The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1895-03-16

THERE are few names better known
today in the world of letters than Henry
James. American by descent, by birth
and by early training, he has nobly up
held the responsibility of American lit
erature, and given his countrymen and
countrywomen just cause to be proud of
him. For time. after the death of
Hawthorne. there was no American nov
elist of the FIRST class. There we're sew
eral who gave promise. but the promise
was not fulfilled to expectation. Weighed
in the balance, most of them we're found
wanting. 1t was not until Mr.. Henry
James appeared on the scene and began
to give us those delightful stories, such
as 1.-THE American, ""Daisy Miller" 1.-The
Portrait of Lady," and such works,
that the literary craving for first-class
American novelist and man of letters gen.
orally experienced something like salts
faction. 1t was not long after the advent
of Mr.. James that Mr.. Marion Crawford
appeared, between whom and Mr.. James
there are not few points of resemb.
lance, although they belong to different
schools; but although the American
people are justly proud of both, the first
place is generally and ungrudgingly
given to James.
Mr.. james has won success as novel
list, as literary critic, as biographer,
and as playwright. One of the most
painstaking of writer's, he promises to
become one of the most voluminous.
Some twenty-seven volumes now bear
his name. All Mr.. Jamess works bear
the unmistakable stamp of his own in
dividuality. 1t can hardly be said that
his talents are varied. Every reader
feels, however, that they are of high
order. and that by careful nursing and
training they have been splendidly de-
veloped. He can use them in various ways,
and for very different purposes. He is
great artisan almost perfect workman
1t has been truthfully said of him that
he is alike conscious of his skill and
proud of his workmanship. "See," he
seems to say chow thoroughly 1 under
stand my trade, and how neat job /
have made of this" One step higher
and real perfection will be reached.
Carlyle has taught us that conscious
effort is an evidence of weakness. If
not always, it is often SO; and Mr.. James
may yet do greater things than he has
yet accomplished, when he has acquired
the faculty of unconsciously concealing
his art We have said that his works,
one and all, bear the mark of his own
individuality Whether you are reading
"Daisy Miller" or "a Passionate Pill
GRIM" or "The Bostonians," or 1.-THE
Europeans" Washington Square" or
Hawthorne" you are charmed by the
clean, clear, accurate style; and if you
are not borne aloft on the wings of
powerful and uurestrained imagination,
you feel that you are among men and
women of real flesh and blood, and that
peculiarities of life and character por-
trayed by hand that never wanders
far from fact are ample compensation
for the absence of wild and often incon-
sistent fanciful creations. Mr.. Henry
@. Vedder calls Mr.. James "the cory
pheus of the American school of real
lists"
1t is not always that one is able to find
satisfactory explanation of the charac-
ter of mans work in his origin, his his
tory and his individual experience. 1t
might be unfair to say that the char
acter of Mr.. James's work was wholly
determined by influences arising from
these sources; but that it has been
largely SO there can be no manner of