The Washington herald., 1913-03-30
Nv \. n. JACOBSON.


SYMBOL AND SATIRE IN THE FRENCH REV
CLIFTON: b ETnc>t +. Henderson Illus
trat,d New York-,i. +. Putnam sons
The author has had the happy inspir-
alton of reprntins 4 vast number of car
toons Caricaturcs. facsimIles. portraits,
puzzles Satirical and aliCSOriCal reprcsen-
tations. illustrating tn" progress of the
. French revolution. So well has his
choice been made that a person familiar
with the course uf events from the sum
mouing of the States General to the death
. of bespierre and the naming of the
Place de Ia Concnrdc would find little
difficulty in tracing it through these pic
lures alone.
As a matter If fact. the period of the
dawn of liberty in France is very rich in
symbols. satires and emblems. The COM
mittee on public safety paid 3.0O0 francs
10 an artist for two "aricatures, one or
which shows turkey pulling King
George III OF England by the nose. Such
efforts wer,. officially declared 10 be one
! of the most efficaciouS means of instruct
ing the country towns and speaking TO
the eyes of the ignorant inhabitants.
iRut these ignorant men also were
stirred TO a great deal Of bloodshed by
these same meanSD
One of these cartoons shows the
Three Estates as musicians. who at
Louis XVI, in his brief season of pop
ularity, is depicted as the "Restorer Of
French Liberty" Later he is seen un-
der Constraint. signing the Constitu-
rion. in an iron cage. Up walks the
Emperor of Austria, who asks, in as
constituent: What are YOU doing.
brother-in-law?" oh, l am sanction
ing"
The revolution advances. The royal
family enter the Temple" as prison.
ers The days of massacre are near
ing. War begins on all emblcms and
symbols Of royalty. but IL rs difficult
to wipe out conception as general as
that of king. with the terrible Robes
pierre at the head of the safety COM
mittee, matters grew worse. and the
report of a commission appointed to
save objects of art from the mob is
terrible arraiEnment of the vindictive-
ness and stupidity shown.
After the Kings execution the repuh-
lie puts forth its own emblems. and 1t
is a wonder how the storm was wealth
cred, as the guillotining OF Louis brought
into the field against France all the
armies of Europ-. The orators Of the
revolution Elorified in the situation.
I'VE have flung to Europe as a gauge
of battle the head of king" exclaimed
Danton. and another cartoon was the
result the Coalition
With the enemy at the very gates of
Paris. and England holding Toulon Har
bor, the Terrorists STEPPED Paris and the
provinces in more blood. A year later,
however In 1874, the blood policy finally
was condemned in the person of Robe
spierre. and of this terrible climax also
a grim cartoon survives. a fine satire
on Robespierre. Samson. having no more
heads to chop off. Guillotined himself.
The terror being exhausted. there is
the last cartoon, purely symbolical, the
remaining OF the stage upon which the
great tragedy had been enacted. Once
the place Louis Quinze" then the
place de la Revolution" henceforward
il -ss TO be the place de la Concorde."
FORTY FIVE YEARS OF MY LIFE: BY the
Princess Louise Of Prussia. Orincrrs Anton
Radziwinl Illustrated New YOrk-McBrde.
Mast & Co. Price. s.. 3.
This volume contains the narrative Of
that disa strous period during which the
royal family of Prussia endured exile
and ill-fortune in the time Of the Ma
poleonic wars The memoirs were writ
ten in French. because at that time
Eench was the recognized language of
thd court and high society. The revoca-
tiot of the Edict Of Nantes, that fatal