New-York tribune., 1906-11-04

III
"'' uueulent, journalist We gather that no VA
:" inFlgoraHng influence in the councils of .The
-i'pier' framing his contributions and giving
- aoNlce With a vivid and even eager sense of
Oest TO make the magazine effective at a
S "hen the air was full of the sound Of
debate 'u VI
&c was not always absorbed in theological or
,Al'nysicaI argument. In of his letters he
makes plea for lighter articles. which might
'e"ebe The gravity OF the bulk of the magazine.
anu lholcates the sort of thing that would do in
the following passage:
TN In you not get rise out Of Lamb for January?
,so7reos allow me TIC communicate a fruitful
f,r ny not in the course Of the article
me natural history OF bores as he has of poor rel
nysoogy the Bore after his fashion " with yor oif
StHe IDEAS & Having impregnated yourself with his
bnvaS S0o S Ihisht say thing or two that would
aired Smith and others have indeed copied g T.
hat in the natural history of the Gent the
soFe,~ Re- In Loss and Gain %. 10 / Think there
Some good things about But there is neither
tlle word nor its equivalent nor the idea in Ger
tt ana contrary TO the usual rule language
a'mliaoh. Is there no Greek for a bore? II is not
bore in the eges lGes % socrates take to have been
- ,tD i.,h ,nhafketplace 1t belongs a peculiar stage
believe, find time pass slowly and are not bored
5o, "a'ils5 a. even so with beasts sense of bore
III az; - = ptodnct OF luxury, like the gOut, ana
& Ia ieurSan tries 10 escape BOTH not by avoiding
me ne americans again do not understand what a
tI iSS2another sign Of its belonging civiiza-
tloh Their speeches endless and pedantic their
, sefsdnon i poTnpous and extravagant their ques
met Daniel Webster Al dinner ~ 7 ord hsbi,rton's
ana found that he held forth greatly. on going
hate the French but they are seldom boree i The
Frenchman IS Gmptv and tbierafa, I ats eing' f
ms own company but he can make play with a
OF nettles with a little salt and pepper. But then
! rIe!hehhInan IS good humored. and that requires
and he vain md
wants food for his vanity.
II would be a bad dodge to give it. as quo
alton alton from Lamb, of a passage not sufficiently
Is a bore sensitive of bores. and does he see a
his own? Talkative old men will listen 10 talka-
tive old men whom should like to go sleep at
mat mat of being bore is facility for being bored
and thinking people bores.
A little more Of this sort of thing, and a great
deal less shop OF a strictly local character
would have made this volume better worth while
III is interesting 10 find Acton saying of Carlye's
Frederick" which he at the moment re-
viewing for THE HANDLER that il is 'of little
real value, and T~Ore affected than anything vet
written in prGSe." A note OF character comes
out in this saying: 1T is wonderful how the
mind expands and the memory fishes up all
sorts of forgotten things when one gets among
familiar books" There is something, too, in
this glance a Dickens:
Certain Germans of the last century remind me
Of him as to religion. They divine mart
of Christianity but diVinifed humanity or hI-
tnanlzed religion, and taught that was per
Gle full Of beneyoe1ce and admiration Of the sun
and moon and for their children aud their dog
and for their home They hated Intolerance. ex-
tlusiVeness. positive religion and with n com
prahensNe charity embraced all mankind and
oenned alike differences Of faith and distinctions
of rank as lnSurrectOn against the broad
humanity. Their religion a of natural
religion adorned with poetry and enthuSaS
above Christianity. Herder a Of this
stamp. Surely Dickens iS very like them Nothing
be more indefinite than his religion or more
human. lie loves his neiglbor for his neighbor's
sake, and knows nothing Of sin when it is not
crime.
The reader who loves his Dickens may smile
at this comparison but it gives a little help to
the reader who desires to get closer to Lord
Actons personality and way Of thinking. Per-
haps the most significant help of all in this di-
rection is 10 be found in the opening lines Of the
first letter in this collection. Il Will please Cod
says Acton, admit into the political department
lof The Rambler no writings of men who are
the deCoted followers of any single school
II is good reproducing ideas, and /
viii try to find men who think for themselves
and are not slaves to tradition and authority"
A man faithful, Lord Acton was faithful
down 10 the end of his life, to the principle thus
enunciated, may not have been great, but neither
could there have been anything small about his
nature.