Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-09-03

.Jn9n dare Is Childhood the Happlrst
p.riod Of Human I.ife?' 'Contentment
Hattar than Wealth. and the like-waS
,,i,.en out Il week ahead. But every day
FRIDAYS eXccpted-before recess, the
hovs were expected to write a slate full
Of what WAS called .Applications;' to
wit. IL short story, or essay, upon
toI.ic Of their own choosing, in which
Were, to he properly applied as many
as posSihie of the words of the morn
ing'S spelling and definition lesson in
the Manual. And the best result was
to receive the highest number Of marks
My own great effort in that line, |
remember, was as follows. based upon
words of from three to five syllables,
beginning With the letters Al. An
alliterative and allegoric;Il friend of
mine, who was an alchemist. dropped
his algebra into an alembic containing
alcohol Or. Mct,lligott as long as he
lived never forgot my allcsorical and
aIltcratiVe acquaintance, the alrhe-
mist. That alchcmist was the only
alchcmist | ever knew! But the 'ap-
l,licatiun' Of him ana Of others of ms
kind has served many 4 good turn in
Tho proper u.s.. Of words
Il take my own wherever | Iind il.
said MnlitIc when accused 81 al'l'I"-
priatinS IN" literary work 81 othrlS,
and the greatest ditnatIStS die tum mas
i"""n repeated IN spirit if not IN w"Td ~
thuu.lnLs of writer's who have i"ii"W'"
him. III was. moreover, an Old S;tAihS
even i'll Muii'.rr'S day, tor ever sine" the
first poets began to rrcite their verses
ana tho first MINISTRIES TO sing their iH'l-
lH,IS il has been AN accepted literary
| IN h.It Al
are common property, provided ohlE lh'lt
h" who takes them for his own SHali
tranSmute thtm into something new ahd
strange. The cry of "plagiariSL' is there
fore to be uttered cautiously ANA hrallai-
ingly for in sounding it /" the skies We
may unWarily raise our voices against
thauc,r. Shakespeare Moli"r" ANA many
other great ones who have made TIN
worlds literature their own. Am"lt=
novel writ r. tn" greatest ''plaEiariSt' of
them ull WAS undoubtedly AIrNandr"
Dumas Who enlisted in the service. of his
own unuursti"n"d genius any preceding
literary work I" His purpose, as well aS
the immediate lah"rs of Il staff "i
..collaimntrrS" Inasmuch as Dumas
never ATTEMPTED to cover up his tracks.
the. art.cr,,ntS IT many of his works and
of :, host 81 his characters are wcII
known. II" sits only on" instance. LES
'rrpS Muuslu. .IiI'.S' has parrnta2"
only a CIV. lower in rcputr than tin
! fame If Bur:nS':' own work, and IN" re-
| cent publication If the ''M"moirl Of
Monsieur I'AftI-n9n. Captain l1"utrlant
! Of The First Company Of III" Kings
4 MISkctcrr~. IN th'ir first English trans
| Iltiuu. brings tlIt fact f"rcihly Ia mind
/ These "AIrm"ir- Of Monsieur D'Artag-
nm" Wcr, nI-jnaIlA published AT Cologne
| in thu las A,tI- ul III" seventeenth cen
| tul.y ANA III. \ N,r,. the work Of tOurtliZ
a. .,du,ii"-, i versatile. French officer
y ilu tudnu tina. Iiulii MS military duties
! "a HIit; sr,.lal romantic works OF
| nighiV imaginative nature. ON account
'uf l.l., freedom Of speech ne ianGlIiShcd in
llhr l:d-iIlr titliuS HIHc years. dying with
Vim twclNt!llulIth Of his liberation i'll ILL.
! 'rh.. great body If hi, literary wurk pur-
lr,rttd 10 hD the authentic memoirs of his
tori characters. ANA he WAS even success
; ful in GvctitluG nLaE captiolS critics.
| Nultairr. toW,or. mas warned the world
not 10 i,Ul Too much reliance upon the
! statements at SandItS, WhGm he has
IScruIululls writer Mr.. Ralph NcVill, the
Translation Of the present work. believes
thai the ''Mcmoirs OF Monsieur - Artag-
nan are his masterpieces. ana that in
them may be found as in his other writ
ingS. q pictur" Of French life which can
! not fail to facinat" ANA amnse all those
who have Il taste for historical romance"
! In these pages the originals Of Me figures
before US. "Milad de Trevillc, the mus
kct"crS thcms"lvcs-ail are thcre-TSs de
corouS il is true in conduct, and 4 Shad"
mere human in their actions than in the
modern work" says Mr.. Ncvill. while
making every allowance for cXaggcration
on the part Of Sandras. there is no over
looking the fact that the career of
bAIrHgran was really one Of u most
dnShing and romantic kind. The Me
rnnirs. iuGccd. are probably collection Of
the stories ana traditions of The famous
] Musleterr'S lif" current in his day. to
Ccthcr with other details of his exploits
which the author was able to CLEAN from
such documents ana letters as he hal
, CHANGED to come across.