The sun. [volume], April 15, 1916, SPECIAL LITERARY SECTION, Page 11, Image 11

About The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916

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XI
VIEWS OF AUTHORS VARY WIDELY ON AN INTERESTING TOPIC
. ' THE SUN, SATURDAY, APRIL 15, 1916.
OUR PUBLIC NOT
DIFFERENT, SAYS
DOROTHY CANFIELD
What Is Meant by "Straightforward Facing of Reali
ties?" Asks Mr. Whitman Miss Daviess
Is Optimistic.
DOROTHY CANFIELD FISHER
When 1 first read Miss aiiutgow'a up
pr.iln.il of the relative literary sincerity
in I'ngl.ind and America, 1 signed mid
acquiesced. Now after fuller consider...
tlon t find myself saying, "Y, I sup
pose It Is true In the main aljout this
country, litit concerning Knglish condi
tions I am less positive."
1 remember unit hearing tho wife of
a sea captain complain of her lot. "If
only I might know that blessed, dully,
hourly lntliti.icy with my dear liutbutid
which is the good fortune of most
wives," she told mo sadly, "then I feel
1 should know what marriage really
might bo. As It is I have missed tho
llncst." The Impression made on tn
hy her complaint was deep but not
tasting. P'nr a few days later the wifa
of a well known novelist contlded In me.
"This titlfllnsr Intimacy which ensues
when onus husband (no matter how
dear) .s always in tho house 1 How
oftrn I hao' envied K.illors' vvlvoj.
They cannot Know tho tragic stateness
which Inevitably accompanies the UMiat
marriage. Their reunions Hfter long ab
sonco must keep intact the poetry. th
high ardor, the fresh splendor of
love '"
It Is always well to refrain from envy
until ouo knows a ureal deal about tho
pihim envied. Itemembcrlng those two
discontented wives, 1 yonder whether
perhaiw to-day In Kngl.uul some woman
writer may not be saying wistfully to
herself or to an Interviewer: "Here In
l.ngl.iml tho cieat rewards of cash and
popularity liae always gone to such
writer as Hall Cnlne and Marie Corelll.
while in America they tnko literature
seriously. The Knglish version of Jean
Chrlstophe has sold three times as much
i Anuilca.iis In Kngland. T) Mor
gan's audience Is there rather than here.
J iVeph Conrad's reputation was made
'her-'. .Meredith way first recognized
there. Arnold llennctt's fume came In
110 ilrst place from America, and he still
sells more there than here. Stevenson's
treat voruo began there. Gilbert Can
an, Ol ver Onions all the younger
school find real appreciation there. Ah !
By Ihe Author
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The Roth of
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The Keeper of
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A
It takes a fresh young country with Its
fresh oung ardor to support what Is
tlnest and most serious In literature!"
1 do not at all assert that there Is
such a woman writer saying such things.
Hut my experience wltli different peoplo
and different countries leads mo to think
it not Improbable.
Onco t travelled In Italy with an aunt
who for years hud mado a practice of
pmdalmlug that every American, artis
tically considered, Is n barbarian, and
every Italian filled to overflowing with
art Instinct, t confess that 1 felt a
malicious mtlsfactlnii as 1 noted her
aggrieved and disillusioned amazement
as she encountered, one after nnother,
garishly colored middle clnts Interiors
(qulto as bad an anything In the middle
West the so abominated), sugar cundl
fled Italian carvings, hectic modern Ital
ian monuments. I bore my aunt no lit
will, I yield to no one In my admiration
for the Italian genlua at Its bent, but t
must confess that It did my heart good
to confront her with evidences of the
fact that It takes all kinds of peoplo
to make up n nation of any sort, that
tho majority of no nation has a cul
tured artistic taste and that thcro Is
not and probably never has been
any nation all compact of "art In
stinct." Tho complaint of the artist against
middle class thirst for rosewnter Is not
confined to our country or our time. Mat
thew Arnold spent much of his life In
voicing It, so did Heine. Was there ever
a public of which tho Rreut majority
did not demand cheerful stories no mat
ter how false? Voltaire's inimitable Can
dlile with Its satiric fling nt people who
Insisted that this Is the "best of all pos
nlbln 'world" was an open protest
ngalnit a demand for sugary op
timism In eighteenth century Trance,
and eighteenth century France, whatever
else It may have been, was certainly not
new or American In any way.
I do not deny that im old, long etab
llshed civilization ltko that of Kngland
ttlvea a background to artistic Tort
which leads to a great diffusion of that
well bred quality known as "distinc
tion," but tlait it fosters a mora honest
view of life than a new civilization I
see no evidence of that.
The young English school are making
an honet effort to describe llfo exactly
as It lt. All honor to them ! 1 nm con
vinced that In doing so they are con
sciously sacrificing the Immense popu
larity which In every country rcwardH ,
those who cater to popular taste. Hut .
have we not In America young writers
Just as honest. Just an sincere? Is there
any sugary optimism In the fresh minted, I
vivid energy of II. K. Webster's "Tho
Real Adventure"? Can anybody say that
Willa tflbert Cathcr'n "The Song or the '
Lark," with Its fine strength and splendid I
artistic conviction, was written to cap
ture a public whMi demands diluted
rosewnter? '
After all. even though It Is salutary
to realize the mediocrity of our popular
taste, our general lack of critical sense,
tho Immense circulation of trash, there
In no use of blinding ourselves to the
encouraging ftct that with all our short
comings even here In Annrlca there !
nio a wide public for -uch good books
as these. i
No, if some of our young writer lack I
literary honesty and courage, tho rea-.
on must be that they value these things
less ttian expensive motor cars and coun
try houses. They choose what they want.
It s their atTalr. Tne peculiarities or tne
American readiiK public has nothing to
do with It. So far as I enn see the Amer
ican reading public differs In no way i
from nnv other reading public that ever ,
existed except tha) there Is a lot more '
of It. 1
STEPHEN WHITMAN
To my mind, the force of this accusa
tion depends upon what Is meant hy a
straightforward facing of realities." To
a person or a nntlon In one stnt" of eon
pclousncss reality may mean one thing;
to a person or a nation In another state
It may mean a different thing. For In
stance, let us look at "the younger l-ng-llsh
novelists" and at tho American read
ing public.
Tho younger nngllsti novelists, nt
least such as I have read, are certainly
not oversupplied with the optimism thul
Is supposed to bo necessary to the
American reading public. For one thing
their Idea of life seems to be depressed
by a feeling of unavoidable fate, which
perhaps they have unconsciously ac
quired from their protutypes, tne Krencn
and Husilan realists, or. It may be, have
extracted from the reflections natural to
the young Introspective mind. I myself
passed through this phawo : my first
novel wns the result of It. So, If I seem
In any way to object to tho accusation
In question, it should hardly bo said that
I am unfitted, from lack of mental ex
perience, to comprehend the accuser's
antile mi
SHAKESPEARE
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TalaeoosM VaodorbUt SOU
READ POWYS'
Maria Thompson Daviess, au
thor of "The Melting of Molly."
point of view. My present opinion, how-
ever, Is that thn younger Ktigllsh novel-
IMs are still deficient In a certain spirit-
ual clairvoyance, and that this deficiency I
excludes from their vision a whole con
geries of modern human phenomena
quite as real n there that they are
moved to describe, ami more highly
typlc.il of their own time.
I presume that K'aubeit will be men
tioned. Ho was once my ideal; his tech
nical ability still seems to me as tine
as ever. Hut to-day, especially in Ins
"Sentimental Kducatlon"- - which should
bo tho master-pattern for many a young
English novelist-he disappoints ,nn be
cause not onco In that long book has
he produced a gleam of hope, lie was a
great realist. If by realism one meant
constant preoccupation with the more
Ignoble human procff.os and the so- j
called invincibility f fate ; but ho would
havo been greater, and none the less a
realist. If hu had created at least a few
characters capable of obtaining spiritual
ennoblement In niltc of clrcuiii"tanco and
at the same time a victorious climax cf
life. It Is well said, however, that no
writer can put Into his work more than
he himself Is tonsclous of; and Flail
bo t, vvhoc rage against what ho called
the stupidity of mankind, resulted llnally
In that encyclopail.a of human stupidity,
"Ilouvard et I'ecuchet," had not so con
stituted himself as to percelvi- the re
verse of that medal for Instanco the
capacity for elevation that Is Ineradi
cable from the worst of us.
This last assertion will probably fecm
to align me with that American reading
public which "appears to dcilre the
cheapest form of ham optimism." Hut
let us examlno this public to learn why It
"buys, by tho hundred thousand, books
of sugary phlloMOiihv."
It must be evident and thH year
even to tho younger Knglish novetlsts
that the world Is not standing still, In
the European lounttle.s at war great
changes nro Imminent; In America, under
the proverbial confusion of getting and
spending money, a new leaven N already
working throughout tho nation. Symp
toms of this are Innumerable experi
ments, of a more visionary form than in
Kuroe, for tho amelioration, rncliuna
tlon and elevation ot the individual. I
have lately observed various foie.gn
countries In times of peace, but I have
ft en In none nuh a growth of generous
Ideas, in none suiii dlMntcnwted resion''
to the appeal of suffering avd moral
obcuration, in none sin li faith that gmsl
may ! evoked in human be.ngs by the
proffer of good as in Amerivi. Here, in
short, though we are notorious for hard
headed and clo.-o lly.td praclkcs, tiiep
U or was till the outbreak of the war -n
mole widely sptend altruistic Impulse
than elsewhere. Hy "altruistic Impulse"
I mean of course that sublimated form 'if
selfishness which realizes that the Indi
vidual, like the nation, may eNpect only
naln until he has as much legard for
the happiness of otlx is as for his own.
Hut what Is It precisely that th"
American reading public wants this Im
mene public, which after all Is America
Iteelf, thit In eager to read Yhenji op
timism uttetel by a plctuiesque, whim
sical elinrac'.er la dialed "'
Heyond til" pel sons with whom s.ilae
tt and sensntlonallsm llnd a mnikct,
there exists a vast Ameilcan riadlng
public that Is not sati'lUil with such
things. Nor would this public be satis
fied wilh certain voting Knglish novel
l.ts' "facing of realities,'1 or for that
matter with Flaubert's lacing of reali
ties, because to this pub'le tl.ovo writers'
vision of reality semis deficient 1 can
not agree with a recent Knglish criti
cism that the Americans object to such
varieties of leallsm wholly because they
"do not want their pretty Illusions about
life ileMroed" Hather, 1 think they
have a dim but fixed perception that life
need not necessarily be so; that the soul
of man should be superior to tl.e foices
called detlny : that the material world
ought no longer to mould mankind, but
mankind thu world. This belief which
In certain of Its countless subtle mani
festations Is curiously llku that dis
seminated hy the apnteu of Jesus
Christ produces In those subject to It
nn ln.!nntnneou recoil form every the
ory approaching pessimism, from every
form of philosophy nnd llclbii that ques.
Hons the ability of human beings to
.nut mount their Ills and say. with Marcus
Aurelliis, "Wherever 1 go It will be well
with me, for I carry within me what
will mike nie happy" No, It In some
thing more than a hypocritical picjudlco
that causes this njectlon. It Is a vague
yet passionate belief In a sort of mil
lennium for the Individual nnd for thn
race, a world embracing desire ami hope
grown big In America la the laxt half
century nnd possibly destined some day
to mark this vountry with n unique
spiritual sign.
All tlusc gathering ideas, to be sure,
Imvii had with us some bizarre lestilts,
because the Impulses produced by them
are stilt largely Inchoate. For the satno
reason they have silvan rise to much
blaarre writing, 1-et us remember that
what wo see, both In our life and In our
writing. Is merely the beginning of
something new, lu Its symptoms often
childish, because the thing that Is lisp
peiilug Is In Its chlldhiio'l, We are told
that Itemils lnughcd at the first walls of
Homulus, the founder of Home.
Moreover, when wo are templed to
say, "lleturii to that sort of leallsllu
fiction that the younger Knglish
nntellslH aro continuing," let us te
iir.eiiuber that tho longer mm tidnilies
exclusive!) I'm jKittH lis of t!u Pant fhf
more reactionary nno grows ; that it is
folly 10 decline, for Instance, that the
French and Husslan realists, or even
the younger Knglish novelists, have tlxed
the Html form of llctlou. For thute
never has been, and thero never will
he, a final form of fiction. Uteintllie,
like life, Is eternally lu Mux. Soon even
the reactionaries may sen that what they
call realism has nearly had Its day.
Nevertheless It will not be necessary
to nhninhm a "Mrnlghtfnrward facing
nf reality." As I said In the beginning,
to a person or a nation In one slate of
consciousness icallty means nun thing;
to a petson or a nallmi lu another slate
It means a diffcrcul thing,
Then Hbotilil tho reactlonnt les
may call them sio embrac. a miode of
Arthur Goodrich,
author of "The Sign
of. Freedom."
(Appleton.)
thought as repugnant to thorn as theirs
Is to tho American reading public?
Certainly not while In their present
state of mind. Hut It would le well If
they could feel themselves more a !art
of this change If they could emerge
wltli all their tine equipment of observa
tlanal and technical talent, Into a keener
p rcepUon of "reality," which, since
mankind Is assuredly not growing more
material vvlillo changing, Is no longer
the perception f Flaubert's day. It
would be well if they could feel, with
Drowning, that
The Mori a'' no hint for n.
Nor blink it tnein Inlennely snit inans
k'Vi'l.
To fltiil lt meaning Is my meat snd drink,
And thereby I think they would be
doing a favor not only to the public
""t also to themselves. Then, espe-
daily If they wero Americans, they
would be fixing more accurately and
vividly for a larger public and perhaps
for a rexoter posterity th essential
significance of the dnwnlng age. Then
they would express the Innermost tm-
port of the moment, and work Imbued
with that contemporary Impulse which t
stives Dimte ami .Michael Angela and Sill
ton their Indestructible vitality. For
as Kmerson snys of the true artist,
"Above his will and out of his sight
he Is necessitated by the air he breathes
and the Idea on which he and his con
temporaries live nnd toll to share the
manner of hi time.'
MARIA THOMPSON DAVIESS
In the Inst few years It has become
the custom nmong a greater or less num
ber of would-be Intellectuals to stand
off looking through the e.ve critical and
complain at the .vnung American novel
ist. They say sadly, with n great shak
ing of he.vl-, that liA or she, as the case
may be, la not measuring up to his or
htr brother and sister writers across the
Atlantic. They charge the young toilers
at tho pen with Insincerity, lack of
Ideals, lack nf a broad comprehension
or Interpretation of life. In fact lack of
everything that the wlso ones can
think up for the poor author to lack
"Thi American author does not paint i
life as It is," Is one of the favorite
charges hurled. "Compare him, or her,
will, i he 1IO..I.I.S now- urlilnir" N't.w .
just how would an American, a real
American with the blood of tho optl-1
nr.st.c ,d Invincible plonicrs who built
this nation onlv a few generations ngo.
write a long novel composed of starvn-
tlon and woo nnd snow and prb-on and
life without lovii or hope He would
have to havo a very near steerage slant
on his scutcheon to bo able to think In
terms of the dregs of evlstence. Isn't
It much more sincere of him to "sing In
a whimsical, lvrlc vein of the wheat
fields and political situations III Indiana.
the rhododenilrons of the Tennessee
mountains or life that grows while you , nvi "as bskcu vvn.u is me mailer wiin
ileep In California" I low Is a writer going , the church In America. We slash .it
to tlnd enough cosmic dreariness to the cancer of llroadway oc aslonally ami
draw a "deep, true" novel of Kusslnn the children In tho mllli have been
flnvor from a people whose' barns nre I spread In all their feebleness on the
huistlng with grain and whose women pages of several very tender and Itnpas
,ue ti-i v.dl fed 011 the average to be sloned novels
neuresthcnicallv unfaithful? , Yes, the young novelist of America has
And does this unsatisfactory novelist , grasped thorn ns well as rose and I
sick ' n. 10 niiirmii ".in
liliMslcd rush of action, strong high con-
trusts and tho pounding of hammers on
Ity life In America with a red
SKyscrapcrs 01 ooin ine aim nior.iis iuhiiih.-.
A -GHOST" WRITER WHO
HELPED HER PUBLISHERS
Certainly the mnt curious book of the
season Is "Patience Worth," In which Is
recorded the work of a "ghost" who
writes poetry, plas nnd novels.
Nearly three years ago Mrs. John II
Cuir.m of St. liuts nnd a womn'n friend
were amusing themselves nt n oulja
board, when suddenly the following
words spelled themselves out.
"Many moons ngo I lived. Again I
come, Patience Worth my name "
.Mrs. Cut run, who had never taken ntiy
serious Interest In pschlc things, was
unitized. Hut "Patience" evidently hnd
come to May, and since that time hns
spelled out through Mrs. Cumin's fingers
brilliant conversation, poems, hint
tilnys, a long medlan-al drama and two
novels, The spelllitg and the phrases
nre correct old Knglish n medium with
which Mrs. Curran herself was entirely
unf.inihl.ir.
"I have never been deeply Interested
lu literature," admits Mrs. Cunnn. "I
have led a rnther public, life nmong the
musicians of St. IaiuIs, have belonged In
nil t lie hngest musical organizations and
had clasies In vocal culture so you see
my cnllro energies wero extended along
Hint line."
Mrs. Curran explains how the Invisible
author works.
"1 havo iroituceq (always wills out
slders at tho boanl with nie) ns many as'
3,(i(i(i woids of manuscript In one even -
THEflOADTO:
EAOOVMENI
HER
HUSBAND'S
PURSE
By HELEN R. MARTIN
Anlifir nf'Mnrlha nlllir Mrnmmllr
. Cuiifilri;." " thu iiuliflUt" ilhe bnnk
3
til unun iv tiuiinotiirtt jor ntrs.
t'lskr ni "KitiirMIr .Mmiii."!
A tleliejoiis sntlm nhout the
ttiiiiiruig ri'iiiisjiiaiii i iiiiuii
t UooUtwci. not, UI.KD.VV, 1'AUai CO.
Dorothy Canfield Fisher, au
thor of "The Bent Twig."
(Holt.)
nu purpose whatever Is his. work nil
lost because, It has not a Havoc of old
bookstalls like those on the Strand or
commonplace personages In commonplace
little towns centuries old who iio only
what Is expected of them In a futy but
rnther Interesting way? Is It a smaller
achievement to write of great rcclama
tion schemes for great forests In terms
of fiction than to note tho Inlerpsyclio
logical reactions of tho marital tela
Hons of eomo dull old Knglish gentle
man who has married a wife too oung
for him. even It the hero of the Western
novel does use something less than class
leal word construction?
And then again we certnlnlv have
numbers of twin sisters to .Mine. Itavary
and we wrlto nf them In our novels, but
they do not Infect American life to such
nn extent that we have to write nil our
classics about them; we must. If we in
tend to hold the mirror up to all Ameri
can life, give a tm.ili volume to Mrs
Wlggs and I don't believe Mr. Pickwick
will refuse to cordially pass the time of
the day with Pavid llarum In the book
heaven they mut both Inhabit And
again after having rea.i Hard s Tess
let's sit down with lle'.T.a Hltchle and
I think she will not seem to us under
sited Again "The House of Mirth" and
"Lady Hose's Paughtrr" can be put next
to each other Justly nn anybody's book
shelf.
These comparisons could co on In
definitely nnd nothing be really decided
In the way of superiority of met It The
Knglish novel will always be good red
beef and tho American will for many
years to come havo a flavor of venison
from the forest, but let's don't icfuse
the young novel from the young land a
place under the literary sun. Would It
not be possible to persuade the critics to
lie hopeful about thn Jocund humor of
the literature of the da' In America
Can't we believe that the smiles and
tears In dialect aro Just bubbles that rise
to the surface of new wine that In time
will mellow?
Then can we not encourage the young
a'ngvr to go on feeing the love ami thu
lilacs of llfo as much us he chooses If
he will only promise to hunt up all tho
dank, ugly spots and corners and tell
us about them and what ho thinks nf
them with the same ftilhnsla-ni lie lav
ish on the natural prettv c rl who Kets
tho man In th" end And after all a
wrner inusi give lorin in some .-Mi ni
cosmic philosophy which he bie.ithes
')" ''nft from the people around
,lm a'"' ' V10!" I"'0.P'" ','7.' a"'1
' nearly and lusty and spirited his nnv -
' 10 '"' ,nl" ml,ht setb-it that spirit,
, novel ' Is great If It nterprets a phase
i nf "w "' fro" whlc " i 'volved, ami
Amurhan novels are great liecausi they
I ,rlll' relic t the American life. hen
, 11 ' ""'""'rJ "" "'"-'7 -"'
'"" w" "blcago stock yards and
wrnns .1 reni nine mmi i 111-111 .-Mime
I Mralght out blows have been Struck nt
lonume .1011 n-.ii-v one 1
believe tne nan cm ne trusted to mens-
- , . ,1
uto up as adequate when they are Judged
several centuries hence, despite the
Mrs. John H. Curran.
lug. There Is never a cnrreiiion ma ie
or n wind of wnsted malei al, The
number of people pi c sent makes no fl i
ference. IHirlng these sittings I con
verse w ltli thore nresent and feel no
shynlnil change whatever,"
Tin. oulhi boatil l thn i-m,,.,.nir,iim
1 ah soon as I have fnrussed my nves upon
'"i- board nnd stopped thlnklu'g kid ill
pictures show tbenisf Ives to un i ipldl
Ihesn stories move on so thn letter
and wolds I cannot account for as the
seem o be spoken to mc, nnd vet T do
not hear them."
"Intience Win tls'' thus tliroiiKH the,
fingers of lr. Currali, has nlieady wtlt
leu so iiiuch that Caspar S. Vost eilltor
of the h't. l.uills (llntiii Drmncrtit, lias
piepnied n potpourri of her vinlous
style nnd works, tho hook now pub
lished by Holts, to set vii .is an introduc
tion to thn "ghost's own wniks
Nevulheless l'lilieme, alw.ij i on llm 1
qui vive, bus kept an eyo on the publ -catliiu
of the Introilnctniv bunk I'roh
ably no wiiider session in a publishers!
olllcn over took pbicc III. in that ono Mur
ing which the binding of Mr. YoM's. honk I
look place.
Ilciuy Hull, .Mr. anil Mrs, Cunnn and
two or tin en others were piesettl, mid
Alfved Il.H-coilll of tint Hull i. lllm tills
the slorv.
Ilo wiui fcllllni; oppoalto Mm. Cunati
at the otilja board, aa she, holding the
counter which spells tho words, finds the
hands of it cuuipaiilon necessary as a
counterweight to prevent movement too
rapid to bo tecorded.
"The pointer was moved so rant," he
savs. "that I not but vamio Impressions
of the tetters to which It pointed, but ,
jirs. (.-urran named them ami prouounceo
each word ns It was finished, and Mr.
Currnti took It nil lnvn In long hand.
"Mrs. Ciirraii did not appear to be
making any effort, but her face, which
Is generally very mobile, gradually took
on an Interne, fixed expression, and the
ees gut a little out of focus. I asked
her why she did not nerslstently try to
Mihstltutn a pencil for the board. She I
said (I think that Patience told her) I
that there were so many Imblts con-1
nected with the pencil that Patience' In-1
ftueiice on it could not be ns complete an ,
on the boaid." i
Mr. Ilarcourt made none remark, won-)
derlng aloud If Patience know who wis
fitting at the board. Patience herself
answeied quick an a flush as Mr. Uur
r.in's record of the sitting shows:
"Yea. I let n be a ono who holdeth o'
the grams (scalen). Yea. he holdeth
athln (within) his hand, word nnd doth
to look tmto tho put o' these words, and
doth to set him up then h pot n brew
nnd set allotted till tho brew doth to smi-ll
It at atlnlshed and nrrndlcd for the
eat o' hungered. Then doth he to taste
thereof and wag him 'yea' or 'nay.'" i
The members iA raflrf yitf nt I
were nmu-ed nt this description of Mr. ',
llarcnurt's work In testing manuscrlpt
of which, by the way, Mrs. Currnti
knew nothing,
Mr Ilarcourt nsked. then. If Patience
would be Interested In what color Mr.
Vot's book about her should be bound.
Patience said :
"Yea, I be! 'TW Lady Lisa's colors.
'Tls blue and gold."
This refrried to a character In one
of Patience's plays, "The Fool and the
Uuly,' In which the fool aid: "Her
minis-blue, Tonio, and gold, the
heaven's sarb." '
Mr. Hnrcourt then asked her what
device she would like to hsvo on the
cover.
Patience raid: "'Tls a sunrise,"
Ho told her he himself had thought '
of a iiosslhlo design. i
"Set theo a word o' 11," she replied.
"1 hnd thought of a braxler," Mr. Ilar
court told her, "with a rllng cloud of
smoke trailing into a question mark,"
'ThlH a Ik. a goodly put," she agreed
"Yen, brother, hut 'tis smoko thit sisin
doth vanish, and lis tun that ever
liseth."
Then Mr. Ilarcourt. Inadvertently and '
without malice, asked what she thought:
of having Mrs. Cumin's picture In the '
book.
"Think ye that I be nnlsh o' flesh"" '
icplled Patience. "She be but the pot."
"Would ,vou tell us how to make your
picture by an artist?" he then nsked,
"I did to do this thing." (She re
ferred to a St. Iouls occurrence.)
"Would you try again with a better
artist?" he asked.
"'Tls a flow o' sorry put (that Is, a
poor effort) tho quill o' him did to
How ! '
"I mean with a better artist." he '
persisted.
us so, no ye to wish o' me," Pa.
ca. nrotner, athln thv
hand hath the hand o' me been laid
The word o' me be a fleshed." She an-
parenny meant that her word -was all
that ptoplii would ever reallv see of
her.
They then discussed whether or not
more publicity matter should be given
out before Mr. Yost's explanatory book
was ready. t
" "Tls u wise man." suggested Pn.
Hence sagely, "who doth set ashut his
sacks o' grain till he doth reach the
mart "
SI"' dung to her sunrls Idea for a
diflgti. As Dies,, is ,i conventionalize!
sunrise over the sei decorati.in, .Mr. liar-
. - - ... -..-...m M.nieuung 10
. m.iK- tier nesign lndlvblu.il
" ea." she said, "from out the clouds'
I mu: ,lfth ,,lls " " '
J A sketch was drawn of the ugrete,l
dfcoratlon, and Patience said, approv-
ncl :
, Twere a hand ndear that set ntraeed
, thereon and athln the heart o' him doth
, the trie o' mo to nst and rest "
ratlence shows hiinif to be full of
fU!l.
equrr.t 1 rrlous utt.-rain.-.
arp of dividcdly mor 1 cast Most of
, ),r ,oms, and of course her alb curies.
,,,, with mora! suggi stlons,
She Is fond
r mistical characters nnd situations
The work tin which she Is now engaged,
"Tho So-ry Tale." a biography of
the impenitent thief at the ertie tlxlon.
Iicently two members ,f t'le mil
in"tre In 1 Inrge of huild'ng the new
M'svourl State Capitol called on M',
(luri-aii and askeil whether Patience
could write a Mltlne Inscription for a
cei nun puce.
S( .lltln. nH R,,n,j wheth-r she
c(lxM .,.it(1 B.Joh lnH(.rptm an(1 .
ceitaln place.
told that it must bo confined to I2u
letters She snld :
"At thy next o' sit this thing shall
be done "
At the next sitting after she hnd writ
ten n long poem, part of "Tho Sorry
Tale," and had talked on other matters, I
she was asked nlsnit the Inscription, j
She said :
"There bo a twain o' puts."
Pvidcn'ly she bad heen working on
two Inscrlptlnt m and wns undecided
vvlib 't to vic She went on. (
What wouMn thou, a word unto
men. or vvnuldst thou a word unto a 1
1 no
S 10 was to'.d the Inscription had bet
ter be addressed to men,
"Yea," sin said, "but he who seekuth
goeth unto the 'Uiws-hut' loned and
Iiee leth o' a word ! ' '
This was evidently an argument III I
favor of addressing an Inscription to one,
man Instead of men. After sntun
cli'iilng of the board she complained ,
"I nay be at loving o' .1 put aet In n ,
measure "
She evidently didn't like the retiictnl
letters, nor the dltlleulty of finding an
I siriptlKli whi'li would be at onco new.
like Patience Worth, nnd strong enough
In be worth a place lu the new Capitol
However, after 111010 circling, hhe Indi
cated the following.
' 'Tls the grain o' lllm that bn
at'un twlthin) thy band. Scatter thee
n.'iv
grain awhiiher I en the chuff Is .
Ills, nnd the dust thy brother's," j
Tills figures out JiiM I'JD letters, count-I
lug the spaces between Urn words. When
he was nsked If Mic would like to give
thu nihil' iimt.i .Inn Mm had In mliiil she 1
1 unswiii'd piovlileiitly . "Nay, waste o' '
grain' It,, this ah'tiged, 'tls the darnel
' thou Invest tlmt shall snip Its mil.'"
This was taken to niem that If the
' iiunl.iilon she hail given shoubl Im found
I"" 1 suit "tie would siimien It.
, .
THF. KOf0 TO
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VICTORY
IN
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CHAMBERS MORRIS
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"Th Writing' "f Jhn Qulncy AiUms.
Vol, V I " IMilfd by Wnrthliuttiiii Chaun
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yon. I
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V Krai.r. iVreilerick A. Stolna
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i.'.miniun." Mr. and Mn. John
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Th. Confesstoii " Ituxlui Uorfcy, tran..
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-Abraham Lincoln, th. I.a yer-State.-,
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"Aniirlnni and Por.lgn Investm.at
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"Wnrdswmth. How Jo Know Htm r.
T Wlnelie.tcr. tTlie Hobba-Merrlll Com-
1 '"Ul.'1"i;i"!:i.ernrv Minus. " Meph.n
lam ink iJiihli l.ane 1'iimpnm I
ill.u.rv nf tlie Herman I'enple x els
111 i mil IV IMwar.l N Kills mul An.
Mi.tus H Keller THe liilernulloiul Hl
lulh.ll SOL'l.tJ, Nert lUk I ,,,,., .,
Aug .AiiHruan mi ,'" ' ""'-v.
(tlx-
M.iry v inn iiiii'i: m.
f.i'ni -nlierlt! lie-- ltunii.hrey Mllford.)
nrrl.)
la) re
SIih-ii illuiighimi vtltnin L-nnipniiy.i
"bull Vour Worrying" Heorg. W har
ton .limns, ilUilunt Life I'r.is, l'a
'""WhiHlJ-.i.. W.i. .-. Man ii.rt Not .
Woiii.iu" Mdney C Tapp tTlie author
K.ui" is city Mo I
"I Im Truth About til"
Ulblc." Kldn.y
8ldnsv ('. Tapp.
v'ntiip my, lHIl
ll-lnlri .fllllB
I '' T
M
Tb'
r Tm it ill ho r l
M'jiilnci nf lbs Itllile "
ttl t'HiiiimiiiB
lie I
I s.is
r.nnilti- I'nlk Tales
I l.irmw
, I'n w les. (A
Mi'C'lurc and Com-
I' III)
"The
rhli'.in" i
Maei-trinn i rsna rTor.i,
tKil-
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""'The Sent "f His Itlallt'OUs." Jullrt
Wlllmii Tnini'klin iThe riolibs Merrill
Cfiiipmy i
ii.llllnnil
" listen Hunt Jackson.
(I.lt
Wolf. tie.
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i A. c. Miiinis an. I I'ompany.i
The Whirligig '' lime." Wayland
Wells Wlllliiins .Frederick A. Mok.i
roinpnnv I
"Ilrliine et It's ' Wsrwl k Herplng,
Itolnil M Melirldn and "omp.in, Ntw
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p itlllltll's Smis i ...
"A liren Huee.M ' Mr. Humphrr
Ward. illensi's Imeriiiitlniinl Illirnr
',iiiii,inv .Sew V ik i
V ruck In l.lgliinliig " Iturton Klin.
.Inlut l.iiiii' Cniiipitij .1
"Hie Ipnii.iiii U r.l.ilns.' Arthur 11
Ureie illnii'i's liilnnintlnnal lilhrary
t tiiiti iii i
"The Coiinaie in Wlille.' S II.
la'tttliorn (lifinln II n.v.ll fmnr.)
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