The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-12-18
The Dlsre<slops of \.

MISUNDERSTANDING me hal Hral ant pa
lions and the preliminary flourish of
publishers trumpets. tn" gJurity oi
r"cOileCt ions. "Reminiscences memoirs Of
well known men and women are iisap-
pointing. Tn. absenc" Of plan. the pro-
liSry and the dispirit ing sslw'i,Is, II self
are too often the chief Charact.rist los 81
such product ions Windy ego,i-in al
Comp'ns-Ltes for the absence OF human
quail le- fyen literary craft sInansh
hrin = slight CpnsplAtIon Therefore IL
IL with Joyful surprise that the reader of
The DiGrrssioBs al 4. ,Hough,on Mifiiin
Company. seemingly Imprnv ir~,i by the
veteran American artist ELIHU NEDDEE.
wall 'urn page after rage 81 this fat. heavy
volume. finding "A v.ritablc ir,sa sure rove
Ut wli. untaIIInG humOr. genr L. wisdom.
"A Hood ii anecdotes and an unfiagGng
nara; I'VE. Tia. book bubbles over with
good things and IT, Unaffected unpra-
medNated style and composition are not
the least u ire charms One of Mr. N.d-
der's admirers thinks that the lie nigh;
better hay" been The DIEre--iou~ pl
Elihu'. bGt a. " IN. was known To nis
own generation, as " he signed some
Of his work. and as v IL. will dwell in
the memory Of IN. generation that will
follow hun.
ON tn" fantas' IC cover " hIs printed
IN golden letters Written for his own fun
and th,t II his friends and on the Dor
ders Somewhat - '.r~haiowcd by great
names "A feeble plant h. tries To rear. il IL
not nourl>h.i hy great aims nor vat TO
be retarded 10y much fear Aims IT any
. are but the~e-rn h. remembered AMI to
please. With such "a lea ling mot we
the tun" that Mr.. Neidrr plays - merry
and irresistible. capital port RAFT of
the author begins the book and through
out tn" numerous. illu~t rat .ons arr 10y
the artist His introduction H. Every
man his own Boswell 4 have been
asked - often hv my friends this q,e.s-
ton begins " WIZ don't YOU
write all these thing-T that have finally
concluded TO satisfy that which On their
par is only good old fashioned curiosity.
10y IN exhibition ON my pert - cool old
fashioned vanity: and so. not 10 keep them
waiting. will say AZ once. that have al
ways deplorei my lack Of a Boswell. my
eSperienC" being that full many 4 spark
Of wit ~ struck TO fash unseen and waste
It's brilliance on the family air. And this
in spite Of my having repeat eddy called the
family attention 10 its negligence in this
respect. But suppose the Boswell. had
n Boswell should slowly absorb me ~
good old pr Johnson was absorbed bv
the original Boswell Or suppose should
bc lik. the block Of marble in Michel.
angelo sonnet The more 'he marbl.
wastes TN" more TN" statue grows and
the ststu" should turn 10 b. the Boswell!
What them fhe moral is clear. be your
own Boswell. 50 that If anything il % be
absorbed 1t will remain IN the premises.
" begins AT the beginning wit h quaint
legends Of his infancy. even present ing
with due solemniry a N.cd"r genealogical
tree; but the digressions soon begin to
appear. The author rambles in his loos.
gated vet never notonous manner
For all We know his apparent artlessn.ss
may conceal the nrf Of never boring his
readers. certainly much to he desired
arr nowadays He disCourses of old
Dutch days. 81 Schenectady. OF his own
birthday February -. Is7r. IN yarick
street. New York OF the old CITY. when
Grand street was upt own: OF his parents
early ART struggles and first trip to Cubs.
Tn" exotic ting" 10 So much Of yedder's
work may have been the result Of his
visits 10 tn. islands. where color. warmth
the play of graceful forms and tho rich
tropical vegetat ion would naturally slim =
ulate his Ldolnscrnt INA gina,ion. The
stories he relates Of his hoyhood are in
gsnuouS and entertaining. He must have
been "A boy full Of high spirits. mischicv- B
Ols hut not cruel. and fert Ito IN romancing
and IN" dcyisnR Of novel games
He went "A l. lad 10 Sherbourne and
entered the ~ udio Of r. H. Matteson
He sketched. he played prunks. worked
dreamed. and eventually reached Europo
in 1853 lie little thought that with a
few int"rregnums Italy would be his
ultimate abiding place. Self-expatriated
Decarise Of cirrImst ance=. vcdder has
rename an American 10 tho core. But
lis temperament II mystic. dreamer.
poet and painter rivete sl him t % the bcauti-
ful land Of dreams. where he made hi,
reputation ~ an artist ~ unusual gifts, a
.ort Of American Blake. though possessing
1 normal vision Of the life about him.
Beneath his mask ~ jollity the reader
IAN discern with difficulty the evolutio
II the painter he carries On everything
With 40 light hand. abhorring pose and
retension. that nj times you ask YOUR