New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-05-20

use OF would" and should" and whose advanced
ideas about the social and individual freedom Of
words find no objection to divorclng the infintive
from It's sign.
Mr. Garland expounds Impressonism with comic
| earuestness which amounts to bumptiousness. 1T
4. evolutionary II not destructive In the eyes Of
the old school painters at least. To the younger
men II assumes almost much Importance as the
law of gravity. with them It Is the true law or
light and shade" His principal witness is the "keen
lover OF nature who knew nothing about painting.
and Of him he says His eyes had not been aiu-
Gated TO despse the vigor and splendor OF nature.
He cared nothing for Corot or Constable or Turner.
7 believe that the unspoiled perception OF lover
of untcmperel nature will find in the pictures OF
the best impressionsts the quality he calls nat
ursi'" We may concede the virtues OF impress
sonism; but how ridiculous to hold that Monets
success invalidates Rousseau. and to say that the
impressonists ARE not merely variants. they are
nags OF anarchy: they leave no middle ground ap-
parently n they right then all the rest are
wrong BY contrast the old IL slain" child Is
absorbed In n toy and has no use for the old.
To view art and letters In this way Ia to fall utterly
IN the perception OF their inner meaning. or course
a Madonna Is dim to the eye that can find no soul
In the face. What value can picture which has
been surpassed in brightness have to one who cam
not see the witchery OF Corot? This seeing OF the
surface Is perhaps Mr. Garlands most notable char
acterstlc Like all OF the Untamed school, he sees
,
fixed on the material OF litcrature-the place, the
local color the outward sign OF realityto the ex-
cuslon OF the true elements which make II endur-
ing II IL the local coor-that is. the telling ex-
actly how men and women lIved-that in his view
gives Homer any vitality; and because the sagns
OF the North have more OF this. they appeal TO him
with greater power than Homer. The character Of
Achilles the heroic qualities OF Hector. do not in
! terest him
In the study OF the drama Mr.. Garland is more
than commonly amusing. To the Bacon-cphering
Intellect Shakespeare is a particular subject OF alb
hOrrence. Hitherto the cpherers have had their
own way In the rntamed school. They have iG-
nOred the poet and given their allegiance TO the
great Francis Mr.. Garland has found a better way.
Why trouble to deal with the poet? Just abolish the
poetry. THE people," he says. "can never be edu-
Gated 10 love the pnst to love Shakespeare. Shake
spcare, Wordsworth Dante Milton, are fading away
into namcs-books should read but seldom
do" Every member OF the Untamel school nat
urally tends to the belief that there Is
conspiracy OF vested interests league1 against
him. which must be put down. The critics
have selfish end to gain in not agree
ing with him. They must die. The publishers OF
course. have large stocks OF the classics on hand
and do not want their popularity destroyed. The
publisher suffer People pretend they love
these old books. but II Is all pretence. because II
is believed TO be the correct thing. just like 5
o'clock tea and eating with n fork. Nobody likes
T.. Every Untamed and Unterrlned one knows
that lie Is the only honest man and those who
stand In his way must be extermna, ed That he
Will show any mercy the conservatives OF letters
Is not to be expected but they might at least
have credit for sincerity. We Will In turn grant
that our somewhat ill-tempered essayist Is sin
cere The trouble with Mr.. Garland Ia that while
be IL Young man OF good natural powers. his
intellectual training has been scanty and defective
Matters that were trite when his rHatgra ndfathcr
was little boy he advances "a new discoveries.
his unbalanced enthusasms leave him unable TO
pee In" Just relations Of things. With the zeal Of
q new convert he starts ont 10 suhdue all the world
very old theories; with rt-sghted fanati.
cism he makes minor and unsettled
questions OF and letters the essential articles OF
A cree!