"The next day the Johannisberg had its | put it back in its place. When the wine was turn, the day after the Liebfraumilch, and white, the mixture was clarified with the white then the Alicante. The same thing was done of eggs beaten up." with the three bottles as had been done with the first. "But James Rousseau, who was the oldest, and who had in consequence a knowledge of the world superior to that of his young friends, who were only just venturing their first steps on the slippery soil of society-James Rousseau judiciously observed, that at the rate they were going at a gulf would be rapidly effected, that Dr. Sue's eye would plunge into this gulf, and that he would find the truth there. "He then made the ingenious proposition that they should only drink a third of each bottle, and that it should be refilled with a chemical composition, which should resemble as much as possible the wine imbibed that day, should be artistically sealed, and put back in its place. "Ferdinand Langlé supported the proposition, and in his quality of vaudevilliste added an amendment, which was, that they should proceed to the opening of the cabinets, after the fashion of the ancients-that is to say, with the accompaniment of a chorus. "The two propositions passed unanimously, and the same day the cabinet was opened with a chorus, imitated from the "Leçon de Botanique." The coryphæus sang: "Que l'amour et la botanique "Buvons le vin des parents!' And then example was added to precept. Once launched in the sea of poetry, the preparators composed a second chorus to lighten their work. This work consisted mainly in stuffing sundry magnificent birds which they received from the four quarters of the globe. Here is the chorus of the workmen : "Goûtons le sort que le ciel nous destine; par le vin égayons nos travaux,' Upon which each in succession took a pull at the bottle, till it was no longer one-third, but half empty. It was then time to follow out the orders of James Rousseau, and to fill it up again. "This was the business of the chemical committee, composed of Ferdinand Langlé, Eugene Sue, and Delattre. Romieu was subsequently added to the number. It was natural that all this must end with a catastrophe. One day that the doctor was gone to the country and not expected home, the chemical committee had dinner served in the garden, and they were gaily washing it down with Tokay and Johannisberg, when the gate of the garden opened, and the Commander appeared. The Commander was Doctor Sue. His irritation may be imagined at seeing the empty bottles of Tokay, Joannisberg, and Alicante lying on the greensward. The terror of the young men alone equalled it. Eight days afterwards Eugene Sue was sent away to Spain to act as sub-assistant-surgeon during the campaign of 1823. He was at that time twenty years of age. He did not return to Paris till the summer of 1824. The fire of Trocadero had developed his hirsute appendages, and he came home a handsome young man. At this epoch Ferdinand Langlé, who was some five-and-twenty years of age, had just entered upon his career as vaudevilliste, and having established an intimacy with an actress of the Gymnase, Fleuriet by name, he seldom returned at night to his apartment at Dr. Sue's, notwithstanding which his kind mother always had supper laid out for him in case he should come home late, and Ferdinand, knowing this to be the case, used to send any one of his friends, who happened to be in want of the accommodation, to his supper and bed. This asylum became so well known, that at last it sometimes happened that one would follow a first, under which circumstances he would eat the remainder of the fowl, drink the remainder of the wine-if there was any -and then, lifting up the bed-clothes, he would creep in beneath. At other times a third, and even a fourth would arrive, in which case they would find no supper, and have to sleep on the sofa, or they would draw a mattress from beneath the bed and sleep on the ground. One night Rousseau arrived the last; the light had gone out, he felt fourteen legs before he found a place to lay down in! ap In the midst of this Bohemian life, Eugene Sue took the fancy to have a horse, a cab, and a "The chemical committee made a frightful groom. In order to gratify this wish he mixture of liquorice and burnt sugar, replaced plied to two well-known money-lenders. They offered to sell him a stock of admirable wine for fifteen thousand francs, which would the wine drunk by this extemporised mixture, corked the bottle as neatly as they could, and fetch one hundred per cent. profit. Eight| Arrived at Toulon, Damon and Pythias days afterwards Eugene sold his bargain back started upon the relics of their Parisian splento the capitalists-who held his bond for fif- dor. These relics, faded as they were, passed teen thousand francs- for fifteen hundred for luxury at Toulon. The Toulonnais did francs ready money. A cab was purchased, not like the pretensions of the new-comers, and five hundred francs paid on account; a and nicknamed Eugene le beau Sue (le bossu). horse was procured by similar means, and the The irritation of the townsfolk was still further other five hundred served to dress & groom increased by the young men presuming to pay from head to foot. This magnificent result attention to Mademoiselle Florival, première was arrived at in the winter of 1824 to 1825. amoureuse at the provincial theatre, and who The cab lasted the whole winter. Unfor- was protected by the sous-préfet. It was an tunately, one morning it was exchanged for insult to the authorities. They did not suchorse-riding. Eugene Sue, accompanied by ceed, however, in gaining admission behind his friend Desforges, and followed by his the scenes, although Desforges urged his claims groom, took an airing in the Champs Elysées. as author of two or three vaudevilles. The They had got nearly half way up the avenue, consecration of Charles X. came to their aid. saluting the men and smiling at the ladies, Desforges suggested an à propos to Eugene when they saw a head issue from the window Sue. The latter indited one, and it was reof a green brougham, and look at them with ceived with enthusiastic applause. astonishment. This head almost affected the young men as much as if it had been that of Medusa, only instead of petrifying them it gave them wings, and they bolted off at a gallop. The head belonged to Dr. Sue. ment. In the month of June, 1825, Damon and Pythias separated. Eugene Sue remained in possession of his entrées to the theatre and at Mademoiselle Florival's; Desforges started for Bordeaux, where he founded Le KaléidoHowever, they must return home. True, scope. Ferdinand Langlé had at or about that they did not do so till the next day, but the same time founded La Nouveauté at even then justice awaited them at the thres- Paris. Eugene Sue returned from Toulon hold in the person of the worthy doctor. It towards the end of the year, and found all his was necessary to avow all, and lucky it was old chums of the Rue du Rempart engaged so, for the usurers had begun to give trouble on the new periodical. Desforges had abanabout the bond. They were, however, in- doned his provincial speculation and joined duced to give it up for two thousand francs; the band. Eugene Sue had penned an à a little affair before the correctional police, in propos, so he was also asked to contribute which they were compromised, had made to La Nouveauté. He wrote "L'Homme them more amenable than usual at that mo- Mouche," which appeared in four papers. It was the first production of the author of But Eugene Sue was sent off to the military" Mathilde" and of the "Mystères de Paris." hospital of Toulon, and Desforges, being master of his own actions, accompanied him in his exile. The last night was devoted to a farewell party. The enthusiasm attained such a pitch on that occasion, that Romieu and Mira resolved to accompany the diligence. Eugene Sue and Desforges were in the coupé, Romieu and Mira galloped on either side. Romieu galloped as far as Fontainebleau, but there he was obliged to get off his horse. Mira, in his obstinacy, made three leagues more, and was then obliged to stop. The diligence continued its way majestically, leaving the disabled behind. Romieu had to be taken back to the capital on a litter. Mira preferred waiting where he was till convalescent; he did not return to Paris for a fortnight, and then it was in the diligence. In the mean time, it can be easily understood that La Nouveauté did not pay its numerous contributors in gold. Dr. Sue also continued to be inflexible; he had still on his heart not only the wine drunk, but the wine spoilt. There was also the wine bought! Only one resource remained. It was a watch of the time of Louis XVI., with an enamel back, surrounded by brilliants, a gift of his godmother, the Empress Joséphine. watch was only parted with in extreme cases; it was then taken to the mont-de-piété, where fifty francs were obtained upon it. This occasion presented itself on the Mardi-Gras, or Shrove Tuesday, of 1826, but when the proceeds had been devoured, no alternative remained but to go to the country, and the young men went to Bouqueval, Dr. Sue's The De tes cheveux!" country seat. A festival was proclaimed here | own house, he disconcerted by assuming the for Easter. Each guest was to contribute to garb of the artist's valet! Another was the it-one a fowl, another a lobster, a third a persecution of an unfortunate porter, of whom pasty. Now it so happened that each reckon- Russian princesses, German baronesses, and ing upon his neighbor, and all alike being in Italian marchionesses were always asking for want of money, nobody brought anything. Still a lock of hair, whilst an invisible chorus sang, a dinner must be obtained somehow or other, "Portier, je veux so, there being no other alternative, they cut the throat of one of the doctor's sheep. Unfortunately it was a beautiful merino that the doctor kept as a specimen. It was cut up, roasted, and devoured to the last chop. When the doctor heard of this last prank his anger knew no bounds. A commission of sub-assistant surgeon in the navy was obtained for Eugene, and he was sent off to the West Indies. It was there that he acquired the materials for his "Atar Gull," with its magnificent landscapes, which seem like fairy dreams. On his return to France a decisive engagement was being prepared against the Turks. Eugene Sue embarked as aide-major on board the Breslau, Captain la Bretonnière, and was present at the battle of Navarino. He brought back with him as spoils a magnificent Turkish costume, which was soon devoured, gold lace, embroidery and all. At the same time that he was eating the Turkish costume, he was busy with Desforges bringing out "Monsieur le Marquis." His taste for literature appears to have developed itself at this epoch, for he began at the same time his "Plick et Plock" in the periodical called La Mode. This was his starting point as a romancer. Just at this crisis his maternal grandfather died, leaving him about 80,000 fr. This was an inexhaustible fortune. The young author, at that time about twenty-four years of age, resolved upon this accession of means to give up his profession and to devote himself to the fine arts, for which he thought he had a vocation, and with this view he furnished a home to himself, which he filled with curiosities and objects of virtù. In order the better to study his new profession, he also placed himself under the marine painter, Gudin, who was scarcely thirty years of age, but whose reputation was already made. The youth of the parties caused the studies to be frequently interrupted by those pranks which seem to have been an essential part of Eugene Sue's life and career. Among others, he represented his master at a rendezvous, and which, when returned by a visit to Gudin's The joke assumed a practical character on one occasion, when five or six servants came to the aid of the porter, and the troubadours, obliged to convert their musical instruments into defensive arms, only got out of the scrape with the handles of their guitars in their hands. So pertinaciously was the persecution continued, however, that the unfortunate porter is said to have perished delirious in an hospital. This is the origin of Pipelet in the "Mystères de Paris," and Eugene Sue has depicted himself in the rapin Cabrion. The campaign of Algiers having in the mean time been inaugurated, Gudin started for Africa, and Eugene Sue, left to himself, once more laid aside the pencil and took up the pen. "Atar Gull," one of his most complete romances, was begun at this period. Then came the revolution of July. Eugene Sue associated himself with Desforges to produce the comedy entitled "Le Fils de l'Homme." The predilections of the romancer were manifest. He did not forget that he was the godson of Joséphine, and that his name was Eugene. The comedy written, it remained in that condition; the Orleanist reaction anticipated the authors. One of the criminals, too-Desforges-had become secretary to Marshal Soult. Now it was not to be expected that, as the Duke of Ragusa owed every thing to Napoleon, he would like to see a play performed in honor of his son. An author's vanity is, however, a frailty that leads to many acts of imprudence. Desforges was one day induced to read the play to Volnys, a general of the Empire, who had not been made marshal, 'and who therefore held its memory in reverence. Volnys was delighted, and asked for a loan of the manuscript. Six weeks had elapsed when a rumor became current that some great event was preparing at the Vaudeville. That theatre was at that time under the management of Bossange, himself a joint author, French fashion, with Soulié, and he was backed by Déjazet. The two together were supposed to be capable of any thing. "One evening, Desforges, anxious to know what was this literary event anticipated at the Vaudeville, made his way behind the scenes. "Here he fell in with Bossange, and tried to obtain some information from him. "But Bossange was in too great a hurry. "Ah! mon cher,' he exclaimed, 'I cannot listen to you now; only imagine Armand has been taken ill and cannot come, so that we are obliged to exchange the piece in which he was to appear for one that has only just been rehearsed, and is not yet known. Come, monsieur le régisseur, is Déjazet ready?' "Yes, Monsieur Bossange.' "Then give the usual three knocks, and make the announcement.' "The three knocks were given. Place on the stage!' was shouted out, and Desforges was obliged to take place with the rest behind the scenes. "The régisseur, in white cravat and black coat, advanced to the footlights, and, making the stereotyped bows, "Gentlemen,' he said, one of our artists having been taken ill at the moment for raising the curtain, we are obliged to give you, in place of the second piece, a new piece which it was not intended to bring forward for three or four days yet. We, therefore, pray you to accept the exchange.' "The public, to whom a new piece was given instead of an old one, applauded the régisseur magnanimously. "The curtain fell to rise again almost immediately. "At this moment, Déjazet was coming down from her dressing-room in the uniform of an Austrian colonel. "Ah! mon Dieu!' exclaimed Desforges, a flash of lightning crossing his mind,' what are you going to play?' "What am I going to play? I play le Fils de l'Homme. Now let me go by, monsieur l'auteur.' 66 Desforges's arms fell by his side. was allowed to pass. Déjazet "The piece met with an enormous success. The performance over, Desforges had the door opened, by which he could pass from the stage to the theatre; he wished to be the bearer of the news to Eugene Sue. At this epoch Dr. Sue died, leaving some 23,000 to 24,000 fr. per annum to Eugene Sue. The legacy came in good time, for the 80,000 fr. of his maternal grandfather were nigh expended. Eugene Sue could now live without the aid of literature, but when once one has put on that tunic of Nessus, woven of hope and pride, it is not easily removed from the shoulders. Our author then continued his literary career by "La Salamandre," still one of his best works; after which appeared "La Coucaratcha," and then "La Vigie de Koat Ven." These three or four works at once placed Eugene Sue high among the ranks of modern authors, but they at the same time raised against him that outcry of immorality, which he was never able to allay completely. Alexandre Dumas, his biographer, enters at length into the question, on grounds which it is impossible to discuss in these pages. He declares that if Alfred de Musset had a malady of the mind, Eugene Sue suffered from one of the imagination. He believed himself to be depraved; but whilst Alfred de Musset became un méchant garçon, Eugene Sue always preserved un brave et excellent cœur. It was his diseased imagination that created such characters as Brulard, Pazillo, and Zaffie; he thought that he could be like them, whilst in reality he did not in the most morbid pleasure in upholding the accusations distant way resemble them. He even took a that were made against him, and systematically persevered, when they had once ob tained currency, in giving to them a further consistency. Thus, in his hideous romance of « Justine," he makes virtue fall and crime triumph, and he excused himself on the plea that if virtue was recompensed here below it would not want to be rewarded in another world. Alexandre Dumas says, in a summary, that he, De Leuven, Ferdinand Langlé, and Eugene Sue himself, used often to talk about this mania of the latter to Mephisto"He bustled in the passage against a gen- with laughter. Nothing could be less diaphelise himself, and that it made them roar tleman who appeared to be in a great hurry.bolical than this "gai et charmant garçon." "This gentleman was Eugene Sue. "Chance had so ordered it that he was in the theatre all the time that Desforges had been behind the scenes.' 99 Instinct of authors, we suppose; but what night of the seven is not a dramatic author or a dramatic monomaniac at one theatre or another in Paris ? The proofs that Alexandre gives of his gaiety and talent are unanswerable, but the advocacy of his morality is far less convincing, and the very proofs that he gives to support his view of the matter are not very satisfactory. We must not, however, we suppose, measure Eugene Sue's morality in the scale of a common humanity, but in that of a In 1834, Eugene Sue brought out the first 66 During the lapse of the next seven or eight years he published successively, "Deleytar," "Le Marquis de Létorières," "Hercule Hardy," ""Le Colonel Surville," "Le Commandeur de Malte," and "Paula Monti," but without any real success. All this time he lived the life of a grand seigneur. He had a charming house in the Rue de la Pépinière, encumbered with marvels, and which had only one fault, that of resembling a cabinet of curiosities; he had three servants, three horses, three carriages, all kept in the English fashion; he had plate estimated at 100,000 fr.; he gave excellent dinners, and he kept up most expensive female connexions. The consequence was that one fine day he received from his solicitor, in answer to a demand for money, a laconic statement, to the effect that "You have eaten up all your fortune with the exception of 15,000 fr." "Chance, says Alexandre Dumas, led me to his house that day. We had a piece to do together; he had written to me several times to come to him, and I had come. "He was as a man who was thunderstruck. "He related to me very succinctly, however, what had happened to him, adding: "I will not receive those 15,000 fr.; I will borrow, I will work, and I will give back.' "What are you thinking of, my dear friend?' I said to him. "If you borrow, the interest of the loan will swallow up far more than your 15,000 fr.' 666 No,' said he; I have an excellent friend.' "A woman?' "More than a woman-a relation- -a very wealthy relative, who will lend me what I want, were it 50,000 fr.' "The next day I returned. "I found him annihilated. "His friend had replied by a refusal, founded on the usual common-places when it is not convenient to do a person a service. "But what was most amusing was the postscript to the letter. "You talk of going to the country; but do not go before you have presented me to the English ambassador.' of "This postscript was the culminating point poor Eugene's exasperation. "Let them,' he exclaimed,' say again that I depict society in black colors!' "The day after, I returned again to see him, not to work, but to see how he was getting on. "He was laid up with a horrible fever. He had been to Chatenay, a little country house of his own, t to repose his poor shattered brains on the bosom of a woman whom he loved: but she had heard of his ruin, and had excused herself from meeting him." The old story! If there is not much morality in the man, there is plenty to be gathered from the progress of his career. What terrified Eugene Sue most was, not only that there remained only 15,000 fr., but that he found that he was in debt some 30,000. He fell into a deep state of despondency. One good thing resulted from all this evilthe friends of his folly and extravagance disappeared, and real friends alone remained about him. Among these was Ernest Le gouvé," a clear head, an honest heart, a warm 66 Christian." Another was Goubaux. And the two friends set nobly to work to arouse the author who had been so suddenly wrecked in the loss of every thing-fortune, friends, and love! "Goubaux endeavored to arouse him by an appeal to glory. "But he, smiling sorrowfully, said: 'My dear sir, will you permit me to tell you one thing-it is that I have no talent.' "What! no talent?' said Goubaux, surprised. "Not in the least! I have had some successes, but trifling; nothing that I have done has been really my work. I have neither style, nor imagination, nor foundations, nor form; my maritime romances are bad imitations of Cooper, my historical romances bad imitations of Walter Scott. As to my two or three theatrical productions, they are not worth mentioning. I have the most deplorable way of doing my work: I begin a book without having either a middle or an end to it-I work from day to day, driving my plough without knowing even the soil that I turn up. |