The age-herald., 1897-10-10
THE BOOK CORNER.


 ary work and by ffts mate deI1caey of thought and anItultive perception has been enabled to formulate those finer feelings into words In am article in the anniversary number eff the Atlantic Monthly he discusses and expouDds his Theory under the title Two Principles in Recent American Fiction" If one is m discriminating reader ard has read with due amount of attenton the finer 1iteIay productions of the last twenty five or thirty years he wiM readily agree with Mn. Aliens too a priori principles. There is great dead An this article that seems beyond my entire appreciation and ready understanding of the subject matter in hand, but this mu,h is very plain and coancides with my own per- sonal views and observations. First, he says there reached our ficticm-some Thirty years ago-a creative movemc-,t that must be known in the art of the world as the feminids principle. Wher- ever this feminine principle has made its appearance as living influence in liv- ing literature it has had three marked characteristics, and they are refinement, delieacy. grace. From the direct or in- direct effect of this principle MT. Allen claims the widespread dsvelopmerit among us of the purely artistic apprecia- tion of literalture-the polishing and adornment of the Gittls things of life, little ideas lttle emotions, little states of mind and shades of feeling. Still, while 1t remains an active tendency in onle part of our fiction, the probability is Ithat it has described its path, and has closed it's orbit. Meantime, the author says a nov city has made it's appearance among us, and the curiosity, the enthusiasm and the faith of the nation sbard ready to be transferred to it. This stranger, this new favorfte, approaches us under the gulise of what is known in the art of the world as the masculine principle The characteristics of this new force arc viriMty as opposed to refinement, strength as opposed to delEcacy, massive mess as opposed to grace.
 In the light of these suggestions it be- comes an interesting thing to contem- plate some of the laltter-day works of fiction. Cam amy one read 1.-The Chris tian'' and fail to appreciate the relation of John Storm to the work ard the pre- ponderance of his masculine personality? Take a long stride in the gamut of your probable literary consumption, away up in New Elngland, and note Miss Wilkins latest story Jerome, a Poor Man." I take these two as examples because they are prominent ones and fully Illustrate the point. There are many traits in common between John Storm and Je- rome and the entire characterization or each is not dissimiar. However, it does seem to me that i'm following out the masculine principle the danger is of run ming into extremes eff vi1ility, and that the clements of manhood are more strongly emphasized in ant than entire truthfulness to life would justify. Does any man in read life take one strong trait of his character and ideaEze it and allow every other relati in his life to become sllbssnvient to it? Certainly there are dominant characteristics in a persons makeup, but is it net the ex- ception rather than the rule that one point holds such mastery over the entire man as to make him inflexible TO his own hsprfness or the happiness of those de- pendent upon him? I know full we'll that "tempers strain and recover hearts break and heal strength falters, fails, and comes near to giving away aij.o gether, without being noticed by the closest lookers-on," and may be it is alorie in books that we are permitted to observe and learn the delicate psycho- logical workings of the human life.
 In Jerome pride IS the overwhelmingly dominant trait--can anyone say that goodly amount of pride is commend able possession?-yet in Jerome it b. comes mere priggishness He makes a fetish of an idea and uhnn tries to fit all the divnest. impuls5s and emotions of his nature to its procrustean measure! There is such thing possible as making a man so good that we fail to recognize him as a real, living human being in fact, Jerome" is so excessively good that he actually sins from excess of holi- ness. By the Lord Harry" said Squire Merritt, The shall swallow his damned pride befona he gives my girl an anxious hour. but in truth it took oyer 800 pages of finely printed temp tations, trials and troubles before it could be accomplished, and poor little Lucina not only suffered one hour, but months of distress until her cheeks grew pale and her eyes lost their wonted brightness.
 We ane given our first insight into the proud nature of little Jerome when as a poorly-clad, dll-fed little fellow we find him in his sunny nook b=neath the rocky ledge, spurning Lucina's gentle proffer of gingerbread with the angry retort: "Ain't hungry; have all want at home
 His character is simple and genuine in its fundamental traits and when rz- spons.bility lays its heavy burden upon him, we watch the development of his generous nature with compleitest sympa- thy; yet, heis often so warped by harsh and repressing conditions as to provoke our livliest anxieties. Chill penury has, almost of necessity a narrowing influence upon a persons life, and yet in the case of Jerome, tho he labored with ceaseless crushing toll, generosity was one of his noblest traits of character.
 The reader naturally becomes intense