The San Francisco call., 1908-07-12
-CsnCsrHiEg Lafadie Hearn

b George Y. Could Published By George "
Jacobs & Co. Philadelplla- Price $50
Some tine last year the Life and
Letters Of Lafcadio Hearn by Mrs
Elizabeth BisIaud Wetmore were pub
Iished and people who had heard uttI
q Hearn were greatly surprised e
see q volume OF such Importance Il
attracted much attention. also. because
0f It's appearance 50 soon after his
death. On the principle OF saying
nothing bur good Of the dead II Izu9ed
Hearu 70 the skies and placed him on
a pedestal much higher than he de-
served
IN the course Of the book a state-
ment was made about Dr. George N
Could which he and his friends re-
seEted The statement was none the
less irritating because II was veiIed.
He was accused 81 obtaining Hearu's
library II an Improper manner
Dr Gould was able 10 show such
strong proofs dIxcountfng any such
charge that the publishers agreed 10
eliminate the Objectionable passage
from future editions OF tAe book. Peo-
PIE now are saving that because Of
Or. GouIds telling Of anita gouism
toward the author OF the Life and
Letters he was moved 70 write the
present volume Concerning Lafcsdfo
Hesru- The book is intensely inter-
estiug and may as well be believed as
the other book Moreover. Dr. Gould
submits proofs for most OF the state
ueurs he makes
Dr.. Gould - one Of the foremost ec-
ultsts OF the country and has written
many articles about eye strain HIS
derrsctors even 20 50 far as 10 saw
that he IS positively obsessed with the
idea Of eye strain and makes II account.
Tor many discrepancies Of mind and
morals Hea-n was a subject OF very
remarkable interest 10 DR.. Gould His
lett eye was gone and MS rIght eye
could see only about three inches be-
fore aim Il appears that Hearu treated
Dr. Gould very Badly and IL no way
showed any gratitude toward any OF
the people who befrfended him In the
preface Dr. Gould says.
He hes been spoken II az 4 great uan
which q course. he vas rot Two taIe7rs be
lad. a-r these were far fr1u1 constituting per-
sunal greafzess- Deprived bv natr-e ~ the
e re- g-cc. morality sehoIarstfp. rl-r1a1fnlftr
loyzlrT- character, be1evoIsnre and other eon-
foLy 70 endeaVar % place him thus wrongly
before the world
That q q pretty severe statement and
one feels that more should follow in
EUbstzUttation 10 make II more than
empty abuse Another bit from the
mind e which Dr.. Could evidently an
preached his subject
Character. lastly. IS the reaction az personality
against c1reu-Sc11ce. not under and doErina ts1
y Circumstance To have character Is 70 con-
1r0l ctrcuns1ance. Eearr was always It's slave
Except n oue parricuIar-the pursuit q literary
excel enee-Eearn tad no character whatever His
WIS the Ezosr Unresistszg. nest echolzks nafH9
meIeou- He vas alNTaEE tie mirror u
rhe friend o. TIE instant, OF. II 10 friend was
rhEre. q the dream Of that Instant .
After q few harsh paragraphs Ike
that one expects much more violent and
eubfttered deuunciatfons than appear
n the book
Early IN its pages one can see that
the doctor takes & totally different view
OF the man Hearn than did Miss Bis
land Il one is 70 write q life he sees
no reason for ideaiization or CLOSING
over OF disagreeabIe facts One NAV
contend that Dr. Gould errs on the
other side. that he almost goes out o.
his way 70 throw mud. but there Is a
feeling while reading the book that the
author has made an attempt 10 give an
honest interpretation of Eearu-s char
screr. He knew hin futimateIy=if one
may use that word about so strange q
creature as Eearn-and for a NUMBER
Of years. and had exceIleQt opportuuf-
ties 70 study him In chapter half
way through the book. called The Poet
OF Myopia. DR.. Gould compares Hearu
% Flzubert and goes deeply into the
subject of eye disease. FIzubert was
afflicted IN much the same way as was
Hearn- and many q his moral short
comings, his habit OF opium and later
epilepsy DR.. Gould traces 10 his near
sightedness- Hearn had lost his Iett
eye from Inflammation resulting from
q blow at college. and his right eve was