The San Francisco call. [volume], January 18, 1903, Image 6

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
Gratlano's two grains of wheat hid In
two bushels of chaff, you seek all day
ere you find them and when you have
them they are not worth the search." Dr.
Burrell Is the popular pastor of the Mar
ble Collegiate Church of New York, the
congregation of which Is made up of con
servative church goers. The book is not
a contribution to theological scholarship,
but rather a wholesome tonic for some
kinds of believers. :
THE) LOST WEDDINO RINO— By Rsr. Cort-,
land Myers. Funk ft Wagnalls.
This book suggests "The Wedding
Ring." by/Dr. Talmage. It is along the
same line, teaches the some lessons. He
begins with the proposition that marriage
is not a failure and not a necessity. The
succeeding sermons, for they are sermons,
take up the salient points of the domestic
life, which are treated with boldness and
fairness and with a good deal of profit
for the average ' reader.
THE QUEST OF HAPPINESS— By Newell
Dwight Hints. Macmlllan Company. ,|1 00
net. ;
"This discussion assumes unexplored
realms of Christianity." With this word
of explanation 'Dr. Hlllls ' discusses the
quest for happiness, taking the story of
Fortunas as a foreword to . tha various
chapters. , Dr. Hillis has Deen criticized
for making mlsstatements and wandering
from the path of historical accuracy In
"this volume. The contents are probably
made up of sermons preached from Ply
mouth pulpit and there are portions which
Indicate Waste in preparation and proof
reading. 'Dr. Hillls has a mind which ab
sorbs literature as a sponge takes up
water. But he has the Intellectual qual
ity which crystallizes and enriches what
he receives and which. is set down with
a good deal of effect. The average reader
will find in these chapters much to help
him. The chapters teem with a certain.
Mnsplratlon which the imperfections of the
text do not destroy. The fundamental '
' premise, with which the argument begins
and from which all the converging lines
1 go Jorward, ¦ is that "the supremo end of
life is not the mere getting of those good
have to do with honesty, self-respect,
economy and saving, exercise and unde
sirable habits. In addition to these chap
ters, the experience of the author is ap
pended. He closea jwith "The Voice of
Distinguished Experience," which In
cludes the testimonies of prominent suc
cessful men In all walks of life. It is a
Eymposium of success. Her© are some of
the questions he asks the successful men:
"To what one thing, or to what two or
mere things, do you . attribute your suc
cess?" "Do you consider strict honesty
necessary to business success?" "Would
you advise a boy to go to college- If he in
tends to go lnto^buslne-ss?" "Would you
ndvise a boy to go to college if he Intends
to enter a profession?" "If all the
boys In America were In session and you
v/ere asked to telegraph a few words of
advice, what would you say?" There are
twenty-five of these answers and replies,
which are worth the attention of every
boy In the land.
A QUIVER OF ARROWS: Characteristic ser
mons by James Burrell.
These are sermon sketches, after the
manner of Robertson's sermons. They
are not complete discourses and are taken
probably from extensive notes which havo
been prepared for the pulpit. They rep
resent textual, expository, topical, doc
trinal, biographical, ethical, sociological
and anniversary sermons. The most read
able, naturally, to the average man are
the biographical and ethical sermons. Tho
two' sermons on sociology are entitled
"The Church and the Saloon" and "The
Sunday Newspaper." The reason the
other sermons are not of commanding in
terest is because the author is almost
ultra conservative In some of his doc
trinal conclusions. He says, referring to
Jonah and the whale, "It is the fashion
to make light of the story of Jonah and
the whale as a fable," and then proceeds
to establish the genuineness of Jonah, it
is enough to say that any man who In- '
Bists dogmatically upon the historical ac
count of Jonah arfd the whale will not.
be widely read by the people. Referring
to the religious newspaper he says "re-.
llgion in the Sunday newspaper is like
Dr. Cuyler has had wide and varied ex
perience as a preacher, author and trav
eler. He has gathered these experiences
together In a notable volume under tht
above title. His observations upon men
and things are fresh and suggestive, and
Include many ot the famous preachers
and notable people of the last century. It
Is written In Dr. Cuyler's characteristic
style, full of color and ' striking 1 epigram.
His descriptions of Beecher, Spurgeon,
Newman Hall, and evangelists like Moody,
Sankey and Finney, and orators and re
formers- like J. 1 B. Gough, Neal Dow and
the Alexanders, afford glimpses Into the
Inner life of these marked men. His ref
erence to Washington Irving, "The Father
of American Literature." as well as his
glimpses of Whlttier and Greeley, are of
special Interest. Of statesmen, Lincoln In
the Civil War, and Gladstone are written
about. • The book is of interest to those
who like to study men of mark, but also
has much of helpful suggestions for young
ministers. There are chapters on pastoral
work and many bints as to the prepara
tion of sermons, suggestions as to deliver
ing them; all of which make up a volume
of great profit to church people. Apart
from that it is a characteristic autobiog
raphy of Dr. ¦ Cuyler himself. The most
interesting character treated in the book
is the author, to whose mental and spirit
ual life we are introduced- with a charm
ing, grace and delightful form. Dr. Cuy
ler is now an old man, and this book Is
his last extensive ¦ contribution to his
many friends of all denominations
throughout the world.
RECOLLECTIONS OF A LONO IXTSh . Aa
autobiography by T. L. Cuyler. D.T>. 13 ma.,
illustrated, 884 pages, net fl BO. The Baker
h Taylor Company.
or "deckle" edges, and with a gilt top
and gold aide stamp. Nevertheless it will
perish with the year.
SWORDS AND PLOWSHARES— By Ernest
Crosby. Funk A Wagnalls, New Tork. Price
(1 00.
This volume is by the leading American
disciple of Tolstoy. The poems are filled
with a hatred of war and a love of na
ture. It is both of reform on the one
hand and of positive love» in the natural
¦world on the other.
v The verse cannot pass for poetry, how
ever, without a challenge. For example:
X saw a lad. a beautiful lad.
With a far-off look in his eye.
who emlled not at the battJeflag
When the cavalry troop marched by.
The poor lad dldn'J emile first because
there was nothing to smile at, and second
for the reason as given "by the lad.
"Oh, ray country Is the Land of LpTt,"
Thus did the lad reply;
"My country Is the Land of Lot*.
And a patriot there am I."
To Inflict such Idealism upon a real boy
Is not only Ill-treatment, but exceedingly
poor poetry.
BALLADS AND BALLAD POBTRTl One of
The Hawthorne classics— Edited by Edward
Evewtt Hale Jr. Globe School Book Com
pany, New Tork and Chicago.
This book deals with th* ballad as a
l;ind of poetry, with as little as possible
of antiquarian or linguistic or even lit
erary detail. It contains much that is
really worth while to read. <
THE BOT: HOW TO HELP HIM SUCCEED—
By Nathaniel C. Fowler Jr. The Oakwood
Publishing Company. Boston. "
"Be yourself— your whole self— you can
rot be more— you Bhould not be less.
Maximum your goods, minimum your
bads. Find your best self— feed it. train
It, work It, rest It, grow it Into the full
bloom of your character flower." Such is
the Introduction to a volume by Nathaniel
C. Fowler Jr.. entitled '"The Boy— How to
Help Him Succeed." This book should be'
read by parents and boys. It treats of
the elements of success, the starting of a
boy, the boy at school, good and poor
ftchclars, and many other things which
X "i'K <
things ' named lands, gold or honors nor
tha pursuit of those knowledges and ao
compllshments that are named culture,
but that happiness means the blessedness
that comes through obedience to those
laws of God that portray his will and
Image forth his character." Thla premise
Is ably supported by the brilliant chapters
which follow. The book is artistically pre
pared and makes V valuable sift book
for tha Iiulldays. It goes without saying
that anything the great preacher of Ply
mouth Church writes la worth reading*.
by horrlblB collap«e» «nd equally horrlbl* up
ward leaps. Now it held, now Jt broke, now
It re-formed again, rose arain, then again in
hideous cataclysms fell from beneath their
feet to lower depth than before. The official
reporter leaned back in his plac«. helpless.
On the wall overhead, the indicator on the dial
was rocking back and forth, like th« mast of
a ship caught in a monsoon. The price of
July wheat no man could so much as approxi
mate. The fluctuations were no longer by frac
tion* of a cent, but by ten cents, fifteen cents,
twenty-five cents at a time. On one Bide of the
pit wheat sold at ninety cents, on, the other at
a dollar and a quarter.
And all the while above the din upon the
floor, above the. trampling* and the shoutings
in the pit. there seemed to thrill and swell
that appalling roar of the wheat Itself coming
In, coming on like a tidal wa\-e, bursting
through, dashing barriers aside, rolling like a
measureless, almighty river, from the farms
of Iowa and the ranches of California, on to
Books Reviewed by the Rev. William Rader.
bly sickening, veritably weakening. Men on
either side of him were shouting mere inco
herences. ti> which nobody, not even tbem-
M-lves was ltsteniw?. Others, silent, gnawed
tneir naiia to the quick, breathing rapidly, au
dibly even, their nostrils expanding and con
tracting. All around roared the vague thun
der that since early morning: had shaken the
buildiriR. In the pit the bias leaped to and
fro, thoush the time of opening had not yet
come; the very piankB under foot seemed spin
ning atvjut in the first hune warning swirl of
the pit's centripetal convulsion. There was
atxzlness in tht- uir. Something, some infinite.
Immeasurable power, onrushing in Its eternal
course*, shook the pit in its grasp. Something
deafened the ears, blinded the eyes, dulled and
numbed the mind, with its roar with the
chaff and dust of its whirlwind post-age, with
the stu|rt>fyinK sense of its power, coeval with
the earthquake and Klacier, merciless, all
powerful, a primal basic throe of creation
Itself, unassailable, inviolate and untamed.
Had the trading begun? Had tho eonit
¦truck? Landry nfiver knew, never «o much
as heard the clang of the Kreat bell. All at
once he was fighting;; all at once he was
caught, as it were, from off the stable earth,
and flung headlong Into the heart and center
oC» the pit. What he did. he could not sayi
what 'went on about him, he could not dls
tinsulsh. He only knew that roar was suc
ceeding roar, that there was crashing through
his ears, through his very brain, the combined
bellow of a hundred Niagaras. Hands
clutched and tor© at hlm.Jhis own tore and
clutched in turn. The pit was mad, wan drunk
and frenzied; not a man of all those who
fought and scrambled and shouted who knew
what he or his neighbor did. They only knew
that a support long thought to be secure was
Eivlne away, not gradually, not evenly, but
yUTtNl«HKl> ROOM HOUBES — By SKma
"Wright's Widow (Annie M. Duadlck). *". Tsn
nyton Neely, New York. H W.
THE POOBHOCSB LARK— By Mary B.
Books Received.
The Theater Magazln* for Jmxmaur the
beginning of Its third year-la full of ex
cellent features, both literary and pictori
al. Justin Iluntly McCarthy, the well
known English litterateur, contributes a
rordeau to the New Tear, and J. L C.
Clarke, In an article entitled "The Terrors^
of a First Night." describes In an inter
esting and amusing w»y th# agonies of
mind an author goes through during the
first performance of his play. Another
interestinar"art!cle Is on th« subject of
"Stage Fights." It is written by B*. G.
Blakeslee, late swordmaster First Regi
ment, Connecticut National Guard, who
explains the technical knowledge neces
sary for realistic encounters on th« boards
and tells of those actors who are expert
at it. The month'* Interview is with Mrs.
Patrick Campbell, the English aetres*.
who eays many characteristic things ami
lifts a veil on her Interesting; personality.
This number also contains a complete
and thrillirr story of tht star«, a clever
piece of fiction by Kenneth L«c "Mu&lc
and Musicians'* are discussed, as usual,
by Emily O. von Tetzel. The pictures are
varied and beautiful. They Include scenes
from Julia Marlowe's new play, "The Cav
alier"; Belasco's latest suoce**. The Dar
ling of the Gods"; tho new musical come
dy of war times, "When Johnny Comes
Marching Home": William Faversham
and Miss Fay Davis in "Imprudence."
Nat C. Goodwin and Miss Majrtn* Elliott
In "The Altar of Friendship," Miss Grace
George In "Pretty Persy." James K.
Hackett and Miss Charlotts Walker In
"The Crisis," Mary Mannertnc In "Th«
Stubbornness of Geraldlne," Mlas Eleanor
Robson In "Aubrey," Mlsa Mabella Gll
man In "The Mocking" Bird." Miss Cecil
Bpooner In "My Lady 'Peggy Goes to
Town." Joseph Haworth as Cassias, Rich
ard Mansfield, Mrs. Patrick Campbell in
her various roles, Henry V. Donnelly as
Falstaff. Mme. Ktrkby Loss, ths new
English contralto; Carlo Danl, tne ne-sr
opera matinee Idol; Hermann Wetzler,
etc '
Literary ITotea.
Several books relating to Daniel "Web
ster's life have appeared during 1SC1 but
the only complete works of that great
statesman will be the national edition.
In eighteen volume*, which Little, Brown
& Co. will issue this year. So important
is this set that the. publishers will lsaua
a special edition of fifty numbered set*
at $50 per volume. These volumes will b*
printed on hand-made paper. deckl«
edges, splendidly bound, In full crushed
Levant morocco, gilt top, and will b« fur
ther enriched with thirty-six hand-col
ored frontispieces and title pare vig
nettes. A portfolio containing a special
set of India proofs of the portraits and
views will be presented to each of th«
subscribers to this edition.
"To make money Is not the province of
* novelist. If he be the right sort he
has other responsibilities, heavy ones,
lie. of all men. cannot think only of hlm-
Milf and for himself. And when the last
rage is written and the Ink crusts /on
the pen point and the hungry presses
po clashing after another writer, the 'new
man' and the new fashions of the hour,
he will think of the grim long grind, of
the years of his life that he has put be
hind him and of his work that he built
up, volume by volume — sincere work, tell
ing the truth as he saw it, independent
of fashion and the gallery gods, holding
to these with gripped hands and shut
teeth— he will think of all this then and
Jie will be able to say, *I never truckled,
I never took off the hat to Fashion and
held it out for pennies. By God. I told
them the truth- They liked it or they
THE output of poetry In 1909 la by no
means notable. One Is often sur
prised at the courage of publishers
In their willingness to put upon the
market the fancies of go-called poets. Th«
.public Is, however, always willing to nib
ble at new poetry to discover if possible
the Savor of genius. There Is much scrap.
ry. experimental versa circulated, the In
ferior quality of which Is often atoned for
In artistic bindings. One of the dangers
in bcokmaking Is that the publisher rather
than the author be made the eource-of at
traction. It ie not necessary to seek far
In order to find books with more attractive
binding than contents.
Of the new poetry showered upon us of
late may be mentioned the following:
"Brickbats and Bouquets," by Colonel
John A- Joyce; F. Tennyson Keely, New
Tork. The object of the writer "is to
throw kiln-dried brickbats of truth at the
horrid bead cf hypocrisy, envy, malice,
fctlflshness and tyranny."
The brickbats which follow keep the
average reader ducking his wicked head
to escape the poetical assaults.
This book alms to be clever rather than
helpful As a rule people do not care for
brickbats. They like bouquets, of which
there are a number In this unique col
lection or sayings, wise and otherwise.
PICKETTS CHARGE AND OTHER POEMS—
By Fred - Emerson Brooks. Forbei & Co.,
Iiorton. Price $1 23.
The description of the famous charge
at Gettysburg, and other military events,
comprise this volume, which Is colored by
the spirit of the South and marked by a
pazsiocate patriotism.
WAR AND WORSHIP: A poem— By Henry
Befilow. Publifhed by the Truth Beekfr Com
pany. New York. Pp. 190, duo. Price $1 25.
Toe author states that this poem ex
j;t esses "convictions based on recollec
tions of the revolts of 1848." These dis
turbances began in Milan, which were
followed by fighting in Paris and the pro
claim!::? of the French republic By
way of contrast the writer passes from a
consideration of war to an analysis of
¦worship in which the sources of religion
ere sought out. The writer has much to
say about truth. Is somewhat mystical in
his thought and vigorous in Etyle. Tho
work is printed in the popular "rebarbar
lred" etyle, on heavy paper with rough
"The Octopus" was the first of this se
ries and its appearance created a pro
found sensation In the literary world.
Tliis is the story of the sowing- and gath
ering of the wheat, the war between the
wheat grower ar.d the railroad trust. Mr.
Norris laid the tcene for his first book
here :n California on the great plains of
1 he San Joaquin, and as a book of this
plme of Californian life it is a work that
*t«nds pre-eminent. Aside from its locil
Interest It is a marvelous study of human
ity as It struggles giant-like to conquer
find control one of the world's greatest
Trees. "The Octopus." even alone, stands
»f the closest approximation to the "great
American novel." both in the broad
Hsp* of its handling and in its thorough
lv American significance, that has as yet
l>*-oi written. And it was only reasonable
t«j expect that the three book&> taken to
tjf-ther and completing the trilogy would
occupy a permanent place in the litera
ture of the world.
"The Pit." the s-econd book in the tril
f'?y, has just been published by Double^
djy. Page & Co., New York, and certainly
livts up .to the promise offered in "The
octopus." It possesses that same broad
rweep fo characteristic of Norris In deal
ing with the vital principles of life. Now
the scr.r.e has ehilted from the trials of
the farmers, the towing and raising of
tho wheat, the great fertile plains of the
V.>Ft. to the scene of Its distribution in
Chicago wheat pit.
• Here we find the same Norris writing
with the old fearless sincerity, truth, force
fulness and eympathy. but with the more
I<<rfect realism and vividness that come
vith jears and with the surer knowledge
of past successes. Those familiar with
Norris" essays may remember a para
?raoh he wrote some months before his
d«ath, which was plainly his own creed:
XcrriF was a man deeply interested in
aii problems of humanity: a close student
p.wi a deep thinker, i!ic desire to broaden
and educate himself and to see the world
:ir.d i:*- people early asserted itself. He
it ft San .Francisco to finish a course at
Harvard and from there went to Paris,
where he eiudied art. He- represented a
.San Francisco paper in South Africa at
the time of the Jameson raid, and he was
in Cuba, in lbO>> for a irew York maga
zine. It has been stated that he wrote
¦•XiiTeag'ue." a one-hundred-and-twenty
rive-thousaiid-word novel, in eighty-nine
days. This may be an exaggeration, but
the fact remains neverine:ess that Norris
was in himself a perfect type of the
"American of the strenuous life"; he not
only attempted great things, but he car
ried them out in the quickest possible
time — and successfully, too.
While a reader for the Doubleday-Page
Company he conceived the Idea of
writing a Trilogy of the Epic of the
Wheat- three novels it-hose stories should
be. In no way connected with each other
in the detail of plot or characters, but
should be related in the broader sense of
purpose. The first should deal with the
production of the wheat; the second, the
distribution; and the third, the consump
tion. The first two we have, but the last,
most unfortunately, has died with the
author.
THE London "Academy" says, and
it is to be feared quite truthfully.
I that one cannot help feeling that
I the rush of such a life as that of
the late Frank Norris had some
thing: to do with his early death. Frank
Norris certainly lived the strenuous life
to the fall; he traveled much,
he saw much, and he remember
ed all that he saw to eventual
ly weave into notion the realities of
V.f*. Mr. Norris had so many warm per
sonal fiiencs in California, made during
the early nineties when he was a stu
dent in the University of California and
« house member of the Phi Gamma Delta
fraternity, and later when he became
one of the editors of "The Wave,"' that
»t of the Ktr AVt-st cannot fail to feel a
certain proprJetr.ry interest in his writ
u:rs.
The words had not ceased to echo la the
high vaultings of tha roof before they wer»
greeted with a wild thrill yell of exultation
and triumph tfcat burst from the crowding
masses In the wheat pit.
Beaten I Beaten at last! The great buU?
Smashed! Tha great corner smashed! Jadwln
busted I They themselves saved saved uve<1!
Cheer followed upon cheer yell after yell. Hat*
went Into tha air. In a frenay of delight men
danoed and leaped and capered upon the ed?*
of tha pit. clasping their arms about earh
other, shaking each other's hands. cheerln*
and hurrahing until their strained voices be
came hoarse and faint.
In the lltt!e balcony on tha south wall, op
posite the visitors' gallery. » figure had ap
peared, a tall, grave man in a long black coat
— the secretary of the Board of Trade. Lan
dry, with tha others saw him. saw him acl
vanca to the edge •< tha railing and fix his
glanc* upon tha wheat jit. In bis hand he
carried a silp of paper.
And then in tba midst of that profound si
lence the secretary announced:
"AH tracjp-s with Gretry, Conversa Jk Co.
must be closed at once."
struggling and stamping was stilled Landry.
bewildered, still holding his chief by tna hana.
looked about him. On the floor, near at nami.
stood the president of ths Board of Trade him
self, and with him the vice president ana »
group of tho directors Evidently It had been
these who had called the traders to order. But
It was not toward them now that tha hundreds
of men In the pit and on the floor wer* Iook-
With one accord they leaped upon him. The
little group of his traders was swept aside.
Landry alone. Landry who had never left his
side since his rush from out Gretry** office,
Landry Court, loyal to the last, his one re
maining soldier, white, shaking, tha sobs
strangling In his throat, clung to him desper
ately. Another billow of wheat was preparing.
They two — the beaten general and hi* young
armor-bearer — heard it coming: hissing, raglnc.
bellowing, it swept down upon them. Landry
uttered a cry. Flesh and blood could not stand
this strain. He cowered at his chiefs side, his
shoulders bent, one arm above his head, as If
tD ward oft an actual physical force.
But Jadwin. iron to the end, stood erect. All
unknowing what he did. he had taken Landry's
hand in his and the boy felt the grip on his
fingers like the contracting of a vise of steel.
The other hand, as though holding up a
standard, was still in the air. and his great
deep-tuned voice went out across the tumult,
proclaiming to the end his battla cry:
"Give a dollar for July — give a dollar for
July'."
But. little by little. Landry became aware
that tha tumult of the pit waa intermitting.
There was sudden lapsing In the shouting, and
In these lapses he could hear from somewher*
out upon the floor voices that were crying: "Or
der — order, order, • gentlemen."
But again and again the clamor broke out.
It would He down for an Instant In response t»
these appeals, only to burst out afresh as
certain groups of traders started the pande
monium again by the wild outcrying of their
offers. At last, however, the older men In the
pit. regaining some measure of aelf-control.
took up the word, going to and fro in tba pit.
repeating. '"Order, order."
And then, all at once, the pit. the entire
floor of the Board of Trade was struck dumb.
AH at once the tension was relaxed, th» furious
And then, under the stresa and Tioleno* of
the hour, something snapped In his brain. Tha
murk behind his eyes had been suddenly
pierced by a white flash. The strange qualms
and tiny nervous paroxysms of the last faw
months all at once culminated In some lndefl
nlte, indefinable crisis, and the wheels and
cogs of all activities save one lapsed away
and ceased. Only one function of the compli
cated machine persisted; but it moved with a
rapidity of vibration that seemed to be tearing;
the ttssues of Wng to shreds, while Us
rhythm beat out the old and terrible cadence:
"Wheat-wheat-wheat, wheat-wheat-wheat."
Blind and insensate. Jadwin strove aealnat
the torrent of the wheat. There In the mlddla
of the pit, surrounded and assaulted by herd
after herd of wolves yelping for hli destruc
tion, he stood braced, rigid upon his feet, his
head up. his hand, the great bony hand that
once had held the whole pit In Its grip, flung;
high in the air, in a gesture of defiance. Vwhlla
his voice*, like the clangor of bugles sounding
to the charge of the forlorn hope, rang out
again and again over the din of his enemies:
¦•Give a dollar for July — give a dollar for
July'." __
Jadwln was In tha thick of tha confusion by
now. And the avalanche, the undlked ocean
of the wheat, leaping to the lash of the hurri
cane, struck him fairly In the face.
Ha heard It now; ha heard nothing elsa. Tha
wheat had broken from his control. For
months he had. by the might of his single arm,
held it back; but now it rose like the upbuild
ing; of a colossal billow. It towered, towered,
hunr polEed an Instant, and then, with a
thunder as of the grind and crash of chaotlo
worlds, broke upon him, burst through the pit
and raced past mm, on and on to the eastward
and to the hungry nations.
Jadwln himself, the great man, the "Great
Bull" In the pit. What was about to happen?
Had they been too premature In their hop* of
bis defeat? Had ha been preparing? some se
cret, unexpected maneuver? For a second they
hesitated, then moved by a common Impulse,
feellnc the push of the wonderful new harvest
behind them, they gathered themselves to
eether for tha final assault, and again offered
the wheat for sale; offered It by thousands
upon thousands of bushels; poured, as It were,
reaping* of entire principalities out upon the
floor of the Board of Trade.
1 And straight Into th« ' turmoil and confusion
«f tht pit, to the seen* of so many of bla
victoria*. the battleground whereon train and
•gain. h!» enemies routed, be had remained,
tha victor undisputed, undismayed, cams tin
"Great Ball." No sooner bad he set foot with
in the entrance to the floor than the news went
flashing and flying from lip to Up. The gal
leries knew it. the public room and th* West
am Union knew It, th» telephone booths knew
It, and lastly even the Wheat pit. torn and
toned and rent asunder by the force this man
himself had unchained, knew It, and knowing
stood dismayed. .
For «von then, so irreat bad b«en his power,
•0 complets his dominion, and so wall-rooted
the fear which he had Inspired, that this laa:
move In the treat game he had been playing
this unexpected, direct, personal assumption or
control struck a eens* of consternation Into
the heart of the hardiest of bis enemies.
Tho power of that description Is only
rivaled by the even greater crisis when
Jadwln himself, the "Great Bull." comes
Into the pit frenzied by the reports of the
panic, only to be smashed and beaten, not
by the men who hate and fear him. but
by the wheat Itself, that great element of
force that no human hand can stay, that
comes pouring In on the irresistible way
from grower to consumer.
the East — to the bakeahepa and hungry mouths
of Europe.
Was the irons: never groins to strike? He
found himself, all at once, on the edge of the
wheat pit. It was jammed tight with the
crowd of traders, and the excitement that dis
engaged Itself from that tense, vehement crowd
of white faces and glittering eyes was verita-
The plot of the story in brief is this:
Laura is loved and wooed by the men—
Landry Court, the conscientious, hard
working. you:ig business man of brilliant
future; Sheldon Corthell. the artist and a
man of temperament entirely the opposite
of those of the business world; and Curtis
Jadwin. a man among men, great, re
eourceful. strong. Jadwin wins her hand
by bis very masterfulness and they are
married. Then it is that the true inter
est r«f the story begins.
Jadwin Is gradually lured into the fas
cinaUng swirl of the. pit. his gamb <? in
stinct grows even stronger than 1. . love
for his wire. It is a force that he can
not resist and rre he knows it he is in
too far to withdraw. Laura, of a dispo
sition that requires love and affection,
rioes all in her power to draw him back,
and apparently failing in that is soon on
the verge of a fatal mistake— for Corthell,
her/jld suitor, comes back, and they are
much together. Jadwin is linally drawn
into tbe vortex of the pits maelstrom and
goes down a ruined man. Here then is
the crisis; for just as this occurs Laura
In despair has given her word to Corthell
to elope— will Mr. Norris give his h<roinc-
Into the hands of another man ands his
here; into af suicide's grave? We must
leav« that for the reader to discover.
Those parts of the book wherein arc
descVibed the battle of the speculators
and 'distributors, their efforts tt> control
whejit. to turn to their own end:; without
regard for the sufferings of the consum
ers, make some of the strongest and most
virile bits of American fiction.. Here is
that part of the story wherein we learn
of the first tidal wave that marks the
advance of wheat itself as the new crop
comes on the market to break the corner
that Curtis Jadwin has so long held:
laundry and the other Gretry traders hurried
from the office ud to the floor. Lars-jry's heart
was beating th.ck and glow and hard, his
teeth were shut tight. Kvery n«>rv<». every
fiber of him braced itself with the rigidity of
drawn wire, to meet the issue of the impending
hours. Now was to come the la:tt grapple.
I!e had never lived through a crltla such as
this before. Would he prevail, would he keep
hU head? Would he avoid cr balk the thou
sand and one little subterfuges, tricks and
traps that the hostile traders would prepare
for him— preoare with a quickness, a sudden
ness that all but defied the sharpest, keenest
watchfulness?
For example this: "And this was her
lest impression of the evening. The light,
ed office buildings, the murk of rain, the
haze of light in the heavens, and raised
apalnst It the pile of the Board of Trade
building. Clack, grave, monolithic, crouch
ing on Its foundations, like a monstrous
sphinx with blind eyes, silent, grave —
crouching there without ay sound, without
sign of life, under the* night and the
drifting veil of rain,"
Norris is an author who must be read
slowly, carefully, and even for a second
or third time, for the best comprehension
and appreciation of his work. JCot a
point escapes him in developing . the de
tails that will bring his' purpose to per
fect consummation. His Is the master
hand in describing vast undertakings, n
placing before the reader crowded scenes
palpitating with life, that you may see
with an eye clearer than your own. V
The opening chapters of the book con
cern themselves with the proper introduc
tion and appreciation of his two leading
characters, a man and a woman — Curtis.
Jadwln and Laura Dearborn. They meet\
at an opera njght. Laura has just left
her quiet Massachusetts home to live in
Chicago, and it is really her "first long
glimpse into life of the great metropolis.
The description of this vast crowd of
theatergoers, with their different aims,
conversations and interests, is the most
realistic of its kind that we have ever
read.
didn't like It What had that to do with
me? I told them the truth; I knew It
for the truth then and I know It for the
truth now.* And that is his reward— the
best that a man may know: the only one
really worth the striving for."
"The Pit" Is a story about the came
length as "The Octopus." but without the
great number of characters that Mr. Nor
ris found necessary in his narrative of
the struggles, hopes, ambitions and fail
ures of the producers. The principal per
sons in "The Pit" are: Curtis Jadwln,
capitalist and speculator: Sheldon Cort
hell. an artist; Landry Court, broker's
clerk: Samuel Gretry. a broker: Charles
Cressier, a dealer In grain; Mrs. Cressler,
his wife; I>aura Dearborn, protege of
Mrs. Cressler; Page Dearborn, her sis
ter; Mrs. JJmily Wessels. aunt of Laura
and Page.
All of Mr. Norris' characters are In
stinct with the real life of flesh and blood
and hold the reader by their virility; but
where the author achieves real greatness
is in Imparting the breath of a living
actuality to so abstract a quantity as
trade and its associations — In making
wheat seem to us a thing concrete, a
force endowed with human instincts and
superhuman powers. It was so in "The
Octopus"; it Is so In "The Pit."
Wiliey. F. Tennyson N'eely. Isew York $1 50
POEMS OF LIFE AND LOVING— By Har-
New York' Vl SheUey - F * Tenn y soa Neely.
bJ^.J 11^ T^ a F' OV tiie pack MTTLB—
By Sid. H. NeoJy. F. Tennyson Neely. Kev?
xorR. • ~
MENTAL GUIDE TO HEALTH- By DeWltt
THE SUNDAY CALIi.
CONDUCTED BY
B. G. LATHROP
The above im a Tery excel
lent portrait of Miss Ada Pat
terson, a talented young naws
paper woman of Hew York,
whose book "By the Stage
Door" has just gone into its
second edition. Miss Patter
son began her journalist ca
reer in San Francisco a few
years ; ago, and for many
months wrote articles for the
daily press. Her present book
Is quite entertaining , and
seems on the high road to
bring her fame.
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