Читать книгу: «The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 09, No. 54, April, 1862», страница 18

* * * * *

M. Gustave Merlet is a more modest opponent of some of the tendencies of the age. He presents his first book to the public under the title, "Réalisme et Fantaisie,"¹⁶ earnestly and loyally attacking the two extremes of literature.

Two styles of writing, diametrically opposed in every particular, have of late years flourished in the lighter productions of France. Some there are who would seek to incarnate in letters Nature as it is, without adornings, without ideal additions. The cry of the upholders of this doctrine is: Truth in art, war against the freaks of the imagination that colors all in unreal tints. The writers who have adopted such sentiments have been termed "Realists," much to their dissatisfaction. Balzac was the greatest of them. Champfleury may be called the most strenuous supporter of the system. There is a certain force, a false air of truth, in this daguerreotype process of writing, that seduces at first sight. When a man of some genius, as Gustave Flaubert in "Madame Bovary," undertakes to paint Nature, he sets details otherwise revolting in such relief that the very novelty and boldness of the attempt put us off our guard, and we are in danger of admitting as beauties what, after all, are only audacities.

The other extreme into which the literature of the day in France has fallen is an excess of fancy. A writer like Arsène Houssaye will write his "King Voltaire" or his "Madame de Pompadour," or Capefigue his "Madame de la Vallière," in which the judgment seems to have been set aside, and historical facts accumulated in some opium-dream are strangely woven into a narrative representing reality, with about as much truth as Oriental arabesques, or the adornings of richly wrought tapestry. This extreme is even more dangerous than the former, for it makes of letters a mere plaything, and recommends itself to many by its very faults. Paradox and overdrawn scenes usurp the place of the real. The world presented by the exclusive worshippers of fancy is little better than that "Pompadour" style of painting in which the carnation-tipped checks of shepherds and shepherdesses take the place of a too healthy Rubens-like portraiture. There are dainty, well-trimmed lambs, with pretty blue favors tied about their necks, just like dragées and bonbons. As we wander among those opera-swains in silk hose and those shepherdesses in satin bodices, their perfumes tire and nauseate, till we fairly wish for a good breeze wafted from some farm-yard, reconciled in a measure to the extravagances of the so-called "school of Nature."

M. Merlet's subject, it may be seen, is of interest merely to the student of the latest French literature. A more comprehensive study would not have been out of place in his volume. To those who may be interested in writers like Murger, Feydeau, Houssaye, and Brifaut, the book is full of interesting matter. To the general reader it may be of value as characterizing with fidelity some of the tendencies of French thought.

* * * * *

We must not omit mentioning a work published in Germany on the "Literature of the Second Empire since the Coup d'État of the Second of December, 1852."¹⁷ The nature of this sketch could almost be predicated with certainty from the state of feeling towards France in the capital in which it was issued, and the encomiums it received from the Prussian political press. The author, William Reymond, who has proved himself no mean critic in some of his former essays upon the modern productions of France, addresses himself almost exclusively to a German public. His work, as he himself seemed to fear, is not calculated for the taste of Paris, even if it were considered unobjectionable there on the score of the political strictures that are introduced, whether in the discussion of the last play or in the analysis of the last volume of poems.

The truth is, M. Reymond, with much apparent praise, very nearly comes to the conclusion that the second Empire has no literature, and very little philosophy is granted to it in the chapter, "What remains of Philosophy in France." The Novel and the Theatre fare little better at his hands. He has literally made a police investigation of what is most objectionable in French letters, citing now and then some great name, but dwelling with complacency on what is deserving of censure. The influence of France, and of Paris in particular, on the tastes of the Continent, irritates him. He seeks to impress upon his readers the venality of letters and the general debasement of character and of talent that are prevalent in that capital. Such is the spirit of these "Études." The author has, unfortunately, not to seek far for a practical corroboration of his theory, though it is but justice to say that the verses he quotes as characteristic are far from being so. It is to be feared that M. Reymond has rather sought out the blemishes. He has found many, we admit. His readers will thank him for his clever exposition of them, satisfied in many cases to accept the results he presents, without feeling inclined to make such a personal investigation into the lower regions of letters.

* * * * *

"The Political and Literary History of the Press in France,"¹⁸ by Eugene Hatin, is now concluded. As early as 1846, this author published a small work, "Histoire du Journal en France." Since that time he has devoted himself exclusively to the study of French journalism. Though liberal in his views, he is not in favor of unlimited liberty of the press. He believes it to be the interest of society that a curb should be put on its excesses. "What we must hope for is a liberty that may have full power for good, but not for evil."

The two volumes published in 1861 contain the history of journalism during the latter part of the French Revolution, under the first Empire, the Restoration, and the Government of July. The work may be said to conclude with 1848, as less than twenty pages are devoted to the twelve years following. In this, however, the writer has done all he could be expected to do. This is no time for the candid historian to utter his thoughts of the present régime in France. Since the fatal decree of the 17th of February, 1852, the press has had only so much of life as the present sovereign has thought fit to grant it. Then it was that a representative of the people uttered the words,—"We must overthrow the press, as we have overthrown the barricades." Such were the sentiments of the National Assembly,—not understanding, that, when it struck at such an ally, it destroyed itself. And, indeed, it was but a short time before the tribune shared the fate of journalism. Better things had been hoped on the accession of the present Minister of the Interior, but as yet they have not been realized.

RECENT AMERICAN PUBLICATIONS

RECEIVED BY THE EDITORS OF THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY

The Soldier's Guide. A Complete Manual and Drill-Book for the Use of Volunteers and Militia. Revised, corrected, and adapted to the Discipline of the Soldier of the Present Day. By an Officer of the U.S. Army. Philadelphia. T.B. Peterson & Brothers. 16mo. paper, pp. 63. 25 cts.

The Artist's Married Life; being that of Albert Dürer. Translated from the German of Leopold Scheffer, by Mrs. J.R. Stoddart. Revised Edition, with Memoir. Boston and Cambridge. J. Munroe & Co. 16mo. pp. xxviii., 204. $1.00.

Young Benjamin Franklin; or, The Right Road through Life. A Boy's Book on a Boy's Own Subject. By Henry Mayhew, Author of "The Peasant-Boy Philosopher," etc. With Illustrations by John Gilbert. New York. Harper & Brothers. 16mo. pp. 561. $1.00.

The Stokesley Secret; or, How the Pig paid the Rent. By the Author of "The Heir of Redclyffe," etc. New York. D. Appleton & Co. 18mo. pp. 245. 50 cts.

Chinese and Indo-European Roots and Analogues. First Number. By Pliny Earle Chase, A.M. Philadelphia. Butler & Co. 8vo. paper, pp. 48. 50 cts.

The Works of Charles Dickens. Household Edition. Illustrated from Drawings by F.O.C. Darley and John Gilbert. Christmas Stories. In Two Volumes. New York. J.G. Gregory. 16mo. pp. 300, 300. $1.50.

Hickory Hall; or, The Outcast. A Romance of the Blue Ridge. By Mrs. Emma D.E.N. Southworth. Philadelphia. T.B. Peterson & Brothers. 8vo. paper, pp. 136. 50 cts.

Alleghania: A Geographical and Statistical Memoir, exhibiting the Strength of the Union and the Weakness of Slavery in the Mountain Districts of the South. By James W. Taylor. St. Paul. J. Davenport. 8vo.

paper, pp. 24. 10 cts.

A Treatise on Ordnance and Naval Gunnery. Compiled and arranged as a Text-Book for the U.S. Naval Academy. By Lieutenant Edward Simpson, U.S.

Navy. Second Edition, revised and enlarged. New York. D. Van Nostrand.

8vo. pp. 493. $4.00.

The Constitutional History of England, since the Accession of George the Third. 1760-1860. By Thomas Erskine May, C.B. In Two Volumes. Vol. I.

Boston. Crosby & Nichols. 12mo. pp. 484. $1.25.

Dinah. New York. C. Scribner. 12mo. pp. 466. $1.25.

Tom Tiddler's Ground. Christmas and New-Year's Story for 1862. From "All the Year Round." By Charles Dickens. Philadelphia. T.B. Peterson & Brothers. 8vo. paper. pp. 64. 25 cts.

A Pedestrian Tour of Thirty-Seven Days in the Alps of Switzerland and Savoy. By Charles Henry Jones. Reading, Pa. J.L. Getz. 18mo. paper. pp. 118. 25 cts.

Practical Christianity. A Treatise specially designed for Young Men. By John S.C. Abbott. New York. Harper & Brothers. 16mo. pp. 302. 50 cts.

The Sutherlands. By the Author of "Rutledge." New York. G.W. Carleton. 12mo. pp. 474. $1.25.

Memoir of the Duchess of Orléans. By the Marquess de H. Together with Biographical Souvenirs and Original Letters. Collected by Professor G.H. de Schubert. Translated from, the French. Second Edition. New York. C.

Scribner. 12mo. pp. 391. $1.00.

The Uprising of a Great People. The United States in 1861. To which is added, A Word of Peace on the Difference between England and the United States. From the French of Count Agénor de Gasparin. By Mary L. Booth.

New American Edition, from the Author's Revised Edition. New York. C.

Scribner. 12mo. pp. xiv., 298. 75 cts.

Fort Lafayette; or, Love and Secession. A Novel. By Benjamin Wood. New York. G.W. Carleton. 12mo. pp. 300. $1.00.

The National School for the Soldier. An Elementary Work on Military Tactics, in Question and Answer. Conforming to the Army-Regulations adopted and approved by the War Department of the United States. By Captain W.W. Van Ness. New York. G.W. Carleton. 24mo. pp. 75. 50 cts.

The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus under the Constitution. By Horace Binney. Philadelphia. T.B. Pugh. 16mo. pp. 52. 25 cts.

The Army-Officer's Pocket-Companion; principally designed for Staff-Officers in the Field. Partly translated from the French of M. de Rouvre, Lieutenant-Colonel of the French Staff-Corps; with Additions from Standard American, English, and French Authorities. By William P. Craighill, First Lieutenant U.S. Corps of Engineers, Assistant Professor of Engineering at the U.S. Military Academy. New York. D. Van Nostrand. 18mo. pp. 314. $1.50.

Saint Gildas; or, The Three Paths. By Julia Kavanagh, Author of "Nathalie," etc. Concord, N.H. E.C. Eastman. 16mo. pp. 219. 63 cts.

Infantry Tactics, for the Instruction, Exercise, and Manoeuvres of the Soldier, a Company, Line of Skirmishers, Battalion, Brigade, or Corps d'Armée. By Brigadier-General Silas Casey, U.S. Army. In Three Volumes.

New York. D. Van Nostrand. 18mo. pp. 279, 272, 183. $2.50.

A Text-Book of the History of Doctrines. By Dr. K.R. Hagenbach, Professor of Theology in the University of Basle. The Edinburgh Translation of C.W. Buch, revised, with Large Additions from the Fourth German Edition, and other Sources. By Henry B. Smith, D.D., Professor in the Union Theological Seminary of the City of New York. Volume II. New York. Sheldon & Co. 8vo. pp. 558. $2.50.

The True Story of the Barons of the South; or, The Rationale of the American Conflict. By E.W. Reynolds, Author of "The Records of Bubbleton Parish," etc. Boston. Walker, Wise, & Co. 16mo. pp. xii., 240. 75 cts.

Charles O'Malley, the Irish Dragoon. By Charles Lever. Philadelphia.

T.B. Peterson & Brothers. 8vo. paper, pp. 324. 50 cts.

The Flower of the Prairie. By Gustave Aimard. Philadelphia. T.B.

Peterson & Brothers. 8vo. paper, pp. 165. 50 cts.

Mistakes of Educated Men. By John S. Hart, LL.D. Philadelphia. J.C.

Garrigues. 16mo. paper, pp. 77. 25 cts.

A Strange Story. A Novel. By Sir E. Bulwer Lytton, Author of "The Caxtons." With Illustrations. New York. Harper & Brothers. 8vo. paper, pp. 195. 25 cts.

Teach Us to Pray; being Experimental, Doctrinal, and Practical Observations on the Lord's Prayer. By the Rev. John Cumming, D.D., F.R.S.E., Author of "The Great Tribulation," etc. New York. G.W.

Carleton. 12mo. pp. 303. $1.00.

The Law of Freedom and Bondage in the United States. By John Codman Kurd, Counsellor-at-Law. In Two Volumes. Vol. II. Boston. Little, Brown, & Co. New York. D. Van Nostrand. 8vo. pp. xliv., 800. $3.50.

The Young Step-Mother; or, A Chronicle of Mistakes. By the Author of "The Heir of Redclyffe," "Heartsease," etc. In Two Volumes. New York. D.

Appleton & Co. 16mo. pp. 294, 307. $1.50.

A Primary Geography, on the Basis of the Object Method of Instruction.

Illustrated with Numerous Engravings and Pictorial Maps. By Fordyce A.

Allen, Principal of the Chester-County Normal School, West Chester, Pa.

Philadelphia. Lippincott & Co. 4to. pp. 56. 50 cts.

Report of the Superintendent of Common Schools of Pennsylvania, for the Year ending June 3, 1861. Harrisburg. Printed for the State. 8vo. pp. 254.

The Works of Francis Bacon, Baron of Verulam, Viscount St. Albans, and Lord High Chancellor of England. Collected and Edited by James Spedding, M.A., of Trinity College, Cambridge; Robert Leslie Ellis, M.A., late Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge; and Douglas Denon Heath, Barrister-at-Law, late Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. Vol. III.

Boston. Brown & Taggard. 12mo. pp. 502. $1.50.

The Spirit of the Hebrew Poetry. By Isaac Taylor, Author of "Saturday Evening," etc., etc. With a Biographical Introduction by Wm. Adams, D.D., Pastor of the Madison-Square Presbyterian Church, N.Y. New York.

G.W. Carleton. 8vo. pp. 386.

Ethical and Physiological Inquiries, chiefly Relative to Subjects of Popular Interest. By A.H. Dana. New York. C. Scribner. 12mo. pp. 308. $1.00.

The New American Cyclopaedia: A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge.

Edited by George Ripley and Charles A. Dana. Volume XIV. Reed-Spire. New York. D. Appleton & Co. 8vo. pp. 850, viii. $3.00.

Tracts for Priests and People. By Various Writers. Boston. Walker, Wise, & Co. 12mo. pp. 372. $1.00.

Method of Teachers' Institutes, and the Theory of Education. By Samuel P. Bates. A.M., Deputy-Superintendent of the Common Schools of Pennsylvania, and Author of "Institute Lectures." New York. Barnes & Burr. 8vo. pp. 75. 50 cts.