case is certain; for besides the costs of all the legal proceedings
(criminal and civil) against him, which remained heavy notwithstanding
the disinterestedness of Maître Labori, he often contributed
considerable sums for objects connected with the cause. Moreover,
although both "Paris" and "Fécondité" sold fairly well, thanks to
the foreign demand, a very great drop occurred in the circulation of
the novelist's earlier works, for which there had been a steady sale
in previous years. It may be estimated that in 1897 Zola's income
was between seven and eight thousand pounds. In 1898, the year of
"J'Accuse," it was not more than a third of that figure. He sold the
serial rights of "Fécondité" to "L'Aurore" for about half the amount
he had been receiving for his works from other journals previous to
the Affair; and it was not published as a volume till late in 1899, in
which year also his income remained a low one. Indeed, it never rose
again to its former figure. His book "Travail," of which something
will be said in our next chapter, was only a _demi-succès_ from the
pecuniary standpoint. And as all this was, in the main, the result of
his participation in the Dreyfus case, it will be seen that he made no
small sacrifices for the cause he championed.
He found a sufficient reward, he said, in a quieter conscience, in
the knowledge that he had done his duty as a man. Sympathy came to
him, as one has mentioned, from many a foreign land, and of course he
was not without sympathisers in France, his fellow-fighters of that
_bataillon sacré_ which by degrees became a small army. Subsequent to
his condemnation in Paris in 1898, the newly founded Ligue des Droits
de l'Homme, which was destined to recruit many soldiers for the good
cause, opened, in conjunction with the newspapers which supported it,
a subscription for a medal to be offered to Zola in recognition of his
courage. In a few days over ten thousand francs were collected, and
a superb gold medal, bearing the effigy of the novelist designed by
M. Alexandre Charpentier, and by its size, weight, and the quality of
the metal unique in numismatics, was struck.[50] Zola however, was
long unwilling to accept it, for victory was not yet won. At last,
some time after Dreyfus was pardoned, he consented to do so; and the
presentation took place at the offices of "Le Siècle," whose editor,
M. Yves Guyot, was president of the subscription committee. Besides
the Dreyfus family, Colonel Picquart, and the Laboris, many others who
had fought the good fight were present; and in response to M. Guyot's
address, Zola pronounced a short and feeling speech, towards the close
of which he said: "Undoubtedly, if the question had only been one of
saving an innocent man from his torturers, of restoring Dreyfus to his
wife and children, our victory would be complete. The whole world holds
him to be a martyr, his legal rehabilitation will soon follow--all
that frightful story is surely ended! But there was another dear to
us, one who was poisoned, in peril of death, and that dear and great
and noble one was France. We dreamt of seeing her freed from ancient
servitude, rising, with her artisans, her savants, her thinkers, to
a new ideal, reconquering old Europe, not indeed by arms but by the
ideas that liberate. Never had there occurred such an opportunity to
give her a sound practical lesson, for we had set our hands upon the
very rottenness that was eating into the cracking, decaying edifice,
and we thought if we pointed it out that would be sufficient, that the
house would be cleansed, rebuilt, properly and substantially. But in
that respect we have been beaten. They have decided merely to pass a
sponge over the rottenness, so that the timbers will continue to crack
and decay till the house at last comes down. For that reason I am
sad, for that reason I cannot sing victory. Dreyfus is free, but our
France remains ill, feeling that she has not strength enough to bear
the splendour of truth and justice. And yet I am hopeful, for I believe
in her labour, in the power of her genius. A somewhat long period would
have elapsed, perhaps, had I decided to await her complete recovery
before accepting the medal which has been laid aside for so many months
in the expectation of a beautiful dawn. So I accept it now with emotion
and with gratitude. And I hope that I shall not die before I see,
reflected in its pure gold, that rising dawn of supreme national glory
which we have all desired."
[1] It was proved, in a court of justice, during the proceedings taken
by the French government against the Assumptionist Fathers.
[2] It was for a while opposed by a journal entitled "La Vraie Parole,"
established by Dr. Singer, subsequently the initiator of the well-known
"Jewish Encyclopædia." As time elapsed "La Libre Parole" was reinforced
by another scurrilous organ, "L'Anti-Juif."
[3] The same may be said of many of the scientists.
[4] For them the reader may be referred to the "Histoire de l'Affaire
Dreyfus"--a masterpiece of research, literary skill, and acumen--which
M. Joseph Reinach is producing in several volumes. Paris, Fasquelle.
[5] "Messidor" was the tenth or harvest month in the calendar of the
First Republic.
[6] The writer does not know when Zola wrote the libretto of
"Messidor"; but it seems likely that he did so in 1894 or 1895, for M.
Bruneau must have subsequently required considerable time for the music.
[7] "The Westminster Gazette" published on January 16, 1898, a letter
from the present writer, in which he said, _inter alia_: "I regard Zola
as a man of very calm, methodical, judicial mind. He is no ranter,
no lover of words for words' sake, no fiery enthusiast.... If ever
he brings forward a theory he bases it on a mountain of evidence,
and invariably subordinates his feelings to his reason. I therefore
venture to say that if he has come forward in this Dreyfus case it
is not because he _feels_ that wrong has been done but because he is
absolutely _convinced_ of it. Doubtless many of the expressions in his
recent letter to President Faure have come from his heart, but they
were in the first place dictated by his reason. It is not for me at the
present hour to speak of proofs but most certainly Zola has not taken
up this case without what he considers to be abundant proof."
[8] For the assistance of the reader who may have forgotten the details
of the Dreyfus case one may mention that this _bordereau_ was a kind
of covering note, giving a list of certain memoranda and documents on
French army matters which the writer said he was then forwarding to the
person whom he addressed. This person, it has always been assumed, was
the German military _attaché_ in Paris. At all events it was from his
lodgings or from the German embassy itself that the _bordereau_ reached
the Secret Intelligence Department of the French Ministry of War, then
directed by Colonel Sandherr, a strong anti-Semite, and Major (later
Colonel) Henry. The writing of this _bordereau_ was attributed to
Captain Alfred Dreyfus, the only Jewish officer on the General Staff of
the Army, and he, after a summary inquiry made by Major (later Colonel)
du Paty de Clam, was arrested on the charge of betraying military
secrets to a foreign power. Such, briefly, was the origin of the case.
[9] "Lettre à la Jeunesse," Paris, Fasquelle, 1897, 8vo, 16 pages and
cover, bearing, besides the title, the inscription: "Humanité, Vérité,
Justice." Price, 10 centimes. The text is reproduced in the volume of
Zola's writings on the Dreyfus case, entitled "La Vérité en Marche,"
which also contains the "Figaro" articles and most of the letters
published in "L'Aurore," etc., until Zola ceased to take part in the
Affair.
[10] "Lettre à la France," Paris, Fasquelle, 1898, uniform with the
"Lettre à la Jeunesse." An English translation of these letters and of
"J'Accuse," and a further letter to General Billot, is published by
John Lane, London and New York, under the title of "Zola's Letters to
France." Introduction by L. F. Austin. 16mo, xiii-45 pages.
[11] Zola says in "La Vérité en Marche" that the pamphlets remained
warehoused. The writer believes that they were ultimately destroyed.
[12] One of the points on which the new revision proceedings (1904)
have been based is that the initial D was substituted in the document
for another letter, probably a T.
[13] General de Boisdeffre, the Head of the General Staff, was a devout
Catholic and an extreme anti-Semite. He had been French ambassador in
Russia and it was there that his hatred of the Jews had taken birth.
Boisdeffre did not place Dreyfus on the General Staff, but found him on
it upon taking office, the appointment having been made by Boisdeffre's
predecessor, General de Miribel. Boisdeffre was largely under the
thumb of Father du Lac, a Jesuit, his confessor, to whom he repeatedly
confided matters connected with his duties.
[14] Those experts asserted that Dreyfus had traced the _bordereau_
from Esterhazy's handwriting in order to saddle him with the guilt of
it.
[15] A good many copies were bought by anti-Dreyfusites and burnt
publicly in the streets.
[16] There never was such a syndicate. Said Zola to Vizetelly more than
once: "It is a thousand pities there was none! Half the journalists
who denounced us lived on bribes and blackmail. They would willingly
have sold themselves. In fact, in some instances, indirect suggestions
to that effect were made in the belief that we really had a syndicate
and millions of francs at our disposal. I know that several prominent
Jewish financiers paid large sums at the time to have their names kept
out of the newspapers."
[17] The discussion was originally raised by M. Cavaignac, one of
the evil geniuses of the Republican party, _apropos_ of an alleged
confession made by Dreyfus to an officer of gendarmerie, but M. Jaurès,
the Socialist leader, profited by the opportunity to bring forward the
prosecution of Zola.
[18] Mr. David Christie Murray, the novelist, gave a very interesting
lecture on the _bordereau_ at the Egyptian Hall in London, generously
placed at his disposal by Mr. Maskelyne. In the course of his remarks
Mr. Murray strongly praised Zola's attitude, pointing out that after
toiling through poverty, privation, and obloquy, to fame and wealth, he
braved imprisonment and ruin out of pure pity and love of justice.
[19] He was the son of a certain Delegorgue, who after being known as
the "elephant hunter" in the days of Louis Philippe, became a great
friend of Alfred de Musset with whom he often played chess at the Café
de la Régence.
[20] In the above passage the able summary of the Dreyfus case (by Sir
Godfrey Lushington, it has been said) published by "The Times," October
14, 1898, has been followed. For all the details of Zola's trial, see
"Le Procès Zola, Compte Rendu _in extenso_," etc., 2 vols., 8vo, Paris,
Stock, 1898.
[21] In France it is not necessary for all twelve jurymen to be of the
same mind.
[22] M. Perrenx was sentenced to the same fine and four months'
imprisonment.
[23] At the request of the English publishers Vizetelly had written
suggesting that the book ought to be published as soon as possible,
that is, while the author's case was attracting so much attention.
[24] "Paris," Fasquelle, 1898, 18mo, 608 pages. Some copies on Dutch
and other special papers; a few presentation ones in 2 vols., 8vo.
Eighty-eighth thousand in 1899; ninety-fourth thousand in 1903.
[25] "Souvenirs," by Henri Brisson, published by "Le Siècle," 1903.
Zola's letter is in "La Vérité en Marche."
[26] So stated to Vizetelly by Zola a few days after his arrival in
England.
[27] M. Perrenx also had to leave France, and the writer believes that
he went to Belgium.
[28] The account of Zola's sojourn in England will here be brief,
the writer having already given a full one in his book "With Zola
in England, a Story of Exile," by E. A. Vizetelly, London, Chatto,
and Leipsic, Tauchnitz, 1899. Further particulars will be found in
various papers by the writer: "Some Recollections of Zola" ("Pall Mall
Magazine," Vol. XXIX, No. 117, January, 1903) and "Zola at Wimbledon"
("Wimbledon and Merton Annual," No. 1, 1904). A full account of the
Christmas Zola spent in England (1898) was given in "M. A. P., Vol. IX,
p. 235:" "Émile Zola in Exile," by Marie Suzanne (Mrs. E. A.) Vizetelly.
[29] Of Messrs. Gregson, Wareham, Waugh, and Gregson, solicitors.
[30] It fortunately turned out that the lady was the wife of Mr. Percy
Spalding of Messrs. Chatto and Windus, Zola's English publishers, and
thus the matter went no further.
[31] Madame Zola had been expected, but, being watched, had been unable
as yet to leave Paris.
[32] This note was signed "Émile Zola," but thinking that imprudent,
he carried his pen violently over the signature, producing an
extraordinary combination of blots and scratches. Sometimes he signed
"Em. Beauchamp," at others "J. Beauchamp," and "B." Later, he ventured
on a "Z." Very few of his notes of that time bear his name in full.
Moreover, for fear of the Cabinet Noir (the _petit bleu_ affair showed
that one existed), his letters to Paris were usually addressed by
Vizetelly to a person who transmitted them to those for whom they were
intended.
[33] "With Zola in England," p. 135 _et seq._
[34] Victor René Vizetelly, the writer's son.
[35] Zola had appealed against the first judgment, but on August 10 the
Appeal Court confirmed the conviction, altering the original penalty
(see _ante_, p. 463) to one of a month's imprisonment, a thousand
francs' fine, and ten thousand francs' damages for each of the three
plaintiffs.
[36] See notably his articles "Pour les Bêtes" and "Enfin Couronné" in
"Nouvelle Campagne."
[37] £1,280 = $6,400.
[38] Before leaving Addlestone he wrote for the London "Star" a short
story called "Angeline," based on a tale of a haunted house current
at "Walton-on-Thames." The French text appeared in "La Grande Revue,"
edited by M. Labori. in 1899.
[39] In explanation of the above, it may be mentioned that Mr.
Wareham's position as Zola's intermediary had come to the knowledge of
a journalist through the indiscretion of a friend in Paris.
[40] On June 7 he wrote to Vizetelly: "Excuse me for not having written
to you at once. I have been caught and carried off in such a whirl
that I have not yet had a moment to myself. I made on the whole a very
satisfactory journey, not a soul recognised me, and here everything is
for the best."
[41] The numerous articles on the Dreyfus case which the writer
contributed to that journal were largely inspired by Zola.
[42] The full text will be found in "La Vérité en Marche."
[43] He had written to Vizetelly, under date July 20, 1899: "I am at
last sending you the promised photographs, and apologise for the delay.
You can have no idea of the worries that have assailed me. I have often
regretted the quietude of Queen's Hotel already. However, everything
is going for the best, the happy _dénouement_ is approaching, and I
start for Médan on Tuesday to take a rest. I have read in 'Le Matin'
your articles on my stay in England. They are _très bien_, they have
skilfully remained within the limits which I asked you not to exceed.
Thanks again. I press your hand affectionately. Émile Zola." The
articles referred to were those reprinted as "Zola in England."
[44] A _fac-simile_ of the card in question accompanies the present
volume.
[45] See "La Vérité en Marche," p. 147 _et seq._
[46] A _fac-simile_ of the above letter is given with the present
volume.
[47] "La Vérité en Marche," p. 163 _et seq._
[48] "Fécondité." Paris, Fasquelle, 1899, 18mo, 751 pages. Some copies
on special papers; a few in two vols. 8vo. Ninety-fourth thousand in
1901.
[49] See his letters in "La Vérité en Marche," p. 181 and p. 205; also
others in "L'Aurore," March 10 and 15, 1900.
[50] It was, so to say, a medallion, its diameter being about 7 inches
(183 _millimètres_), and its thickness about one eighth of an inch
(3 _millimètres_). It weighed 5.80 pounds troy. On the obverse was
the novelist's effigy with the inscription, _Hommage à Émile Zola_;
on the reverse, the inscription, _La Vérité est en Marche et Rien ne
l'arrêtera, Émile Zola_, 13 _Janvier_, 1898. A copy of the medal on a
reduced scale (59 _millimètres_) was also given to Zola, and with the
balance of the subscription money small copies in silver and bronze
were distributed among the subscribers, others being sold to the
public.
XIV
LAST YEARS--DEATH
1901-1902
Zola's attempts at constructive writing--His evolution toward
Socialism--Some further remarks on "Fécondité"--"Travail" and the
pacific evolution of the working classes--Zola and the tastes of his
readers--Publication of "Travail"--"L'Ouragan"--Zola's difficulties
with "Vérité"--He is haunted by the Dreyfus case--He adapts it to
"Vérité"--His evolution in religious matters--His Positivism--His
opinion of the French Protestants--His last days--Announcement of
his death--Account and cause of it--The autopsy--Madame Zola's
illness--Reception of the news in France and abroad--Insults and
tributes of sympathy--Preparations for the funeral--The question of
military honours--Difficulties with Captain Dreyfus--The obsequies--A
great demonstration--The speeches at the graveside--M. Anatole France's
stirring oration.
Until Zola began his last series, "Les Quatre Évangiles," he had been,
virtually all his life, a writer of the so-called destructive school,
that is to say he had directed attention to an infinity of things which
in his opinion ought to be swept away, but he had said little indeed
of what he would set in their place. In like manner, within narrower
limits, Charles Dickens and Charles Reade had exposed abuses without
indicating remedies. Zola for his part long held that remedial measures
were not of his province. It was for the legislator to devise them, and
there was no call for the author to go beyond an _exposé_ of the abuses
which required redress. Time and circumstances gradually modified that
view, and in his last years, while persevering in his destructive work,
Zola made some attempt to couple re-construction with it. A suggestion
of what was coming appeared already in the pages of his novel, "Paris,"
which concluded the trilogy of "Les Trois Villes." In that series he
had shown Faith expiring, Hope a delusion, Charity a mockery, but at
the same time he had felt that if those guiding principles were to be
discarded, they must be replaced by others,--Fruitfulness, Work, Truth,
and Justice.
The scheme was of earlier date than the Dreyfus agitation, and no trace
of the latter is to be found in "Fécondité," the first volume in which
it was unfolded. But as Zola proceeded with his work he was naturally
influenced by all he had experienced and witnessed during the turmoil.
As will presently be seen, the Affair eventually invaded his pages, but
apart from that matter it hastened an evolution of his mind. He had
begun life as an Individualist, it was as an unattached Socialist that
he ended it, and this would have happened, no doubt, whether there had
been a Dreyfus case or not. Without the Affair, however, the evolution
might have remained less definite, less complete. The Affair showed him
that the existing social edifice was in some respects even more rotten
than he had previously believed. There could be no doubt of it, the
facts were manifest; and it followed that there was now less call for
exposure than for remedial measures. As his opinions with regard to
such measures differed largely from those of the men in power, the call
upon him was all the greater. He therefore tried to indicate broadly on
what lines reforms might proceed, and to sketch the future effect which
such reforms might have on the community.
It has been said that in his last works his imagination failed him,
that it was quite spent, and that he could no longer have produced
a work of art had he tried. That theory is wrong, based on ignorance
of what was then in Zola's mind. If he had lived long enough to write
the novel on the "Rat de l'Opéra,"[1] of which he talked so often to
the present writer, the world would have seen that the powers of the
novelist were undiminished. But in the great crisis through which
France was passing Zola held that for a time, at all events, his duty
lay in other work.
"Fécondité," of which some mention was made in the previous chapter,
treated a subject which had long haunted him--in a measure for personal
reasons--but it was, of course, from the national standpoint that
he dealt with it in his book. The question of the decline in the
birth rate and the mortality among infants had not only occupied the
attention of French sociologists and scientists for several years,
but various novels based upon it had already been written--novels
indicating that the whole tendency of the times was to transform
matrimony into legalised prostitution, in accordance with certain
specious neo-Malthusian theories. Zola rightly held that unless that
tendency were checked there could be no social regeneration at all.
Thus he placed the subject in question at the head of his series.
While he was preparing "Fécondité" in England the present writer was
often able to glance at the documents, medical works, reports, letters
from eminent scientists, and so forth, on which the novelist based his
account of the noxious practices prevalent in various strata of French
society, and he holds that far from "Fécondité" being an exaggerated
picture it did not represent more than two-thirds of the actual truth.
On the other hand, when Zola proceeded to sketch the healthy life which
ought to replace the existing one, enthusiasm led him further than
was necessary, though, after all, he did not go beyond the provisions
of the "marriage-books" which the French authorities hand to every
bridegroom at the conclusion of the marriage ceremony--books beginning
with a signed and stamped certificate of the union just celebrated and
continuing with enough blank forms to register the birth of _twelve_
children--the number which Zola bestowed on his hero and heroine,
Mathieu and Marianne.
Fruitfulness, said he, created the home, whence sprang the city; and
from the idea of citizenship that of the fatherland proceeded. There
could be no nation unless there were fruitfulness, which became, then,
a first national duty. The second was work, which Zola considered
under various aspects in his next novel, "Travail." He held that every
man ought to work for his own support and that of his family, and he
also regarded work as a panacea for many ills. But he turned more
particularly to the consideration of the circumstances under which
work was done in the modern world, to the condition of the toilers
generally, the great capital and labour problem. In that connection he
was greatly influenced by the state of France at the time he wrote, the
onward march of Socialism, the innumerable strikes, the complaints,
the demands rising on all sides. He felt that matters could not remain
as they were. But though he was in the higher sense a great fighter he
was the adversary of mere brute force; and dreading an armed collision
between the classes, he tried to devise, to suggest, a pacific remedial
evolution.