The age-herald., 1898-08-14

and yet with equal truth Swift once said that a perpetual aiming at wit is very bad part of conversation and is done to support character. John Kendrick Bangs comes perilously near making this latter observation applicable to him. In his earlier very delightful books his wit and humor had a spontaniety and verse that seems to a great extent lost in his later works. Perhaps it is difficult to sustain ones reputation for "humor" and in the absence of new ideas he allows himself to work successful theme until it is pos itively threadbare and refuses to cause even the shadow of smile on the part of the reader. Mir Bangs has given thous- ands of readers many happy and light hearted hours of freedom from care by his clever books which they might not otherwise have enjoyed; but in his later books has to read an almost endless amount before being repaid by the wit and sparkle that used to adorn almost every sentence.
 In his last published work "Ghosts Have Met and Some Others" MT. Bangs tinges his hunior with numerous pungent stabs at critics and publishers. They i'm press the reader with the idea that MT. Bangs takes this opportunity which is very naturally all his own, to emit few per sonalities and opinions, also his own. It accords, however, very poorly with the subject of Ghosts and interferes very materially with the innocent enjoyment one might otherwise obtain from ms sto- ries This is a grave mistake on MT Bangs part The VeriSimilitude of his narratives is quite plain and matter-of-fact, which excludes all suspicion of the unnatural from his readers mind. Consequently this is one of the authors strongest points, though the effect is marred by some sudden thrust at a critic recalling us, however unwillingly, to the things of this mundane sphere about us. For instance, the follow ing will serve as an example:
 q was being haunted, and the physical repugnance of which 1 have spoken was on The cold shiver, the invariable ac- compartment of the ghostly visitant, had come, and assure you l never was so glad of anything in my life. It has always been said of me by my critics that l am raw; I was afraid that after that night they would say that l was half baked, and I would far rather be the one than the other; and it was the awful thing that saved me-" That spoiled this story. Here is another which spoiled very good ghost story but we forgive that offense because of it's fanciful humor. Tt may occur to some hypocritical person to sug- gest that the English language has re quently been murdered in my den, and that it is it's horrid course which is playing havoc at my home, crying out to heaven and Haunting it's bloody wounds in the face of my conscience, but can pass such
 
 silence; for even if it were true it could not be set down as wlful assassination on my part, since sane person who needs a language as much as I do would ever in cold blood kill any one of the many that lie about us. Furthermore, the English language is not dead. It is still encoun- tered with sufficient frequency in the works of Henry James and Miss Libby to prove that it still lives.'
 
 Then here is a thrust from the middle of another ghost story which proves that somebody has been talking ugly about MT. Bangs and led this popular young author to feel that he has a real grievance to avenge. q have a mission in life which l hold as sacred as my good friend MT. Howells holds his. Such phases of life as see I put down faithfully, and if the Fates in their wisdom have chosen to make of me the Balzac of the supernatural the Shakespeare of the midnight visitation, while elevating MT. Howells to the high office of the Fielding of Massachusetts and it's adjacent states, the Smollett of Boston and the Sterne of Altruria, I can only re- gret that the powers have dealt more gra- ciously with him than with me and walk my little way as gracefully as know how. The slings and arrows of outrageous for tune I am prepared to suffer in all meek ness of spirit; I accept them because 1t seems to me to be nobler in the mind so to do rather than by opposing to end them" One percieves by this that at least MT Bangs is impervious to all such unkind attacks Fortunately MT. Bangs has his little say on these matters and then de- votes himself unreservedly to the subject in hand-that of "GhoSts.
 PAUL PRY.