New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-01-08
MIR. BUNTHORNES APOLOGY.
From The Pal Val Ga.eNe.

From The PaH MaH Go-eie.
The question is, are not all these people
really ana uncOnSciously DOING great deal of
harm7 In pretending to laugh down myself, CHM
abue Brown, the aesthetic ladies'. and half a dozen
more OF ms by name, are they not IN fact, though
not III intention, trying their best 20 crush gen
uinc and important artistic movement III the bud
So far as we ourselves are concerned, am quito
SIRE not one of us cares a single jOt about il. W"
are prepared to laugh as heartily at Patience 10
look as good-humoredly at Mr. Du Maurlers clever
carcatures i'll Punch, as any Pmllslnc among them
all Nay more than that; the plays and the pic
lures are really meant 1ol Us 10 ENJOY, ana NOT LOT
the many hcaded beast which only knows U5
from these amusing bnrleSques. Mir; Du Maurier
likes to draw an aesthetic interior. 50 he draws my
friend Browns. MIR. Gilbert likes to fall III with
prevailing taste so he puts me upon the stage III
!" Patience" II is useless to deny it, the man who
designed the dragons dresse, in the lily sccne-Alr
Gilbert himself, according 20 the playblll-need not
pretend that he Is not one of Thus l. all good
natured chat of playful KIND II hurts none OF us
in our personal susctptlplIiues ana II we alone
with select body Of friends, were admitted To see
it by prvate-yicw ticket, no harm It all would be
done III the long run. Ol course II n man goes
TO theatre and that the things we
have been teaching him 10 admire made the
butt OF some very clever rldiculci if he takes up
Puach and sees them invariably associated with
the vagaTies impossible ladies and gentlemen in
ultracassical Florentinc costumes, he nat
uTally comes to the nCluSOu that tie cultivated
world only laughs at his WoulI-be teachers. We
have been TRYING to make him undCrstan the place
of the early Italian masters III the history ol art.
and now he finds that an admiration Tor BoitcclH
OF Fra Angelica is apparently considered synOny-
nous with a harmless form of extreme lunaCy. We
have been trying 20 teach MN That rod orange ana
sky-hiuc in large COntraSted patches are not tho
brst assorted col r. Tor the internal decoration Of
his DR. wing room and now he learns that taste
tor subdued and harmonious tlnts Is gloomy, and
that the persistent use OF Mi. MorTSs wallpapers
NAV he confidently expected 10 terminate III an
early suicide. We have been impresSlng upon him
fine rood points Of Oriental haudlclat; ana now
he discovers that we want ultimately 10 Dir - HIM
ND in "A blue coat bespangicd with japanese fans,
and TO crowd his mantlepiecc with hldeOus images
of Indian JUggeTnauts. All tins must really tend
t. retard the progress OF sanitary cHahBe' Il not
actually to turn the tide of public opinion.
A little ridIcue Outweigns months OF preaching
know myself that there are several exc LENT pco-
pie who on my recommendation furnished tnelr
ROOMS as though they meant for rational beings
10 live ill., and bought a httlc good pottery aud
harmless bric-a -brac Of really pretty and unprc-
trutious sorts 10 adOTn hem. But now, Wncn they
meet me they shake their heads, ana say " All,
BunthOrnc, you @stheteN are get.irg dIea3luiiE
laughed at nowadays. Been 10 see Iailcncc Ell
And when 20 to their houses. notice that the Old
blue and the Uenares ware Is pushed into corner,
while the great OrmOlu mOustIOslty under II glass
case IL replaced IN the centre OF he uantcl,p, ana
the big vases with the wlg-y green handles
are SCI up once more to mount guard over
good people that Mr.. On Maurcr and Mr..
Gilbert are only joking in a goOd-naturcd way !
they say, No. no this Tstheilc.sm OF }our' Is
getting played ont To their simple minds, rldl-
Guile Is rdcnlc and nothing cisr II II only crashed
out the eXtravagnces which must necessarily nc-
company every great mcFement,oIe "ouIGh really
mind. Il suppose there arc eXtraNa-"hcc5,
though confess mys II don't come acros, theulJ
But it is also in part crushing out what Is truly
good and vital III the movement Ut least
with ialg" section OF the people ana thecl"lc IL
seems to ne real pity. We III hopes that we
were at last getting the thin end OF the wedge INTO
the compact mass Of PhiistIuisu II we are laughed
down now the result must bc that the difference III
culture between the different strata OF our pOPula-
ton will be greater than l. Is at present ANA
that surely would be an unmtigItcd evil not to be
COMPENSATED for even by the pleasure of Laughing
at a clever C3TIcatuIe of nay humble personality
for a couple Of hours o the lively accompaniment OF
oLr. ,iclt servant REGINALD BUNThDENE.