New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-06-18
LITERARY NOTES.

have hoe, Law but there was certainly no
....o ar Jccencv In the conduct Of the French pup
ss,sr who brought out Victor Hugos "Notre Dame uo
r.r. y Huyo sold the novel to Renduei Tor un'"s
ann undertaking at the same time to give tho '""0
,;her t,r like price tho next two volumes OF P'oSo
.h;ch he might write Notrc Dame dc fars was
soccess by which NJ. Rcnduei made largo p'o".'
virtor Hugo then proposed to modify tue e"s"s0"'
hut NJ Renduel would not hear OF any. a'e''''a ~ 10
and for thirty wears no prose work Issued rom
rI,,. men When at last after the lapse OF TINS long
period Les Mserahles appeared the poet paw 80
indemnity Of 900 francs TO NJ. kendue'' III eo"s'.
ton OF which he consented to waive his claims
LAS Miserables, Hugo received from inc VII" VI
Iaeroix ycrboekhcvcn almost $lS,ooo
"The Saturday Review !" Is not quito peasea WIN
Mr. James and his volume OF stories he'".u,
"Had he subjected them to yet stricter reV's'on'
say. "the gain would have been stu greater -. A"'
lett In them a good many phrases which may p0ln"p'
have pretty sound but unfortunately arc ",'"so
.. snx sense In his earlier days he had picked up Us
a. ..s,.d tho modern fashion of prelerring words TO
thougbts 1t is true that he has for the most part
this foolish habit and that be now taxes care
q. ,ool for n meaning before he looks for words' no
an cxample of his bad earlier style. we may 'aAo MS
tale entitled Passionate Pilgrim which ne wro'e ~
The wear 1871 1t is overdone with words' .n.o"s
,.h vva mako our way with almost as much dimcui'y
..fwe were struggng through a copsc that had not
been lopped for dozen years. The irritaVon 'na'
caused is all tho greater. as the oostructiohS al" % "
tentioually and so laborously raised IN our paul
the words are not only far too many put are oie" M
too unmeaning How could Mr.. James, In his pr"ces'
~ retouchpe, leave in such silly line as the iurid
animating glow Of the western sun y II NO "N
written as all young authors should WRITE with
l.a,nsa that .lurid is defined as dismal, gloomy
Dismal. au,matng glowr page or two iur'ner on
NJ lanes describes the preternatural redness OF
,ar,e HAIR and beard He calls it bushy brightness
and At the Same time huge lurid n'mous. Inc
mans hair was red when once told that there
might we'll have been end OF 1t. Our ruoe 'a'"0i'
II thew had wished TO 60 further, would we suppose
have called it carroty But now we must n"'' pr
ternatural' 'bushy brightness, and nuso luz.
nimbus' 1t is all very fine and very 1oonsn ~ 10 NV
ON this mans hair only that all the strange "oroS
wasted. His eyes had kind OF auburn giow' anu
vuIpue keenness aud redness while his phys'oenon'y
was set in motion By perfunctory, pfeoccupieu s"i'
Tn tho same story we are told that the heros imagr
nation began to crepitate Surely 1t almost
~ an act Of impertnenee in an author thus to presume
nm the ignerance of his readers. How can the rhag
nation make small cracking noise Does MIR. James
,aka Dame Ouickly Ancient Pistol and Dogberry as
his models of English A marshalied wealth. "a
ancient candlesticks is nothing worse than silly IL
does convey some kind of meanings though 'or al
We can see, a marshalled wealth OF modern pewter
po II used of the empty pots of beer hung up on the
rails Of suburban tavern would not have more TOOL
fab sound. But what can make OF o sheer steep
sdeT If it is sheer how cab 1t be on ~ steep,
What too is meant by recognizing the eoncusson Vi
any especial courtesy Of speeeh1 sometimes 'no
srtbor rises or sinks into rant man sees ghost'
and the author sees the Il bebeld,' he writes
stbe human subject hot from the spectral presence
surev Mr. James has ceverness enough of his own not
20 be- forced to live on the almsbasket OF words II
IN his early youth he borrowed largely from tho folly
of brother writer's that he has come to years OF
discretion he should by careful and strict revision
have freed himself from the reproach OF such oan'
We must however. allow that many OF these stories'
though they are unsatisfactory by their slighness
have nevertheless Q certain kind OF cleverness lhey
are easily read, and, We must add, just as easily
forgotten"
w Cottsberper Is about to publish Madame