The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-03-15
CHATS ABOUT BOOKS
"HOURS IN A LIBRARY.


''Help yourself TO pipe, Professor" said the
Doctor, laying a tempting array Of meerschaums
and bag OF tobacco upon his ONCE table. "Draw
up your chair and put your feet on the lender.
The ladies all out this evening, we Will try
to make ourselves comfortable down here. feel
quite like an old bachelor already. You were
reading Leslie Stephens Hours in o Library
(Scribner, Armstrong Co.. when lett the house
this morning Tell me what you think OF its"
The PROFESSOR Caklng long pull at his pipe to
make sure that it is ligDted) The articles which
form the volume appeared In the Cornhiu Maya.
zfne, FraseT's and the Fortn0htlv Reuie,n wien
first Published. and understand that they were
pretty well thought oil IN England. They are well
written, and the author has evidently labored
over his work, and although read the book with
interest 1t made me as angry as the Nation often
does. stephen Is an arraut iaultfnder. be dis
cusses De Foe, Richardson, Pope, Scott Haw.
thorne, Bazac and De Quincy, and 10 neither
one does ne give real wholesome praise. He
does not agree with Lamb that De Foes other
works were as good as "RoDinsOn Crusoe," but
thinks that in that famous book he found his level,
which was not very nigh one, and that his
Imagination, though powerful. was very limited.
Tne DocToR-That sounds sensible enough.
admired "RoDlnson Crusoe" very much az q child,
but looking at 1t now, from a literary point Of
view, it seems no more than diary OF common
p.ac. facts. The secOnd part is exceeding tire.
some. What has our critic to say OF Richard.
sonS
The PRoFEssoR-Little good He thinks that his
greatest triumph was in painting women, that his
men not liie-ke and that his moral prosngs
SAVIOR OF the endless gossip over o dish OF choco.
late. He Is severe upon Sir Walter Scott
than any or the others.
The DocroR-wnat flaws does he pick In the
"WIZard or the NorthY
The PRoFEssoR-Wel In the frs. place. he calls
him dull, accuses him OF looking upon literature
as a trade and predicts for MIN only few more
years OF popularity. The whole OF those his torlca
novels, says he, which once charmed all men, are
rapidly converting themselves Into mere depris
OF plaster OF Paris. He has thorough contempt
for the historical novel. Such novels, he says
either dictionaries OF antiquities, dissolved In
q thin solution OF romance, or simply take their
plot and costume from history. In the latter case
1t generally results In KIND OF dance in letters
and a conposttairs breakdown under ssltimposed
Obligations.
The DocToR-I cannot agree with the whole OF
that, although soc glimmer OF truth through It
ALL
The MISUNDERSTANDING OF authors, he says,
Nobody can XIII an hour In an ex press train bo
has been dead twenty I've years.
The DOCTOR GLOWING o cloud OF smoke up to the
ceiling -Ridculous
/ Tue PRoFEssoR-He says OF scotts poetry, ut IL
not the poetry oil deep meditation or OF rapr en-.
rhusas; - he. however, gives 1t credit for having
the charm OF an unaffected and spontaneous love
OF nature. II Scott and Byron could have be On
combined Mr.. stephen thinks we mign, have &c en-
another Shakespeare.
/ The DocToR-l DON'T believe that Stephen would
have been satisfied with o nineteenth century
! Shakespeare.
The PROFESSOR tpuffng vigorously a. bis almos.
1reless pipej-And now we come TO that part oil
the book which reused my righteous indignation,
the criticism OF Nathaniel hawthorne From be.
hind INN mask Of praise IL Is easy TO see the
green-eyed monster. he pretends to 10 giving
the grea. rornancer hoaest criticism, but II Is
camning with faint praise.
Inc DOCTOR (testily)- SHOULD Ike TO know WI u
lault any one can tina with hawthorne.
rae PRoFEssoE-No one but Mr. Leslie Stephen
could find any, out lie completely riddles OUT
iayortte romancer with the bullets OF criticism
In the hrs. place, he speaks oil Hswthorne's good
fortune In being born in the "moss prosaic oil OIL
countries" which good fortune ne explains, aftsI
. lot Of uncAled for abuse OF Amerles and AmsrL