New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-10-11
RECENT FICTION.
WALTER PATER AS \ PSYCHOLOGICAL
NOVELIST

CASTOR DE LAroUR. An Unfinished Romano &C.;
Iiy Waiter ratcr. PREPARED Tor W. @s TN,
Charles J.. ShadwcH octave PIP ~ ~ "
Macmillan Company.
,,,u trrrs YACHT By Frank II. stockton
Illustrated by A. Forester Octave, PIP VII oh
Charles Scribners sons
Th. fragment OF philosophical fiction by waiter
Patcr which his friend Mr. Shad"." "uS put nv
book form u In some ways the iiost '"'e''''''n
~ ., ,bo critic and dlthyramb!c 'prosateur
=, 4, -. ,,., ,nnI. uublic since his death. The
..l,,,,. ,oIu,ucs of a host nuInous nature nav.
-, .,,ouo-, ,uoueh Of His accustomed moods an'i
-.,,..,.. I'm, ,,is now orb takes the reader nttc
nearer to both than anything save ''"i'"' "'''
a., ,.,,ur,u -, plato IL ihowS the man developihS
y ,, si,c. , ..romauoei must lave q p.ot-wilh-
- 81. .,,,,,.., regard ifor the material life and
deeds OF his hero. but wtI deep ue'o'io" W 'o'.
I'll. s,,r,,u,l clements lin Gastons career which
were to make him noi Il man, but type i"e'o -
,,rdscanc in the book uncommoniy well painted
landscape, too. ana when Pater sets aoout hno"'Ns
the mysterious communication between ms nero
m,ntal deycIC pment and the beauty OF the scenery
,mid which hc was brought NJ. there seems pos
sbili.y tina. he will touch the quick. that ne VIII
get into the stir ana movement oil ne AZ u was
lived hy the mobiles Of France III the TINE OF
Charles N and the great massacre. As matter
~ fact lac lust skirts the tangible events OF the
,a,,od 81 Bartholomow's Eve, for example.
oss.s va,vro,,sly through the book. moro as dim
nightmare which had us eject upon ihstonS NINA
Than az a dramatic crisis when actuaily roo"e"
him Of his wifi" and child. Here ana there nash
OF insight INFO the hearts of men Is revealed mere
q, ruth there H. close sympathy. In this passage
from a page dealing with tn" ciosiistcai court
-, Chartres: AS YOU in the street faces that
are Ike a sacrament, 80 there are faces. looks
tones Of voice. among dignihed priests as among
o,h,r neoule A, hear or look upon which Is To feel
tho hypoi nesiS of unseen world Impossible put
.tr,kes Of character study like this do not make
novel.
cinco .,Gastou de f.atour Is imperfect as a
novs, some surprise might be expressed at It's he
Ing found so interesting But II IL just hs faur"
that is touching There is kind OF fascination In
watching Paters efforts 20 be romancer IN seeing
how near he came to his goal without reaching II.
The evolution 81 his struggles was never befor"
made 50 clearly visible TO the reader. ior III
"N,rius" and in his "Imsgnary Portraits he hal
nj least finished his task, and could as II We're
cover up the defects, In the cumulative erect Oh
"uari,s' the reader forgets the omissions hero and
! there "Gaston de Latour. In its unfinished state
enables ore to follow the author step by step ana
| IN realize as one comes TO the end nhat organi-
au, IA MT an end at alb how precarlously situated
the work is considered as a romance. Besides all
this negative attraction of the book there are somn
positive merits wnich viii place II hieh amohS
! pater's productions. II contains some descriptive
pages which in his doftest. most daintily col
ored and most enthusiasts vein. He did not often
let his prose become very earnest. there Is always
n certain nioofness and imprrs0nality to he count
cd upon But the second chapter In this book. our
Iady's church pursues the monumental and yet
delicate elusive beauty Of Notre Dame de Charities
with a sympathy and fervor that leave In the
mind sense OF something more than affectionste,
something fairly overliae.
The other strong point In the work comes out IN
the portrayal OF three historic writer's whose differ
influences are seen 10 be at work IN the forma-
ton OF (iaston's character One OF these, Giordano
Bruno, Is perhaps little obscurely set forth, Tia
was never easy man fer any critic TO interpret
and for all his frankness he looms rather vaguely
| in Pater's text. The two other madels he has
chosen to portray. Ronsard and Moptaigne, he has
presented in lines as unmstakaple as though real