The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1881-05-25
EMILE DE GIRARDIN.
Death of Remarkable Mana Brief Re-
sumo Of His Life.

OSHtu VI u AbClu1. hIDAO 4AeSI4 IL o4io1 Lso
sumo Of His Life.
When Emile de Girardin WAS boy he
asked bis guardian for pair OF spurs.
'sWhat do you want them for p he was
asked. s'To make q noise" replied Emile.
He made noise all his life, from the time
that he discussed in his first literary venture,
with much personal feeling, the lot Of bas-
tards, till he shocked even republican France
by declaring that the death of the prince i'm
perial was the expiaton Of a crime. lie ed
tied fashion paper, q paper, for epicures,
an organ of the national guard, sort OF
periodical encyclopedia, ap educational paper
and several political papers. He made
noise in each and all Of them, His ideas of
1886 find strange reflex in his republican
ism of 1870, and his love of 1865 has be-
come hatred in 1879. The process of this
intellectual transformation is mystery but
it is none the less true that Girardin has been
legtimist, an Orleanist, Bonapartist,
| republican, and almost socialist.
The time, place and Legitimacy of bis
birth have been the subject of extensive
newspaper gossip, and official investigation
| by the French Assembly. He is generally
| believed, however, to have been the natural
| son of Count Alexander de Girardin and
| Madame Dupuy, the wife of counselor,
and to have been born in Paris, Jan. %, 1906.
| His parents had him registered at the time
| of his birth under the name Of Emile de Lam
othe, which he bore for many years. lie
made great efforts, On coming to fame, to es-
| tablish his paTentage and assume his rightful
name; when finally, in December, 1874, be-
| fore commission Of the Chamber Of Dep
uties, he was fully recognized Dy his father.
| At the age of fourteen he had neither
vigor nor health. He was sent 10 the coun-
| try. The pure air invigorated his body, but
his sadness remained He loved to walk in
the woods He read all the books he could
procure. ae was an uncommunicatiye re-
cluse He felt the injustice OF public sentl-
ment, and silently resolved to take future re-
venge. When eighteen he abandoned the
country for Paris His misfortune of birth
of other people ought not to reflect upon
him, and, yielding to the rage and envy that
sWelled his bosom, he lost cognizance of
good and evil His moral sense had been bu:
| imperfectly developed by a life unsoothed by
family affections He beganto treat society
as an enemy, and resolved to demolish ev-
erythEg that stood in the way of social rec
ogniton. ''IIe wanted to tear all the pages
Of the code that condemned him to ignominy
and silence, says Eugene de Mirecourt, ''and
above all he wanted to reform that sold and
ridiculous institution (marriage) that pro-
tects the rights of legitimate heiEs from the
usurpations of bastards. He had already
substituted his humor for the teachings OF
| reason.
In Paris Girardin boldly assumed bis faith
us name. Gen. Girardin had too much to
fear from scandal to dispute his right to Il,
and the young man was not molested. About
this time Girardin wrote his sEmile,'
Young Girardn first found employment in
the kings household. He then entered q
stock brokers' office, and caught the fever
for speculation which has ruined SO many
persons. He wanted to get rich. "Wealtl
alone" he said, 'leyels all distances under
the sceptre of King Bourgeois His veal
thy father had tried to square accounts will
his conscience by settling q small sum on the
waif that he had thrown on the world. This
sum was quickly squandered in stock specu
lations. Emile applied to his father for
second settlement. It was scornfully re
1uEGu 4uC SCuCitt1 @GO1u AiiA tA1s*G ~ W e"t
aboring under a mistake.
Grieved beyond measure at his fathers
heartlessness, and rejected by the military
on account of bis iilegitimate birth, Emile at
tempted self-destruction. He was almcs
miracrulously saved from death, and awoke
again to life disguised with his own coward
ice His heart was surcharged with hatred
and he became more bitter than ever. ii
looked upon every man as an enemy IL
believed no longer in friendship, in dislnter
!. | estedness or in his own conscience Ills skep
ticism and cynicism grew tenfold, and he de
termined that he would never allow his hear
to throb with pulsation of gratitude. III
bold assumption of his father name and b
attempt at suicide had ssmade some noise.
Three publishers contended for the honor @
!. publishing his Emile The book met wit
a success that made young Girardin gov
ernment inspectoro of fine arts. The position
however, afforded him no opportunities fo
: making a noise. and he determined to start
newspaper. With Maurice Alloy, who col
rected his Emile, he started Le Voaeur III
Thief, made up Of articles selected frol
I other papers. IA pair Of scissors is all W
!. require he said when the requisite capitt
was alluded to-
The title at once ensured the success Of Il
newspaper Three men got rich OFT ti
,a= work of other men without violating the Ia
Q of copyright. The sheet aroused the indi!
nation Of mnny 8 writer One challenged Il
- young editor. a duel ensued in which !
. was slightly wounded. Il created 2 scand
J, 30 great thai he was obliged 10 retire fro
the editorshfp, but he retained an interest
the enterprise.
Under thfs patronage OF the countess