New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-08-19
KINDLTNG WORDS.
Some FugitiUe Essays by the Late
William Norris.
ARCHITECTURE. INDUSTRY AND WEALTH.
Collected Papers by William Norris. Octave,
PIP. wis. 269. Longmars. Green q Co.

ARCHITECTURE. INDUSTRY AND WEALTH.
PIP. viii. 26S. LOngmans. Green q Co.
It was the misfortune of the late William Nor
ris to confuse, and often to distress his critics
by disparities between his preaching and his
practice. This high priest Of sincerity, when he
established a printing press OF his own, used it
for the development of an ideal of bookmaking
which reeks Of artihce. and this flaming Social
tst proceeded TO cater. not only as printer but
as an artist, TO the people Of long purses almost
exclusively. Yet one need not always be re-
membering. while rejoicing in a beautiful Morris
wallpaper, that ii cost ridiculOusly large sum,
and, similarly, while reading his discourses, it
is sometimes pleasant 70 forget that he was not,
in his actual career, the devoted Spartan they
suggest. Take the scattered lectures and papers
which were brought together under the title of
Architecture. Industry and Wealth" were first
printed in the Golden type Of the Kelmscott
Press. and are now vouchsafed to a larger pub
lie in an ordinary edition. After all, the thing
that counts in this case is that Norris contrives
TO say some kindling things, and if they bear
fruit in the right quarters we can afford to ig-
more his own record IN the application OF them.
He says things like this:
Our ground is that not only is it possible to
make the matters needful to our daily life works
Of art, but that there is something wrong ID
houses our clothes, our household furniture ana
utensils are not works of art they are either
wre1ched makeshifts or, what is worse degrau-
1ng sharns of better things. Furthermore, II any
Of these things make any claim TO De consIu-
cred works Of art, they must show OBVIOUS
traces of the hand OF man guided dlrecly ny
hts brain without more interpOsitiOn of ma
chimes than is absolutely necessary 10 the ma
ture Of the work done. Again, whatsoever arr
there is in any of these articles OF daily use
must be evolved in a natural and enforced man
ner from the material that is dealt with: so that
the result win be such as could not oe got from
any other material; If we break TINS Ia" we
shall make a trivialty, toy, not work or art
Lastly. love of nature in all its forms must be
the ruling spirit Of such works Of art as we are
considering; the brain that guides the hand
must be healthy and hopeful must be keenIy
alive TO the surroundings of our own days, ana
must be only much affected by the art OF
past times as is natural for one who practises
an art which is alive growing md looking
toward the future.
It is sound doctrine II ever there was such
ching, and this book is full Of sound doctrine.
It has a great deal, too, Of that finer spirit
which you feel in all that is good in Morris's
work the poetic feeling, the delicate enthusiasm
He is constantly talking in a practical vein,
but when he is dealing with tapestry weaving,
Tor example he can break out into an unprac-
teal yet inspiring passage. What noble art
& was oncep' he exclairns. ITO turn our cham
Der walls into the green woods Of the leafy
month of June, populous Of bird and beast; or
a summer garden with man and maid playing
round the fountain, or a solemn procession Of
the mythical warriors and heroes of old; that
Eurely was worth the trouble of doing, and the
money that had to be paid for it: that was no
languid acquiescence in upholsterer's fash
ion. How well remember a boy my first
acquaintance with a room hung with faded
greenery at Queen Elizabeth's Lodge, by Ching
ford Hatch, in Epping Forest q wonder what
has become of It nowD, and the impression Of
romance that It made upon me" He al
ways romanticist It is one thing that helps
us TO condone his inconsistencies. At least they
were the fobles OF man whose heart was in
the right place. The present volume is one Of
shreds and patches. yet it contains some of the
most interesting things that Morris had to say
to his time.