New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-09-28

the first volume OF Charles Godfrey Delanos cohPco
translation Of the works Of Heinrich Hene. From the
time of Bowring onward, many fragmentary uahs-
latons of this author have made, but no one has
vcntured upon the enterprise now undertaken by MI
Leland. At the first view II may seem that much OF
Hene fom ito essentially ephemeral character scarcely
deserves to be EngDshed and indeed not little OF hS
criticism, art, dramatic and literary. certainly pos
very little permanent value regarded purely as
criticism. But there are other considerations on
behalf of Mr. Leand's plan OF complete translation,
and Of them is particularly weighty 1t is .thst
nothing OF Heine's be taken au pied de ettre'
The titles Of his writings bear but the senderest re-
hilton TO their actual subjects. Heine was emphan-
cally free lance in iterature Take for example tne
@Rcisebllders He called IL "Pictures Of Travel"
but he ght Just fairly have given 1t any other name
almost for IL deals with the most diverse ana oIoeh
wholly unrelated topics This too is the dlSunsuien
ing mark Of his prose method everywhere ana ~ 10
Just this iighness and diversity which constitute tne
charm and attraction OF his work We DO not theie-
fore read his criticism for instruction Any one VINO
sought that in the pages Of Hene would be sorey as
appointed or bewildered But we read him for ail'se
ment and this he furnishes sometimes when nothing
was further from his intention. for instance IN te
introduction to aShakespeare's Madens and WOmeh'
where he so RACES against hs pet antipathy te Ens
Lsh, as TO produce a purely comical effect
But save in his political treatses. which 1t must DC
confessed sometimes approach periloasy near 10 uu'
though even these occasionally ennvened py sneo
n
are none of his writings in which the reader can count
for any length OF time upon the pursuit OF gwen
subject His transitions are equally abrupt anu a"ioSs'
and he passes from topic to topic with the hK'nesS
and airiness of butterfly flying from flower 10 mower
The fascination Hcine consists less in the deptn OF
his observation-for in truth he was not profound-Ian
in the sparkling wit, the oddly and originality anu
unexpecedness OF his IDEAS the malice whose pungeht
expression gives it a special mordancy ana the fTehch
nghtness OF touch which carries of the most andaclouS
or paradoxca propositions. In one respect however,
he is truly French and that is in the savage ana az
times ferocious character Of his vtuperaton he could
say and 1t must be admitted that he liked to say the
most cruel and bitter things OF his contemporaries ana
his Wit STEPPED such occasions in corrosive acu'
the style playful the matter was grny Serious
and it is in way surprising that If, as has been
strongly maintained, he really did leave full memoirs
behind him, his family should have suppressed them
because OF their fierce attacks upon individuals we
know that of the ragmentary memoir OF his childhood
published few years ago. many pages were louha 10
have been cut out We know from the testimony OF
the Princess Della Roeca and Madame Camille selden
Qns MoucheD that in his latter days he frequently
referred to posthum0us publication which was TO
avenge him on his enemies And we can easily imagine
what such a book must have been, composed under
the stimulus of strocious physical suffering, and EN-
FILTERED by the realization of a wrecked life.
Heine certainly good hater, though as Ger
tainly not logical hater. In fact his genius
impaired by perhaps the most extravagant crop OF
prejudices ever exhibited by man of letters OF dis
tnctiOn. Nor was there the fainest attempt at con-
sistency his part. Mr. Leland in the present
volume taken occasion to point out the frequently
erotesque contradictions into which he fell, and his
apparent inability formulate the principles in which
he professed to believe. But this Inconsistency is
not mentioned as fault In Hcine. Only hopeless
Philstine could so regard it. 1t Is rather quail
iy which adds to his piquancy and his powe" OF en-
tertainment and no enc who Knows his writings
every educated ought TO know them expects
nom him in this particular more-or not much more
than is prompted by the within of the moment. The
most amazing criticism written upon Heinrich
Heine was Matthew ArnOd's. 1t was an honest at
tempt to interpret soul so alien TO the CRITICS
own that comprehension between the two was In the
very nature of the impossible. Arnold regarded
Hene with seriousness which suggests one of his
own jbugbears namely, the "nonconfornist con-
science He declares the poet to be great
Iberator OF humanity; queer a characterization
II he had been praised for his eminent work in
civil engineering. The truth is that Heine had
nothing OF the berator in him. So far he possessed
any serious tendencies they were Of miscellaneous
kind for he was. like Mephistophcles, the spirit
that Denies and his pessimism found expression In
a cynical, sneering vein which stopped short at moth
Ing
If Hene has done no harm it is precisely because
Of his lightness. Humor, and also frequently
curious lack of humor las when he is stone blind TO
sting out of him. while the poetry which was elemental
I'm him covers even his widest rawlings with garment
Of picturesqueness, and his love of nature breaks
through as with fresh breeze into his feverish de-
probation and angry railing against all created things
And then it must never be forgotten that Heine's
fate was pitful, tragic intOerabe; that he endured
for eight years torments such might have driven
much stronger man TO suicide; that his patience
undor these atrocous suferings wonderful; that
his love for his mother such that during all this
time he had the truth about his condition kept from
her and constantly wrote her gay and cheerful letters
to make her believe that he was we'll and happy.
OF man capable Of such herosm no hasty or pre1u-
diced judgments must be formed, and the account TO
his credit may DO carried much further. lie was a
true patriot though his country did not him well.
He was loyal friend, and strong in family affection
All through his long and fatal illness he thought
more OF others than OF himself his chief anxiety be-
ING for the welfare of his wife, Mathde-an amiable
but illterate wholly Incapable OF understand
Ing or Of being a companion to him. but whom he
loved passionately His was a strangely mixed ma
ture and 1t produced literary results which are In
great part beyond analysis
His poetry presents the finest flowers of that ex
ceponal spirit 1t is like his prose, never profound
1t is a lyric poet that he exces, and his songs are
for the most part distinguished by peculiar subtle
power OF Selling evanescent Impressions and fixing
them. No other poet German English has 81
wonderfully caught what may be called the melody o
sentiment has by sort Of intuition thrown into
few apparently careless words rhythmcaly put 10
gcther so many floating impressions of thought anC
nature There is charm in his songs the foundation
Of which is melancholy, though we arc by no mean
prepared 10 subscribe to the theory OF som3 Of hi
biogaphers TO the effect that this melancholy was tn
aftermath of hopeless passion which embtterc4 hi
life His niece the Princess Della Rocca fatty denie
the truth of this allegation, but it was too romantic
be lightly abandoned and without the least partcl
Of evidence continues TO be employed at intervals
Helne wrote in n melancholy strain because he was
poet and the true poet cannot be other than melancholy
Helne's pesslmsm would OF itself explain HI
tendency 70 sadness, and in his later years he snre
had enough to keep him from exuberant gayety
spirit. We shall look with somewhat large expects
ton for Mr. Leland's version Of the poems Of Henc
In this case The Translation manfesty POSSESSES som