New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-09-15
ERCKMANN-CHATRIAN.
THE FAMOUS LITERARY PARTNERSHIP
BROKEN IN ENMITY

1
of France in late years is the quarrel between
| Messrs ErclImann and Chatrian II is also IA
| dcplorable as it is surprising. There is a real
pathos in the spectacle OF two men who for more
! thaa q generation have been not only literayv
partners, but the closest of personal friends. and
/ who have thus far stood by each other both IN
/ adversely and in prosperity, in their Old
/ age becoming enemies over question Of money
/ This literary partnership, which is only paralleled
! in history by that Of Beaumont and Fletcher had
/ its origin about forty-two years ago At that
| time NJ. Emile Erckm0nn was twenty-Six yea,s
! Old He was the son of an AlSatian book-seler
and was being trained for the bar NJ Alexandra
| Chatran was four years younger. His fathe.
/ was glass manufactures, and had fallen upon
| evil days. The young man had secured we'll
! paid clerkship in a large glass factory in Belgium
/ with prospect of day becoming a partner
| in the establishment. 1t was therefore a soss
! trial TO the elder Chatrian when his son threw
| up this promising position 10 become a write,
Of books. For at that time literature was not
highly regarded by the good folk of Alsace. Il
is told that Victor Hugo, while at the height
of his fame, was visiting friends in that part
Of France. lie found himself constantly watched
| by the servants though there were danger Of
his making oil with the silver, and at dinner
the first day, when the champagne was served,
the unapprecatve domestic was heard 10 inquire
of his master, Shall l give any to that literary
man p
IL was in tie teeth Of such prejudice that Mcssrs.
Erclmann and Chatran began their literary work
together They were introduced to each other BY
Il member Of the faculty of the College
Of Phalsbourg, where w. Chatrain had secured
tutOrShp which would support HIM until his
literary work became profitable. For twelve
years the young friends worked together. meeting
with nothing but discOuragement Some Of their
short stories printed but not praised and little
read. Their novels were either rejected outright
or, if accepted were filed away in plg2On-holes TO
he printed and paid for only in later years. Their
dramatic works net with similar fate only one,
called Alsace in 1914 was performed and after
the INST night il was suppressed by the Govern
ment for political reasons. Indeed literature was
ut rather low ebb I'm France lust then. The at
tention of the public was monopOlizcd by politics.
After few years the Second Empire was estab-
liShed and popular politics went into the back
ground But with the revival of nOvel-writing
that followed the partners found themselves out
OF sympathy. There was demand for the highly
favored works of Flaubert, Feydau and Arsene
ICuSsaye. The partners could not or would not
write in that vein. So they gradually worked
they had reached the bottom OF the literary ladder
and were looking for a new one to climb. NJ
Erclmann was actually on his way to Paris to
take up his law books again, and NJ Chatrian mad
applied for a clerl0hp on a railway at $500 year.
Then the tide suddenly turned.
The work which gave them fame and fortune
was a fantastic story called "L'Illustre Docteur
Matthews 1t came out in the thirteenth year
of their partnership and during the Emperor
Napolcon'S Italian campaign The public for
some inscrutable reason took fancy TO the
work, and bought three editions Of it within as
many weeks This Of course encouraged the
partners to continue their literary career, and
they did so with a success scarcely rlvaled by any
contemporary writer. As year after year went
by their books pervaded every quarter of France
and were read literally by everybody The
artisan in the workshop was sure TO have their
latest production his bench. The clerk would
hive it in his pocket, TO read few lines at
time in odd moments. The peasant would pore
over it by lamplght when his days work IN the
fields was done. Nor were their readers by
any means confined TO the humber classes.
Scholars and lovers of the best classical literature
found equal delight in their careful, vigorous
and virile writing.
Like most great nOyeliss, these men wrote vita
q moral purpose. They strove TO emancipate the
people of France from the bondage of superstition
and ignorance Thus they made their readers
acquainted first of all with the history of their
own country, written, il is true, IN tile form Oh
felton, but none the less serious and sober history
These works were properly called national TO-
mances.n Such were their Waterloo Inc
History of q Peasant " The Story Of Con-
script The History of the Man OF the PePPie,
" The History of the Pebiscite, and Others lHe
lfpIO Ol
upon them the dsiavor OF tile CLERGY, anu ev ,iDa
the Ministry OF Public Instruction. whose rOu'.I h
methods they unsparingly criticised D9rins ,ns
later years of the Second Empire they dia NUN
10 turn the tide OF popular sentiment asatni;
Napoleon, and since the Terrible Year thelt,
writings have savored strongly oil Spiii' -
revenge against the German conquerorS \ and
1t was not until they had become IIon -
famous that the public became GenerdnS %
that Erckmann-C hatrian' were TWO rr an ths
Some years ago the partners descfIpeu W ~ oas
methods of their Joint work lhey "oulu H.
and block ont the plots OF their STORES tog gnus
the process being accompanied ny " n,iS c61eav
deal of tobacco smoking. NJ Cnd' "| - 49,
responsible for the plots, being inc nolc ;a9nnJ
tive and inventive OF the two iue indi1nann
practical details were supplied py W. i'anter NJ
Then one of them would write the hfsU CH"P
the novel and wherever in it ne came 70 . py -
where it would be well 10 insert P'SII1eS would
could better be written by ms Pirth sT, 1 TIE
leave q blank for that partner 10 M up; lie
other would then ill up the blank ana reNloe oS
whole In this way almost every chapter n"' ali,
ually the Joint production OF the two men u puN
of the descriptions of Msatan scenery, tne lOt
making passages and the more poetic ana foiiSn lie
conversations were written by NJ Cha' rs 1rers
also supplied the appctizng descriptions VI ami
which abound in ther books. The politcal a,ai
military portions and the Shrewd ana pra rttea
conversations Of the common peope were Tmniobsd
by NJ Erckmann. After the whole was i' nroain
the partners would go over it again ana asiiiiiss
separately and together, revising ana gehei Sias
much cuTtailng IT, Thus when the "orh W."
finally published it displayed terseness 'hH IN hnt
ful finish such as one finds unfortunately III "u'
lew modern novels. .h.
The present quarrel has broken IoteIfir a. II
long and successful partnership. As heaIS over
can ascertain. it had It's origin in dispute over
the d.amatizaton of their works Several Q.
their lont stories have been produced on the stgo