The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1864-12-02
glass of applejack. It was the greatest
wedding ever witnessed.
The Perils Of Novel Writing

We have had singular law suit which
nearly concerns letters. An author, or the
author Of Fanny" whom NJ. Sante-Beuve
pa'ronized most effectively after the appear
ance of this novel (h. has since publically
declared that his hopes of VI. Feydeau's tai.
ents were unfounded) published recently a
story entitled "Un Debit l0pera." in
which figures n Surgeon uined Triquet, who
il presented as one oi those tigers with med :.
ical diploma who delight tocut and slash and
hack and hew poor writhing, screaming hu.
inanity. II seems there is surgeon in Par
is named Triquet, who took great offence at
the novelist (whO never heard of his existence)
bestowing the name Triquet upon such a
character. The Surgeon brought. suit and
claimed, not only the suppression ot the name
in the story, but $4,000 by way OF dau-
ages.
II this claim had been admitted literary
men would have been placed in an awkward
position. For il is not only one of the most
difficult feats in the world to invent now
name las one may see by the words trans
ri nted from this language to that. even when
dire ,tly opposed to the genius Of the tongue
there is not French grammar eighteen
years old which does not declare the French
alphabet has only FIVE and.twenty letters. yet
now DAYS there is not good French die
tionary but contains '.wag' n, .whst, :"
..whis whisky" "wisky," and "wom
hat"-sirply from poverty Of invention.)
But there Is not name which can be invent
ed by the most imaginative writer which NAV
not be found on somebody's certificate Of
baptism.
Washington Irving probably thought. when
he invented the ludicrous name OF poor lch.
abod Crane. that no mortal would ever STUN.
bic at u baptislnal font upon such droll
combination of letters. still every one knows
that the United States army list bore this
name upon its roll. Dickens Uriah Iicep
is another one OF those names which seem
stamped with tho image and superscription
Of novelist pressed for a bad roguc's name;
the London Times OF week or two since
contained paragraph about a aesh-and.
blood Uriah Hoop. When DeBalzac had
coined with much labor the title OF the Duch-
ess de Muutrigneuse, he was greatly ANNOYED
to discover after the publication of his novel
that this was one OF tho titles Of the Duke
dc La Rouchefoucald.
NJ. Victor Hugo was SO persuaded that the
invention OF everybody was more prolific and
ingenious than the invention of one person,
how much soever gifted with genius he might
be, that he sought the names OF his heroes
and heroines on the shop-signs OF Paris and
the French provincial towns he visited. There
is scarcely u character in his plays or novels
whose name may not be discovered over some
shop door here. A vintner near my house
has Trboulet over his door. NJ Scribe was
at one period Of his life so harasscd by the
letters of persons whose names he had used
in his plays, that he resorted to the expedi-
ent of placing all the alphabet ". z and k
excepted) into his hat, and drawing them out
to form the names OF his characters. He
found he received quite as many complaining
letters while he used this system as when he
practced some other, and he abandoned it
for the directory, for the jury lists, for tho
bills of mortality, and marriages.
When Emile Augier wrote "L'Avcntur-
ierr," no gave the characteristic name oil Fe.
line to u hypocritical fawner. Tho day af.
ter the performance OF tho piece he received
a letter from Monsieur Feline praying him
20 change his name Hr was then inexperi-
enced, and he changed Feline tn Belinc. This
brought him a letter from NJ. Beline. which
was angry cnough "Sir, the character in
your play originally bore one of those fan.
tastic names which none but dramatist
could have hit upon it has recently been
dropped, and my name has been taken in
stead. You could not have made this change
without some secret design of iniuring me.
I do therefore forbid you from making me
tho butt of the pits execrations." This let
ter showeded NJ. Augier the folly OF yielding
to complaints of this kind, and he since then
has never noticed them. may add in this
connection that some time ago the question
of the right of changing names was brought
before public opinion in England. and prop
er names were instanced which were quite
uncomfortable, so obscene was their signifi.
cation; so that even tho foul imagination OF
DeSade is outstrippcd in filthy invention
by parochial registers.
10 return to the cause Of Triquet vs.. Fey.
deau. I add that the court decided the plnint-
ifr had no good ground of action.-Pdris
Cor. of Publisher Circular.