New-York tribune., 1886-02-10
CHARMED BY HENRI GREVILLE.
HER INTERESTING ACCOUNT OF HOW SHE BEGAN

HER INTERESTING ACCOUNT OF HOW SHE BECAME
AN AUTHOR.
The lecture which Henri Grevie unable to de
liver on FRIDAY evening" she delivered yesterday
afternoon III Chckerng Hall. She introduced by
Parke Goodwin, and spoke sitting on the edge OF her
chair She had not pronounced single sentence be-
fore she and her audit on the best possible
terms and throughout the lecture every tearer was
under the spell of her contagious smile, her kindly ex
preston the little shrugs OF her shoulders which often
EXPRESSED even more than the words which accom-
panied them and the music of her language; for she
spoke in French The subject of her lecture How
became an Author" and although she spoke from
beginning end about herself every thing approach
ing egotsm was absent She first told about her child
ish verses how the little incidents OF her childhood
formed themselves INTO poetry and went singing
through her head. "Oh | don't write them out,
said she because afraid my father wOuld make
me copy them for all the members OF the family, but
/ used to sing them to my mother" The audience
laughed heartily when Madame Durand told how er
father taught her foreign languages.
q First We attacked ItalIan" said she. "My father
got an Italian translation of Tt lemache and made
me translate it into French Then ] translated d
Telemache back again into Italian. Then we beg an
German | trans lated Telem iche from German into
French aud from Frencn into German. lien my
father said it time to begin TO study English so
he az EnSSU version OF lclclniCuc dih L
tra1s ted it French and then turned 1t back into
English Next came spanish My father got Span
sh 'Telemache, but | said Telemacno again
No. have had enough Telemache.' Give inc ID on
Onixotef 30 | got : Don Qulxote that time instead
of elemache.' '" ,
While she was still young girl Madame Durands 5
father took her with him Russia. She gave hum or
Gus of her struags 60 aid her father III his
gramm itical works.
my laughter" said he day. " tho time has
come when you are crown all my wishes and bear
your part in the execution oil my great work. NY
heart ran over with Ioy said the lecturer, but my
father continued: | am about 10 begin French
grammar for the of Russians and then my heart
ran over much less. for | remembered le'emache.
However, she assisted ner father in preparing his
grammar NJ Durand also assisted him and the
two young people soon found that grammatical w'rk
was much Dcasanter than they had supposed; II
was while she was IN Russia that Madame Dnrand was
married The Franco lrursiin war called the couple
hack TO France. Thy brought with tncm The wotks
of rourgrneti which with his permission they were o
translate and publish L. Revue des DcnN MoudeS.
The day alter their arrival in Paris they iound thai
translatOns had all eady been published IN l. lhde-
pendence Beige aud their own tran lations were
without a market Then followed four years OF strns
gle and dscOuragcment which the lecturer d. selbrd
civ. while at the same time she eulIyenrd the
description with little anecdotes. which made h'r
hearers laugh in spite of ha1Y MIN thdt gathered De-
fore their eyes Novels written ana rejected 10y
the publishers. Edmond About. then conncctd With
" lie DiXneuv6me Slecle,' refused to accept one "i
them for nothing. Two later he pail round
mice for the same book but Henri GrcVlle had then
bccom famous. One day Durand came home after a
stormy int Ivicw WI h publisher. WHO hau lo'h hh
not too politely that hIs wife didn know how To write.
II was decided that il success did not begl within i"ur
months the husband and wife would start Tor siberia
Within a lew days Durand was summoned to corr OF
the proof sheets of his wies novels which had
long before been submitted 20 lie Revue deS DeuX
Mondcs" which had been forgotten, and which the
publis hers had Just decided to PRINT.
That Is how | became author, said Madame
Durand From that time success was assured.
In the last part of the lecture she told about her
dramatic works and the curious combination of oircnn
stances which had reyened her from ever seeing one
of them acted