The New York herald., 1922-12-24

altnouSn Tor nearly half century he has
been recognized as in many respects the
most important literary critic of his half
OF the nineteenth century. Stevenson re-
marked forty years ago that I'VE are
mighty fine fellows, but we cannot write
like William Hazlitt." The major part of
his work has become familiar enough but
surprisingly little has been known of the
man behind it, Yet he is intrinsically one
OF the most humanity interesting of the
many great men of his era; interesting. in
part, because he is, or has been, an enig-
matte figure personally. Even with an al
lowance for the love of billingsgate in the
literary periodicals Of the day it was hard
to understand why BldcklCoods should
have called him ga small, fetid blear eyed
pug" and an acknowledged scamp of the
lowest order STEPPED in ignorance
and malice" On the other side was
Lambs friendship and admiration for him.
Mr. Howe renders fine service in this,
the first fully competent attempt to por-
tray Hazlitt the man. The picture that
emerges is singularly vivid; it is produced
with great skill. as Mr.. Howe for the most
part refrains from commont or analysis
and let's the facts and records he pro-
duces speak for themselves His work
represents a colossal labor of research and
of putting the mass of material together.
He has woven it into finely fluent narra-
tive, though. as he says, he has merely
added the necessary connective tissue to
the letters, diaries and other testimony of
Hazlitts contemporaries. He has brought
to light much new material, and is able
to correct many current errors and to fill
in certain gaps. But, most Importantly of
all, he has made of the whole an incon-
testably living portrait With character
istic modesty he adds that IF on my
groundwork more attractive and lasting
superstructure is one day erected 1 shall
be the last TO complain"
There will be. however. small need of
any further strictly biographical work; one
may confidently predict that Mr.. Howes
study is definitive in that respect But it
does furnish a most attractive ground for
further analytical, interpretative study,
and one wishes that Mr. Howe had now
and then let himself go bit more freely
in giving up his own opinion and inference,
for when he does venture comment it is
always Illuminating. Hazlitt's life calls
peculiarly for the real psychoanalyst-
but it would need a psychologist of the
caliber OF William James to handle it sue
cessfully. He was manifestly often the
victim of his inhibitions and he was singu-
larly unfortunate both in his first marriage
and in a subsequent love affair that had a
serio-comic ending, almost farcical. but
wholly tragic to him. His second marriage
though it gave him several years of peace
also ended unhapply. and although he was
able to say his deathbed, II have had
a happy life" the pity of it is that it
might so plainly have been a much hap
pier one
Space limits forbid any detailed exami-
nation of Mr.. Howes admirable work. 1t
should be noted, however. that he clarifies
most convincingly the quarrels between
Hazlitt and Wordsworth and Coleridge-
that "archangel a little damaged" as
Lamb put it. Mr.. Howe is no hero wor.
shipper, nor does he eVade any difficulties.
but he does show that in such a life as
Hazlitt's it is peculiarly true that ''to un-
derstand all is to forgive ALL" The volume
is handsomely printed. with fine flustra-
ton. and is well indexed.
The publication of well chosen selections
from the diaries and other remains"
OF Crabb Robinson is an addition of
Importance to the literary data of the
first third OF the nineteenth century.
Miss Morley announceS that avaptuallv