The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-06-23
STORIES OF LOVE AND WAR

VI not COLONEL POSSESSIONS HAOAAASCS "
have an important effect on the propa-
cation of homegrown love themes and
effects for light novels Of the romantic
sort. The American novel-maker has
long been seriously handicapped by GER
tain decided advantages enjoyed by his
English rival The ingenious writer on
this side has never been able to find an
adequate substitute for the English
house party a. the magnificent country
estate" AN English story without a few
chapters devoted to the house party
was as incomplete as a New England din
ner without pie. Then there was the
season in London" and the bit OF good
hunting" or a turn of lively shooting
over Lord buffers moor, for variety and
filling. And in addition 10 this THERE was
one old STANDBY that was vital to every
story. 1t helped TO work out every stu
alton and more often than not was the
real point of the story.
How often have we read that 'FIar-
| old Oncebroke, with his hair little thin
over the temples and tinged with gray,
and the fine lines about his mouth grow
ing palmer, and the markings Of tropical
suns on hts not now SO boyish face, yet
still erect and elastic. with a twinkle In
his BLUE eye and a touch of his youthful
spirits, which ten years in the Indian
colonial service could not take from him,
bowed pleasantly oo-Mrs. =" etc. Even
more often have we watched HEgbert
Gordon sadly turn his eyes from the dis
tant shore as the P & o. liner Carried him
to Calcutta, where he was 10 remain 10
I'D
any has Oswald clasped Esmeralda 20
his bosom. knowing that on the morrow
he would be on his way TO the sunJbaked
Indian plains and MS beloved would be
alone with the guardian who wanted her
TO marry the wealthy Duke of Oldcastle."
The hot English colonies have been a.
sort OF purgatory to the English story
tellers for a half-century or more. The
handsomest and curliest headed men Of
the country have been sent there 10 broiI
ana bake, while their best girls have re-
manned at home to marry other fellows
This literary habit has been the cause Of
many deaths and divorces, for seldom
would the exigencies of romance keep the
man who came from India away from
---0 o'-~' NCAAIObONJ AAeN ~ Vic VI luSI z
must be divorce. Young sons who were
always, apparently, beset with the hottest
kind of love. had to be sent there TO re-
cover. Agood many times they would fall
in love with ablonde widow who would be
given three or four chapters, including
the next to the last, in making the neces-
sary trouble for the story. Thos P. G. o.
boats were great places for falling in love
with widows.
The infinite variety of the phases OF
this ''hot colonial features of English
love stories has entertained us in our
romantic movements. The American
story-teller knew it, and often located his
yarn across the sea, when, with the pride
of birth in his heart. he would have pre-
ferred a homegrown plot. But he knew
that house party at an American coun-
try place is as stiff as the man in the
silk hat carrying cane, who is always to
be sen in the foreground of architectural
drawings of country places. Sometimes
the man has a dog in front of him, but
that does not relieve the scene of its stiff
ness. The American has parlor cars and
MORE rich girls, but when it came TO a
showdown he could not do without some
hot place to send his heroes. He has
there was always something missing.
Now, If you please, we are to have the
Philippines, Porto Rico and Cuba. Homo
lulu may also be put to certain mild uses,
but it is almost TO pleasant there TO bake
a hero well. The other places will offer
quite an assortment to the novel makers.
n = &c too arlx- For ha
suits to begin to show The syndicate
writer's and the magazine grubberrs have
not yet had a chance 10 supply the nee
essary local material. The novelist can
nol afford to ship his hero 10 any of these
places and leave him there with no life
of daily circumstance. He must have
servant do business with local officials,
participate in the feast days, be on the
streets smoking a cigarette in the even
ings, eat and drink things, sleep some
where and occasionally be little sporty.
1t will take time for the novelists to be
able to accomplish all this.
1t is gratifying TO know that we have
acquired such varied assortment OF hot
places for romantic purposes allat once.
The Philippines can be used for the maya
zine stores IndI run lOI a "AlOAC SSaA'
with a throb of expectancy in the last
paragraph OF every number, while Cuba
kill serve for the short and quick 2Oy10
newspapers. BY common consent OF the
literary folk. Porto Rico will doubtless be
reserved for the Ladies Home Journal
everything will be so mild, inoffensive
and unpasionate there. It is said that
the inclination TO drink there IS very
slight. It is to be hoped that the writers
with brandy drinking characters viii use
Manila. Honolulu, and available Cuban
ports and leave Porto Rico for those who
work for Mr.. Box.
The out-crop Of postwar literature will
probably be immense. Even the writers
for the daily newspapers can hardly re-
strain themselves. Every time one or
the participants in the war gets his name