New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-03-06
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
r,Tz.JAMEs o'BRIEN.

ma auehor. WILLIAM Siuuii o'V' w %0"'
Boston: James r. oszooa q Co.
~ ths life of Fitz-James O'Brien. which was cut
short by our civil war; In his thrtyfourth or thirty
tftt wear little is known except during its last ten
vears and that little imperfectly. He was born
Mr. Winter SAYS, about the year ISIS, IN the
County of Limerick, Ireland. and was the son Oh an
attoruey-at-law and an Irish lady who inherited
sbe traditionary beauty of her countrywomen lie
js SAID to have been educated at Dublin university
md to have shown q talent for rhymng az an carry
period. Mr. Winter has found two OF his Ju'emio
illusions O copy of colorless verses on Loon ma
N salt lake in the County OF Cork, and copy Oh
amorous verses ON Irish Castles" both of which
wore gathered up into compilation entitled Inc
Ballads of Ireland' published in 1893, and edlted
by Edward Hayes, who attributed them to that
voluminous author Anonymous. They were hardlv
worth exca, ating in the present year OF grace
The elder OBrien appears to have died during
the minority OF his boy, and to have left him iar
inheritance. for on leaving college Fitz-James
trBrep went to London, and through about
eight thousand pounds III about two years lhA'
he was ever in the British army, as ne cianeu W
have BEEN may be doubted. Nevertheless no was
not wholly unknown to an officer belonging 10 thaI
army. who was stationed in India, and who had
left his wife behind him in England Returning
suddenly one day he found her in charming
establishment near London, but he did not find
voung gentleman whom he lad expected to meet
with her tor he had suddenly gone to Paris. Ii our
rate military friend had waited little longer, ne
might still have missed our other young Iiienu,
but he certainly would not have missed MS oiu
family silver which was just on the point OF Oeing
sent 10 HIM hen he concluded to cross tue Chanhei
After this romantic episode (which seems TO nave
escaped his biographerl. Ntz-James OBrien came
IN America, supplied with letters of introduction
VIII WAS
then editing o newspaper in Liverpool, and ad-
Creased to sundry of his correspondents presumably
Of the literary profession.
Fitz-James OBrien appeared in New-YorE late IN
1881. or early in 1852, and was soon received in
society He was bright young fellow, OF pleasing
address, elegant manners. and more than the
average amount of intelligence. Everybody liked
him. He was fayorite at evening parties, which
had not vet been baDished by afternoon kettle
drums favorite at stag parties where MS VIII SET
The table on roar. and he was a member OF FASH
ionable club. Literature was his profession, so far
an he can be said to have had one. He began 10
write in The lantern, comic Journal edlted Dy
John Brougham and when that died in its infancy
AS Ia the won't of comic journals in America-he
wrote in other publications, daily monthly, weekly
His talent and tact made him known to the Editor
nj Harpey,s Monthly who took great fancy TO MS
work and to him. and from February, 1883. when
his first paper appeared. he was constant ana
yoluminous contributor to its pages. NO American
writer ever had such chances OF success as fltz-
James O'Bren at this time and but one American
writer ever threw such chances away so recklessly
Mr. Winter has succeeded in tracing for us the
different publications in which Fitz-James OBrien
wrote and We arc glad that he has done So for the
mere enumeration Of them shows the versatility
that he must have possessed in order to be well
Il +1,oix va wig
traced for us the succession and character OF his
contributions to EACH for it is only by such chrome
logical and elemental data that we can judge for
ourselves whether the changing manifestations OF
his powers indicated growth or decline Lacking |
this data we have to judge OF his work as 1T stands
in Mr.. Winters volume, good and bad together, and
our Judgment is necessarily imperfect we do not |
find in il as a whole the quality that we find in the
work of Thackeray. who always did the best that
was In him at the time, and who was as truly him.
self in q Yellowplush paper as in Denis Duvai. we
miss the sincerity Of genuine man Oh letters OuI
we find in its stead the cleverness of ready writer
"A ,lashing manner q sparkling wit, and consid- |
cradle fertility Of invention. We feel that lie could
write upou one thing "a we'll as upon another, and |
that he could write upon many things satisfactorily
Talent always leaves this impression, but genius |
never does for genius is not always equal TO ITSELF
The hand that wrote "The Taking Oak" wrote |
abe Profunds," or, to take greater example, the
hand that wrote Hamlet" wrote Titus AndronI' |
Gus" There is no such inequality in the rapid Gel
tic hand of Fitz.James Bren.
Ftz-James OBrien wrote in the following maya
zines, and, We are inclined to think, about in the
order in which have placed them here: The Wing
Eecie.c Hdfpers Monthls, Putadms Aagas'ne, and
Tie Atlantic Monthly. He also wrote in the follow
ing journals: The NeH- York Times, The Home
PosI
Vaaity- Fair His contributions to the agazlnes
consisted OF stories poems and occasional papers,
and to the journals of articles upon the topics oil
the day. possibly political. and certainly dramatic
His journalistic work, with the exception OF that
on The lines was voluntary, and occasionally, we
imagine. gratuitous. His literary friends and &C
auaintances were chiefly among the journalists and
writers of New York. such men, for instance, as Dr.
A. H. Guernsey Editor Of Haypa's Magazine; Mr.
Henry J. Raymond, Editor of The Times &; Mr.. John
Bonner, Musical Editor of The Herald tatterward
defaulting banker; Mr.. Edward wilkins Dramatic
Editor of The Reroid Mr. Frank Wood, first Editor
OF PANTY Fair; Mir. Henry Clapp jr., and Mr.. L. b.
Aldricb Editors Of lie Saturday Press, and Mr.
George Arnold and Mr. N. q. Shepherd, poets 1t is
not likely that he knew sir. Bryant; nor were
his associations at any time largely with the
circles that edded around Willis aud Norris" al
Though he may have met with the elderly twins
who edited The Home Journal To these shonid De
added Mr.. r. H. Stoddard and Mr. Bayard Taylor,
who for time were his closest personal friends
He was frequently nightly visitor at their rooms,
generally at the rooms of the former,-which were
20 the trio for the night what the Salutation and
Cat was to Lamb and Coleridge, and it was there,
m triangular poetical duel that he wrote several
Of tbs best poems 1t was the habit of these young
Arcadans to pit themselves against each other
which was done by each scrawling the titles OF
several themes, and, jumbing the whole'together,
by selecting one upon which they were to write
instanter, the sport being TO see who would be
done first, and produce the best poem. Tradition
saws that Fitz-James O'Bren generally came out