Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-06-19
Eunau annra 4ursdap an H. 1902

tent eyes away from. oh, mother!
whatever can | do without you, all
alone, all alone!"
| The little brother Larry" comforted
him as tenderly as mother, and gent
| ly led him home.
| From such a narrative, chockful Of
incident, it is hard to select, but one
more, concerning the author herself,
must suffice The story of her first APP
pearance in New York, as Anne Syl-
vester in Man and Wife The play
required a cheap costume-dress, over
skirt, shawl. shoes, veil and gloves
which left in her purse a balance of
$23S--har sole earthly fortune. on
which to support herself and' mother
until she received her first weeks sal
airy. Nor were poverty and obsc'ulty
the only handicaps. She was suffering
from an acute attack of pleurisy, and
the blunders of a drunken doctor had
only aggravated the case. But IN spite
of everything she won out and received
the rapturous applause of brilliant
audience.
$50 While the new actress name was
floating over many dainty restaurant
supper, it's owner sat beneath one gas
Jet, between mother and pet dog, eat
ing n large piece of bread and small
niece of cheese. and thankful for both,
she talked to her small circle of admir-
ers telling them all about it, and wind
| ing up by declaring: Mother, l believe
; hearts are just the same whether they
| beat against western ribs or eastern
ribs!'"
| Miss Morris is reaching out after
| fresh laurels in the literary field, having
| just completed a novel: THE Paste
board Crown" to be published soon by
Messrs. Scribner.
Booker T. Washington has out a new
| box from the press of Doubleday, Page
& Co, entitled "The Building of Char
| atcer." 1t comprises a series of his sun
| day evening talks to the students of
| Tuskegee, and is said to be the best lit
erary work he has done. 1t must be
good indeed as his work up from Slav-
cry" has been recently voted by the Ii
| brarians of New York state, to be one
of the best fifty books of last year. And
of all these fifty books selected from the
| 5000 published last year, his book was
second in the number of votes received.
| The white race better look to its lau-
rels or something unusual may happen
before the close of this year.
Augustus Thomas is a clever and
successful playwright. He made hit
with three plays: alabama" Missou-
RI" and Arizona Then he tried
COLORADO" and failed. AT least the an
nouncement is made that the play will
be Withdrawn. The cause of the failure
is not reported, but we surmise it IS too
much "hot air." Besides, 1t was mis-
| take in Mr.. Thomas to make Colorado
melodrama instead of a farce. There is
superb material in that state for
farce. Any intelligent playwright who
would spend six months in Denver,
could find heaps" of material for good
! farces ranging from political conven-
| ton to a rabbit, real estate or oil boom
the latest sensation. In view of the
latter, he might adapt Hoyts Hole in
the Ground" giving it Colorado at
mosphere.
If Mr. Thomas will drop the hot air
state and try Iowa, the peerless, he
will find it a winner every time.
| A we'll known publisher his been en-
curing into the longevity of books in
comparison with the life they would
have had some twenty years ago. He
concludes that roughly speaking, a book
has less than half the length of life it
used to have. In the old days. novel
| if read by the public at all, would con-
tinue to be read for at least a ye~-
| Now, a six months career is note
worthy, and even one of three months
| is not to despised. The same is true of
others letters-science history, -biog-
| raphy and so on, tho not perhaps in 50
marked a degree. Years ago, a recog-
nized work on botany or some such
| subject, was certain of long prosper
| ity. Now work is scarcely established
before another one on the same subject
but more up to date, comes out and
| eclipSeS it.
The novelist who is governed by the
commercial idea, is not wholly to
blame. He can no longer hope to stamp
his work with immortality. The choice
now SINNERS itself down to a good
book which shall continue to be read by
the few for the period of from one to
five years, or a popular, sensational
work, it is true, lives but three months,
but in that time, brings to it's author a
substantial reward in the shape of both
fame and fortune, neither of which is
won by the former. When, no matter
what the merits of his work over which |
he tolls and puts in his life's best blood. |
he cannot hope to produce book that |
will be read longer than q year, little |
wonder he is tempted to do the quick |
and the dead easy work that will lift |
him above obscurity and poverty, in the
brief space of a few months.
The situation is one to be deplored, |
but neither the author nor the public is
specially to blame; and we do not see
how it can be helped.
Saved From an Awful Fate.
Everybody said had consumption"
writes Mrs. A. NJ. Shields, of Chambers