New-York tribune., 1896-11-01
UNHEROIC HEROES.
THE BIOGRAPHIES OF SOME GALho"o
BIRDS.
A ROOk OF ScOUNDRELS. BY Charles Wnro n.
lev octave. pp viii, 2p. The Macmi''ah 'o'''

BOOK OF sCOUNDRELs. b, cnat,eis cnii,isr COM
ley. Octave. PIP viii, 2S. The M"e""'A"
pany.
The genesis Of this book may not uhia"'' ''
attributed to Mr.. William Ernest Hehley' o".'
Editor Of "rhe National Observer and now IN
command Of THE New Review In both pun
Nc.tions certain portions Of the present COL
lection have appeared. and. moreover VI. wv.
,xor,< d,scIoses the influence which the author oil
The Carmen Patibulare' has long pcei A''o""
"a exert over a little London clique. Wheh ne
wrote that song. when he chanted the lasc'-
nation of the gallows-tree, he put into verse
uhat ha had often been advocating In prose.
and. II current comment is to he believed. hau
urged IN nriyate conversation--the recognition OF
an instinct IN man for what Is savage but never
tbe,ess "marly." Mr. Henley has the sort OF
temperament that Borrow had. Ee has studied
the "patter'' of thieves and pugilists He mas a
certain respect for men Of both classes wheh
their deeds are lifted up on high through 'he'r
very magnitude and audacity. He deari! loves
a great" crime and he has employed the argot
o. criminals IN his poetry rom time 'o "'he'
His taste has communicated Itself 10 MS 1oi-
lowers. They all rejoice in the apotheosls OF
Drawn and deviltry. They like Mr. klplihg d.
his bluggicst, and when his ballads SUI the
blood with love OF English battle and Enshsh
empire Mr.. Henley was one OF the hrst 10 ap-
prccate kipling and printed ms WORK carry III
his career. He printed some OF Mr Yeats "'os'
rrevsome tales OF Irish clan hatred. feud and
y,o,ence He dotted on the adventurous side OF
his friond Steveason's life and work. Every
ona has had a warm welcome from him when
they have brought him manuscript making 1or
hard knocks and invinciblc courage. lie mas
been the apostle of bone and sinew in recent
English journalism
Mr. whitley has been one or MI Hehiey
most intimate disciples. II we nave saiu so
much about his master it has been because '''e
trail of the latter's style, as well as the atrios
rhare of his favorite interests. covers "a Book
Of Scoundrels" from the first page to the ias'
II 1. un,maginabe that Mr.. whitley could have
written this book without Mr. Henley 10 spun
him onto teach him how to write It, On the
other hand II is unimaginable that Mr.. whitley
could have written as he has without love oi
b,s subject in him. born of instructive sympa'
thv He has taken the Newgate Calendar ana
made literature out Of il. We say this with
full appreciation Of his somewhat strained GYM
cism and the artifcalty of his diction 1t Is un
denial,le that he carries his ardor trine peyoho
bounds He compares highwayman on Ills way
to tho gallows with Cranmer at the stake. lhis
Is merely stupid. besides being IN pad 'as'e
Then Mr.. whitley dscourses IN a st!le "hose
KEY might be lowered with proht 10 l's ehec'
,,ror bis readers and to the reputation OF his
English But these things seem almost >rreie-
want beside the pervasive attraction OF MS
pages They do nothing to change the fact tha'
Mr. whitley has written Book ne mas oone
this thing because he has had an lnspirauo"
because 1t has been OWNED by him that 'he
criminal has not always been so black as ne HAS
been painted. flash of heroic hre mas iliu'r'
,.,ed nanv a wrecked career On the whole. we
nv. of the opinion that the physically brave
criminal ia a moral coward But there Is some
,,,rr 70 he said for Mr. Whibley's contention
tho, &c, courage which shall face an enemy under
,hs starlight or beneath the shadow OF wall
which shall track its prey to a well-defended lair
e rarer than a law-abiding cowardice" There
1. sonnet hing to be said. that is for the mere
snoctacle OF a strong man having his own way,
al the risk Of hanging, whether IL ne TOT so'-
did gain or for spotless honor. The d'stinctioh
between those two aims is too OBVIOUS 'o DE ho
ticed at this moment No one win SENSE VI
humor will read a defence OF crime into such
rassoge &C that in which Mr.. whitley declares
that the recklessness that risks all for present
advantage is called genius, If VICTORIOUS gene
eral urge il TO success; nor can you deny 10 the
intrepid highwayman, whose sudden resoiu'io"
trjumphs at an instant Of peril, the possession
of an admirable gift" At this point may come
In the solemn protest of the non-huH'o'ou9
reader the holding UP of hands in awful horror
Of tho mere idea that a highwayman should DE
mentioned in the same breath with patriotic
oereral But what Mr Whbey In driving at ~
n,a,n enough He knows we'll as anybody
,,se tho wIckedness OF his heroes" but he shuts
b;s eyes 10 that for the and sees the heroic
side NJ them alone II is side which yields
amusing reading
There was Turpin, the thief whose name has
been all these years lowered upon the hfepio
Nicks-Nicks the true hero OF the Famous roe
N York The owner Of the now historic name
rever owned Black Bess. never was at any mo-
,oent I'm his life the Dick Turpin whom AIMS
worth has celebrated. but in his own right lie
had a few traits which appeal TO us To-Day
when we got at them without the Intervention o'
romantic tradition. When he reached the Tree
at last-as they always did, these gentlemen OF
the road-he purchased him new fustan coat
and pair of pumps. Thus would ne De hanseo'
decently and I'm order. end In no unpeconihs
dr... He gave 10 shillings apiece to Ave poor
mon IN orIer that he might be assured OF mourn
ers and to the end he kept his rough humor.
"a crowd thrOnged his cell to identify hm' ana
ono there was who offered to bet the keeper
s.y a Guinea that the prisoner not Turpin,
whercupon Turpin whispered the keeper; Lay
him the wager you fool. and VIII go nalves'
II was in this spirit that most OF the great
.coundre,s of England used TO meet their fate.
Mr whitley quotes a noted lawyer OF New
vatA's most splendid era. who has left 1t on
record that "in no country do malefactors go to
executjon more intrepldly than in England 1t
WAS the fashion in the sixteenth. seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries to die gayly. with gar
,nents in good taste. with demeanor sufficient
" composed to be dignihed and get airy enough
10 show that the game having gone against the
rascal he prepared to pay his debt like q
gentleman and 60 gracefully TO the moose. They
nd ir&a of