New-York tribune., 1897-01-31

ther, Rut we confess that the views or Roy
revereux though interesting and pungently ex-
pressed concern us less at this point than her
way CT weaving them into readable httie cnap'
ters or essays. She has. we repeat wha' MI
Jacobs and 50 many Of his contemporaries '"cA'
the faculty for throwing color nvehness, p'qu@"
cy into short paper on some SUBJECT VI se"e.~
interest. This lady does not talk apou. ooon.'
hut that is one point in her favor. She has the
feeling for literature: were her gifts ra'seo ~
higher power she would make her book htera-
ture. As IL is. she comes nearer the eoal than
some of her most cultivated literary" rivals.
There Is for example, Mr.. T. II. Lacon wat
son. the author OF THE Unconscious Humorist
and Other Essays" He not only attempts the
essay FORM but writes an essay on II 10 intro-
duce his volume From this explanatory pro-
duction It is plain that he has glimmerins oi
what an essay should be. He refers TO Mon
taiene observing that like a good talker, ne
roams from subject to subject. led py some
chance association and by this means we get the
delicate play of his fancy on various points
Unfortunately when Mr.. Watson turns 10 1he
Unconscious Humorist." or THE Literature OF
per,,niscence or Condolences" or any other OF
HE themes he tries too hard to apply his Wis
dom. He has the knowledge but not the GIT.
He writes MS from a recipe, the creak Of his pen
grows louder and louder. until 1t becomes uh-
bearable and he Is dismissed as one OF the
duest writer's ever published He dreams OF
'the delightful nconsequence" OF the great
essayists He gets the inconsequence, but not
the delight. He forgets that one cannot learn
to write essays. One cannot make bricks WITH
ont straw. One must have the inspiration. be 1t
In ever so slight measure-as In Roy Devereuxs
case-or one must have some such fund OF ex-
and lfforar
Warner Possesses
Mr. Frank Preston Stearns has had the ex-
perence and has some literary taste, but his
mowers as a writer are limited. While there
are CLEANS Of interesting thought in his book on
"The Real and Ideal in Literature" 1t Is, on the
whole wordy and inchoate. Besides. 1t contains
many judgments more original than plausible.
Auerbachs "On the Heights" has not the fine
humor Of The Newcomes' the dramatic
power Of 'Middlemarch,' but it surpasses them
In a perfect and many-sided culture" This Is
rubbish. Then II Is confusing to find Mr.. Stearns
saying one page that work of fiction Is
easy to write because neither training nor ex-
perience is required for the purpose" and pres
emily quoting with approval the well-known
qualifications set forth by Fielding-genius.
learning, experience and on Mr.. Stearns,
briefly, is an obscure and unattractve essayist.
But he Is admirable as writer Of personal
sketches His book some Of the notabilities
Of Concord and Appledore is delightful through
out. affordng vivid glimpses OF the friends OF
thirty years ago He knew Thoreau, Whittier
and all the rest. He quotes Whittier as alluding
TO Hawthorne as "a strange puzzle" Il never
felt quite sure" said the poet, whether knew
him not. He never seemed to be doing any
thing and yet he did not like to be disturbed at
10 Loot u, orftct r1x in
ming chapter. She asked Mr. Stearns to take
the oars one day a picnic, and he writes: Il
found it terribly hard rowing. and finally
claimed, This is the darndest boat I ever pulled
Frank said Louisa, never say darn. Much
better to be profane than vulgar. l had rather
live in hell than in some places on earth. Strong
language but true" Now why should Mr.
Steains write foggy aesthetics. which lead no.
where. when he can paint the most attractive
pictures Of his friends and make us see the
fascinating Concord that he knew7
In work like this there are often such
tic1g opportunities Mr.. Stearns proves 1t him.
self, and then Mr. Brkbeck Hill proves It all
over again in his Talks About Autographs"
The distinguished editor of Boswell is a pol
ished scholar, and might, If he chose, write a
solemn volume. But he Is the most companiona-
bic OF gossps in THIS handsome book His
chapters not precisely essays, yet they are
not unworthy ot the title. for, while keeping un-
diminished the air Of an autograph collectors
cabinet, he nevertheless makes al. sorta Of lit
tie excursions among the men and books of the
past. He had every excuse for being bookish.
but he is not so In any artificial sense. On the
contrary, the humor which fills his pages is of
the most unaffected sort. His stories too, are
as good they numerous He tells one Of
Tn Ottinc xrhi oh 10 ttotfc ,-i,
fessor John Nichol told me-" he says. that
his father first met De Quincy at a dinner
party in Edinburgh. The little came very
late, dressed in a rusty suit of black In the
drawng-room after dinner. he and DR.. Nichol
stood together In corner engaged in talk when
in a SLOW measured tone. De Quincy said to his
new acquaintance. DR.. Nichol, can you lend me
twopence? He borrowed money my friend
added, to lay out on OPIUM and always asked
for very small sums. knowing that they would
not be refused" There are fac-similes in Mr.
Hill's book OF the treasures In his collection AMI
there are other illustrations. 1t Is one Of the
most readable mlscellanies Of the kind printed
In many years and we'll deserves the handsome
form given to 1t after It's appearance in the
pages Of "The Atlantic Monthly"
We have observed above, in connection with
Mr. Watson's book. that one cannot learn to
write essays. One cannot learn" to write any
form Of literature. but the Talks On Writing
English" of which Mr.. Arlo Bates has made a
volume will at least be Of service to many q
tyro in teaching him how to handle the Ian
guage in rudmentary way. He Is neither
pedantic nor whimsical He gives lucidity and in
a diverting manner the experience of a writer Of
experience and good judgment. Mr.. Bates takes
a straightforward view OF his subject and Of
his mission. The latter is not to grow dithyram
bic over style" but to point out the advantages
of good construction. to set forth the special
character of argument a narrative in
literature. and to make the reader more familiar
with the tools that lie ready to his hand on the
threshold of authorship. 1t is thicker book
than 1t ought to be. Mr. Bates might have