The courier. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1894-1903, 1899-04-08
THE COURIER.

was a steady, hard working shift boss
OF the mine. Every other Sunday be
became an irresponsible animal, a beast
a brute. crazed with alcohol. Hie
mother cooked for the miners. Hcr one
ambition was that her son should enter
profession. He was apprenticed to a
travelling quack dentist and after q
fashion, learned the business.
"Then one day at San Francisco had
come the news OF his mothers death
she had left him some money-not
much, but enough to set him up in bust.
ness; 30 he had cut loose from the char
latan and had opened his Dental Par
lors' on Polk street, an "accommoda.
ton street. OF small shops in the resi-
dence quarter of the town. Here he
had slowly collected a clientele Of
butcher boys, chop girls, drug clerks
and car conductors. He made but few
acquaintance. Polk street called him
the doctor and spoke Of his enormous
strength. For McTeague was a young
giant, carrying his huge shock Of blonde
hair six feet three inches from the
ground: moving bis immense limbs, heavy
with ropes OF muscle, slowly, ponderous-
ly. His hands we're enormous, red, and
covered with fell OF stiff yellow hair;
they were as hard as wooden mallets,
strong as vices, the hands OF the ole.
time car boy. Often be dispensed with
forceps and extracted a refractory tooth
with his thumb and fioger. His head
was s4uare-cut. angular; the jaw salient:
like that Of the carnivora.
but for one thing McTeague would
have been perfectly contented. just
outside his window was his signboard-
q modest atfair-that read: Doctor
McTeague. Dental Parlors. Gas Given;"
but that was all. 1t was his ambition,
his dream. to have projecting from that
corner window huge gllded tooth. a
moIar with enormous prongs, something
gorgeous and attractive. He would have
it some day, but as yet it was far beyond
Then Mr.. Norris launches into a de-
scription OF tie street in which INC.
Tesgue lives. He presents that street
as it is on Sunday, as it is on working
days; as it is in the early dawn when the
workmen are going out with pickaxes
on their shoulders, as it is at ten o'clock
when the women are out purchasing
from the small shopkeers, as it ia at
night when the shop girls are out with
the soda.fountain tenders and the motor
cars dash by full Of theatre-goers and
the Salvationists sing before the saloon
on the corner. In four pages he repro.
duces the life in a by.street OF great
city. the little tragedy OF the small shop
keeper. There are many ways OF hand.
ling environment--mos OF them bad.
When young author has very little to
say and no story worth telling, he resorts
to environment. ltis frequently used to
disguise a weakness OF structure, az
ladies who paint landscapes put their
cows knee-deep in water TO conceal the
defective drawing Of the legs. But such
description as one meets throughout Mr..
Norris book is in itself convincing proof
Of power, imagination and literary skill.
1t is positive and active force, stimu-
lating the readers Imagination. giving
him an actual command, a realizing
sense OF this world into which he is
suddenly transplanted. 1t gives to the
book perspective, atmosphere. effects of
time and distance, creates the illusion of
life. This power u mature. and accur.
ate and comprehensive description is
very unusual among the younger Ameri-
can writer's. Most OF them observe the
world through tempe rament, and are
more occupied with their medium than
the objects they see. And TEN permanent is