Edmond About, born at Dieuze in 1828, author of a play, "Gaetana," the noisy failure of which crushed for a long time his dramatic aspiration, turned to the writing of novels, such as "The Marriages of Paris," "Madelon," and "The Romish Question," the latter a book which attacked with great venom and vivacity the temporal power of the Pope. "The Man of the Old School" is a general title under which he collected separate stories, studies of social reform, such as "The Romance of an Honest Man," at one time an eloquent manual of patriotism. About has also written studies in politics and finance, besides art criticisms, more brilliant than profound.
About's style is distinguished by its spirit and lucidity. He knows how to tell a story, and has great respect for his mother tongue. He was elected to the Academy in 1884, but died in 1885 without delivering his thesis.
WHICH WAS THE MADMAN?
THE STORY OF A STRANGE CASE
BY EDMOND ABOUT
Copyright, 1903, by The Current Literature Publishing Company.
I
One might pass Dr. Auvray's house twenty times without suspecting the miracles that are wrought there. It is a modest establishment near the end of Montaigne Avenue, between Prince Soltikoff's Gothic palace and the gymnasium. The unpretentious iron gates open into a small garden, filled with lilacs and rosebushes. The porter's lodge is on the left side of the gateway; the wing containing the doctor's office and the apartments of his wife and daughter are on the right; while the main building stands with its back to the street and its south windows overlook a small grove of horsechestnuts and lindens.
It is there that the doctor treats, and generally cures, cases of mental aberration. I would not introduce you into his house, however, if you incurred any risk of meeting frenzied lunatics or hopeless imbeciles. You will be spared all such harrowing sights. Dr. Auvray is a specialist, and treats cases of monomania only. He is an extremely kind-hearted man, endowed with plenty of shrewdness and good sense; a true philosopher, an untiring student, and an enthusiastic follower of the famous Esquirol.
Having come into possession of a small fortune soon after the completion of his medical course, he married, and founded the establishment which we have described. Had there been a spark of charlatanism in his composition, he could easily have amassed a fortune, but he had been content to merely earn a living. He shunned notoriety, and when he effected a wonderful cure, he never proclaimed it upon the housetops. His very enviable reputation had been acquired without any effort on his part, and almost against his will. Would you have a proof of this? Well, his treatise on monomania, published by Baillière in 1852, has passed through six editions, though the author has never sent a single copy to the newspapers. Modesty is a good thing, certainly, but one may carry it too far. Mademoiselle Auvray will have a dowry of only twenty thousand francs, and she will be twenty-two in April.