Sketches of Modern Paris. Translated from the German by Francis
Locook. (Bentley).—Herr Abeling, the author of this book, is apparently a German resident of some standing in Paris, not so much in love with the place as Frenchmen commonly are, and not at all in love with the present regime. His sympathies are Legitimist, though not excluding a liking for the Orleans family. Nor do these sit ungrace- fully upon him ; at all events, they have not the vulgarity of the Imperialist worship of success. And he is a Roman Catholic, and not fanatical, though he does venture upon the monstrous assertion that Louis XIV. was driven to revoke the Edict of Nantes by the " overween- ing pretensions of the Calvinists." Generally, his sketches are pleasant and lively, with a certain groundwork of solid sense and sober German feeling. Among them are interspersed a number of tales full of vivacity and fan, and some anecdotes of real personages which are certainly worth telling. Such is Lint's compliment to Napoleon's remark," Quand je pones sl tout ce qui s'est deja accompli pendant mon regne, jo crois avoir cent ans." The great musician answered, "Sire, vous lee avez, car vous etes Is Siècle." Amusing, too, is the account of the visit of the King of Portugal, who seems to have captured the hearts of the Parisians by his simplicity and good-nature. Altogether, the book will give an hour or two's pleasant reading.
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