New-York tribune., 1896-11-15


said 10 MIN: 1T strikes me you don't often go
70 the Hotel de Vile" The incident might wei
introduce a survey Of Rochefort's life as a
NON nc husband and father When the con-
demned Communard was allowed to leave MS
prison long enough in 1872 to confer ies'''hao'
upon his children by marrying their dyihs
mother. he struck by implication the Keynote o.
his domestic relations as they were maintained
all b,e life long. They did nothing to turn him
from a charatan into gentleman ne pesi'.s .,n is
roomoirs With the observation that ne "a'
horn a children's nurse" and assures the reau
or that his love Of children Is so great. MS ssi
.t,. for ,beir sufferngs so profound, tnat his
.or;o,,udo has become one of the dls1uie'"9
clements Of his life but there Is nothing III "''
memoirs 10 show that he really possesseu any
understanding of children. or was actuai! '"
,,bannv over any Of their misfortunes. INV "
,ici,ude of which he speaks fails to ring true do
does every claim he makes 10 'ne
~ a sympathetc, chvalrous man. i"e .
" of childhood. womanhood' "u'i''
closed TO NJ Rochefort. only "a ie"
further on in his first Voiu'he
courses of Marie Antoinette anu '' ",.'
~ the necklace. That he believes
.,. could he urged against her gees "''ho"'
saving But he adds to the heap Vi e"'
,o,ks vicouslv about her 'ferociouS ee'
and evorv other unloveiy trait he can lay NE
hands upon II he were to advance "''
stantial grounds for his opinions NJ '''s"
hoard with patience. No one wa" ~ ~,
Mario Antoinette as sacrosanct. nu' - 70
custinr to see NJ Rochefort maKihs ''"
the gossip Of the Marquis q Au'''"""P
knew his father and grandfathcr' anu "pV
sIurs Of that hanger-on at me co"'' 80 VI -
Of
XVI basing his right to speak oi '"e
terms ~ coarse as they are unn'ah's'
The upshoi of this sort oi 'h'nS - 49,. &c
naints the portrait of no cne qu''e ' 49,.
he paints the portrait OF himself
'o,,o. caro- 70 get an idea of Thiers or Gampe'-
ia. or Napoleon III. or Victor iiuso' u a.,
.. -. apv other Of the men whose names do'
NJ Rochcfort's pages? lie h'uS' - ..,o,
IWou,d no know the inner character OF the man
whose picturesque exterior mas 'o"'
r,,ar the soul Of that man wrose beethhs io'e-
-, ,,,,le niercing eyes. shocky hair
and savage determined mouth were long aeo
..o, 60 tho world in the pages OF Illus
trated Journals? Let him read passage "Ne
,h,s. ct learned To hate the First Napoleon one
oor ,,dge with what antpathy the Second IN
,roa mo II was with ferocious JOY that
hoord neonle sneak of his many maadies Ihey
ra naver sufficiently mortal. and was
,ro,oht ofterward to write In the Lanterre
.ye have had bad news OF the Emperor to-day.
1I ,s be,ter'' The mob in Paris. in France
hoe alvavs liked this kind OF brutality ana
trerofore the mob has adorcd Rochefort IL
was the mob that opened his prison doors Tor
h,r, IN 1870 and while the same mob felt no
contrition in kissing him on his way 10 prison
IN 1871 after his attacks upon Theirs ana the
verea,l,es Government this Inconsistency docs
NOT nrove ANYTHING in his favor. 1t means that
N. crowd was tired OF him for little whilc.
Y,,,. tho crowd always took him back. No mat
tor how often he fell into hot wa'cr-and since
,o government was ever good enough for hinl'
not even the Commune. he was constantly eo'nR
20 rrlson or coming from 1.-THE mob has al
wovs been his chorus Without the mob. Ike
any ouack he IS powcrless. empty mere w'nhy
hrargart II Is curious to observe as these me-
rno;rs are studied how few friends he has had
and retained-an important poini-aTnong the
better sort When he was In exile In brussels.
fleeing from France because Of the rightiul IN
reference with his scandalous attacks upon
the Imperial Government In tho Lanterne
he called upon Victor Hugo who was also IN re-
tircment and brooding over the turpl,udc OF
Napoleon le Petit" The novelist and poet
greeted him warmly. saying: SIT here. close TO
me- for you also one Of my sons. This may
seem to indicate that Rochcf0rt could be re-
spected by men who were themselves respected.
but It must he remembered that Hugo himself
had something of the charlatan In him. and was
lust the man to be blind to his furious country
mans defects. There Is IL significant conclusion
to Daudct's pleasant and even cordial paper on
the editor OF the "Lanterne." III" knew him AZ a
young man, but appears to have lost sight Of
him the years went on. He writes OF seeing
Rochefort in a cab during the siege Of Paris and
passing a good-morning 20 him. lie adds
Since then have never seen him again"
Rochcfort gravitated naturally toward Bou-
LANCER AMI Boulangcr toward him He has been
a comradc OF Louise Michel. In very recent times
many Of his sins have been forgiven. and per
haps forgotten. but he remains untaught by ex-
periencc and stands to-day among the Bou-
hangers and Louise Michcls rather than among
the reputable men who make for law and order
in France. 1t is amusing to find him Offering
a defence of this Anarchistc deed or that In his
career He calls the members OF the Versailles
Government Of 1871 "cut-throats," because they
charged him with Commanding armed bands
with n view TO the pagc and destruction or
private properties" The wording OF the indict-
mcnt may have been exaggerated. but the same
charges more less. would be brought against
any man who published to-day such an editorial
utterance az this OF Rocheforts In the Mot
d'Ordre"; M Thiers possesses wonderful man
sion in the Place ST. Georges. full of works of
art of all descriptions NJ. Picard owns three
we-let houses In the Paris he has deserted. and
NJ. Jules Favre occupies a sumptuous building
owned by him In the Rue d'Amsterdam What
would these propcrty-owning statesmen say II
the people OF Paris replied to their ravages by u.s.
ing the pickaxe and If. for every house at Cour-
bevoie touched by shells a piece of the wall we're
knocked out of the Place st. Georges. or Of the
mansion in the Rue d'Amserdam?" II this is
not Indictment to plage and destruction. then
1t is hard tell what 1t Is. NJ Rochefort repels
the charge that he was primarily responsible for
n