Press enter after choosing selection

Thiers' First Successes

Thiers' First Successes image
Parent Issue
Day
11
Month
November
Year
1897
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Thiers' great achievement at Ais was in winning a prize offered by the academy for an essay on Vau venar gues, says the Chautauquan. The way in which this prize was secured was characteristic of Thiers. He wrote one essay which would have been successful but for the fact that it was known to be his, The essays were sent anonymously, but Thiers had been unable to refrain from reading his to a literary society. The royalists on the committee, knowing its 'iiithorship, were unwilling to grant it the prize and postponed the decisión. Thiers at once wrote another in a different style, which Mignet oopled and sent anonymously. This essay Won the prize, and the whole town laughed at the clever scheme. The money which he received enabled him to go to Paris. "He had hoped to practice law, but found he had not money enough to be admitte;! to the Paris bar. He tried unsuccessfully writing, fan painting and the duties of a private jecretary, but earnecl barely enough to keep from starving in his garret. Fínally he got a chance to wrlte for the Constitutionnel. The editor, to whom he had an introduction, had thought to get rid of him by asldng him to write a review of the salon for that year. He supposed that Thiers must fail in such a task. The artistic taste which had been deveioped at Aix made his review a literary event. While doing jüs-Uce to David's great service to Frenen art in the past, Thiers nrged emancipation from the fetter3 with which David had bound the Frenen school, and in contrast called attention to Delacrolx, then an unknown painter. This single article did much for French art, and also secured the author a good position as a journalist. For this he was eminently fitted, as he was clear headed, went right to the heart of affairs and always wrote with his udience clearly before his mind. These game qualities were afterward prominent in his speeches.

Article

Subjects
Old News
Ann Arbor Register