New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-03-06

Lane
.,,ch do not trench upon immediate. per-
.o,cerns Mr. Bodiey confirms this In
~ obviously sound cancellations, but II
r., oerhaps be best emphasized by citation OF
-,,s Instance. one that we can well believe
-.,.sI In a small Southern town our author
- two excited debaters who were making
a, rrsound before the principal cafe with
=, arguments for this politician or that. Mr..
INV passed on The incident was familiar yet
= Characteristic OF the people who make the
ur.A.tion OF France. He entered one of the
Nest houses in the town.
rss the home and workshop of wood
,.r whose skill famed through the region,
,, ppy ago dispensed him OF the need for
,ual toll which ne loved with the zeal Of q
ursman OF old This simple provincial family
N-nosed characteristic French group. the
Isd of II grown gray in Intelligent labor; his
- rigorous and orderly. keeping his books as
IN AS the house: his daughter, as comely as
~. her mother before the war. lately married
Young cultivator OF the neichborhoOd, also
lent who had completed his military service.
II, room fun of cOntented people contained
II materials that promote the prosperity and
Id glory OF France-industry, thrift family
urt;ment artistic instinct, cultivation OF the
l ,a cheerful performance of patriotic duty, and
Elaboration Of woman in the plan of life-all
-
Nn,on. oftener manifest in humble spheres than
i The class which ought longest to have pre-
r7ed H. Wishing TO learn something OF the
I,Ejcsl tendencies of the district. asked about
H. rumored retirement of the deputy; but my
-sulry only elected the phrase often and often
0,nsa;ed to me since then. "Je ne m'occupe pas
|. poi,ique Monsieur" When the old man said
ais there anger nor scorn in his tone,
rch as a ref ference to the Government of France
|.upi forth from the occupants of the neighbor-
. = chateau. which had left that morning. The
,Smbers Of this worthy family had no ill-will
n the Republic, nor indeed for any regime
r.sh allowed them to pursue their callings
-.uouilly. but politics were not to them an oc-
.raton for steady and industrious people.
rha. NJ Bodey should hold such types as
>nse Of his admirable craftsrnans family In
'. sh estimation is not surprising. and indeed
i. virtues II the race are beyond cavil: but IT
|-ay be that IT, the staCnatiOn of those virtues
Is the explanation OF the presen; weakness of
Rance. That she is politically weak Mr.. Bod
h. does not pretend 10 deny. The peasantry
|.ay he tower az moral and economic strength.
BIZ the republic, he insists is still as much an
|rperiment as IL ever WAS. and If man arises
b seize the sceptre Of power it only depends
|yon his personal---very. We are TO believe Mr..
Baby for him 10 subvcrt the present form OF
psernmon, IN a day Would this possibility
,nfront the French If they were not as has
ssn shown. envelOped IN a happy Epicurean-
$40? Mr. Bodley does not answer the question
trecty and. in fact. he uncorsciousiy with
taws attention from il through the length
lid interest Of his Indictment OF the French
siiical class This, he says Is to-day In
snentape case and in the main fuzzy deserves
BE- contempt bestowed upon It by the very
rAsses who are willing TO keep II m power. Bot
|, Is plain enough that a different class would
n in control If the party principle were alive
|. France and il the plebisctary power were
handled in the provinces not only with the In
diligence that the peasant and bourgeois give
|. the care Of their private affairs but with the
Enthusiasm that we like to think of as having
|sen at the roots Of the Revolution Here Mr.
|adley's explication of the French genius is
|yo.oundIy Illuminating He shows how the
ra,um from which more liberal ideas might
.tr down to the mass of the people Is itself
Easing through a period OF decadence; the
|helers in the large cities and IN Paris espe-
ady are filled with passion for class privilege
vhch turns the second member OF the Revolu-
slists triology of ideas into pure nonsense
cd through some inexpicable working of the
.snan hear, the Frenchinan in both city and
scynce seems capable Of a cruelty to other
|hehehmen which makes the Fraternity of
L. public monuments as empty OF spiritual
ssnihcance the stones on which il Us carved
That hope is there in country corrupted more
I'D more among It's upper class by wealth and
pcial ambition and rendered more and more
spLe among its provincials and peasants by
rsperty and inertia for anything correspond
se to the deInocra tizing of England and Amer
h' Some Frenchnen go into raptures over the
soric Of the English constitution and look upon
D British Parliament one of the uiumphs