New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-08-26
"THE YELLOW BOOK
Some Sad Truths About the Re-
naissance of the Nineties.
From The London Times.


were put on their shelf seemed htly
symboized by the splash of bold color
they made among the cautious browns
and green's of all the other books. They
were taken down i'm full consciousness
that ii is cheap and easy TO smile at the
auda cities Of the day before yesterday
to be playfully patronizing over expert
ments that In fact were TO come 10 so
little. From where we are now placed
there is no period out of the whole range
of the past so certain to look touchlngly
stale IS the unfortunate DOS; BUT, win
q hand already extended TO the shelf In
question. we reminded ourselves that
that would not be the fault Of the 9Vs,
but of bold. bad 1911 just us the inno-
Cence Of 1911 will not be its fault the
day after tomorrow. There was, there
fore. to be no sneering and no smiling;
the 9O's were to he faithfully looked into.
the yellow Book" read with an eye
severe indeed. but as serious as can be.
The impulse was due. it should be OK
planned. to a recent little book 10y Mr..
w. 6. Blailkie Murdoch, "The Renais-
sanCe Of the Ninetes,' work calculated
to put the cynical critic To some shame.
There can be no question of smiling al
Mr. Blaikie MurdoCh's enthusiasm; in
these perplexcd days we shall certainly
IFSIfNl tHA llliIE ~ W llVl'-ii' ~ A'H' ~
1894 there occurred n mOmcntOus event
i'm the history of aesthetics generally, this
being the founding of the yellow
Book" It IS said that there have for
some time been writer's. with published
works to their names, who can honestly
say that they were not allowed TO read
the yellow Book" when II was founded;
and probably there are now others who
do not even remember the event. If so.
lot them read Mr.. Biailie Murdoch ana
learn how art was pursued by the Young
giants Of the Renaissance. About the
beginning Of the g0's a number of them
were living hard by one another in the
Temple Some of thom frequently
congregated TO exchange ideas on art at
the Rhymers' club. which met at the
Cheshire Cheese: another favorite rem
devious Of the group was tavern tnear
Leicester Square). chosen for ito proX-
unity to two stage doors: while In 1870
four Of them were all together on holi-
day at Dieppe." one measures the de-
termination of the pursuit by such tell
ing details as these. What passion for
art Is implied by the last, There can he
few places where we would not sooner
spend n holiday than at Dieppe; Bruges
would certainly he quieter. Venice more
picturesque But where else could YOU
had had its day and been exploded-in-
deed. Of finding none at all but what you
brought with YOU. new bright mintage
Of Leicester Square? One sees that ~
must he Dieppe. And now 10 open the
yellow Book
II is q little disconcerting. however
pleasant, TO find on the threshold. head
ing the momentous event in aesthetics
generally. not the tamelcss young adj
venturers from Dieppe To whom we mean
to be so attentive, but the mature SELF
composure, the civilized distinction, OF
Mr.. Henry James, offering MS I'm the first
fifty pages one of the most finely finished
Of his short stories. An event in the his
tory of aesthetics as much as you please,
but not quite the one expected. And
when we push on. and find the young
lions duly arraycd. It is difficult to put
out Of mind the cool controlled tones or
the writer who had learned his art mot.
perhaps. at Dioppe) a good many years
before the Rhymers' club began to ex-
change ideas on the subject. II throws
MS rather out Of key, and ever ana again
we turn 10 listen.
Oh. indeed 1--WE seem to hear the voice
grow articulate), II it's question OF sur
prise perfectly understand yours at see
ing me here. appealing as ! ever so meeklY
must 20 your felt consideration little
What can ! say for Justification, If not
rather all abjectly for extenuation, but
Just that the whole charming company
are, in a word-don't you make 1t OUT
supremely at II? oh, with capers. with
pranks. with allures, as to which ]. per
haps. betray an imperfect sympathy; but
none the less beautifully at it. BY which
mean that. with whatever queer rend-
ings and wrenchngs, it is the real right
stuff, the stuff of art, that they may be
seen az having determined-as having with
all the pride OF their youth rejected the
invitation. ever urged on them by the fond
public" not to determine-so TO speak, TO
go for.
There, i'm fact, We have it: the voice
gives MS the clew. Without the clew IT
would certainly have been i'm rising be
wilderment that we should have turned
the pages. We shall not here speak Of
the pictures, the quality Of which Cat any
rate, i'm the first few numbers Of the
yellow Book was decidedly on much
higher level of originality and impor
tancc than the average Of the letter
press Bcardsley and Gender, 10 name
only the dead belonged TO an order Of
genius which could not be matched
among the writer's of the group; so much
is clear at once But Mr.. Blaikie Muir
dOch gave us TO understand that the
writer's, too, formed some sort Of school
with a definite theory of art. definitely
opposed TO what they found in the field
when they began. II is this that we
look for I'm vain. OF the young revolu-
tionaries we We're promised. we detect no
more than single one who did indeed
come forward with a new gesture and
perfectly clear conception of what he
proposed TO do-nOt the less original for
wearing so demure, so little revolution
airy an air-the impeccablc Max Beer
bohm. But that fine needle Of irony and
humor was a thing apart; or If 1t be
longed Ia school, Mr. c. s. Street was
the only other member Of it. OF the rest
there were some who were Enthusiastically
producing fine work: il is enough to
name Henry Harland Arthur Symons
and John Davidson.
But what was their common faith the
new symbol Of their quest? II may be
said that il is always the lesser membeIS
OF any movement who best show the
direction Of it. their common purpose
being less obscured by their individu-
ality. We dive deeper then, taking care
to bring no names to the surface this
time. and now perhaps we do get a little
enlightenment The fact seems 10 be
that, i'm spite of Mr. Blail,ie Murdoch II
was not really a genuine movement at
all. II was the discovery, the rather be-
lated discovery, that "A real movement
was i'm progress abroad, represented by
the Symbolists Of France and Flanders.
In France and Flanders IL had been re-
volt for the new writers had grown up
TO find an artistic creed I'm possession
which they refused TO accept. I'm Eng
land the same question could not arise.
Tor though there were great writers i'm
possession, there was nothing approach
ing an accepted artistic creed. In state
Of anarchy II Is difficult 10 raise n revo-
iution, for you cannot look 10 your OPP
ponents' position to define your own 10y
the simple force Of contrast. This was
the difficulty of our literary insurgents.
and we seem 10 make out that they did
not clcarlN see il themsclves. Their