Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-07-18

tdyfifc Love Stories Have Given Place
To Theoretical Novels.


to Theoretical NoveIs.
Prom the frcria-n-~ s,u-nai.
Just why there should be- a distinction To-
tween the books appropriate for reading I'm
summer and those which belong L. the
winter time ii might be hard 10 say But
that there is a distinction is clear enough.
ana IL Is not i'm favor of the former The
subtle relations OF hot weather and mental
incapacity have never been satisfactorily in
Nestigated. Ii could not be maintain d sue
eessfully. for example. that the literature
OF Germany is superior TO that of Italy-
although IL is considerably further north
Dante does not suffer in comparison with
Goethe: and today the poets Of Germany
are hardly known TO the outside wo- IA
while the poets Of Italy are attracting at
tention everywhere by their number and ex-
ceilence. Such an inquiry. however would
lead us far from the solid ground OF fact
into the airy spaces or conjecture. II n
sufficient to know that h.rs among our
selves the so-called summer reading n
which we indulge is. for the most Tart,
either silly or harmful. ana that men end
women who at ordinary times manifest
some taste In their choice of literature seize
with avsdity upon anything between oossss
fo- the amusement of their idle hours.
Possibly the books which now lie aroma
in sheltered corners of the piazza are. In
~ me respects. better than their predeces-
sors OF two or three years ago. They are
n entail health. The difference is that be-
tween bonbons and cocktails. The senti-
mn rtal love story h the Nane. The
Duchess and Mrs. Forester are no longer
faNorfte authors Guardsmen with huge
mustaches and blue-eye1 fairies who quote
poetry have had their day. And vet q h
conceivable that one might recall them with
regret. They were insipid. but they were
he IN NH
dtei upon the mind was weakening, but q
was not otherwise injurious As much can
rot be said Of the books which have taken
their places. These ere. for the most part,
novels of the crank variety Of which We
rave had more than share of late
They are written by persons. usually wo-
men, who take morbid views of life. who
have some problem 20 solve. some theory
to impart- rhe best read Of these books Is.
unquestionably. that extraordinary tract
which Mrs. Sarah Grand put into dialogue
and christeaed ''Tae Heavenly Twins. It's
vogue does not dirnini an In the least The
cogn. scenti read it a long while ago-long.
that is in comparison with the usual life
of the novel OF Tire day-but now Ia has fab
len into the hands OF those who read inter-
mittently. and have to make desperate ef-
fcrts. at times. to catch up with the liter
airy current For IL Is TO be borne I'm mind
that the majority OF people read books
not for the enjoyment that reading gives.
but in order TO be able TO talk about them.
Comparatively few OF our feilow-men. We
suspect. really know what IL is to enjoy q
good book-to give themselves In complete
seif-obliteration to its influence and not
want to pick IL TO pieces sfte-werd. only
the critic, who has TO plod dreariiy through
all that comes along. and keep q weather
eye open for bad literary Gather. which b
possible even when skies are the fsirest.
can truly appreciate the exquisite charm
OF reading for pure pleasure. taking no
thought OF what should he said. pro Gun.
for the benefit Of the public. who viii. per-
IT,
The one thing TO be said In behalf of the
crank" books which. We have seen. may
fairly be considered to have superseded the
sentimental ones. is that they. al least
make people think: and this Is an advan-
tage. even though the results Of thought 10
far frcm ms firing. Thus they tead to the
ciea1ng OF the ground for better books
But the tran:ition period is not attractive
in itself. and IL requires optimistic mind
to contemplate IL with eQuanimity. IL 10
like taking particularly nasty medicine.
The question is whether the health OF the
patient Will ever quite recover from tho
dose. We are rubbing OF all the bloom-an
the mystery OF life-in our pathological re-
searches. and what Will be left ts a conun-
drum which IL wo3li need more than human
ingenuity to solve. To find the morbid spirit
of the age on the hotel piazza Il a good deal
of a shock: especially when some young girl
asks you IL you think Mrs. GRANTS heroine
ought to have lived with her husba nd ana
IL IL Is possible 20 enforce upon men the
same standard Of moral purity that
quire OF women. But. no doubt. I'm time We
stall get used 20 things: and then the reac-
ton Will come, and We shall throw this
kind Of lite -ature aside with disgust This
Ii q contamination which a good many per-
sens Will most devoutiy wish: and the hope
OF such Is that. having been taught to
think. although TO little purpose, by the
novel Of the reform" type. % WIN be impos-
sible to go back to the old-fa shioned novel
I'm the perusai Of which thought OF any kline
was an impertnence. Meanwhile some
eenefactor OF his kind might go about Sc
cretly removing all stray copies of The
Heavenly Twins and "A yellow Aster"
and "A Supernuous Woman" and leave In
their place Mr.. Hardy's latest story or
some romance by Mr.. stevenson