New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1872-10-25
OBITUARY.
THROPHILE GAUTtER.

LamaTtine, Sainte Beuye, Alexandra Dumas, and
Leon Gozlan have recently passed away. Balzac
preceded them by twenty years. The greatest Of
them ALL the FIRST poet Of the century unless Goethe
may dispute the place with him. still remains Wig
orous and undaunted amid endless misfortunes AVID
unceasing battles though the band Of comrades
with whom he began the gallant rebellion Of 70
manticism has almost wasted away. The death Of
Th6ophile Gauter makes sensible gap in the sk
ready thilncd ranks.
He was born in 1871 in the South Of France and Oh
leaving school Immediately turned his attention to-
the study of art. The apprenticeship which no
passed IN the studio Of RiOut resulted, however in
nothing than in giving him an might into the
technique Of painting which was af;erward CT much
value to him in his brilliant career critic Of art;
for in spite of the sheer Of Dsrael, must be
bad artist before he can be O good critic.
Young ThGophe wasted little time in find
ing out his incapacty painter. lilo
threw down his palette and took uD
the pen 10 of age, and produced volume OF
poems which excited some attention in leSO In tho
very year when tho hostile classic and romantic ar
mics met and fought out their quarrel in the parquet
Of the Theatre Francois on the occasion Of the pro-
duetion of 'Hernani." The world knows how the vic
tory went. The law Of the unities became dead
letter in dramatic art. Victor Hugo took the place
which belonged to him, and although ibis pre-
eminence has been often questioned since then, ~
has never been seriously shaken. and tho tragedy OF
" Hermann" banished from the stage for nearly
twenty years by the ccwardly malice OF
Napoleon the Little gained for its an-
thor new triumph greater than inc
Old when it was permitted to be produced ID the
Jubilee year of 1857 when The Emperor imagined he
could afford to be magnanmous. Among the youth
full adherents of the great poet who split their gloves
and their throats appauding the tragedy, there was
no one more energetic and more earnest than Gau-
tier He was tail and powerfully built, with tho
shoulders of an athlete aud tn lungs of Stent0I
He had the taste Of an artist and poet Also and
knew coed thing when he saw it, so that he mado
the most valuable and practical cacGueur that could
be imagined.
Under the flag of rOmanticsm now crownet
with victory GautieT himself went into the held
and won no nconsiderable triumphs In 1885, when.
let it be remembered be was only % years Of age.
he published Mademoiselle dc NduDia, the most
beautiful and the most depraved Of all his writings
There are few works in the French language so ex-
ouisite in STYLE so rich in a lavish and riotous
wealth Of poetry and fancy, aud none In Whlch
such enormous powers are devoted to study
so irredeemaby vicious. 1t is impossible to read
it without the strangest alterations OF feeIng'
You cannot help admiring its Incompatible beauty,
which only increases the sadness with which Its
hopeless and horrible peryersity nspire- yoa Inc
book is in itself the most audacious challenge to
critcism but not satisfied with this the young poet
threw down, in his preface defiance PomTaRce to
the critics in which occurred that famous passage
where he compared them to the unsexed
guardians Of the Harem, cursed forever with
sterlty and envy. The storm he provoked came
promptly. 1t made his book a scandalOus success,
but it left scars upon his character which years
could not eface In later years. when his genius and
l. bod min wild
this unfortunate MASTERPIECE of youthful audacity
was continually in his way. He tried again and
again to storm the Academy by the mere force OF
his genius and his fame, but tho decorous In
mOrtals only shrugged their shoulders and
said "Yesl / know. The author Of Mile.
do Maupin," & and the genius was passed
over, in favor of some decent mediocritY who had
not wit enough to BE- improper. The explation was
cruel but cOuld not be said to be unjust. man
gifted like Th6ophe Gautier had right to reduce
the world to the alternative either Of reading not
reading MddemOiSelle de MaupiR that is to say max
ngpeOple choose whether they should read the most
vicious book ever written by man of genius, or fail
to read the most brilliant novel written under
the direct inspiration of the Devil.
He was a writer Of enormous fuency and readi-
ness In his youth he attracted the attention Of
Bazac, who admired him greatly and tried to form
him after his own image He urged him first to
did, between midnight and morning. But young
Gauter would usually fall asleep in the first half
hour of his vigil He tried to write slowly as the
master babe him, but as he warmed 90 his work he
would go gallOping over the paper in his own gay
fashion, producing more copy in day than Balzao
in a week The great romancer also told him that a
monastic abstinence from the society of women was
indispensable 10 writer. This was an especially
hard lesson for Master TheOphiIe to learn He asked
at last for the privilege of correspondence. "Ouib
said Balzac, thoughtfuy, Ca forEne te style" He
soon broke the friendly restraint under which tho
author of La Coincide Humane would have kept him,
and went forward in his own way, but always pre-
served a warm affection and regard for Balzao who
had very few devoted friends, and when " the
French Shakespeare" as he sometimes called.
died untimely, with his gigantic task half finished.
the Most natural and touching tribute to him was
the brochure in which Gautier embalmed the men,
DRY of their friendship.
His more important works were La COatsie de Ia
Mort. poem of striking originality; the romances
Les Jeune France Une Ldrme da Di0ble and his most
imnortant novel, lie Capitane Fracdsse, upon which
he was engaged at intervals for 20 years. and which
formed his last work of consequence. IL has been
snnerby illustrated by NJ Gustave Dorc one Of eau
tiers most intimate friends. His plays were not very
successful he had better luck in baets. His books
of travel are distinguished rather for their pctur-
esaueness and charm than for their truthfuness' IL
was as a journalist however. that be gained LID
most genuine laurels. He began with series OF re-
markable papers in La France L6teydre ON the so
called "Groteseues" of the time Of Louis Kill he
was afterward one of the editors of the Figaro or
the RerRe de Paris the Presse, the Revae des Dea1-
Aondes and later in life took change of the tculle-