New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-10-24
LITERARY NOTES.

III EnhR1 NV AtO'
The literary work done by the women OF New
york State during the last century and In the nrs,
6ftv wears of this century is set forth win care any
rood taste IN a little volume OF Early Prose anu
verse" This has been edited by Alice Morse Earle
and Emily Ellsworth Ford. and has been ISSUE"
as one Of the volumes illustrating the inteiIec'uai
achievements Of New-York women which nave peen
nrepared in connection with the World fdi' anu
nuh,isbed by the Harpers under the general utie
n, "Tbe Distaff Series" With few exceptions 'he
writings of the feminine pioneers OF the last century
were not worth preservation. stiff ana afunciai III
STYLE they were mostly modelled upon English pup
,ications of the period. and showed no trace OF
original talent Even the private letters OF these
ladies were little less sted and prosaic ana their
noetrv while fun Of pious and amable sentiments
was mediocre to the last degree. The eNrac'S
given in this little volume are quite sui1cieht u
furnish taste of their quality and 1t is OF course
an Indispensable part of the illustrative colec
lions Other volumes of the series are 'Ihe MN
aerearten" edited by Kate Douglas Wggin: Inc
Literature of Philanthropy" edited by Mrs. +. a.
Goodale and Household Art" edited by MIS- Cah-
dace Wheeler.
There Is 10 be a new English edition OF Haw-
thornes works illustrated by two well-known art
lists and incosed in bindings designed by waiter
Crane.
Miss Wlkins's tales Of New-England life are
treated by foreign critics as something entfei!
new in literature. This is doing injustice 10 'ne
charming work of Miss S. o. Jewett and OF the
late Rose Terry Cooke. These two authors lea the
way in stories Of this kind.
work Of tremendous size is about to ne IN
stalled in the library of the British Museum IL
comprises a thousand big books wherein are pouh"
I'D the 5000 native volumes of the wonderlu I'M
nese encyclopaedia. This is the only perfect copy
In Europe, and even in China there are ho' i''o'o
than five copies of this edition.
The new English edition. in three volumes OF
p'Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy has an INTRO
duction by A. H. Bullen and portrait Of Burton
after the picture in Brazenose College IL mas pee
carefully edited by the Rev A. X Shile'o'
II IL in his "Scribner' paper on the man OF
letters as a man of business that Mr. Howeiis
declares with what seems to be mourniul irony!
that this man must make up his nina that III 'i'e
limited States the fate Of book is in the hands
of the women The male American, he thlhKS
reads only the newspapers or such works oil hu-
NOR as are introduced him through the news
papers; whereas the women, having more eisuie,
are better educated. more cultivated in taste II
not in mind and 'if they do not know wha' Is
good they do know what pleases them ana 1t is
useless to quarrel with their decisions, for there
Is no appeal from them. Perhaps. as a matter
Of business" he adds. lit would be well Tor a
serious author. when he finds that he Is not pleas
ing the women, and probably will never please
them to turn humorous author and aim al the
countenance Of the men. Except as humorlst' ne
certainly never will get it, for your American
when he is not making money or trying TO DO H.
Is making a joke trying TO do it In fact the
world into which the author must venture, appears
70 he too realistic even for the realistic writer who
must appeal to IT, 1t is but gloomy picture OF inc
literary life which Mr. Howells presents TO US
rha ror,inisconces of Walter Scott, which Mr..
Stevenson has edited for "Scribner' from the MS
of his grandfather. Robert Stevenson the civil
engineer are SO slight that one rather "ohueiS
at the flourish with which the novelist introduces
them. They show Scott as the courteous clever
laxative man we know him TO have been-a man
of simple and sincere piety, and one aroeh'y
delichtng in the history, the antiquarian remains
and the humorous characters of his country vi
his weknown modesty as an Author' "ri'es
Stevenson Il may mention his once saying to me
when we were looking over the ships quarter III
was Erskine Thomson, Rae, Skene and others
who gave importance to my early writings. other-
wise / should have thought or pupiishins
them" Concerning seal on which stevenson
had employed artist TO cut the head OF scott
the novelist observed that the head was not worm
the pains of the artist"
Should a novelist draw his friends? This is what
1.-THE Pail Mall Gazette has to say on the subject
(author of "DOdo) states but does not argue Is
STATED concretely" thus: Surprising a book were
accuracy and completeness of detail the appearance.
habits and characters of some remarkably unpleas-
ant intimate friends in an unmlstakaDe way, XIV
ing them the setting experience series OF adVen-
lures which they actually had experienced. Art
F. F. Benson calls concrete statement; we can II
Pathological and likewise nonscnsical ne means 20
ask if a novelist. who loads the books he has me
right and the mind to publish in these dTgh 6dr
traits Of people he does not like, is contemplate
And we reply without hesitation That ne rs even N
these deshf9 days OF 9nvsr n aTi and and
Mr.. Benson starts with the suggestion that they
all do it," and reply that novelist who looks
TO have success than the circulating libraries
can give him does anything of the sort Daudet
and Dickens have sinned by caricaturng their
friends and they are none the better IN repute ior
can evolve a man or woman out Of his inner con,
sciousness." so the novelist must take model ana
from the model he must construct a type. The
characters in works Of fiction must be human. and
that thew should be human they must be drawn
women of our own time Here is a plausible cx-
cuse for caricaturng ones friends An excuse. too
founded on the sandiest Of foundations. upon the
silliest OF artistic falaces. The novelist does not
reproduce-uness he be utterly incompetent-nor
ranging the facts he has observed. lie must gen
eralize. He must take his type-that is to say an
abstraction a kleutOmaniac (say pork butcher
or gentleman Of honor, and having settled to ms
own satisfaction the elements which compose rs
character. he must proceed from the type and de-
veop the individual by adding peculiarities of habit
speech and garment .na 'hese pefn
like Nature in the poem. must De careful OF the TYPE
and needless 10 a reasonable degree) Of the single
life. Then. having chosen his type and his situation
the novelist set the forces Of character and ac
himself. How would MIR NJ. or Mrs - behave
here?' but, What would person OF given CHAR
method and Mr. Benson's method are as different
as the manufacture of "a mosaic is from the carving
OF statue.