The Companions of Jehu | Page 6

inhabitants who saw
Leprêtre, Amiet, Guyon and Hyvert executed."
* * * * *
There are two roads to Bourg--from Paris, of course; one may leave the
train at Mâcon, and take stage from Mâcon to Bourg, or, continuing as
far as Lyons, take train again from Lyons to Bourg.
I was hesitating between these two roads when one of the travellers
who was temporarily occupying my compartment decided me. He was
going to Bourg, where he frequently had business. He was going by
way of Lyons; therefore, Lyons was the better way.
I resolved to travel by the same route. I slept at Lyons, and on the
morrow by ten in the morning I was at Bourg.
A paper published in the second capital of the kingdom met my eye. It
contained a spiteful article about me. Lyons has never forgiven me
since 1833, I believe, some twenty-four years ago, for asserting that it
was not a literary city. Alas! I have in 1857 the same opinion of Lyons
as I had in 1833. I do not easily change my opinion. There is another
city in France that is almost as bitter against me as Lyons, that is Rouen.
Rouen has hissed all my plays, including Count Hermann.
One day a Neapolitan boasted to me that he had hissed Rossini and
Malibran, "The Barbiere" and "Desdemona."
"That must be true," I answered him, "for Rossini and Malibran on their
side boast of having been hissed by Neapolitans."
So I boast that the Rouenese have hissed me. Nevertheless, meeting a
full-blooded Rouenese one day I resolved to discover why I had been
hissed at Rouen. I like to understand these little things.
My Rouenese informed me: "We hiss you because we are down on
you."

Why not? Rouen was down on Joan of Arc. Nevertheless it could not
be for the same reason. I asked my Rouenese why he and his
compatriots were ill-disposed to me; I had never said anything evil of
apple sugar, I had treated M. Barbet with respect during his entire term
as mayor, and, when a delegate from the Society of Letters at the
unveiling of the statue of the great Corneille, I was the only one who
thought to bow to him before beginning my speech. There was nothing
in that which could have reasonably incurred the hatred of the
Rouenese.
Therefore to this haughty reply, "We hiss you because we have a
grudge against you," I asked humbly:
"But, great Heavens! why are you down on me?"
"Oh, you know very well," replied my Rouenese.
"I?" I exclaimed.
"Yes, you."
"Well, never mind; pretend I do not know."
"You remember the dinner the city gave you, in connection with that
statue of Corneille?"
"Perfectly. Were they annoyed because I did not return it?"
"No, it is not that."
"What is it then?"
"Well, at that dinner they said to you: 'M. Dumas, you ought to write a
play for Rouen based upon some subject taken from its own history.'"
"To which I replied: 'Nothing easier; I will come at your first summons
and spend a fortnight in Rouen. You can suggest the subject, and
during that fortnight I will write the play, the royalties of which I shall
devote to the poor.'"
"That is true, you said that."
"I see nothing sufficiently insulting in that to incur the hatred of the
Rouenese."
"Yes, but they added: 'Will you write it in prose?' To which you
replied--Do you remember what you answered?"
"My faith! no."
"You replied: 'I will write it in verse; it is soonest done.'"
"That sounds like me. Well, what then?"
"Then! That was an insult to Corneille, M. Dumas; that is why the
Rouenese are down on you, and will be for a long time."

Verbatim!
Oh, worthy Rouenese! I trust that you will never serve me so ill as to
forgive and applaud me.
The aforesaid paper observed that M. Dumas had doubtless spent but
one night in Lyons because a city of such slight literary standing was
not worthy of his longer sojourn. M. Dumas had not thought about this
at all. He had spent but one night at Lyons because he was in a hurry to
reach Bourg. And no sooner had M. Dumas arrived at Bourg than he
asked to be directed to the office of its leading newspaper.
I knew that it was under the management of a distinguished
archeologist, who was also the editor of my friend Baux's work on the
church of Brou.
I asked for M. Milliet. M. Milliet appeared. We shook hands and I
explained the object of my visit.
"I can fix you perfectly," said he to me. "I will take you to one of our
magistrates, who is at present engaged