The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-06-30
A POEl-HERM NIT.

Far away in the ultimate regions of
Paris, in street the name of which is
so unknown that many drivers of Paris
consult their little books when asked to
take one there-the Rue Alphonse-de-
| Neuville--is the beautiful home of Ed
mond Rostrand, the author Of "Cyrano
! de Bergerac"
| All is luxurious bur with that luxury
| of gold which is not new but old, And,
! indeed, Fortune had no favors to be-
stow on Rostrand, who by inherited
wealth might be Indifferent to the favor
of the crowd, in so far as it is expressed
| by cast, There was no struggle here,
| no hunt no meagre striVinss. All is
| thick and rich, and the foot falls noise
lessly on the full pile Of the carpets.
There are tapestries everywhere.
There is no portrait which one sees
| that gives the true Rostand. The one
that has made the author of "Cyrano de
| Bergerac' familiar to the world shows
him as he was at twenty. Now though
all the old eegancies are there, 1t is Il
| man more harassed than one sees. The
forehead now loftier than ever the fea-
| lures are perhaps more pinched, ana
| there is a wrinkle here and there. A ell
gazette between the fingers always, A
nervous, tired, anxious air at all times,
the shy look of the man who is self-cen-
tered, or, rather, always preoccupleu
with some ideal. A soft, low voice,
which in its rare moments rises rich and
FULL eloquent above others. No Ses-
lures Only now and then a weary
wave of the hand, as the fine head rolls
from one side of the Voltaire chair to
the other
An extreme, polished, courtesy.
Manners which go better with the Louis
XIV cartel than with the Louis XVI fur
niture. In the sleepy eyes with occa-
sional flashes which show who there is
behind this mask of extreme fatigue.
Thirty-one. and and all the world at
his feet! Thirty-one. and the crowd 80
anxious for him that, as he said, II do
not think that anything that the press
may do in the future will prevent the
public from being curious as to my
work, and coming to any theater where
my plays may be acted.
Indeed, it was long ere this that Ros-
tand had as a dramatic poet the full of
his hearts desire. the desire that is at
the heart of every Frencnman who af-
fronts the perilous hazards of writing
for the stage the triumph and glory of
being PLAYED on the national stage of
the Coincide Franchise.
For play that he wrote when he was
twenty was played when he was
twenty-six. and that is what can be said
of few authors, unless it be our poor,
dead Daudet who as a lad of twenty
two heard the Paris of the Theater Mo
liere anp}aud ',rhp Lily of France"
"When | was quite young man."
said Rcstand II wrote a ulav In one
act. II was about pierrots. Was it
called Les pierrots or lie Perrot.' or
'Colombine? | do not remember. All
that remember is that one night at an
evening marty. when there we're many
Young ladies present, to amuse them [
read this little piece in verse. De Fer
audv of the Coincide Franchise. was
there and heard me read 1t. and was
most enthusiastic. and said that 1t must
he plaved AT his theater. and asked me
to give him the manuscript to lay be-
fore Claretie, the director.
Il had written for the stage before
then-a trifie for the Cluny Theatre
called lie Cant Roux.' | Nas twenty
years old at the time. Eut there IS
nothing to be said about 1t except that
it was the first realization of q dream
that always haunted me as a child and
that was that must write for the stage.
And shall | tell YOU what 1t twas taat
confirmed me IN the thought that. If
had any work to do in The world, 1t was
III writing for the stage? The stray re-