The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-09-14

h really CITED Scotch writer-essayist,
critic, novelist, poet. We now briefly
fulfill the promise. OF living English
,critics-writing in English-he ranks
well. He is versatile, fresh, clever de-
cidedIy. We v fail to read any
thing from his facile. entertaining,
some times witty and always independ-
emit pen. He says what he thinks
however out Of the common and con-
trary to received opinion. He is
healthful, hopeful, and always bright.
He may some times shock your own
opinion, but what he says is full of
clarity and decidedness. He does not
waver or halt however much his views
may be opposed to the judgment of the
many. Much he says is caviare to the
general. He is unquestionably endow-
ed with a brilliant and versatile mind,
and we do not remember to have ever
read a dull page by him.. We think it
would be impossible for him to be dull
long at a time If ever SO for a minute.
He corruscates and Eliminates, and
adorns much that he touches We do
not pretend to be familiar with much
that he has written. Indeed, he has
written a great deal We have not SO
much as seen. We never read a fftieth
part of his journalistic work, and not all
fhis purely literary production. What we
have read was fascinating because Of
it's pith, its beauty some times, its orig
>inality often, in varying mood, its &C
uteness of intellectiOn, it's varied n
charming learning, it's airy, sparkling
touch. He may not be so strong as
Leslie Stephen or John Morley or some
one or more others, but he is equal to
almost any in acquisition, in accom-
piishments, in brilliancy, in variety,
and we think, in wisdom. He writes on
a multitude of interesting topics and
has that literary skill and effectiveness
that enables him to adapt himself to
the theme and to take on the precise
mood that fits the time. He carries a
free lance and strikes hard blows, nj
in perfect fairness. He is cavalier or
a troubadour, a philosopher or a sat1r-
list as the ~mOmentary mood suggests
= fitting the theme with the thought. He
!. has delighted tens of thousands of
readers who needed his stimulant and
were bettered by his common sense
freedom. He has been an inspiration
and help to many minds that needed
such delightful companionship, such
ready and freely bestowed learning
! given out without seeming pedantry,
and such chattiness and humorous sal
lies all so natural and gay and satisfy
ing. AS a critic some time g wrote of
him he always exhibits character. In
the New York Bookman, the same
writerfi Miss Macdonald, felicitously
and, we believe, accurately describes
our critic as follows:
stubborn, sturdy, refusing I'VE
tons as conventions, he is often at
with the general sense of the world
that as made them. Fastidious, he Is
never finnicking, and of all the critics
of the day with a fine artistic palate
he is least of a pedant about style. An
experimentalist in many forms and
measures, with a sharp ear for literary
delights or offences, the literary dandy
is yet an obnoxious person to him.
Style is a good thing, he says Learn
it il you can. Cultivate it if it be a gift
of the gods to you. But the cultivation
is q task, a thing of the workshop. Get
it, but decently, and don't parade 1t,
any more than you would the appara-
tus of the toilet"
He is toned and saturated with liter
allure. He is familiar with European
classics, ancient and modern. He has
awaited himself of the rich, imperisha-
BILE literary treasures of the past, and.
as a lover of books, knows the very
best, and some not best, Of the mod
erns. He is q man Of no pretence, no
austerity, no atte~tudinixing, no solomo-
mic deliverance. Whether wise OF witty
the sentences come in easy. rapid flow,
making sense and often making music.
He can be sarcastic or he "a be direct
in censure and speaks out with free
on occasion. He hates shams,
nonsense, p%retentious mannerism, but
is fair, just, almost always inclined to
be friendly and receptive and patient.
Miss mcdonnell in her clever and
perspicacious essay says: Mr.. Lang is
a perfect master of the name which
suits him best, and very straightfor-
ward, lucid and swift it is; and if he
has founded no school, he has had in
calculable influence i'm forming a high
er, brighter, simpler style Of literary
journalism"
Those who love the critical essay can
not fail to give preference to Lang over
all contemporaries except Gosse after
once sitting at his feast enjoying his
delectable things. You will have your
enthusiasm aroused, your appetite
whetted and your taste satisfied, for he
is SO sane, so pleasant, so resourceful
and gay. Read his unique little vol
ume-"Letters to Dead Authors" II
you are really well read in literature