New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-04-05
AMONG BOOKS AND PAPERS.

CURRENT LITERARY TOPICS IN ENGLAND.
OPENING or THx WORCESTER FREE LIBRARY Al"
observation-disclosures B"vFILs ApDRsss-F"FO-
LAR CRITICISMS OF CAELyLE's RFMI>isCFSCt7-
EDWIN YATrss DESCENT ~ SOCIAL JOURNALISM
"A PEW CHOICE PARAGRAPHS PROM lhh
CUCKOO
.yRoN TIE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF Tht ffNSuNh''
LONDON, March 1s.-Can anybody say who 'he
sMavor of massachusetts isl That all-knowing
and ,pfaiibe journal. The Times, says ms strahvo
fupctionary sent telegram on "Wednesday l" 'no
esect that the Heart of Massachusetts, greets the
evettaithful city on the opening Of her Free Library
md Museum The ever-faithiul city seems 70 DC
the city of Worcester in England. and guess 'o'
Mayor in question is the Mayor OF W orcester, ''"
rbnsetts I boped TO have gone down on WEDNESDAY
to be present at the ceremony when Eus"'" Wv"
caster had arranged; party for the p'e"Su'' "
hearing Mr. Lowell v no was the ch'ci hgnTr III 'is
function. partly because the American Worcester
n town with which may claim soWe couh'o'i""
and il, whose fortunes / cannot help lemg inter
.staJ many as are the days and years when nave
fed since used to walk through IT'S eim-sna'''"
streets Mr.. LOwells ancestors saiu 'ue nov
Canon Barry used t. live IN Engllsh ""''"S'i
mud were An " illustrOus family though Oh '"o
whole probably less Industrious than their present
descendant and representative. Whe'hsi inc s'o''
i,e well founded or not. added the Reverend Canon
IN.
hands OF Enelishmen and under no circumstances
could toast TO Ara and Literature he responded 10
h,tier than be one who would 80 truly represent
the nigh power OF that vein OF poetry wh'ch "a"
through works and literature that move" VIC
world The excellent Canon's phrase seems ll'''c
involved but his sentiment Is a good one Si"'o
over the presence OF Canon on snch an occasion
is worth noting and applandlng. nor All UNI u'e-
pit,ries of the Church are in favor OF education
Mr.
br,eav reportcd Except the details OF the murder
of the FINN. ror of Russia and the Boer nee"tli-
tions and the proceedings of Parliament under the
present Tory -PainellIte truce, nothing since Mon
dav has been fully reported. But enough is gwen
of Mr. lowells speech to show the qunhty oil IT,
heard Lord Rusebery SAY, at the dInner gwen 10
Mr. Lowell in Edinburgh 10y the PhliosOphI'al III
stitntion. that the American Minister vas almost
the best after-dinncr speaker he had ever listened
TO. Lord Ro>eberys opinion Is worth having lie
Is himself one of the best speakers now TO Ice met
with ON such occasions aud he Is not gwen to hat-
terry OF overpraisng. Mr.. LOweTs style more
over is novel. He cOntryes to be- easy anu elegant
at the same time lie is colloQual. hut never SIP
sbod: witty but not labOrcd. and aufienceS "l
every calble find him sympathetic ana genial
Pro baby the WorrestrIaaS did not IKE mn Tue "S'
because lie denied the authenticity OF the esen'
which made his family nluStrioas. OK the
both about the same IN population. and that ne
did not think the Younger dld any diScredt 10 her
mother Speaking at library festival. he did not
forget TO mer ton that Worcester IN Massachusetts,
had one the best free libraries in America with
the advantage Of the services Of particularly IN
teIicent librarian Worcester IN England lated
its history from the Romans, as the name testified
while Worcester in Massachusetts, il perhaps i4o
years old and has her future all before her Yet
-, oil fro Olt wall ~
ing such daughter, as she no doubt was OF 'ss'sS
ing 80 excellent a mother.
In fuller report Of SIR. Lowells speech (which |
appears, as usua not In LONDON bnt provincial |
paper there interesting qualification TO ms
statement about his ancestry. lie diG not say thtV
had left him nothing but name aud coat OF arms
He inherited. beside that. "sOine verses written by |
the first emgrant of his name In America VI 1917
a fact which may b. commended to Mr. Gallon |
and TO whoever may b. Mr.. Cations American uval
in preaching the doctrine of heretity Mr. Lowell |
eods il is true that his ancestors verses were |
"neil her better nor than ver-es ordinarily /
written by persons who had no particular ca'hns o.
that direction" But thar does not militia r against
the hereditary theory. The poetic gut Ike other
quits ~ capable Of improvement by descent.
Free Libraries are nUmerOus with you that YOU !
nav think it extraordinary that the opening Of Il
new one IN England shonid he made 80 great an oc-
great start over the mother. II has happened over
and over again in England that towns aud cities
have refused to tax themselves rs an Act OF farla
ment emIow ers them to, fol- the sake OF founding
library ami the proportion Of books to wealth III
tins kingdom il by no means what a. ought to lee.
A penny in the pound Of the rates IL not an IN
toerahle exaction. hut maby corporations have
proved to parody sydney smiths zen ark that they
prefer any load of ignorance however great t" any
liultf 4 ~
honor 10 orcestcr that she has chosen the better
path In this one point Sir Cunlle Owen, " lao
was there to speak for art, might have modified ms
friendly comment on America. Having been
Commissioner at the Philadelphia Exhibition, lie
was often asked, he said, what he Thought OF
Amer,ca and the Americans, and lie always pro-
tested that he had never met any Americans at all
and that ne could sce no difference between Amcri-
cans and his own countrymeu. When an English
man has sail that he has paid u.s. he thinks, the
highest compliment in his power; and as ne Ger
tainly means it kindly, it is not for MS to quarrel
with him, certainly not with Sir Cuulitfe Owen,
whose liking cor Americans ~ most unaffected aud
sincere, aS be has often shown and showed at
Paris in the mi of our Exhibition troubles there
not less than i'll Philadelphia.
The publication OF Mr. CarIylcs "R,minls-
cences" has rot addedto the popularity of the
writer of them. In the published notices of these
two extraordinary volumes You find almost always
BONE more or less yelled depreciation OF the bitter
ness which runs through thcn. In private this
feeling is expressed much more openly. Among
Carlye's warinest admirers the feeling amounts 20
disnay Those who knew him personally knew
that he was IN the habit Of saying hard things
about people he did not like. But they as well as
others are aston,shcd at the frequency Of the de-