The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1896-10-09
"TRILBY'S" AUTHOR DEAD
GEORGE DU MAURIEH sUCCTHBs ~
HEART and LUNG TROUBLES.
lie Had Been lowering Between Life ana
Death for Days-skctch OF inc
Artist-Novelist's Life.

lie Had Been Hovering between hiio M"
Death for Days-sketch of tho
Artist-NoveIists Life.
LONDON, oct. s.-George Du Maurler'
the artist and author. who has been SUI
fering for some time with heart ana lung
troubles. died at $3.50 o'clock TINS morning.
His death was peaceful.
The physicians who attended Du Maui
rier announce that his heart had been
weak for years. ana that a fortnight
ago this affection became aggravated
bv a chill. the effects Of which settled
upon his lungs.
The voluminous obituary notices in the
London papers make no alusloh 10 hiS
alleged remark to a friend that poDu-
larity had killed him, and there Is every
reason to believe that he never so eX-
pressed himself.
one of Du Mauriers friends. who was
present at his death, said:
"Iie died almost as tragically as sven
! gall. AT the zenith of Trilbys fame
| Svengau became a victim OF an affec-
! ton OF the heart, and Du Maurier has
gone the same way. AT the zenith Of
/ TO heart trouble. from which he always
suffered, his suffering being accentuated
by the constant succession Of exciting
/ incidents in which the closing few
months Of his life were spent. Checks
rained in upon him as his old heart
| trouble increased. This, complicated by
| an affection oil tie lungs, took him of.
A SKETCH Of DU MAURIER.
George Louis H. imella Busson du Maui
! rier was the son of q Frcnchman, who
/ was born in England where his parents
/ fled TO escape the revolution. The Du-
| Mauricrs were glass-blOwers ia AnjOu.
Du Mauriers mother was an English
woman, and the child who was destined
/ TO have such an influence on the art
and literature OF his time was born I'm
/ Paris. March 6. 1894. at little house in
the Champs Elysees. in 1896 Du Maui
! rier's parents took him 10 Belgium. and
when he was five years old the family
/ removed 10 London, where they lived
| in house afterwarG occupied by Charles
| Dickens. The elder Du Mauricr was evil
! IDENTIFY Of Il rowing disposition. because
ne soon tired of England and moved
| 10 BOulogne. At the age OF thirteen Du
| Maurier went 10 school to q man named
! Froussard, but he did not distinguish
| himself being refused his baccalaureate
| degree when he was seventeen years OF
! age. His mother was much dismaved at
| this failure, and shortly afterwards Du
I Mauriers father wrote for him 10 come
10 England, where ne was then engaged
III scientific pursuits and inventions. and
] Du Mauricr was put as a pupil at the
birbeck chemical laboratory Of the Uni
Versity College, where he studied chem
| istry under DR.. Williamson. lie took
no interest in his work here. however
ana spent almost all OF his time drawing
caricatures, utilizing mis- evenings prac-
tlcins his voice, having been enthusl-
| astic in his belief in his own musical
powers.
ADOPTS ART AS 4 PROFESSION.
Du Mauriers father died in la55. and
the young man returned to Paris TO livs
with his mother They were very poor.
and the future looked anything but pro-
| pitious, when the son determined to fol
low art as profession. Accordingly. liz
entered Gleyre studio. which he has de-
scribed in "Irilby' His companions
IN his Quarter Latin days were Whistler.
Poynter, Lamont, Armstrong, and 9TH
crs.
In 1851 he went TO Antwerp. where he
worked i'm the Antwerp Academy. under
| Van LOrius and De kcyser. 10 was in
! the studio of the former that D uAlaurlel
! suddenly lost the sight of his left eye.
lie was drawing from a model when he
! found his vision was affected. The fear
of total blindness beset him constantl-'
/ but i'm 1853 q specialist I'm Dusseldorf said
he had no reason to fear losing the sight
Of the other eye.
Ia 1860 Du Maurier went TO London.
telling his mother. who gave him to-
| pounds 10 pay his expenses there. that
| he should never ask her for another pen
| NY "a promise he faithfully kept lie
/ lodged i'm Newman street with Whistler
and afterwards moved 10 Earl's Terrace.
! lie began contributing 10 once Week
and Punch. his first drawing i'm the LATTER
! publication appearing I'm June. $50, ard
Represented Whistler and himself going
out Of a PHOTOGRAPHERS studio. His sue
cess as a caricaturlst was instantaneous
from the outset.
lie was married I'm 1859, and recently
said that he had never known uuhappi-
ness since save on account Of his eyes.
| The jokes IN Punch were mostly his own.
| but a good many were sent to him, which
he twisted and turned into form. Pos
! tlcthwaitc. Bunthorne. Mrs PonsOnby.
Tomkyns. Sir GeOrgcous Midas and the
other characters associated with bis
drawings were, however, all his OWL
! creations.
Du Maurier's success as novelist was
as sudden and as unexpected TO him Is
his success as q caricaturist
! HOW He BEGAN NOVEL WRITING.
lie was walking one evening with Hen
! nv James up and down the High street
/ i'm Bayswater James said he had great
! difficulty i'm finding plots for his stories
| .Plotsw exclaimed Du Maurier, u am
! fun OF plots" and ne went on 10 tell
him the plot Of "Trlby.' But YOU
ought to write that story" cried James.
81 can't write" be said. ct have never
written II YOU like the plot so much
| YOU may take IT," But James would not
take IT,; he said IT was TOO valuable "a
! present, and that Du Maurler must wrip
| the story himself.
on reaching home that night he SCI.
20 work. and by the next morning had
| written the first two numbers of peter
| Ibbetson.'" lie thought it must DE poor
| stuff and determined TO look for an on"o
| TO learn whether any success would at
tend this ned departure. So he walkee
out into the garden, and the very first
| thing that he saw was a large wheel
barrow and that comforted him and
| treasured me for there was a wneelbar-
| Cha af b. p