Morris tribune., 1882-11-09
The Dirty Little Dukes of
France.
From a Paris Letter.

de Morny's prospects in SO far as the
ROthschild match is concerned. The
young Duke will probably fall back upon
his cousin Alexandria Troubetskoi' who
has been ten years in the matrimonial
market, and is the daughter of the Prin-
cess Lise and sister-in-law of Prince
Demidoft. The drama with which the
Dukes name has been associated has
philosophical side which is interestingly
dwell upon. Not only the accident ar
istocracy has been swept away in France
by the Revolution, but it would appear
| as if some hidden law were in operation
to prevent a new aristocracy arising.
The vista opened upon Partisan "high
life" by the suicide of Mile. Feyghine
shows it to be life Of the basest
kind. In the foreground are seen Prince
| de Sagan, whose grandfather and father
rallied to the first and second Empires
aud had their rewards: Prince Murat,
the grandson of King Joachim of the
| same name; and the Duke de Morny.
The three appeared at the funeral of the
unfortunate actress as widowers,"
and walked through the most public
| streets of the town in that character, be-
hind her hearse. Two of them are mar
ried, and one of them to paragon of
be uty. Prince de Sagan, it is true, is
| separated from his wife Those pretty
fellows act as if there was no such date
in the annals Of their country az 1901.
They are exclusively taken up with pref
ty actresses, horses, eggs, rings, pins and
gambling. One of them undertook,
when ''the little Duke" was bored by the
sincere passion of the Russian actress, to
set her against him and pass her on to
another friend or friends She was to
have been perez plated into career of
vice, the first glimpses of which filled
her with horror and disguised her with
existence.
None of the precious band seemed
ever to have thought of making fortune
and a name to which social prestige is at
tached lever for accomplishing great
things or even For defending their priv
ileges, which are menaced on all sides
by the barbarians of the Faubourgs. In
sooth, the most eXtravagant Red orators
of the public meetings are a thousand
times more wealthy and truly respect
able than the duke orprince who glOries
in his chic. Their way of life is infinite
ly higher than that of the gommeux.
Louise Michel and her friends discuss
great principles and ideas. They have
vitality in their souls and warm blood in :
their hearts. If one compares the dis
cussiOns which are carried on even in
the filthy wine shops with those who
take place in 'high life circles" all the
advantage is seen to be on the side OF
the former. Belleville is superior in
thought and in its aspirations
to the Champs Elysce. Had
Nile. Feyghine been in love with
a decent Workingman, he and she
would have sustained each other in trials,
and both would have been ennobled bv
an attach nent that would have ended in
marriage. Ii e would have been sweet
ened by the daily necessity for quiet
heroisni and by mutual appreciation of
well-sustained efforts. Material condi-
lions would have been sordid. But there
would have been that purest light OF =
heaven, idealism and moral Sunshine.
Out of every hundred artisans, orindeed
mere wOrkingmen, there is very large
proportion who read TRANSACTIONS of the
works of Lasalle and Karl Marx. In
circle, there is not one in hundred
who takes the smallest interest in Catho-
lie schools and congresses, or who has
read the 'Comte de Paris book on the
manufacturing centers of England.
In the year of the war l lodged in the
cottage of an ergine-driyer
at Tours. There was a
bookcase there filled with excellent
and very expensive books, which he
had purchased by installments. His
mates, when he had a spare hour, often
came to talk with him on scientific and
literary, as we'll as on political subjects. =
Their discussions were noisy, but they
were earnest and showed mental life.
1t often delighted me to listen to them,
even though [ sometimes wished their
voices more tuneful. On the other hand,
let one enter into the dwelling of King
of Chic, or indeed, Of any gommeaux.
You see about you elegant horse whips,
cigarettes, neat foils, scented letters from -
pretty actresses, cOcottes and cocOdettes.
Those from the coccodettes, are fashion
able ladies who ape the cocotte, are writ
ten IN big, clumsy, masculine hand on
fancy paper. Here there is something
In the form of a book. by the young
Dumas, who makes Eros talk like Soc
rates. There you find Zola's last, or per-
haps, a novel of Daudet Elsewhere
there is a stud-book or a sporting mag
azlne. The two latter are read and and
scored with pencil. The leaves of the
other works are only cut in the open
chapter. They will remain as they are
until the man-servant clears them off and
sells them by the pound. Goucourt's
novels Will perhaps, also be thrown into
the heap of rubbish" Everythin,
which comes near "hige life" Absorb
the miasmati>: poison which it gives GU
and becomes corrupt.
lie Voltaire sets up to be republican an
Athenian. But in trying to draw til
class in which chic is cultivated to til
republic it has become Extensively Coz
inthian. One of its subeditors had a.
article, the object of which was to es
tablish parallel between the Duches-
de Sesto (mother ofthe Duke de Mornv
and Nine. Damcke, the aunt of Mile
Feyghine,-to the disadvantage Of thi:
venerable lady. He tells of the vulga
transports of indignation of the poo
aunt, and of the well-bred indifference
ofthe grande dame, who, when she hear,
Of the suicide, merely shook the ashe
from her cigarette and quietly observed
1T should only count in my sons lit
as an accident" 1t is possible for an
healthy minded person to conceive sue
obliteration of the moral sentiment
the journalist betrays? l wonder do IL
saints still cry under the altar, "Hov
long, o, Lord? How long?" I tru
they do, and that they are heard.