The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-11-05
French Critic on Americans

N. Ferdinand Brunetiere, editor Of the
Revue des Deux Mondes and our latest
Continental visitor of note. enjoys the rep
utation of being keen critic. The first
OF his Impressions of America" publish
ed in the current issue of McCiure's Maya
zine, would seem 10 confirm this title,
which was secured in literary rather than
social observation. u. Paul Bourget, the
French naturaiistic novelist. who preceded
N. Brunet.ere to this country. came with
decidedly preconceived notions. He ex-
pected to find boom and '.puff"-to use
his own words-and, of course, he found
Americans to be a specialized type OF
those two not altogether fautering quail
ties But ". Rrunetiere approached MS
hasty consideration of superficial Ameri-
can traits and appearances with the gu.d-
ing convection that the habits Of Euro
pean civilization are daily becoming the
foundation OF American, and. reciprocal
~, If Ameriea makes an Improvement in
these habits, we hasten 10 adopt it in
Europe
The "youthfulness" of Americans IS the
quality that made the deepest impression
on this observer. He tells his French
compatriots that 1.-The Americans are
younger and also less complicated than
we are. and by that I mean that they
show more naiveiy more frankly. more
coura geousIy than we do. Here one Is
what he is. and as ne is so by decis-
ion or by choice, he shows it," He notes
the confidence which an American feels
of being himself wherever he goes. The
personality Of a true American as interior.
He is at home everywhere because he Is
everywhere himself. The displacement, the
removal, which helps us 10 escape our
selves, gives him the sensa ton OF his !den-
tity. A gain a proof of youth and force"
And his final verdict is that there beng
mere youth in America. the civilization,
the country. the very climate being more
newer, one breathes more deeply, one
moves more freely, one lives more indie
pendently than elsewhr. 1t is a privilege
of age; the future viii tell whether IT can
be transformed into a social character.
and what American experience is worth
as gain or loss 10 ancient humanity"
His first specific observations naturally
concerned the university life OF the New
World. with which, as lecturer and guest.
he was brought intimately in contact. He
pays high tribute, indeed, to the Amer
lean universities and colleges, and believes
thta they are today making for America
a coming intellectual aristoeracy. AS he
puts ii: Permit me, in order TO express
myself clearly, to use a barbar-sm, and
to say that, by means OF these great uni
versities, much of America is in the way
of arictocrazing itself While in France
what with our modern education the
specialization of our Sciences the spirit
of regionalism' with which we are trying
to inoculate our universities-we are d.
gninshing the part of general instruction,
in America on the contrary thew are seek
ing to extend, to increase, and to consol-
idate 1t. The universitarian ten
denotes in America are on the way 10
constitute an aristocracy of intelligence in
thai great democracy; and. which is al
most ironical, of that form OF intelligence
which we are so wrong-headed and stupid
as to dread as the most hostile to the
progress of democracy"