New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-07-27
SAINTE- BEUVE.
A GREAT CRITIC AT WORK.

SOUVENIRS DU DERNIER SECRETAlRE DE sAlNIE-
BEUVE. Par Jules Troubat. Paris Calniahh
Levy.
The history of Sainte-Beuve's sccretoriat is
of q kind to tempt the lovers of strong examples.
Let US bear In mind that Sainte-lcuvc himself
was Of retiring and almost shy disposition ana
that he had genuine horror of being exploited.
He made very angry once when smart
young writer invited his housckeeper, Mada"i'
Dufour, 20 dinner with the intention OF pump
ing her for The material whercwith 10 construct
u piquant paper ON the great critics nome h'e'
NJ Trouhat in the present volume lngehuousIS
oonfesses that il Sante-Beuve had s0spccteu any
of his secretaries of taking notes OF DIS plN"W
affairs for future publication. that secretary "ouu
have been promptly dismissed. Yet no less tn'h
three Of Sainte- Beuve's secretaries nave "Tit'en
books about him. and il really looks as II tleFe
had almost boon q rivalry between therl do w
which should make the fullest exposures OF every
thing which their former employer would have
least desired publicity for. or these threc' VI,
Jules Lcvallois has been the most discreet ana
NJ Pons the most indscreet. The latter wrote
q book with the title Sainte-Beuve ct ses lncon-
nues" in which he professed to give the full his
tory of his late masters love affairs 1t was
brutal thing TO do and il was not manipulated
with delicate hand. NJ. Troubat, who certainly
entertans higher theory of the permisSioie-
though he does not always live up to his own
standards Justly severe upon his predecessor
on this head and lashes him unmerciiully, al"
though the poor man is dead.
NJ Troubat himself evidently belongs TO thai
order of modern boOk-Ipakers whose main eHort
is to make whatever material they possess go rs
far as possible. One might suppose that the am
bition Of young man OF letters, who had llved
for eight years in relations of intellectual IN
timacy with Sainte- Beuve, would have been
to write an adequate biography of him. But that
is not the way of the school 70 which NJ lrouDat
belongs. Their first consideration is how TO
make as much as possible out of their knowledge
and to solve that problem they spin out their
recollectons In difuse newspaper essays, and then
gather and print them in book form. This hnS
been done with so many distinguished men thnt
good and sufficient biographies of most OF them
are still 70 seek and TO find out the facts con-
corning them it is necessary 10 wade through many
volumes, the principal Characteristic OF all OF
which is intoerable dilutiOn. This is the third
or fourth volume NJ Troubat has written with
Sainte- Beuvc as a nominal text: and whVe he
does tell his readers something about the alleged
subject of his book, he has much more TO say con-
corning himself and other-and equally inSignifi-
cant-persons. In fact, ore has to read some
200 pages before Sainte-Beuve is brought upon
pensated by detailed account of the antecedentS
Of NJ. Jules Troubat himself.
Had the latter been the hero Of any remarkable
adventures the readers impotence would be less
but he seems to have had an uncolOred existence,
the only break in which was caused by his I'M
prisonment, after tie Orsini affair for having
imprudently expressed q regret at the failure OF
the assassn's bomb to disinteeratc Louis Ma
poleon. For that dislOyal sentiment the young
man was put in durance and kept there three
months. His house at Montpelier, where he
was born and he intended for the medical
profession, in which, not by brilliant practice, but
by marrying some provincial heress. his parents
expected him 10 attain distinction After his
arrest and detention he seems TO have cared no
longer for medicine, and to have reached the con
clusion that there future for him in
Montpelier. So he went TO Paris. and there fell
in with that odd genius Champfeury, who was az
the time engaged upon his History Of Car
feature" and who took the lad into intimacy and
gave him some useful training. Ii was while he
was working with and for Champfeury that Dr.
Veyne, himself a character, heard Of the opening
in Sainte-Bcuve's study, and fastened to secure
the refusal of it for Troubat. Just before this
the latter had, in restless and purposelcss mood
gone 20 Italy. 1t the period Of the Franco
Austrian war, and the author describes with some
force what little he saw % the campaign. Per
baps the most striking circumstance was the
sudden change of Italian sentiment consequent
upon the Peace of Villafranca. which was of
course land with good reason looked upon as
betrayal of the italian cause. At the opening Of
the campaign the stOrel<eepers had placed in their
windows the portruirs of Victor Emmanuel and
Garibadi supporting that OF Louis Napoleon,
which was given the place Of honor. After Villa
franca the picture of the French Emperor was
removed, and that of Orsini was substituted. The
police Of course compelled the Withdrawal OF
Orsinis portrait, but the central space was then
left blank. The incident was sufficiently sig
nifcant.
1t was shortly after bis return from Italy
where he played the part of correspondent
though not at the front, that NJ. Troubat became
Sante-Beuves secretary. He found the place NJ
snecure. for the critic was an indca;gablc worker
At this time he under lve-ycar contract
with "Ie Constitutional" Journal and in orde
to live up to it Loyalty he had put himself upol
rigid regimen For each article he received 800
francs and if, as appears, he wrote but one
week, his income from that source was small Ill
had a private fortune which brought him in 400
francs year, and the house he lived in was hi
own. having been left him by his mother. III
scr1lpuousncss as TO his work marked, am
because Of it he proceeded slowly. lie built Ii
his essays with immense care ana research III
first step In preparing an article upon any man O
letters was to study his works; and for this pul
pose il was the function Of the secretary 10 rea
aloud, and to mark the passages indicated b
SainteB cuve, who, while listening. wOuld iot dow
brief notes 10 aid his memory. When all had bee
read that was necessary 10 the formation Of iud.
ment Saintc-Bcuve would begin 70 dictate 10 IA
secretary, and sometimes he would write himsel
After rough framework had thus been prepare
he would proceed to I'll it In, and when at la'
the article ready for fair copying, it was
ragged and chaotic mass Of slips OF paper, pinne
together and looking SAYS NJ. Troubat, more li
o dressnaker's pattern than anything else.
But this was not the end Of the work. Befol