The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-12-17 00:00:00

SATURDAY, DEC. 17, 1870;

the school of poverty, at all events in narrow cirouni•
statces, for his mother applied; though in vain for a
military pension. The son's education, therefore, was
rather of a haphazard kind; on applying for employ-
ment through the interest of his father's Mende, he
(hied tut little chance of aid ; and he might have
care, el or died of hunger if it had not been for the
kindness' of General Foy, who resolved to befriend him.
Findicg that young Dumas wrote a neat hand, the
General recommended him to the post of en pernumerary
clerk in the office of the secretary of the Duke of
Os leans (afterwards King of the French). His scarty
income ot £5O was then a fortune to him who sate'.
wards conceived that dream of exhaustless wealth
Monte Christ°. For three years he lived the life of a
recluse; the whole of his leieure being devoted to supply-
ing the defects in the education of his early years, and
by this means he soon acquired a taste for literature and
a desire to excel as an author. Having witnessed Charles
Kemble's representation of Hamlet in Paris', his Ambi-
tion was stimulated to produce &tragedy after the model
of the English dramatist, and on the Ist of February,
1829, his lira drama, Henri 111. et sa Cour,was played,
and met with unbounded applause, spreading the fame
of the author far and wide. After this came in rapid
succession a whole series of plays— Charier VII..
Christine, Antony, Richard Arlington, Therese, Angda
all of which were equally eucceeeful. Out of his own
,ountry the name of M. Dumas was probably better
known as a novelist than a dramatiet, and more espe-
cially by Its Monte Christ° and Les Trots Mousgurtalres,
the fora- r of which has been reproduced in England
ie. a variety of forms. As a dramatic author
lie was A bold innovator apon the old-established
manner of the French stage, and his writings have
been of c,,nsiderable service to French literature
n, ...similes to free his countrymen from subjec-
tMe to arbitrary rules of composition. His claim to
the authorship of the Tour des Neste Is disputed ; bet
it is conceded that he furnished a great part of it.
The controverey regarding thie work, it may be remains
bered, led to a duel between Dumas and Gaillardet,
the two claimants. His first romances were Isabeau
de Barlett, Les Souvenirs (Antony, and Gaul if
France : then came his Impressions de Voyage—very
amusing readinc, but, as travels, monstrous fictions.
In 1857 M. Daman visited England during the
General Election, and in 1860 he was with Geri.
baldi in Italy, and wrote that great soldier's memoirs,
and for a brief period held the office of Conservator of
the Naples Museum. In 18.52 Dumas began to publish
his Memoirs, and of these upwards of 30 volumes have
appeared. Taken collectively the catalogue of his
writings in scarcely cozceivable for its extent, num-
bering, it is said, from first to teat more than 1,200
volumes. _
. _

•
A writer in a London contemporary moms years ago
gives the following description of M. Dumas :
if you should ever go to Paris, and chalice in some of the
streets to meet a great boy, about Mt. tin. in height, having
a physiognomy resembling that of a negro, with frizzled
hair, broad nose, and an olive complexion, his costume also
being distinguished by some peculiarity, inches light yellow
under-waistcoat, or a riband of an infinite variety of colours,
depending from his button-hole ; speaking loudly and geeti-
culating fiercely, as if he was quarrelling instead of con-
versing with a friend—you may go boldly op to him, and
say, without fear of being deceived, ' Good day, M. Dumas.'
Be assured It is the man himself ; for there are not two such
physiognomies to be found in Paris at least, though there
may be in the colonies, among men of colour. lie will
receive you very civilly, converse with you, and in a few
moments you will feel, as it were, almost instinctively that
you are confronted with the greateat or. at alleviate, the
most prolific writer of modern times."
M. Dumaa's pen during the hey-day of his popularity
was in constant and well-paid employment; and it is
said that at one time his literary earnings amounted
to an average of between 700,000 f and 800,000 f. a
year; in other words, about £28,000 or £32,000. But,
notwithstanding this princely income, so great was his
recklessness and improvidence, that he was constantly
in pecuniary difficulties. Hie contributions to the
French feuilletons were at the bottom of this success;
and such a popularity, in France at least, was the high
road to wealth. The temptations held out to him by rival
journalists to write for their papers were abundant and
irresistible; and at last, we are told, he entered into
agreements to write five romances at once for as many
papers, an instalment of each appearing daily. At one
time, indeed, about a quarter of a century ago, so great
a furore was raised about his name as a contributor,
and so fierce was the contest as to who should have
the preemption of his pen, that the question came be-
fore a court of law at Paris, and he had to sustain •
swot* against several (we believe five) of the great
literary capitalists of Paris, who sued him for breach
of literary contract. The contest, which would really
by itself form an interesting chapter in the History of
the Quarrel: of Authors, was thus recorded in the
c .lumns of the Illustrated News of the time :--
" The hearing of the process commenced on the 22nd of
January, when M. Lacon and IL Langials, advocates of M.
Tenn, girant of the Conetitutionnet, and of 11. de GIiSIMI
din, gelrent of the Presse, exposed the case of their clients.
From their statements, it appeared that in March, 184 S, M.
Veron and M. de Oisaren conceived the idea that it would
Lei advantageous to their Journals to secure the exclusive
services of M. Alexandre Dumas, and thereby prevent him
trim enriching other newspapen with his production, 22.
Dumas having complied with their views, treaties were
craen up between the respective parties. These
trestles, dated March 28 and 30, 1845, set forth that
A'exandre Dumas bound IsUnself not to wri xi, during
the ensuing live years, more than 13 volumes at
romances per annum, of which nine were for the Presets
and nine for the Conslifutionnel M. V6ron and M. de
Girsrdin, on their part, bound themselves to pay the poises
M Dumfs thought fit to put upon his own works, which was,
that each volume, forming about 22 feuilletone, and consish,
leg of 6,000 lines (bits of lines being counted se whole lines),
Should be paid 2,600 f., which made 63.000 f. per annum for the
18 volumes, or 811,0001. for the five years. But, as if.
Domes, at the time of signing the trestles, was under other
engagements, it was stipulated that he should be at liberty
to fulfil them. These engagements were specified; they
were merely to complete eight distinct works. When they
Were done Dumas waste belong to the Contlifulionnel and
the Presse alone."

It must not, of course, be supposed, that M. Dumas
wrote out all these romances word for word and line
for line for the publishers. On the contrary, he kept in
c listant employment, a school of disciples, a corps of
"underwriters," who worked out the ideas which he
sketched in the rough, and brought their labours back
to him to be retouched by the hand of the great master
whom they served.

Hie eon, M. Alexandre Dumas the younger, is well
known both aa a novelist and aa one of the most popu-
lar dramatic writers in France.