The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-10-20

] Webbing Writing
(From the Boston Herald.)
- OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES

: Use the pen,' said thoughtful an
subtle author; there is no magic i
it, but it keeps the mind from stagger
ing about" Here was a counsel EN-
bodied in a phrase which so Delights
George Henry Lewes preserved t
fame, like fly in amber, because h
| was the husband of George Elliott a!
to make him exclaim: This is az
aphorism which should be printed il
letters of gold oyer the studio door OF
every artist. Use the pen or the brush
or the chisel and file. Write or paint OF
; model or carve; act, do not hesitate.
The persistent handling of the tool it.
self will keep your mind from stagger-
ing about by fixing it resoIutely on the
combined idea and material before you.
and then all you can do you will do.
Inspiration will not enable you to do
more.''
Quite recently a number of the New
York dailies, notably the Sun, the
Tribune and the Times, have shown
themselves considerably exercised in
mind over an address by Mr.. Walter
III. Page at the Chicago University on
1.-The Writer and the University" Mr..
Page is editor of the admirable maya
zine, the Worlds Work. From painful
and exasperating experiences of pass
ing judgment on thousands and thou
sands of manuscripts submitted as con-
trfbutions to his monthly, Mr.. Page
seems to have been plunged into the
deepest abysses of pessimism as to the
view prevalent among contributors in
regard to what a harum-scarGm,
rough-and-tumble business, demanding
little training or experience, the art of |
writing really is.
The same person who would shrink |
in terror from the assumption that, |
without long previous training, he |
could execute a fantasia on the violin |
Dr. paint moonlight Romeo and Juliet |
balcony scene, shows himself cooked |
and primed for the feat of the fools
who rush in where angels fear to
-read,' whenever it is a mere matter
IF literary essay or eloquent dis
course or flight of airy Imagination Or
IN imperative demanded a centennial
ode or a Bossuet funeral grafton. Any
body can write, and the bare idea that
easy writing makes curst hard read
ng'' had never entered their noddles
FOR this reason Mr.. Page calls loudly
n the universities for postgraduate
chools to teach the art of writing just
s seriously and severely as though it
we're an imperative matter of dentistry
r veterinary surgery or osteopathy or
oriental theosophy.
In the New York dailies, however, a
God deal of humorous scepticism
GEMS to prevail as to how effectively
r how widely the art of writing can ,
eally be taught. No doubt by long
nd severe training the majority of toll
rably intelligent persons can be taught :
} write clear and lucid English, in
hich nouns, adjectives and verbs will
Of be perpetually tripping one another
p by the heels and bringing the whole
.ntence structure down in a pile. And
lis is a great improvement scored. I
But when it comes to the question
the rarer flavors and essences of G
inning or commanding writing-of n
Ialities of grace and charm, of wit y
Id humor, of illumination, force and =
'e-it is an utterly different ques- :
IN. These imply native powers of
irit, which can no more be impaired
an the flavor of a sprightly melon =
a stolid pumpkin or the perfume of
rose to a potato blossom. There must
an electric responsiveness to them
the nature itself. If Dean Swift
n write so fascinatingly about a
oomstick as to make it flower like
irons rod, it must be because the =
lctifying sap was coursing in the +
ms of the dean himself and not in
2 pores of the dry broomstick. .
All, then, that a course of severe
timing can do for such a man is to IN
ock the nonsense out of him; to dis
use him of the hallucination that he
n abandon himself to sheer extern
re inspiration. Continuously must he
ndle the pen, the brush, the chisel.
cir sharp attrition alone will serve
the emery wheel to cut the facets
the crude diamond through which l
. inner prismatic coruscations will 4
gle out Never yet the Dante who
$ ashamed to confess that the forg-
and welding of his immortal lines
1 kept him lean for years. But
nte never staggered about, never
billed. III