The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-03-11

The Distinguished Kentucky Writer Entertains
the Members of Three Literary Clubs

To the courtesy of the Fortnightly Lit
erary Club, the Katharine Merrill Club and
the Woman's Club q large company of
evenings entertainment. The three clubs
united and extended an invitation to Mr..
James Lane Allen to deliver an address at
the Propyleum last evening. The members
of each club were allowed to invite one
guest and these, with the members. made
an audience which filed the hall.
The request had been made that
the ladies should attend without bonnets.
and many wore handsome light toilets.
which made an attractive ensemble.
sion lamps AT the beginning of the even
ing the presidents OF the three clubs. Mrs.
Solomon Clavpool. of the Fortnightly. Mrs.
Grace j. Clark, of the Katharine Merrill,
and Miss Catharine Merrill. of the Woman's
Club. occupied the platform with MIR.
Allen until he was introduced in few
graceful words by Miss Merrill.
Mr.. Aliens subject was THE Evolution
of American Literature" the same which
he presented before the Contemporary
has its Moliere. England It's Shakespeare
and Germany its Goethe, but America. as
vet. has not seen its master in literature.
America has Its trades. Its religion. it's
for this Mr. Allen said. was its youth. IL
Is scarcely one hundred years since liter
atnre In America was begun. Back of
Shakespeare there weIe centuries, and 1t
Shakespeare to George Eliot. Thackeray
and Tennyson. The American writer's
carry forward their work on an un-Amer-
can basis. The greatest writers go to other
aster.' or Lew Wallace's Ben Hur.' tits
an international literature. IL has broad
ened until it Is q literature of the world.
Mr.. Allen then quoted from Henry James.
who bemoaned the lack of material in tho
United States and from the Numerous nom
possessions one felt as if living In q dreary
desert waste. Happily did Mr.. Allen
credit the authors who are so couch to the
different States. but said that Eggleston's
"HOosier Schoolmastor" counted not so
Thomas Nelson Page, or Joel Chandler
Harris or others outside of their own
States. There is enough material where
there is creative genius. You can
ample the speaker instanced the spider
web. it's beauty. When this web is broken
and It's small lines pressed together
there 10 the material. bnt IL takes the
genius of the spider to weave another web
of like material.
One of the most interesting parts of the
lecture was the description of the many
materials right about us which some genius
may make great, as Ibid O small boy in In
diana never get thorn In his
foot. Yet q genius made q wonder
ful piece OF sculpture ont of that
subject. Do not dalsies and field-mice
abound In this STATED IL took Burns to
make them immortal. 1t took sick
man and three uncomfortable friends to
make the story of job. or a field of pota-
toes. man and maid and an evening
prayer for The Angelus.' 1t is not ma
terial that We lack but hand to draw
aside the curtain and the eye to see." Mr..
Allen believes that In time America will
have her Shakespeare. her Moliereand her
Goethe. but it may take centuries. After
the address the guests were presented to
Mr.. Allen by the three presidents. and ices
were enjoy ed during @ social hour.