The Arkansaw traveler., 1889-03-02

color came and went more with her own spirits
than with yours" Then, there Il the woman
young and beautiful, or sometimes even physically
unlovey, Whose life has been rough and iawless.
whose speech Is rough and untutored, redeemed by
an inextinguishable spark of nobility. Mig0les
the robust western beauty, supports and cherishes
the ruined mana mental and physical wreck
who, as she frankly expresses Ii, "spent heap OF
money" on her In the days of his prosperity
Homely Peggy Aofat, the "Heiress of Red Dog !"
tolls, and slaves, goes poorly clad and Ill fed and
allows herself to be called a miser, that she may
hoard money for the handsome graceless scamp
she loves. A lighter and more agreeable type Il
the honest, wholesome country girl, fearless and
sweet natured making nice customs bend to her
innocence of convenionalites efectually as they
are said to courtesy to great kings Very pretty
the picture of the "Rose of Tuoumne," bearing as
she brushes out the masses of her silky, yellow
hair, "a faint resemblance to partly husked ear of
Indian corn" But this pink and white youthful
ness covers iron will and muscles OF steel, and
she does not finch before the sharp test of peril
The masculine characters are more varied and
yet the same limitation of conception may be dis
cerned throughout. laundering, unsuspicious
Decker Hdsckins, the "Fool of Five Forks" the
immortal Col. .Stdr6otue Yubd Bin, the stage
driver; Jack Hdmiin, the imperturbable gambler
John OdkhHrs, that equally impassive calculator
of chances, "-between all of them q family resem-
blance is traceable. Savage and ptiless as wolves
when their passions stirred, these men Weld q
rude, yet sincere, homage to innocent womanhood
feeble old age, and the appealing helplessness OF
childhood The humorous side of actualities
reveals itself to this writer There is something
irresstibly comcal in the description of "the Peto
mechanically posing In a footlght attitude, with
only the face of nature to regard her; and the
reader cannot soon forget Mr.. Nc CIosku whose
idea OF the proper way to entertain poet was Sim
pie, II not efiicacious 81 set the whisky afore him.
in the parlOr. | wound up the music box and set
1t a-gOin'. Then | to him, sociable like and
free, jest consider yourself in your house. and
ran hat Hon 70 h.
tion.'" Indeed, like Dickens by whom he has been
strongly influenced, the rich quality OF Bret Hartes
humor makes 1t preferable to pathos sometimes
theatrical and overstrained.
Asa writer, Bret Harte's good points are many
and obvious. tie reclaimed for literature, the wild
lands of the west and was the first to take seizin
effectually OF the gold bearing soil of California
He IL who discovered the Chinaman in
America = astute, sphinx-like, preternaturally
unsmiling, with his frequent excursions into "the
Valley of the Shadow of the Drug" He Is the
rightful father of the breezy western heroine who
has since been eagerly adopted by many fiction
writer's His faults, unfortunately, are not fewer
or less patent than his merits. 1t cannot be said
that he Ii phsrisaical disposed to cast stones at
the sinful ones On the contrary, he IL inclined to
thrust the sinner forward proper object for our
admiration and caresses, and to cast the suspicion
Of hypocrisy upon the outwardly we'll behaved.
He does not always discern the dividing line be-
tween tolerance and license-between honest feeling
and false sentiment. At times there Is q jarring
note of unreality, something tawdry and meretri-
cious and feel that his ideal of life Is not high
His standpoint seems to be that an evil career
atoned for and ended by some splendid piece Of
bravery or selfsacriice, is Ear more praiseworthy
than an existence of patient duty faithfully per-
formed. When he enters the province of polite
society" he Ii apt 10 blunder sadly, and often,
through the texture of some feminine nature that
he has striven to render fine and subtle, runs an
ineffaceable stain of vulgarity.
At the outset of his literary course, any height
seemed within his reach; but whether through
Incidence, carelessness, some inherent mental
lack, this promise has remained unrealized. Yet,
If he has not progressed, perhaps we should be
grateful that he has not refrigerated.