New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-11-19
EMILE AUGIER.
GENIUS WHO WOULD NOT LAG So
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traordinary has happened TO me. That Is all
have N tell you.S This incident which by the
.ov is entirely true is most characteristic OF It's
.uh;act He was a singulary modest and retrlnS
wan WIN never seemed fully TO realize his own
imnortance Yet it is difficult to find on the roll
of French men of letters of the present DAY one
that has more assured position Of esteem ana a
clearer title to honorable fame than he against
-bose name the fatal asterisk Of death has
Just been set
Emile Auger indeed, for it is of him that am
writing has marked an epoch in dramatic ntefa-
ture Il was he who turned the tide of favor
.way from the extravag CANT romantlclsm which az
one time held sway upon the French stage ana
led the way to the contemporaneous drama, deal
ing with social themes of current and vital in-
terest. He made the figures of his plays men ana
women of the present day; creatures OF real nesn
and blood. He put into their mouths the speech
Of the present day. instead of stlted AeNandrlncs'
in which a few Of his earlier works. however
we're written. He made their actions Just such
actions as were performed in real life, and he
made them arise from just such motives as AMI
mated the everyday folk by whom he was sur
rounded And he did this with polish ana
literary finish that gave him equally high rank
as q writer and as a constructor oil plays
One cannot truly say Of him, what nc sara ol
himself with exaggerated though unahecteo hiou
estv that nothing has happened TO MN since
he was born, in 1920, at Valence his cary
life was full of strong personal interest. Ills
father was o lawyer; his mother was daughter
of the eminent novelist PgaultLeDrun. lie WAS
st the College Henri classmate OF the Duo q Au-
,oale and was intended for his fathers pro-
fession. But while he was yet an undergraduate
he began writing plays These works, however,
tbo became
librarian to the Due d'Aumale. and 1t WAS whiie
he held that place that he wrote the play
which caused him. like Byron. TO awake one
morning and find himself famous. lie was only
twenty three years old, and had ventured to send
his play to the Theatre Francois. OF course IL
has promptly rejected partly on account Oh MS
Extreme youth, and partly on account OF 'he
Extreme originality of the play itself. lie al
snce took it TO the Odeon. and there 1t was
brought out in 1s44, and scored at once ire
mendous success. Its author. indeed. was hailed
by public acclaim the coming master OF 'he
French drama.
This play was entitled La Clique and was
written in verse In form it was Greek drama,
but under; the classic mask were the features
Of the life OF the day. 1t represented a d'sso'
lutte Young man of fashion, driven by sheer wear
lness of life 10 the verge of suicide. and then re-
stored to his right mind and 20 moral and useful
WAYS of life by the influence of love. Nj. Anglers
next play was eagerly accepted by the Theatre
Francais but did not prove SUCCESSFUL. IL was
a comedy entitled "LHomme de Blen.
and was charmingly written in verse.
Its leading character was man VINO
not only deceived all the world, put himseil
as well-a sort Of conscientious Iartufe' HIS
third play however. produced in 1s4s, more than
,toned for this half-fnilure 1t was "LAven
h. mo 0f
masterpieces 1t was it that gave him his as
hired and established position in the dramatic
world. The next year lie produced another per-
hans equally great Gabrielle" In it he strove
10 rehabilitate the husband at the expense OF the
lover Such motive went squarcly against
the current drift of dramatic thought ana al
though the brilliancy of NJ Anglers writing MADE
II a success, neither he nor any other dramatSt
followed up the idea: unless, indeed, we consider
NJ Sardou TO have done so in a humorous fashion
in sDivorcons" Gabrielle" has retained down
70 the present however, an established success on
che stage.
Realizing the incCngruity of making the char
Icters of everyday life talk in artificial verse;
NJ Angler thenceforth wrote his plays In prose-
with the exception of lie Joueur de Flute"
This was Greek play adapted to the present
times. 1t was, indeed, companion piece to
dissolute young woman redeemed through the
no,ver of love After Nj. Dumas brought out
ala Dame aux Camelas" however, NJ Augcr
renudiated the ideas of - lie Joueur de Flute
md wrote as a substitute his famous " lie Ma
,iage d'Olympe," in which he showed the woman
of the world rs beyond all hope of redemption
His "Dane," which he wrote for Rachel. was
almost a failure, and "Phihberte" poetical
niece. was not much more lucky. lie Gendre
de Monsieur Pcirier" which he wrote in partnership
with Jules Sandeau, and " Les Lionnes Pauvres FL
vailed, however, the success OF LAVehturlere'
The second of them was at first lnterdlcted py Ue
censor, but was afterward brought OUT through
the persopal influence of Louis Napoleon, who was
then the Prince-Presdent"
Another very notable play was Les Efrontes,'
brought out in 1861. This scathing satire
Of the corruption of journalism by Bourse specu-
ators. Its plot was laid in the time of Louis
Philippe, and it dealt largely with the decadence
of the old nobility. Its production upon the stage
had the effect of the explosion Of bombshell N
society. 1t abounded in brilliant incidents and
equally brilliant wit, qualities which have kept 1t
among the most popular plays in the French roper
torv II was followed by LIE Fills dc Glboyer,
which satirized the mixing OF religion with politics,
And which was equally sensational and permanently
successful Still another great success, In 1861,
was Maitre Guerin," and " Paul Forester a
poetical drama, also met with great favor linen
he wrote a farce for the Palais Royal, entitled
lie Prix Martin" which almost failure.
His last play came out in 1873, and was called
" lie Fourchambaut." 1t great success,
and although urgently solicited to do so, he there
after persistently refused TO write more. Let
me tell you Why he said " ! was one day in the
office of theatrical manager, talking business.
A card was Drought TO him. lie glanced at it,
tossed il down with contemptuOus smile, aud
said Tell him ] am too busy TO him. /
saw the card as il lay on the table. IL bore the
name Of Eugene Scribe. The sight of a name once
SO omnipotent fallen low made me resolve at
that moment that /, at least, would never lag
supertuous on the stage