The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-04-18
BY FREDERICK &. HICKS.
LAW Libra rian, COlumbia Univers.

LAW I.tVTurthu. sOIumObu I MYERS.
tty.
A NTHONY TROLLOPE. the one
n hundredth anniversary Of
1 \ whose birth will he on Satur-
day next. April "a, wished to
be remembered. And lest the many
novels which he wrote might not be
| Sufficient to insure this result he not
| only wrote an autobiography. but gave
to others Information from which an
even more intimate life might be writ
ten. To r. II. 5. Escott, whose book
on Anthony Trollope; His Public
Services. Private Friends and Literary
Originals" was published in 1913. he
dictated copious memoranda, often
cautioning him thereafter, BE sure
you take care Of them
His anxiety for posthumous fame
has been gratified, although for many
years he seemed to be destined for
oblivion. The number of his readers
has lately steadily increased. until
there now may be said 10 he n modest
! Trollope revival. To many the auto
biography IL more interesting than
any novel which he wrote and II has
the merit. after the lapse of nearly
forty years. Of summing mp pretty
accurately an unusual literary career.
when Trollope was IL years old he
commenced keeping n journal. He
was faithful TO his resolve for ten
years. and then. on reread.ng the
record he was forced to admit that
il convicted him Il folly. ignorance.
indisCret ion, dleness, eNtravagance
Nd 10 oh nh - frl 10
have been a still more entertainine
book had Il been based on the journal.
for the latter was not written for pub
lication. or his Journal he says. The
volumes remained in my possession
unre garded-never looked AT till
1870. when ! examined them, and with
many bushes destroyed them
Certainly this is sufficient warning
that we must not expect a conscious
barring of the soul in the formal record
- his life, and that we shall not read
overmuch of Anthouy's temptations,
The book is professcdly a literary
autobiography. II treats he says, 'T
my failures and successes, such as
they have been, and their causes. and
OF tho opening which a literary career
offers to men and women for the earn
ing Of their bread"
In this statement is TO he found the
| key 10 an understanding Of his literary
/ career. for he frankly says elsewhere
| that he wrote primarily 10 make
| money Critical readers OF his novels
| may have suspected this before the
! staten mt was made, hut most of
! them will like his honesty and think
| none the less Of him because he loved
! the ncshpots. His ideal " literary
| career was certainly not the high st,
| but he had an ideal and strovc con-
| sistently To attain it. and his success
was due to qualities which are os-
sential to greater achievements,
/ IL capacity for hard work il genius
then Anthony Trollopc was "A genius,
He toiled necessarily from the time
when he made up his mind to he a
novelist until the last month of his
/ life. By his pen he earned ov r
$3.50. 900, yet during thirty three years
of his life he held position in the
British Post Onlcc. 1t is Trollopc's
power to do what he set out to do
which arouses tho admiration and
which is the chief excuse for recalling
attention to his autobiography.
| One cannot say that, Judged by his
I own account of himself, his was a
lovahle character, but perhaps the i'm
| preston is partly due to the Oar
winIan countenance which sarvcs as n
frontlspiece to the book. But he had
n half whining craving for love
which kept showing itself through a
rather rampant exterior, and he knew
how to tell a pleasing love tale.
| His too apparent bid for sympathy
in the account Of his unhappy school
days and the undercurrent of dlssatis-
faction at his treatment ny the pos,
office give a somewhat unpleasant inn
preston. For instance, who can he