The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 24, 1904, Page 7

THE SAN FRANCISCO SUNDAY CALL. De Maupassant, a Rare Artist 3 IAUPASSANT is being G r A translated edition de iis cor ks has nother . 0 st time vers of era e seem to have j act that n that y ar genius who died in a madhouse te ere abided & w ert L of true artistic genius De passant is the peer in the short & ere has never been a master of this aim art such as he kable s with the sudden this f f has g vears such a er s bee: kn . . ate pirated yel- 1 K p hers which flaunt of erotic The ave passed those of in pass- es a higher m by read- Because the ankly an ani- his his r the signifi- being “French ed, and rightly Aside from eme, however, ror stories some stor- ev one conception ey are per- The Tale” De fundamen- of a teller of every- al view PAVOrs to Zola na- not fail a green butter re for mul- ude upon Not the meaning eanderings De Maupas- ward . sym- es: not a rep- life itself. conception of life his tales is probabl Gallic any in ife to him is but ct that over the of rules the is no soul Love is but the vS together two th is ever at the d. Life is is te r heal S suicide be- It is not a nor yet the lyric If the ¥ be stated S a passive which merely slders and turns to the De Maupassant was 1 and too little the sopher to be of a pugnacious bit- ess, trend of thought of the French w roduces in his tales a 1 is felt, but which baffles 1l of his stories reflect a existence; into these h ives the author reads the 1 rkings of fate which makes all efforts. The catastrophe the melodramatic clash romanticists; it is not d by the fall of duty before The tragic element is ted by a wholly physical ter hopelessness before terror of unseen powers. It though poignant. It in- reader an indefinable, y. rs of De Maupassant’s the most part, simple boeurgeoisie, government clerks He pictures their lives flects their emotions. But ies the writer remains characte~s. There is of a part of himself into intains a cold, sometimes ering distance. By no words of ny sympathies aroused for the his pen. He does not make be maintained in the r those who cannot read e is a loss, for his per- EDITR ELMER WOOD, ADTHOR OF ish. There is a t all of his diction rts admirably with the The sim- more mani- tale is tol ctly, imper- There are no digressions, ve other”than those of cal m: tations 1d nothing moral can be read either in or the lines. the great ainspring ¢ Maupass works will Should the vogue of t short story pass away De Maupassant’s tales must mark the high water of that movement in the nin enth century Novel Without Even an Excuse EALLY, it is sometimes diffic ously. One catches him say- ing: “Does the author actuaily mean that 1 should accept this or that sen- timent or situation as being worth while?” Thus, trusting that better is to come and dutifully following the story through to the end in the hope of catching: something real good, the reader suddenly turns.the last page andlo! it was not. That is “The Spirit of the Service,” by Edith Wood, whose picture, decollete, adol this page. If one is thoughtful and reads with any degree of appreciation he must necessarily ask himself what the theme of the book is. What excuse had the author for writing it? How well how ill did she succeed in developing the central idea of the story? The theme of “The Spirit of the Service” might be the making of a hero; it might be what 1 (the author) think of life in the navy: it might be a brief or review of the n in the Spanish War. Each of thes three ideas is partially developed in the story, but none of them are brought to a very definite conclusion. ‘We learn from the literary review- er's notices which accompanied the publication of the novel in question that Mrs. Edith Elmer Wood, dccollete, is the wife of a naval officer, and is therefore especially well qualified to give a picture of life in that branch of the service. But it is fot the rule that a stonemason can write a good story about a marble quarry. Neither does it follow that a naval officer’s wife can write a good story of the navy. Mrs. Wood follows the fortunes of a certain Captain Cartwright from the position of commandant at a navy yard up to the position of hero of a devoted nation. At first blush he falls afoul of a low-browed political boss; the boss sets in agitation several strong centers in Washington and the captain finds himself before a court of inquiry. But the captain is a Democrat and he escapes. At this juncture the love element be- comes timely and Sue and Barbara are introduced. Sue is big, wholesome and Californian; Barbara is wizened, pes- simistic and New Englandish—of course foils, the one to the other. The girls sit up in bed in their robes de nuit and philosophize upon certain weighty matters. “+‘Do you believe in divorced people marrying? exclaimed Sue, turning to bara. B::'rm a Catholic,’ etly. qu'l ‘0:’ course I know your church doesn’t allow it, but—' said the girl SPIRIT OF THE SERVICE” O =-CoLCH, 2. OF 2 TWO SIDES OF THE ¥ACE. 1nat settles it for me.’ “‘Oh, what nonsense!’ groaned Sue. ou've got a brain of your own, aven't you? “But Barbara wiss d into controver r fellowiwho has been di- nd about whom this discussion ars all this too—from the v refused to be tain Cartwright has a broth of a time of it getting himself into line for ihe command of a ship when war breaks out. Finally he is dispatched to Dewe, fleet in China waters. Then follews a description of the battle of . now old in song and story. Cartwright's shin is the first to New York harbor after the merged into the actual living character of Captain Coghlan of the Raleigh, or discern which the author has in mind. The story ends with the captain lean- (The Macmillan Company, New York; price $1 25.) Quiller-Couch in Short Story l an attempt to analyze the work of the peer among short story writ- is known best for his tales; his novels fall far short of the standard set by his Couch a different condition obtains. In the novel and the short story alike this equallyg proficient. Following closely upon the publication of his novel, “Het- short stories under the caption “Two Sides of the Face.” have chosen an enigmatic name for his book of tales, there being no apparent stories, he has without question pro- duced a collection which deserves high dialect for their cause of being, stories which are free from the stereotyped breathe an evident cynicism, such as do so many- of the current magazine In this collection of eigint short tales the author has presented as many majority of them are stories of mys- tery, a fact which should at once “Dead Man's Rock,” for instanc~. Two of them are cast in the humorous vein. a hundred years or so to gain the hal- lowed touch of the past. to find a resemblance to Stevenson in them. It is not a direct copy by any of R. L. S. which is evident. In “Stephen of Steens” there is something of “The Master of Ballantyae” and “The Horror on the Stair” finds almost its d the brave commander here is maybe Admiral Dewey—it is hard to ing uoon a sword of honor. N another part of this page there is ers. De Maupassant ig an author who other writings. With Arthur T. Quiller- versatile young English writer seems ty Wesley,” comes a collection of his Although Mr. Quiller-Couch seems to applicability of it to any or all of the mention. Stories which do not rely upon historical setting, stories which do not type—these has Quiller-Couch written. widely differing romantic conceits. The recommend them to all who have read ‘With one exception they all hark back One reading these tales cannot fail means, but a certain indefinable touch of the masterful, devil-may-care spirit exact counterpart in that terrible i " ‘Thrawn Janet” of Stevenson's, even down to the grim, hanging body of the suspected sorceress. In truth Quiller- Couca shows that he, too, loves what the master Scotchman used to fondly design-te as “crawlers.” The stories are all crisp, clear cut and dramatic. The author has the blessed faculty of getting to the heart of his tale very speedily and never digressing once frdm the weaving of the plot. Thepe are no overburdened passages telling how this or that character felt at such a crucial momeng:. how his €yes dropped to rou) and, he would have fallen- he fot clutched the stair balustrade,‘etc. On the con- trary, the story is told. with a brevity which only hints at certain unimpor- tant discussion and leaves the imagina- tion of the reader some play. (Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York; price, $1.50.) Kobbe WWrites About Players HAT indefinable air of mys- tery is that which closes down around actor folk and, hedges them oft from the world on the other side of the footlights? From the fluffy matinee girl up to her blandly smiling papa there is every- where that spirit cf curiosity which wishes to know just what the staze people are when they have rubbed off the grease paint. As if the matinee idol lived in a dark castle upon a diet of chewing gum and breakfast food! About these mysterious -~ creatures whose goings and comings are like the wind which bloweth whe:. it listeth there have been many volumes written to sate the crying demand. The last of these and the one which could be called up-to-date is that of Gustav Kobbe, entitied “Famous /Actors and Actresses and Their Homes.” Gathered from a popular home periodical into a good binding and illustrated by nume- rous snap shots of these people of con- sequence, these sketches by Kobbe make a book of strong fascination to the theater-goers. Miss Maude Adams is the first of the noble company to be introduced to the reader. The details of her farm at Ronkonkoma, Leng Island, are faith- fully reproduced, Miss Adams holding center stage in a barnyard and all that. Then foliows a pen sketch of the charming Ethel Barrymore and of her uncle, the perfectly correct John Drew. Miss Barrymore's passion for good books and the immaculate John's fond- ness for the social whirl the author faithfully chronicles. Then follows Richard Mansfield, that interesting character whose temper has sometimes been called boorish. Sarah Frances Frost, otherr’se known as Julia Marlowe; Annie Russell, Willlam Gillette, Virginia Harned, E. H. Soth- ern and Francis Wilson are each given a chapter of anecdote and sprightly characterization. The book closes with something about the Lambs’ and the Players' clubs, the two well-known stamping grounds for members of the profession. Mr. Kobbe’s volume will not go a-begging. The present-day interest in things of the stage is so strong that such a closely personal sketch of the various celebrities as Kobbe has writ- ten will find ready reading. (Little, Brown & Co., Boston; illus- trated; price $3 00.) Powerful Tale of Old Sweden UTSIDE of the hallowed circle 0 of Ibsen and Bjornsen there have been practically no Swed- ish stogles written which have found appreciation at the hands of English readers. THE WRITERS . =y~ I l 2 = i i There is a Swedish author, Viktor Rydberg, who has for many years stood' as the popular story teller of Scandinavia, but whose works have never been translated for English readers. A young Swedish attorney of ‘Washington, D. C., Axel Josephsson, has just completed the task of present- ing “Singoalla,” Rydberg's best novel, in English. It is a great boon to read- ers of this country that they are thus enabled to read a remarkably fine story. “Singoalla” is a tale of - the thir- teenth century. The scene is laid in the heart of the Swedish forests, where baronial customs were not yet far Temoved from the pagan society of the post-Christian era in Scandi- navia. The whole atmosphere of the book is of the wild and savage; it nearly approaches the spirit of a saga or ancient folk song. Its very primitive concent exerts a charm which holds the reader. The story has to deal with a certain Erlend, the son of a baronial lord, whose manor is in the fastness of Smalind. While yet a youth the hero falls in love with Singoalla, a beautiful gypsy,girl, who returns his paksion and unites him to herself in marriage according to the mystic rit- ual of her people. Through the treachery of her own father Singoalla is separated from her boy lover, never to see him again until he has learned to forget her. Then by the mystical influence of the son which is born to her by the Swedish youth she comes to gain again the ascendency in Er- land’s affections, but only by the dark- ened way of tragedy. The coming of the Black Death forms a terrible cli- max to the plot and the story ends in the midst of general wreck and ruin. The chief merit of the book lies in the powerful way in which the author casts his tale into the grim mold of legendary romance. The weird influ- ences of the forest, the storm, the ! ‘ooding crags of the mountain peo- goblins h as are found in the ple the tale with sprites and unseen pagan sagas. There is the eerie spivit of the occult about it which makes the reading fascinating. It seems to be a fairy story meant for grown children. (The Grafton Press, New York: il lustrated; price $1 25.) What Is | 507ng in Book World ACK LONDON'S sea story, “The Sea Wolf,” which began its serial publication in the January Cen- tury, promises to bring forth some sur- prises to those who have followed his literary work. Back in his schooldays the author, who had not then been off the sea for a year, confided to the editor of these columns his ambition to write a story which would smack of the brine. “A story which will make you glad that you are in front of your own fire at home,” said the enthusiastic young fellow; story which will make the sea roar in your ears when you go to bed.” Few may know, possibly, that Lon- don himself was once a member of the crew on a sealing schooner, and there- fore knows his “Ghost” at first hand. The writer of this notice would like to take a sly wager with his readers that the Bonin Islands will appear in Lon- don’s story. He thinks he knows. Professor Lounsbury has no fears as to the future of the English language. In a vigorous article in Harper’s he an- swers with refreshing common sense the question, Is English becoming cor- rupt? He holds that the largeness of the number of words struggling to be brought into use is a sign of the health of a language, not of its decay, and he recalls many changes attacked in past centuries as excruclating vulgarisms and now counted justly-as valuable ad- ditlons to our tongue. “The final deci- sion,” he concludes, “‘as to propriety of usage rests not with individuals—neith- er with men of letters, however prom- inent; nor with scholars, however learned. It is in the hands of the whole body of cultivated users of speech. They haVe an unerring instinct as to its necessities. They are a great deal wiser than any of their self-constituted advisers, however prominent. Fortu- nately, too, they have the ability to carry their wishes into effect. They know what they need, and theéy can neither be persuaded out of it ndr bul- lled out of it. * * * If, in spite of clamor, they retain a word or construc- tion it may be generally taken for granted that it supplies a demand which really exists.” Mr. Howells writing in Harper's Weekly advocates a publishers’ syndi- cate, or an authors’ union, for the pur- pose of improving the present unsatis- factory relations between the two. As to the recommended labor unlon for authors, Mr. Howells outlines a scheme for a schedule of prices for fiction, history, poetry, psychology, travel, sketches, reviews; and penaltles, direct and indirect, for rating authors. “Of course, the same prices must be paid to poor authors as to good ones when once they are members of the union.” As to the publishers, Mr. Howells suggests that they should form a syndicate “pledged among its own members to the payment of such and such prices to authors, and bound to an absolute constancy in one another's behalf.” Robert Grant, in his new novel (the opening chapters of which appear in the current Scribner’s), has taken for a hero a sort of “smart” young man, who served to make “A Modern In- stahce” the best of Mr. Howells' stories. Like Bartley Hubbard, Mr. Grant’s hero, Emil Stuart, is a cheap soul, full of fine phrases and a rascal at bottom. Where Mr. Grant is di- verging from the plan of his brother novelist is in giving the creature a voung wife of type infinitely superior to that of silly Marcia Hubbard. The action upon one another of these two matrimonial factors is enough to make “The Undercurrent” an inviting story, but it is easy to foresee that it is to have a larger interest as a study of American life and of American tenden- cies. 4 Beatrice Harraden’s recent novel, “Katherine Frensham,” is having a marked success in England, and, in- deed, in Europe, it having already been translated in French, German, Danish and Norweglan. Its success has probably been due to the under- tone of tragedy and pathos that gathers ahout the figures of Clifford and his son. The book has the right, healthful and courageous outlook on life; and the story holds the interest of the reader because of the mingled humor and anguish that it contains. A beautifully illustrated and com- prehensive article on “French Sculp- ture of To-Day,” by-C. Yarnall Abbott, appears in the January issue of the Booklovers’ Magazine. Mr. Abbott, who is himself an artist, states that the tendency of French sculpture to- day is toward “naturalism,” exhibiting a decided reaction from the “cold and dreary classicism” that was its domi- nant note not many years since. Eleven full page reproductions in half- tone illustrates the text and are beau- tiful and varied examples of the work of leading French sculptors of to-day. There are also full-page portiaits of Louis Ernest Barrlas and Denys Puech. Carl Snyder’s successful book, “New Conceptions in Science,” has been very well received in Germany. Johann Ambrosius Barth, the German pub- lisher, has now opened negotiations with Harper & Bros., who publish the book in America, to translate it into German and issue it at Leipzig. As the firm of Barth has high standing in Germany, and particularly as publish- ers of authoritative books of science, their appreciation of an American work like Mr. Snyder’s is the more notable. The book is also published in England by the Harpers and has passed through several editions there. Mrs. Deland’s satisfying stories, en- titled, “Dr. Lavendar's People,” are taking their place among classics of a similar character. The London Athen- aeum compares the book with the best English models of its kind and says, “From beginning to end this book forms delightful reading, in the sense that ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and ‘Cran- ford’ are delightful.” The thousands of readers who know their Jane Aus- ten and Mrs. Gaskell will be thankful to add the American Mrs. Deland to that charmed circle. The “Lounger” in the Critic says: “Charles Battell Loomis has been rather annoyed by heing accused of the authorship of ‘The Literary. Guil- lotine.’ He requests me to say that he has had nothing to do with that took and has no knowledge of the guilty parties. Any one familiar with Mr. Loomis’ gentle wit knows that there is none of the sharpness of the headsman’s knife.” Brief Reviews of Some Books 'HE LITERARY GUILLOTINE is the somewhat grewsome name for a book of doubtful merit. Were the book ,reduced to about one-half its present size there would be no doubt of its clever- ness, for about one-half of the humor- ous literary criticisms within the cov- ers are undeniably bright. Of course, the volume is published anonymously, for some of the honeyed words of criti- cism contained therein could not be for- given even on the grounds of an au- thor’s license—were the author known. In concept the thing is unique. Offend- ing authors are haled before a high court of literary equity, where their sins against the ethics of literature are made to rise up and face them. Their foibles are then exploited by testimony of witnesses. Nothing is so dreary as to find the place for a laugh in a piece of humor- ous writing all marked out with stars and yet to have no laugh forthcoming. This happens. as said before, in about one half of the sketches comprising “The Literary Guillotine.” (John Lane, New York; price $1.) Two volumes, “American Humorous Verse,” and “American Prose Humor" are published in octavo size by Herbert 8. Stone & Co., Chicago. They are of 250 pages each, and are collections of humorous and witty tales, sketches, etc., composed by the best known American writers. Their chief excellence lies in the fact that in vol- umes of convenient size there are grouped one or more examples of the work of laugh-producing writers of the last fifty yvears. The book of prose se- lections gives sketches of Artemus Ward and Josh Billings, which are fair specimens of the humor of nearly half a century ago, and Mark Twaln, Bill Nye, Josiah Allen’s Wife, E. W. Town- send, John Kendrick Bangs, Henry M. Blossom Jr., George Ade, F. P. Dunne, Hayden Carruth, George V. Hobart and Billy Baxter show the re- markable diversity of their powers of expression. and what most appeals to the risibilities of the public of to-day. All the selections are genuinely funny, but perhaps the reader may, according to his sense of humor, question the choice of some of them as being the very best examples of the author's wit. The volume of verse is, on the other hand, much more satisfactory, and here one finds a large number of funny rhymes with pointed wit by such hu- morists as Burdette, Will Carleton, Holman F. Day, Eugene Fleld, Joel Chandler Harris, Bret Harte, John Hay. Charles Battell Loomis, James Russell Lowell and many others, who, while not well known, are piquant verse makers. (Herbert S. Stone & Co., Chicago.) Ray Stannard Baker, the well- known contributor to Eastern maga- zines upon scientiflc subjects of time- liness, has collected nine of his sketches into a volume, which he calls “The Boys’ Second Book of Inven- tions,” a companion volume to a sim- ilar book issued last year. Let no one take the title strictly and feel that boys alone are to read the book, for the romance of science, which is every day becoming mors and more an open book, is here told in a man- ner which will attract the elders as well as the young folks. The book is sufficiently up-to-date to include an article upon the re- markable element, radium. Another chapter is devoted to Santos Dumont and the problem of aerial navigation; the electrical furnaces at Niagara re- ceive attention; Marconi and his wire- less telegraphy is the subject of an- other sketch. The book is the last word upon popular science. (McClure, Phillips & Co., New York; illustrated; price $1 50.) ‘When Brentano’s changed the name of Helen Beekman's book from “Dainty Devils” to “Mrs. J. Worthington Woodward™ they doubtless did so to placate the ultra-Presbyterian readers. In a little note on the fly page of the rechristened novel Brentano's state that the original title was found to be misleading as expressing the characte of the book, hence the change. Cer- tainly the present non-committal title gemedies the difficulty: it expresses nothing. Helen Beekman certainly takes a very gloomy view of New York soclet. , for its feminine haif furnishes the “dainty devils” of tabooed memory. They smoke opium, drink whisky straights before breakfast and gamble their sweet lives away according to Helen Beekman. Like some famous painters, the author h: + mingled dirt with her dull tints to make the pictured dirt more realistic. The author takes a pretty, naive little country lass and drops her down in the whirlpool of New York’s creme de creme, then watches her through a reading glass and records her flc inder- ings in the present book. It cannot be said that the net result is very start- ling, nor yet cheering. (Brentano’s, New York; price $1 25. New BooksReceived MRS. J. WORTHINGTON WOOD- WARD, Helen Beekman; Brentano's, New York; price §1 25. SINGOALLA, Axel _ Josephssom, translated from the Swedish of Vik- tor Rydberg; Grafton Press, New York, illustrated; price $1 25. THE WHITE CASTLE OF LOUIS- IANA, M. R. Ailenroc; John P. Mor- ton Company, Louisville, Ky.; illus- trated; price $1 25. THE ROVER BOYS ON LAND AND SEA, Arthur M. Winfleld; The Mershop Company, Rahway, N. J.; il- lustrated; price 60 cents. WOMAN'S UNFITNESS FOR HIGHER CO-EDUCATION, Ely Van de Warker; The Grafton Press, New York. FOSTER'S BRIDGE TACTICS, R. ¥. Foster; Frederick Warne & Co., New York; illustrated; price $1 25. CHARACTER, A MORAL TEXT- BOOK, Henry Varnum; Hinds & No- ble, New York; price 31 50. THE FEDERATION OF RELIG- IONS, Rev. Hiram Vrooman, Nune Licet Press, Philadelphia; price 75 cents. HOW TO MAKE A FLOWER GAR- DEN, edited and published by Double- day, Page & Co., New York; profuse- ly illustrated. STATISTICIAN AND ECONOMIST for December, Louis P. McCarthy, publisher, San Francisco; price 3§ cents.