New-York tribune., 1901-11-17
abe ayem;21ork Gribn'1e'
ILLUSTRATED SUPPLEMENT.
SUNDAY. NOVEMBER II, l9ol.

month ago has by this time sot il'eii r
,horougbly noticed everywhere we +ie g.
If if 1t is useful piece OF "oih "'i
and with the volumes OF correspondence eu'
bv Mr. CoIyin it enables US 10 ioiii d J"'' w.
st;,,. of ,be romancer's personality and char
acter This being the case, III IS 'he "'i''
e,,,or If all those who really care for Steven
son. that nothing further in the hatufe oi Wv
rr.,hic.1 dat, concerning him may be given 10
lha world. at least for a term of years. lie HIS
heen sadly i'll served in some quarters, "here
incessant ssbble about him in the most ul'iai
asnccts of daily life has taken the place OF
;,tolliosnt treatment of his life and works. IL
is tima for the stream of highfalutn to cease
Acclaimng Stevenson in season ana out Vi
season as the greatest literary genius OF mouefh
times will not add fraction to his literary
ct,tura His works are all published, or al any
rate all of his works that he would nave caTeu
ia So, in print: let hitherto Unpublished doc
upertsr lie kept vigorously from the puoiic
eve, We have his letters and we nave Goou
biography of him; let us be content anu Ie'
editors learn TO decline utDits OF Persohai'"
that no healthy minded reader wants I" reh''
In shert all the conditions are fa'oFaoie 10
Steyensons being let alone for while 10
sink slowly into mems minds and ID 'he Only
legitimate fashion, to find his final place
The Editor of BLACK woods Magazine, mus
ing on art and the infinite and on thihes III
general, lifts up his voice ana says Inc
craftsman seldom considers What Is que to ''i'
craft which he Is privileged to practise There
is in fact lamentable dearth OF artlsts' put
in This general dearth it is pleasant to note
that one simple art-the art OF prihuhS-sti
survives" We should say it did. The com
sgrr1o nod al
tseme the new Shakespeare edited by Mr-
IIanl.v and now coming from the press Of TIE
Corstables in a series of exqusiteiy maue
folios He laws stress upon the fact that the
edition is one not simply to look at but to read
This is the point on which we prefer to dwell
in discussing the productions of the latter DAY
rri,trr II is delightful to see that the makers
,r extensive books in limited editions, Ike TINS
Shakespeare. are abandoning the merely deco
ra,ivo style into which the example of the late
William Morris. valuable as il was III some re
spects. undoubtedly bcguilcd them. The main
thing today. as in the golden age Of printing,
has been the use Of a well cut type, placed with
Judgment on q page of good paper. More than
this the true book lover has never asked ana
never will ask. The candy box style of book,
invented by modern printers and binders with
10 sense OF design, is passing and the beautiful
book is taking its place. The influence of the
maker Of limited editions is spreading to the
maker OF the cheap and popular volume, De
cidedly ''thc art of printing still survives
Mr. Ernest Newman, writing In The Con
temporary Review" about English music and
musical criticism, alludcs to one critic. a regular
contributor To The Manchester Guardian"
whose writings give the impression of knowl-
edge sanity and culture. 1T is characteristic"
he adds. of the low state of English musical
criticism, that a writer Of his ability should be
merely writing about concerts in Il newspaper,
instead of publishing lengthy and connected
says in book form" This brings up Il question
referred, the question Of how criticism whether
musical literary or artistic, is TO play an
adequate part in Journalism If the moment
writer of it achieves high degree Of ability he
is to be detached from his newspaper and set
to the making of books. CandidIy, it is just
this kind of misguided enthusiasm in which Mr..
Newman INDUCES that does the most harm.
1t encourages laXity where rigdly ideal stand
ard should be foStercd 1t encourages the fool
sh and mschicvouS idea that the best journal
ism is, for mystical reason, inferior to
the worst literature "terature" in this case
being taken TO mean composition of more than
half dozen pages, printed between the covers
of book. As have insisted over and over