The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-04-13
The Literary Outlook.
(By Herbert Brewster.)

Military Gazette. Mr.. Robinson relates
many instances of the ways Kipling ac-
quired his local color with such fidelity,
and he casually mentions old Mahbuh
All, the horse trader in "Kim.' 1t makes
one feel the reality of Kim" to read
about old Mahbub Ali in an article pub
lished long before kim" was written.
1t seems that Mahbub Ali was a very
stately and very dirty Pathan, Jude
sCrlbably filthy, but with magnificent
mier and features" says Mr.. Robinson,
who looked on Kipling as a man dis
tirguished among all "sahibs."
"After each of his wanderings across
the UNEMPLOYED fringes of Afgharistan,
where his restless spirit of adventure
led him." Mr.. Robinson relates, "Mah-
bub Ali used to turn up, travel stained,
dirtier and more iestic than ever, for
his confidential colloquy with 'Kuppe-
Ieen Sahib,' his friend" 1t is said that
Kiplipg owes not only much of the local
color of his short stories, particularly of
1.-The Man Who Would lie King" to
this strange companion of his Indian
days, but also for many of the impor
tant facts of detail in kim probably
the greatest of ali of his books.
Booth Harrington has a most unique
way of writing his stories. He does not
plot out a story, as is usual. but he
makes drawings of the different scenes
anG situations, even going so far as to
put in little details of costume, furnish
ings of the room or complete picture
of the landscape. At his home in In
dianapolis it is said that he has the
complete sets of drawings for both
1.-The Gentleman From Indiana" and
"Monsieur Beaucaire," and that each
set would make a very large portfolio
OF pictures. Once he has made the
drawings, Mr.. Harrington begins to
write and his work of recording what
he has visualized is fairly rapid though
he spends a great deal of time in Veri-
flying every item of description. The
fact that he visualizes his stories in this
manner shows at once that Mr.. Tark
ington is a dramatist. He sees the
thing in his minds eye. first of all. 1t
is unfortunate that he has NOT trained
himself SO that he could make finished
drawings for, if he could, We would
have the remarkable case of an author
illustrating his own works CT fiction.
Such a thing would be of great advan-
tage to the reader. for he could get at
once The exact idea of the author as 10
how his characters looked and acted.
Some of the most curious errors creep
into tie illustrations of our novels now
adays. In Richard Harding Davis's
last book, I'm the Fog" the work of
two different artists is shown, each evil
IDENTIFY taking one-half of the book for
his illustrating share. One artist Iic-
lures a messenger as a short, thickset,
hlack-h haired individual who is carrying
a suit case; the second artist, picturing
scene five minutes later in the course
of the story, represents the messenger
as tall, thin, bald, and carrying q small
satchel Mr.. Tarkington's method would
be of decided advantage. 1t is too bad
that his rodesty prevents him from al
lowing his own conception of the scenes
to be included in his published volumes.
The recent proposal Of some Southern
gentlemen to establish an exclusive
Southern book publishing house has
stirred UP considerable comment among
TIE Northern papers, particularly. The
plan, so far AS can be learned, is TO
found five million dollar publishing
house in Atlanta, and the promoters OF
the plan argue as its need that South
elm writer's do not get a fair chance
under the present conditions. They
claim that there is a pitiable lack of
appreciation Of men and women of con-
SpicuouS talent, ability and genius i'll
the South, and that they seek in vain
for any considerable number included
in the list of Americans in any line of
achievement. If this were true, the
Northern comments argue. it is a hu
initiating confession, but it is so far
from the truth that it is a very gross
libel on the South Indeed, it seems
that, with such names as Joel Chand-
Ter Harris, Thomas Nelson Page, Mary
Johnston, Ellen Glasgow, Grace King,
George w. Cable and dozens of others
in or from the South high On the roll
of. honor for achievement in the field of
letters, the South is not so bad off in
this regard. AS to other lines of
achievement. it is to be doubted il the
new and growing South is proportion
ately behind any ether section Of the
country. There is no more intellectual
lethargy in the South than in the West
or North, and, with the rapid advance
ment that is being made in commercial
ways, it does not seem fair on the part
of these Southern gentlemen to speak
i'll of their own States. Let us have
publishing house in Atlanta and an
other in New Orleans and in any other
cities in that section of the country, if
there should prove to be a demand for
more publishing enterprises, but do not
confine their output to works by South
ern writer's. There should be no need
of that.
Whether publishers are perfectly fair
or not in their treatment of authors is
a question which will probably be ar
gued so long as there are publishing
houses and one of them returns a manu-
script. Naturally enough, an author be-
lieves in himself and his work, and that
is right, but the mere fact that a pub
Usher does not agree with him as to he
ACCESSIBILITY of publishing his matter
proves nothing. OF course, it would be