The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-07-31

1
with such men as Bslxsc and Dumas. After
his dinner at the osfs dc Paris he would
eravsly stand on the stops. smoking his cigar
| and listening to the conversation with an air
| OF superiority. without Attempting to take part
In It. His mind was supposed to be far away.
devisinG schemes for the social ana moral
improvement OF his fellow creatures. These
| pbilanthropio musings did not prevent him
from paying q great deal OF attention 70
his personal appearance. for oven In those
days Of bucks and handles mon could
not help thinking Eugene sue over
dressed. He rarely appeared without epurs
| to his boots, and he would no moro
have gone without new pair Of white kid
gloves every evening than without his dinner.
| Other mon did not mind having their gloves
| cleaned. though the process was not so perfect
| as II is now. But Sue averred thatthe smell OF
| cleaned gloves made him ILL., Alfred dc MUS
set who could DO very impertinent when he
| liked. said one day: MATS en6n. mon ami. ca
| ne sent pas pire que les bouges que vous nous
| depeignez Ny series vous jamaisaller In
short, Eugene Sue ultimately began to be 80
coldly looked upon at the Jockey Club on ac-
count Of the airs he gave himself that he alto
gether ceased to 90 there. As one OF tho
members observed: IN. Sue est toujours trop
habille. trop oarosse. OF surtout trop eperonne"
HI
OF Dumas tho elder. the author Of those
notes has only the most delightful recollec-
tons. To quote the novelist's own words.
Whenever he met an Englishman he con-
sidered 1t his particular duty to make
himself agreeable to him as part OF the
debt he owed to Shakespeare and wal
ter Scott" Sir Richard doubts whether Du-
mas ever made himself deliberately disagree
able to any one: even when provoked he man.
aged to disarm his adversary with an epigram
rather than wound him. His repartees were
frequently drawn from the pursuit he loved as
we'll as. II not better than. literature. namely.
cooking 1t is Sir Richards belief that Dumas
took q greater pride In ooncocting stew
than In constructing q novel or play.
Very often in the middle OF dinner
he would put down his knife and fork say
ing. Ca c'est rudement bon; ct II fault que
len procure 10 recipe" He was tho only
one Of tho habitues who was ever allowed to
enter the kitchens Of tho Cafe do Paris. AS
rule those incursions were followed by an In
vitaton to dine at Dumas's house two or three
days afterward. when the knowledge freshly
acquir ed would be put into practice. An ac-
count is given US OF one Of these dinners. at
which every dish had been cooked by the nov
elist himself. It consisted Of soups aur
chour: OF CARP stewed after q recipe obtained
from German lady: Of o ragout OF mutton d
la hongroise, OF O roH dc Jdfsdns. and OF sdtdde
Jdponaise. Sir Richard assures US that he mover
dined like that before or after. Writing after the
lapse of many years. the author OF these notes
still recognizes in the elder Dumas all the
good qualities OF the French nation. and few
OF their bad ones. 1t was absolutely impossf-
BILE to lie dull in his society. and it Is not to be
assumed that his contagious animal spirits
only showed themselves periodically or when
in company. His was what the French so
aptly term Ia joie de pirre. although they rarely
associate the phrase with any one not in the
springtime OF life. With Dumas the JOY was
chronic until very few months before
his death. Sir Richard remembers CALL
ing upon him shortly after the dinner
Just referred to. Tho novelist was living
at Saint German. and had como to
Paris only for q few days. us Monsieur at
homer" the servant was asked. He Is in his
study. Monsieur can go in" At that mo-
ment was heard loud burst Of laughter
from the inner apartment. so Sir Richard said
that he would sooner wait until his friends
visitors were gone. Monsieur has no visi-
tors: he is working" said the servant with a
smile. M. Dumas often laughs like this at his
work" 1t was true enough; the novelist was
alone. or rather in company with one OF his
characters. at whose sallies he was roaring.
1t is. we are assured. fact. vouched for by
tho accounts OF tho Chemin de Fer de
pOuest. that during the three years Dumas
lived at Saint German. the receipts increased
by twenty thousand francs per annum. Dumas
galvanized the sleepy old town into life. He
bought tho theatre and on tho nights whom
the artists Of the Comedie FRANCHISE. pre-
viously to supping with him. came to play for
the benefit Of the poor. there was not room
to be had in the hotel After supper he would
cause fireworks to be set of on the terrace
which could be seen from Paris and from
Versailles. to the great establishment OF
Louis Philippe who complacently attributed
the change to the benehcence Of his reign.
and was puzzled to account for the continued
dulness Of the royal borough where he him
self resided. One day the King sent for O MIN
lister. and told him that though gratifled at the
revived prosperity OF Saint German. he would
like to see little moro gayety at Versailles
well. Sire" replied the minister. Alexandra
Dumas has lately been sentenced to fort
nights imprisonment for neglecting his duty
In the National Guard. You can order him
to spend that fortnight in Versailles. and
guarantee your Majesty that tho town will
be enlivensd,"
Another interesting anecdote OF Dumas re-
lates to his political experiment. when he
came lOrWarQ In 1870 d6 cAnQluato IOr inc
Chamber Of Deputies. He was challenged. 1t
seems. ct q meeting Of tho voters to recon-
cile his republican pretensions with his title
Of Marquis de la Pailleterie His reply was
scathing. mo doubt" he said In an ofi-hand.
bantering way. Il was formerly called the
Marquis de la Pailleterie. which was my
fathers name. and Of which was very proud.
being then unable to claim glorious one OF
my own make. But at present. when am
somebody. call myself Alexandra Dumas.
and nothing more: and everybody knows mo.
you among the rest-you. an absolute nobody.
who have merely come here to be able to boast
tomorrow. after insulting me to- nightthat you
have known the great Dumas" In the same
speech occurred q passage which. when We
bear In mind that 1t was uttered in 1848. bears
striking witness to the speakers foresight
Geographically" he said. commenting on
the political state OF Europe. Prussia has
the form OF serpent. and. like 1t. she seems
to be asleep and to gather her strength In Or
der to swallow everything around her. When