New-York tribune., 1903-04-05

in the anteroOm near open door, 50 that Bret
Harte could not escape him Mr. Pemberton
concIusively expIodes the old stories that his
hero left debts unpaid In America But he teIls
us that Harte was soreIy tried BY his financial
troubles, and gladly accepted the consulate OF
crefeld In Prussia, when it was offered to him
in 1879 proceeding to that post in the hope that
steadv enployment would enable him TO keep
his affairs in order without necessitating the
abandonment OF his literary work He delight
e5 Il, visits to England, where Froude. among
others entertained him. and he was glad when
ba was transferred to the consulate Of Glas-
govv which gave him easier access TO the con-
genial company that he sadly missed IN his
German office But. while he was not indlrer-
ent to his duties, he certainly liked TO get away
from them when he could, and he was doubt
less not altogether i'll pleased when ne vas de-
tached from the service in 1SS0 and could
thenceforth until his death lead the uhlr'uoed
life of a man of letters. He lived that life out
as we have seen, on English soil. yet II Is the
testimony of his biography, as it is the testi-
n,onv of his work which remained American
in essence down TO the end, that his nature was
never AngIicized. In a postscript 70 letter
written to Mr.. PembertOn from the Alps IN
1Ss5 he SAYS: Il wouldn't give a mile OF the
dear old honest virgin Sierras for ten thousand
kilometres OF all Switzerland! AIter"ard ne
used to say to his friend that while ne reVeiIed
in Swiss air and sunshine, the scenery always
reminded him of theatrical act drops and tnae
if was all so artisticaIIy composed that ne
could not believe in it" He was ever an mag
NATIVE man. but in all that this book and MS
works have 10 say about his development as
a writer it is plain that he studied " hat ne s4"
with the care Of the realist. and sought with
sincerity for. above all things. the truth some
words of his quoted by Mr.. Pemberton are mere
opposite. He said:
Critics who have taken large and exhaustive
views of mankind and society from cIuo WIZ
dows in Pail Mall or the Fifth Avenue can only
accept for granted the turbulent chIValry lHal
thronged the streets of San Francisco N tne gtIt
days of her youth and must read the OIaz9n or
their deeds like the doubtful quarter1ngs or me
shield of Anadis de GauL The author mas been
frequently asked if such and such nclIelLs
were real: if he had ever met such anu s~cH
characters? To this he must return the one
answer that in only a single instance was he
conscious of drawing purely from MS Il'e@5i4'a
ton and fancy for a character, anu q io5l-aI
succession of incidents drawn theretrOIl r."
weeks after his story was published ne fecriEVI
q letter automatically signed, correcting som, of
the minor details Of his fdctst and enclosing as
corrObOrative evidence a slip from an old hv"S
paper wherein the main incident or MS sup
posed fancifuI creation was recorded with a
largeness OF statement that far transcended us
powers of Imagination
With his fidelity TO truth in his work there
went great care in the details of composition
As an anecdote told by Mr.. Brooks shows. he
would take infinite pains even with an invita-
ton to dinner, and all his life long iJ was Ms
custom to write and rewrite and rewrite again
that fiction which moves with such ease Of style
He never wrote very much at a tine-d thoI-
sand words day was probably the IiTi--hut I'D
day passed without his adding something On the
story when once it was we'll in hand Against
this picture OF hard industry as writer We
have to set not only the fexibility and ef7-t-ess
charm of Harte's best writings, but the si'n-
taneity which characterized him as a man shy
and retiring almost to the point OF rudeneSs
where social duties were concerned The required
admoniton from FrOude make him write. IS
we'll as telegraph, Sir Frederick Leighton tlat
he would not come 10 the Royal Academy BAN
Quet at which they wished him TO reply 10 the
toast of Literature in 1870. he was among
his friends a gay and willing talker. and MI
PembertOu prints a number of letters in which
the pIeasantest side Of Hdrte's temperament IS
clearly revealed. There are some oddities in his
correspondence. notably the letter from Crete-d,
in which he declares TO his wife that 'n1uS.caI
Germany is a humbus." and describes his iisse
Operatic experience, Il performance OF Iahh-
hiuser'' at Dusseldorf. 1t was the most Gil-
bolicaIIy hideous and stupidity mOnotOnoUs per-
fOrmance / ever heard 1 shall say nothing
about the orchestral harmOnies. for there WASH
anything going on OF that kind, unless you call
b