New-York tribune., 1884-01-27
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
PORTRAITS OF PLACES. BY HENRY JAMES 12mo. PIP.
$40. James T. OsgOod Co.

In
$40. James Il. Osgood Co.
These letters and sketches originally printed IN
TIM TRIBUNE The Century. The AtlGrtiC Monthly ana
other periodicals, represent part of the literary
activity of thirteen years, and Mr. James remarks
in tone of depreciation, that the earliest ol 'he"
can now have only historical value. To ushoWeVer'
they all seem fresh. Mr.. James has caught So'n0
thing more than the superficial and eNahcscei.t
expression of places. Like other good poIu"'
painters lie is an observer of character anu "'
stndies of town and country, Venice and Saratoga
Genoa and Hastings London, Newport houeh'
Paris. Quebec. reach those essential traits upon
which the changing fashions of ten fifteen years
have no apprecablc effect This is equivalent To say
ing that. besides remarkable gift of penetration
Mr. James possesses another most important
qualification of the literary traveller an instructive
appreciation of what is worth observing Ot course
there are many ways of looking at place, but Mr..
James's way is ALWAYS worth while Sometimes 1t
Is DELIGHTFULLY."- original When he dwells upon
external details they are little things which other
tourists have not thought of mentioning, but when
nevertheless are found to be brilliantly illustrative
Ills chapter on Etretat, for example. is made up
apparently of trifes touched with light and easy
hand and yet chosen with so fine an art that the
result is one of the most vivid pictures we have seen
in type for many a day. The whole aspect ana
fundamental character of the little waterIng-place
are set before us without the slightest attempt aV
what is called "wOrd- painting" Brght cIe'i,
sympathetic and unaffected, the paper is Il Iouei VI
the light descriptive style.
Sympathy is a quality which great many peOpie
miss in Mr. James's writings, but one can hardly
DENY that it is here. He is not sentimental
traveller; he impreSses you as a man who has seen
TOO much and lounged too long to be easily moved
by the novel or the pOetCal; nevertheless he has
ia tO and
he reflects if not always the soul of place, at least
certain of its significant features, with a rare
fidelity Nobody will imagine, certainly Mr.
James himself will not. that the essential charm OF
Stratford is presented in this volume; but part OF
the characteristic beauty of ShakeSpeares country
is so affectonately treated that we cannot but
call ii happy thought which prompted him to CLEAN
IN this well-reaped field. We have noticed only one
instance in which want of sympathy with the lie
around him appears TO be a positive blcmish upon
Mr. Jalnes's criticism. He pauscs in blank and
hopeless despair before the Englishmans habit OF
going TO church: even the young unmarried men go
TO church. he says; and he hardly knows whether
to regard this exhibition as q great force or as
great infrnity." In his eyes il is only an example
of the power of custom, like chimneypOt hats or
lawn tennis The possibility that there may be a
national religious sentiment at the back oil IT never
for q moment occurs to him. But this Is n case III
which custom Is far more than manifestation OF
the conforming spirit" If religion in England has
lost much of its force theological belief OF as
rule of action it retains great vitality as a senti-
ment.
1t is not the least Of the merits of Mr.. James's
book that il is uniformly cheerful. He writes in a
genial mood seeing the attractive at any rate the
amusing side of life, forgetting the annoyances of
travel, and ndulging everywhere gentle and
pleasant humor.
THIRIBY HALL. A Novel. BY W. f. NORRIS
FRANKLIN Square IibraIy] Alto. rI III
HarIcr Brothers.
Mr. Norris is one Of the most satisfactory of con-
temporary English nOyelists of the second rank.
He is not remarkable for originality, and yet there
is a certain individual quality in his work that
gives it the effect of freshness The construction
of his plot is excellcnt the situations arranged
with dramatic skill and the working out of the
story though it is little slow, is deliberate rather
than prOix Then Mr.. Norris has, what so many
successful noveiSts seem content TO do without,
namely, a distinct literary style. 1t is not
brilliant an epgrammatic style; 1t Is clear,
careful, sedate, easy, and agreeable; and it is
particularly well adapted TO the manner of the
present tale which is that Of an autobiographical
narrative pcnncd by an old man many years after
the events to which it relates A little sober
reflection little natural sentiment, 4 little social
philosophy, little comment upon character, accord
well with the plan Of the novel as well as with the
bent of Mr.. Nouis's talents. If his book is not
exciting it Is at least very pleasant There is
perhaps one drawback 10 our enjoyment OF II, and
that is the character Of the hero. When Lady Con-
stance turns upon that gentleman with cold look
of contempt, and says after all, you are not
worth much" we cannot help feeling that her
ladyship is about right. But Maxwell is a better
man than he thinks himself. lie dwes in these
,f, lfs
vacillaton. his Inconsistency; lie leaves the
evidence of his generosity and high-mindedness to
display itself in his conduct and before We part
company with him We 10 see his character
strengthened and his best tendencies developed by
a change of circumstances and the influence of a
busy life in a new country. 1t Is remarkable
indeed that all the actors in the story, even the
suborlinatcS are interesting, aud several of tIem
strongly engage our sympathicS. Lady Constance
Miner is not the heroine, but She is the most i'm
portant parsonage. She belongs TO type not
uncommon in fiction, handsome, hcartlcSs, in
trigung, fascinating adventures, who enslaycs all
men and rcpcls all women, and who, selling herself
ot last for fortune, gets good deal more COM
fort out Of the transaction than she deserves. The
most successful character is that of Mrs Farquhar
In the delincation of this eXaSperating old lady
there is such fresh strain of humOr that we can
hail her as a happy creation. 1t a fine stroke
Of art 10 set OFT against her those charming and
patient elderly gentlemen, her two sons, the squire
and the general.
LIFE AT PUGET SOUND, with Sketches OF Travel in
Washington Territory, British Columbia, oregon
and California. JS63 ISL by CAROLINE &.
LlIGHIoN. 1GmO, pp. 2js. Lee & Shepard.
This record in diary form Of sixteen years travel
on the Pacific coast is Slight but attractive. Mrs.
Leighton, as the wife of Government official was
taken into unciyilizcd regions and among a wild
,,eo,la IIor sentiment her sense of bumoT aud Of