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THE LEADER. [ISTo. 331, Satubday ,
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THE ROMANCE OF JAUFItr. Jaufry the Knigh...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Beaumakchais. Jbeauirwrchais And /Tit Ti...
F ^^ PSSSSSass ^ asaWfi S ? S S £ St ss shfis ^ issjsr § 2 ^ 5 ? he nowinngs about . No romancist was ever less explicit touch-SS wavs and mlans or His hero than M . de Lomenie . And the same want of clear statement utterly destroys the biographic value of the work , giving it the appearance of , what originally it was , a series of magazine
. articles . , . j .-t With this restriction -we can cordially commend the work ; and as tne . reader rprobabiy cares less about Beaumarchais than about his times , the objection will not be felt as serious . Curious indeed is the picture of society feere painted . STo one can contemplate it , and marvel at the Trench Revolution ; awl if any one , aghast at-the excesses of that outbreak , or despairino- at the apparent relapse into a social condition from which the Revolution strove to escape , should be disposed to question the good effected , let him read these volumes . This may be said to be the moral running through the work . Ofaaotherkind is the interest one cannot help feeling in Beaumar-< chais , whose life was more adventurous than that of a Dumas hero . He plays many parts , and all with considerable success and vivacity . He begins : as a watchmaker , then emerges as a courtier , a song-writer , a dramatist , a speculator , ti man of fashion , a popular idol , a secret agent , a shipowner , a contractor , a pamphleteer , a man ilways at law , always quarrelling with somebody , always " en Evidence : " —
Almost at the same moment we see him , after being condemned to civic degradation Sby the Maupeou Parliament , bring about the overthrow of his judges , produce the - "Barber of Seville , " correspond secretly from London-with Louis XVL , and though not yet recovered from the effect of the judicial sentence which still presses upon him , liis credit exhausted , his goods seized , we see him obtain from the king himself a million francs , with which he originates and fosters the intervention of France in the > quarrel between England and her American colonies . A short time afterwards , still composing songs , comedies , and operas , and always having two or three lawsuits on izand , Beaumarchais -trades in the four quarters of the globe ; he has forty vessels of liis own on the sea ; his navy fights side by side with that of the state at the battle of Grenada , his , officers are decorated , he discusses the expenses of the war with the king , And treats with the United States as one power would do with another .
Powerful enough to do all this , powerful enough to get " Figaro" produced on the stage in spite of Louis XVL , and to get the first general edition of Voltaire printed an spite of the clergy and the magistracy , Beaumarchais was not even able to insure respect for his own person and to save himself in the midst of all his splendour , at the Age of iifty-three , from being arrested one fine morning , without rhyme or reason , And shut up for several days in a house of correction like some young scapegrace . Yet at the same time he appeared as the patron of men of letters , whose interests he . advocated -with ± he ministers ; was in continual communication , as financier , and even , as special agent and councillor , with MM . de Sartines , de Maurepas , de Vergennes , < Le Necker , and de Calonne ; was courted by the nobles , who borrowed money from him , and frequently forgot to return it ; interceded on behalf even of princes with the Archbishop of Paris , and was contributing powerfully , but involuntarily , as will be seen , to the destruction of the monarchy .
Persecuted under the Republic as an aristocrat , after having been imprisoned for ± ds opposition under the Toyalty , the ex-agent of Louis XVI . became all the same , and in spite of himself , the agent and commissary of the Committee of Public Safety . His appointment as commissary , instead of placing him beyond peril , endangered his life and gave the last blow to his fortune . Originally poor , after having made his fortune and lost it again two or three times , he now saw all his property seized upon , and after having possessed an income of 150 , 000 fir ., Beaumarchais in his old age proscribed , concealed under a false name in a garret at Hamburg , was reduced for a time to such a degree of want that he was obliged , as he says , to economize his matches so as to be able to use each of them twice .
On his TCtuxn to his native land , at the age of fifty-five , m ill health , deaf , but still indefatigable , Bcaumarchais , while with more than the energy of youth he was mixing himself up with all the affairs of the day , at the same time superintended the production of his last drama , the " Guilty Mother , " collected courageously the remains of Ms fortune , and recommenced , with one foot in the grave , all the labours of his life ; defended hinrMtftW against a legion of creditors , prosecuted a legion of debtors , and ¦ died , with lawsuits pending both against the French Republic and the Republic of the United States . M . do Lomenie has sketched each of these episodes with sufficient fulness ¦ of detail , aided by valuable unpublished material- Here is a capitul story , ^ which we select "for its brevity , illustrating the life of the Princesses of France : —
Now " Mesdames , " like all other women , especially princesses , had the most varied fancies , which it was necessary to gratify at onoe . Tho correspondence of Madame du Defiant contains a very curious story , of a box of preserved Orleans quinces , which were desired so impatiently by Madame Victoiro , that the king , her father , sent a messenger flying to M . do Ohoiseul , tho prime minister , who forwarded a despatch « rith equal haste to the Bishop of Orleans , who was waked at three in the morning to receive , to his great alarm , . a missive from Louis XV ., couched in the following terms : — " Monsieur l'Evequo d'Orltfans , my daughters wish for some cotignac ; they want very small boxes : send some . If you have nono , I beg you will . " In this part of tho letter there was a drawing of a sodan-chair , and underneath the chair , " Bend immediately into your episcopal town to get some : lot tho boxes bo very small ; and , Monsieur l'Ev 6 que d'OrleuiiB , may God have you in his holy keeping . T _ , " j Louih . " Lowar aowmmoB this rooatecript :
• Tho sedan-chair does not mean anything ; it was drawn by my daughter on this sheet of paper , whlch . I happened to find near mo . " Aroir ^ was at tmce despatched to Orleans . Tho cotignac , says Madamo du < « L i *** the fol * "r tng ttay ; they no longer cared for it . At ort * n toappeaed to Bearmmrchals -to receive commissions which somewhat recnl »» rtorjr < rf the catenae , ^ ith * HU difference , that th « young and needy muBic-master lwd _ » t ^ n - _ iiko lw JJiahop of . ( hita « w . Lft courier jit his disposition . Here w another < atory , very -pretty aa it eecms to us , and showing
Boaumarchais in an amiable light . He was in prison for the crime of having been insulted and nearly murdered by a duke and peer . M . de Loin & iie reminds us that Beaumarchais had been on very intimate terms with M . Lenormant D'Etioles , the husband of Madame de Pompadour , who , after the death of his first wife , had married again , and who had a charming child six years and a half old . This little boy , who was named Constant , was very fond of Beaumarchais , and on hearing , that his friend was in prison , he wrote to him , of his owa accord , the following letter : — " Neuilly , March 2 , I 773 . " Sik , —I send you my purse , because people in prison are always poor . I am very sorry you are in prison . Every morning and every evening I say an Ave Maria "I have the honour to bo , Sir , " Your very humble and very obedient servant , " Constant . "
Beaumarchais replied immediately to the mother and child by two letters , in which all his good nature and delicacy of feeling are shown . Here is , first of all , his letter to Madame Lenormajit : — " I thank you very sincerelv , madame , for having conveyed to me the letter and purse of my little friend Constant . These are the first promptings of benevolence on the part of a young nature , from which excellent things may be expected . Do not give him back his own purse , so that he may not conclude that all sacrifices bring with them this species of reward . It will be very gratifying to him one day to see it in your hands , as a memorial of the affectionate kindness of his generous heart . Compensate him in a manner which will give him a just idea of the nature of his action , without allowing himself to become proud of having done it . But I do not know observations has oriinated
what I am saying when I make these . Your care g and developed in him so great a quality as that of beneficence at an age when all morality consists in referring things to one ' s own interest . Receive my thanks aud compliments . Allow M . l'Abbe" Leroux to share them ; he is not contented with teaching his pupils to decline the word virtue , he also teaches them to love it ; he is full of merit , and more fitted than any other man to second your views . This letter and this purse have produced quite a child ' s delight in myself . Happy parents ! you have a son six years of age capable of such an action . And I also had a son ; but he is no more ! And yours already gives you such pleasures ! I share them with all my heart , and I beg that you will continue to have a little affection for him who has been the cause of this charming trait on the part of our little Constant . Nothing can be added to the respectful attachment of him who makes it his honour to be ,
Madame , & c . "At For-l'Eveque , March 4 , 1773 . " Now comes the answer to little Constant : — "My little Friend Constant , —I have received with much gratitude your letter and the purse you added to it : I have made a just division of what they contained , according to the different wants of my fellow prisoners and myself , keeping tbe best portion for your friend Beaumarchais , I mean the prayers , the Aves , of wliich I have certainly great need , and distributing to poor people , who were in distress , all tbe money your purse contained . Thus , while intending to oblige one man only , yon have earned the gratitude of many . This is the ordinary fruit of actions like yours . Good-by , my little friend Constant . " Beaumakciiais . " On the whole , this work deserves a place on the lighter shelves of evcrv library , for although its defects as a biography are great , its positive value as a collection of sketches of society is undeniable .
The Leader. [Isto. 331, Satubday ,
THE LEADER . [ ISTo . 331 , Satubday ,
The Romance Of Jaufitr. Jaufry The Knigh...
THE ROMANCE OF JAUFItr . Jaufry the Knight and the Fair BrunUsende : A Talc of the Tinia of King Arthur . Translated from the French Version of Marie Lafon . By Alfred Elwe * . With Twenty Engravings . Addey ; incl Co . Jaufry was originally composed in the Provencal dialect , by a minstrel who heard the tale at tbe Court of Aragon , and by a modest poet , who , concealing his own name , finished the T'hymed romance of the troubadour . Jt had lain in library dust for six hundred years when Marie Lafon undertook its translation into Parisian prose . The octosyllabic narrative thus niuilified has been turned into English , carefully and successfully , with a slight restoration of the metrical movementby Mr . Alfred Ehves .
, As an example of chivalresque romance Jattfry is perfect . It brings the balm and glitter of the East into a story of Britain . It is one of the links connecting two great bodies of literature . From the fable of Arabia the troubadour took the roc , the wishes , and the tent of tho Fairy Paribanou . Jfroin the troubadour , Cervantes took his episodes of the galley slaves , the cavalier in green , the braying of the regidors , the Princess Micomieoma , and the enchanted head . Jaufry is typical , indeed , of tho condemned books in the collection of La Mancha . It is an impossible history , carried on by impossible agencies , in a world of giants , dwarfs , sprites , and enchanted
damsels , such as moved the satirist of Alcaln to write hia epic of mockery ; but it is a talc to be read with delight , especially by those who -would trace tho affinities of the European and Oriental literatures . For it is in tlntj direction that our researches must be carried on . We have not ye I travelled far into the fairyland of the twelfth-and thirteenth centuries—for iuiry laud it is , a region of chivalry and magic . Tho bright lady—mistreas of enchantment—who succours the knight , is the goddess who arms and defends the pagan hero . Tho maidens who bestow sweet courtesies on Sir Jaufry arc the damsels who tend the couch of Hatiin Tui . There is an identity ol
conception in tho roniancists of an early period , whether they Greek , or Persian , or Provencal . Tho world of mediaeval fancy , however , is unique . It abounds in symbolism , ingenuous simplicities of suggestion , wondrously bold pictures , and tenderness of sentiment . It is 11 realm ol cloudy mountains , of vast castles , of queens , knightH , pages , ami maidens of stately grace , always iu contrast with grotesque dwnrla , mi . sHliapcn crones , and gigantic evil-doers , who give employment to the lorda of chivalry , as boars , lions , and ueu-rnonstors , employed the classic heroes—tho deliverance of damsels , or tho pure exhibition of prowess , being tho general object . Ihe castles ore barbaric structures , bused on . kindred rocks , tower above tower . Tho knights have shouldors two cubits broad , with golden Jiair , ruddy complexions , and clear , bright eyes ; they wear violet silk , and giirlnndfl , like the Grecian chiefs . Tho ladies are tail , " more purely white than nnow that lies upon ' the -frosted dew , " clad in exquisite attire , and wear battlomonted crowns of gold . The stylo is that of fantastic but not rude or va-
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), July 26, 1856, page 18, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_26071856/page/18/
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