LITERATURE. Seen Homo. Boston : Roberta Brothers. Phila delphia Agent, (J. W. Pitcher, No. 808 Cbcsniit Mreet, and T. U. Peterson A Brothers, No. 300 UDesnut street. The appearance of Re nun's "Life of Jesus,'' some two years since, startled the orthodox world with the skepticism of its tone, while It delighted the critical by the beauty ol Us style and the wonderful consistency of its argument, It pictured our Saviour as a man, it denied to him all the attributes of Divinity, but made him a model tor human imitation, a pattern, an cvl dence of what our race should be. Being brought before the deistical population of France, glit tering as It did with the proofs ot originality and geuius.it preserved that which secured it far greater success than any truth could have ac quired a new style of treating a novel and in teresting subjoct. It was addressed to the tastes of Frenchmen, and therefore in France it won Its greatest success. "Kcce Homo," a rather disrespectful title as applied to our Lord, is an American reprint.cover in? the ground which Renan tirst discovered, but Tohlied ot many of the most objectionablo fea tures ot the productions of this celebrated foreigner. The object oi the work is clcurly expressed in Ihe preface. "Xbose who feel dissatisfied with the current conception oi Christ, if they cannot xest content without a definite opinion, may feci it necessary to do what, to persons not so dis satisfied, it seems audacious and perilous to do. They may be obliged to reconsider the whole subject trom the beginning, and, placing them selves in imagination at the time when he whom we call Christ bore no such name, but was Bimply, as St. Luke describes him, a young man cf promise, trace his biography from point to poiut, and accept those cnnclusiona about him, not what Church doctrines or even apostles Jiave sealed with their authority, but which the facts themselves, critically weighed, appear to warrant. This is what the present wi iter has un dertaken to do." And what the unknown author pet out to do, he has accomplished. His work is far sounder than Renan's, because, although going over the same ground, the one sought atier truth by the light of Divine Tevelatijn, while the other sought to prove that revelation was Divine, but tound truth, and then compares it with the facts revealed ly the word ot (iod. One set forth to explore an uukuown country in the dark, the other took the light in his bund, and walked as it showed the way. "Ecce Homo" is a production which, to a speculative and doubting mind, would act SW a mighty argument in favor of Christianity. It is one of the most profound works which has fallen under our notice for years, and cannot J)ut prove satislactory to the candid soarcher for truth. Sjme of its Ideas being new, may be termed "by many dangerous; but, when ideas only tend to prpvc the groundwork ol our faith to be firm, Why should they be rejected or feared, because they had not been already worn out by the Tatbera? Every day brings us mare light, and the day will come when the perfect harmony between science and Christianity shall be evi denced; and, believing that, why should we seek to estrange tuem by clinging to exploded theories, or hanging on to doctrines whose only C'aim is cuhtom, and whose birth was in the darkest day ot niediieval superstition r Holding these views, therefore, we are well pleased with "cce Homo." It does not deny or doubt the perfect divinity of Christ, but merely goes be yond what is written, and imagines him as he probably wan. The wonderful formation ot the Clirwtiau Church is examined, and a compari bjii instituted between it and its co-eval repub lics. It is a powerful, logical work, true in spirit, and if a little too daring, does not invade the bounds of sacred morality. ' Occasionally the author rises with his sub ject and gives us a glowing sentence, eloquent and lofty. The following brief extract will mIiow his style, and conclude our notice: 'The Christian Commonwealth has already lar outlasted all the States that were existing at the time ol its foundation; it numbers lar more citizens than any ot the States which it has seen spring up niir it. It subverts without the help oi armaments: resting on no accidental aid or physical support, but ou an inherent immor tality, it defied the enmity of ancient civiliza tion, the brutality of ni ed ue val barbarism, and under the present universal empire of public opinion it is so secure that even thoe part seem indestructible which deserve to die. It lias added a new chapter to the science of politics; it has passed through every change ot lorui which a State can know; it has been demo crutical, aristocratical; it has made some essays towards constitutional monarchy, and it has furnished the mot enereettic and scientific tyranny of which history makes mention. " Thr Queen's Favoritb; or, Tub Price ok a 1'kown. A Historical Romance ot the Fit teeutb Century. T. B. Peterson & Brothers, No. 1106 Chcsnut street. The work before us has been out of print for fifteen year.-, and is to all intents and purposes a new book to the reading public. Probably there is uo other kind of romance which par takes of that peculiar fascination which en velops a novel with characters drawn from his tory.. What is truth and what is fiction, where the boundary line divides the real and the ima ginary, and whether the parties painted did really thus suffer, adventure, and love, are questions which, while they may perplex, yet add a thousand-iold to the reader's interest. The "Queen's Favorite" is one or those strange yet thrilling mixtures, partaking of the spirit 'of Eugene Sue (to whom the authorship has been ascribed) and the dramatic power of (J. P. R. James. The scene is laid in Spain, in the mid dle of the fifteenth century. The Don Quixotes had not then all disappeared. Chivalry and leudalism were yet dominant features in the poli tical world. Romance was not a thing to be read of, and the licentiousness of seaii-baroarism jet rioted unrestrained in the warm climate of the hot-blooded Castillau. With such materials we would be surprised did the author not weave an interesting narra tive. He had all the pieces at his control, and all that was needed was to put them together. Jle haa done so in a way which, if not the most symmetrical, is at all events ol absorbing power. It does not possess too much prating about morality, but does abound by fur too fully in sentimental and maudlin protections of affec tion. Yet it Is, as a whole, as good as any sensa tional novel we have seen, and will compare most favorably with any of the Messrs. Peter sons' publications. It was issued this morning, tti.d will meet with an undoubtedly large sale. The same house have also in press, and are about to issue, a number of works, among which ftr.: "Self-Love," "The Admiral's Daughter," 'The Toimg Heiress," by Mrs. Trollopo; "The THE PAIL EVENING TELEGRAHI. PHILADELPHIA, SATURDAY, Freebooters," "White Scalper" and "Trappers," by Oustave Atmard; and "The Great Van Brock Property," by J. A. Ma'tland. Six Months at th Whitb Houm. The First Reading of the emancipation Proclamation. Hurd A Houghton will publish early in May, "Six Months at the White House," by F. B. Car penter, the artist. Mr. Carpenter, one of our well-known New Yoik artist, an enthusiastic admirer and sup portcrlof Frrsld-nt Lincoln, conceived the Idea, in the latter pait of 1803, ot painting a picture commemorating "the first reading of the Eman cipation Proclamation before the Cabinet." Through the late Owen Lovcloy, Speaker Col fax, and two or three New Yoik friends, Mr. Lincoln became Interested in the project, and invited Mr. Carpenter to theWhite House, for the purpose of affording him every facility In study ing his subjects from life. The painting of the picture, comprising a life-size group of the President and Cabinet, occupied six months, from February to August, 1804, during which period Mr. Carpenter enjoyed constant inter course with the President, as well as the various members of the Cabinet. The subiect of the picture, together with the circumstances at tending the execution of the work, and the death of President Lincoln so soon after its com pletion, congpiied to give to it an extraordinary degree of Interest, manifested by the crowds who thronged to sec it during the time it was on exhibition In different parts of the country. Mr. Carpenter has written out In detail the history of his connection with Mr. Lincoln, with which are Interwoven various "reminiscences" and personal relation, collected and given to the author from time to time by different indi viduals, making a volume ot over three hundred pages. The name "People's Edition," given by Messrs Ilurd & Houghton to a new and conve nient isrue of "Hood's Poems," complete In one volume, is warranted by its double significance; for Hood ranged himself on the side of the peo ple, making their life the inspiration of his noblest poetry, and the people have enthusiasti cally adopted him as their poet; and if there were a Congress ot poets on Parnassus, Hood would be found elected by a vast majority from the ranks of working men and women. There is something very touching in the affectionate regard with which he is held by rough men both in bngland and America ! they see in him a true champion, who whs one with them in sympathy and suffering. and adhered to the cause of humanity not to further any petty ends of his own. but because his nature was identified with their. For the people, as distinct from privileged classes, Hood always must bp the representative poet. He has made the wrongs of those suffering from class oppression to sing themselves where no formal petition could get entrance; and we arc con vinced that his "Song of the . Shirt," which has become a sort of rallying cry, has effected more of a change in the condition of working women than all other direct appeals combined. There is no one, whose instincts of humanity have not been crushed by social privileges, that does not respond to Hood's fervent words. We weep with him; we laugh. He has built up a democracy to the sound of his enchanting lyre. It is the people who are finally to prevail in the world. The poets of class will go down with class but Hood, will be elevated to a higher place than he holds even now. A Beautiful Engraving. The readers of The Telegraph will remember that some months ago we published a minute description of the splendid national painting by Mr. Carpenter of the "Firt Reading of the Emancipation Procla mation by President Lincoln." For the purpose oi giving it wine circulation it Has been en graved by A. II. Ritchie, of New York, aud will be sold only to subscriber.'. Mr. T. B. Pugh, at Sixth and Chesnut streets, is the sole agent for this city, and he has now on exhibition at his store a very fine proof below letters which is well worth seeing. The engraviDg is 21 by 32 inches, and is sold at the following rates: Artists Proofs, $50; India Proofs, $25; Plain Proofs, $10. Tue picture represents a meeting of the Cabinet ex pressly for the consideration of the great ques tion. Mr. Lincoln occupies the cent re of the pic ture, w ith the immortal document in his hand. It isevidciitly a moment of suspense. The reading has just concluded. The vast subiect fills all minds. Mr. Seward, the Secretary of State, is speaking, and all give an attentive ear. And these are the words he is uttering: "This matter is of so much importance, that I fear its effect at this iuneture: it mav he con- sidered the lust effort of an exhausted Govern menta cry for help 'the Government stretch ing forth its hand to Ethiopia, instead of Ethiopia stretching forth its hands to the Gov ernment.' Therefore, Mr. President. I susreest that you postpone the issue ot the Proclamation until it cao be given to the countrv uoon Union success rather than dtfiut." The positions of the figures are Btiggesiive. Our dead President occupies an arm-chair in the foreground. He grasps the Proclamation in his left hand, which has dropped upon the table at his side; the old lines of humor are ail gone from his face, and in their stead is a strange blending of firmness aud auxiety. Slightly in the rear of Mr. Liucoln is the Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Chase, standing with arms closely folded over his breast. The President is supported on each hand by the Secretaries of War and the Navy, Mr. Stanton on the right and Mr. Welles ou the left, both of whom, together with Mr. Chase, are looking, with varying shades ot expression, towards the speaker, Mr. Seward. At the end of the table, cipposite the President, leaning forward upon his arms, is Judge Bates, the Attorney-General. Immediately at his right, standing, as if having but recently entered the room, is Montgomery Blair, the Postmaster-General. In the back ground, also standing, is the late Caleb B. Smith, then Secretary of the Interior. Mr. Carpenter painted the picture in the East Room of the "White House," and all the distin guished subjects generously furnished bim with frequent sittings. There is no doubt of their being undoubted portraits. As a historical re membrancer of the most critical period of the war, it will be of permanent interest. The ub scription books are already opened in the various cities of the Union, and an immense number of signers have been secured. Mr. Pugh is ready to receive subscriptions, and those who desiie to have the engraving should go early aud secure good copies. Custave Dore and M. Nadar have joined the committee of subscribers to the testimonial to George Cruikshank, while E. Fournier and F. Michel represent French literature in the same body. THE HOME OF VICTOR HUGO. fmm the New York Galaxy. To the northwest of Frauce, bidden in the mystic vapors of the ocean, lien a fortunate archipelago. The gulf stream there brintrs out a flora worthy of the fairest isles of the Adriatic and Mediterranean. Geologists tell us what tevolution detached this Norman soil from the Norman coast, and relate ho the sea, invsditg the immense bay which separates Cherbourg from Brest, onlv mffered those rocks to remain which were Huh aud firm enough t defend themselves, as on Mount Saint Michael, against its wrath. Without need of science, the traveller easily fin is the law lor these con vulsions of nature, aud their traces. Jer?ey and Guernsey are only to be reached by a line of small inlands ana rocks, almost on a level with the water, and scattered about, sometime near each other, and sometimes parted, like links of a riven chain. As the traveller draws near, val leys of gcrpeous green appear cottages, flowers, and meadows. This is Jersey. JpMPt tt T) riiinmaAV urn tr. 4lta niiiniia - - - ...... "" j , v vi.v viuiwh. err, two gardens which tho rocks hold suspended above the sea; to the thinker they are two woilds, two microcosms. Has not each of them, like the proudest continent, its Bhores that look upon the whole circle ot the horizon! Coasts, pons, plains, mountains, and valleys are all as sembled in a space that can bo visited in one dav, fiom one end to the other. The climate is delightful, the vegetation fatry-like, the sky Is a harmonious marriage of light with the sea, whose pearly hues seem to tell uj the secret pplendors of ocean treasure. Life there is a bliss ful dream. If you advance a few steps in this fair realm of Guernsey you will eo manors that are created by Protestant emigration, its pious, ever-living souvenirs. In returning towards the city, you will see a superb walk through trees now secu lar, a legacy made to the city of Saint Pierre by a Frenchman, in 1783. If you dscond towards the sea a large bouse will attract your eye, and yen will see inscribed upon it the now famous name: "Hauteviile House." And there, grouped round the same thought, are Liberty, Exile, and Poetry. Exile! exile I ihe only grief that time can never soiten. Ifvou auk me how it is en dured, 1 will reply, through duty. Victor Hugo's home is situated in the most lovely spot that ever landscape painter dreamed of. Placed upon a heighc, it overlooks the city, the fort, and the immense horizon of the sea, w here nothing seems to trammel the flight of even genius it-elf. The house is celebrated m Gueiusey, where it excites lively curiosity. Wondeis are related ot it, enhanced by the mys tery overhanging a threshold till now never crossed by the Guernsey world; it Is said to contain furniture worthy of an enchanter's palace. The apartments and galleries havp been en tirely constructed Iroin uesmns bv Victor Hugo; he passed three years in drawing them. The rarest curiosities, such as carved oak, belonging to the middle apes raid the Renaissance, with enamels, rorcelnin gathered together and arranged in the most masterly manner, mingle with Venetian aud Florentine wonders. The house within for externally it presents the is a iripid aspect peculinr to English houses work of art, the materials of which are masterpieces also. I will describe the house, which is to reveal the master, who, Indeed, re veals himstlf by the mottoes and devices traced upon the walls and furniture. Victor Hugo. who loves to live in the past, has a mania for antique furniture. If we now raise ruins and rebuild edifices according to the laws of their primitive construction, if we lel'rame inscrip tions, restore statuary and basso-relievo, we should remember that "Noire Dame de Paris" and "Voyage surlosBords du Riiin" helped us to do so by giving us the rudiments of our science. Victor Hugo's house is entered by a vestibule, the construction of which immediately arrests the eye. On the upper lintel Is a basso-re'ievo, representing the pr'ncipal subject of "Notre Dame de Paris," which is gilded and painted. The effect is charming; beautv seems to wel come you at the verv entrance. The basso rtlttvo is accompanied by gla-is windows with embossed panes, such as are to be found in the cottages ol the Black Forest. On the right and left, in carved oak, are two medallion--, left by David, after Victor Hugo and his second daughter. A column in the purest style of the Renaissance supports this entire miss,' and adds still moie to the tranquil simplicity aud severitv which mark the entrance. This vestibule Is lighted by the softened ravs which penetrate the small squares of glass, forming a chiar' oscnro, such as Rembrandt loved. In this soft light a monumental door is visible, that ot the dining-room. On a panel is written: "Love and Believe." Above one of the doors, and below a statuette ot the Virgin, is a woid that promises hospitality to the visitor: "Ave." Let us accept our welcome and enter the bil liard saloon, where we shall see many interest ing pictures belonging to the family, with geogra phical charts, and the poet's designs, framed in borders of varnished tir. The strangeness of these ink designs strikes the visitor immediately. They form ten lauta'tic piiges, and are heightened with sepia and touches of gold-leat'. It is impossible to convpy any idea of them. There, as in all he undertakes, Hugo is power ful. Many will remember the sales of his sketches in 1852 ("Rue do la Tour d'Auverene' ), at the time wheu his furniture was also sold. These ten designs hanging upon the wall are views of Spain, Brittany, the Rhine, Jersey, and Guernsey. On one is written : "Burg of Ilugo-eagle-hsad," and one rememuers the verses of the "Lcgeude des Siecles," "He set tho cities free: he came alone To Hugo-t ar lu-bead in cavern Home." The frames, equally wonderful in execution, are by the poet also. Among the pictures is the crowning of the deud Inez de Castro. Upon the Irame is inscribed, "The Duke ami Duchess of Orleans to Victor Hup o." 11AUTKVILLB HOUSE. From the Lilliard-rooin, thp tapestry parlor is entered. Here, us in the other rooms', the man-tie-pier e has been the pruicipul object ot atten tion and should not the tamily hearth be so? Imagine a cathedral of carved oak, which rising vigorously from the floor, springs up to the ceil ing where its upper curving touched the tapes try. The doorway corresponds to the fireplace; the rosace is a convex mirror, placed above the mantel-piece: the central gable is a tirm entabla ture covered with fantastic foliage, and deco rated by arches of exquisite taste, in which the Byzantine mingles with ;he rococo: the two towers are two counterforts whi?b repeat all the ornamentation ol the entire mass. The coping, very imposing in its etlect, recalls Ihe fronts of the houses in Antwerp aud Bruges, A face appears amid the woodwork, vigor ously thrown out. It is that ot a Bishop whose crosier alone is gilded. On each side of it is a shield, with the w itty mottor "Crosier of wood, bishop of gold." "Crosier ot gold, bishop of wood." On two scrolls, representing rolled psrclitncut, lire inscribed ihe names of those whom Victor Hugo looks upon as the principal pucts or hu manity: "Job, lsainh, Homer. Eschylus, Lurreiius, Danle, fchukspeare, Moliere." fin the opposite sides are the names of "Moses. Socrates, Christ, Columbus, Luther, Wash ington." Upon the double entablature of the chimney piece two oaken statues lean one is Saint l'anl, reading, with this inscription on the pe destal: "The Book." The other is tnat ot a Monk in ecstac.y, with raised eyef. on the pedestal is the word "Heaven." In a rconi called the working-room is another truly monumental work which, as In the tapes try parlor, mounts from floor to ceiling. His inscribed: "Ad augusta per angusta," a motto borrowed from the lourth act of LYruini. The walls of the dining-room are covered with magnificent dell'. This is the delf of Holland in the seventeenth century. An immense mosaic represents large bunches of flowers puintod with minute care and thrown into vases ot fanciful form, and odd animals, all mingled together. The groundwork is white and blue, aud has an oaken foundation which forms three massive divisions, embellished with old paintings upon panels, causing the dming-room to resemble certain conventuul rooms. A basilled mirror, surmounted by a slceplntr child chiselled in copper, an'mates this apartment, llghte I by two larg windows or enina upon the pai den. Add to this a mantelpiece such as our ancestors looked upon, and Gobelin tapestry upon the w all, on which the riches of summer are spread forth. r Vases and statuettes of porcelain and delf are everywhere. The sixteentn and seventeenth centuries oiler nothing more curious. A statu ette, A'orrr Dame de Bnn-Secoun, oaTyin the f hild-Jesus, whose little hand grasps a globe representing .the world, U above the super structure of the mantle piece. Below It Is this verse, to be fouud in the "Chanaans des Rues des Bois: "The people are little, bat shall be great, Within th Mcred arms, oh! moihor blest, Ob! bol" Liberty, with tonqnnring step, 1 he child who bears the world doth rest." Variou legends complete tho aspect of the place. Here n one sHe is the word "Man" ia fro.it of the ord "God;" further on the plain tive words, "My Country;" again a melancholy line, "Life is exile," and near that this pious ct tinsel : ' Tnlmbi'ant of ladinir londi, Ttiink ot eternal homo." And o little healthful axiom: "Post prandium ttabix Scu passu mille mesbis. Vale I" An arm-chair of carved oak Is placed against the wall at the tinner end or thn tnhln Vint Hugo looks upon it as the ancestral seat at his ' table. A chain closes it, hearing among other inscriptions the words. "The absent are then." i the in.plest apartments are used by the family and the galleries spread forth all their riches to the guest. The gallery in the tirst story is divided into two portions. Hangings of Indian oemH!-k, of crimson hue, cover the walls of tho red pirlor, and serve as a frame work to Ihe great Norwegian tapestries, which formerly belonged to tho bed-room of Queen Christina, ut Fontainebleau. The panels, of let, six feet long and five feet broad, in design aud work manship, and through the gold-work mingled with the let, are treasures such as do Dot exist elsewhere. The subjects arc fanciful. Golden cocks and eagles gleam upon trees of a porphyry red, the leaves of which are thrown out upon the glit tering sky. Uold, silk, velvet, glass, and span gles of silver sparkle upon a foundation of w hite jet. Four of these panels decorafe the red parlor, two being on the walls and two upon the ceiling. We Lave mentioned this parlor be fore, but return to it. Imagine a chimney-piece with four statues gilded with Venice gold which appear to peruse these words of Lucretius: "Juvenum simtt'acra per a)des, ' Lampados uimleras mambus retioentia doxtris." They support the canopy, which is the chimney-piece, and represent negroes, with flat pro files, shaven head, and athletic forms, with their busts scarcely covered with slighi drapery, or en upon the breat, and fastened to the shoul ders, leaving the lower limbs nude. Each is iu a different attitude, and all form part of the same gioup. They seem to be darting lorward and obeying an order. Behind them, a glass, which mounts to the ceiling, reflects them with line etlect. In the embrasures left on each side by the pro jection of. the general construction, two old Japanese monsters grimace and look at them selves in two mirrors with grot-work Irames. The cauopy is of Chiueie silk, ornamented with laces and birds. Six pedestals with golden brocade cartouches support the statue" and monsters. A small Louis XIII clock, representing the Samaritan woman, rests upon the slab of the man ted-piece. Two tables, one in Renaissance ebony, in crusted with tin, which formerly belonged to the Duke of Orleans, the other in marquetry, of the Louis XIV style, with massive feet, are dis jda cd here. The latter is a pertect gem. There is, besides, a marvellous screen, which looks as if it had escaped from M.idame de Pompadour's boudoir; a handsome China vasque, and a Japanese perfume stand made of bronze, which w as given to Victor Hugo by Alexandre Dumas, complete the furnishing of this room. The blue parlor, which is next in order, is no less sumptuous in another oruer of decoration. The gallery in the secoud story opens with a folding door, and is formed of carved and chiselled cedar, a master-piece found by Victor Hugo. This gallery is called tho "Oak Gallery;" it is a sort of guest chamber, in fact. Six win dows, looking out upon Fort St. George, distri bute the light through a perfect forest ot carved oak. Occupying double the depth the parlors on the first story, Gallery" is divided into two a skilful arrangement of the taken for the "Oak parts by turnmire, and a nuiiaonie doorway with spiral columns in the Renaissauce style, painted aud Mm. an uii5 hisc uiYi.uoii :s tue manici-picce; lit the second is seen a magnificent bed, so vast that it seems to have been built, rather than put up. The mantel-piece, whie-h is wide, low, and massive, is enriched with the most delicate workmanship. It represent the "Sacrifice of Isaac." which is placed in au oaken frame, em bellished with two demi-bdlusters entwined. Four caryatides, two feet high, hold up this charming pediment. They represent repeatedly, Svlvanus with Dryads. Ail the figure are crown ed with floweis and truits, and their bodies are partly concealed under a scabellum ornamented with tine arabeques. Behind these exquisite statuettes is a large glass placed on a level with a construction m Holland delf; in the middle is a pedestal which, supports a Celadon drinking opium, an exquisiie face, such as would please the most fastidious untlqunry. The two lateral wings are formed of very rich panels, upon which the ecabelluni ol the caryatides rests. It would be vuiu to attempt to describe the wilder ness ot Biblical, Pagan,' and Chinese figures, in which art has blended baboons' heads with dryads' faces. The bed fronts the mantel-pioee, the head of it resting against the wall and the feet directed towards the spectator. The canopy is formed of au assemblage ol Renaissance panels; the head of the bed holds forward two mytho logical subjects, aeeumpiinied with small colcniiis aud spirals, surmounted by a bracket pedestal in ebony, crowned by a death's head in ivory, with this 'inscription : "Nov, mors, lint." The body of tho bed has a tmsso-rtlievo upon the iront, a curious specimen of the carvings of the Mulnlc Ages. A lamhrequm, embroidered in a thousand colors with silk, and a spread iu tap-'s-trv. serve to garnish this girantic bed. Li which no one has evr slept, and which could ouly nave neon rquuiieu iu leuciai sleeping rooms. A candelabra in oak, with forty canities, is placed between the two columns which divide the gallery. It was entirely executed upon designs by Victor Hugo, who modelled uad carved the crowning figure in wood. It is a colossal girandole, spreading like a tiara, and bearing upon its summit a cluster of branches, to which the candles appear to attach flowers of light. The door of entrance, seen from tLe interior. is as brilliant us a church window. Two spiral columnk sustain a pediment ot oak, with lienai'saiif e grotesques, surrounded I by ara with two besqiies and monsters; it advances 1 )1hb. which are resplendent with paintings, among winch are eight larae figures ot the mar tyrs, attired in gold aud purple, the principal being Saint refer. Upon the lintel l inscribed, "Mrif, perye," and near it the words of Lucau: "The conquerors have the gods, with the con quered Cato remains." There are maxims be sides: "Gloria I'wtis Ym tumiiii," " "Mind breathoth where It hstetli. Honor goes Where duty cahs," find below a clock, which sounds a merry chime as the hours po by: "All leave their trace upon tbe frame and mtud, All wound, a'al tho last one boaloth." Isolated by their situation in the midst of tbe sea, the inhabitants ot Guernsey are sailors, and seek their life and its relations without. Each house bears an. indispensable signal-mast, aud has a "look-out." As soon as a ship appears, the oriflammes ot tho port signal it, and on the instant signals repeated from house to house tell of the departure, or return, throughout the Island. Victor Hugo has chosen the look-out at Haute viile House tor his owu room, n 1H R little bel vedcia, open in all directions, where the soul MAY 12, 1866. can exbai.d, though the space Is as limited for ir i the body as a captain's cabin. There stands the poet's table, his paper upon it, with ink and i M with Ifilr and pen. It contains an Iron bed -an hard as a soldios coucb. ' i - J The garden is but a half acre of flowers and lawo, and contains a pretty bit of water sur rounded by a rrassy margin; two honest dueks perform the part of swans as well aa they can, near a terra-cotta fountain, at the base of which are dolphins' heads, throwing miniature cascade into the air. On lifting the ivy around the foun tain, I found on one side the inscription: ' Where hope is, there is peace." On the other side, this verse, from the "Contemplations:" "Imtriensity is being, eternity the soul." The poet sits iu the garden, and looks to wards France 1 TIIE NEW YORK PRESS. FD1T0RIAL OPINIONS OF LEADING JOURNALS UPON CURRENT TOPIC'S. COMPILED IVgUT DAT FOB KVKNINO TKLRORAPH. Tbe Memphis Riots, f rom the Tribune. There is no longer any question as to the character of what were at fir&t called the negro riots at Memphis. They were negro riota in tho same sense in which the outbreak in July, 18(i3, in New York, was a negro riot that is, the negroes were the victims of both. Just what disturbance occasioned the conflict in Memphis will not probably be known, nor is it of much consequence. But it is plain from all accounts that a disturbance, originally trifling, was made the pretext for a general assault upon the negro population of the city, which was continued tor two days and nights. In this assault, the police, the firemen, the city authorities, and the unor ganized mob acted in concert, and were animated with the single purpose to do the greatest amount of damage to the negro population and to their dwellings and churches and school houses. The atrocifies of the mob were not unworthy of iu great New York prototype, which was, perhaps, the mo-t savage yet heard ot in a civi lized city. Most of the negroes who were shot were buichered on the second day, when thero was no longer any resistance, and when th negroes were seeking safety in concealment au i flight. We select a lew specimens of the plea santries in which the mob indulged: "Robert Jones (colored) had just come fn from tho country, and was gtaumng at tne corner of Ileal aud Cansey streots, in the forenoon A man, appearing to be a policeman, took hii pistol and 829 in monov, and as be turned to leave, thrust a knlle into his buck, under the ghouldor blndn. Another, standing by, known to be a policeman, made no arret ol tho lobbr." Which shows that the police, unlike our police in 1863, were on the side of the mob. "A necro was shot in the knoe near the corner of Howard's Row and the levoe. This was dono by a well-known individual for the sake ot amusement, and was laughed at by tho oitizous woo saw it." The individual Is so well known that the paper trom which we quote does not think it worth while, or does not dare, to give his name. But these instances are nothing to the elaborate ingenuity of other cruelties. "A larpe number of houses in South Memphis, occupied by the blacks, and some In other pans ot tbe citr, wore burned. No eflort was made to stay the flames. In one case, four negroes were fastonud up in a housu and tbe house set on Are. "A colored man on Alabama street Informs us that his bouse was broken into, and about two bun. dred do.iars in money taken, aud he beaten over the head ; and the same party oroke into his neigh bor's bouse, killed bim, locked the wife and chil dren in the house, set it ou lire, and burned it down." Thai is almost as good as burning a Colored Orphan Asylum. "A houso near air. Rankin's school-homo, which was burnt on Tuesday, was fired during tho night. A colored plrl, 17 years ol ago, named Rachel Hat cheu, who bad been a scholar ot Air. Raukin, was sick in this house, and on runninr out was knocked down, shot, and thrown into tbe fire. Iter body lay in the ashes yesterday morning, burnt to a criBp, excepting hor head and shoulders. Some one had kinuly thrown a shawl over this horrid spectacle." The reign of terror w as complete throughout the city, and the violence or threats of the mob extended beyond tbe negroes, and reached to all who were their friends: "l.oud and repeated threats wore made by the rioters that when they had destroyed the colored school-houses tney woulu kill the teachers, fho throats were so violent, aud the rioters having shown themiielvoscapabloot anybrutality.it was deemed piudout that they should go North. They ail lelt lor Cairo on the St. Louis packet. Many of tlie olricors on duty beie sent thoir wives away with these ladies." What destruction was actually wrought on the property ot the negroes themselves is thus summed up: "'Ihe riot was kept up all Wednesday night. Crowds ot armed citizens were gathered at tho cor ners. Many were hall drunk. The great teat ol the roughs was the burning of the colored school houcs, churches, and homes. They seem 10 have acted in concert, and to have carried out a programme which had been previously arranged. This is shown by tho clean sweep which was mado 01 every building used lor a colored school or place ot worship by tho colored people, but most strougly by the conduct of therioteis on the burning 01 tho Collins Chupcl. Ibis colored church stands on Washington stroot. and cost $7000." The extracts we have given are from tho Mem phis I'ost, a paper which the Copperheads may discredit because it is loyal. They are abun dantly continued by the admissions and apolo gies of the Rebel sheets. Tho Bulletin says: "The testimony in regard to all these particulars is most contlictiug, but ail agree on the one thing, tout those who enp&ped in the riot wero persons 01' irresponsible cliaiacter, and it will be unlair to churjre these untoward disturbances to the good, law-abiding citizens of the city 01 Memphis." Which is criuivalent to saying. We have no demise to offer for the mob exept thut we did not belong to it. The Avalanche far more ex plicitly declares: "The rioter who claimed to belong to the '154th' sought to shield himsolf from culpability bcbluu tho :uir name ot an honorable bodv ot men ; and had be Leeu a member, ho would have esteemed its lamo loo highly to couft ss connection with a mob guilty ot so many excesses. "We have beard many ex-soldicrs of the South ili clare that tne-y wou d preler a military adminis tration 01 municipal authority to that which dis graces the city and State, and by U utter incapa city, gross mismanagement, and prejudices ot its aont", bus brought uuou euiphia lusting evils, Ihe true remedy lor all misfortunes, now con teuip ate-d, cou.ists in the relormaiiou ol the city clmiter." We might continue both quotations and com ments to any extent, but we leave the case to tne jury on a traction of the evidence and without any argument at all. Against the city of Memphis the verdict will be guilty ot murder and arson without an effort by an organized authority to prevent or ro punish either crime. The Indnstilal Problem in the South. From the 3 imes. An English gentleman, writing to a religious contemporury, makes the following Instructive remarks: "I am imireBed with tho conviction that it will be greatly to tne advantage of America to studv the tm-toryoi the West Indian Colonies, and to take warning from our experience. "The planter ol Jamaica received compensation for the nominal abolition of ilavery ; bug under the RuiBvu. apHivuuvCTuiii, moy luiputtuu restrictions and iufliott-U punishments even more galling than thoae which were In existence in the previous state ol aervitude. The negroes wero irritated and re tinted the oppress on. Tbe ay-iem was changed : but Diurnal estrangement existed betvi ecu masters and laborer. The planter would aequlesoe in no term lor mutual accommodation. They would not sell ti e r outlying land near to the planlatioua The nrgroea were driven to the mountain. A foreign apply ot labor wa sourht at great oobI aud with heavy taxation. A coustant hostility between tbe races was kept up. and a most luxuriant aoil waa lelt 111 conqueiiee. uucleaied aud uuoultivatefl. apital wan Umuubhtd, aud gradually a oouutry that mljrtit tiae yielded abnndanoe Mnk into decay. I roiden opportunitf lor Mwnrlng the gradual 9- ,' uTi-nirui ui inir uniiun wma uafflRGTM. AIM. improvement ot the nnirroM u netleeted. Mm- sionsrv locieiins, anxious to ps on to other fleirtj "i inuur, ouiiciunea too numf inn mmr work in urnaiw au finished, and tne people degenerated ta BTiiry respect." we have often labored In these columns t bring the warning from Jamaica before the eyes of our Houthcrn readers. Here is an island with natural resources quite equal to those of Georgia or Louisiana, able to support millions ot inhabitants, reduced almost to the condition Of a rabbit-warren, the crops falling off, land deteriorating, poverty coming like an armed man on great masses of the people, so that their drcsj Is said to be almost made up of rag, and they are boiling over with discontent, while class ia pitted against class In fierce and bitter haired. Only recently matters have fairly come to head, and produced an explosion which must still more derai.ge the island, separate em ployers and employed, and keep capital away. All these evils go ou while other islands of less natural wealth are peaceful, prosperous, and happy, Increasing in production and ad vancing in education and morals. As most students of tbe subject now admit, the diilereuce between Jamaica and the Rar badoes, and the Leeward aud Windward Islands is due not ouly to emancipation, but to the unhappy gap created at the outset be tween capital and labor by tho injudicious measures of the planters. The English writer above has well characterized them la a few words. In the new organization of labor at the South, it is of Immense importance 1o the interests of both blacks and whites for coming years, that nopeimanent estrangement should arise be tween the class employing labor and the labor ing class. The former owners will na urally feel tore aud bitter, and the freedmen will be suspi cious. Any oppression, or overreaching, or wrong-dealing by the whites will produce on the blacks the impression which Buch acts always do on any ignorant cla-s: they will exaggerate them, and In-come entirely faithless ot Ihe honor or good wishes of the employers, and will with draw themselves, either to ihelr own plots ot ground, as thoy d;d in Jamaica, or to tho Gov ernment lands offered them, or to other Statos. In either case, the separation of labor and capi tal will be entire and most disastrous. The pro ducts of the South will immediately fall off; the land-owners will become poorer; the shop keepers and the city population, which depend on the exchanges connected with a large pro duction, will at once feel the ill effects; many estates will deteriorate or be abandoned; and, what is worse than all, the millions of peasantry would be in a position of hate and distrust to wards their former masters, and liable always either to outbreak and revolution, or, lrom their relations with the whites, exposed to the conse quences of a fearful war of races as much worse than anything Jamaica or San Domingo has seen, as the Anglo-Saxon w hite U more in tense tban the French Creole, or the American negro and mulatto is superior to tho West Indian. Whatever may be tho prejudices or bitter feel ings of some ot the Southern population, the leaders (who arc shrewd aud able men) must remember that the chief wealth of the South is in labor, and that black labor, by the laws of climate, must be their great resource. They have already discovered in the experience ot this war how weak is a community when the peasantry are hostile to the upper classes. Let them not increase this weakness for the future. The leading object now ot all public men, and wise and sensible citizens, in our Southern States should be to gain the confidence and goodwill ot the blncks, and to steadily ele vate them in the moral and educational scale. They have even a greater obligation of interest and duty upon them to improve their ignorant mases and laborers than we have here to raise up the lowest classes of our cities: lor the sepa ration of the rich and poor at the North will not necessarily deprive us of labor, and lessen production, or increase the chance of a war of races, while ot the South it brings all these dan gers. 80 far from the teachers of the Frecd men's Bureau and the Northern missionary societies being regarded with suspicion and hostility south of Mason and Dixon's line, they ought to bo looked upon as messengers of pros perity, peace, and improvement. The South could well afford to pay them all, and many more, to remain aud lanor. The present desire of the blacks lor education and advancement is the most hopeful sign iu their condition; and yet it is important to remember that this may not last; it may be only a temporary fruit of this great revolution. If the ignorant, de graded whites bum their school Louses, or for bid their building, or throw various and many obstacles in the way of the negro's improve ment, they may themselves finally become dis couraged and tired of such a difficult pursuit ot knowledge, aud sink down into a perma nently ignorant, aud therefore lazy and vicious class. hen the lnboring class of the South is this, capital will inevitably avoid it; industry wiil languish, commotion and crime will be rife, black and white will be in perpetual contest, and white immigration w ill seek safer and more profitable fields. The Southern statesmen, journalists, ami clergy, who guide the iauorant masses, have almost the choice to make the Soii'h a Jamaica, desolate, poor, and riotous, or a country where the white brain shall guide millions of contented and industrious la borers themselves having .,l,tn.nn .1. 1. i ,-1. . . . 1 . .1 . J . .. . uiiiiunii-iy mi- muuai pieuge oi tueir satcty, and the greatest stimulus to their self-improvement, a suffrage based on intelligence, a country in which all classes are iu relations of good will, and wealth and prosperity are increasing day by day. Public Executions Necessity lor Reform. from the Ihrald. The more w e rend the accounts of public exe cutions in this country, the more we are con vinced of the necessity of some improvement upon fhe system now in vogue. We aro deci dedly behind the age iu the manner of punishing criminals by the eleuth penalty, aud it would be well for us to tale a lesson from some of the European Governments in such matters. Iu France, the mo-t civilized, perhaps, of all nations, the culprit is senceuced to death with out the day being made public. If his applica tion to the Emperor for a reprieve is unsuccess tul, he is only notified ot the fact half an hour betore ihe time seen tly set apart for hi execu tion, so that he is not permitted to reuiain long In suspense alter hearing tho fatal news. At the end ot thirty minutes he is quietly led out to the guillotine, and in less than two minutes thereafter he has fully expiated his guilt, and the body Is on tho wny to the cemetery. Now, this Is what we call a humane and civi lized way of disposing ol criminals who have been unfortunate enough to incur the death penalty. The h.pe of being reprieved, which he can indulge in to the last, as it were, renders his condition comfortable compared with that of our malefactor, who Is acquainted with the day of his departure tor the "unknown bourne" for weeks aud sometimes months beforehand. In Frauce there is no suspense, no ridiculous seechmaking at the scaffold, no taking leave ot relatives and frb-nds, but judgment, swift, un erring, and mcrcitul. Here be is constantly re minded of his approaching doom by the daily visits of bis relatives and friends. Strangers, too, flora the most morbid motives, are allowed access to his cell, aud permitted to converse with him upon the most trivial aud wordly sub jects, w hen he should be dev oting tho last hours of his life to religious duties. And then when the execution does come off does not the pri soner sutler the most excruciuting torture for the twenty-four hours preceding? What sleep or rest can he obtain the night before execution ( Sore. His brain is one continual whirl of painful excitement, and no one but the con demned himself can realize the horror of such a situation. After suffering Ihese long hours of agony the culprit is led to ihe icatlold at the head ol an uniueuniug proe'ession of deputv sheriffs, doc tors, clergymeu, wlnd'u.g up with the uunece saiy appendage ot a )ury. Then there is a pitii'e, and the cn'piit, with natural curUwitv,
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