Norwich bulletin., 1922-04-07
FAMOUS MEN.
ALPHoNsE DE LAMARrINg

Alphonse de, Lamartine was one of the most versatile Frenchmen of the nineteenth century, for he was equal distinguished as a poet, a historian and a statesman. He was bor.4 in 1790. His first literary efforts were devoted to the writing of pamphlets during the trying period in French history fol- lowing the Revolution, and when he was yet a young man. Most of his poetry was also written before he was fifty years of age, but the greatest of all his literary efforts were made when he had passed that age. and some important work came from his pen when he was close to eighty years of age,
 Lamartine's remarkable volume of poetry "Recueillements,' was issued when he had reached the age of fifty ! He wrote his greatest prose work, the 1 ''Histore des Grondins," when he was fifty seven and following it's pub lication he became one of the most 1 important personages in France.
 Tn fact, his popularity was so great 1 that he was elected for the new Con stituent Assembly in ten different de- .partments, and was chosen one of the five members of the executive com l mittee. For 8 few months, indeed, La
  thad been a distinguished man of let 1 ters became one of the foremast men 1 in Europe
 But from his sixtieth year Lamar tine had somewhat of a melancholy ! life. Unsuccessful, evetually, in poli- tics he was compelled to set to work l to repair his fortune by unremitting 1 literary labor. He brought out hfs "Ra- i phael" which treated his own experi- i ences in romantic fashion. He began and finished several historical works ! of more or less importance, includ- 1 ing his History of the Revolution i of 1848", The History of the Res l toration," "The History of Turkey '"The History of Russia besides a livery large number of small biographi-- | cal and miscellaneous works.
 In 1858, when Lanartine was sixty eight years of age, a subscription was 1 opened for his benefit. Two years af- 1 rewards, following the example Of 1 Chateaubriand, he supervised an elab- crate edition of his own works in forty one volumes. This occupied five years. l He was now man of more than T! seventy years of age, and the public taste seemed no longer to enjoy the sentimental fashion he had of hand
 ling his poetry and prose. When he was I seventy the government of the Empire came forward to his assistance
 and voted him 10000 pounds But he
 did not enjoy it long, for he died on
 the 1st of March, 1869, two years be-
 fore the collapse of the great Elm
 pire.
 The greatet sorrow of his life came , to Lamartine in the death of his wife 4 in May of 1867. The two years that remained for him were sorrowful but , not altogether without solace, for his
 niece and daughter by adoption watch
 ed over him with unflagging devotion.
 He still continued to labor with his
 pen. His last and posthumous work
 ''Vingt Conq ans de ma bie,'' which he left unfinished, though unequal in e style, has many interesting, charming n ly written pages.
 The last year of his life LaInartfne
 had grown quite feeble and few la t boriously, slowly written paragrphs q were now the limit of his daily task a. In the evenings, always carefully
 dressed, seated in his armchair, he vel.
 comed- his friends with his accustomed and gracious urbanity. The last ocea
 sion at which he was quite himseI l. was at a dinner he gave to the eide u Dumas and other distinguished guests
 Paris heard of the death of Lamar
 tine with much emotion. During tn days which followed hundreds passe l. up and down the staircase leading t le the chamber where death wore an as -s pect of singular peace and majesty a The offer of a public funeral by th
 Emperor was respectfully but ffrn1
 refused, and the coffin was priyateI 1t conveyed to the Cathedral of Macol in where in the early morning, the requi "a enn was sung and followed by 200 -h mourners, silent and sorrowful, tn
 procession wended it's way to St. Pc
 init distance of eight miles.