New-York tribune., 1900-05-26
MAJOR AND MINOR.
MIR KIPLING IN THE HANDS OF MIR. LIE
GALLIENNE.

RUp9ARPI1, sI1,l RIPLING ,, Criticism 1 BY r. Richard hard
Lane l2mo. PIP 1G3. John Lane.
There does not seem to be any very valid rea-
for the publication of this book. If Mr. lie
Gallienne felt that he must print something
about Mr. Kipling, he might just as well have
= condensed his remarks and put them into
magazine. Mr. Kipling we rejoice TO think, has
done only small part OF his work. He has
long life before him, and despite recent lapses,
it is improbable that he viii not produce many
more strong things. There is something irrele-
want and altogether too portentous about a solid
book devoted to the criticism of the work he has
thus far published. Nor is Mr.. lie Gallienne the
best in the world to write such a book. He
doubtless thinks it clever, but we can only re-
gard it as forced and absurd to say of Fuzzy
wuzzy." ''Oonts" and several other OF the bal
lads that they are lin their way satisfactory
as 'kubia Khan number from the 'Mikado''
song by Mr.. Albert Chevalier. They were,
indeed, as Orphc IN their possession of US as
Knocked em I'm the Old Kent Road or Tara
ra-boom-deay. The collocation of titles in
this passage strikes US rather cheap smart
ness. We feel moreover. in nearly all of Mr..
lie Gallienne's structures. strange blindness to
the great fact which needs to be reclloned with
I'm Mr.. Kipling's work, whether good or bad the
fact that it is the work Of genius and
cannot be measured by rule Of thumb To say
that Mr.. Kipling carries his of technical ter
ininology too far is all very well. but to call
The Ship that Found Herself" exceedingly
tedious Hans Andersen is TO miss the point OF
that story with wonderful completeness.
There is however, some reasOnableness in the
concluding chapter of this book. which discusses
Mr.. Kipling's general significance and influence.
Mr, lie Gallienne believes that when Mir. Kip
ling reused the sleeping nerve centres of i'm
perialism' he rendered a service to his country
men, but he is evidently no more pleased than
are many other of Mr. Kipng's admirers with
the latter's tacitly confessed theory that he is
IN duty bound 10 keep up q great shouting in
favor of the strong arm as the only thing which
viii keep the British Empire intact He does
not like. either, Mr. Kipling's frank delight in
battle, and while think that he goes too far
IN Identifying the blocdthirsty passages in some
Of the stories with Mr.. Kipling's personal tastes
il il no doubt true that those very passages
have bad influence among thoughtless readers
The book closes on this judgment: "As writer
Mr.. Kiplng is delight; as an influence he is
. danger OF course, the clock of time is not IA
be set back by gifts ten times as great as Mr.
Kipling's The great world movement will stiu
go on. moving surely. il slowly and with occs-
siona relapses. in the direction which IL has
always taken, from brute force 70 spiritual en-
largement. But there influences which speed
it along and others that retard 1t is 10 be re-
GREETED that Mr.. Kiplng's influence should he
one of those that retard." We do not believe
that this view Of the matter has as yet been
justified. If Mr. Kipling is the Idol OF the hour
il England to-day. the explanation is not far to