The times., 1897-06-13

John KendricB Bangs IS driIunS IN the
direction OF becoming humorist. And
no one will cast sand-bars in his course or
throw out snaggs to capsiZe him. He is
q good fellow, as his literary personality
Is reflected in his writings: he rely makes
us roar but a smile is irresistible in the
course OF most of his published pages He
is more OF wag than wit lie has the
humorous gift OF fantastical satire Ills
newest book confirms all this, and as dust
In the wind, or to continue the plslnai
metaphor, as straw upon the Waoers'
denotes the direction OF the curfehe,
The new book is ''The Pursuit or the
Houseboat' The houseboat, as many Will
guess, is that unique craft on the hosorn
of the Styx, which was Inhabited by the
shades of all the heroes, historical and
fictitious The present story is in The ma
ture or a sequel TO THE House on the
styx'' If Mr.. Bangs were TO be requested
TO write his purpose for MI Wanamaker
interesting book magazine, he might give
one or all of several replies Perhaps he
would confess the motive sordi1 in the prem
ises. and say cash" Or he might fall
hack on the relative reason, TO amuse,
and hint cheerfully that he aimedto amuse
himself. as well as possible rea1ers. But
il might he that his sense OF humor has
bumped hard against the modern anomaly,
the detective in fiction, and he wrote this
hook as an escape valve for some satiIical
sentiments which he eevidentlyentertains IN
tie subject To be sure, he has made his
entire storyon thismotif, butit is dominant
and tie balance is artful and necessary
padding.
The facts in the case are that the Club
of A Associated Shades one day missed the
houseboat from its moorings AT the same
tune all the shades feminine had addlsappearcd.
together with the shades of Capt. Kidd, Sir
Henry Morgan, Abeuchapeta, ana otner
famous pirates. 1t did not require the Keen
scent Of the astute Mr. Sherlock Hohues 10
nut two and two together, and infer shat
the pirates had pirated away the shades
of Portia. Mrs Noah, Xanthippe, Delfah,
I.ucrezia Bnrgia, Queen Elizabeth, and the
other amiable ladies' But 1t did require all
the acuteness of the great detective TO track
the pirates and their fair prisoners. He
proceeds about this in a highly original
and characteristic manner, which is gall
and worm wood to the shades OF Hawkshaw
and lie Cog The whole phantasy is de
licious morscl of satire on the detective
In fiction in general, and on Mr. Sherlock
Holmes liz particular
The best remembered points in the story
are Sherlock Holmes ingenious theory, built
unon a cigar stub as TO the identity OF the
principal II aiefactor orandhisultimated desuna-
tiun the discussion OF the commercial aspect
of social nonizing and Madame Recamier s
plan for a Salon Company Uimited); poor
Charon's awk ward position as representa-
tive of the House Boat Club. as well as OF
the Styx Navigation Company, and the cross
examination OF his feminine prisoners
The curious idea Of placingmodern parlahce
and associating customs with the heroes Gf
all ages is a quaint conceit which Mr.. Bangs
handles excenentIy. New York: Harper's.
Washington: Woodward & Lothrop)
Between the intellectual conditions in
France and the United States there is not
merely moral and fraternal, but an actual
and deterninate affinity. The dominant
motive in social and artistic movement all
through the century has been in each case
the striving for emancipation from ae-
cepted form.
This sympathetic affinity makes the re
cent translation and publication OF Georges
PeIlissler's Literary Movement in France
During the Nineteenth Century work OF
native importance. effectively, the his
tory of French literature must necessarily y
be indigenous to France, but subjeCtIyely
or abstractly, in the mere consideration
of the evolution of ideas and movements,
there is,peculiar similarity between it and
our own. This, and the present import
ance given the great work OF an optlmist,
by the consideration of his eminent friend,
NJ Brunetcre, recommend 1t TO all STU
dents OF the fruition of the declining cen
tury
In France, NJ. Pellissier points out, the
era opened with the dominance of CLASH
cisrn. 1t had been established and given
nourshment by Boileau, Diderot, Ber-
nartlin de st. Pierre and Rousseau. Andre
Chenicr came as regenerator OF poetry
and the precursor OF romanticism. The
opened path was traversed by the romantic
leaders, Madame de Stael and Chatea l.
brand But classicism flourished col
lateraIly ia the works of Deliile, Ray
nourd, Ducts, Lebrun and Voltaire. But
romanticism completed its conquest with
the coming of Hugo, Lamartine, Vigny,
Mersset, Gautier, Sainte- Beur and Dumas
This aspect of the literary movement sue
cumbed finally to the advent of realism
paturalisun and passinism- Its disciples
were and are Coppee, Taine, Renan, Niche
let, Flaubert and Zola.
The analogy between our evolvement ant
Frances is patent. Our classic period
was grounded on the Identical condition
Impressed in the literature Of England
which was our inspiration, until the advent
of such romtantcists as Irving, Cooper
Hawthorne, and Longfellow. Their ideal
ism gave way directly TO the naturalism
and realism Of Emerson's philosophy
Howell's novels, Whitman's poetry, ano
the expression OF the modern journalism
art, drama, and pedagogy. The French
may have been more self-centered In tht
source OF their inspiration, but in our cast
as theirs TIE evolution has been Identical
NJ Pellissier defines the dividing lines
between the lines and tinguishes th'
leading-strings with accurate minnteness
1t Is indeed the admirable logic of histor,
and the philosophy of his criticism which
give to his work the unmistaable mark o
endurance AS well as distinction. But tht
discursive denotements OF the author are
given in a few welldigested words in tis
worthy introduction of Anne Garrison
Rrinton, who has translated the work il
q manner Inducing the warmest praise.
The liberty is taken to repeat in whole
or part her condensation of her author in
the expression of the philosophy of liter
ary development. Classicism is distin-
guished by its relentless suppression D
the Ego and its inherent optimism, its in
difference to the real in respect to de
tails and often limited in It's conception o
the ideal. Then we have ronlanticism
with its ascendant Ego and fncurabl,