Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 23, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 February 1877 — French Novelists’ Devices for Beating Their Publishers. [ARTICLE]

French Novelists’ Devices for Beating Their Publishers.

It is said that a dialogue of Dumas the elder created a revolution in the French mode of paying romance literature. Dumas, who was reckoned by the line, one day introduced, they say, into his feuilleton this thrilling passage: .My son! My mother 1 Listen! Speak! Seest thou ? What | This poniard ? It is siained— With blood! Whose? Thy father’s. Ah !!!.. After that Dumas was paid by the letter; To say, sooth, the same incident, with a different catastrophe, is related of Ponson du Terrall, who, one day, in his “ Resurrection de Racombole,” tilled about a column with dialogue of this character: •]>! Who? I. You? Yes. He shuddered. Accordingly, as the story, goes, the author beihg summoned before the editor of the Petit Journal, was notified that, if this monosyllablic chat went on, he would be paid by the letter. " Very well,” replied the obliging novelist, “I will change mv style;” and next day M.< Miliaud was astounded to find the feuiilo ton introducing a pair of stammerers, talking in this agreeable fashion : 44 Wou-wou-would you de-de-deceive me, you wr-wr-wretch ?” said the oki corsair, in a tone of thunder: " I ne-ne-ne-never de-de-deceived an-an-an-anybody,” exclaimed Baccarat, imitating the other’s defect in pronunciation. " Wh-wh-wh-wUere is Ro-ro-ro-rocam-bo-oole?” “You ne-ne-never-will kn-know.” "He will make all his characters stutter soon,” said Miliaud. ”We had better pay him by the line.” — Galaxy.