Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-08-03

horJi IA his own country in Mr..
Nnufelils case. The glimpse which
he gives In The Crisis of the German
colony Of st. Louis Is something new In
our literature. Americans with kind
OF national feeling lump their German
fellow citizens together In speaking or
writing of them. With keen discern
ment Mr. Churchill has drawn a Pic
ture OF the life aud devotion Of the mel,
who fought for the Union because IL
represented TO them the struggle
against q class tyranny which hau
driven them into exile. Down there il,
the German suburb were 10 be found
gentlemen and scholars men OF whom
Germany should have been nroud but
whom she drove harshly from her from.
tier. This Is but one of the phases of
manifold American life that are 10 be-.
found In The Crisis but II is an i'm
pOrtant one-a tribute TO German
Americans such as no American
novelist has yet offered.
That is an interesting story coming
from SaXony Of one Ludwig, a tailor,
living and dying humbly at Chemnitz,
who claimed TO be the son Of the Eaglet,
and therefore the grandson Of Napole-
on. A few papers In his possession con-
iirmed rather than refuted the truth
of this wonderful claim, though the alb
solute proofs have yet TO be produced.
But a tailor'-in two generations the
Napoleonlc force reduced to the driving
of a needle through the small-clothes OF
Saxony villagersl Even Lord Rose
bery's Napoleon: the Last Phase" took
no cognlzance of possible tailor at the
end II is true that Gilbert Parker has
rather beautfied the profession per Sc.
by making a tailor OF one of the most
virile and unforgettable figures Of cur
rent fiction-Charley Steele in 1.-THE
Right of Way" now being concluded in
Harper's Magazine
Mr., VIII n. Harben's "Westerfelt,"
published simultaneously in London
with its appearance here a few weeks
ago, Is meeting with keen appreciation
in England, and recalls the fact that
when his stories entitled Northern
Georgia Sketches" were published on
the other side the book evoked letter
from Mr.. Frank Harris, at that time
editor OF the London Saturday Review,
The letter contained a very Characters
tic comment on American and English
literary appreciation, which IS well
worth quoting. 1T is altogether a
notable book" wrote by Mr. Harris.
Not a weak or poor story in 1t. | do
not agree with you that tastes differ
greatly between your people and mine,
Appreciation of good work Of any sort
is most rare on both sides OF the Attain
tic" While this is true, II seems per-
tinent 10 add that appreciation Of all
good thinrs. whether American or Eng
lish, Is more general on the american
side OF the Atlantic. Compare. for in
stance the large number Of English au-
thors, with or without dialect, who are
read and enjoyed in America. with the
few American authors who have any
general vogue In England The latter
can be counted very readily. and they
are usually men or women who depict
what the English are pleased TO con-
slider typical American life. Bret Harte
and Mary r, wilkins. for instance are
always welcomed by English readers
Miss wilkins "Understudies' has met
with n cordial reception on British soil,
and now II appears that Mr., Harben's
'Westerfelt" which Is rich in the "pirit
OF rural Georgia life, Is also finding
favor in the eyes Of the English public.
So II would seem that, with less preju-
dice and broader sympathy the Ameri-
can reading public Is capable OF more
generous and general appreciation OF
good books without respect Of race or
persons. than are our English cousins.
An elderly. blind white horse used 10
furnish the power that drove some OF
the presses at Harper e Brothers In the
early S0's Of the last century. In those
days publishers, like the rest Of the
world, were not so much in hurry as
they are now. The old horse was hui
namely chosen for his blindness, as his
work was 20 be performed In a cellar;
and there he spent the remainder Of his
life and died an honored member Of the
firm. The pressmen Of those placid
days would gaze in bewilderment az the
modern machinery OF large publishing
house, with its electrical appliances and
Its tremendous productive capacity.
That the author OF "vesty Of the
Basins" has not lost her grip on Amer
lean readers is evidenced by the con-
tinued interest I'm this book, Of which
a leading contemporary wrote the other
day. mo book OF American life and
character study 81 this decade merits
new editions more than 'Vesty N the
Basins" II Is one Of those inimiiable
studies Of human nature TO be found on
Wild lrAITIl