New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-01-13
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
BOUGHTON'S ILLUSTRATED RIP VAN
W!NkLE."

RIP VAN WlEKLE AND TIE LEGhN Io,.i 0t
With nfty-three illustrations by {. II. Hougnton'
A. r. A. Octave PIP. X. rs London and New
York: Macmillan e Co.
To the series Of illustrated reprints including
"Our Village" ana "CTanford." for which Mr.
Hugh Thomson drew the pictures the Mac
,nillans have added welcome volume in Ny
Roughton's version Of rip Van Wrinkle ana
1.-THE Legend Of sleepy Hollow" An illustration
ofanauthorisaptto bean arbitrary experiment III
which the personality of the artist and the spirit
Of the writer struggle for the supremacy. In eN-
ceptional cases the struggle is not for the su'c-
acy but for an even balance. such balance
Mr. Boughton comes nearer to securing than any
illustrator Of Irving We can recall At hi't
glance this Is not obvious, and 1t Is for the rca-
son that MI Boughton as draushisnan is
not strong enough to command interest in his
figures at once \ second and more elaborate
study Of the illustrations discovers their good
qualities. and the artists mannerism o. a curly
outline in the treatment Of form and drapery Is
relcgatcd to the minor position in which 1t ne
longs.
The positive merit Of these pictures consists
in their adroit representation Of peculiar ana
battling type Rip Van Wrinkle. Ichabod Crane
Drom Van Brunt and their companions were
Dutch in many Of their characteristics. ana
especially In their lineamcnts. The must also
have been distinctly Americanized men and
women in physique; and it IS the curious COM
blnation Of Dutch and American strains in
Mr. EouChton's personagcs that renders them as
appropriate 10 the text as they are. They go
with the latter in worry nearly perfect harmony.
II there is a discOrd 1t Is the minor one alluded
10 as caused by Mr.. B,ughton's style. IN
sentiment In local color. in scenic matters. the
M.
Roughion has been painting satisfactory pictures
OF the Knickcrbockers. and though he mas dealt
more with English than with American land
scape ne has upon the present occasion at least
depicted in recognizable tones the hills and val
Ieys Of the Hudson. His long residence in
England has moreover. contributed one impor-
tant element to his success in mOderating any
tendency to burlesque which the incidents OF the
two stories might have inspired In him. HIS
humor is placid and natural never exaggerated;
and throughout the book he co-operates with his
author in keeping the reader not uproariously
but quietly amuscd-as was undoubtedly lrv-
ing's intention. There Is an easily compre-
hended reason for rcpTinting these two produc-
tions Of Irvinc in a series which has embraced
Miss Milford ard Mrs. Gaskell. He has the
same purity. freshness and sweetness Of at
mosphere which it is their distinction to pos
sess in painting rIral life. His brush is
shade broader and his pictures are perhaps
more directly effective than theirs. but the
something which makes him not only readable
but a lovabe companion is the something. sug-
gestve at once of good breeding and simple
human nature. which belongs To the English
women named Mr. BOughton says little about
Irving's literary quality in the prefaces he has
written for the two tales in this volume. but he
speaks in an interesting way Of the hudson
and its banks AS a writer and as an artist
he has proven worthy admrer of the rag
ments from The Sketch Book" which are re-
published in this volume.