Daily Yellowstone journal., 1889-10-11
DUMAS, THE ElOER.
His Egotism Paled Before His Great Big
Fender Heart.

A speech of Alexandra Dumas has
often been repeated, perhaps for the
reason that he probably often used IL,
for | heard him say; THE tripod Of
French literature today rests on Hugo,
l-GmarIinr and me- That he did say
il ! can attest Ia, and hc W. m dead
earnest Il was spoken outright IN Il
company whore the literary "IDmcnt
WAS conspicuous, aud w.s received
with q hearty, wrrl ug,Ur.u iaawh
For a moment NJ Dumas seemed
taken abacE al the way this speech
was received lie did not rc.,rru,c III,
but stood sui looking at The Eiughors
with au air OF amused conviction on
his face
let ne put aside all tine egotism in
AlcXanagc Dumas, declaring that for
Il special style of romance nothing
was ever written equal To his ''Irois
Mousquctaircs." Those four gallant
swordSmcn, llarthns, Athos, dArtag-
nan. Aramis. stand side 10y side in de.
fcuseof their creator. lfthey were sim
ply bullies, or ~spadassins, they would
have lowered their blades long ago.
The sparkle of their steel. the merry
clink of their apiers, are continued in
their talk. Take a page Of dialogue
in this wonderful novel. and even the
ouis and mons have their merit.
There never is a s%uperfluous word. 1t
has all the eloquence Of brevity. In
the half dozen plots that run through
the story there Is no muddling; each
strand has its own distinct color, aud
yet subordinate to the whole. 1t is
the joyousuess, yet the devil-may-
care way it is done, which is so pleas
ing. | think hat more oil, candles
and gas have been CONSUMED over
The Musketeers' and Monte Girls.
TO" than any other romance ever
written.
A king Of Spain, seeing q man
laughing with abook in his hand, said:
That fellow is either reading Don
Quixote' or he is crazy" If you are
told that your son or your daughter is
caught in the act of reading some book
or other all night, you may be quite
certain il is either Tie Musketcers"
or ''NIonte Cristo." AS to the latter
book. ! am inclined 10 believe il has
helped 10 pe~rpetua;e the idea of treas
ure trove, ThackeTay may havemade
one Of his characters, Maj. Pendennis,
read Paul de kock. but the great
novelist loved his Alexandra Dumas,
and | am quite certain Thackeray's
taste Was pure, his critical judgment
the soundcst, and so | believe what
this Frencllman wrote, will always
delight mankind, and for the sorrow
of prigs, as Mr.. Lang neatly puts it.
Mr.. Andrew Lang, with nice appre-
citation Of Dumas, has done him full
justice. What | should most like tn
bring into prominence was Dumas
goodness Of heaYt-ur was il his weak.
nossi lie was the most charitable
man | ever met. IL was not half his
cloak he would have given To a poor
man, but all his clothes. Poverty die
not come TO him; hcsought it out. He
may have been lavish. but hc inlulg-
cd in cXtrlvaganCeS for others. and
not for himself. All his emotional
instincts were concentrated in his SUI
premc pity. Even in the height Of
his literary career. when his writings
were in eager demand and handsome.
ly cared for, ! have known him to sit
up all night writing, not for himself,
but for the benefit of others.
Once | mel him Il bright spring
morning walking head up, erect,
along the Marty high road.
You look happy, NJ. Dumas" |
said.
II am. | have been up oil night,
and am going TO dispatch this parcel
10 Paris" lie tapped a good sized
packet under hisamn.
But why should you burn your
candle at both ends, NJ Dumasi You
will break down."
"Ahl bahl Do look so fraili" he
asked, with u merry laugh. Certain
ly he did not, for lie was built like a
Bagdad porter. The fact is, poorS.'s
wife was confined yesterday, and he
is a clever and deserving man, but
without n sol to bless himself. He is
M Of the few who never complain.
but ! know he pledged all his books a
week ago. Nine. S. and the child
might suffer. There must be no
gloom in that household. II struck
me last evening at about 10 o'clock
when | had finished a certain bit of
work, and then his and her position
aud the baby inspired me. Inside the
package is am order on my publishers
TO send S. at once 500 francs. That is
what a half dozen hours are worth,
not much 10 me, maybe n good deal
TO them. They will never know who
sent il, and remember you are my
coniidant, and no peaching."
And with a happy laugh he strobe
along.
To give TO others was the passion of
this mans life, and he gave aud gave
until he impoverished himself.-P. in
New York Times.
story Of n Violin,
Waldemar Meyer, a well known vi.