The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-09-24

One or these was "a pretty little book
OF the sort well-disposed persons give
the young entitled, The Model Young
Girl On the fly leaf were
some verses OF James own composition
for Jane wrote verse and began the
deplorable habit early in life for the
amusement Of her innumerable brothers
and sisters and the relief of her own
pent-up emotions-entitled-" Nice
Young Girl This interesting person.
age was described as a creature of man.
. ners sweet and mild, clean pinafores
and similar virtues and the poem con-
cluded thus:
a nice young girl would hardly
To kick her parent down the stair.
Then leap about and shout and swear"
This is a pretty fair sample of the
poetry Of Aspasia Jane at this period
although she sometimes attempted a
more ambitious meter in imitation of
the classics and used frequent ana inn
pressive references to Adonis. Jove and
all that sort of thing Also she had a
gem after Lewis Carroll;
"Oh. farewell to the cat on the Shan
And the place where I used to bur
ness.
INlS sentiment was a great IaNOf1Ie
with the author and all the little brothers
and sisters, because, as the former used
TO explain. "burness" was quite an ex-
Quisite word in its way: it might mean
anything"
In chronicling the childhood of
Aspasia Jane and the rather embaras-
eed but always exciting affairs of her
original and amusing family the other
Ross-Connaughts, Rose Cecil O'Neil the
illustrator has proven that she can
write as well as draw The Loves of
Edwy' was needed to call the attention
or most OF the reading world to this
fact perhaps, but II is no news to some
of her admirers who have noted oc-
casional fugitive efforts of hers in the
magazines. Puck, for which she draws
regularly, has printed a good many of
her verses and she has had both verse
and prose-fanciful and romantic for
the greater part-in the Cosmopolitan
always accompanied by some of her
excellent work in pen and ink. Her
methods in writing and drawing are
alike unhackneyed- Many have tried.
since her work In Illustration hrSt at
tracted attention a few years ago. i'm
itate her style but the essential and dis
tinctive O'Neill touch still accompanies
the signatureO'Neil exclusively. Do you
remember when it was O'Neill Latham?
That was a few years ago, when she
was the wife Of a New York lawyer.
But WHEN she secured a divorce from
him to marry Harry Leon Wilson the lit
erary editor OF the same magazine and
author of THE Spenders,' THE Lions or
the LORD, ct al. SnG look nET IAdl0CA
name Rose Cecil O'Nei1 and has since
appended it to all her work Harry VIII
son, by the way, used to live in Topeka
a good many years ago and studied law
an the office of A. L. Williams. However
that has nothing to do with THE Loves
of Edwy,'' the heroine of which is SO
opposed to divorce that she refuses to
accept the freedom offered her by the
husband she doesn't love in order
marry his friend whom she does love.
Does that sound hopelessly compli-
Gated? Well. il comes of anticipating
ones story. But it was merely brought
in TO show how little one can tell OF
authors real principles from what they
write and how seldom we practice what
Jane at this stage of her career,
however, is hardly as interesting either
in the pictures or the text of her
author as she was in that round, fat
period at which the beginning of the
book finds her, leaning against the
gate-post on a Sunday morning in her
best pinafore. Engaged in am1abIe
reveries which did not exclude the ex-
hi1irating spectacle of the church-go-
ing pageant, she had been accosted
from the opposite walk by two young
irt-wagglers who shrieked: Hello,
Aspasiai Why don't you come to
school any more, Aspasfa?
s.And back across the crowded street
in a cheerful shout went the nluminat-
ing reply: Cause papa can't pay
In her delineatiOn of childhood both
IN literature and in art Rose Cecil
OfNetll Is undoubtedly at neT pest anu
happiest. The Loves of Edwy is
simply incompatible as long as Jane,
the other Ross-Connaughts, her two
suitors, "Edwy," who gives the title
to the book and "Juggs," diminutive
for George are in the broiler class.
Not that the book lacks interest to
the end. because it does not, but it
is a little too prolonged, the denoue-
ment is somewhat too belated and
sometimes in the last chapters it must
be owned that the story fails to
march" and the mechanism is brief
" visible by which the author moves
her puppets. No need In the begin
ming to expatiate upon the peculiar,
fndescribable charm of the infant As
pasta Jane. One sees her, realizes her.
senses her completely by the few deft
touches, the economical pen strokes
Of illustrations and text
Later on the author herself seems
to realize the failure of the spell she
has woven for her heroine and makes
frantic effort to renew it. But you
know descriptions are futile in such
an instance. After she has taken two
pages to explain the indescribable, baf-
fling and intangible nature of her
charm she has given you not one of
those electrifying and illuminating
glimpses of the woman Jane such as,
without a suspicion of effort, she has
given of the child Jane. Humor, path
oS, clever touches, real feeling are
never lacking in this lovely tale but
there is some reason to regret that
it is not merely the story of James |
childhood and of the youthful Loves |
of Edwy," for as contribution to |
the rapidly growing literature of child |
hood 1T is a work of much artistic |
value.
The sixty illustrations by the author |
which adorn the book are by no means
fits least important feature. Many |
people would buy the book for them |
alone and would be well repaid. All |
the O'Neill drawings are somehow |