New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-09-15

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men since Of the greater mono are left.
~s.,,.e Emerson, Browning, Tenny-
Matthew Arnold, Lander Thack-
WHO are their living successors?
-, there are always writer's. Except
,.socrerav and Landor, l knew them
N and I have known many since. and
my N these later authors are In
ting though no man in his senses
-.o,ld put them by the side Of the
-,,,ts Swinburne is living, and there
!. group Of new writers Of whom
.,,cb is said. You have lately been
,aro.vorshipping in America. Mr.. Ar
.o,d Bennett. who, indeed, has public
,,.,e in his own country, but has by no
cans as vet been apotheosized. Mr..
csIsworthy and Mr.. Masefeld have
,so,r admirers. There is always q
,oste for the morbid. and men who
hrsak away. or profess to, from the
beaten track will find people to follow
them. for a while.
OF an older school is Mr.. Frederick
Harrison. ever prophet Of the per-
verse whom no religion but that of
positivism would have suited; with
learning industry, much natural force
Of mind and a tremendous energy at
the service of fantastic beliefs; whether
,sligious. historical, social or literary.
name him because l owe him an apol-
oev. With respect 10 Colonel Roose-
velts Cromwell l inverted the roles
&c between Mr.. Harrison and Lord
Morley. II was Harrison who praised
the ColoneTs Cromwell monograph
and Lord Morley who asked him how
he could do it-how he could praise
such a book as that ] make the
correction with pleasure. But it is TO
Lord Morley that the apology is really
due. Only in a moment Of somnolent
alteration could have attributed TO
him the opinion Of Mr.. Harrison So
here are two apologies for the single
blunder.
suppose there was never a time
when so many books Of no merit were
published. Perhaps there never was
a time when so many good but not su-
premely good books came from the
English presses; in prose and in verse.
To Horace's warning that neither the
gods nor the booksellers tolerate medi-
ocrity in poetic writer's no one attends.
MIR. Trail in a memorable article on
Minor Poets in the nineteenth century
some twenty wears ago counted fifty
seven Of them. There arc more to-day,
but there is no Trail 10 sit in Judg-
ment on them.
Mr.. Andrew Lang. who died only last
month. might have done il. though h
was himself Of the number, but pure
criticism was not Mr.. Lang's specially.
He was. in the broad sense OF the
phrase. a man OF letters. with versa
tility in which he had few equals, and
with a freshness in which he had none.
] used 10 meet him in earlier days and
always 70 wonder at the easy ANNA
ton and enthusiasm with which he
dscOursed on all subjects: 20 which a
mixture OF cynicism did ever add pleas
ure. And there was distinction over
all. He was one Of the noted and no.
ticeable figures at Private Views Of the
Royal Academy; and often his com
ments on popular pictures ate into the
canvas. he was a picture himself;
tall, slight STOPPING a little as if the
weight Of the fine head overbore the
strength OF the body. About the head
and features there was a symmetry
which brought everything into due pro
portion and the "brindled name"
which after grew white. hanging care
lessly over the forehead, was a frame
for the whole The dark eyes peered
Al you-l think he was short sighted
out burned and shone; a pathetic look
IN them al times. You could not pass
MIN without wondering or admirinG.
lou could not listen TO him indlffer-
emily. He poured out the riches Of his
liho. The storehouse was inexhaust-
ihle.
IN private he shonc without caring
To- tie was an excellent guest He
u1u not SEEK 20 compete. He took
u'ihes as they came. II there was an
opening he filled It, but never sought 70
Iorce his way into a conversation, and
ne would talk {ust 40 trau 70 ,-o,, or
me- or to whoever was next him. as II
ne had gallery, or as If a whole table
iul OF men and women listened. II
would perhaps occur TO you that II was
MS own opinion and his own applause
which he coveted: not that OF the com
pany. IL he was fastidious in his judg-
h'ent OF other men and other writer's
ne was not less exacting TO himself
The public came to look on him as
an Encyclopedias, and not at all. as
Lyndhurst said OF Brougham. "of vast
and various misinformation," but exact
and illuminating at the same time
Few men knew 50 much or so many
subjects or wrote so much and so vel
on such variety Of matters. There
was never a common touch. His schol-
arship was indisputable. though the
Germans thought him a hereto about
Homer; hereto because he believed.
il was his rare fortune 10 know not
only Greek, but English. and his trans
lation Of the Odyssey shows his mas