New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-05-27
MR.. HOMELESS VIEWS
ON THE INTERVIEWER. WOMAN IN Jor,n
NALTsM, THE AMERICAN GIRL. Frc.
TON AND BOOK cRITIcrSu

one OF the busiest OF American men Of .e:ters 80
! inasmuch as he Is at present In his fity..ev,r,.
year. when his productive power may be ,,n :.
have reached i,s zenith. It might reasonably be a.
sumed That his leisure moments are exceodluy,
few and far between. But Il happens tina, ,h. ~
cessful author. whose name IL so constantly 80
the public whether in the domains OF fiction 80
or literary criticism rarely dcvotes more than 49,.
day 10 actual labor Of the pen Consequently -
! finds ample time for wide reading not 10 ns,.,.
some Of the lighter diversions enjoyed bv ,.,.".
mortals. I. the good fortune 0. A recon, 49,.
to find the Traveller from A.,rurll" AT honos d~.
ing one OF these Intervals. VIXEN he was d,snoss1 :.
greet a guest with abundant amiabfty. al,bonss
his genial smile seemed express volumes q, u.s.
when he learned that Interview" was ,hrs.,.,
| Ing him.
why. my dear SIR" he remarked II should "a,
| tainy be pleased TO oblige you. but you mus, >.
aware that have already talked On svs,,, ~,
| aginabe subject for newSpaner puh.,c,.,.-
really don't think you will De able % sizges, o,
thing new" This was the least bit DISCOURAGE,
! perhaps. but nevertheless during a p,eassn, ho.,
the visitor succeeded IN calling forth sora a, -
authors original and always interesting cri,cS.
and comment. They sat In his cosy apar;nsr,
overlooking Central PARK. The scene wfhou, ~
the way afforded gllmpses o. rura. love.lnrss sncs
as are rare In Gotham. while through the h.
windows poured the glorious afternoon sunsnlps =,
a perfect spring day.
Mr.. Howels's massive head, large feature, ana
rugged countenance. united 70 on amo.t insignia.
cant figure. sufficiently we'll known In ,be..
days. His manner suggests the thinker OF can.
and equab.e temperament. not likely 10 Ne rurs,
by trivial annoyances. lie ,a.ked easily In a pisas
ant,y moduated voice anc with unyoryrg der,s.o,
usually resting his chin his hand as he leaoa
back in a comfortable armchair. incidentally =.
prefaced his conversation with some structures "a
modern interviewing.
Judging from my own experience" ne Conn
menced. the average newspaper interviewer Of to-
day. while undenisbly possessed Of a fair amour.
OF intelligence, is by no means apt approach the
subject sufficiently prepared he certainly should
endeavor to be- Hence. his questions. II any. are
usually vague and indefinite They are uttered han.
hazard. and one is naturally slow 70 respond For
instance. I asked 10 talk about my books and
In five minutes l discover that the reporter Is In
absolute ignorance Of the contents Of most Of than
II OF the titles. or course DON'T expect hin 70
have read them all That would be absurd Bu,
should not reasonably hesitate discuss ny
works In detail when / know that / shall be al.
dressing unsympathetic listener? Then again
the interview Is too often written under pressure
and with undue haste and while I Do 70, accca
the writer Of wiiful exsggeraton mlsrspresenta.
ton, my assumed words very likely to be ha
own.
'The dction Of reporters seems 70 incline towaris
convention. 50 70 speak. note that the simplicity
Of my speech IS generally CLOSED over with an
attempt to polish l am even made 20 say 10
not instead OF I don't Probably. though the IN.
discriminate Of the edltora. blue pencil should
be held accountable for much Of this mlngiiag An
l not right?'
Admitting this 70 be painful fact. the visitor
referred 70 catchy sensational headlines as n,
index of what followed. and suggested that .r
these the writer OF the interview Is generally no,
responsible.
hat -hatyo nj 1af,- NJ auaa
on. goes without saying Sometimes find them
intensely interesting myself. as may be the casa
when l read the opinions OF some noted painter.
musician. actor. or man OF affairs-any one in fact
who being in another walk OF life than my own will
be likely TO tel me something didn't know before
Mr. Depew. for instance. cannot talk often FOR
HE. His views are always original and worth read
ing.
Twice in my life. must testify. my personal
remarks were reported With such accuracy and
that 1 more than satisfied. Last year
young woman called upon with note from
we-known editor to get some observations from me-
the Worlds Fair 1 shall merely say that tie
result in this proved concusysly to me that
woman in Journalism is fully as capable man. IL
not more so; and as interviewers they are surely
better equipped by nature with their inslnuatas
tact and mental alertness There Is no reason either
why the bloom Of feminine refinement should bs
lost in such a That depends upon the IN
divldual herself"
Mr. Howeiis now branched of or the perennlally
delightful subject Of the American girl. but solely
from the point OF view OF intellect and culture.
Their reading is confined 10 novels almost ex.
cusively. In my opinion" he said "and usually Of
the wrong kind. Hence their culture impresses ne
superficial Mind you. I don't consider novel
reading in the abstract waste time, by any means;
the misfortune exists in ill-advlsed selections
when the American girl takes up really sold read
ing I suspect some momentary fad TO be the cause
Of IT, Very likely. though I am often mistaken u
this. As for the young women Of other nations
can hardly speak with authority unless Il be OF
the Italians. and of them may safely say thar ne
daughters OF good families cultured in the best
sense OF the worl. First OF all they are good
lnguists. and have usually found them lntelhgsn'y
conversant in the original with various iiteratufes
besides their This may seem surprising ous
1t is Apropos OF fiction. l may as well CONFESS
that read a great deal myself but trust nos
Unfortunately. The modern Spanish school N,
terests me keen.y al present There are ms,
novelists OF the nrst rank among them tDat jug
10 be more widely read than they are l may me. ins"
ton Perez Galdos-his 'Doha Perfeca' Is exce.sn,i
Juan Valera author Of Pepa JeminSz oG IN Fact.
these Clever writers OF Spain easily outclass go go
French contemporaries with the exception S 91 Sy
At this juncture the visitor ventured 20 draw 0n
whose works may be said ofrer the most y!o'ess;
contrast imaginable TO the realistic tehleNS''s "
IoiStO lola and Ga.dos. -,
Richardson. Fielding and Smo.lett interest me
the very slightest degree Tom Jones ior sAanIPS
! find simply tiresOme. Why such books snOu' ~.
read In these days l cannot conceive here me
guest surprised Mr.. HOwes very mucn oy ",h ~,
ttoning from his own experience AZ one OF ~
largest libraries New-York that he had 0eeh -
successful repeatedly in applying FOR ho .n,soa
Random and "Peregrne Picke." FOR the rrasJs
that several copies Of each Of these books were
well-nigh constant circulation. -.
Miss Burney, however, deserves TO live, he ~
tnued. I'VE have recently taken up her SecIhan
greatly AS for Miss Austen | have already "
quently expressed my high appreciation OF "a
worth. and Miss Edgeworth has also written '"''
that admire II IA
Before this entertaining and profitable tax A ~
reached the inevitable finish. the subject Oh ons
reviews and reviewers clicked some obserNsu"i
which are worthy OF attention. To be eane. a..
rarely read criticisms OF my own books now, s
the Altrurian with a half smile by that nssss
do not go out OF my way TO collect them tny ssr,
admit there was time when | sought Ng IN.
eagerly and scanned the contents with anxiety,