New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-12-15
DECEMBER H. IsTiiKrYSX PAGES

masses to the tale Of the poor woman VINO III
reading a familiar Scriptura passage quietly
transformed Il into stand at Gate ana a"ai-
Low n Candle" Trihes like this were never 700
trlaing for Fitz Geradand at the same time thsre
Is never any hint OF pucrility IN his rural conte
ment on the contrary he was inseparaoie iron'
his Shakespeare. his Ceramics his inestimao'e
Crabhe-whom he would go on reading III '"e
face OF conspiracy of oblivion tnht Iate no"
seemed TO institute against the author OF laie
from the Hall" He disliked going into socie'y'
but he loved to hear Of the things TAXED aDou'
In the best parts Of it, and for man VINO
Stunned London. more or less. he has wohoer-
ful grasp on everything going on therc' III
deed. in some ways you would take MIN LOT ah
old London lover. he goes back 50 affectonately
to the old Haymarket, CoVent "aIoen az"
Drury Lane. recoilecting Pasta. Rubni Tagh-
oni ard all the other lights Of time Which
seems to him still the golden age. He liked oih
things lie aGored the theatre and the opera
bat be adored them in their prime, when the
boards were ruled 10y men and women long
since dead ana gone and nov nearly forgotten.
He is continually revortinS IN his correspond
cnce with Mrs Kemble 70 the immortal family
from which she sprang The theatre the OLD
theatre was to him what know it to nave
been 10 Charles Lamb He had as Ella had.
uuaintncss an old World fastidiousness in his
taste. Re loved to see fine play. and ne loved
II the more when ii was also worth reading
We have said that he did not to belong TO
literature himself, in the sense Of seeking I've
rhood or even fame by it. kind fate had left
him with means for the enjoyment Of absolute
leisure all his lie long 1t i3 inconccvable that
he should ever have had to toll for els daily
bread. But Wnen he turned t. another author
or to the play, then he wanted literature. wanted
excellence, wanted the best. The best, IL his
judgment. apt to be the old and tried
heroes OF his early reading and playgoing He
angs out every now and then in the most anus
ing fashion against "Messrs. Browning Swim
bu.ne end Company" and when he sees Irving
rs Hamlet he finds the performance "incompar-
ably the worst | had ever witnessed. from Covcnt
Garden down to a Country Barn" But he judged
many Of his contemporaries with more than
kindness. though never without discretion
There is no great importance To "a attached
t. his letters to Mrs. Kemble They contain no
literary surprises. They deal with no remark
able events. But they with the most
winning humor they overflow with kindly
observations on the men and things and
books which were conspicuous at the time OF
writing, CT reCur to both corresponds hts from
years gone by. From beginning to end they are
read with profound relish. We nave preferred to
find in them the companonable man, the lover Of
flowers. the friend Of Incompatible shyness, and
not the translator Of Omar Khayyam The latter
is we'll enough known by this time. 1t is good to
leave the roses of the Persian's tomb which
bloom 50 passionately for readers Of the "Rubai-
yat" in their English dress II is good to leave
the heavy sweetness Of the Orient and to turn
to the fresh, fragrant air of the English garden
in which Fltz Gerald walked and smoked and
watched for snOwdrOp and marigOld. for amen
ones and all the other friends of his happy soil
tude. That garden lies in the pages of this vol
ume with more reality and more charm Than
anywhere else. even in the most loyal and tactful
accounts Of thu Woodbridge hermit and his
iptterfd Gagp.