Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1893-01-22
qRE GAZETTE: IN WORTH TEXAS SUNDAY JANUARY p 1888

love. to gitc up 20 it' to her ms9
moral sense Il seemed the height on
pession to be able for ultimate good 20
inairi pain on u loved object ne
world chose 20 see another lesson ne
cause the writer had tnkcu as her set
ting ~ the story an atmosphere ~ IT,
ligiOns faniaeiHH. a.,
llds setting came naturally TO Mrs.
Deand. owing to the SURROUNDINGS ~
her childhood ~ the comnu!n.s
where she was brought up ftlsiVus
fsith and nrofession established the so
cinl standing Of people. a family N.Y.
In regular standing were virtually
outcnps. OF course IN any Eastern
city ia these days where religion y
fhp very last thing about which any
one inquires il is difficult To undef-
stand huw easy IL had been for MIS-.
Dcland to take such an atmosphere Tor
her book; Il was perfectly natural that
IL should have been supposed that she
had meant religious dispute to- DC
her object
The success Of that book the como
ton It made here and in England, and
the opinion which many hold 81 it
placing II above Robert Elsmcre
which 80 strangely came out at the same
time-is well known.
Mrs Deland is probably one Of, the
most careful Of the writer's Off the
time. Frequently chapters are writ
ten as many az eight times. Sonic
times as much as half book will be
written and destroyed. and that Will
be done several times before she is sat
ished-and for that matter she II not
satisfied then: for to the proofs she r.
even more severe than to her mnnu-
script. She reads often a. many as
eight galley proofs, and corrects and
alters. eliminates and ampliiies, until
the story bears. when printed but 1T
tie resemblance to the form It had when
first sent to the publishers. II Is not
too much 10 say that hundreds OF
hours are spent In correcting the proof
sheets Of one pl her stories.
OF course. Mrs Deland is at work on
a new story. and naturally II treats Of
q social problem, or rather a moral
one. II would bc impossible for her to
write u story without SOME such prob
lem in her mind | fancy the book
when ready hut that * long way Off
H. to excite deal of argument; for its
subject Ia Que in which all men and
women are Interested, and with which
the minds Of reformcrs have long been
tormcHtCd.
II speaks an old tmth-that writer's
gre insure judges Of the value Of hcir
works that Mrs. Dcand felt very low
NlNlllDu IN Ftkufu 10 lne worth OF ne
Story of Child" which | consider the
best thing Tint she has done. Only the
opinion of her constant adviser and Of
her publisher convinced her that il was
not q backward step in her career. TO
ne It has been charming. II shows
such sympathy with the tormcnts of
childhood, such an insight into its uncon-
Tossed realms of Imagination, such u
knowledge of temperament q possession
universally overlooked In children
Personally Mrs Dclond Is about me-
dium height, generously built with a
frank face above which her brown hnir
is pushed back aud knottel loosely n
few soft strty locks falling forward
over her broad forehead Her mouth
aud chin nre strong. and honester eyes
never looked on Of any face. Her
voice is attractive. and her manner. as
absolutely lacking in couventiouality as
il is ia aifectation, Is that Of self