San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-11-11
A FIR ENCH HUMoRIsT.
Hector Cremieux, Soted for His
Jok es aud His Melancholy.

I'll eCtOr CremteuN, Noted Tor his
Jokes aud His Melancholy.
Paris Correspondence London Truth.
There Is nothing more uncommon
than q brilliant, funny writer who
looks OH life from an Optimist stand-
point. In saying this | have in my
minds eye the late Hector Cremieux
al d his frequent jOint-author in writ
ing droll cOmeIiettas, opera bouffe
lIberetti, ana other amusing things.
Halevy, " HON / think a writer of the
high order in it's way, is OF lad
bumOr in private life, and Cremieux
was tar sadder He had the keenest
vision of what was discrepant, low,
nasty, incredulous in human nature,
and the power to show 1t up with the
keeuest and apparently most frolic-
some irony. Life seemed to him q
tragi. hurlesque, without rhyme or
reason. l believe that there are deep
meanings In it to which he was blind.
Hector CriemieuX was born to q
good fortune, WAS pushed by his
father, who gave him when he was
young the salutary habit of turning
his energies and talents to account,
and got him a post in the Ministry OF
State which brought him into reia-
lion with DeMOrny and some of the
biggest men In the empire when they
he'd the wealth of France in their
hands De MorDy. seeing his talent,
and being ambitious of celebrity as a
dramatic author, got him to assist
him in writing Monsieur Choufieury
restera Chez Lui," for which Gre
mieux reaped none of the credit or
discredit, the Due alone sign
ing it. This literary partnership
brought Cremieux into relation with
all the daring and influential compa-
n.y. promoters of the time, and, had he
| been as audacious as they were, he
might have been In wealth a rival of
the Rothschilds. Fl g keenness OF
vision prevent red him from believing
that the empire was going to last, and
he shraDk from making any great
risk, the success of which depended
on the Emperor sticking to his
throne. However, eighteen years of
small ventures amounted to great
whole. and then his theatrical
| royalties must have come to
. colossal total. He was the most
successful writer OF the Pinafore style
| that there was in Paris. His irrever-
ence was not held in check by any
consideration of taste or policy, his
friend De MorDy beng ready for six
teen years to get the censor Overruled
should he give any trouble. Nine.
iremieuX was charming and ami
able woman, and his daughter de-
-erv' d all the affection he Isvished
on her What more could a man de-
sire? Hector Cremieux could not en-.
| lure The shadows that followed the
| lights. the wife died when he and
-he were old, and the daughter got
married to an officer, and followed her
| husband TO q provincial town with
| the full consent of her father. o.
| curse, his vogue as a dramatic au-
thor fell of with the fall of the EN-.
| pire, and the rollIckiug diss, patton
hat 1T encouraged in the theatres
and elsewhere. He fretted also
good zeal because Halevy was in the
| Academy, and could never under
stand that the latter had a deltcacy
aud Craze of manner as q writer
| hat were denied to himself. But he
had magnificent fruits of his success
III authorship in the shape OF amsssed
capital, had amusing recollections,
and even not long ago his share
in the theatrical adaptation of Hale
vy's LA be Constantine" brought
him four thousand pounds. His
gloom induced the disease which
weakened him latterly 80 as TO inca
| pacitste him from all work He was
80 bent upon getting rid of life that
! he managed to shoot three pistol
| balls into his brain. Cremieux was,
as talker, inimitsble. He is like
one inspired with the genius of droll
irony, and he did not inf1ict ranking
wounds when he shot his arrows.
Hector Cremieux was little, with
blazing ana somewhat google eyes,
and has 81 pgularly interesting face.
His ringleted hair, and some other
characteristics, made him resemble
Lord Beaconsfiele.