The morning times., 1895-09-15

while the second was an equally monstrous
failure. There was, indeed, about Miss
HaTTaden's book nothing to offend the
tastidiOus. Perhaps that is why she is
forgotten In her California retreat, while
writer's who tell of a woman with past
instead OF disagreeable man have more
endu ring vogue. No such forgetfulness
enwraps the name of Mrs. Rendered, who
is brutalIy frank at times in her treatment
OF sex problems.
Every one comes up in LoI.,on to breathe
Mrs. schreiner, from South Africa; -.
Evcrard Cotes, from India. The latter IS
the Sara Jeanette Duncan, who wrote
for one of the London Illustrated papers
some years ago, the experiences OF Amert
can girls in London. Mrs. Cotes has and
employs humor, and is not TO be eiassed
with the writers of problem books" at all.
But she once did let serious mood begule
her into describing the career in London
Journalism of another American girl, a
fictitious one, who turned out not SO well
as she who wrote her history has done. And
it was Il sad, sad book. with dim, gray.
unreEeved tint of the dawn OF dismal day.
Just such another sad book, but with less
of the trail of vulgarity In its characters,
was Ella Hepworth Dixon's study of the
life of a newspaper woman Miss Hep
worth Dixon is a fine-loo king young
woman, with a fair, pure profile, and an
inherited trend toward journalism She is
now editing ladies' magazine and both
she and Mrs. Cotes know all about the jour
nalistic life they have described.
One OF the most interesting of the new
women writers is Miss Emma Brooke,
the author of the anonymous "A Superflu-
GUS Woman" published some time ago.
The superfluous woman, you'll remem-
| Der, loved a simple shepherd and was alto
eether too new TO be even understood by
him, when he yentured to reassure her that
he ''meant her no harm" Then she mar
ried degenerate lord and was miserable.
Most married folks are miserable, by
the way, in the new woman books. Miss
Brooke is a socialist and a member of the
Fabian society. To be a socialist is indeed
one of the fads OF the new woman. Sarah
Grand calls herself one, though she is not
scientific student of that or any other
subject, and l suppose half the younger
writer's are socialistic in theory. Grant
Allen, who, though not new woman him
self, has written about The Woman Who
Did, is one of the most radical socialists
in Britain, and the cause is extremely fash
IL
sidering the tremendous influence OF Bo-
hemia upon PhiIistia, this is a fact Of pro-
phetic Importance in British politics.
THE popularity of socialism among the new
women is undoubtedly due to its uncom-
promising declaration of the sexes
have spoken OF the speech and manner
OF Bohemia as more frank than its writ
ings. 1t Is obviously difficult to Illus
claiming Bohemian honors myself or COM
mending those who do, tell of a wedding
in the artistic rather than of the literary
section OF Bohemia. Before this occurred
the lady, addressing her Intended husband
on one occasion before an audience by no
means few, remarked: II want you to
distinctly understand, Frank, that l am a
woman with past"
"Oh, that's all right" was Franks ingen-
uous response. I'm no angel myself"
Here at last is the long -heralded disap-
pcarance of the "dochic standard OF mor-
ality. Whether its disappearance in juss
this fashion is a thing to praise 1 wouldn't
undertake to say.
There is in London no Bohemia, as the
word is Understood by outsiders Conform
ity has cut its hair and its habitues have
abundance TO eat, drink and be clothed
where wi,hal The writers of books and the
more fortunate oEe-tenth in journalism en-
Joy better incomes than IN America, though
the high private in Journalism does nots
Many women who write daring books are
neither in nor of Loheinia, but are quiet,
home-staying bodies, blessed with all the
domestic virtues and facilities. Many who
write Sunday-school books, on the other
hand, are personally OF the new order and
indulge their freakish literary tastes under
safe anonyms.
1t would be easy, after all, to take the new
woman in literature too seriously With
the new century we may see a new deal OF
the cards, the dust fleeing before new
broom. And we may not.