New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-01-20
LITERARY NOTES.

II takes an Englishman to tell us what we really
ana trulv are in matters literary. Here is the wise
M r n g. Escott writing In "Cosmopolis ABOUT
"Nev World MUSES. and Old World Heiicons
annears from his remarks that without the ne"eo"'
aforesaid we never could have produced any h'ei"
ture at all; and. as II Is there Is notnihs III ."o
literature we have produced that is worth nouc'hs
event for its Implication Of Old World source
There is nothing American Of any consequence ne
tells U.S. in Hawthorne or Longfellow. INC "u."o'
OF The Biglow Ballads (sic) introduced 10 the Hs
lish public by the late Thomas Hughes was
,nrenresentative of his native land as man cou'o
we'll be. .,. a.,
Finally Poe Is disposed Of In passage wh'cn Is
extremely rich. IT seems that wneh roc ""o al
irving at intellectual maturity no European 'ou"'o
possessed in the great centres OF American cu,'u.
ANYTHING like the vogue of'-Beckford's "NatheK'
Nor "there is no reason to doubt that Poe "abso-
,ut.,v surrendered himself to the barbarc charm OF
Bcckfords little book or that from that tme ior
ward Poe's ideas OF beauty were don'nanH! coioie"
by the arabesquely gorgeous conceptions Oh inc
Lord Of Fonthill" This IL "arabesqueiy gorgeous
enough but Mr.. T. H. S. Escott has still one more
c,,ncher I'M his sleeve. THE mere fact that foe IN
his miscellaneous writings. never hints AT any IN
debtedness to Rockford. nor even mentions MS
name is in itself strong presumptive evidence OF
this: that is Of the ideas Of beauty dom'nant'y
.o,ored " etc etc Where in the name Of all that
is arabesuuely idiotic, has Mr.. T. II. s. Escott
lived?
Mr. II. D. Trail is remarkable among the minor
men OF letters in England for sanity which Keeps
hin, Invariably on the side of those fads which
90 often take possession Of the Journalists ana So
called critics Of the day. In a recent paper on Inc
New Realism he has number OF pointed ana use
full things to say about the kind OF trash win "hch
Mr. Stephen Crane Mr.. Arthur Morrison Mr.. Ed
win Pugh and many others have sought to achieve
notoriety but the substance Of his estimate is sum
GENTLY expressed in the following passage on 'he
kind OF work they do: us 1t art? II so, Is the
making Of mud pies artistic occupation. and are
the neglected brats who TO be found rolling IN
the cutters every city unconscious artists?
This cuts bone and to our mind there is only
one intelligen: answer 10 be offered
Wa recommend to the next decadent young gentle
man who Is seeking for laurels IN new heid-the
honors OF familiar regions being OF course. beneath
his notice-a decidedly profitable enterprise Let
him write a cook book. The time Is ripe. lie mas
tasted Of all that the world has 20 offer sood and ILL.,
Surely he can tell in what style TO treat
.angel" for example or ptarmigans Ana
he is certainly needed. He is needed because there
Is n movement going among the cooks OF earth
to tell all about It, and they. poor things more
accustomed 20 the skewer than the pen. are lament
ably uninteresting. One Of the guild has published
a quarto Of 900 pages. a book arranged TO meet the
wants of a-the caterer TO large dinners or recep-
TONS as we'll the more modest entertainment
furnished at the hearthside" We find him learned.
minute a very grammarian when 1t comes 10
"chaudfroid Of snipes" or "egg aurora But, as
literature. he pals. Yet he and his likes pause not
Never was there such storm of cookery bookery
as has at this moment swept across the reviewers
table. Every man with the right to call himself
"cher' has rushed into print. The passion of let
tiers has descended TO the kitchen. and our literary
warning chests eroan with the results The deca-
dent young gentleman has here his opportunity. Let
him take his library. this mass Of culinary wis
dom, and boil 1t down into the wit Of one precious
volume. What is wanted is another Brilat Savarin.
ono Of tho modern sort. who put color into
his work. and art and feeling" We want some
ono like Mr.. Richard lie Gallenne.
Mr. Edwin Reed has published edition Of
Els Bacon Shakspere: Brief for Plaintiff. 1t
u printed In a pretty octave by the Joseph knight
Company of Boston. What is interesting to point
out In connection with this event is that the edi-
ton Is the seventh. To any one with sense Of
humor that fact has an eloQuence all its own.
The Macmillan Company Is 10 bring pres
entity the first of six little volumes in the series OF
Tho Temple Classics" which will be devoted 10 n
now edition OF Montagne in Florios famous old
translation. This is than ordinarily good
news. Montaigne. in his own rich utterance, Is
ono of the unqualified delights Of French literature
II that utterance is a little difficult for the reader
he has In Florios equivalent quite the best that
has ever been produced. There have been other
TRANSACTIONS some Of them excellent. but Florio's
Is Montaigne himself. as nearly as English Will
permit him be. Hitherto the version has been
accessible only IN forms that either from being
too costly TOO cheap. could not be OF much SER
vice TO the fastdious reader not too well off in this
worlds goods. The Temple edition will prove eX-
actIy the one needed In all that good editing
means. and perfect press work. the handy volumes
Of this series perfect.
Let newspaper editors have care. They have
nj or their shoulders in
gard to one +. Il. Devotion, a poet Some one
went for" production Of his the other day,
whereupon he retorts: LAS a descriptive poem
fearlessly challenge comparison OF 1t with any
ever written kindred theme and it was copied
from my Songs. Grave and Gay, by one London
paper after another. with very laudatory COM
,ncnts in every case" The fruit of those auda-
tory comments is Immediately set forth as follows:
IT also do not think the Lyric u. 1901 VIII be
easily surpassed for grace and tenderness After
this let tho editor be content TO use his shears
and paste-pot. Laudatory comments are obviously
dangerous.
II the new Academy" did nothing else for its
subscribers-and frankly admit that 1t has i'm
nroved upon the old journal in many ways-it
might be praised for the series or portraits whicn
II Is publishing With every number OF the perooi-
cal there Is printed a Photographic reproduction
from some important work In the Nationai for-
trait Gallery Old and modern men have been ceie-
hr.tad In the current number Gordon's picture
of De Quincy. seated with book In hand. Is re-
nroduced. A little while ago IT was Samuel Rich-
ardson who was chosen and since each plate Is
ACCOMPANIED by interesting text. the feature
g. source Of real edihcation and pleasure. Illus
trated Journalism has Its uncompromising critics
but surely there is something valuable IN that
phase Of It which gives us In the literary ana
artistic periodicals portraits Of distinguished men
of letters artists Never In the history OF DOCKS
has there been so wide diffusion as ut the pres
.rt time Of portraits calculated 10 enrich the book
lovers albums and give him a more intimate ac-
ouaintance with the personalities Of the authors ne