New-York tribune., 1909-09-11
AUTHORS And UIVES.
4 DoIcful Pierc of MatImony and
Literature.

but over the Man we babble volubly." Where
fore being In advance quite sure of his audience,
Mr. Low confidently discourses in THE Nine
teenth Century" on one Of the most provocative
Of themes 'Matrimony and the Man of Let
ters" It is q commonplace, he asserts. that the
marriages and love affairs of the great literary
artists are often unfortunate, and he divines in
this a significance which he would commend TO
the attention of the scientist. Instead Of treat
ing the gossip of literature mere triviality.'
he says. land leaving II TO be dealt with by
trivial persons, anxious only TO hatch out
piquant story. ought TO have II handled
rously as a branch Of psychological inquiry.
The personal history OF men of genius might he
investigated in a scientific fashion. and the re-
suits tabulated with much precision the
available knowledge admits. Then should
know more than do of the conditions under
which Genius develops. and of it's physical and
psychical environment"
The subject Is not, perhaps, the newest in the
world. The domestic circumstances of authors
have been overhauled and commented upon to an
enormous extent. But Mr. Low endeavors to
systematic the matter as we'll as he can in
brief essay. and to that end he draws up the
following list of representative types of the Brit
ish literary genius during nearly three centuries.
excluding living writer's and those recently de
ceased:
Shakespeare Married at eighteen with hssty
older than himself The union seems to have been
unsympathetic, and the terms of the poets will
RGfP' %ifp TO a" eS'ranse"e"t Oe'"ee" husband and
Milton Married three times The poets FIRST
on divorce and paid his addresses Ito very hand
some and witty gentlewoman" until the wife re-
DIFFERENTIATION; unhappily
Bunyan--MarTied twice; satisfactorily.
Pepys-MarTied, Unfaithful to hts wife, and fire.
Samuel Butler-NIarred late in life
Newton--Unmarried
swift-ses:cretly married to a woman with whom
he @ never lived. and whom he hardly ever saw ex-
DefoeuMaTried; y .95 had several children Little
Addison-Married three years before his death.
The marriage is generally said to have been un-
Steele-Twice married; happily, in spite of rregu-
.Congreve~A bachelor and professional man of
pleasure. -
passion.
Pope-Unmarried
FlsidnsMMagFied twice .PEeyotsdly attached to
Richardson-Unmarried-
Smolle!t1Married; satisfactorily;
widow twenty years his senior marriage considered
grotesque affair by Johnsons friends and contem-
james Tompson-,Unmarried.
Gray-Unmarried.
Hume-Unmarried
Sterne-Married; got on badly with his wife, and
nad various 4OV9 aILauS sentimental pnndnuST-
Adam smith-Unmarried.
wIf9. s9s"e''-MaFre0' frequently uniai'Nful TO his
Cioldsmith-Unmarried
C5ibbon-Unmarried.
sheTidsnTMarried; Mar Ieda not unhaPpiiy
Burns-Married to woman who had been his
mistress; occasionally unfathful TO her afterwards
G1abtbemMarTed; 6te,, ars L;as satisfactorily
Wordsworth Married; satisfactorily,
Scott-Narried; quite sympatheticaily-
Southey-Married twice. First wife became in
six Just before complete failure of his own mental
faculties.
and wife became almost completely alienated and
sheIiey|Made an imprudent marriage early in
life. Separated from his wife. who committed sui
Keats-Unmanied; tormented by unhappy
scandal SHd entered 9 DPo Tao%s Irregular uhons
Charles Charles - Lamb3unm9arried 9a d. -,,o ,,. ,,,
second refused TO live. with him.
Thomas Moore Married: satisfactorily
De Quincey-Married: happily. so far as the hus-
nine One can suppose that hers had not been the
easiest or happiest OF lives Professor Mason.
Edward Buiwer iytton-separated from his wife.
CarIyie-Married bickered good deal with his
wife.
John Stuart Mili-5rnmarried
Darwin-Married: satisfactorily
Ruskin-Narriage annulled
Lsndor- -Quarreiled with his wife and lived many
years apart from her.
Dickens-separated from his wife.
Thackeray-Wife became insane
G9aFss R9adfUn@frTied TTie5 ssfisfisdorfv
Matthew ATnold3,MarTIteyd salts satisfactorily
Kingsley-MIaarrIedi satiTIeet%rlii{ TIeedtdIi,
satsfsctory
Rossetti- Unsatisfactory married lffe: ended by
wife. two years after wedding, dying of overdose
Edward FitzGieraId-se Separated from his wife.
James Thomson C,B. N;,)-Unnarried
Walter Pater-Unmarried.
Go through this list Of sixty eight names and
you Will find that as Mr. Low remarks. there
are only twenty marriages which can be called
satisfactory. Twenty-Five of the marriages
were unfortunate, and several disastrous, and
twenty-five of the persons mentioned were un-
married. Thus among these sixty-eight gifted
writer's less than third were married and
lived in ordinary content and comfort with their
wives" Furthermore, Mr.. Low protests that the
result would be similar if women were included
in the list He admits that a situation quite as
bad might be discovered by observation of the
common lot Of humanity. but he thinks that a
Professor of Psychological Gossip might never
theless do useful work, ascertaining whether
"the proportion of the ,ceibates and the ill mar
ried is really as high among cheesemongers and
stockholders as it has been among the poets and
playwrights." The investigation might be pur-
sued also among famous soldiers, statesmen and
dIllStS, SO LidI ule inquirer might discover
whether failure in matrimony is the penalty of
eminence generally, or merely of literary emil
nence.
If, indeed the author, above all men, is cx-
posed to tempests on the sea of marriage, what
guess may we make as to the cause of his
peculiar fate? Mr.. Low does not pretend to
solve the problem, but he offers this contribu-
tion:
A friend Of mine who, though not scientific is
rather ShreWd, maintains that no recondte causa
is required to explain the marital i'll success of tbs
man of letters 1t may be summed I'm in ona
q iIph tc tba