The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1901-10-06
- Vincent ~ ~
~ ! on CorneMe.

~ ,or "a In a measure handi-
q * u tbs personality 81 n's ,, ssc,t =
~ has to contend with = uiincu,.S
u Rnee ~ bsset the chronicler Of gen
/ " DOS W. :, tho individual lacks charm
| Z, trtne .oness. the reader Is often
4 n pie'u'' .eo,ne bored and so lose In
sh'a y is only human TO prefer an
get q "a attractive personality In III
gst| ~ ufe. Recognizing this fact,
ri'fA ~ Cornelle, Mr.. Leon Vincent
j. hs|- i, At length upon the man and
~ y s.,b,dred especially his WORK. MS
,os bis associates .,, :, ho.
~, y. .,ar Of the great dramatist he mas
y w. vritten also Of the great states
stes' os his contemporary and WHO
~ t,lu have been his pats'r' as wen;
fgip ~. lines independent split refused
~ 'u- s,nst.d. and Rlchclleu, after striv-
II ~ 10 make him recognize and ap'
~ u X. weight Of that dlsapprovnl
'''ll| .ommoniy found so salutary In
w upou the objects Of his august
'-, a,s learned that even his hand was
,..ag enough to drive Pegasus with
crS, ~
.,.lity was prominently Comedies
+, an age OF plagiarism aud among
!, copyIsts, he lnaugurated new and
~ ms,hoAs in the school of dramatic
N and composition and, his hlogrn-
a..,sres. more than any one else, In
~ IA influenced his great successor,
s.s.,, for we are prone to ignore the
'r' ~, the author Of the Cid also wrote
- II is said of the Writers of his
~, ,fn their prefaces they plumed
.,r,s NOT upon the exercise Of their
i,,.l,silve power, but upon the happy
~. 4, model. This applied not only
4. composition, hut to its presentation.
~. ssttlnc and costumlng were virtually
..s,.rr in 1890. and remained so for
y, ,,ter Fitness aud propriety were not
,,,,,dsl. 10 dramatic success and were
,,,bs- demanded nor recognized by the
,.He,cs II must not be forgotten that
n, Ystes played Cleopatra In hoop
m, nor that Kean was wont, when the
n,,,p fell upon the last act Of Percy, to
.,o, the house with a tight rope per
t,n,see as well as an exhibition of his
pov,s as a professional pugllist. In his
,d,t biography Of Corueille, Mr.. Vincent
4. most happily combined the requisite
s,ieis for an Interesting study Of that
"a ., French literature to which the great
J,rr7rht belonged with passing gllmpse'
4 many Of ais contemporaries. He clearly
i.s,ss the especial reasons which Influenced
prbsleu against the cid and its author
nd ouotes the famous reproof Of the car
nal At the inception of the disagreement
xreen tbem-"l faut ayolr de resprlt
h alvre."
ne charges brought against Corue!lle by
\ hs critics. Contcmpcrineous and otherwise
Ne considered impartialy and with no at
1 tnR to prejudice the reader, who WI!
i6loH the brief record with interest anC
rrsienee throughout One bit of family
history oiten forgotten Is thar Charlotte
today was a direct descendant of Cor
ielile This girl Of - played a role 5,
hpeOned and heroic that one may lool
d ulu for Its counterpart in the tragedici
y her great ancestor. The record Of
Comedies life was not a happy one, ant
he authors sorrowful climax leaves III
vita reminder Of the somber shadows o
~ prison and the gulllotlne, the tragic
ititIum0nts In the death of his gren
granddaughter, In conclusion, Mr.. Vinccn
hS this lesson to inculcnte through TIT
rnlrs be Commentaries, "Corneille had {
Hnvtlous gift for poetry. He was spOa
i'heas aud prolific. But he was also
cnunnate literary artist, He had Learned
tse great lesson that raw, untutored geniu
rflnot carry man to the highest pinnacl
literary fame. There must be addet
pit'ut, unremittng, finely directed toll.
HouEhton, Mfdn & Coz