The sun., 1916-10-11

"a door opened. A giant came ina
giant with a silver head, as they say IN
"a fairy tale" Thus DE Maupassant in
1876, when he first say Ivan Turgenev.
the master OF Russian tiction--for We
are In complete accordance with George
Moore's dictum that Turgenev Is the SUI
preme enortless artist among novelist.
Every one who met him loved him. even
tho spiteful Edmond de Goncourt. Henry
James. who was ever exquisitely aware
Of the presence of genius, wrote OF
Turgenev with unconcealed delight. In
his Partial Portraits a picture OF the
gentle Russian giant is slowly built up
by strokes as n Of magic smoke. There
is much Of his troubled melancholy.
some NJ his humor and. rare for NJ.
James. distinct allusions TO Turgenev's
attitude toward the American novelist
Turgenev cared little for criticism.
though IL pleased him to know that his
friends read his books. but he did not
read theirs. Mr.. James ADMITS that re
did not read his. However, the older
man confessed to having found one Of
the Americans novels written dc man
de maitre." His heedieseness about him
self and his affairs Is proverbial. Almost
any one could borrow from his seer.
ingly bottomlcss purse. He was robbed
OF $4,000 france. "a fairly large slice Il
my fortune" he writes Fiaubert. but he
planes himself. not the dishonest stew
ard of his estates. Like Flaubert, he
was rich for a literary man. and. Ike
the French author. he was always CIV
ing. said his Partisan friends. who we've
indignant at the spectacle OF both men
depriving themselves Of more than their
surplus income.
A charitabl. spendthrift, T~urgenev,
nevertheless. was not sorry to inherit a
windfall OF 100000 francs from his
brother. II is our notion that the ricner
a novelist the better hia art. Starve ~
poet. hut feed a novelist. Poverty does
rot agree with a certain order Of genius.
For composers who masquerade In the
;n.atre. that IL opera. money Is n ncces-
sity otherwise their art never blows to
a blossoming. Look at Gluck. nj Meyer
beer. and then consider the unrelievcd
Beethoven in mean lodgings. humming
az hc conn oscd in his deaf condition.
The fiction maker. who IL also social his
torian. the architects Of prose philoso-
phies. such rs Schcpenhauer or Flaubert,
demand leisure. the leisure OF a fixed in
come. Schopenhauer knew this. and. n
practical man. urged all philosophers to
acouire the wherewithai for leisure
money. Goethe. in the last book OF vii
helm Meister," most admirably sets forth
his idea or an artists abode. So does
DE in his la Maison dun Ar
tiste au XIX. Steele for he. too. pos
sessed an income. Flaubert, Turgcn.v
and Tolstoy were wealthy and wrote
what and when they pleased. the need
Of haste that kills art was not thrust
upon them by hunger. Your lyric n ct.
your ~symphonist. spiritually fattens upon
a lean life: but their artistic bre.nr,n
should boast bank accounts. 'Pernnps
painters might be included IN the same
category AS novelists. I'D "i,ri Manet
forced to fight for bread would no: har.
diverted the current Of French painting
HIS wealth gave him leisure and leisure
begat art.
No one could have given US such init
mate memories Of Turgenrv ~ Nine.
Niardot-Garcia. lie was the family
friend, the closest companion OF her hus-
band. Theirs was for years an undis-
turbed intimacy. His most eloquent let
,ers were written 10 the great singer and
to her husband. Louis viardo,. and IN
them he opened his mind on tho sub,ec, ?
Of music. lie knew Council. VINO often
visited him and rolled on his bearsliin
rug when In the travail OF composition. .
i. was at Cour,avenel. the country place
OF the Niardots. that Gounod met 1'ur-
csnev. Their liking was mutual. Tur- 4,
genev knew the piano. for he writes Of
having played duos OF B~eethoveO aud
Mozart with a s'srer OF Tols'oy In q
letter from ~SrasskoYe. ne counsels Nine.
viardot 10 work at her composition This
truly gifted woman. singer ana pianist
admired by List. Heine and all musical
Europe. also found time N compose y
little. And now set TO work cries
II have never admired and
preached work 30 much as ] have since
! have been doing nothing myself and
yet. look here. ] give you my worl 81
honor that. II you will begin to write
sonatas, I will take W my literary work
Hand me the cinnamon and I'll
you the sennn" \ move for a
.sonata-does that suit you
Guy de Maupassant relates that "Tur-
genev used to bury himself In an arm
chair and talk slowly IN n gentle voice.
weak and hesi,atirg. vet giving
to things he said an extraordinary charm
and interest," And Henry James, In A
dellc1te,y humorous page. wouders when
ths Russian found time I, WORK. IN ,
ne seemed always at dejcurer-
govt of his was not acquired on
I. was in Russia, where he went
10 battle himself. ms he says. thar he nut
In long spells OF toll. In 1868 he writes
from Baden to Ambrose Thomas about
A sketch made by Vlardot for the libretto
OF an opera, Nothing came Of the
scheme. Only In the new letters. trans
lated nv Rosa Newmarch. do we catch
opinion Of Tureencv on the neo-
school OF music. II IL a con-
lemptuous opinion and not pleasant read
for the younger composers. He hated
AMI Young Russ,a-at that
its contempt for the sources
II derived its inspiration, an.
rered Tureenev. In the correspondence
with Vladimir Vassiiievich Sta-sov We
see the tempes, brewing IN the slavic
amovsr "Have faith in YOUR nation
breaches Stassov. and you shall
We works also" Russian individual.
ironically exclaimed Turgenev.
What humbug. what blindness and Grass
what wilful disregard " all
hat Europe has done"
He loved Schumann. naturally enough
schumarn. himself a dreamer Of
lreams, hut Ralakirew. or Glinka. ~