New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-07-19
LIES GONCOCRT."
REMARKABLE PAIR IN THE HISTORY NJ,
COLLABORATTON

When Jules de Goncourt died In 1870 ,ha,o
no cessation Of the peculiar work upon vb,o, :,
and his brother Edmond had been collabo,a,,'
and now that the elder Of the two writer, ~
passed from the stage OF Partisan lteratur. a.
seems hitting TO say farewell 10 two persor.,,,,
In one. These brothers were remarkable ayu,.
In the history OF collaboration Beside m ,
| lectual Intimacy and unity Of NM A. Go,o.s.'
the ingenious cooperation OF Erckmlnn-ch,,,'..s
OF Scribe and Legouve. Is a mere affair ~ -
day convenience and mechanical adjustment, ?.
mond and Jules de Goncouri whatever th.ir I,,.,.I
lions may have been. regarded IN the light n, 49,,
literature. were undeniaby men Of genu. "a.
sidered collaborators. Their iden,iacs,io, 80.
one another had in it sonnet thing Of the me-"
and fnality OF inspiration What they dia -,
their inspiration with their power. is ano,s.
matter. and while much OF their work In the asu,
OF artistic criticism and social history may rem.,.
OF permanent value. the general significance n, o.,
two brothers IS likely to hang IN suspense o.
some years. Not every one accepts now no, .,.
one may be expected to accept in the future ~,
valuation placed upon the authors OF 'Na,.,
Solomon and Madame Gcrvaisais' by A s,,,c.,
Partisan public and few foreign coteries ouek ;,
repeat, parrot-fashon. the judgments O, ,ha.
French exemplar
The reason why opinion OF les Goncourt" n,o,.
ises to remain unsettled for some time is that ,,.,
Al.
Of their criticism their history. their fiction AZ
their famous infamous-"JournaI I, u 80
simply a rhetorical defect with which ,tav A..
to be charged. II their style had nothing ay.,,..
1t but elements distasteful TO partsans NJ "a,
canon or that. the trouble would not be ser,ous
bur they based their method on a poin. o, 49,
that, OF course. goes to the heart OF a mans vo,.
They sought perfection on the naturalls,ic ,heo,v
that nothing is to be left out This had its adv,
# ~ bad
Ike those on Gavarni and Vatican pruah,,
'LArt du XVIII siac.e" and similar theme. 49,
as mas been aad. the work they dld In cols.,.
ana clarifying generally the material q, ar,s,,
ana social history. especially in the eighteenth con
fury. Is unlikely 10 b. invalidated or ignored n
the other hand their fiction * little Jess than A
testable. and this because whom ,he, ,,h,.,
Renee Mauperin" "Gern,inie Lac,ere,,v" a., ~
rest they failed to distinguish between The esss,
tials of romance and the surpiusage Of tho "A.
sectingroom. Finally. In The ',Journal" n, nit,
one more volume WAS brought out tho o,h., d.v
they outraged not alone the laws Of good taste h,
the laws OF good literature H. for the sake n, a-z
ment. two inseparable quantities may b. h-,ss,
separated '
IL mas frequently been said If the 'Journar' ,h.,
no one who wants to know the social sid. y, ~.
third empire, above al the side on which -.
Princess Mathllde, Nine Psi,a the Go,cou-,.
ne AN Santc- Beuye and a hundred Others n, Lin
urcd importanc" were conspicuous can afford "a
neglect the innumsrahc pages OF Inc Two SEM
prbthers: BUT those pages will be consulted nc *
pages or Figaro, or even lie Vie Parisienne
might De consulted, the only difference being tha,
the lndiscretiOns OF the GCncOurts are ,riae no,.
indiscreet. trihe more scandalo,,s This NAV M,
seem TO condemn them historians OF their own
cpOcn or as rne masters OF literature which -hsv
nave been acclaimed. but when the reader recall
mat Is not their indiscretion alone that DESTROYS
the value OF the journal" that besides being vii.
gar II Is utterly lacking In perspective. befoggA
with prejudice, and dreadful bore. ne vii. roe
near the brink OF oblivion the brothers stand When
TO their "petits fats" When they wrote fiction q
contemporary history. in their Journal" they
allowed their facts to control them. they became
more than slavsh. they allowed themselves 20 b
ignoble and malignant. II Is surprising, thsr<
fore, that they give the careful reader pause
CRITICISM aside. the DISAPPEARANCE OF E.nNt n
Goncourt will be felt keenly by every one acszt.
ed with the literary and artistic life of Psrs IL
was striking figure there as his brother wu4
Between the two they managed TO get tor,sa
many valuable pictures. prints and other arrse
objects. They were among the first and most
cessful cOnnoisseurs OF japanese art. As well as
the elegancies OF eighteepth-century bypaths !,
France. They knew every body who worA
knowing. II was at the house OF AphOnse Das5s
nignant in appearance during his later years
white-haired man with romance I'm The poetic ertN
of his head, though his speech was along anything
but romantic lines. In his scOrnfuly fasticosA
slightly provincial way. the way Of the perei
Partisan he was always attractive. He never 81
into the Academy. but he passcnately Upheld
b. his own particular public. and row that ne y
dead. II Is not improbable that tout Paris I'll
rise up and call him great