The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-14

during his early manhood, such men,, Tor
instance, as Ibsen and Bjornson. Victor
Hugo, Renan, Taine. Sainte- Beuve, the
~. brothers Goncourt, John stuart Mill. The
impressions which he conveys Of them are
singularly vivid, and the judgments often
striking and incisive.
Before our author met Henrik Ibsen he
had made the acquaintance OF Mime. Magda-
lene Thoresen, his mother-in-law, herself
a novelist OF some distinction. She ex-
pressed the opinion that her son-in-law, who
at that time-the early '00s-had not be-
come widely known, much less celebrated.
had very imperfect poetic gifts. What
be writes is as fat as a drawing. she would
say, II was only much later that che dis
covered his genius. Brandes and iGeeG
were on friendly terms with each other
from April. 1853. but il was not until Deoem-
Der, 1870. that they contracted a close init
macy. which had a widening influences on
The critic and may nave had some effect
on Ibsen'e poetical progress. Brandes was
I'll in Rome. and Ibsen who had formerly lived
there. wrote 10 him complaining bitterly
Of the conquest Of the Eternal City by the
Italians. which had Just taken place. Rome,
he said. was now taken from ~us men"
and given over to the politicians" II
had been a spot sacred to peace. but was so
no longer. Our author says that the asser-
tion was at variance with my religion.
II seemed to me unpermissible to desire
for esthetic reasons to see the restoration
of an ecclesiastical regime, with it's remorse-
less system Of oppression. Human happi-
ness and intellectual progress were worth
more than the retention OF the idylls Of
naIvete. ! replied to him by declaring
my faith in freedom. and soon he outdid
me in this as in other domains" There
was another part of Ibsen's letter hat went
10 the recipients heart and rejoiced him.
IL was where Ibsen wrote that what was
wanted was a revolt in the human mind,
and in that, he said, the Danish critic ought
70 be one of the leaders These words,
which were in exact agreement with
Brandes's secret hope, fired his imagina-
tion, i'll though he was. 1t seemed TO him
that after having been isolated so long
he had at last met with a mind that under
stood him. a real fellow fighter. As soon
as he was once more fit TO use a pen he
wrote a flaming reply In verse, headed The
Hospital In Rome" in which he described
how solitary he had been in his intellectual
fight and ~endeavor, and expressed content
ment at having found a brother in Ibsen.
1t was in 1853 that our author first became
acquainted with Bjornstjerne Bjornson who
was then s%oiourning in Denmark. We are
told that the latter's King Sverre" of 1881
had been a disappointment, but -Sigurd
Slembe" Of the following year had fasci-
mated young peoples minds. @Bjornson
socially, AZ in literature. was a strong
figure, ~self-conident, loud voiced, out
spoken, unique in all that he said and in
the weight which he knew how to impart
10 all his utterancee." His manner Jared
a little on the more subdued Copenhagen
style; the impression he produced was that
Of "a great, broad ~shouldered and very
much spoiled child" The famous Nor
wegian was already at the height Of his
reputation, having, it is known, long pre-
oeded Ibsen. his contemporary, in the
attainment Of fame. In the press all that
he wrote and did was blazoned abroad by
the leading critics of the day, who had, it
seems, a peculiar challenging way OF prais-
ing Bjornson, although his ability was not
seriously disputed by any one. What long
kept our author and Bjornson apart was
the fact that the former was q free thinker,
whereas the latter, whatever may have
been his private opinions, was a sturdy
upholder Of religion in his writings. The
young critic keenly resented an anony-
nous attack by Bjornson on one Of his
articles. and when in 1869 Bjornson wrote
him a propitiatory letter he made an icy
reply. Eight years elapsed before the wall
that separated the two men crumbled away.
Then, when Of his own accord Bjornson
expressed regret on a public occasion at
the rupture between them and spoke OF
Brandes . with unprejudiced comprehen-
sion and good will the latter seized with
warmth and gratitude the hand stretched
out to him. A hearty friendship, bringing
with it an active and confidential CORE
spondence, was established between them,
and remained mistaken for the next ten
years, when it broke down, this time, our
author says, through no fault Of his, but
through distrust on Bjornson's part.
II.
During his first extended sojourn in
Paris during 1853 our author made few
~aoquaintap ces among men Of letters. but
a few days after his arrival in the early
part Of 1870 for a second stay in the French
capital he called upon Tame and was
cordially received, although Taine was
, generally formal with strangers. Taine
presented the young Dane with one OF
his books, and promised him a copy OF
his work, DE Intelligence" which was
TO come out in a few days. Our author
discovered that Tame knew nothing of
German bellies ~lettres. German esthetics he
despised, and laughed at his visitor for
believing In aesthetics" at all. One dav
he introduced him TO a stranger as "a young
llama N hn dnaR MT hn1iax-o IN r,..,k -
is weak enough to believe in aesthetics"
A GerOan Rsfhata aocordiDo 20 Ta;oa,-