Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-07-24
FRANCE HONORS DUMAS
CENTENNIAL OF BIRTH OF ALEX
ANDRE THE ELDER.
Author Who Was Long the Idol of
ParisianS-His Brilliant
Achievements.


From the PbIIsdeIphIs Press-
All France today Is celebrating the CEN
tenniaI OF the birth OF the elder Alexandra
Dumas. The man who for SO long was the
most prominent figure In French literature,
who. at The top OF his popularity. led Pa
risian society by the nose, but who. in the
later and bitter days. was as well hated
and abused as he had once been loved and
worshiped. is at this moment again ma
tional hero for the country he entertained
with the most enchanting romances OF their
kind that ever written.
The son of the famous General Dumas
and Marie LabOuret, the daughter of an
innkeeper. Alexandre's birthday has always
been a matter of some dispute, but au-
thorities have at last combined upon the
present day as after all. quite as good as
any other Some Of the most pleasant pas
sages or all autobiography are, at any rate,
II be found in his memoirs of his youth
where he tells of somewhat troublesome
bOyhoOd at Villers-Cotterets of the reduc-
tlon OF the family to poverty and of his
setting out for Paris with an empty purse
and fun ambition. Through the good Of
hces of General Foy. his fathers friend he
got a clerkship in the establishment of the
Due dOrieans and within six years had
written four plays. the last of which
Henri H., with three scenes literally
translated from Schiller brought him S1O-
600. marked him as leader of the new
10 his vain hearts content. a prominent
part in the revolution of July.
He Captures Paris
1t were but dry work to give the mere
oates OF the chief events of his life From
the day OF the production of Henri III''
ne was success. He had come to Paris
an impossible young man from the coun-
try, and an impossible young man from
the country he ever remained Yet every
one bowed down before him. In his palmy
days he was rich and defiant Bohemian
and IN his last years an Impoverished AMI
shameless one. Having snapped traditions
letters with the other romanticists-he
antedated Hugo in the movement-he never
ceased to be the conceited child of his
youth He prided himself that he was an
entertainer rather than man of letters.
and an entertainer he truly was. Even his
son used to tell with delight that De Vielle-
messant woke his wife in the middle of the
night while he was reading Monte Cristo''
to tell her that Dantes had escaped from
the Chateau DIFF.
Lived in the Present.
Dumas was ways a very Porthos. He
lived only In the present, and when Niche
let described him as "a force of nature
rather than man" it was only another
way Of saying that he was the result of
exaggerated Paris added to the exaggcr-
ated tropics. Dumas morals were of the
q dandy it could not keep him neat. He
would often come down to dinner, where
were always many guests, in slippers and a
shirt that was open down the front and at
one public reception he appeared in the
uniform of a colonel of volunteers. throw
ing into the shade number of notable
persons who were wearing orders they had
earned but the Jewels of which did not COM
pare with those of the orders Dumas had
invented for the occas sion. At that time
he was the most talked-of and sought-after
man in France. Among his closest friends
were Chateaubriand, the Due d Orleans and
the Due de Montpensier. He would choose
his evening parties as he might his theater,
take with him whatever disreputable per-
son he pleased and carefully letting 1t be
known whittier he going. be hugely
pleased the crowd that waited him on
the street.
Ruined by Debt.
He built for work and kept for entertain
ment a large chateau. the Villa Monte
Cristo On large tract of land near st.
Germain. fitted out with barbaric splendor
and filed with wild company. The whole
place was characteristic of it's owner.
marked by wealth and lack of refinement.
The architecture was a medley. On the
grounds were a theater. monkey house
and an aViary. The names of the owners
books Were cut in the stone of the house.
Parasites crowded the halls and with them
mingled Macquet. Balifille and Gerard de
Nerval. his collaboratOrs, who were wont
kept in the great hall. OF course. great as
Dumas income was. his expenses were
greater and the place was soon overrun
with duns For while these would be
kept for luncheon and dismissed in a good
humOr Then they Were tricked onto false
bridges and dumped into the moat. Final
ly, they laid siege to the place. took IL and
sold it.
War and Journalism.
Dumas went to Belgium and started La
MousqUetaire" newspaper which has
become rarity for collectors. Its rooms
were soon a mere club in the corner of
which Dumas did all his work while his
assistants. who were paid what they chose
to ask. sat about and smoked. This enter
prise lasting but four months the editor Of
fered his sword TO Garibaldi and, though he
missed the fighting. received a position
der the li5eratOr and was allowed TO de-
sign a splendid uniform for himself At
last ne returned to France. oder but no
wiser, less prosperous and popular and
more disgraceful than ever. There he died
at PUys December D 1870.
Dumas Productiveness.
This IS scarcely the place to enter into
the question Of the amount of his actual
work. The best of the books that bear his
name are undoubtedly his own. but as there
are .is volumes that appeared as his it is
obviously Impossible that he sh 1uld have
written I'll OF them In his best year"
ISIS. he appeared as the author Of 90 vol
umes. but when accused Of stealing he
calmly replied: "A man of genius does not
steal; ne cJnquers. Napoleon had his mar
shals. | have my collaborators'
He was, however. a hard worker and
once wrote himself four serials at the
same tine Edmond about confirms this
impression by his story that he Went home
with Dumas at 3 morning, and that
by daylight Alexandra had written five
leaders He was really fiction editor
who gave his assistants assignments and
edited their copy. He always found for this
his Justification in the artist whose pupils
NIL IN backgrounds and the sculptor whose
students work ont detail