The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-12-18

4
bers, are Jumping over the counter-as
1. the correspondence institute advertisifs
/ puts IT.: and certainly they must DC
4 throwing lip .'jobs" of some sort--fof
/ the typewriter, the ream OF large paper,
4 and Fame writ large with the capital.
/ Doubtless not n day passes but somc
clever girl. still not n great way. removed
fromsyo,i Indies seminary days. whose
things have been kindly received at
tie meeting of her literary society, turns
the pages of the latest novel in spirit
/ OF n great awakening, and with heart
\ beating high and fevcrishly, resolves that
SHE can do II, too. The wonder OF II all
| is that II appears she can.
Tho obvious result of this state Of
! things is that title pages nowadays are
| replctc with tile names OF unknown
| writer's and the magazines abound with
| the work of the ncophyte. ,rhs, OF
course, is the source OF the great IN
| crease in the latter day output Sof books,
the horaes OF new recruits to the b'isi-
| ness OF literature The tried and trusty
| authors OF ancient reputation have mere
| IN maintained their established rate OF
| speed
| They stll continue to do a novel ever
so often--with a greater or lesser CELEBRITY
according to the individual writer's vent.
| Winston Churchill takes three years to
produce one OF his Thoughtful historical
and mysticnliy popular American ro-
mances, and cyrus Townsend Brady re-
| oulres three months, and the late Col
.onel Ingraham, Of Chicago, would do
| one for You while you waited.
The latter, who, for many years wore
the. championship belt for literary speed
| with no close second, could doubtless.
like Mr.. Barnes's fellow member Of the
| Wigwaln Club. have done even snapper
! work, but for being unfortunately trou-
| bled with weak wrist However that
may he. the writer chaps of the old Inc
plod along with no very remarkable ac-
i celebration of their output; but where one
OF them, in the passing Of years, has
! dropped out. ten or twenty bright ana
! brisk young people have sprung up and
are scrlbbling and scrambllng for hear
ing and for standing room on our library
shelves.
II has long ago been pointed out that
the significant and noteworthy feature
OF the books of to-day is tho surprising
i Nv high level OF their inediocrity. In the
i hundreds OF books that have been issued
| "a i'7 ,nni
by brand new and unframed writer's,
there have hardly been half dozen that
have been ,hopelessly bad. Even the least
successful OF them, with but rare excep-
tons have had some saving grace Of
| style or cleverness or fresh originality OF
| idea that seem to warrant a hope for
! better things to come. Between the real
| ~ rare ones that have been quito too bad
| TO read there have been long, unbrokeni
stretches Of books which, though very
| far from being great, have, at least, had
the merit Of being pleasantly readable.
| We suppose it is in some way the un-
4 happy converse of ths--that! a facite, II
superficial, success is butstoo likely tore
/ move the incentive for the deep thought,
earnest striving and patient unremttins
labor, which alone can bear lasting
4 5blossorn-tha the recent months '7have
brought forth so little that is really and
abdingly good.
In the writer's mind there is no doubt
! that the most brilliant moved that the
| season has SO far produced Is the Dl-
| vine Fire" by a new writer, Miss May
/ Sinclair. II this book did not flash out
| from a spark of native genius, from a
glowing of .'the divine fire" itself, It was
/ hindled from something so much like
! it, that the distinction Is not recognizable
| 10 the naked eye. We think this is book
| which no English-speaking writer could
be other than proud TO father. Since the
/ publication Of this mastery work we
1 have heard nothing further OF 1t; we see
It's name IN no list OF best sellers. and
| in no publishers tale offresh editions. a
| splendid literary success, the book has
| conccivabIy been a commercial failure,
| at least. it has been ontrun by many
| book which, critically examined from the
point Of view OF real standards, Is not
worthy TO be mentioned In the same
/ breath with it. Indeed, IL is no wonder
that authors are not tempted nowadays
to put forth the great endeavor, which g
| alone the open door 10 work OF permanent
value. Truly. it is hard 10 Kick against
the pricks; and high literary powers. and
the redundant pockctboo. go anywhere
but hand in hand.
rhc autumn has given us another book
that belongs In the same class with The
Divine Fire" but there have, OF course.
been others which are entitled TO more or
less serious consideration. Chief among
/ these, perhaps, ID "The Undercurrent."
4 The latest work Of Judge Robert Grant.
This Is !. study Of modern society with
particular reference 10 the divorce