New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-12-09

FlsSdbERhTAfN THiNGs BY. Henry van Dyke.
octave. PIP 247 Charles scrioners Sons.
yEE RS Hs%,0n by wFfs M Alice
VA Cenevieve Cowles. Octave. PIP, X, 2Ss.
Dodd. Mead Co.
mr. van Dyke carries with him, when he
.onders by the fishing streams. exactly the
-,eht temperament and this we say despite
-. fact that he is capable of what some fisher
-,sn would regard as heresies Take, for
annie his essay on Availability" Mention
avg that the inventor Of the Maxim that Fish
.rmen must not talk is lost In the mists OF
sr,,ouity. he adds that the man well deserves
,s fate "For a more footless rule" he con-
,,nues. "a conventionality more obscure and
s,rnless in It's tyranny, was never imposed upon
NJ innocent and honorable occupation TO
s,mInish its pleasure and discount Its profits
Vhy. In the name of all that is genial,
rbould anglers go about their harmless sport in
,tealthy silence like conspirators or sit together
In a boat, glum and pentential, like naughty
schoolboys on the bench Of dsgrace?" This
roes 10 the root Of the matter. What layman
has not been at once amused and exasperated
by the hierophantic manner In which many a
sportsman goes about his business?
We use the word business advisedly for Il Is
extremely difficult 10 see where the pleasure
OF sport comes in II man is to follow it In
more solemn and intense mood than even the
most serious crisis In his financial matters, say,
would excite. The tale is told-it may be a
fshermans tale, but we let that passed. a
tain brawling stream in Virginia, with smooth
and shining pools here and there, in which the
fish are as plentiful as they are plucky. To this
stream have come, for many years, a pair of
anglers imbued with the true passion. AS the
years have added up. however. they have both
developed equity tendencies, and wading is no
longer as comfortable for them as It used to
be SO each has trained his horse to advance
quietly into the river at suitable points and
there astride. the anglers sit with everything
they need at their saddlebows and they fish
at their ease. DR. van Dyke we hope, and In
deed. believe. would approve the course Of those
anglers, though some Of their companions have
laughed them to scorn; for gather from
these pages that the author fishes. not simply
for what he can catch on his hook. but for the
thoughts inspired by the scenes through which
ne rambles, for the bookish memories that are
evoked by his efforts. for all those elusive and
helightful things in brief. which appeal to a
hover Of nature as well to lover OF fishing
II is true that his love OF talk by the riverside
mas not been put to the severest test. for he is
not certain, any more than anybody else can be,
shat a fish can hear, in the proper of the
sword Experienced anglers and students Of
fishery laws" he says ARE divided upon the
question" and while they are he may feel that
whether he talks or not makes difference
,Put we like TO think as he really gives us
grounds for thinking. that though fishes could
detect the faintest sound he would still hold the
genial views expressed in this book on ''talkabil-
ity" We choose for special comment this essay
because It illustrates in perfection DR.. van
Dykes theory Of life out Of doors. but there is
much else in his volume that is fresh, humane
and charming He has genuine knowledge OF
nature underneath his light and graceful method
of writing. He possesses delicate vein or
hurnor and the books that have fostered his love
of the woods and streams have never brought
The air Of the library into his work. but count
among HIS natural and vitalized possessions
wise commentator he is, too introducing artlessiy
Into his notes the little touches that make for
a kindlier understanding of human nature. He
does not moralize, but reflects unobtrusively
on the serious things in life. "Fishermen's
Luck" in word. is a captivating and a val
nable little book
Ten years ago Mr. Mabie first published MY
Study Fire" The book has worn well, for its
qualities are genuine. They include feeling for
nature that is at unaffected and enthusi-
sstlc II Mr.. Mabie cares for landscape or a
flower il ls in the last resort, for reasons diff
Acult to put into words. He is sensitive 10 its
beauty, and that is enough. But natural beauty
raises in the authors mind thoughts of poetry,
thoughts Of art, and so in writing Of 1t he gives
us the impressions Of a cultivated observer.
Reading and imagination go 10 enrich his talk,
and my Study Fire contains passages descrlp-
tive and critical, things that send a reader out
Of doors but also with book in his hand or, II
not that, then with the memory Of great poets
and prose writers In his mind. Now and then
we hesitate to follow Mr. Mabies guidance He
talks OF Richard JeHeries with an enthusiasm
that we can hardly approve, and this en-
thusiasm makes us tremble for the preservation
tf the authors authority. We cannot but re-
gard a readers judgment on Richard Jefferes
as a test of his ability to look at nature. and at
nature IN literature, In the right way Mr..
Mabie's acceptance Of the author Of Field and
Hedgerow" is little too warm Yet in justice
we must add that he is not often at fault, and,
moreover, he is possibly to be pardoned for a
leaning toward the literary side OF nature,
considering that this volume is not strictly
en open air book, but one embodying
thoughts in a study. 1t u.s. as mere piece OF
writing the best of the authors productions
His style is clear and possesses certain be
guing elegance. 1t has been treated with due
respect in this edition. which is beautifully
printed and contains a number OF sympathetic
and well executed illustrations.