New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-06-25
Jbe Netu;Nork 9Iribmoaes
SUNDAY. JUNE Is 1908

BY JAMES SPEEDING


one way or another. OF course our architects
count for most in the matter, and probably the
professional decorators and the dealers could
both claim q certain share In the general i'm
provement which has been brought about ia
respect to wall paper1. furniture and so on
But the books we have tn mind must also be
serving a useful purpose There are more
of them than there ever were before, and they
are better In quality. Does the owner of a
new house, or Of an old one, for that matter,
desire guidance as to al the kinds Of chairs and
tables, of hangings and rugs CT styles OF wood
work or of metal decoration. he can easily
find a book covering the history of his sub
ject, and so well illustrated that he can face
the dealers with greatly Increased sef-posses-
sion, and put his house in shape along con-
sistent lines. These publications must be max
ing @ difference to the vendors OF old lacea,
old glass and similar objects of the collectors
zeal, as well to the dealers b furniture,
tapestries and the like, for they are steadily
narrowing the area Of ignorance in America
where these things are concerned
In a letter to the late Lady Dixie. written
when she was Mrs Mark Pattison, the French
critic, Eugene MInz. said 10 her: you are
called to exert the most salutary IN
f1uence on art criticism . d. I treat q
public misfortune all that could suspend or
hinder your original work. Let me say more:
you have caused Us Frenchmen to blush BY
raising to one [Claudel who is a glory Of our
nation that monument which he had not pre-
viously possessed" That was a fine tribute,
and she deserved such words OF appreciation
not only for her book on Claude, but for her
two volumes on 1.-The Renaissance Of Art In
France" for the four In which she embodied
the history Of eighteenth century French art
in such wise as to make her work classic.
and for divers other literary achievements Of
a similarly high character Yet her second
husband Sir Charles w. Dixie. has deemed 1t
wise to publish volume in her memory which
contains less than three hundred pages, and
only half the space is devoted to biographical
matters; all that is left being filled with Lady
bikes "Book Of the Spiritual Life" Now we
note this instance of reserve and compression,
not to find fault with 1t, but to point out the
perfect example it sets for future biographers
Lady Dixie lived busy life. She made solid
additions to the literature Of art; she bore an
effective part in public affairs; she numbered
of the leading spirits of her time amongst
her friends and correspondents; yet through
the exercise Of tact and skill on the part Of her
biographer she is adequately commemorated
In small octave.
A kindred point Of interest has recently been
brought up again by the publication Of the
Life and Letters of ]. 81. Shorthouse" In
many quarters the thing which seems to have
struck the readers of the work with most force
has been the fact that he remained essentially a
"singfe book author" in spite of his having
written good deal of other matter which
found it's way into print. For our own part
We believe that ''The Little Schoolmaster
Mark is as fine performance in its way as
"John Inglesant," but let Us admit for the
sake of argument that the latter book is the
only one by which Shorthouse will be perma-
nently known. Must also assume, as so
many readers seem really anxious to assume,
that there was something unnatural, something
to be deplored, about his never having repeat
ed his one great success? 1t seems to us that
there is no superstition in the world of letters
quite so ridiculous as the superstition which
will not allow q reader to rest content with
one work of art from given author 1t Is
not only ridiculous but harmful. Every year
we see some clever man or woman, the author
of good book, urged, as though the fate of
nations depended upon it, TO throw his her
energies into another volume. No doubt the
Individual does not always need prompting, but
it is certain that in many cases the second
book would be infinitely better for counsels of
delay. And the exasperating thing is that
body concerned means any harm 1t is simply
that people are not yet accustomed to the
Idea that an author may have only one good
book in his brain, and that it is reasonable