Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-07-13

Wnlle Maulde Ser0o, who ranks above
him as surely as George Eliot ranks
above Richard lie Galllenne. is strange
~ overlooked Here Is a
genuine literary Jewel, and it has been
tossed aside by people who have eager-
y picked up the glitterlng paste Of
D'AnnunZio."
Mary Catherine Crowley, the author
OF "A Daughter Of New France"
which Little. Brown & Co. have Just
published, has been actively engaged in
literary work for the past ten years.
she Is well known as a writer for the
young, and has also contributed TO
various magazines and syndicates
sometimes under her own name, some-
times under pseudonym.
Miss Crowley Is a native Of Boston.
and had the good fortune to be born of
scholarly stock. Her father, John c.
Crowley Is an alumnus of Harvard
University her mother Is a graduate of
the Sacred Heart Convent, Manhattan
yille-later the daughters alma mater.
with so favorable home and school
influences. large circle Of Travelled and
Dook-lOYing relatives, host Of family
| friends among the clergy, and In due
time, a broad and varied social life. her
| literary gift made rapid and symmetri-
| cal development.
In 1892 Miss Crowley went abroad,
visiting Rome, Paris, Dresden and 9TH
| er Old World cities. For the past eight
years she has lived In the West, a part
| Of the time at Detroit. She has Travelled
| IN Canada, and Is familiar with Quebec
and Montreal Thus among her ac-
| quaintances belonging to the old
| French-Canadlan families, and from
| the pages Of old memoirs and histories,
she gathered the material for the
groundwork Of this romance. "A
! Daughter Of New France" which oc-
/ CURED to her about 1894 It was be-
gun three or more years ago, laid aside
for other work, and finally taken up
and finished during the past Winter
Miss Crowley was for some years
| member OF the New England Woman's
| Press association, and OF the Woman's
Press Club Of New York City.
|
Having abandoned for the present the
burning question whether Mary Il. VIII
| klns is or Is not TO marry the gossips
| are telling another story about her
| Marion Crawford gave a reading in
| Brooklyn some time ago, and after II
was over the usual knot Of women adj
mirers gathered about to congratulate,
| and incidentally TO look him over at
| close range. One had Miss wilkins In
| tow, but when IL came her turn TO be
| introduced, being somewhat flustered, II
| Is to be presumed, by the near presence
of greatness, she presented the story
writer somewhat lamely She said:
And this is Miss wilkins, who
| writes"
Writes, eh?" said Crawford YEARLY.
having no idea who in the world the
! young woman was. That's good
that's good" and turned to the next in
line.
Mrs. Julia Ward Howe belongs TO the
grand Old woman" class. In spite Of
her years-she is over eighty-she not
| only takes a keen interest in all topics
| affecting Boston and the country in
| general, and the condition Of woman,
but she reads a little Greek every day,
for mental refreshment.
That the minor virtues may coexlst
| with a high order OF talent and with
the deepest gloom OF view, Is shown by
| Henrik Ibsen. the Norwegian dramatist.
| He Is as neat as possible, punctual as
| rled. He has certain fetishes, however.
On a tray on his desk are some tiny
carved figures-a wooden bear. cats.
| and rabbits. He is reported to have said
| that he never wrote without having
these neatly set out before him, and
| that II was impossible for him TO write
without their inspiration.
1t Is an Interesting commentary on
the effects Of a high civilization that
the Poles, whom the rest of Europe
probably does not regard as q highly
advanced nationality, are the only peO-
pie who have heaped enormous honor
on writer since the days of the
Renaissance. What England has now
and then done for man who has in
creased her territories and decreased
the fighting population of her foes. Po-
land has done for a mere writer IL
has given him a castle, and has filed
IL with rare and wonderful gifts. The
proudest Of the old Polish families have
made IL their greatest pride that
jewel from their caskets is set I'm "the
masters" pen. A jubilee such az the
highly cultured nations OF the farther
west reserve for the celebration of
slaughters was given 10 a man whose
battles are all In books. Altogether.
the SienklewicZ celebration leads one 10
believe that there is among the Poles
that disinterested and impersonal pas.
sion for art the lack Of which in more
businesslike communities has been so
much deplored. And even In Poland IL
was the more primitive passion OF
patriotism that helped TO arouse the
magnificent enthusiasm.
ma frtr
mad In so picturesque a way Is de-
scrlbed as the finest type OF the Polish
gentleman.
II is frequently said by Americans
with sigh Of discomfort, that we have
no literature Of our own, as distinct
from English literature. There Is a
certain flavor Of truth in the complaint;
and the fault. IL fault II can be called
often lies with our American writer's
who have a habit OF running away and
identifying themselves with the other
side OF the water
Henry James. whom some consider
the greatest OF all. is az the same time
the guiltiest OF ALL He has lived In
England for more than thirty years,
and In consequence knows little OF his
own country. The development OF So
cial life IN America Is exceedingly
rapid, and during the last three de-
cades we have become very sophisti-
Gated indeed. That Mr.. James does
not realize this Is evident from his
books.
Yet there Is nothing English about
Henry James. He writes OF English
people with critical understanding
that can only be the result Of an out-
sider's observation. OF his own people.
he writes with a critical something
certainly not understanding. Conse-
quently. he satisfies no one, except the
most highly civilized critics. The aver
age American Is hurt because he feels
that he Is misrepresented. The aver
age Englishman is hurt because he IL
too well represented-that Is, all his
pecullarities are recognized and repro
duced by man who has no national
feeling to blind him 20 defects.
BOOKS.