New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-12-13
JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL.
HIS LAST LITERARY WORK.

JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL. 12mo. PIP. 1874.
Houghton, Mifn Co.
This volume contains the last Of Lowells work
in the shape Of essays and addresses. 1t includes
ESSAYS on Gray" on Some Letters of Walter
Savage Landor." on "Walton," and on The
Progress of the World" and an address on THE
Study of Modern Languages delivered before
the Modern Language Association Of America in
1889 The only one Of these papers which Is
uprevised by the hand Of the author is that on
Shakespcares Richard ILL., Professor Charies
Eliot Norton in note says that with TINS ne
was not satisfied, and proposed 10 revise IT, ~
has seemed to me, however, OF interest ehous"
as it stands to warrant its publication" NO doupt
il is interesting but IL may well be believed tnat
Mr. Lowell would not have published it in q
permanent form without revision. For IL 's
really the least satisfactory paper in the volume
The view taken of Shakespeare's Richard III Is
one which cannot be said TO commend itself TO the
Judgment. The evidence advanced in support OF
the contention that Shakespeare did not write the
whole play as it has come down to us; that, IN
fact he probably only furnished up play witt
ton by an inferior hand is by no means satis-
factory Mr.. f. T. CollSins, in his introduction
IN the BanIsside Shakespeare edition OF Kichafd
III. has pointed out some Of the weak places In
Mr.. Lowell's argument, which, indeed, diners put
little from the destructive and dangerous line OIL
criticism which has been applied to many pays
but which has hitherto fortunately not peeh ac-
cepted Nothing can be more vague or more
perlous than an argument against Shakespeare
authorship Of anything ascribed TO him. pasea UA
the assertion that tle suspected WORK iai'e
below him" For there is in his writings every
variety of quality, and If at his best he rises 10
heights unapproached by any other author, az
his worst he sinks below the level OF several Oh
his contemporaries. But if we take any OF n'S
plays as a whole We find IN 1t what can only oe
called n Shakespearean flavor, which is, or whlch
should be, unmistakable, and that flavor assureuiy
is not wanting in Richard iii, despite 'hc
inferiority of many passages In the play.
Mr.. Lowells essay OH Gray is Thoroughly ae-
liehtfil and his estimate of the poet character's
cally judcious and discriminating. The eAp.in@-
ton suggested of Grays infertility is also oecoeu
.vraisemblabe. Mr.. Lowell thinks the poets
long residence in Cambridge depressed anu uhooui-
AGED him. lie is not much disposed to accept inc
theory that Gray really found his inspira'ion
Rut should not his fastidiousness be suffered 10
count for much in any attempt to eNpiaih 'ne
small amount of his production; and wouid
not Ia reasonable to assume that his fastidious-
ness grew upon him with the years? Ills lame
was high when he stopped writing poetry. nuch
n man might well have feared to publish any
hollow the standard he himself had established.
IT, is indeed true that in one OF his letters ne
COMPLAINS of lack of inspiration, but this cahhoV
be regarded as conclusive lie was lndoieht, uhu
dissatisfied with himself because he was lndoiene'
and his correspondence shows him contihuaiiS
casting about for excuses ana seli-Jusuh0"o'o''
In doing this nothing would be more ha'urai
than the suggestion that his silence was que ~
inconacitv instead of to Discrimination. The ques-
ton is, of course, one which can never NC "
termined, and it is of less Importance seeing that
the 400 lines Gray has left exceed In value
the whole voluminous works OF three-Iourtns VI
the poets who aspire TO immortality.
An essay of special interest is that on Lahoor'
for Mr.. Lowell had been privileged TO meet MN
socially. and has here given some striking rem
iniscenccs of the acquaintance lie is certainty
right in his estimate Of Landor's poetry Lahoor
is what has been called poets poet and yet
in his most ingenious and refined verse there Is
a GOODNESS which must always, one imagines, pre-
vent him from becoming popular. The same re-
mari, may indeed be applied TO his prose, the
nolsh of which, however brilliant, is that Oh
morb,a The man himself-the Laurence Boy
throne of BLEAK House" was as hot as his muse
wos cold. living volcano in fact, but as
generous and kind-hearted as he was passionate
and explosive OF his personal appearance ana
manner Mr. Lowell says: "The suhused ana
uniform ruddincss OF his face In which the lore
head already heightened by badness. shared, ana
something in the bearing of his head, reminded one
yiyidly of the late President Quincy, as dld also
certain hearty resonance Of speech You felt
Yourself in the presence OF one VINO was ehi-
nbaticalIv a man. not tho image Of \ man: so
COMPATIBILITY. indeed, that even Carlyle thought
Tho ;onrnev to Bath not too dear price TO pay
for seeing him, and found something royal in
him. When ! saw him he was in his seventy
eighth year, but erect and vigorous as In miadle
life There was something OF challenge even III
the alertness of his pose and the head was often
thrown back like that of boxer who awaits
hIo,y JIe had the air of the arena" That is
vivid sketch. Mr.. Lowell proceeds: After
| tho first greetings were over, thought 1t might
n,sose him TO know that had made pilgrimage
70 his Fiesolan villa / spoke Of the
be,utv Of it's site. l could not have been
moro clumsy. had / tried' YES he
80. screamed, land l might have
hoon tberc now but for that in-tole FRA BILE
xyoman ~ pausng on each syllable OF the adJec
.ir,o &C who would leave an imprecation there,
and making the r. CRATE as if it were grinding
Inc ,eetb at the disabilities which distance imposes
| on resentment
We must make room for one characteristic
| reniniscence of Lander. The story has often
becn told before but it is always good, and there
are always no doubt readers to whom it is new
Mr.. Lowell writes: Il am not sure whether he
told the story of his throwing his cook out OF u
window of this villa. think he did, but 1t may
have been Mt Kenyon who told it to me on the
way back to London. The legend was that after
he had performed this summary act of justice
Mrs Lander demonstrated with There, Wal
ter! / always told you that one day you would
do something TO be sorry for in these furies Of
yours.' Few men can be serene under an !
told you so'-least of all men could Landor Bu'
| he saw that here was occasion where calm ID
,nore eHective than tempest and where a sof,