CURRENT LITERATURE PAUL VERLAINE
By Bechhofer.' Roberts Mr. Bechhofer Roberts „relates the life of Verlaine in such- detail as pub- lished documents make possible. As a relation, his book (Jarrolds, t8s.) may be of use to students, who will find it more convenient for reference than the French originals. But among general readers, it will interest hardly more than those whose palates are insensitive to all but the rawness of fact : Who prefer to detective stories the summaries of trials, and to tales of horror the itemised description of the horrid. The life of Verlaine is unedifying in itself ; an account of it might be made acceptable, it seems, in one of three ways. Either it could be treated as a case-history, and for this Mr. Roberts lacks the scientific qualifications or the interest ; such a lack is by no means atoned for by an invertedly Puritan attitude of " I refuse to judge," " I am strong-minded, I refuse to be shocked." Or study of the life might be made to subserve, and draw dignity - from, a study of the poetry ; Mr. Roberts is debarred from this by a theory that life and poetry are not only distinct, but independent. Or finally the life might be well written ; Mr. Roberts might have style. He has none, and seems insensitive to matters of style. His criticisms of Verlaine are in the vaguest terms, and he mentions Boileau and Bossuet only to dismiss them as tedious. Verlaine demands careful tailoring ; Mr. Roberts fits him out in ready-mades.
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