New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-07-23
GUY DE MAUPAsSANT.
SAD STORY OF THE BRILLIANT NOVELIST
TILE GODSON AND PUPIL OF FLAUBERT.

paralysis was long looked forward TO by the
DOCTOR Meuriot, under whose care he was Tor eien-
teen months at the Blanche private asylum Inc
unfortunate litterateur had found robe OF Nessus
in the mantle Of Don Juan, which he 30 often
wore after his name became fetching one In tho
book market. lie may have had CLEANS OF con-
scousness of his state, but with incapacity to ex-
press them in words. All that could be known OF
his state OF mind. Doctor Meurot informs me- was
that he was subject 10 Authorizations. Some which
were the least durable were sunny thus ne
thought that friends visited him in the shape OF
beautifully coored butterflies, which he tried TO
catch, and that enemies came 10 him as bats, vam-
pires, crows, and when he fancied himself in wa
ter, ravenous fishes, which he had seen in the
Mediterranean. Lasterly he looked one attack
cd with rabies. The eye stared, the under Jaw
hung open, the mouth salivatsd and the hair.
which had lost it's curiness and its bright auburn
hue. was harsh, dark, scant and wry, and stood
on end He had convulkions like those Of an
epilcptic They began on March %, and became
more frequent as the end approached. Strength
ebbed from limbs and organs between the hts
Sometimes the eyes seemed turned back In his
head, and the under jaw had choppfng action.
lie uttered after the crises had been passed long
drawn signs and tried TO stand to sit UP in his
bed. Death could only be happy release.
Dr. Meurot has ascertained that the illness
began in 1885 at Etretat In 1880 decided
change came over him. He who was SO hearty
and openmannered and good humored, became
peevsl, not to say snappish, and impatient OF
contradiction. He thought that his body be-
came a salt factory. From being good listener
he grew takative and kept harpng one subject.
which was sure to be q dsagreeabie one. To get
away from the sight of the EiHel Tower which
l. and cd i'm, ho hipoA
n villa on the Seine side near Trel. Then he
hoped to restore lost tone by boating, kind Of
exercise in which he exceled, and in which az
a schoolboy at Rouen he INDUCED on his Thurs
day halfholidays and on Sundays. But the villa
being damp he locked il mp and SGT ont for Canness
where his neat little yacht Bel Ami lay at anchor
His intention TO make trip TO 1nnis ana
then coast along North Africa to the Levant and
on through the Archipelago to Sicily and back
TO the Riviera. But he forgot his purpose lie
used 70 speak at Cannes Of writing series OF
long novels and short stories, counting them, az
he spoke, on hs fingers: and then he would talk
Of beng sick Of producing "copy' to make money,
and wanting TO give the whole thing up to go
and live in Turkey Turk He cared for
nothing. not even for sensations. and would try
haschish This he did DO after resorting to
cantharides and other stmulants They Of course
nE.s1eneu tne Dreak up OF IN" nervous systeins ..
His horror at his intellectual downfall led to his
attempted suicide The complete execution Of
this plan his man Francis prevented. He was
becoming bulky before the neurosis made itself
manifest and then rapidly lost weight The
digestive organs suffered from the first, and he
who used to cat with such hearty appetite-so
hearty that he needed no alcoholic stimulant, and
never took anglican 10 feel disgust for food.
, This symptom grew permanent, and led in the
madhouse to an artificial and forcible mode Of
nutrition being resorted 10. Toward the end
he was the mcrest skin and bone. The atrOphied
muscles seemed TO have melted away
Guy de Maupassant the godson Of Flanbert,
the author Of " Madame Dovary." lie was always
treated with paterna tenderness by that novelist,
whom he rescmbled both physically and mentally.
Born at Fecamp, the son OF a Norman squire, IN
the lovely vale Of Nalmont, who since embraced
the business Of cultivating flower gardens at
Nice. De Maupassant educated at Rouen.
KS a writer De Maupassant attained his god
fathers standard Of perfection in matter and in
manner The style was Of classic strength. ease
simplicity, cearness and beauty. No striking
effects were aimed at, and there hardly a
phrase that did not strike. He was natural
without vul2arity. and looked for beauty to clear
npss and life, eschewng every kind Of ornament,
and avoiding instinctlvely what was far fetched
and eccentric Tie had IN" power 10 rivet the
attention Of the reader from tho first to the last
phrase whether Of one-volumn novel or snort
story There was something akin 10 De Nlaupas-
SAINTS descriptions in the sketch books written
by Thackeray before he posed as a moralist, and
most Of all in From Cornhill 70 Cairo" BRET
IIarte was nearer still in "M'liss," "The Luck
Of Roaring Camp" and The Outcasts OF Poker
Flat But there uncertainty or inequality
in De Maupassant | am not sure that ne wrote
with tha extreme ease which is one of the charac-
tcrisics OF his works | often saw him after
bout of work. and noticed that h. was tagged
and had drawn deeply on his nervous resources.
From this | concluded strenuous efforts Tho
lrnath Of life that fills every one Of his literary
achievements save L" IL IIorla" and novel pub
lishrd in lie Figaro" was thrown into them at
the cost Of tho author He imagined that visor-
Gus opon.air exercise would enable him TO recoup.
II was simply burning the candle at both ends.
Country and scafarlng tastes were stronger IN him
than that for literary mr.. II" was sangune,
needed Oxygen and ozone in great Quantities
and suffered from confined life in town.
Guy dc Maupau,sant owed much of his liter
airy excellence 10 the fostcr-motherhood of the
State. Obtaining on leaving school clerkshlp
in the Marine Ministry. he was relieved from tho
duty which. he being born on the Norman coast,
would have otherwise devoved On him OF serv-
ing bis country In dockyard or on board a man.
of-war. As IL turns out, il would haze been
happier for him if he had had to enter life az
a blue jacket. The discipline would have peen
healthier for one who at bottom was q neuro-
rath. than life in Paris. His Office hours at the
Ministry of Marine were nominally from 10 TO
4. ont Of which an hour and half were allowed
for luncheon. The pay was not high That there
was no work 70 do. and il suficed with what ne
had to pay his way and TO free him from 'ne
necessity Of wasting his powers in mere money
making copy" He worked seduiou'is oo
versiier and in writing tragedies in Alexandrines
Few Of his poems came to anything, but he nrst
took the literary world by one entitled On tho