New-York tribune., 1895-10-19
GUSTAVE FLAUBERT.
AN ATTEMPT AT PORTRAlTOhE' f.

Charles Tarver. svo., PIP. $50. H. ApPie''' " w.
After natenty perusing Mr.. Traver's comments
and e,ucidations one cannot but regret that ne
was led to abandon his original plan OF Hah"s
"a volume Of translations OF selected letters
from Ffaubert's correspondence. HAD ne re-
mained constant to this lauddble design we sno"'u
now have less of Mr.. Tarver and more of Flau-
bert. and in just that proportion more 'n'eres'-
inc and valuable book As 1t Is Mr.. Tarver has
laid his readers under the unpleasant necess'!
Of skipping his rambling and maladroit dsres-
sions and Of turning the leaves Of volume
which might easily have delivered Its message
IN half the number Of pages. With scarcely a
single important exception, all the Information
contained in Mr. Tarver's interpretations might
have been relegated to footnotes and his speciai
pleas and rhetorical irrelevancics to the waste
basket with general improvement OF the result
A collection Of Flauberts correspondence ar
ranged. not chronologically but with view 70
self f-portraiture. is assuredly task WHICH, IL
iudiciously performed must result III al e"'e'
tanning volume But as has been hih'eo, MI
Tarver Is scarcely the man TO essay 'his uHhou''
ond dslcate task: he has neither the requisite
sympathy to accumulate data. nor mas ne sur
fcient editorial skill to arrange his mateiiai III
a proper light. Moreover his attitude towaro MS
nh,,c ,s as contemplate as 1t Is unfair to Flau-
h0rf
ductorv note" to the fact that Flauberts letters
were addressed. all good letters must be- 10
intimate friends. with no thought Of future pup
ucat,on Mr. Tarver goes on to say There are
,,anv of us who write letters who tell stories In
private whose publication would be an outrage on
nubrc decencv There Is rule for the con-
versation of the smoking-room. another for DIN
ner and dessert yet another for the magazine
article Freedom of language and violence Oh
eynrassion permissible in private correspondence
with a very intimate friend, would be justly
stigmatized as libellous or coarse In worhs III
tended for publication" There is much more IN
the same vein. and all is preliminary 10 MI
Tarver's announcement that h mas elniiha'eu
everything from the letters which he has trans
lated that might incline the English reauer u
avert his gaze
The utter impertinence of utterances OF th's
k.nd-and Mr.. Tarver's book is generously
sprinked with them-is manifest Tor TWO rea
sons: In the first place, the limitations OF HIS
book prevented his making use of all the ie''eiS
written by F1aubert. and. his task being ioi ''''
reason one Of selection nothine would have pre-
sumably been easier than for MN u ""'
nassed over IN silence the few instances in when
his author permitted himself undue freeoom Vi
language. In the second place. the implication
10 say. of the passage just quoted from MI
rarver.s .Introductory note" is that Flauoert
,ras bahituallv given to a scandalous license OF
sneech which Is absolutely untrue. Flauoert IL
cannot he denied had a way now and then OF
kicking over the traces. and in the exuberance OF
his enthusiasm or resentment allowed words ana
anecdotes TO creep into his letters which he might
have put differently. or omitted atogether
had he been addressing 'nixed company but
such occasions were comparatively rare IL MI
Tarver found them Objectionable he was AT I'D
erty to omit them but IL he wished TO be iair 10
his author he under no moral necessit! VI
exploiting his delicacy. The procedure smacks
of insincerity on Mr. Tarver's part. and naturaiiy
leads the reader VINO takes up his volume win
the hope Of finding in It's pages truthfu' ana
compete portrait of a conspicuous contemporary
writer. TO suspect that much as he may hho
there much is still withheld; and, unless we are
greatly mistaken the average reader Will inchne
10 the opinion that more is withheld than Is
given. Nothing. as has been said, could be more
unjust TO Flaubert
With these reservations made, those who
through ignorance of the language are prevented
from going direct to Flauberts correspondence
will find much to interest them in Mr. Tarver
volume. for despite his defects as an editor Mr.
Tarver is an admirable translator. his render
tnes from the French being diomatic and accu-
rate and as his book is made up for the most
mart Of extracts from Flauberts letters ana
writings mis- critical shortcomings may, to GER
tain extent be forgiven. The painstaking reaoer
will have little difficulty in digging out for him-
self the materials for satisfactory and truth1ui
portrait of Flaubert.
Let no one expect too much from synthess
of Flaubert's character on its human side, Tor 10
ne amiahle and loving Was not In his nature.
II is true that the man appears to better ad-
vantage in his letters than one might suppose
from the hard glitter Of his formal writings;
but the advancement is peculiarly shght' ana
ro,at,ve only TO himself For the most part,
approaching his life from the point OF view OF
mime Bovary' and "Salamb6." finds just
about what he would expect the only surprise
being in the discovered contrast between the
restrained sobriety OF his literary worK ana
the intense violence which characterized the man
=, bis daily battles with the world The nature
NJ the shock in this case Is variation on the
xelIworn ioke of the clowns colossal trumpet
which responds to frantic blast with the
plaintive squeak Of penny whistle. Nothlng
disrespectful Of the brilliant series OF movers
which came from his pen is here intended' we
only wish TO indicate that strange dsproporuoh
of means and result which was the idiosyncrasy
Of FIaubert's artistic l.fe. He had the strength
Of Titan and the voice OF a cooling dove: one
can fancy him hewing love dittes with Thor
,nallet on the face of the rugged cliffs. the rock
crumbling under his terrific blows, the valleys
resounding with his angry cries.
Physically and intellectually Flaubert was the
last man the fates should have chosen for the
fedentary life Of an artist. He ought TO nave
been Viking. at least pirate. His reserves
Of energy were tremendous. His natural inciina-
tions led him toward life Of constant phys'cai
activity: and yet by one of those strange COM
bInations of circumstances he was destined 10 pe
49, Da,iapt yashtoner