New-York tribune., 1912-01-27
"REMINISCENCES
Mr.. Conrad in Literature and on
the Sea.

This is not an autobiography, not even
an attempt at one. 1t scorns chronology,
it does not begin at the beginning, whlch
is not reached till later on, and 1t sklps
backward and forward in discursiVe'
irresponsible manner that yet is not
without its firm purpose Of self-revela-
ton. For that is Mr.. Conrad's confessed
aim, to let his readers see and under
stand. If possible, "the man behind the
books so fundamentally dissimllar as
for instance. Almayer's Folly and The
Secret Agent" The man behind the
first of these two stories is the more
readily perceptible one. He OF The
Secret Agent" and, far more, the man
behind Under Western Eyes" remains
very much of an enigma. For the Pole
as well as the Russian is an Oriental
Of the Occidental world. But for that'
Under Western Eyes" could never have
been written in the form that makes II
a psychological puzzle, not revelation,
to us.
Mr.. Conrad, then, starts with the writ
ing of his first book, "Almayer's Folly
as the thread upon which to string MS
objective story with its subjective con-
notation. He starts with the tenth chap
fer on board an English cargo steamer
AT sea. The book was written at in
tervals in many places, in London
lodging house, in the region Of Stanley
Falls, In the Ukraine; the manuscript
was lost in a Berlin railroad station-in
short, the story Of its writing is itself
an adventure Of many chapters. And
only later on do we reach its Inspiration
Almayer himself, on rickety pier on
the coast of Borneo, receiving the pony
sent out to him, whence the author does
not say.
Elsewhere in his pages he expresses
the conviction that
In this matter of life and art it is not
the Why that matters so much 10 our
happiness as the How AS the Frenchman
said; III y a toujours la maniere.' Very
true. Yes. The manner
AS to Mr.. Conrad's manner in litera-
ture little need be said at this late day;
as to the How of his life, his "Weltan-
schauung," that, one apprehends from
these curiously interesting pages, has
been shaped far more by the quarter
deck than by adventures at the writer's
desk and in the world of books. The
sea took Mr.. Conrad in his youth, and
set its stamp upon him, but that may
be only momentary impression Of his
and Of ours Certain 1t is that in these
memories he is chiefly concerned with
the sea and the tales it brought to him.
with "Jim," "The Mirror Of the Sea"
Youth" "Typhoon," and, first OF all
and most of all, with "Almayer's Folly"
There certainly is a place in contem-
porary literature for another volume Of
his "reminiscences, and-he is a Slav.
"Westerners see that a thing is or is
not" explained one Of them not long
ago; I'VE see that thing both is and
is not"
The Polish "reminiscences OF the first
half of the last century impress us
deeply with this psychological mystery
Here are figures, drawn merely in out
line, that bark back to Sienkiewicz's
seventeenth-c century heroes-men Of the
Napoleonic campaigns and the insurrec-
tions of 1880 and 1863, the shadow Of
Russia over them ever, lying deepest
and darkest on the authors memory Of
his mother. ordered back into exile when
dying, escorted by tender hearted Of
fetal. himself driven by the whip of the
system:
| regret not being able to give up his
name TO the scorn of all believers In the
rights Of conquest, as a Teprehensibly SEN
sitiye guardian of imperial greatness On
the other hand, | am In a position to state
the name of the Governor General who
signed the order with the marginal note
ITO be carried out 10 the letter" In his own
handwriting. The gentleman's name was
Bezak. A high dignitary, an energetic
official, the idol for time OF the Russian
patriotic press. Each generation has its
memories.
The passion for literature antedated
that for the sea in the child of a region
remote from its waters. He began to
read at five; when he was ten he made
the acquaintance of Hugo, Gil Bias and
Don Quixote in French and of Dickens,
speare he first knew in exile in Russia
with his father through translation by
that father of 1.-TWO Gentlemen of
Verona"
"reminiscences, adventures, revelations,
but-no confessions Rousseau's ex-
ample warned Mr.. Conrad against them.
From Rousseau to literature, from lit
eraturC to criticism and its definition by
Anatole France-"the adventures Of
soul among masterpieces. Follows Mr..
Conrads definition of authorship: THE
good author is he who contemplates
without marked Joy or excessive sorrow
the adventures of his soul among criti-
cisms." He, too, has contemplated the
work of the literary critic and found 1t
wanting. At sea, too, there is criticism
everything can be found at sea, "includ-
ing the opportunity of making a fool of
yourself, exactly as in the pursuit of lit
erature" but at sea criticism is gem
orally impromptu, and always Uiud rocc.
which is ths outward, obvious difference
from the literary operation. with conse-
quent freshness and vigor that may be
lacking in the printed word. This
much they have in common, that before
the one and the other the answering
back, as general rule, does not pay"
Loyalty is the virtue which the sea
teaches above all others. And as for
life:
II Is sufficient for me TO say: ''J'si vecu."