Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1893-02-12

walls arc lined with marble husts Of I'm
mortal- who have passed away ann Over
IT, huge fireplace hangs painting ul
Cardinal Richelcu. who looks hoWh
smiling upon the scene. liis cuhis"h
r0hps Of office brighten the dark Whln-,
cotiig of che room, and ms "0huol ~
ewes furnish inspiration 10 his niscWes.
The Muzariu palace which ~ the honc
VI the immortals. stands on the SOUTH
prn bank OF the Seine lust opposite me
Louvre. ln front Of q rises ~ tho "p'h
place u statute uf Nuitaire VINO was ~
H. mortals In Bis day, but hal 70 Wnh
litc Ioln for the honor. The building ~
old and rambling with high stone walls
around il aud roughly paved court
ward inside. At the TOP of the main
structure rises % mnssiyc dome Whlch ~
one of the land marks in Paris almost
as prominent MS that of the lnvnlides.
In front Of Che palace ~ au old CLOCK
whose hands on the afternoon OF the
deliberaiion drag along slowly for the
impatient candidates waiting with hope
and apprehension for the result of the
bailOung. Sometimes several ballots
bnye 90 be taken before any result Is
reached q majority being necessary To-
election. Each candidate Is nominated
by his particular friends and summary
Of the various ballots is published IN the
newspapers. although no one knows Just
how the votes were cast The result Is
that the old immOrtlls are perfectly free
10 play fast and loose with their sup
posed proteges II they feel thus dis.
posed
The announcement Of the successful
candidate Is the siugal for another com-
motion in the literary world Whoever
he is there arr many who VIII demon.
sirute his utter uuhtncss for tie honor
and the vastly superior clnims ot some
body else. When Xoln was beaten the
81. a.. d. n...a La
Paris and such i- always the cnSp.
Indeed IL cannot be- denied that the
academy frequently seems 90 make
LAUNDERING selections. Some OF the
greatest writers France has cygr produced
have never been elected 10 IN uumbr 0t
Immort0ls. Though their names viii
bee perhaps more immortal than those
who refused them Mohcrc, for M
stance. WIS not n member Of The acado-
my. neither WIS Pascal. neither was
Describes; and today, among the liN'
ING writer's of the first rank who
have not been houOrod 10y the academy
may be- mentioned AlphonHe Daudpt.
George Ohuct. Emilp Iolu. Paul Buul-
get, Guy de- Mnupussant aud Cntullc
Mpuuoa.
ON the other hand the academy has
often chosen me- for no jthpr apparent
reason than that they had riches, or
social position. or that they hud
gained certain cnhnpuCc ~ CumpilcrS
of dictionaries or dry books Of refer.
once. Among the present mumbors VI.
DE Frcycinct although prominent as a
statesman has never written anything
Of consequence aud has little claim tu
literary distinction lie was success
iul. however few years ago against "a
number uf well known writer's iuclud-
ing Emile IoIa The present Forty"
also includes the Duo d'Aumnlr. the De
Duo Broglip the Duke d'Audihret-pu Pas.
quir. aud oter men with great titles
but little elise 90 recommend them
The academy docs however. Include
go present such great writer's as AlcXOn-
der Dumas. Nicturiou Snrdou. Sully-
Prudhommc. Francois Copppp, Lpcnntc
De lislc Henri Thine and the playwright
Puillcrnn
Monsieur lrcontc DE IiHe succeeded
Victor Hugo when the latter died In