New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-08-07
STUDIES IN AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
BY CHARLES T. CONGDON.
INTRODUCTORY CHATTER.

Tempt AT impersonality. The moment we are in
terested in book, we grow curious about the man
who made the book, his habits, tastes, history
and even his physical appearance. Our appetite
for anecdote concerning him can never be sufi-
GENTLY satisfied, and we even extend our curiosity
to his ancestors. his wife, his children and all the
rest of his next of kin. This tendency, think. has
been growing for the last century. l suppose that
there was much less of it in earlier years. for the
simple reason that have 80 little accurate
count of tho personal peculiarties of writers, how
ever distinguished before that period. Our gnor-
ance, for instance, respecting Shakespeare remains
q marvel and. suppose always will Such man
dying would be very remcrsclessly discussed
There would be the great authoritative lite provided
for perhaps by his own testamentary disposition
and no end of cheap, minor abridged biographies
like those which are now in such high fashion and
when, for instance. the departure of Mr. CARLYLE
has brought numerousy into being The first
bhlng. upon the demise of of our prominent
writer's Is the newspaper obituary, which is usually
D matter OF dates. The departed lion was born
upon such day of month in such year. Then we
are told where he graduated A. b., what profession
be studied, where no practised it. what books he
wrote and when he published them. This for a
little while satisfies the public appetite Then
there are anecdotes of the deceased. Then we see
announced the great aud authentic life, approved
by the family; but before this there are the
numerous little books aforementioned about the
deceased, sufficient TO stay stomachs There is
not much of the eminent persons character. or
aongs or tastes or habits, of which we are left in
ignorance.
Modern biography is particularly remarkable for
The amplitude of its proportions Nothing is of
little Importance enough to leave out. The com
piier not seldom begins with William the Conque-
ror, and treats us to genealogical account of all
The greatest grandfathers, upon the mothers side
and the fathers side of tho person whose life he has
undertaken. There u.s. to be sure, nothing like be-
ginning at the beginning, if anything of illustration
or of better comprehension is to be gained by
It, But, upon the whole not much is gained by this
exhaustive method. Mr.. Irving is highly particular
IN his account of General WashngtOn's progenitors
but none of them seem to have been of much i'm
pOrtance or to have done aught worth remembering
Franklin. in his photographed sketch talks
pleasantly about his ancestors, but various things
have since been discovered about them of which he
knew cared to know nothing. Again the ex-
pansive method of writing modern biography of
which we have examples in Moore's Life of
Byron" in Southey's Life of Cowper" or in Lock-
harris Life of Scott" may have advantages if
Dnly curiosity is to be gratiied the amusement of
the reader secured Still it cannot be denied that
great deal gets into such books which might lust
rs we'll be left out of them Although we may
want the Life of a man, it does not follow that we
want the Lives of all his acquaintances literary
political or all the letters which he wrote to no.
bodies and received from them. 1t is often pro-
motive of nothing except long-windedness on one
side and of Impotence upon the other, when tho
biographer. overwhelmed by all embarrassment of
riches, loses all Judgment in selection dumps the
whole into the portly manuscript and succunbs to
the temptation of printing three four volumes
when one would have been quite sufficient. We do
not want in a biography the whole history of q
period. We do not want man who is dead and
rannOt help himself, dwarfed in his proportions by
The mob OF comparatively obscure persons by whom
he is surrounded. We do not want Il history of his
time, but of the
Herein may discern the advantage other
things being equal, of autobiography. When one is
talking of himself he is not apt to talk much of
pther people. Whether through modest retcence
Or for some other reason, photographers are usu
ally brief, or comparatively SO, when they do not
take on the form of diary which is another matter
The most charming autobiographes short, if
not incomplete and fragmentary, but they lose
nothing by their lack of precision and the shorter
they are the surer they are of being read aud re-
membered. Gbbon, for instance, has written of
himself and of his literary life with such skill and
grace. that his has beeu pronounced by competent
critic, the best specimen of autobiography in the
English language" 1t has been contrasted with
Hume's work of the same kind, somewhat to the
disadvantage of the latter. of whom Dibdin said in
the words of johnson applied to Gray that he was
tall by walking on tp-tOe." Indeed the simplicity
which Gibbon adhered to in this sketch and which
he discarded in his History, is always the sure
charm of autobiography We shall have something
TO say of him GREATER and need say more of him
now. FIanklin's autobiography is another instance
of this engaging simplicity, and is what Cowper
has pleased to tell of himself. Indeed it may be
said that as rule for IN such a
book than should tolerate in conversation with
the author.
There is this, however to be said of autobiogra-
phies, that a man seldom writes stupidity intoler-
ably of hinself One reason of this is that he is
himself Interested 1t is that he always puts hi
best foot forward for sometimes he puts forwar d
his worst, but even in that worst, there may be
something which keeps the attention and gives us
material for profitable reflection. This is why the
autobiographies of uobodes those next to no.
bodies, arouse our interest and keep it. Even
tradesmen who have made great deal of money
and this is saying quite much for autobiography
it is possible to say In such matters too there
Is no question OF impertinence of personal
vanity. 1t is not like a man VINO bores you with
his talk while he keeps fast hold of one of your
buttons. One of the great advantages of books is
that you may read them or not, as You please. If
you see fit to grappe with the experiences of the
obscure, you can throw the volume upon the floor
or out at tho window, should the indignant spirit
move you to do so You go to sleep or you can
exercise the glorious privilege of skipping There
is art in this which deserves to be cultivated
Few books are worth reading through, from title
page to colOphon. II Is question of leaving GER
tain pages unread of abandoning the perusal
altogether. Too sorely tried, the reading faculty
will break down at last, and that may be missed
which well worth having. Moreover in read
ing autobiography, it will be found that
certain degree of contempt for the writer is quite