New-York tribune., 1897-11-04
LITERARY NOTES.

It Is pleasant to hnd in "Scribners Magazine
this month an appreciative little essay on Sainte-
Beuve by Mr.. George Mclean Harper Matthew
Arnold is the literary critic Of the century most
useful to Englishmen and Americans. simply be-
cause he addresses his invaluable reflections 10
them in their own tongue but to any one for
whom the gates Of Sainte-Beuves admrabe stvie
have been unlocked the Frenchman is equally
stimulating. Mr.. Harper approaches him. too IN
exactly the spirit which is calculated TO win the
reader. He has nothing to do with the old con-
cepton of Sainte-Beuve which has grown UP among
those who know him not the conception OF the
critic as a kind OF pedagogic hieropnant. Even IN
France this view Is familiar The young decacen'
ands Sainte- Beuve OF date Mr.. Harper sums
up his analysis with excellent effect in the follow
ing passage
After all. and 1t is not a reproach we must con
.lude that sante Beuve was journalist ana ~ 'hht; hi
,lose with the public IT was also limioed oi
nsTss Struck h aher than
He his great and unique celebrity py napppiiy
and the man Of the world other men in his sit
uaton commonly suffer an abasement OF h 'n1,e ,he
more solid elements Of the mind strengthened with
and nd Mo1S Is + Front s the Of var Of
position he gained adyantass for TO longer or his
ns Ss mors sssenl MS m
and in such easy attitude that IT. wouio 80 be be
simply talksn the first person singular snsaks as
seated around table full OF pookS Nth s pyd
ness and endless variety 1t is lively Instructive
polite on the many MAJ ba iors M French Fi me- it,
erature To study this. TO purify propagate anu
defend this, is his great concern.
WHY Is II that publishers and editors have
adopted with such unquenchable enthusiasm the
"series" whether Of articles or OF books? Iheir
fondness for this sort of thing has more than once
provoked comment. but at the present moment II
seems as II the limit had been reached once tho
only serial in a magazine was a novel by some
well-known author. Now no magazine Is compete
without one piece Of serial fiction; there arc oi'eh
two or three such stories running through maga-
zine and as for the special groups of articles on
this subject or that. they simply endless some
NJ them are good and some of the historical series
are cpod but rule the subject In mana gets
quite uninteresting after the second or third IN
stament II Is the same with books That WORK
is lucky nowadays which does not come out in
set with half a dozen others. We wonder who
Is responsible for this. When man brings his
tory OF Rameses the Great to a publisher. does
the latter refuse undertake II until the luckess
author has agreed to edit series of Egyptian
Kings" with his own work at the head'
Mr. Carl schurz contributes to the current number
Of "Harper'. Magazine impressive paper on
Daniel Webster He has himself no doubts as TO his
heros greatness. Bringing his brief but stirring
essay end he says
Over websters grave there, was much heated dis
pute the place he would occupy in the history
Of his sTn Try NE M eXSed cd bm s Mnn more eu after his
death the demigod whose greatness put all MS
excused all human fraite Others still feeling the
smart OF the disappointment which that fatal March
r9ts and great opportunties by vulgar
appetites and selfish ambition, The PFesen; gener,
those days. viii be more Impartial in Its judgment.
Looking back upon the time in which he, ne 1Ta
grandeur among his GontempooTariesnh in his hii
indeed originator
ures but a marvellous expounder of princples laws
sen ssd fSes he TOUCHED waH With the sh Of in
telligence and vast knowledge; who, by oveTpo"er-
able bonds OF constitutions. doctrine: who awakened
new fe and anmasd & ~ VIII m gop and 'e e
the world invaluable lessons of stassmanshp. righ,
ps prodsiousiy forcefui ceanes and who might stand
as its greatest man in the political history Of Amer
master mind.
1t was Victor Hugo. believe. who spoke With
admiration Of the art of adding new shudder to
life. Were he alive to-day he would take of his hat
to Mr.. H. G. Wells. That clever novelist in "The
Invisible Man" edward Arnold has composed one
OF the most grewsome fantasas in recent fiction.
We call It fantasia because the story reads like
improvisation Of ghastly thoughts a central idea
Of peculiar grotesQueness but II would be unjust 10
the author TO Imply that there anything unroa-
sonabe fooshy eccentric in his work. Stark
raving mad the narrative is. 4; ye; holds the at
tention with the grip OF logical demonstration.
You know the Invisible Man TO be impossibty.
but you cannot help believing in him Just the same.
The wilder the horrors grow the more natural they
From crisis crisis the incredible Mr..
Griffin passes. and with each crisis he becomes less
incredible and yet horrible. The effect OF grIs-
iness is rendered the vivid by the descent OF
the Invisible Man upon a peaceful Sussex village.
His adventures there too fascinating to be
spoiled by summary. The grimness OF Mr.. Weiss
story called for the play OF humor TO soften
Its terrors. and our authors humOr Is itself grim
and hard theless. such as 1t is Il helps, and
the book whole is s,rkingly wei. done