New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-04-19
LOCKER.
THE MEMOIRS OF A MODERN HORACE.


Locker-Lampson. octave. PIP. 4, 40 New-York:
Charles Scrbner's Sons
De mortus nil nis bonum-and certainly there
could be no desire to speak unklndly OF geh''e
man so urbane. an author so ponsheu' p'e'
% exquisitely tempered as FREDERICK Lochei-
Lampson; and yet, II to speak favorabiy OF the
dead must mean to speak with a certain lowering
Of the voice and certain Christening OF the
feeling, 1t Is impossible to observe the .ii''e-
honored rule in connection with this noteo Eng
hshman It is hard to speak seriously Oh h'"''
because he does not seem ever to nave spoAen
seriously of HIMSELF II he has done so al al,
Il has been with undercnrrent OF tna' pia!A u,
humor.wn,cn we ssociate- with Horace and all
those poets who have followed him IN minsn"s
their profoundest meditation with the blitnest
appreciation OF the good things IN the "of'u'
.., ....e.
This book which Mr. Birrell has given to the
o,,bl,c ia not the formal autobiography Of a man
who has gone through life with definite pur-
nose and left a conspicuous mark behind him.
II s.rather the rambling record OF one who came
into the world to be amused who looked on al the
Rreat.ssctal pa seant, who went ABOUT and maze
friends With the best people, who collected DOCKS
and bric-a- brac, and loved them pretty well, out
who at the end when all said and done'
could turn from his friends and his possessions
with fine good humor and not trouble himseii
because he had failed to set the Thames on nre.
Perhaps 1t Is Just because these Condolences
are of such an unconven tiona such conversa-
tionalr nature that they are so charming.
Charming they certainly are They are more
than that. They make on the whole, one OF the
most fascinating volumes published In many
years. Locker had good taste If ever man had
and he wrote. every line in his memoirs from
that sfaultiess point Of view which he maintained
IN his London Lyrics" in his Patchwork. and
in his "f1yra E1egantarum." One must take
him with that elasticity of mood which has peen
implied as the only mood fitting to a discussion
Of him, even now that he is dead. yet II Locker
awakes gayety in what he says about hlmseH'
his familiarity is never Of the wrong sort. The
reader smiles he feels his heart warm toward
this genial and slightly garrulous writer. but
he never forgets for moment the respect due
to one who is a patrican in the fullest and
finest sense Of the word.
The volatile element in Lockers character.
which is the more charming because Of It's con-
trast to his patrician calm is due to some
thing more than the springs OF fun and humor
which existed In him. He was. on the whole,
q cynical man. 1t has been said that he did
ever take any one else in that way. He had
Kindness. no man had more. hut the kindness,
the gentleness which one feels in him. is that
of an aristocrat who feels such things because
It Is natural in his place in the world to feel
them Nobleese obge-that might we'll have
been Lockers motto And IL he was cynical
he never knew 1t. In chapter on bric-a -brac
IN this volume he tells about his old friend
fnat
note he says: MY friend Mitchell has lately
confided to me that Bedford not long ago
said to him that was 'cuttingly cynical, that
I 'shrivelled him up with my sarcastic remarks.
This only shows how people may be misunder-
stood. for was never In Bedford's company
without having a real desire to please him
This is extremely characteristic Of Locker and
applies throughout to the volume under, re-
view. 1t Is doubtful II he intended that the
reader should derive from its pages the inn
preston that he was a cynical man. yet, no
matter what he is writing about. there is al
ways present a rather naughty, not exactly
0upercilous. but certainly somewhat cold tone,
which If 1t does not mean cynicism. is impos-
oible to classify under any other head. Where
Il wins its forgiveness IS in never permitting
one to feel for an instant that the author could
Intentionally have hurt any human being s
feelings
Take. for example, the chapter entitled THE
Shakespeare Folio" 1t should be remarked
In passing, that when the word chapter" is
used 1t is not intended to denote a section OF
4 consecutive narrative This. has already been
Indicated but II may be stated further that In
writing these Condolences Locker would sim
ply take up subject, II might be his first
marriage. 1t might be his second IT. might be
1.-THE Shakespeare Folio to which a!lusion has
rust been made. but whatever the theme II was
treated through one. page DR.. as -many mere as
II seemed to warrant. when the author dropped
II. and took up some different theme. To re-
turn to 1.-The Shakespeare Folio" 1t Is great
pity that the narrative cannot be transferred
intact to this place 1t is one OF the mos
original and delightful passages In Bbio-man
acal- literature. 1t appears that Mr.. Locker
possessed the folio OF 1928 the folio which IL
found (whcn 1t Is found at alb with the titi'
mage bearing the portrait. and without thu
leaf bearing Ben Jonsons verses. or vice versa
Mr.. Locker purchased years ago. copy Of thu
folio containing the title. but not the verses
The bookseller told him that before long HI
-o,,id procure the missing leaf but Mr.. Locke
leaves It TO be inferred that that bookseller
vas .ouA of the wickedest of his klnd-for WI
and him hunting for the leaf with the verses
At last he heard that certain llliterat
. BOBBY" living in the West OF England pos
sessed a copy with the desired verses Locke
puts that phrase. ian illiterate BOBBY" be
tween inverted commas but. 1t Is not difficult
"a see that that was about the way In whic1
he thought Of Mr.. Zachary Dene He went I
see his "grimy Gibeonite" He tells how h
picked up his pormanteau land lifted 1t int
4 very high gig with tall. big-boned. sprs
tailed, sinister-eyed horse in the shafts: alto
xether the sort Of conveyance you would no
care TO climb into unless you had a spare nee
In your pocket. for II you pitched out of 1t yo
would certainly be shot into neighborin
county" He dined with the awful Gibeonit
bA ,ie Al