The morning times., 1896-04-26
In the World of
Books and Writers
Gossip and Comment On the
Latest Things in Literature.
Personals Concerning Authors and What
They Are DOing-SOme Thoughts
On American Genius.


but five of them when bought in
single numbers and two and half
when subscribed for by the year. This
latest little stranger is the most unaccount-
ably chnsiened youngster, yet to stag
ger wor,2 hlSt becoming accustomed to
The reason OF inconsistency and the value
of surprise. IL has passed 10 its second
number. i suppose we ought. TO consider
the first number a failure, for it took no
account OF literary Washington, but number
two did us complete, though tardy jus
lice. Two Washington authors were rep
resented. Until this publication OF THE
Spirit in the Pipe," l had never seen any
Thing out OF the Century by Chester Bailey
Fernald. This ambitious young man took
a light grip on the top round OF the ladder
and held tight with his LEFT hand while he
generated literary muscle with his right; it
Is 10 be presumed he is right-handed.
Mr.. Fernald's first story appeared in the
Century for April OF last year. II was
called ''Chan Tow, The Highroh," and
was written in Chinese dialect. Ii was
followed in June by The Gentleman in
tie Barrel and in August by The Cat
ami the Cherub.'
These were all tales Of Chinese life in
Chinatown. San Francisco. "The Cat and
the Chcrub' attracted the most attention
IL is tale Of a five-year-Old Chinese boy,
who yearncd for freedom from home re-
straints and fell in love with an American
young woman. He got away and followed
her 10 her nome. where many interesting
adventures occurred Meantime his pa
rents made vain search for him and finally
found him. much TO his chagrin. because he
had wished to stay with the lovely lady
forever. The Cherub, as the little Chinee
is called, always took his beloved cat where
ever Ire went, and this adventure brings the
cat TO the foreground. Following this tale
came in the November number, The Trag-
edy OF the Comedy" a story of two college
girls, whose mutual devotion shut out all
men, TO the eventual unhappineSs of both
gi:lS. This story has probably been read
by more than a majority OF the college
women OF the country. In March of this
year was printed ENTER Earl OF Tyne" a
love story, bringing out the veXed bear
ingS OF the financial matrimonial dilemma
for people OF expensive tastes and small
means. Century will before long print two
more OF the Chinese tales. one called The
Pot of FrightfuI DOOM" and one 1.-The
Strange Disappearance OF the Front Gar
den" Aren't the titles delightful? Mr.
Fernald's first excursion into book form
viii be taken in the coming autumn.
The Century Company has arranged to
publish the above and other storie already
printed and the book viii undou ubtediy meet
with the same decided success that at
tended the appe arauce of the stories in the
Century. The volume will be called THE
Cat and the Cherub and Other Stories.''
There is wide disSimilarity in the character
Of these tales not often met with in the
productions of one author and they attest
Mr.. Fcmald's versatility. The author of
these stories is a son of Naval Constructor
+. L. FernaId, L. S. N, who is we'll known
as one of the leading naval architects OF
this country and who has the most active
ri 40;
new navy. Mr.. Fernaldis in his twent y-eig ghth
lived in Washington about one-third OF his
has spent large portion of his time in the
largest cities Of the Union, he has to date
lived in Washington about one-third Of his
life. He spent last winter here and is in the
city at present. He leaves in the near
future TO spend the summer in Alaska and
hence ne goes to Japan, where he expects
= gather material for new stories. He will
not push OH 10 China, though these people
are the subject of SO many Of his delightful
stories. He gathers his mate rial in 'FrisCo'S
Chinatown. because he not only finds there
the native charaCt but being in America
he has valuable contrast. In The Spirit
in the Pipe" Mr.. Fernald adopted an orthog-
raplIy, which, while it produced the dialetic
effect. il obviates ther use of the eternal
apoSJrophe. Dialet threw angles in its own
path and drew the cords of its own death
strange. Mr. Fernald's scheme of spelling
the sounds is happy and effective solution
OF the problem of dialect.
- HERE is an irresistible fascination
about statistics. They are substan-
tial and incontrovertible facts. and
won't admit of any nonsense. More
over, they admit of the delightful
old game of comparison. When there is
no charm in a thing in itself il is often
very interesting measured alongside of
some relative fact For instance. it's
rather commonplace TO read that Conan
Doyle began writing fiction at seventeen.
That was very good time to begin, when
the Imagination was fresh and vigorous.
But the interest springs up in finding that
FennimoTe Cooper was thirty-seven when
be began. George Eliot first began her
tareer as novelist at thirty-SiX, and George
f,and began at twenty-siX. Doyle is now
thirty seven. and in the plenitude of ma
ture judgment and experienced mental
tty. George Eliot put aside her pen at
fifty, Cooper continued till sixty-two,
and George Sand only relinquished labor
at that age, though she had intellectual
Tgor ten years later Samuel Richardson
hid practically nothing before his half
century of years, and tossed off a six
volume novel at the age that Cooper gave
up.
Age began TO tell upon Emerson's la
bors at about seventy, and Tom Moore's
unfortunate malady struck him down a
few years before that. though he had
quit writing at fifty-six and had done
Ills most brilliant work at about thirty
six. Tasso finished Jerusalem Deliv-
ered' al thirty-two. Shakespeare seemed
10 have attained his zenith at about forty,
and Mo!iere at this time of his life was
most effective. "Othello'' and Tor
tuffe'' We're The creations of their authors
early forties. Chaucer wrote from forty
five 10 seventy. Humboldt conceived his
. Cosmos at seventy and did not finish
IL till he was ninety. The historians all
gathered their greatest strength in the
afternoon OF their years. Bancroft was
busy at seveniy-four: Carlyle wrote his
histories last. as did Hazlitt, Tom Moore,
and Hume. Guizot was at an unfinished
history OF Spain when he died, over eighty.
Chatteiton died young, after writing
eXquisitely in his teens. DeMaupassant's
hight went out at forty-one. Dickens be-
gan TO write when omparatiyely Young.
aud he wrote voluminously for thirty four
gears, up to the very hour OF his death,
leaying unfinished his ambitious Mystery
OF Edwin Brood" Many writers enjoyed
3 period OF rest before their death Emer-
eon broke his last dozen years of rest only
by an occasional contribution to periodi-
Gals. Tom Moore quit writing at fifty
slX, and died at seventy-three
Of our contemporaries, James Whitcomb |
Riley did not receive substantial recogni- !
ton tlilhe was nearly forty, and on the other |
hand, Stephen Crane is famous at twenty. |
i've Howells is vigorous, though past |
meridian; however, the same intellectual |
integrity is not conceded his work that ami. |
mated his earlier productions Eugene |
Field was appreciated 10y q small circle |
before death; how his poems ard stories |
lave achieved wonderful vogue. Walt
Whitman was a patriarch before he be-
anne a recognized poet
IoBART CHATFIELD DITTO TAYLOR
- of literary Chicaco haS ro,u-,,o5