The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-07-15

nv Psrssual and Literary Traits
prawAng HISS works from Nature
ne essry sf Mis Life.

French literature hes seen its paiinies'
DAYS; that Il has no longer Balzae, Gautier,
Eugene Sue, George Sand, jules Janin'
Besumarchais, and Scribe. But with no
attempt 10 defend the so-caiIed "modern
French school," II may safely be said that
there has probably never been In the long
reign OF French fiction q more brilliant
trio Of contemporaries than DE GOncourt,
Cherbuliez, aud Dsudet.
OF the three, Daudet Is the most popti-
lar. De Goncourt Il appreciated only by
the few--by those who read not for the
Measure Of reading, but for the study OF
Inc how and the why OF the author. Cher
bul;ez IL liked by the careful reader-by
: him who reads TO crafty critical literary
tsste. But Daudct Is liked By every one.
even by those who read merely for plea
sure, and who forget when once the
book IL closed by whom 1t was
written and what was Its plot. lie
pleases "the public" by bis skill
fulIy-msnaged intrigue, by his elan, his
movement; he pleases the admirer o.
Cherbuliez by the life Of his character and
his subtle dissection Of soul and thought;
and he delights the disciple OF DE Con
court by the charm OF his poesy, and that
dreamy Imagination, wandering as II lists
over the pine-clad bou!ders Of La Pro.
yence. or In the broad sunny plains OF
Aries.
Daudet Is the French Dickens. He says
himself, In speaking OF Desiree DeioDeile,
the little lame girl In "SidOnie":
"Andre Gill told me that in one OF
Dickens's novels, which / had not read,
sOur Mutual Friend there was exactly
the same character OF lame little DORIS
Dressmaker,' which the great novelist had
depicted with his profound tenderness for
the humble and poor. / remembered then
how often / had been compared to Dick
ems, and how often the great resemblance
between David Copperfeld' and lie
Petit Chose had been pointed out to me-
/ feel In my heart Dickens's love for the
lowry, for the unhappy childhood OF little
ones reared in the squalor and misery OF
great city. /, too. had a hearf-rending
struggle for existence, and earned my
bread before / was sixteen. Therein lies,
fancy, our greatest resemblance"
The resemblance Is greater than he
thinks, and, strange to say, Ernest Daudet,
his brother, an author too, and well known
In the world OF letters, resembles Dickens
physically as much as does AlphOnse Dau-
Diet in his writings. He has the same broad
brow, the same contour OF the face, the
same deep burrows in the cheeks. The re-
semblance seemed so striking to me the
first time met him that l was quite sur
prised he should address me in French.
There are three distinct periods in Dau-
diets writings-tbat OF tina studies OF the
South, which are found in "LArlesi-
enne," "Tres Lettres de Mon Moulin"
and the famous "Tartarin de Sarascon";
that OF the studies of Partisan types and
centres, i'm "The Nabob," "kings in EX-
ile," " Sidonie," and jack; and that
Of the sketches OF the war, i'm % Les Contes
du Lundi,"a collection OF short stories, in
which he gives voice to the anguish OF de-
feat. They are very simple, and altogether
free from that mixture of mawkish senti
and revolutionary clamor which
marks the literature OF that time, but they
tell Of heartfelt loyalty to the flag which
IL true patriotism and breathes OF the he
roic days OF Gaul-a touching "Gloria
Victis." Everything which he depicts he
has seen or felt, and his characters are as
true to life as his descriptions.
He found Elysee Merant in Theron, one
Of his friends of the Quarter Latin; and
hlcttE IL ~ lttOstttttOI vi Ills CultuUOOus ~
blonde Alsatian, who drew the patterns in
his fathers factory. Ii is easy to recognize
in the Duke de Mora NapoleOn's Prime
Minister, the Duke de MOrny, whose secre-
tary Ernest Daudet was for a long time.
The i" Nabob" Is Francois Bravay, wor-
thy peasant OF the "MidI," who went to
seek his fortune In Turkey, and who lost
II more rapidly in the whirlpool OF
Paris dissipation than he had earned
Il I'm the Golden Porte. Numa Roume-
stan is the well-known Senator Barag-
non, and Daudet says: "The real SidOnie
il living still; not perhaps so black as l
have painted her, but as fond as ever OF
extravagant dress and pleasure; and my
friend, Madame GardinOis, is still polish
ing her jewels in her far-away country
home, with the same constancy as OF old"
He spent whole winter in finding trade
for Desiree Delobelle, Of whom he could no
longer make dolls dressmaker, since Jen.
ny Wren was already in existence.
The death Of Risler also necessitatel
many long expeditions. He had in mind q
certain little house near the Notifications
where he had installed Phanus, and he had
from this spot to follow Risler in his course
through the narrow winding streets to the
dark vault where he was to hang himself
His description Of Ajsccio In "The Nabob,'
and OF Algiers in . Tartarin de Sarascon,'
are the recollections Of his sojOurns i'll Cor
sica and Africa, where his feeblee healtl
required purer air than the chok
ing atmosphere OF Paris. The world owes
"Sidonie" and "Her Maiesty's Christmas
Dinner" to his long residence I'm tn,
"Marais," delightfully."- old and historical
corner Of Paris, not very far from the Bias
title, where one finds the very factories h,
describes, Just as he described them. III,
says: "When have gathered all my de
scriptions, when l have, / may say, Illus
trated my story, after long search an,
many iatiguing walks, have only to writ
my book, for the work Is more than hal
DONE"
"La Petit Chose" is the story of Dau
det's life. Whether one reads its entran
cing pages, or Ernest Daudet's "My Bro
Their and l." he will find the same ground
work OF facts--the two brothers growing
up together In the large factory, in a ten
der atmosphere Of home-love; the reverses
the failures; the journey to Lyons; tn
suferings OF the poor little under-t tutor 10
Dsudet. like Goldsmith, began life by OF
cupying subordinate position In a larg
echooi); ana nnaily, the arrival In Paris {
. slender. delicate child OF sixteen, col
and wearied from his long, dreary ride I
Q third-class car from Lyons, filed wit
glowing aspirations and bright antic
pations for the future, but rendered S
timid by his poverty and loneliness that l.
feared 10 trust In himself, and was ha
afraid TO believe In the wealth of his into
lect. Ernest Daudet had preceded hi
brother by few months, and was strue
Cling for livelihood In the great cit,
earning barely 200 francs month by VIZ
ting the memoirs OF an old gentleman {
the Court OF Charles X. Nothing can b
more pathetic than the coming of Oh
little brother" to this older one, VIII
could barely defray his own expenses, bu
VINO welcomed the heartsore wayfarer 5
tenderly and surrounded him with sue
loving care that It won for him the nam