New-York tribune., 1901-04-06

II.
Portraits. octave, PIP. xi. pa A Vessels Com
pany.
Mr. Baildon is such a careful student and
critic of his old friends work that it is pity
he has not learned the lesson which stevenson
tacitly taught him in his printed books. The
novelist's matrimonial experience causes MS
bicgrapher 20 plunge into this sort OF writing
This is the first and only time that we find the
master passion of love closing its Titan grip
fairly upon Stevenson. Not exactly st.
Anthony his incursions into the Venusberg had
been rather Of the nature of light hearted forays
than serious MISREPRESENTATION jameson raids
into a country re was later seriously and sue
cessfully to attack" We fancy how Steven
son would have writhed If he could have read
this prcposterous delverance But Mr.. Balloon
is not all highfalutin; he is, on the contrary,
generally adequate and interesting commentator
He is most useful, of course, when he adds his
share to the mass of descriptive personalia
which has risen around Stevenson since his
death Here is his sketch of the writer as he
knew him at school in Edinburgh:
Stevenson calls himself ugly in his student
days but / think thar is a term that never al
any time fitted him. Certainly TO MN as boy
about fourteen CNith the creed which ne pro
pounded to me- that at sixteen one was mani
il would not apply. In body Stevenson was as
suredly badly set up. His limbs were long ana
lean and spidery and his chest fiat as almost
TO suggest some rnalnutrltion such sharp angles
and corners did his joints make under ms
clot hes But H his face this was belled his
brow oval and full, over soft brown eyes.
that seemed already to have drunk the sunlight
under southern vines. The whole race h%d
tendency to an oval Madonna-lik type. But
about the mouth and in the mirthful. mocking
light of the eyes, there fingered ever a ready
Autolycus roguery. that rather suggested the
sly god Hernes masquerading as n mortal Yet
the eyes were always genial, however gayly the
lights danced in them but about the mouth
there was something tricky and mocking, as of a
spirit that had already peeped behind the scenes
Of life's pageant and more than guessed its un-
realities.
Mr. Balloon cannot give personal reco!lections
of stevenson in his prime, but he received many
letters from his friend, and one of these acknowl-
edging his praise Of the Ballads is quoted in
the book before us. 1t runs:
They 1.-THE "BallaGs'l failed to entertain coy
public at which L wondered. not that l set much
account by my verses, which are the verses OF
Prosator; but do know how 10 tell yarn
and two Of the yarns are great. "Rahero Is for
its length perfect folk tale; savage and yet fine,
full of taiI-foremOst morality, ancient as the
granite rocks: if the historian not to say the
politician. could get that yarn into his head, ne
would have learned some Of his Is {. But
the average at home cannot understand
antiquity: he is sunk over the ears IN roman
civilization; and a tale like that of Rahero
falls on his inarticulate The spectator
said there was no psychology IN II; that inter
ested rra much; my grandmother (as l used to
call that able PAPER and an able paper 1t is. and
a fair onel cannot much as observe the eX-
istence Of savage psychology when 1T is put be-
fore it. / at bottom a psychologist,
and ashamed OF 1t; the tale seized me one-thrd
because OF its picturesque features. two-thirds
because of it's astonishing psychology, and THE
Spectator sGys there's none. l am going on
with a lot of island work, eXulting in the knoWl-
edge of a new world, "a new created world" and
new men; and sure my income Will decline
and fall off; for the effort of comprehension is
death to the intelligent public, and sickness to
the dull
The two volumes of letters published under
Mr. Colvin's editorship. and the biography which
Stevensons cousin, Mr.. Graham Balfour, is now
writing will make about complete a memorial
of the novelist. outside his work. as is need
ed But a crop Of lesser books about him is in
evitable Some have already appeared. Others
are bound to come. This OF Mr. Balloons is
creditable piece of work so far 1t goes. and
deserves at least passing popularity for the
systematic examination Of the works that 1t
presents and for it's few but effective touches
OF portraiture.