Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1894-10-14
They Crossed, wrecked Each
Other and Parted.
A SAD ROMANCE OF PARIS.
Weird Catulle Mendes and the Cat
like Judith Galtier.
DRHAmERs OF STRANGE DREAMS
An Example which Proves Aiphonse
Daudet's statement That No Genius
should Marry a Geuius.


very wisely OF artlsta wives and deducsi
the lesson that the man Of talent shoulu
never marry a woman Of talent. The lueaI
wife for the painter. the musician or the
man OF letters is the matter-of-fact woman
She should be trihe dull, tribe heavy
She should have an animal-ike somnoence
end stolldty in which he might rest as IN
mental feather bed. The artist is more OF
less Irresponsible: he Is full Of lrritaneies'
His work demands OF MIN certain intensity
which when the strain is over, lapses mo
peeylshnesss or at all events. into weakness
In these moments he does pot want tle
countcr-lrrltant o! a woman's brllhahey. hv
wants a mental feather bed.
II Is a sane theory, though NJ, Daulet u
no Illustration Of les valldty. Indeed Mme'
Aipho1se Daudets stockings are deeply
darkl7 wonderfully blue. As MHe' JuliA
Allard she wrote many charming sketches
As Nine. Daudet she has become one Of tne
first women tiers Of France. But the thv-
Dry Is a good one. It Is d rare thing Tor man
OF letters TO find happiness In marriage VITA
a bas beu Any other culored stocking
you peass-thp r d siocklnE OF the souDre,te
VI good homsly, luscy- wQlsry hose, but the
blue stocking Is fatal TO the artist. me
petty histories Of literature and ART orlstle
! with Illustrations Of this unimpeaehahle TACT
Pour eXempe;
Let me tell you the story, decorously and
with no undue impertlnences, OF Two poets.
who loved right royalty and were married
for a little while. J shall not tel you why
they qlarreled. for ! have taken sides anu
cannot speak imparually Perhaps no
one was 10 blars 1t was ineompau-
biity Of rhyme They are Two OF me atans-
/ est figures Ia the literary NE ol the uay'
,nesc two Catulle Meudes and judith eau
/ tier. She is-do you remember what Con
court RallP "lnerG are no women OF &C.
I uUUIlIH IuAiIn
l Gautier Is a woman Of Eeuus-a SAD,
| little genius fun Of whims and NOR
bid fantasies, but genius at bottom.
have seen her twice. Once WHEN went 10
pay % visit to the little housc In Neuilly,
where ThaOphie G1ulier spent the last years
Of his life. again when she was Nine.
Mendss for a little while. 1t is that FIRST
meeting | wish TO remember was Q stu-
deut-o very young student fun Of
the cnthusiasms that SO so shabby
and thTcldbare az one grows older.
4 Aud judith Gauugr was worry beautiful;
beautiful as one OF her fathers poems, IN
perfection Of line anu haunuus greece. Face
OF the moon and lotus eye5'-Aelas' helasl
les j0urs d'autreiois, Her profile was that
| Of Greek cameo. Il was as though IN her
white and stately grace she had stepped
down from the partbenun frleZe, Wtlal,
there was something savage In her strange,
{ yellow cyes-somethug barbarous, untamed.
Nnd In her attitudes there was the indo-
lonce of an Eastern slave. She was half
cat and halfgoddess.
And the world bored her.
| She wrote poeurs in prose and verse
] charming little poems, hllud with the In
| nouence OF dreams and the sadness of the
/ young girl. She amused herself with the
/ sciences, Tor these things are but poets
/ recreation. She played with the lizards
| blue and gold, And she was bor1d The
| worlds old onnul took her as 1t took Byron
]
the Gagged lions ana sets them yuWnug,
/ Then a poet came.
He had long. golden halr and blond
/ beard like young rabbi lie had youth
and beauty and subtle talent He was SO
sleek. so gentle, so bright and gay and
tired Of her lizards married HIM
] II Is now over twenty years ago that
! he came from Bordeaux TO conquer Paris.
( And fame came 20 him easily. AZ drH DO
was only the fame Of the cafea and cream.
cries OF the Latin quarter. AZ 0rat d. was
/ only tho aduiatton Of the young poets. tho
/ young students, who met ln mis- shabby
mansarae But the noise % him went out
/ into. the world II was just He wrote
! rare'rhymes, eNtntlc, voluptuous, dcliriuusly
| wirkcd--for there is IN him a brutal giranf
/ OF original sln-he wrote IN strang. pintcrs
Z In old rhythms, culed from R0nsard: he
/ wrote Lcshan s0nnets with nterIaclnp
feminine rhymes; he foreshadowed lid
| mysticism. obscure and Pagan ~
/ the Parnasslans OF to-day. He sang
of kisses and breasts always kissos-ls
one might read bill OF fare instead OF
| dining. All this was very young. very
artificial, neither simple nor true hut II
was done superbly, There was style THAT
distinction he has never lost Always and
! IN everything there Is the same stiprou1a
| elegance. one hears much OF the "deca-
| dents" In these days. CatuIle Mandss ~
/ a.
Claudiau and Ansonius All the beSr1y
OF the formal, the external. Is at his Med,
and call. And this has damned him-b,.
has sold his soul for the beautifm thr,s,
HIS eleverness is Immense. amaTine ala
boltcal. He has Initiated Heines i,,tio
songs so perfectly that one half fancles on,
Is reading the "lntermezzo." Ho bss ,,gt'
! ten "Hosperuss' tho voice was tbot -,
MendeA, but the hands were those nF
eonte de Isle. lie has written "Reeits
Epiques," and the thunder Is tNat Of Viz.
| gende des sieees."
lie has the trick OF literature. He t,,,,o,
so eXperuy mat one is almost pefsnaded
| that literature is all sleight OF bsr5 81
ne mas tho word grace OF dlction in
euraoly MS own He Is Initiative "a
woman, but under all is an original l,s' y.
which is true Mendes Have Vol re,, ~, ~
Lire au Balm" or Pour Lire an cor,..,,, ~ ~.
ihen you know him. full OF sclenca ~,
article, win wise graees. a martyr Ia % Nv
sophisticated sensuallty Of phrase.
lie was handsome In those davs. n. a.,
handsome to-day. with that blond 49,
God-tht IRONY Of itl-and thoss c,t, ~
and piercing eyes. the red. feminine re',th
smiling eohtemptuously through tha ~oi,s,,i,
beard lie has little Hobralc gestnras ~
Is restless as panther; he siroiss W
coat sleeve as he whispers In yonr ~, 'e el
tanic thirgs, witty, Impossible , 81 ~
things In those days when we 49, ~ q,
| OF US younger-you and l. as var "eIe ~
| ers-there were rare meetings In Il - otu-
IN the Rue do Doual. Glatisny came mn
that poor devil. whose memory ham mere.
one copy Of pathetic verses: N 11 Ts on
] who said truly enough that Ii vac rSpspye'
| Mendes, who taught him how stuue
! verses; Jose Maria de Heredln v,hs mAke
/ paccaale sonnets made him an ir,,' M
| few months ago; krmande svivo.,rr,-. tal
certain Paul Verlaine. You are ri,t, ahd a
/ your Vorlaire and mine. Even ~ ~ was
mazed with absnthe, broken bv ne was
| hunger, the streets. the foul Az I''n lE.,
/ gerret; even then as he lay In tbs ~, hls
I while the diseases faded out n H.. p'.aI'
bed curtains whispered strange MI I'm, tAs
| 70 him-whte. sweet songs on ths VIE
| Mary. There were others. slenbs,s i,vslh
/ larme, Who to-day Il high among ~ hal-
hoiists and Viiliefs De L'Isle-Adsm. Sa ms
Of whom the world mas never he,rs yueta
lures failures poor devils made In da-I.,nllA -
| Mendea would run bis white lone s,, slsl.