The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1891-01-25
OUR LITERARY BUDGET,
CONTRIBUTIONS fnoM FIELD OF
euhnent LITERATURE


WA}s- y~.>st4 A,ras~1isN % vri 8 res'se'
.1~y,el. \ sesAP "a ers,s asa,s 90 iru
cues ths k.as,A Aed ,hen tVu So tho sale
speNieS
\ figure OF distraction stands hsiore YOU ,
= slender figure In gray suit, with bclted
Norfolk jacket. A. YOU descend "A cultured
voice bids you welcome, and in second
your hand is in the firm and slender grasp
OF Mr.. G orge Meredith. You come i'm
mediately under the dominion Of an old
time courtllness Of manner. You catch a
rapid impression Of a mass Of gray hair and
n gray beard; and YOU see between the two
the lines Of cultured lace, scanned with
thought You can but note its extreme
fragility Of look, and a refinement Of express
sion quite in harmony with the delicate art
YOU have learned to admire in his poetry and
prose.
over the deep set ewes tell YOU Of spent phys
steal forces. while the eyes themselves,
alert. bright. fun, speak OF a yivacious soul
and resolute Will that instruct and sup
mort the bodily weakness. Mr. Meredith
iead. Won 10 his cottage door, chatting the
while with easy uncOacern, telling you WIN
drlettante charm that he is a Republican
and that on theory he objects 10 monarchs'
A. he u-hcrs you into his parl1r and pre-
senfs his Young lady daughter ana hand
,onr son he cOntriVes ~ make you feel com
pletelv al home. and you are not AFRAID ol
/ the bad quarter of an hour Whlch ne teil'
YOU will intervene before the serving ~ the
/ meal he has Hospitality provided for you.
Ue sits down and talks, without intermis-
ali
mand of hapUly apt language and variety
| NJ thought mat amazes ana stimulates you.
You listen approximately, for he requires
| mo- announcement except the feeling that
| ho has a receptive listener, and the words
come tumbling out in orderly array. with
ont confusion. throwing rainbow -ciniilla-
tious on all subjects they touch; illuminst-
ing such diverse topics AZ tue American
Copyright question and the character marks
! of the English intellect - eflOrtless seems
| the flow, so spontaneously issue the cpl
| granmatic sentences, that You are rested
a,mucb as YOU are enihralled, by the mon
ologue, and how fsryenGy you wish for MS
own sake as well as your OTn.that be would
write more as be talks; that that strange
and apparently studied utricacy OF style
and expression in which be il wont TO IN
dulge in his books were abandoned IN isNOr
OF his talking language.
You learn from him aferward, however.
| that he is o conscious sinner, ana that IN
tricato thoughts find. i'm his opinion, their
equivalent expression in intricate style.
| You are too modest 10 argue the point hut
YOU suggest, perhaps, IN tentative sort Of
way, that YOU prefer the vehicle crystal
clear. i'm order that YOU NAV attack the
thought itself, and that 1t is something IKE
deliberately setting "A puzzle to wrap bit
of wisdom i'm volumin0us f1ldlngs of words.
But ,om host tells YOU the more brilliant
Vnur diamonds the more elaborate the -et.
Ting. that am idea worth the acquiring Is
worth digging for, and that sentences may
be most interesting for what they do not
say. All this you tacitly admit, but ques-
ton whether it proves the case
The room in which YOU are sitting mas
! two windows. one looks ont OF the front
over the little lswE on to the road; the other
opens into Lilliput conservatory. all gor-
geous with blooms that give color 20 the
| simple apartment aud are rejected in the
polished side of the upright piano, Of which
| Miss Meredith Is the mistress. You see
these little details a. YOU rsc % cross the
hall 10 the diuing-rOOm, where you cit down
| To meal elegant ia its simplicity, and Illus
trated by dainty glass Of hook and cham
payne whose bouquet is a. delicate as the
scent OF heather. For, as You know from
| bis books, Mr.. Meredith has palate for
/ wines true and refined.
After the early dinner you 90 out into the
grounds behind the house and are conducted
by your host to his literary workshop, de-
| tached structure quite separate from the
house. As be walks along he tells you. IN
| answer 20 YOUR questions, that be writes
about LOO or 100 words in his working
day Of three or four hours. and that he writes
with his own hand, avoiding those mven-
lions now So generally emNbyed for light
ening the mechanical part of the writing.
| Ills daughter, he tells YOU, makes Iinal
CODY Of his sheets for the printer and he
adds that after his mornings work is over
he seeks relaxation IN translallns the elias
&c poets into English.
Al the entrance tO the little house YOU are
introduced 10 the two hounds that are such
| prime fayorites with their master. both tan
| c00rpd. and one a perfect wag with an ir-
resistIble sense ~ humor. Mr.. Meredith
| tells YOU how fond he is ~ young people,
and how, as "A rule, be prefers the society N
/ the young To that Of the Old; but most of all
YOU think he prefers his own society, for
YOU can see al times that his Imagination
| ha. carried him III To- some unseen world,
| and that for The moment be- is living In "a
planet that is all his OWE.
| He tells YOU how he likes 10 meet young
! and brilliant woman not more than once or
| twice, ana how his Imagination builds up
| from the hint that DE- caught from nature
and art H. hints hos hrst delightful
impression may Doe spoiled hy nearer ac-
quautauce, bat that "a child Of tine inn.
agin&tiOu heyerdisappOint-. and You gather
/ from mis- and similar remarks an impress
Sion Oi "a certain sense OF Diet tchmeut Dl The
authors part-an alO0iucss from the world
% a allows 10 and lis denizens o. com jI,t
-p near and poo nearer. You remember now
J str0nrWas this CHARACTERISED, in Browning
and are struck with this p0iu of re-cm-
blauce betNr-u the two men. one Of whom
has been called after the other. ana is some
Times known a, the prose Browning.
As You look into the literary workshop
rd from the window into one % the love
hest of views i'm this lovely Surrey, your
cicerone talks little OF that Germany Of
which he is so fond. and where many of his
younger DAYS were spent, and YOU wonder
If his close acquaintance with the German
language and literature has aught % do
with some OF his pecuiarities of style.
tie tells You of his work, and asserts
what all must know, that his art Is him
self. and that he writes what is in him.
As YOU bid adieu % the graceful daueh-
ter she gives YOU little bouquet that long
recalls the little garden, the manly son
alas since that day an elder brother not
NlNlult lutils uhN uliu -iftH NA 4 nearly
handshake, and your kind host walks down
with YOU To the gate.
Nations" he says, as he walks, "hays
an individuality and their people salient
characteristics. You tell M am going 10
meet an freshman or a Frenchman. | know
| shall find certain traits product of the |
finer nervous organization that comes from
the Celtic blood. The Americans. too, have
finer set OF nerves and more refined ap-
prehension than have We. There lies their
hope. Their organization is more keen than |
Ours. discern II in some OF their writings !
and i'm some of their methods | iOresee a |
~eat literary and artistic product there. -
San Francisco Chronicle.
Literary Notes.
As there is an lbsen "crazs" and a Brown |
Ing lad" so there now is a lavish adOra- |
ton in these regions Of the French short |
story. No one will assert, Of course, that |
the object Of this enthusiasm is not "A thing |