Palisadian. [volume] (Cliffside Park, N.J.) 1906-current, 1920-03-06
MRS. BECKER TALKS
ON ANAT0LE, FRANCE
Continued from Page 1.

war he addressed the soldiers and
warned them there were long months
of war to come, with many untold hor-
rors, but that they would go on to vic
tory.
In relating another phase of Anatole
Frances nature and acts the lecturer
recalled the famous Dreyfuss case in
France, the officer accused of selling
plans of Frances Notifications to an
enemy natiOn-tried by the army,
found guilty, brought before his SOL
diers, stripped of his insignia, his
sword broken and he sent to Devils Is
| land, going with head up, crying ::
"Vive la France. l am innocent. Vive
la France"
Mrs. Becker explained how much
more this meant to France than one
over here could understand, as she
found when in that country, for
Frances Notifications are Frances
life blood, and he who would betray
them was to be treated as the horse
thief of primitive days, for it meant
the same in a greater way, the rob-
ing of ones support and life blood So
when she attempted to get the opinion
of those she met in that country she
never could ascertain it, But the case
was reopened, another confessed,
Dreyfuss was acquitted and his hon
ors restored, and all this mainly
through the efforts of lola, the. great
novelist, and during all the time of
the trial Anatole France was the only
one who stood by lola and Dreyfuss.
who with calm, quiet attitude arrayed
himself against this injustice and who
later preached the funeral sermon of
lola at his grave.
Many have forgotten that this is not
the real name of the French novelist :;
that his name is really Thibault, and
his fathers name was France, ifis-ewsn
name Jean Anatole, so his chosen
name was both his own and his IA
theirs.
He does not believe i'm Christianity.
and France being essentially Cath
Ole country, one would think that it
would be outraged with such work.
but the Gaelic spirit, coming down
through all these ages, is essentially a
llght-hearted spirit, delighting in the
carlcature of faults and foibles and in
the satiric touch.
Mrs. Becker here took occasion TO
say truly that if she were meditating,
putting over wrong thing, she would,
first of all, want to down the great
caricaturists of the country, for the
best way to down thing is to laugh it
down.
She then pointed out the character
lStlcs of the writer's style, lucidity,
taste and measure and spirit of
caricature.
Lucidity-hiS choice of the exact
word for his meaning meant that he
Is the easiest and the hardest author
to tranSlate-eaSiest because of the
simple style and hardest because each
word is so perfect for it's meaning that
it is hard to find the perfect transla-
tlon IN English. He writes slowly,
will not speak without notes, etc. lest
he use a word that is least bit out of
the way
The book which Mrs. Becker spe-
cially chose to review as the finish
ing touch to her interesting and in
structive lecture was 1.-THE Little Pc
ter" which is really an autobiography.
being the authors own childhood. for
he seems to remember as we'll the in
cidents of nearly 76 years ago as he
does of yesterday, and in this book is
many an incident of his beautiful
childhood spent in the old house
among the rare and beautiful objects
collected by his father.
Several charming incidents were re-
lated, and in closing Mrs Becker stat
ed that he is the only French author
of the day whose works are being
translated as fast as they are written,
and that with all his fame he is over
modest, stunning glory for fear, as it
were, of attracting trouble.
Mrs. Becker's next lecture, which all
| anticipate, will be in March.