EUGENE SUE.

Lyttelton Times, Volume III, Issue 139, 3 September 1853, Page 8

EUGENE SUE.

Eugene Sue.—Eugene Sue, ol more talent than morality, was born in Paris. He is popularly known as the author of " The Mysteries of Paris," and the '* Wandering Jew." Sue is a Socialist, and in that character obtained, in 1849, a seat in the French National Assembly. His election by universal suffrage, was, it is understood, the clinching argument used by the promoters of the law for limiting the suffrage of France. When Sue took his seat, the party of order were greatly irritated. The Orclre, a Legitimist journal, under the head of" The Sensualist Candidate of the Socialists," said :•— What is it that has procured Citizen Eugene Sue the applause of the Conclave ? It is this sentence uf'the romance writer, quoted by the celebrated delegate Citizen Miot, as containing the solution of all social questions, " No onehas a light to superfluity while any one is in want of necessaries.' But with Citizen Eugene Sue, where does superfluity commence or necessity end ? Is, for instance, according to his views, a measure of simple necessity the style which he keeps up at his Chateau dcs 'Bordes, if we may credit a little book published by M, Auguste Jbhanet, under the title of 'Verities Sociales, Inconnues ou Meconnues,' aiid in which is found the following picture of the Socialist necessity of Citizen Eugene Sue ?— The author introduces us into the manor and park of Dcs Bordes :—' It is impossible to convey an idea of this luxury, of the sumptuousness of these caprices, of those whims of all kinds; here a dining-room where the sideboards display plate, porcelain, and crystal, with pictures and flowers to add to the pleasures of the table all the pleasures of the eyes ; then an inner gallery, where pictures, statuettes, drawings, and engravings, reproduce subjects the most calculated to excite the imagination. Here is a library full of antiquities, where bookcases contain works hound with unheard-of luxury, where objects of art are multiplied with an absence of calculated affectation which appears as if wishing to say that 'they came there naturally. A daylight shaded by the painted fjhiss windows, and curtains of the richest stuff, gives to this place an air of mystery, invites to silence and to study, and produces those eccentric inspirations which M. Sue gives to the public. A desk richly carved receives sundry manuscripts of the romance writer—the numerous homages sent to Monsieur, as the valet expresses himself, from all the corners of the globe, and which the faithful servant enumerates with the most scrupulous care. Everywhere may be seen gold, silver, silk, velvet, and soft carpets. Everywhere taste and art tax their ingenuity in a thousand ways to produce effect, ornament, and domestic enjoyments. A vast drawing-room, furnished and decorated with all imaginable care, exactly reproduces that of one of the heroines of romance of M. Eugene Sue ; and there have been carved on the woodwork of a Gothic mantelpiece medallions representing the Madeleine falling at the feet of our Saviour,

who tells her that her sins will be forgiven her because her love has been strong. An immense looking-glass connects this salon with a greenhouse, filled with exotic shrubs and trees, and it is lighted at night with magnificent lustres.—. The walls are highly decorated, and gold and*' silver fish are seen swimming in marble basins. In addition to the lustres there are branches for bougies, mixed ;vith the foliage of the trees and plants, to increase the effect when the place is lighted up. A small gallery, lined with odoriferous plants, leads to a circular walk, which surrounds a garden cultivated in the most expensive manner ; and there is a fine piece of water with numerous swans on it. The walk is a chef-d'-ceuvre of comfort, for it is protected from the wind and the rain, being covered with a dome. It is enclosed with balustrades cover-•*, ed with creeping plants of the choicest nature. It is a sort of terrestrial paradise in the bosom of the Sologne, and beyond it is a park admirably laid out with kiosques, rustic cottages*, elegant bridges, and a preserve for pheasants, which supply myriads of birds for the shooting excursions of the illustrious Communists, whose keepers exercise a severe look-out to prevent any person from touching the game. The out-buildings show the same elegance. There is a splendid court yard leading to the stables for carriage-horses, one of which has his name, • Paradox,' marked over his stall." The woodwork is richly painted and varnished, with an infinity of brass ornaments. Near this place is a box exclusively devoted to the favourite mare of Citizen Eugene Sue, the famous' Good Lady ;' it is furnished with even more elegance. The harness is kept in the finest order, and there in a communication from the harness-room to the green-houses. The dog-kennels are in the same luxurious style as the stubles. Many workmen would think themselves happy to have such habitations. In a walk round the reserved grounds we convinced ourselves that the walks were carefully kept, and here and there are banks of moss for the author to repose upon in his meditations ; but the tenants of the environs do not appear to derive any advantage from the vicinity of the great apostle of progress and amelioration. Several of the houses are badly roofed, and the walls are cracked, and the houses are on a level with the marshy soil;; covered with manure, which gives them the ague during two-thirds of the year. On the other hand, however, there is a profuse distribution of little books, such as the ' Berger de Kravan,' and other Socialist publications.'— " If," says the Ordre, after copying this account, "all that M. Eugene Sue enjoys is le neces-~ saire, in what does he make le superflu to consist?" " Everyone knows," (says a writer in Eraser's Magazine), " that before he wrote ' the Mysteries of Paris,' he published a ' History of the French Navy,' which met with very poor success, and entailed no small loss on the publisher. The work was too serious for a novel. Something rather disagreeable happened to the author a few weeks after the publication of tins work. He received a partfel from Toulon through the Foreign Office, with - three seals attached. He opened it very anxiously, and found a small box within, containing" a silver medal, on which was engraved the following inscription :—' To Monsieur EugeneSue, a token of gratitude from the French Navy.' This was engraved in large letters ; but under it, in very small type, were found these words: — For the His tori/ of the French Navy he did not ivrite." — From Men'of the

time.