no defence and from which he escapes only by
suicide. Sidonie Chebe is a peculiarly French type, a vain and heartless
woman; Delobelle, the actor, a delectable figure; the domestic simplicity
of Desiree Delobelle and her mother quite refreshing."

Success followed now after success. 'Jack (1876); Le Nabab (1877); Les
Rois en exil (1879); Numa Roumestan (1882); L'Evangeliste (1883); Sapho
(1884); Tartarin sur des Alces (1886); L'Immortel (1888); Port Tarascon
(1890); Rose et Ninette (1892); La petite Parvisse (1895); and Soutien de
Famille (1899)'; such is the long list of the great life-artist. In Le
Nabab we find obvious traces of Daudet's visits to Algiers and
Corsica-Mora is the Duc de Morny. Sapho is the most concentrated of his
novels, with never a divergence, never a break, in its development. And
of the theme--legitimate marriage contra common-law--what need be said
except that he handled it in a manner most acceptable to the aesthetic
and least offensive to the moral sense?

L'Immortel is a satire springing from personal reasons; L'Evangeliste and
Rose et Ninette--the latter on the divorce problem--may be classed as
clever novels; but had Daudet never written more than 'Fromont et
Risler', 'Tartarin sur les Alces', and 'Port Tarascon', these would keep
him in lasting remembrance.

We must not omit to mention also many 'contes' and his 'Trente ans de
Paris (A travers ma vie et mes livres), Souvenirs d'un Homme de lettres
(1888), and Notes sur la Vie (1899)'.

Alphonse Daudet died in Paris, December 16, 1897

LECONTE DE LISLE
de l'Academie Francaise.

FROMONT AND RISLER

BOOK 1.

CHAPTER I

A WEDDING-PARTY AT THE CAFE VEFOUR

"Madame Chebe!"

"My boy--"

"I am so happy!"

This was the twentieth time that day that the good Risler had said that
he was happy, and always with the same emotional and contented manner, in
the same low, deep voice-the voice that is held in check by emotion and
does not speak too loud for fear of suddenly breaking into violent tears.

Not for the world would Risler have wept at that moment--imagine a
newly-made husband giving way to tears in the midst of the
wedding-festival! And yet he had a strong inclination to do so. His
happiness stifled him, held him by the throat, prevented the words from
coming forth. All that he could do was to murmur from time to time, with
a slight trembling of the lips, "I am happy; I am