Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1916-03-02
HENRY JAMES DEAD;
NOVELIST, CRITIC
AND PLAyWR|GH 1T
Born an American, but Resident
of England Forty Years
Became English Citi-
zen Last Year.

cliSt, died to-day.
Henry James was born an American.
but died Il British subject. In July, 1910
he took the oath of allegiance to the
crown, explaining that he had liVcd ana
worked in England for 40 years and had
developed such an attachment Tor the
country and sympathy with its people that
he desired to throw his moral weight ana
personal allegiance into the British cause
in the European war.
The distinguished novelist, critic and
playwright, was born in New York. April
| Is. 1913. His father, Henry James. ST., was
noted as II writer on ethics and religion;
and his younger brother, william. was
| later to become distinguished as "A psy-
chologist The family was possessed of
an ample fortune, the foundation of which
| was laid by the novelists grandfather. of
/ Scotch-Irish descent who migrated from
| Ulster soon after the revolutionary war
and became a successful merchant at Al
| bany, y. Y.
| The education of the future novelist was
altogether ont of the ordinary. One of its
early features included a course at a
small institution on Broadway, whore
coloquia French was supposed TO he
| acquired in perfection. and Of which the
| pupils were largely Cubans and MeNiCans.
| At other private schools. the young
| Henry James and his brother specialized
in various studies of their early youth,
and when the family went to Europe their
schooling was continued under nomadic
conditions. in Swiss md Frcnch day
schools and with English private tutors.
| One year also was divided between the
University of Geneva ard the University
Of Bonn. after which James returned To
New York. and in 1862 entered the Ilar-
ward Law school, although there is no
indication that law was with him ever a
serious purpose. 1t wa. in fact, early IL
his studies at Harvard that he began tc
contribute sketches to the magazines and
began a literary career that produced
close to u hundred novels and tales
together with critical essays and some
play writing.
Mr. James work was never as popula,
in America as it was in England, but
he had many admirers in his native Coun
try, and even his critics ranked him a.
one of the most masterful writer's Cf The
past generation. His writings were of the
analytical and metaphysical school o
novclists and the full understanding %
his work was matter of endless con
! troVcrsy. To understand Henry James
was in the popular view the gift Of only
a privileged few.
The fact that Mr.. James was always in
dependent of the need Of catering to wha
the public wanted. since his fortune wa
sufficient. enabled him to adher. religious
ly to his own principles of romance re
gardless of how popular they might be
notwithstanding this Indifference he had
particularly among the English people,
, host of readers. who virtually formed ;
cult known as the Jamesites.
One characteristic of Mr.. James novel
, is that they often closed abruptly, leavin'
the reader in doubt concerning tho subse
quent fate of the actors in the story
: where other authors would invent a de
movement. Further, he boldly attackc
visions which to the common eye wer
past seeing. and in thus attempting Wha
other writer's deemed as the impossible !
literary art, he developed intellectual
} mazes and verbal labyrinths that were TO
deep for the ordinary reader. 1t appcare
to be Mr.. James belief that the stor
y that could be told was not worth the tel
ing, and, it was his choice, as one of hi
critics declares. Ito vigorously set him
self to tell the story that cannot he told
" The controversy was as to whether he wa
" successful. He contended that it was {
more interest to the author to paint tn
l. various aimless ways in which human bc
o. ings are actually thrown together than
construct an artificial complication Of eli
g cumstanccs, and he was Indifferent as
- whether comedy was spoiled. or whetl
s. er tragedy broke down before the traG
m crisis,
Mr.. James is said to have original,
the international novel. His scenes f.
stories We're laid in Europe and Americ
Y and. as the titles show, they covered
' wide range of life, In the order of the
appearance, some of his more notah
IS books were: watch and WHrd," "Ro
II crck lIudson,' "rhc American" 'Tl
N European" Daisy Miller "'rhc Maloni
II of the Future An Information
At t,pisodc.' "WashinGton Square," "T
II Portrait Of Lady" the Siege Of 10
&c don" Tales of Three Cities" 'T
/ Bostolians," "Thc Revcrberator,"
IN London Life" "1'hc Tragic Muse "T
Lesson of the Master" "Thc rriva
rs Life" denominations" THE Spells
o. Poynton," What Maisie Knew or
~ Two Magics, "1n the Cage" 'T
Awkward Age" The Soft Side" '"T
Sacred l'ount,' and "Thc Wings Of I
Dove"
T In addition Mr.. James wrote a numl
of books in French, which were DraiS
by French critics as an cNampl" of IN,
~ elegant use of the French language, y
~ James work as an csSaNist also attra
:, cd much favorable criticism, particular
his work on French Poets aud Ne
~. eiistS.' AS a playwright, he also gain
:, som" fame in his later life, one If (
GA most recent Of his dramas being "1
,o lliSh Bid" in which Forbes Robert-
-. appeared i'm London.
Ior In the New Year honors. which Iii
90 George conferred in January, 1916. y
james was awarded the order Of Met
$50 The novelist had been from the dl
"a u staunCh supporter Of tho Britt
cause in tn" European war At
no time h" took his oath of allegiance
nh. the King, in July, 1915. he was quot
as discussing the relations between
two great Anglo Saxon peoples as f
lows:
,n our whole race tension became
IN mo n SublmolY conscious thing fr
tho moment Germany ilung at us
in her explanations of her pouncc ur
SIS BtlSium for massacre and ruVarc