Forty years of Paris
It is a long and feverishly agitated period that Mr Lonerganps's volume covers; and although devoid of striking portraiture and description, it certainly helps us to a clearer understanding of French latter-day history.
As to art matters in those days, my young French friends and I were as ignorant as any Philistine. We occasionally roamed through the Louvre and looked languidly at the pictures by Raphael, Eugene Delacroix, Poussin, Horace Vernet, Ingres, and Meissonnier.
Napoleonic pictures appealed to us, but we only heard very vaguely of the great landscape men and the Barbizon School. When in closer touch with intellectual and artistic life in Paris, I soon appreciated all the famous French painters and enjoyed their work. I cannot say that I knew many artists personally, although I could easily have done so. I was once introduced to Carolus Duran, now head of the French School in Rome, and found him a most genial gentleman. His value as an artist is hotly contested, but that is no concern of mine. He was one of the Frenchmen whom I have some reason to like. He, too, had struggling days in the Latin Quarter.
Some contents:
CHAPTER I
First glimpses of Paris — The days of the Empire — The Imperial " Smart Set " — Offenbach and Schneider — Jose Dupuis and the ladies — Louis Veuillot — Pere Hyacinthe at Notre Dame — The two Dumas — Church and State then — General de Failly's chassepots — Empress Eugenie then and now — The Court ladies — Princess Metternich — Prosper Merimee at Compiegne — The Dryad in gauze — The Duchesse de Persigny and the living pictures — The Due de Persigny's memoirs and the Empress...
CHAPTER II
Republicans and the Empire — Ollivier, Rochefort, Rouher — The Empress a matchmaker — The Victor Noir affair — In Normandy with the Germans — The Prussian deserter — In the Latin Quarter — Recollections of Renan — His view of Christianity — Taine on London — His descriptions of Somerset House, the Strand, and Trafalgar Square — Max O'Rell and Taine — Debates and discussions in the Latin Quarter . . . .10
CHAPTER III
Royalists, Bonapartists, and Republicans— The May dates —The Due de Broglie and Marshal MacMahon— The Romance of the MacMahon's— The doctor and the widow— Bismarck and the Republic— Gambetta's dinners— Madame de Paivre— The onyx staircase. 27
CHAPTER IV
The Grevy family — Daniel Wilson— Madame Grevy and the King of Greece— M. Wilson and M. de Blowitz — The Daily Telegraph Paris office — Newspaper work in Paris — The Morning News and Galignani's Messenger — Thackeray on Galignani's staff — His " Ballad of Bouillabaisse" 38
CHAPTER V
La Haute politique — The Egyptian Question — The Near East — Mr. Lavino and Russia — M. de Blowitz saves France — The real importance of M, de Blowitz — His remarkable position — Bismarck and Ferry — Bits of big news — The fall of Ferry 50
CHAPTER VI
At the Chamber of Deputies — The Fenians in Paris — James Stephens and Eugene Davis — The "resources of civilisation" — The "Irish Ambassador" — Trial of Madame Clovis Hugues — Tragedy in a newspaper office — Victor Hugo's death and funeral — Pasteur and his rabbits — My meetings with Pasteur — His views on Gladstone and Parnell — My meeting with M. Clemenceau — Mrs. Crawford, Mr Cremer, and M. Clemenceau — M. Clemenceau then and now — M. Clemenceau and M. Jaures 59
CHAPTER VII
More about M. Clemenceau — A smasher of Cabinets — The numerous ministries of the Republic — Rise of General Boulanger — The present German Emperor and Boulanger — My meeting with the General — Events and episodes of the Boulangist period — Boulanger's flight and fall — His Boswell, Charles Chincholle — The king of reporters — Fictionist first, journalist after — The Opera Comique fire — Pranzini's execution — Close to the guillotine 78
CHAPTER VIII
President Carnot's election — Paul Deroulede and the patriots — Hatred of Ferry — M. Clemenceau's "out- sider" — The " Marriage a Failure " question — My talks with Zola, Dumas, and others — Emile Zola at home — M. Sardou's anger — M. Ludovic Halevy's letter — War clouds — Rupture with Rome foreshadowed — The Floquet programme of 1888 100
CHAPTER IX
The Exhibition of 1889 — A Lord Mayor's banquet in Paris — M. Tirard, Sir James Whitehead and the City magnates from London — Mysterious disappearance of a journalist — The so-called "reptiles " of the German Press — Bismarck's double — Boulangist tentative de reconcilement — The Duke of Orleans and the Gamelle — Boulanger's suicide — The British Embassy in Paris — Lord Lyons and the Republicans — The Jubilee garden party 113
CHAPTER X
More about the British Embassy — Lord Lytton's reception — Earl Lytton as a Parisian — His religious views — His sudden death — His successors at the Embassy — Sir E. Monson at Brest and M. Gosselin at Ushant — The Drummond Castle medals — The English and American colonies in Paris — Notable English and American Residents — Count Boni de Castellane and Miss Anna Gould — The imitation Trianon — The divorce -. 126
CHAPTER XI
Americans in Paris — Mr J. G. Bennett — Mr Joseph Pulitzer — Other Americans — Sardou's " Thermidor " — Origin of the bloc — Empress Frederick in Paris — Her cold reception — Death of Prince Napoleon — The blood-stained shirt and M. Constans — Franco-Russian foregatherings — A prelate's prosecution — M. Constans and M. Laur — The ** '^otirnee des Gifles," or a political Boxing-day — Ravachol the dynamiter . . . 144
CHAPTER XII
Dynamite outrages — The Panama bubble-— The anti-Semitic campaign — M. Drumont and the Jews — Jewish officer killed in a duel — Baron de Reinach's mysterious death — M. Clemenceau and Dr Herz — The sick man of Bournemouth — The Clemenceau- Deroulede duel — The "Pot de Vin" ballet— The Panama cheques- Foreign Correspondents expelled— Admiral Avellan's visit — The question of Siam — Anti-Enghsh feeling — The dynamiter's Henry and Vaillant .... 158
the book details : Author: Walter F. Lonergan -Political Figure in Paris Publication date: 1907 Company: New York: The Macmillan company; London, Macmillan & co., ltd.
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