The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1904-12-10
A DAUGHTERS
SACRIFICE 8 3
By MARCEL PROVOST

XKT Z WE'RE talking one evening
Wv over our cigars and coffee in
Armand G--s beautiful library,
after a dinner that was perfectly
planned to stimulate the minds of men
who live by their brain and pen. We
spoke of Woman's invasion in the field
OF contemporary literature.
The name of +authoress" is legion in
the English language. Out of every
three novels from across the Channel
or the wider ocean two are signed by
a feminine name. And the custom is
spreading in France.
v, a surly protectionist in all
matters of art, detested the feminine
party.
Not single one of them has shown
talent superior to the least of u.s. he
groWled, and they exceed the biggest
of Us in envy and vanity. / keep away
from petticoats as I would a raging
fire.
Upon my word, / must have been
l-lore lucky than you in my meeting of
the fair writer's" exclaimed our host.
I have the most cordial relations with
| cer-ain literary pettieoats. And just
recently I was forced to make q com
parison between one Of my brother au-
thors and his opponent which was en-
tirely to the advantage of Miss Petit
coats"
We Immediately demanded the
| sto1y:
Willingly he replied. It is in
stIlctiFe and interesting. A scholar
wo:sId even say that it was a good con-
trihution to the chronicle of literary
feminism. I will begin at once.
Like all the rest of you, I received
q good many letters from strangers.
Many are mere waste paper, some abu-
siFe, and by far the greater number
ask for help in influence or money.
These last never read without a
tWitch at my heartstrings. In the face
Of the paper dated from some country
town or eccentric corner of raris / i'm
/ agine I can read such anxiety and dis
| tress as l once felt. a struggling writer
without genius or fortune
Why should have succeeded where
SO many fail? know well that GER
| tain professional beggars write in turn
| to every author. l do not care. | an
| swer each letter as it comes, if only to
say that l am powerless to help. y
| Toward the end of last year I re-
/ cetved a letter signed by a name I did
not know: Jean Seguin. He had writ
| ten a novel; he wished to submit it
to me, and, if I was pleased with it,
would I help him to find paper and
| an editor?
| Il answered: Send me your manu-
| script For if the reading Of strange
| manuscripts is one Of our most tire
some duties, I hold that it is one OF
the most imperious.
II did not have long to wait. It was
large manuscript, finely written, in
| a feminine hand which did not seem
to me that of professional eopyist.
| "E opened it without enthusiasm-it
| is So rare a. surprise to discover any
thing beyond an eager ignorance, or
| at the most a certain clever imitation.
/ read the first pages YEARLY; they
| were heavy and embarrassed.
| Later, q situation was sketched in
| a curiously handled environment Evil
IDENTIFY it was a woman's own history,
with real letters and incidents that
had happened,
Il became so interested that I fin
ished the entire manuscript at a sin
/
Der, and the clock pointed to ten min
| utes past two whea at last I looked
up.
TN the joy Of my discovery. / sat
down and wrote Immediately to the
| author, congrafulating him and beg
ging him to come to see me- I told
him he might hope for much.
Two days later, in the morning, my
faithful Constant handed me card
Jean seguin, a8Rue Renouard. .
: The lady says that she has an en-
/ gagemant with you, sir
Il hsd guessed Alright; Jean seguin
wasa woman.
"sha was introduced. | saw lady
| of abodt Is, dressed in black, with If
| regular features, but OF a charming
! freshness, her face surrounded by
/ bands 81 chestnut hair that waved nat
urally. The mouth. rather large, was
smiling, the nose was charaeterless,
| but the brown eyes. which looked
| straight into mine, were deep and in
telligeat.
$ You are the author of "The Nor
| tai Test" mademoiselle? l asked.
Yes. sir
Good do not like the title you
have chosen, but the work is full of
/ merit / am surprised that SO young
| q woman should have written SO well
at the start.
-. have worked for long time,
monsieur, she replied simply.
"F3arlessly, and even with a GER
tain pride, she told me that she had
been a sehooImistress, but had always
/ loved literature, and from the time