New-York tribune., 1895-12-10

| IN tho parnered thoughts as In the actual mass
| ~ finely printei chapters and finely manufact-
ured books But we have met on the threshoiu
Of Mr. Burroughs's literature the troublesome
| conviction that Jefferies provokes-the cohVie-
| ton that We are in the presence OF literature
not altogether and exclusively In that OF nature
II is true that this situation gives rise 10 q
| contention as old as literature ITSELF Is naturai
magic, as we feel 1t ir the printed page 10 De
| all magic or nine-tenths nature? The question:
&c NOT settled vet Thoreau lowered as we
| have suggested. between the earth and the
skv moro or less as Jefferies hovered, and he
was only saved from disaster by having slowed
away somewhere in his heart an invincible
nreiudlce in favor Of firm ground. Mr.. Bur-
roughs hovers too. He hovers pretty constant
ly Too constantly? asks the ever-jeaous lover
of the immemorial words.
We owe Mr.. Burroughs much that we
would like TO leave the answer to the indi-
vdual reader and bid him decide according to
his taste and temperament. But to come from
a book like Gilbert Whites to books like those
of Mr.. Burroughs is to come with the critical
faculty active. nav aggressive. And it Is put on
its mette by Mr.. Burroughs. The latter is poetic,
and for a while yor like It: and then before you
know it you find him too poetic. There is sort
of self-conscousness about this shrewd observer
of signs and seasons. lie KNOWS
things. but somehow he always knows that he
knows them He is sympathetic he Is ardent
he has very gentle feelings and in spite of your
self vou like him But he Is sophisticated, ana
the vane of critical decision veers little, turns,
tbreatens presently to reverse altogether the
first conciliateG judgment. There you have the
flaw in the armor Of Mr.. Burroughs. He con-
ciliates your Judgment He does not storm
vour Imagination and take you captive In a
line He has watched and studied. and he has
loved the objects of his study: but there is
something missing. there is something else pres
ent and over both things you shake your
head The inspiration Is absent. And liter
ary temperament regns in its place.
The literary temperament. when you come
n weigh II for its own sake Is full Of fine sur
pr,ses, and on this side Of his work Mr.. Bur-
roughs has been an interesting figure from f1rst
TO last He comes between nature and his read
er and you are keenly aware OF this, but then
It is something to havo so admirable talker
in such a relation Of familiar intercourse. Take
I'D any one Of these nine volumes and you Will
conclude at once that the author talks well.
He has one great virtue nowhere difficult as
In the field he has chosen for his own-the
virtue of preferr!ng always direct and simple
enithet 10 one that is fantastic or In any way
affected The style Is unremarkable. but IT
Is clear and flexible II suits exactly that placid
tone in which the narrative is always pitched,
and 1t is true to the picture or detail that
the author sees. II It does not wake indeinable
emotions 1t is we are afraid, because the author
does not himself feel them and has therefore
nothing Of an extrao rdinary nature to communi-
cate to his readers That which he has to give
them lucid and carefully thcught-out ref1ec-
tions on the life Of stream and meadow. has
been printed in the new nine volumes with
refinement and thoroughness Of mechanical skill
that must please even the warmest admirers
of Mr.. Burroughs In so far as presswork could
do ii the publishers have given the work per-
feet setting.
The distinctions we have drawn between three
familiar writers the loveliness OF nature are
disposed of by Mr. Ellwanger in way that 1t
must be confessed, he makes very persuasive
However varied the strain he says, or dis
tinct the aria among those who have so fervent-
" voiced the delights of the country side, there
exists nevertheless, chord Of unison that
places them in lasting relationship. In his own
way each has reflected the soul OF nature and
conveyed the spirit OF earth. To Walton his
silver streams and to White his beechen groves
to Hardy the purple heath and to Jefferes the
golden corn; to Thoreau the mystery Of the
night and to Burroughs the song of the bird!'
This fervent termination TO a charming little
bool-the words the last in "Idyllists or the
Country -Slde'-may not put at rest all critical
objections. Even In the presence of nature.
where gentleness Is bound TO reign, one de-
mands a certain justice in the distribution OF
authority among the attendant worshippers
But Mr. Ellwanger is q worshipper himself. and
an honorable one. and for him the six authors
whom he celebrates sing in harmony which
bo 10
he writes so daintily, feelingly, with such
warm understanding Of each one Of his heroes,
that by the time you have closed his small
volume you are practically content with them
all.
Mr. EllWangeTs own attitude toward nature
is one which, matter Of course, would mean
a catholicity OF taste. He loves trees ana
flowers. He also loves books, loves anecdote.
and the charm of association. One Of his most
sympa thetcally written chapters is that on
THE Landscape Of Thomas Hardy an essay
based inevitably on literary as well as natural
enthusiasms. Writing therefore. from bookish
interest as well from outdoor experience,
Mr. Ellwanger gives his pages atmosphere
Of fragrant culture. Of unconventional but quite
accomplished disqusiton. which hits the very
mark that his literary purpose erects. After all.
he is appras!ng a group Of authors at the same
time that he is remembering 1.-The joys of the
open air" ard literary judgment as well as
naturalist.c enthusiasm, are essential TO his
work In both directions he inspires confidence
in the reader, though it was possibly an in
iudcious thing TO sacrifice accuracy of classifca-
ton to a pretty title. We wish Mr. Ellwanger
had not called his book 'Idyllists of the Coun-
try-Side" White is scarcely an idyllist, nor is
Hardy nor is Thoreau. Jefferies, indeed, alone
of the six to whom these pages are dedicated.
seems an idyllist, and even he might have been
better described.
HOW TARIFFS HELP OR HURT.
LOW TARIFFS AND HARD TIMES-A Review
OF our Tariff Rates from 1921 to 1895. BY +. Il.
Walker Minneapolis. October. 1896.