The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-11-22

THE story in the Century written by
3 Anne Warner Mrs. French) has
been much discussed lately In the
Twin Cities. 1t is a surprise to the
writer's friends to find that she is so
clever. although they have always
known she had ability. "The Marrying
of Susan Clegg" is a very humorous
tale. 1t is well constructed and car
ried out, and its appearance in the
Century is alone a guarantee OF the
writer's increasing vogue. In fact, she
is very busy, and not as many young
writer's, busy trying to sell what she
has witten, but busy trying to keep up
with publishers demands since 1t mas
become known what she can do. Inc
story concerns two country neighbors,
Mrs. Lathrop and Susan Clegg, who
hang over the back fence together eV-
cry morning and discuss the events
of the preceding day. Susan does all
the talking; Mrs. Lathrop cheWs Glow
er. Indeed, as a bright st. Paul woman
said the other day, Mrs. Lathrop must
have chewed bales of clover during
those long confabs, and right there is
the only fault that critics find with
the story-that the chewing Of Mrs
Lathrop is too often repeated Susan
has a paralytic father, who has been
ed-ridden so long that Susan is be-
ginning to see-When she is hard upon
forty-that if she is ever going to DO
anything in the matrimonial line she
would best be about 1t. The story is OF
her efforts confided to Mrs. Lathrop,
while the latter chews clover. There
is very little doubt that Anne Warner
is starting her literary career in an
suspicious manner.
Jacob Riis, sociologist and writer,
has just put out another book, The
Children of the Tenement" which will
probably receive a good Christmas
serious minded. Mr.. Riis is plain
man, who talks plainly, but with force,
of what he has actually known and
experienced of the darker side Of life
in New York. No one would think OF
doubling his unsupported word and
his books are well known authorities
on the subject of tenement problems.
There was one Of Mr.. Riis' books
which caused a good deal of amuse-
ment and showed a new and not so
agreeable side of the writer's charac-
ter It is the one in which he tells
the story of his own life and heads
each chapter with various captions, or
which the first word in each instance
was a large 1. Il come to New York"
II make my studies" Il buy dog"
etc. all of which caused some persons
to think that he had no sense of humor.
Be that as it may, Mr. Riis is we'll
equipped to speak on the problems of
the slums, and his new book will be
received with attention. He makes the
obvious point that it is with the chill
dren of the submerged that hope lies,
and tells what has already been done
to tighten the ofttimes heavy burdens
of the very young and what yet re-
mains to be accomplished.
In 1.-THE Heart of Rome" Mr.. F. Ma
rion Crawford has again put himself
in touch with the great public that
read and loved his earlier Roman
stories and fell away from him some
what of late years. 1t is said that in
this his latest story Mr.. Crawford has
gone back to his earlier manner and
has treated inner Roman life as few
can handle it's many sides. 1t is fur
thermore said by his admirers that
modern life of the Eternal City" has
never been so well pictured before.
A book which is likely to draw forth
much comment is being issued from a
Well-known publishing house this
month and is called THE Home 1t
is written by Charlotte Perkins Stet-
son that was, now Mrs. Gilman, and a
woman known for her extreme views on
the subjects of marriage and domes-
ITCHY. In this volume she appears in
her usual role, that of an iconoclast She
drags down old ideals and declares that
because thing is old is no reason to
make it a fetch or an idol. Much that
has been held sacred for generations
she tries to destroy and her book is the
most radical thing of the kind that has
appeared. 1t is sure to rouse much
discussion.
The first volumes of THE Contem-
porary Men of Letters Series" which
will be edited by William Aspenwall
Bradley, are to be published this
month. The purpose of the series is to
give brief estimates of writer's fof our
own time, or of writer's whose influence
is a contemporary power. The books
are as complete as possible under the
circumstance, from the biographical
side, and from the critical side, aim to
give an understanding and sympathtic
estimate Of the writer's work They
stand, as it were, as summing up, in
more authoritative form of newspaper
and magazine articles which can, by