SHORT STORY CLASSICS
Reading edition
(FOREIGN)
VOLUME FIVE FRENCH II
EDITED BY William Patten
WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND NOTES
P. F. COLLIER & SON NEW YORK
Copyright 1907 By P. F. Collier & Son The use of the copyrighted translations in this collection has been authorized by the authors or their representatives. The translations made especially for this collection are covered by the general copyright
CONTENTS—VOLUME V
PAGE
LA BRETONNE André Theuriet 1339
WHICH WAS THE MADMAN? Edmond About 1349
THE GRAND MARRIAGE Ludovic Halévy 1379
THE ACCURSED HOUSE Émile Gaboriau 1415
THE FÊTE AT COQUEVILLE Émile Zola 1427
THE LOST CHILD François Coppée 1471
PUTOIS Anatole France 1495
SAC-AU-DOS Joris Karl Huysmans 1515
"BONJOUR, MONSIEUR" Jean Richepin 1559
THE BIT OF STRING Guy de Maupassant 1571
THE NECKLACE Guy de Maupassant 1581
THE WALL OPPOSITE Pierre Loti 1595
THE ANCESTOR Paul Bourget 1605
WHEN HE WAS A LITTLE BOY Henri Lavedan 1639
A GENTLEMAN FINDS A WATCH Georges Courteline 1651
A YOUNG GIRL'S DIARY Marcel Prévost 1659
THE SIGN OF THE KEY AND THE CROSS Henri de Régnier 1671
THE TELEGRAPH OPERATOR Alphonse Allais 1685
LA BRETONNE
BY CLAUDE ADHÉMAR ANDRÉ THEURIET
André Theuriet, born at Marly-le-Roi in 1833, went to Paris to study law, and finally became head of the Government Department of Finance. In 1857 appeared the charming collection of verses called "Chemin des Bois," which was crowned by the Academy, and which earned for the author the title of "Song Sparrow" from the great critic Sainte-Beuve.
Theuriet received, in 1890, the Vitel prize from the Academy for general literary excellence, and was admitted to that body in 1896. His style is sane, fresh, limpid, delicate, and rich in color. He is a lover of nature with a profound feeling for the peasant.
Theuriet's standing is well assured when we consider that such men as Jules Claretie, Adolph Brisson, François Coppée, all contributed appreciations of Theuriet in "Les Annales Politiques et Littéraires," soon after his death, on April 23, 1907.
