The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-11-02
NEWS AND VIEWS
OF THE BOOK WORLD
Letters Of Daniel Webster Collected by Dr. c. H. Van Tyne
Two Novels by Two Famous JournalistsAn Artists ~
Love Story...The Book Record Of the Season
By HERBERT BREWSTER,

| of these newspaper-trained gentlemen
are now bidding for another kind of
! literary fame; Mr.. Ralph as the author
of THE Millioniaress" and Mr.. Creel-
man, as author of Eagles Blood yet
neither story can be very highly prais-
ed. 1t must be true that the vision Of
a newspaper person, of long expert
! ence is superior in many respects to
that of any other professional person,
but, in spite of this fact, 1t cannot be
denied that very frequently his view
of things is not accurate. His daily
effort to see a newspaper story" in
everything he observes must make him
unconscious of much that has
mother sore of meaning in the course of
events, and his zeal for the acts which
are usually presented in the press
might naturally cause him to overlook
other important matters in the connec-
ton. Mr.. Creelman says he gave up
$4,000 year from his newspaper work
to take up the writing of books. His
self-confidence is, at least, worthy of
notice. OF the trained writer's in this
country, probably not fifty, perhaps not
twenty, make as much as $1,000 a
year from their writing. The trick is
not so easy as it looks. The profess
sion of writing requires less material
capital than any other, and, as sort
of compensation balance in the nature
of things, the rewards of literary work
are smaller than those Of any other
kind of labor.
Mr.. Ralphs 1.-THE Millionaires" is
said by the publishers to give view
of smart society as it really is. A con-
troversy on the question will hardly be
raised, because 1t is not likely that
smart society will care to make this
book a cause for explaining what it
really does and how it acts. 1t is not
-. -
most people have read about, though
some of Mr. Ralph's representations
may be quite true. The picture of
young girl explaining how near she
came to stepping over the line and be-
yond the pale is not a pleasant one
and the hero who combines the quail
ties of a Buddhistic fakir, a Sherlock
Holmes and wealthy young traveller
and seeker of all sorts of experience
seems to be overdrawn. Mr.. Ralph,
however has not given up newspaper
work entirely, and very likely he will
live to write better books that this
one.
The Eagles Blood" story is an at
tempt at a patriotic American novel
of the present day, and, keeping in
mind the kind of a sensational writer
that Mr.. Creelman is, one may read
some parts of the book with consider
able interest. The story some way does
not seem to justify the giving up Of
a $40. 000-a-year position. Mr.. Creel-
man will be more likely to be remem-
bered as the first man to interview the
present Pope and as the newspaper
correspondent who took Santiago with
his rs" than as the author of thss
particular story.
l venture to say that any one who
picks UP story very recently publish
ed under the title of Edges" will read
it through with considerable relief, it
is so different from the general run of
novels. The author, Alice Woods, has
illustrated the work herself, but one
would not need this evidence that she
is an artist in the sense that she uses
brushes and paints. Her story is of
two artists. hermit and a young girl,
who meet on a lonely seashore town in
this country and who finish up the re-
corded part of their relationship in
Paris. The girl makes man out of
the hermit. and, while the reader
knows that the romance is sure to
come to its proper ending. there is a
certain cleverness of dialogue all
through that makes the story inter-
esting along the way. The publishers
have gotten out the book on a tinted
paper and the type is large and clear.
The author shows great promise, and