New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-04-19
LITERARY NOTES.

work to firm Of London publishers ~.
sonnenschein 4 Co. are preparing new edition. :
his History Of Peru" and History Of Ferdin.s -
and Isabella"
The series Of Nineteenth Century Classic.
which reference has been made In this plar. =
promising to bring forward with doubtful 49,
Matthew Arnold's "Alaric at Rome" IN a vcIr~.s.
with other poems familiar and unfamiliar 4 =
have at least one distinction which COMMAND. -
slant approval 1t Is annoying to know thai ~
publishers of this series should reprint In ths,s
Arnold volume poems which he did not care "a -
print himself. but they will almost atone for th..
sin in giving such circulation as a frontisD.s.
affords to reproduction OF the famous portrajt -
Mr.. G. F. Watts. In all the long series Of portr,,
painted by Watts from the famous men and vos~ 1
Of his time, 1t Is doubtful II there Is one No.
luminous with the genius OF the sitter or No.
beautiful with the beauty Of great masters ~
than the study Of Arnold.
Mrs. Burnett has concluded to dramatise her -
story, "A Lady Of Quality" and It will undoubt.s,.
be produced on some English American So.
within q year or So
When some Of the writers Of the new school v.,.
10 be crushingly critical they talk Of thing Al =.
calling "the time OF our grandfather" and ~,
phrase describing poems as "of the sort oncs =.
miliar IN The Keepsakes and Books OF Beauty A.
our ancestors time" has enjoyed considerable pos,
larity. It Is the more amusing. In the light OF M.
critical patronage. to see how the present generst
is reverting to the ways Of that misguided epocA
for which "Keepsakes" were considered suaiciens,
strong literary fare. Will It be believed? A "Bok
Of Beauty" Is to be brought out In London m,
June: 1t will contain portraits OF women soci.nv
conspicuous; there will be literary contributions.
by some Of these ladies' and "by several leas,,.
authors!" Now. the character OF this partculss
Book OF Beauty" may not be especially interesttre
but the work arrives a sudden explanation A
the whole yellow Book and Savoy" furo,
Mr. Aubrey Beardsley the type Of "Keepsaksr
artist or writer may not please the fancy Of Y,
Aubrey Beardsley himself, but that Is what A.
amounts to. nothing less Our mana
fathers" wanted pretty books to put on the drav
ing-room table. books Of poems and short prosa
writings. with pictures when they could get than
The editors OF their day gave them such admirable
and stupid books as one occasionally finds on N.
busiest shelf Of old library. and the editor,
Of the day before theirs gave the public Of that n
moter and yet not too distant time the compen.
diums which Ella could not altogether despise In
deed. did not Lander send to Lady Blessinetoa
poems to print In biblia-a-biblla like these!
So the picture editors Of to-day might hays q
proper conceit OF themselves-lf they were FOLLOWING
In the footsteps Of Lady Bessington and puttine
true gold into their 'Keepsakes." But they seem
to initiate only the most trivial and absurd char.
acteristics OF the old publications Sometimes there
Is a glimmer OF taste. At his remarkable estab.
lshment. Bushey. Professor Herkomers pupils hav
been getting out picture-book Of some value, and
in London there was published short time era
under the title OF The Pageant" really ane col
lection OF drawings. "A London Garland" the
anthology OF poems and pictures dedicated to tn
glory OF the English metropolis which the Society
Of Illustrators published. with Mr.. Henley a. ed-
tor. Is certainly an artistic thing But against
these three productions there are TO be reckoned
the many numbers Of the yellow Book" the new
Savoy Magazine" and the uncountabe throns Of
publications which emulate these on q smaller
scale-snippety fragments Of inconsequence Like
The Chap-Boo and The Lark" These present
tho worst side OF the old Keepsake" or Book Of
Beauty" with the tedium OF that side grown more
tedious with It's puerlIity grown more puerils.
Mt Swinburne Is seeing through the press poem
said to be longer and more important than any
which has come from his pen in yearsl In rhymM
measures 1t tells the story OF Baen; taken from
Mallory, with very few departures from the Original
text
Mr.. Andrew Lang has been carrying his I'm IT
I.ockhart' rapidly TO completion. II is annogncd
that this work will first be published in two c6tl
volumes but II would not do for II TO remain y
clusivey in such edition. The popularity
Iockhart's Scot" is almost as wide as the LINN
OF the English speaking world and although MI
Lang cannot hope 10 win so great fame WIN M
volumes he is nevertheless. certain 10 appeal 10
fairly endless line OF readers. Little by iite ms
truth about Iockhart has come TO the surface ne
was too closely connected with the somewhat saw
age DAYS OF the old Quarterly Review ior MN "
escape the charge OF being savage h'mset' ana w
deed there Is good testimony 10 his caus'ic VIII sna
his answering resolution In matters ABOUT wneu
he had once made up his mind. Yet there mas peen
shown often a finer gentler side 10 This aruone
and taciturn man OF letters and the portrait WHICH
Mr. Lang has been drawing OF him Is likely 20 co
t,r, cor,ne,s Justice He would seem TO have beea
man after Langs own heart Certainly there nas
heen no one IN English letters since Locknarts
death better qualified 70 be the biographer OF INV
o,,er than the freaksh but scholarly and charming
writer who has at last taken up the task.
7, 10 reported from London that the proofs OF me
| English edition Of Mr. Kipng's new volume
| noems have not yet reached the printer. and q
ir,orestine explanation OF the delay Is onereo.
"a said that Mr. Kiplng has been revising ana "
yising his ballads. working on them with the UNIV.
nossible ardor The book is expected TO be p1ooSa'
| out here early In the summer .-,f.
r, anpears that the following Is one OF the Svs~
| 4, S,evenson's "Vailima Table Talk 10 ~
,,.,., IN the forthcoming number OF 'Sen0'"
| - 90
N,goz,pe'. .If he' "a young writer cant ~.
an afternoon turning single phrase. he mao ~
give UP the profession OF literature VIM. -.
melancholy discourse might be uttered from vs."
specious text! or course. 1t Is easy 70 sa' ..,,
| stevenson only repeated in this dc'um the an' =.
! CON- about genius being an infinite capacV ~
taking pains But It is one thing to think na'u -.
take pains in the general building up OF 80
work and another to spend an afternoon tu'"''s
single phrase" Stevenson himself spent 100 .' ~.
afternoons in this way. 1t did more 10 nu'' -.
work than all his illnesses put together f""ss
himself into this terrible struggle with the 49,
side OF his art he meant TO give every othe. s :,
thar art full swing, but unconsciously ne iaeA
carry out the better intention. BY the time .. ~.
his phrase he had often squeezed all the oo'.
, n his thought The young writers .anu ~.
name Is more than legion) who have foi""e
axau,p,e have as a rule, met with eve" "a
icnominious defeat than his. because they ns N ~,
less genius to start with. The recurrence OF ,'