Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1904-12-31
Books, BOokish
People and Things

Susan Clegg and Her Friend Mrs

A much praised book of short
sketches, -four Of which have appeared
in THE Century Magazine" They
have been rewritten and another
sketch. the last. added to make up the
book.
\ predatory note states that the
characters in the book and "the
scenes in which they figure" are Who'll.
ly imaginary; an explanation made
necessary by the local events that fol.
lowed too literal Interpretation of
Mrs. Wigs of the Cabbage Patch"
by Mrs. Rice.
The author of this book, Miss Anne
Warner, has full mastery of the Mid.
dle.West dialect; Miss Clegg is Hitter.
ate, blunt. even insulting and coarse.
She believes that her friend Mrs. La.
throp. who never gets a chance to fin.
ish a sentence, Is not good listener.
The contents of the volume consist of
the substance of Miss Cleggs talks
over the garden fence.
Her sick father Is the subject of
much OF the conversation. He stands
Tor lies) in the way of his daughters
pleasure. and so she makes up her
mind to marry. Nor does she wait for
n man" she up and seeks one herself.
proposing to several of her bachelor
and widowed neighbors. But she fails
to get a husband.
This AmaZonian venture into mat.
rimonial fields so far from usual must
be considered uDwomanly. and. ! am
inclined to belio'c, unfemininc. And.
as for the poor and ignorant, they are
less likely TO disregard such coven.
lions than the members of the aristoc.
racy.
Miss Clegg Is very strenuous. she
keeps her house clean. saves her
money, talks up to anybody that docs
not please her, and smothers her faith
or under a fcather.bcd. She says
many very amusing things few
witty ones; but she allows her protag
Onist to make some extremely coars,
remarks which mar the book.
Two of these Objectionable observa
tions are to be found on pages POI and
2lS. Part of the talk seems to he rath
or long drawn out; a species of manu-
featured fun like some of Bill Nye's
On the whole. much of It will make
readers laugh. though to few will 1t b,
any evidence that woman possesses
an adequate sense of humOr. A few
OF the best sayings are given below
Mrs. Brown said t II they was to go
now was a very good time cause the
baby was a year old, N | said Cd
agree with her there. cause II W,
waited till next summer the baby
might be- only month old or mayh,
a week Old-for | must say I so far :,
: my observation s extended there new
or is no countin' on how old a minis
ter's baby S goin' TO be any givcr
time.
They went down to see where he
, bought his ticket for, but johnny
says he only took it to the junction
n my own experience is I junction
may lead to most any thin.
; The doctor said : il was suthin' oh
e scure. n T suthin' 5 amt found on
, till years after you re dead amt Ol,
; sCure ! don't know what Is.
. It's better for you to learn the les
= son s all is vanity now. than to wal
| n have il fall on your head like I'm
+ expected piCilejar.
, It's pretty sad thing. Mrs. Lath
rop. when all the comfort you en- &c
out of man Is the thinkin' I perhap
!. God in his mercy has made him Il foo
: far s my observation s 'xtende
5 no one don't ask for advice Mess the
= We pretty well made up their min
J., not to take H.
Y In my opinion n man as d be foe
A enough to marry a woman saint 60
= nothin' but herself to give him S like
+ ly to be happier bein' her fool n h
ever would be bein' mine.
No woman as S goin' to fall in low
+ ever ought to begin by marryin' an
. other man first. 1t mixes things all M
There amt no possible good 5 e.
come o lendin' money to them 5 ain
a able to pay 1t back.
Miss Warner in real life Is Mrs
Charles Ellis French of St. Paul. Sh
+ has written a comedy entitled "A We
mans WILL" which was well received
She has the ability to say an efrectlv
+ dialectic thing, and IT she will portra
= the better side of lifc-the true, gen
+ tie and good, Of which there are man,
among the class she writes of-sh,
viii score more lasting success.
: A book of this kind may serve I,
Introduce the writer, but readers o
: refinement without being over fastid
ious at all, will not begin another,
In writing his novel of the Civil
War, Manassas" Mr.. UPTON Sinclair
has treated original documcnts-rec
ords, newspapers, speeches, memoirs
as raw material, and has taken from
them az viii ideas, descriptions, or in
cidcnts, which fell in with HIS plau
The Macmillan Company announc,
that this first volume of Mr.. Sinclair,
epic Of the Civil War will be FOLLOWED
by two others, TO be entitled, respoc
5 lively, Gettysburg" and "Appomat
, toN,"