New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-12-09
MP TROLLOPRS WORK..

The world of letters loses In Anthony Iroi-
,ora ora of ;ts most amiable workmen. A nov
| elist of the first rank he has never assumed 10
be. When the leadership among English nov
elists WIS left matter of uncertainty by the
successiye deaths of Mr.. Thackeray and Mr.
Dickens the claims of George Eliot, Charles
Reade and Wilkie Collins were eagerly urged
nv tbrongs of admirers. but Mr.. Trollopes
name was never mentioned rs candidate tor
the first place. There has never been ume
sinca tho nublication of his first novel when his
most faithful followers wOuld have accorded
him higher position than the leadership Oh I"
second group among English noveliSts. DIS
limitations have always been understood oy hiS
readers as we'll rs by himself, yet for iOrty years
he has contributed indnstriousiy, ana success
| fully withal. to the wholesome entertainment
of the public. He knew what he could do ana
what he could not do-at least in fiction-wrlung'
for in biography and books of travel he over
| estimated his literary powers and resources
,r1 his readers. knowing precisely what they
bod +oevnect. were seldom, if ever, disappointed
| There WA no straining alter effect In manner
| or matter; there were no startling surprises Vi
| iptricacies of plot; there were no over"rough'
| characters. no artificial situations, no vNlu
changes of light and colOring in dialogue OF
| narration. He was always at his ease, pursuing
| with n tranouil mind his own way at bis own
nara and doing always what he was perfectly
| canohIe of doing we'll If he had not gaugeu
| his nowers with unerring accuracy and kept his
ambition under constant restraint, his reauers
wonId Ina 90 deserted him. AS it was the reas-
| opebleness and sim plicity of his stories, the
Of lfG mi
ceased TO ne q source Of genuine entertainments
One secret of Mr.. Trolope's popularity IN
| America no less than in England was the iacl'-
| tv with which he described patrclan lie III ltS
| relations to democratic tendencies. lie seemeu
| mt only to have access to the drawlng-ro0ms OF
| the great houses and to have the power oil ie-
nroducinc dialogue. manners and episodes with
| nbotooranbic distnctness but he had a snbtle
annexation of the motives, prejudices, aspira-
| tions and fobes OF the foremost figures In the
social order. When they a'e exhibited In his
| pages. they do not have the artificial aspect OF
| fashion-pate designs. They are thoroughly at
home in their drawing-lOOms, OF shooting
boxes and are never more nor less than reason
able types of the privileged class which has ex-
ercised so powerful an influence upon the
destinies of England. Perhaps no other nov
elist has made so thorough and so dlscrlm-
mating study Of the British aristocracy IN Its
relations not only to the fashions, politics, re-
lgion and morals of the time, but also to the
social transitions and the dwelling tendencies OF
wealth, education and democracy. The por-
traits of these titled personages are seldom Hat
tering Indeed, the ,ntrast IN one of his nov
els between the unaffected and vivaclous
American girl. isabel BOucasseu, and the dlstin-
euished prig who falls in love with her. greatly
to the distress Of his father, the Duke of ON
mum, appeals strongly TO republican pride. But
seen at it's best or at its worst, the privileged
or Ter invariably appears natural aud consistent
in his pages, and on this account Mr.. TrOllOpe
never lost his popularity III England. For the
same reason, lie never failed to interest large
circle of American readers, for whom social
order utterly at variance with the accepted can
ons of republican simplicity had the charm of
novelty. In both countries the death of one who
has labored so intelligenuy and so indelatiga-
blv for the recreation of the public will be
heartily lamented.