New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-11-12
LITERARY NOTES.

novels dealing WITH itdldn themes, SHc mas ~
long IN the Peninsula she has herself written
stories OF Italian life full Of truth and feeling, and
accordingly, her study OF Mr.. Crawfords ltaIian
novels in the Nineteenth Century" is one OF inc
most suggestive articles on the subject ever penned
She Is incisive and sometimes severe. she o.
serves for example. that zone cannot forgive MN
for ever beating the big drum Of hord sensation ;
she rcsents hts religious bigotry. wnich Is con
stnntly cropping in his stories; she sorrows
over the absence of animals in his work dec!ai'',
that 'he has the Americans indifference 10 an
created things which are not human; she oeP'0 =
bis weak emulation of Dickens in naming cha'"
,ers after their calling or after some moral char-
ictcristc and she charges him with forgetting az
times the attributes which he has given 10 ms
chief characters. Other faults are pointed out
But on tho whole. this essay contains niue" vain
praise. II do think his portraituie Oh ''e
italian aristocracy" she says always Teuoien' -.
the SOIL but that Of the lower classes Is 1ai'hlu'
10 a wonderful degree. That side OF ltahah Iiie
which is given in Marzios CrucifX. for instance
Is drawn with an accuracy not TO be surpassed
The whole OF this story indeed, Is admHaoe II"
It's construction and execution. There is not page
one would wish cancelled. and nothing couio oe
added which would increase its excellence. IL ~
TO my taste the 'capo d'opera OF all wo!ch re mas
hitherto done" The wise reader who does not
know "Marzios CrucifX" VIII bear that last )uds-
ment IL mind Ouida knows whereof she speaks.
The cosmopotanism which Is so marked In MY
Crawford's work impresses Ouida deeply Ieadihs
to this admirable comment:
What to me is especially attractive IN Mr.. Craw-
ford's novels is the atmosphere OF good breeding
which breathcs in them one feels in the com com
experiences, their views, are all those OF a man OF
the world and there Is in them tolerance ana
political matters) which refreshing, and which
are feir approach to- If not an actual r d e
thusiasm for anything. no a!truism. no deep emo
mi M mVrla1s
human but as sen,ent as the human soTk as Ne
R Rs1e never " eIg novels ay profound tenderness
like that with which the Freres Rosny SPEAK OF
the dog gamboiline on the waysde turf in all the
simple 10Y Of It's youth and ITS peasPpnH IN rrim
by the rivers side is primrose. and i +
nothing more; and the thrush or the linnet which zen
difference to all created things which ere not hu,
two PG05 'sTgr who hays % nSSk e er SnapP By
cat Introduced only 10 be poisoned in 'Taquisara.
There is nothing which indicates that he cares for
nature In any of its phases and he calls the cicaa
In italy he lives only for the people around him.
Champs EIysees. That passion with which Italy
has inspired Shelley, Byron, George Sand De Mus;
of Taine. has never touched him lie has never
felt the ecstacy which is embodied In that single
would say that the moonlight shnng on the
waters of Tiber. under the bridge OF 81 Angelo: rs
elevator on the Hudson All which Is still Italy, Of
color Of perfume of light OF legend of rapture, Of
its hysterica passio; he has known Its eternal
youth. he has never seen its lost gods rise and
shine in the white cups Of the narclssus of It's fields
But Of the people who pass him IN the Sor S and
ara talk with him at The cafes. and the legGtons:
and the public gardens he Is an admiraoie student
and admirable photographer.
Hcughton, Mifflin G. Co. have reprinted John
Fiske's Critical Period Of American History" in
an illustrated edition. which apprecatve readers OF
that instructive work will rejoice in possessing Per
feet In everything that means careful bookmahing
the edition is also rendered fairly beautiful by the
abundance and high quality OF the illustrations.
These are reproduced in photogravure or half-tone
from portraits. paintings. views, maps and other
appropriate originals. and since much OF the mate
rial is taken from contemporary sources the piano.
rama resulting Is not only artistic, but wears
convincing air Of reality. Editions like this prove
that pictorial art is simply invaluable TO the his
torIan. Mr.. Fishes text is clear and vivid. but
with the pictures it reaches degree Of ilumna-
tive power which ought TO give the book higher
rank than ever.
In THE Letters of Elizabeth Barrett Browning
edited by Mr. Kenyon. and just published by the
Macmillan Company there is more than one por-
trait drawn from life OF celebrities in English and
European literature One Of the best of these Is
OF George Sand, whom Mrs. Browning met two or
three times in Paris. 1t follows thus:
She is somewhat large for her heisht-not tall
and was dressed with great nicely In a OF gray
serge gown and jacket, made after the ruling fash
linen coarette and sleeves. Her hair uncov
ered divided on the, forehead in 1 black, glossy
brows are noble, and the nose is OF a somewhat
Jewish ch9racter the chin li1fe reeedes ana ' the
sud len smile with ts white. projecting teeth. There
no an a evtT could have
been beautiful face. which good deal surprised
is probably that the cheeks considerably fuller
than they used TO be. but this OF course does hot
/ observed that her hands were small and we'll
shaped. We safe with her perhaps three-qusIters
and various directions to two or three young mn
who were there. showing her confidence In US s by
seemed TO be. in fact, the man in that COMPANY.
and the PrOOU1d VIII which ssf bS was p
euliar In her maG1ers and is ins apsG
without emphasis or variety Of meditation, Ex-
cept one brilliant smile. she was graye-indeed sne
friends are in adversely. But you could not help
seeing Doth Robert and saT ~ that ses in all she
sas n o G M
evidently had: there never could have beer color
Ssr es 8. ;s once her the TasfsS
m, his and Sx Wss NOT on hs' that
o locking as Vel as nsga 9enE re a t09
superceest,ai biues-not in fact, dressed with the
taste which he has seen in her at other
times Her usual costume Is both pretty and quiet.
and the fashionable waistcoat and jacket (which
are a spectacle in al the Ladies Companions OF
the day) make the only approach 10 masculine
wearings to be observed In her
She has great nicely aDd refinement In her per
sonal ways | think. and the cigarette is really
Feminine weapon IL properly understood. An, but
didn't see her smoke. / was unfortunate. could
once she was out. lie really very good and
kind TO let me 90 al all. after he found the sort OF
society rampant around her. lie didn't Ike II ex-
tremely but being the prince OF husbands, he was
lenient to my desires and yielded the point she
seems TO live In the abominat.on of desolation as
far as regards society-crowds Of -bred men who
adore her a genoux bas. betw!xt n pun OF smoke
and an election Of saliva. Society Of the ragged
Red diluted with the lower theatrical She herself
so different so apart. alone In her melancholy
disdain, / was deeply interested In that poor
woman: felt profound compassion for her; l
aid not mind much the Grecl. in Greek costume
who tutoyed her. and kissed her believe 50 Rob-
ert said: or the other vulgar man OF the theatre
" no went down on his knees and called her SUB
ii..,o l,aIni,iA.n said she. with her