The times., 1898-05-29
"PeneIope,s Progress.o

appeared In book form In other words
Penelope has ceased to progress, and now
stands still to undergo inspection. She is
arrayed in a cover of Scotch plaid, which
reminds one Of certain gay articles in the
way Of blouses which have lately been in
vogue. II may be one OF the Scotch tar
tans, but We are not informed which one.
And from cover TO cover the book is
orenched with Scotch mist as a drowned
kitten with water. The writer thinks in
Scotch dialect and converses in sentiment
which may be Scotch and may be some
thing else, but is assuredly most senti-
mental.
j is almost impossible 10 take this book
seriously. even as a work Of humor 1t
IS mixture OF history, emotion and hys-
terical amusement, all three rather weak
than otherwise. If 1t Is the Scotch eli
mate which is the matter with the author
and she seems TO wish Us TO believe that
It is-then she should be solemnIy advised
10 go somewhere else. The Scotch eli
mate IS not good for her literary health.
There is a saying in the New Testament
about putting new wine into old bottles
1t may be equally dangerous to put the
old and rich wine Of Scottish tradition.
Scottish history, and, above all, Scottish
dialect into bottles too new 70 form
suitable environment If the bottles do
not object, the wine has reason to feel
insulted. The land Of Burns. Of Scott and
OF the Bruce has q right 10 be treated
with respect, If not with solemnity. To
subject 1t TO the treatment which il re-
he old TD..v fs.r.
oious Francesca, and the companion of
uncertain age, Salemiua, is a good deal
IKE pasting an advertisement for some
bouS chewing gum on Arthur's Seat and
greeting Ben Lomond with that historic
remark made by q creature in petucoats
VINO came from the rural districts 10 gaze
On The Congressional Library and looked
oA eIlat DeautlIul structure with the very
audible comment, "Ain't il cuter'
The book is, briefly. a history of tba
movements OF three ladies of uncertain
s6e IN Edinburgh and in a remote Scotch
village oenominated Pettybaw. where tba,,
are attended by sundry masculine az
taches, who, in SQuashYiIe L. S. A
would be called beaus One Of these
beaus is attached TO the mature bur
gushing Penelope and rejoices In the
sSeetiy poetic and also foolish name Of
Nilne. A grown man who knowingly
Nor ne Is married 10 Penelope IN the last
chapter, and hence acquired the right to
look over the proofs allows himself 10
De presented 10 an intelligent public for
20 pages Of small print under the name
OF Willie, deserves to wear a pinafore. and
have his hair parted in the middle and
curled. a name like that is very well in
the privacy Of the domestic circle. bur nor
In public-and there is nothing much more
public than book in these days Of uni
Yersal education. a hundred years ago.
IN Scotland, q man could be called Willie
and respect hinself-there was one, Will
lam Dunbar. whom Burns delighted TO
address as 'Rattlin Roarin,' Willie He
was a poet, but he never presented him
self 70 the world under the name of
Willie Dunbar, much less allowed his wife
70 write book about him and call him
that on every page, sometimes twice a
page. He was also a Scot, and inherited
q right 10 call himself Willie Mr.. Beres
ford, the betrothed of Penelope, is an
American, and receives the title Of Willie
because his betrothed wishes TO have
him match her Scotch parlor.
The attempt Of the redoubtable Pene-
.ope 10 make her language also match
her surroundings IS not much more happy
n It's effect When We read a novel by
William Black. or George Macdonald. or
e poem by Burns. or a letter Of Mrs. Car
lyle, and find therein a reference 10 Our
wee theekit boosie." Il is all very delight
ful and interesting, but when a Yankee
story writer lugs the phrase in for deco
Tative purposes Il IS not 50 delightful. II
reminds one Of an Ouendorf's grammar.
and two young people struggling to in
troduce quite naturally and easily those +
peculiar sentiments about your Wifes
father having some pens, some ink and 4
some paper, and your second cousins 4
shoemaker having Of the mustard All 1
OF this is piquant IN the extreme when .
neither OF the parties conversing can ev- f
er have wife. because they are both
girls Mark Twain would have all sorts
of fun with the household at Pettybaw,
with its laborious efforts to use always
the Scotch name for things, so as 10 ac-
Quire the local flavor Why, friend you
can acquire more local flavor by going out 4
end wandering about the country, and /
listening 10 the characteristic noises Of 4
the neighborhood. with your own good 1
Yankee ears. and taking IN impressions
with your own Yankee brain, than by all /
the posing and phrase-making that you 4
may do from now till dOomsday. The hard /
est work IN the world viii never make /
an American brain into a Scotch brain, /
nor is Il desirable to do so. The very es-
Eence Of the delight Of travel is the
change 1t affords from the sights and
sounds TO which one is used al home. And
only a Scotch brain can ever use Scotch
dialect, especially in a novel, in really
effective and artistic way.
Another peculiar feature Of this ultra
feminine book is the prominence which IS
given TO that everlasting tribulation of
modern womankind-trouble with SER
wants Why, one may ask, should a book
Of travels in Scotland be saturated with
the flavor OF Jane This and Susan That? It
Is Ike getting the aroma of croquette 4
frying in the drawing-room or the libra I
~. But Mrs. WigEin seems 20 consider II
necessary, for some reason or other, TO
drag in this perennial grievance, prob
ably for the same reason that some ladies
II ostensible Intelligence persist in think
Ing that their visitors must be more inter
asted In the war IN the kitchen than in
the Spanish-American conflict. OF course.
an incompetent servant is q nuisance. and
80 IS underd0ne bread. and one is usually
The cause Of the other: but a person with
brains should have more brains than to
make the qualities of either the subject
1f parlor conversation. In the land of
heather and Scotch mist, Of glens and
ochs, Of infinite history who. except the
people Immediately concerned. cares for
-he laZiness and ill-temper of a kitchen
maid? Why should an author. even when
she is writing for a feminine audience.
-hlnk that her readers want TO know
about the temperament and personal his
-ory Of the woman who waited on her ia
Die and made things unpleasant for the
whole household between meals? There
are people who go abroad and STAY for
years, and all they can talk about when
hey come home Is the kind of hoard
hey found at different hotels. The pres
mt author may not be one of these peo-
Die, but she has symptoms of their dis
.ase.
The book, in short has one tremen-
Ions Safec+-if anvfhfre aho,,+ 4, 90, t