The sun., 1881-11-27
SOME NEW BOoKs.



Bret Harte Ia conspicuous. But although he
may never draw n tear. ho can evoke sus-
tained and earnest sympathy on behalf OF many
OF his characters; and while he does not provoke
q laugh. the reader is often moved to smile. ana
the prevailing mood is one OF unclouded satis-
faction and calm delight. The authors obser-
walton is 30 keen and fine. his judgment Is so
shrewd and trustworthy. his tact 30 delicate.
and his taste 30 refined. that you gain from his
books the same kind OF entertainment and In
struction that the conversation Of an accom-
plshed man, long conversant with tho best
society OF both hemispheres. is able to Inn
part. The phases OF life which Mr.. James
has made tho object OF study are. OF course.
much moro eircumscribed and more subdued
In tone than those which We see portrayed In
the works OF Fielding Dickens. George Elliot
and Bret Harte, or. in other words. the mirror
which ho holds up to nature Is not n pier glass;
bu. n hand glass. 1t is. indeed. curious TACT
that In his whole range OF novels the author has
not depleted. or even outlined. ngure which
had not Mt least some outward pretensions to
eocinl responsibility. He has not even vcnturcd
on n reproduction OF that high life below stairs
with which Thackeray. conscious OF his own
limitations sought to widen and diversity his
theme. But for the very reason that Mr.. James
confiues himself exclusively to the study OF
good society. OF men and women who.
to careless eye. all seem to dress alike.
10 think alike. and to act alike. and who
are distinguished from one another. not
by sharp diverRences OF contour and color.
but by slight linear variations and faint
dversties of shade. he Is compelled to use only
pencils OF the finest point and pigments OF u
soft and exquisite graduation; that is TO say
he must demonstrate an unusual command
over the resources OF our language 1t is. in
cauital merit. Tho adroitness. tho nsxibiiity.
the nsatness OF his dietion-his felicitous pro-
jections OF an illusive thought. his arch sug-
Restivcnose. his prcsnan. reticence. his irony.
his innurndoes-the smoothncss and the CLEAN
which yet betray no mark OF craving tool or
burnisher on phrase or sentence: oil these.
and kindred proofs OF technical excellence. are
necessarily encountered in Nr. James's narrn-
tives. 1t ia this power OF expression which Is
more and more noticeable in the work OF this
patient and Conscientious artist. and in mono OF
his books has it been more vigorously and ad-
mirably displayed than in TIE Iortan Of q
Lady tHoughion. Minin CoL
In this, as in so many other stories BIZ the
same hand. Americana supposed to represeut
the best social traditions of their own country
are brought in contact with English people OF
tho higher class. young lady. Mss Isabel
Archer. Is taken by her aunt from an eld-fash-
ioned house In Albany to an English country
house belonging to tho American partner in
a London banking firm. We are given to nn-
derstand thatthe bankers tile 70 our close and
respectful attention depends upon the Tact that
he has obstiuatey refused TO be Ans.icizsd: but
inasmuch as he has lonl: retired from active
business. the res Ter canno, help inauiring why
he does not return and finish his days in tho
country hich he profess - such unwayering
fidelity. Indeed. the ono substantial proof with
which Mr.. Touchett-such ID the bankers
name-eupporis his Il't.otic pretonsions Id
tho frequent interiettion .! tho phrases l
guess" and Il amt" IN language which other
wise conforms to the Engi,eh idiom. We should
be much more impressed. however. by theso
verbal shortcomings II tho author did not
make an English viscount say :" wont"
for Il will not" Hs son. Ralph Toucheit. Is
much moro distinctly conceived and Inter-
estiug person. Ho has been at Oxford. where
all traces orh!s American origin wero efflced;
but inasmuch as residence in Eugiani. even
whom folciWcd by com pleta Ass IN ltion OF Eng
lsh speecto anu manner. does not make man
an EngiishtissE in the absence OF traditions. re-
lationshipa. and clearly marked social statue.
no is virtually Il man without Il couR'ry. and is
fam to call himself cosmopolitan. These una,-
tached ciizers OF the world ara apt 10 he critics
and philosophers in small. inoff, asivo way.
anu DIT. I.alpH louclblt 10 tuc more lucIlneu 10
assume this attitude because he is supposed TO
be disabled FOX activo work by some iacurab!e
disease. All tho young men who encounter
Miss Label ARCHER in Europe fall in love with
her. and her cous IA ,;aiph does not escape: II
is. INDEED. through his interccsson that the
elder Touchett is induced TO leave his wife's
niece. who has scarcely penny OF her own.
some sixty thousand pounds. Before this for
tune fell 10 her. the young lady had refused one
Gas par Goodwood Of Boston and an Enslish
Viscount. II does not appear that Mr. Good
wood had anything. to recommend him. except
that ho was tall aud athletic. and had probably
rovcd in the Harvard boat. was an honest.
straightforward fellow Incapable OF woundin:
or betraying q creature weaker than himself.
and had good deal OF money invested in New
England factories. But although this robust
young person. whom compared with Ralph
Touchett or Lord Warburtop. fails 10 excite
much admiration. he seems 10 have been the
only man who could ,Ouah the heart OF the hero
iIe. or Lord Warburton she MAKES quick work.
but the reader is SURPRISED at nothing OF this
kind when hs observes that III her coiloquies
with the Viseount and the Niscounts sisters
this American young woman. although sud
denly transported from Albany TO tho British
islands. is not guilty OF a single offence against
English idion. Far from initiating tho elior
shows herself. within tweuty-four hours after
reachlpg London. as minutely perfect in the
col!oqual rules OF English society as Ralph
Touchctt himself. whose labors at Oxford We
suspect had been mainly concentrated upon
that object. SinGuiarly enough. the author ia
his catalogue of Miss Archer's merits docs not
allude to this extraordinary not to Say iAcredi-
ble. performance.
The ground on which Miss Archer rejects her
first two lovers will seem curious enough 10
most readers. and yet 1t is in some sort charac-
terstic Of all Mr.. Janess heroines. She re-
fuses tho Viscount-not because she does not
love him. for It is nowhere intimated that she
deems love n condition ste gua non Of mar
rlage-while for the young man from Boston.
who is also twice or thrice repulsed she mani
festly entertains. as We have said. the warmest
feeling OF which she seems to be capable. But
she does not like either Of them or anybody SO
well as she likes herself. She wants to be free.
to SEQ tho world. to follow hor own inclinations.
to obey no ones vii but her own. or as she. No
imagine. would express 1t. 10 stretch her wings
expand her faculties. develop her individual