The New York Herald Newspaper, April 5, 1874, Page 6

i i ( 6 “LITERATURE. England, Germany, France and America. What Is Doing in the World of Letters. Special Reports from Our Correspondents in the Great Literary Capitals. Latest English Books and London Literary Gossip. Lonpon, Mareh 10, 187 VICTOR HUGO'S NEW BOOK, ‘The chief literary event of the day has taken place in Paris, and ts about to be reproduced here, It is the completion of Victor Hugo’s great novel, which is generally believed to be the first portion of @ prose epic, which is to molude the history of the great Revolution. Its theme ts a fitting one for 80 great a writer, and the work will, no doubt, be | ‘a tngting testimonial to the old poet, whose preju- a are at least commensurate with his genius, interesting ou that but who is noue the less account, ‘Quatre-vingt-treize” is the title of tnis tremendous effort of industry and @ certain kind of learning, and it 1s pleasant to observe that this title nas not been travestied out of all recognition m the English version, When “L’Homme Qui Riv’ was translated (most execrably) for tlie Gentleman's Magazine the name was turned into “By Order of the King’’—in itself a clumsy rendering of the ancient legitimist for- mula; and though the original could not have been literally translated, it was felt that a very NEW YORK HERALD, SUNDAY, APRIL 5, 1874.-QUINTUPLE SHEET. excellent narrative of a Journey rouna tne world, iMustrated end distinguished from other books of the same kind by the fulness of its infor- mation respecting China, Mr. Simpson was present at all the ceremonies on the occasion of the marriage of the Emperor of China, a wedding tn which the bride was conspicuous by her absence, and he made a great deal of bis opportunities in the Celestial Empire. No travelier, except the Marquis ue Beauvoir, has given so full an account of the present condition of Pekin and of the entire proc- ess of the education of the lerati, His descrip- tions of the examinations and the halls im which the whole of the Chinese classies have been en- graved on imperishabie tablets of stone is, within our knowledge, unique. In Captain Markham’s “Whaling Cruise im Baffin’s Bay” we have, at length, the whole story of the wreck and rescue of the Polaris, a barrative which does honor to all Parties concerned. The Arctic brought home, on the occasion on which Captain Markham was rated on her books aud she saved the crew of the Polaris, the largest cargo of oll that was ever brought to Eugland from Baffin’s Bay. Cap- tain Markham Is a close observer and contributes several interesting facts to our knowleage of the inhabitants of the Arctic Sea. 4 NEW BOOK ABOUT AFRICA. A very Important work of travel is Dr. Schwein- furth’s “Heart of Africa,” which has been long looked for ana now makes its appearance, Well translated and with an introduction by Mr. Winwood Reade. {tia very close and elaborate, but 19 neither so dull as Barth nor so doubtful as Du Chaillu, while, unlike Anderson, the author has some consider#tion for the igno- France of his readers, and does not take Jor granted a large amount of preilminary knowl- edge before he begins his narration. Tre eminent German botanist and traveller gives very minute paruculars of his three years’ journeyings, during which he passed through the unexplored country of the Niam-Mair and visited the unknown king- dom of Manbuttoo, As an explorer he stands in the bighest rank, and merits to be classed with bad shot had been made. The translator of the present work in the Graphic simply contents bim- | self with “Nipety-three’—a very happy and strik- ing rendering. ‘The work, though one of @ series of tableaux, is complete m itself, and | is yery fine indeed. It i# rich im Victor Hingo’s special and sometimes unapproachable beauties, and it also abounds in his most egregious faults, particularly in a Kind of sublime ignorance of the mere existence of two sides in @ dispute or two aspects of a question, which is especially char- | acteristic of him as a poet anda Frenchman, In some of the most inexcusable digressions in his | préSent work we find perfect gems of description and marvels of eloquence in abstract inspiration | and invective. It is, perhaps, too carly to judge of the translation, as oply two numbers of the Graphic containing portions of it have ap- peared, but they make us realize the im- | mense difficulty of putting Victor Hugo's | French into English, It has never been isfactorily done; between the very beauties of his style and the soul of the English language there | exists a definite and irreconcilable antagonism, as __ compiete as the antagonism which exists between | his method of reasoning aud ours, No periods are | more flowing, glowing, ornate and harmonious | than bis, and yet there is not @ translated page of | his Wiitiags that is not stif, clumsy, inflated and pompous, without dignity; so that the English | readers of Victor Huge, who are = ac- quainted with him only through transia- | tions, regard him erroneously as appertain- | ing to the category of “wiud-bag,” and are seriously bored by him. assumed that no great work ever had fewer reaa- ers than “Les Miserables” in its English dress, and “L’Homme Qui Rit” was a dead failure in its com- | Schweinfurth can | It may be safely | Mungo Park, Denham and Clapperton, Living- stone, Burton, Speke and Grant, Barth and Roldfg, Mr. Reade points out that Dr, claim two qualifications which no other German traveller has hitherto possessed, He is a scientific botanist, and also an accomplished draughtsman; his sketches are | finished works of art. The work is of importance | in a geographical sense as a contribution to the problem of the Nile, and of ethnological im- portance as settling the disputed point of the existence of a dwarf race in Central Africa, These pigmies are mentioned by Herodotus and other classical writers. Krapf saw one on the eastern coast; the old voyageurs alluded | to their extstence in the kingdom of tne | Congo, and Du Chailiu met them in Ashango Land. | Dr. Sehweinfurth sets the matter at rest for ever by placing the existence of such a race beyond a doubt, and le regards these dwarfs as identical | with the Bushmen of South Africa, who are not | confined, a8 was formerly supposed, to that corner of the Coutnent, but also inhabit various remote recesses of Airica, and are probably the former | natives of the country. This is Ly far the most in- | teresting and important work of travel which bas | appeared lor many years. Gossir, Mr. Tom Taylor is saluted in many journals as the new editor of Punch, but iam by no means sure tiat the appointment has been made, Late jast week, I kuow, the proprietors were de- effair, which, tt appears to me, belongs not so | Much ia my department as in that of the Holy | Ghost, But go and ask the latter.’ Well, cour- teously rebutted here, he went a door further and announced himself to the Holy Ghost. But he was | Compelied to wait several hours in the ante- chamber, since the Holy Ghost had old Catholl- cism under the microscope at tat moment, trying to discover a germ of reform init. Vexed at not | finding what he had expected, he came into the | auteroom, and, as he caugat sizht of bis pseudo-col- | league, his features became red with wrath, and thus he chided him, unceremontously :—‘Thou comest just at the right time. I have long kept a shot reserved jor thee. How canst thou presume to come before me—thou, alter thou hast so far forgotten thyself—to fish up again, with all pain and persistence, the eld libel; to define, to dog- matize, to preconizate the old, base calumpy, that | Ihad stood in unseemly dogmatic relations to a highly respectable young woman, who, besides, | was the wile of a brave carpenter, descended | from @ very respectable house, just as if I were & spring-in-the-fleld of a heathen Greek god. Be- gone, or I will callon some of my big angels to explain to thee the mystery of the unburned ashes which thou hast not yet dogmatized.’ “His Holiness returned to the ‘prison of the Vatl- can’ very much annoyed and depressed. But Pater Beck soon roused tne soul strings of the In- | fallible to the proper ayllabus and excommunica- | tlon pitch, especially by the argument, ‘It mat- | ters not whether the “Grobian”’ (boor) up there inspire Your Holiness or not, Sacred and projaue history prove that the world can be governed Without Geist at all.’ ? Geist hcre appiied to the Holy Ghost has the signification in German of mind, intellect and spirit, and Dr. Scherr tntends to say not only that intellect is nota necessary qualification for rhler- ship, but the influence of the Holy Spirit can be dispensed with in the councils of the Vatican. THE EDITOR'S DEFENCE. The State Attorney demanded @ sentence of three months’ imprisonment, in accordance with the 166th paragraph of the German penai code (on blasphemy). Paul Lindau conducted his defence im person, assisted by the Advocate Priimker, He expressed his astonishment at the charges made againat him, and denied that any unjustifiable satire nad been used. He nevertheless hoped that this process would decide the still unsettied ques- tion as to whether or not satire isa justifiable | form of literary criticism and polemics. If the in- eriminated passages of the article were punisha- ble, then he said very many of the most characteristic and interesting works of Ger- man literaturs from the Middle Ages up to the prese! day, should be banished from our libraries. He could cite books and passages by the score which were far more blasphemous than Dr. Scherr’s article. He | reminded the Court of passages of Lucian, in | Bebel’s ‘Facetiv,” of the disputations of the Scholastics, of the medieval Tableaux, of the Mysteries, of Luther's satires, of Heine and other satirists. The anthropomorphic delineation of the person of God was quite common, In every Student songbook God appears as a human being Who loves good wine. He referred to the Pro- logue tn Heaven in Gdethe’: ‘aust,’ and asked the Court if the expressions of Mephistopheles ‘pout the Lord had ever seemed blasphemous :— I like, at times, the Ancient One to see, And guard ‘gainst breaking with him—'tls so civil; In one so mighty so polite So kindly speaking with the very devil. THS DECISION OF THE COURT. Miberating whether they should appoint Mr. The Court decided that Lindau should pe held Buniand as editor, and make @ clean sweep | coresponsible for the article, and was of the of the rest of the literary staff, which is by jar the best thing they could do. It is provable that a | Strong appeal will be made to Mr. Disraeli to | grant a pension o! £209 a year to the widow of the | ; Opmion that the incriminated passages were ' satirical, and that satire was @ justifiable form of literary criticism, But it held that there are cer- tain objects which should never be made the ob- piete iorm, besides having damaged the magazine | late Mr. Shirley Brooks, who has been left in some- | ject of satire, and when these objects are treated Very much while it was coming out tn it. THE MARCH MAGAZINES. The magazines tor March are lamentably dull, ‘With the exception of the Cornhill, the present umber of which is exceedingly brilliant. Mr. Les- lie Stevens’ “Hours in a Livrary” jorm a series of literary and critical essays of first ability, and the present one on Dr. son's writings is the best among It is genial, appreciative and profound and coutrives to put many points of a subject which we bave been apt to look upon as thor. | oughly Worn out ina novel light, In an admirable story called “The Courtier of Misfortune” every one recownizes Mr. Grenville Murray’s hand, It is acapital pendant to the brilliant papers deserip- tive of modern French society whitch he has been contribating of late to the Pail Mal Gazette, and it paints the time-serving ingratitade of many who owed all they how 80 Ostentatiously enjoy to the kind heart aud gentle temper of the late Emperor tn colors from which ope would think they must turn away abashed, WHY JAPAN HAS SURPASSED CHINA, A very remarkable article is one entitled “Feng- Soa.” [t is the first real exposition of the ob- structive, superstition—unformulated, pervading and qnite unlike any of the propitiatory ideas of reugton in the East of which we have ever had a giimpse, which is, aiter all, our nearest ac- quuntauce with them—that lies at the bottom of the hopeless immobility of the national mind of china, To read this article, in which a profound and difeult ethnical phenomenon is ex- plained, so that the least skilled Btudies of the Kind miay thoroughly under- stand its meaning and importance, and to compare with it Humbert’s description of the condition of the national mind of the Japanese on @ similar intellectual plane, is to reach the solu- tion of the sudden and extraordinary develop- ment of the latter country, and the causes of its contrast with the resistance of China, It is, in short, to understand the so lately invisible Mikado “inaugurating” railroads in every quarter of Ni- pon, and the Son of Heaven, in whose empire competitive ‘examinations are a thousand years old, and men of seventy contend for academic distinctions, pertinaciousiy re- fusing the gift of a ready made railway with Plant and rolling stock complete. This article 1s, in its way—the way of opening up a mental phe- nomenon of governing importance in the cage of a uauon with whom we are in close and growing intercourse—as important as Mr. Deutsch’s ex- position of the Talmud, The one is the key to the Cuinese, the other to the Hebrew mind, NEW BALLAD BY ROBERT BUCHANAN. Robert Buchanan has an exceedingly fine ballad ip Cassell’s tor Marc). “Granddad in the Ingle” 8 a highly finis! specimen of his best work. It is simple, 48 befits a ballad, bat very dramatic and finely constructed. One sustained idea runs trough it—that of the extreme old age of @ man ail whose associations, experiences, achievements, perils and crimes are of the sea. “rhis is periectly maintained with skill, whien hides | the art of it, and completeness most thoroughly; every simile, every suggestion, every local feature is im hariiony with it Take these descriptive lines :— As still he sat as a cold gray stone Upou the lone sea sands, His thin gray hair as white as foam, ake driiting weeds lis hand: Lis eyes were dead and dull and cold Ag the jelly fish on che foc! His ears were closet und his heart kept tme To the ticking of the ciuek. His Cheeks wer , is ips were dumb, He sat in the ingle glow, Still as @ stone on the low sea sand, Though the tide doth come ana go Though the sun tay come on its coid moist site, And make @ glis.cning gieawn Though the storm ¥ dash and the lightning dash ‘AMa the startied sea birds scream, Foo late | (00 late! be is old, so old, He hears no hunan call He cannot smile, he cannot weep. Lijs blood Hows On as dark as slop, He lives and that is ai. No doubt this poem will become a favorite with the public, It 18 Mot unworthy of comparison with “The Dream of Bugene Aram.” ANTHONY TROLLOPE'S New STORY, * hax not made a profound impression by its commencement, though the author breaks entirely new ground, His hero-is a scamp, like Burgo Fitz- geraui; “beautinl,”* ae only Mr. Pretope calls hand- some wen, but underbred, a8 Burgo was not. Lady Cadbury, the Literary lady who cultivates editors aud knows the especial weakness of each, Is very ‘well sketched, but the story does pot “draw.” BOOKS OF TRAVEL. Among works of travel we have “Meeting the Sun," by Mr. Simpson, the weil-known correspond ent of the MWustratd London News. This is an rate | John. | What straitened circumstances. Mr. Lrooks was @ tory at heart, and frequently did the cause | good service. Mr. George Augustus Sala succeeds Mr. Sutriey ' Brooks ag the editor of the Hone News, which is a résumé of the Kuropcan history of the week lor circulation tu India. periodical, wiich bas jugt wade iis uppearance, | but which, inits Orst ndthber, atleast, does not show much promise, GERMANY. —++__—— A Berlin Editor Sentenced to One Month’s Imprisonment—Freedom of the Press in Germany—Satire in the Empire in the Nineteenth Century— A Curious Trial— Blasphemy ”—The Prussian Government and Insalt to Religion and His Holiness the Pope. FRANKFORT-ON-THE-MaIN, Germany, March 16, 1874, } Dr. Paul Lindau, the dramatist and editor of the Berlin, weekly journal Die Gegeiwoart, has just been | Mr. Henry Blackburn has charge of the art de- | them, | partment of the Pictorial World, a new illustrated | aud speaks of God in @ manner offensive to true | ina satirical manner this treatment is offensive, | and in this case the satire capnot be | | allowed to pass unpunished, A person writing asatire on the person of His Majesty the Em- | | peror would be guilty of high treason, and the | | same principle hoids good when the object of satire is to man the dearest and most sacred; and whoever satirizes the person of God, religious feeling is guilty of blasphemy fi the sense | of the 166th paragraph of the Prussian penal code, which characterizes blasphemy as the ‘inciting | an offence by publicly making use of insulting | epithets.” That the article in question had given ofence was proved by the complaints of the Germania (the organ of the Catholic Church) and | in the Kreuz-Zettung (the vrgan of the ultra-Prot- estant party), and the Court itself considered the | charge of blasphemy to be proved. As a miti- | gating circumstance the Court admitted that the | Point of the article had been directed specially against the Papacy and the doctrine of infalil- | bility, but God had been thereby brought undaly within the range of the satire ana | His person insulted in the designation | of “Grobian,” and in being described as the mem- | in | Trollope’s serial story, “fhe Way We Live | | sentenced to one month’s imprisonment by a | bet ofa firm carrying on the business of Heaven . | Beriin crimioal court for publishing tm tus journal | The Court therefore was tnduced to measure the | an article styled by the Prussian State Attorney | Punishment accordingly, and sentenced Herr Lin- | “plasphemous.” The article in question was one | 40 to four weeks’ imprisonment. Lindau has. al- of a series, entitled “Lriese eines Ltysionars,” ana | *¢ady appealed from the decision, and we nave was written by Dr. Johannes Scherr, of Zurich | 2¥t it is presumed, heard the last of the case. To (under the pseudonyme of “Zacharias Zinnober”), | Catholics the only gratilying part of the whole pro- | the author of a “History of Religion,” a “History | Ceedtng Is the spirit evinced by the Prussian gov- | of Literature,” “Blucher and His Times” and other | ment to apply the ola proverb of “What is good works and essays; but this gentleman, being wita- | fF the goose Is good for the gander.” So many out the bounds of Prussian jurisdiction, the Pras- | Catholic priests and editors have of late been ar- | | gian government determined to hold the editor | Tested, imprisoned and fined for ‘biaspnemy” of the journal in which the essay wax published re- | #8%ust the powers that be that it is only an act of | sponsibie. Dr. Scherr had, however, the good taith | Justice to clutcn a heathen editor now and then immediately to publicly acknowledge himseif as the | 1F blasphemy against the Head of the Church. author of the incriminated article and to bear the Say Ree punishment for it. The charges urged against| THE BOOK TRADE OF LEIPSIC. Lindau were—Uttering insuit to the person of His — Holiness the Pope, public blasphemy of the Holy | Baron Tauchnitz—American Authors at ‘Trinity, the virginity of Mary and of the person | Disadvantage im the European Book | of tue Holy Ghost. Lindau, in his defence, denied Markets — International Copyrights — that blasplemy was intended im the article—said | ‘American Works Pirated in Europe. it was simply a satire, the justification of which Lerrsic, Feb, 27, 1874. could not be denied. Few European booksellers have a wider and JES URINE TED, SOE more honorabie reputation than Thave the article before me, Though it is writ- CHRISTIAN BBRNHARD BARON VON TAUCHNITZ, | ten al\ogether im a satirical strain it is deeply of- | the eminent publisher of Leipsic. Books in Eng- fensive to members of the Catholic Cuurch, whose | jish and in French, in Latin aud in Greek, have | issued in thousantis from his printing pressea, and visible head is here very neediessiy ridiculed, Scherr is gossiping with a travelling companion | all of them have been marked by the same charac- about matters poitical and religious, and, of | teristics, cheapness and excelience. The books | course, the Lady of Lourdes, French revenge, in- | are not only sold at alow price, but they are beau- faliibility and His Holiness the Pope come in for a | tifully printed, and may be invariably relied on share of discussion and satire—as is Scherr’s cus- | for the perfect accuracy of their text. Baron tom. Speaking of His Holiness, Dr. Scherr lets | gauchnitz has probably done more than any other Rabelais tell a story, “to which Aristopleles, Cer- | pupusher in Europe to attract the attention of vantes, Switt, Molitre, Fischart, good fellows, | statesmen to the fairness aud propriety of estabe listen and iaugh.” He telis how His Holiness, | jisning an honest shortly after the declaration of the dogma of in- INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT Law, failivility, is troubled with conscientious scruples, | anq although neither his efforts nor those of others to calm which he determines to pay @ visit to | in this direction have yet achieved the success | Beaven. which they deserved the name of Baron Tauchnitz | “Who would have thought,” says Scherr, ‘‘that | stands prominently Out as @ consctentions uia%, the NEW-Vakem ava wuury Lave BU iY artaia Uefore | Wiig nes soomned ta make proms DY literary piracy, his own Godhead. But what does he do to caim | where ne might have done so With perfect sasety. his spirit, He takes the keys of heaven, unlocks For instance, the treble sacred gates and merely acknowiedges | AMEHYCAN AUTHORS HAVE NO PRoTecrioN the presence of the doorkeeper, Peter—who by | against fraudulent misappropriation o! their earn the way had been on earth @ simple fisherman— | ings py European publisiers, yet Baron Tauchnite | With a condescending nod. He enters tue presence | nas never reprinted any work of an American of God-Vather without apy ceremony. The old author without making @ Jair arrangement with | Testament Herr—to whose weaknesses as18 well | nim. | Known that of affableness never belouged— | we CANNOT PAY AN AMERICAN AUTHOK THE REAL Was just about to take his siesta and VALUE OF HIS WORK, was in no good mood at being thus disturbed. however, because American authors have no ‘Reverendissime donne collega,’ began the | authority over their copyrights in Europe, and any BE)f-idolized ~—— Pio, Colleague ? Colleague 7 | publisher is free to reprint tiem without paying | How? How is this? What does he wish? | @dollar for the privilege. ‘This and that.’ ‘What! with that, dummrian! (thickhead!) Had he, in- | | stead of wasting his time with sweating curses | | out of every pore, given his attention to the study | of ecclesiastical history he wast have known that | since the introduction of the Christan calendar I | have nothing more to do with the affairs of your terrestrial rookery, for the reason that all Such business, with ail the deoit and credit, ts given into tie hands of my Son, Away with him? | Somewhat irritated at this uncoileague-tike recep | tion His Holiuess betook himself to the apart- | to the fact that Baron tauchnitz has always dealt Menta of the Son, where he was receives with all | Iberally and justly with American writers and goodness. But when be bad asked iow tien had | taxes no advantage of their unprotected position, the news of His deijfication on earth been It ts well that literary men in America should received in heaven, the Son answered, very | understand the principles apon which this honest | Moody, That ia @ very ticklish aud didcult | German bookseller couducts his busteese, for they I have nothing to do On the other band, English authors are eo well protected that Continental puolishers have no choice about paying ior the right of reprinting their works, and any publister who pirated an English book could be prosecuted aud mulcted in damages, English authors reserve to themselves a right of republication in foreign countries, American authors cannot do 80. Nevertheless, MESSRS. LONGFELLOW AND BRET HARTS, among living American authors, ana many of the heirs of the “great departed,” can bear testimony can matertally increase their reputation and the money value of their works by entering into direct correspondence with him for reprints, which will be offered for sale through his agents at every re- spectable library aud railway station on the Euro- pean Continent, Asageneral rule Baron Tauchnitz prefers to make a satisfactory arrangement with the author of a book; but when the author has sold the entire copyright of his work then the Baron 1s equally willing to make @ bargain with the party who has bougut it. American authors should, therefore, take inte aecount the fact that their copyrights are alWays Worth something more than they other- ‘wise would be on account of the sum which Baron Tauchnitz is prepared to pay tor a reprint to be svld only upon the European Continent, Baron Tauchbnitz very seldom publishes original works {a manuscript, Nearly all his books are re- prints of popular works which have already made their mark on public opinion. He sometimes, however, publishes essays from periodicals which have not previously been printed in book form. In this manner he republished some of the best of Macaulay’s eagays (rom the Edinburgh Review. The first book in the English language issued by the Tauchnitz firm was the famous novel of ‘“Pel- ham,” written by the late Lord Lytton, then known as simple Edward Bulwer. The reprint of this work appeared in 1842, and the success of the epterprise which it inaugurated was great and immediate, It may be inter- esting for literary antiquaries to know that tue form of the celebrated Taucnnitz edition of English books has never varied. It is the same in 1874 as it was In 1842. But the modern print is much larger, Thus the whoie of “Pelham,” which is along Look in three volumes of the ordinary size published in London, occupies only the space of one volume im the Tauchnita edition, and whereas in London it was then sold for £1 11s, 6d, the German edition was offered to the pubiic for eighteen pence. Moreover, the Tauchnitz books carried off the cream of the reading public; they supplied the wants and amused the idleness of travellers and invalids on the European Contl- nent. English persons, who had had no time to make themselves acquainted with new books dur ing the business of a Parliamentary session or the excitement of a London season, were glad indeed to buy agood novel-on a wet day at a duilinn abroad, and so the Tauchnitz books rapidly in- creased in favor and attained an enormous circula- tion. ‘The firm of Tauchnitz were not ungrateful for the fortune which Engiisn and American writers had earned for them, They soon began to pay high prices for their reprints, THEY GAVB MACAULAY NO LESS THAN THOUSAND THALERS, and the heirs of that brilliant historian still derive aprofit trom the steady Continental sale of his SIXTEEN | works, In 1869 the Tauchnitz edition of English and American authors numbered A THOUSAND LITERARY WORKS, and the Baron, being a God-fearing man, cele- brated the event by reprinting ‘the authorized English version of the New Testament, with intro- duction and various readings from the three most by Constantine Tiscnendorf, Of this magnificent volume no less than 50,000 copies have been and praise of all the biblica! acholars in the world, A TALL, UPRIGHT, HALE, HEARTY MAN, looking much like an English banker, who has just ot a peerage, such is CHRISTIAN BERNARD TAUCHNITZ, who has: been elevated, not unworthily, to the dignity of aGerman baron. He is also HER BRITANNIO MAJESTY’S CONSUL GENBRAL at Leipsic, anda better choice for such an office could not have been made. He is evidently a shrewd man of business, and his appearance at first sight is rather stern and forbidding. It is, that of @ man who seems to think more of his own dignity than is usual among well bred people, and | less of the dignity of others than is graceful or becoming. I gat before the rich and prosperous man, taking these mental notes on the day I arrived in Leipsic; and though I bad everywhere heard golden opin- jons of him from English authors and I, myself, had been weli satisfied with his dealings in re- printing my novel *‘fhe Member for Parts,” yet I men that I really did not want to know another, having .ound their acqualutance generally over- powering. Had Iicft Leipsic under tue impres- sion that Baron Taucinitz was a baron to be pooh- poohed good-humoredly and LEFT TO HIS DIGNITY AND DEPENDENTS, I should only have failen into the common mis- take of judging by first appearances. I had gone away from bis house rather amused than edified, thinking how very funny most people look when placed tiptoe upon an eminence, so that 1 was glad ofa friendly talk and a breezy walk in tne country with ry MR, STUART, AMERICAN CONSUL IN LEIPSIO, who isa well injormed and sensible man. We walked and we talked till the winter's sun had set, and then, as we were standing on the steps of my hotel, a breathless servant, who appeared to have spent some hours in a fruitless hunt jor us, brought an invitation to dinner from Baron Tauchnitz. We dressed at once and went (o-dine witht him, 1 never spent a more pleasant evening, The Baron and his family are among the most charm- ing and unaffected people Ihave ever met. The stern, earnest look and slow, measured speech 1 had mistaken for evidences of pride arose {rom the tact] that Baron Tauchnitz speaks English with more correctness thau fluency, printed English rather than colloquial English, order to catch immediately the meaning o! Eng- lish conversation, This difficulty got over, and our discourse having been changed to German, I found the Baron full of cordiality and kludness, He seemed to have @ reailove of English and American literature, and he spoke of the many great English and American writers he had personslly known witn unfcigned respect, He showed a fine sense of delicacy and the in- atmots uot only of a gentieman but of a mina singularly wise and thougiful when he mentioned any writer with waom he had been connected, and he observed incidentally tat he had never been jmvolved in litigation with an English or American autuor, popuiar, judged by the sule of their works. He answered that the sale of a book was not a fair test of its merit, and that he sould be “uawill- ing to say Wiat might give pain to any one.” His knowledge of books is extremely extensive and exact, butit can hardiy be considered as as. tomishing, for ne told me that he had now pub- Mahed nearly FOURTEEN HUNDRED WORKS OF AMERICAN AND ENG- LISH AUTHORS, end tuat “he looked upon tnem all as his children,’ He said that wheuever tie smallest dificuity arose editor of every Work with bis name on it, As we conversed in the pleasant drawing room of the great publisher his wife and an unmarried daugu- ter, Who is very accomplished. and beautiful, played us some mugic, as German ladies perhaps only can play music, with not au expression im- periectly reudered, not a note out of tune, There ‘Wag such a quiet air of order, simpiicity, friendliness and worth @round the Baron and his belongings that it seemed as If a visible biessing rested on the good man’s home; and when ten o’clock came, which is the Conctiuentai hour for leaving a dinner party, I said “goodby” with regret to so much geniality, honor and learning. FRANCE, niin Literature in France—Political Pam- phiets and New Publications. Panis, March 19, 1874, The French press laws are not only so severe, but they are so capriciousiy administered that it has become difficult to express independent opinions through newspapers, Sach journals as have @ large circulation are vaivable properties, Gnd their proprietors are afraid to print anything Which may subject them to suspension. Those which have @#mali circulation commonly belong to pat+ celebrated manuscripts oi the original Greek text | already sold, and it has attracted the attention | began to make up my mind to give Baron Tauch- | nitz a wide berth, I have known so many great | He taiks | and is obliged somewhat to strain his attention in | I asked him which writers were most | as to the true reading of a passage in any book | printed by his firm it was referred directiy to him, | and that be might be considered as reader and | | tes who will publisn no notions but their own, Printing and paper, however, are still moderately cheap in France, and ideas are plentiful; a0 it has come to pass that every one who has an idea and @ few francs to nourish It gives birth to a pam- phiet. If you happen to stop before the shop windows of any Parisian publisher you cannot fail to be strack with the prodigious quantity of pamphlets which | display, through them, their multicolored covers and their sensational tities, Where do they come from and where do they go to? Nobody reads them, and still they follow each other in an unin- terrupted succession. Afriend of mine who has acquired some expe- rience m the publishing line, and whom I chanced to question respecting the origin and destiny of the various brochures which I had noticed in the front window of tis shop, undertook to answer me in the (odowing terms :— “tAt the time,” he said, “‘when there was a King- Pope @ very simple way of gaining admitiance to the drawing rooms of the noble St, Germain Fau- bourg offered itself to a young man desirous of pen- etrating into this shrine of French nobility. He enlisted in the holy brigade which mounted guard round the Vatican, and two or three years later returned ft to canvass for a bride amoung the dowagers’ daughters. Now this pro- cess can no longer be followed, because Victor Emmanuel’s soldiers have relieved the holy brigade from its duty, and it has thus become necessary for the youth above mentioned to supply the def- ciency. That they do by changing their sworda for pens, and they now turn pamphlet writers as they became soldiers in the army of Pius LX, four or five years ago. They, of course, generally write nonsense by the yard; but that does not matter much, The only important point is for them to pro- fess devotion to Divine Right, indignation at the political claims of the radicaj) party, and convic- tion that but for the prompt restoration of Henry YV. anarchy will soon raise several of its hundred heads in order to devour mankind, including the dowagers’ daughters, When those three main subjects have been commented upon the whole is printed (at the expense of the writer, by the by), served out to the inmates of the noble drawing rooms, ana the author will be very unlucky, in- deed, if his writing does not prove as successiul ay his soldiering, so far as marriage business is con- cerned.” This ingenious explanation 1s, of course, ques- tionable, though it would be dificult to account, without its help, for the phenomenon to which it refers, At all events it does not apply to certain pamphlets which are brought into ligbt either by the names of their authors or the importance of their contents. These are read, not, perhaps, so much as the “Femme de Feu”—a sensational novel, of which 50,000 copies have just been sold— but sufficiently to allow people to trust that Frenchmen have not forever given up serious writings. In this category of pamphlets that of General Trochu, “Pour la Vérilé et la Justice” (for justice and truth), deserves to rank foremost. lt is an | answer of the ex-Governor of Paris to the various charges preferred agalust him in the report of the committee instituted to investigate into the acts of the Government of National Defence, Aiter | contrasting, in bitter terms, the harshness shown jin the Assembly to the men of the 4th of September with the leniency displayed toward the men of the 15th of July (the date of the declara- tion of war), General Trochu complaius of the manner In which the investigation was carried on. ‘The various persons calied forward to give evi- his hearing. He was not even allowed to contra- able to oppose to their allegations thé many facts to which he points through his books. A report drawn up on those conditions cannot be a serious contribution to history, and General Trochu relies upon ‘justice and trath’ to prevail, sooner cr later over the distortions to which they have been subjected by the committee. In order to be more consonant with the contents ofthis book the title might have been completed by the addition of these woras, “and for mysell,” | since General Trocha, while endeavoring to clear | nis political character, does not miss the opportu- nity of giving out to the world that he holds in high | esteem his military abilities end prophetic powers. ‘This lust jaculty he proves by extracts from letters | he wrote before or at the beginning of the war, and which were confirmed by the events of that time. Perhaps it would have been better for the gallant officer to let people conclude from these quotations that he was far-sighted; the public do not like to have such conciusions forced upon them. But the brochure is interesting, well and honestly were not public attention chiefly taken up by passing events. Referring as it does to present politics, the pam- | phiet of M. Grévy, “Monarchy or Republic,” had a betterrun. M. Grévy is an old republican, gen- erally credited tor his moderate opimion and his political erudition, and lately President of the Na- When irom three two are sub- | tracted, there remains one. This arithmetical tru- ism suns up the reasoning of M. Grévy. alter stating in @ calm and undemonstrative manner, rather uncommon with French political writers, that there are but turce forms of government—the despotic monarchy or empire, the constitutional monarchy and the repuabiic, the author proceeds to say that, as the two former have failed, the third is the only one which may be applied to France, Unfortunately while people agree on the first term of the subtraction, that is, in the fact that there are but three forms of government, they generally disagree on the second term—I mean on the gov- ernmental forms which have proved unsuccessful. M. de Cassagnac, in lis pampiilet entitied “Repub- lic or Empire,” endeavors to establish that a repub- lic and constitutional monarchy are inconsistent with the present state of the French mind. In his eyes the empire is the only government capable of conciliating the progressist -aspirations of the lower classes with the stationary tendencies of the upper ones, M. de Cassagnac is the chief editor of the Bona- partist print, Le Pays, a function which he com- bines with that of Imperial chalienger. 1 mean that he writes with a pen in one hand and a foul in the other—resorting to the latter against his con- tradictors when he does not succeed in sileucing them with the former. it would be rather long and tedious for the reader te review all the pampiilets written on the question of the best government for the future, Political doctors are not wanting in France, and it 1s surprising that this country, baving 80 many eminent physicians at her bedside, siuould be brought, so often, to the very brink of death. How 18 it, for instance, that this marvellous | panacea called the fasion, and which might be | more correctly styled an iniusion of legitimacy | and Orleanism, with republican hot water, turned outa useless prescription? An anonymous au- | thor, who is evidenuy inspired by the Orleans princes, has tried to explain it through a rather voluminous pamphlet, to which he gives the pre- suinptuous title of “The Truth About the Attempt of Monarchical Restoration.” The book is worth | reading, so far as itshows to an expert eye that the reconciliation of the Count de Chambord with | the Countde Paris was, in the thought of the iat ter, but a stepping-stone to power, and that the heir of Louis Philippe bas not relinguished the hope of performing, some day, the feat of ascending a throne. : AMERICAN BOOK NOTES. tional Assembly. Tue VETERAN OC. Epwarvs Lesrer again comes to the front with a book entitied, “Our First Huns dred Years: The Life of the Republic of the United States Illustrated in Its Four Great Perlods— Colonisation, Consolidation, Development and Achievement.” ‘The United states Publishing Company will bring out the work, “PIOTURESQUE AMERICA’ is to be completed in twelve numbers more, making forty-eight In all, nd now the Appletons announce a companion Work in “Picturesque Europe.’ Mr. Katty Fenn has been for some months in Europe sketching for it, and other artists will take part im it. Kay & brotuers, Philadelphia, nave nearly ready “The Principles of Equity,” by George Tucker Bispham. MARK TWAIN, now at home and busy at work, hopes to complete his descriptive book an the man- dence berore the committee were examined out of | dict their statements, and still he would have been | written, and it would have been still more noticed | ners and customs of Engtisnmen before his nexg visit to their conutry, THE NATIONAL T&MPERANCE CONVENTION cally for an exhaustive essay on the scientific aspects of the temperance principie, offering, as induces Ment to competition, a prize of $500 for the bes& essay, and of $300 ‘or the next best in mertt. SID THE Goop-NaTURED Rev. Dr. Robinson, ay Be stood looking over the new books one day, see you have Schew’s Statistics of the Worlds have you ‘Hain’s Travels in the Deluge?” “No,'* responded the bovkseler, “but we can accommo. fate you with ‘Japhet in Search of His Father)’ ® Dr. Robinson laughed, “TABLES IN SONG,” by Robert Lord Lytton,” wha used to call himself Owen Meredith, has just been, Ppublisued in two volumes of which the i gays abound in cynicism, THE Atheneum awards high praise to Mr. Jamea Geikie’s new work on “The Great Ice Age and ita Relation to the Antiquity of Man,” The book shows that the British Islands and all Northern Europel were once enveloped in snow and ice. The geo» logical évidences of this are marshalled with con- summate skill, and the autifor exhibits the eartt as it appeard in a perlod upward of 200,000 yearg’ ago. Mk, Drow Bovcicavit, it 1s said, has written @ comic diary of his trip across the American cone tinent, THs BRITISH CENSUB Of 1861 reports 110 ladies In London as living py literature, two of them under twenty, and three of them over seventy-five years of age. HURD AND Hovauton, the Riverside Press, wilk commence the issue in April of the second sertes, of “The Butterflies of North America,” with colored plates, ‘THE LipPiINcorrs are about to bring out a bistorf= cal account of ancient and modern sects, parties and opinions, from the foundation of the Chrissy ‘lan Church to the present day. GeneRaL F. F. MILLEN has written @ shore biography of General José Lopez Uraga. LITERARY CHIT-CHAT, WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT is at present eng: ona ‘Popular History of the United States.” He Will be assisted by Mr. Sydney Howard Gay. Tha work will begin with the earliest authentic recorda, and come down tothe first century of American, independence, THE COMMUNIST GENERAL CLUSERET has begun In, the Swiss Times of Geneva a series of letters on the Paris Commune. Ar THe RECENT SALE in Paris o1 M, Panthier’g Chinese library the trustees of the British Musewm made some valuable purchases, among which were several works on the geography of Cen! Asia, and a number of books having an importan§ bearing on the historical and classical literature of the Empire. The books, as a rule, jetchea very high prices; one, in @ single volume, containing, illustrations of the people of the nations tributary; to Olina, was sold for no less than 1,10 francs: | and it may saiely be said that every work feten its full value, ‘THR Atheneum says :—“It is not creditable to nation which hoids India that the ‘History of Mahrattas’ should be aliowed to remain out of print. Agecond edition, completed down to tha annexation of Soltara, is urgently wanted, and we hope that the attention which has been drawn tq the matter by Mr. James Taylor’s publication of Grant Dus letter may lead to an édition de luxe being brought out.” HERR CaBL Exze, of Dessau, autnor of the “Life of Byron,” has in the press an edition, with a copiot introduation, of Samuel Rowley’s play, “When You See Me, You Know Me; or, The Famous Ouro! Bistorie of King Henrie the Eight.” It will oe published in this country by Messrs, Williams & Norgate. Mr, WALTER THORNBURY 18 going to lecture om Holborn nd its associations, beginning with Fare nival’s lon and Charles Dickens, and ending with the Biue Boar Inn, where Cromwell ripped from the saddle the concealed Jotecr ui Unaries the First, ‘Tunes-rUURTHS Of the circulation of American public libraries is made up 01 works of fiction. Mr. W. ©. Haz.irr has published, under the titie of “Lambiana,” many uncollecied letters, paperg and scraps of Charles and Mary Lamb, illustrated | with drawings of their various residences, Miss AIKIN, Thomas Cariyle’s niece, hus edited, / for Macmillav, the publisher, a coliectton of Scot- tish songs. Mr. Carlyle’s part im revising and cor- recting the prooia has been so thorough that It ig said to be virtually his work. Mr. J. R. PLANCHE has prepared “The Cyclo. pedia of Costume; or, a dictionary of dress, regal, ecclesiastical, civil and military, from the earliest period in England to the reign of George the Third.” Tne volume will be profusely illustrated, Mr. Lesire Srerngen’s ‘Hours in a Library” id just ready in London. A SELECTION FioM JOSEPH @. COGSWELI’s Cory respondence is to be privately printed in Boston. The author will be remembered as tue late veneras ble librarian of the Astor Library. THE ENGLISH LITERARY JOURNALS are fall of ar- ticles lately about Chaucer and Shakespeare. Five | or six rival reprinting societies are in fall blast, giving the public the works of all the earller Engé lish poets. I there is haif as much study of thesa, authors as there is writing about them, this Caau cer and Shakespeare eplcemic may be truttfal of benefit. Mr. WiILtiaM 8, BRownrva, uncle of Roberk Browning, the poet, and author of the “History of, the Huguenots,” died reevently in London. ‘tux LONDON ACADEMY pronounces Max Mitler’s discourse on Chi istian missions, with its introduc- tion by Dean Stanley, to be a reform step in the emancipation of Curistianity from the priestuood, | ceremonies and dogmas that have overgrown It. ‘The work deals plainly with the faiiure of modern missions among the heathen, Lonp Cntgr Justice CooxevrN’s work on “Junius” is, it is said, completed, and will be pubs lished in September. He pro.esses to have dig. covered the secret of Junius. Messrs, LONGMANS are preparing for publica- tion, in four volumes, with portraits from the eriginals in the possession of the imperial family, and fac-similes of letters of Napoleon L, Napoleon UL, Queen Hortense, &c., “the Life of Napoleon IL, Derivea trom State Records, Unpublished Family Correspondence. and Personal Testimony,’? by Blanchard Jerrold, THE MaRca NUMBER Of the St. Paul's Magazine 1s the last that will appear, the proprietors baving determined to discontinue it. THE “T1CHLORNE NuMBER” of the Graphic, the letter-press of which, by the way, was written by Mr. Moy Thomas, 1s said to nave attained a gale of over 200,000 coptes. ProsPér Merimee’s famous “Inconnue” is ve- Meved by many to be a myth, like the ‘lara Gazel,” whose dramatic poems Merimee invented, and pretended to have translated from the Span- wh, A Romantic Writer in the Cornhitt Magazine | draws a tragical picture of the white slavery of Servants in English houses. The wretched femaia | servants, we are told, live under the ground, or else under the roof, and are treated as if ‘they had no rights beyond food, lodging and wages. Even the food ts infertor to that of the family, Tne GERMAN PHILOSOPHER, Ficus, has beer | honored by a reprint in English of his “Nature of | the Scholar,” ‘Vocation of Man” and “Doctrive of Region,” with a memoir by Dr. Witham sinith. “Tug ENGLISH PEASANTRY” is the title of a Lew work by Mr. F, G. Heath, author of “fhe Romance of Peasant Life,” ‘the book deals with the generat condition of the English peasantry. MACMILLAN & Co, will pubitsh shorty, uniform with Mr. Freeman’s “Old English History,” a “tis. tory of Scandinavia,” by Miss Otte, PROFESSOR DOMINICO CoMPARETTI, Of Pisa, nas ta the press @ work on Italian folk, love, stories, songs, &c. UNDER THE TITLE of “Shakespeare's Platareh,!? Mr. Skeat will edit, with iutrodactory notes and glosso) index, those ontire Liograplies and seat tered passages from Sir Lhomas North's transis+ tion of “Plutarch” which Shakespeare drew upon im 80 many of his piays, THE PRESS threatens to become a power in Con- atantinople, The first part of a comic journal, Le Polichinelle, appeared on the 2st wit, Ibi to ve published twice a week in frencn, Greek, ‘Turkish, Armenian and Susarians