The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-02-21

Her Interesting Account of How She Became
an Author.

Her Interesting Account of How She Became
New York Tribune.
The lecture which Henri Greville was unable
to deliver on Friday evening she delivered yes
terday afternoon, at Chickeripg Hail. She was
introduced by Parke Goodwin, and spoke sit
ting on the ed e of her chair She had not pro-
nounced a single sentence before she and
her audience were on the best possible terms
and throughout the lecture every hearer was
under the spell OF her contagious smile, her
kindly expression, the little shrugs of her
shoulders, which often expressed even more
than the words which accompanied them, and
the music of her language, for she spoke in
| Became an Author" and although she spoke
from beginning to end about herself.
everything approaching egotism was abb
sent. She first told about her child
sh verses; how the little incidents of her child
hood formed themselves into poetry and went
singing through her head. "Oh. didn't write
them OUT said she, because I was afraid my
father would make me copy them for all the
members of the family, but I used to sing them
for my mother The audience laughed heartily
when Madame Durand told how her father
taught her foreign languages
First we attacked Italian" said she. "Bfy
father got an Italian translation of 'Telemache
and made me translate it into French. Then
translated 'Telemache back again into Italian.
Then we began German. I translated 'Tele-
French into German. Then my father said it
was time to begin to study English; so he gave
me an English version of 'Telemache, and
translated it into French and then turned it
back into English. Next came Spanish. Ny
father got a Spanish "Telemache, but I said.
'Telemache' again! No, 1 have had enough
Telemache.' Give me Don Quixote.' So cot
Don Quixote' that time instead Of 'Telemache.'"
While she was still young girl, Madame Du-
rand's father took her with him to Russia. She
gave humorous account of her struggles to aid
her father in his grammatical works.
My daughter" said he, one day, "the time
has come when you are to crown all my wishes
and bear your part in the execution of my great
work. my heart ran over with JOY" said the
lecturer, but my father continued: I am about
to begin French grammar for the use of Rus
slams, and then my heart ran over much less,
for remembered 'Telemache.''
However, she assisted her father in preparing
his grammar. NJ. Durand also assisted him and
the two young people soon found that grammatl-
cal work was much peasanter than they had
supposed. It was while she was in Russia that
Madame Durand was married. The Franco
Prussian war called the couple back to France.
They brought with them the works of Tourge-
nieff, which. with his permission, they were
TO translate and publish in lie Revue
des Deux Mondes" The day after their
arrival in Paris they found that
TRANSACTIONS had already been published in
"L'lndependence Beige" and their own transla-
tons were without market. Then followed
four years of struggle and Encouragement.
which the lecturer described touchinely while at
the same time she enlivened the description with
little anecdotes which made her hearers laugh
in spite of hazy film that gathered before their
eyes. Novels were written and rejected by the
publishers Edmond About, then connected with
lie Dxneuvieme Steele" refused to accept one
of them for nothing Two years later he paid
round price for the same books, but Henri Gre
vile had then become famous. One day Durand
came home after stormy interview with pub
Usher, who had told him not too politely that his
wife didn't know how to write. twas decided that
if success did not begin within four months the
husband and wife would start for Siberia. With
in a few days Durand was summoned to correct
the proof sheets of one of his wifes novels which
had long before been submitted to lie Revue
des Deux Mondes," which had been forgotten,
and which the publishers had just decided to
print
THAT is how I became an author" said Mad
anne Durand. "From that time on success was
assured. In the last part of the lecture she told
about her dramatic works and the curious comb.
nation of circumstances which had prevented her
from ever seeing one Of them acted"