CONTE

conte, literally a "story," derived from the fr. _conter_, to narrate, through low lat. and provencal forms _contare_ and _comtar_. this word, although not recognized by the _new english dictionary_ as an english term, is yet so frequently used in english literary criticisms that some definition of it seems to be demanded. a _conte_, in french, differs from a _recit_ or a _rapport_ in the element of style; it may be described as an anecdote told with deliberate art, and in this introduction of art lies its peculiar literary value. according to littre, there is no fundamental difference between a _conte_ and a _roman_, and all that can be said is that the _conte_ is the generic term, covering long stories and short alike, whereas the _roman_ (or novel) must extend to a certain length. but if this is the primitive and correct signification of the word, it is certain that modern criticism thinks of a _conte_ essentially as a short story, and as a short story exclusively occupied in illustrating one set of ideas or one disposition of character. as early as the 13th century, the word is used in french literature to describe an anecdote thus briefly and artistically told, in prose or verse. the fairy-tales of perrault and the apologues of la fontaine were alike spoken of as _contes_, and stories of peculiar extravagance were known as _contes bleus_, because they were issued to the common public in coarse blue paper covers. the most famous _contes_ in the 18th century were those of voltaire, who has been described as having invented the _conte philosophique_. but those brilliant stories, _candide_, _zadig_, _l'ingenu_, _la princess de babylone_ and _le taureau blanc_, are not, in the modern sense, _contes_ at all. the longer of these are _romans_, the shorter _nouvelles_, not one has the anecdotical unity required by a _conte_. the same may be said of those of marmontel, and of the insipid imitations of oriental fancy which were so popular at the close of the 18th century. the most perfect recent writer of _contes_ is certainly guy de maupassant, and his celebrated anecdote called "boule de suif" may be taken as an absolutely perfect example of this class of literature, the precise limitations of which it is difficult to define. (e. g.) conte, nicolas jacques (1755-1805), french mechanical genius, chemist and painter, was born at aunou-sur-orne, near sees, on the 4th of august 1755, of a family of poor farm labourers. at the age of fourteen he displayed precocious artistic talent in a series of religious panels, remarkably fine in colour and composition, for the principal hospital of sees, where he was employed to help the gardener. with the advice of greuze he took up portrait painting, quickly became the fashion, and laid by in a few years a fair competency. from that time he gave free rein to his passion for the mechanical arts and scientific studies. he attended the lectures of j. a. c. charles, l. n. vaquelin and j. b. leroy, and exhibited before the academy of science an hydraulic machine of his own invention of which the model was the subject of a flattering report, and was placed in charles's collection. the events of the revolution soon gave him an opportunity for a further display of his inventive faculty. the war with england deprived france of plumbago; he substituted for it an artificial substance obtained from a mixture of graphite and clay, and took out a patent in 1795 for the form of pencil which still bears his name. at this time he was associated with monge and berthollet in experiments in connexion with the inflation of military balloons, was conducting the school for that department of the engineer corps at meudon, was perfecting the methods of producing hydrogen in quantity, and was appointed (1796) by the directory to the command of all the aerostatic establishments. he was at the head of the newly created conservatoire des arts et metiers, and occupied himself with experiments in new compositions of permanent colours, and in 1798 constructed a metal-covered barometer for measuring comparative heights, by observing the weight of mercury issuing from the tube. summoned by bonaparte to take part as chief of the aerostatic corps in the expedition to egypt, he considerably extended his field of activity, and for three years and a half was, to quote berthollet, "the soul of the colony." the disaster of aboukir and the revolt of cairo had caused the loss of the greater part of the instruments and munitions taken out by the french. conte, who, as monge says, "had every science in his head and every art in his hands," and whom the first consul described as "good at everything," seemed to be everywhere at once and triumphed over apparently insurmountable difficulties. he made, in an almost uncivilized country, utensils, tools and machinery of every sort from simple windmills to stamps for minting coin. thanks to his activity and genius, the expedition was provided with bread, cloth, arms and munitions of war; the engineers with the exact tools of their trade; the surgeons with operating instruments. he made the designs, built the models, organized and supervised the manufacture, and seemed to be able to invent immediately anything required. on his return to france in 1802 he was commissioned by the minister of the interior, chaptal, to superintend the publication of the great work of the commission on egypt, and an engraving machine of his construction materially shortened this task, which, however, he did not live to see finished. he died at paris on the 6th of december 1805. napoleon had included him in his first promotions to the legion of honour. a bronze statue was erected to his memory in 1852 at sees, by public subscription.