New-York tribune., 1901-05-11

pears 10 have Invented himself, describes, now
ever an occupation as old social life. 1t
IS the occupation Of the man who. whatever
his vocation may be. cOntrives somehow 10 go
UP and down the world making the acquaint-
anoe Of all manner Of people especially inter
esting people Mr.. Hare seems TO have done
this from his very earliest days. a fact which
does more than anything else TO explain the
great bulk of his biography. The first two
volumes Of The Story of Ny Life" which ap-
peared in 1896. were voluminous as the TWO
closing volumes which now lie before US. MOST
people" he remarks. will say two volumes
would have been enough" and he gives then
one reason for saying so when he auoS iHa'
"except that ] have seen more varieties OF peo-
pie than some do I believe there has been noth-
ing unusual in my life" But 20 the person VINO
might ask him if life were worth living he re-
plies with emphasis, Yes, 10 the very dregs''
and by the time we have finished reading these
two volumes we are convinced that he has a
right TO say it. and therefore can be forgiven Tor
giving the biography such length. He records
how he once amused Sir Henry Irving and some
other people with an anecdote. "Afterward.
when al were gone but Mrs. Gladstone and one
or two others. including Irving. the latter said,
Now that we are such a very small party. do
tell us another" Mr.. Hare keeps his readert
in this attitude from beginning 10 end.
II il were not for the confession We have al
ready cited. pointing 10 the uneventfUlness Of
his life, we should be inclined 10 say that his
personality is obscured by his anecdotes. These
volumes give only the briefest glimpses'o OF Mr..
Hare and OF what he has done. We gather
that he has had family sorrows. and that, like
most authors he has had ups and downs OF lit
erary fortune; but beyond this all that We learn
is-by inference-that he is a most companion
able gentleman, with gift for making friends
and keeping them. He has travelled much, ana
never without falling in with the best sort Of
men and women. The writing OF those numer-
Gus volumes walks in Rome" Walks in
Florence" and the others which have made his
name delightfully."- known 10 thousands Of tour
fists, has kept him busy, but not too busy. He
has always had time 10 enjoy society to the fun,
and-an important additiOn-to record in his
notebooks the good things he has heard These
good things are not all new, but he would have
20 be an omniscient specialist in anecdote who
could read these volumes and find nothing un-
familiar. Besides, whether new or old, most OF
his stories are so good that they are well worth
repeating We may take, for example, the tale
of the old French soldier at Lourdes, who had
one wooden leg. He passed the fountain which
IS supposed TO have healing, il not positively
miraculous, properties. Swinging himself up on
the curb he plunged both legs into the water
and breathed a fervent prayer that they might
be made alike He withdrew the eXtremites
presently, 10 find that both were made Of wood!
The greater number Of Mr.. Hares stories are
Identified with noted people. He has a number
of good things about Wellington. Apropos Of
the Dukes love Of military discipline he gives
these examples:
Mr. Bouverie mentioned how, when he at
walmer, all the officers of the neighboring gar
rison called except Lord Douro. who thought
81 would be absurd. as he was seeing his father
every day. Consequently, the Duke asked all
the officers TO dinner except his own son, and
at dinner said to the colonel Bye the bye, who
is your major? for he has not called on me-
Another example of the Dukes character as
q martinez was that Lord Douro once met him
in plain clothes. The Duke took notice of
him whatever. Lord Douro. knowing how angry
his father must be, rushed in. changed his
clothes for uniform. and met his father again.
Halo, Douro! How are you? II Is long
time since I have seen you" said the Duke;
but he had seen him quite well quarter Of
an hour before.
The Duke inspired something like terror even
within the breast OF his Duchess. Mrs. Lefevre.
going one day to visit her. found her dissolved
IN tears because workmen We're al the moment
cutting down all the ivy which made the whole
beauty OF the trees before Strathfieldsaye.
Asked why she did not demonstrate, the Duchess
simply showed with resignation q written paper
having received It from the Duke: 1T ran, Field
Marshal the Duke OF Wellington desires that
the ivy may Immediately be cut down from
every tree on his estate" The Duke had
merely forgotten TO except the trees nearest the
house, but the Duchess did not dare to inter-
fere, once the edict had gone forth. more
cOmical note is struck in the story Of the Dukes
surprise at receiving a letter one day which he
read as follows: Being in the neighborhood.
venture TO ask permission 10 see some OF your
grace's best breeches. c. London" He wrote
TO the Bishop of London that he had great
pleasure IN asserting TO his request. though he
must confess It had given him very considerable
surprise London House" was thrown into
confusion. The note was from Loudon, the
great gardener and "breeches' should have
been read ''beeches"l Mr Hare knew Fanny
Kemble well and quotes several OF her original
sayings. laying stress upon the tragical tone in
which she uttered them. One Of her overwhelm-
ing deliverances was. with the hereditary
tendency 10 fat, nor exercise, nor diet nor grief
may avail" Finland me. rufian" she once
shouted in her most ferocious accents TO a shop
keeper who ventured 20 lay his hand upon her
arm in order 20 attract her attention; ''and
such was the mans terror said Mr.. Hare's
Informant that, though he quite young.
his hair was turned white that night"
Lord Stanhope had way with him where
bores were concerned. He held that 10 be vacci-
mated had always the effect Of making a person
prosy. When this was mentioned TO Mr.. John
Abel Smith, he exclaimed: "Oh. that accounts
Tor what has always hitherto been a mystery 10
me. went with that Lord stanhope 10 hear a
man named Belloni lecture on The Tuscan Ian
guage' and We sat behind him on the platform.
ne was most terribly lengthy. Suddenly Lord
stanhope caught him by the coat and arresting