The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-07-15
In the July issue of the international
Monthly" William ". Payne thus discusses

| lntFc are rev Americans WHO have pursued lit
| erary crsticism with sufficient singleness of aim
to achieve results of definite and commanding sig
nihcance Our foremost living critic is also a
| poet, and at the same time busy OF affairs.
The whom most honor in the past was at
once critic, poet, teacher, diplomat and spokes.
man Of the higher patriotism Some are critics
| by way Of diversion from their true function as
writers Of fiction. Some bend their talents to
the eNlgencies of louTna ism, and rarely find an
opportunity to do the best that is in them. Some
bound TO the routine tash OF teaching, are forced
to compromise with conscience for the ever post
pened magnum opus by putting forth their con-
clusions in occasional fraGments-the chips OF tine
workshop rather than the finished cabinet. For
these reasons and Others. the type prevailing
| among our men of letters is that of the general
practitioner rather than tina: of the high special
lied authority. or. il we find the latter. his spe
cialty Is apt 10 be so narrow that he makes no
appeal to the general audience OF cultivated
readers. The particularly unfortunate consequence
OF this condition of things is tina, almost any
writer Of moderate intelligence may set up as 4
critic, without fear of too close examination OF
his credentials. sustained by that over-weening
confidence in the value of his own opinions which
is the chief intellectual vice of men who have
brcathed from their birth the ozonized air OF
democracy.
THE Damnation OF Theron Ware" by
Harold Frederic. is being dramatized by
the author of Way Down East" which had
success during the past winter.
Unaffected BY the fact that the extreme
devotees Of Christian science have placed
THE Seekers in their index expurgato-
RUS, Stanley Waterloo has written new
chapter for the second edition OF the work
in which with undated vigor are dis
cussed at length the striking features of
this and kindred religions as looked upon
by outsiders.
At the beginning of next year. the
"Bookman" will begin the publication OF
series of illustrated articles dealing with
the Great Newspapers of the United
States. The series on the great news
papers Of Continental Europe. which ap-
peared during the first seven months of
1900, aroused considerable interest, but
necessarily appealed strongly only to those
American readers who had some knowledge
of the press of foreign countries On this
account, the papers were limited in scope
and interest.
A glance at the following scheme will
convey some idea OF the significance OF
the articles:
/. The New York Newspapers Morning
2. The New York Ncwspapcrs-rhe Morning
Papers (2).
3. The New York Newspapcrs-Th Evening
Papets.
4. The Boston Newspapers.
S. The Philadelphia and Baltimore Newspapers
O. The Newspapers of the National Capital.
z. The Newspapers of the South and the ANTI
Bellum Press.
g. The Chicago Newspapers.
0. The Newspapers of the Middle West
10. The Newspapers of the Pacific Slope.
There is OF course. considerable Curl
osity on the part of the general reading
public to know how this great newspaper,
or that. is made. 1t Is the purpose OF
these articles to tell. SO far as possible,
how each part OF the readers favori,e
newspaper is secured and handled: how
this particular journal or that came TO
print. long before its rival, some great
item of pASA