New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-06-10

tht establishment of an office for the registra-
ton of book titles, and the illumination of
authors jealous of their originality, has been
alken up by an English writer who has lately
Encountered more than one case of duplication.
two years ago novel by Mr.. Il. A. Bennett !
appeared, bearing the title of "a Man from the
North" Now Mr.. Gissing the same title
for story. Roy DeyereuX's clever Side
lights South Africa" came out only short
time ago but already it has been followed by a
work by Lady Sykes, called "Sidelights on the
War in South Africa" Why there should not
be such a registry office have suggested
at Statoners Hall in London and at the Con
grcssional Library in Washington we fail to
perceive. 1t would require very small staff,
and the payment of nominal fee by every
inquirer would amply provide for the up-keep
of the department. One point in relation to
this matter would like to investigated.
Is the law of the survival of the tittcst active
where the duplication of titles is concerned?
How many masterpieces of English literature
wear titles that are not unique?
The death of Stephen Crane has naturally set
his critics TO reviewing their impressions of his
work. He published nine ten books, his
recent contributions to the magazines will make
at least three more, and he had found time to
serve both in Greece and in Cuba as Il war
correspondent. Taking his publications one by
one the central virtue now seen in full force
and again only fitfully active is the virtue of
realistic detail The little things on the sur
face he represented accurately, and he exposed
the primitive emotions beneath them frequently
enough to justify serious consideration of his
efforts. They were always obviously efforts, !
however; he had not achieved up TO the time
of his death well balanced view of life such
i,,1,}
even so young Il man. and he never fully mas
tered the instruments of literary expression.
Experience stored his memory with pictures,
and the talent with which he was Individually
endowed enabled him to give them some human
interest when he transferred them to paper.
But if he life clearly upon occasion he
never saw it steadily, he never saw 1t whole
A sense of proportion was missing from his
equipment Sometimes III sentence he would |
flash light upon his theme choosing with in
stinctive precision the right word; but more
often he would pile detail upon detail with an
irrelevance and pettincss only intensified by
the jerky terseness Of his style. In England
''Tbe Red Badge of Courage" for some obscure
reason, took the critics by storm, but this book,
his first successful publication. dsfigured
like all his other compositions by crudities due
10 the limitations indicated above and to an
imperfect acquaintance with the English Ian
guage. I'm time he might have attained to a
really skilful manipulation of words in time he
might have refined his taste, though that his |
imaginative powers would ever have been /
strengthened seems doubtful. Speculation in
this direction, however, is useless. The only |
surInise upon which we may venture is that !
the believers in the pcrmancnce Of his work !
are likely to be disappointed.
When the full neurology Of the war in South /
Africa has been spread upon the record Eng /
land will have one to mourn among her lost !
civilians, not even the brilliant g. w. Stevens
who could less easily have been spared than
Miss Mary H. Kingsley. Her death at Simons- /
town, where she had been engaged among the /
nurses. not only deprived the British army of
an invaluable helper, but If robbed anthropo- ,
logical science ana English literature Of a not !
able figure In that memoir OF her father /
George Kingsley, which was her last puhra- /
ton in book form, she spoke Of the outbreak f.
of tel brill I'll.