The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 3, 1903, Page 6

THE SUNDAY CALL. - THE WESTERN NOVHI =% T looks if the to me as American novel stands a good chance of coming from the West. The reason for this is mainly that the West is S0 new. The spirit of it fresh and spontan eous, full of vigor and of new life. It its transition stage. point after a while, t has already done. The East- our country are in sition as regards artistic yment. They are in the betwixt a n stage of progress. They have out of the spontaneous youth of is that an un Photo by Bushnell. HE fact that tife conditions exist to results of wheih President Roose- applied the term “race s well krown that words need be wasted in discus: stice or necessity of his and the exist must be & matter ¢ true f velt ha lover of in chi may varied at least rough the enlightenment of ce and the modification of « ciples upon which they moid t patriotic men an ire to have pointed o which they can benefit first themselves, the community and then the nati.n, which they will walk themselves, but will by tedching induce others to follow in usion may be made to are them tain pr afte: not in way d example footste: UICIDE - BY BALLINGTON Bo thelr lifetime, that joyful age through which the West is now passing, and they have not as yet reached the ripe culture of Burope's maturity. They are at the awkward, overgrown, ill-at-case age which all children must pass througa after they lose their unconscious charm and before they have acquired the ease of experience. The 1s self-conscious. This scems as plausible an explanation as in to the often-ralsed quéstion, there no American vinly seems to be the list of ny nswe novel?” For there ce none. I frequently go the men and women who are doing the best writing of this kind that is done In America and 1 fail to find the real novel sought. There many that hold the reader’s interest from beginning to end because they are writ- ten brightly as to style or because they over re many clever ones, tell an interesting narrative; but where is the ome that will last? Richard Harding Davis Is one of our cleverest writers of short stories and he has occasionally tried his hand at light novels. His work has a charm, always that, but it has not tiie ring of genius. Tt Is the one essential thing that is lack ing. His style has polnts worth studying, but style alpne does not constitute a novel. He plays over the surface of life, but he does not get benecath the surface. The true fire is always missing. The historical novels which occupied the popular mind not long ago were hardly to be considered. They belonged to a fad, a craze, and they had no perma- nence. 1 cannot criticize many of them individyally for I found it impossible (o read them. Surely there could have been no genuine American literature to be found among them. In looking back “Uncle Tom's Cabin” we must consider to have been the &g £ & A G.NEWCOMER A.M, first novel produced in America. Back of that there were Hawthorne's works and many others sometimes called novels, but they were properly romances. Sometimes in moods of pessimism, in looking about over the fleld which is so filled with trash, 1 am inclined to call Mrs, Stowe's book not only the first, but aiso the last. I belfeve that it has permanent value, that it @id not depend merely upon the enthu- slasm of the stirring war time to be wide- ly read, but it is a novel of only one small phase of American history and can in no way represent our national life. Perhaps the lack of centralization is partly responsible for the lack in our literature. There seems to be no real literary center. There is no doubt of the inspiration that lies in contact. There is need of the stimulus that comes when many peopie work near each other, when there is the .comparing of notes, the friendly rivalry. the mutual apprectation. Our writers and students are scattered. UNIVERSIT Y. No common exists. Lack of specialization is another Ameri- can characteristic. We consider our ef- forts specialized, but they are not as compared with those of Europe. We are yersatile and we scatter our forces. It seems to me that George W. Cable and James Lane Allen have turned out the finest work of anyv Easterners that I am famillar with. Many of our novels T have not read. But these two men have a style that is delicate, finished, delight- ful. They are remarkable In their de- lineation of character. Above all, they have true insight into human nature in its deepest moods, and they have the wonderful gift of sympathy. But T am not saying that either of them has ever produced a great American novel. Howells’ work is perhaps more durable, although I am not enough In sympathy with the realistic school to talk enthusiastically about it. After reading headquarters of letters the best that I can find of American pro- ductions I turn back to my Dickens in the end and feel that we can not offe any story-teller in his place. “The Spenders” greatly interested me. That is 2 new novel and it is a Western one in part. It has a splendid vigor. It lacks much, but it also possesses enough to start me thinking along the lme of Western production. What a fiell there 4s for it! What a climate there Is in which to produce it! Bret Harte aid all of his best work under the spell of the West. “The Spend- ers” has the ring of the Western splirit. Short stories from time to time appear In the magazines, stories of West-rn lifa Thera is much-of value In some of these. Why not look for the real novel to spring from our coast? Does it not seem that the chance is a good one? The East is, as I sald, in the throes of transition. The West is young and high-strung. It is certainly worth watchix three or fou 1—The erroncous idea that happiness in life can always be found in gratifying the esires for social, intellectual or scientific pleasure, and that the duties and respon- sibilities of parenthood will interfere with plans looking to such enjoyment. 2—False' conceptions of life as a whole, due to a variety of causes. Among them may be named novels of several types, many plays and the general views and lives of those who exist apparently for little else than to amuse themselves. —Exaggerated of the ‘“burden” that children really are in a home. This is especially true where the individuals con- cerned Possessed of fairly good comes. persons will that they “cannot afford” to have children, waile they will spend enough money in a month at the seaside to feed and clothe a family of four or five children for a year—and that in s able style, too. 4—The ignoring of the cla 1 n the individual and upon ring up a child in the fear of and to teach him to live a pure, vpright and noble life is not only a rich to the parents themselves, but the g of an inestimable blessing uy se world at —A determination to subordinate ever ng in life to the gratification ing desire of the hour. A man is fond orses or amusement or travel or s ence or work of some kind. He up his mind that he will do nothing th is likely to interfere with his indulgence in these directions at moment. A woman lives for pleasure, or or perhaps for some artistic career. that no ties may be that shall hamper some of the deepest i human heart is capable e other side.” Are they individuals, to improve upon nature—or. s plan”—always is ideas are in- w God reward confer; n large of the mak>s any “soclety,” In or- formed or duties the joys der created her in pursuits, ich passed by on th t the rivus to the results not very se- as any attempt s some would ¥ For be it remembered there are certain elements in the human character that parenthood alone bring out and develop. The . of a mother” is proverbially colos- sal in its proportions, and who will den AWARNING. OTH. that love—the greatest a of God himself-—only 8 S suprem height in motherhocd? “As a father pit ieth his children’ is also written ¢ 1 ing the Almighty, and none can deny that few men are conspicuously pitiful or com- passionate until they have chilren (o create or draw forth those qualities. The same 1s true of other qualities of heart and mind which are seldom devel- oped in high degree save among thuse who are striving to do their duty by their families. They miss the joy created by the love and gratitude of children. This may seem almost mythical to people who have noue, but it is a very tangible reality to thuse who are parents. A father or mother of even a large family who could part easily with one of them permanently—even though the child were likely to be greatly benefited thereby—would be looked upon by every one as an abnormal being. And no more striking proof of the depth and reality of this emotion is to be found than is often seen in the divorce courts them- seives, where the flercest battle is often fought not to be rid of the children, as a childless person might imagine, but to re- tain or obtain possession of them. The childless miss, too, thé gyatificaticn and the justifiable pride of seelng the good results of their effor{s to’form ciw acter and to make thelr chijdren go. useful men and women. Ask any father nd mother whose children are growing up into manhood and womanhood wheth- er they regret, or even remember, the se'f-denial and toil and diffictitles that they have undergone in the rearing of their family. They will reply that even the very recollection of these things is largely swaliowed up in the joy and isfaction they feel in their children’s suc cesses at school and coliege or In busi- ness, and that they are more than abund- antly repaid for ail they have sacrificed for their sakes. All this is from the family standpoint. But there is another phase—the civil and national—for it cannot but be patent to 1l who are students of city life that in those sections of any city where the resi dences of the educated, the well to do, the “Americans,” are to be found the children are few, while in the quarters where the ignorant, the vicious, iiie thriftless and the criminals are to be found the streets fairly swarm with chil- dren. And the children of to-day vcters of to-morrow! When the thousands of the slums vote against the scores In the residential sec- tions where will the municipality be? aven will be the { S E | ! | PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO THE EYES- BY JAMES A BLACK - M-D- RE are countless ways in which the e are abused every day. Abuse Is not the same thing as use, ember. Your eyes were given to be used. If they were not they would degencrate just as the mus- of your body would. Proper ex- is necessary to overy part, every tion of the body. But the great ma- jority of people drive their eyes, lash them on when they are tired, weak or en- during conditions that they cannot en- dure permznently, just as an abusive teamster lashes on his overworked team. That team of eyes in your head, reined by the eye muscles, guided by the brain, won't stand this sort of treatment for- ever. Unfortunately there is no socicty for the protection of cruelty to eyes, and the eyes collapse In the end, while you pay the penalty It is a great mistake to use them when you are tired. At such a time vour en- tire vitality is lowered, and the eyes are more sensitive to a strain put upon them. Let the eyes rest as well as the whole body. If it needs rest, so do all its parts. The same rule applies to sickness. It is a risky thing to read or write much when you are sick. The eyes are suffering from the general weakness. Give them a chance to get well, then they will be doubly ready to work for you, entertain you, or perbaps earn your bread and but- ter and jam for you. Everthing which concerns your general health indirectly affects the eyes. If an oculist working “or you along his sp. cial line, see to it that you ald him by looking well to the ways of hygiene. Get plenty of rest. This means rest of body and mind as well as of eyes. Rest of mind means a great deal, for the nervous con- dition has been found to be closely con- nected with that of the ocular function. Many nervous diseases have been cuved by proper attention to the eyes. Neurolo- Bists know this, and frequently call for the co-operation of an oculist in treating what the patient. belleves is purely a “nervous breakdown.” Nerves and eyes work back and forth upon each other, exch affecting the other. Exercise, diet, even bathing, all affect the general hyglenic condition so power- fully that they have tkeir indirect effect upon the eyes. If you are trying to cure a local trouble you want to do so under the best possible conditions. The crimes committed directly against the eve are beyond number. By these eye troubles are elther produced, or in the case of those which already exist, cles erclze they are increased until serious results come about. In reading and writing the positions of the head, the book and the light are all to be considered. It is welil known that it is unwise to read when lying down, but do you know why? It Is because the head is in a rigid position and instead of its moving as the eye travels from side to side of the page the eye muscles are compelled to do this for themselves and they are wearied with the constant shift- ing. When you are sitting upright, the book held high enough, you will find that the head moves a little in following the lines so that the eyes are permitted to remain comparatively fixed. In other words, the head and neck muscles do a part of the traveling for the eyes. The book should not be held low in the lap, as this forces the eye muscles to turn the eye downward in a strained po- sition. The subject of lighting is one that all up-to-date physicians and architects ars raising a hue and cry about, especially as it pertains to our schoolrooms. In gen- eral the light should fall from over the left shoulder upon the page. In using a drop light have it below the eyes, so that the light will be cast upon the paper, and let a shade keep the glare from your eyes. Our schools are constantly demanding overuse of the eyes. There should be less work done at home, and such as must be done th2re should be under the super- vision of the parents, so that the chil- dren will study with proper light and po- sition. It is not an unusual thing to see a youngster lie dowu before a flickering fire, reading or studying, with his book held in a strained position in the air. In the schools much close work could be done away with by using blackboard and charts more. Oral lessons are to be recommended. The teacher should ar- range the day’s work so that it will be frequently broken by calisthenics or any- thing which will rest the eyes. There is a tendency to let the reading habit increase to a vice. Children who have any inclination at all to°read sodn become devourers of everything printed that comes within their reach and they will steal time from sleep and play to read worthless books. The eyes will be saved a great deal of strain if their read- ing is limited to the literature that is real- 1y worth while. And what is true of chil- dren is true of many of you older peo- ple as well. If T had anything to do with the mak- ing of school laws I should urge that every pupll's eyes be put through an en- trance examination. Many children suf- Photo by Bushnell fer or lag through all their school years for want of the needed glasses or other treatment, which will correct the fault of the eye. Headaches, inertia, nervous Gebility and more serious troubles often disappear whem the eye trouble is done away with, Avold poor type in your reading. If you are doing much writing, choose a pa- per which Is opaque, so that the ink of other sheets will not show through, and unglazed, so that the light will not be re- flected. Daylight is always ter than artificial light, but it is better to use a well ranged artificial light than to use eyes in a dim daylight. Even worse than a steady dimness is an increasing dimness. Avold gathering twilights for reading or writing. You have been warned many times against reauing on trains, street cars or ferry boats. The position of your book is constantly shifting on account of the motion of the car or boat, therefors the eve muscles are forced to keep up with the shifting until they are sorely strained. DBY RATEr TETI 70N NMARPE WHO NBVER HALANY TIME HE never has always who has and who any woman time is the woman real Jeast to do, she stares open- mouthed the 1 whose in- justry and ener- gy appal! her. People who work are asked on every occasion their friends how on earth they find me to accomplish so m Now if women spend nearly aill of their in chasing bargain iters and - talking to every acquaintance they chance to meet on the street it stands to reason they will have time for notning else. women have an idea that life be a perpetual breakfast, lunch, dinner and lunch again routine, in fact, @ continuous free lunch counter perform- ance, and have little or no appreciation of time and its possibilities or how much should be devoted to purely homely Guties. In this busy era of woman's clubs and woman's fads the woman who attends to her own home and minds her own busi- ness is rather out of date, and yet if she does that alone she has her hands full with plenty to fill in the odd spaces. A methodical woman is something of a curio, and one can hardly wonder that it is so, because if she has the wherewith to employ malds and housekeepers she relegates all duties to them and does not want to be bothered about anything so prosaic. And who should blame her? To be “on the go” and enjoy herself is the chiefest aim of life, and certainly there is no harder work than the con- tinual chase after pleasure. People who have nothing else to do but to spend money and add another case of surfelt to every pursuit are to be pitled. They certainly are the most awfully bored looking set, and no wonder. Having outlived all pleasurable sensations through satiety there can e no pleasure by e €0 Many should that still retains the fascination of nov- elty They take in the opera because society demands that the should be seen there as part and parcel of the spectacular ex- hibit one in a hundred have an; ppreciation of the wonderful technique hat makes the music a splendid babel of sound and displays the marvels of the buman voice. This applies to whom I have no ¢ he ieisure class, of iticism to make. They re the ones who spend money, and their oliies and frolics give employment to hundreds. Were there no such class much of the picturesque element of life would be eliminated. It is of the grades just be- low, and of those who might be ranked the “‘well-to-do,” on whom time mukes wicre serious demand: The heads of many such fanflies think that if they eat three meals a day and vicit the green grocer or buy a spool of cotton that they have worried through a hard day’s work. A few hours at the sewing machine savors of horror, and a pain or 2n ache is a full-fledged case for the family physician and a trained nurse. Now, some few women do break down from overwork, but they are in appalling winority 1o the number who collapse from overplay. The bunches of soclety women who rushed frantically to Europe to recuperate after a season of awfully bard work in the way of eating a lot of slow-poison decoctions and dressing three ard twenty times a day was enough to sct a philosopher's wheels running over- time to do his thinking part. That poor digestions were cruelly overtaxed or that complexions needed rest and tenderest care no one will deny, but the brain— (beg pardon, that sounds like a libelous accusation, which is recalled)—but many &n outraged stomach quit work, on a strike, if it did not entirely refuse further business dealings. The woman who works has no time for faés and fancles or the luxury of nerves. One woman can hustle and support a whole family, while another could not find time to write a letter to her dearest friend. Another will make all of her own and her children's clothing, while her next door neighbor cannot find time to sew a button on a €hild’s shoe. One may be employed in a business-house, and yet after working hours find time to regulate a household, while another cannot attend to the most trifling affairs without a lot of fuss and feathers about it that sraps “Many Women Have an Idea That Life Should Be a Perpetual Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Routine.” of lunacy. B The woman who accomplishes the most is the woman who goes about it in a calm, unruffied way. If fussy and ner- vous and in a hurry to get through, there is one thing very certain that but little headway will be gained. Many women could not do anything without becoming so fretted and cross over it as to plunge the whole household into an awful stew. Such a disposition, irritable, jerky and fretful, will never accomplish anything ‘worth the while. On the other hand, thers are women who, while never seeming to be doing anything, manage to work out the most surprising results. And the reason is clear when one studies it out. The woman who accomplishes is the woman who thinks. She plans every- thing beforehand, even lying awake at night to revolve in her mind ways and means that may be both time and labor saving where work is unfamiliar. If the task proves more onerous than she at first supposed, she does not allow it to fret her and incapacitate her for further effort. She never limits herself as to time, knowing well that often it is im- possible to complete a %Fiven task in the time calculated. Too much hurry produces anxiety, that devitalizes one’s best ef- forts, and the woman who works in a natural and easy manner is the one whose worlk speaks for itself. A woman who indulges in an extensive calling list cannot of necessity do much at home, but there is little profit in the continual interchange of courtesles that leave home duties undone or accumulat- ing until they become a moral avenging nightmare. A woman will often lose a whole day, spending 50 cents in carfare to go way downtown to the shop where she knows she can buy a paper of needles 1 cent cheaper. One thing very certain, women will al- ways find time to do that which they want to do. Duty and every other con- sideration is cast fo the winds when it becomes a question of pleasure or in- clination, Then if she has not time she will find it or make it. There is no denying that women are fast becoming victims of nervous dis- orders and kindred {lls, but it is women who have nothing to do who are most frequently the victims of real or imagin- ary woes. A very-busy woman has no time to fool with doctors and medicines and pills and potions. If her bread and butter depends upon it she will be up and doing while her more fortunate sister will purse herself into a panic and con- vince herself that she is a2 much abused sufferer. The best thing that could happen to many women would be the necessity to work for a living. The most Insufferable cranks have been known to become re- habilitated into real sensible and decent sort of women through an upheaval of fortune that gave them something else to think of besides themselves and their grievances, pains and aches and other people’s business. ‘Women have a weaknes for posing as martyrs, and if they happen to be for- tunate enough to be anchored to a hus- band who humors them they pile on the agony in inch-thick layers. A man is often fooled into the belief that he really has a suffering saint on his hands, when it is more than likely that a nervous —e he has an overgrown, spoiled child. If he lacks sympathy the suffering saint rates him as a “horrid brute,” when it is sim- ply a case of common se vs. sentl- mental nonsense. The average woman can stand an awful lot of humoring and the more a man hu- mors her the more will she hanker after it, but when all is told it is hard work that develops all that is best In a woman. 1t she has nothing to do and no time to do it she will get into mischief in o way or the other as sure as fate. E woman needs to be kept busy, with one to see that she is. If this were al- ways the case there would be fewer s dals among those who have nothing to do save to hatch mischief for themselves and misery for others. Dress, of course, consumes much of a woman's time, and why shouldn't it That is exactly as it should be. Every man wants his wife or his sweetheart to look her best and she dresses well to please him, as well as for her own pe: sonal gratification. The woman who Is industrious will find time to make many additions to her wardrobe that if she had te pay for would be beyond her purse. If she be an expert needlewoman she w be criticized as recklessly extravagant, when in reality she spends less than those who it in judgment on her. Work is often a blessing in disguise. Misfortune has developed many a woman who otherwise would never have known her own capabilities and there are hosts of others who might be vastly improved by having to earn their own bread and butter for a while. They would then iearn charity that judges more kindly. They would then learn generosMy that givés a word of cheer and lends a help- ing hand. They would then learn mercy that sees only the pitiful side of life's changeful and ever changing kaleidc scope; they would then learn-the depths of human longings and human despair, and above all things, they would learn that time is both the slave and the ma: ter of destiny, and as we treat him in his might so will he reciprocate or retaliate If he be well cherished the result wi'l speak for itself, but if we squander his precious gifts as does the gambler h gold, then we cannot expect other tha that he will either hang heavy on ov hands or will leave us to our own d vices to make or mar the destiny which le represents.