f a gentleman
born to good society, but glad to visit Bohemia, because he can speak
the language; Daudet's is that of a man of letters who thinks that his
fellow-artists are really the best society.

III.

Not with pictures of artists at home did Daudet conquer his commanding
position in literature, not with short stories, not with plays, not
with verses. These had served to make him known to the inner circle of
lovers of literature who are quick to appreciate whatever is at once
new and true; but they did not help him to break through the crust and
to reach the hearts of the broad body of readers who care little for
the delicacies of the season, but must ever be fed on strong meat. When
the latest of the three volumes of short stories was published, and
when the "Woman of Arles" was produced, the transformation was
complete: the poet had developed into a veritist, without ceasing to be
a poet, and the Provencal had become a Parisian. His wander-years were
at an end, and he had made a happy marriage. Lucky in the risky
adventure of matrimony, as in so many others, he chanced upon a woman
who was congenial, intelligent and devoted, and who became almost a
collaborator in all his subsequent works.

His art was ready for a larger effort; it was ripe for a richer
fruitage. Already had he made more than one attempt at a long story,
but this was before his powers had matured, and before he had come to a
full knowledge of himself. "Little What's-his-name," as he himself has
confessed, lacks perspective; it was composed too soon after the
personal experiences out of which it was made,--before Time had put the
scenes in proper proportion and before his hand was firm in its stroke.
"Robert Helmont" is the journal of an observer who happens also to be a
poet and a patriot; but it has scarcely substance enough to warrant
calling it a story. Much of the material used in the making of these
books was very good indeed; but the handling was a little uncertain,
and the result is not quite satisfactory, charming as both of them are,
with the seductive grace which is Daudet's birthright and his
trademark. In his brief tales he had shown that he had the
story-telling faculty, the ability to project character, the gift of
arousing interest; but it remained for him to prove that he possessed
also the main strength requisite to carry him through the long labor of
a full-grown novel. It is not by gentle stories like "Robert Helmont"
and