Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1882-11-26
THE FRENCH.
NATIONAL DECORATION DAY
IN PARIS.

Mirabeau OF the Figaro Stirs M
the Stage FOlk-SOme CrOsslift.
ing, with Threats of Blood and
n Coffin.
PARIS, Nov. 8, 1882.
DEAR SENTINEL: This is the Jour DIES
Morris, the day devoted to memories of the
dead. On this solemn anniversary the
~light-hearted Partisan, setting aside fol-
the moment all thoughts of worldliness
and pleasure, joins the pious in pilgrimage
to the tombs of departed relatives and
friends, and lays IN them the floral wreath.
Reverence for the dead is one of the most
pleasing features of the French character.
1t is shown in their elaborate funeral SER
vices, in their careful tending of their
graves, and lastly, as on this occasion, in
their frequent visits to the last homes of
their dear ones. Favored by bright, mild
weather, crowds have thronged, both yes
terday and to-day, to the Paris cemeteries,
first assembling in small family groups
round the resting places Of their W dead
and then wandering through the countless
paths by which the graveyards are inter-
sected, and hating here and there at the
spot where the remains of those whose
very names are household words repose.
This year the assemblage has been even
greater than it was last year, and yesterday
alone over 100000 persons visited the
Paris n suburban cemeteries. At Pere
la Chaise the crowd is particularly large.
As early as 8 O'Clock this morning the
gates of this, the principal cemetery in
the metropolis, were opened, and bodies OF
police were arranged along the walks to
keep order among the vast multitude.
Among the graves about which the throng
was greatest may be mentioned those of M.
Theirs, Casimir, Perier, Beranger, Balzac,
Blanqui, and last, not least, that of He
loise and Abelard.
Some days ago a young journalist, M.
Octave Mirbeau, wrote in the most con-
spicuous portion of the Paris Figaro an
article entitled lie Comedien." The
article was extremely able, very sarcastic,
and exceedingly abusive. NJ. Octave Mir
beau's style may be liked to M. Emile
Zola's copper only faced with polished
steel, like a plate for engraving. The writer,
commenting on the lawsuit between NM
Mayer and Coquelin, took occasion to fall
foul of the members of the theatrical pro-
fession generally, declaring that the typ
zeal actor was Il conceited upstart, vicious
and worthless parsonage; that "out of the
rotten boards of his BOOTH he had made
a throne-or rather the public, who petted
and spoiled him, had made one-and that,
if the actor was king, he was SO only in a
Ata 70 nf ancjptv which had No nnh1n aSnira.
tions or sympathies. and which was in a
hopeless state of decadence. M. Mirbeau
did not omit to remind the comedian"
that in former times the clergy denied his
corpse the rites of Christian burial and he
penned some remarkably insulting lines
about the actor being habitually deprived
of his individuality and compelled to
assume the ''masks and faces" of other
people. OF course this extraordinary
''acreed" of invective created an uproar in
every ''coulisse" and every theatrical cafe
in Paris. A deputation of dramatic artists,
headed by NJ. HalanZier, late director of
the Grand Opera, waited on the "redac-
ton" of the Figaro to expostulate and to
demand an explanation. Subsequently
there appeared in hat journal a soothing
written by NJ. Auguste Vitu, OBJ
that M. Octave Mirbeau was very
young, and that the whole affair was an
mistake. But M. Mirbeau
turns round and declares that the
offensive article was suggested, and even
ordered, by NJ. Maynard, the editor-in-
chief Of the Figaro. M. Maynard has de-
to share the responsibility Of the
affair with M. Mirbeau, who not only
vow his readiness to fight any member
of the Dramatic Association who may elect
to cross swords with him. but has also
challenged his quondam editor to mortal