The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1875-02-11
The Last Of the BOhemians.

The eccentric Gustave Planche is
sketched by Mr.. Rhodes in the February
Galary under the title of 1.-THE Last of
the Bohemians" We extract:
Gustave Planche was poor, as literary
geniuses generally are. He submitted
to his poverty half through stoical dis
interestedness and half through care
lessness which came from his tempera-
ment, treating questions of interest with
the disdain of poet and the simplicity
of child. The editor of the Rerue des
Deur Mondes tried to clothe and feed him
without alarming his pride, but with in
different success. On several occasions
he entered into conspiracy with the
hirer of Planche's lodgings to steal the
critics worn-out clothes and replace
them with new, made after the pattern
and color of the old Planche being alb
sent-minded did not remark the substitu-
ton. This Observation-Disclosures was one
of his most striking traits. One day
some one remarked black stain on his
trowsers, and spoke TO him about it, add
ing that it was the more conspicuous be-
ing on gray. "What, gray?" asked
Planche. MY breeches are brown"
"What, do you call that brown" The
critic looked down at the article in ques-
tion and saw that it was undoubtedly
gray. "Yet l would have sworn that it
was brown" said the wearer. He evil
IDENTIFY thought of a garment he had
worn in time past.
In his wanderings he sometimes did
| not return TO his lodgings for two or
three days at time, when the landlord
| took advantage Of these absences tC rent
his room for a night or two. Two or
three times Planche returned unexpect-
| edly, when the landlord persuaded him
| he occupied another room than his own
At first Planche, on these occasions,
| thought there was some mistake, but
when the man of the house repeated with
an air of conviction that the room into
which he was ushered belonged to him,
and pointed to his books and papers, for
which he had quick memory, he
| allowed himself 10 be persuaded.
Through love of isolation or the fear of
being assisted, he kept his address
secret. For a long time even the editor
of his magazine, NJ. Buloz, did not know
it, and only discovered it by accident.
He saw him in little hat shop having
his reddish brown bald hat, in ertremts,
| mt !, nda- tla a-i-ar. - i-----i
I overheard the address 1t is hardly
necessary to say that new hat found
its way to his lodgings, and he did not
note the difference between it and the
old one.
Even during the days of comparative
affluence he lived in miserable lodgings.
Some of his acquaintances affirmed that
he had none but slept in the most conven-
lent place he could find. Planche him
self took pleasure in crediting the affirm
alton.
"Where do you dwell?" some one
| asked him.
81 do not dwell" answered he; 81
rerch."
"And where:'
"Champs Elysees, third tree on the
right"
When he changed his domicile the new
landlord perceived the absence of bag
gage with apprehension, and asked him
where his shirts were.
1.-THE shirt is worn to show the collar
Behold three clean ccllarsr answered
Planche, pulling them out of his pocket
with equanimity.
Being invited to dine by Nine. Dorval
a noted actress of the Theater Francais
the critic presented himself before the
hour in his normal condition, when she
called attention to it and requested him
to go and take a bath, giving him a tick
ct therefor. In half an hour he returned
| Ills hostess looked al MIN and tOlQ him
he had not taken his bath. He insisted
that he had. She said:
"Leok at your hands,"
"Ah, l forgot read while in the
water"
In his companionships he could not
suffer mediocrity. One of his disciples
and friends who wrote in Balzac's paper
once took care of the critic while con
fined to bed for week or ten days with
a serious illness. The disciple endeav
ored to alleviate the weariness and suf
fering of the patient with numerou:
lively sallies, but he for whose benefit
they were uttered found them weak anC
commonplace. When this animated cor
soler left the room for few minutes il
search of something, the sick critic
turned to couple of visitors who wer,
present, saying:
What is most terrible in my position
is that | am Obliged to bear with tn.
cares and talk OF that cretiH.'
His uncleanliness drew the fire of HI.
contemporaries. When a criticised ar
tist struck Planche over the back with ;
cane, Charles Nodier said:
THANK heaven the coat of Planch,
has at last been beaten oace,'
1 . -