The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-07-30
TENNYsON's TALK.
His Judgments on some of His Com
femporaries.


Temperatures.
Wilfrid Ward In the New Review.
His companion had been reading Brown
Ing and had found 6ordello somewhat DIFF
hcult This confusion amused Tennyson
Wnen Sordello came out" he remarked,
od douglas "a Jerrold said to me: What has
come TO me? Has my mind gone? Here Is a
poem OF which can't understand a single
line! Browning, he added has genius
LOT a sort OF dramatic composition and for
analyzlng the human mind. And he has a
great imagination. But poets writing should
pc sweet to the mouth and ear which
broWnlngs is not. There should be glory
OF words as well deep thought This he
mas not got. In his last work he makes i'm
pulse rhyme with dim pulse He spoke OF
Browning's love Of London society, I once
told him that he would die in a white tie
and he rather liked it."
This led to q discussion of Goethe,s saw
ing, rs bildet elm talent sich in der stiIie"
some poets seem, he said, to find solitude
necessary. l remarked that Arthur CIough
In his Oxford days shrank from general So
clety. Il knew him well in later Hfe''
Tennyson said He once Travelled with US
In France. He was delightful comDanfon
but was rather wanting in the sense Of hu,
nioT he had great poetic feeling. He
read me his In Mari Magno, and cried like
child as he read IT. =
l spoke of CIough's friendship wifi, Soma
OF the OXFORD Tractarians and OF their sem
afation owing to Cloughs movement toward
Ienslous negatlon. This led Tennyson to tell
the subject of her negative religious views.
How difficult it is to repeat thing az n
really happened George Elliot had this con-
Yefsatton with me at AldWorth and tha 90
count OF 1t which got into print was that r
disputed with her till was red in the face
and then reared Go away you and your
molecules The real fact was that our con-
Versation was as sweet as summer and at
parting | shook her hand and said very
gently, i hope you are happy with your mole
CUES CUES He spoke of admiration of George
Ellot genius and insight into human char
acter, but maintained that she was not quite
SO truthful as Shakespeare or Miss Austen:
me character of Adam Bede Is not quite
true to human nature. 1t is idealzed. l am
reported to have said that Jane Austen was
equal to Shakespeare. What / really said
was that in the narrow sphere of life which
she dellneated she pictured human character
as truthfully as Shakespeare. But Austen ia
to Shakespeare as asteroid to sun. Mss Aus
tens novels are perfect works on a small
scaie-beautiful bits of stippling."
l told him of Jowett's account of talk
with Macauley; that it was as though Ma
caulay was delivering lecture to an aud
ience OF one person. This led to compari-
son OF Macauiay's monologue with Carlyle's.
most reverent and the most irreverent man
l have known. | admire his estimate of Bos-
well and mate Macaulay's. Mrs. Carlyle was
most charming, witty conyerser but often
sarcastic. She never spoke before her hus-
band, who absorbed the conversation"
asked. Did he not listen to you when you
talked? In a way he replied; 'but he
hardly took in what said. Carlyle was
at his best rollicking at the Ashburton house
the Grange. He and Lady Ashburton were
the life of the party. Those parties were
very interesting, and Lady Ashburton was
q woman of great brilliancy. She liked
Carlyle, but / think at that time, II she
had fayorite, 1t was George Venables. Car
lyle had great feeling that we needed
strong man in England. Our Cromwell is
being born somewhere he used to say"
This led us to speak of modern states
men, He seemed disposed to agree with
Carlyle, and would not accord to any the
title of really great ruler. Speaking Of
one eminent statesman, he said: you can
glove; you must have an iron gauntlet;
though you need not always make people
feel the iron." He went on to contrast
Gladstone to Disraen doing full justice to
the gifts of the former orator. and to
the latter's diplomatic craft "The great
fault of Disraeli's character was that he
was scornful. Gladstone Is genial and kind
ly. He was very grand on contemptuous-
ness. 1t was, he said, sure sign OF intel
lectual littleness. Simply to despise nearly
always meant not to understand. Pride and
contempt were specially characteristic of
barbarians. Real civilization taught human
beings to understand each other better, and
must therefore lessen contempt 1t Is lit
tie or immature or uneducated mind which
really despises. One who has lived only in
a coterie despises readily. One who has traT-
eled and knows the world in its length and
breadth respects far more views and stand
points other than his own He quoted this
of Wordsworth's with strong admiration:
Stranger, henceforth be warned and know
that pride
However disguised in it's own majesty,
Is littleness, that he who feels contempt
For any living thing hath faculties
Which he hath never used; that thought with
him
Is in its infancy.