From A Bibliography of Alexandre Dumas père by Frank Wild Reed: On the occasion of the birth of her daughter Clementina, Alexandre Dumas sent the following lines to Princesse Pauline Metternich :—
"Je vois des vengeances étranges,
Au ciel contre vous s'amasser,
Si vous lui prenez tous les anges,
Dieu finira par se lasser ! "
"À vos pieds, Alex. Dumas."
"Biarritz, 5 juillet 1870." (1)
This is quoted by Princesse Metternich in her "My Years in Paris" (English translation, page 179). It may well be the last piece of verse penned by the veteran writer.
(1) "Strange vengeances I seem to view
The Heav'ns accumulate 'gainst you ;
If all His angels you must steal,
God in the end will wearied feel ! "
"At your feet, Alex. Dumas."
"Biarritz, 5th of July, 1870."
It is not without interest to compare with the above the fourth verse in the poem "À. I . . ." (page 149).
"C'est que je sais qu'un bonheur sans mélange
N'est pas du monde où je vis soucieux,
Et que je crains que Dieu ne dise : 'Un ange
Manque, il me semble, aux cohortes des cieux ! ' "
———
" 'Tis that good fortune unmingled could ne'er
Come, in this world full of stress, well I knew,
And that I feared me lest God should declare :
'Here then in heav'n is one angel too few ! ' "
