The Coalville times. [volume] (Coalville, Utah) 1894-1923, 1896-07-31

the work Of stephen Crane a young
writer living In New York City. whose
first adequately published novel. The
Red Badge OF Courage" recently took
the London literary world by storm,
and Is receiving more tardy but no less
emphatic recognition In this country.
Genius Ia n rather vague and very
much abused work. but II can be appro-
priately applied to MIR. Cranes work.
although he personally objects to the
term. writes ]. II. Welch In Leslie's
Weekly. lie says that his success.
aside from literary apprenticeship Of
eight years In the field Of newspaper
writing, has been the result simply Of
Intense application and mental concon-
tration. But whatever his own oXpla-
nation OF his power may be. II In GER
talnly a most unusual power. which
carries both the average. indiscrimlnat-
ing reader and the keen critic along IT.
rcSistibly. Indeed. the critic Is apt to
forget his vocation when THE Red
Badge OF Courage" Is opened. His crltl-
clsm In swept away by the rage OF bat
tie. the screaming Of shells, the hoarse
shouts OF men. the tumult and excite
mcnt.
The young author n but twonty-four
years old. and began to write for pub
llcatlon at the age Of sixteen. lie was
born In Newark. New Jersey. OF fam
fly whose male members on both his
mothers and his fathers side were
chiefly Methodist clcrgymon. His ma
tcrnnl grandfather was Bishop Peck
and his father was an eloquent and
successful preacher.
These. however. are not the most In
tercstlng things about the author OF
1.-THE Red Badge Of Courage Little
has been said Of abe personality that
can produce such a work. Physically
stephen Crane is slender young man
Of little above medium height. with
finely chiselcd but rather delicate feat
urcs and large head covered with q
luxurlant growth OF light hair. which
falls In careless disorder over high
forehead. The blue eyes which look
out from beneath have a suggestion Of
woarinoss and even OF sadness In then
when the brain behind IL passive. bui
when II IL alert and active. AS In Inter.
eatlng conversation. they light up ant
fash with sparkling animation. Ill
eyes are good index OF his tompera
ment
II can't do any sort Of work that
don't like or don't feel like doing" h
said the other day and I've given u
trying to do II. when was at seho'
few OF my studies Interested me, an
rs a result was bad scholar. The
used to say at Syracuse uniyersit
whore by the way. | didn't finish n
course. that was cut out to be
professional baseball player. And a
truth Of the matter Is that went thel
more TO play baseball than TO stud
was always very fond OF llteratur
though. remember when was elgl
49, years old became very much lntel
ested In child character called.
think, Little Goodle Brlghteycs. and
l.. wrote a story then which I called aftC
this fascinating little person. when
To- was about sixteen began to write "a
~ the New York newspapers. doing col
y, respondence from Asbury Park an
~ other places. Then | began to writ
u special articles and short stories IA
the Sunday papers and one OF the llt'
=, rary syndcates, reading n great deal I
- the meantime and gradually acquirin
"a a style. decided that the nearer
"a writer gets to life the greater he b,
m comes as an artist. and most Of m
40 prose writings have been toward IN
Nd goal partially described by that mis-
understood and abused word. realism
\ Tolstol IL the writer 1 admire most q