Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1904-12-31
DARING Jibe at
King Edward.
tsoUR LONDON LIrEpApY LE1TER,4

III EOAE ibhDOt ~
Special Correspondence
| ONDON, Dec 2l-sir Wltrcd
Lawson. the apostle OF temper
IL ance and social reform, In cone
Junction with r. Caruthera Could
the carioaturist, has Just issued o. yol-
ume % illustrated verses entitled "Car-
toons IN Rhyme and Line" II rs dodl-
GATED TO the best OF wlycs from The
worst Of poets" SO far os tho poetry
ia concerned 10 suflces 10 say that Sir
Wlltred lives up TO the reputation which
he gives himself Hut he does certainly
put gall and wormwood into his dog
gerel And he does not care "A bic
whom he stings OF that the best eN-
ample is this quatraln headed. From
Lord Burton to the King"
"rwas beer, your Majesty, strong beer,
Which as you know, made me a peer,
N YOU win only learn 90 brew,
God knows what II VIII make of youl'
The point OF this reference lies IN the
fact that when bis majesty visited LORD
Burton recently he turned "a sWltch
that set i. motion the machinery
which brewed lot Of ale. The lines
are az daring a reference 10 the KING
as anything / have ever seen I'm print
I'm England Sir Wilfrld inherited a
baronotcy and we'll content with his
seat lu parliament, evidently has mo-
desire 10 be elevated TO the house ot
lords, PeeWges have been conferred
on several rich brewers, But there ~
no Instance ON record where any man
attained TO that lofty honor by the ad-
yocacy Of teetotalism,
Richard whlteing, OF mo John
street" fame. has cOnnded 90 am inter-
viewer some interesting opinions On
current fiction This is not am Angus
tan age Of literature he says, but
IN an our art there is Tar higher
standard of medlocrIty than there ever
has been ln the past our mediocre
novel is better than the old mediocre
novel our time shows "a marked eX-
cellence I'm averages The sheer force
Of competition has compelled noycllsts
To make a serious study OF technique
and there are many moderns who show
q mastery OF u never attained by writ
ers OF the past, mean more especial
~ that direct study OF nature and char
ucter resulting I'm the perfect CONVERSE
ton which you find IN our best novels
For DOWNRIGHT excellence of character
drawing, for forcible likeness 10 ma
ture, you would ind II hard 20 beat
three or four modern novelists whom
ln certain other respects cannot all
ways admire. OF course we are plagued
with titled heroes and social sn0bbery,
and irritating conventlonalltles which
there Is no getting rid OF. The realistic
has succeeded the romantic age We
have been brought closer to nature.
Dickens himself was not so close 10
nature as PETIT Ridge, for example.
This serious study OF teChnique--We
have learned gOod Hll from the
french-means that al teage novel; /
ist is better noyeUs. he Is more
workmanllke; he is better an round
than he used to be- But he adds, u
think that there Is one defect IN our
lctlon--it wants big themes, IL wants
great subjects It wants lifting into a /
hner atmosphere
with books excellng az never before
In perfect conversations" Il would
seem strange at first thought, 10 ac-
count for the deCadence OF conversation 4
which many declare to be among the |
lost arts but on second thoughts per- 1
haps that is the very thing which most |
accounts for Il, Books contain such |
excellent conversation that we no long.
er 80 TO our friends for H. And authors
themselves reserve their witty observa-
tons ard biting eplgrams for their
books. They don't give their best away
for nothing.
Carmen sylvia has found that one OF
the penalties Of successful authorship
Is too heavy 10 pay providing the
author happens also 10 be a queen, with
a lot Of state duties TO look after. So
she has sent ont a circular asking
young authors 10 stop sending their
MSS to her for criticism. Her ma
jesty," says the circular. though
from o'clock In the morning
until an advanced hour OF the night,
cannot discharge all the tasks that
deyolye upon her IN her capacity as
sovereign, as phllanthppist, and as
woman Of letters"
Carlyles books are far less widely
read than they were 20 years ago, but
Interest In the man himself and the
things he said continue undated
Some delightful glimpses OF him
IRE contained In volume OF Retro
ipects by PROT William knight, which
has just been published. What, for in.
stance, could be more characteristic
II the most lntolerant OF sages than
his HE was once speaking about
Darwin In the broad Scottish dialect
into which he often relapsed when
with a Scotsman. lie said:
i think that they scienteehc men must
expect God Almighty to come to them
iome fine mornln' and gle them a pat.
mt TO make warld they seem SO cu-
'ious TO know how this one was made
humbly yentured 10 say that +
hOught him unjust 10 Darwin, and was
rylng 10 explain what / considered the
hlef point IN Darwin's magnificent
heory. He az once inetrposed Mals-
er Darwin is no better than John Myll |
MID or Master Herbert Spencer;