The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-10-31
DU MAURIER.
HIS CLEVER
 POWERS.
Known to the Punch Mon ns
 HKiki,v

In Harper's for November Harry
 Furniss, the famous cartoonist of
 Punch, tells of his acquaintance with
 the author of "Trilby." and gives an in
 teresting pen-picture of Du Maurier as
 his friends knew him:
 "He was by far and away the clever
 est conversationalist of his time I ever
 met" says Mr. Furnss. His delight full repartees were so neat and effective, and his daring chaff and his criticisms so bright and refreshing.
 For some extraordinary reason Du Maurier was known to the Punch men as Kiki--a friendly sobriquet which greeted him when he first joined, and refers to his nationality. In the same way as an English schoolboy calls out 'Froggy' to a Frenchman, his friends on the Punch staff called him Kiki, sug- gested by the Frenchman's peculiar and un- English art of self defense
 "Du Maurier's extremely clever con- versation struck me the moment join ed the staff of Punch As went part of his way to Hampstead, we some
 times shared our cab, and in one of these journeys I mentioned my convic- tion that he, in my mind, was a great deal more than a humorous artist, and if he would only take up the pen seri- ously the world would be all the more indebted to him. He told me that MT. James had for some time said nice things of similar character.
 About 10 days afterward I received a letter saying that my conversation had had an effect upon him, and that he was starting his first novel. So per- haps the world is really indebted to me, indirectly, for the pleasure of reading is that he had, with Burnard and my self, just visited Paris-the first time he had set foot in the gay city since his youth. Many things he saw had Impressed him, and Peter Ibbetson' was the result. How interesting it was to watch him in Paris, the place of his birth, standing, the ideal type of Frenchman himself smiling and as amused as boy at his own country men and women. So very un- English, you knowp Then as we drove about Paris he stood up in the carriage, ex- ctedly pointing out places familiar to him in his young days and greatly amused us by pointing out no fewer than three different houses in which he was born.
 "Du Maurier rarely forgave satiri- cal thrust at his expense. His dislike for Mir Whistler on this account is we'll known to all the early readers of "Trilby,' and he often related with un- concealed glee remark he once made to Whistler It appears they had not met for long period, during which Du Maurier with his satirical pictures on the esthetic craze, published in Punch, and Whistler with his symphonies and < harmonies on canvas, exhibited to the law courts, had both increased their 
 "Hullo, Kiki, cried Whistler. I'm told that your work in Punch is the making of some men. You have actual ly invented Tomkinsl Why, he never would have existed but for you. Ha, ha! How on earth did you do it?'
 Look here, Jimmy; if you don't ! ook out, by love! I'll invent you
 How Kiki (Du Maurier) carried out 1is threat in "Trilby,' and what resulted rom it, all the world knows.
 By the way, the mention of 'Trilby' 'eminds me of story about MT. Du Maurier's own Trilby which is per- laps worth recording. Du Maurier for some years lived on the top of Hamp- tead heath--rather inaccessible for models But more than once friends lsked him to take a sitting from some ady or another, as he, drawing fash onable ladies, was different perhaps rom painters using models for cos umes, or, as Du Maurier would say or the altogether In this way a model was introduced to him, and to ifs surprise she drove up to his house n hanson, and he heard her asking ne of the servants for change of overeign to pay the cabman. She did ot sit very we'll, so after short time 1r Du Maurier told her that he only rev for models for part of the day. nd rather alphabetically said he, of curse, did not pay for the whole of the sual days sitting. And she said: "'Oh, thanks! I am only too pleased 0 sit for a short time; but would you indly ask one of your servants to etch me hansom? This made the artist more than ever liserable, and he said, Excuse me, but erhaps you are not aware we only pay modest amount for sitters--in fact, enerally paid 5s for two hours-aw-' ] You, don't mean to say you are