New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-04-24
OUR ENGLISH KIN.
AnECIDED COOLING OF THEIR FRIENDSHIP
TOWARD AMERICA.
THE EXCLUSION OF LOWELL FROM wEsTMIN

Copyright. 1892: Bg The Tribune Assoctdtion
London, April 23-In view Of what has been
aid here and elsewhere touching Dean Bradley's
exclusion of the Lowell memorial from Westmin-
ster Abbey one point ought to he made clear
The proposed memorial was entirely English in Its
origin It was Lowell's English friends who pro-
iected it, Mr.. Leslie Stephen at the head OF them
and many respectable and respected Englishmen
in company with him. No American, so far as
/ know, had any share in the proceedings. or at
tended the meeting called by Mr. Stephen. though
some were invited No American name was
,gned to the application addressed TO the Dean.
I must say that | think Mr.. stephen ana MS
friends might have so managed matters as TO aVou
the public rebuff they have endured from Dean
Bradley. Possibly they did not imagine that such
an affront to Lowell's memory was to be expected
It would be interesting to know how it came
n be made public The first account OF the
matter appcared as piece of literary scandai Ill
a weekly literary paper VIGOROUSLY inimlcal 10
AMERICANS and American literature. mo
Atbes,oeum." Perhaps Mr.. Stephen would tell us
who sent this statement. do not thinK ne SEM
IT, His friendship to Lowell was perfectly SINCERE
Not much has been said here ABOUT inc rei"''
T., ia regretted by the best Englishmen. IL IS ap
,I.udsd nv those who are not the best, by purVey-
ora of that cheap gossip to cheap papers 30 la
&C there exists here anything like jealousy vi
American writer's that sentiment also IS gra'iheu
There is undoubtedly in England nan sie"'s
feeling that the best period of modern r"ei'"
literature is MIST and that American literature So
"a, from decaying. is steadily advancing. Ihrer
,co,t writers are left TO this country, hor"
,ronr,ron Mr.. Froudc, and Mr.. Ruskin lhey
owe all INST seventy Mr.. Ruskin Is almost
si,~nt and Lord Tennyson is a spent force VI
,bo miAd1e-ared writers who can I've nameu' WIN
;s oven second rate? OF the younger men ''.''
&c Mr. Stevenson, who is fortN-t"o' ""V "i
Stevenson has given us his measure long ei".' anu
admirable as he Is, lie has yet 10 pfoo"oe "
,nasterpiece Mr. Kipling? lie can wrl'e Sho'V
stories. Whether he can do more. 10 o"e S'0
knows. 49,
This &c not state Of things which the fnsllSh
critic can survey with pride. some oil t'e "''
who in other days would have written oooNs INV
found that it pays better to write LOT ''c pr
Man like Mr.. Andrew Lang who has culture, 40
hath But in his case II is hard I" say "'ric
journalism ends and literature begins lie DC
LONGS too. not TO the younger, hut to the edef
br;cadc Where is the coming poet? "herc Is
Matthew Arpold's successor? Who is the grea'
novelist Of the immediate future
MIRO than one branch Of letters could be named
in which American writer's are admittedly superior
IA English Lowell himself had not his equal Ill
ENGLAND in his knowledge OF English literature,
AR in his many -sidednesS. DR.. OiiVer Nehueii
Holmes has not his equal. There is not among
'1ivinc English writer's OF fiction more than one
writer of genius, and she IS woman !cIn.'i
Az Prot Uarte. nor Mr.. Henry James. nor Mt
uo,,e,,s has an English counterpart No English
critic has done for the Victorian era of literature
what the American critic and poet, Mr.. Stedmah'
has done This is place TO pursue inc coii-
harrison in detail, ror reed one wish to DO more
than indicate the grounds of the jealous uiShRe
toward America which SO often shows itseli among
men of letters in England.
Those who yield TO this sentiment are n''
ALWAYS conscious of it, but it exists, and the most
,nba,S, expressjon of it is the exclusion OF
Ipau fror, Westminster Abbey Dean Bradley
certainly did not take his decision without con-
srl+no Iuhers He ia a retired schOomaster TIC
was in uapy respects very good schoomas'er'
His anpointnent 10 be Dean Of Westminster wfs
surprise to everybody. lie has done many thih?S
since TO Justify the surprise Inc place WIS III
tho Gift nj Mr. Gladstone. lie is Responsible lof
Dean Bradley. The Deans intentions are excel
lent His acts are what we sec in his treatment
Of Arnold and Lowell
II is to be said in his excuse that many I"ei'o
men think the Abbey ought TO be reserved ~,
Fnglishnlcn | thinl, they are right. III Lo"eii
is not good enough for the Abbey, no Aucii''"
writer is good enough, and the nuilner Oh ii'i's
rrgltsb writers whose friends are likely 10 clamor
for their admission is not large enough u w al
embarrassment to Dean Bradley. or any futhIe
.nDlicatiop in behalf Of any American there surely
ran he no danger let the door which mas Drcu
shut remain shut Have you no Westminster
.bhev ~ vour own - acked an Englishman, WIN
that delicacv in handling delicate questions "hicr
DISTINGUISHES some of our cousins our ancestor
and his buildcd the Church Of St. Peter wlleh i
NOW closed to u.s. but can afford TO assign u
then any share in il 70 which America might nave
thought herself entitled.
dwell ON this incident because il is strlkinp
illustration Of feeling which seems to me IN grca
part new and altogether deporable. The feeling
here toward America is not quite what l. WIS
The English themselves might be surprised to heal
il said that their goodwill 10 their American MI
hcvo2d tho sea has cooled off, But fear that it has
dill is not necessarily a fatal disorder, and this
is proba bly, not fatal not permanent only rassins
phase hut il is a phase and that has 70 he con
sde,ed GOOD many things have combined Il
produce it-li,cray, political, social. and solh'
others The English press is one cause, ana IN
woSt of it s that the best English papers are una
ware of tie mischief they doing, and Che bcs
of them never meant to do il, and do not nov rcai
il. They have thought they were fair to us, anC
they have been extremely unfair.
II we are to look at political events, change
of ,,,ne and attitude may I've traced to the Nc
Kinley tariff We need not Elare them too mucl
for that The Mckinley tariff hit the Englisl
manufacturer hard; he thinks it did. which
comes TO the same thing. The press wrote OF III
A. the time OF its passage as il we were the viies
Of mankind end the most ignorant. Public mel
xpoke in more guarded but equally damaging
tone. Read what Mr.. Gladstone said. Do yol
SUPPOSE that added anything to the stock of goo'
willp They upbraided as for our sclfishness; a
II any nation legislated on fiscal or any othe
subjects for the benefit OF its neigh6ors They
nave been all powerful commercially III Souti
,noey;ca and they resent Mr. Baines far-sccin