The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-11-16

down q new musician. or In driving new
actor on the stage with verbal cabbage
stalks and the stale eggs of ridicule. or,
best Of all, In drawing fierce indictment
Of imbecility and immortality against the
present generation of mankind. There Is
: twist in unregenerate human. nature
toward this kind Of work. at least In GER
tain moods. / suppose the mildest-man-
nered Of men has moments In which he
would like to cut throat, or scuttle
ship. The ability y TO- infiict d pain gives a
one will maintain that this is a healthy
state Of mind, or calculated to foster clear
perceptions and sound judgment
"At the other extreme is the puff-and-
plunder school Of criticism. This also
has an easy method and some attraction.
1t deals in unqualified praise for certain
qualified performers. 1t revels in the dis
covery and announcement OF new Shake
speares. Thackerays, Qarricks, Titians,
Beethovens, and Jenny Linds-but always
within the boundaries Of the family circle
or stock company to which the critics be-
long. Their point-of-view Is, that appre-
clation, like charity. begins at homeland
ends there. Verify they have their re-
ward. They usually make contract for
It. They resemble the hero Of Lowelrs
Fable for Critics.
Not deed would he do. nor word
Till he'd weighed its relation to plain
bread and butter.
I would be understood as speaking now
only Of those who, profess to be impartial
and unbiased observers. For writers who
are openly employed In the service of pub
fishing houses, or art firms, or dramatic
enterprises. to draw favorable attention to
their productions, we should have moth
Ing but respect. Theirs Is an honorable
business. and one that offers opportunity
for the exercise Of very fine skill. There
Is no branch of commerce which has been
more improved In modern times. know
an advance agent whose conversation is
as brilliant and engaging as that OF Sgd
ney Smith, and book-annOuncer who
writes his notices in the purest English,
sparkling with wit and full Of illustra-
tions. The advertising pages In the backs
Of the magazines are as entertaining to
me as the earlier columns Of reading mat
ter, which are treated with more consid.
Grafton and cost less money. But then. l
like to know, and to remember, the differ
ence between the two kinds Of pages; and
/ cannot help thinking critics are some-
times tempted, by various considerations,
| to forget or to obscure it. The Looker-On,
In these days OF universal advertisement.
must be on his guard against the peril OF
being transformed into a sandwich man
or blll-poster. :,
"There is another. school of criticism,
midway between the thud-and-blunder
called the gush-and-wonder school. 1t is
the literary representative of those fami-
liar people who say. i don't know any
thing about music or painting, or books,
proceed to tell you at great length and
with much enthusiasm the story of their
confessedly unreasonable likings In pri-
vate life they are often amusing and some-
times profitable. 1t Is pleasant to observe
the transparent revelation Of character In
their unstudied admirations. I have sell
dom spent q more diverting half-hour than
at New England tea party, where the
= 4 I-1t Is Nl.A 2t-
raving over 'TriFby,' and declaring that
they would all be perfectly delighted to
80 and live In the Latin Quarter of Paris!
But 1t Is worth remembering that taste
which Is not based upon knowledge. and
adapted to private enjoyment than to pub
lie expression. The critic who Is forever
telling the world what he likes, with. ut
good and sufficient grounds. Is not murh
Of q critic after all. He Is only an eXcla-
nation point. Real criticism-criticism
| that is worth the amount Of human labor
that is needed to produce page OF print.
read it's something more than the ex-
preston Of personal prejudice and prepos-
sessions. 1t Is the discovery of principles
and the Illustration Of laws and the con-
sequent illumination of life and art. The
art of music and painting and sculpture,
and poetry and fiction. and acting are not
affairs of chance; they are products of
skill; and skill always has an idea behind
1t and an aim in front Of 1t. The critics
appreciate the aim and measure the means
which have been used to bring them to-
gether. Take, for example, the art of
Ms Ths short isoTt stories s0d Of Miss Miss
son are better than the tedious tales which
are printed in the Weekly Wrapping-Pa-
per, not merely because you and I like
them better-the sentence must be re-
I'D lr n thnv hot tfnr fhnNv
are better. And the question that the
Looker-On has to answer Is, Why? Their
excellence Is very different. Miss wilkins
Is dramatic. her stories always have a
idyllic; she makes little picture, and
the figures and the landscape belong to-
gether. Mrs. Slosson is sympathetic; she
has the faculty OF putting herself in the
ters. and making you feel the pathos and
the humor Of their point-of-view. In all
Of these writers there Is a quality of dis
tinction. choice Of method. and an artis-
ought to consider. II he. intends to write
about them. and Of which he must be able
to give some intelligent account, II he
wishes thoughtful readers to have any re-
spect for his observations.
DO not mean, mean Dy this that the Locker
likngs in regard to art or literature, and
look on at the passing show as coldly as
at the progress OF an experiment In chem
istry. TO do that would be to yield to
one of his perils-and not the least of
them. The gusto Of criticism comes from
emotion and enthusiasm, even at It's
nutrtive quality comes from intelligence
and reason. ] would not choose to live
ridge, but upon wholesome dishes we'll
favored. How admirable In this respect
is the book which W. d. Howells has
lately given us with the title My Literary
Passions 1t is full Of generous admira-
but they are by no means blind. He never
forgets, nor fears, to give a reason for
tho faith that Is In him; and the story of
his love for books, interviewer with story
Of his life, Is an instruction In living, as
well as guide TO reading. But the dam
ger Of indulging too strong predictions
In the matter of art Is that they have
tendency to become exclusive and narrow.
Because ALBANIA and Pharpar are beauti-
full rivers 1t does not follow that the Jor-
dan Is q mere mud-puddle. Miranda sings
the part Of Marguerite to perfection; and
Rubio plays the nocturnes of Chopin
Interpreter Of wagner's music: but shall
we therefore refuse to listen to all other
musicians? Let us avoid provincialism.
and keep an open mind. 1t takes all sorts
to make a world, and there are varieties
\ \ Il
AUTHORS AND PUBLISHERS.
The widow OF the late Philip Gilbert
Hamerton is writing a biography of her
husband.
Mrs. Julia Ward Howe's new book Is
to be called "Is Polite Society Polite?" 1t
Is collection Of essays on social Ques-
tions.
Only one novel will appear from Mr..
Howells' pen during 1896, and this will not
be seen until July, when 1t will be pub
lished as summer serial. dealing, as 1t
does. with American summer hotel life.
The new novel which Maria Louise Pool
has Just finished is called MRS. Gerald"
1t Is said to surpass in interest and
strength anything which Mrs. Pool has
heretofore written.
T.. B. Aldrich's forthcoming volume,
Later Lyrics" Is to be uniform in Its
guise with his little volume OF "XXXVI
Lyrics and XII Sonnets," and Is to con-
tain his own selection Of songs from his