The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-07-14
zANGNILL AT HOME
uLUsTRIOUs AUTHOR AND DRAMA
list NOT WHOLLY FRIENDLY
TO AMERICA
SAYS HE HAS BEEN vILLIFIED
Lives IN Dainty Little House in st.
Johns Wood, ANA Has Ideas
Of His own About Lit
crGry work.

end dramatzer of the Children of the
Ghetto still cherishes a certain bitter
ness says writer in the New York
Hlnes' leave it to the so-called dra-
matte critics Of New York to decide
whether the bitterness is justified.
IT have been villihed and misrepre-
scented in the most liberal manner in
print he remarked. in the intervals OF
poIlng the IRE as a relief to his feelings,
'bet ] never take the trouble to con-
tradlct anything that is said about me.
no matter how delightfully."- Inaccurate 1t
may be; l find in the end it pays better
70 let 1t run its invidious course. Here
is luminous example. In my last book,
The Mantle Of Elijah, I spoke of one
of the characters wearing a toque, and
for this I was severely taken to task py
a certain lady writer, on the ground that
toques belonged to much later period
Wen, here is the result; this was sent
10 me this morning" and the speaker
handed me clipping in which the writer
IN question publicly acknowledged the
injustice of her charge Of an anacaro-
nism in the matter of the toque. The
article was from one of the press-clipping
bureaus of London.
Mr. Zangwill is an odd mixture. but
even his enemies must admit, l think
that he is interesting. AS l intend to
speak my unadOrned opinion, let me be-
gin by saying that I like him. To be
sure, this was not the state of my feel
Ing toward him at one point of our con-
Versation, when he INDUCED in rather too
much faultfnding with America l
thought, for good taste; but, after ALL
It is ones final opinion of man that
counts; and Furthermore, there is slight
doubt that he has on occasion received
shabby treatment from some of the
knights Of the pen in New York.
But surely what you say about Amer
lean journalism I objected, patriotical-
~, would not apply to tht best papers
of New York, such as" and | mentioned
an important daily that would be sur
prised to hear anything said either
against its good morals or good man
ners
1T wouldn't apply in that case you
think? Well, let me undeceive you. When
The Children of the Ghetto was pro-
duced in New York the paper you speak
OF came out with an article on the play
at the end of which it said: Mr.. Gang
will was called before the curtain. and
he appeared in a shirt that was fairly
white "
One is forced to admit that this is hot
criticism, despite desire to vindicate ones
cOUntrymCn.
Mir. Zangwill lives in a dainty little
house in a very quiet street in St. Johns
Wood, London. UP two flights of very
steep, straight stairs, in a pleasant little
room that is lined with books and lit
tered with literary debris in the way that
a boollmans room should be When I en-
tered he was stirring the fire, his back
toward the door. and did not turn around
to receive me.
Come in" he said. Take seat It
foggy out, ant it?' His voice ana hands
are distinctly literary. The beauty of his
voice made me forgive the uncompromis-
ing, mfriendlY back. 1t was evident that
I had here TO deal with a reluctant, rest
terVieWCG, and who intended to curl him
SELF up ike an armadillO. On such &C
Casious the most useful art, I should
think, SIS that of mCsmerism. In lieu of
the mCsmeric art. however the best thing
is UnrUli ed good nature and strict adj
lor.uce 30 iuuoCuous generalities. The
foo, T thought might safely be reckOncd
in tls category, but my host Unreasona- !
bly, desired TO know the object Of my
visit, which he had not succeeded in gath
er.ng from my letter of Introduction. L
Reluctantly explained what I had come
for.
.Humph." he muttered you can get
all Of that much better out of the book
edited by Jerome, called My First Book
Besides. one gets tired OF going over the
same old story again and again.
I was OF the same opinion ON hearing
the reference to Jeromes book, which
has been cited to me by every writer Of
note in England and Germany, in the
latter of which countries the idea Of col
lectng the autobiographic story of liter
AIRY beginnings was first conceived by
the novelist, FRANCIS, and then appro-
priated by Jerome,
"WolL I am quite Indifferent to the
turn the conversation may take"
said; "an desire is to have a short con-
versauon with you, if you can spare the
time say, for ten or fifteen minutes"
This struck Mr. ZangwiN as reasonable,
and we sat down before the fire to make
conversation for q quarter of an hour,
but ended up by chatting most amicably
for two hours and a half
Mr.. Zangwill likes to talk, but since he
talks well and incites ones Imagination
and since he gives his interlocutor lib
eral chance, the lost art of conversation
may he found again in his presence. /
Moreover, he has the poetic type of mind
which gives color to his thoughts, and
which would entitle him to use Zola's
phrase with more Justification than its
Criginator-"moi qui parle en- -poete.'
81 was dining enc day with lola and
Henry James," he said, during Zolas
stay in England, and for an hour and
half he mOnOpOliZcd the conversation.
After his departure the only remark
James made was: And in Paris Zola
passes for a silent man. "
After coming from the continent, Mr..
Zangwill," I said, 'the English and Amer
lean novels strike me as very thin, made
up, not the real thing. How do you feel
about it?"
"I agree with you; can't read mod
ern English novels; they bore me; they
are not vital, not essential. Anthony
Hopes last book 'Quisante however
IS a fine piece of work. 1t makes one
think that he may, perhaps, be the big
man Of the future 1t is quite unlike his
former work"
Have you read Mr. Howells article in
the North American Review" I asked
lin which he condemns the historical
novel mainly on the ground that it fos-
ters the war spirit by depicting wars and
tournaments?"
mo, I have not read 1t; but that is the
trouble with historical novel writer's
they forget that there was anything In
HE past save fighting and tournaments
and pageantry. AS a matter OF fact
there were plenty of other sides of hfe
just as there are today"
Eyes, but can one possibly succeed in
demonstrating the past doesn't it al
ways remain a hot-house1ower, not worth
The trouble it has cost?"
mo, I think by the aid of the imagin-
alton and thorough study-and I never
write a book without such study-it is
cutie possible to revivify g certain pc
Rod Besides, as a matter of fact none
OF the centuries are dead; it is possible
to find any one of them in bloom right
here in England today. And 1t is worth
while writing historical novels if ONLY
for the sake of showing that human ma
ture is not always the same in all CEN