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There was , however , this difference ; the greatest conqueror of modern times appeared unconscious of his impotence . And yet how richly , how + extravagantly ^ Nrould the First Napoleon have repaid the fulfilment ot his craving wish ! Could he have found a poet he would have endowed him with the spoils of empires . From the kingdoms of the earth he would have carved him out a new state , and have seated him among the crowned heads of Europe- Any of his glories he would joy fully have exchanged against the simple honour of being the Maecenas of a Freneh Horace , or the Augustus of a modern Virgil . But it was not to be : perchance for the honour and independence of literature , and assuredly as an example of the futility of human mind
wishes , as well as of the folly of expecting the , in its loftiest attributes , could be made the creature of power . The " siecle de Louis XIV . " might be surpassed in military glory , but could not be approached by the literature of the Empire . " Le Grand Monarque " could command tragedies from Racine and comedies from Moliere , -which aTe still not only the masterpieces of French literature , but the admiration of the world . " Le Grand Capitaine " could not obtain the smallest ode that he could hope would be read beyond the precincts of his palace or remain a week in the popular mind , and Napoleon had the still greater mortification o f beholding the imbecile monarch of his enemies give his name to an epoch— -the Georgian era—which was so crowded with constellations of genius as to pale the
as marking a period of which there is any good reaso n to be proud . Indeed , one of the correspondents of a French provincial paper , after noticing the exuberant imperialism of a Paris rMacteur writing from Cherbourg that " the statue of Napoleon I . recals the words of Scripture : —' And God said , let there be light , and there was -light ; ' for the Emperor Napoleon said , ' Let Cherbourg be , and Cherbourg was , ' " adds that " it was scarcely worth while to utter
an impiety for the sake of saying a silly thing . " ( Co n ' etait guere la peine de dire une impiete pour dire une sottise . ) Your readers will probably be of the same mind . They may even still further agree with the writer of these home truths when he says , speaking from his own experience , " I find , in general , that political flatterers are the sore of all the regimes—the sore also of newspapers . '' ( Je trouve qu ' en general les flatteurs politiques sont laplaie de tous les regimes , la plaie aussi des journaux . )
Thus , it having got rumoivred abroad that the surest way to imperial favour , and the sweets that accompany it , was literary distinction , and people beginning to weary of the ordinary road to honours—I do not mean honour—in which they have been preceded by a De Morny and a Baroche , the mayors and public functionaries , whose good genius furnished them with occasions to submit specimens of their literary skill to imperial criticism , were eager to take advanlfcge of what appeared to them a short cut to high fortune . Many of them , doubtless , like M . Jourdan , who discovered he had been speaking prose all . his life without knowing it , found out now that they were masters "dans l'art d ' ecrire , " and preservers of the " traditions "du grand stjle , "
inwhich is already qualified here in private in a manner little anticipated by its author , was reserved for the Maj'or of Brest , who , if he has not acquired fame , has attained another species of notoriety . Although the municipal magistrate took the lead , he was entirely followed by the President of the Brest / Tribunal , but not to such daring heights . The latter functionary contented himself with saying , " Providence , Sire , in according to you a son , has signalised you to the world as the continuator of a dynasty which ought not to perish . By this signal favour , Providence wished to recompense in you the . man of all the successes and of all the glories ( riiomme de tous les succes et de toutes les gloires ) . That is sufficient to say that He
always protects France . " After alluding to the loyalty of -the Bretons to their kings , the speaker said , " But when the finger of God has designated you so manifestly to the acclamations and g ratitude of the people , we are obliged , Sire , after so many tempests , to have faith in the star of your destiny . " If this is an average specimen of the logical deductions of the President of the Brest Tribunal , all I can say is , that I pity those who may have to come before him when he sit 3 upon the judgment-seat . Happily for the reputation of Brittany , Brest functionaries stand alone . In the speech of the authorities at Quimper I find no assertion as to what Providence does , nor yet in the address of the Council-General . The rector of Kerines did certainly express his readiness to
serve " his august sovereign and his glorious and pro - videiitial dynasty , " but that was understood to be a simple prayer for preferment . On the other hand , the President of the Quimper Tribunal presented his brother magistrates to the imperial presence in a speech which , for its brevity and curtness , forms a marked contrast with what had been spoken before . Here it is entire :- ^— " Sire , you see before you the members of your civil tribunal of Quimper , the justices of the peace of the arrondissement , our barristers , our attorneys , the judicial bod } ' complete . All love } -ou , Sire ! " Decidedly French functionaries are
not likely to be injured by too much modesty , or to have their sentiments mistaken from lack of speaking out . They believe themselves wiser in their generation than poor Violet—" she never told" her love . " But they do tell theirs . They shout it out in high places , and before the object of their love . They will let no concealment prey on their cheek "like the worm i' the bud , " for they tell their affections to the whole world . They take care to make known wherefore it was given , and on what conditions it may be had as" openly and unblushingly as Phryne advertises her trade in the B . ois de Boulogue .
A project is in the course of elaboration—if any credit may be attached to rumours—for publishing in a collected form the addresses that have been presented , in order to form a Cours de LitteYature Imperiale , to be used in place of De Laharpe ' s collection . The future style , it is said , will be much improved by the study and imitation of these models of literary composition . Their authors are to write their own biographies , and have their portraits drawn as they please , for publication with the addresses , so that the work may be unique . That it will be anything more I do not pretend to say .
The General Council of the Hdrault , under the presidence of that distinguished economist and public writer , M . Michel Chevalier , have paased resolutions , or , as it is termed , a cwU des vcovx , for the resolutions are simply the expression of desires in favour of free trade . The objects are , that the reduction of duties which have been provisionally decreed may be promptly made permanent , and preceded by the revision of the whole of the tariff . That all the dues levied on French merchandise be suppressed , and the formalities for exporting goods be simplified . That all commercial prohibitions on importations bo abolished , and replaced by duties properly graduated , without that in this respect the term of July , 18 C 1 ( when tho prohibitions are to cease ) , be postponed ao far aa it would affect any of tho goods enumerated in tho bill of I 860 . That tho duties
which arc mostly excessive in tho tariff may bo brought to a rate which will permit foreign competition to stimulnto Fronch trade , thenceforward strong enough to profit frorh such a system instead of being injuriously affected by it . Thai the duties on raw materials of all sorts bo gradually lowered , so as to disappear in tho course of a H few years . That it bo tho same with respect to tools , ffl machines , nnd apparatus which nro tho instruments of H labour , of agriculture , of manufacture , of commerco , m nnd of navigation—and especially that the duties on | l iron , pig iron , and steel bar may bo brought buck as fij speedily « s possible to tho rates that existed under Na- | | poloon 1 . Ami that in tho diplomatic negotiation which ffl may bo opened to secure for Fronch trade a just reci- p procity , efforts bo particularly made to remove tho \ j n [ toraIoT ^ neirii o 8 "tfoon ""' plri ' o od ^ oVi > rywhT 0 TO 7 iir ^ uropo ^ and fur off , ou Frouoh wines . ¦ jjj a
stead of being common-place prefects , ' academy rectors , or mayors . Their proclamations , beginning with royal We—JVbvs Prefet , $ c . —suddenly assumed in their eyes the importance of the chefs- d ' eeuvre litttjruires . They discovered an easy grace in the permissions given to cabaret iers to open shop ; a terrible vigour in their decrees of death to unmuzzled chiens , dogues et bouledogues , " including great perspicuity in distinguishing dogs from bull-dogs ; and an unequalled terseness in their nominations of subordinates . In short , they found ineffable charms in every piece of print to which . their names were attached . Chateaubriand ' s Genie du Chrisiiunisme they had been taught was poetry in prose , and they believed it was the
same -with their compositions . Only some such widespread delusion as this can explain the sudden blossoming of the flowers of rhetoric . An instance may be citedthe Mayor of Brest—who commenced his address by the announcement of an original and interesting discovery that there were situations in which municipal magistrates found themselves sometimes when words were powerless to translate sentiments , and left the expressions of the mind ( pense ' e ) much below the movements of the heart . (!) I should be sorry to diminish any of the glory that may accrue to the mayor of Brest from his discovery ; but I fear he has been anticipated by some English magistrates . I believe Mr . Justice Shallow and Dogberry both found themselves in this
positron when words were powerless to translate their sentiments . Further , I think the remembrance of th is discovery is still preserved in England , where at parish dinners , after the cloth is removed , some gentleman , on having his health proposed , will assure the company that his tongue is inadequate to express the overflowing sentiments of his heart , or that his heart is too big for his tongue , or his bosom is bursting ; which I take to * be the substance , done into English , of Mr Mayor ' s speech . How tho movements of the heart rise above or below tho expression of tho mind is a problem which may be referred to
learned psychologists for solution . But any one can judge for himself of tho good taste , independence , and delicacy exhibited in telling the Emperor to his fuce that " in the moving spectacle of a great genius , struggling with tho difficulties and perils of u dynastic reconstitution wo have seen Providence cover you-constantly with his shield ; tho " people gave eight millions of votes ; you have become , at the same time , tho elect of Divine grace and of tho national will . To-day it is a duty to whomsoever is tho least imbued with religion and 2 ) atriotiam , to consecrate to you , without roservo , his gratitude , his devotion , and admiration . '
It is at all times unpleasant to introduce into questions of this nature tho name of so estimable u lady us tho Empress , but I believe 1 may Bay , without fear of contradiction , that her sentiments of piety , to which tho Bishop of Quimpor mado allusion , were not slightly outraged on boing told by tho Mayor of Brest thut 44 Provideneo , in giving you a boh , did noL wioh alone to flatter your heart of Empress a ml smile upon your ton - aorh ' Gs ' s or mother , lie" jirdtetuiScf to majco fli o ~ m OTOlUU ? P " loved by a whole noonlo hor whoso family happiness ia
a pledge for tho , security of tho futuro of France . " Tho Mayor , whoso loyalty is marked by such trifles as writing the pronoun for Provklcnco with a small capital and the one for Etnpross with a l « rgo one , huu certainly tho merit : of having said something original . Since the dayswhon liomo paid divine honours to the horso of hor Emporor ( hero people Would not object to worship an Imperial nss ) , no courtier has boon found to suy that Providence condescends to flutter human kings , however lofty may bo their station in tho world . This originality ,
glories of the Augustan and Elizabethan ages . Austerlitz could find no poet . But the Battle of the Baltic lives in immortal verse , and Waterloo was sung by Childe Harold . Coming lower dowii , we find that what was denied to the Empire was bestowed , unsought and uncared for , on the periods of the Restoration and the Government of July . The fall of Napoleon seemed the signal for smiting the rock , and the living waters of literature gushed forth . Laniartine , Victor Hugo , Beranger , and Casimir Delavigne rose without effort— : almost without notice—and filled France with melody . Thiers , Guizot , and Cousin proved that the historical and philosophical genius of the country was not dead , but had only slumbered during the leaden empire . And never before was seen a greater or more brilliant array of
intellectual writers . Yet , no sooner did the first flickerings of a Second Empire appear than the literary- glories of France grew , dim , until they have almost faded from our sight . Her poets are all hushed , and the golden chords of their lyres broken , unless we except that Jew ' s-harp which M . Bartheleniy has occasionally twanged in the pages of the 3 foniteur apropos of the improvements in the Bois de Boulogne , and such-like poetical deeds of the Second Empire . Even Auguste Barbier , who gave an almost English rough vigour and thorough earnestness to French verse , has taken office under the successor of him he held aloft to derision as the " Corse aux cheveux plats , " whom he anathematised , in the name of Republican France , for the evils she had suffered , in verse the memory of which seems to ring out in this dismal night shrill and ominous like the tocsin : —
' Pour toutes ces insultesje n'ai blame qu ' un homme , Oh ! nmudit soit Napoltfon !" He of course is silent . In place of the productions of the brilliant and well informed writers alluded to , we have the historical essays of M . Marie-Martin , the political criticisms of M . Granier do Cassngnac , the literary amenities of M . Veuillot , and tho polemical compositions of M . Boniface . In inheriting the crown the emporor inherited also many of the views and sentiments of his uncle ; among the latter is the wish for a contemporary literary illustration of his reign . I shall scarcely offend Messrs . Marie-Martin , Veuillot , and their confreres , if I state
that his Majesty is not inclined to believe them capuble of fulfilling his wish . Penny-a-liners nre doubtless very useful members of society , " but they are not its ornament , at least not in that capacity . Puhlioistcs who can write to " order on any subject , arid on any side , or on both sides nt once , maybe convenient instruments , but it is not to them one would feel inclined to confide tho core of one ' s futuro reputation . For as they follow tho changes of tho times , and , from Imperialists to-day may be Legitimists , Orleanists , Republicans , or anythlngariand to-morrow , according to circumstances , they are quite as likely as not to vehemently abuse hereafter what they now unscrupulously bepraise .
Should it be thought that I have exaggerated tho desire which tho Emperor feels for the advent of some giant in literature , the writers nnmod above being considered apparently no more than pigmies , ' despite their good intentions and endeavours at stylo , I refer to tho 'toMrgivtirTjy ^ tiie ^ nnisrer ^ i ^ dinner offered to the prizemen in tho lute college examinations . M . Koulnnd said , after proposing tho Emperor ' s health , " Ho wills tho development of the arts , sciences , nnd letters . " ( Ilvoutlo ddvoloppoment des arts , des sciences , et des lettres . ) **¦ ¦ ¦•¦ It is to tho fact that this " will" is known to exist that is generally imputed tho » o remarkable addresses -which have been presented during the imperial progress , And which mark a period in tho literature of tho country . Public opinion is , however , not unanimous in regarding these addresses aa ovlclonco of a literary improvement , or
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¦ THE LEADE R .. [ No . 441 , September 4 , 1858 . \ 8 « 7 O ¦ ^______ . ¦ - ¦ ¦ ~~ ~ . ' - '
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MISCELLANEOUS . 1 Tim Court . —On Saturday hor Majesty and , , tho Princo Jj Consort left Potsdam at half-past eight o'clock , on their ,, JS way homowardd . Their lioyal Highnossos tho Princo | jjB nnd Princess of Prussia , and Prlnoo and Princoss | f Frederick William , accompanied them in tho railway- fflj carriage part of tho way . At a small station in the M Wild-park tho Princo and Princoss Frodorlck William M
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 4, 1858, page 898, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2258/page/10/
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