New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-10-19
THE SMALL BOY.
MR.. HOWELLS PAINTS HIM WILDLY.
A ROY,S TOWN. BY W. D. Howells. Illustrated.
I2mo, pp. 247 Harper Brothers.

i2mo PIP. 247. Harper g. Brothers.
Though written ostensiby for boys, this book
Of Mr.. Howeuss will probably be appreciated
chiefly by children Of larger growth, and 1T GER
tainy deserves to be, for it Is really rcmarkabe
study Of boys life, character and attitude toward
his surroundings. To represent with any approach
to fathfulness what passes in child's mind is
given to few mature men. Charles Dickens sue
ceeded in this better than any writer, and perhaps
the very best thing be ever did of the kind was
that short paper entitled Kitty Kimmeens,
which was published in one OF his Christmas Num-
hers and which described the experiences OF a
little girl who was left all alone in the house
upon a certain occasion David Copperfeld' is
another admirable piece Of child-fe in its earlier
chapters, and 80 is Pip in "Great Expectations.
As q rule the most fertile and experienced writer's
find it impossible to retrace their memories to child
hood and to reproduce the views and ideas Of that
time and this not alone because memory is treach-
erous but because so many Of the thoughts and
feelings of childhood are vague and feeting.
Mr. Howells has, however, achieved something
very near triumph over these obstacles and his
success is in great part attributable to the sound
ness Of his initial position-namely. that the boys
world is set apart is scarcely related to the world
Of grown-up people, and is influenced by the latter
more often indirectly than directly. or course.
every experiment such as :" A Boys Town must
have an photographic foundation. 1t is only from
personal experience and remembrance that the
true human nature of early life can by any pos
sibility be reproduced, and therefore it may he
taken for granted that whether or not the local
tiles indicated real or fictitious the boys
town" so graphically and infinitely described in
these pages is the town in which the child How
ellis made his first observations upon lfe. Moth
ing could he truer to nature than his insistence
upon the separateness of the boys republic. the
speciality Of it's customs and ordinances, the pc
culiarty and the strong conservatism of its ethics
and, generally speaking the closeness Of the par
allel between the state of boyhood and that Of
savagery. Not less accurate is the authors OBJ
servation of the mysterious regularity with which
the boys games and amusemcnts succeed one an
other-the season for marbles, the for tops.
the season for kites, or what not, recurring in it's
proper turn, without any apparent suggestion or
guiding indication: To say how these transitions
are established Mr.. Howells does not venture, and
his caution Is commendable for the problem seems
insoluble. No doubt boys as rule initiate one
another, but the question is Who sets the example ?
There is just one point upon which We think
Mr.. Howells possibly effected overmuch by his
mature reflections 1t is in regard to the effect
upon the mind of the average boy Of the super
stitous apprhensions which gre natural to his
uudeveloped mental condition. He is here repre-
sented as living in world Of terrors, and good
deal is made of the supposed analogy with the
state of mind of adult savaPes. Now, in the first
place we think it doubtful whether the super
stitions Of children really do exercise upon them
more than the most heeting influence: and saw
AGES notwithstanding the very confident assertions
of travellers and ethnologists, we take leave to
question the possibility Of acquiring any deep,
full or exact knowledge upon the subject The
implication that boys and savages both exist
under q dark cloud Of terrifying beliefs seems
TO us to be itself too suspciousy like the growth
from mature civilization to be trusted. One OF
the truest presentations is that OF the boys views
OF the older world in which they live, but with
which they have so little connection. They re-
psrd all adult enterprses-mils, factories. canals
etc.-as having for their prime end the convenience
and amusement OF boys Another capital touch
is the standard by which the boys judged the
citizens During the marble season q man
held to he clever" or mean" as he walked heed
iessy through the rings at which the boys were
playing, or thoughtfully stepped around them. The
account OF the Juvenile code Of ethics is another
brilliant piece OF description, and full OF aston
ishinsy subtle touches. Not the opinion Of the
srown.up people, but that OF the other boys, is
what controls boys Their public opinion, too, is
exigens immutable and pitiless as that of saw
hs~s A. with the latter, every stranger Is
Z pnma face" an enemy. and must prove his
\asm 10 admission or adoption by personal Prov
go nuss Be said that Mr.. Hswells's boy pos
n usssaal advantages In his town, and that
sr@sasniy was - town peculiarly adapted for
u es\Ss boy In" To read Of the royal times those
hog ss\sA. In the waters Of the Miami. in the
beys - selds, and from ono end Of the year
woods Npes. b enough to make one long to be a
10 tie ~ tersy years ago. in Southern Ohio. The
boy AsaaA\he csnins OF the circus and the show"
sccesst a r. sasht % make the blood course
or menaspsN through the veins Of the old boys
more aaiskk\ ysssg enes. Some Of the oddities
- well - ~ & sssh - Tire Ilexnlioahle feeling