The times., 1897-09-12

rate editions OF The Seasons While his
Orks, or portions OF them, have been trans
lated into German, Italian, modern Greek
and Russian Only two years ago NJ Leon
Moyel, in his u. Thomson, sa vie ct ses
| oeuyres,' published an elaborate and ad
mtrahle monograph on this forgotten poet
And now Mr.. Toyey, who has just been ap-
pointed Clarke lecturer at Cambridge, ha s
given new biography of him and new
edition Of his works, making, If / am not
mistaken, the 5hfrty-second memoir of him
and the twen5y-first edition of his works
which have appeared since the beginning
of the century This is pretty We'll for a
forgotten poetp'
The name OF Maurice Maeterlinck' S new
play is 'Aglav&ine aud Selysette" Tho
! story runs that Meleauder and SeIysette
have been married four years. We find
them, when the play opens, living in a
castle OF the strange Maeterlinck country,
when and how we know not They are
happy, but it is not quite the highest hap
piness. Then comes Aglavaine, whom
MeleanGer has known OF old. She Is more
beautiful than seIysetIe, aud MeIeander
forgets Selysette In her pres ence. Neither
wishes to wound little selysette, but
what viii you when destiny DEGREES?
Algayaine, pitying selysette. determines
TO go away, but selysette, lifted by grief
to heights she knew not OF before is before
hand with her, and dies by her own hand,
affirming 20 the end that she did not
intend it, SO that the love OF Meleander
and Aglayaine may blossom unchecked
On the surface, that Is the story. But
underneath there are lessons for all who
can read, and the drama s unfOided with
infinite beauty OF thought Of word, and
OF deed, and mastery OF dramatic technic.
The Academy, inspired ny this play, says
The book is q treasury Of beautiful
things. No one now writing loves beauty
as NJ MaeterlinCk does. Sheer, es seutiaI
beauty has no such lover He viii have
nothing else. Gentieness, sweet reason
ableness, patience, resignation under grief,
self-sacrifice: the old beatitudes OF the
es esangciists are his, too Into the world
which he has created no harshness may
enter. no acerbity, no conscious pettiness.
nothing, indeed, but beautiful thoughts.
beautiful words, beautiful actions, and
beautiful mistakes for which he nas end
less pity and charity"
Admpers of Robert Louis Stevenson,
readers OF his story Kidnapped and ioy-
crs OF franSnsss in general, will be pleasantly
interested in letter which he wrote the
Athenaeum, London literary periodical,
III reply to some criticisms made upon his
story. II reads. Il wish to thank you
for yoar notice OF Kidnapped, and that.
not because it was kind, though for that
also ! valued 1t, butin the same sense as
have thanked you before now for nun
dred articles on q hundred different writ
ers you who fight the good fight, con
tend'ng with stupidity and l would fain
hoLe not all in vain; in my own C case, for
instance, surely notin vain. Wh rat you say
Of the two parts in Kidnapped was felt
by no one more painfully than by myself
began it partly as lar partly as a pot
boiler, and suddenly it moved. David and
Alan stepped out from the canvas. a nd I
found l was in another world But there
was the cursed beginning, and cursed end
must be appended, and an old friend.
Byles, the Butcher, was plainly audible.
tarping at the back door So it had to
go into tie world, one part fatft does seem
70 mel alive, one part merely galvanized.
Io wSrk, only an essay. For a man OF
tentative methnd and weak health nd "a
scarcity OF private means, and not TO-,
iAuOi ~ IAdt II uEdiilg WHICH IS the artist
proper virtue, the days of sinecures and
patrons l"Ok very golden. the DAYS OF pro-
fessionai literature very hard. Yet I do
not 50 far deceive myself as to think I
snould change any character by cha nging
my epoch; the sun. Of virtue in our books
IS in relation of equality ID the sum OF
virtues in ourselves; and my Kidnapped
was doomed while still in the womb. and
while I was yet In the cradle, TO be the
thing / t is