New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-09-18
uLUgTRATED SUPPLEMENT

worthless books get themselves written. 10 be
sure the last and most searching illumination Is
vet to come The question remains, on the
whole obscure. But here is THE London spec
tator" assuring lis. OH the authority OF science
that the reasoning faculty OF winch so many
writer's appear to be innocent, Is really one OF
their first possessions. 1T is quite mistake TO
supposc that the reasoning faculty Is rare: II Is
the CommOncSt faculty in the world, ana IL Is
exercised in Il most clear and direct way ny
millions upon millions Of human beings. why
then are such millions upon millions OF DOCKS
produced. especially novels. which show not Il
ray of reason? If we apply 'lhc Spectators
argument il is because the novelist gets III Inch
into his head at the start-an idea. say that ne
can write novels. and from that time on III is
lost He never knows it. happy man. on the
contrary he is always convinced Of his mission,
and like the notorious "ParallaX' to whom our
English observer refers, has even n way with
him in argument that Is not unlike the way oil
q really reasonable being. Thus do we account
for many bad books: they are the result Of a
collision between the reasoning faculty ana a
fixed idea" But as We have said before, this
is not all the light we want. Why should the
fixed idea SO often be The idea Of writing books
Youth: 4 Narrative" ny Mr. Joseph Conrad,
in the September number Of "Bickwoods
Magazine" may DE commended to those Who
care for good stories Of the sea. II proves. rs
. "Thc Children of the Sea" proved. that one of
the rnost difficult and fascinating of themes has
found one more brilliant master. But il Is even
more suggestive 10 the student Of literature
pure ana simple, for il rcyveS the question OF
romance ana realism and demonstrates once
moro how tho two can be- fused There is no
obvious romance in this story. The experience
described IS not commonplace, but neither is II
fantastic; ii is the contrary, just such IN
experience as has fallen to the lot Of many a
seaman. The supposiitiOus narrator. though
hc WAS aware OF what was dramatic ana eN-
ccptiona in his adventure. was also constantly
awake to its hard reality. The illusion 81
youth was upon him yet his eyes were wide
open. and he conveys rs he talks exactly The
mixed impression that is most enchanting the
IMPRESSION Of actual life ana radiant romance.
1t is an impression with nothing complicated
about It. bat it is beyond definition. All that
one may safely say about il is that IN literature
II seems TO be- the fruit Of a simultaneous opcr-
alton Of the Imagination and the ordinary
senses one sees. AMI the vision is accurate rs
10 extcrnals and To all that the cxtcrnals imply
one grasps the facts. and at the same time
most spiritual relations of human life. Such IN
experience is. we say roughly possible TO imagi
native souls alone. In literature. where it is
TO be made artiCulatc. ii requires not only
Imagination. but genius From Mr.. Conrads |
success in transferring to paper his rare per
ccD,ons of liz. we Judge that he has vein of
genius Certainly no one living can beat him
in interpreting in perfect harmony the ro-
nance and the realism, the beauty and the ter
ror the poetry and the prose of the sea.
II would be cdifying to trace the evolution
of n certain parasical form of literature which
at present enjoys tremendous vogue. We re-
fer to the "lntroduction" to which We are
treated in every new edition Of Il classic. and in
many Il reprint Of quite nnimportan' modern
work. IT is carefully to be distinguished from
preface The latter is Il legitimate production
when il is written solely for the purpose OF
expressing gratitude 10 helpful friends or for
the noting Of photographed points But the
DrrniciolIS fashion Of reviewing his own book
in the preface with a view TO setting the critic
on the right track, has caused the author To
prefix more and more superluous pages to his
book, and. as lie has found himself with plenty
OF rooIn he has taken TO saying all sorts OF
things The introduction" has long been in
!he midst OF us, full hcdgcd and awful. 1t is
everywhere. No dead writer whose works are
reprinted can escape ii. We have the masters
'ntrOduccd' by the writer's OF the day, some OF
them worthy and interesting more Of them
merely impcriinent in their attentions and
nina-tenths Of the lot utterly superluous. Why
should il be- possible for any dabster in criticism