New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-03-21
SOME FAMOUS MEN.
OF THACKERAY. Ar
MOLD, RUsKIN AND TENNYsON
PROFESSOR MAX MULLER REcorNTs ANECDOTES
OF HIS FRIENDS
From CosmOpOlls.

From Cosmopolls
one OF my earliest dinners remember at oxford
was to meet Thackeray. Thackoray was then
writing "Esmond," and Mr.. Stoddard-a iehow
of St Johns Collogc-asked me TO meet MN a.
dinner We were only four and we were all very
much awed by Thackerays presence p2rt tI ~
I not being able as yet express myself reely III
English We sat silent for some time no one ven
tured to make the first remark the soup was ovJ,
and there was "A fine John DOre on the taDle wall
ing TO he splayed We were hoping for some Dr.,
liant sally from Thackeray but nohng came :,cc
taclcd eyes on me and said Are you going 10 cay
your own ancestor" l stared, everybody else
stared At last gave 1t up. ana lhackeray,
IooLinp very grave and learned said: surely you
are the SON of Dorian Muler-thc Miller who wrote
that awfuy learned book on the DoranS; ana WE
nor lain bore the ancestor Of all the Dorians.
There wv vas general "Oh OH but the ice was
ofpnd TO say anything. An could tell Thackeray
that was not the son or Ouried H atu,d,, he
poet who wrote Die Homcrische Vorschule' ana
as TO John Dore being ancestor how eoua ,na'
be? The original John DoTe 80 ha AID IeI had no.
wfe-or at least he never acknowledged her u, nc
lie Though all this did not promise wr success
rest OF our little dinner party was more S"'
full 1t became noisy ana even Dilllftht. and sar
Thackeray from his treasures OF WIZ a,e he
casm poured out anecdote after anecdote' h,',
used penty of vinegar and cayenne pepper Du,,
there was always favor OF kn6linesg Tks
I saw more of him when he came 10 Oxlolu " "
lecture the -Four Georges ana wnem i ~ md
for Parliament and was defeated by oaru"vi ho o''
charles Neate After one of his lectures, Wneh 1
expressed nay delight with his brilliant succh ,nn
,o, yin lecture AZ oxford At that time my Eng
lish was still very fragmentary ana there Wa ,p
idea Of my staying In England sun Jess VI "'S ''N
becoming professor at oxford. -, .,,
| watched Clough before the world knew niili
his KIN esyv fc nnG bavng had the honor Of
ming Swinburne / was not surprised at ms mar
vclI0us performances in later years. lie Was en-
then a true artist. n commander OF leslohs o.
words who might become an inperdto,h az rac Tor
Thoroughly genuine but oppressed WIN tht
problems Of life that II was dlnlcui.t enrt 1ddy
a smile of him. and, if one did MS round. rno9o
face with the deep heavy eyes. seemed really 70
suffer from the contortons OF laughter, re .o1n
his convictions than the word ever suspected. He
poor but from conscientious SGrupes e "a, ~
up his fellowship. and was driven at last 10 go 10
America TO make himself Independent Without KY
ing up the independence Of his MIND Win meI,s
have grown to very considerable height. put
there was always heavy weight on him INA,
seemed to render every utterance and every poem
a struggle
A VIVID SKETCH OF ARNOLD.
Another poet whom knew at oxford as an I'M
dersraduate snd whom wa5ensd %no M was
beautiful as young man strong ana NAM, sn'
full Of dreams ana schemes His Olympi1n man ~
nors began even AT oxford. there was no hain II,
them-they were natural. not Put on Inc very
sound OF mis- voice and the wave OF ms arm were
Jovelike He erappled with the same problems as
CIoueh but they never got the better of him or
rather he never got the worSe Of taem ND SG Sbnd
and were sinking under their self-mposed burdens
Even though his later life was enough 70 ulSil'"
en- poet, he laughed az his being Pegasus i'm
Joche. Sometimes at public dinners. when ne saw "
them judges. bishops and ministers. he would groan
over the drudgery he had TO go through every Gay
schoolgirls But he saw the fun of It. and laughed
What pity II was that his friends. ana ne naI
many. could find no better place for him MOST OF
his contemporaries rose to high positions in Churcn
and State: he remained to the end an examiner OF
dat. ike so many Of his literary friends, he might
have written novels. ard thus eked out living 10y
potboilers OF various kinds. But there was some
thing noble ana refined in him winch restrained Ms
pen from such work, Whatever he gave to the
make M and he aid not think that he possessed
talent for novels. His saying NO Arnold can ever
splenddly falslhed OF late by his own niece. He
had to 20 to America on lee ring tour 70 carr
as ora eG ood nreSsdents but evidently his
nor was Arnold himself very strong as lecturer
Ergnd R9s fo biz Hoy wha T be has left has
ish that will long keep It safe from the corrosive
When later in life. Arnold took to theological
studies he showed, no doubt, very clear insight
had ONLY few spare hours for work that in order
to be properly done would have required lferm,
Yet what he wrote produced an effect, in Engiand
least lasting than many Learned O v2i,
time, and he was allowed 70 say things maj w9Iil
have given deep offence II coming from other lips
Arnold a delightful man to argue WITH not
that he could easily be convinced mat ne Wa
wrong. but he never lost his temper ana IN me me
most patronizng way he would generally end by
Eyes, yes! my good fellow. You are quite right put
you SEQ my view OF the matter is inherent, ana
have little doubt II is the true one This went 50
far that even the simplest facts faled 10 produce
any impression on him.
POETRY NOT AN ART BUT GENIUS"
We had long-standng feud about poetry. To
me the difference between poetry and prose was
one Of form only | always held that the same
things that are said in prose could be said in
poetry and vice versa and often quoted Goethe ;
saving that the best test of poetry was whether
it would bear translation into prose or into for
eli
Arnold demurred. Poetry to him was thing by
Itself not an art like other arts" but. as he
He once had a great triumph over me- An Amer.
lean gentleman. who brought out collection OF
the Portraits OF the Hundred Greatest Men, d.
was assigned to poetry, the second art. the third
to religion. the fourth to philosophy. the NTH to
history the sixth to science the seventh to politics
the Introduction TO the first volume, II. Tame to
the second myself and Roman TO the third. Noah
Helmholtz to the sixth, Froude TO the seventh,
John Fiske to the eighth.
DO not know whether Arnold had anything to
do with suggesting this division OF Omne Scbilc
into eight classes. anyhow. he did not allow the
opportunity to pass to assert the superiority Of
poetry over every other branch OF mans intellect
ual activity The men," he began. who the
fore us the highest manifestations, whether on
this line or that OF the force which stirs in every
osophers. historians scholars. orators warriors
statesmen. yoyagers, leaders in mechanical inyen-
kind And the poets are to pass first. Why? Be
cause Of the various modes OF manifestation
through which the human spirit pours its force
theirs is the most adequate and happy"
There certainly was great charm I'm Arnold.
even though he could be very patronlzing. But
there was in all he said a kind of understood
though seldom expressed sadness. If to say: 1t
will be all over: don't let get angry We are
all very good fellows" etc He knew for years that
though he strong and looked very young for his
age. the thread OF his life might snap ut any mo-
ment. And 50 it did-feliX oppOrtunitate norris
Not long before his death he met Browning on the
steps of the Athen@um. He felt i'll. and in taking
leave of Browning he limited that they might never
meet again. Browning was profuse In his pro-
testations and Arnold. turning away. said in his
airy way, Now. one promise. Browning please,
not more than ten lines" Browning understood.
and went away with a solemn smile :.
THE TOLERANT AND AGREEABLE RUSKIN
Ruskn often came to spend a few days with his
old friends and uncompromisng and severe rs he
could be whom he welded his pen. he WAS always
most charming in conversation. He never, when h..
with his lrlcnds claimed The righi OF snna king