The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-12-06

an avatar which left its essence un
changed. 1t was even worse. for 1t wa
lesS sincerely and forcibly written, and 1
| coulA not be so quickly worn out an,
thrown away. Its beauty Of paper, prin
and binding gave ii a claim to regard
which could not be ignored, and estab
lished for ii sort of right to lie upor
the table, and then stand upon the shelf
| where it seemed TO relate itself TO genu
| Inc literature and to be OF the same race
| and lineage
Premier Balfour is. of course, no end OF
| parsonage. 1t seems that he has liter
airy instincts besides-a feeling for cash
| for he charged a round figure for his re-
| cent fiscal pamphlet. AS an official docu-
! ment, 1t would be supposed that distribu-
ton and not receipts was the aim II APP
| pe2red. however, under a pretentious
| cover and the newspapers were hihiteo -
10 the length OF verbatim quotations.
American statesmen and politicians are
| not SO particular Imagine MI har1y
iawes for instance making SlS.Oo out OF
his speech. the amount which Baifour Il
credited with having realized. over mere.
our orators and debaters upon hscai ana
other questions. not only give away theaf
written sentiments but pay good nara
money to distribute them broadcast.
..F,,.e-,.-y,an his own reviewer IL an
l..
idea not brand new, but nevertheless new,
In the literary world. Andrew Lang has
exploited the nation ably and well. Mem
CRY has il that the Paris Figaro Originate
ed the proposal and, induced operate per
formers to write their opinions OF their
own work.
The gookman of this month prints. not
exactly authors reviews. but Few au-
thcrs' opinions Of reviewers. which ap-
breaches the same end. These sentiments
are not without interests. Excerpts FOL
low:
Thomas Dixon. speaking Of his latest
novel. The One Woman:
THE purpose of my last novel was 10
strike radical Socialism as deadly a dow
as 1 could possibly give in story OF eio-
renta! passicns which would appeal d.
rec:ly and powerfully to the mind OF 3ne
average reader. Yet reviewer in city
which claims 10 be one of the literary cen
ters of America attacked the book furi-
ously because of its advocacy Of Socialistic
doctrines. When a distinguished citizen
replied expressing his amaZement at such
an assertion, the reviewer stuck to it.
"One of the most amusing criticisms
ever received appeared recently in New
York in a famous deulirelisious periodical
with literary aspirations. 1t reads as fol-
lows:
- a dime novel except for price, typog-
raphy, and save the mark-re!!gion! A
triumph of crudeness and vulgarity.'
II could but syclaiTl, EFT tu. Brute!
Il was once subscriber for this periodi-
cal, and-shali L confess it?-wrote for 1t.
Honest criticism is simply The express
sion Of the personality of the critic, his
own definition OF his tastes. capacities and
powers. The personal equation of the au-
thor is the secret of all power In his book. |
1t is nonsense for him to objec, to this |
bias in his critic. |
ANY criticism is well founded that is |
built sQuarely and honestly on the per-
sonal point of view of the critic. Lucky |
is the writer about whose work critics vio-
lentiy disagree
Herman Knickerhocller vieIe says:
Il have small patience with n writer
who scorns a glance at his reviews. They
nay be no more mirrors than the plates
Of glass between the customer and the
hut |