Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-04-15
Myriam Harry, Author Of
The Conquest Of Jerusalem, "
STORY OF HER CAREER
SHE WAS FORMERLY LIBERAL IN
HER VIEWS.
But is Now Happily Welded and Her
Ideas Have Changed-Believes
Marriage the Only Thing.
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.

Speclai correspondence of The Evening Star
PARIS. April 3, 1905.
In the great salon of the Comtesse Ma
th1eu de Noailles there sat twenty-one of
the most distinguished women of Paris
Mesoames Juliette ADAM Arvede Barine,
In. bentzon, Jean Rertheroy, Pierre de
SouieValn, Alphonse Daudet, Delarue- Mar
ufus' Dleulafoy (the woman explorer)
claude Ferval, Judith Gauthier, Lucie
Ioyau daughter of the late Presi-
oent Felix Faure), Daniel Lesuer. Mar
nj Comtesse de Noailles, Catulle Men
oes' Georges de Peyrebrune, Poradowska,
gabrielle Reval, Severine, MarcelIe Tin
ayre and c. de Broutelles-alI writer's OF
celebrity or social place and many Of them
wives of famous writers.
IN solemn conclave they discussed and
voted on literary matter of Importance.
What woman-writer during the past year,
mad published the best book in French?
., they e:y had been reading up. They praised
the Broken Wings" of Nine jacques
Frehel; the Shadow in the House" of
Nine. Ivan Strannik; the Choice of Life"
or Georgette Leblanc (Mme. Maeterlinck) !;
the Tn .s1byi-Woman' of Tony dizziness; the
Lands of Light of Yvonne Vernon; the
Heroes and Gods of Nicolette Hennique.
and the FLAMES > of Life" of Jeanne
Slenck1ewlcz daughter of the author of
Quo Vadis").
But when the final note was made-each
lady writing her choice secretly upon a
slip OF paper-it was seen that their judg-
ment had been all but unanimous. The
Comtesse de NoailleS took paper after pa
per from the urn and read: 'Myriam Har-
ry-The Conquest of Jerusalem" 'Myriam
Harry-The Conquest of Jerusalem
There were two votes for the Broken
Wings and two for "rbe shadow in the
House'-and then The Conquest of Jeru-
salem and nothing but The Conquest of
Jerusalem"
The New Academy.
Their vote carried with it 5000 francs
cash and a bot of glory, because these
twenty-one ladies formed no ordinary lit
erary club. Apart from their distin-
guished social and literary place, they con-
stitute Il new thing in the life of Paris.
You have heard of the Goncourt brothers?
Writers and patrons of writer's during
their lives they left considerable fortune
to found Goncourt Academy, in which ten
literary men enjoying life pensions of 5000
francs each vote an annual Goncourt prize
or 5000 francs to the writer of the best
book of the year
This year the Goncourt Academy's choice
fell upon Monsieur Leon Frappie; but
one of their number, Huysmans, said on
the day following the vote: Without con-
test we should have crowned The Con-
quest of jerusalem; but the author is a
woman, and we really dared not create so
troublesome a precedent.
Its terrible" cried the ladies of half
Paris AT once the ld-established pub
fishing house of Hachette saw it's oppor-
tunity to found rival academy composed
of ladies, who should vote an annual prize
of 5000 francs exclusively to lady writers;
and Myriam Harry, the lucky and the hap
Ply, was thus the onegto win 1t by choice
that was all but unanimous.
1 called on Myriam Harry in the midst
of her good fortune, and 1 found her radi-
ant. 1.-THE Conquest of Jerusalem" is be-
ing translated into all the languages, and
her publishers are hurrying her for new
novel She showed me parts of it. The
scene passes on steamer from Marseiles
to Ceylon. then in the Paradenia Gardens
(the suburbs of the capital of that perfumed
isle), with jump to Cochin-C China and re-
turn. And the story will show the infiu-
ence of Buddhism on the soul and of orien-
tai life on the nerves of European charac-
terS.