St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1885-04-02
Erckman-Chatrian.

Literary cOpartnership has become
somewhat common of late. That O
Erckman- Chatrian is peculiar in thi:
respect, that neither author has, so fai
rs we know, made any literary venture
alone. Both are natives of Alsace and
are essentially French, although Emile
Erckman is descended from German
parentage and Alexandra Chatrian
Italy. Erckman's father was a book
seller ut Pfalzburg, where Emile was
educated. In 1912, he went to Paris to
study law, but his tastes were not con
genial to this pursuit. He himself says
that ''the simplest legal propositions
were ever beyond his power of com
prehension.r He did, however, by dint
of committing to memory tke entire
examination, but he never practiced
his profession.
Chatrian was also educated at the
gymnasium of Pfalzburg and had gone
to Belgium to follow his family trade
of glass manufacturer. But his taste
for literature, fostered at Pfalzburg,
rendered this life irlsOme to bear and
he soon found himself back again ut
Pfalzburg, where he earned the privi-
lege of attending lectures by some ser
vice lie WAS able to give in supervising
the household duties of the institution
where he was educated. 1t was at this
time that these men whose names are
only known to the public with hypheE
between them, first came to know each
other. Their early efforts Mt author
ship were unsuccessful, and Erckmau
returned again to the study Of law in
Paris and Chatrian found employment
with railway company in the same
city. Their intimacy and their joint
pursuit of literature and efforts at
story writing were here resumed. 1t
was not until 1859 that their efforts
met with even slight recognition, aud
not till 1863, upon the publication of
madame Therese," that they won
their first considerable success, when
edition after edition Of this work was
required tn meet the public demand.
Then quickly followed the ''Conscript"
and "Waterloo." In very short pc
riod twenty one editions of the former
and seventeen of the latter were called
for.
Perhaps there is no instance of a
greater influence eXerted 10y the writ
ings of n single author, for we must
treat these two men as one in their
literary work, not even that of the
great Russian Turgenieff, than that of
these authors, upon the feelings and
sentiments of the people of France
with reference to the vanity and wick
edness of mere military achievement,
which sentiment had for so many years
deluged Europe with blood and kept
the common people of France in a con-
dition of deplorable want and degre-
datiOn.
They themselves especially claim
the merit of restoring in some measure
the French language to its original
purity. In their writings they have
uniformly rejected every word which
is not strictly of French origin. A critic
has given the following sketch of their
joint literary work:
"Erckman supplies the rich. fantas-
tic imagery, Chatrian the clear, caustic
logic, and both together discuss and
criticise, alter and approve, until at
last. when the plot is elaborated in all
its details and the story completed,
neither perhaps could tell which part
was his or which his comrades. Then
comes the writing out of the tale, which
yet exists but in the mind of each.
Sometimes one writes, sometimes the
other; often both will write out the
same chapter. with results always
wonderfully alike, both in substance
and form. Afterwards the whole is
carefully revised when Chatrian with
remOrseless pen will strike ont the too
exuberant off shoots of his companions
fertile Imagination. In the task thus
completed each feels that he has borne
his part neither wishes to claim any
portion rs more particularly his own.
The result they are satisfied to leave
to stand upon its merits, and neither
to uIe suggestions of friends nor to the
possible taste of the public is any con-
siderable alteration conceded
AGRICOLA.