New-York tribune., 1885-09-15
MAX O,RELL,s NEW BOOK.
1ouN BuLL AND JACQUES BoNHoMME
COMPARED.


o,polvs oen hitherto have been frankly sensatlona
ornoaling directly to that love OF scandal anu
,olcions criticism and gossip which is suihciehty
oor,mou 70 suggest the idea that 1t may Dc inc
,,n;oroI ain of theology For such WORKS there
Iii olvovs he ready market, for the most charita-
,oof us cannot escape certain soothing SENSATION
IN connection with properly modulated aOuse ol
onr ueIchbors But this kind OF tmng may Ne'E
oosiIv he overdone. and though the efforts oi GER
60, porisian journalists have been for some tlhe
s,,.oo4od 4o the maintenance Of public sentiment
sr,;ost England. while parallel endeavors have
heen made by London newspapers 10 lheite OaI'o
,,hoh;a the almost Simultaneous publication OF 80
-, hooks ON practically the same subject oy
PAM Vasili. Philippe Daryl and Others mas over
stacked and, so TO speak, drugged the market.
Apparently recognizing this fact the au'hor oi
" John Bull and His island has sought 10 sustain
the tagging interest of the reading puohc Wy "n
sIIo@sd change of base. Hitherto he has been
simply critic, and a by no means oVerscrupuip"o
one Now he figures as a dispassionate phiosopher
- io or;eved because of the misunderstanding
ha,ween his country and England, and who desires
othipo less than to dissipate the clouds when oD
sorra the situation. and bind the two countries III
hona of lasting friendship. Unfortunately tor
tbet suecess of this philanthropo scheme, NJ
O,pou tokos so little trouble to disembarrass MN
d
elf ~ the Gallo prejudice unremoved by his long
residence in England that his comparisons are
lielv 70 prove more irritating than soothing' iet
II VIII have TO be admitted that he makes more
concessions than any Frenchman writing before
him. and that he possesses greater insight 10 Eng
lisb institutions manners and customs ana natonal
oharocter than his countrymen as rule seem
capable of acquiring.
His nrofessed wish is to Danish mutual miscon-
oeptions by exhibiting The French and EnghSh 10
one another as they really are; to prove as ne says
"tbat neither is as white as he paints himself nor
~ black as he is painted By his neighbor" ms
is dlflcult and delicate task, and 1t required
more reflection study and concentration thah mas
heen brouqht to it, not TO speak of discrimination
For thouqh ne has had the advantage OF twelve
wears residence in England 1t Is clear lhat ms
fpovledge of the people is largely theoretical and
even fanciful When he begins to talk of jacques
Bonhomme. the typical French peasant, he Is more
at home.
:. Iacoues Bonhomme" he says. is petty land
owner who loves his country, his cabin, MS held
his cow his liberty, and those great sous OF when
he kes such care without its being necessary LOT
n French John Bright to remind him that II ne
takes care of the pence the pounds VIII take care
of Themselves This sentiment is born with him.
If YOU want to make him hsppy when he brings
,,o load of wood or barrel of cider. pay him in
great hundred-sou pieces, the money OF ms cnolce'
He Will take gold without repugnance, but makes
Wv faces at paper money; and should you offer
HIM a cheque the chances are ten to one that he
will go for the commissary of police"
Jacoues occupies himself little with politics. All
he wants is fine weather for his harvest, and the
government under which he has the most of that is
the hest in his eyes. How he came to vote yes
in tbe pleb1scite of 1870 is thus explained:
",Iacoues Bonhemme did not understand what
nlebiscite was but he sought his cure and asked
hIs, and the cure SAID: 49,
:. Are YOU married, JacquesP
"Yes, Monsieur the Cute:"
"Weil. what wasit you had to say on the day of
yonr marrlageT IL l.,
Yer well. INV friend; the Emperor expects
nothing more than that from you, and this Is what
Is So jacques went off and deposited his yes in
the electoral urns
Further on the author maintains that the French
ueasant is much more intelligent than the English
peasant It may be so but certainly the above
story. which concerns 100000 voters does not
bear it out very strongly.
There IS picture of Jacques BOnhomme at the fair
which would almost pass for the portrait of typl-
cal rural Yankee, and the sketch of Jacquelme IS
full of patriotic appreciation She is the fortune
Of Franee.p Industrious, sober, thrifty, size never
knows an idle hour from childhood to old age. She
boards money, she knts in all her leisure moments,
she travels leagues foot TO market carrying
heavy loads. 1t is an animal, and almost wholly
animal life, but during the war with Germany this
toiling agricultural woman showed a noble patriot
ism.
Joseph Prud' 'homme is the small urban proprietor.
IT is his ambition to accumulate enough prop
erty TO Weld him a small income. Then nc re-
tires from business and becomes a politician on a
small scale:
Joseph Prud hommc, whom the English have
disguised as a bully, dreaming only Of glory and
conquest is peaceabe little fundholder sluggish,
routine. whom his mother calls little one and
who is led by the nose by his wife. he has given
MP all ideas OF glory and conquest Peace alone IS
his cry. Like his inferior Jacques Bonhomme the
only conquest he has IN mind Is the conquest OF
THAI independence which Is derived from invest.
ments In the threes or three and half per cents.
Having secured this he pauses, rests and begins
TO dream of civic hOnors. Municipal Counsellor
Counsellor of the ACCOMPLISHMENT, Mayor these
words take on an agreeable sound for him. The
notion Of wearing q uniform and OF gold lac'
tickles him nightly sword would be "th
brightest day Of his llfe."
Joseph loves domiBoes. that mildest of games
with an incOmprehensible affection. Max ORel
thinks be is a Republican less from conviction
than because he fears revolution in Paris aud there
fore supports the existing Government In busi
ness ne is upright, and in his engagements punctua
t. "A fault, insisting, for example, upon always pay
ing his rent while the clock is striking twelve OF
the day ii is due One very striking difference be
tween the French bourgeois and the correspondent
class in England and America is thus Indicated
a. do not hesitate to affirm that the small Freuc
bourgeois not only does not aspire to riches, bu
that he is almost afraid Of wealth" This must b
an incomprehensible state of mind TO the majorit
everywhere one would think Joseph marie
rather late-seldom before thirty-and then settle
down into quiet domestic life
Life in the French provIpces is described q
specially pleasant as a relief from urban dissipi
tion. II Is distinguished by its monotony. Every
thing stays always in the same place Everybod