New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-02-18
EcSIYS AND ESSIYISTS.
TIE FOLLOWERS or LAMB.

TIE JAcoGEAX POETS - Ry Edg ssn. Gs 'TSc
ESSAYS AHoI.r MEN. WOMEN ANp BOOKS.
BY Augustine Birrcll. Up. "a Charles Serb
ncs's sons.
ESSAYS ~ IDLENESS By Agnes R'ppIer.
lGuo. Ho1ghton. Mhiin u 60.
MINIATURES AND MOODS By q. :. street.
Charles Scrbncr's Sons.
wINDFALI.S OF OBSERVATION. Gathered for
the Edihcation of ne Young 'nn ~ H''' ,,, 81
Pp. e. Char.es Scribncrs Sons
How completely Charles Lamb has embodied
himself in the study OF the poets II Elizabfths
time and that Of her successor may he inferred
from, the urgency with which his sentences press
upon the memories 81 later critics. MIR. Co.'S"
quotes him often. not for bis qG1ininess or hi'
pleasan'ry. bat as the min who WIN serious pnr-
pose began 10 show quite clearly what the oil
English drama really wts" 9ua'nin"ss w'HI
hardly nnl a place IN MIR Glssc's writing II" l.
methoI!cal and painstakiug ana exact one never
forgeis that The poets ar" dead whom ne discusses
His method 81 criticism is thoroughly anatomical
Contrasiel with Lamb or with another writer whom
! he often quotes. Mr.. SwuhHne. he j. analyuc1l
He takes the age To- piece hut he docs not at
tempt 10 restore u before the reader g.. something
ike a living entity. From Lamb hc takes the cue
for his estimate u Massng'r. Of Lori Erout". John
Dav Middleton. Haywood AMI Ben lons1n. hu'
he rebels against him when II comes - praslnG
Chairman and dissents from both Lamb and Swim
burn" In their admiration Joy JuiN N''-I'i 'iit
Gossc's views are moderate. anI is an excellent
plan 10 set Of the poets who dlstiuctlveiy belong
to the reign OF James from their Elzihe'hnn
predecessors. \ clear notion is - Do got IN this
way Of the transition 20 later times which IS ait
TO seem more abrupt than r. realls WA
While Mr Brrcll sympathiz"s WIKI H." VOL
known prrIilrcton Of Lamb for ola books De- can
hardly be said 10 d" 40 10y nature. Lambs taste
for old ooks was Characteristic % q man who
cared little for contemporary affairs. who nctualIy
lived in the past. Mr. Birrcll. whistiing To keep
his courage up. shows how well the world viii be
able TO get for time. even II there should
~ no great writer's for a generation or two lie
ridlcules one who would moon about Sir Thomas
Browne and know nothing 81 William Goblet
but on the other hanl. he deems II stupidity To de-
pend solely upon contemporaries FOR literary Su--
tcnance When he talks OF book. old and new.
he thinks not so much ~ old books Of oll
authors For he delights IN the comfortable form
taken nowadays by authors who could once be got
ONLY in folio. Here surely he and Lamb would have
had t At the outset. Besides. Mr.. Birrell IS all
for bindings He insists that he understands this
subject and even gives the date of his conversion
from tolerance Of anything that held q book to-
gether 10 the intolerance OF naughty artistic s"nsi-
billtv. TO all this fine talk. Lamb In the midst or
his torn foos and quartos. would have been as
deaf ms an adder Indeed. Mr. Brrell repents as he
bethinks himself Of Lamb amidst his ragged vet
Grams and exclaims: How beautiful to a genuine
lover OF reading are the sulliod leaves and worn
out appearance. nay. the very ohor beyond hus-
sia) n we would forget kind feelings In fas-
tidiousness Of an old circulating library. Tom
Jones or the Vicar Of Wakefield TO use one OF
Mr. Rrrelrs favorlte phrases. "" hold with him IN
this mood where he and Lamb agree.
Mr. Birrcn has something OF Lambs lghtr'ss Of
touch and could wish that ne had more Of his
learning It s no wonder that the readers of pres
ent day essays dvIndlc Certainly the food set
be fore them Is anything but nourishing Mr. Brrell
no cd ~ I,st
from his readers everything which was likely to be
new 20 them. By way Of suggesting "reminiscences
OF former reading. such tiny treatses as are here
presented on Swift. or Strrnc or DR.. Johnson may
be condoned. but on no other ground. For what did
Swift leave the substance of innumcrable anecdotes
In his path? For what did Dc Quincy weave
visions OF our Lady Of Signs? For what did Bos-
well turn bographer and the whole army OF poets,
novelIsts historians and critics put their best into
their works? That they might be- desscated TO
make a holiday in Mayfair. That Mr.. Birrell and
Miss Agnes Repper might range through their
Remains" and serve up the spoils OF quotation In
a form which still pretends 10 the title of essay
The essay began with Moatalsne. who was master
Of quotation II ends with MIR. BirreH and Miss
pcpplier who are the slaves % quotations The
LAG, immersion one carries away from these writer's
is one OF inverted commas
A reasonable retort from Mr.. Birrell or Miss
Repnlier might urge that they do not expect their
readers 10 carry away any impressions at all The
imn,ct of their monologue imprnts Image
upon the mind which fades as 1t is made. While 1t
lirgors II gives pleasure. however-pleisure or n
certain sort like the lazy GOODNESS OF n fan In !
warm weather This IL an age Of intellectual tea |
drinking and Mr. Birre or Miss kepp.ier may be !
demanded upon TO brew the beverage that Is |
,nos, in demand How charmngly does the |
latter write about cats. She Is eloquent over her
ou,r "AorinpIna" and then she pours food Of
or,di,,,n unon the subject Sante-B euve. Gauier.
,batoaubrIand and in our own day Mrs. Graham |
romson-ghe knows them all. the men and women |
who have at one time or another celebrated the !
feline race-and II must be admitted that out OF
,be,r exneriences she makes an uncommonly bright !
mosaic This is pleasant reading Miss Repper |
has vivacious intelligence which slips easily from
Sir Thomas Browne 10 Flaubert. from Mr.. Pdter |
IN Non,aiene and she collects her testimony II |
Il Main that she Is going 10 secure verdict for
common sense In her argument She liz one OF the !
hea,hies, of current writer's But there Is an ex-
asnera,ion in books like hers and Mr.. Birrells.
One tiras ~ the names scattered over their pages
One slebs for the good. old-fashionel essay. the
essay NJ a Macauay. De Quincy, Sainte-
Beuve an Arnold which. II 1t used quotations at
ALL used them simply to illustrate or point an OBJ
servatIon whose roots In the authors own
mind. What we want nowadays Is more thinking