The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-02-17
BY HECTOR FULLER.

1T books have not entirely ceased to be drugs
on the market Publishers sometimes complain II
is not bccsus5 tlcy stan compounded Giter the
CID recipes. for every apoihecars-i mean every
bookmskeg-s supplied with essences and aaTors ana
tincturCs Of his own.
A book which should be hailed by
American literary men with some delight
Is "The American Scene by Henry
James, which the Harpers issued during
the week. The volume is the result OF
Mr.. James recent revisit to this county
the land of his birth. 1t was Henry
James first visit to the United States
for nearly a quarter of Il century In
his introduction TO his book he comments
delightfully."- upon his own feeling and his
viewpoint in coming back TO his native
land after so long an absence. Here is
one paragraph Of the introduction which
explains thoroughly mis- view. though it
is written in that queerly involuted style
which has become the hallmark Of Henry
James and the despair Of those who cam
not parse:
My visit to America had been the
first possible to me for nearly a quarter
OF a century. and I had before my last
previous one. brief and distant TO menu
DRY, spent other years in continuous alb
sence; so that was to return with much
Of the freshness OF eye. outward and in
ward. which, with the further coutribu-
ton Of q state Of desire, is commonly
held a precious agent Of perception. /
felt, no doubt, confess. of my great adj
vantage on that score; since I had had,
TO me. TO become almost as fresh as an
inquiring stranger. had not. on the other
hand. had enough to cease to he, OF at
least TO feel, as acute as an initiated ma
tive l made no scruple OF my conviction
that I should understand and should care
better and more than the most earnest
of visitors. and yet, that should vibrate
with more curiosity-on the extent OF
ground. that is. on which l might aspire
10 intimate intelligence at all-than the
pilgrim, with the longest list of questions,
the sharpest appetite for explanations,
and the largest exposure to mistakes
Mr.. Henry James impressions OF Amer
ica are. curiously enough. being COM
pared with the impressions OF that noted
literary Englishman. Mr.. r. G.. Wells,
who, after spending a long time in writing
about strange other worlds. came over
here, found us strange enough, and has
been writing about us. Mr. Henry James.
after his twenty-five years absence, found
America rather disappointing to him;
Mr.. Wells, on the contrary, found the
country inspiring and wrote with I'M
wonted enthusiasm about it. Mr. Wells
saw US as we were. and let his magma
ton run riot in describing what We might
be ia future. and gave Us a lot Of Stats
ties for the time to come, when al Of
us shall have been dead so long that
there viii be none Of us 10 disprove him.
NJ. James. without at all replying To
or taking cognizance Of Mr.. Wells. whom
probably, deeming frivolous. he has new
or not only not read, but probably never
had his attention called TO. alludes with
all a literary masters disdain to mat
ters already the theme Of prodigious re.
ports and statistics-as to which ] should
have no sense whatever and as TO in
formation about which my record would
Far apart as these two writers seem e
be I'm the matter Of statistics. they are
even less agreed on some other things
about America. Mr.. James grieved that
the vast money-making structure Oht
skyscrapey) quite horribly. quite roman
tlcally Justified itself, looming through the
weather with an insolent cIff-like sub.
Unity" while Ny Wells, whom one would
usually regard as all utIlitarian, depre
Gates that particular skyscraper that
overhangs poor old Trinity to tht
north"
IN England they speak OF Mr.. Henry
James impressions of America as those
of "a native American, but Boston
which has usually been proud enough e
number Henry James as belonging 20 it!
particular fold-says that Mr.. James ha,
lived practically a British existence ever
since he was old enough to be his owT
master and 10 choose his own environ
ment They point out that his father
came Of the Irish land-owning gentry, ant
that il is with the upper classes in Grea-
Britain that Henry James interests hav,
always lain.
Last week We gave the statistics o.
the book publishers of America for tn,
year just past. Now We have at han,
the analytical table of the British outpu
of books for the year 1906. The genera
result is stated as follows: ''The tota
number of new books reported durini
1906 is G9Sj-only 16S more than in 1906
Theological books, in spite Of an incrcas
OF fifty in November, show 4 decrease o
eight on the year. Educational work
are over hundred more. as also are Do
litical and commercial books. and re
printed novels. New novels and juvenil
books show an increase Of $50. Las
books. books on the arts and sciences
and new biographical and historical
works have not been quite so numerou
as the 1905 table showed. In bellies let
tres. the 1905 table showed an increase o
more than 1C0: this table shows a De
crease 70 a a slight decrease is show
In books of travel and geography. also II
poetical and dramatic works"
There is no reason on earth for quOtin
the following, except that now is tn
Lentcn season, and to bOokmen it mus
seem peculiarly appropriate:
From too much love Of living,
From hope and fear set free.
We thank with brief Thanksgiving.
Whatever gods may be-
That no life lives forever;
That dead men rise up never;
That even the wuariCst river
Winds somewhere safe 10 sea