New-York tribune., 1922-05-07

told ME that he had landc d
tho greatest conceivable magazine
feature to be had out of Europe, but
he would not tell me, yet, what it is.
We talked to Croce's theories and he
suggested that I read Percy Lubbock s
The Craft of Fiction" wherein. he
said, Lubbock has attempted to define
the precise form of the novel. am
sure that | shall be interested in the
book, for books about books always
interest ne; but 7 doubt whether it
IS possible to define, precisely, the
form Of any art. Immediately YOU
begin to make definitions. an artist
comes along and blows them all to
oiazes by creating an indubtable work
of art in which he observes not one
rule You have established. AS Anatole
France is reported to have said in that
engaging volume. "Propos d'Anatolc
france (soon available in an English
iranslation), all the great literary
geniuses, Shakespeare, Ccrvantcs.
Moiiere, Rabelais, Swift, Bazac, etc,
have violated the rules of form, of
syntax. Of everything, indeed, except
the one rule that they shall not have
base souls. 1t is possible. of
course, that Mr.. Lubbock limits himself
10 the subject designated by the title,
and that it is with the craft Of fiction
that ne is concerned. Harry and |
Uritr ,,kk -,
Of fiction Henry James is perhaps the
supreme artisan of all times. James
was at the same time a genius, but not
so great genius, I believe, as Dos
toIevsky, Balzac or Flaubert, say, who
were his interiors as craftsmen
Ic dinner with Frederick King and R
l.. Hartt, both of The Literary Digest"
and Hartt told us Of the weakness of
policemen for being weighed. every
tune see one near a weighing machine
! weigh him. The last one weighed 2lS
pounds. including pistol, nightstick,
flask and money taken from pushcart
peddlers." Re-read to.niob+
the 3o9 amatory epigrams in the Loeb
edition of the texts and transla
lions Of the Greek Anthology" book
which might reasonably be a best seller
to-day Here is life and beauty of q
diverse and interesting kind. spontane-
Gus lyrical emotion and ingenious mas
terpieces of invectve (witness the
2oAth epigram, attributed to Meleager),
frank and unabashed animalitv and
delicately wrought sentiments; pre-
clous record of the early changes rung
on the subjects - love, jealousy. hate
and disenchantment.
APRIL %
! P. M'EVOY, the Chicago writer of
topical verse, came to lunch, after
which took him for the view to be had
from Brooklyn Bridge. He responded
properly to the sheer lineal grace of
Manhattan Bridge, structural design
IN chaste, straight lines and delicate
curves which are a sensuous delight.
venture in utility which should num-
Der among the aesthetic splendors of the
city We made note of the engineer.
Colonel Washington A. Roebling, who
constructed the Brooklyn Bridge, and
we wondered why it was that biogra-
phies are usually written of the wrong
people. of gabby politicians and bad
authors, thlrd-rate generals and stupid
monarchs. Here was a man of whom
we knew only vaguely that he had de-
signed this bridge against the skep-
ticism of the worlds scientists and
engineers. 1t took both imagination
and exact knowledge, vision and pre-
cise calculations to achieve this i'm
pressive and useful monument to the
resources of the human brain. But
kwhat was Colonel Roebling like? What
ps that genius like who plans to span
Vthe Hudson with a bridge whose anchor
towers will be taller than the Wool
worth Building? Once in while, !
told McEvoy, biographers sense the fit
ness of subjects and I shetchcd for him
the epical battle between Hill and.
Hartman related in "E. H. Hartman:
A Biography" by George Kennan.
The difficulty is perhaps, that in this
book, as in other biographies of men
recently dead, there is not the whole
truth. In a review by Stark
Young in The New Republic of Ar
thur Valleys "The No Plays of Japan
] encountered these words: "Of the
distinction, the flower of these Nos, Mr.
Valley seems to me in this translation
to have caught great deal Only in
one respect does he seem lacking-and
il is a great lack-the musical value
Of the lines. Otherwise
the original quality of the No mind is
respected, and the restraint and taste
Of the original beautifully set forth"
trust that Mr.. Young IS as well versed
in the Japanese language as these
statements imply.
APRIL %
READ Houdini's Paper Magic" this
morning. Like his other book,
Miracle Mongers and Their Methods"
it is fascinating. Moreover, it prompts
meditation That extra ordinary man
must look down upon us all with a
profound pity for our simple credulity,
our mental sluggishness, our inability
to sec what takes place before our eyes.
No NH opher statesman shares