The sun., 1908-08-23
SOME NEW BOOKS.
Walter Pater.


walter Pater.
A book that deserves much more at
tention than 1t has yet received on this
sids Of the Atlantic In The Lite Of Woiter
Pater. by THOMAS WRIGHT. two volumes
Putnams). Mr.. Wright. who is known
to o good many readers e. the author OF
"The Life Of Edward Fitzgerald and Tho
Life Of Sir Richard Burton tells us In @
preface that the book before us would not
have been written had not the meagre
outline Of Pster's life given by Mr.. A. O.
Benson been crowded with astonishing
errors. We may find 1t o short road to .
correct conception OF one Of the most brill
liant and original writer's Of the Victorian
ora II We mention some Of Mr.. Benson's
more striking errors OF commission and
omission. He asserts, for instance. that
Pxser did not arrive at his plentiful vocab-
ulary, a some writer's have done. by the
production OF large masses Of writing that
never see the light Benson adds that
sit 10 curious fact that Pater evinoed no
precooious eigns In boyhood and youth
Of desire TO write. Pater's family cannot
remember that he ever showed any par
ticular tendency to write That is to
cay Pater. the author. sprang into being
Ike q phoenix. The truth is that both
as boy and as o young man he wrote
enormously. He was, as Mr.. Wright's
pages prove. perhaps the most voluminous
boy author that ever lived. Elsewhere
Mr.. Benson says that Pater "never wrote
poetry In childhood except few humorous
verses.s As q matter Of fact he wrote
thousands Of lines Of serious poetry and
49, y ol - tha n
OF these volumes has in his possession,
he tells us, many hundreds Of them. Mr..
Benson also says that -Pater wrote very
few letters; on the contrary. the subject
Of this biography wrote an enormous num-
Der OF letters--as many as 400 to single
friend-and most OF them long letters.
We pass over many minor errors to lay
stress upon two Of particular importance.
Mr.. Benson AYERS that Pater's chief interest
during his early life was philosophy. The
fact 10 that his chief interest during all
his youth and early manhood was English
literature. Perhaps the most amazing
Of all Mr.. Benson's mistakes is his assertion
that Pater's metaphysical studies did not
destroy his strong religious instincts The
book before US demonstrates that Pater
was for many years entirely severed from
I0uBlOu. NO nAu nlb peTlOu VI dCtiSo
revolt, as had John Bunyan.
Previous writer's about Pater have al
legged that no was intimately acquainted
with Swinburne and d. G. Rosssth. The
present biographer has Mr.. Watts-Dunton's
authority for saying that Rosseth did not
know Pater at all, save that he once saw
him for five minutes in his studio and Mr..
Swinburne told Mr.. Wright that he never
met Pater TO speak to him more than twioe-
once in London and once at Oxford. and
that even then few words passed.
As previous writer's have assumed that
Pater was q great authority on Greek art
and the Renaissance. the conclusion that
Mr. Wright has been forced to come to with
regard to Pater's scholarship Is likely to
give most readers something OF a shock.
We shall return to this matter later. but
observe here that Pater's knowledge, even
Of the subjects with which he was supposed
to be most intimate. was by no means deep.
He giowed with genuine love for delicate
perfection. but he was too indolent to turn
up his sleeves. % 1t were. and apply him
self TO the tremendous task Of getting to the
foundation Of things. With him intuition
Seems to have been an adequate substitute
for study. The present biographer. at all
events. asserts that there is more Greek
feeling In Pater even than In Landor, who
was profound scholar as well as great
writer: more Greek feeling indeed In Pater
than in any other English man Of letters.
with the exception Of Keats. who knew moth
ing OF Greek literature at first hand. II
now one asks. what 10 the main interest
OF this book?' the biographer replies that
it brings the reader into the closest posi-
ble relationship with one Of the most dis
tingiished writer's OF his day. The book
10 crowded from cover TO cover with good
things said by Pater and his friends. Pater's
most intimate friend. Mr.. G. r. Mcqueen,
testlfes that he was as amusing a com-
panion as could be found.
The fact that Pater was Of Dutch lineage
should be borne constantly In mind by
those who wish to understand his tempera-
ment and character. The Paters from
whom the subject Of this biography was
descended are first heard OF in England
on the Norfolk and Suffolk seaboard. where
there was q Dutch colony Toward the
close OF the eighteenth century ono Thomp-
son Pater married Miss Esther Grange
and went out to New York, whence with
three children. Elizabeth. Richard and
William. he after a while found his way
back to London, where he practised as a
surgeon until his death in 1912. His elder
son Richard followed his fathers profess
sion and settled In Stepney and there on
August 1 1889, his son. Walter Horatio,
the subject Of this biography. was born.
The boy had a slightly misformed back
and was Of curiously unprepossessing
appearance. In 1858, when he was thir-
tsen and half years old, he was sent to
tho Kings School, Canterbury, where Chris
tophsr Marlowe and many famous authors
Bishops and statesmen had been taught
tho school. In fact, Of DR.. Strong in David
Copperheld.' The Kings School at Canter-
bury. indeed. is the Oldest public school
In England, having been founded in the
seventh century. when Kent was q sep
arate kingdom and the arrival OF Angus
tines monks the latest sensation. That
Pater Was never Q popular boy at Kings