The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-11-16


fastidious days, in our age Of universe
washing, and shaving. and changing q
linen, a. a life absolutely wanting In t.,
elementary conditions Of cleanliness and
hygiene. 1t may be safely affirmed from
the unconscious revelations made by con-
temporary writer's as to the domestic habits
OF Queen Anne's reign, that royal prince
or princess Of that time would he set dow
as personsse Of very dirty habits by a
well-brouaht-up workingman in the reign
Of Queen Victoria" Swift, on the other
hand. would he re garded a. a man OF scru-
pulous and fastidious cleanlin. 81 II he were
living at the present hour. He carried
his love Of cleanliness 10 far that, when
ever he waehed his hands. which he did
very often in the course Of the day lac
usually took care to wash his feet well.
He became furious now and then because
OF the personal habits of those he saw
: around him. and he relieved his mind by
! satirical verses revealing In descriptions
! which many Il reader in our days would
find it impossible to get through because
= O: the utter loathing which they bring with
! them. Swift has been denounced again
/ and again for these really abominable
| verses by critics who seem never To have
remembered that the verses only testified
to the mans Unborn and ingrained horror
! Of dirt" Mr.. Mccarthy admits that the
! most devoted adnirer Of Swift must wish
?, that he had never written satires Of this
! peculiar order. but he thinks that the
harshest critic of Swift might at least do
! him the justice to acknowledge his per-
verified and fsnAtical zeal in the cause Of
cleanliness This one illustration Of Swift's
personal habits has been taken because
it throws some light on the mans char
acter and on the unfairness with which
! he has been Judged by many of those who
! fully recognize his genius.
We imagine that most of Mr.. McCarthy's
readers will be surprised TO learn that
Matthew Arnold got from Swift the phrase
Sweetness and light" which he was TO
make popular for our generation and for
many generations to come. The phrase
| occurs in The Battle Of the Books" where
the author Introduces discussion between
a bee and spider ~ to their relative ella nus
on the regard Of the world .fsop. who
happens 10 be a listener to the debate.
decides In favor of the bees. on the ground
that. instead Of dirt and poison, they have
rather chosen tn fill their hives with honey
and wax, thus furnishing mankind with
the two noh)es' of things, which ara sweet
hess and light. Whether both OF these
qualities were possessed by Swift himself
may be dispu' ed, hut there ia no doubt
that ligh; he had 10 an almost marvellous
degree. He saw everything clearly. no
matter what rlists Of superstition, Of per-
verseness. Of hypocrisy or Of convention
atty might hang around II. As John Bright
once said Of John Stuart Mill. he lived in
light" Our author also regards a. just
ard historically appropriate Mr. Herbert
P4ul's d,s 'ription Of Swift as the Prince
Of Journalists Mr. Mccarthy likewise
holds that Swift might fairly be called the
creator of the modrr. leading article. II
is further pointed ou' that h was the father
Of what We now call -socie.v verse"
One Of the most Interesting chapters of
This book il devoted TO Alexander Pope,
our author recognizes that the poets name
is ins,parably associated with the reign
OF Anne, although most Of the works WIN, n
made him especially influential and popu-
lar among his contemporaries were rot
published until after the Queens death.
II il unlikely that Air. McCarrhy's sketch
will supersod de DR.. Johnsons Life" but
it il we'll worth reading as expressing thu
recent lhNoidDl' T'a'lltn against llt tN-
cersive depreciation 70 which Pope war
AZ one time subjected. The early moi
dents In the poets life may ho summed
in a paragraph. Pope was born in Lon
don in 1888, the year which de'ironed
James II and made William Of Orange
ruler Of h gland He was of lower md
die-Clas- par"ntaGa, his father being n
ln"n-clrap"r, or ar some say, d halter In
the Strand Young Alexander seems not to
nave had anything like "A finished eduCa-
ton, according to the standard of that
day or Of our own. Hi poetic gift showed
itS"lf while he was = il very young; some
of h.s earliest poems have a ga ii and
stiffness about them little resembling the
strains Cf eNubC rance and emotion gen
orally sIvcu.t the world hv youthful ritars.
Pope attracted the attention of Nycher.,y
by -o!lc Of his early poems, and Nyche:l 10y
became his hterar" patron and introduced
him to the society Of London men Of let
tiers. 1t IL well known that Popr ultimately
became an intimate friend of Niscount
Bol.ngbroke and OF the Earl OF Oxford
To his intimate intercourse With these
statesmen, there L., IA our author reminds
Us. no parallel in later times. OF Pops's
personal character Mr. McCa rthy ha,
this to say: Pope had much Of tlo tenn
permanent which satire ami comic ltera-
turc have in almost all ages associated with
the character If the prccocious poet Many
OF his personal Gualiir4 would have needed
but little satirical eXaggcration in order
Ia construct an effective and lifeii.Sc carca-
tuIe of cgotistical and dir. ,.tisiicd poetical
aspiration. Pore was always Ia weak
health, with a feeble and doformed tiaue.
His lack Of physioa al streng; and his bodily
ailments had done much to make him NOR.
bdly sensitive. He was quick of temper,
changeful Of mood, impatient of restraint
or contradiction, ever craving for sympa-
thy. and too often finding the sympathy.
even when sincere. wholly unsatisfying
With such temperament. he would natu.
! rally prove ready to get into quarrels with
his friends, and could easily be brought
into the mood which mado him apt 10 be-
lcve that his friends Of yesterday had
become his enemies to-day. He quarre lied
with men and he quarreiled with women,
and some Of his quarrels have become
famous episodes in the history OF ltera-
ture.'
May Pope be credited with poetic genius2
Matthew Arnold would have answered ir
the negative. Mr. McCarthy's reply is
qualified. He begins by pointing out that