The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-03-09

their poems and burning thoughts TO
each other, finding much happiness
therein, and the public surcease. But
is was not to be. "a s6ef.
Nine. Adams Childhood.
"'The Romance of My Childhood by
Nine. Edmond ADAM the we'll known
French woman. is exceedingly interest
ing and excessively Frenchy. She gives
first sketch of her forebears who
were interesting folk, though much in
clined to family difficulties, which
trait descended. The father and moth
er of Juliette (Mme ADAM were a
strange couple, who separated at one
time and the child's grandmother, TAX
ing, advantage of their trials, took the
little Juliette home with her. Thus
the child grew up with her grandpar-
ents, who ruined and spoiled her and
let her have her own way. At inter-
walls she would visit her father and
mother, who would resort to force to
get her, SO it may be imagined that
her childhood was not one of peace
and quiet. Her father, Louis Lambert,
had great influence over her mind
when she grew to years of discretion
and, as his opinions and ideas were
atheistic and revolutionary, there was
much friction always the grandpar-
entS being devout Christians The
book closes with a brief account of
Jullette's marriage, which turned out
unhappiiy after one short year of mar
ried life, and her return to her grand
fathers house with her daughter, and
the beginning of her literary career.
She promises to continue the account
of her experiences in a later volume.
The book is entertaining and written
in quaint style.
Goes After the Lunatics.
In the March North American Re
view there is a thoughtful article by
Hamlin Garland on Sanity in Fiction"
He asks some pertinent questions about
the modern novel and quotes Max Nor
dau, who insists that fiction of today
is merely collection of tales of disease
and of exceptional cases. Nordau
would like to know why this is so. Gar
land answers his question in this way:
The chief reason is in the quality of
the reader. The democrat of our day
Is on the lookout for sensations. The
circumstances under which he lives
ordinarily are so familiar or so dis
tasteful that he fails to perceive their
value, their interest. 1t is the distance
which enchants and allures He de-
mands a fiction of the unusual, the far
off, the grandiose, something outside
his own life, something to thrill to ex-
cite" Mr.. Garland gives high praise
to Mr.. HoWells, who, he seems to
think, has given us better examples
of sane and healthful novels than any
other American. His stories are not
of the unusual or the morbid types,
but of conventional life about us and
of the commonplace. Mr.. Garland does
not give the impression that he wishes
to glorify the commonplace, but he sees
in conventional fiction a safer tendency
than in much now popular. He de-
MES to lola the name of realist be-
cause he claims that he treated not
of the average, but of the abnormal.
OF the animal traits Of men" OF
lola he says: "The majority of men
are not libertines or thieves, nor the
majority of women constituencies, even
in Paris. In his war upon the roman
tic school, with their superhuman and
ideal characters, lola swept to the op-
posite pole. He proceeded upon The
supposition that the public could not
be interested in average personalities
and decent lives. AS result millions
read his books for their brutal plain
ness of speech, rather than for their
tragic breadth and bitter comment
The Good Novel.
Mr.. Garland very truly says q novel
should blend, If it be true to life, the"
bad with the good, but this does not
necessarily mean that II must deal with
criminals, degenerates and detectives.
He draws comparison between lola
and Howells. calling the latter the true