The daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1848-1851, 1851-12-18
vivacious versatility,
Which many people take for want of heart:
They err-'tis merely what is called nobility,

They err. merely what i called nobility.
A thing Of temperament and not of art
His cordialty kindness of disposition and want
Of suspicion make him the easy prey of the selfish
and interested so long as he has any thing in his
purse, it is for the of his friends. Were he
Emperor of Russia, the gold mines of Ural would
not be adequate to his boundess and needless gen
erosity. His table is ever crowded, and spite of
his enormous losses by endorsements, he has
scarcely ever had the heart to refuse his name. 1t
was his generosity of character that precipiated
him into the very foolish marriage which ended
so badly. Like Dante, Milton Byron and hosts
of other men of genius, his domestic relations have
not been his most happy ones.
have met with celebrated men, but never with
one who appears the genius he is so much as Du-
mas Not the slightest affectation about him: on
the contrary, most astonishing alntvete natural
simplicity and frankness. Whether gay or grave,
lively sad, humorous descriptive, his CONVEX
sation is interesting this is too tame word, it is
not only interesting but fairly takes possession of
the hearer, captivating and charming him, and
making him forget that time is flying fast. He
makes you laugh or cry as he may be in the mood.
At times, metaphors, tropes, images Of the most
beautiful kind, follow each other in rapid success
sion--his conversation becomes like his novels, a
succession of brilliant tableaux Nothing too OBJ
scure; everything he touches lives and breathes
under his hand. You cease to wonder that he has
been able to produce SO many books, for what he
has thrown off in talking would make a most fas-
cnating volume. Unlike his friend dOrsay he
has said nothing you can't remember for weeks
after, perhaps for months his very words graved
your memory, and his illustrations recur to you.
Wherever he has passed through the realm OF
thought, flowers have sprung up in his path, as, in
| some operas, they do in the path Of Fairy Queen
For the moment, he is whatever he describes
some authors identify themselves with one OF their
favorite characters Dumas is, for the moment
every character he paints. You recognize in him
at different times, every king, great setgneHr
hero, guardsman, monk and puritan he has de-
scribed. As Frenchmen say, he is capable de tout
| In his manners there is not the slightest mark
| of the student or the pedant He would be great
lord in any court of Europe, jovial comrade by a
campfire, capital stump speaker, and just thu
cheerful, sympathizing friend sick man woult
| like to see. Common scandal has made him
bon vivant, lover of good things, both for eating
| and drinking. But common scandal has mad,
here one of her faults Dumas may think witt
Zeno, that all the good things were not made 70
fools his social disposition, too, may have led hin
into occasional excuses; but his general habit
are not only temperate but abstemious. This kim
| cesslty OF immense literary labor and OF counter
acting natural tendency to corpulency His pei
son is large and portly, his limbs admirably an
strongly moulded, and his feet and hands sma
enough to make smaller man vain.
but my sketch would be imperfect if did nj
oa'ey ING curiosity OF my readers as to the propO
ton Of African blood in his veins and its reyelatio
:. in his personal appearance. This is a subject O
which Dumas has not the slightest false pride
wound he speaks of it without any sort Of affe,
tation. His celebrated answer to man Wi
asked him Is il really true, Mr.. Dumas, tn,
your grandfather was negro F." was intended
chastise the impairment intention with which n
question was put. "Sir," answered Dumas, :"
is true; my grandfather was 4 negro and IN
great.grandfather an ape. My pedigree begin