New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-01-12

ment in letters. In fact 1t has only one fault Be
side providing for those who have written and
those who can write. II should have Class and
offer prizes to those who wish they could write
when they can't.
Some little while ago IT befell upon day that
,journer in the Quarter Latin should vsl' another
dweler Sous .es tots.' He found the latter living
in the midst of the impelmenta with which a
Partisan lodging OF the student sort is likely 10 De
Uttered, and in exploring the mysteries o. the col
lection found plaster bust wnich looked ior
all the world like an amateurs portrait OF drunk
en- Demosthenes. 1t is not Intended to convey any
rba.d reflection in that phrase. The mead nad
really the appearance OF one originally noble, Out
sunk and battered under the weight 0. VICIOUS Nv
Ing On making inquiry about the Dust the ques-
toner expected be told that II was the crude es-
say OF some beginner who was striving TO depict an
ancient hero. Then the truth came OUT II was
treasured revered and altogether perfect Dust OF
Paul Veriaine. curious silence follower inc hosts
words of illumination. 1t was diicG!t 20 say that
his adored friend looked Ike SOM phantom con-
jired up from inferno by some one emuatins
Rodln that the nobility latent in Nerlanes brow
could not hide the suggestion of the pugiist and
the sot In the general of the bust The SAT-
est way out TO ask for the privilege OF COM
pairing the original with the portrait. Nv acre might
| Veraine be encountered" Tho resulting nforma-
lion ran something follows: "Verlane always
takes his coffee al such-and-such place. but he
goes for his abslnthe to such another place and II
we don't find him at this brasserie We may find him
at the other"
With the prospect OF eearching amid half a dozen
different companies CT absnthe-sippers for the Joy
of meeting Vera!ne. that JOY grew less alurng. 1t
was easier to converse little while about the man
and then for further data. 90. as always. TO his
written work Those who have been more ardent
have come conclusion more favorable than
that OF the impersonsl student. The writer has
been familiar with :her talk, in print and out OF it,
min If hose interlOcutOrS
la!nc has been the whole. that not far below the
surface Of the degradation In which he lived there
flowed peilucid stream Of thought, stream from
which rose with the lghtness and the purity or
crystal bubbles a sequence OF lyric masterpieces.
So much for those who knew the poet face to face,
and who frankly admit that he lived life Of per-
sona responsibility. life of impulsive and I'M
reckoning immortality. Prison life gutter lne
life worse than either. had stained him, they VIII
grant. but, Behold, they add, behold the genius
OF the r,an,"
To have known Verlane In his wretchedness and
to have watched him in his frequently remarkable
dealings with the French language was doubtless
to have fe.t amazement the capacities Of so
handicapped being One understand the be-
wlderment and the resultant reverence of those
young writer's OF half dozen nationalities. who
have tracked their master from one cafe table TO
another ard found him under any circumstances an
original and indomtable genius" But the student
OF the works alone Is on firner ground. What fell
from the lips of Nerlaine is Of little consequence
In the criticism of what fell from his pen II Is this
latter product by which he must stand or fall. He
does not stand he does not bear successfully the
test of cool criticism brought 10 bear with rigid i'm
partlaty upon his mc9t characteristic work. Why?
Primarily because. when the substance Of his verse
Is not positively unwholesome it is in the last de-
gree inconsequential. triing II may be retorted
that some OF the fines; lyrics OF Shakespeare are as
trlnng as the leaf OF a blown on summers
Put fhp ieaf Of a
beauty which Is none the less recognizable, none
the concrete because IL Is rot easy 10 define IT,
While line OF Shakespeare's verse is beautiful with
the beauty o. sight sound that comes ana
flashes and is gone supreme in the mere passion or
existence, the thing with which Nerlaine lovers
would compare Il in Veralne's work is artificial
lacking in the divine buoyance Of poetic life. II is
not a shred quivering from some tender flower
OF inspiration 1t is chip struck Off with metallic
sharpness and metallic thinness of sound from the
infertile mass OF words which makes an artlcers
stock In trade
There Is lingering melody in Verlane's work.
none OF the music which comes up from the heart
OF things and stays with the poet and his hearers
long after the chords of his Tyre struck. There
Il a tnk,e. sometimes a more resonant sound but
It IL gone In a moment, and means no more than the
shr.l noise OF penny singer on the crowded
boulevards There IL tragedy In the sound. say the
lovers OF II. But suspect that Is because they
remember too persstently the facts OF their poets
-
As picturesque In theme very often Il; is bizarre in
form: IL is obscure enough. heaven knows; but did
the readers who have been struck dumb by
this symbolism ever stop TO consider how cheaply
bought such wonders are? The genuine master
said Goethe In a passage which we have lately seen
anew IN the correspondence of Matthew Arnold is
rot the who brings darkness to darkness in
the fury of his work, but carries into the gloom OF
thought a vivid light and establishes Il, making its
radiance serviceable forever. Veraine fought OBJ
,.E.h ,nj tbara u-os
thing in HIS Wanted symbolism IL is lost TO pos
terity. for II is puzzling the mystery to which
he eager 10 aude.
The real service Of Verlalne TO contemporary
French literature has been that OF an insurgent
who because he made less of connection
among writing men. succeeded IN stirring stagnant
waters and easing the tension OF literary workman
ship where II threatened to become too academic
When NJ Brunetiere has gore for the decadents
he has had difficulty in proving them TO be a
sorry lot; but the very discussion aroused by him
and by the objects OF his wrath has been good for
every one concerned II has kept the air clear. II
has made reviewing. current essay writing,
current literary work generally. trihe more fex-
lbe. Vcrlaine has kept innumerable pens busy in
arguing whether he or the academy was right. This
OF thing IL always. in its minor way, profitable
Beyond the fermentation he has caused however, 1t
IL not apparent that Veraine has done good, that
he has added to the strength OF French literature.
That literature has always been weak on its poetic
side and II has needed for its betterment exactly
the quality of dignity combined with grace OF rich
substance combined with aerial lightness of lyric
rapture which Nerlane most devoteily ignored.
lie strove in his way. for lyric lghtness bu; his
way was the way Of juggler Snowman. and
Ike that ingenious parsonage his muse content
when a certain number of objects tyorcs. In his
easel were kept dizziy whrling through the air.
lie never had a glimpse OF pure poetic inspiration
In al. his life.
Ii is said that the unpublished MSS. of Charlotte
Bronte have proved on examination 10 be far more
numerous and important than had been imagined.
L. n