New-York tribune., 1911-03-19

the "vic de Boheme"-an old green COW
cred book In the slumbering library Of
n country chatcau-when | was fifteen
or sixteen. Later on ! read a chapter
on Murger in the ponderous volumes OF
that critic with the pondorous adverbial
name. W. Alfred Nettement. and found
there few quotations from Murger' 3
POEMS. one of which ran.
RI cclle don't lc nom aux levres me reylent
CONNIE un miel fait de plante amere.
These lines remained for ever in my
memory. From that time till almost re-
Gently Henry Murgor became FOR me one
Of those interesting beings who after en-
ipvinc life exquisitcly pay for 1t by cx-
quisito suffcrings. J have no doubt that
/ was not alone under the sane dciusion.
Whenever you meet with al alusion 10
Nurgcr II h. invariably culored with
poetry. and If his books get reprinted in
Popular series IL is mostly for the benefit
of young or provincial people who still
sec him i'm thlt light. They think him
Il poet who lived poor and died young
ike those beloved of the gods.
Parsans must he apt to think rather
differently When one looks at Muir
GERS bust in the Luxembourg garden,
near tho Odcon gate. one is rather
startled - have an impression of some
b'tlN Nfli-ib-il' fllb ii't 'N''Pli'ii'lIH
yoctical There may he Il slight veil Of
sadness over the face, but it f. a fat
and comforta bic face, all the same. and
tho decoration Of the Legion Of Honor
IN the well fitting bronze coat speaks Of
happiness and dcccncy. of efforts re-
Wardcd and Of promises for the NOR
row. \ bust Of Nillon. II We Possessed
one. would never impress us in that way.
The fact Is that MurGor had most
lucky career. The son Of a German con-
cicrgc and almost soli-cducated. in spito
of some time lost trying 10 paint. he
wrote at :hc age OF twcnty-thrce or
twerty-four I'm the most brilliant Paris
newspapers: at twcntv-cight he made a
big success with his Vie dc Bohamc"
which was Immediately put on the stage.
and shortly after he was on the staff Of
the "ReVue dcs Deux Mondes"-then in
its most exclusive period-and, till his
death in 1861. at the age of thirty-nlne
he WAS in uniformly smooth water. Com
pare with this well graduated career the
ups and downs in that Of so superior n
writer as Gerard de Nerval. lie was
real 'bohfmc," and the tragic conclu-
sion Of his life by suicide. commit
ted in lunacy, ought not to reflect
any despair or gloomness on the
years during which he was merely
child OF nature. Indifferent to poverty
ana Ulbft StnSlilNt 10 pleasure ana,
above all. TO beauty than To success.
Murger WAS no more n bohemian than
many young mon divided between liter
aturc and red tapism. and waiting good
humoredly for the dav when success or
promotion will make their future clear
His works are not exactly what they
are supposed to be. either The Grande
Encyclopede and many Journalists after
IL saw that Murger Is the bard of bo-
hemianism. while Champheury used To
he its painter. I'm fact. Murgor is-as
| said above-generally regarded as an
idealizer. In reality he is no such thing.
and the mistake is n curious example Of
the frequent remodellings Of history
made by popular ignorance. The poet of
careless. happy poverty. the gloriher Of
youth, the conjurer who gave such pre-
eminence. not only in literature but In
life 10 that unknown being the Partisan
etudent. Is neither Murger nor even
Gerard de Nerval-whosc "Boheme Ga
lante" Is. however. so much more poetical
than the ''Vie de Boheme"-it is no other
than Alfred de Musset.