New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-11-18
4 PROMISED 1ry0ByOGR1PHY.

4 PROMISED AUIOBIOGRAPHY.
rumor reaches us that Mr.. Thomas Carlyle has
determined TO write an autO Biography, and that he
is already engaged IN It's preparation. TINS VIII he
agreeable intelligence 10 "A great number OF readers
to All who Ike remarkable books, and take
pleasure as well as find profit in studying the char
actcTs of remarkable men. After many years spent
in cucidaiing the mysteries and the morals of hero
worship Mr. Carlyle has become his own hero and
in his own original way will tell Us the story
of his struggles and experiences his successes
and failures. since he left the little village
of Ecc.erccian, and began to study men, to write
books and TO DO desperate battle against shaIls.
We shall know why Inc refused to become q clergy
man: what chance directed HIM to the study OF the
German literature and language; and how he be-
came 10 bo what he calls himself IN his copyright
petition to Parliament, " a writer Of books" begin
ming with translation of Legendre'5 Geometry.
There VIII he something said Of the Life Of
Schiller" of the translation OF Wilhelm Mcster;'
OF the ougresicHce among the hills and moTHsscs OF
CTaigrng Itoch OF the sound, honest work done Tor
The Edinburgh Rericr; of the "Sartor Resartus
which IN 1898 50 astOnlshed the readers of frdseTs
lIagq:ioc-the wonderful philosophy of DiogeneS
TculesdT0ckh. Perhaps we shall be told how 1t
was that the startling article on characteristics
EdiaJ0gh Ieri,5r. We cannot venture to predict
the method which Mr.. Carlyle will adopt IN telling
his story. but We may BE- that it will
be truthf.lly and attIactiytlY told. Indeed, SO
flscinatUga work may be- anticipated that II would
be real disappointment to learn that the ruIn0r II
without foundation. II written vcracIOusly, ana
Mr. Carlyle COuld not possibly write III any other
way. autobiography is the most desirable and val
liable and agreeable form in which the events OF
mans life can be recorded. Indeed, It Is 50 inner
emily and naturally entertaining that the lives even
of ignorant men, no matter now cluhlShy
they NAV be put together. hardly ever weary
US. There are scores of religious auto
biographies, for instance which hold our attention
by their obvious and passionate sincerity, although
they may be void altogether of literary merit.
There are lives Of men written by themselves which
are one long confession OF dishonesty aud selfish
ness made with such frankness that We may
almost regard their authors under some superior
influence There are the Memoirs of Bubb
DoddingtonD lord MelcOmb Regis,-a book
valuable inasmuch as it proves that man
may be absolutely void of moral sense, as some are
deficient in the sense of smell. Really, though Bubb
was a peer of the realm, his career hardly seems
whit more respectable than that of stephen Bur
roughs, the Connecticut cOunterieiter, who also
added his autobiography to tue literature of the
a
and entertaining book he gave to the world.
Generally speaking man knows much more Of
his own life than anybody else can possibly know of
it. Nobody can write its history so well he can.
Usually, tho autobiogapber, with a charming
ndireE takes the whS@ world into his confidence,
and prattrs as confidently of his dsreputabc as of
his honorable dongs 1.-THE Confessions of Rous-
seaur afford an illustration of this; but the
autobiography Of Ben Franklin. before it
was tempered with by his editors, is moro
| pleasing one The Memoirs OF Alieri have the same
winning frankuess. There is no book which gives
us satisfactory insight into the mysteries of
the German Courts III the days of Frederick the
Great than the autobiography of the Margarine of
Bayreuth. The bnly work of any value which
Clifford tho Editor of The Quarterly Rerier, left be-
hind was the story of his early life, when he was
cobblcr's apprentice. Miss Martineaus autobio-
graphic work Is clear and honest and good that
we can only regret that she did not complete it.
But we must not be tempted into photography.
little reflection will recall to the readers memory
| books Of this kind numerous enough to fill the
shelves of an ordinary library.
Though we may never have these promised vol
umrs there is pleasure in fOreCasting their char
acter and contents. We shall have the old style
which, rugged and unCOuth it may be, is still as
much a style as AddIson's or Macauay's. We shall
have something of the old cyniclsm or pessmsm, or
by whatever name it may lie called. We may ex-
pect to learn something more of Edward
Irving of John Sterling possibly of poor
Leigh Hunt, and of how many more!
We surely shall not miss that sincerity everywhere
TO be observed in the writings Of Carlyle, and which
atones for all his strange talk about Shams and
Chimeras and Windbags, while here and there scat
tered through the Wilderness of words will be
little touches of idylc pathos which will move the
hardest of us to tears. Nj. Carye's disciples may
be few his admirers may not be critically JudciOus;
but there is vast circle OF readers to whom he
has brought profit and pleasure and who will never
weary of hearing tho most individual man of lis
time as he talks even presses of himself