Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1892-09-29
WITH PEN AND INK.



Margaret Deland's new serial, "The
Story OF Child" opens with long in
stallment in the September number Of
the Atlantic Monthly. A thoughtful
writer has pointed out the fact that the
name is unhappily chosen, not ouly be-
cause Pierre Lott has recently published
a book OF almost identical title, but prin-
cipalIy because many readers will be de-
tered from attempting the story by the
idea that it was written for children; and
many unfortunate children will be deeply
disgusted at the metaphysical subtleties
Of story empathically not written for
them. The sensations of normal child
in trying to discover where the story of
'The Story OF Child" comes in would
be very like those Of the little girl who
tried to find "nice" book In her grand
fathers library. After standing for a
long time before the heavy bookcases,
crammed with theological and mathemat-
ical books, she at last saw a promising
title, almost out Of reach. "Comic Sc
lections," she read aloud as she stood on
tip-toe and pulled the little book out even
the writer's name sounded funny,
"Puckle." On opening the book she was
puzzled to find the pages covered with
figures and curious signs, and then with
dawning disappointment turned to the
title page to find that her prize was
treatise on "Conic Sections"
Mrs. Deland's story is very close and
faithful reproduction Of the inner life Of a
child q generation ago, and impresses one
as being largely autobiographic. To
judge from this first installment, Mrs.
Deland is taking her subject rather too
seriously to admit of its being very
charming. Her touch is light in analy-
sis, but the saving salt Of humor is not
there; and there is a ponderous serious
ness that may become wearisome before
the close of the serial.
The atmosphere is fresher in the canyon
OF which Olive Thorne Miller records the
experiences of day spent with her
friends, the birds, in solitary happiness.
Her description of Cheyenne canyon is
fresh and breezy: its out-of-doors feeling
is better than anything Of the kind in her
delightful volume, "Little Brothers Of
the Air." Nothing could be more engag
ing than her friend, the water ouzel, at
his wild pranks in the waterfalls, unless
it be the baby chipmunk sitting up eat
ing strawberries held between his "deft
little paws" with an air of absorbing de-
light"
We have, by the way, living along the
course of the Humptulips river little
water bird who is as fearless diver and
mad water sprite as the ouzel, described
by Mrs. Miller; it would be interesting
to know if he is member of the same
family.
The Atlantic and the Cosmopolitan stand
farther apart in aim and character than
any other two of the popular monthlies.
In the September number of the Atlantic
there are three contributions, "An After
noon Tea," by Harriet Lewis Bradley,
Catherine" by Mary J. Jacques, and
An American at Home in Europe" by
W. H. Bishop, that are SO slight in mate
rial that except for their good literary
treatment there would be no hope for
them within the pale. The Atlantic in
its fiction, aims, first for all, for good lit
erary style, the subject treated is of sub
ordinate importance. manner not mat
ter" seems to be its motto. This tenn
per of the mind is easy to understand as
the outcome Of Boston influence. The
Cosmopolitan has held the exact reverse
Of this motto, and in the past has verged
toward articles Of statistical, encyclo-
pedic sort and stories Of blood, passion,
and incident. The stories Of Julian Cor
don and Amelie Rives were in the Cos
mopolitan's "vein." This tendency was
probably due, in part at least, to the in
iuence of the chief owner of the maya
zine, John Brisben Walker, practical
money-maker. Under the editorial man
agement of Mr.. Howells, the magazine
will, in all likelihood, veer around more
and more to the Boston type. Then
what will become of the subscribers who
first took it because of those lovely arti-
cles on celebrated American beauties.
illustrated by photographs supplied by
the beauties themselves?
The history Of the building of maya
zine remains to be written, that of the
COSMOPOLITAN would be peculiarly inter-
esting, for it came upon the field when its
rivals were in full possession, and even a
careless outsider can see that daring and
strategy must have been required to have
given it its present position, position
which there is every reason to suppose
will become more and more assured.
An editorial in the Overland Monthly
begins with these words;
California has been accused OF having
"more poets to the square foot" than any
other state in the Union; and the East
ern editors on whose mail-bags this esti-
mate was based, have been kind enough
to add, when speaking to the editor OF the