New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-05-13
NOTES FROM LONDON.
CARLYLE, EMERSON. ASHBURNIIAM MAN
ISCRIPTS.


a. III, Co,fcinporarv aud Mr. G. :. Venabes IN III
Torip:qhfly discOursng on the recent publication o.
Mrs Carlyle's Letters. Mrs Oliphant comes TO thC
defence more especially. OF Mrs. Carlyle while Mr.
Vcnabl,s assumes the task OF protecting the memory
Of The husband. Tho object OF their common ami
mostly IL Mir. Froude. Each of them has written az
interesting article, ard the testimony thew adduc'
Is of that kind sometimes brought forward IN cOuf
IN tne hope OF mitigating damages or hghtehIhA
sentence by proof OF the previous good character o.
the accused. The pair do certainly succeed IN con
veying an impression that there were TWO sizes u
the Carlyle a. there are 10 most human beings
But no amount of friendly pleading OF Npeciou' ar
cumcnt can after the fact that Mrs. Carlyle did
write the letters MI Froude has published. lhey
were written and cannot be unwritten. Mr..
Venables who is practiscd cOntroveisiallst. is -
wei, aware OF the force of the case against him that
In meet Il he has recourse to expedlents more
familiar than ingenious His most strenuous effort
IL TO subs itute for the Lady Ashburton depicted
in Mrs. Carye's and Miss JewsbuTy's accounts
another Lady Ashburton less historical and more
amiable Mrs CARLYLE said Miss Jew sbury " saw
through Lady As little ways aud graude dame
manners and knew what they were worth"
Lady Ashhurtou, retorts Mr. Venables, was the
most magnanimOus of women, and she had no LITTLE
ways. Possibly. but it is pretty clear that tins was
of some good Judges still living who knew Lady
Ashburton and her ways - She was this sort of
woman said one OF her friends. She would meet
you fud you amusing, say to you, Oh, Mr.. ". l
should IKE so much TO dine with YOU When may
| comet Nav come on Thursday YOu would say
Won should he delighted to her on Thursday
and the dinner fixed foI that day. The day arrives
You have asked party of people to meet Lady
Ashburton. Eight o'clock arrives, your other
guests arrive but no Lady Ashburton. You wait
half an hour and 90 down to dinner without her
No note comes, no apology, no explanation. Next
day Won come across somebody who tells YOU he saw
Lady Ashburton last night at the opera. When
you next meet her not an allusion 10 your dinner.
She had no idea whatever OF consulting anybody
convenience but her own
The author oil tins account Is at least as good
witness as Mr. Venabes TO Lady Ashburton's trIe
character. Mr. Venables moved, no doubt IN the
world where this great lady once shone. lie is
man of singularly wide knowledge. and one of the
most inaccurate writers known to contemporary
literature.
The English publishers OF re Correspondence Of
Carlyle aud Emerson have thought proper 10
mutilate and dlsfgme the second volume At p.
$40 of the genuine American edition Carlyle writes
TO Emcrso
The Hotten who has cot hold of Won herr is
dirty little pirate who nltcheS al everybody grown
fat enough to yield him n bite Valtry, unhangcd
cIeaturei 80 that IN fact lie Is sl mbo TO You OF
your visible RE ID the world acre; and with Con-
ways vigilance TO help, will do you good and not
evil.
Now MeSsrs. Chatto & Wndus whose names
on the title PAGE of this book, the successors Of
the "patry. uuhanged llotten he did. in fact die
unhangedl, and in pious regard to the memory of
then predecessor have c4punged the name Ilotten
Oh in nj In ,r,.r tn, lo ft,f
they have cancelled the leaf on which the passage
occur, and inserted another leaf printed in different
type. Perhaps, on the whole, this proceeding is
better calculated 10 invite than to divert attention.
Two volumes of Nessrs. Macmllan's edition of
Emerson have now appeared the Essays and the
Poems Both series Of the ESsays' are col
lected uLder a single cover and al the Poems under
another The volumes are thus rather th ok and
heavy to hold but perhaps well printed
the buyer of a book at five shIlings has "a right TO
expect 1t will interest EmeI>ou's friends to know
that this edition was arranged for with hnn in
1881. Messrs Macmillan agreeing to pay him
royalty. English copyrights were believed 10 exist
IA two OF his later books, but these have been
bought up Tie first volume is held back to avian
the completion OF Mr. John Mor.eys Introductory
Essay.
One may he permitted to hope that this lntroduc-
tory Essay viii pot be quite in the tone OF Fthat
which appears to-day in The evening journal OF
which Mr.. john Morley stIil the editor. The
faut of this essay is want of sympathy with its |
subject. NObudy will object to it because it Is
critical; critical is what it ought to be- but ccit-
cism of the antpathetc sort is not Mat is looked
for from editor. If he is oui Of touch with bis
author lie can at least, let him alone. Now the |
writer of this paper has the following remark on
the OveIsCul':
1t a natural impression that writing 50 ln,v
in ITS logical texture WI, fit only Tor freshman
beginning bis philosophical studies and more |
anxious for fin" phrases than iOG real intellectual
exercise. What does II all come ~? is the natrrI
question, and the answer is by no means an easy |
one 10 give those terms. The kindlIest iudQ- !
neDt would perhaps bc that tie man had mistaken |
his trade, and ought to have poet instead OF !
taking "a form OF utterance which brings him into |
comparison with dealers IN yertabe logical com |
positions.
There is on the other hand, some no. wholly IN |
adequate re- IGNITION OF Emerson 5 influence an ad |
mission that he did Incomparably than any
man OF his time IN rousing and stimulating the |
h gher intellectual Interests of his generation OF
his style it is SAID that it gradually comes to ne
as the index OF OF those simple and
lofty characters with whom it is good to dwell Tor a
Tine And there are other good points Int as a |
whole the criticism strikes one as more likely 10
have come from some partisan of Locke-Say Alr.
Leslie Stephen, or some other adhcrent of the
'choOl to which Emerson most hostile. so
much the more significant is it that lie should con
sede the impossblity OF studying Emerson without
feeling the singular attractiveness OF his character
and admitting that his works have the unmistak-
able stamp of genius
The Ashburnham Manuscripts are still in the
market. rhe English Government decline al
together to be parties to the extraordinary bargain
arranged for them by the trustees Of the British !
Museum the one hand and the Director OF the
National Library in Paris on the other They will |
not buy either the Libr or the Earrois collection.
They decline to enter upon i purchase which pro
ceeds on tine theory that part of the goods bought
nave a tainted title. They do not 10 act as
brokers between Lord AsIburnham and France for
the restoration Of property claimed 10y the latter.