A First Novel.

Evening Star, Issue 8118, 18 January 1890, Page 1 (Supplement)

A First Novel.

HOW ERCKMANX-CHATRIAN WERE STARTED

BY A PRINTER ] The particulars furnished respecting the feud now dividing Erckmann and Chatrian are completed by the following details. Erckmann and Chatrian's first novel, ' The Illustrious Dr Matheus,' had been offered for publication as a feuilkton to the Eari3 paper *Le Constitutionnel.' The feuilkton is a standing feature of ail French journals ; it is a novel published daily, in slices, at the lower end of the pages of the papers. The novel had been rusting for a long while in the drawers of the paper, when they found a friend inside the place. Old Nathan Sichel was the foreman of •Le Conatitutionuel's' composing room. He interested himself in these two young writers, who came every month, each in his turn, to inquire about the future of theircopy, aud he resolved to help them along. The occasion to do so came at last. It was on a Sunday. On the preceding day the word " end " had been printed at the bottom of the feuilkton, or novel, then in course of publication, and the readers expected another to begin the day after. Sichel invited to breakfast the compositor who had the key of the bureau in which were kept the manuscripts of the novels already approved by the management and which was nicknamed the " bear's cage." He managed to get his friend thoroughly drunk. Then he repaired to the paper, and affecting to be quite ignorant of everything, he raised a terrible stir about that animal and dunce, "X.," who did not turn up to the manuscript chest, and thus prevented him from distributing the "copy" of the new novel to be published. " Well," said he at last, " I have just fished out in another drawer a novelette. I'll distribute enough of it to fill up the place of this number's fevilktons." It waa themanuscript of his young friends. On the arrival at the office of the managing editor, old Sichel told him all about it. " What's the name of the author V asked the editor.

" Well, sir, a queer name. E. JVrian, or Chatrimann. No, no. See, ' ErckmannChatriau. :I

" Don't know. But perhaps just on this account the novel may prove tetter than others. How many fehdktons?" (How many days will it take to publish it ?) " Five or six, by rough guessing ! " " That's very much. The director maybe down on us. But, after all, you do not have the key of the ' bear's chest,' nor I either; and we have to fill up the bottom space reserved for the (jeuilklon. We cannot print m its place : ' Ground floor to rent.' Against force no resistance is possible. Let it go ! " And it did go, ' The Illustrious Doctor Matheus,' not for five or six days only, as had said the aunniDg Sichel, but it lasted some fifteen fyiillelcms, or days, and had a tremendous success. The door leading' to fame and fortune had been opened to Efokmann and Chat'riari. They were not ungrateful toward old Sichel, whose eyesight soon failed him, and who was kept in affluence until his death by the two young writers whom he had so so smartly protected, aus who are, unfortunately, no longer the same friends they were for thirty years.