Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-01-08

The next thing No. to get his Verse pub
iished. The regulation nvny ID for half q
| and bring out new review. which never
pays. But each can see himself In print
The avowed object iof these reviews Of "the
young is to reform literature. The little
| leaflets appear and disappear beneath the
| arcades Of the Odson Theater. where the
book stalls are. Ii;
The poets of each review adopt a name.
They recruit their ranks. They hire hall
in the Boulevard quarter. where they de-
claim or sing their works. Or they in
augurate a new artistic tavern" selling
| beer at good price and giving recitatfons
of their poems free. OF all these the Chat
Noir was the most celebrated, and 1t still
exists. These poets wear tall hats of a
peculiar shape, with broad, straight brims
| or felt hats, depending on the nature of
| their poetry. They wear long hair.
AS soon as ever group becomes notori-
Gus the papers take them up-the daily
papers. Then a real poet Is found among
them. In default Of this they attach Item
selves to some celebrity already known
And so you have the succession of SCHOOLS"
which attract the amazed attention of the
world. The late lamented Renan summed
them up as: &c sont des enfants qui Sc
sucent lie pouce." CThey are children suck
ing their thumbs). But all of them are
| nice, good-natured fellows. who in any other
land less blessed with literature would be
| looked on with reverence.
New Lyric Comedy.
I have for an acquaintance one of these
young" poets and 1 meet him weekly. He
recites his poems-weekly. But we like it.
There is charming American family in
Paris with two of the prettiest daughters
two girls so pretty that you feel like wav-
| ing the American flag each time you see
| them. They are both devoted to the piano,
at which they are, as a German friend of
theirs has picturesquely put it in his strug-
Cling English, highly distinguished dabs."
Their music brought to their salon a
young composer. The COMPOSER brought
the poet. What was the joy of that art
loving family when 1T was made known
that the composer of music and the poet
were working in collaboration on lyric
comedy" but of a special type whose like
has never yet been known! 1t Is under
stood that this poet is not at all "deca-
| dent. He Is poet of psychological analy-
sis: But he is not tainted with Ibsenism
and he scorns Maeterlinck.
Their Lyric comedy is to move upon the
stage with triple unity. Spoken words are
to be accompanied by the singing voice.
and both are fixed to Intervene themselves
among the harmonies of great orchestra
Both composer and poet smile at the af.
| fectation CT those "symbolists' who sought
| to find five-fold unity Of words pronounc-
| ed, words sung. the orchestra, and coiored
lights and perfumes sQuirted at the audi
eLce, al going on together like a circus
with five rings.
The triple unity of singing, speech and
| orchestration Is sufficient for them They
are SO young you wonder how thew do It
The poet IS but twenty-four and the COM
poser is but twenty-three. But there the
fact ls-they have done it. 1 have heard
the lyric comedy dozen times-at the
| piano. understand-for it has never been
| produced as yet in public.
Novel Point of View.
My friend is not a "symbolist," although
suspicion of symbolism might attach it.
| self to his three-fold unity. when it Is
! looked at by mere careless. thoughtess
| people. The dramatic portion of his COM
| edy is a real tragedy, although its horror
| and its pathOs are concealed by a set of
charming pictures of sweet life and youth.
| full love.
The subject is THE Youth of Don juan
And now" the poet says to me. in ex
PLANTATION. you admit that Don Juan is a
| type?' why, sure" well, then, what
| does he typfy? Is 1t not something thus
| far unexplained? The world has never I'M
| deIstood it! Here is a man with two out
faSeouS characteriSticS-the desire to win
the affection of woman only to betray it.
and, this is stranger yet. you note that he
can do it! How? Whyg Don Juan mist
| first have loved and been betrayed nv
whom? Why, naturally, by woman!
You have 1t there! So I have put 1t. From
Whom did lie learn all the secrets of the
female heart? Why. evidently from this
woman who betrayed him."
That Is not symbolism. AS 1t proceeds
you see that it Is pure analysis. The SYM
Doiists are deep, but in another way SYM,
Donsm among French youth dates from
1884, on the appearance Of the "Reyue In
dependante. 1t was in the Revue Inde-
pendante that such men as VerIaine Mo-
reas, Mallarme and young Maurice Barres
now the political editor of the sensational
oocaroe,"orked to react against the mat
urahsm or lola and others of the old
school. e oiu
but IN accordance with it's name, this
revue also published articles from ZoIo
himself. Here literary aDarcbisn ,iso
bocmed and many theories which vs.
not OF literature pure and simple The
anarchlsm was looked on as a disease of
poor and shabby
Inc idea of symbolism" which now be-
gan dellnlteiy to prevail, was to put more
ideas INTO verse than the mere words would
nola. Stephane Mallarme, it's leader, is a
very plain man. earning a precarious I1velt
hood by giving lessons in English. RIt his
poetry Is not plain. Indeed he has won
more reputation by his conversation than
10y ms poetry. A publisher. on hearing him
ueScraDe Ills Afternoon of a Faun" offered
MIN carriage for the piece He took il
ana ne published it; but as an afterthought
ne toid the poet he had not defined the kind
4t carnage, SO he thought it wise to buy a
donkey cart which Mallarme accepted
another publisher heard him going on in
a drawing room one day about a vase of
MOWERS: and. on the spot, he promised him
what ne mad just been saying. But when
the poem came to hand it could not be
used.
Talk, but Never Write.
The school of Mallarme has poets who
nave written nothing. They can sit around
cafes all day. Their conversation is de-
lightful. They know how poem should be
written and the idea fills them with such
JOY they cannot spare the time to write.
we must exalt our sentiments" says
one.
We must give symbolic conservation
10 our Impressions" replies another.
AS for me- goes on a third, whenever
have an appointment to meet a pretty girl
L choose church. The incense, the mystic
arches heighten with a somber splendor my
emotions of love-"
when think Of the woman I love-"
goes ON the first, Il see rising on the horI-
ION of my thoughts a lily unfolding its
miraculous corolla in the midst of the sa-
cred silence of a lake lost in the solitude OF
immense forests"
Walter, four beers!
The great chief Of the first "symbolists'
was the curious Greek Partisan known as
Jean Moreas. He himself has lately swung
en- to another school, of his own founding,
but he was long known as bona ade SYM
boliSt, the passionate, pilgrim" They