The Portland daily press., 1890-11-17
CONCERNING BOOKS.
BY z. CAvAzzA.

Port Tarascon. The Last Adventures Of
the Illustrious Tartarin. By Alphonse
Daudet. Tartarin, the great Tartarin is
dead, and the trilogy of his epic deeds is COM
pleted. A more veritable and genial creation
than he, does not belong to the litera-
tuie of this century, and-except for
the extreme riskiness of literary prophe-
sies-one would like to say that he will
be remembered by future centuries, as his
own knows Don Quixote, the men of Mo-
Heres comedies, the voyager CULVER, the
jolly Giants Of Rabelais, immortal comic
types. The good Tartarin of Tarascon is
the image made by laughing philosophy of
the duel and contrary natures Of the individ-
ual terribly, If rather crudely expressed In
Mr.. Stevenson's DR.. Jekyll and Mr.. Hyde.
1t is this continual struggle which renders
human life dramatic, affords its illusions, its
tragedies and its farces. And no better per-
sonage for these contrasts could have been
chosen than representative citizen of the
South of France, whose gasconade is inno
Gently mendacious as that of child, the un-
premeditated effort of mind full of imagin-
alton and wonder. Port Tarascor is the
chronicle OF col0niZlng expedition made TO
the coast Of Afr.ca-a land-bubble blown by
Belgian swindler-with the deluded Tar
tarin as its leader and inspiration. The
scheme and its subsequent arrangements for
departure of the Tarasconians, with all the
baggage and the patron pasteboard monster
of the town is admirably described. In fact
the exquisite power of selection and touch of
idiom of M. Daudet has never been more
admirable than In this romance. The self
enchanted Napoleonic pose of the good lar
tarip, the impish little African princess, the
transplanted provincialism of the Taras-
contains. their capture by the English, their
return, and the final sitting of the affairs by
three glacially just jurists imported for the
the occasion from the North, are among
episodes developed with the sure art of the
creator of Tartarin. Yet, to speak frankly.
one finds Port Tarascon less perfectly sue
cessful than the preceding story of Tartarin,
as mighty slayer of lions In Algeria. The
argument of the earlier book was less extern
sive and less serious; 1t permitted attention
TO concentrate itself exclusively upon Tar
tarin; the deliciously light touch of the au-
tnor was not strained by too heavy theme.
Inc Illusions Of Tartarin were subject for
iue comedy; their consequences concerned
.iilnseii alone; while, on the contrary. the
tiaseuy, complex and shocking, of a little
oo,ony ~ malarious district, among canni-
Dals, is--"touch it ne'er SO liphtlvn an mat
argument for humorous treatment. And tha
illustrate IN from the pencil of Mr.. Mvrhact
representing banquet of the antbrononhoa;
is In the worst TASTE Thus 1t becomes noe
esssry In criticizing Port Tarascon to divide
the design from the treatment, duty which
does not often occur in reviewing the WORK
of M. Daudet. 1t is a masterpiece of writing
with certain grave errors in plot which
might have been developed without offence
to rightminded constituencies.
Mr.. Henry James, always text of Eng
llsh language, has done his part to perfec-
ton; apt, flexible, varied, harmonious, the
English in which he has translated M. Dau-
diets French does the latter the best justice
possible to an alien idiom. Mr.. James may
easily be the best of translators; his sense
of language is extremely fine, his awe OF 1t SO
complete that 1t often paralyzes the move
ment of his original work, and leaves him,
like locomotive on greasedtrack, with met
al flashing TO the sun, wheels revolving, while
all sorts of carriages. donkey-carts and pc
destriaus 60 past its finished, but subtly-