New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-06-17
MATTHEW ARNOLD
Some Memories of Him by Mr.. G..
w. E. Russell.
From The Manchester GuardIan.

From The Manchester Guardian.
Lord Morley wrote to me on the occa-
sion Of his death, Never shall we know
again so bIithe and friendly a spirit;
and | have always been profoundly
grateful for the chance which, when L
was still schoolboy, brought me WITHIN
the sphere Of that fascinating influence.
on the Both Of October 1867, Arnold.
whose home was then in London, wrote
to his friend Lady de Rothschild:-"We
are fairly driven out Of Chester Square,
partly by the number OF our children,
partly by the necessity of a better school
for the boys; and we have fixed on Har-
row. The clay soil is the only objection,
but the grass fields and hedgeroW elms
are great attraction for me-" 1t was
eminently characteristic of this most hui
name Of scholars thus 10 link the natural
amenities with the educational advan-
tages Of the place. II only wish you
could eat our strawberries. We have
two great dishes every day. and / see no
prospect Of an end to them Il have
had a long walk with Rover in the fields
beyond NorthOlt, which are quiet and
solemn in this gray weather beyond be-
lief" II have had a capital game at
racduets with C, a friend OF the
boys and have been round the garden 10
look at the wild daffodils, which are COM
ing on beautifully" Your verses gave
me very great pleasure. Nothing will
ever eradicate from me the feeling OF the
greater suitaoleness and adequateness,
for topic OF this kind OF Latin elegiacs
than of any other description Of verse"
I quote these passages at haphazard
from Arnold's letters written at Harrow,
in order. TO show the sort Of man who
SWAN into our ken when / was a boy Of
fifteen. Ignorant as schoolboys proven
bially are, we yet knew the name Of Ar
mold. and some of us. a little more alert
than the others. knew that DR.. Arnold's
son Matthew was renowned as poet and
critic-in short, "A swell" But what We
did not expect was to find this distin
guished stranger a young. active, and
singularly graceful man. interested IN all
games and sports: a splendid swimmer
and fisherman; wholly free from pompos-
ity and stiffness; overlooking with hui
NOR. and pleasantly unguarded in
speech. II suppose you know DR..
Vaughan, SIR" said l. TREMENDOUSLY NAM
ing the tutelary deity OF Harrow. He
must have been at Rugby about your
time "Oh. yes. I know dear old
Vaughan--a good creature. but brutally
ignorant" suppose that there was
something iconoclastic n my nature for
this brief epitome Of Vaughan's charac-
ter. and the culture OF a Senior Classic,
filed me with delight.
Arnold's eldest son was a very delicate
and a singularly attractive boy, who soon
became n great friend Of mine. invited
nae 10 his home. and introduced me to his
family. Thus began a friendship which
has lasted till to-day. Fifteen is a re-
ceptive age, and IT is not very curious
that this early introduction 10 the chief
Of critics should have made a permanent
6int on a schoolboys mind. Boys who
write are nearly always fambOyant
They adore rhetoric. admire Macaulay.
and try to write accordingly. But here
was the author Of Essays in Criticism
always kindly interested in the most i'm
mature and unpromising efforts. and al
ways ready with the pruning knife. The
perls Of middle class Macaulayese," the
mote Of Provinciality in literature" the
difference between "Asiatic and Attic
prose- "the desperate attempt 10 make a
platitude endurable by making il pomp-
Cus"-these were topics to which he In
troduced lis, and the introduction was
not in vain. Tell II. TO do more in lit
orature; he has talent for IT. but to
avoid Carlvlese as he would tho devil"
Admonitions Of this kind fell constantly
on our ears. and could scarcely fail to
correct the redundancy of youth.