The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-08-06


What should we do in these sultry
times, when even cricket news is a
burden and when smell of printer
ink is nauseouss without our ever
green Andrew Lang? No weather
seems to affect his invincible gayety.
Through all winds his Singer comes
merrily. Whatever his mood. ne
finds thought dancing in time with a
airy journalists. In England is no one
approaching him in versatility, ease ana
grace of style. variety or interests,
width and depth of learning
He goes to Lords and sees OXFORD
play Cambridge, or Harrow play Elton,
and on back of the card of match writes
an essay on the decadence OF public
school cricket Some one SENDS MN
story of village ghost, and In his note
book is jotted the material for another
article I'm BIaci1wood's. From his studies
IN Scotch history he draws enough in
the way of anecdotes and studies to
keep him in constant copy.
Does Travis win the golf champion
ship, Lang has comments, Jets, excur-
sions and alarums in morning paper.
Does a Canadina win the Diamond
sculls at Henley, quick there is Lang
essay somewhere on the use of style IN
rowing. Let some American humorlSt
tickle his fancy-and then, my word,
you shall have the journalistic sky blaze
with slSyrockets-
I.ANGS HITS OFF AMERICANS.
don't know why Lang should always
be at his best in scoring off Americans,
except ii be that distance gives MIN
freer hand, or that foreign ways give
Eest to his pen Very seldom does he
salt the French or the Germans; Dut
without a pinch. Once 1 used to think
that maybe he had a grudge against
nation which read him in pirated edl-
tions; but pirates scour the seas no
longer. and still Lang's satire endures.
His latest sally is at the expense of the
American craze for home products in
literature: and it is a lively thing
Clearly it is quite in accordance with
Lang's fixed convictions of American
taste and intelligence that you should
determine to neglect all the excellent
things in literature that We provide for
you
For ourselves. Of course, it matters
nothing: but for a young and uncut
tured race like yourselves it matters
everything. Perhaps. so far as current |
literature is concerned, you miss not
very much; and indeed Lang makes 1t
clear that, were ne an American pub |
Usher, he would refuse to risk the pub |
LEGATION OF what he could more easily |
pirate. and for the rest, would proceed |
TO impose upon the guileless and I'M |
tutored American reading public ser |
les of old and half-forgotten classics in |
the guise of new books. Were, for in /
stance. a pirate yankee firm to issue |
1.-The Castle of Otranto,' THE Mys- |
teries of Udolpho" as the works of a /
new and talented author, these would |
easy than to do so7 -
IN THE MATTER OF PIRACY.
The pirate firm had but to print in |
modern form, to employ hack to write |
an imaginary interview of the new and /
rising author, Mrs. Radcliffe, and to OBJ |
tain from photograph the portrait |
of some obscure yet winsome lady-and |
with aid of these and the usual puffs 1
preliminary the thing were as good as |
done. No American reader or critic /
would C0n0nRranf discover
fraud The books are SO superior to /
anything at present produced in Amer /
lea that they must succeed with pub /
lie eager for the melodramatic and un- /
real. When Mrs Radcliffe were firmly /
estab lished as a popular favorite, then |
other old authors might be revived and !
introduced as new writers-Mr. Tobias /
Smollet, for example. whose "Humph- |
rey ClinkeT" would make a good first |
book; Mr.. Henry Fielding, also, who /
wrote Tom Jones' and other trifies; |
DR.. Samuel Johnson. furthermore, the 1
author of "RasselaS;'' and many others /
too numerous to mention.
How easy. says Mr.. Lang, for a smart |
man to write an imaginary interview /
with the young and charming Mrs. |
Radcliffe; so, to show how easy it is |
for really smart man, writes an in
terview himself that surely is a neat |
and subtle parody of modern journals |
tic methods. And to finish, Mr.. Lang !
announces that. for proper pecuniary
rewards, and in the hope of doing some
what to raise the standard of American |
literary taste, he is prepared TO write |
a series of ina ginary interviews as per
sample given
SUGGESTIONS FOR PUBLISHERS.
Let some enterprising American pub
Usher arrange for those interviews
Tney need not be used in the exact way
so humorously defined by Mr.. Lang; |
but; judging by the quality of Letters
ParOdies.'' they would assuredly be
worth good deal in themselves.
A friend and were discussing Mer-
edith's statement, that the general |
level of current literature is much high
er than ii was in his youth; and my
friend said: THE level is higher be-
cause the average intellectual capacity
Is higher. 1t is nothing to call a person |
clever nowadays. Everyone is clever
Even our children are born geniuses
and the man whose boy at 10 is not per-
forming at St. James Hall is to be con-
graduated"
There is something in all this. Surely
II takes very high talents to raise a
man out Of the literary ruck; certainly
II seems mat, Just as the one rose on a
Tree Is OFTEN pnenomenally beautiful so
the one child of present day parents
natures remarkably. The number of
prodigies that have appeared in London
this season is amazing. Boys of 10 have
nlled our halls to hear them excel
Paganini. Girls have sung so divinelv
before royalty that they have been
praised as Patti or Lind was never
the boy preacher telling us now he was
called to the ministry al the age of
And today I see a published volume of
poems composed, between the age of
o and 10 years. by a little girl
ANOTHER INFANT POET
The child's name is Enid: she is the
daughter of Mr.. Welsford of Harrow
school Mr.. Boswortn Smith. we'll
known as former master at Harrow.
vouches that Ends volume is entirelv
her own work. unaltered and unaided.
Much of ii was dictated to ner mother
before she could write with 60 ~. |