, 1879-03-17
EUROPEAN GOSSIP.
THE AUTHOR OF "AssONfMOIR.n
london N'cr!d.

ArHH1R HefM.
Zo]a was qualified In The usual way for good
writing by passing through mfsety. IA boy
be had run Of rery bad luck, ttarttnr from the
death Of his father, an engineer Vi note, xhose
flane Il 6tIl borne by. the canal in tic soutll ui
France which Was his principal work. Mother
and son came To Paris, md had tEdeous time
Ut 1t. Oncs he had 10 pawn h!s coat and 70
hoae IN Ills shttslesves to got u breskfaat.
Onue' he trotted round ntth vIsltEnK-cart!a
oil New Years. fjav to earn IouEs. Al length
he found place IN u publfshlng.housc-
llachettc's-!n The packing department. Nc
had to make up brown.paper parcels, that
was all. In the eFcn!ng, Alter they had
put up the shutters, lie wrote verses;
and, aIways highAycr In ambition, this
stsipling must nerds produce Erent poem on
love. Tte ''Lovc Comedy" hs called It, wris-
ten on The model Of that other cotnedr, which ID
called t'c "Divinc:' lie left t!,Ts curious tom,
With 4 note requesting Him to Be good enough
10 .ay what lie thought Of It, and he returned
next morning with wistful thumb III mouth 10
await the answer, Tie old gentteman seat for
better work !n the houae, IN the advertising de-
partnlsnt, THIS brought Zola Into communities
tton With the Journalist; the rest ii a smooth
story. He sorn had something nubished norc
enough u Leave llachette's anl taRe an cpgnge-
tnrnt on tic Fyaro lie was then very young,
-hc Is ett!l more than scar on the right side Of
z0,-and be ch'lnfied With brood Of eaRseta as
young ss hIn.sell--paudet, ,Flaubcrt. the Con.
ties d Ia Franeatt, with an almost fetish
Ike devotion u nature for the soto
principle Of their creed. Tic others cxpounr1ed,
zo'a rhtelly listened. a,d be eudeasored to pus
every stroke ot h!s work. ~ first readers
secn1ed 70 be UNAWARE TINT they had anything
ncw before them; then gradually the truth
aA* *ned On them with tic appearance Of the long
gon-Macquart.h n lie was han!y ready for his
SUCCESS, a. he had stipulated With publisher 10
10 two voluMcs year Of thy series fur Il month
+ naymsnt Of SOC francs: nc failed to produce
draw tlir payment; nnd there came pcftou
Wien he was lU.0u0 iranca Ia at,ynnre and sew
gfal volumes behind. Tue puultsher sent Tor
hin. !" want 10 tell sou that a,n making ~
much bv yuus book That you owe tne nothing.
Moreover, llavc ~ ask you to accept another
l0,000 francs rs bonus, 10 tear up tlir old CON
tract, nnd 10 MnSe rev one securing you
mgrc legitimate profit for your work." Ths
publisher name vas ciarpcntier.
Zula spends the summer In tt!e couutry,-.at
Mcuant near Paris, where be ls building house,
the winter Ia town. Ills apartment It, Tic
Ruc DC boalogns Is not largo one, but it Is ex
rare tapestry. furnished In od trown oak
qunlntIy rarved nnt lit hr stained glass. cur.
nlnely fitted to tho original sashea to form a
double thickness Of window. The effect OF this
ter, Is most soothing and agfeeable. There js
always q chastenetl summers glow In the roou
as though bright sun were falling through
Tichly-coaore1 leavcs. Tile Rlass Is u genuine
as the tapestry; be fs as much OF reaite& II, uu-
,olstcry as he Is naturalist in literature. Eycry
paue IL centuries old; mud, al tley belong to
different epoells kll taken together CONSTITUTE
a sors OF pictorial rceord OF every great
Inr-rootn In which l.o writes 10 less
archaic. It Is full Of pictures, chicty--onc might
Bug cxcluslycly--br the men Of thu Impress.
sionlBt school, Ills earliest uEu his latest fFteuds
Tlesc Try to give III art whit he trrs to give IN
lttcrature-the absolute verify; but people saY
that they hare attafncd to no more At uresent
than the absolute dauO. They arc dreadfutiy
chaiIcd. They arc sometimes called ttr Gun
school, on the 6uprosEtion that their method Ut
srurk is to loud rli'e With coor. discharge il At
the cauyas, niul send thc results to tic salon
for public show. The best picture is pottruit
of zolu BY 3apct, which still leaves mucs, to bc
desired as a lair rendering Of tilAt curious round
face, scrubby beard aid hair. sHn'l meaningless
nose, aud eyes anu forehead lhut tell tile whole
tale,
His portfolios Of studies for hts different
works are imposing nila,ra. There are mtnutest
scenery amid wh!cl, the characters move, scrnps
OF dialogue takcn down hot iron, the lips, ex-
tenslre researches into dialects mud slanee,
physiological studies, annotatons OF medt-
Gal reports. lie dues hla best work
fu tue morning, nn.i he hardly ever
n.Isses n morning.. From 10 you wifi tclIom
fall to Ind lin at Ills table tu The irawil. .r1o,,I.
1t ~ thc only period ot the day he ca,l make
quite sure ut, alHl he devotes 1t to ills hest
work, tlt novels. 1t is not ony tlIe hours that
aTc ii1ct: the daily tale Of la,,ur Is almost un-
varying all the }car round: just three pages lot
priHt). neither ,nurt nor less. Tutlay's count
ol manuscript sheets finished, It is added to
II, Xoia tst,ds tllas he has flushed one unrr
book. lie writes With labor. und Is severe
critic for himself; circumstance which he
seems to think gives him right 10 be severe on
others. Il9 brcakfusts nt heartily. pcrllaps
tRkcs nup after, then fals to on his Journalistic
A1,h other periodical work. In the evening be
loves ~ shut ht,nselt up with few trends "of
the school u at hpMe.