The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1883-11-20
Jules Verne.


cd as an author, but little is known O
his private life. 10 make his acquain
tance it is better not to 60 to his plea
SAINT home at Amions, where he woult
be almost too deep in his work to re
ceive his visitors, but to sec him O,
board his small yacht when he is cruis
ing off the coast Of France. You will
then. heslde the author, admire tn,
man See him walking the deck, now
as captain giving commands to his twt
assistants, now busy with sail and reef
ms fine face lit up with evident delight
at the prospect Of a long holiday on Tho
sea, and you will understand something
OF the vigorous vitality which is tho
pre-emlnent characteristic of all his
works. M. Jules Verne is about fift,
years old; his hair and beard are turn.
ing white, and his once supple and ele.
CANT figure is beginning to give way to
a comfortable embonpoint, but his i'm.
telllgent face is still full of Youthful
ardor. "A verltable sailor does he look
III his blue ea-jacket and leather SOU
wester, not differing III outward ap-
pearance from his mates, whose adora-
tion of their Captain is only marred by
his indifference to fishing, a sport dear
to their hearts. One of them, talking
OF his master with enthusiasm and af-
1ectlon, said with the deepest convic-
ton, 'Hc has but one fault:-he does
not know anything about fishing, and
DelleVes III a fish only when he sees it at
the end OF his fork. How can a man Of
sucn superiority be afflicted with such
a, detect?" The master, however,
| though himself not inclined to share
| the favorite pastlme of his men, does
not Interfere with their pleasure, and
will often watch their operations when
on calm day tackle and lines are pro-
duced, and the two fishermen prepare
for work, sometimes disturbed by u
mocking remark Of the Captain or gall
ed by his hearty laugh when an heroic
iish returns to it's elemcut before it can
be secured.
After few months of such holiday
life Jules Verne returns to his home re-
1reshed and strengthened for his WIN
Cef's work, his eVer-active brain full of
fresh ideas gathered in earth, sky, and
sea-, "lIe Is but story-teller. Yes.
he is but that; but a story-teller such
as Diderot had in his mind when he
said, "Let us tell stories, ny friends.
While we are telling them the story Of
life is being told and we are happyp'
Nobody ever escaped the fascination
and charm with which he draws to him
one and all who once enter his domin-
BGingas,,' rMikA caD1tleS3s vglVu1m numbers Of
que as the Houyhnhnms of Swift, but
always living, moving, breathing be-
mgs, whose changing fate you watch
with breathless anxiety. M. Jules
Verne's genius is such as to create an
iniinity Of beings, which he takes from
all classes of society. "He, above all
Others" says M. CIaretie in the charm
ing little sketch of III. Jules Verne
which il;is just appeared in the series of
"Celebrites Contemporaries, "has
solved the problem of making even the
most insignificant appear interesting,
and in the midst Of new world full OF
marvels ana monsters we are impressed
by the convincing truthtulness of the
scene to such degree that we, a
prosaic generation of the nineteenth
century. lose all power of logic and can
not but believe in the truth and reality
of his mprobable-nay, impossible
scenes. But however impossible they
may seem, his steamboats,, serpents,
elephants, locomotives, Indians, idols,
and monsters have spread over Europe,
been applauded at Brussels, exhibited
in London, advertised at Vienna, eager
ly awaited at New Yerk; and this not
only for a short period Of time: their
glory is lasting, and thousands are still
day by day amused and instructed by
the fruits Of j. Verne'S rich imagina-
tion." Though destined for tho bar,
j. Verne soon found that the true field
for his labors was literature, and after
several attempts to succeed at the Tx
change or to emigrate, he devoted him.
self to his real vocation, and at the age
of about thirty published his first vol
ume. The worldwide fame which
from it's first appearance attended the
| Journal Round The World IN -Eiql,ty
Duys, none of his other works have
reached, yet each and all Of them have
been devOured by thousands of adyen-
ture-loving readers, for the same travel
er's instinctrms through all. 10 whom
has not the North Polo appeared the
| very centre where all earthly interests
are concentrated, while reading The
1drentWcs Of Captain IIatteruS, The
Children Of Captain Grant, or The
English tU the North Poles Who has
not been far above the clouds with the
adventures Of Iguc Weeks in u Balloone
The Voyage to the Noon and taUo
Thousand Miles Bclow The Sea were as
eagerly read as M. Jules Verne's for
mer books, and each in it's turn made
admiring multitudes recognize more
fully that the authors kingdom is the
universe, the surface and the centre of
earth, inhabited as we'll as desert
regions. With each new volume anoth.
er world is explored, world peopled
with strange, fantastic creatures whose
very absurdity attracts and enchants
Before beginning to write a new story
M. Verne carefully studies the country
which he is about to explore, gathering
information on all possible details and
then clothing them in tho garb Of his
powerful imagination. Love, in most
of the authors works, shines by it's alb
sence. Queer scholars, full of fantastic
ideas, and hardy adyenturers, such a,
FERGUSON, Hatteras, Clowbonny
Glenarvan, Pagauel Arronax, Captain
Memo, Michel Ardant, and Phineas
Fogg give rich life to his pictures; but
among all the thousand unexpected
original details, love and passion fine
no room. ..i..... .....
Charles Goodnight has the largest