Page:Pierre and Jean - Clara Bell - 1902.djvu/307

Rh to the vanity of mediocre writers. He disliked to see his features reproduced for the same reason that he refused decorations and academic honours, and all the distinctions that our French contemporaries seem to desire so eagerly, striving; after paltry honours which would soon become objects of derision, if proud natures like that of the author of Pierre et Jean were less rare.

"A man must be very modest," said Flaubert, "if he thinks himself honoured by honours conferred on him."

There are, then, no painted portraits of Guy de Maupassant, nor any sketches by artists in crayons or water-colours, nor even any medallions and miniatures. On the other hand, he never attracted the attention of the caricaturist. The only