St. Paul daily globe., 1893-02-26
TIE RAGE OF REALISM
Who Introduced This Which
Is So Replete With Nature
as to Be Dull.
Nowadays the Novelist EX-
parieneeS Personally What
He Writes.
He Expresses Everything and
Leaves Nothing for the
Imagination.
Descriptions OF the Charm
ing Spring Styles Out in
New York.
Special Letter to the Globe.

NEW YORK, Feb, There is Such a
rage after realism now, introduced
principally by the prince of street
swleperS. ZoIa, and IN another form ell
trtly by W. ID. Howells, that novelists
are beginning to look upon their own
imaginatiOnS as almost the last factor
III the concoction of the modern novel.
Acute observation and detailed crisp
descriptive power are the most essential
things. \ good memory is another nee
eSsary quality. and 4 capacity for adapt
ing himself to circumstances has lately
become quite an indispensable part
of Gn authors nature. A good
memory serves to relate things as
they really were. For instance,
with their yards of commonplace, and
their inches of wit and originality. A
good memory records the hesitation.
and occasional failure III expressing the
undeveloDed thought This is exactly
the conversation which the modern
novel reader delights in. The cOnver-
sation of the realistic novel is nothing
if not natural. 1t is so natural as some
times to be dali. Oscar Wilde takes the
opposite course; his conversations are
SO brilliant as to be unnatural, but brill
fancy in Il play is Indispensable, while i'll
novel we have The authors reflections,
and they are gradually educating us TO
DO without the brilliancy. The reali5-
tic novel is gaining ground every day,
and its progress and increasing mum
bers give us a certain keen appetite
for an occasional unnatural and brilliant
one. The novelist is Just now very
conscientious person. He experiences
personally what he writes. If he de-
scribes gold field, depend upon it he
has dug for nuggets. If he writes all
account of a boudoir tete-a-tete
you may be sure he knows all
dyes, and could say more if he
liked. He goes Summing, he goes
"mashing" behind the scenes. and
knows Lottic Collins and Carmencita
personally, and is on good terms with
pretty circus riders and dark-eyed
Italian tOe-dancPrS. lie makes love to
them TO see how they respond, so that
when he devotes a chapter to "a Pro
posal in the Wings" he doesn't make
the mistake of putting speech savor-
ing Of mammals drawing room into the
mouth of Tottie Fay; nor does he put
too much slang into the repartes OF
these ladies; he has been there himself.
and he knows just how they talk.
He is just as much a portrait painter
as if he sat with easel and palette and
carefully observed his models expires
sion and tricks of manner. only
he paints when his model isn't looking,
and loves to catch him off his guard. He
Is subject painter, toe, for his group is
so arranged that some are in full light.
almost too full light, and some n1ver
come far out of the BACKGROUND.
But he shuts up the little box ticketed
"imaginatiOn: he has no use for it just
now. There are no purple cliffs or lilac
tinted moors for him; there is dirty
deal floor with a piece of cheap limo
leum on it, ana three rusty nails in the
corner, or perhaps there is street in
Venice, and he admits that the sky
above is very blue, but he is sorry to
have to add that there is a very bad
smell hanging about and that the gon-
dOlaS have advertisements for Pears
soap on some OF them. He knows; he's
been there.
And then he is careful to be extra ac
curate in love scenes. He knows better
than to tell anyone that women look
pretty when they cry. He knows better
than to tell anyone that men speak with
impaSSioned eloQuence at such times.
1T fact it appears to be his solemn duty
10 destroy the illusions woven by the
snOvellstS Of a century ago. But he gives
us fresh food for thought. new creed,
all Intelligent disquisltion on art, or
something new about intemperance;
but whatever 1t is, we know that he
knows what he is talking about.
In capeS there is still great variety,
and will be still moro so as spring
weather advances. In Redfern'S salon
this morning | saw one of tan cloth
trimmed with yak lace and Insertion.
First came a miniature velvet cape
pleated round the shoulders, then a
deeper one of the coarse lace, and then
longer one of the cloth.
A stylish coat was belted into the
waist with a wide black satin sash, aud
had an embroidered cape OF the black
satin worn with it. The cape was en-
broidered with bold design in gold.
For mourning deep black cloth capes
are surmounted by shorter ones of
heavy crepe or dull silk. These are
decorated effectively with gold cord and
taSSelS. The velvet capeS are giving
place to very stylish ones of delicate
colored faced cloth. Meanwhile every
coat and gown is finished off with some
kind of frilly shoulder arrangement, and
the sleeves grow more and more eXtrav-
agant. The skirts are very full, but
those which | saw at Redfern'S need
fill no ladies with apprehensive fears,
for they are graceful, though full.