The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-02-24
PUBLICATIONS
Talent and Genius.
(Copurfght, 1s04. On a. s. c,

tOPDf tJNts W "a ~ >OS5'P
They say it takes genius to appreciate
genius, and perhaps that is the reason why
the critics / am about to quote take the
| wrong side. But the most striking example
of the distinction between talent and genius
(es we commonly understand the words
which the reader OF current literature
is to run across, is found in the two
books of j. Barrie, 1.-THE Little Minis
| teri and ga Window in Thrums."
The latter was written first, and IS
a careful effort at description of the common
Scotch weavers, who figure more or less in
1.-THE Little Minister" But in "a Window
in Thrums,n there is no Babbie, no Mr..
Dishart, as we know him, no plot of a story,
only a series of clever pictures of the crude
and rude, though human and loving. weay-
ers. 1t is indeed The Little Minister" with
Babbie, the little minister, and the plot OF
the story left out.
In criticising "The Little Minister, /" Mr..
Warner in the Study in Harper'S Magazine,
and Mr.. Matthews in the Cosmopolitan,
shook their heads and said they were in
/ doubt as to the legitimacy of Babbie. They
feared she was a survival OF romanticlsnl.
Even Mrs. Louise Chandler Moulton con-
fessed to being in doubt as to the Egyptian,
and Mr.. Warner said that Babbie and her
Lord Rintoul. came out of a yellow covered
dime novel. Yet they all confessed
that she was truly feminine, the one inter
esting bit of the whole book for the great UNI
tutored public. But they had never seen
Babbie in the flesh, and, therefore. they
would none of her. Lang Tammas n his
set suited them better. One is irresistibly re-
minded of the Pharisees of old.
In "a Window in Thrums," Mr.. Barrie
had studied his people thoroughly, and he
carefully sets down their manners and their
loves, their hates, their humors. He under
stood them well, and he shows his indisput-
able talent in the cleverness with which he
tells what he knows. "a Window in
Thrumss is indeed a very clever book, and
the critical admirers of literary cleverness
like it much better than the more popular
Little Minister For in 1The Little Min
lister" the author forgets himself, forgets
what are the canons Of true
q literature, and makes an impossi-
Bile character out of his own consciousness
or NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. a woman.
Babbie never lived in the flesh. Certainly
not. For Mr.. Barrie created her-how, he
himself doubtless did not know. 1t is safe to
say that he could analyze Babbie no more
than Mr.. Warner or Mr.. Matthews
could, and I can imagine him doubt
ing the worth of his own work
when once the inspiration had passed
and he had become the cold critic. But Bah
bic touched the hearts of the people, and
The Little Minister, !" whose plot, whose IL,
Illustrative humor, whose bewitching unreal
| reality, are derived wholly from Babbie, has
been pronounced a work of genius, as it
| really is. If one wishes to understand the
| difference between talent and genius, let him
read first "a Window in Thrums,' and then
let him read ssThe Little Minister" and he
| will not doubt that he knows the distinction
very well, though he be as little able to de-
fine it as l.
Literary News and Notes.
The book market is a curious thing to OBJ
serve. Just now a new volume OF Sherlock
| Holmes stories, by Conan Doyle THE last Of
them, it is saidD, has appeared, and it is pub
| lished at a dollar and a half, as was the pre-
ceding volume br ought out by the Harpers.
AT the same time thai the first volume APP
peared, numerous fifty cent volumes OF
| Doyle,s stories were put on the market, and
one could scarcely think that people would
pay a dollar and a half when they could get
so many Doyle stories for fifty cents. But
the book sold remarkably well, which
proves that the public will pay for what
| they want. The new volume is proving ex-
| ~ceptionally popular, too.
In the odd Number Series" is a charm
ing volume of short stories TRANSLATED from
the French of Ludovic Halevy, by Filth V.
b. Matthews. She is the t~wenty-year-old
daughter of Brander Matthews, and the b
in her name stints for Brander. 1t is said
that she is fon1 of writing her name with a
hyphen-Brander Matthews. As to the
book, we may sarlnise that her father had
| more of a land in its production than the
writing of the introduction. At any rate,
the stories are naive and fascinating love
stories of wealthy women and men, whose
wealth seems to sit on them naturally.
There was q reading of authors in New
York recently, to which an English literary
| gentleman went and took his wife. He ex-
pected to enjoy himself thoroughly, as nearly
all the prominent authors who read In pub
lie were represented.
e3ut," said he, s'after the reading had be-
gun, and Lew Wallace, who is viriie, and
perhaps one other had read, | became SO dis
gusbed that | felt like ~apologizing to my wife
for bringing her to such a place. Cable was
a perfect failure, and 50 were the others,
whose names you see in the newspapers con-
stantly. No, you Americans haven't got a
literature or a literary class; no, not yet"
A very clever retort of Aldrich came to
me privately not long since. 1t is said that.a
certain blue stocking, a lady OF somewhat
masculine manners, remarked to a friend OF
Aldrich that she thought HIM effeminate.