New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-12-18

| -o.s ,xciusivelv 70 their charm Of fancy, thei'
| delicate outline, their adrot and geniai i"
| ling of motives that preserve a distinct p'o0"
OF originality and force under the haho' -
Marmontel We cannot conceive or an! INV
sitting down to write similar tales 'o,
but It Is very easy to imagine man! 49,.
Gro qett,ne deem into the romantic and supty
| didactic sentiment Of the Frenchmah SUI
| The new edition is put forth IN aeemiy III
81. yo,urne and n the text needs any great
advocacy 1t may be safely left to Mr.. sa'n'spu,''
He Ike. Marmontel He writes OF him justly
with the discrimination that would nave pee"
| forced unon him by our modern latter-oay
| schools Of fiction even had ne not the shaoo" VI
| Sainte- Beuve's dictatorship behind him. NJ o
could live In contact with the novehsts Oh '"e
last fifty years and grow maudlin over MAJ "
| tel But Mr. Saintsbury contrves to praise MN
warmly without dropping into superlatVes anu
this. after all. only makes him the more per-
suasive We hope he will win new ana "iue'
audience for his agreeable original.
The sentiment OF Marmontel lowered always on
the brink OF sentimentality. In the fiction OF
Germany ore commonly expects the brink 10 oe
passed before the second page Is reached. bu'
the "Undine' of La Motto Fouque, reappearins
In the most engaging Of forms, printed WE'LL IL
! Illustrated perfectly and unfolding it's quaint epi-
sodes through not too many pages 'Ohuihe
heads Off the familiar reproach. The book is too
| poetic. too charming too genuine 10 oHehu III
the usual fashion Of Teutonc romanticists In
this production La Motto Fouque seems TO have
exercised his sweet and tender fancy without
the Intervention Of any German prosiness any
| German awkwardness. AS Mr.. Gosse reminds
us in his pleasant introduction "Uncne'' went
10 Heine's heart. and that goes far to prove
how free IT from the redundancy and sicKly
! sentmentaltty which belong to most WORKS OF
its genre in German literature. The reader OF
this new edition will not care what Helne
thought OF the story. favorable or otherwise. He
| will be too pleased with the thing itself, with
Mr. Brttens clever illustrations. with the air
OF wood and lake that comes drifting out or
the volume touched by the golden light Of old
! romance We have seen many editions or TINS
little masterpiece, but never one so entirely
| charming as the latest. never one so artlstcally
made, so worthily put together. as the quarto
| which calls for appraisal Of its merits at this
time.
| So much taste and skill have been directed tow
| ard the making Of that new edition Of Ander-
| sens Nightingale" which reaches us from the
| Merrymount Press In Boston. that we can scarce
ly pause to speak Of the text There Is indeed. no
occasion for a restatement Of its charms. The
| tale has all Andersen's naYvete, all his fascinat-
| ing Simplicity all his imaginative grace. The
| edition to which reference is now made pre-
sents the wel-known episodes Of the story In
| even a pleasanter light than before. II pictorial
| interpretations could do this at all for the au-
thor Miss Newill. who makes the illustrations,
is an artist whose work has before this been
noticed and admired In England. She handles
the pen with vgor and originality. Her de-
| signs for this little quarto show a prettily In
| ventive faculty and drawings for reproduction
they could not have been better done. The new
| press from which the book is sent the press
of Mr. Berkeley Updke. seems likely to make
| itself more than respected as 1t becomes better
known The typographical excellence Of the
present publication ii would be hard to praise
too emphaticaly.
The quality which, with other virtues. makes
Marmotel La Motto Fouque, Andersen. all three
Of Them definite figures in the literatures Of their
| nations is which comes at to the front
| In Irvings Tales Of Traveller" II is the quail
ity Of setting forth a narrative not so much with
absolute compactness Of style as with absolute
unity Of atmosphere so that the tale may be
never diffuse and yet leave distinct and
delightful impression on the consciousness of the
reader. Such impression Irving leaves IN
each one Of the Tales which fill the stately vol
umes Of the "Buckthorne' edition This edi-
ton gives them a highly attractive set
ting. The pages are inclosed in decorative bor-
ders printed in color there is handsome title
page 10 each volume and the illustrations are
from skful. sympathetic hands The binding
is sumptuous The same publishers Of this luxu-
rious book bring out students edition of THE
, Sketch Book which is perfect illustration Of
what Is needed In our educational institutions.
The mechanical side of the book is admirable and
the notes clear up every point which the young
, reader might wish elucidated
= The late Jane Goodwin Austin never produced
anything better than her Puritan novel, Stan
dish of Standish" and it was excellent idea
Of her publishers to bring 1t out in a holiday edi-
ton with appropriate illustrations. This Is not a
great novel but 1t is good picture of manners at
= an early time In the history OF the Common
wealth. and the studies of character which 1t EN-
4 braces show insight and accomplished pen.
g The book will take lease Of life. Every
! thing has been done to make 1t attractive: the
e two volumes more than convenient, more than
t comely-they are beautiful and luxurious. 1t
e was pleasure to read "Standish ot Standish" in
it's original form and 1t will be greater pleasure
d TO read it in It's holiday dress.
The reprinting Of classical English fiction
: goes on apace. and We cannot say sorry
for 1t. On the contrary, it is delightful to
. have Pride and Prejudice" repubshed in the
form given 1t by the Macmans. and it is as
gratifying to lnger over Mr.. Dobson's intro
> duction as Mr.. Brooks spirited drawings
u The novel itself may safely be called classical
) to-day. The tone is somewhat placid The fig
ures are drawn with an excessively delicate
/ hand. But, though one may begin by finding
e Jane Austen less vigorous than wants her
: to be, one ends by accepting her thankfully
/. for what she is She Is od-fashioned as nov.
y els go nowadays, but she is the less de-
t lightful.
Miss Jane Porter also is old-fashioned II eve,