The Saint Paul globe., 1905-01-01

n ONDON,, Dec 31-Sir Wilfrid
Lawson, the apostle of temper
ance and social reform, in con-
junction with F. Carruthers Gould, the
caricaturist, has just issued a volume
of illustrated verses entitled, Gar
toons in Rhyme and Line" 1t is dedi-
Gated ITO the Best of Wives From the
Worst of Poets" So far as the poetry
is concerned, it suffices to say that Sir
Wilfrid lives UP to the reputation
which he gives himself But he does
certainly put gall and wormwood into
his doggerel And he does not care a
bit whom he stings. OF that the best
example is this quatrain, headed,
From Lord Burton to the King:
Twas. beer, your majesty. strong beer,
Which, as you know, made me peer;
If you Will only learn to brew,
God knows what it will make of you"
The point Of this reference lies in
the fact that when, his majesty visited
Lord Burton recently he turned a
switch that set in motion the machin-
cry which brewed lot of ale. The
lines are as daring reference to the
king as anything [ have ever seen in
print in England. Sir Wilfrid inller-
tied a baronetcy, and well content with
his seat in parliament evidently has
no desire to be elevated to the house
of lords. PeerageS have been con-
ferred on several rich brewers. But
there is no instance on record where
any man attained to that lofty honor
by the advocacy Of teetotaliSm.
Richard Whiteing, of mo. 5 John
street. fame, has confided to an inter-
viewer some interesting opinions on
current fiction. 'ThiS is not an Au-
PJlSfnn q nj In EI1,,t
In all our art there is a far higher
standard of mediocrity than there ever
has been in the past. Our mediocre
novel is better than the old mediocre
novel. Our time shows a marked ex-
cellence in averag ges. The sheer force
OF competition has compelled novelists
to make serious study of technique
and there are many moderns who show
mastery of it never attained by
writers OF the past. / mean more es-
pecially that direct study of nature
and character resulting in the perfect
conversation which you find in our
best novels. For downright excellence
or character drawing, for forcible like
ness to nature, you would find 1t hard
TO beat three or four modern novelists
whom in certain other respects I can
not always admire. Of course we are
plagued with titled heroes and social
Snobbery and irritating conventionali-
ties which there is no getting rid of.
The realistic has succeeded the ro-
mantle age. We have been brought
closer to nature. Dickens himself was
not so close to nature as Petit Ridge,
for example. This serious study of
technique-we have learned a good
deal from the French-means that the
average novelist is a better novelist:
ne is more workmanlike; he is better
all round than he used to be. But"
he adds, Il think that there is one de-
tect In our fction-it wants big
themes, 1T wants great subjects. 1t
wants lifting into a finer atmos-
phere."
With books excelling as never before
IN perfect conversations" 1t would
seem strange, at first Thought.
to account for the decadence of con-
Versation which many declare to be
among the lost arts. But on second
Thought perhaps that is the very thing
which most accounts for it. Books
contain such excellent conversation
that We no longer go to cur friends