The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-01-02
Ool1 NEW BOOZE.


The universal sympathy for the suf-
fefings Of Belgium and the Admiration
for her gallant defence against unpro-
veked attack are the chief excuse for
Mr.. JRrHRo BrTHELL's book on Contem-
pordry Belgian Literature (Frederick
A. Stokes Company. The author adj
mits at the start that It II doubtful
whether such a thing az Belgian litera-
ture exists; the neaSeSt approach to
n distinctively national literature IL
that written in the Flemish tongue.
the stories, poems and plays, known
chiefly to the Bclg!ans themselves
and TO their Dutch neighbors, but
which have contributed the name Of
Hendrix Conscience. with q few OF
lesser note. to the ta.e Of European
letters. The writer's with whom Mr..
B;thell deals, however, are almost ex-
c.uslvely those who have written or
who write in French and whose work
must inevitably be Judged as a portion
Of French literature. only 80 pages
are conceded to those who write In
Flemish.
It Is absurd to allow the animosities
OF the moment to d.stort historical
facts. The Netherlands. like .Nlsace
and Lorraine inc X Switzerland.
have been a borderland for a thousand
years not merely politically but lin
guistically and to a certain degree
racially. When the break occurred
In 1880 the portion that became Hol-
land MAS homogeneous,y Teutunic in
language, while the provinces that
constituted Belgium were Flemish
and walloon, party Teutonic, partly
French and generally intermingled.
Tho politics Of the little kingdom has
been confused from the beginning by
differences Of religion, Of race and OF
language; Of late years, certainly in
the districts where French was spoken.
the teaching Of Flemish In the schools
was obligatory. In the cities. while
French might be spoken by the we'll
to do. Flemish wal generally the Ian
suage of the people save in the Wal
loon districts with their mixture of
French and Teutonic dialects. When
ever Belgtans have chosen 10 write
in French It has not been the French
Of Brussels or Of Belgium that they
have striven to write, but the French
oe Paris; It Is 10 the great French
speaking world beyond Belgium that
they have appealed.
Of the authors to whom Mr.. Bithell
limits himself. Belgians who have writ
ten in French since 1880. two possibly
have attained q cosmopolitan reputa-
ton, Maurice Maeterllnck. whom he
belittlss, and Emile verhaeren; some
authors are well known in France or
at least in Paris. The author IL ham,
pered by some peculiar ideas. which
are likely 10 prejudice many readers
against the winters he praises and
which make his selection Of poets and
novelists peculiar. In the first place.
his conception Of Belgian character
seems to he drawn from the painters
ct the seventeenth century; the
coarser pictures py Teniers. the
Breughels and the myriad little mas
tiers. the Harnesses. the drinking
bouts. the tavern scenes. are to him
typical OF real Belgian life to-day. or
more accurately OF what II was when
the wal broke out. 1t is that coarse
ness. with its energy as we'll as It's
yulRarity. that he seei;s in his novel;
lists and poets as the distinctive Bel
g;s5 mark. The story writer's ne ex-
ats above the rest are the realists
y III HSoNo " Nv oAto iNo
endcnvored to Guido their master.
-ircord.ng to their notions OF speaking
panty. apparently. the language Of
'i.a Terre'' Is retioent. Many Of these
gentlemen Mr.. Blthell praises for being
hearty eaters and heartie- drinkers.
and tn some he can attach also a more
or less intensely d~,ssipated career. His
ideal OF a Belgian novelist seems to be
a Tenicrs boor telling stories in a
tavern. The u~nlucliy authors who use
less vigorous prose and write stories
for family use he does not mention.
In the second plnce. his criterion for
poets seems to be that they shall not
be appreciated by the general public:
his standards are those OF the precious
little sets and cliques that infect lit
erature and art nowadays. lie revels
in describing poems that have only
appeared In very limited editions or
such as none but collectors possess.
He gives many specimens OF verse. not
in h original but in his own very
respectable but rather prosa.c trans
lation. which gives the subject mat
ter Of the poem but inevitably can
convey no impression Of the poem,
which Is the matter of chief impor-
lance In the new school Of art. Some
OF the Belgian poets lived In Paris and
attached themselves TO one or another
Of the new prophets. others drew their
inspiration from their books: Mr..
Bithell follows particularly those who
tried to Guido Baudelaire and the fol-
lowers Of Mallarme and the schools
since his day. In poetry. too. he sets
>A.-, ..n Ill "