San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1895-11-22
LITERARY STYLE.
It Is Born in a Man and Can Meth
err Be Taught Nor Initiated.

The author OF "How to Write
Fiction" appears to be one of those
innocents who believe in a new
discovered science of human ma
ture," and in the theories OF NJ.
lola. You 60 about with note
books, you bemuse yourself with
Incredibly" and then, if you sue
coed, it is partly by dint of your
native qualities, partly by aid Of
griminess not fit to be named
among Christians. 1t is the same
affair in poetry. Wordsworth was
a poet by virture OF his genius,
he was born so; his theories
hampered him when he was true
to his theories. Even our author
perceived that Shakespeare and
Homer did not need theories, and
popular science falsely so-called,
and this is just as true of Miss
Austen at 20, and of Mr.. Du Maur.
Ter at an age which we shall not
conjecture.
Mr.. Du Maurier was born a
writer and story-teller. Thirty
five years ago he proved this in
little sketch in "Once a Week."
and, rather later, in his poem of
"Braunigrindas" in "Punch." Only
very skilled writer could have
rendered, as Mr.. Du Maurier has
done the immortal little Belgian
poem translated in "Trilby.n Yet,
Mr.. Du Maurier has been draw.
ing all his life, not seduously
practicing another art, under
private tutors, and with an eye
on Prof. HuXley's lectures. I'M
provement is not, Of course, impos-
sible, or a matter OF chance. Some
men, like BalZac, have to crush their
gold out Of a mountain OF quartz.
All, or nearly all, who possess
"style" gain it in part by Guilt
waiting natural ear for the har-
monies of prose, as observed by
them in the great writer's. A few
perhaps, but very few, have toiled
like Mr.. Stevenson by the way of
"the sedueous 'ape.'n
Thackeray, from his Charter
house days, was always Thack-
cray, and could not answer an in
vitation to dinner without writ
ing in the Thackeray manner.
Mr.. Stevenson, on the other hand
kept his dress suit of style for
great literary occasions, and did
not wear sword, diamonds or per-
ruque in his familiar correspond
ence. Yet, Thackeray, to the very
last, took trouble and corrected, as
his manuscripts prove, while his
manner was, more or less conspicu-
ously, based on. that of Fielding.
He was a literary writer, like
Tennyson, in verses, whereas we
conceive that Mr.. Barrie's admir-.
able style owes nothing to literary
Renaissance or labor of file, but
is a happy, spontaneous appro-
priateness Of utterance.
AS a rule, we take Ii, setting
aside such rare cases as theses Of
Thackeray, Virgil, Keats and
Tennyson, the people who write
best do so without taking thought.
Mr.. Froude, whose taking man
ner has some strange occasional
blemishes, answered very i'm
patiently when some busybody
asked him questions about his
"style." He only said what he
ment to say, in expressions which
came to him naturally and with
out reseach. On the other hand,
we have now many writer's Of no
eminence, whose dull, labored
manner is praised for its preciosi-
ty. In Mr.. Pater we had writer
Of singular natural gifts, who de-
cidedly ended by broiling and
tormenting his style. And this
is still more likely to be the end Of
men who, if they have a plain
tale to tell, should tell it plainly.