IV PREFACE

devotîng Minself especially to Sanscrit and Phîlosophy. Upon his return to his native city, he was in hope of getting a position as prof essor at the Academy. But after having waited for this in vain for a long time, he became impatient, and set ont upon a journey to the Orient. He feturned hy way of Qreece, which country delighted him above ail others, He there got the idea of his first book, published in 1860 by his uncler Joël, bearing the title : A Propos d'un Cheval, Causeries Athéniennes. The later éditions of the same book hâve the title : Le Cheval de Phidias. It was very successful. The great critic Sainte Beuve hailed the new star ; George Sand, the f amous novelist, also applauded; and Buloz, who was then the editor of the "Revue des Deux Mondes," suggested to Cherbuliez to corne to Paris.

He did not go at once, but sent a number of books, chiefly novels, ail of which were published in the *' Revue des Deux Mondes " before appearing in book form. The first of thèse was Le comte Kostia, which was the most successf uU of ail our author^s works. Some of his other popular works are : Paid Méré, L'Idée de

Ï>REFACE V

Jean Téteroly La Ferme du Choquart, Olivier Mauganty Une Gageure, Le Secret du Précepteur,

Two of his "books hâve been dramatized :

Samuel Bohl & Co, and U Aventure de Ladislas Bolski. But they met witli only little success on the stage.

Cherbulîez^s novels bear the trace of hîs philosophical studies. This, however, does not mean that he f ails to make use of ail legitimate means of interesting his reader ; ail his romantic novels use such, and plentif ully . Le comte Kostia, Le Roman d^une Honnête Femme ^ Revanche de Joseph Noirel, Aventure de Ladislas Bolskiy Miss Rovely etc., are a proof of it. Besides, he has a particular liking for complicated situations. He is fond of mixing up things, in order to hâve the pleasure of undoing them again. But in his books the entanglements are not a resuit of exterior causes, as with sensational novelists like Alexandre Dumas, for example; they arise from the complicated characters of the actors. He is a psychologist ; and, since women hâve the most complicated characters, he takes spécial delight in investigating and putting before the reader their secret motives

VI PRfif ACÉ

and hidden reasons for acting as they do.

His Le Roi Apépi, which first appeared in the ^' Revue des Deux Mondes " in 1879, September Ist and 15th, is an excellent illustration of this.

Cherbuliez is first of ail a novelist. Except in three or four of his minor works (such as Hommes et Choses d^ Allemagne, Le Orand- Œuvre treating of the origin and transformation of the Earth, Art et Nature), he is fond of presenting even treatises on philosophy and history in the garb of fiction. Examples of this are : Le Cheval de Phidia^s, a treatise of archseology and sesthetics, in the shape of a novel ; and Le Prince Vital which is a story, and at the same time an explanation of the insanity of Tasso.

Besides his novels Cherbuliez has published numerous articles in ^^ Le Temps/' The " Revue des Deux Mondes '' brought out his remarkable Chronique Politiques, which he signed with the pseudonym Valbert.

In 1880 he was a candidate for the Académie Française, but being Swiss by birth, he was inéligible. He therefore wished to be naturalized and attained his purpose, by availing himself