The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-02-19
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49,, IN be lazy and indifferent. We
we arc 40 not sleep. We guard ourselves
erans' in ANYTHING which will leopard
Ike 70 o"h' ,hc stsrch in our collars. In the
cur action this Is especially true. We
naV', va N fiction as a sedativo. We have
nav, ~onrdently Just before going to bed. we
feau -, rercrnlIy with abundant reason. that
he' nav ,,eop upon IL. or course there
We S.on exceptional and aRitating oe-
nave Mr. uowells and tho theoretical
eurI..Ns prof Roycson could not be expected
epH.,o obsolutcly the habit OF tho whole
49, 10 world. MI. A. G. Guntcr has managed
s' his natural inclination In spite OF all
70" ,.oor,es. He has moved his Irish Fusi-
!N'.Ln, m, Rhine and tho Mosclle, and has
.4s.,a,od tho yipcyard of Germany with thom.
80. ,houvh the theory OF measured and re-
1s"'t.od artion had never been invented. Prof.
al-..on himself used to burst through the In
N,.,o nrotection OF his W rules and
s~sa.o action that very much resemblcd
- =, svlyanus Cobb, Jr. Even MIR. Howells
-, bcen ~fanciful and romantic In q
- nj autobiography. II may be that Mr..
n r M Leon hos not been at the trouble to ac-
.r.,nt himself with the principles OF realism,
y. Tho, beinr acquainted with them, he delib-
...,olv sets them at defiance. One can never
~, hocarse ignorance and temerity have pro-
.I..,v Tho samo aspect. Take tho untram.
.,,,sa fancy of the novolist's opening sentence.
a. ,,vr.seemipg sun broke rather sullcnly
.hroueh the low clouds that dragged them
so,v.s along the distant peaks; his gold.
.I,,.d iavelins scarce piercing their density,
MI here and there CHANGING away. shattered
,,to splinters Of fire." No realist would
yenturs upon an opening of this sort, and
a 4, a question II in the hands Of anybody its
hIub mitch could DO satisfactorily sustained.
mr.. Dc Leon probably does as well as anybody
,ould do in the circumstances He goes on
about the aspects OF nature under the mcteoro-
TACTICAL conditions. Far away-so far that the
ave lost reckoning Of shape-tall ridges broke in
updulstions Of dull and duller blue. finally
melting into unaccentuated SKYLINE, while
nearer the frowning cliffs broke down, abrupt
and massive as though in n grotesoue game OF
~i..p.frog, to the declivitous, black-green valley
twisting its way 1000 feet below By a moro
mr. less natural transition, and without fear.
the author descends from the sun and the
clouds to tho valley in question. Through 1t
,he black waters of Cheat River dragged in dis
tance-diminished windings that might have
seemed the wriggling Of some steel snake; its
banks fringed with willows that in this dim
daylight looked to DO but stunted grass from
the heights above. For sunrise had passed with
tthe cloud down on the mountains; its watery
mantle e~nfolding the peaks and sending misty
spray about the MISUNDERSTANDING storm.
But later thu denser masses had lifted slowly;
and now the long.waged war declared in favor
Of tho sun god, even while %grudging him de-
eisiye victory" This Is what used TO be called
ane writing, and 1t has the advantage
over the Government weather reports that
II concerns itself with the present and tho past
rather than with the future. Mr.. De Leon, who
IA writing a novel about life in Washington, goes
on: Here, there, everywhere along the dull
moving river and its crag-hidden feeders, the
mountain mist curled upward. Rising in steam
like columns for Q while. it broke away at last in
floating masses dense as carded wool, then
mingling with the lower clouds to lose itself in
their nebulous embrace-or streaming ~sullenly
along some crest, only to catch chance
gliding from the jagged beams Of a
B~plintered sun ray" A particular crest
at this point engages the attention OF the
novelist: "Close inward, a steep and towering
crest reared frowning forehead above the
chasm, running back into a level. turfed plateau;
while In front massive slabs Of virgin granita
broke away in terraced layers. Rude, gigantic,
but strangely regular. these formed q nearly
perfect stairway. sheer overhanging the chasm,
and known by local christening as tho Devils
stairs.' One sees at once here the influence of
kusk!n, who conceived immortal impressions in
the Alps, and Of George Meredith. who has a
somewhat large and jumpy style. A person ap-
pears In this deliberate setting Of scene
~. And up these. as the sun shone
out fair. toiled q solitary man; advantaging
OF the rough and scarce seen path along their
side. and aiding ascent by grasp ON every bush
and twig In reach. Then. at the summit, he
paused for breath. lifting his travelling cap to
mop the beads Of exercise from his low, broad
iofehead.' The beads of exercise strikes US
as being particularly good. But what is the
man on the top Of the mountain forl To stop q
morse, OF course. No hero ever displayed him
sei upon o Southern mountain who was not
thsre FOR the purpose of stopping a horse. One
We remember whose fortune it was to stop q
mule but he had hoped for superior things.
nc stopped a mule only because q horse
was not forthcoming. In Mr.. De Icons story
the morse Is not denied. He races UP the noun
tam and Is detained upon the brink of the
De'hs stairs by the man who mopped the
y, ueAuso OF exercise from his low, broad forehead.
ine lady on the horse says to him: "Oh, sir,
Nv" can thank you T. and she marries him
ei'erward. This was no more than her duty.
II inc story indicates that he was rather
grateful. In the dialogue she says: 81 know
"ei what owe you. but l cannot find words TO
sa'H Don't try. miss" he replies, and Mr..
a. Leon ADDS that he answered lightly, strok-
lug the neck OF the horse and stretching
us own of leg. with a twinge that his smile
800. n ma A fat mental in the story is loved
se'o'ouiy oy a servant girl. She 10 "a plump.
sau'''a ana pretty girl. too, spite of q pronounced
lug nose and a large mouth that moved its full
! unison to a sparkling pair of black eyes,"
a sISreis an inebrIate also, who is overawcd by
enunaer storm that crashed against tho
ossea prov OF Cheat Mountain; then, rolling
A. Tue Devils Stairs, went growing along
'anes. VI course there are sharply
S,ula'c passages. as. for instances: "wlth
h,ns now Mr., Eusibeus Finch slipped be.
and - nearest tree. stumbling off unnoticed
hI.1Hn'hg ieebly." We believe that eyory.
49, h.As Is properly adjusted at the conclusion of
,to,a' Ofy. Loving hearts issue from eloquent
,oo,h" y doubt and misunderstanding and
4, aAo"selVes. This Is reasonable. II there
th.- sense at all in the Devils Stairs. It is that
Pen. .aouId be peace at tho bottom of them.