Evening star., 1925-02-14
THE LIBRARY TABLE
BY THE BooKLovEn


greeted the new biography OF Robert
Louis Stevenson by John A. Steuart.
That Stevenson had in his early days
been as much of Don Juan as Burns
had been carefully concealed by his
cousin, Graham Ba1four, Sir Sidney
Colvinz and other biographers. Mr.
Steuar explains. under the heading
"A New Stevenson" In the chapter
"A Melodramatic Revolt" that much
material concerning the life and
character Of Stevenson was kept Sc
cret for over 90 years after his death
through the decision Of Mrs. Steven
son. Mrs. Stevenson knew. he says.
the unsavory details of her husbands
past. out mad perhaps double motive
Tor concealinE them: first. possible
jealousy Of those early loves, and,
second, fear that knowledge of cer-
tain facts might outrage the taste of
the public and injure the sales of his
works. At Mrs. Stevenson's death the
stevenson material passed to her
daughter. Mrs. Isobel Strong, later
Mrs. Salisbury Field, and from her
came to New York salesroom, where
1t was purchased and by degrees was
given to the public. Mr.. Steuart's
work Robert Louis Stevenson; A
Critical Biography" is based largely
on this recent material and on per-
senAl Investigations in Steyenson's
native city Of Edinburgh
\ X *
Mr.. Steuart expresses the belief
that the public is entitled to the
whole truth about it's great men and
processes that only devotion to this
truth has prompted him in his in
vestigations, but there is throughout
the biography a suspicion of the
iconoclast who enjoys smashing the
IDOL. At times he gives utterance 10
plous regret that Stevenson's
morals were far from creditable, but
Tor the most part his attitude seems
| one Of satisfaction that Stevenson
was not "seraph in chocolate" He
explains Stevenson's frequenting OF
the low haunts about Calton Hill in
Edinburgh, where he consorted with
"searnen, chimney sweeps. thieves and
| their kind and gentle womenfolk," as
a revolt against the victorian re-
ligiosity" of the home of his father,
Thomas Stevenson. 1t was in the
Calton Hill quarter that he met
Claire" a Highland girl named Kate
Drummond, who had drifted far from
the pure afr OF her native hills. He
wished to marry her but, as usual
had no money except that furnished
by his father, and Claire" would not
have been an acceptable daughter-in-
| law at Number II Heriot Row. Even
after he had become devoted to Mrs.
Osbourne, while he was waiting for
her to secure her divorce SO that she
could marry him, Stevenson had at
least two other affairs in his native
town The two (women)
knew each other, or at any rate. met.
One meeting took place near Swans
ton Cottage, while Stevenson was
there with his parents; and there
| was, I am informed, scene of fury
| resulting in physical violence"
X X
] Mr.. Steuart condemns the hypo-
crisy OF Stevenson's essay, Some
Aspects of Robert BURNS, in which
| Stevenson. in a "spasm of morality"
sits in judgment on Burns for his
"amatory irregularities" at the very
time when Stevenson himself was
guilty Of the same sins. The biog-
| raphef imagines Burns as laughing at
Stevenson and saying: You among
the Pharisees? Don Juan,
libertine, indeed. Fine names from
your lips. II dearly lo'ed the lasses
Gas l did to my cos), are you shy
Of them? Robin. we're birds of
feather there. old hawks. both OF us.
why, then, slash my back at such
piteh?'
Mr.. Bteuart does an act of justice
toward Stevenson's long s-suffering IA
ther. and exonerates him from the
charges Of cruelty toward his son so
often made against him.. Thomas Stew
enson was a dour Scot. q strict Cove
nanter who wished his son to be a re-
spectacle citizen and hated the very
| thought Of his dabbling In literature.
Between him and Robert Louis there
| were such high barriers Of temperament
| that the two could never understand
each other. stevenson's successive
| abandonment OF the careers of engin-
eering and the law, both proposed by
his father, his "melodramatic revolt
against all his father held dear in faith
and morals and his wild life in the
disre equitable quarters Of Edinburgh
| were all "stabs in the heart of Thomas
Stevenson. Yet in spite Of continual
offense to all his feelings and beliefs.
the stern father forgave again and
again and supported his son until within
| a few years Of the iatter.s death, when
| a late success made Stevenson inde-
pendent Thomas Stevenson abhorred
divorce, but after his sons marriage to
Mrs Osbourne he. was won over by her
| tact and Increased his allowance for
their expenses. The only time when he
appeared to fail his son was during the
months Stevenson spent In San Fran
cisco just preceding his marriage. when,
desperately i'll and almost penniless, he
reached the lowest ebb in a life that
had few food tides. But Thomas Stew
enson did not know of his sons plight.
When he finally received the news
| through friends, he at once sent a re-
mittance, followed BY the message,
"Count on f2so annually" Stevenson
| remarked: II always light on my feet,
and the best part OF my legs Is my
! father
Some years ago Samuel Butter
shocked the orthodox by his thinly
veiled autobiographicaf novel. THE
Way of All Flesh" He pictured the
narrow, convention ridden life of the
| English country rectory where he
passed his childhood, in such a way
as to make the reader agree with
| him that he did we'll to escape as
| soon AZ possible. THE Way of All
Flesh" has usually been considered
an indictment Of unsympathetic, un-
lconprehending parenthoed. Another
autobiog ra phical novel, similar in
type, which was written about a
decade ago, was little noticed at the
time, but has since grown steadily
| in the esteem OF readers, is w. Somer-
set Maugham's "Of Human Bondage"
AS In ''The Way Of Ali FLESH" the
chief character passes his early child
hood in a rectory. Philip Carey, a
delicate child with a deformed foot,
is left an orphan when he Is very
young and Is taken by his uncle, Rev.
William Carey, with whom he re-
| mains until he is about 10. From
this time his career follows some-
what closely that of Somerset
Maugham< himself. He goes to Kings
School at Tercanbury Canterbury,