The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1901-05-05
DOORS and .x ~
y y Their Writer'S.

felix Gras the poet and novelist OF sun
provence, the capouiie or ofaciai hea
!, ,ne poetical society OF fthe relibrige
usu at Avignon. March 4. 1901. lie wa
not without honor in his own country an,
10 own town. Not only had he VOL
ne IN literature, but he was known Al
=" ape ana discreet jugc dc Patx. Bril-
hant fetes were TO have been celebrated
az orange in recognition Of his services
ou. 'ney were prevented BY his death.
he was born In the little town Of Maize
n'ort IN ls4f When he was 10 he wa.
-" 70 school at the seminary Of La Sainte
","e' ont he had already received his
"'s' impulse toward poetry at his home
| nis neighbour old Pascal. used "a
'o'ise metrical tales lasting for weeks
~" months, He never forgot them. and
us Hreatest story purports to be told in
~ s"op OF the poetic shoemaker Pascal.
"neh ne had finished his schooling he
returned to his fathers farm, but hunting
attracted him more than the slow. labor.
ous processes Of agriculture. and he was
SEM TO Avlgnon to study law with Mltre
'u'es "iera, whose brother Paul was ono
society OF Provencal iterarians who have
'Ne 50 hiueh IN the last thirty-tive years
10 restore the semlItalian Language OF
Wv sontn OF France to its proper place
~ literature Roumanlllc another Of the
reiiorlgc' had married his sister. Rose
Anais' and 1t was only matter of Ger.
talhty for him to take his place in that
brillant cotcric.
IN 1876 he published an epic poem In
Twelve cantos; this was followed In 1852
by second, and five years later by a
collection OF shorter poems called .The
froVencal Romancer" After the death Of
his brotherln-law he became editor of tho
rehhre annual the "Armana Proven.
eau TO which he had already contributed
many important articles in prose and verse
~ \
IN 1888 he wrote les Rouges du Midi"
novel, the scenes Of which present tho
French revolution MS II was enacted In
Provence. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas A. Ian.
vier had already made Grass acauaint
ance. and Mrs, Jauvier when she had
glanced over the MS. Immediately he.
came inspired TO translate 1t into English.
She sent specimenB of the early chapters
to u. Appleton and Company. and Mr..
Ripley Hitchcock, with his keen perception
of literary and commercial possibilities.
authorized her to 60 on with H. l. was |
instantly successful, and ali critics recoE.
nized that new classic had been dis
covered. 1t was published In England, and |
Mr. Gladstone, TO whom copy was sent.
wrote:
81 have read with great and sustained |
interest ar
You were good enough to present 10 me
Though work Of fiction. 1t aims at paint.
ng historical features, and such works. II |
executed. throw more light than
many so-called histories on the time and |
'auses of the revolution. which are so
widely and so @avely misunderstood As
! novel it seems to inc to be written with
great skill"
Curiously enough. II was not until NJ
iras had become a famous name in Amer-
u and England that he began to be known
his own land-at least in Paris, which
France. "Lc Temps" brought out
rpch translation, and finally "The Reds
Ole South" was published in book form
Nv ouff, the well known editeur of sub
sc'iion books and made - great hit.
Altelard Gras completed the revolution
win rhe Terror" and THE White Ter.
for" Nch were also received enthusias-
tically.Nu
For tAe waets before his death NJ.
Gras hasheen suffering from Ill health
and had onsnltcd with physicians. but
they assnrhi that nothing serious was
the matter lie had been reading the
newspaper q discussing the fctes which
were in pre.ration suddenly he faint
ed away, an,never recovered conscious
ness He leftue son. and fame which
the world wlll,ot allow TO grow less
~
DR.. Girdner. 4 antbor OF nm extraor
binary hook. wItltbc oxtraordinarv name
"Newyorkitis" hashad n remarkable ca
reer. Before his EQUATION as n surgeon I
fran tbc IIniyersty,f tho CIV Of kug
Wink his list of hons aud nrizes constl.
tu,ed an unusual rere and the record {
stands to1ay. To ner,.t himself for his (
nrofnss,ono, career he .ant so,,oroI vaars l
rnrona rrnon his re,uri,o Nav, Wi, hc '
,s,s offerod partncrsbi he m ErauL y
,Jo,,i,.or ,ho-erst surpeo 20 r,a a.. r. I
~ ,,,,,r, and with hi a.,st...a, Il
- a., oo,su,tatiops hold a. hap'ate,. /
- -, r,a,. =.