by
the member of Parliament for Dungarvan was
made IN the National Assembly at Versailles wrote
n letter to NJ. Raoul Duval to establish it. How
ever the sanguinary order which was thrown in the
face of NJ. Challemel-LacOur was penned at time
of universal excitement and boOdthirstness. The
Germans were masters of two-thrds of the French
territory, the air resounded with cries of treason
and the Roy alsts known TO prefer the King of
Prussia to the Republic. 1t would have been easy
to represent the Republic in London than NJ. Chal-
mel-Lacour. The best choice would have been
Jules Simon the second best, one of the vice
presidents of the Chamber. NJ. Bethmont. about
whom nobody thought and the third, NJ Barthel-
envy St. Hilaire, who was at Versailles the right
hand man of President Theirs.
AN ENGLISH ADMIRAL IN PARIS.
Admiral Frederick Maxse spent last week in Paris.
This distinguished sailor and earnest Liberal, or
rather Radical, is intimately acquainted with the
leaders of the Republican party here and IS an old
friend of the amiable, the estimable, the gifted
Louis Blanc l enjoyed with him much interesting
about the different representatives, of
adv anced opinion in England. toward whom the
Admiral originally led by his intense sympathy
with the English poor Admiral Maxse served with