The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-05-12


 from the emperor compensation. offered in an honorable manner, and equivalent to the academy's prize. in case this should not be given to me. ihave answered that 1 desired absolutely nothing; but | have charged Buloz to present my refusal un- der the form of very sincere and very grateful thanks She is afraid. however. that her answer may be twisted hs the in- termediay. and she charges Prince Ma rolecn. her friend. to make 1t for her in these terms: |" put no foolish pride. no party spirit, no shade of ingratitude in my refusal If I were i'll, in6rm. and in state of poverty, would perhaps ask of him for myself wha, have often asked of the empress and the ministers for un- fortunate people. Ba, am we'll. work, and l have no needs She ends by thanking the emperor for the interest he manifests in her case. note this inci- dent in order to show well what the rela- tions of Madame Sand with the empire had become in ;S6i the spirit of opposl- ton was broken she kept aloof. but she was no longer hostile she even felt very great friendship for Prince Napol- con. She called Princess Mathilde an excellent princess she vas, indeed, not yery far from Sainte- Beuve's state of mind, who had accepted the second empire as form of democracy, and who disliked all the statesmen who represented the ancient parties" the legitimacy and the constitutional monarchy of 1850. "Les extremes SC touchent.' says a French proverb. Napoleon l. had. changed the surviving Iacoblns into mute and obedient senators; and even now could ind many Bonapartists of the second empire among the mos, ar dent advocates and supporters of the third republic.
 Maurice Sand joined Prince Napoleon in a journey which the latter made to Gran, Cadiz. Lisbon. and the United States During his absence. his mother was working at her memoirs. and organiz- ing small theatre at Nohant. She was tired of the great theatres. and of the ty- ranny of the public. the directors, the press |: sic had her own plan of free theatre, without a.y conventIonali,ies, without any public. except d few sympa- thizing friends. IL was method for giving life and movement to her dreams something much better than novel. as a drama IS life itself. without the te- dious descriptions. The theatre of No- hant was. so to speak. the last fancy. the last passion, of this imaginative and ere ative genius. Her attempt was. ln one sense, successful. and in another sense Il was vain. IL was successful Tn so far as it procured her very great enjoyment. and peopled the solitude of her country house with the creatures of her fancy. IL was vain. inasmuel1 as nothing can live withou, rules. The theatre does not es- cape the general law. The public is necessary element in all theatrical repre- sentations: the limitations imposed by the stage are also necessities; drama must have a beginning and an end: |, must obey a certain law of development. The dramatic faculty was not suffi- ciently developed in Madame Sand, and. instead of trying to improve. she tried to escape from the rules of the drama.ie art.
 We find her becoming interested while her son was in America, in Charming. m Emerson. She says of Emerson: He is philosopher. at the same time d critic. metaphysician, vast intclli- gence-a little obsoured by too many d. vergcnt lights. but sublime |, IS impos- sible to deny it She studies Chann,ng. and admres his doctrine. She does not accept everything. Chahning says that the individual is more than the state ,hat the state is made to devote itself to him. to protect him the state IS instituted to guarantee and 10 respect the rights of the individual" Mime. Sand sees egotism a, the root of this doctrine. How" she asks. "can we all be free. absolutely free, if | would answer Charming "love each other" This seems to her an ,mpossi- ble ideal she belongs ins,inotiveiy to the school of Rousseau. who sinks the indi- vidual in the state. This doc'nne leads to despotism in democracy. though Mad anne Sand would not have recognized it. She never fixed herself completely on any formula she gathered her honey from all flowers. She writes to Dumas, ills November :. IS6D:
 At your age, was as tormented. as sick as you are. morally and ysically. Tired of looking into myself and into others, said, one fine morning: This is all one 10 me. The universe IS great and fine. What we think important IS so fugitive that 1t Is no, worth while to think about 1t. There are only two or three true and serious things in life, and these things, so clear and so easy. are precisely the things which have ignored and dis dained. mea culpa. But 1 have been punished for my folly. have sui fered as much as i, is possible to suffer
 ought to be pardoned. Let us make our peace with the good God.'"
 She adds this: '' If my pride had been incurable it would have been all over with me but 1 had wha, you have. the notion of good and of evil. thing which is becoming rare in our tune and l did not adore myself, and I have for gotten myself To forget ones self. Here we see Madame Sand come back 10 the morality of the Imitation of Christ" Her religion was vague and undeveloped, bu, the little flame was always there, un- der the cinders. When child Is born