The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1909-06-20

M JUNE ~
mistake TO imagine 5terne as an awkward
and unpublished country parson, who hAe
spent all his time In the cultivation ofhii
glebe, though he had been engaged mor'
or less In that. He was q gentleman by
birth who had been bred at the univer
sity; and he had been the associate Of
gentlemen all his life. His transidor
therefore to London society was not se
abrupt a IL might SEEM
DR.. Hills attitude, however, was thai
Of the society journalist who accepts
the verdict Of society. 1t was not 30 witt
Bohemia After Sterne had been six
weeks in London all Grub Street broke
loose at his heels. THE soribblers,
Sterne told a correspondent, use me Ill,
but they have used my betters far worse.
To Miss Mccartney he wrote, God for
give me for the volumes Of ribaldry I've
been the cause o. In the end, however,
the assaults Of jealousy and envy 30
worked upon Sterne that he was on the
point OF r%enounoing autho rship. From
the burlesques, criticisms and forgeriee
with which the London booksellers flooded
the town Sterne could find no escape even
In Yorkshire. 1t Is noticeable that Sterne
when in London saw few men Of letters.
The great people who left their cards at
his lodgings dwelt outside the realm OF
literature. For all the attentions Law
ished upon him by men OF rank and
wealth, Sterne did not bear very well the
test OF critical opinion. Horace Walpole
In a private letter called "Tristram
Shandy" a very 'insipid and tedious
performance" Goldsmith, however, was
the only distinguished writer who spoke
out in print against the Yorkshire parson.
DR.. Johnson, though he despised 'Tristram
Shandy," thought that Goldsmith went
too far in writing the author down a
blookhead. He remarked to Goldsmith
one day: 'The man Sterne. 1 have been
told. has had engagements for three
months And a very dull fellow
added Goldsmith. why. no.. sir re-
piled johnson, and with that the CONVEX
sation ended. Richardson. the novelist.
answering the question put by a Bishop
wrote: Who is this Yoriok. you are
pleased to ask me. You cannot. l imagine,
have looked into his books. Execrable,
I call them On the other hand the
poet Gray thought that Sterne's sermons
showed a very strong imagination and
a sensible heart. Even some Of the peo-
pie who would not take in @Shandy'
were almost persuaded by the Sermons
that they had misjudged the author.<
v.
We cannot attempt to follow in equal
detail the biographer's account OF Sterne's
remaining years. Before he died, in
March. l78s, at the age Of IS. he had added
seven volumes to the first two OF Iris
tram Shandy,' and had produced the
first instalment OF A Sentimental Jour
ney,' based on a prolonged s~ojourn in
Paris and an extensive tour In France
and Italy. The phenomenal prestige
which his writings had gained for him
in London society assured to him high
consideration on the Continent, even In
countries where TRANSACTIONS Of his works
had not yet been published. When the
news OF Sterne's death reached Leasing
at Hamburg-he had been reading Iris
tram Shandy" since 1853, but had never
met the authorize said. Il would have
given ten years OF my own life II l had
been able to lengthen Sterne's by one
year.
In a concluding chapter Prof. Cross
comedies that no biographer, though the
spell Of -Tristram Shandy' be upon him,
can hope to make it quite clear why
Sterne captivated the world that came
within his influence. 1t is indeed unde-
niable that his wit, humor and pathos,
which exactly hit the temper Of his age,
seem a little antiquated now as we derive
these qualities second hand from the
books he left behind him and from the
numerous anecdotes which were related
after his death. We are told that only
a few Of his letters retain their original
freshness, for in most cases their phrases
have been smoothed out by editors and
biographers. we may look says Prof.
Cross. upon the wonderful portraits that
were painted of him by Reynolds and
Gainsborough. and observe his dress.
figure. features and bright, eager eyes,
but we must add from DUR imagination
the smile and the voice OF the kings
Jester. Moreover. manner and morals
have 80 completely changed since Sterne's
day that one is in danger Of misjudging
him. The b%iographer is undoubtedly right
in saying that no ecclesiasnc could now
live the life that was lived by Sterne.
He would promptly be unfrocked. The
scenes through which Sterne passed, the
men and women with whom he associated,
and the jests over which they laughed
have long since become impossible in
smart society
In a paragraph wherein an effort Ia
made to let US See Sterne as he was the
fact Is recalled that when he first came to
London in triumph he was far from being
the awkward country parson. lean, lank
and pale, that later c~aricature has repre-
sented him. He was a man hardly be-
You'd the prime Of life, Of slight figure,
nearly six feet in height. OF rather prom
inent nose. with cheeks and lips still re-
tanning traces Of youthful color and full
ness-and eyee soft and gentlea as a woman's
when they we're In repose, but dark and
brilliant when his spirit was stirred by
conversation and repartee.' In bearing
he seems to have been from the first sup
pie and courteous to an extraordinary
degree. His oddities. which friends
watched and commented upon but never
described. consisted apparently in "a
drollery OF face and voice when he paid
a compliment Oh related a jest, combined,