LES MISERABLES.  I. FANTINE.  BY VICTOR HUGO.  Translated by CHARLES E. WILBOUR.  New-York:  Carleton.  Boston:  Crosby and Nichols. 1862.

A novel written twenty-five years ago by Victor Hugo is a curiosity.  The present was kept in reserve because the sordid publisher, who had a contract for all of Hugo’s works, would not give the sum demanded—­the author kept raising his price—­it was like Nero and the Sybil, or the converse of the conduct of the damsel who annually reduced her terms to Martial: 

    ’Millia viginti quondam me Galla poposcit;
    Annus abit:  bis quina dabis sestertia? dixit.’

Finally the publisher died, the work was printed, and its first section now appears in ’Fantine’—­a capital picture of life, manners, customs, in fact of almost every thing in France in 1817.  It deals with much suffering, many sorrows, as its title indicates—­for it is easier to make sensations out of pains than pleasures, and M. Hugo is preeminently and proverbially ‘sensational.’  Still it is deeply interesting, extremely well managed in all art-details, and above all things, is extremely humane—­as a book by Victor Hugo could hardly fail to be.  And as every page bears the impress of a certain characteristic originality of thought and of observation, we may safely predict that ‘Fantine’ will deservedly prove a success.  We like the manner in which Mr. Wilbour has translated it—­neither too slavishly nor too freely, but in one word, ‘admirably.’

ARTEMUS WARD HIS BOOK.  New-York; Carleton.  Boston:  N. Williams and Company. 1862.

Once in five or six years we have a new humorist—­at one time a Jack Downing, then a Doesticks, then again a Phoenix-Derby.  Last on the list we have ‘Artemus Ward,’ as set forth in letters to the Cleveland Plaindealer and Vanity Fair, purporting to come from the proprietor of a ‘side-show,’ as cheaper, or less than twenty-five cent exhibitions, are called in this country.  To say that they are excellent, spirited, and racy—­full of strong idioms of language and character, and abounding in novelties in type which are no novelties to those familiar with popular life—­would be doing them faint justice.  They embody a new and perfectly truthful conception of one of the multitude, and have nothing that is hackneyed in them.

It is a great test of real stuff in a writer when he dashes off, or picks up, phrases which are at once taken up by the people.  ’Artemus Ward’ has originated many of these, and is perhaps at the present day as much quoted ‘in the broad and long’ as any man in the country.  It is needless to say that all who relish broad eccentric humor will find his Book very well worth reading.  We regret that it does not embrace certain other excellent sketches which we know he has written, but trust that these will appear in due time in a second part or in a new edition.  The volume before us is very neatly got up, well illustrated, and tastefully bound.