Evening star., 1928-11-14

three differently colored papers for his
writing, one for novels. one for plays
and one for newspaper articles. We
want the details! And these, alas, are
precisely what we do not get!
Dumas Is presented in the light of a
fantastic ass. rather than hard worker
who wrote millions of words in enjoy
able sequence. We wish M. Lucas
Dubreton had made his book twice as
large as he did. and had packed the
other half with exact information as to
the various novels which Dumas wrote.
They, after all is said and done, are
Dumas. Yet our author mentions only
few OF the hundreds he wrote. and
gives nothing much as to the actual
way he wrote or of the collaboration
between him and Maquet. He scarcely
mentions more than 20 novels, when
the man wrote hundreds of them His
fiction factory still remains mystery
unsolved You will find out no more
about 1t in this book than in the vari-
Gus encyclopedia articles upon Dumas.
The Fourth Musketeer" gives the
reader the impression that the author
had his last chapter in mind all the
timc-a good thing for an author to
do-but that he allowed his knowledge
to hurry him forward at too reckless a
pace. He left out much in order to
finish! This last chapter, headed The
Death of PorthoS," is the best in the
book. Here we come face to face with
that everyday tragedy, an old man
forced to take shelter in the house of
his son. The gay roisterer of 256 pages
becomes the quiet victim of the last
dozen.
II. ~a, IL; - ..: - -
presses the opinion that Monte Cristo"
Is not as good as The Musketeers"-
verdict in which most readers will ac-
quicsce.
.[is last days were clouded by two
preoccupations. one that he feared to
be without money and the other that
he had wasted his genius. The scene
between the two AleXandres father and
son. Is very we'll handled.
Turning on him his big eyes, very
softly and in the tone of a child plead
ing with its mother, old Dumas asked.
Tell me, Alexandra, on your soul and
conscience. do you believe that anything
of mine will live?'
Never fear" replied the younger
man. And at great length and sim
cerely, too, the younger Dumas eX-
planned his idea on the subject AS he
up; he seemed very happy Then he
pressed his boys hand and kissed him.
There was no further question between
them about the judgment of posterity.
The next day Dumas was dying"
M. Lucas-Breton writes: 1T is true
that the masses continue to follow
Dumas. He does not grow old; he does
no. grow old-fashioned, because he has
the freshness of Nature. which always
renews itself And as time passes un-
expected qualities are discovered in him.
Dumas" he continues, plays for chill
dren and shows them astonishing pic
lures, he plays for men of all
nations, he plays for the de-
feated, he plays for those who
are suffering. and patients in the hos
pitfalls grow we'll or die with one of his
books under their pillow"
We wish this whole book had been
es good as the last chapter Then we
would have like it better It's title is
wrong, to begin with. DArtagnan was
the fourth musketeer; Dumas was either
the first or the fifth. But we shall not
quarrel with our author of the moment.
We like immensely what he says in con-
clusion:
Now, when you cross the threshold
of million houses, he is settled at the
hearth and has become one of the FAM
lily. He is father Dumas, a good giant
who is not pedantic. nor involved, nor
complicated-a beneficent genius, harm
less and without baseness, who in all of
his bohemian life has never cost his
country a drop of blood