New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-09-11

| him in the second chapter OF this book gathered
| in a tavern Of the South with his Proyencai
| friends. with Aubanci. Roumanilie, Mistral ana
the others. singing with them the passionais
! songs Of his well-hcloved country and we know
the enthusiastic figure FOR Aphonse Daudct a,
/ once The truth is. we suspect, that Leon Dan.
Diet cannot help defending his father against the
! old charge Of being A hayward child OF manv
: talents II not a yagabond Of genius, and IN hi,
/ loyalty he goes too far substituting for the art
less racy novelist admire. a cool cautions
scholarly and even pedantic individual who 4.
rot half impressive We reminded nv
this book Of the error into which many lover,
4 OF the French language are prone to fall Thew
know the value OF the "nuance' in French.
they know how delicate a language It is and
they imagine that mere matter OF course.
anything written in French is bound to be subtle
/ eloquent full OF shades and half shades Az
matter OF fact there is no language more fro.
quently misused. Even by Frenchmen is French
made vehicle of confusion rather than NJ
light as witness this book OF NJ Leon Daudets
He uses words like sublime" GRANDEUR
"adoraton." "profundity." superb" with
bland facility which would be impossible to an
! Englishman or IN American. and he leaves Al
the end an impression Of complete confidence
] III HIS ldlH't . biN"'"'''' '"Nh hOuiu De 0rUl
il il were not pathetic.
We who have not the exaggeratng impulse M
the Midi in our veins may be forgiven il W..
remember Alphonse Daudet a charming write,
rather than as a great creative artist He was
indeed, 4 brilliant journalist ot the unattached
variety, a man whose pen touched lightly upon
a hundred themes and communicated 10 them
always a certain sparkling significance. With
ali or freedpu Is
Is important that he should choose MS own sub
iect and treat il in his own way. Mphonse Dau-
Diet. writing his discursive papers Partisan
life putting his observations 81 that life into
the form OF a novel. or stringng together the
fantastic episodes Of his famous Tartarn books
was just such a journalist: raised perhaps. to a
s,irhuv higher power. but never lifted up to the
coupany of the great noyelists. Leon Dauiet
cannot make his father OF the latter by
mentioning the serious books he loved and quot.
ing his confessions II should be remembered
that in these things it is possible to deceive
ones self II vas perfectly possible for Daudet
70 hunger and thirst for architectural symmetry
IN his work 70 aim at truth through rigdly
! logical channels bu. this did not prevent his
achieving by sheer instinct such truth as you
find in him. It did not prevent his presenting it
with mora OF the artlessness Of the Photographer
| than Of the wise forcthought OF the disciplined
genius Daudet disciplined himself constantly
but. as we have limited above. h. vas sent
| mantalist besides being a SoGtherner, and dis
cipline with him more often consisted In sweet
dreams than in persistent practice Though he
yas a. We have said. careful In his charities
he was impulsiye in everything, and we thank
his son only for the pleasant notes on his sunny,
generous ways. not at all for the long analysis
| OF his intellectual and emotional gifts The lat
| Ter is always cncroaching upon the former. ana
sometimes pushes them quite out OF sight I'M
author begins we'll describes the personality OF
Daudet In his last days. and passes from thn
70 consideration Of the noyclists attitude
toward life and literature. Bur in the account
| OF this attitude the anecdotes Of fact soon give
way 10 reproductions OF metaphysical converse
lions between father and son and throughout
the bulk Of this chapter. through the succeeding
pages devoted u Daudet as lie warchani ds
bonhcur"-the man ambitious to spread happi-
mess about hiin-throuSh the discussion OF
"Nord ct Midi" in which il comes out that Dau-
Diet considered the secret Of French life 10 De tho
conflict between Northern and Southern tenn
pcramonts through all these long stretches We
get more talk than portrature. The author re-
sumcs the portrait painters task 10 a certain
extent in the pcnultimatc chapter, which de-
scribes Daudrt at home. ut table, VA King and
working. but then comes 4 long dialogue be-
tween the t,yo. Oh the Imagination. and one re-
llnauishes the book feeling dis appointed In all
certainty +; Is not biography. but an impress
sion. and a very metaphy seal wordy impression
AT that.
y