happen to inherit. On the other side he MAY have descended from
kings; but, as in the case of "The Fair Cuban," he must have added,
"African, unfortunately." Did his father perform these mythical
feats of strength? did he lift up a horse between his legs while
clutching a rafter with his hands? did he throw his regiment before
him over a wall, as Guy Heavistone threw the mare which refused the
leap ("Memoires," i. 122)? No doubt Dumas believed what he heard
about this ancestor--in whom, perhaps, one may see a hint of the
giant Porthos. In the Revolution and in the wars his father won the
name of Monsieur de l'Humanite, because he made a bonfire of a
guillotine; and of Horatius Cocles, because he held a pass as
bravely as the Roman "in the brave days of old."

This was a father to be proud of; and pluck, tenderness, generosity,
strength, remained the favourite virtues of Dumas. These he
preached and practised. They say he was generous before he was
just; it is to be feared this was true, but he gave even more freely
than he received. A regiment of seedy people sponged on him always;
he could not listen to a tale of misery but he gave what he had, and
sometimes left himself short of a dinner. He could not even turn a
dog out of doors. At his Abbotsford, "Monte Cristo," the gates were
open to everybody but bailiffs. His dog asked other dogs to come
and stay: twelve came, making thirteen in all. The old butler
wanted to turn them adrift, and Dumas consented, and repented.

"Michel," he said, "there are some expenses which a man's social
position and the character which he has had the ill-luck to receive
from heaven force upon him. I don't believe these dogs ruin me.
Let them bide! But, in the interests of their own good luck, see
they are not thirteen, an unfortunate number!"