New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-12-27
IVAN TURGENEFF.

IVAN TURGENEFF:
HtnlD james ia The AHdnhc ..,,
He was the richest the most delightful, OF talhcs'
and his face his person, his temper, the thoioen
ness with which he had been equipped ioi h,ilnan
iutercourse make In the memory OF ms Irlel,is au
image which is completed, but not thrown ihto tlIo
shade by his literary distinction. The whoie lage
is touched with sadness partly because te eieinent
of melancholy in his nature was deep anu cohSt'lt
readers of his novels have no need 10 pe tou "
that; and partly because, during the Iast years ol
his life he had been condemned 10 suneI aroclousS'
Intolerable pain had been his portion for many
months before he died; his end was not serene ana
proptious, but dark and almost violent. sDut ol
brightness of the faculty OF enjoyment ne han aIno
the large allowance usually made 10 nrst-Tdle lhci,
and Inc was singularly complete human beihg'
had greatly admired his writings before hau llie
fortune to make his acquaintance and TINS prlNl-
Leo when il presented itself was highly illumi
mating The man andthe writer together occupied
from that moment very high place I'D my alecI
tons same time before knowing him committed
10 print certain reflections which his tales had Ieu
me TO make and | may perhaps, therefore, wlthouI
improperly give them supplement- when shll
have more vivifying reference 1T Is almost ltre
slstible To attempt to say from one own pOHlI VI
view what manner of man he was. 49,. ,.,,
Ii was in consequence OF the article JUST men
famed that | found reason TO meet MIN, III IaIlS,
where he was then living in 1870. snail never
fo, oct the impression he made upon me nj that hfst
interview found him adorable; could s.arceiy
believe that he would proVe-that any man C9ulu
proye-on nearer acuualntan as dellghluI as lhal
Nearer acquaintance only confirmed my nope, anu
he remained the most approachable the most pIac-
tcable, the least precarOns man OF genius ~ mas
been nv fortune to meet. lie was so SIMPLE, so nat
ural so modest destitute OF personal pIetehslon
and of what is called the consciousness OF powers,
that one almost doubted at moments whether ne
were a man OF genius after all; Everything goou
and fruitful lay near to him; he was interested III
everything; and he was absolutely without tnat
eageTness OF self-reference which sometimes accom-,
names great and even small, regulations. lie had
not a particle of vanity; nothing whatever OF the
air of having part TO play or reputation 10 keep
ND. His humOr exercised itself as freely upon MN
self as upon other subjects, and he told stories AZ ms
nNtFn "A
made his peculiarites really sacred IN the eyes Vi
friend 1 remember Yividly the smile and tone OF
voice with which he once repeated to me tguratiVe
epthet which 6ustave FlaubeTt (of whom he was
extremely fond had applied TO him-an epthet III
tended to characterize certain expansive soiihess'
a comprehensive indec sion which pervaded his ma
ture lust as it peryades so many OF the characters
he has described lie enjoyed Flauberts use OF tins
term good-naturedly Opprobrious, more even than
Faubert himself, and recognized perfectly tho ele-
ment of truth Ill it. He was natural to an eXtraSr-
binary degree; do not think have ever seen ms
match iii this respect certainly not among people
who bear as he did at the same time the stamp OF
the highest cultivation. Like all men OF large
pattern he was composed of many different ele-
ments; and what was always striking Ill nm was
the mixture of simplicity with the frt OF the most
various observation. In the little article III when
| had attempted TO express my admiration ior MS
| works | had been moved 10 say OF him that he had
the aristOcratic temperament; n remark which, III
the light of further knowledge, seemed to me singn-
larly name. lie not subject TO any definition OF
that sort and TO say that he democratic would
| be Though his political ideal was democracy 10
give an equally superficial account OF MN ne lclt
and understood the opposite sides OF life; he was
| imaginative humorous rOncal. lie had not III MS
mind grain of pre- udce as large as the point OF
needle, and people there are many VINO thinK thlS
| a defect would have missed II immensely III Ivan
| Sergeievitch. Our Anglo-SaxOn, Protestant. moral
| istlc conventional standards were far away iron
him, and he judged things with freedom and spon
taneity in which found perpetual Tefreshlnent
His sense of beauty, his love of truth and right
were the foundation OF his nature; but hall The
| charm of conversation with him was that one
breathed an air IN which cant phrases and arbitrary
! measurements simply sounded ridiculous.
| may add that it was not because mad written
laudatory article about his books that he gave me
friendly welcome for IN the flrst place my artic
could have very little Importance Tor MN, ana II
the second it had never been either his habit or M
hope 10 bask III the light of criticism. Supremely
modest as he was, think lie attached no grea
weight to what might happen TO be said about INN
for he felt that he destined to encounter yer
small amount of intelligent appreciation, especially
in foreign countries. / neve~ heard HIM even allud
TO any Judgment which might have been passe'
upon his productions in England. In France n
knew that he was read very moderately; the dc
mand for his volumes was small, and he had no IL
lusiOns whatever on the subject OF his popularity
lie had heard with pleasure that several dlferen
persons in the United States were impatient TO
everything that might come from his pen; but
think he was never convinced. as one or TWO OF I'm
most Jealous of these persons had endeavored I
convince him, that he could boast OF q public" II
America lie gave me the impression of thinking O
criticism as most se-ious workers thlnk OF lt-tha
it is the amusement, the exercise the subsistence,
the critic land, far this goes, OF immense usel
but that though it may often concern other readers
! il does not much concern the artist HIMSELF i
comparison with all those things which the pr0duC
ton of q considered work forces the artist little b.
little TO say to himself the remarks OF the critic ar
vague and of the moment; and yet, owing to IN
! large publicity of the proceeding, they Will have
power TO rritate discourage which is quite out
proportion to their use TO the person criticised.
was not, this is very frank alluslOn),
account of any esteem which he accorded to my Ow
productions II used regularly to send them TO hin
that found him so agreeable for to the best OF III
, belief he was unable 20 read them AS regards on
of the first that had offered him, he wrote me Iii
tie note, to tell that distinguished friend, VIII
was his constant companion, had read three or lou
chapters aloud to HIM the evening before, and tha
gave great pleasure but II was my first and La
pleasure of the kind. / continued, as l say to sen
him my stories because they were the only thing
had 70 give but he never alluded TO the rest of IL
work i'll question, which he evidently did not hnis
and never gave any sign of having read its success
Ors. Presently quite ceased TO expect this, an
saw why IL was lit interested me muchl that IN
writings could not appeal to him. He cared, mol
than anything else, for the air of reality, and III
reality was good deal too thin. do not think a
0 stories struck him as quite meat for men, The maj
ner was more apparent than the matter; they WEI
too tdbdriseoB as once heard him say of the sty
of q k-had ON the surface too many little hoy
5 ers and knots of ribbon. He had read great de
of English, and knew the language remarkably we
too well, used often to think, for he liked
speak 1t with those to whom IL was native, and
cessful as the effort always was, 1t deprived him
the facility and racines5 with which he express
: himself In French.
NOTES OF CONVERSATIONS WITH EMERSON
Pendleton King In LippineoRs Magazine.
"Mr. Charming lives here in Concord. He WI
with Thoreau great deal. and nearly always in q
| lat He ia "A N man n