Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1893-06-13
AUTHORS LIKES AND DIsLIKEs.
Tastes OF Some Wei known Writers q
.-.a.. Seen from Their Axou;.lx.


Tastes Of Some Wen known writers a.
Seen frons Their Avowais-
The Book Buyer has been sending ont
to literary people some blanks which
they are required to FIJI out. telling who
are their favorite prose authors. poets.
painters. ETC.. their favorite looks. heroes
of fiction. what they most enjoy and
most detest. and so on. Some of the re-
suits are amusing none very instruct
i've. 1t would be more amusing than
Gnything clse, for Instance. to see LII.
Brander Matthews attempt to reconcile
bis favorite prose writer, Hawthorne,
and his favorite poet. Dobson. with his
favorite musical composer. Wagner: but
when, opposite the sentence. Where
should like to live. he writes New York
of course we begin to comprehend as
well as to be amused. Mr.. joel Chandler
Harris makes a very frank and cheerful
avowal of his preferences; it is odd to see
Uncle Remus including Lander among
his favorite authors Of prose: but one
would expect Shakespeare and Burns to
be his favorite poets. and it is consistent
and significant that he should write down
"The People" as his favorite musical COM
posers.
Mr.. T. Russell Sullivan writes the best
lot Of answers in the lot--which is %
much as to cay. of course. that the Lis
teper is most in sympathy with them.
His favorite authors Of prose are S.erne,
Sir Thomas Browne: his poets, Snake
speare, Heine; his painters. Velasqrez,
I Rom brandt. hfo "
and Sleep. which is '.goak:- his favor
1 lite play is ''Othello," and his fayorite
heroes in fiction are Mephistopheles and
d 'Artagnan: his favcrite heroines in fic-
ton. Juliet and Beatrix Esmond: his
| favorite heroines in real life, THE I'm
complaining Poor" He mostly enjoys
travel. and most detests an electric
street car. while the historic event q.
which he should like most to have been
present" was the interview between Eve
and the serpent!
Miss Agnes Repplier's answers are il
Illuminating as to the character Of that
gifted Lady. Naturally Scott is one Of
her fayorite prose writers. and Keats
goes with Shakespeare in poetry, while
her favorite composers are Gounod and
Verdi. That '.Marius the Epicurean-
should be her fayorite book is s4ther an
odd thing to some warm admirer of Mr..
Pater, who doesn't share Miss Repplicr's
general romantic and sanguinary tastes
in literature. The exquisite civilization
of ''Marius" seems very far away from
The silly barbarism of .'Ivanhoe.~ But
whether it is she who is inconsistent or
whether they are. each party probably
would not leave it to the other TO de-
eide. Of course Miss Rcpplier's heroine
in real life is Mary Smart. and the his
toric event at which she would most like
to have been present was the hattie of
Agincourt. Nc circular need come from
| the mails to find that out
The literary ladies. by the way. who
have such an unwolanly taste for gore,
and who pour ont SO much tardy ink in
/ the praise of thirsty sword. illustrate
I anew the tendency of their sex to come
briskly in expressing mems thoughts
just after men have ceased to think
them. All, well. ut the same time that
+ Miss Repplier avows these things she
avows that she would rather live in
| London than anywhere else. and de-
clares that the gift of nature she would
| most like to have is health. which is as
much as to say that she has it not. and
illness. and life in Philadelphia. and
/ liking for London will account for
I great many backward and morbid things
/ in ones understanding Boston Tran
script.