The morning times., 1896-09-27
THE LIFE STORY OF
A. CAHAN, NOVELIST
How a Russian Hebrew Nihilist Be-
gan to Write of New York Life.
Copyright, 1867

has set the critics OF two continents 10 serb
bling and to dra wing compa risuns between
his work md that OF Stephen Cam. Zsng-
will and others OF the younger authoSs who
write about the life Of today. ana in so-
cailed realistic fashion
stiIl more. II hal called out the ntrs., en-
| thusiistic approval OF William Dean How
| ellis, the prince OF realistic fiction writers
Aside from its literary merits. Mr. cahan's
| story is a valuable contribution to the hooks
| of the present decade, since il is the first
| work in which true ''insder'' has striycn
| to picture the life of nat crowded si!,,. Of
| Central Enrope, which, sctintu the inusaic OF
| the New Worlds greatest seaport city,
! has come To be known everywhere as The
| East Side No one who did not unde erstand
its people and their Joys and sorrows. their
| view points, their aspirations md their dis
| appointments, could write of them as Mr..
| -aiian has done. And no one " ho had not
himself lived "a fairly eventful life could
| follow the realistic method and still tell so
| interesting a story as that contained in the
| novel that has brought him to the front.
| Mr.. Cahan is thirt y-six years old lie was
born III wilma. Lthuania, Russia. He was
| driven from home, political refugee,
in 1882. when u. reached these shores his
| total possessions included only his cloth
| ing and the equivalent Of $50. United
| States currency. lie had practically no
| friends and he could not speak English
When he began life in New York he lived
on the East Side, aud SO he does still. al
though his quarters are now away up
town at 1921 street. Here is his story
| nearly as may be. as he told it to me in
our ..iscursive talk today Like many others
who have learned English largely from
print, his sentcnces often smell OF the book,
but lie frequently makes use OF idioms and
current proverbial sentences. which he
sometimes twists most quantity
BOYHOOD AND SCHOOL LIFE.
My family has always been an Intense
ly religious one Mr.. Caban said. in be-
ginning. My grandfather was Il rat..i.
learned IA all the lore of his re!igi'.I; my
father was a teacher Of Hebrew the He
brew of the Bible and the Taimud. not th..
Yiddish that is now spoken by the Russian
Jews and 1t was planned that should be
a rabbi. But when was yet very young 1t.
was seen that my tendencies were all in
what we term the European direction and
not the religious-that is, preferred arfh-
metic and geography, history and poetry;
lsecular rather than sacred studies.
"At first l had To devour the books
liked 'oD the sly at night. and when
| was supposed TO be amusing myself. and
when my father found out about it, lie
was greatly disappointed. But my mother
| syInpathzcd with me. She would have
| been glad to tave me become rabbi no
| doubt. bur she did not wish to see me un-
| happy, and she finally persuaded my father
To allow me TO fit myself for government
| school
| THAT is not an easy thing for Jew
| to do in Russia. We lived within the
| pale where the Jews are not so cruelty
prosecuted as elsewhere. but even there
many obstacles are put in the way OF the
jew student. Even there. too. only
! per cent OF the total number of students
| may he Hebrews, and. 10 keep the propor-
| tiuD down. the examinations are made
muc, harder for them than for young Rus
slams However. managed to pass. and
in due time was graduated. Then l tegan
the life Of a teacher in the government
| sciuolatVelishint the government OF Ntehsk,
| which lies on the eastern bank Of the River
! Dvina.
| Il had become member Of a revolu-
'h"arH VI hi'ihS'' 'i'''
to NehSh- win other S'uuents ! hau
| studied tue CONSTITUTION oil the ohiteu
| States ana the hVes ol "ashins.oh ,nu
Jefferson an" 'heiI ieiio" -p'''i''S' ''
| we were not ah'rc'''StH-"e niu ''"''''"9
III common WIN the fharen'>'s u oei many
| ana France ana iai!- 'i"ii>t''
| not anarchists.
] THE SECRET POLICE ....-....,
well nj Welsh I ioircri tie local circle
| of ,ero,utionists rs a matter Of course.
| /, ,ra !, ,,r,. c;rcie cbier,y made IN. by
rho way of members of the no,elitv There
,ro-. o,,v ,v, Jews ipcIudeJ so far as
,,n.,r an, w,s ono or them Just how
-. ,r.r,h.-s thor. wcr,. I do no, know
| A. ,rooa,,;o, ,,oi,s, ,reocbery M nnc
| tr.r more ,b,n a dozen of the others.
..,u ,,,, ,ro,, for ,hou, , vear Tbeu -
,,,, s,,o..,.or,s ,,,,s ,,,,,,nc, with s,,uer
,o s,,n,.a ~ w,s ,seroup,,,l to tb,. 80.
80, ,,o,ioo h, some traitor who had p,ipcs.
| access 10 o,r circle Eortpn,,elvm nv friends
-, or ,h,, .,n,,I ,,s warmed and NON.
~ ,',,, ,,. ~, q. .r,,ed ,,,. 10
| a,', ,;,.ir v.,sh ana will no, Give
,,,a,o nv. tho t,m, ,be score, roI,ce w.-,.
80. ,o s..,rct nv. rous.. q evcrvt,,inp 7 ta,,
-, ,,,aro,nisi,, na,nre x,s sare,v hid.
a. Nn,hin,- ,.ain. sonnd Uas ,uowed
| - ,.,,,,,,,o !. ,rh;,a ,o,yer ,,puo,es,ed am,
.,n,,r,, ,ho wind ha1 NJ, h,ow, orer
~, o,,s ,.r a., or,,c.r OF the s.cr,, ro,icc
,.i,,, s,,rdor,,r,,s sa;,, q nv, icnoo,'
VIZ, ''9 a,." 80 - y -, -. ~.
| -. .,,,,.,,,,, ~ 81. ,,-,,.o .,.,.
.nann., NE, as IS, s".em,u a,,,. "S 'A' s"'
:. The nnn,,s will leave tho room tbun.