Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1923-04-10
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
THE HARRINGTON DIARY. Joseph


Der of the Royal Academy about
century and a quarter ago. This scant
outline would have been about all for
Joseph harrington had he not, along
with his painting, acquired the habit
of keeping a journal Now the jour
nal clearly proves the man to have
| been a prime gossip, whatever poster
| ity may have had to say about the
quality Of his art. Therefore, from
the tepid interest Of a handful of
| artists in his half-forgotten work
! harrington moves out here into the
| ceptance. For, say what we may,
| deny 1t vehemently as we all do,
! everybody likes gossip And this Is
| natural liking, deeply personal to
the individual. since it gives one many
| vicarious adventures that he does
not possess the courage to take on
| his own account. without doubt the
| psycho-analyst could make 1t clear
| that love of gossip does not rest upon
| a perverse satisfaction over the short
! comings of others. but rather that it
enables one to envisage and in
| sense to embody some of the secret
! outfarings Of his own heart. BY way
| Of this book Joseph harrington is sure
| to come into a certain permanence OF
recognition and popularity CORE
| spending, in measure. to that of
Samuel Pepys. And. like Pepys also,
| not through his established profess
| sion, but instead by way of a mere
| diversion from the routine and ardors
| of that profession.
X r
And what. in that long gone day.
| could an Englishman have put into
| a diary that would be likely to prove
\ of interest to Americans today? What
| and where were We a hundred and
| twenty-five. or thirty, years ago?
| What were our contacts with the
| English folks who come and go so
swiftly and in such numbers here?
4 George III was King of England
! when the diary was written. We had
| fought a successful revolution. Wash
l ington was serving his first term as
| more than a sparsely settled line
along the Atlantic coast. with only
| rare pioneer settlement across the
mountains in Kentucky and Tonnes
| see We were farmers and fishermen
and small shopkeepers. We had no
manufactures. We had only the
toughest and most laborious means
of communication. We had no litera-
ture. We read English books. wore
[ English clothes and still carried the
| were Overwhelmingly English, and
| England was. in many respects, still
home and easier to reach than were
| the separated parts Of the Struggling
/
J same speech. the same mental timber
4 and moral fiber. despite the years and
| the changes, have perpetuated COM
/ munity of feeling between the two
countries that makes England very
real part Of our own early history
| Therefore, Joseph Farington's book
, about well known EnGlishmen reads
as one would about our own early
celebrities.
| Naturally, in this diary there is a
! good deal about the Royal Academy.
| The r. A formed a large part of the
life of Joseph harrington. Not great
artist, this, though he did do some
finely faithful things. harrington
was by nature, a masterful man who
came to be something of q dictator
in the proceedings of the academy
1t is rather shocking to US now to
lind Turner and Constable and other
famous painters keeping weather
,eye out for the favor of the auto
cratic harrington. These records
show, amusingly. much concern over
pounds and shillings for the transfer
of pictures Either they were more
attentive to that point then than we
are today. or we have developed
seemly reticence about the alliance
of art and the dollar. And they
iquarreled, those artists did, and
Hooked askance at other theories ana
methods than their own in a quite
up-to-date fashion. Now and then
here we are permitted to go with one
painter or another to great country
houses where noble beings. some
times royal ones, are planning to
by way of the usually fattering
brush of the artist. The best of these
places, so we think, is strawberry
Hill, where Horace Walpole lived.
lNear his end then, but the old eyes
lwere still shrewd with the wisdom of
life, the same crooked smile and
singing words of disillusion. After
this trip to Strawberry Hill we take
up the Walpole letters again, to
retaste their pungent flavors.
! Statesmen, politicians. soldiers,
artists, rulers and mere men come
and go here. Pitt, Fox, Burke, Nell
son. Howe. Boswell. and another and
another. One day, with Boswell and
Harrington, we sit In at the trial OF
Warren Hastings-an hour or so in
THAT seven-year trial, with acquittal
at it's end. despite the imprisoned
hostility of Burke to the defendant.
OF Burke. on this particular day, Far
ington says, Burke was very dull
land tedious. He was abusive, with
out wit or entertainment, spoke
! about two hours and ten minutes,
very embarrassing and dull" Anoth-
er side to the eloquent Burke upon
whose surprising qualities public
schools have, since his day, depended
for model and emulation.
| X *
An instant of surprise takes one
over the fact that things talked
about and thought about over
hundred years ago differ almost none
at all from the concerns OF the mo-
ment-save, of course, those that
spring from the amazing march of
science applied to practical life.
The Irish question was as red hot
| them &c n ia now The tariff had it's
ardent advocates and its bitter OPP
ponents then, too. all talking pre-
cisely as do our immediate econ
omists and politicians. AN acct.
was circulated that 1pres had been
evacuated by. the garrison"-no, not
the world war, the date is June, 1794: :
the war, one between England and
France The working folks then
were in a familiar brew of discon-
tent, with an undercurrent of eight
zenith century bolshevism no differ
ent from our own vintage of that
particular ism. Even the dress of
the women received attention then,
too. Lady Melbourne brought Madam
Recamier, the celebrated Partisan
beauty, to Hoppners few days ago.
He does not think she is at all re-
markable in that respect. Her dress
was very bare, both back & front,
but she had a large veil over the
head, which she occasionally used as
| a screen-such is the latitude of
female dressing" And. to be sure,
no account of this period would be
quite complete without the story OF
Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton
, harrington gives It here In piece,
there-but one finally gets the whole
story, which certainly ends in a
minor KEY. Hamilton OR. Al came
to tea. Sir VIM. Hamilton and Lady
Lord Nelson, several French emigres
ty,rr 1tey