New-York tribune., 1873-06-20

action the form and color Of reality the free move
ment and loving sympathy OF good cornpanonship Tt
remarkable that the best book for children IA
makes play out Of work. and that Daniel DE Foe s the
prophetic master Of all modern educators; aud his
Robinson Crusoe has become institution in somo
Of the Kindergarten schools which call regular class
By this name"
The Gdldry as usual, is bright and readable,
with than common proportion VI articles
which eyince sOundness OF thought well
as brillancy Of expression. One two OF the
articles turn the mysteries Of the bOok-making
craft nd are well worth reading for their equally
and pquant suggestions Mr. Carl Benson for instance.
expatates on the presumption Of unfeiged writers who
think that easy to translate French 10 eat their
dinner. Half-educated and hafliterary people" he
tells us, often possessed with pcrilous deusiOn
that translatng French prose into English prose Is
rather easy work. fact is extremely difficult, and
the most example Of 1t. the novel; Is also tho
most difficult; and the OF a real novel roman dc
s0ei{ Is the harder II 10 translate even respeca-
bly,. Tho ordinary heaped up and running
over with bunders Not much Ia vocabulary ODOugh
a school dictionary goes very little way toward eue-
dating the mislang OF modern cOnyersaOn) N the
idoms and still in the phrases OF both
languages OF such errors YOU may hnd four
five on page, opening almost anywhere at random
Transations OF much higher order than these sun leave
much to desire. As a specimen OF such work. prepared
with unusual care aud at a very unusual expense, We
may take AppletOns version OF HugOs 'LHOmme qui
Rit' IL paid for at much higher rate than tho
usual publishers tariff it was executed Ohough only
bearing the OF the principal trauslator by three
men. who all had a fair reputation French scholars
| acquaintance OF years with French as spoken and
written in Paris and long practice in writing Englsh
Yet there slips IL which hight be called crude, they
show such weakness in the delicaces OF both English
and French. Thus in the very dramatic alteration be-
| tween CanChare and Dluymoir IN Lady Josiane's
room, there occurs this bit OF sparuns: 'Gwyn-
/ nIa IFrtHY
Tom Jimjack, 10 ne m'appeie pas GwynpIaIne'
Which, correctly rendered. means: 'Gwynplainc, my
is not Tom Jimjlck THE other had just called
him SOL Tom Jimack, my Damo Is not Gwynplalne'
Instead of which the Appleton translation has Gwyn-
PLANE 1 am not called Tom Jimiack' Tom JinJack'
am not called Gwynplaine' Now some persons would
say that these two transatlons the same thing.
They 10 not they mean tEO very different thing
mans is his real name. lie IL called some other
name not his real Clemens Is the name OF the
| author who IL called Mark Twain. Nathaniel Bumpo
was the name Of Coopcr's great hero; he called &C
different stages OF his career Pathfinder, Dcerslycr,
Hawkeye, Leatherstockug etc. JUDGED, tue Appleton
translation makes the characters talk nonsense, and
contradict the plain facts OF the story. Lord Dnymor
| disguised a sailor oqs called Tom Jimjack Lord
Cancharlie rs the clown Of unknown parentage, Vds
| called Gwynplane Again mas 81. Is rendered Dat
yes which is English. II should have been Du'
tell YOU it is the reorted and reiterated assertion 50
having English word corresponding to IT, LeaY-
ing particulars and ascending TO gencrahties, We ask
Why is French difficult to translate into good EnSlsh
The natural is Because the genius OF the Ian
guages is very different. But this is somewhat vague;
let Us redescend In the first place. The French Ian
guage Is pitched IN higher Key than the -aglsh' II
uses stronger words TO express the same tnlnS. An
| AnglO-Saxon's incident Is a Frenchmans adventure
This is well illustrated in CALCULATIONS. M)a D'ea! I'm
most cases is smpy on D3ar' PIrtlcu! Is should
think so" And yet such the Caprces Of Languages
Nom dc Dieu! Is great deal stronger than In Goda
name fact, very stiff oathJ Unless, therefore,
our English version very much toned dow1 II VIII Oe
strained and stilted English, not moving naturally
Then there are French words perfectly dsnihed the
English equivalents OF which too familiar to be u'ed
I'm serious or tragic writing. Thus lie Talon, the ule
Of one Of Ercknann Charian's tales Is literally III IOt
Tat But this IL almost comic term, ana VIII nos
| answer the heading OF a tragic story We
must either nse Retaliation or some sue'
| approximate 5ut incorrect rendering, or w
must cut significant title altogether, and call th,
tale after one OF its characters which is what an English
translator did. Cherbulezs novel; La RsyaAche de
Joseph Noirel, presented to the American public az
The Revenge OF Joseph NOircl' This translation was
objected to- yet it is hard TO what other title the
translator could have found Joseph NJreIs Hand or
Joseph Nolreps Turn would have been Ambiguous,
Joseph NOirers Innings too familiar for a tragca
narration Qt might be- pleaded a cumulative reason,
that when speak Of having our revenge at cards OF
any game the corresponding French word l. clearly
rer0cde II viii De observed that words OF this sort haze
an unfortunate habit Of appearing In titles and other
conspicuous places where they give the most trouble
| Another writer ron PcriO Heal Baies-Lettrcs and
Criticism is always amusing, and often wise, IN his
structures on the 'nuf and other ungainy materials
which sometimes creep into tho best of our Maya
zines The remarks on the style or criticism which
consis of ,nars audigrowls, and fierce showing o.
teeth applies TO a school that has had Its day, but any
lurking srasgers that remain certainly fair game.
aud they set their due handsomely several paragraphs
beside the following But We must notice SOME ianty
and unpriacped ci,cism aOat, which drifts carolcssJ
out from respectable quarters, anu driven here aui
there by currents, fluids lOdgmeut on various hosptaOA
shores where 70 is really only an enemy IN disguise
This acute and deprccalg spirit OF cauStic wit Is em-
poyed ncesslusy undertaking and yiifyng what i5
does uots top judge These unmpassionei unbe.oV-
or like ephisophees, AMI enjoy the masses OF
faults, OF shortcomings, worse, OF evil, which they
are sure to in almost all the productions they sur
yey There is something not merely disseminating or ~
noble in this mood, but positively eOrruptns. As tIer
keen swOrdhrusts or puciistlc fists draw blood, the
critics look Tor It's sight and enjoy Its smell and
the attack and the brmsug become also an cn)ym ut
10 the reader The position OF prZ fighter public
ccutoner chosen in life by Tho large. sweet sous
nor do they like to ateud executions wait upon the
rius there l. always rdbbe enough 20 give eciH 10
these cruetrs. Indeed the ollce OF heads
man is thought disgrace aud de5radltlon.
and in the old continental world 1t
the hereditary birthright and misfortune Of two OF
three doomed families. Whoever has read SCOTS novel
of The Headsmln will understand that fact But these
moderucrcs rejoice IN their Office and indeed make IL
their pastime the Partisan mob made the suiIotne.
The question to them the book under
sideraton ss living and healthfuli Is IL idiotic and
worhless IS t wicked and does it deserve death but
Caut cut its head OF neatly It's great fuu! TINS
the thoughtlessness OF youth, but savagery