New-York tribune., 1896-11-29
MODERN ESSAYISTS.
THEIR DIVERSITY OF FORM AND VARY
? ING EXCELLENCE.

ton Mifn & Co ., rb;ra
EIGHTEENTH CENTURY viGNEIrEdo' Oc,nvo' ,nwr
Series BY Austin Dobson: liius''"'e"'
pl xv 362 Dodd. Mead d CO. ~
WITHOUT PREJUDICE BY l. ZanSw''' '''''''
pp xiii 2sl. The Century COMPANY
PROSE FANtJEs. Second Series. BY Riehn "a Il. lie
Gallienne Octave. PIP. 2ol. Chic"s''
s. Stone co.
One of the most familiar plants OF the present
day is that we have no good essayls's' ~ ''''
Is true II is not for lack OF aspTah's '''"'
OF ESSAYS accumulate nowadays aimos' aS zap
idly as books Of fiction. They resehlp'' "'''''
In the diversity of form which they '.'us''"'.
Consider the difference between MI popSo"
Eighteenth Century Nignettes ana MI Guns
wi,rs "Without Prejudice" The two books rep
resent two poles Of feeling of imasiha''oh' Vi
literary taste. yet in the long run bo'h are
o,,,ro NJ tho Same effect--both are the fruit OF
rumination among booksh things; ana 'hrousn
naor,v all the volumes enumerated at the head
NJ this article there is realized an endeaVor 10
ksen on the safe side OF literature. no matter
how earnest about life the author may De- 10
have ..style" as we'll as substance. The list al
fords some curious reading. ana IN some 'aseS
the reader is agreeably begued. 1t u.s. perhaps
commentary on the general endeavor which mas
lust been mentioned that the best OF 'hese
books is by woman who takes less pains
about her style" than any OF tie otner WRITER'S
and Is an admirable essayist without trying
to be
Mrs. Fields printed all the papers which COM
nose her Authors and Friends" In periodical
form before she made a book Of them, but now
that they stand side by side they impress the
reader with a new sense OF their Vaiue' "he
has drawn convincing portraits OF Longfeilow
and Emerson. Holmes and Whittier. Mrs. Stowe
and Mrs Thaxter. and she has made them all
more vivid and more human through having
refraned from anything like a formal presenta-
ton Of their traits. She tells stories ABOUT
them. a thing which may not seem very much
to do. but when stories are passed on in the
manner peculiar to Mrs Fields they have
grace and a spontaneity which make them
more than amusing They linked together.
too with the most tactful description of her
friends. and she leaves useful impression
one which enlarges our view of the author por-
trayed. She adds to the evidence already ac-
cumulated so nobly in illustration OF Longfe-
lows chivalrous nature one Of her pages giving
an account of his tolerance toward strangers.
which, indeed caps the climax of his unselfish
ness There is also the quaintest anecdote OF
an encounter with affable Frenchman on the
streets of Cambridge. The Frenchman said
"'Nionsieur vous avez un fills qui fait de la
peinture.' g."
"'Oui. monsieur
> "1l du merite. Ii beaucoup d'avenir.
"'Ah' said l. 'cest une belle chose que rave-
mir
The elderly French gentleman rolled up the
whites of his eyes and answered: "Oui. c'est une
belle chose; mais vous ct moi nous n en- avons
pas beaucorp." To his report of this Longfel-
low adds. genially. "Superiuous information"
If there is one thing more than another which
,yriJ
force 1t is that the men of letters about whom
Mrs Fields discourses were courteous to a fault.
Never were there more urbane themes than these
authors whom see in the pages of this book
moving about in atmosphere of constant wit
and constant amiability. We know they could
be grave we know they could even have pro-
found differences of opinion. as Holmes and
Lowell had during the war. but they possessed
a fund of sunshine richer than that possessed by
any other group in the history Of American let
ters Out Of this fund Mr.. and Mrs. Fields
seemed to get almost than their share. for
these essays are rich in letters and quoted talks
which show their friends TO have invariably
given them Of their best. 1t strikes home TO the
reader with the more force because Of the art
lessness in Mrs Fields method Of putting her
"reminiscences together.
y. With Mr.. Dobson's new book Of eighteenth
century studies we say goodby to artlessness.
His craft is so polished that he justiies 1t. and
while he has not half the human significance Of
Mrs. Fields. he is hardly less readable. He is
readable because he is a master Of his art. and
that is something. His style is artificial. but. at
any rate. he controls it. and makes II do for
him whatever he wishes Thus ne manages TO
throw an attraction over subjects which would
otherwise prove barren enough There Is the
question Of Fielding's library. Thackeray had
not much confidence in its quality nor In its
owners acquaintance with its conf 6nts. but Mr.
Dobson resents the later novelists aspersions
upon the "two-penny learning Of his predeces-
sor. and he sets out to prove that the author OF
Joseph Andrews" had reading as well as gen
ius He bases his case upon a minute acquaint-
ance with Felding's work and life and clinches
his argument with citations from catalogue Of
Fieldings library. printed for an auction sale in
1865 not long after the authors death. From
this 1t appears that Fielding possessed most Of
the Greek commentators on Aristotle" and sun
dry other scholarly works. IT is unnecessary to
follow the account Of these books explicitly.
What needs to he pointed out is Mr.. Dobson' 8
felicity in taking up theme Of this sort, GER
tainly dry enough. and so weaving 1t into shape
that the smallest details become matters Of mo-
ment to the reader. 1t is antiquariap lore. From
cover to cover OF his book Mr.. Dobson is the in
dustrious searcner. the turnover in books long
lost to sight. the seeker after wholly neglected
trihes Who but photographed specialists
could tell us anything about Thomas Gent. print
er. or DR.. Meads Library? Mr.. Dobson makes
these unfamiliar and seemingly uninspring sub
1ects his own. and adorns them so ingeniously
with his graceful learning that his entire inno-
cence of vigor, vitality. Is easily forgiven. His
artful essays are in their way as welcome as the
artless productions Of Mrs Fields.
But Mr. Dobson is an exception. The clever
ness which is 80 engaging in him becomes some
thing absurd in the greater number Of his con-
temporaries There is too much ceverness In
the modern essayist of England nine times out
z is 4haf Er1l nd and