His next drama, The Manxman, was also produced by Mr Wilson Barrett in Leeds on August 20, 1894. It was successful everywhere “except in Manchester and[122] New York.” I do not quite understand Mr Caine’s statement that The Manxman was not a success in Manchester, for I myself remember climbing up on to the top row of the gallery at the Theatre Royal (or was it the Prince’s?) because there was no room anywhere else. On that occasion the theatre was crowded, and the reception enthusiastic in every way. Perhaps it was a “return visit” that I witnessed, and the Manchester public had had time to gather its wits and become appreciative4.
His third play, The Christian5, was produced first in Albany, New York, and afterwards in Liverpool. In this play the dramatist’s sister, Miss Lily Hall Caine, took the part of Polly Love, and afterwards, when the play was taken on tour, the part of Glory Quayle. This play is still running, and meets with enthusiastic applause wherever it goes. It has been performed in England and the United States more than two thousand times.
In passing any criticism on Mr Caine’s plays, it must at the very outset be confessed[123] that he has not yet done himself justice. For my own part, I have not much faith in the dramatised versions of novels. A plot that lends itself to treatment in the form of a novel is very rarely suitable for production as a drama; and until Hall Caine is inspired with the plot of a drama that is at once cohesive6 and compact, it seems to me he will never produce anything worthy7 of the powers which he undoubtedly8 possesses. Some regard to the unities9 of Time and Place is necessary before a drama can be considered seriously as a work of art, and it must be acknowledged that Mr Caine pays very little attention to the technique of dramaturgy. I do not for one moment deny that his plays are full of strong and dramatic situations, that the dialogue is natural, easy and telling, and that they are exceedingly well-constructed from a “popular” standard; but as contributions to dramatic literature they cannot be seriously considered. Mr Caine himself would, I feel sure, be the first to agree with me in all this. I know that he does not consider his[124] dramatic work to be on anything like the same plane as his novel-writing. It is rather a matter of surprise that a writer gifted with so well-developed a dramatic sense should have been comparatively unsuccessful in his plays; but, so far as one can judge, it seems probable that this is due to the fact that he has only attempted plays based on novels. When he shall have developed a plot which obviously lends itself to stage treatment and no other kind of treatment, he may be expected to write a drama which shall take the same position in dramatic literature that his novels have attained10 in the world of fiction.
In the way of short story writing Mr Caine has done little. A volume entitled Capt’n Davy’s Honeymoon11, containing three tales, is his only output in this direction. Their excellence12, and the delicacy13 of their treatment, make one regret that he has not seen fit to devote more time to this particular branch of his art. Capt’n Davy’s Honeymoon refutes conclusively14 all allegations that Mr Caine possesses little or no humour. It is[125] a Manx tale, full of delicate, beautiful touches that create the right atmosphere at the very outset. The second story in the volume, The Last Confession15, is situated16 in Morocco, and in form is based on Rossetti’s blank-verse poem of the same name. It is a closely-written piece of work, quietly and soberly worked out, yet powerful and convincing. The Blind Mother is the title of the third tale, and consists of a slightly altered episode in his second book, A Son of Hagar. I quote the following extracts of the dedication17 to Mr Bram Stoker:—
… Down to this day our friendship has needed no solder18 of sweet words to bind19 it, and I take pleasure in showing by means of this unpretending book that it is founded not only on personal liking20 and much agreement, but on some wholesome21 difference and even a little disputation. The Last Confession is an attempt to solve a moral problem which we have discussed from opposite poles of sympathy—the absolute value and sanctity of human life, the right to fight, the right to kill, the right to resist evil and to set aside at utmost need the letter of the sixth commandment. The Blind Mother is a somewhat altered version of an episode in an early romance, and it is presented afresh, with every apology, because you with another friend, Theodore Watts22, consider it the only worthy part of an unworthy[126] book, and also because it appears to be at all points a companion to the story that goes before it. Of Capt’n Davy’s Honeymoon, I might perhaps say that it is the complement23 of the other two—all three being stories of great and consuming love, father’s, mother’s and husband’s—but I prefer to confess that I publish it because I know if anyone should smile at my rough Manx comrade, doubting if such a man is in nature and not found among men, I can always answer him and say, “Ah, then, I am richer than you are by one friend at least,—Capt’n Davy without his ruggedness24 and without his folly25, but with his simplicity26, his unselfishness and his honour—Bram Stoker!”
A charming dedication, is it not? and interesting as a revelation of the motives27 which inspired the only three short stories we have from his pen. The Last Confession and The Blind Mother were issued in America under the title of the former. It is extremely unlikely that Mr Caine will ever return to the short story as a means of expressing himself; the form is of too limited a scope, and of too ephemeral a nature. A story entitled Jan, the Icelander, recently appeared in one of the weekly papers; but it was originally prepared by Mr Caine as a dramatic dialogue which, on one or two occasions, he recited in public.
[127]
As a poet, Mr Hall Caine has a great claim to our admiration28. It is true, he has published no poetry in volume form, and little enough in the magazines, but what has appeared is of undoubted beauty. I am able to give here two sonnets30 which originally appeared in the Academy in the early eighties. Then, as now, the Academy and the Athen?um were the two foremost literary papers in the kingdom, and at this time Mr Caine was a critic on the permanent staff of both papers. It will be seen that both sonnets reveal a deep and unusual love of Nature; and it seems to me that that entitled Before Sunrise on Helvellyn ranks with the very best sonnets of Wordsworth. Besides its intrinsic beauty, it contains that “fundamental brain-work” which many critics hold to be an essential of a fine sonnet29, although Mr Caine’s own criticism is that “it is wanting in the first quality of poetic31 style—flexibility.”
BEFORE SUNRISE ON HELVELLYN
Over the peaks of huge crags uncreate,
Across the stricken stars’ usurped32 demesne33,
[128]
Through mutinous34 vapours to her realms terrene—
Behold35 she comes, the morn inviolate36.
Girdled with fire, radiant of face, elate,
Leaping the lit waves of the steep ravine—
Here first since eldest37 time the earth hath seen
Her vesture’s trail, in heaven articulate.
Say not the world grows old: Behold ere long
Forth38 from the mountains come the swift and strong
Who scale the heights to greet the deathless day;
And in the abysmal39 plains the sick and sore
Following their feet shall see the imminent40 grey
Glad dawn has never breathed o’er earth or shore.
This was published in the Academy of January 28, 1882; the following was published in the same paper on May 12, 1881, whilst Mr Caine was still in his twenty-eighth year.
WHERE LIES THE LAND?—(Wordsworth)
‘Where lies the land of which thy soul would know?’
Beyond the wearied wold, the songless dell,
The purple grape and golden asphodel,
Beyond the zone where streams baptismal flow.
‘Where lies the land to which thy soul would go?’
There where the unvexed senses darkling dwell,
Where never haunting, hurrying footfall fell,
Where toil41 is not, nor builded hope laid low.
[129]
Rest! Rest! to thy hushed realm how one by one
Old Earth’s tired ages steal away and weep,
Forgotten or unknown, long duty done.
Ah, God! when death in seeming peace shall steep
Life’s loud turmoil42, and Time his race hath run—
Shall heart of man at length find rest and sleep?
Other sonnets appeared at about the same time, particularly noticeable among which are three to Byron, Keats and Rossetti respectively.
But though poetry was Hall Caine’s natural means of expression, and to be a poet his earliest ambition, yet in his youth he recognised the fact that in order to reach a large public some other medium than verse was necessary. So poetry was more or less reluctantly abandoned, and fiction soon took its place.
As a critic, Mr Caine would undoubtedly have won a foremost place among the littérateurs of our time if he had devoted43 his whole life to that particular branch of his art; but soon after his thirtieth year professional criticism was abandoned in his absorption in novel-writing. From his earliest years the young student was a critic.[130] He eagerly discussed every book he read with his friends and acquaintances, and his first contributions to the Press were in the form of literary criticism. When Lord Houghton first saw Caine as a very young man, he prophesied44 for him a great future as a critic, and there can be no doubt that his powers in this direction are altogether exceptional. I have read a large amount of criticism which he contributed to the Academy and Athen?um in the early eighties, and I was struck not only by the mature judgment45 and catholic taste displayed therein, but also by the ease and fluency46 with which he expressed his views. Those were the days of signed articles, and the curious reader may turn up for himself the back numbers of these two great literary papers and read those articles signed “T. Hall Caine.” He will find in them much to surprise him, for most of them are truly remarkable47 as the product of so youthful a writer.
Mr Caine was particularly fortunate in obtaining a place on the Academy staff. A[131] complete stranger to Mr J. S. Cotton (at that time the editor of this paper), he called on him and asked for employment. “Certainly!” replied Mr Cotton, much to the young man’s confusion, for he had by no means expected so enthusiastic a reception. The acquaintance made in this way soon deepened to a warm friendship which is to-day valued by both men as much as it was twenty years ago.
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1
bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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celebrity
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| n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望 | |
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3
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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appreciative
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| adj.有鉴赏力的，有眼力的；感激的 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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6
cohesive
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| adj.有粘着力的；有结合力的；凝聚性的 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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unities
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| n.统一体( unity的名词复数 )；（艺术等） 完整；（文学、戏剧） （情节、时间和地点的）统一性；团结一致 | |
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attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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honeymoon
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| n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月 | |
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excellence
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| n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德 | |
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delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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conclusively
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| adv.令人信服地，确凿地 | |
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confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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dedication
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| n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞 | |
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solder
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| v.焊接，焊在一起；n.焊料，焊锡 | |
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bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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wholesome
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| adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的 | |
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watts
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| （电力计量单位）瓦，瓦特( watt的名词复数 ) | |
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complement
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| n.补足物，船上的定员；补语；vt.补充，补足 | |
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ruggedness
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| 险峻，粗野； 耐久性； 坚固性 | |
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folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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sonnet
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| n.十四行诗 | |
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sonnets
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| n.十四行诗( sonnet的名词复数 ) | |
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poetic
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| adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的 | |
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32
usurped
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| 篡夺，霸占( usurp的过去式和过去分词 )； 盗用； 篡夺，篡权 | |
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demesne
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| n.领域，私有土地 | |
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mutinous
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| adj.叛变的，反抗的；adv.反抗地，叛变地；n.反抗，叛变 | |
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behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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inviolate
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| adj.未亵渎的，未受侵犯的 | |
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eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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abysmal
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| adj.无底的，深不可测的，极深的；糟透的，极坏的；完全的 | |
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40
imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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41
toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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turmoil
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| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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prophesied
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| v.预告，预言( prophesy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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fluency
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| n.流畅，雄辩，善辩 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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