New-York tribune., 1894-03-12
NOTES FROM LONDON
THE COVERNOR~GENERAL OF CANAnx
MIR. HARRY FCRNIss, MR.. YATES
THOMPSON AND MR. WILLIAM
MORRIS-MR. WELDON GROS-
SMITH

SMITH.
London March g.
! Lord Aberdeen has a considerable amount
of English popularity by his performance AZ
Nine. PATHS concert ir Montreal No Viceroy
/ or Governor-Genera has ever before been known
10 supply the place perform the duty OF a re.
| luctant or fOrgetfu orchestra. doubt whether
! there is anywhere any record Of any Viceroy
! singing God Save the Queen" by himself at a
public concert IN any circumstances whatever.
= These are days when records being broken
| constantly and the breaking Of them or Of any
/ Of them. is commonly thought a meritorous act
/ But there is something beyond that The Eng.
| lish have still a strong sentiment Of loyalty
/ to the Sovereign. and Il strong Of loyal al.
tachment TO the Queen. They like to hear an
! expression Of that feeling. They like II best OF
all from some in high position. They like it from
/ Lord Aberdeen because he Is Governor General
Of Canada and because. If 1t be permissible to
! say So he has been. and is no longer. Lord Lieu.
tenant Of Ireland There were those who thought
/ him. if not deficient In loyalty while at Dublin.
/ somewhat over regardfu of that portion Of hs
subjects with whom loyalty was not an over
| ruling passion.
To find the favorite Of the irish Nationalist
suddenly appearing in an act Of public homage
to the Queer. surprises these od-tme cridcs,
possibly 1t certainly pleases them. 1t peases
the Tnionists, whose attitude toward Lord Aber-
deem has not always been of unmxed salts
faction. The first two Unonist journals took
up had each a compliment for him. gallant
Viceroy that ne is" one Of them remarks,
while the other bestows on him the adjective
patriotic Well. Lord Aberdeen IS in Canada
what he was I'm Ireland. honorable and ex-
celent representative Of the Queen. 1t may bs
i .bn tIa Of nd ig
wholesome and tonic t'an the air Of Dublin or
Of Cork But character does not change all at
once with climate. II Is the opportunity Of
showing il which changes, and Lord Aberdeen
may long be grateful to the orchestra which gave
him his opportunity Of doing graceful act, and
Of presenting himself in a new light to some Of
his countrymen.
The retirement Of Mr. Harry Furnss from the
staff Of Punch" gives rise to the usual crop Of
guesses Why does he go? Well, Mr.. Furniss
seems to have got tired Of selling his brains to
an employer. and proposes in future to be his
own employer. He starts a paper which is
10 be absolutely unlike anything Of the sort ever
published" Comic OF course. and illustrated Of
course and Mr.. Harry Furniss will have full
swing for his talent. | never heard that he was
particularly hampered on or by the periodical
to which he has been contributing since 1850
lie may have been. Many things happen on
newspaper or other kind Of paper OF which the
public knows nothing, and Is expected to know
nothing and perhaps. to know nothing.
sometimes wonder whether anybody but Journal
lists read the gossip about journals OF which so
much appears in print. There used to be a
curiosity about the inside Of a newspaper office.
but that was In the days before everything had
been turned inside out by the newspapers them-
selves The inside OF the Office was interesting
so long as 1t mystery, but what IS there
now which is a mystery? Even books about news.
papers are written; the authors OF the books
being in some cases those who help make the
papers. | don't know that the public Is really
much the wiser. or that the mystery OF any art
or craft is ever really revealed to any but those
who practise it
Mr.. Furnss has constituency and he WIN
doubtless have a wider one for the new paper
he is going to found. 1t ought to be successful
and profitable II he does not put too much
Furniss into It. Whether he has genuine cre~
ative power or a great scale shall now be IN
a positon to learn. People buy Truth 10 see
what Mr. Iabouchere has to say. Whether they
will buy another illustrated comic periodical.
wholly or mainly in order TO see Mr.. Furnisss
view OF things in general. is a question which
can only be answered by experiment. Mr. Fur
nsss view OF things is apt TO be excepuona,
not to say eccentric; an unfriendly critic might
insist that the dominant note in his art Is
eccentrciiy. | am not an unfriendly critic ana
do not say so. II | unfriendly should be
silent not because silence is sometimes the most
effective form OF hostility. but because it is 50
much peasanter 10 be silent where one cannot
be eulogistic.
There Is. IN Mr. Furnisss case. plenty Of room
for eulogy and perhaps for one caution touch
ing his hold on the general public. In "Punch
his Illustrations often in the nature or
conundrums or enigmas. They require a great
deal Of puZzling out and IL is not everybody VINO
has time inclination TO pore over 'hess
crowded and sometimes difficult cartoons I'LL he
has mastered the secret OF them. They Woud
gain bv simplicity and clearness; by The omission
of some Of the too copious detail and by more
sustained effort to tell the story or construct the
ca aricature on broader and more easily ineligible
lines There is a pretty constant sense OF effort
and strain and there is too much OF the merely
grotesaue The use Of the grotesque Is danger
ous thing unless It be used as the great men
OF the pre- Renaissance period used 1t. with
large and obvious purpose and under very strict
limitations That is taking. perhaps too serious
q view OF Mr. Furniss's aims. lie is not Gothic
architect His main business is TO amuse
But art is ever a serious thing. and when an
artist has succeeded in impressing his indlFluu-
alty on the public, no matter in what spirit or
for what purpose, he incurs responsibility Ok
which it can do him no harm 10 be renihuea'
Nor can II DO him harm 10 be reminded that
there is in some Of his work and in certain
forms OF caricature individuals whom ne Is
continually rliculing an element ot cruely"
There IL something now and then which scs
gests that Mr. Furniss likes 10 give pam
don't believe he does and since he does NOT
really Ike to. why should he do hlmselt the III
justice OF seeming to take pleasure IN the annoy
ance Of others?
The Yates Thompson proposal touching west
minister Abbey seems to have fallen a little hat