Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1905-04-29

This year the Goncourt academy's
choice fell upon a Monsieur Leon Frap-
pie; but one OF their number, Hugs
mans, said on the day following the
vote; without contest we should have
crowned The Conquest OF Jerusalem,
but the author Is a woman, and we real
~ dared not create so troublesome a
precedent"
TITS terrible" cried the ladies Of half
Paris At once the old established pub
fishing house of Hachette saw its OPP
pOrtunity to found q rival academy
composed OF ladies, who should vote an
annual prize Of 5000 francs exclusively
TO women writer's and Myriam Harry,
the lucky and the happy, was thus the
one to win It by a choice that was all
but unanimous.
| called on Myriam Harry I'm the
midst of her good fortune, and | found
her radiant THE Conquest OF Jerusa-
lem Is being translated into all the
Languages, and her publishers are hur-
rying her for a new novel. She showed
me parts Of It. The scene passes on
steamer from Marselles to Ceylon, then
In the Paradenia Gardens Cthe suburbs
OF the capital of that perfumed isle),
with a jump to Cochin-Chna and re-
tluence Of Buddhism on the soul and
Of oriental life on the nerves Of Euro
pean characters
Myriam Harry is European oriental
81 was born IN jerusalem" she told
me MY father was an explorer Of
oriental countries OF Russian Polish
origin, passing his life and devoting his
fortune to excavations aud archaeology
cal works. My mother was a German
girl who had turned deaconess to teach
poor native children IN Egypt They
We're married IN Egypt; and my early
years were spent I'm Jerusalem, Smyr-
ma Constanunople, odessa and Alexan-
drla"
"One would Judge something OF the
kind from reading The Conquest Of
jerusalem ! said
Yes" she answered: that land Is
stu more familiar to me than France
! spoke Arabic with my native nurse be-
fore ! knew German, and | am con-
WINGED that with her milk | received
something oriental into my blood--so
much 80 that when was Il my father
sent me to a boarding school I'm Ger
many to pick up needed European spirit
ana education. There the monotony 81
lhlngs drove me to writing, lived my
FIRST novel In day-dreaming'
which,
You viii never know" she laughed:
- am not proud Of II, though a big
German paper gave me money for II.
Then ! lost my father, and | forcsaw
that sooner or later must support NY
self and my mother. / came to Paris
AZ the age Of II, aud | learned French
IN two years, at tho same time writing
articles and doing translations In Ger.
man and English for any prices | could
get, Al that time | dreamed OF follow.
Ing my fathers footsteps as explorer:
and to this end took courses I'm the
Ecoe des Hautes Etudes and the
School of Oriental Languages, But
gave all that up; and at 20 years II
age | began travelling, | went three
times to China | went even up to Port
Arthur. ! have lived IN Ceylon, I'm ia
pan, IN India, In Cochin China"
! think that she was governess-or
companion-at this period though she
did not say a. Only once IN speaking
Of marriage as a vocation, she proudly
volunteered: ~ have earned my own
living ever since the age Of Ia" Among
other photographs, she showed me one
where she was seated all in white. IN
a dog cart, driving a housekeeping
pony with two great dogs running be-
side her. THAT was taken In Ceylon,
she said simply,
AT this time she wrote her "Petites
Fpouses' Little Wives" dealing with
the native morganatc spouses OF
French officers and colonsts In Indo-
China. "On the road to Mandalay!"
when she returned 10 Paris she met
and loved the sculptor Perrault
MY books are from lIfe,' she said,