New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-12-25

genius.
For that facility of change and honest confession
of IT, If for nothing else Mr.. Rnsk:n ought to con-
done DR. waageu's original offence: Mr.. Ruskin
himself setting little store by mere consistency as
most men, These volumes contain evidence enough.
il evidence were wanting Of the great critics chang
ing moods but | CHANGED the other day upon one ~
curious a. any. | had bought the Elements oil
Drawing" now a scarce book to give 10 boy VINO
for some months past had been kept nard at Work by
MS master the study and practice OF perspective
Imagine my disnay al dis oveTlng thau IN tine pre-
face to the Elements perspective is dismissed con-
temptuously as a thing of which no boy need know
more than he can learn by looking at an OBJECT
through pane OF glass that the great painters
cared nothing for it, that great painter ever did
or ever would paint in true perspective. and 40 on
put the book uway considering that, whether MI
Ruskin were right wrong, il was hardly worth
whit to put his disparagnG opinion before ooy
who had been giving great deal OF energy 10 mas
ter,ng it, week later came upon volume not
much smaller than the Elements OF Drawing" en-
titled "Tbe Elements of Perspective" Dated
think two years later the author OF 1t john nus
KIN: with a preface also in which could find no
kind of reference 10 what he had been saying 50
shortly before against the study on which he now
thought it worth while 10 compose an elaborate
treatise This also bought, and gave both books 20
the youugster in question rejecting that he might
possibly learn something of human nature out OF
them as we'll as of perspective.
AMERICA FROM TORY POINT OF VIEW.
The references to America or TO the united states
In these two volumes are not numerous. For one
reason or another. perhaps because of ms often
avowed hatred OF Liberalism, Mr. Ruskin loves us
none too well. He will not even visit us; though he
has, as he tells us. kind invitations enough ne
could not. even for a couple of months. 1--we in
LII to M gnl ar a |
looked for a still more tremendous passage which
remember but which must occur in some speech or
printed book mean chat IN which this amiaDie en-
rhusiast remarks that he would like to pull down
the New Town of Edinburgh and rebuild 1t; ana
pull down New York and not rebuild 1t. Perhaps II
was Tammany Hall he thinking Of; which too
often stands to the English mind az an epitone ana
type of everything American; IN which Gaze the DesC
American might echo Mr.. Ruskins wish. But mere
Is a passage in a different mood
have not hast ened my reply to your last letter,
thinking thai space AZ present w0lld oe othcr
wise occupied having also my own thoughts
busted in various directions, such yOn may tancy
vet busted chiefly IN sad wonder, whlcn perhaps
you would no. fancy. ] mourn Tor Dir. Lincoln, as
man should mourn the Late OF man, When 10 ~ SUD-
den and supreme. | hate regicdo rs 30 p0puncide-
deeply II frenzed more deeply deliberate Dut my
wonder Is IN remembering the tone on Ilc EJVliSu
people and press respecting tins man during ms me-
and III comparing 1t win thelr SaFi9gs 1i MN III
his death They caTIcaiu:ed aud rryLea MN wheh
his cause was poised IN deaHlY D;hInse-
when their praise would have Deen gT'IrIul l"
Hmm and their help Priceless. IheY Low declare as
cause TO have been just, when n ntcGs no ana anu
his purposes 10 have been noble, when al human
Thoughts of them have become VANITY, and VIII
never much mix Lelr nGTmurs IN MS ears vi n
1Lr sentence of the Tribunal which has summoned
him to receive Justcr praise and tenderer Dldnle
than ours.
For tne sake of which ono tribute OF tender re-
gret 70 the greatest American of recent days, we
may readily forgive the one or two spieneuc crtl-
cisms he has made AT other times
Tie observation on castles occurs IN noto 10
letter on the apDca TO the English pu1ictor heip IN
the rebuilding of Warwick Castle partly destroyed
by fire IN 1871. To this appeal Mr.. RdSkIn re ponds
by letter in which, after describing himself as
case-Iover of the truest sort and dwelling on the
sorrow and anger with which he has watched the
destruction of hall the National monuments OF Eng
land by the wicked improvltence Of our great Ian-
lies. he thus concludes:
Bat, sir | am at tins hour endeavoring 70 find
WORK and food for a boy o. seventeen, one OF eight
peOpe-two married couples, woman ana her
daughter and this boy and his sster-Wh0 All sleep
together IN one room, eighteen feet square III
tn heart OF London, and You call unnn NE 1Or
subscription 10 help rebuild warwick Castle
ST. | ain an Old aud thoroughbred Tory, and as
sucn say: If noble family cannot TeDulid tuelr
own castle. i'll Gods name let them 1--we IN the near
est ditch TIL they can.
EXPoUNDING THE BARD OF AVON.
Mr. Furnivall appeals TO him IN the name of the
New Shakespeare Society 20 explain the word fret
in the passage
And Won gray lines
That frer the clouds as messengers OF day
Mr.. Ruslin's method OF definition would consider
ably astonish Dr. Joi and his successors. First
he writes rs follows:
Fret means all manner OF things IN that place
primarily. rhe ripping of clouds as sea oy VIVA
secoudIv the breaking 1t aSunder for light 10 come
through. 1t implies IL certain degree OF Ne@l'lon-
SOM i,ssOlutlOn-much order aud extreme 'e4nly'
., no r..y1 mi TAM X
nress the rIpp cd edge OF wing feather In
architecture and jeweiry II means simply Tougheh-
ing III decorative manner.
Upon Mr. Furnyall asking leave to print this let
ter Mr.. RuskIn writes second of three pages by
way OF gloss on the first and WITH this sweeping
remark for preface:
You sag not one man in $50 knows what the line
means: my dear Furnvall, not one man IN Io,OOO,
IN the nncteenth century, knows, or ever can know"
wha arr line or any tCOrd means. us7h bY great
writer. For most words stand Tor thlngB that are
seen or things that thought Of ana III the nine
teenth century there II certainly not one man III
10 900 VINO ever looks at any hing, and not one III
is 900 900 capable OF a Thought.
OPINIONS or MEN AND WOMEN.
Here is a dellvcTance the suffrage question:
male anu female together;
VENICE, MAY 90 1870.
SIR : I am Obliged by your note l have no time
for private correspondence at sent, but you are
quite right IN your superstition as 10 my views re-
soecting female franchise. 30 far from wishing 10
give votes to women, wouId lam Jake them away
Frem most men. Very sincerely yours,
~ j. RCaKIN.
The judgments upon men are sometimes OF
startling kind. Contrasting the melodious zone OF
Forbes, reyerent intellect with the dscordant in
science of modernism" Mr. Ruskin says: HIS
mind grew and took color ike an Alpine flower
rooted on rock and perennial in flower; while
Macaulay's sweed like puff ball in an unwhole-
some pasture, and projected itself far round in
deleter ious dust" Poor Sir BENJAMIN West-though
| don't know t1at anything said about him can any
longer startle any body-ls bracketed with Opie
and Fuseii nightl2hts. extiHgusEInR
themselves not odoriferously, at dayDreaK
IA a sputier IN the saucer" But the Italians. or