New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-06-26
LITERARY NOTES.

LITERARY NOTES.
Miss Maria Louise POOLS "Dallyn is on the list Of
Forthcoming novels promised by the Harpers The
enthusiastic readers Of Roweny in Boston, will wait
impatiently hereafter for Miss Pools books.
new volume of poems by Mr.. Kipling is announced
for publication In the autumn.
That is an admirable portrait of oliver Wendell
Holmes In the July Harper" 1t is the face OF a
man for whom age can't exist, speaking Of pecep'
ton keen and sympathy fresh as those of early
youth. In the accompanying article by George Will
lam Curtis there is paragraph which will be particu-
iary interesting to those who love both Holmes and
Thackeray. "The colloQual habit of the Autocrat y
says Curtis is not lost In the stories, and IL SO
marked generally In Holiness writings to be called
distinctive. IL Is fascinating gift, when 1t Is 50
restrained by taste and instructive refinement as not to
become what is known bumptiousness. ThacReray,
In his novels apt 10 drop into this vein to TAX
about the persons of hts drama with his reader instead
Of leaving them to play ont their part alone This
trait offends some OF Thackerays audience, to whom
II seems like the managers hand thrust into the box
TO help out the play Of the puppets They resent
not Fthe damnable faces Of the actors. but the
damnable sermonzlng Of the author. and exhort him
to permit the play to begin. Thackeray frankly
acknowledged his tendency to preach as he called It,
But Il was part of the man. Without the private
personal touch Of the essayis In his stories they would
not be his. This coloquial habit is very winning
when governed by natural delcacy and an exquisite
literary instinct II Is the quality OF all the authors
who are distinctly beloved persons by their readers
and it is to this class that Holmes especially belongs
ID Is not quality which is easily analysed, but 1t
blends a power OF sympathetic observation and appre-
citation both OF the thing observed and the reader TO
whom the observation is addressed
hitherto unpublished portrait Of Thackeray has
just appeared In "The Illustrated London News and
accompanying it is article on "Thackeray and His
Biographers," by his daughter, Mrs. Richie.
The quaint and comical papers on Farming which
Mr. Munkttrck contributed not long ago to Harper's
Weekly to be brought out in book form by the Har
pers will be remembrtl that the author describes the
amusing experience of city man farmer. All
Mr.. Frosts delightful illustrations will appear In the
volume.
Marie Bashkrtsefs Letters to Prominent People"
ere Just coming from the press of Cassell Let us
hope that they contain the cleverness without the
morbidity and Alterations of her journal
recently published bit of verse on Realists" (by
r. 4. Burton) is poor poetry, but as an illustration
suggestive enough:
once beheld group of sorrowfng men
Who bent above the death-mask Of a maid
The lines of the loved face were doubtless there,
But as each looked he started back again
As from a stranger, chilled and half afraid.
Her features lacked the soul had made them fair.
are already great are constantly increasing. The
French royalty system is just and readers buy
their books instead of borrowing them in England.
What viii the English and American novelist say to
this quotation from The ST. Jamss's Gazette:
The result Of the grea: possibilities Of French fiction
the history Of literature France developing wealthy
sre BENZ founded reSsr than some Of Se old
astocracies. more refined and more interesting than
that form of arstOcracy which has been evolved from
llsh writers who have made large fortunes BY their
pens but where are those fortunes now Even Scott
be almost impossible TO put ones finger upon what
we may call an English literary family which has been
have been the personal circumstances of the who
made the name ilius ous Yet in France there are
or soon will be- mai, such instances. The names Of
Hugo, Daudet, lola and Dumas occur at once. The
point since although he is the second Of his name he
Is the first TO possess wealth.
There seem to be two explanations Of this state OF
things: there Is more money to be made by letters in
France; and the French writer of the first rank has
good deal Of the heavy father in his composition
home and rarely frsets that his first duty is to leave
His advantage it to receive his gains as Income and
not as a series Of windfas. The English author re
the serial rights and there is the end of IT, In France
something quite different happens The abundance Of
papers for the successful mans first fruits and he con
than Is possible here Then when the volume is pub
lshed there is large dividend every six months for
steady sale Which should mean few thousand francs
every yearsince every copy sold means coin for the
successful books under this system his income becomes
very considerable.
"Retty Alden Is to be the title Of Mrs. Jane G.
Austns next ante Revolutionary novel,
The memars Of A. Fet-schenschin, the Russian
lyric poet, which appeared in ST. Petersburg short
time ago, contain interesting "reminiscences Of Count
Leo Tolsoi. Turgenef and other literary lights OF the
land Of the White Car. The relations between Turge
njeff and TolsOi. it appears from the memoirs were
somewhat strained for years. "TolstOi," says Tur
gente in letter to FetSchenschn, continues to do
wonderful things. He is destined, indeed to do So
When will he give up his fances and become indepen-
dent? There is one man whom 10 is impossible for me
to please with my works that is Leo Tolstoi That
must have been foreordaned. The report has been
circulated that he has begun to work again. That is
pleasure to US ALL Our stars in opposite drec-
tons in the heavens and it is therefore better as he
believes, that we do not meet one another But you
may write him or tell him land mean IT. that, from
distance, like him greatly, respect him, and follow his
with interest. When in his presence however
everything different glad that Tolstoi does not
hate me. and am happy in the knowledge that he is
completing great novel. May God grant that it
contain philosophy"
In another letter the great Russian writes: In my
life have only hated man. He, thank God, Is
dead. (The Emperor Nicholas is meant, in all
probability have only despised three Girardin,
Bulgarin. my literary denunciators under Emperor
Nicholas, and Katkof."
Among the letters of TolstO In the Memoirs" is
concerning Turgenief's "Smoke." "As TO Smoke
he says believe that the power Of poetry lies in
love; the direction of this power depends upon the
character Without the power Of love there is no
poetry; the power, falsely directed, is unpleasant;
the weak character of the poet Is revolving In Smoke
fail to find that love shown for anything and there
s very little poetry in the book. The love which the
book portIays is not true love and the poetry Of the
sorry is therefore displeasing I cannot look upon
an author kindly whose personality do not like 1t
seems to me, however that this is the general impress
sion"
Enthusiastically found comfort in Schopenhauer.
aschOpenbauer' he writes, "has given me great
pleasure and an intellectual enjoyment such have