pages: unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf, 324
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unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 324 | CHAPTER XI THE NARROWNESS OF ROBERT-HOUDIN'S "MEMOIRS" T HE charm of true memoirs lies far beyond the printed pages, in the depth and breadth of the writer's soul. The greatest of all autobi- ographies are those which detail not only the lives of the men who penned them, but which abound in diverting anecdotes and character studies of the men and women among whom the writer moved. They are not autobiographies alone, but vivid, broad-minded pen- Pictures of the period in which the writer was a vigorous, respect-compelling figure. Memoirs written with a view to settling old scores seldom live to accomplish their ends. I he narrowness and pettiness of the writer, which intelli- gent reading of history is bound to disclose, destroy all Other charms which the book may possess. At personal exploitation Robert-Houdin is a brilliant Success. As a writer of memoirs he is a wretched failure. Whenever he writes of himself, his pen seems fairly to scintillate. Whenever he refers to other magicians of his times, his pen lags and drops on the pages blots which can emanate only from a narrow, petty, jeal- ous nature. Even when he writes of his own family, this peculiar trait of petty egotism may be read between the lines. He mentions the name of his son Émile, apparently because [ 295 ] i |