New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-11-05
RALzlc ANn SOnL OTHERS-

The fatuous readiness of a doorkoeper I'm
"Romola" 10 admit an unbidden guest who in
vents his own credentials provoked George Eliot
TO observe that some men are so conhding that
IF you say I am buffalo they will let you
pass" The type cndures. Witness the liter
airy gentlemen who stand. hat in hand. obse-
quous and receptive. whenever a Frenchman
opens his mouth Witness Mr.. W. T. Henley. He
has loved his Bazac for lifetime and has be-
leved In the novclst'S honorable character.
But now he regards it all as an exploded legend.
and chiefly because the Vicomte de Spocberch
de Louvcnioul chose To publish two volumes In
which letters attributed to Bazac record a sad
axty Of morals OF course Mr. Henley. like
the Frenchman. has his acolytcS and claqueurs
"Now can. and do laugh at my old IDEAL he
declares. and they promptly take up the cry.
Who is " le Vicomte de Spoelberch de Lou
venjoul: 4 useful photographer and nothing
more to whose "IIistorc DIES Oeuvrcs de H. De
Balzac" we owe much but in whom it Is sheer
nonsense to look for literary insight and crit
ical infanibnty The applause Of his contem-
poraries for his able performance Of legitimate
duties. and the awestruck devotion Of those who
afcctonatcly call him lie Vicomte" have
turned his head Like many another good man.
ard the great name to which ne has rendered
some service and now it is As the herophant
Of Balzac that he writes AT the going forth of
whose cdict the noveliSt> personal reputation
is 10 fall with crash. Ten years ago he was
peddling the documents on which he has pre-
sumed TO re,ise the current estimate Of his
hcro's private conduct. In 1896 having decided
TO publish them himself ne brought out TN
o L.. L, 8
of his material It claims to tell the truth
about Balzacs courtshp of Nine. HanSka. but
is really a curious mixture Of surmise and in
snuaticn. In an appendix to new edition Of
her memoir of Balzac brought out in that year.
Miss Wormcley concusivcly dscredited the
book. showing ID that the gcnuncness Of his
data was not proven by the editor and (2) that
his tissue Of assumptions was contradicted by
all the accepted records Of Balzacs life.
Mr. Henley probably never saw this vindica-
ton. In the light Of his blind reverence for the
Vcomtc. who. according TO him. knows bis
Balzac like the clock" imagine that If he
had seen II ne would not have been much i'm
pressed W. de Louvenjou was certainly I'M
abashed for more recently he has continued
his iconoclastic labors. publishing under the
title of "Lcttrcs une Etrangere" some cor
reSpOndenfe IN Wul'n BilId' : ATTITUDE toward
Nine Hanska IS portrayed more obnoxious
than ever This also Mr.. Henley swallows
whole. and he turns to rend his former idol
OF both books We have no hesitation in say
Ing hat they present an impossible Balzac, and.
in the absence Of proofs Of authenticity, they
rest under the cravcst suspicion. Aside from
the fact that the crucial letter in the "Ro-
man d'Amour" is printed with the signature
"cntre crochets." slgnifying that the manuscript
is unsigned. aside from the fact that the Let
tres une Etrangere" contains only the bricfcst
footnotc-and that an empty one touching the
authenticity of the originals. there are count.
less passages which on the surface suggest
garbng If rot something worse Until the
vicomte gives us proofs can only regard his
two publications rs wanton outrages on Bal
zac's good name That Mr.. Henley asks for no
proofs Is perhaps his own affair. though IL is
odd that an experienced man of lettcrs should
so naIvely abandon n cherished belief on the
strength Of obviously dubious evidence But his
readiness 10 jump with the yicomtc's humor
has further bearing, which concerns the pub.
Hc at large
What Is IFS 'omplaisancc hut an Illustration
Of that willingness 10 believe evil which Is one
~ the most detcstahlc Weaknesses from which
literature can suffer ON one side we have the
Ralzac of the Works We have the novels and
other writings which make Ms acquainted with
the mind and soul Of nm author truly great In
all contemporary memoirs, save in those Of men