Durango semi-weekly herald., 1902-07-31

stories are fine. human, cIeon full Of
fearful smiles. appealing and
inspiring. He seeks to teach that
love for woman is not nnlil-c love for
music the woods, the skies, or any
other uplifting force.
Il know no better love story than
The Making OF an American by ia
cob A. Riis. reporter for the New
York Sun No man has done SO
much for the other half. the unfortu-
nate and debauched of his great city.
He has stirred the city conscience of
America: scores of sweating dens
have been pulled down at his COM
mand and parks laid oiii on their ruins.
The schools of New York have been
taken Gnt of politics and ample play
grounds made for children whose only
escape from lives of crime is little
decent play and elbow room. And it
has all been done by the force of the
woman he loved as a boy Ia Dem
mark and whom he won after being
for years a youth OF the very slums
he has done so much since to i'm
prove"
The lecturer said: Yes, l know of
one other finer love story. 1t is a
photograph in my den. 1t is picture
of the six boys and girls of Roosevelt
the strong. who shout and tumble and
climb. and romp about the dreary old
White house at Washington, or ride
like mad in Western cowboy style
through the roads a. Oyster Bay. Best
of all these babies of Americas un-
crowned king are sent to the public
schools
Il close with the best book of the
last two years The Right of Way
by Gilbert Parker. Here the contrast
between a low courtship and high
refined courtship is put in the same
story. You may recall how the bril-
liant, heartless Charley Steele woos
and wins a society girl after the most
approved method. She is clever
good dresser and of excellent blood.
He simply yields to an unanalyzed de-
sire to marry her. They are not
happy. There is no soul in either of
them. They live apart though in the
same house. not naturally bad. Eth
er. however. is an easy prey for
temptation for nothing holds them to-
gether. Steele becomes more and
more debauched. In a brawl his skull
is cracked and is thrown into the river
as dead. He is rescued, however, by
a woodsman and in the depths of the
forest was healed. After a year he re-
gains his normal mind with soul.
From this point on no greater piece of
psychological fiction has ever been
written. He hears of his wife's re-
marriage. Now he can have fine re-
venge by suddenly returning to his
home. But somehow he cannot bring
himself to do so an unmanly thing.
He would better hide all his life long.
A young girl of the forest camp falls
in love with him. She is womanly
woman, all that Steele has ever
dreamed as an ideal. His heart leaps
with a great desire. But he must not
| yield for that would be to hopelessly
entangle her life So runs the fight
through pain, sacrifice and heroic
deeds until at last by a tragic martyr
dom Charley Steele seems fairly to
you read this story you will admire
him for his brilliancy and daring. then
later for his soul of honor and great
heart and sigh that more could not
have conclusion of the brain.
Suffice 1t to say as last word
that our fiction grows deeper, firmer
and more natural yearly. America
leads the world in the high note her
books carry to all mankind. The man
behind the book is as virile. red-blood-
ed stout-hearted and clean as the
man behind the gun