schoolmaster, a teacher of poor children, and he avowed to me,
quite simply, that he 'couldn't stand poetry--except a few hymns;'
that he had thoroughly disliked it ever since the day, when as a
schoolboy, he had to learn by heart portions of _The Lady of the
Lake_. I doubt whether this person could have named three pieces
of Tennyson's writing. He spoke with the consciousness of being
supported by general opinion in his own world.
"Some days before, I was sitting in a public room, where two men,
retired shopkeepers, exchanged an occasional word as they read
the morning's news. 'A great deal here about Lord Tennyson,' said
one. The 'Lord' was significant; I listened anxiously for his
companion's reply. 'Ah--yes.' The man moved uneasily, and added
at once: 'What do you think about this long-distance ride?' In
that room (I frequented it on successive days with this object)
not a syllable did I hear regarding Tennyson save the sentence
faithfully recorded. This was in the south of England; perhaps it
could not have happened in the north.
"As a boy, I at one time went daily to school by train. It
happened once that I was alone in the carriage with a commercial
traveller; my Horace was open before me, and it elicited a remark
from the man of samples, who spoke with the accent of that
northern county, and certainly did not belong to the educated
class. After a word or two, he opened his bag, and took out an
ancient copy, battered, thumbed, pencilled, of--Horatius Flaccus.
Without this, he told me, he never travelled. From a bare
smattering obtained at school, he had pursued the study of Latin;
Horace was dear to him; he indicated favourite odes----
"Everywhere there are the many and the few. What of the multitude
in higher spheres? Their leisure is ample; literature lies thick
about them. It would be amusing to know how many give one hour a
month to the greater poets....
"Believe me, Sir, yours faithfully,
"GEORGE GISSING.
"To Edmund Gosse, Esq."
II
M. MALLARMÉ AND SYMBOLISM
It was with not a little hesitation that I undertook to unravel a
corner of the mystic web, woven of sunbeams and electrical threads,
in which the poet of _L'Après-Midi d'un Faune_ conceals himself from
curious apprehension. There were a dozen chances of my interpretation
being wrong, and scarcely one of its being right. My delight therefore
may be conceived when I received a most gracious letter from the mage
himself; Apollonius was not more surprised when, by a fortunate chance,
one of his prophecies came true. I quote from this charming paper of
credentials, which proceeds to add some precious details:--
"Votre étude est un miracle de divination.... Les poëtes seuls ont le
droit de parler; parce qu'avant coup, ils savent. Il y a, entre toutes,
une phrase, où vous écartez tous voiles et désignez la chose avec une
clairvoyance de diamant, le voici: 'His aim ... is to use words in
such harmonious combination as will suggest to the reader a mood or a
condition _which is not mentioned in the text_, but is nevertheless
paramount in the poet's mind at the moment of composition.'
"Tout est là. Je fais de la Musique, et appelle ainsi non celle qu'on
peut tirer du rapprochement euphonique des mots, cette première
condition va de soi; mais l'au delà magiquement produit par certaines
dispositions de la parole, où celle-ci ne reste qu'à l'êtat de moyen de
communication matérielle avec le lecteur comme les touches du piano.
Vraiment entre les lignes et au-dessus du regard cela se passe, en
toute pureté, sans l'entremise de cordes à boyaux et de pistons comme
à l'orchestre, qui est déjà industriel; mais c'est la même chose que
l'orchestre, sauf que littérairement ou silencieusement. Les poëtes
de tous les temps n'ont jamais fait autrement et il est aujourd'hui,
voilà tout, amusant d'en avoir conscience. Employez Musique dans le
sens grec, au fond signifiant Idée au rythme entre les rapports; là,
plus divine que dans son expression publique ou Symphonique. Très mal
dit, en causant, mais vous saisissez ou plutôt aviez saisi toute au
long de cette belle étude qu'il faut garder telle quelle et intacte.
Je ne vous chicane que sur l'obscurité: non, cher poëte, excepté par
maladresse ou gaucherie je ne suis pas obscur, du moment qu'on me lit
pour y chercher ce que j'énonce plus haut, ou la manifestation d'un
art qui se sert--mettons incidemment, j'en sais la cause profonde--du
langage: et le deviens, bien sûr! si l'on se trompe et croit ouvrir le
journal....--Votre
STÉPHANE MALLARMÉ.
_Printed by_ BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO. _London and Edinburgh_
BY THE SAME AUTHOR.
_In one volume, crown 8vo, red buckram, gilt top, 7s. 6d._
GOSSIP IN A LIBRARY.
SECOND EDITION.
_Also large paper edition, limited to 100 copies, price
25s. net._
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his books, and the volume is one that Leigh Hunt would have delighted
in."--_Athenæum._
_In one volume, crown 8vo, grey buckram, 5s._
THE SECRET OF NARCISSE,
A ROMANCE.
"This story, with its peaceful, almost idyllic prelude, and its cruel
catastrophe, is told with faultless taste and precision, and with its
mellow colouring and faithful attention to accessories, is fully worthy
of the author's reputation."--_Times._
LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN.
* * * * * *
Transcriber's note:
One unpaired double quotation mark could not be corrected with
confidence.