New-York tribune., 1902-12-27
DUMAS ON HIS TRAVELS
Il .Souuenar Of the Great Romamcer
IN Holiday pfin.

ley
rh,x translation which Miss Worneley pub
,,sbes under the style Of Journeys with
p71mas- is welcome in itself. and Is furrher-
more interesting for the tacit promise that II
gives Of other volumes similar in substance To
think OF Dumas is TO think first of his romances
and plays but mis- Impressions de voyage III
not half so famous, are in their way equally
Characteristic of HIM, and as worthy Of reIneIn-
h-snce The present volume, the title or Wnlch
is taken from the name given to a certain class
of email sailing vessels in Mediterranean waters.
co,,7rnernorates a Sicilian journey Of his made
In the company of Geofroy Jadin, a painter, and
Milford an English bulldog It gives rambling
account OF exhiarating adventures. and II Is
marked on every page with the high spirit ana
sunny humor which the novelist brought 10 an
his undertakings In style it is thoroughly typl-
cal of the true Dumas, who could not write
without being picturesque, and for whom even
the smallest incident invitation to in
duIpence in his dramatic gift. In this book he
Is vivid as matter of course. and sympa-
,ba1ic enough when he is describing the beauties
of the South on or land but the bulk OF the
narrative testifies TO his prediction for thlngs
of human interest. He delights In sketchlng MS
canta:n and crew and the types he meets
ashore He enters with relish into the spirit OF
the people of the country and if now and tnen
he is disposed
hy the heels. he atones for this padding by re-
,a+,re in his own inimitable fashion some Of
the tales clustering around romantic Personaees'
bandits of course. among them
The legends of his youthful audacity are
racaIled bv his amusing recital in the first chap
Ter of his experience in Rome, where ne aP-
pled to the Comte de Ludorf, French Anloassa-
dor 10 Naples for the confirmation or MS pass
,ort which was essential if he was TO enter
The city His request, after some rather QUAINT
,,s,lez,ins. was conclusively refused NJ de
Ludorf was unwilling to assist the son OF GeHi-
araJ Dumas. he baked at the applicants po-
1iticaI opinions and in spite Of all argument per
sisted in his discourtesy. Dumas blanoly asheu
,,,, 20 he had any commissions for Naples, add
,,g in the face of his interlocutors astohish-
,,,en+ and anger, that he would execute tLeNi
u5tb great pleasure, and left the room oeclaI
ING Il shall be there within three Gays RUSH
inc off IN an artistic friend at the Nll4a NdeoI4S'
he begged him to go and ask M lngres 1or per
mission to travel in Sicily and Calabr1a- ARMED
r.,+t this nernission he said to NJ. Guicharo;
..You must go and get passport rom oui
charge d'affaires. Follow the sequence Win
that passport. go TO the Ambassador to Naples
,d have II vised then with that wise start
for ,an,es" In two hours the precious oocu-
,,sn+ WAS in the novelist's hands; IN the even
inr he took the coach for Angrisani, anu
reached Naples the next day but one! 71s
troubles however, were not yet enoeo' ulleSS
he managed to leave the city with as Hoch
expedition as he had shown in getting into IL
He was in terror lest he might be recoghlzeo
ba certain spy whom he had once known in
Paris. so he ard Jadin lost no time In hunting
un L boat But before the travellers set san
,n their speronara he took pains 10 commit TO
tho rost a letter to NJ. de Ludorf, expressing
ris regret that that gentleman had not seen
fit to charge him with commissions for Naples
DI should certainly have executed them' ne
wrote with fidelity which would have proved
% YOU nv gratitude for your kind proceedings
toward me-" We have described the incident at
length, for it gives perfect illustration OF the
resource and light heartedness with which
Dumas always travelled.
He fell in love with his boat the moment he
laid eyes upon 1t and the men in it made as
successful an appeal to his generous emotions
The man he took aboard as cook rendered
HELPLESS by seasickness the moment they got in
notion but he accepted the situation with good
hu1nor and enjoyed the fare placed before him
bv the sailors How kind hearted he is
shown by note on Of the latter. Il
thought for long time that he was dumb,
he saws, and l did not say word TO him for
nearly month, for fear Of giving him pain by
reminding him of his infrmity.'' The terrific
storm by which they were presently afflicted in
1erested him enormously. and he describes IT
with gusto, not forgetting TO tell Of an episode
which followed. In his appreciation of this we
find one lore evidence of that undercurrent Of
seriousness which some of his critics have sought
to minimize but which those who love him best
rejoice 10 recognize as one of the golden ele-
rrents in his character. Remembering the Gus
tom Of the sailors in all Italian vessels to make
common prayer at the hour Of the Ave Maria,
Of prair
who feared wound his belief, excite his
unpclief by the slight religious practices possi-
hly no. his own and insisted upon the hands
being mustered for the ceremony The Ave
Nariar shouted Captain Arena; but the scene
shat followed may be described in the words of
Dumas himself. worth quoting for the sake of
the mood they reflect:
At those words every man came up through
the hatchways, and sprang upon deck More
than had. doubtless. already begun mentally
the angelic salutation, but each interrupted it
TO take his part in the general prayer. From
one end ot Italy TO the other that prayer offered
at a solemn hour. closes the day, and opens the
night That twilight moment fun Of poesy
everywhere. becomes at sea Of infinite sanct-ty.
The mysterious immensely or the air ana the
waves, the deepened sense of human weakness
compared to the onnipotent power of God, the
coming darkness during which danger, present
always, will increase all this predisposes the
heart TO religious emotions. and to that noly
confidence that lifts. the soul on the wings OF
faith. This evening, especially, the danger we
had Just escaped, recalled to and again
by swelling wave distant roar, inspired
both the crew and ourselves to deep meditation
AT the moment when we assembled thus upon
the deck night was beginning to close in from
the eastward; the mountains of Calabra and
the point OF Cape Pelorum were losing their
beautiful azure color and melting into grayish
tones that seemed TO fail from the sky like a
fine rain of ashes; while to the west, little to
the right of the archipelago of Lipari. where
isles of fantastic shape stood out in vigorous
relief on fiery horizon. the sun. enlarged and
A.,,l