The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-11-27
THE LITERARY OUTLOOK.
sTEVENsoN'S GIFTS AS A LETTER.
WRITER AND DEFICIENCIES
AS A PENMAN.


The TissOt Collection and the PIac-
ing of the American Edition of
TIssOfs life of Christ"-Lew
WaIIace's First Success as n Now
eIist-The Making of Holiday
BoOks-VariOus Items of Literary
Interest.
New York, Nov. ga book that is sure
of a warm welcome when il appears is the
new collection of Robert Louis Stevenson's
letters. Stevenson's passion for getting
things said well was just as present with
him in his private correspondence as in his
writing for publication; and then his life
was so much fuller of incident and adj
venture than the lives of most authors
that he always had something TO write
about even in his letters. Thus such
of them as have appeared have had as
much quality and interest as his stories.
No doubt in reading the printed YER
sion of letters of Stevenson the wish
has sometimes come 10 readers that
they might have had the privilege of
reading the letters in the original man
uscrlpt. / can assure any TO whom this
wish may have occurred that their en-
joyment is greater as 1t Is. If one has
a natural relish for puzzles, he might
spend an hour or two over a Stevenson
manuscript with pleasure. But IL ones
relation to the original manuscript were
10 be only the ordinary one of a desire
to know what the writer had to say,
he may we'll be thankful that Steven
sons letters reach him in print and
not in script. have read a number of
them in the pale yellow ink and con-
fused hairline characters of the orig
inal-in their matter as interesting let
ters as any Stevenson ever wrole-and
they were as diffcultsas any pieces of
writing l ever tried to make out. And l
can imagine even one of Stevenson's cor
respondents saying, when his letters
reached them in the morning, "Ah, a letter
from Stevenson. I'll let that go until
evening, when l have more time
Stevenson wrote letters somewhat as
other men talk lie lived much in far
quarters of the world where there was
no one to talk to; and so, when he had
finished the regular work of the day, he
sal down and wrote long letter as
man in New York or London would go
to his club and find conversation. The
letters I have read were written In this
fashion, and they had an the fullness and
interest of his best talk.
Mr.. Frank r. Stockton has many good
stories besides those he formally issues
10 the public. The publication of story
by him is apt to provoke some pleasant
incident, which, in turn, as he relates
1t, becomes about as good story as the
one out of which 1t sprang. Here is an
example though In this instance, IL will
be observed, the publication of the pri-
mary story was only partial. l give the
story in Mr.. Stocktons own words:
Now it so happened that about this
time a young man. a very intimate friend
of mine fell in love. The lady upon whom
his affections were fixed was also my
friend, and as they both lived very near
me, and as l saw them often / took
great interest in their love affair, which
progressed most happily. My constant OBJ
servation of this loving couple and my
sympathetic appreciation of their affect
ion produced am effect upon me, which
showed itself in the story / was writing.
This / called The Golden Angel / work
ed at it with great satisfaction, deriving
continual inspiration from my intercourse
with my lover friends.
THE young man was of a poetic and
romantic turn of mind, with broad love
for literature, and had always taken a
great interest in my work. 1t was to him,
therefore, that / submitted my new story
as soon as it was finished. Even if he
had never before cared for what i had
written he would care for this, for his
amorous soul could not help responding
TO the kindred sentiments of the tale
"When he returned the manuscript to
me, his remarks were brief. and to the eff
feet that 1t was entirely unlike anything L
had yet written and that il made him sick.
He would not have believed that ] had
produced anything so namby pamby and
dreary as this account of the foolish at
tachments of two impossibilities
Il did not combat his opinion, / did l. OF
tell him that upon his love affair had been
based that of my little characters. sim
ply reread my story, and having done so
in an entirely different frame of mind
from that in which l had written it, l
agreed with my friend not altogether,
but in great part and discarded it and
Immediately set to work upon another tale,
| entirely different in motive and method.
The art critics and connoisseurs here
abouts have their interest centered just
now on the Tissot collection, a series of
ing scenes and incidents in the life Of
Christ. It is a remarkable collection,
judged from whatever standpoint; whether
for its strictly astistic quality; or
| for its historic quality-that IL, It's truth
to nature and to record, or for the de-
votion and power of production that il
evidences in the artist In extent alone
il is a wonderful achievement; and in sub
ject and purpose II Is absolutely original
the like OF it has never been attempted
before and probably never will be again.
But art is not, in strictness my mat
ter, and / refer here 10 the Tissot ex-
hibition only by way Of Introduction TO
an interesting bit OF publishers news.
Four years ago. while tine pictures were
on exhibition at the Champ-de-Mars sa-
lon. Paris, the great French printers,
Lemererier & Co., began work on an elab-
crate reproduction of them-.argely IN
the colors of the original paintings.
They spent several years Of time and
no end of money, near 100000, leaving
out the account of the cost Of the orig
]